Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Elephants Want Revenge?

Posted on February 15, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

The UK Telegraph summarizes a story in the New Scientist (the original seems to be behind a pay wall) as suggesting that elephants are seeking revenge for the killing of their relatives and friends,

The reputation that elephants have for never forgetting has been given a chilling new twist by experts who believe that a generation of pachiderms may taking revenge on humans for the breakdown of elephant society.

The New Scientist reports today that elephants appear to be attacking human settlements as vengeance for years of abuse by people.

But later in the story this starts to seem a bit sensationalist: the real problem may be that the killing of older, wiser elephants has created a generation of “juvenile delinquents”.


Destined for reform school?

Posted in Science/Medicine | 3 Comments

Padilla Lawyers Work the System

Posted on February 14, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Southern District of Florida Blog summarizes the latest Padilla news:

Lawyers for Jose Padilla have appealed Magistrate Judge Garber’s pre trial detention order. In their appeal, his lawyers contend that Mr. Padilla’s application may be a fraud. The Government argued at the detention hearing that Mr. Padilla completed the form in 2000. Defense lawyers also assert that the government did not present evidence that Mr. Padilla could speak Arabic and therefore understand the contents of the form, or that he ever adopted the Arabic name Abu Adallah al Mujahir. Justice Department lawyer Stephanie Pell explained at the hearing that the application was authenticated by a cooperating government witness. One of the most interesting assertions in the appeal is that there were apparently more than 50,000 phone calls in the alleged 8 year terrorism conspiracy, and Padilla participated in only seven conversations.

Even ignoring the fraud allegations, we haven’t seen much suggesting that the government has a particularly strong case, have we?

Posted in Padilla | 3 Comments

Corporate Social Responsibility (Redefined)

Posted on February 14, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

A hitherto unknown business group the Center for Union Facts ran a startling, rather nasty, anti-union ad in yesterday’s New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. The ad basically blames unions for job losses overseas. Now, as an economic matter, it stands to reason that anything which raises wages makes it harder to compete with ultra-low-wage foreign producers, but life is much more complex, since human capital is more than just simple hours of labor. And unions are shrinking anyway.

But I’ll leave all that to the economists. What interests me is who paid for it. According to the New York Times, all that the group’s spokesman would say is: “various companies and a foundation had contributed to his nonprofit group, but he refused to identify them.” And their web site is even more opaque about who is behind it.

Do you suppose that the corporations paying for this stuff are booking the contributions under their ‘corporate social responsibility’ expenditures?

Posted in Econ & Money | 3 Comments

Cheney Jokes Roundup

Posted on February 14, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

The Wall Street Journal has a roundup of Cheney jokes . My favorites include,

Leno: “Something I just found out today about the incident. Do you know that Dick Cheney tortured the guy for a half hour before he shot him?”

Jon Stewart: “”Yes, as you’ve just heard, a near-tragedy over the weekend in south Texas. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot a man during a quail hunt at a political supporter’s ranch. Making 78-year-old Harry Whittington the first person shot by a sitting VP since Alexander Hamilton.

“Hamilton, of course, shot in a duel with Aaron Burr over issues of honor, integrity and political maneuvering. Whittington? Mistaken for a bird.”

Bonus Cheney visual hunting aid:

from Needlenose.

And Boing Boing has a nice graphic showing 10 ways Dick Cheney can kill you.

You know it’s bad when even Jeb Bush is making Cheney jokes.

Posted in Completely Different | 5 Comments

Kibo Has a Web Page

Posted on February 14, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

I am probably the last to know this but I’ve only just discovered that Kibo, the founder of Kibology, has a web site, entitled, of course, Kibo : Kibo’s official site.

Oldtimers will recall Kibo from Usenet; back in the day he was something between a net.legend and a net.kook. I thought he was funny, most of the time. I even corresponded with the guy once, way back when.

Posted in Internet | 3 Comments

Timing Is Everything

Posted on February 13, 2006 by Michael Froomkin

Ted Kennedy reported the Chappaquiddick accident a full eight hours after it happened, and has never entirely lived it down.

How long did Cheney wait before informing the local police? It’s unclear, although presumably the closed-mouthed Secret Service knew right away. But Cheney did wait almost 24 hours before telling anyone else, and the media strategy screams cover-up. Not that we yet know a single fact that would have been worth covering up, do we?

Bonus jokes — I think they are jokes — here and here.

I suppose it distracts from Iraq, the economy, Plame, New Orleans, the deficit, Abramoff, and all the rest of it.

Posted in Politics: The Party of Sleaze | 7 Comments