Tag: written by MayorBob
Wee Kant Spel Two Guud Ennyhow, Sew Wee Shuld Faggeddabowdit
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Fri Aug 08, 2008 at 02:59:58 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Ken Smith is a British academic who says he's quite tired "correcting my students' atrocious spelling." So tired is he of performing this task for all those first year students of criminology at Buckinghamshire New University, he's come up with a radical idea -- accept the misspellings as variant spellings and move on with our lives.
(1 comment, 451 words in story) Full Story
Will "Cable's Most Reprehensible Talking Head" Cost CNN Big Time?
MayorBob.
Posted to Media on Thu Aug 07, 2008 at 02:17:01 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Earlier this year, a New York judge ruled that NBC could be sued (pdf doc). What got the network in such hot water was the heavy-handed way they may have caused the suicide of someone caught up in Dateline's "To Catch A Predator" show. Now a second judge, this one in Florida, brought the gavel down on another media circus run with deadly results.
(9 comments, 550 words in story) Full Story
Does This Death Chamber Make Me Look Fat?
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Wed Aug 06, 2008 at 09:50:46 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The debate over whether lethal injection is a humane way of executing criminals is just about over. In most states, including Ohio, the path is clear to begin reducing the inventory of death row inmates. But, just like a bad cold the cruel and inhuman argument rears its ugly head again in Ohio as one profoundly overweight inmate says "I'm too fat to be put to death."
(8 comments, 389 words in story) Full Story
Labor Union Swaps Labor Day For Muslim Holiday.
MayorBob.
Posted to Business on Tue Aug 05, 2008 at 09:23:28 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Labor contract discussions are the stuff upon which sound snoozes can be built. But one labor agreement recently struck between a major food processing plant and the union representing workers has raised much interest. It seems that, for the next five years, the workers at Tyson Foods in Shelbyville, Tennessee will be swapping paid holidays. Labor Day becomes just another workday and, in its place, the plant workers will be celebrating a paid day off at the end of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.
(36 comments, 583 words in story) Full Story
Absolute Immunity? Absolutely Not Says Court.
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Mon Aug 04, 2008 at 02:17:04 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Back when the House and Senate Judiciary Committees sought to have a little dialogue with members of the White House staff over the case of some dismissed US attorneys, the word sent back to Capital Hill was a very firm "no." No, they would not be testifying before Congress because they had "absolute immunity" from congressional subpoenas. Because Congress really, really did want to talk to these people, the House Judiciary Committee went to court to force the issue. Now, almost a year after former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales resigned, partially over the cloud the matter of the fired US attorneys had caused, Congress got its answer from a federal judge. In a strongly worded 93 page decision (pdf doc), US District Judge John D. Bates ruled there was absolutely no such doctrine as "absolute immunity."
(4 comments, 522 words in story) Full Story
All Your Privacy Belongs To Google
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Sun Aug 03, 2008 at 07:25:19 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
It's a misconception that Google ever said "Do No Evil." What the search giant, so ubiquitous it has become a verb describing its primary service, does say is "it is possible to make money without doing evil (scroll down to #6)." But there's a couple in Pittsburgh who don't agree with that. Aaron and Christine Boring believe that one Google feature has a less than noble effect - it has taken away their privacy. Google responds, "privacy doesn't exist." In the Borings' opinion, that is pretty evil.
(22 comments, 643 words in story) Full Story
If You Got Breastmilk You Might Be Getting A Cease And Desist Notice
MayorBob.
Posted to Business on Fri Aug 01, 2008 at 06:31:23 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
The California Milk Processor Board (CMPB) is a large trade group composed of 11 dairy processors which is serious about promoting the consumption of what it calls a "superdrink". Another thing they take seriously is their "beloved" Got Milk brand. Since its formation in 1993 the CMPB has relentlessly touted the benefits of drinking milk and aggressively protected its trademark. How aggressive, you might ask? Very aggressive is the answer; no perceived trademark infringement, large or small, would go unchallenged. When animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) launched an anti-milk ad campaign (scroll down to Health section), the CMPB let them know they weren't pleased. At the smaller end of the spectrum of trademark defense, the CMPB is taking on some decidedly smaller opponents.
(5 comments, 458 words in story) Full Story
Should Presumed Consent Be The Law Of The Land?
MayorBob.
Posted to SciTech on Thu Jul 31, 2008 at 02:17:42 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Organ donation is in a state of crisis today. Put plainly, there are not enough organs available to satisfy the people who need replacements. Thus, the weak link in the chain of organ donation is that donation is a voluntary act. There is a method proponents say would absolutely solve the dilemma of too many failing organs and not enough healthy replacements -- presumed consent. In other words, if you don't tell the state you won't donate your organs, they can be harvested upon your death.
(38 comments, 474 words in story) Full Story
Spam Kills
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Thu Jul 31, 2008 at 06:36:52 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
When law enforcement agencies announced that Edward "Eddie" Davidson, aka The Spam King, had escaped from prison, it seemed like another foolish move on the part of Davidson. After all, he only had to serve out his 21 months in a federal medium security prison and then he could get on with his life. Thus by fleeing custody from such a light sentence, essentially insuring a much longer stay once he was apprehended, Davidson seemed to be saying there was more going on here. How much may have been going on was revealed when authorities searching Davidson's old home found the bodies of Davidson, his wife and three-year-old daughter.
(40 comments, 526 words in story) Full Story
Thousands Of Bridges To Nowhere
MayorBob.
Posted to Etcetera on Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 01:03:44 PM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
If you're driving on Pennsylvania roads and you're crossing a bridge, there's almost a 50-50 chance the bridge you're on is in really bad repair. As a matter of fact, if you use a bridge anywhere in the US there's a one in four chance of that. Those are the facts contained in a report recently released regarding the basic distressed state of US transportation infrastructure. Like everything else, the report paints the picture of a crisis -- a crisis it will take a lot of money to fix.
(4 comments, 378 words in story) Full Story
It's Not Illegal To Be An Asshole ... Yet.
MayorBob.
Posted to Legal on Wed Jul 30, 2008 at 08:42:49 AM EST (promoted by port1080). RSS.
Guy Earle claims to be an edgy stand up comic and one who will fight back if heckled. So, last year when he was heckled during a performance, he responded in kind. Used a bit of abusive language, he did. Made disparaging remarks about the sexual orientation of the hecklers, he did. He says it's allowed as he's a bit of an asshole and it's part of his act. Apparently, not everyone agrees because he's facing a hearing in front of a provincial Human Rights Tribunal. He sees it as an attack on his free speech rights while the government likes to think of it as more like prosecuting hate speech.
(45 comments, 593 words in story) Full Story
That's Why He's Called Dick.
MayorBob.
Posted to Diary on Tue Jul 29, 2008 at 04:09:47 PM EST. RSS.
The reason this story is being filed in my diary is that I will not practice a scintilla of objectivity with this one. As is often the case whenever the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) hold their convention, they invite a high ranking member of the executive branch of the government to deliver a few words. So it was to be this year as they invited Vice President Dick Cheney to be the guest speaker at the convention set to take place in Las Vegas from 9 to 12 August. They'll just have to soldier alone without hearing the words of inspiration one of this nation's biggest chicken hawks has to offer them as the DAV has yanked their invite to Cheney.
(4 comments, 535 words in story) Full Story
