Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

What He Said (War Crimes Trials Dept.)

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

There's A War Crimes Tribunal in Your Future.

I've been saying this for a long time, and think it is as true, or more true, than ever. The critical issue, though, is not so much the presence of absence of immunity for various actors so much as a national unwillingness to bring the guilty to justice. Only when a nation will not police its own does the international community have a right (and duty) to step in.

PS. Read the article by Philippe Sands, The Green Light, that Balkin links to.

Posted in Torture | 1 Comment

Test Drive the New Firefox

Posted on April 3, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Word is, the new Firefox 3 is a big improvement over version 2 — faster, cooler, etc.

Personally, I have so many plugins running that I don't just wait for a new firefox to be out of beta but wait about three weeks for all the plugins to catch up. (Betas tend to break plugins, and many plugins lag even the final releases.)

But it's nice to read that there is a way to Try Out Firefox 3 Risk-Free with a Portable Version. Theoretically, if you follow the instructions you can run F3 without hurting your F2.

Maybe this weekend….

Posted in Software | 2 Comments

Revert Wars

Posted on April 2, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Short and very funny, Wikihistory (via boingboing)

At 14:57:44, SilverFox316 wrote:
Back from 1936 Berlin; incapacitated FreedomFighter69 before he could pull his little stunt. Freedomfighter69, as you are a new member, please read IATT Bulletin 1147 regarding the killing of Hitler before your next excursion. Failure to do so may result in your expulsion per Bylaw 223.

At 18:06:59, BigChill wrote:
Take it easy on the kid, SilverFox316; everybody kills Hitler on their first trip. I did. It always gets fixed within a few minutes, what's the harm?

Posted in Completely Different | 7 Comments

Gmail Unveils ‘Custom Time’

Posted on April 1, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

Google has unveiled what looks to be a Really Useful Service as an enhancement to its Gmail (eternal Beta). They call it “custom time”.

New! Gmail Custom TimeTM  

Ever wish you could go back in time and send that crucial email that could have changed everything — if only it hadn't slipped your mind? Gmail can now help you with those missed deadlines, missed birthdays and missed opportunities.

A Google approach to email.

 


Gmail is a new kind of webmail, built on the idea that email can be more intuitive, efficient, and useful. And maybe even fun. After all, Gmail has:

Less spam

Keep unwanted messages out of your inbox with Google's innovative technology

Mobile access
Read Gmail on your mobile phone by pointing your phone's web browser to http://gmail.com/app. Learn more
Lots of space

Over 2757.272164 megabytes (and counting) of free storage so you'll never need to delete another message.

Pre-date your messages
You tell us what time you would have wanted your email sent, and we'll take care of the rest. Need an email to arrive 6 hours ago? No problem.

Mark as read or unread
Take sending emails to the past one step further. We let you make emails look like they've been read all along.

Make them count
Use your custom time stamped messages wisely — each Gmail user gets ten per year.

Worry less
Forget your finance reports. Forget your anniversary. We'll make it look like you remembered.

I can imagine so many uses…. Do be sure to note the various limits on functionality.

Posted in Internet | 10 Comments

Republicans For Obama

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

What makes Republicans into Obama supporters? Unqualified Offerings explains:

It's all about too much power in the executive branch, which is a conservative principle. Because of the war in Iraq and partisan division, Bush and Cheney convinced Republicans that this is something you should be for. But guys who went to law school know better than that.

So do gals.

Posted in Law: Constitutional Law | 1 Comment

ICDR Miami

Posted on March 31, 2008 by Michael Froomkin

I'm at the ICDR's 6th Annual Miami International Arbitration Conference today, so I won't post much if anything.

One big change from when I was in practice: much more talk, and even a significant number of rules, about ethics. Other than that, lots of little changes….

Posted in Arbitration Law, Talks & Conferences | Comments Off on ICDR Miami