Friday, July 02, 2004

Philosopher's Tics. A reader sends in this amusing list of "philosopher's tics"--none of which, of course, are ever in evidence on this blog! ======================================= "Philosopher's Tics: The inability to pass over a faulty inference or fallacy in silence, or to correct it in a spirit of generosity; a relentless need to accuse one's adversary of insufficient 'rigor', or of 'misreading' or 'failing to understand' one's position; and, the worst of all, a constant need to drive home one's greater intellect, at the expense of the merits of the argument. I married a philosophy major...so I may be particularly sensitive to these tics." ============================================== But wouldn't the world be a better place if there were fewer faulty inferences, more rigor and better reading, and if everyone were as smart as philosophers? Tic, tic, tic... [The Leiter Reports: Editorials, News, Updates] 8:42:14 PM    comment []

>From BNA News: MICROSOFT SAYS REMOVING MEDIA PLAYER 'CHALLENGING' Microsoft's top legal counsel said yesterday that the software giant needs further details from the EU before it will be able to comply with an order to remove its Media Player from Windows. Microsoft has already paid the record 497 million euro ($605.2 million) fine the commission had imposed along with its demand that the company change its business practices. [ Story.] WHITEHOUSE.COM STRIPS POLITICAL REFERENCES The Whitehouse.com pornography Web site, which poked fun at its government namesake with parody sections about first ladies and interns, has been stripped of all political references. Its owner, Dan Parisi, agreed to the changes to comply with a recent ruling by the US Patent and Trademark Office granting his Web site a potential trademark for "Whitehouse". The USPTO said it would consider granting Parisi a trademark only if he took steps to make sure visitors to his pornography site do not believe it was associated with the presidential White House site. [ Story.] THE PROS AND CONS OF E-GOVERNMENT USA Today's CyberSpeak column reports on a recent Pew Internet study on e-government. The study found benefits from e-government efficiencies but noted the need for multiple channels for citizens to reach government agencies. [ USA Today story.] 10:39:40 AM    comment []

The Photoshopping of the president. How a software application brought political satire to the masses. Plus: The candidates' hot-tub embrace and other steamy gallery images. [Salon.com] 7:59:09 AM    comment []

The blogging cover-up. CNET News.com's Charles Cooper explains why the upcoming political conventions are setting themselves up for embarrassment. [CNET News.com] 7:55:36 AM    comment []

Intercepting E-Mail. Americans' right to privacy will be seriously eroded if e-mail is not protected by wiretap laws. [The New York Times > Opinion] 7:55:30 AM    comment []

Rheingold to Speak/Brief/Brainstorm? Bangalore, March 2005. I make a little money writing, and most of what pays my bills comes from speaking engagements. Sometimes, I do keynotes or panels, and sometimes organizations bring me in to brainstorm with them about smartmobby stuff in addition to a briefing or talk. I've been invited to speak in Bangalore in March, 2005. The inviting organization can pay my transportation costs, but not a fee. I'd like to spend at least a week in India, a country I've always wanted to visit, but have never had the opportunity. But I can't afford to lose a week or more of work. Are there organizations or businesses in Bangalore who would be able to pay me less than my usual speaking fee -- and no travel expenses -- to brief their people about Smart Mobs and my latest endeavor -- The Cooperation Project? Use this form to contact me. [Smart Mobs] 7:50:57 AM    comment []

Alice kindly wrote to recommend $t0pp^ng $p@m!!: The private sector needs to regulate spam because the government can't. By Paul Jamieson, in Legal Affairs. Spam is that rare legal and public policy problem in which the behavior in question is anathema to nearly every publicly identifiable interest holder. Legitimate businesses that use e-mail as a marketing tool support spam reform because their communications are often lost in the avalanche. Consumers and businesses that rely on e-mail for transactions and communication overwhelmingly dislike spam for the same reason and make their displeasure known to elected officials. Internet service providers, or ISPs, such as Yahoo and Earthlink, oppose it because junk e-mail taxes their networks. Nevertheless, five months after the effective date of a sweeping federal law imposing stiff civil and criminal penalties on spammers, well over half of all e-mail is still spam. There is just as much if not more spam now than there was before the legal barriers were erected. What gives? The short answer is that legal measures may be largely powerless to affect the spam problem because the architecture of e-mail is resistant to traditional methods of government regulation. While members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission will be quick to claim credit in the event that the spam problem is reduced, the role they play is small. Consumers and businesses suffering from the torrent of spam must look for relief not from formal law developed on Capitol Hill or in a watchdog agency, but from the people who write the code that makes the Internet run, and then from the private businesses that put the code to work. The Net interprets censorship as damage, and routes around it. (John Gilmore) (I have to note that the Legal Affairs piece is short on concreta of how the private sector triumphs over the architecture of the Net where government cannot; it's more about the limits of government power (as distinct from authority).) 2:38:20 AM    comment []