Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Egypt Cuts Internet Access & SMS

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Reports are coming in that Egypt is now under an Internet and SMS blackout, just hours before a new series of major protests are planned against the regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

Sebone, a major Egyptian service provider based in Italy, is reporting that no Internet traffic is entering or exiting the country as of 12:30 AM Egyptian time.

via Internet Access & SMS Blocked in Egypt as Protests Escalate. See also C.Net’s Reports: Internet disruptions hit Egypt.

At present, the US government only wants the power to monitor all communications, and to require intermediaries to store them for a couple of years in case law enforcement wants them later, not the power to pull a kill switch.  That, fortunately, could never happen here.

Nor, of course, could torture.

UPDATE: On Twitter follow the #jan25 and #jan28 hash tags for user reports.

Tech reports at BGPMon, Internet in Egypt offline and Renesys, Egypt Leaves the Internet.

Posted in Civil Liberties, Internet, Politics: International | 5 Comments

When Manners Get You Nowhere

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Worth reading in full: Justin Norman, t r u t h o u t, When Manners Get You Nowhere: 30 Weeks of Protesting Torture in 2010.  It begins:

Two years ago, if someone had suggested to me that I don an orange jumpsuit and a black hood and haul a cross down the street in opposition to torture, I would have laughed at them. Yet here I am at the end of 2010 having pulled that stunt, or something akin to it, more than 30 times in the past year.

Street protests in America today are far less common than they have been in years past, but they are particularly out of place in the relatively upscale business districts of West Des Moines, Iowa. There, week after week, a small, rotating group of ordinary people carry out the old tradition of holding signs inscribed with simple messages. These range in tone from straightforward pleas – “Shut down Guantanamo,” “No More Torture: Not Here, Not There, Nowhere” and “Free Shaker Aamer” – to sarcastic slogans – “USA: Torturing Our Way to World Peace” and “Don’t Worry, We’ll Tell You What to Confess!”

Note from the marketing department: if you are looking to convert strangers to your ideas, waving signs on a street corner is not your best bet.

Read the whole thing.

Earlier related post: When Bad Taste Is Acceptable (April 11, 2004)

Posted in Torture | Comments Off on When Manners Get You Nowhere

Snowed Out of Miami

Posted on January 27, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I was supposed to be at a small roundtable discussion with the General Counsel of the Department of Commerce this morning, called to discuss the DoC’s “Green Paper” Commercial Data Privacy and Innovation in the Internet Economy: A Dynamic Policy Framework.

But it seems they had a little snow in DC last night, and around 11pm last night I got a message that General Counsel Cameron Kerry’s flight got scrubbed, so the meeting had to be canceled. It’s fairly rare for US Government traveling road shows on issues relating to Internet policies to come south of Atlanta (if that), so I was looking forward to this and even rescheduled a class so I could attend, which is a significant burden on my students. There’s a remote chance the meeting may be rescheduled, but I’m not optimistic.

Meanwhile, I get to go to New York next week and at least freeze.  But the forecast currently is only for light snow.

Posted in Law: Internet Law, Talks & Conferences | 1 Comment

The Way We Live Now

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Seems they have a great management style in nearby Aventura Adventura.  And, hey, good news!, it’s all legal too:

The district court ruled that Murphy failed to establish that she was subject to a hostile work environment. The district court found that nine of the eighteen remarks described by Murphy constituted “generalized profanity and insults.” The district court also found that Murphy failed to establish that Soroka “singled out females as the targets for” the profanity based on statements by Judy Appelgren, Soroka’s assistant, and Ginger Kimnick that Soroka routinely and indiscriminately cursed at male and female employees. The district court found that the remaining nine remarks, although sex-based and offensive, did not rise to the level of sexual harassment because they were of “limited frequency,” having occurred over two years and eight months; were not severe; were not physically threatening and were not humiliating; and did not “unreasonably interfere” with Murphy’s work performance. The district court also ruled that Murphy failed to establish a prima facie case of retaliation. The district court determined that Murphy failed to establish that she had complained about gender-based discrimination and, in the alternative, she lacked an objectively reasonable belief that she was subject to a hostile work environment based on sexual harassment.

via EYE ON MIAMI: The “Dumb Shit” Ph.D. in Aventura, discussing Murphy v. City of Adventura, 383 Fed. Appx. 915, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 12584 (11th Cir. 2010).

Plaintiff Murphy was represented by Richard Burton and Ben Kuehne, so this is likely court failure not lawyer failure. Is the 11th Circuit the worst place in the nation to bring a sex discrimination complaint? (I don’t know what’s doing in the 4th or the 7th, which would be my other guesses.)

Posted in Law: Everything Else | 3 Comments

They Don’t Like David Rivera in DC Either

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

Rep. David Rivera’s (R-FL-25) shtick isn’t playing well in Washington DC.  Even the Republicans up there don’t like him:

In addition, there is anger and frustration at Rivera in GOP leadership circles. Rivera is described by Republicans as being “less than candid” or “not forthcoming” about his ethics problems in conversations with leadership aides and campaign operatives, and they have been surprised on several occasions as new allegations surface.“It’s only a matter of time before the eighth shoe drops,” said one senior House Republican staffer, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Source: Rep. Rivera facing ethics issues – POLITICO.com.

Given the sleaze allegations swirling, you would think the indictment, and then the resignation under the GOP’s “zero-tolerance” policy would be coming soon. Except I’m not even sure he’ll go if indicted.

Meanwhile, back home, very odd doings. Our local prosecutor, Miami Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle, doesn’t have the best record on public integrity prosecutions but she’s said to be ambitious. Surely when an easy one drops in her lap, you would think she’d embrace it. But no such thing, she’s running from it as fast as she can. Dropped it without a credible explanation of any sort. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is going to pick up the ball, so hopefully this will only be a small hiccup.

Posted in Politics: FL-25/FL-27 | 1 Comment

YouTube – Rimjin-gang News From Inside North Korea ASIAPRESS

Posted on January 25, 2011 by Michael Froomkin

I have no idea if this video claiming to have images from North Korea is authentic, but I am prepared to believe that it is. And the initial image of the woman starving in the fields is certainly … unforgettable. Not for the faint of heart.

Rimjin-gang News From Inside North Korea ASIAPRESS:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh4CtTGAzKw

Rimjin-gang claims to be “The first-ever independent publication in the world written directly by people of North Korea.”

North Korea is usually considered to be one of the few, maybe the only, Internet-impervious state.

Posted in Politics: International | 13 Comments