January 30th, 2010 by admin

Al Bloody Mary Award per il miglior libro del 2009, questo I cariolanti, di Sasha Naspini, ha raccolto due impronosticati voti. Si tratta di un libro sicuramente poco pubblicizzato, ma anche Michele Fiano ci consiglia di leggerlo. Ecco quindi la sua recensione per ThrillerCafe.

Titolo: I cariolanti
Autore: Sasha Naspini
Editore: Elliot
Anno: 2009
Pagine: 158

Il titolo sinistramente evocativo, la gotica veste grafica, le recensioni e le impressioni lette di sfuggita, il booktrailer inquietante e tante altre cose; per quanto mi riguarda, la lettura di questo romanzo di Sacha Naspini è stata preceduta da un’aura cupa, malata e scolororita ma di un’attrattiva non trascurabile. Lascio immaginare le aspettative, per cui arrivo al nocciolo.
In tredici capitoli Bastiano ci racconta in prima persona altrettante tappe della sua esistenza deforme, della sua Via Crucis.
È un Candido che percorre le strade marce e maleodoranti della condizione umana più estrema e degradante, in una contingenza d’inedia esasperante che spinge ad atti di cannibalismo al cui confronto le vicende antropofagiche del conte Ugolino risulterebbero orientate al vegetarianesimo. Lo sfondo storico è il periodo a cavallo delle due guerre mondiali ma la fiaba nera raccontata è senza tempo. I teatri bellici assolvono solo in parte le nefandezze di cui si lorda la famiglia di Bastiano, un personaggio a metà strada tra il Jean-Baptiste Grenouille partorito dalla mente di Patrick Süskind e il piccolo Jaques protagonista/vittima de’ “Le madri nere” di Pascal Françaix. Del primo ha il perverso rapporto di connessione totale con la natura ma rispetto a Grenouille interagisce con essa non solo con l’olfatto; al secondo è accomunato dalle stomachevoli “attenzioni” ricevute dai familiari e dalle condizioni di sopravvivenza estreme, nonché dalla tetraggine che apparenta le due trame. L’istinto bestiale del protagonista fa sì che egli si trovi ad empatizzare solo con gli animali selvatitici e non con i suoi simili. Ma nonostante il coraggio con cui si destreggia nei boschi più pericolosi e inaccesibili, Bastiano è alterato mentalmente da una continua insicurezza che fa degenerare in momenti di ferocia inenarrabile i pochi rapporti umani che ha nell’arco della sua vita. Non ha punti di riferimento né guide, è cresciuto in un buco scavato nel terreno di un bosco e anche se nella prima parte del libro ne uscirà, Bastiano porterà sempre dentro di sé una voragine ancor più estesa e profonda, lasciandoci con la convinzione che in ognuno di noi la cattiveria non sempre rappresenta un aspetto latente del nostro carattere. Nel libro come nella vita intravediamo solo quella degli altri e i cariolanti non sempre sono gli altri. Un romanzo che resterà impresso sia agli amanti della suspense tout court sia ai fanatici delle tinte forti.

I cariolanti, di Sasha Naspini: acquistalo su IBS!

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January 30th, 2010 by admin

Although Comcast has been at the center of the BitTorrent blocking and Net Neutrality debate, they are certainly not the only Internet provider targeting the popular file-sharing protocol.

All around the world, hundreds of larger and smaller ISPs are actively interfering with BitTorrent traffic, allegedly to keep their networks in good shape. Thus far, only Comcast has been punished for doing so.

In 2008 the FCC looked into Comcast’s BitTorrent blocking and concluded that the company’s network management practices were unfair because they specifically targeted BitTorrent, not any other protocols.

The FCC ordered Comcast to stop blocking BitTorrent transfers, and last year the communications commission decided to take up the task of ensuring that the Internet remains neutral. At least, that was the initial plan, the reality is less hopeful.

Although it was Comcast’s anti-BitTorrent measures that sparked the current Net Neutrality debate, the FCC’s current proposals are not going to stop ISPs from slowing down or even blocking BitTorrent traffic. In fact, if these rules are implemented, BitTorrent users will be worse off than three years ago.

In the 107 page proposal detailing the Net Neutrality regulation, the FCC says that all traffic on the Internet should be treated equally, but it allows ISPs to slow down or block traffic if it’s considered to be “reasonable network management”.

So the key issue is, what are reasonable network management practices and how may these affect BitTorrent traffic? Let’s take a look at what the FCC has to say about this.

Reasonable network management consists of reasonable practices employed by a provider of broadband Internet access service to [...] (i) reduce or mitigate the effects of congestion on its network or to address quality-of-service concerns; [...] (iii) prevent the transfer of unlawful content; or (iv) prevent the unlawful transfer of content.

In short, this means that ISPs have plenty of options to target BitTorrent traffic and keep the Net Neutral at the same time. Let’s take a closer look.

As the EFF has also pointed out, the latter two conditions (iii and iv) would make it perfectly reasonable to block BitTorrent traffic for the purpose of preventing piracy. The terminology is rather vague, but we expect that when the MPAA or RIAA produce a report stating that 95% of all BitTorrent traffic involves copyright violations, blocking BitTorrent may become perfectly reasonable.

And that’s just one of the many loopholes. There are also plenty of options for ISPs to target BitTorrent traffic without going for the piracy/copyright angle. In fact, congestion issues and quality-of-service concerns are even more viable and can be implemented to target BitTorrent traffic specifically, but indirectly.

Under the proposed plans, ISPs could simply manage their networks by slowing down connections that use “too many” TCP connections, one of the key characteristics of BitTorrent traffic. There are plenty of arbitrary rules that may look reasonable and neutral, but will specifically (not exclusively) hinder BitTorrent transfers to ease the strain on the network.

In fact, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) which develops and promotes Internet standards is working on a proposal that might kill BitTorrent traffic if implemented. The proposed protocol will mark all packets which are expected to cause congestion as “negative packets,” which is likely to apply to and slow down most peer-to-peer traffic.

One way or another, the FCC’s Net Neutrality plan is no guarantee that BitTorrent will be able to download at full speeds. On the contrary, the plans might actually encourage ISPs to use Deep Packet Inspection technologies to check if the traffic of its subscribers is lawful, if it’s the last resort to slow down BitTorrent. We don’t want that to happen do we?

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

January 30th, 2010 by admin

Ever since they first reared their heads in the UK file-sharing sphere, lawyers ACS:Law have been raising eyebrows. The tiny law firm, which took over the business of chasing alleged file-sharers from Davenport Lyons, have been steeped in controversy, making countless false accusations, misleading statements and even committing copyright infringement themselves. They have even recently dropped many cases because they were going nowhere.

Although there has been some mainstream news coverage in the past, this week the press have really stepped up, helped along by the UK Lords who labeled the ACS:Law scheme “legal blackmail” – not exactly a shining endorsement.

Nevertheless, ACS:Law owner Andrew Crossley has stood his ground, telling the media that his campaign will continue. Following criticism that so far he has taken a grand total of zero cases to court, Crossley told the BBC that cases are pending.

“It has been said that we have no intention of going to court but we have no fear of it,” he said.

While Crossley may not be scared of taking a couple of cut and dried cases of infringement against minnows to court to prove his point, it’s not entirely true that in all cases he has no fear of a court battle. In the words of the Lords, Crossley is engaged in a bullying scheme and, like all bullies, when the big boys step up to fight, the bullies shrink away.

On November 19th at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Crossley made NPO (Norwich Pharmacal Order) applications to force ISPs to hand over the names and addresses of subscribers the company claims had infringed their client’s rights. The NPO’s related to approximately 25,000 IP addresses harvested from UK ISP BT’s customer base and a further 5,000 from various other ISPs, covering approximately 291 movie titles. The order was granted and ACS:Law are now chasing these individuals for cash payments of around £500 each.

Someone present at the hearing provided TorrentFreak with information which suggested that several ISPs including Be, O2, BT, Plusnet, Enternet and Kingston were not opposed to the court order forcing them to hand over their customers’ private details to ACS:Law.

However, UK ISP Tiscali, whose customers had also been caught up in the ACS:Law dragnet, were strangely dropped from the court order. “Not seeking against Tiscali (previously respondent #8 in the application),” said the comment.

Tiscali were bought by TalkTalk for £236m last year. TalkTalk, as everyone must know by now, are absolutely against elements of the Digital Economy Bill and are refusing to sell their customers down the river on mere allegations of file-sharing. Could they be standing up to ACS:Law too?

We contacted TalkTalk and their response proved very interesting indeed.

“TalkTalk is the only major ISP which has refused to divulge customers’ information to lawyers pursuing alleged copyright infringers. We have held this position since the issue came into view and we continue to stick by this policy,” Andrew Heaney, TalkTalk’s executive director of strategy and regulation told TorrentFreak.

“If we are ever ‘instructed’ to disconnect or throttle a customer who has not been found guilty in a court of law, we will refuse to do so and challenge the instruction through the courts if necessary,” he added.

So, while the above-mentioned ISPs – and BT in particular – are collectively handing over thousands of their customers to be “legally blackmailed” by ACS:Law, TalkTalk will not and are prepared to fight for the rights of their customers.

TorrentFreak contacted BeingThreatened, a consumer group assisting those wrongfully accussed by ACS:Law.

“What the public want to see is a clear commitment from ISPs that they will protect their customers from the actions of these overly-litigious lawyers exploiting legal loopholes to demand money using groundless threats of court action. Given the tens of thousands of letters that have already been sent and the massive heartache caused as a result of this scheme, BeingTheatened would expect to see a concrete commitment from all ISPs,” spokesman James Bench told us.

“After all, TalkTalk’s stated position merely reflects the view of the wider industry (as stated by the ISPA) that the ‘evidence’ presented by these companies is unreliable,” he added.

“We are happy to see that one company has indicated an apparent willingness to display a degree of corporate integrity in looking after the data that its customers entrust to it and not to make this available to anyone that simply asks for it,” he concluded.

So, if you and your family are looking for an ISP run by people who are prepared stand up for your rights, look no further than TalkTalk. While Mr Crossley may not fear going to court against a lowly individual, it seems incredibly unlikely that he’ll take on TalkTalk’s lawyers.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

January 30th, 2010 by admin

From this year’s State of the Net Conference, Alex Curtis from Public Knowledge is reporting on a panel entitled: “Copyright Strikes: When Has a Pirate Graduated to Internet Exile?”

While the panel consisted of representatives from IFPI, Center for Democracy & Technology, Computer and Communications Industry Association and the UK government. Notably missing were representatives from the RIAA and MPAA. They were present, says Curtis, but unusually observing quietly from the audience.

Those on the panel in favor of the “graduated response” are said not to have shied away from their positions.

In a discussion on whether the punishment fits the alleged crime, Shira Perlmutter, Executive Vice-President of Global Legal Policy at IFPI said sending infringement notices just isn’t enough, adding that termination of a user’s Internet account, however, is preferable to suing them.

When asked if “3 strikes” should come to the United States, Perlmutter pointed to the existence of the DMCA (disabling access to illicit content is already provided for under the legislation) and noted that there are “many conversations going on at different levels.”

Writing on the apparent disinterest in “3 Strikes” shown by the MPAA and RIAA by their lack of participation on a panel such as this, Curtis goes on to list several filings to the FCC which contain pro-disconnection statements by the groups, indicating that they are indeed asking the government to take action. Indeed, Curtis feels that their low profile at this panel points to the existence of “back room deals” already underway and aimed at putting their plans for the US into action.

Given that the music industry has all but given up on their strategy of suing new individuals for file-sharing (the MPAA never really started) and that IFPI has put its full-blown support behind proposed “3 Strikes” legislation in several different countries (even now carefully escalating a campaign in Sweden), it seems likely that at some point the United States will follow.

If it doesn’t come via a government mandate, says Curtis, it could come via a private arrangement between your ISP and content providers. And when you think about it, with all previous plans to end online piracy having failed, there’s very little for the copyright holders left to try. At this stage there can be little doubt that Big Media wants “3 Strikes” to become the global standard.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

January 30th, 2010 by admin

South Korea was included in the International Intellectual Property Alliance’s priority piracy watchlist in 2009. It’s members, including the RIAA and MPAA, had been asking for tough action and in the middle of the year, that came to pass.

At the end of July 2009, new anti-piracy legislation took effect in South Korea which aggressively targeted illicit file-sharers and other online copyright infringers. The laws, created by the country’s Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, gave the authorities the power to disconnect pirates for up to 6 months.

According to the annual report of state-run piracy monitor the Korea Copyright Commission, it detected 35,345 cases of copyright infringement from so-called ‘cyberlocker’ services and P2P sites in 2009, nearly three times as many as the 2008 total of almost 12,000. Video and music infringements accounted for around 32% of all violations. Cases against individual file-sharers are still to be revealed.

This tough legislation was welcomed by the IFPI, who in their Digital Music Report 2010 labeled the action as the correct response to a “crisis”. The music group noted that digital sales had jumped 53% in the first 9 months of 2009, although sales of the same had already risen by 18% in the first 6 months of the year – pre-legislation – largely due to the fresh availability of legal alternatives.

However, according to the results of a survey carried out by Hong Kong-based Music Matters of 8,500 people in 13 countries, South Koreans still committed the second greatest number of online music infringements in 2009.

Released at the 2010 MIDEM event, the results revealed that the top spot was taken by the Chinese, with around 68% of users admitting they had downloaded music without paying for it. The South Koreans took second position with 60% with the Spanish coming in third with 46%.

The South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has cast doubt on the report though. Apparently the question asked by Music Matters to those surveyed was a rather ambiguous “Have you downloaded music from the internet without payment?”

It’s impossible to say if the respondents felt that, for example, an ad-supported service like Spotify or other legitimately free services should be taken into account when giving a response.

In the meantime, the South Korean government has asked news outlets not to publish the results of the survey until they’ve had a chance to look into its validity. Those calls have been widely ignored.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

January 30th, 2010 by admin

Since 2007, UK file-sharers have been threatened with legal action if they refused to pay several hundred pounds in damages for alleged copyright infringements. It started with the respected law firm Davenport Lyons, but when they dropped out as their reputation started to suffer, ACS:Law stepped in.

Although the threats and accusations are often sent to the wrong people due to the shoddy evidence gathering techniques employed, thousands have paid off the copyright holders fearing they would end up being in more trouble if they ignored the threats. The scheme has proven to be profitable for all parties involved, except those receiving the letters.

Leaked documents have shed light on these practices, revealing that the core motivation of the companies involved is simply to generate as much cash as possible.

It will hardly surprise anyone when we allege that ACS:Law and fellow anti-piracy outfits are clearly abusing copyright for profit. However, it is good to see that our views are being supported by several Lords in the UK.

In recent weeks the law firm sending out these mass copyright infringement notices has been discussed in the UK House of Lords. The video below shows Lord Clement-Jones labeling the operation as a scam.

It is surprising that in the UK, copyright holders – some of which have ‘leased’ copyrights from other companies for the sole purpose of cashing in on allegations of file-sharing – can demand the personal details of thousands of alleged file-sharers without having to provide hard evidence. In most other countries this would be prohibited due to privacy concerns.

Lord Lucas has raised this problematic issue, saying that the Lords must do something to ensure that citizens’ personal details are not given out to companies like ACS:Law “willy-nilly”.

Like many file-sharers, some Lords would like to put an end to this copyright abuse, with Lord Lucas accusing the law firm involved of “harassment, bullying and intrusion”. But the criticism of ACS:Law didn’t stop there.

Noting that it could cost around £10,000 for those accused to protest their innocence, but a payment of ‘only’ £500 to make the accusations go away, Lord Lucas called the scheme “straightforward legal blackmail”.

For the public’s sake we hope they come up with a solution to end this madness. In the meantime, anyone accused by ACS:Law can learn exactly how this scheme operates and how to defend themselves efficiently, by downloading the ‘Speculative Invoicing Handbook‘ from consumer group BeingThreatened.

Article from: TorrentFreak, check out our new blog at FreakBits.

January 28th, 2010 by admin

Come segnalato già da qualche giorno da Luca Conti, che l’ha tradotta, esce oggi 28 gennaio la nuova antologia di racconti di Joe Lansdale, Altamente esplosivo.
Si tratta di dieci racconti inediti, scelti dall’autore appositamente per il pubblico italiano, con l’aggiunta di un’introduzione scritta proprio per questo volume. Originariamente i racconti inclusi dovevano essere 13, ma gli altri tre selezionati da Lansdale erano già stati tradotti e pubblicati.
La raccolta racchiude un Lansdale a tutto tondo, dal grottesco, all’horror, dal pulp allo humour. Un concentrato che fa riscoprire anche questa volta uno scrittore visionario e profondo conoscitore dell’animo umano, cinico e fatalmente seducente.

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January 28th, 2010 by admin

Di fumetti su ThrillerCafé finora non s’è mai parlato, ma come vedete dall’immagine qui accanto a questa mancanza iniziamo oggi a porre rimedio con una recensione di Cristiano Idini a Criminal, di Ed Brubaker e Sean Phillips.

Titolo: Criminal
Autor: Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips
Editore: Panini Comics
Collana: 100% Cult Comics

Se volete trovare un po’ di noir allo stato puro, e andare oltre la sovrabbondanza di titoli confezionati su misura come brutte copie di Chandler, uscite dalla libreria e raggiungete la fumetteria più vicina. Qui, nello scaffale dedicato alle grandi opere del fumetto, forse avrete la fortuna di trovare una copia della serie Criminal, e magari proprio il primo volume intitolato Codardo, di Ed Brubaker ai testi e Sean Phillips ai disegni.
Compratelo e poi prendetevi un’oretta di tempo per gustarlo come merita. Non ne rimarrete delusi.

Leo è un ex rapinatore passato a cosette meno rischiose come furti di identità e truffe con carte di credito. Roba poco redditizia, ma sicura. Perchè Leo è ben diverso dalla massa di delinquentelli che entra nelle gioiellerie sparando all’impazzata e sperando in un colpo di fortuna, Leo usa il cervello e non fa mai un colpo prima di essersi assicurato almeno una via d’uscita. E’ così che sopravvive, e non gli importa se quello che per lui è prudenza per altri appare solo vigliaccheria.
Lui rimane uno dei migliori, e negli ambienti giusti questa fama tarda a sparire, anzi fa più in fretta a diventare leggenda. E’ per questo che viene contattato da un paio di tizi, tra cui uno sbirro con tanta voglia di arricchirsi in fretta, per un lavoretto facile facile. Colpo liscio e tanti soldi, può Leo dire di no? I dubbi iniziano ad affiorare, e la prudenza a cedere. Soprattutto se a mettergli pressione è anche una donna che sa come usare il senso di colpa, come un coltello affilato nella carne…
Per chi conosce il fumetto, Ed Brubaker e Sean Phillips non sono affatto due sconosciuti. In particolare il primo deve la sua fama a testate come Daredevil e Capitan America, due personaggi di punta dell’Universo Marvel Comics. Con uno stile asciutto e dialoghi essenziali, la narrazione di Brubaker non è mai piatta né banale, pur utilizzando gli elementi classici del genere noir: il protagonista antieroe che vive ai margini di una città dura e spietata; un colpo ad alto tasso di rischio e di tradimento; la violenza come unica via d’uscita.
Come nella miglior tradizione noir, in Criminal non c’è la lotta del bene contro il male nel senso classico: qui nessuno vive in paradiso, ma nella vita puzzolente dei bassifondi, tra gangster e poliziotti corrotti, in un mondo di tutti contro tutti. Per cercare il bene bisogna scavare a fondo, e liberarsi dai pregiudizi con mente acuta. Il bene è essere fedeli a se stessi, al proprio sistema di valori; al contrario tradire tutto questo significa precipitare in un buco nero da cui poi sarà quasi impossibile uscire.
Lo sa bene il protagonista di Codardo, il cui mondo va a rotoli proprio nel momento in cui vìola ciò che ha giurato di non mettere più in dubbio. Da quel momento sarà in fuga, praticamente solo contro un’intera banda pronta a fargli la pelle senza tanti complimenti.
Criminal è una serie noir dal ritmo serrato e avvincente, retto sull’architettura di una trama solida, senza sbavature, che alterna in maniera credibile momenti di tensione a brevi spazi di riflessione senza mai cadere nella terribile trappola della banalità.
La serie ha vinto nel 2007 l‘Eisner Award, praticamente l’Oscar del fumetto. Ma a differenza del primo, non è riconoscimento che si dà alla leggera: i fumetti sono una cosa seria.

Cristiano Idini

Criminal vol 1. – Codardo: acquistalo su IBS!

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January 28th, 2010 by admin

Roy Hazelwood è stato uno dei pionieri degli studi sui criminali sadici e la sua teoria sulla donna sottomessa al maschio sadico sessuale ha gettato delle basi importanti per comprendere alcune dinamiche nelle coppie di serial killer uomo/donna. Nella sezione True Crime, proponiamo in questi giorni un lungo articolo tratto dall’FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin che riassume parte degli studi suoi, di Janet Warren e Park Dietz sui criminali sadici sessuali.
Potete trovare online la prima parte, pubblicata qualche giorno fa, e da ieri anche la seconda. Le prossime arriveranno a breve. “Buona” lettura, intanto.

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January 28th, 2010 by admin

Dopo quelle degli Edgar Award 2010, ecco le nomination per meno noti Dilys, i premi attribuiti dal 1993 dalla IMBA (Indipendent Mystery Booksellers Association). A contendersi la vittoria finale quest’anno saranno:
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, di Alan Bradley
A Quiet Belief in Angels, di R.J. Ellory (La voce degli angeli)
The Dark Horse, di Craig Johnson
The Girl Who Played with Fire, di Steig Larsson (La ragazza che giocava col fuoco
The Ghosts of Belfast, di Stuart Neville
The Brutal Telling, di Louise Penny
The Shanghai Moon, di S.J. Rozan

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