Almost a year ago I blogged the US Treasury export control rules being used to prevent publishers from editing certain foreign manuscripts.
I'm happy to report that a group of publishers are (finally) suing to end curbs on editing. They deserve to win.
The Guardian has a first-class piece of detailed local reporting, giving a ground-eye view of the Hartlepool by-election: part one and part two. Hartlepool was Peter Mandelson's seat.
All politics is local. This is a well-told tale, of interest to retail politics political junkies everywhere. (Bloggers will also enjoy the role that one of the candidate's campaign blogs plays in the story.) The election will be the 30th.
Guess who said this:
If Bush is re-elected, there are only two possible outcomes in Iraq:
Nope. Not Howard Dean. Nope not Kerry or Edwards. Nope, not a politician. Not some wild-eyed radical. A military planner: MSNBC – 'Staying the Course' Isn't an Option brings you this radical thought from “Retired Air Force Col. Mike Turner” described as “a former military planner who served on the U.S. Central Command planning staff for operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm.”
(ex-Pentagon spotted via Pandagon)
Having just read Billmon's lament that blogs are selling out, it was something of a shock to learn from an email correspondent just how low my market value seems to be (jpeg).
UM has become one of the first ten universities to sign up for Napster's “free” online music access. Sadly, this came at the urging of the student government.
For a fixed fee paid by the University, all undergrads get unlimited access to Napster's music library, from which they download DRM'ed files that can only be copied twice and can't be put on DVD without paying a dollar per song.
Given the 3.5 year life of the average PC that means today's freshmen will lose their music libraries around when they get their Ph.D's.
And this is called “outsmarting the pirates”! More like “outsmarting yourself” I'd think.
For some useful background on this “service”, see the invaluable Ernest Miller's Notes on Napster's Matriculation at Penn State, where he collects links so I don't have to. See also Slashdot's debate.
My high school classmate Sally Donnelly, or someone with the same name employed by TIME magazine, writes in You Say Yusuf, I Say Youssouf… that,
The Yusuf Islam incident earlier this week, in which the former Cat Stevens was denied entry into the U.S. when federal officials determined he was on the government's “no-fly” antiterror list, started with a simple spelling error. According to aviation sources with access to the list, there is no Yusuf Islam on the no-fly registry, though there is a “Youssouf Islam.” The incorrect name was added to the register this summer, but because Islam's name is spelled “Yusuf” on his British passport, he was allowed to board a plane in London bound for the U.S.
Homeland Security Dept. at work. Feel safer yet?
Jotwell Blenderlaw
