Dienstbier

For the past six months, Google has been sending me a daily update on the Czech presidential aspirations of my former professor, the crazy contrarian Jiri Dienstbier. Today's article in the Prague Post, however, is the fullest account thus far of whether he really has a chance as a dark-horse candidate.

Probably the most interesting part of the article are the quotes and commentary by leading Czechs on the right-hand side of the page. And an especially interesting snippet / poll:

• "In October, Dienstbier took a substantial lead in an informal poll on the presidency, sponsored by Aktualne.cz with 250,000 votes, compared to President Václav Klaus' 199,000 votes."

Go Jiri!

Romney

I've changed my mind about Romney. I used to hate him, but now . . . he's just amazing. In addition to the amazing "Who let the dogs out?" line of last week (old news), he is now the single most awkward politician ever to wear clothing. How can you hate such an amazingly funny person?

Ethics

Interesting Legal Ethics resources, for those who are interested.

Czechs are crazy

Mijuju vas, muj vazeni blazni Cesi. Doufam, ze budu v Praze jeste jednou nekdy brzy. Cestina nikdy bude moje materstina, ale Cechy vzdycky budou ma prijala vlast.

You remember the furor over those punks with the Adult Swim "bombs" in Boston? That's nothing. A bunch of punks over in the Czech Republic just hacked into the national news and inserted footage of a nuclear bomb going off in the Krkonos mountains (just north of Prague). And you know what? Only foreigners panicked -- the Czechs assumed (correctly) it was bullshit.

Of course, they're still putting them on trial, for "attempted scaremongering." But as no one was scared, it seems likely they'll get off easy. Remember, this is the city that brought you Kafka's (and Havel's, many decades later) "The Trial."

I love my people.

Legal antics

Dannon is in some deep yogurt. It's getting sued in a class action alleging that its "probiotics are great for you" campaign (associated with the very tasty Activia brand) has somehow caused consumers harm. Meh. Seems like there are more important class actions to bring.

This one's somewhat bigger and more serious: the 8th Circuit (no less) has just upheld an inmate's right to be bused out of prison for an elective abortion. Wow.

Bonds asks the judge to toss out the perjury charges against him on the grounds that the allegations are too vague and bizarre. Doubtful that it'll work, but who knows.

The first U.S. District Court (Idaho) has issued an opinion on whether there is a copyright interest in cease-and-desist letters: there is. This is a huge problem for First Amendment groups and for those who try to fight against bullying cease-and-desist letters by making them public -- the "shaming" theory of deterrence. I can't believe this will stand long-term, and it clearly isn't yet binding on anyone but the parties involved, but as with most things, it's anyone's best guess what'll happen.

A small group is setting up a test case to challenge campaign donation restrictions: so far, they've been rejected by the FEC, which is the first stage of getting standing (though it apparently might not count, as the full commission has yet to sit on the decision). Sigh.

What does "any" mean? Apparently it means that if you're in prison, the prison officers are able to steal and lose your property without being liable for suit. It's particularly bad if you're Muslim: they can take your Quran and prayer rug with no consequences. Considering that this is a hugely expansive textualist reading of the word "any," it's a particularly odd 5-4 split, too: Thomas, for the Court, joined by Roberts, Alito, Scalia, and Ginsburg. Not sure where that last one came from.

Lawsuits galore.

This is America, so now that the shit's hitting the fan on the home market, there's only one reasonable path of action: Sue!

And some more mortgage lawsuit coverage from the Times.

Is it worth trying to tax illegal goods?

Padilla sentenced, gets 17 years in terrorism "dirty bomb" case.

The F.D.A. is going to begin requiring drugmakers to do comprehensive suicide studies on their drugs. Big deal: this is going to raise costs throughout the system, but hopefully will also bring many of the more serious problems to light. Of course, this, as with everything in the medical realm, will only make things worse overall.

Legal sbornik

SCOTUS rejects cell-phone tax case. As the CNet reporting notes, this is a surprisingly big deal and, shockingly, a blow against industry. Of course, it's not really great for consumers, either, as it means that your rates are likely to go up.

Cool.

The first big criminal tax case since 1989: Wesley Snipes makes the "16th Amendment is unconstitutional" argument.

Legal miscellany

A legal challenge is being filed by an amputee athlete who isn't allowed to come out for the Olympics because some findings suggest that the Cheetahs he uses (those spring-y things that replace the foot and ankle) may allow him a technological edge.

DRM having fallen for good only a few short weeks ago, the talk turns immediately to what's likely to follow: digital watermarking. With digital watermarking, it seems likely that lawsuits against consumers will increase. Of course, this is what the RIAA, et al., should have done in the first place if they'd wanted to crush things in one fell swoop, but it's less clear how effective the technology will be at this point.

Benefits delivery shifts to the web in order to save companies costs.

MySpace, among others, has just entered into an agreement with 45 states to put greater protections for children against sexual predators into place.

The latest from the Reiser trial, which resumed after the holiday break.

Legal shenanigans

A fun WIRED article on how NY AG Andrew Cuomo is investigating Intel for state and federal antitrust violations -- basically, what they've been doing to screw over AMD.

A sad story from the Times about Marion Jones's plea of guilty to performance-enhancing drugs. What a mess.

An interesting snippet about the side effects of banning the U.S. slaughter of the old grey mare -- namely, that owners are selling their old horses to slaughterhouses in Canada and Mexico instead, where they pop off somewhat less humanely.

Black legislator James Clyburn (D-SC) thinks about endorsing Obama after Clinton's MLK gaffe.

Jury in Cape Cod murder case testifies about possible racism behind the scenes. And boy, it sounds like a mess.

Fantastic

A New York Times article about a husband who's been posting nasty things about his wife on his blog during their divorce. Tsk tsk.