Power: LIGHT and POWER

Reclaiming privacy with laser-pointers

Here's a how-to explaining how to blind a surveillance camera a laser-pointer.[Boing Boing Blog]

| | Nº694 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 11:09:34 PM. Words: 24.

Mickey Mouse Protection Act challenged

On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in a suit seeking to overturn the 1998 law that extended the copyright term from 75 to 95 years. Plaintiffs argue it's a First Amendment issue. By Michael Grebb.

Plaintiffs have challenged the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (CTEA), which extended current and future copyrights by 20 years. The law passed as a result of heavy influence from Hollywood studios such as the Walt Disney Company, whose earliest copyrights on film depictions of characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck were about to expire under the old limit of 75 years.

[Wired News] [The All Electric Media Weblog]

| | Nº691 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 11:00:51 PM. Words: 125.

The ethics of video surveillance

Protesting the Big Brother Lens, Little Brother Turns an Eye Blind. A national debate over the ethics of surveillance continues to grow as video cameras proliferate. By John Markoff. [New York Times: Arts]

| | Nº684 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 3:18:33 PM. Words: 46.

Overlawyered!

What price justice? Let's say you have a debt-collection matter in which the "deadbeat" owes, in round numbers, about 18 cents. So you bring the action and you seek attorneys' fees and other charges. That figure comes out to $311.26. The court doesn't like this and awards sanctions against you. But now the defendant's lawyer claims to have put in about $7,600 defending the case. [via Overlawyered] [Ernie the Attorney]

| | Nº683 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 3:11:40 PM. Words: 77.

Amiri Baraka, poet-laureate of New Jersey, under fire

McGreevey Could Fire Poet Under Proposed Legislation. Legislators said on Monday that they would introduce measures that would give the governor the power to strip Amiri Baraka of his position as New Jersey's poet laureate. By Laura Mansnerus. [New York Times: Arts]

| | Nº674 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 3:03:19 AM. Words: 57.

Mayor of Paris Stabbed

Paris Mayor Recovering After Being Stabbed During Festival. The mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, was out of danger after being stabbed in the abdomen in City Hall early on Sunday. By Alan Riding. [New York Times: International]

| | Nº672 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 2:43:46 AM. Words: 48.

Lula in runoff

Brazil Presidential Election Is Set for October Runoff. Leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a commanding lead in Brazil's presidential race, but will face José Serra in a second-round runoff on Oct. 27. By Larry Rohter. [New York Times: International]

| | Nº671 Posted: Tuesday, October 8, 2002 2:41:10 AM. Words: 52.