Peter Nixon

C&L's Late Nite Music Club with John Scofield

Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:14:59 GMT

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:59:06 GMT

inexorable:

unyielding; relentless.

Like ageing.

[Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

The Class Sketch

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 09:09:08 GMT

I found this clip by accident while looking for an old Terry Gilliam cartoon I saw on The Marty Feldman Comedy Machine in the 70s. If you remember the cartoon where the king assembles his top scientists to make them learn how man can fly ... I'd love to get a copy of that somehow.

I just 1-Clicked The Best of Marty Feldman from Amazon UK because I figure if it's not on there, I'll still enjoy it. 35 years ago, my twin brother Dan and I rolled on the floor together laughing at stuff like the taxi drivers fighting the Battle of Britain against England's last and greatest enemy ... the Pedestrian. I'll bet it's still funny now.

What Paul doesn't know is that this sketch is from The Frost Report, and that it was a regular spot. Each week some variation of this played out.

I remember watching it as a child. Wonderful stuff!

Marty Feldman was indeed one of the writers of the feature.

[Paul Boutin]

Vietnam Gives Light Sentences to American Terrorists

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 13:15:12 GMT

See, when other countries hold prisoners for long periods without trials, it's bad. When we do it, it's protecting America.

Yahoo News:

Vietnam defused a political storm Friday by issuing light sentences to three Vietnamese-Americans convicted of terrorism, preventing the closely watched case from clouding President Bush's visit next week.

The defendants had been held since September 2005 without charges after being accused of plotting to take over radio airwaves in their native country to call for an uprising to overthrow the communist government.

They, along with four Vietnamese nationals accused of the same crime, were sentenced by a judge to 15 months in prison, with credit for time served. All will be released in one month, and the Americans will have 10 days to leave the country.

The case had attracted Washington's attention just before Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice planned to make their first visit to Hanoi, for the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. It's Vietnam's biggest-ever event.

[..]"I am certainly pleased that they will be sent home," said U.S. Ambassador Michael Marine. "These individuals have been held for quite some time. That is allowed under Vietnamese law, but 14 months without being brought to trial is a long time for anyone. So, we're glad to see that portion over with."

Marine spoke just a few blocks away from the French colonial-style courthouse in southern Ho Chi Minh City where the sentences were read. He was attending a ceremony in which Intel Corp. announced plans to increase its investment in a planned chip assembly and testing plant to $1 billion from an initial $300 million, positive news that followed Vietnam's invitation to join the World Trade Organization on Tuesday.

But much of that glow had already been overshadowed by headlines detailing the uncertain fate of Thuong Nguyen Foshee, 58, of Orlando, Fla.; Le Van Binh, 31, of Tampa, Fla.; and Huynh Bich Lien, 51, of San Gabriel, Calif.

"We are in contact with the government of Vietnam to arrange their return as soon as possible," U.S. State Department spokesman Kurtis Cooper said Friday.

Washington had pressured Vietnam to hold a speedy and fair trial, and the issue would likely have spilled over into APEC without Friday's conclusion. The case had also attracted attention from Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who raised the issue with the Bush administration and reportedly vowed to block a key vote in Congress that would normalize trade relations between the former foes. Read on[sigma]

(h/t Ahmad)

[Crooks and Liars]

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 11:47:29 GMT

ab ovo:

from the beginning

[Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Thu, 09 Nov 2006 12:14:03 GMT

congeries:

a collection; an aggregation.

Here's a word I have to use!

Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

Aussie Institute of Criminology calls piracy losses "self-serving hyperbole"

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 20:29:02 GMT

Cory Doctorow: The Australian Institute of Criminology analyzed the music and software piracy loss-figures for the the Attorney General, and drafted a report that found them to be errant nonsense

The report calls the losses cited by software and music industry lobbyists "self-serving hyperbole," "epistemologically unreliable," and "absurd." The Institute of Criminology promises to tone down the language in the final report. You can feel the outrage of some poor economist who found herself going down the rabbit-hole as she analyzed the phony-baloney numbers these giant corporations use to argue for new laws to line their pockets.

Many copyright holders claimed links between piracy and organised crime, but AIC researcher had found nothing to support that view.
"Either there is no evidence of any links between piracy and organised crime or it is simply beyond the capacity of rights holders to identify these links," he wrote, adding that he was concerned about the way piracy figures were being used.
"It is inappropriate for courts and policy makers to accept at face value currently unsubstantiated statistics.
"Either these statistics must be withdrawn or the purveyors of these statistics must supply valid and transparent substantiation.

Link

(via /.)

By noemail@noemail.org (Cory Doctorow). [Boing Boing]

Doctor of the Future

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 14:09:49 GMT

"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease." [~] Thomas Edison

I love this. My daughter often says that people of the future will look at drug therapy and surgery in much the same way as we regard bleeding and the use of leeches. They may have worked, but they were definitely crude.
And Edison's advice, at least for people in reasonable health to begin with, is so sensible.

[Thriving Quotes]

Dictionary.com Word of the Day

Tue, 07 Nov 2006 11:42:37 GMT

obfuscate

to darken or obscure.

One of my favourite occupations.

[Dictionary.com Word of the Day]

Shampoo eBay seller threatened by manufacturer for photographing product

Wed, 11 Oct 2006 07:43:35 GMT

Mark Frauenfelder: Jamie Olson from California bought some Aquage shampoo, made by SalonQuest, and offered it for sale on eBay. Her eBay listing included her own photos of the product.

Soon after, a private investigator hired by SalonQuest, emailed Olson, demanding the she stop selling the shampoo.

You are displaying copyrighted Aquage containers in your advertisements," which, according to the private investigator, is a "violation of SalonQuest's legal rights under the federal Copyright Act.
Olson, however, refused to cancel her sales in response to Aquage's threatening email. This week, she got a second email from the company's private investigator:
"On September 7, 2006, this office contacted you on behalf of SalonQuest concerning your unauthorized sales of Aquage products on eBay. Despite being formally notified that you are violating SalonQuest's legal rights, you have continued to list additional Aquage products on eBay. Also, you have continued to display copyrighted Aquage containers in your advertisements, yet another violation of SalonQuest's legal rights under the federal Copyright Act.
"SalonQuest would prefer to resolve this issue amicably. However, unless you immediately and permanently discontinue your sales of Aquage products on eBay and through any other unauthorized channels, SalonQuest has authorized us to forward this matter and your file to its legal counsel for further action.

Of course, the reason SalonQuest is going after Olson isn't because they don't want her to take photos of the shampoo bottles. It's because they want to control the secondary sales market, and they are trying to use copyright law as an excuse.

It argues that it has contracts with its distributors limiting resale of products only to licensed vendors. Therefore, it claims that reselling its products is a breach of its contracts. But Olson never entered into a contract with Aquage. She just bought the shampoo at a store and is now trying to resell it. Aquage's contracts with its distributors doesn't give it the power to control the entire secondary market for its products.

For now, Olson isn't backing down. Here's her latest eBay auction for Aquage stuff.

Link (Thanks, Greg!)

Update:

Fred von Lohmann, Senior Intellectual Property Attorney, says:

Saw the BoingBoing post about the copyright threats based on the photos of the Aquage shampoo.

Aquage doesn't have a legal leg to stand on. There is a clear exception in the Copyright Act that permits people who are selling or advertising a product to make and display photos of the the stuff they are selling, precisely to stop this kind of effort to control secondary markets. The exception is set out in Section 113(c) of the Copyright Act:
"(c) In the case of a work lawfully reproduced in useful articles that have been offered for sale or other distribution to the public, copyright does not include any right to prevent the making, distribution, or display of pictures or photographs of such articles in connection with advertisements or commentaries related to the distribution or display of such articles, or in connection with news reports."
Fred

By noemail@noemail.org (Mark Frauenfelder). [Boing Boing]