One might arrive at any number of sub-titles for this news… for ex.;
eBay Does Battle With Two Foreign Governments or Purveyor of Parasitic Practices Hammered In French Court or eBay Willing To Display Arrogance In Australia and France.
The bottom line is a French court has ruled against eBay in a battle involving counterfeit Louis Vuitton products. To the tune of $63 Million (US).
Eliciting this response from LVMH: “The Paris commerce court’s verdict will make case law. For the first time in France it clearly states the principle under which auction sites that operate on the web have to ensure that …read more

From the BBC News;
Blogger arrests hit record high
“More bloggers than ever face arrest for exposing human rights abuses or criticising governments, says a report.
Since 2003, 64 people have been arrested for publishing their views on a blog, says the University of Washington annual report.”
Those of us who currently have the freedom to write ought to remain grateful even in the face of the destruction of privacy laws, net neutrality, freedom of speech, etc. Try this on…
“More than half of all the arrests since 2003 have been made in China, Egypt and Iran, said the report.”
Arrested for blogging to expose “corruption …read more

Much ado about nothing…
So, the Associated Press attempts to re-define Fair Use. And someone doesn’t care for it. So what? The AP isn’t controlled by those who don’t like what they do.
“So here’s our new policy on A.P. stories: they don’t exist. We don’t see them, we don’t quote them, we don’t link to them. They’re banned until they abandon this new strategy, and I encourage others to do the same until they back down from these ridiculous attempts to stop the spread of information around the Internet.”
Oh – please… stop. Maybe we should give you credit for the AP …read more

Extremely interesting…
Australia Says No to eBay’s PayPal-Only Policy
“The Australian government told eBay it could not implement its PayPal-only policy in Australia next week and would make a final determination on the matter. It issued a 42-page draft notice today that said consumers are in the best position to determine which service offers the best features. The agency waded through submissions by eBay buyers and sellers, online payment providers, financial industry organizations and other interested parties.”
Ooops! In another article on the same topic, Ina quotes the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, Graeme Samuel, saying something that strikes me …read more

Whoops… “somebody” might not have been as aware as they were supposed to have been.

Watch Out Craigslist and Kijiji, Wal*Mart’s Coming!

Walmart Launches Online Classifieds Powered by Oodle

“We recently launched Walmart.com Classifieds beta to provide additional opportunities for our customers to save money and live better. This free, community-based resource allows customers to buy and sell items locally, find local jobs and learn about events in their area.
Our new Classifieds beta at Walmart.com provides an expanded offering of products and services, the majority of which are not traditionally available from Wal-Mart, such as job listings, automobiles, rentals and real estate. It …read more

One of them is probably telling the truth…
Craigslist files countersuit against eBay
“Craigslist filed a countersuit against eBay Tuesday, alleging that the Internet auction company engaged in unfair competition, trademark infringement and a slew of other improper activities.”
Do you think there was a chance in 2004 eBay knew that buying those shares from a former Craigslist shareholder would bring grief down the road? Yeah, I think they knew… kinda like when you do something behind someone’s back and they figure it out – you’re caught! But, you won’t admit it come hell or highwater!
I find this statement by eBay spokeswoman Kim …read more

Carl Icahn… on 60 Minutes
“Intimidating, relentless and rich. That, in a nutshell, is Carl Icahn. His investment strategy is simple: find a company he thinks is poorly run and then start buying up shares of its stock. Then, start agitating until changes are made. Along the way, the companies he chooses generally start improving, improving his bottom line over and over.”
It’s being passed around that Icahn is about to launch a shareholder revolt to force Yahoo’s board of directors out of the company to replace them with others who would favor the takeover by Microsoft. I guess when you buy …read more

You know how it goes…
“You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”
Nowadays it seems that those who have a “feeling” of power have lost sight of this simple proclamation, especially politicians and executives in big business. More so today because those two are working hand in hand!
But this medium I have the absolute pleasure to be able to work in is increasingly putting the end to this crap these folks attempt to confuse us with! The playing field is getting leveled, and rightfully so!
How many …read more

Don’t let the lack of MSM coverage delude you into thinking that the preznits isn’t still insisting on gaining the telcos immunity for their illegal spying activities at the behest of the US government!
From the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation);
Ominous Signs of a Forthcoming “Compromise” on Telco Immunity – Tell the House To Stand Firm
“This morning, CongressDaily reported that Senator Jay Rockefeller is now privately circulating a new ‘compromise’ proposal on surveillance legislation, only a day after it was reported that the telecoms themselves have begun shopping their own ‘compromise’ proposals around the Hill. You may remember Sen. Rockefeller as the …read more

May 1st is the date!
Sellers say they’ll boycott eBay and now writers will be boycotting Amazon.
Funny, but I find the news about Amazon strange. On one hand some say they’re “Standing Tall” and on another hand others say their Stock is Losing Ground. Causing wonder and amazement :) Actually it appears that profit margins are suffering.
Meanwhile PowersellersUnite offers information and hope for the eBay sellers regarding the boycott there.
eBay may also be feeling some sense of loss on Wall Street but it doesn’t feel too strong from this report or from this article telling us only that “eBay’s core auction …read more