Big Update

If you're still reading this blog on a regular basis, good for you. Sorry for the lack of updates, but some weeks I just don't feel like writing, ya know? Anyway, on to the good stuff:

Reese Witherspoon is much better looking than Hillary Clinton, but in some ways, they're not so different...

(I stole that link from Frank Rich's excellent column)

Hillary's really trying though - it's weird to have her accuse others of playing "Karl Rove" politics. Push-polling suggesting that John McCain has an illegitimate child is Karl Rove. Sending out a mailing is not on the same planet, especially when no one reports on the factual "inaccuracies" anyway, just the resulting he-said she-said. Don't you think making a play for delegates in Florida and Michigan is stooping a little lower than this? pfft

Also, to my disappointment, Larry Lessig has decided not to run for Congress. Hit up his website anyway - I will definitely be taking part in the Change Congress movement, and I can't wait for the site to launch (within 2 weeks, I believe). Candidates endorsed by the CC movement will not take PAC/lobbyist money, reject use of earmarks, and pledge to support public financing of campaigns. It's that simple. The amount of money in our political system makes real change impossible, and it's time to reign that in.

Today also had a whole slew of good discussions on slashdot, as well. From the most recent: Comcast pays people off the street to "hold employees places in line" at an FCC meeting on network neutrality - result? People who actually showed up to voice their opinions could not get in.

While P2P gets a bad rap by providers ("pirates use it!") in the states, the BBC reports that the EU is actually funding R&D for a TV-delivery service using P2P technology.

Speaking of P2P, a judge has ruled that "making available" copies of copyrighted materials for download does not constitute infringement - the RIAA must prove that the works were actually downloaded.

The guy who runs Patent Troll Tracker (put simply, patent trolling is filing patents, waiting for someone else to develop a product which uses your technology, then suing the bejeezus out of them) was outed. I really hope he keeps writing - he says he's taking some time off to think about it. He is in-house counsel at Cisco.

The Taliban is trying to force cell-phone providers in Afghanistan to turn off service between 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. Their rationale is that phones can be tracked (yes, even when off), but if you don't want to be tracked, you pop out the battery. I'm guessing the move is against citizens who are phoning in tips on movements.

Anyway, I need to eat some dinner, even though I have like a half-dozen more links to post. I promise to write more soon!