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23 Jul 2009 16:40

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World: Ireland made it very illegal (and expensive!) to speak blasphemy

  • €25,000 fine in Ireland for blasphemy source
Posted by Nathalie Heiberg • 0 Comments • Permalink

10 Jul 2009 16:03

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World: Afghanistan moves into the 19th century with womens’ rights

  • Marital rape? Banned. Housework? Required. After a new law in Afghanistan essentially legalized a husband’s domination over a spouse, the law was toned down by President Hamid Karzai to only require the wife to do certain acts of housework. OK, maybe we’re spoiled by modernization, but is this really progress? Really? Can’t the man of the house occasionally clean the toilet? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Jun 2009 00:53

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Politics, Tech: Two examples of old people who don’t get new journalism

  • Judge: Let’s outlaw linking! In this corner: Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner, based out of Chicago. A pretty smart guy.
    His argument: Posner, in an argument on his blog, says that “Expanding copyright law … to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers.”
    Why he doesn’t get it Because his idea is against the very nature of the Internet and nobody would support him. Plus, his article has a trackback function enabled to encourage linking!
  • Judge: Let’s outlaw linking! In this corner: Seventh Circuit Appeals Court Judge Richard Posner, based out of Chicago. A pretty smart guy.
    His argument: Posner, in an argument on his blog, says that “Expanding copyright law … to bar linking to or paraphrasing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s consent, might be necessary to keep free riding on content financed by online newspapers.”
    Why he doesn’t get it Because his idea is against the very nature of the Internet and nobody would support him. Plus, his article has a trackback function enabled to encourage linking!
  • Columnist: Let’s tighten laws! In this corner: Connie Schultz, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, still a solid print product.
    Her argument: Schultz says that there’s too many free riders on the journalism bandwagon and they’re coming at the cost of newspaper revenue. She subscribes to David and Daniel Marburger’s theory that copyright law needs to force aggregators to share ad revenue with producers.
    Why she doesn’t get it While her idea is less crazy than Posner’s (she’s not advocating the blocking of linking), it’s cut from the same cloth. Also, you can share her column on Reddit and Digg!
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

29 Apr 2009 10:30

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U.S.: Could part of the Voting Rights Act get flipped over?

  • At some point you have to say we’ve come far enough. Why do we and the other affected jurisdictions have to have the federal government looking over our shoulder?
  • Gregory S. Coleman • Attorney for the Northwest Austin, Tx. Municipal Utility District, who argues that Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is too archaic and outdated. The section requires that the Justice Department approve changes in voting procedure for jurisdictions covered by the law (essentially, those with a history of disenfranchised voters). Coleman and the district will be arguing the case in front of the Supreme Court today, and many will be watching closely. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 23:54

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U.S.: Barbara A. Ringer, the queen of fair use in copyright

  • The basic human rights of individual authors throughout the world are being sacrificed more and more on the altar of … the technological revolution.
  • Barbara A. Ringer • In a 1975 speech discussing the rights of authors in the use of content. It’s crazy, by the way, because it seems her comments would be even more relevant now than they were 34 years ago. Ringer, by the way, is the author behind the Copyright Act of 1976, which both gave copyright-holders more rights in retaining copyright and established the very fair use that allows us to quote this article from The Washington Post. She’s kind of our hero, and makes the Library of Congress seem vaguely awesome. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Mar 2009 22:17

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Offbeat: The guy who said this about a saggy pants bill gets a gold star

  • This is the ‘crack’ bill, and I think any respectable citizen would be against crack.
  • Tennessee State Rep. Joe Towns • On creating a saggy pants bill to stop the spread of drawer-revealing loose jeans. Towns co-sponsored the bill and sounds like an awesome guy otherwise. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Mar 2009 22:35

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U.S.: Who has no death penalty? A small (but growing) number of states

  • 15 states have no death penalty; more are considering ending it source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Mar 2009 22:43

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U.S.: Gay marriage goes to the California Supreme Court

And the supporters for (and detractors against) same-sex marriages came out. Oof. That pun hurt. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Mar 2009 22:17

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Tech, U.S.: The latest type of Supreme Court evidence: YouTube videos

This video of a police officer repeatedly tasering a motorist was shown in a recent case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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