Blogging in Berkeley. Notes on news, politics, law, and technology in the US and China. [This blog is inactive. I am now staying busy and having a great time at UVA Law.]
Friday, March 31, 2006
  MercuryNews.com | 03/31/2006 | Free Harvard tuition for students from low-income homes

MercuryNews.com 03/31/2006 Free Harvard tuition for students from low-income homes: "Harvard University, the oldest college in the United States, said students from families with a combined income of $60,000 or less can attend the school for free.
The new program, the most generous in the eight-school Ivy League, will begin in September, the school said in a statement. Its plan also reduces the amount families with combined incomes of $60,000 to $80,000 will have to pay."
 
Thursday, March 30, 2006
  Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Friendly Greeting

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's Friendly Greeting: "I suppose across the world their are various ways to greet someone. Looks like Italy is definitely the friendliest. This is Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi greeting a traffic cop just before he gets in his limousine."
 
  China says it will close new Rolling Stone magazine - Mark Magnier :: China Digital Times (CDT) ??????

China says it will close new Rolling Stone magazine - Mark Magnier :: China Digital Times (CDT) ??????: "Rolling Stone has hit a wall.

The rock-and-roll publication entered the Chinese market early this month with a huge splash, including billboard advertisements, a 125,000-copy roll-out and free 'Rolling Stone' hats with each copy. On yesterday, regulators said they were shutting it down after one issue.

Authorities have been cracking down on the media, with the editor of Beijing News sacked in December and the well-regarded weekly supplement Freezing Point closed in January, subsequently reopened with a new, and presumably more cooperative, editor.

Articles in the first Chinese edition of Rolling Stone about a rock star associated with the Tiananmen protests and a blogger who wrote about her sex life pushed the limits of what is permissible. But the case appears to be more about a clash between the magazine's brash business strategy and regulators keen to show who is boss. "
 
  Hemlock

Hemlock: "The working day starts in a deserted hotel ballroom. Rows of chairs face a dais, which has a long table on it. Behind it is an expanse of scarlet curtain and a cheap polystyrene and cardboard sign. My suggested snappy slogan ? ?Another year of mindless, impulsive deal-making and obscene shareholder returns? ? was rejected in favour of the more prosaic, even moronic, ?S-Meg Holdings 2005 annual results announcement?, in order not to confuse the literal-minded audience. In a few hours, these veteran business reporters, some even in their 20s, will be sharpening their pencils and testing their tape recorders, while TV cameramen and newspaper photographers circle around the podium trying to capture the Big Boss looking down on the assembled press corps at his most statesmanlike, profound and visionary.

To our Chairman?s left will be: the spotty accountant, starring as the nervous Chief Financial Director; Number-One Son, starring as the blinking and fidgeting scion destined one day to run the operation into the ground within days of inheriting it; and the Deputy Managing Director, starring as himself. To the great man?s right will sit the other Deputy Managing Director, starring as the man who can convincingly dismiss disappointing numbers as aberrations, and ? trying desperately not to be noticed ? me, starring as the Company Gwailo, mute but incontrovertible evidence that this must be a modern, international organization. I will hide behind the screen of a laptop PC, apparently controlling the Big Boss?s brain as he extols the wondrous benefits of contemporary Cantonese business management practice. "
 
  GreenvilleOnline.com -Local News-Bauer not ticketed after being clocked at 101 mph - (3/29/2006)

South Carolina corruption.

GreenvilleOnline.com -Local News-Bauer not ticketed after being clocked at 101 mph - (3/29/2006): "COLUMBIA ? Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer was stopped twice for speeding in the last four months ? once for going 101 miles per hour in his state car ? but wasn't issued a citation, state records show.

Bauer last week denied to a reporter for The Greenville News that he had been stopped for speeding by the Highway Patrol."
 
  BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: ?Sopranos? stars divided on bawdy body language

BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: ?Sopranos? stars divided on bawdy body language: "Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says anybody who thinks his Sicilian gesture was obscene has been watching ?too many episodes of ?The Sopranos,? ? but a star of the TV mob hit says such body language is just as injudicious in real life.

?It?s an obscenity,? Joseph Gannascoli, who plays capo Vito Spatafore on the HBO drama ?The Sopranos,? said of Scalia?s gesture, which involved flicking his hand under his chin.

The conservative jurist employed the expression when a Herald reporter sought his response, after a Mass in Boston Sunday, to people who question his impartiality on matters of church and state.

?It?s not like grabbing your crotch, not that bad an obscenity,? Gannascoli said. ?But it?s an obscenity. It?s something you would do after paying a bookie, to your bookie, but not something you would do in church.?

Gannascoli?s take on Scalia?s gesture, made minutes after he took Communion, comes amid continuing furor surrounding the episode. "
 
  BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: ?Sopranos? stars divided on bawdy body language

BostonHerald.com - Local / Regional News: ?Sopranos? stars divided on bawdy body language: "Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia says anybody who thinks his Sicilian gesture was obscene has been watching ?too many episodes of ?The Sopranos,? ? but a star of the TV mob hit says such body language is just as injudicious in real life.

?It?s an obscenity,? Joseph Gannascoli, who plays capo Vito Spatafore on the HBO drama ?The Sopranos,? said of Scalia?s gesture, which involved flicking his hand under his chin.

The conservative jurist employed the expression when a Herald reporter sought his response, after a Mass in Boston Sunday, to people who question his impartiality on matters of church and state.

?It?s not like grabbing your crotch, not that bad an obscenity,? Gannascoli said. ?But it?s an obscenity. It?s something you would do after paying a bookie, to your bookie, but not something you would do in church.?

Gannascoli?s take on Scalia?s gesture, made minutes after he took Communion, comes amid continuing furor surrounding the episode. "
 
  Impact Lab - Losing Faith In Television

Impact Lab - Losing Faith In Television: "A new survey from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Forrester Research found that 78% of advertisers feel that over the last two years television advertising has lost effectiveness, and ? as a direct result ? marketers are exploring emerging technologies to help bolster their television advertising spend.


The world of advertising will never be the same.


'As DVRs look to climb above 30 million households in the next three years, advertisers are finding themselves forced to reconsider their media mix,' said Josh Bernoff of Forrester Research. 'Television networks continue to publish research that traditional TV advertising is potent as ever, but national advertisers aren't buying it and are seeking alternatives to enhance their budgets and move them beyond the customary 30-second spot.'"
 
  Ben Maller : Archives

Ben Maller : Archives: "The traditional blood sport of cockfighting has not made its way into baseball's fabric, and it probably never will considering that it is illegal in 48 states and the District of Columbia. So imagine the surprise of two Phillies season-ticket holders when they recently played a Phillies highlights DVD only to find a Spanish-language cockfighting video, according to the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.
The Phillies had sent about 4,000 DVDs to season-ticket holders who had not renewed their season tickets, and as far as they know, only two have featured the sport where specially bred gamecocks are placed in an enclosure to fight to a bloody death.
The DVD manufacturer, ProAction Video, took responsibility for the error. It said when it started its Phillies DVD run, a few DVDs from a previous run to another customer inadvertently remained in the molding equipment.
Oops."
 
  High school was time of torment

High school was time of torment: "On April 10, Ghyslain Raza's $160,000 lawsuit against three ex-classmates is to be heard by a Quebec Court judge in Trois Rivieres. Raza - who gained notoriety in 2003 as the 'Star Wars Kid' - is suing his former classmates for posting a private video of him wielding a mock 'light sabre' on the Internet."
 
Monday, March 27, 2006
  Inside Bay Area - IBA - Bay Area Living

Inside Bay Area - IBA - Bay Area Living: "Concerns about hard-to-open packaging may not be just about consumer inconvenience. According to 2001 Census Bureau data, people suffered more than twice as many injuries related to household packaging and containers than from skateboards or swimming pools (although those numbers include injuries that involve dropping a package on a foot).

And British researchers blame 'wrap rage' for more than 60,000 injuries in that country. In 2004, a writer for The Times of London described the CD as 'the crucible of wrap rage,' whose old cardboard box was replaced by a 'zip strip. The answer to our unwrapping prayers! Yet 12 years later, a pull-tab torn off in hand, we are still chewing through plastic like wild dogs.' "
 
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
  6abc.com: Legal Loophole Ends Bigamy Case

Old but interesting:

6abc.com: Legal Loophole Ends Bigamy Case: "You can't get married if you're already married.

That's the legal loophole that has led Virginia authorities to drop bigamy charges against Charles Hicks. Court records show he was married to seven women over the last 40 years.

Officials say he got hitched three times while married to someone else. But under Virginia law, the marriages are invalid. Hicks later divorced wife number-five and officials say therefore, his marriage to wife seven is legal.

However, prosecutors say they may file additional charges.
The 61-year-old Hicks is a former Naval Postgraduate School administrator and now works for the Army Publishing Directorate. "
 
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
  Turkmen president offers a place in heaven to his readers - Yahoo! News

Turkmen president offers a place in heaven to his readers - Yahoo! News: "ASHGABAT (AFP) - Turkmenistan's president-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov announced on state television that anyone reading his philosophical work three times would be assured a place in heaven."
 
  German court prescribes viagra for stallion - Yahoo! News

German court prescribes viagra for stallion - Yahoo! News: "BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court ordered viagra to be given to a stallion after his new owner claimed he was impotent and refused to pay the full asking price.

The buyer of the horse called Vedor paid just a tenth of the price of over 4,000 euros (2,772 pounds), claiming it had only one testicle and failed to get frisky with a female pony.
A vet found the testicle after an examination, said Egbert Simons, a spokesman for the court in the eastern town of Neuruppin.

And when the stallion was given the potency drug, it emerged he was fully functional, he added.
The court ordered the buyer to pay the full price. "
 
  Tampabay: Horse sense and the law

Tampabay: Horse sense and the law: "Robyn Pelszynski trained with experts to provide the ultimate in relaxing messages to Fancy, her 15-year-old gray Arabian horse. Looking for some part-time work, she then inquired about getting a license as a horse massage therapist in Pasco County.
Pelszynski says she was turned away. Florida law gets murky when it comes to holistic therapies for animals, such as aromatherapy and acupressure. Is it legal to massage a horse without a veterinary degree? Advocates for alternative care and veterinarians can't agree.
But Pelszynski could risk a felony citation for massaging another person's animal."
 
Friday, March 17, 2006
  Judge refuses request to end baby boy's treatment - Yahoo! News

Judge refuses request to end baby boy's treatment - Yahoo! News: "LONDON (Reuters) - A High Court judge on Wednesday refused a request from doctors to turn off a ventilator keeping alive an 18-month-old boy with incurable spinal muscular atrophy.

The boy's parents had opposed their request, arguing that although he was severely physically disabled, the boy could still enjoy spending time with his family."
 
  Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com

Oddly Enough News Article Reuters.com: "BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in eastern China can tap the country's first human body odor bank to help their dogs get a nose for criminals, Xinhua news agency said.
The facility in the city of Nanjing has a collection of 500 different smells, meant for comparison with samples taken from crime scenes. They are kept on ice -- at minus 18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees F).
'This way the scent sample can maintain its freshness for at least three years,' bank founder Song Zhenhua was quoted as saying in the overnight report.
Only odors that elicit identical reactions from at least three trained crime dogs will pass muster for a place in the bank's vaults, Xinhua said.
Xinhua did not explain how the smells would be captured or stored. In other countries that use olfactory forensic evidence, odors are taken from clothing or collected using gauze pads and airtight plastic containers."
 
  Oddly Enough News Article | Reuters.com

Oddly Enough News Article Reuters.com: "BEIJING (Reuters) - Police in eastern China can tap the country's first human body odor bank to help their dogs get a nose for criminals, Xinhua news agency said.
The facility in the city of Nanjing has a collection of 500 different smells, meant for comparison with samples taken from crime scenes. They are kept on ice -- at minus 18 degrees Celsius (0 degrees F).
'This way the scent sample can maintain its freshness for at least three years,' bank founder Song Zhenhua was quoted as saying in the overnight report.
Only odors that elicit identical reactions from at least three trained crime dogs will pass muster for a place in the bank's vaults, Xinhua said.
Xinhua did not explain how the smells would be captured or stored. In other countries that use olfactory forensic evidence, odors are taken from clothing or collected using gauze pads and airtight plastic containers."
 
  Scalia critical of what he calls the 'judge-moralist' - Boston.com

Scalia critical of what he calls the 'judge-moralist' - Boston.com: "BOSTON --U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia railed against the era of the 'judge-moralist,' saying judges are no better qualified than 'Joe Sixpack' to decide moral questions such as abortion and gay marriage.

'Anyone who thinks the country's most prominent lawyers reflect the views of the people needs a reality check,' he said during a speech to New England School of Law students and faculty at a Law Day banquet on Wednesday night."
 
Sunday, March 12, 2006
  A spoof hits China's Web - and a star is born | csmonitor.com

A spoof hits China's Web - and a star is born csmonitor.com: "BEIJING ? An underground video sweeping Chinese cyberspace has half the country cracking up.
Titled 'A Murder Caused by Mantou,' the video is a spoof of a new film, 'The Promise,' by famed director Chen Kaige."
 
  A spoof hits China's Web - and a star is born | csmonitor.com

A spoof hits China's Web - and a star is born csmonitor.com: "BEIJING ? An underground video sweeping Chinese cyberspace has half the country cracking up.
Titled 'A Murder Caused by Mantou,' the video is a spoof of a new film, 'The Promise,' by famed director Chen Kaige."
 
Thursday, March 02, 2006
  WorldNetDaily: Snorer in the court? Ruth Bader Ginsburg snoozes

WorldNetDaily: Snorer in the court? Ruth Bader Ginsburg snoozes: "According to the Associated Press, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg snoozed during oral arguments today over political redistricting in Texas. "
 
  McDonald's Videogame

McDonald's Videogame
Ruin the world through corporate greed in this McD's simulator.
 
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
  BBC NEWS | Middle East | No-one else to blame, says Saddam

BBC NEWS Middle East No-one else to blame, says Saddam: "Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has told his trial in Baghdad that he alone should be made to answer for the actions of his regime.
At the end of a second straight day of prosecution evidence, he said the court should not be trying anyone else - a reference to his seven co-defendants"
 
  Hemlock

Hemlock: "?We ought to look as if we care what?s going on,? reads the punch line in this morning?s Business Post cartoon strip. It?s not easy. Reading the newspapers in the gwailo?s lair on the top floor of S-Meg Tower, I strain to turn the pages, so heavy are they with the tedium of contemporary world affairs.

In the Ming cartoon, investors take the Hang Seng Index up to 15,999 before stepping back to watch disinterestedly as their very own Central People?s Government lashes out at Taiwan?s President Chen Shui-bian, who has scrapped the dormant and symbolic National Unification Council and its ?One China? guidelines. Apparently, this will ?stoke tensions and trigger a serious crisis in the Straits ? [and] threaten to destroy peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region? ? which must be why the Hong Kong stock market ended the day only 94 points up. On the Internet, excitable young Mainlanders froth at the mouth about forgetting the Olympics and vaporizing their beloved Taiwanese compatriots.

Beijing takes things too seriously. What a relief, therefore, to read of the latest events in Manila, which have unfolded with all the organization, precision and clarity we expect of the Philippines. The excitement began before the weekend, with reports of unauthorized troop movements around the capital and mutterings about a coup plot, which transpired to be an ?attempted withdrawal of support?. A group of Marines protested the dismissal of their commander. Diminutive President Gloria Arroyo issued Proclamation 1017, a state of emergency that should instantly impose total order and discipline onto the entire nation, but in practice seems to mean a day off school for the kids. Barbed wire and soldiers appeared on approaches to Government offices. Now... Arroyo congratulates the Marines for their professionalism and not doing whatever they were planning. Mobilized by cell phone text messages, former presidents whose terms of office were blighted with corruption and constitutional shenanigans call on the vote-rigging, husband-favouring Arroyo to stand down. A hunt starts for alleged plotters – including, of course, Gregorio Honasan, ‘resident adviser on failed coup attempts’, who took part in revolts against Marcos and Aquino before quitting the army and joining the Senate. The streets throng with the inevitable nuns. And everyone asks the burning question – are the schools open again yet?"
 
  Scientist debunks football strategy - LiveScience - MSNBC.com

Scientist debunks football strategy - LiveScience - MSNBC.com: "It's fourth-and-goal in the first quarter of an important National Football League game. The fans rally for the coach to go for it, but they know he probably won't. As usual, the kicker trots out.
Obviously the conservative coach knows something the fans don't. He's analyzed the numbers and is making a sound judgment.
Right?
Actually, the decision is consistently botched, according to a new study by David Romer of the University of California at Berkeley."
 

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