News & Media
Naw, Really?
From the cover of the June 2010 “Vermont Catholic” magazine. Okay, feel free to suggest your captions for the above photo below.
Teen girls using "rhythm method" increase 55%
By J. DeVoy A recent CDC report shows that from 2006-2008, 17% of surveyed teen girls were using the rhythm method of birth control, up from 11% in 2002. For those unfamiliar with this method, there isn’t too much “method” to it – the girl just tries to time her cycle and avoid intercourse when she’s fertile. This tends to be very unreliable in light of cell biology and bodily functions, as sperm can live up to a full week after the act. This leads to some uncomfortable conclusions: The increase in the rhythm method may be part of the explanation for recent trends in the teen birth rate. The teen birth rate declined steadily from 1991 through 2005, but rose from 2005
Ashley Madison dating service shows more strength
By J. DeVoy I previously wrote about Ashley Madison‘s growth in Toronto, which alone contributes more than 12,000 women married for less than three years to the site’s total membership. Now it has thrown down an undisclosed sum to sponsor the 2011 AVN Awards Show. The AVN awards show, viewed by more than two million households during its 2010 broadcast on Showtime, is serious business within the adult entertainment industry. Ashley Madison’s unique selling proposition is pairing married men with married women, counting on mutually assured destruction to do the rest. Skeptics attribute its purported growth to “bot” populations – script-generated profiles that contact and reply to members – or other slight of hand. Noel Biderman, Ashley Madison’s CEO, explains
Reposting Stories Is Like Grand Theft Auto? Really?
Clarifies a copyright infringement analogy found in the Las Vegas Review-Journal that compared infringement to stealing a car. Randazza pointed out that copyright infringement doesn’t steal property so its owner cannot use it, but dilutes the ways in which it can be used for a profit. The Las Vegas Review-Journal, through an entity known as Righthaven LLC, is suing alleged copyright infringers who reposted news stories and demanding maximum damages for this claimed infringement. Beyond the punishment not fitting the putative crime, these lawsuits are strategic litigation against public participation, or SLAPP suits, designed to make the defendant do what the larger, better-funded plaintiff desires irrespective of the defendant’s rights. Read more…
Postscript – we totally were right
By J. DeVoy How To Destroy Angels, Trent Reznor’s new project, released its new album free of digital rights management and cost. The “free” download is available here — but by accepting it, you consent to have band-related e-mail sent to that account. On the revenue side, there’s traditional band merchandise like shirts and posters, and the album will be released on vinyl in the future. The latter strategy seems outdated, but audiophile favorites like Tool and The Brian Jonestown Massacre have been pursuing this resurgent market for several years.
NASA photographs reveal extent of BP oil leak
By J. DeVoy Discussing the environment normally isn’t our schtick, but technology is another matter. NASA’s imaging technology has captured the following images of the growing Gulf spill, helping those not in the region get a sense of the slick’s scope and significance. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCWW5xt3Hc8&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Of course, that’s just oil visible from the surface. The leak is a mile underwater where intense pressure and cold temperatures create unusual environments for many molecules. British Petroleum’s first attempt to cap the spill failed because gases piped to the gulf floor crystallized into solids, causing unforeseen problems and ultimately thwarting that plan. For the same reasons, oil has been trapped in massive plumes beneath the water’s surface — something that defies conventional wisdom, as
Blondes having more fun
By J. DeVoy If you were in Riga, Latvia this Memorial Day weekend, you would have seen the 2010 Go Blonde parade. Naturally, (no pun intended) there are photos. H/T: Ferdinand
GooGoo For Gaga Feminism
By Tatiana Von Tauber Lady Gaga is one rockin’ feminist and seemed rather proud of it during her interview with Larry King: “ Some of the things that I wear … lots of the new more original pieces, they’re meant to be kind of a rejection of what people view about women… I am a feminist. I want to change the way people view women…” Ultimately Gaga wants to create new limits for women. She’s not alone. The first and foremost thing to remember when taking up the challenge of creating new limits for women (or oneself) is that it takes balls and it take more than two. Many women don’t have any as they’re too worried about what others will think
Barbecue Heaven
On my flight yesterday, I had the good fortune to meet the world’s leading expert on the art of barbecue cooking, Steven Raichlen. In addition to being a hell of a fascinating guy, he is a hell of a nice guy. (There was only one milk left on the plane, and he gave it up to Natalia — awww).
Hulk Hogan Brings Questionable Right of Publicity Suit
Hulk Hogan a/k/a Terry Bollea thinks that a character in a Cocoa Pebbles commercial (shown below) is too similar to him — and that it misappropriates his image or likeness for a commercial purpose. If that is the case, it is a no-no under Fla. Stat. § 540.08, which protects Floridians from unlawful commercial appropriation of their name or likeness. In Hulk’s corner, the character in the commercial has long blonde hair, a mustache, and is called either “Hulk Boulder” or “Bulk Boulder.” I can’t really tell. In Post’s corner, it seems that the wrestler in the ad has a lot less forhead, a very different mustache, no headband, no Oakleys, and doesn’t seem to use the Hulkster’s gravely voice.
LSAT improvement: $8-11.5k
By J. DeVoy The LSAT summer intensive preparation regimen from Kaplan: $7,999 for the program; $11,499 with housing included. Ready to do anything it takes to achieve a powerhouse LSAT score? Then, immerse yourself in the most concentrated LSAT prep experience ever: 6 weeks in a distraction-free setting—300 hours of nothing but LSAT prep with an all-star faculty and in-depth personal attention. But matriculants do get to live in Boston, and Boston University, where the course is held, is in a nice part of town.
How does Hulu work, then?
By J. DeVoy New records indicate that Google offered Viacom $592 million to license its shows and movies to YouTube shortly after acquiring the video website. This revelation stems from Viacom’s ongoing copyright suit against Google and YouTube, filed in March 2007. In a deposition given by Google co-founder Larry Page on October 1, 2009, a Viacom lawyer pointed out that Google’s senior management made an offer to Viacom that Google had figured was worth $592 million. Later during the deposition, Stuart Baskin, a Viacom attorney, presented Page with copies of internal Google correspondence that he said showed Google had concluded by November 14, 2006–a month after Google acquired YouTube–that Viacom’s video was the “most valuable content of any other premium
Joe Francis Cease and Desist Fail
by Christopher Harbin Joe Francis, of Girls Gone Wild fame, is a fine, upstanding gentleman with an impeccable record of conduct. Too bad his lawyers can’t seem to get their websites straight when issuing cease and desist notices. I wish you all the best, Mr. Francis.
Coalition Requests Inquiry into Hate Speech
by Charles Platt The National Hispanic Media Coalition, which contains groups with harmless or even benign-sounding names such as Free Press, the Media Access Project, Common Cause, and the Prometheus Radio Project, renewed its demands earlier this month for the FCC to investigate “hate speech” and “misinformation” in the media. “Hate has developed as a profit-model for syndicated radio and cable television programs masquerading as ‘news’,” they write. And as for the Internet, it “gives the illusion that news sources have increased, but in fact there are fewer journalists employed now than before . . . . Moreover, on the Internet, speakers can hide in the cloak of anonymity, emboldened to say things that they may not say in the
More and More Lawsuits Over Rants on the Web That Blast Businesses
Addresses the nature of lawsuits filed by businesses to silence critics, focusing on the T&J Towing case where the company sued the creator of a critical Facebook group for defamation. Such lawsuits are often called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, and are brought by companies to silence less powerful critics. These suits are increasingly being used with social media such as Facebook and Twitter, and seek to silence criticism rather than to cure real wrongs. Read more…
Elitism is good for the Supreme Court
By J. DeVoy While the initial furor over Elena Kagan’s nomination for John Paul Stevens’s seat on the Supreme Court has died down, lingering questions remain about the desirability of a high court comprised entirely of graduates from Harvard’s and Yale’s law schools. Normally I disagree with Elie Mystal, but he articulated the need for elite legal minds on the Supreme Court fairly well in this post. Whether or not Elena Kagan is one of those elite legal minds is an open question, as much of her career was spent as an administrator rather than an academic or practicing attorney — and never as a judge. The fact that she, or anyone else, attended top universities and law schools should
Venting Online, Consumers Can Find Themselves in Court
Analyzing the changing nature of business defamation, as the electronic age has ushered in a new era where constitutionally protected speech critical of a business can be heard and read the world over. For some consumers, including the creator of a Facebook group criticizing T&J Towing, this results in businesses suing them to protect their reputation from perceived attacks. Such lawsuits are often called strategic lawsuits against public participation, or SLAPP suits, and are brought by companies to silence less powerful critics. Read more…
Dear Leader Randazza Quoted in NYT Article on SLAPP Suits
by Christopher Harbin Marc was recently quoted in the paper of record regarding Slapp suits. One tidbit of the article stood out as odd to me: “The group Medical Justice, which helps protect doctors from meritless malpractice suits, advises its members to have patients sign an agreement that gives the doctor copyright over a Web posting if the patient mentions the doctor or practice.” I don’t condone this practice, but would the doctors want an assignment of copyright rather than a non-disclosure agreement? Wouldn’t fair use basically eviscerate any control the doctor or practice might have? Also, what about non-copyrightable statements. For example, “My doctor cut off the wrong leg” and “My doctor is a crook” contain no protectable expression, so I’m pretty
Video Game Playthrough Footage Should Be Fair Use
by Christopher Harbin It’s pretty easy to get duped into buying a crappy video game. A lot of video game marketing is pretty shady. Submitted for your consideration: the Madden “bullshot.” Bullshots are promotional screen captures released by game companies that bear absolutely no resemblance to the final product. Gameplay footage released by game companies can be even more misleading. Some games don’t even fairly represent the correct genre. I’m looking at you, Brutal Legend. As one of the “have it right this second” generation, I buy my games on release day before the reviews are out. And because you can’t return video games after they’ve been played, I have been burned more times than I can count. Hellgate: London was so bad, I
