24
Jun
2008

The Holy Grail of our childhood

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original article

One of gadget blog Gizmodo’s writers, Jesus Diaz, managed to score an invitation to Lego’s Memory Lane. It’s a climate controlled vault storing practically all lego sets ever made.

I had pretty much the same reaction than Jesus describes in his article about the visit when I saw the Space Epxlorer sets in the video. Lots of great memories came to mind some 30 years after I played with those sets.

It’s amazing how these simple toys can act as a platform of imagination running wild. Even now.

-TPP


13
Jun
2008

What a loss

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original article

Tim Russert passed away today.

He was about the only political journalist, who always remained focused on issues rather than personalities or partisan bickering.

It’s a sad day for his family and sad day for anyone interested in great political journalism.

-TPP


09
Jun
2008

Lewis Hamilton doesn’t know if he ruined Kimi Raikkonen’s race

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original article

The Canadian Formula One Grand Prix was interesting to say the least. Lewis Hamilton decides to become color blind approaching a red light at the pit exit and rams Kimi Raikkonen’s car taking both of them out of the race.

Says Lewis Hamilton after the race:

I apologise to Kimi if I ruined his race.

Way to go spinmeister! There are no ifs about it. He did ruin Kimi’s race.

Good luck in Magny Cours. I hope one of those backmarkers you’re starting with pushes you around a little.

-TPP


05
Jun
2008

MPAA demands printers to stop downloading pirated movies

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original article

A study by a group of University of Washington staffers reveal how flimsy the process of identifying copyright offenders used by RIAA/MPAA really is.

During their investigation on who is using and how are BitTorrent trackers used the research team’s automated bots received 400 MPAA DMCA takedown notices without having actually downloaded or uploaded a single pirated movie. Moreover MPAA also sent DMCA takedown notices about files being shared by IP addresses belonging to printers the researchers “framed” to have shared pirated content.

The research team’s findings should ring alarm bells within the justice system. It is clear the methodology used by RIAA/MPAA to identify copyright infringers is completely inadequate and does in no way meet even the lowest standards of burden of proof.

-TPP


04
Jun
2008

Jack Thompson had his day in court and he lost

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original article

Mr. Jack Thompson’s been in a wee bit of trouble with the Florida Bar Association lately. They want him disbarred (or sanctioned in some other way). A judge hearing the case against him recently recommended he found guilty for 27 of the 31 bar rules violations he was facing.

Today the same judge held a hearing for recommending penalties for the violations.

The judge’s recommendation is “enhanced disbarment” for 10 years. If the recommendation is upheld in the September 2nd hearing of the Florida Supreme Court, Mr. Jack Thompson’s law “career” is over. Not that he’s done any actual legal work for quite some time being so busy fighting the evils of video games, but it’s still good news. At least after September 2nd it’s unlikely that he can be presented to the general public by the likes of Fox News as anyone even close to reputable. “Disbarred Attorney” sounds so much worse than “First Amendment Attorney”.

Mr. Thompson didn’t take all this beating unopposed, of course. He objected to the entire proceeding with a 14-page, 4,500 word objection that was just as rambling as any of his “legal” “arguments” of late. Suffice to say the objection didn’t have any impact whatsoever to the hearing. And so Mr. Thompson decided to make his point even more pointedly and marched out of the court room like a little child marches off the sandbox when the other kids don’t let him play with their toys. You sure told them Jackhole!

I don’t think there’s any doubt in anyone’s mind that the recommendations will be followed in the September 2nd hearing. My only wish is for that day to be sooner.

Good riddance to bad rubbish!

-TPP


28
May
2008

Fox News goes all out fair and balanced on Barack Obama

Published in Uncategorized. 1 Comment Tags: , , .
original article

A Fox News contributor, Liz Trotta, apparently thinks we would all be better off if both Osama Bin Laden and Barack Obama were dead. She wished “both of them” were dead on live TV on May 25th.

This is, of course, a somewhat expected escalation of the “fair and balanced” reporting from Fox News. Day in and day out they demonize their “opponents” with nastiness not seen in network TV before.

You gotta wonder what happens to individuals advocating assassinating presidential candidates. At Fox News…probably a promotion and a raise.

-TPP


23
May
2008

Stepneygate 101

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original article

Wired has published an excellent article about the Stepnegate Formula One spy scandal from last summer. The article is written by writer Mark Seal.

The article describes what transpired, why Nigel Stepney did it, how he was caught, and many reactions from stakeholders. It’s an excellent and quite in depth look into one of the most bizarre and, yes, interesting events to ever have happened to Formula One.

-TPP


20
May
2008

Judge recommends Jack Thompson to be found guilty of 27 charges of misconduct

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original article

Mr., and I use the term loosely, Jack Thompson has been facing misconduct charges from his antics in fighting the evils of video games in several jurisdictions for quite some time.

The judge presiding over the hearings that took place last fall has issued a preliminary report on her findings. She is recommending the Florida Supreme Court find Jack Thompson guilty of 27 out of 31 misconduct charges, incl.:

  • Knowingly making a false statement of material fact or law to a tribunal
  • Knowingly disobeying an obligation under the rules of a tribunal
  • Communicating the merits of the case with a judge before whom the proceeding is pending
  • Using means that have no purpose other than to embarrass, delay or burden a third person
  • Engaging in conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation
  • Engaging in conduct in connection with the practice of law that is prejudicial to the administration of justice, including to knowingly or through callous indifference disparage or humiliate litigants or other lawyers
  • Making statements that the lawyer knows to be false or with reckless disregard as to the truth or falsity concerning the qualifications or integrity of a judge

I don’t really see any room to wiggle here. The charges sound serious enough to warrant disbarment.

The final ruling by the Florida Supreme Court is due out later in the year.

-TPP


15
May
2008

Jammie Thomas is possibly getting a new trial

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original article

The judge, who presided over Capitol vs. Thomas suit filed by RIAA against Jammie Thomas, is considering granting Jammie Thomas a new trial, because an “error in law” might’ve resulted in the wrong verdict.

Specifically the issue is with one of the instructions the judge gave to the jury in the case. He instructed the jury that making files available for download is the same as actually distributing the files in the eyes of the law. The judge is now reversing his direction based on other cases where the “making available” theory has been debunked.

Jammie Thomas is the person who was found guilty of copyright infringement and ordered to pay $222,000 (over 10,000 times the times of the cost of the music she was allegedly sharing) in damages.

-TPP


13
May
2008

Torture on US soil, pt II

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original article

I wrote last year about two lawsuits filed against the US Government by two immigrants deported from the country. The deportees claimed the US immigration officials escorting them out of the country drugged them with powerful antipsychotic drugs against their will and with no medical reason to pacify them while they were in custody and en route back to their home countries. Both those cases have since been settled out of court in favor of the deportees.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) changed its rules regarding Involuntary chemical restraint of detainees (i.e. torture) after the lawsuits so that any such actions requires a court order, but a Washington Post article investigating the issue says ICE has continued to ignore its rules.

Haldol, one of the drugs routinely administered to deportees, has been in used in Soviet Union, where it was often given to political dissidents imprisoned in psychiatric hospitals. It is good to know “cultural” exchange with the Soviet Union is still bearing fruit.

-TPP