Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Adventures in PR

Posted on July 8, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Here's a new one on me: press releases sent out to blogs, with the choices probably scraped off the TLB Ecosystem. This one is about the labor practices of official suppliers to the Olympic Games. Since it's the first I've ever gotten, and the cause isn't repugnant, I figured I'd reprint it, just as I got it. But I doubt that I'll make a practice of this.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blogs | 3 Comments

Nation Faces Danger of Media Attention to Kerry

Posted on July 8, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Yet another piece of scaremongering about terrorism from the Administration, based on “non-specific intelligence”: CNN.com – Ridge says al Qaeda planning attack. Have you noticed that these announcements happen whenever the Republicans feel they need a bounce in the polls, or when they want a distraction from something? (Today it's the Kerry-Edwards media honeymoon.)

It sure sounds scary…

Al Qaeda plans a large-scale attack on the United States “in an effort to disrupt the democratic process” before November's elections, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said Thursday.

…but is it based on anything other than the usual background 'chatter'?…

Ridge cited “recent interdictions” for the new warning. He said U.S. officials have no precise knowledge of the time, place or method of attack, but said they are “actively working to gain that knowledge.”

…it wouldn't be a reastatement of the obvious by any chance?…

“We know they have the capability to succeed and they also hold the mistaken belief that their attacks will have an impact on America's resolve,” Ridge said.

…and of course if this were serious information, we'd raise the national 'threat level' above 'yellow' where it seems stuck…

Ridge did not raise the national color-coded threat level beyond its current yellow, or elevated, level.

…but of course going to 'orange' would cost large sums of money since it requires first responders to go into high gear. No, better save that for the Republican convention…

Posted in National Security | 5 Comments

Florida: Where Lightning Strikes More Than Twice

Posted on July 8, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

Via FlaBlog, Pig bears brunt of lightning strike, apparently saving doctor:

“If I did not have rubber boots on and I wasn't holding onto that pig, I wouldn't be standing here. I'd be dead,” he added. Oh, if I had a dime for every time I've heard somebody say that.

California is, I hear, a dream. Florida (lightning strike leader in the US) is something else entirely.

Posted in Florida | 1 Comment

Corruption, Bloody Corruption

Posted on July 8, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

The story has been bouncing around the web for months, but the New Republic has now brought it out into the mainstream. It seems that after two plus years of passivity in the hunt for Bin Laden, and chasing after mirages in the Iraqi sands, the Bush administration has been telling the government of Pakistan repeatedly and in strong terms that it would like a July Surprise—a capture of one or more major Al Qaeda figures, ideally timed to take all the air out of the Democratic convention.

Yes, it's nice that the administration is finally getting serious about catching the real villains, although it's rather late. And yes, it is rage-inducing that nothing, simply nothing, is too significant, or a matter of national honor, to be twisted and sullied by Rovian manipulation.

If the US has indeed pressured a foreign government in the hopes that their capture of a major national enemy should be delayed, or timed, so that this administration could milk it for domestic political gain, I am prepared to discuss whether we should amend the Constitution to reinstate the punishment of corruption of blood so we can apply it to the Bush clan.

Posted in Politics: International, Politics: US: GW Bush Scandals | 4 Comments

It’s a Start: DoD to Hold Status Hearings for Detainees

Posted on July 8, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

At last. The US will hold Status Hearings for all the detainees in Guantanamo. Article 5 of the Third Geneva Convention requires such hearings, stating, “Should any doubt arise as to whether persons, having committed a belligerent act and having fallen into the hands of the enemy,” then “such persons shall enjoy the protection of the present Convention until such time as their status has been determined by a competent tribunal.”

In other words, enemy fighters should be treated as POWs — not civilian law-breakers, much less “enemy combatants” — until they have had an initial hearing which can be and usually is before a military tribunal.

We were supposed to do that two years ago, but at last Pentagon Sets Hearings for 595 Detainees.

Note that these hearings are completely separate from the habeas hearings the Supreme Court has said must be held. But to the extent that some detainees are released, or classified as POWs, the number of habeas hearings may shrink.

Unlike some right-wing doomsayers I think it unlikely that POWs have a claim to habeas relief during the duration of the conflict. But to the extent that they can claim the war is over now that we've handed over sovereignty, they too might have a claim that could be heard. (But it would lose.)

Posted in Guantanamo | 7 Comments

The Wiki Comes of Age

Posted on July 7, 2004 by Michael Froomkin

The WikiPedia hit 300,000 articles this week.

Meanwhile, my tiny Copyright Experiences Wiki got hit by… wiki spam. It's a classic: a bot run out of a server located in Israel was used to replace many of the pages in my wiki with many lines of near-nonsense interspersed with links to an online casino run by a company located in Curaçao. Presumably the object is to increase page rank in search engines. (I have blocked the IP number and am taking various steps to make the spammer's life harder.)

But which is the sign that wikis have come of age? Is it the growth of the wiki into a useful tool produced by the collaboration of large numbers of (sometimes contentious) strangers, or is it that Wikis are now worth spamming?

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on The Wiki Comes of Age