Month: August 2007

Gambling Dispute With a Tiny Country Puts U.S. in a Bind – New York Times

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The US-Antigua dispute over Net gambling is escalating, and it’s hit the NY Times, which means that it’s really hit the mainstream, but before I get into that, I have to acknowledge Dean Bakers incisive analaysis, and the magnificent snark therein, where he says “Antigua Threatens the United States with Free Trade“, which is absolutely true. IP restrictions are restrictions on trade through exclusive licensing.

A brief recap on the whole Internet gambling business, the US implemented an internet casino gambling ban. It still allows for other internet gambling, “including the online purchase of lottery tickets*, participation in Web-based pro sports fantasy leagues and off-track wagering on horse racing.”

Online casinos are a big part of the Antiguan economy. It’s the 2nd largest employer on the Island.

So Antigua takes it to the WTO, Antigua wins. Big whoop. Really….Who cares. If they are allowed to place tarrifs on US cars, or toothpaste, what difference does it make? Their population is around 70,000, so it’s a negligible impact, right?

Wrong

What the Antigua asked for, and received as a sanction was the right to ignore US IP restrictions, and to distribute US IP protected products without restriction.

While the drug manufacturers have nothing to fear, it’s not like they are going to become a Viagra® manufacturing powerhouse, the makers of non-tangible items, like movies, music, software, etc. are in the process of freaking out, which looks something like this: , because the island is well wired (from the online Casinos), and can set up an operation that would make AllofMP3.com look like a Sunday social.

Truth be told, the consequences will not be as dire as IP companies will make out. I expect that very few people who would otherwise pay for these products will download them, and my guess is that these companies know that.

The reason that they are concerned is that if I am right, and the consequences will be minor, then you will see another argument against draconian IP restrictions, because the sky did not fall.

This may be of particular interest to the Chinese too, as this ruling could be extended to the “Great Firewall of China.

*On the matter of state lottery tickets, I believe that they should be treated differently, being a state run activity and a revenue generator, but when we signed onto the WTO, it specifically forbade this.

New York Politics: Have I Mentioned Lately that Republicans Suck Wet Farts From Dead Pigeons?

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As you may or may not be aware, New York Governor Elliot Spitzer and Republican Senate Leader Joseph Bruno have been in a bit of a pissing contest lately.

Bruno used state travel resources, including helicopters to go on political junkets, and Spitzer used the state police to document it and leak it to the press.

At this point, you could call it a run of the mill political pissing contest, with the Republican controlled state senate investigating misuse of the state police, and stricter rules being implemented on use of official travel, but the Republicans hired a man with the ability, and the history, that allowed him to take this well into the twilight zone of sleaze, Roger J. Stone Jr.

Mr. Stone, the youngest of Nixon’s dirty tricks sleaze operatives at 19, while still a student at George Washington University, he has not mellowed with age.

Well, Roger Stone made threatening phone calls to Elliot Spitzer’s 83 year old father. He was threatening arrest over a campaign loan that was made to an earlier Spitzer campaign, and he called the governor a “phony” and a “psycho.”

Caller ID confirmed that the phone was in his apartment, and in his wife’s name.

Stone has been fired, but is claiming innocence, maintaining that his landlord is a Democrat, and that he allowed someone into his apartment to make the call.

Of note, this is the same excuse he used in 1996, when it turned out that he and his wife put out ads in a swingers publications looking for group sex. (Ad here if you can stomach it) He claimed that someone had stolen his information, and sock puppeted him.

Yeah, right. Yeah, right. They were SO scared of you that they broke into your apartment, and made threatening phone calls to an old dude.

He’s also the most likely guy to have fed Dan Rather the forged docs about Bushes military (non)record.

Good News: The Constitution Applies to Gays Too

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Oklahoma has a lay which forbids recognition of gay adoptions. The federal court of appeals struck down down the law. It violates the U.S. Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause, which requires states to honor one another’s judicial judgments, including adoptions.

Good news. The law was mean spirited, Un-American, and probably got the full endorsement of both the Taliban and Al-Queida.

A Clarification on My ADL Post

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Regarding my prior ADL post, a clarification:

I think that their mealy mouth nod to genocide is insufficient, and that their position opposing the congressional resolution is morally reprehensible, and tantamount to denying the genocide.

Had they made no statement on the congressional resolution, and it’s clearly outside of their purview, I would have had no issue, but given that they have, they need to reverse themselves, and formally endorse this resolution.

The Judge Gave You 500 Quid for What???

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It appears that a man held up a bookie with pretending that a “rabbit” vibrator was a handgun.

One of the bookie’s customers (they are legal in the UK), Wayne Vakani, followed the man out, and managed to secure enough information, a hat from which the police drew DNA evidence, that the police were able to nab the perp.

The judge awarded Mr. Vakani £500 for his bravery.

I do understand that his actions were actually brave, he didn’t know it was not a gun, but I can imagine the ribbing that he is going to get from his buddies, something like, “Drinks on you mate, you’ve got the cash after standing up to a phony pickle wielding maniac.”

He’ll never hear the end of it.

How To Get Out of a Deceptive Mortgage

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(Via the Big Picture)It appears that failure to disclose loan terms according to the Truth-in-Lending laws can change the loan status.

It turns out that there is a provision in the Truth-in-Lending Act that allows debtors to rescind their loan and void their mortgages if the terms of the loan are not clearly spelled out.
You still owe the money, but they are now just another creditor, at the back of the line, and protections from homestead provisions and bankruptcy would still apply.

One wonders how *chough* Alan Greenspan ignoring the Fed’s role in mortgage lending *cough* the lenders could have screwed up so badly on something that was both cheap and easy.

This is a Cover Up

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This is mighty convenient, they are dropping the most serious charges against the only officer charged in the Abu Ghraib affair.

They send a bunch of soldiers and non-coms to jail, but when it comes time to try a relatively senior officer, one who probably has the goods on higher ups, there are procedural issues.

Yeah Right.

A military judge on Monday dismissed two of the most serious charges against Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, 51, a reservist, after a general who investigated the scandal acknowledged he had not read Jordan his rights before interviewing him. The action left Jordan still facing four counts and a possible 8 1/2 years in prison.

Prosecutors on Monday amended one of those remaining counts, a cruelty and maltreatment charge, by narrowing its scope from three months to one day.

Is it just me, or has someone ordered these guys to throw the case?

…

In court Monday morning, prosecutor Lt. Col. John P. Tracy announced that Maj. Gen. George Fay had contacted prosecutors Sunday to say that he “misspoke” during a March 12 pretrial hearing in which he testified under oath that he had advised Jordan of his rights during an interview in 2004.

Tracy said Fay realized his error while preparing to testify at Jordan’s trial this week. Fay told government lawyers that “he indeed did not read Lt. Col. Jordan his rights,” Tracy said.

Does Fay have it right now? Or is he lying to keep things out of the public lie? If he did neglect to read him his rights, was it intentional, to provide a “get out of jail free” card for silence?

Jordan’s defense, led by Capt. Samuel Spitzberg contends that although Jordan was the titular head of the interrogation center, he spent most of his time trying to improve Soldiers’ deplorable living conditions at Abu Ghraib. The defense argued during an October hearing that interrogation conditions were set by two other officers: Col. Thomas Pappas, an intelligence brigade commander who was the highest-ranking officer at Abu Ghraib, and Capt. Carolyn Wood, leader of a unit within the interrogation center called the Interrogation Command Element.

Neither Pappas nor Wood has been charged with crimes. Pappas was reprimanded and fined $8,000 for once approving the use of dogs during an interrogation without higher approval.

So, now that Jordan can roll over on regular army officers, and ones who do know how high it goes, suddenly, there are “procedural errors”.

Mighty convenient, that.

Anyone Got a Spare Flux Capacitor?

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It appears that the car made famous in back to the future, the De Lorean, is re-entering production next year, albeit in a hand built form. At $58K, it’s pretty cheap for a handbuild (and cheaper than the original adjusting for inflation), and it might actually succeed, if just because they are shooting for lower numbers (about 2/month) for success than the original, which was intended for mass production.

The company that’s doing this, which sells refurbed De Loreans right now, has about 200 of the original engines on hand, though one hopes that they can coercesome more horsepower out of it.

Job Cuts Surge in Financial Industry

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There is a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing job cuts in the financial industry skyrocketing this year. There have been about 88K redundancies so far this year, as versus about 50K for all of last year. Extending the numbers out, it looks like there will be 104+K job losses this year in the industry.

The question of course is, now that we don’t actually make anything here, what are we going to do when people cannot get jobs selling houses or financial instruments to outselves?

Buh-Bye, Johnny Boy

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Admittedly, the election is not until 2010, but a new poll has Janet Napolitano leading John McCain in the Arizona Senate race by 47% to 36%.

The election is three years off, but McCain is in serious trouble. 37% is abysmal.

People now see him as a pathetic sick old man.

How much do you want to bet that there will be a McCain banner ad on my site in the next 24 hours because of the? God bless Google ads, at the rate that it’s generating revenue for me, I should be able to take my wife out to a swanky dinner to celebrate McCain’s defeat…just barely.

Bush Administration Running Attack Ads Against….Republicans?

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Well, it appears that an Astroturf group loaded with money from Bush contributors, Freedom Watch, is doing its bit to try to extend the war in Iraq: It’s running attack ads against Republicans who are going weak kneed on the war.

Seriously, this is being run through either current, or former, or soon to be former *cough* Rove *cough*Bush political operatives.

Quoting Politico:

“For those who believe in peace through strength, the cavalry is coming,” said former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, who is a founding board member of the group.

The big ad buy, funded by high-profile Republicans who were aides and supporters of President Bush, reflects a furious public relations battle that will unfold as Congress debates the crucial progress report by Gen. David Petraeus, which is due Sept. 15.

BTW, there is no Petraeus report. The Bush White House is writing the report with “input” from Petraeus.

FWIW, Tom Matzzie of Americans Against Escalation in Iraq has written their spokesman, Ari Fleischer, a thank you note, in which an analysis of the first ad buy is made, 37 targeting Republicans vs. 4 Democrats, and only one of the Democrats is not sharing a District with a Republican.

BTW, one of the people that they are targeting is Mitch McConnell, Republican leader of the Senate.

This is truly a WTF moment, and typifies Bush’s idea of loyalty. Even if it does not backfire, and I think that it will, because it shows how narrow and petty Bush and His Evil Minions&trade are, it gets these folks voting pro-war, and makes them vulnerable.

He’s crossing a line, a very big one, and it might be enough to shake some Republicans loose from mindlessly goose-stepping with him.

Do Not Give to the ADL Until It Tells The Truth About the Armenian Genocide

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Speaking as a Jew, and a Zionist, it is with no small amount of disappointment that I call on all people, regardless of faith to neither contribute to, or work with, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which was one the premier organizations opposing anti-Semitism.

They have formally come out in opposition to the congressional resolution decrying the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire during WW I. This Genocide is a FACT, and the idea that they would align themselves with those who would deny this fact is deplorable.

Their excuse is that modern Turkey, whose government had no role in the Genocide is an ally of Israel, and they do not wish to offend them. This is wrong and counter-productive.

What’s more, They fired a longtime ADL and activist because he acknowledged the genicide, which resulted in two of the regional board resigning.

Their statement follows, and I am willing to allow a representative to post here unedited to present their side.

ADL Statement on the Armenian Genocide
New York, NY, August 21, 2007
Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today issued the following statement:

In light of the heated controversy that has surrounded the Turkish-Armenian issue in recent weeks, and because of our concern for the unity of the Jewish community at a time of increased threats against the Jewish people, ADL has decided to revisit the tragedy that befell the Armenians.

We have never negated but have always described the painful events of 1915-1918 perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire against the Armenians as massacres and atrocities. On reflection, we have come to share the view of Henry Morgenthau, Sr. that the consequences of those actions were indeed tantamount to genocide. If the word genocide had existed then, they would have called it genocide.

I have consulted with my friend and mentor Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel and other respected historians who acknowledge this consensus. I hope that Turkey will understand that it is Turkey’s friends who urge that nation to confront its past and work to reconcile with Armenians over this dark chapter in history.

Having said that, we continue to firmly believe that a Congressional resolution on such matters is a counterproductive diversion and will not foster reconciliation between Turks and Armenians and may put at risk the Turkish Jewish community and the important multilateral relationship between Turkey, Israel and the United States.

I wonder if I’ll get a post from Serdar Argic.

Military Drugs

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I’ve come across an interesting report on military research into disabling drugs. Normally, one would thing of things like tear gas, but here they are talking about hallucinogens, and “relaxing agents”.

Of note is that the use of such agents by the military is expressly forbidden under the chemical warfare treaties, on the theory that their use would inevitably lead to full blown poison gas use.

This is precisely what happened in the Iran/Iraq war, where tear gas use escalated into poison gas attacks.

Maybe Bush Just Hates Kids

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Remember when I said in jest that Bush wants American children to die? It may have been reality.

The Bush administration and China have both undermined efforts to tighten rules designed to ensure that lead paint isn’t used in toys, bibs, jewelry and other children’s products.

Remember when all the wingers were claiming that Clinton was selling the US out to China because of some chump change at a campaign event at a Buddhist temple? Well, now we have the Bush administration poisoning children at China’s behest.

The Bush administration has hindered regulation on two fronts, consumer advocates say. It stalled efforts to press for greater inspections of imported children’s products, and it altered the focus of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), moving it from aggressive protection of consumers to a more manufacturer-friendly approach.

….

In March 2006, a 4-year-old Minnesota boy died of lead poisoning after swallowing a metal charm that came with Reebok shoes. The charm was found to contain more than 90 percent lead.

….

China remains very much under the microscope. It’s fighting a CPSC proposal to bring the lead restrictions in children’s jewelry to the same levels as those imposed on toys and furniture — six hundred parts per million, which effectively amounts to a ban.

….

But in a March 12 filing, China was the only one of 48 interested parties to tell the panel that it opposed new restrictions on lead paint in children’s jewelry. Guo LiSheng, the deputy director of a Chinese global trade agency, warned against “unnecessary obstacles to trade” and advocated international rules that allow some lead content. He added that good product labeling was sufficient.

That boy is dead because of someone that George W. Bush employs.

Romney Repudiates Mormon Dogma for Political Gain

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Well, it appears that in order to appeal to Christian Evangelicals, Mitt Romney is repudiating Mormon Dogma. No surprise there from Mr. Flip Flop.

But for those trained to hear the subtleties, Mr. Romney was acknowledging something more. He implied an opposition to the birth control pill and a willingness to join in their efforts to scale back access to contraception. There are code phrases to listen for – and for those keeping score, Mr. Romney nailed each one.

One code phrase is: “I fought to define life as beginning at conception rather than at the time of implantation.” The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists defines pregnancy as starting at implantation, the first moment a pregnancy can be known. Anti-abortion advocates want pregnancy to start at the unknown moment sperm and egg meet: fertilization. They’d also like you to believe, despite evidence to the contrary, that the birth control pill prevents that fertilized egg from implanting in the womb.

This runs counter to Mormon doctrine, which says that a fertilized ovum does not have a soul until implantation, and hence it is not a human life.

It’s why the Church of Latter Day Saints supports stem cell research, and such anti-abortion stalwarts as Orin Hatch support embryonic stem cell research.

One more case of Romney pandering over what he claims to be deeply held beliefs.

On another note, this further indicates that the religious right wants to ban all forms of birth control, because otherwise, Romney would not have felt compelled to make this statement.

Hat tip to Talking Points Memo for finding this.