From BoingBoing: This is great stuff, but I don't want you to read it. I'm creating the link so that I can come back and read it again whenever I want. Wow. This guy is smart.
11:47:21 PM
New Book Hits the Streets - Not Your Average Boring History Book
Journalism 101 - or how to write a succinct, intelligent story that ends crisply
From John Robb's Radio Weblog: "Whoa. Real Networks is about to die. I just upgraded my computer, and therefore I want to install a new Real player (reluctantly). So I go to the corporate site. All I can find is a small link to the premium Real One that requires a credit card to use (although it says free). Finito."
Hemingway would be proud. Just over 50 words. Tight. Man I like that!
8:05:48 PM
Best Little Whorehouse in New Orleans? Hey, the furnishings were straight out of Pottery Barn.
From The Washington Post: "The calls from wealthy men to the white-columned Victorian house were about women: who was available, what they looked like and what they would do for top dollar. The callers were bankers, stockbrokers, a telecommunications mogul, a member of one of the city's leading restaurant families, a former head of the prestigious Mardi Gras society Rex, an ex-pro football star, a partner in a prominent local law firm -- and they all wanted discretion.
But FBI agents were listening. Hour after hour, month after month, 10 agents recorded the men's demands, the brothel keepers' deals and the prostitutes' complaints. The agents were listening on Sept. 11, in the days before and in the days after. With 90 calls a day to monitor, the listening post was busy.
"The whole thing is an incredible waste of federal resources," said Arthur A. "Buddy" Lemann III, one of the most experienced of the city's criminal defense lawyers. "To make a federal offense out of it is like using an elephant gun to kill a fly."
I'll leave it to Rich to give us his take on the wiretap issues (local columnist James Gill wrote about how the agents were eagerly taping away on 9/11 whassup with that?). The article quotes Jonathan Turley as a legal expert on Constitutional law isssues; he used to teach here in New Orleans at Tulane (for whatever that's worth). This is one of those stories that may get better coverage by the press outside of New Orleans, if you know what I mean...
From The Onion: WASHINGTON, DC—Assuring the nation that "there is no need for alarm," the Office of Homeland Security issued all U.S. citizens life jackets for some unexplained reason Monday.
Alas, more non-specific threats.
5:09:48 PM
Corporate Blogging & Gonzo Marketing -- Denise this is for you...
Okay, you all can look at it too. I haven't gotten around to reading Gonzo Marketing, but I'm going to have to add it to my list. Meanwhile, I'm definitely adding this site to my list. This guy needs to be closely observed.
2:13:08 PM
Digital Divide and Broadband
From GigaLaw: "The Government Must Help High-Speed Internet, Vint Cerf Says. Cerf said broadband is being stymied by current and proposed policies that allow telephone and cable companies to close their networks and by the issue of protecting copyrighted information online.
I agree. Let's pick up a shovel and go to work guys. The revolution hasn't even begun yet.
1:19:11 PM
I never thought of myself as a filter, but if I'm going to be one then dammit I'm going to be the best filter I can be...
When my daughter Bridget was about four years old I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, and without hesitation she said "I want to be a cow." And I said, "well then try to be the best cow that you can." What did I grow up to be?
I thought I was a lawyer. But, turns out I'm "a filter." (which reminds me of a good cajun joke here that I will gladly E-mail you but can't repeat here).
What am I talking about? Well, first Adam Curry says he likes my site, which is a good thing (he likes me, he likes me, he really likes me). He says he uses me as a "filter for legal news" (boy is he in trouble!). Now Mark Woods says the same thing ("I rely on Ernie and others, who frequently read Jenny and seem to share interests in common with me, to filter out what I need to know from Jenny."). And the Virtual Chase site is touting my weblogNeighborhood as a source for Law & Technology.
I don't know what I am, or what purpose I serve any more. So if people want to use me as a "filter" then that's fine. Just try to respect me in the morning...
The United States scored only a C+, but I'm glad to say that my other country (I hold dual citizenship 'cause my mom was Panamanian) scored a respectable B.
Rich attended the oral argument, and is filing some reports. Since he is a criminal attorney and knows the judges in the Fifth Circuit pretty well I would check his site for updates if you are interested in this case.
Edwin Edwards is the colorful former governor of Louisiana who ran against renowned Nazi David Duke a few years ago. That prompted the effusion of bumper stickers that read "Vote for the Crook, It's Important." Edwards denies he is a crook, but at his first trial had to explain why he went to Vegas with a suitcase containing several hundred thousand dollars in cash.
When he ran against Dave Treen (an incumbent republican governor - and won) he predicted success by telling the press that the only way he would lose was if he "was caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy." Yesterday, when he asked about how the argument went and whether he thought the judges who heard his argument were receptive, he quipped "I never speak ill of dead people or live judges." Stay tuned....
10:54:40 AM
For the corporate lawyer types - a good article from LLRX
From Law.com: "The electronic communications boom brought an increase in electronic eavesdropping, and New Jersey is among the nation's top tappers, says an Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts report. The 99 wiretaps authorized by New Jersey state judges in 2001 was the fourth-highest of any state, behind New York, California and Illinois. Nationally, there was a 25 percent increase from 2000 in court-ordered wiretaps."
From Law.com: "World Trade Center leaseholder Larry Silverstein's hopes for a quick decision finding that the Sept. 11 attacks constituted two occurrences rather than one for insurance purposes were dashed Monday. A federal judge in New York ruled that the term "occurrence" in the coverage for the towers was ambiguous, a decision that paves the way for a jury trial in the dispute -- with stakes that could reach $7.1 billion."
