LawbeanLawbeanNews blog with editorial commentary covering your rights, privacy, laws, and liberties.
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Google Is Watching You
2007-06-26 17:25:00 BusinessWeek has written an article involving online privacy and Googl e . They mention the Kevin Bankston photographs: Kevin Bankston didn’t think anyone would notice his little cigarette break. His family didn’t know he sometimes snuck a smoke. So Bankston was surprised when a photo of him smoking outside his San Francisco office appeared online several years ... More About: Watching
Directory of Hundreds of Free Online Documentaries
2007-06-26 07:29:00 We just found a great site using StumbleUpon: a directory of hundreds of documentaries, online and streaming for free! Check it out. A Lawbean favorite is “Why We Fight” under the politics section. More About: Free , Directory , Online , Documentaries , Line
Recent Supreme Court Decisions Review
2007-06-26 07:01:00 The Wall Street Journal Online has a great writeup of the recent decisions by the Supreme Court . From the article: …the High Court also tread lightly in two other First Amendment decisions yesterday. In Hein v. Freedom From Religion Foundation, the Court rejected, by a 5-4 vote, a suit against the President’s Office of Faith-Based Initiatives. ... More About: Review , Recent , Decisions
Amnesty International Needs Your Help!
2007-06-24 18:23:00 This showed up in our inboxes from Amnesty Intern ational : In its first week of release, Instant Karma: Amnesty International ’s Campaign to Save Darfur is number #15 on the Billboard Top 200 chart of US album sales. And we are thrilled. But we want to make it to the top 10. You can help: 1. Buy the Instant Karma ... More About: Needs
Internet Radio to Fall Silent in Protest on June 26th
2007-06-23 19:20:00 Thousands of U.S. webcasters plan to turn off the music and go silent this Tuesday, June 26, to draw attention to an impending royalty rate increase that, if implemented, would lead to the virtual shutdown of this country’s Internet radio industry. In March, the Copyright Royalty Board announced that it would raise royalties for Internet broadcasters, ... More About: Radio , Silent , Protest
President Refuses to Enact Laws he Doesn?t Like
2007-06-23 18:28:00 The New York Times writes that President Bush has been notorious for issuing statements taking exception to hundreds of bills as he signs them. This week, we learned that in a shocking number of cases, the Bush administration has refused to enact those laws. Congress should use its powers to insist that its laws are ... More About: Laws , Like , Resident
Subpoenas Issued over NSA Warrantless Wiretapping
2007-06-22 02:01:00 The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to subpoena documents from the Bush Administration related to the government’s admitted eavesdropping on Americans’ overseas emails and phone calls without getting court approval. In a 13-3 vote, the Committee decided to authorize chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) to issue subpoenas for documents related to the NSA warrantless surveillance program. Nearly ... More About: Subpoenas , Wiretapping , Ping , Sued , Issue
Court Ruling Limits Copyright Claims
2007-06-22 01:07:00 A federal appellate panel in Atlanta has reversed its circuit’s 6-year-old opinion in a major copyright case, declaring the ruling’s mandate on behalf of freelance photographers to be “moot.” In doing so, the three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals interpreted a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that expanded freelance writers’ copyrights ... More About: Limits , Copyright , Claims , Copy
The Pirate Bay Launches Uncensored Image Hosting
2007-06-21 18:27:00 BayImg is an uncensored image hosting service. It is the latest side project from the folks who bring you the Pirate Bay. Users of the new service don?t have to sign-up in order to upload images. The site features the use of ?removal codes? that allows users to delete their own files. The site ... More About: Hosting , The Pirate Bay , Image , Image Hosting
Two Girls Kicked off Oregon Bus for Kissing
2007-06-21 17:28:00 The AP writes that a transit agency chief has apologized Wednesday to two teenage girls who were kicked off an Oregon city bus for kissing each other. The girls, both 14, said the driver called them “sickos” after a female passenger complained about their kiss. The driver then stopped the bus along the street and ... More About: Girls , Kissing , Kick
Bush Vetoes Popular Stem Cell Research Bill
2007-06-20 22:08:00 Reuters writes that President George W. Bush on Wednesday vetoed legislation to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research, triggering an uphill battle in the Democratic-led Congress to override him. Two-thirds majority votes would be needed in the Senate and House of Representatives to overcome Bush’s opposition and make the bill law, and backers conceded ... More About: Research , Cell , Popular , Stem Cell Research
Herman Munster?s Identity Stolen by Thieves
2007-06-20 21:35:00 Identity thieves have stolen Herman Munster’s identity. Crooks in an underground chat room for selling stolen credit card numbers and personal consumer information offered pilfered data purportedly about Herman Munster, the 1960s Frankenstein-like character from “The Munsters” TV sitcom. The thieves obviously didn’t recognize Munster as a fictional TV character, and were offering to sell Munster’s ... More About: Stolen , Identity
Homeland Security Hacked Over 800 Times
2007-06-20 20:56:00 A House Homeland Security subcommittee is holding a hearing Wednesday into security breaches, hacking and IT security failure at the Department of Homeland Security . Senior officials acknowledged that there have been a total of more than 800 security incidents in the past two years. The Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be the lead ... More About: Times , Hacked , Elan
Nintedo Sued over Wii Patent Infringement
2007-06-19 23:00:00 The AP writes that a Texas company has sued Nintendo’s US branch, charging that it infringed on a patent in designing the Wii video game system. Lonestar Inventions has asked for triple damages, but no specific amount, and an injunction against Nintendo using the patented technology. The lawsuit was filed last week in federal district ... More About: Infringement , Patent , Tent , Sued
Britain Bans Sale of Manhunt 2
2007-06-19 22:35:00 The AP writes that the British government has banned sales of Manhunt 2. The ratings committee banned sales for what it called an “unremitting bleakness and callousness of tone.” The British Board of Film Classification last banned a game in 1997, when it barred the sale of Carmageddon in which players rack up points by ... More About: Britain , Sale , Manhunt 2 , Hunt
Evidence found in White House E-mail Scandal
2007-06-19 00:24:00 According to a report (pdf) issued by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, at least 88 White House officials used Republican National Committee (RNC) emails for government business. Law requires emails sent by officials to be stored or recorded. There is evidence that White House lawyers and the Attorney General knew of this ... More About: Mail , Evidence , Scandal
Ancestry.com to Add DNA Test Results
2007-06-19 00:10:00 For less than $200 and a cheek-swiped cotton swab, you will soon be able to add DNA results to family tree Web sites. The rapidly growing field of online genealogical searches is expanding to genetic testing, courtesy of a new partnership between the Internet’s largest family history Web site, Ancestry .com, and Sorenson Genomics. Sorenson Genomics, a ... More About: Results , Test , Result
Maine Becomes the First State to Pass Internet Neutrality Legislation
2007-06-16 17:37:00 Maine has become the first state in the union to pass legislation on net neutrality. The resolution, LD 1675, recognizes the importance of ?full, fair and non-discriminatory access to the Internet ? and instructs the Public Advocate to study what can be done to protect the rights of Maine internet users. Small business owners and members of ... More About: State , Legislation , Pass , Stat
YouTube to Begin Using Video Fingerprinting
2007-06-16 05:23:00 The AP writes that YouTube will begin testing video recognition technology in conjunction with Time Warner and Disney. Testing will begin next month in hopes that the software, designed to recognize copyright content in videos, will be ready to roll out later this year, the company said. Google, which now owns YouTube, had agreed to ... More About: Video , Youtube , Inti , Finger , Printing
Judge Orders FBI to Release Abuse Records
2007-06-16 04:31:00 A judge has ordered (pdf) the FBI to release agency records about its abuse of National Security Letters (NSLs) to collect Americans’ personal information. The ruling came just a day after the EFF urged (pdf) the judge to immediately respond in its lawsuit over agency delays. This is the same case in which an internal ... More About: Abuse , Judge , Release , Record , Lease
Microsoft Signs Deal with Linspire
2007-06-16 04:01:00 The AP writes that Microsoft announced it will license instant messaging and digital media technology to Linspire , adding to a growing number of deals that are meant to assist the Windows operating system work more smoothly with open source software. The deal comes as a bit of a surprise as the two companies have clashed ... More About: Signs , Deal , Inspire
RIAA targets Duke music downloads
2007-06-16 01:22:00 The AP writes that the RIAA has filed lawsuits against 28 Duke University computer users who illegally downloaded music onto the school’s computer system. When the RIAA sues, it files a “John Doe” lawsuit. Since it doesn’t know the user(s) behind the IP address, the RIAA has to ask a judge to subpoena the name ... More About: Music , Downloads , Riaa
Bail Denied for Spam King
2007-06-15 20:22:00 The AP writes that the man accused of defrauding people with millions of spam emails has been denied bail today. Judge James P. Donohue said Robert Soloway, 27, of Seattle, should remain in jail until his trial scheduled for Aug. 6 because he has minimal ties to Washington state and has family in Sweden. Soloway, who ... More About: Spam , King
City of Seattle may ban microwave popcorn
2007-06-14 21:49:00 It seems like the indoor smoking ban in Washington State wasn’t enough for some city officials. The City of Seattle recently sent out this memo: M E M O R A N D U M DATE: June 9, 2007 TO: Employees at Civic Center Buildings FROM: FFD Facility Operations Division RE: Burnt Microwave Popcorn and Building Evacuations At our Civic ... More About: Wave
eBay may Lose ?Buy it Now? Button in Patent Case
2007-06-14 17:54:00 eBay has been involved in a legal battle over its “Buy it Now” button for several years. Back in 2003, a federal jury found that eBay had infringed on MercExchange LLC’s patent, but in 2005 the US Supreme Court ruled that MercExchange was not automatically entitled to a court order blocking the offending service, essentially ... More About: Ebay , Button , Case , Patent , Butt
E-voting Reform to be Voted on by the House
2007-06-14 07:31:00 A bill in the House of Representatives threatens to create a major controversy over the conduct of the 2008 election. Several years after its introduction, the Voter Confidence and Increased Accessibility Act looks like it will finally make it to the floor of the House of Representatives for a vote. At the time of this ... More About: Reform , Voting , Form , Ouse
Europe Considering Regulating the Sale of Violent Video Games
2007-06-14 00:43:00 European Union justice ministers met today in order to discuss the regulation of sales of violent video games to minors. Europeans were riled up last year when a German gunman shot several people before taking his life at a secondary school. A European Union Commissioner, taking advantage of the shootings last year, has called for ... More About: Video , Europe , Video Games , Games , Sale
AT&T to Begin Targeting Pirated Content on its Network
2007-06-13 22:46:00 AT&T has joined with Hollywood studios and recording companies in an effort to keep pirated material off its network. It started working with studios and record companies last week in order to develop new anti-piracy technology. AT&T is the United States’ largest telephone and Internet service provider, and it operates the biggest cross-country system for ... More About: Network , Content , Rate , Targeting , Tent
Nokia Countersues Qualcomm
2007-06-13 20:26:00 The Associated Press writes that Nokia , the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has filed a patent infringement countersuit against Qualcomm Monday. Nokia filed the lawsuit in a Texas district court, and it is seeking damages and injunctive relief. Nokia stated that it believes the Qualcomm patents are not valid, as the alleged inventions have been ... More About: Count , Counters , Comm
Comcast, Cox, Verizon, Roadrunner Take Steps to Begin Charging for E-mail
More articles from this author:2007-06-13 07:11:00 Some of the largest ISPs in the United States have begun to support Goodmail, an email and authentication service that charges money in exchange for guaranteed delivery of email. Goodmail then splits the money with your ISP. These four ISPs join AOL and Yahoo! who are already members of the CertifiedEmail program. Although sending certified mail ... More About: Mail , Verizon , E-Mail , Comcast , Road 1, 2 |
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