And so, just when it looked as though the E.U. countries might be able to end their half-decade-long confused march toward constitutional reform and get back to the business of, you know, governing, voters in Ireland threw a wrench into the gears by rejecting the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum last Thursday. … [Read more...] about Ireland Rejects EU Treaty – What Now?
Quote of the Day: Mike Huckabee On Demonizing Obama
The quote of the day comes from Republican Mike Hubackabee: Former US presidential contender Mike Huckabee urged his fellow Republicans on Wednesday not to denigrate Democrat Barack Obama, saying they should celebrate the historic moment of a black candidate. "Republicans will make a fundamental if not fatal mistake if they seek to win the election by demonising Barack … [Read more...] about Quote of the Day: Mike Huckabee On Demonizing Obama
Michelle Obama Polls Better Than Cindy McCain
The latest poll shows Obama is ahead of McCain and McCain is less defined in many voters' minds. Does this this mean McCain is poised for better future numbers? Or does this mean the Obama camp must start defining McCain? Yes, this poll showing Michelle Obama ahead of Cindy McCain will get a lot of attention --and will probably keep political operatives busy figuring out how … [Read more...] about Michelle Obama Polls Better Than Cindy McCain
It’s a bird it’s a plane
Tab, The Calgary Sun … [Read more...] about It’s a bird it’s a plane
Obama’s Change: Shouting at the ocean
Newsweek's Evan Thomas is a journalist and a beltway insider. He considers himself a cog - albeit a small one - in the machine that keeps Washington, D.C. running much the same as it has run for generations. In his column this week he recounts a meeting with a number of other such insiders where they pondered Barack Obama's potential ability to really change the fundamental way … [Read more...] about Obama’s Change: Shouting at the ocean
Free Use: A Remembrance
Ongoing Associated Press actions have us all talking about Fair Use. I thought I'd use the opportunity to say a word about Free Use. In a podcast of the Princeton University/Microsoft Intellectual Property Conference panel on Creativity and I.P. Law: How Intellectual Property Law Fosters or Hinders Creative Work from May 2006, Larry Lessig discussed the demise of Free … [Read more...] about Free Use: A Remembrance
Cyd Charisse: An Appreciation
Charisse with Kelly (top) in Singin' in the Rain and Astaire in Bandwagon Let's get the physical stuff out of the way first: Cyd Charisse had the finest legs in Hollywood, was the greatest dancer – and unquestionably the most sensuous -- to ever grace the silver screen in a skirt and was every bit as good as the great Fred Astaire and the almost as great Gene Kelly. … [Read more...] about Cyd Charisse: An Appreciation
Associated Press: A Brief Look at Fair Use and a Lost Story of The Grateful Dead
It is just my two cents worth, but after sitting for ten years and still on The Author's Guild Board, and the Advisory Board of the National Writer's Union-- and I only mention this because I have seen so many cases of what appears to constitute and what appears not to constitute proper usage of the 'fair use' clause in copyright... this is why I say, given the outcome of … [Read more...] about Associated Press: A Brief Look at Fair Use and a Lost Story of The Grateful Dead
Associated Press, Please Dont Fall on Your Sword and Hurt Yourself The Way the NYT Did
It has dawned slowly on big publishing companies like HarperCollins, Bertelsmann (which owns BMG and bought into Napster with 80M,) Penguin, and other of the few conglomerates that run big publishing nowadays that the internet and the flow of info is not a threat, but a huge opportunity. It has come so slowly to their awareness that the buggy whip business model is over, the … [Read more...] about Associated Press, Please Dont Fall on Your Sword and Hurt Yourself The Way the NYT Did
As Bad as Bush Was, Europeans Hardly Helped
While most of Europe celebrates the fast-impending end of the Bush presidency, the painful truth is that, according to Joachim Fritz-Vannahme who writes for Germany's Die Zeit: "What most people know but prefer to overlook is that it wasn't one man alone who widened the gap between the two sides of the Atlantic, and that the bogeyman Bush often either approved or facilitated … [Read more...] about As Bad as Bush Was, Europeans Hardly Helped
Earth To Aspiring Pundits: There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch In The Blogosphere . . .
. . . Which makes calls for a boycott against The Associated Press because of its warning that using wire service content in the form of excerpts and links without payment is in violation of copyright law is misguided -- or to put it in terms that some bloggers would understand, it's plain stoopid. I seem to be in the minority on this point of view, and there are some … [Read more...] about Earth To Aspiring Pundits: There Is No Such Thing As A Free Lunch In The Blogosphere . . .
Some Other Famous Tragic Victims Of Heart Disease
Americans remain shocked at the death of top broadcast journalist Tim Russert due to a heart attack at age 58. One of the most famous celebrities to die of heart disease at a young age was singer Bobby Darin, who died at age 37. Here is the REAL Bobby Darin (not the one from the movie bio) doing his signature "Mack The Knife" song one year before his death. And then … [Read more...] about Some Other Famous Tragic Victims Of Heart Disease
Around The Blogs
Every evening I take some time to check out some of the political posts and I thought I'd start to share a few of my finds with our readers. Over at Election Projection they have an overview of the Presidential/Congressional races. This is a site well worth checking out every week. Instapundit has a critique of Obama's commentary on fatherhood and black … [Read more...] about Around The Blogs
AP kerfuffle continues
The AP sure has swatted a hornet's nest. I'm as indignant as the rest of the blogosphere at the notion that we'd have to pay to license 5-word quotations (and they reserve the right to terminate the license), but the fact is they're not going to enforce that agreement -- they said as much over and over again -- possibly taking chief critic Jeff Jarvis' one last bit of advice … [Read more...] about AP kerfuffle continues
Where Is Reasonable Talk Radio ?
Recently I was driving home from work and started flipping around the radio dial for something to listen to. I caught a few minutes of commentary from one of the major conservative talk show hosts. His subject was the Obama campaign and the connection to the radical enviromental movement with regard to gas prices and drilling for oil. He decried the fact that they oppose … [Read more...] about Where Is Reasonable Talk Radio ?
McCain Wants Offshore Drilling Ban To End
Suggesting that tough times call for tough measures, presumptive GOP Presidential nominee John McCain is calling for ending the federal offshore drilling ban -- putting him at odds with environmentalist groups he was wooing and his own 2000 presidential campaign position on the issue. The call is likely to mean environmentalists who have been counting the days since the Bush … [Read more...] about McCain Wants Offshore Drilling Ban To End
The AP to Demand Protection Money for ‘Fair Use’ of Its Content?
So it is rumored. I have a hard time believing that they'd really try it on. But according to Tim Conneally, it seems that this may be what they're thinking.Where the group had previously invoked the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and sent cease-and-desist orders to at least one blogger, seeking the removal of excerpted content (in some cases as few as 17 … [Read more...] about The AP to Demand Protection Money for ‘Fair Use’ of Its Content?
Supremes Rule
Bob Englehart, The Hartford Courant … [Read more...] about Supremes Rule
Bush v. McCain: A Nutshell Comparison
For those keeping score --- and for Hillary Dems thinking of voting for McCain or enabling a McCain victory by not voting at all --- The New York Times has a handy tally of points on which McCain and Bush agree and disagree. Before it's all over, we're all going to need one. Dana Milbank says it best: 'Put Your Right Wing In, Take Your Left Wing Out ---If John McCain keeps … [Read more...] about Bush v. McCain: A Nutshell Comparison
Obama and Ike: How to End a War
Whether or not he is responding to John McCain's goading, Barack Obama's statement that he is "interested in" going to Iraq before November recalls Dwight Eisenhower's campaign promise in 1952 to go to Korea and do something about ending the war there. American voters then were weary of protracted fighting far from home as they are now. By his promise, Ike was underscoring … [Read more...] about Obama and Ike: How to End a War