Here are the relevant articles:
Plagiarism exposed and responded to…was it plagiarism or a simple mistake:
http://www.naturalnews.com/025456.html
http://organicjar.com/2009/882/
The two fellas involved:
http://www.naturalnews.com/AdamsHealthStats.html
My view: I hope that Mike Adams and Jason Cairns do come to a resolution, and I hope that they publish what they come up with. All of us have searched for information online, only to find the same article in multiple places. Sometimes they have different “authors,” and sometimes that is legitimate, because the source author has sold “Private Label Rights” to the article, meaning that the article can be posted, changed or not changed, and posted with by any author completely legally.
What I hope is clarified, and it would be great if it could come from both sides, is what is Mike defining as “mass pirating?” How many pages? How were they cited, if at all?
Is it possible that Jason just thought he could use entire articles from Natural News and place them on his site as long as he cited the source? Certain article sources actually provide this kind of service as an RSS feed. I could, for example, create an “article ticker” on this site and have headlines on all different kinds of topics scrollin’ on by, and if I configure it correctly, when someone clicks on a headline, the article would come up in my page, with the proper source cited.
Mike could do a better job explaining his intellectual property policies. Can people use entire articles and cite Natural News? What can people cite? What images can people use? I mean, I had to upload Mike Adam’s picture onto my server to get the “Thumbnail” on this article to work…is that ok? Would I need to ask for permission for something like that?
Did Jason really just steal?
It would be great to see proof, substantive discussion…and definitely: calming down from the rage.
What all of us can learn. We can learn that, at present, there are all kinds of issues with intellectual property, payment for information, etc. Movies, music, articles, content from membership websites…certain people think that all information should be free…and they break the law to make it so. We are in a process of transformation, a period where my views are as important as any media mogul’s because, well, here I am online…here I am on YouTube…here I am! The same goes for your views. Comment, and POOF, you are right here in the global conversation.
My biggest concern: I’ve actually found myself concerned for Mike Adams lately. I don’t know him, but the rage and potential violence that this plagiarism incident provoked make me feel that we really need to find healthy outlets for our outrage at the medical establishment, the FDA, etc. I am really glad that Mike is rapping.
Question: How do you deal with your rage when you recognize that pain, death, and illness are disregarded in pursuit of control and profit?