22 February 2008
Nagin
Not law-related, but this is probably one of the more interesting politician videos I've seen in a while. Nagin has a point -- he may or may not make the right decisions all the time, but the media needs to lay off the personal attacks on him.
21 February 2008
Encryption
This article from Wired.com explains how all disk encryption is crackable if the cracker has access to the physical machine. Amazing.
Legally, this probably has huge ramifications: for those who remember the child porn case of a few months back where the police were unable to decrypt the man's drive without the encryption key, you have to wonder whether every police department in the country is going to start hiring crackers so deal with these kinds of issues. In that case, they had to bring him to court to litigate whether forcing him to divulge his key was considered compelled speech -- in the future, they won't have to bother.
Of course, when it comes to child porn, it's hard to find many who would object to police efforts to catch offenders. But as with all of the exclusionary rule doctrines, it's overbreadth that is the real concern -- we don't want innocent people's lives dragged through the fishing net as well.
Anyways, it's food for thought.
Legally, this probably has huge ramifications: for those who remember the child porn case of a few months back where the police were unable to decrypt the man's drive without the encryption key, you have to wonder whether every police department in the country is going to start hiring crackers so deal with these kinds of issues. In that case, they had to bring him to court to litigate whether forcing him to divulge his key was considered compelled speech -- in the future, they won't have to bother.
Of course, when it comes to child porn, it's hard to find many who would object to police efforts to catch offenders. But as with all of the exclusionary rule doctrines, it's overbreadth that is the real concern -- we don't want innocent people's lives dragged through the fishing net as well.
Anyways, it's food for thought.
19 February 2008
Interesting
14 February 2008
Eees and Wiis and Flying Machines
I have fallen into the trap that tempts all technology semi-junkies. My tech has become trendy and...(horror of horrors)...cutesy.
It all began when my brother and I bought our mother a Wii for Christmas. She had been talking about it for quite a while, and when we went to Wal-Mart to do some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve (because I hadn't yet done any shopping), there it was -- three boxes left of the toy of the decade. (This was only the latest in good luck, beginning with a series of incredible train/ferry near-missed connections, followed by the U.S. government changing its passport policies apparently just so I could go to Canada for New Year's Day.) So on a complete whim, we bought one. And we played it (even my father). And it was incredible.
When I left Maine, and my mother's Wii, to go back to school, my hunger wasn't sated, but whetted. As it so happened, I found out by chance that a friend had a Wii that he was no longer interested in, so after thinking about it for half a day, I broke down and bought it. And played it. And it was great.
I swore to myself that this period of riotous spending was all over, but then calamity struck -- my laptop died. Fortunately, I've been taking most notes by hand this year (to good effect), so I wasn't left completely adrift, but it was still a bit of a shock. At three years old, it practically costs more to fix a laptop power supply (which involves some major-ish surgery) than it does to just buy a new laptop, so I started looking around for what I could get for under $400.
The more I looked, the more it seemed like I should just buy an Eee. An Eee weighs less than 2 lbs, is about the size of a small hardcover book, runs a customized variant of Xandros Linux that is incredibly intuitive (if not amazingly smart), and costs less than $400 (by one dollar). I already carry all my files on a flash drive, so it doesn't matter that it has minimal hard disk space, and I've been using Linux for almost two years, so running an "easy" version is even simpler. I don't need a PC for gaming anymore, thanks to the Wii and the Virtual Console feature, and all my applications are becoming Web 2.0-based, so the chances I'll ever need to download any Windows program again are minimal.
So I did buy one. And it was amazing. Go out and buy yours today.
***
Normally, I frown on this sort of post. But as I plan on exploring some more open-source and licensing legal issues in March, it seems appropriate to take a moment to mention my relationship with fun technology. I'm no techie, but I understand enough to get by, and enjoy being a power-user of interesting tech, even if I'll never be a coder.
It all began when my brother and I bought our mother a Wii for Christmas. She had been talking about it for quite a while, and when we went to Wal-Mart to do some last-minute shopping on Christmas Eve (because I hadn't yet done any shopping), there it was -- three boxes left of the toy of the decade. (This was only the latest in good luck, beginning with a series of incredible train/ferry near-missed connections, followed by the U.S. government changing its passport policies apparently just so I could go to Canada for New Year's Day.) So on a complete whim, we bought one. And we played it (even my father). And it was incredible.
When I left Maine, and my mother's Wii, to go back to school, my hunger wasn't sated, but whetted. As it so happened, I found out by chance that a friend had a Wii that he was no longer interested in, so after thinking about it for half a day, I broke down and bought it. And played it. And it was great.
I swore to myself that this period of riotous spending was all over, but then calamity struck -- my laptop died. Fortunately, I've been taking most notes by hand this year (to good effect), so I wasn't left completely adrift, but it was still a bit of a shock. At three years old, it practically costs more to fix a laptop power supply (which involves some major-ish surgery) than it does to just buy a new laptop, so I started looking around for what I could get for under $400.
The more I looked, the more it seemed like I should just buy an Eee. An Eee weighs less than 2 lbs, is about the size of a small hardcover book, runs a customized variant of Xandros Linux that is incredibly intuitive (if not amazingly smart), and costs less than $400 (by one dollar). I already carry all my files on a flash drive, so it doesn't matter that it has minimal hard disk space, and I've been using Linux for almost two years, so running an "easy" version is even simpler. I don't need a PC for gaming anymore, thanks to the Wii and the Virtual Console feature, and all my applications are becoming Web 2.0-based, so the chances I'll ever need to download any Windows program again are minimal.
So I did buy one. And it was amazing. Go out and buy yours today.
***
Normally, I frown on this sort of post. But as I plan on exploring some more open-source and licensing legal issues in March, it seems appropriate to take a moment to mention my relationship with fun technology. I'm no techie, but I understand enough to get by, and enjoy being a power-user of interesting tech, even if I'll never be a coder.
12 February 2008
Today's Selection
Wow. The city of Berkeley has passed a City Council item supporting the non-violent resistance of city schools and businesses to Marine Corps recruiting in the city limits. The city is, of course, being inundated with martial protesters, who are calling the item, issued in a time of war, "treasonous."
Most interesting, I think, is the comment by a councilmember who was a Vietnam enlistee: "We're not against the Marines per se," he said. "We're against this war. We're against the mechanisms that support this war and send our young people over there." Regardless of whether the item was a good idea or tactic, at least the council was intelligent enough to get a Vietnam vet on their side.
***
Lookin' Good for Jesus. Enough said - look at the article.
***
Apparently Yoko Ono is planning on suing a young artist who performs under the trademarked name "Lennon." Reportedly, the artist originally took all possible steps to make sure that she was doing this with the blessing of the estate, she has been careful throughout not to misrepresent herself as related to John, etc.etc. She has been performing for years, and only a few days before the statute of limitations, Yoko sent her a letter. Strangely enough, the letter was published both by her and by Julian Lennon, who thinks that his stepmother has gone far too far.
And why not add another copyright issue to the mix -- what do we do with the new doctrine that suggests publishing the letter may itself be a copyright violation?
Most interesting, I think, is the comment by a councilmember who was a Vietnam enlistee: "We're not against the Marines per se," he said. "We're against this war. We're against the mechanisms that support this war and send our young people over there." Regardless of whether the item was a good idea or tactic, at least the council was intelligent enough to get a Vietnam vet on their side.
***
Lookin' Good for Jesus. Enough said - look at the article.
***
Apparently Yoko Ono is planning on suing a young artist who performs under the trademarked name "Lennon." Reportedly, the artist originally took all possible steps to make sure that she was doing this with the blessing of the estate, she has been careful throughout not to misrepresent herself as related to John, etc.etc. She has been performing for years, and only a few days before the statute of limitations, Yoko sent her a letter. Strangely enough, the letter was published both by her and by Julian Lennon, who thinks that his stepmother has gone far too far.
And why not add another copyright issue to the mix -- what do we do with the new doctrine that suggests publishing the letter may itself be a copyright violation?
06 February 2008
New developments
For every live and loud controversy, there are always a few going on in the background, quietly changing the way the world works. Here are some updates on recent developments in privacy and bioethics.
RealID is causing all sorts of problems, running up against the First Amendment when it comes to people who can't have their image placed on an ID card because it violates their reading of the Bible or Qu'ran. The last time this issue came before SCOTUS, the justices felt that, on balance, the privacy / religious interest was sufficient to counter the government's public policy interest -- this time around, it seems likely that the court might rule the other way.
In the U.K., scientists have just created an embryo with three people's DNA. Likely to create all sorts of new ways for gays and transsexuals to reproduce via their own DNA, as well as providing many uses for hetero in vitro fertilization. Also potentially feasible to create all sorts of new reproductive relationships, dealing an awkward blow to the "it's wrong because they can't reproduce" argument (presumably, the argument will simply morph into "they're doing it wrong").
RealID is causing all sorts of problems, running up against the First Amendment when it comes to people who can't have their image placed on an ID card because it violates their reading of the Bible or Qu'ran. The last time this issue came before SCOTUS, the justices felt that, on balance, the privacy / religious interest was sufficient to counter the government's public policy interest -- this time around, it seems likely that the court might rule the other way.
In the U.K., scientists have just created an embryo with three people's DNA. Likely to create all sorts of new ways for gays and transsexuals to reproduce via their own DNA, as well as providing many uses for hetero in vitro fertilization. Also potentially feasible to create all sorts of new reproductive relationships, dealing an awkward blow to the "it's wrong because they can't reproduce" argument (presumably, the argument will simply morph into "they're doing it wrong").
05 February 2008
Super Tuesday
This being Super Tuesday, some relevant comment seems appropriate. While personally I'm leaning Obama and McCain to get the nods, there are worse things than Clinton, and the hate going around drives me nuts. So I really enjoyed this article from Prof. Stanley Fish on the Hillary-hating phenomenon.
Comment 30, which critiques and adds on to the article itself, is particularly good. Excerpted:
Comment 30, which critiques and adds on to the article itself, is particularly good. Excerpted:
04 February 2008
Conventions and the Oldest Profession
An amazing article about how the DNC is predicted to boost prostitution revenue in Denver this year. Best blurb:
Too bad for Watson and others like him that Denver didn't land the GOP convention instead, said Carol Leigh, a San Francisco prostitute "over 50" who has traveled to previous Democratic conventions in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
"It would be a lot better for the sex workers if it was the Republican convention," she said.
"We get a lot more business. I don't know if they're just frustrated because of the family values agenda," she said.
02 February 2008
The Bear Hug
Most of the buzz about the proposed Microsoft / Yahoo! merger is kind of boring and tame. This, on the other hand, is an interesting look at the actual mechanics of the proposal: a not-so-veiled threat by Microsoft against Yahoo! that is just barely short of being hostile. Hence the name, "bear-hug" letter.
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Will I vote for Hillary? No.
Do I hate Hillary? No.
But I think this article misses the point. It’s not the rabid hatred of Hillary that’s so effective. It’s the way the rabid hatred of her affects everyone else in the following two ways:
1) If you wanted to vote for her, you would have to face the reality that she’s deeply reviled by so many (I’m not listening to the media, just my own largely Democratic family) and so you would be moved to look for another candidate.
2) Persons who have a mild dislike or ambivalence about her will be moved by the momentum of “Hillary hatred” to say the kinds of things I just heard at a dinner with my cousins last week: “Oh, God, anything but HILLARY” and “I can’t stand that woman,” and “the problem with Hillary is that she’s exactly the kind of person who thinks she’s smarter than you.”
When I responded that, like her or not, Hillary Clinton actually IS smarter than any of us who were at the dinner table, I was told that if she were really smart, she wouldn’t make everyone else in the room feel so stupid. They’ve got a point….