Innocent Bystanders

Free at Last September 28, 2011

If you’re like me, having written a jillion blog posts and having no recollection what sources I used, you’ve been living in fear of a Righthaven lawsuit. Righthaven, you may recall, was shooting out hundreds of letters to bloggers, accusing them of infringing on Las Vegas Review-Journal and Denver Post materials, and demanding $75K in damages. Since most bloggers don’t have the resources to go to court over something like this, they settle. Clayton Cramer was a classic example.

So I shut my blog down, worried that somewhere in there I might have used something that would prompt a Righthaven letter. I’m pretty sure that I don’t deserve one, but hey – why take the chance?

Anyway, Righthaven has been getting hammered in court of late, and it looks like the last stake may have finally been driven through their putrid heart:

Righthaven LLC of Las Vegas lacked standing to file copyright infringement lawsuits in Colorado under its lawsuit contract with the Denver Post and abused the Copyright Act in doing so, a federal judge ruled Tuesday.
…
Copyright law expert Eric Goldman, associate professor at the Santa Clara University School of Law and director of its High Tech Law Institute, said Kane “did a careful `first-principles’ review of the law on copyright assignment” rather than simply relying on precedent in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — precedent that has been used against Righthaven in its Nevada cases.

“This makes the opinion more likely to survive an appeal. In addition to completely rejecting Righthaven’s assignment agreement, the opinion bristles with hostility towards Righthaven’s basic business model. It’s hard to imagine a more resounding judicial rejection of Righthaven’s efforts,” Goldman said.

Booyah.

Bye-Bye, Taiwan – And You Might as Well Take the South China Sea With You When You Get Absorbed September 28, 2011

It’s kind of neat watching all this unfold: the US runs around in circles while the Chinese methodically advance their agenda. Item 1 on the agenda: 1) Unification with Taiwan – which this author points out is now inevitable, given the Obama administration’s noodle-like backbone in standing up to the Chinese:*

President Obama’s refusal to sell modern fighters to longtime ally Republic of China (Taiwan) dooms that country, frightens our allies, and robs America of needed jobs. Worse, it tells Communist China that America’s foreign policy and her democratic principles are for sale.

Dang that’s succinct.

Items 2 and 3 on the Chinese agenda also came up today: 2) Take control of the South China Sea, and 3) Diminish US influence in Asia. Some hardliners in China wrote an op-ed in the official rag:

Asian countries should be on guard against the “danger” of feeling they can “do whatever they want” because of the U.S. military presence in the region, the Chinese Communist Party’s People’s Daily said in a commentary.
…
“Asia remains a fertile ground for a Cold War mentality,” the commentary said. “Asia is advancing, will never return to the Cold War, and China must have an important role in the future of Asian security.”

Pretty clear statement of, “We’re running things now, so don’t be crying to the US when we streamroll you in the South China Sea.” Meet the new boss, more inscrutable than the old boss.

*As an example of the Obama administration’s firm hand in foreign policy, consider this Wikipedia entry, which discusses the South China Sea controversy:

In July 2010, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the Peoples Republic of China to resolve the territorial dispute. China responded by demanding the US keep out of the issue. This came at a time when both countries have been engaging in naval exercises in a show of force to the opposing side, which increased tensions in the region. The US Department of Defense released a statement on August 18 where it opposed the use of force to resolve the dispute, and accused China of assertive behaviour

Very impressive.

Let’s Say You Manage Finances Like They Do In D.C. September 27, 2011

It's time to cut up the credit cards!

Thanks to Retired Geezer.

Reminds Me of How IB Got Started September 27, 2011

Social network brings people with the same gut bacteria together for $2,100
“My.microbes social network requires a stool sample and a fee worth $2,100 before you can become a member”

The Height of Arrogance September 24, 2011

Obama talks about reforming No Child Left Behind:

“These problems have been obvious to parents and educators all over this country for years. But for years, Congress has failed to fix them. So now, I will,” he said.

Should be entertaining watching test scores plummet over the next few years. If it doesn’t lead to existential despair, that is.

BofA/Merrill Lynch Vindicate Conservative Bloggers September 22, 2011

The Bank of America/Merrill Lynch 9 September US Economic Weekly talks about how to get the economy back on track:

Finally, as we have argued repeatedly, the most powerful government stimulus program could be to stop the waves of negativity coming out of Washington. The dysfunctional debate has severely undercut faith in government, and this is spilling over into consumer and business confidence (Chart 3). To avoid damaging confidence, Government officials should not be trumpeting the out of control deficit and then refusing to deal with it – and they should not be threatening to default on the debt or completely shut down the government.

We believe there would be a significant boost to business confidence if a credible, well-designed deficit reduction plan was passed. Given the weakness in the economy, such a plan should start slowly. And given the scale of the problem a credible plans must have everything on the table, including revenue-enhancing tax reform and entitlement reform. Such a plan would assure consumers and businesses that the deficit problem can be solved without depressing near-term growth.

I have a little heartburn with the “threatening” part – it’s a little glib and one-sided. But overall, isn’t this what we’ve been saying since 2009?

You should give it a read: they also believe that President Obama’s Stimulus Jr. plan is pointless.