Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Take Two, They’re Small

Posted on September 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Having just read Billmon's lament that blogs are selling out, it was something of a shock to learn from an email correspondent just how low my market value seems to be (jpeg).

Posted in Discourse.net | 6 Comments

UM Drinks the DRM Kool Aid

Posted on September 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

UM has become one of the first ten universities to sign up for Napster's “free” online music access. Sadly, this came at the urging of the student government.

For a fixed fee paid by the University, all undergrads get unlimited access to Napster's music library, from which they download DRM'ed files that can only be copied twice and can't be put on DVD without paying a dollar per song.

Given the 3.5 year life of the average PC that means today's freshmen will lose their music libraries around when they get their Ph.D's.

And this is called “outsmarting the pirates”! More like “outsmarting yourself” I'd think.

For some useful background on this “service”, see the invaluable Ernest Miller's Notes on Napster's Matriculation at Penn State, where he collects links so I don't have to. See also Slashdot's debate.

Posted in Law: Copyright and DMCA | 8 Comments

Cat Stevens Victim of Typo?

Posted on September 27, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

My high school classmate Sally Donnelly, or someone with the same name employed by TIME magazine, writes in You Say Yusuf, I Say Youssouf… that,

The Yusuf Islam incident earlier this week, in which the former Cat Stevens was denied entry into the U.S. when federal officials determined he was on the government's “no-fly” antiterror list, started with a simple spelling error. According to aviation sources with access to the list, there is no Yusuf Islam on the no-fly registry, though there is a “Youssouf Islam.” The incorrect name was added to the register this summer, but because Islam's name is spelled “Yusuf” on his British passport, he was allowed to board a plane in London bound for the U.S.

Homeland Security Dept. at work. Feel safer yet?

Posted in National Security | 16 Comments

Shameless

Posted on September 26, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Quoted from uggabugga:

Remember June 28? Here is how PBS’ News Hour reported what happened that day: (emp add)

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq transferred sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government two days ahead of schedule, in an effort to avert possible insurgent attacks.

The unexpected handover ceremony came at mid-morning Baghdad time, the middle of the night in the U.S. The event was convened hastily and secretly inside Baghdad’s heavily guarded green zone.

Sounds grim, doesn’t it? But here is what Bush had to say about it in today’s radio address: (emp add)

We’re making steady progress in implementing our five-step plan toward the goal we all want: completing the mission so that Iraq is stable and self-governing, and American troops can come home with the honor they have earned.

The first step was achieved on June 28th, not only on time, but ahead of schedule, when the coalition transferred full sovereignty to a government of Iraqi citizens.

Not only was it “ahead of schedule” but it was done in such a manner that the people in Baghdad were not inconvenienced. Since the handover was performed “secretly”, that meant no traffic jams or other problems that a public event would have caused. But somehow Bush failed to mention that this morning.

Is anyone prepared to defend this by arguing it depends on what the meaning of “lying” is?

Posted in Iraq | 18 Comments

Jon Stewart For Debate Moderator

Posted on September 26, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Works for me: Jon Stewart For Debate Moderator.

Posted in Politics: US: 2004 Election | 4 Comments

MIA: Facts

Posted on September 26, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Things must be bad when even Howard Kurtz notices you are making stuff up:


Missing: 983,000 Tax Pages: Looks as though President Bush is due for an audit of his tax code facts. “The tax code is a complicated mess,” he said in Bangor, Maine, on Thursday. “You realize, it's a million pages long.” Most Americans probably did not realize it was that long, because it is not. It is, in fact, 17,000 pages long, according to such experts as the conservative Heritage Foundation and Rep. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.).

Update: As the an commentator noted, this was by Dana Milbank, who's about as good as it gets at the Post. I hate to think what these proofs I'm working will look like when they are printed.

Posted in Politics: US: 2004 Election | 3 Comments