This and That

       The lectures this week cover an array of topics, which makes it hard to pinpoint one and blog about it.  Therefore, I have a few things that I would like to comment on regarding the lectures this week.

            The first thing is that I found interesting was the Sonny Bono Term Extension Act.  I did not know that there was an act where the copyright of a person is extended 70 years after their death.  I suppose this makes sense for it keeps the name and more importantly the money in the family.  I know if my father was Sonny Bono I would want to reap the benefits of his career as well as be proud to still have him known for his songs.  I also did not realize that copyright was that vital to the adult industry.  I suppose it is like any other similar industry such as books, magazines, or movies.  Porn comes in all these forms so it is just as important.  The adult movie industry takes just as much pride into their work as anyone else as we all know they do not want to lose any money so copyright material is essential to keep a business or magazine going.

            The next thing that I would like to comment on is the fact that if I have the intentions of vacationing to Costa Rico to have sex with a prostitute I can be arrested when I reenter the United States.  I believe I have blogged about this before, but I honestly did not think this was possible.  When you are in another country I know you are representing the United States, but the laws are not the same.  I in no way believe prostitution is moral or right, but it almost seems like the government is invading our privacy by being able to arrest and control what we do in foreign countries.  If this is true, then is it illegal for an underage drinker to drink in Europe?  I know this may not be as extreme, but it is a similar situation.  I guess I just feel that one should be allowed to do as they please in a foreign country as long as it is legal in that particular country.  Of course there should be exceptions such as it still being illegal to sell women or children on a black sex market.  Prostitutes are almost a commonplace around the world and if a male wants to degrade himself and have to pay to have sex, then we should just let him disrespect himself.

            The final thing that I would like to comment on is the idea by Michael Froomkin on Regulatory Arbitrage.  If I were to come up with an example of this I would have to use the spices that were abundant in China and Asia back hundreds of years ago.  People in Europe did not have spices and especially salt. China was definitely more abundant with these products and were probably sold cheaply in the native land.  Once brought to Europe the costs probably increased at least five times the value for the simple fact that it was in high demand with low resources.  When I think about this concept it reminds me of our entire government and society.  This country is very money hungry and will do anything to obtain it.  By taking an abundant product and moving to a new location where it is not abundant and jacking up the prices is a basic characteristic of our country.  This may not be a defining example of this idea, but it is similar.  I know a few years back in Arizona there was some sort of oil shortage or spill.  Gas stations all over the place ran out of gasoline.  One gas station was still open and had cars lines up down the block to get their tanks filled.  The gas station was charging four dollars a gallon for gas!  Let us remember that a few years ago when gas was only a dollar and some change so four dollars was a lot.  Granted the gas was not taken from one area and relocated it is still something that was in high demand where the prices increased as a result. 

            Although this blog may not entirely have to do with cyberporn and society I just felt obligated to express my opinions of these various topics.  I hope people think about these ideas or topics from a different viewpoint, which I am always trying to take.