On April 24th, the European Parliament will vote on IPRED2, the Second Intellectual Property Enforcement Directive. With one stroke, they risk turning thousands of innocent EU citizens and businesses into copycriminals. Only you can stop them. Sign our petition now!

Cormac McCarthy‘s The Road is set during a nuclear winter. Two survivors walk south, breathing toxic air, seeking out the continent’s last canned food while ducking bands of flesh-eaters. Describe it as “post-apocalyptic”, as most critics did, or as a masterpiece of dystopian literature. Just don’t call McCarthy’s novel “science fiction”. Even when clearly appropriate, film studios and publishers avoid the phrase “science fiction”.

Civility is all about self-restraint. It’s not about being told by someone else to say “no,” but finding the inner resolve to say it to yourself. Call it self-discipline. Call it having a little class. Whatever name you give it, it’s almost completely absent from modern society.

The bail amount (15 500 000 Belarusian roubles or 7 300 dollars) — an impossible amount to pay for his family or friends alone — was raised by friends and bloggers who posted an announcement on a number of Belarusian online communities. Cotributions came in 5, 10, 20, dollar amounts, but from a great number of people…