Yearly Archives: 2003

“What a powerful tool an irony-free mind can be”

Posted on October 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Michael Kinsley nails it in Why Bush Angers Liberals. My main puzzlement is, what makes Kinsley think only liberals think like this? Or, if he's right, why do only liberals think like this?

Posted in Politics: US | Comments Off on “What a powerful tool an irony-free mind can be”

The World Needed This

Posted on October 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

If you have no interest in learning better Linux or Perl, skip this. If you are a Linux or Perl Deity, skip this. If, like me, you want to improve your basic Linux and pidgin Pearl to, say, halting fluency, help is a download away. Get the The Regex Coach – interactive regular expressions. Download it, and rejoice to live in a world in which people just make free useful goodies available for the rest of us.

Posted in Software | 2 Comments

Resolution 1151: A Famous Victory or an Infamous One?

Posted on October 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

The Washington Post is suggesting that the passage of Security Council Resolution 1511 is not a major victory for the Bush administration as “a range of analysts said the final vote, while far better than a withdrawal or a resolution approved with numerous abstentions, is too weak to be considered much of a victory.”

Not so fast. At first glance, Resolution 1511 is a very big win for US contractors seeking to profiteer from the Iraqi reconstruction — and those firms will no doubt make their gratitude felt to the Administration in a tangible way.

Continue reading →

Posted in Law: International Law | Comments Off on Resolution 1151: A Famous Victory or an Infamous One?

U.Miami Plans to Raise $1 Billion

Posted on October 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

It's official. U.M. President Donna Shalala has unveiled the great fundraising campaign for the University of Miami, code-named Momentum. And the goal is not small—a cool $1 billion by mid-2007, although I think this sum includes donations to things like scholarships as well as gifts to capital.

Actually, like most university capital campaigns, it began before it began, and we now have more than half donated or pledged.

Unfortunately for me, it looks as if the medical school will not just get the lion's share, but a couple dozen other shares too. The law school's share in all this is, well, quite small in the grand scheme of things, and less than double what is to be earmarked for ROTC.

Posted in U.Miami | Comments Off on U.Miami Plans to Raise $1 Billion

$50 Million to Burn In SCO’s Campaign Against Linux

Posted on October 17, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

A venture capital firm called Baystar Capital was crazy enough to invest $50 million in SCO, the people making what appear to the naked eye to be highly preposterous claims about 'owning' unix. (Full details at Groklaw, of course.) If this is a Microsoft-inspired way of keeping a cloud on the legal status of Linux, it's depressing. If the Baystar people actually are wrong enough to think that SCO has a case, that's really depressing — think of all the better uses for $50 million! (And if you want better investments in the internet/tech field, call me — I can point you to a really great investment you can make for one twentieth of that amount.)

There is of course a third logical possibility, however unlikely: Baystar have made a smart bet. Very unlikely, and far too depressing to contemplate.

Posted in Law: Copyright and DMCA | 1 Comment

Unhappy Troops

Posted on October 16, 2003 by Michael Froomkin

Another false thing Fred Barnes said the other day was that our troops in Iraq are really happy to be there. The audience found that not credible (“read the letters to Stars and Stripes” I shouted, but couldn't be heard over the other incredulous reactions). Now that low morale is on the front page of the Washington Post, maybe he'll retire that talking point? See Many Troops Dissatisfied, Iraq Poll Finds: “A broad survey of U.S. troops in Iraq by a Pentagon-funded newspaper found that half of those questioned described their unit's morale as low and their training as insufficient, and said they do not plan to reenlist.”

Clinton left Bush a great Army, and Bush is destroying it.

Posted in Iraq | Comments Off on Unhappy Troops