News & Media
"The assertion that someone is gay is not defamatory"
That’s the holding of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey in Murphy v. Millennium Radio Group LLC, No. 08-1743, Op. at 13 (D.N.J. Mar. 31, 2010). The full opinion is available here. The case, brought by a photographer against two shock jocks, involves a number of issues including copyright infringement and defamation based on claims that the plaintiff, Murphy, was a bad business partner and homosexual. Focusing on the latter issue, the court granted the defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding the speech about Murphy’s business relationships to be rhetorical hyperbole. The court’s grant of summary judgment about the defendants’ claim Murphy was gay, though, represented a clear shift in New Jersey’s law on this
Lane Bryant Got Sexy
By Tatiana von Tauber Big may be sexy but it still ain’t easy. Thank you Lane Bryant for showing us that full-figured women can be incredibly sexy as shown here: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMxyZQfMmM4] Shame the networks , specifically ABC and Fox, find plus size cleavage too controversial and therefore inappropriate to air . Talk about double standard. UPDATE: In this Salon article, Lane Bryant’s curvy models censored? , I was rather interested in the author, Tracy Clark-Flory’s comment: Here is what I do know: I found the Lane Bryant ad to be rather titillating. There is so much more flesh, more cleavage, more bounce!…Regardless of the truth behind this ad war, it is safe to say that many –myself included, I shamefully admit — would find something unnerving
Immigrant Equality under the Law
As an immigrant myself, I went through all kinds of shit to become a naturalized citizen. I am therefore displeased to see any group of people violating the law with impunity and then receiving special favors.
Time to Rile Up Old People About Copyright
I hadn’t heard of the movie Downfall before I saw the parodies on Youtube. But after I saw a few choice ones, it peeked my interest and I bought it off Amazon. I’d link you all to some but the production company has aggressively sent take down notices and they’ve been yanked. When pressed on why they are aggressively sending out take downs, the production company shot back with a couple of tired rationales. First, they felt that they weren’t getting their propers: “We haven’t seen any impact — positive or negative — on DVD sales for ‘Downfall,’. . .It has been very good business for Google and YouTube, but we haven’t seen any change.” Second, Constantin Film takes the
Comedy Central punts on Muhammad (again)
By J DeVoy Comedy Central edited last night’s South Park, where Matt Stone and Trey Parker again tried to push the envelope and depict the prophet Muhammad on national television. Comedy Central also edited the show the last time South Park attempted to show Muhammad. By way of comparison, where were the death threats over this?
Marijuana Legalization and Intellectual Property
Reuters reports on the initiative to legalize marijuana in California. (source) The story claims that a lot of people in heavy growing areas are unsure of whether they want the initiative to pass, since it may mean that big business will move into the weed industry, and local workers who make their money off of pot will be unemployed. That is because legalizing marijuana could turn a cottage industry into Pot Inc. Locals fear big tobacco will swoop in and drive down prices, supplying millions of new, legal pot smokers with “Marlboro Green.” And with that discussion we add in the obligatory ignorance-of-intellectual-property-concepts-quote. Rumors abound in Arcata that the tobacco giants have already snatched up land and copyrights to the
U.S. v. Stevens and being a vegetarian
Jon Katz has a thought provoking piece on how the U.S. v. Stevens case should make us consider our position on eating animals. I wish for Stevens to be an opportunity not only to celebrate and strengthen the First Amendment, but also for people to re-examine their relationship with and treatment of all animals, both of different species and their own species. Human rights violations continue running too rampant worldwide. Too many people accept violence and the threat of violence as normal for controlling others, for flexing muscle, and for carrying out their daily activities. The human-on-human violence and threats of violence include parents who hit their children lightly or more brutally, police and soldiers who lose a sense of
Holy Crap! Erin is Blowjob Girl!
I was just watching The Office and realized that Erin is Blowjob Girl! (THis video went viral back in aught seven) UPDATE: Since most visiting this post are new to the blog, take a look at these links to see what it is all about: CNN: UnAmerican to Silence… Philly Law Blog: Why I went to law school. The Editor on Savage Nation. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hm7pp_JFOs]
Georgetown Law School steps on its dick
I often write about the worthlessness of legal education. Given that I attended Georgetown Law, it doesn’t take a 179 LSAT score to figure out that for the most part, I am talking about that place. Of course, it is nice that they added an olympic sized swimming pool to the place since I graduated. But, I have a funny feeling that GULC grads want jobs, not a big thing of water to play in. The GULC student bar association came up with an idea as to how GULC could serve them better — by offering more credit for externships (you know, real practical experience). Their proposal is here, and they make a reasonable point. Stanford gives 12 externship credits;
ABA 100
Oh yeah, that ABA 100 thing that was going on a few months ago. We won. Why am I only getting around to announcing it now? Lulz, of course.
Malpractice Alert! How did you dispose of your last photocopier?
It seems that photocopiers store a lot of data and when you get rid of an old photocopier, you may be giving away privileged information. Source. That’s why I don’t sell old laptops. I just yank out the hard drive, smash it to smithereens, and then blowtorch the hell out of the actual hard disk.
Australian study shows that strip clubs are safer than churches
The New South Wales Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research showed that you are statistically more likely to be a victim of a crime at church than in a strip club. Places of worship also took the lead in sexual offences (16), theft from motor vehicles (33), resisting arrest (7) and liquor offences (10). Harassment and threatening behaviour at places of worship (30) was over 50percent more than at places of adult entertainment (13). (source)
Rejoice! U.S. v. Stevens Opinion Out! A Sunny Day for the First Amendment!!!
Free speech wins 8-1. The reasons for my joy are pretty clearly laid out here in a prior post on the case. The Government contends that “historical evidence” about the reach of the First Amendment is not “a necessary prerequisite for regulation today,” Reply Brief 12, n. 8, and that categories of speech may be exempted from the First Amendment’s protection without any long-settled tradition of subjecting that speech to regulation. Instead, the Government points to Congress’s “‘legislative judgment that . . . depictions of animals being intentionally tortured and killed [are] of such minimal redeeming value as to render [them] unworthy of First Amendment protection,’” Brief for United States 23 (quoting 533 F. 3d, at 243 (Cowen, J., dissenting)),
Awooooga – U.S. V. Stevens Affirmed
by Christopher Harbin The Supreme Court affirmed the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in U.S. v. Stevens, 8-1. Big Free Speech Victory today. Prior coverage from Randazza here and here. We’ll update later after we’ve dissected the opinion.
Worst. Oral argument. Ever.
By J. DeVoy Oral arguments are strange things. With enough practice, they can be sharp and flawless tools of advocacy, but trying to use them too soon can lead to disaster. I had a case of the latter during a moot court practice last year. Eager to enhance my argument, I tried to go completely without notes for my second or third practice. I also had the added challenge of appearing before my coach and two faculty practice judges. I brought my legal pad just to be safe. I had no intention of needing or using it, but thought that having a hedge against total failure would be a good idea. It was an exciting argument about designated protest areas,
What if Japan had won WWII?
Would life be better or worse? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9uY9NRVVNQ]
Cool Website
Just click over to the HEMA website. Don’t click on any of the products — just watch.
Economist Rap Battle
by Christopher Harbin [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0nERTFo-Sk]
Peter Steele . . . Rest in Slack
By J. DeVoy Peter Steele, singer/bassist for Type O Negative, is dead from heart failure at age 48. His musical openness about death, lust, suicide, love and loss, was inimitable. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DxgVB48JSY&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
Trust and Impaired Driving
by Charles Platt I’d like to extend my previous post on drunk driving to examine the relationship of trust between driver and passengers. If I am a passenger in a car, and the driver knows that I don’t want him to drink, we might argue that a relationship of trust exists, and if the driver is secretly violating that trust, he’s not being ethical. If the passenger is an infant who cannot assess the condition of the driver, the relationship of trust becomes especially clear. What about other people–pedestrians and drivers–sharing the highway? Do they have an implicit relationship of trust with a possibly drunk driver? I don’t think so. I think all of us should operate on the assumption
