Coming back from about ten years of lurking and hoping the list is still
alive, I have a web design problem.

To wit: converting web page files from Illustrator format (used by the
designer) to HTML/CSS for uploading. (The designer is currently
unavailable.)

Any help in finding someone who can do this is appreciated.

With apologies for going off-topic.

--
Thanks.

DW
_______________
Donald Weightman
(wire) 202 544-1458
(cell) 202 997-3290
dweightman@...


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Hi Donald!

I continue to be a member of Cyberia-L after being the online publicist
and designer of the initial website for the Hi-Tech Law Firm of Fenwick
& West in Silicon Valley.  It's a big coincidence that I've also been
away from the list for at least 10 years too, since I did the former in
the mid-late 90s.

Although I no longer have WWW Multimedia Law up, you could see a website
I designed for my hubby a few years ago, which we've not added anything
new to yet since moving to Phoenix: www.drachen-audio.com.

*Because I welcome this opportunity to become active once again with
Cyberia-L, please let me try using a converter tool I have access to.

Cheers-
Sandy Jane Wong
P.S. An article I co-authored in the same layout as it was on my own
website:  http://www.perrysklaw.com/plaw/wong_dir/docs/wongpap3.html
*
Donald Weightman wrote:
> Coming back from about ten years of lurking and hoping the list is still
> alive, I have a web design problem.
>
> To wit: converting web page files from Illustrator format (used by the
> designer) to HTML/CSS for uploading. (The designer is currently
> unavailable.)
>
> Any help in finding someone who can do this is appreciated.
>
> With apologies for going off-topic.
>
>


--

AZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA
Sandy Jane Wong, MPA
480-699-5272 (h), 650 575 2249 (c)
"Someone who agrees with
you 80 percent of the time
is an 80 percent friend, not
a 20 percent enemy."
--Ronald Reagan
AZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA



**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Our company excels in web services. We specialize in content management
platforms (CMS) as well as CSS.

You may look at our site for a sample of our work. The site was done 100% in
house.

Thank you.

Ivan Feher
http://customerforlife.com
ifeher at customerforlife.com
212-920-1495

-----Original Message-----
From: Law & Policy of Computer Communications
[mailto:CYBERIA-L@...] On Behalf Of Sandy Jane Wong
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2008 5:31 PM
To: CYBERIA-L@...
Subject: [CYBERIA] I can do this for you../Re: OT: need web design code help

Hi Donald!

I continue to be a member of Cyberia-L after being the online publicist
and designer of the initial website for the Hi-Tech Law Firm of Fenwick
& West in Silicon Valley.  It's a big coincidence that I've also been
away from the list for at least 10 years too, since I did the former in
the mid-late 90s.

Although I no longer have WWW Multimedia Law up, you could see a website
I designed for my hubby a few years ago, which we've not added anything
new to yet since moving to Phoenix: www.drachen-audio.com.

*Because I welcome this opportunity to become active once again with
Cyberia-L, please let me try using a converter tool I have access to.

Cheers-
Sandy Jane Wong
P.S. An article I co-authored in the same layout as it was on my own
website:  http://www.perrysklaw.com/plaw/wong_dir/docs/wongpap3.html
*
Donald Weightman wrote:
> Coming back from about ten years of lurking and hoping the list is still
> alive, I have a web design problem.
>
> To wit: converting web page files from Illustrator format (used by the
> designer) to HTML/CSS for uploading. (The designer is currently
> unavailable.)
>
> Any help in finding someone who can do this is appreciated.
>
> With apologies for going off-topic.
>
>


--

AZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA
Sandy Jane Wong, MPA
480-699-5272 (h), 650 575 2249 (c)
"Someone who agrees with
you 80 percent of the time
is an 80 percent friend, not
a 20 percent enemy."
--Ronald Reagan
AZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZAZA



**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************





E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (5.5.0.212)
Database version: 5.09780
http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor/

No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.23.8/1412 - Release Date: 5/2/2008
4:34 PM


No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG.
Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.23.8/1412 - Release Date: 5/2/2008
4:34 PM






E-mail message checked by Spyware Doctor (5.5.0.212)
Database version: 5.09780
http://www.pctools.com/en/spyware-doctor/


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Donald Weightman wrote:
> Coming back from about ten years of lurking and hoping the list is still
> alive, I have a web design problem.
>
> To wit: converting web page files from Illustrator format (used by the
> designer) to HTML/CSS for uploading. (The designer is currently
> unavailable.)
>
> Any help in finding someone who can do this is appreciated.
>
> With apologies for going off-topic.
>

Illustrator uses PostScript.  So a PostScript to PDF converter should do
the job.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Looking for opinions on the intersection of attorney-client privilege
and government monitoring of commercial communications between US firms
and offshore service providers.  A DC law firm has sued the government
claiming that wiretapping and surveillance policies potentially
compromise attorney-client privilege for litigation-related materials
which are sent to India and other countries for document review.

http://tinyurl.com/5s8mg9

--
Carol Ruth Shepherd
Arborlaw PLC
Ann Arbor MI USA
734 668 4646 v  734 786 1241 f
http://arborlaw.biz/


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 03:56:15PM -0400, Carol Shepherd wrote:
> Looking for opinions on the intersection of attorney-client privilege
> and government monitoring of commercial communications between US firms
> and offshore service providers.  A DC law firm has sued the government


(without reading the article, well, I skimmed it *very* briefly) Is the firm
either 1) not encrypting the data end-to-end or 2) claiming the government
can/does break the encryption to read and analyze the data?  I believe a law
firm has a duty to use reasonable means to protect the attorney-client priv and
to not encrypt the data with strong encryption would, IMHO, constitute a breach
of that duty.

I am going to include the phone conversations between lead attys in the US and
the reviewers in India as something that ought to be encrypted.

K

--
In Vino Veritas
http://astroturfgarden.com



**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Every day, here in Washington D.C., scores of privileged legal
documents are turned over to unidentified, twenty-something bicycle
messengers-- never mind the hundreds of plain text fax transmissions,
and thousands of privileged documents that are dropped in a mailbox--
without anyone ever suggesting that the insecure delivery mode might
compromise the privilege. The unencrypted digital transmission,
overseas or domestic, is less insecure than any of those delivery
options.

In all the cases I can remember seeing on this issue, the only way I
recall anyone ever losing the privilege was by accidentally turning a
privileged document over to the other side-- and even then, courts
struggle to undergird the privilege by finding that mistakes happen
despite due care.

There's a vast difference between what one /should do/ to maintain
confidentiality /in fact/, and what one /must do/ to preserve the
privilege /as a matter of law/. Kevin arguably describes what a
careful lawyer should do, but not a court in the country would
require it.

John Noble

At 4:14 PM -0400 5/28/08, Kevin T. Neely wrote:
>On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 03:56:15PM -0400, Carol Shepherd wrote:
>>  Looking for opinions on the intersection of attorney-client privilege
>>  and government monitoring of commercial communications between US firms
>>  and offshore service providers.  A DC law firm has sued the government
>
>
>(without reading the article, well, I skimmed it *very* briefly) Is
>the firm either 1) not encrypting the data end-to-end or 2) claiming
>the government can/does break the encryption to read and analyze the
>data?  I believe a law firm has a duty to use reasonable means to
>protect the attorney-client priv and to not encrypt the data with
>strong encryption would, IMHO, constitute a breach of that duty.
>
>I am going to include the phone conversations between lead attys in
>the US and the reviewers in India as something that ought to be
>encrypted.
>
>K
>
>--
>In Vino Veritas
>http://astroturfgarden.com
>
>
>
>**********************************************************************
>For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
>Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
>Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
>**********************************************************************


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

On Wed, May 28, 2008 at 12:56 PM, Carol Shepherd <arborlaw@...> wrote:
> Looking for opinions on the intersection of attorney-client privilege and
> government monitoring of commercial communications between US firms and
> offshore service providers.  A DC law firm has sued the government
> claiming that wiretapping and surveillance policies potentially compromise
> attorney-client privilege for litigation-related materials which are sent to
> India and other countries for document review.

I don't think it necessarily waives the evidentiary privilege - but it
certainly infringes upon attorney-client confidentiality, which is a
related but legally and logically distinct issue.

For example, tapping ordinarly analog telephone lines is incredibly
easy to do, and is widely done, legally and not, by government workers
and private sector agents alike. (Try a Google search for "Pellicano"
if you have any doubt on this issue.) The equipment necessary to do
this is sold in every Radio Shack in the country. We don't, however,
conclude that the attorney-client privilege has been waived because we
talked to a client or co-counsel on an analog phone line.

On the other hand, I think it's great that the law firm has the time
and energy to explore the issue.

--
Greg Broiles, JD, LLM Tax, EA
gbroiles@... (Lists only. Not for confidential communications.)
Legacy Planning Law Group
San Jose, CA
California Estate Planning Blog: http://www.estateplanblog.com


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

From: Greg Broiles <gbroiles@...>
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 18:34
Subject: Re: [CYBERIA] Legal outsourcing and US government surveillance - blows
attorney-client privilege?
To: CYBERIA-L@...


> Greg Broiles, JD, LLM Tax, EA
> gbroiles@... (Lists only. Not for confidential communications.)
> Legacy Planning Law Group
> San Jose, CA
> California Estate Planning Blog: http://www.estateplanblog.com

What of attorneys who communicate with clients via gmail?   You *KNOW* those
communications are going to be machine-parsed, in order to deliver possibly
relevant advertisements.   Is the fact that they're not /supposed/ to be read by
humans relevant to the discussion of Privilege?


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

I'm actually teaching attorney-client privilege this week in professional
responsibility.

A good analogy is that there are bar opinions saying that the privilege is
maintained through unencrypted email.

When you send email through plaintext, you know the ISPs and other forwarding
stations on the Internet can see your communication, but that in itself does not
blow the privilege.

I think the possibility of secret wiretapping is less likely to blow the
privilege.

Peter

Prof. Peter P. Swire
C. William O'Neil Professor of Law
    Moritz College of Law
    The Ohio State University
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
(240) 994-4142, www.peterswire.net


-----Original Message-----
From: Law & Policy of Computer Communications
[mailto:CYBERIA-L@...] On Behalf Of Randall Webmail
Sent: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 10:11 PM
To: CYBERIA-L@...
Subject: Re: [CYBERIA] Legal outsourcing and US government surveillance - blows
attorney-client privilege?

From: Greg Broiles <gbroiles@...>
Date: Wednesday, May 28, 2008 18:34
Subject: Re: [CYBERIA] Legal outsourcing and US government surveillance - blows
attorney-client privilege?
To: CYBERIA-L@...


> Greg Broiles, JD, LLM Tax, EA
> gbroiles@... (Lists only. Not for confidential communications.)
> Legacy Planning Law Group
> San Jose, CA
> California Estate Planning Blog: http://www.estateplanblog.com

What of attorneys who communicate with clients via gmail?   You *KNOW* those
communications are going to be machine-parsed, in order to deliver possibly
relevant advertisements.   Is the fact that they're not /supposed/ to be read by
humans relevant to the discussion of Privilege?


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

<http://online.wsj.com/article_print/SB121241156893137637.html>


June 2, 2008 11:38 a.m. EDT


The Wall Street Journal

Justices Rule for Defendants
In Money-Laundering Cases
A WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE NEWS ROUNDUP

June 2, 2008 11:38 a.m.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled against the government in two money-
laundering cases, making it more difficult for prosecutors to use an
important weapon in the war on drugs and organized crime.
In a unanimous decision, Justice Clarence Thomas said that a money
laundering case cannot be proven merely by showing that funds were
concealed while being transported.

In a separate 5-4 decision, the court said that money laundering
refers to profits of an illegal operation, not gross receipts. The
court's interpretation is a narrow one opposed by law enforcement
agencies.
Justice Antonin Scalia said the narrow definition will not unduly
burden authorities, who must show only that a single instance of
unlawful activity was profitable.

Providing the crucial tie-breaking vote, Justice John Paul Stevens
refused to go as far as Justice Scalia, saying Congress favored a
broader interpretation of the law in cases involving the operation of
organized crime syndicates.

In the cases of Efrain Santos and Benedicto Diaz, a federal judge and
the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago said that paying off
gambling winners and compensating employees who collect the bets don't
qualify as money laundering. Those are expenses, and prosecutors must
show that profits were used to promote the illegal activity, the
appeals court ruled in a decision affirmed by the Supreme Court.

In dissent, Justice Samuel Alito said that the court's ruling would
frustrate congressional intent and "maim" a law that was enacted as an
important defense against organized criminal enterprises.

The other case did not go as far in favor of defendants as defense
lawyers had hoped.

In his unanimous ruling, Justice Thomas said that the government isn't
required to prove that a defendant attempted to create the appearance
that laundered money was legitimate.

But the court said that prosecutors must show that the purpose of
transporting funds in a money laundering case was to conceal its
ownership, source or control.

Justice Thomas and the court ruled in favor of Humberto Cuellar, who
was headed for Mexico with over $80,000 stashed in a secret
compartment of a car when he was arrested in Schleicher County, Texas.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans had upheld Mr.
Cuellar's money-laundering conviction.
Money laundering carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and
prosecutors often use it in drug and gambling cases.

Congress enacted the anti-money laundering law in 1986 after the
President's Commission on Organized Crime highlighted the growing
problem of "washing" criminal proceeds through overseas bank accounts
and legitimate businesses.

The cases are U.S. v. Santos, 06-1005, and Cuellar v. U.S., 06-1456.

Publisher's Suit Against Visa, MasterCard Fails

The court turned away the latest appeal from Perfect 10 Inc., which
sued Visa Inc. and MasterCard International Inc. for allegedly
allowing their transaction networks to be used by Web sites that
pirate images of nude models.

Perfect 10, an adult online magazine, has sued several financial
services companies, alleging they aided in copyright and trademark
violations. A similar appeal involving CCBill Inc. was rejected by the
high court last year. The company also has sued Google Inc.

"The Internet makes possible copyright infringement on a mind-boggling
scale," Perfect 10 said in the appeal, adding that it believes an
appeals court ruling in the case "is bound to wreak disproportionate
havoc on federal copyright law."

Perfect 10 sued the two companies, which dominate the credit-card
industry, in an effort to stop Web sites that pirate erotic photos
from using Visa and MasterCard to process payment transactions.

A federal trial judge threw the lawsuit out. Last year, the 9th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed that Perfect 10
didn't have a case under federal copyright law against the credit-card
companies for what is known as secondary copyright liability.

In a friend-of-the-court brief, the Motion Picture Association,
Recording Industry Association of America and other entertainment
groups urged the Supreme Court to hear Perfect 10's appeal. "The
decision is particularly harmful to copyright owners' ability to
combat piracy that is perpetrated from foreign locations" the groups
said.

Visa and MasterCard, in a reply brief, said Perfect 10 and the
entertainment industry are wrongly trying to forge a "new legal
obligation to deny payment network access to third parties' based on
copyright violation allegations.

The case is Perfect 10 v. Visa International Service Association.


Hyperlinks in this Article:
(1)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/scotus-op-santos06022008.pdf
(2)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/scotus-op-cuellar06022008.pdf
(3)
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/info-scotusdiary-071002.html
(4) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121189746412322783.html
(5) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121120201571003423.html
(6) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121060066203485187.html
(7) http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120939053697249475.html


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

These ia an interesting article by Bruce Schneier about why we accept
faxed signatures through unsecured pots lines and why we can't accept
scanned signatures through email.

"Aren't fax signatures the weirdest thing? It's trivial to cut and paste
-- with real scissors and glue -- anyone's signature onto a document so
that it'll look real when faxed. There is so little security in fax
signatures that it's mind-boggling that anyone accepts them. Yet people
do, all the time. I've signed book contracts, credit card
authorizations, nondisclosure..."

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/fax_signatures.html

Slashdot post - http://it.slashdot.org/it/08/06/03/1317221.shtml


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

But using the UETA or E-sign, we can accept scanned signatures through e-mail.
It's not even a close question.

There are even a couple of court decisions out there suggesting that if someone
says "I agree" during a digitally recorded conversation, it can be a valid
signature under the UETA.

Prior to the UETA and E-sign and similar statutes, it wasn't the fax of the
signature that was considered valid, but the original signature presumably still
at the other end of the faxing process. If the person in possession of the
original signature refused to produce the document or shredded it, the fax could
be used as evidence that the original signature had, in fact, existed. For many
purposes this was perfectly acceptable. Of course, the same concept will apply
to a scan of a real signature.

Regards,

- Warren Agin
_____________________________________
                     Warren E. Agin
                Swiggart & Agin, LLC
                  197 Portland Street
                   Boston, MA 02114
   617.742.0110 x203    fax 617.723.2830
                 direct: 617.517.3203
            WEA@...
         http://www.swiggartagin.com
_____________________________________

For more information about Swiggart & Agin, LLC, please visit
http://www.swiggartagin.com. for topical legal information, please visit
www.lawtrove.com.

   ----- Original Message -----
   From: Drew Lehman
   To: CYBERIA-L@...
   Sent: Tuesday, June 03, 2008 10:44 AM
   Subject: Fax vs Scanned Signatures


   These ia an interesting article by Bruce Schneier about why we accept
   faxed signatures through unsecured pots lines and why we can't accept
   scanned signatures through email.

   "Aren't fax signatures the weirdest thing? It's trivial to cut and paste
   -- with real scissors and glue -- anyone's signature onto a document so
   that it'll look real when faxed. There is so little security in fax
   signatures that it's mind-boggling that anyone accepts them. Yet people
   do, all the time. I've signed book contracts, credit card
   authorizations, nondisclosure..."

   http://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/06/fax_signatures.html

   Slashdot post - http://it.slashdot.org/it/08/06/03/1317221.shtml


   **********************************************************************
   For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
   Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
   Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
   **********************************************************************


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Prosecutorial Timidity For White Collar Crimes:
Long Term Costs to Residents
Seventh Judicial Circuit
St. Augustine, Florida
July 24, 2008
Dwight Hines


The Seventh Judicial Circuit for the State of Florida includes Putnam, St.
Johns, Volusia, and Flagler Counties.  The State Attorney for the circuit,
as in all circuits of Florida, is elected to prosecute violations of the
law.  In the past three years, and likely much longer, the present State
Attorney for the Seventh Circuit,  John Tanner, has not prosecuted a single
individual for failure to comply with the Florida Public Records Act
(Chapter 119, Fla. Stat. (2007).   Such failures to prosecute these white
collar crimes not only cost the tax payers large sums of money, as we shall
see for the City of St. Augustine, but also violate fundamental rights of
the people who live, or work, or visit the City.  Prosecutorial discretion
is a necessary and integral part of the state attorney's decision system but
when the exercise of that discretion results in costs of millions of dollars
and significant and substantive amounts of pain, it is time for us to have a
state attorney who will practice more balanced law enforcement and not be
timid in enforcing white collar crimes.

State Attorney Tanner is challenged in the present election by Mr. R. J.
Larizza, a qualified attorney who I believe will not tolerate refusals by
government officials to comply with Florida Rules for electronic records
(Rule 1B-26.003, F.A.C.) or Florida laws on open records (Chapter 119, Fla.
Stat.) or Florida laws on Open meetings (Chapter 286, Fla. Stat.).

Examples of violations, like the multiple public record requests for
information to the City of St. Augustine that resulted in a denial that
records for city vehicles existed.   Indeed, false affidavits were filed in
circuit court, in response to an open records civil suit, that not only were
the City computers unable to print information that was on the computers but
that the computers did not remember what information they did contain.

Even though the City produced huge boxes of data on city vehicles at the
first hearing, the state attorney's office failed to prosecute anyone in the
city for filing false documents or for failures to comply with the open
records act.  It made no difference to the prosecutors that after the open
records suit was filed, it was revealed that the City had been dumping tens
of thousands of square yards of toxic materials into the old City reservoir,
in violation of state laws.   The City was fined by the Florida Department
of Environmental Protection, but the case on how to best deal with the mess
created is still  in litigation, which is costing tax payers money. It is
not odd that the City has refused to provide documents on how much the
outside attorneys are charging for representing the City, but it shows they
have no fear, and probably little respect for, the state attorney.  The
amount of money, not including legal fees, laboratory fees, and restoration
costs and monitoring, for just the illegal dumping in the old City reservoir
is over $1,000,000.   The total bill is still increasing and it will be
impressive.

A second example of how failure to enforce white collar crimes, like the
open records and open meetings acts, is that the City was recently found to
have ignored repairing the pipe that discharges treated sewage water into
the Matanzas River and associated marshes, for five years.  What compounds
these violations in notifying the Fla DEP, for which a $31,000 fine has been
initially assessed, is the violation of the Florida Open meeting laws when
the City Manager, Harriss, met individually some years ago to tell the
commissioners that the pipe was broken and that it would be too expensive to
repair.  The commissioners agreed and nothing was done, not even
notifications as required by law, to the DEP.  This is not a new way of
compromising city commissioners, but if their meetings had been open, they
would not have flouted the laws so boldly.

The broken pipe, and reports now state that the pipe was broken in numerous
places and the last 120 feet had disappeared, becomes more important when it
was discovered last week that the City sewage treatment plant in 2006 had
several months of high levels of E. coli discharged through the pipe and
into the marsh.  Again, there were no notifications to the public, and no
signs posted in the river or on the marsh about the real hazards of fishing
and swimming in the area.   The unacceptably high levels of cyanide that
were also detected were not persistent, but there were no public warnings,
and no notifications to the police or fire or health departments, as
required by law and common sense.

The cost to replace the pipe will be in excess of one million dollars and
the City commission recently met publicly and approved the spending of the
money in a public meeting.   There was no mention of any violations by the
commissioners or the city manager, or of past individual meetings to not
repair the pipe that the City Manager bragged about to the newspaper.
Indeed, the city manager and commissioners seem to feel that they saved
money by hiding the broken pipe from the public and DEP, they believe they
figured out how to replace the pipe at a lower cost than their estimates of
five years ago.   They don't figure, as farmers have to figure, that when
you degrade the land, even marshland, it costs to get things back in shape,
if that is even possible.  Of course, there are also no costs included for
the harms to humans included in their calculations.

What is appalling is not only are these illegal and stupid violations a
crime against all of those who respect our environment, but a mean insult to
those who use the rivers and marsh for recreation and fishing.  The facts
that these violations are also environmental justice violations because the
locations of the toxic dumpings are adjacent to traditional Afro-American
neighborhoods.   But, we don't want to raise questions with the state
attorney about equal treatment for minorities when there are fewer
Afro-American businesses in St. Augustine than there were in the 1960s, and
the practice of hiring Afro-Americans in the fire department and most other
city departments doesn't happen, so no one asks why the number of blacks in
the City have been declining over the decades since the 1960s.

Yet, there may be a higher order of natural justice coming into action now,
the type that the old preachers, the Bible thumpers, warned about years ago,
the type of justice that Rachel Carson wrote about, that there'd be a
reckoning, that all the little harms, all the wrongs, would accumulate and
take all of us down equally.   The woman who told me this week that small
fish, crabs, and coquina have disappeared or are significantly reduced in
number at the Matanzas River outlet to the Atlantic Ocean may be the
accumulation of ecological impacts of the illegal discharges by the City
upstream, and these negative impacts may have arrived at the expensive ocean
front homes.   We need more data, valid and reliable biological information
on plants and animals that were exposed to these events because E. coli can
survive at unacceptably high levels in natural systems for extended periods
of time.

It is difficult to imagine how the City manager or the city commission would
have allowed all these white collar violations if they had known the
violations would become public.  Presenting the real costs for the City to
remedy the violations, including ecological restoration, would never have
been approved by the people of St. Augustine.

The increase in millage for the City taxes this year would not have been
necessary if these simple white collar laws had been enforced and if people
knew the laws were going to be enforced.

When you hear of a blue collar crook complaining that although he stole a
car, and he says it shows something is wrong about him being in jail and the
men who wasted millions of tax dollars by their secret dealings are still
getting paid high salaries, are still driving around in a City paid SUV, and
still burning gas bought by the City, aren't going to be prosecuted.    "Hit
ain't right."   If we could put a price on trust, the failure to enforce the
simple white collar laws on open records and open meetings would put us into
spiritual bankruptcy.

What we still don't know is how much all of these illegal acts, acts that
create avalanches of violations after openness is repeatedly violated, are
causing plain physical harms to plants, humans, and other animals.

dh


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

I just saw my third or fourth instance of a contract provision along the
lines of:

"You agree that 1. the site, services and platform shall be deemed
solely based in [STATE] and 2. the site shall be deemed a passive
website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either
specific or general, in jurisdictions other than [STATE]."

This seems to be at best hopeful and at worst in terrorem but I've
probably missed some relevant developments.

Can anyone point me to state or federal caselaw (conflicts of laws or
jdx, contracts cases, or otherwise) which would support this gambit?
--

Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
Principal, Arborlaw PLC             |  http://arborlaw.biz
734.717.4646 v  734.786.1241 f


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

I'm not sure how this adds anything if you've already negotiated an exclusive
jurisdiction provision in the contract. Are you spotting these in terms of
service provisions or negotiated contracts?
Regards,

- Warren Agin

_____________________________________
Warren E. Agin
Swiggart & Agin, LLC
197 Portland Street
Boston, MA 02114
617.742.0110 x203 fax 617.723.2830
direct: 617.517.3203
WEA@...
http://www.swiggartagin.com
_____________________________________
This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. If you
are not an intended recipient, please notify Swiggart & Agin, LLC now -- either
hit "Reply" or e-mail info@... -- and please delete all copies of
this message and any attachments. Thank you.

Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including any
attachments) is not intended to be and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the
purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. (The
foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury Regulations
governing tax practice.)

For more information about Swiggart & Agin, LLC, please visit
http://www.swiggartagin.com.

----- Original Message -----

   From: Carol Shepherd
   To: CYBERIA-L@...
   Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 3:44 PM
   Subject: "Deemed" jurisdiction / disclaimed personal jurisdiction


   I just saw my third or fourth instance of a contract provision along the
   lines of:

   "You agree that 1. the site, services and platform shall be deemed
   solely based in [STATE] and 2. the site shall be deemed a passive
   website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either
   specific or general, in jurisdictions other than [STATE]."

   This seems to be at best hopeful and at worst in terrorem but I've
   probably missed some relevant developments.

   Can anyone point me to state or federal caselaw (conflicts of laws or
   jdx, contracts cases, or otherwise) which would support this gambit?
   --

   Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
   VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
   Principal, Arborlaw PLC             |  http://arborlaw.biz
   734.717.4646 v  734.786.1241 f


   **********************************************************************
   For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
   Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
   Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
   **********************************************************************


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

I've run into these only in unilateral contracts -- two TOS, two are
non-negotiable software licenses.  I wouldn't be counseling a client to
agree to these in a negotiated contract, for obvious reasons.

Warren E. Agin wrote:
> I'm not sure how this adds anything if you've already negotiated an exclusive
jurisdiction provision in the contract. Are you spotting these in terms of
service provisions or negotiated contracts?
> Regards,
>
> - Warren Agin
>
> _____________________________________
> Warren E. Agin
> Swiggart & Agin, LLC
> 197 Portland Street
> Boston, MA 02114
> 617.742.0110 x203 fax 617.723.2830
> direct: 617.517.3203
> WEA@...
> http://www.swiggartagin.com
> _____________________________________
> This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged. If you
are not an intended recipient, please notify Swiggart & Agin, LLC now -- either
hit "Reply" or e-mail info@... -- and please delete all copies of
this message and any attachments. Thank you.
>
> Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including any
attachments) is not intended to be and cannot be used by any taxpayer for the
purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the taxpayer. (The
foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury Regulations
governing tax practice.)
>
> For more information about Swiggart & Agin, LLC, please visit
http://www.swiggartagin.com.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>   From: Carol Shepherd
>   To: CYBERIA-L@...
>   Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 3:44 PM
>   Subject: "Deemed" jurisdiction / disclaimed personal jurisdiction
>
>
>   I just saw my third or fourth instance of a contract provision along the
>   lines of:
>
>   "You agree that 1. the site, services and platform shall be deemed
>   solely based in [STATE] and 2. the site shall be deemed a passive
>   website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us, either
>   specific or general, in jurisdictions other than [STATE]."
>
>   This seems to be at best hopeful and at worst in terrorem but I've
>   probably missed some relevant developments.
>
>   Can anyone point me to state or federal caselaw (conflicts of laws or
>   jdx, contracts cases, or otherwise) which would support this gambit?
>   --
>
>   Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
>   VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
>   Principal, Arborlaw PLC             |  http://arborlaw.biz
>   734.717.4646 v  734.786.1241 f
>
>
>   **********************************************************************
>   For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
>   Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
>   Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
>   **********************************************************************
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
> Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
> Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
> **********************************************************************
>

--
Carol Ruth Shepherd
Arborlaw PLC
Ann Arbor MI USA
734 668 4646 v  734 786 1241 f
Arborlaw - a legal blog for entrepreneurs and small business
http://arborlaw.biz/blog


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

The provision doesn't make a lot of sense to me.  You may consent to
personal jurisdiction, but I don't think you can "deem" it away.

In a two party contract if you wanted to control where litigation over the
agreement would take place, you would simply contractually bind each other
to bring suit in a specific court.  That provision wouldn't negate
personal jurisdiction in other states, it would just make it irrelevant.

Given that this provision speaks of both "specific and general"
jurisdiction, my guess is that this provision is targeted at third parties
who would attempt to use the fact that the web site is providing services
to your client in state X as evidence to support state X asserting general
jurisdiction over the provider.  If that is the actual goal, I think the
provision fails miserably and is, in fact, a tad silly.

"Pay no attention to the minimum contacts and purposeful availment behind
the curtain."

Cheers,

stm





Carol Shepherd <arborlaw@...>
Sent by: Law & Policy of Computer Communications
<CYBERIA-L@...>
09/18/2008 11:16 AM
Please respond to
Law & Policy of Computer Communications <CYBERIA-L@...>


To
CYBERIA-L@...
cc

Subject
Re: [CYBERIA] "Deemed" jurisdiction / disclaimed personal jurisdiction






I've run into these only in unilateral contracts -- two TOS, two are
non-negotiable software licenses.  I wouldn't be counseling a client to
agree to these in a negotiated contract, for obvious reasons.

Warren E. Agin wrote:
> I'm not sure how this adds anything if you've already negotiated an
exclusive jurisdiction provision in the contract. Are you spotting these
in terms of service provisions or negotiated contracts?
> Regards,
>
> - Warren Agin
>
> _____________________________________
> Warren E. Agin
> Swiggart & Agin, LLC
> 197 Portland Street
> Boston, MA 02114
> 617.742.0110 x203 fax 617.723.2830
> direct: 617.517.3203
> WEA@...
> http://www.swiggartagin.com
> _____________________________________
> This e-mail and any attachments are confidential and may be privileged.
If you are not an intended recipient, please notify Swiggart & Agin, LLC
now -- either hit "Reply" or e-mail info@... -- and please
delete all copies of this message and any attachments. Thank you.
>
> Any tax information or written tax advice contained herein (including
any attachments) is not intended to be and cannot be used by any taxpayer
for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties that may be imposed on the
taxpayer. (The foregoing legend has been affixed pursuant to U.S. Treasury
Regulations governing tax practice.)
>
> For more information about Swiggart & Agin, LLC, please visit
http://www.swiggartagin.com.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
>
>   From: Carol Shepherd
>   To: CYBERIA-L@...
>   Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2008 3:44 PM
>   Subject: "Deemed" jurisdiction / disclaimed personal jurisdiction
>
>
>   I just saw my third or fourth instance of a contract provision along
the
>   lines of:
>
>   "You agree that 1. the site, services and platform shall be deemed
>   solely based in [STATE] and 2. the site shall be deemed a passive
>   website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over us,
either
>   specific or general, in jurisdictions other than [STATE]."
>
>   This seems to be at best hopeful and at worst in terrorem but I've
>   probably missed some relevant developments.
>
>   Can anyone point me to state or federal caselaw (conflicts of laws or
>   jdx, contracts cases, or otherwise) which would support this gambit?
>   --
>
>   Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
>   VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
>   Principal, Arborlaw PLC             |  http://arborlaw.biz
>   734.717.4646 v  734.786.1241 f
>
>
>   **********************************************************************
>   For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
>   Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
>   Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
>   **********************************************************************
>
>
> **********************************************************************
> For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
> Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
> Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
> **********************************************************************
>

--
Carol Ruth Shepherd
Arborlaw PLC
Ann Arbor MI USA
734 668 4646 v  734 786 1241 f
Arborlaw - a legal blog for entrepreneurs and small business
http://arborlaw.biz/blog


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************



-----------------------------------------
This E-mail and its attachments (if any) are intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s) and may contain sensitive but
unclassified information. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution,
or use of the information contained herein (including any reliance
thereon) is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this E-mail
in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the
E-mail and any attachments.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

National Environmental Justice
Advisory Council Meeting
Atlanta,  Georgia
October 21-23, 2008


Public Comment

Environmental Justice Best Practices Limited by
Pre-Baconian Anti-Empirical Biases
St. Augustine, Florida
October 13, 2008
Dwight Hines

Rule 1B-26.003, Florida Administrative Code (1), are the rules that
all Florida state and local governments must follow for electronic
records and it is inextricably intertwined with the Florida Public
Records Act, Chapter 119, Fl. Stat. (2).   It makes sense, if you
don't know what records an agency or department are keeping, or how
the records are stored, or what the different variable and value
labels are for the data in the records, to say that it is not possible
for a City employee to respond completely or accurately to Florida
Open Records requests if the City is not in compliance with Rule
1B-26.003, F.A.C.

Given the amounts of data that a small City generates in a day for
City owned vehicles, and given the importance those data have for
establishing baselines of fuel use, and exhaust produced, and where
and when, a documented database maintained by a City would be ideal
for establishing different baselines that could be used for neutral
evaluations of novel fuel efficiency programs or air pollution
reduction strategies. Sir Francis Bacon, who many scholars credit with
introducing empiricism into science (3), would approve of people
examining the data who would not have biases caused by knowing the
drivers or having ownership of the vehicles or the wholesale gasoline
dealers.  Similarly, the Institute of Medicine Report, (4, in press),
would likely place these types of objective data collection and
analyses, if performed by qualified personnel who were not directly
involved in the program being evaluated, as equivalent to double-blind
studies, if proper controls are included.  Linking the fuel and
exhaust and locations data with health and health care indicators
could be as routine as checking outflow from waste treatment plants
and would be compatible with the objectives of the state, federal, and
international, evidence-based, environmental health programs that are
currently determining guidelines for recognition (5-12), treatment and
prevention (13-16).

Unfortunately, the limits on best practices of environmental justice
are not due to lack of data collected or lack of data stored in easily
transferred electronic formats, but are due to inabilities of local
governments and citizens to examine the data themselves.  My position
at this time is that fear of numbers, anxiety over realistic,
practical evaluation, and inability to see computers as determining
strategy are far more critical barriers to achieving environmental
justice than the old practices of racial segregation and ethnic
animosity.

One would think that given the great distress caused by the unstable
financial markets that local citizens and employees would be demanding
to see how their tax money is being spent and wanting to know how less
be spent.  One would also think that managers of public resources
would want to achieve the best measurable results possible to show
their skills and to make themselves more valuable in the marketplace.
No.  The reality is different and until the anti-empirical biases are
identified, and corrected, there will be slow progress in improving
the more superficial ethnic health and health care disparities.

The City of St. Augustine, in Florida, is a good example: Agencies
have purchased and use computer hardware and software.  Getting data
into the machine and being able to obtain simple summary data is all
that is done or expected.  Management using hard data as quantitative
guides or for evaluation or accountability, or just mere estimates of
risk parameters is not possible.  Managers act as if the amount of
money wasted due to lack of information is secondary to the risks of
being held accountable for specific responsibilities.  The actual role
of the information system in these situations is that of a frail beast
who they have tamed, but at the price of not being able to comply with
the required laws and rules of Florida for electronic records, and at
the costs of sustaining old disparities.

The historical context of my observations are similar to the contexts
of other towns that have problems with resolving real and potential
harms that act differentially on different groups.  A residual history
of government endorsed "white only" police, fire, and other City
departments basically continues, but the reasons are different.  The
fact that there are no Afro-American businesses in the old City, or
that there are no Afro-American entertainers at the bars or lounges is
not noticed and, if it is, there are reasonable explanations for their
absence.   In two large public meetings called by the NAACP,
criticisms from the Afro-American community, which has substantially
declined in population in the City in the past 50 years, about poor
City services, and differential treatment by the police have not
resulted in perceptible or real changes.  What makes the situation
difficult is that the City, after repeated requests for records,
records that are not exempt from the public records act, has failed to
comply with the laws or the rules on electronic records.

In this continuing saga of non-transparency, the City was found guilty
of illegal toxic dumping into the old City Reservoir, a place people
used to fish.  The dumping killed all the fish.  The City successfully
negotiated with the FL-DEP to return the toxic materials to the
original place but citizens, mostly Afro-American citizens, blocked
that decision so they and their families would not have more exposures
to the toxic materials.  The City successfully avoided responding to
subpoenas for records and testimony so it's unknown how the toxic
mistakes were made.

It was recently revealed that the pipeline from the City's wastewater
treatment plant into the Matanzas River was cracked and approximately
half of the volume flowed into the river and half into the saltwater
marsh.   The City did not report the broken pipe to the FL-DEP, or to
the citizens, for five years.  Later I learned, as I was going through
other records at FL-DEP, that for approximately three months the City
had dumped untreated sewage into the Matanzas River and onto the
saltwater marsh.  Again, no citizens were notified.  FL-DEP was
notified, but they kept the secret.

City attorneys have still not released records on how much money
outside attorneys have cost the taxpayers so far in defending the
wrongful actions of the City. The City continues to refuse to produce
other records as required by state law, although the City will provide
you with an inadequately, according to Florida Rules, documented copy
of one City SQL database.

That environmental justice is secondary to the City being
anti-empirical is supported by the fact that the City has never
conducted an economic analysis to aid decision making on any topic.
Of course, it's desirable to avoid such analyses because the amounts
of money would be difficult to explain for an economic valuation of
wetlands disrupted or of fishing areas destroyed, or the health costs
of establishing E. coli colonies in the saltwater marsh adjacent to
the river.  The E. coli sampling and counts, conducted after citizens
made complaints about the complete lack of biological testing on the
affected areas before the biologist said there was no harm done to the
marsh, were unacceptably high.   It may be worth considering that one
of the key indicators of anti-empiricism is that once valuable
properties are not seen as diminished in value by pollution, there can
be no recognition of the specific dollar amount of harms that
occurred.  Fortunately, there are a number of different acceptable
methods (21) to determine the value of the loss of an ecosystem or
habitat, and these valuations help in determining what strategy is
best for ecological restoration (17-19).  Although some contaminant
induced changes in the St. Augustine Matanzas River habitats, like
those observed in dominant taxa moving from oligochaetes to amphipods,
as well as significant changes in the number of taxa, are likely
irreversible (20), long term direct, indirect, and ripple effects on
human beings, mostly Afro-Americans (22�30), are not measured.

Because of the high levels of E. coli and other contaminants, the
Florida Department of Aquaculture prohibits the taking of shellfish
from the Matanzas and San Sebastian Rivers in St. Augustine.   There
are no warning signs about the prohibition of shellfish near or in the
rivers.  The Aquaculture Department says that they don't "do" signs.
They say call the health department.  The health department states
that they don't "do" signs.  The City also does not "do" signs �
"everybody knows not to eat shellfish from there", according to one
City Commissioner.

Interpreting the illegal dumping of toxic materials in the old City
Reservoir and not repairing the broken wastewater pipeline � spewing
out millions of gallons of sewage into the River and the saltwater
marsh � and keeping it secret for five years � are actions complicated
by the absence of basic health care status of Afro-Americans in St.
Augustine.   The St. Johns County Health Department has collected data
from random surveys distributed in St. Augustine's County of St. Johns
for 2002 and 2007 (31).  Reviewing the results you can see that all
the categories for Afro-Americans and Hispanics are empty.  The
explanation, which has been acceptable for at least five years, is
that the random sampling didn't produce large enough numbers to be
meaningful.  No one has suggested that an alternative and valid
sampling technique (stratified, etc.) be used.  I would argue that
because the health of a community is influenced by all its members,
Afro-American or white or Hispanic, the results reported are not
generalizable or valid or reliable.  And it makes relating
environmental factors to individual or group factors impossible.  That
is not blatant old-time racism, it is anti-empiricism.

Remedies to the wrongs caused by anti-empiricism, if the wrongs impact
an individual right (32), likely will not be considered by courts in
the United States in the near future, but there are some wonderful
international developments moving in beneficial directions for all
human beings (33) that provide mechanisms for relief.

References

(1) Rule 1B-26.003, Florida Administrative Code, Electronic Records.
http://dlis.dos.state.fl.us/barm/rules/1B26_003FAC.cfm (accessed on
October 11, 2008).

(2) Florida Public Records Act.
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?app_mode=display_statute&url=ch011\
9/ch0119.htm
(accessed on October 11, 2008)

(3) Muntersbjorn, M. "Francis Bacon's Philosophy of Science: machina
intellectus and forma indita."
http://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/archive/00001089/ (accessed October
13, 2008).

(4)  Eden, J., Wheatley, B.,  McNeil, B., Sox, H. (Editors). Knowing
What Works in Health Care: A Roadmap for the Nation.  Committee on
Reviewing Evidence to Identify Highly Effective Clinical Services,
Institute of Medicine, National Academies, in press 2008, National
Academies Press, Washington, D.C.

(5) AGREE Collaboration. 2003. Appraisal of Guidelines for Research &
Evaluation (AGREE) Instrument,  www.agreecollaboration.org (accessed
October 13, 2008);   http://www.guideline.gov/

(6) AHRQ (Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality). 2007. Effective
Health Care�Home Page.  http://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/ (accessed
October 10, 2008).  See National Guideline Clearinghouse, 2008,
National Guideline Clearinghouse (accessed October 13, 2008).

(7) CADDIS (Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System),
Environmental Protection Agency, http://cfpub.epa.gov/caddis/index.cfm
(accessed on October 13, 2008).

(8) Krieger, N., et al, The Public Health Disparities Geocoding
Project,  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/thegeocodingproject/ (accessed
on October 11, 2008).

(9) American Public Health Association, Health Disparties Database,
http://www.apha.org/programs/disparitiesdb/  (accessed October 13,
2008).

(10)  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Community Health
Status Indicators, http://communityhealth.hhs.gov/homepage.aspx?j=1
  (accessed October 13, 2008)

(11) Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, Community
Health Status Indicators,
http://www.astho.org/?template=health_status_indicators.html,
(accessed on October, 13, 2008).

(12) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Health
Care Disparities Report, 2003, Rockville, Maryland,
http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nhdr03/nhdr2003.pdf (accessed on October 13,
2008).

(13) National Association of County and City Health Officials,
Protocol for Assessing Community Excellence in Environmental Health,
http://www.naccho.org/topics/environmental/CEHA/paceeh.cfm, (accessed
October 13, 2008).

14) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease
Control, Environmental Public Health Performance Standards,
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/envphps/, (accessed on October 13, 2008).

(15) _________, National Center for Environmental Health, Ten
Essential Services of Environmental Health,
http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/envphps/default.htm, (accessed on October
13, 2008).

(16) U.S. EPA, Final Report: US EPA Environmental Management System
Pilot Program for Local Government Entities. 2000,
http://www.epa.gov/owm/iso14001/emsrepor.pdf, (accessed on October 13,
2008).

(17)  World Resources Institute, Economic Valuation of Coastal
Ecosystems in the Caribbean: Project Overview � January, 2008,
http://pdf.wri.org/fisheries_valuation_tool_users_manual.pdf,
(accessed October 13, 2008); Costanza, R. & Farber, S. Introduction to
the special issue on  the dynamics of ecosystem services: integrating
economic perspectives.  Ecological Economics 41  (2002) 367-373.

(18) Casadesus-Masanell, R. HBS Cases: The Value of Environmental
Activists. http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5797.html (accessed October 13,
2008); King, D., Mazzota, M. & Markowitz, K.  Introduction to Relative
Ecosystem Valuation,
http://www.ecosystemvaluation.org/Indicators/about.htm#ipurpose
(accessed October 13, 2008);

(19)  Sunstein, C.  Irreversibility.  Harvard Law School Working
Paper, 08-25, Preliminary draft, July 12, 2008,
http://www.ssrn.com/abstract=126-323,  (accessed on October 13, 2008)

(20) U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Benefits of Restoration,
http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/benefits.html, (accessed
October 13, 2008).

(21) Viscusi,W., Huber, J., Bell, J.  The Economic Value of Water
Quality.  Vanderbilt Law School, 2008,
http://ssrn.com/abstract_id-1084077 (accessed October 11, 2008)

(22)  Scott, D.  Confronting chronic pollution: A socio-legal analysis
of risk and precaution.  CLPE Research Paper 23/2008, forthcoming,
Osgood Hall Law Journal 46(2) Special Issue on Environmental Law
(2008), http://ssrn.com/abstract=1262791 (accessible October 13, 2008)

(23)  Borchardt MA,  Chyou P,  Devries EO,  Belongia EA.  Septic
system density and infectious diarrhea in a defined population of
children. Environ Health Perspect 2003;111:742-748.

(24)  Borchardt MA.  Biologically active contaminants in aquitards.In:
Cherry JA, Parker BL, Bradbury KR, Eaton TT, Gotkowitz MG, Hart DJ,
Borchardt MA (ed).  Contaminant Transport Through Aquitards: A
State-of-the-Science Review, American Water Works Association Research
Foundation:  Denver, CO,  2006, pp:126. (accessible October 13, 2008)

(25) Comer, P. & Goodin, K. Biodiversity at Risk in Isolated Wetlands.
Wetlands Newsletter, 28(2), 2006, Environmental Law Institute,
http://www.natureserve.org/publications/isolatedwetlands.jsp,
(accessible October 13, 2008)

(26) Comer, P., et al, Biodiversity Values of Geographically Isolated
Wetlands in the United States, 2005, NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia,
http://www.natureserve.org/library/isolated_wetlands_05/isolated_wetlands.pdf
(accessible October 13, 2008)

(27) Madden, Goodin, K.  Ecological classification of Florida Bay
Using the Coastal Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS),
2007, Natureserve, Arlington, Virginia,
http://www.natureserve.org/library/munson_final.pdf (accessible
October 13, 2008)

(28) Beauvais, G. et al, Element Distribution Modeling: A Primer.
Version 2, June 1, 2006. Natureserve, Arlington, Virginia,
http://www.natureserve.org/prodServices/pdf/EDM_white_paper_2.0.pdf,
(accessible October 13, 2008). Or Musings Upon Depicting the
Geographic Arrangement of Biota, with Ample Reference to the Harsh
Lessons of the Master Experience.

(29) Florida State University, Florida Resources and Environmental
Analysis Center, Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Biodiversity Matrix,
and Guide to the Natural Communities of Florida, February 1990,
http://www.fnai.org/index.cfm, (accessible October 13, 2008).

(30)  Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Unrealized Health Potential:
Florida, 2008, http://www.commissiononhealth.org (accessed on October
13, 2008).

(31)  Johnson, T., Yu, B., Murray, M. & Huang, Y.  2007 Florida
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Data Report.  2008,
Division of Disease Control, Florida Department of Health, Bureau of
Epidemiology, Chronic Disease Epidemiology Section.
http://www.doh.state.fl.us/Disease_ctrl/epi/BRFSS_Reports/2007BRFSS/StJohns.pdf
(accessed October 14, 2008).

(32)  Trucios-Haynes, E. & Powell, C.  The Rhetoric of Colorblind
Constitutionalism: Individualism, Race and Public Schools in
Louisville, Kentucky. 112 Penn State Law Review 947, 2007-2008.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1188662 (accessed
October 14, 2008)

(33)  Mahon, Claire  "Progress at the Front: Draft Optional Protocol
to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights.  October, 2008, abstract accessible at
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1259694, in press, Oxford Human Rights Law
Review, 8 (4), 2008.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

I find this fascinating and am reminded of how the U.S government, in the
1860s and 70s wanted to drive out bank-notes issued by state chartered
banks and encourage people to begin using the new national notes issued by
Federally chartered banks.  The government ultimately achieved this goal
by placing a tax on state bank notes.  Or, as Justice Marshall wrote in
McCullough v Maryland, "the power to tax involves the power to destroy."

stm

Stephen T. Middlebrook
Senior Counsel
Treasury / FMS

http://tmt.interfaxchina.com/news/867

China to levy personal income tax on virtual money trading
by Hua Jinglei
Shanghai. October 30. INTERFAX-CHINA - China will levy personal income
taxes on video game players who earn real money by selling virtual money
from online worlds, China's State Administration of Taxation announced on
Oct. 29.
Income that results from the sale of virtual money will be classified as
"income from property transfer" and will be subject to a tax rate of 20
percent, according to the announcement.
The move indicates that Chinese authorities have given up attempts to ban
virtual money trading. Despite the launch of guidelines earlier this year
recommending that the practice be banned, a large market for virtual items
remains in the country, involving virtual money and property.
Transactions involving virtual money not only take place online, in the
context of a game, but also offline, when buyers and sellers meet in real
life to exchange virtual money for real money. According to previous media
reports, some traders earn income in excess of RMB 10,000 ($1,466) per
month by trading virtual items.
"The policy will not be as effective as the government expects," Chen
Shaoying, a taxation law professor with the East China University of
Political Science and Law, told Interfax. "It will be very hard for the
tax authority to detect such transactions between individuals."
In a similar move, China's Ministry of Culture said earlier this week that
it would publish guidelines for online gaming companies aimed at curbing
the sale of virtual property within online games.
Tencent.com issues the most popular virtual money in China, online credits
called "QQ coins."

-----------------------------------------
This E-mail and its attachments (if any) are intended solely for
the use of the addressee(s) and may contain sensitive but
unclassified information. If you are not the intended recipient,
you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution,
or use of the information contained herein (including any reliance
thereon) is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this E-mail
in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy the
E-mail and any attachments.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

For those who are interested in using Twitter to report poll conditions, the
codes in my previous post were full of unicode garbage -- here they are again.

------------

Including #votereport in your tweet is enough to get your report tracked by
Twitter Vote Report. But the more details you can stuff in, the better. So, for
example, include in your Twitter post:

* #[zip code] to indicate the zip code where you're voting; ex., #12345

* L:[address or city] to drill down to your exact location; ex. L:1600
Pennsylvania Avenue

* #machine for machine problems; ex., #machine broken, using prov. ballot

* #reg for registration troubles; ex., #reg I wasn't on the rolls

* #wait:[minutes] for long lines; ex., #wait:120 and I'm coming back later

* #early if you're voting before November 4th

* #good or #bad to give a quick sense of your overall experience

* #EP[your state] if you have a serious problem and need help from the Election
Protection coalition; ex., #EPOH

--

Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
Principal Attorney, Arborlaw PLC    |  http://arborlaw.biz
734.717.4646 v    734.786.1231 f


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

A lot of people have asked about killer uses of Twitter.  This has to be the
most killer of all.  VoteReport is using Twitter to take real-time poll
monitoring reports from cell phones.  (There are also iphone and android apps).

http://twittervotereport.com/

If you want to do this tomorrow, you need to start following @hashtags on
Twitter so you can use hash tags in your twitter messages.  Hash tags are like
other tags from Flickr, etc, they index content in twitter posts so posts with
those tags can be pulled together.

Here are some examples of the possible reports to send about voting conditions
via Twitter:

Including “#votereport” in your tweet is enough to get your report tracked
by
Twitter Vote Report. But the more details you can stuff in, the better. So, for
example, include in your Twitter post:

      * #[zip code] to indicate the zip code where you’re voting; ex.,
“#12345″
      * L:[address or city] to drill down to your exact location; ex. “L:1600
Pennsylvania Avenue DC”
      * #machine for machine problems; ex., “#machine broken, using prov.
ballot”
      * #reg for registration troubles; ex., “#reg I wasn’t on the rolls”
      * #wait:[minutes] for long lines; ex., “#wait:120 and I’m coming back
later”
      * #early if you’re voting before November 4th
      * #good or #bad to give a quick sense of your overall experience
      * #EP[your state] if you have a serious problem and need help from the
Election Protection coalition; ex., #EPOH

I am going to tweet from my polling location while I'm there tomorrow.

--

Carol Ruth Shepherd, Esq.
VP/General Counsel Loud Feed, Inc.  |  http://loudfeed.com
Principal Attorney, Arborlaw PLC    |  http://arborlaw.biz
734.717.4646 v    734.786.1231 f


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

http://www.coloradoan.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008811300338

Criminal libel case centers on Web post
DA charges man in alleged insults of ex-girlfriend
BY DOUGLAS CROWL � LOVELAND CONNECTION � NOVEMBER 30, 2008

Web chatters firing off insults about people on community Web sites
might think twice next time they press the post button.

Larimer County District Attorney Larry Abrahamson charged a 40-year-
old Loveland man last month with two counts of criminal libel for
posts he allegedly made about his former girlfriend and her attorney
on Craigslist.com's "Rants and Rave" section.

Criminal libel is a rarely used, 1880s-era law aimed at publishing
statements meant to ridicule or inspire public hatred.

It's a Class 6 felony and carries a punishment of up to 18 months in
prison.

"It's been a number of years since I recall seeing it," Abrahamson
said. "It's not a charge you see a lot of."

The case in Loveland began when a woman approached the Loveland
Police Department in December 2007 about multiple postings made about
her between November and December 2007.

At least one post suggests that she traded sexual acts for legal
services from her attorney, according to court records.

There's also mention about a child services visit made because of an
injury found on her child.

Police obtained search warrants for records from Craigslist.com and
other Web sites and identified J.P. Weichel as the suspect, the
former boyfriend of the woman, who shares a child with her.

In August, detectives confronted Weichel at his workplace, where
police said he admitted to the postings because he was "just
venting," according to the court file.

Weichel did not comment to Loveland Connection about the case.

Usually A Civil Case

Libel is commonly seen as a civil case, and attorneys working for the
Colorado Press Association have argued to federal district courts
that the state's criminal libel charge is not constitutional, said
attorney Steve Zansberg, who specializes in First Amendment law for
Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz law firm in Denver.

Zansberg argued that the criminal law is easier to prove than seeking
damages in a civil case because defendants must prove their innocence
by showing that the statements are true.

In civil cases, the victim must show damages have occurred, which
Zansberg said is more difficult to prove and puts the burden of proof
on the plaintiff, not the defendant.

Is Law Outdated?

Zansberg said the criminal law is outdated; it was written in the
1800s with other laws meant to preserve the public peace, such as
outlawing dueling and unlawful discarding of an ice box, according to
the state statute book.

The criminal law also is unclear about stating opinions and is
written so dead people can be victims of criminal libel, Zansberg said.

But Abrahamson disagreed with claims that the law is unconstitutional
based on the burden of proof.

He said the prosecutor's burden of proof is beyond a reason of doubt,
which he said is a much higher standard of proof than proving damages.

Criminal libel has come up in recent years in Colorado, as well.

A man in Durango recently was prosecuted on several counts of
criminal libel, and a man in Pueblo faces a criminal libel charge
relative to a doctored photo of a woman that prosecutors believe was
disseminated to ridicule the woman, according to reports.

Greeley Case

Possibly the best-known criminal libel case in Colorado came out of
Greeley beginning in 2003, when the Weld County District Attorney's
Office pursued criminal libel charges against Thomas Mink.

Mink published an Internet-based publication called Howling Pig,
which was critical of the University of Northern Colorado.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado filed suit in a
federal district court to stop the investigation, which also sparked
the movement from the Colorado Press Association to prove the
criminal libel law unconstitutional.

Those efforts fell apart when the Weld County District Attorney's
Office dropped the case, Zansberg said.

Still, Zansberg said, prosecutors seeking criminal libel cases could
have a "chilling" effect on speech in Colorado, particularly over the
Internet, where there's ample opportunity to voice opinions.

Whether that means more criminal libel cases in the future,
Abrahamson said, it's difficult to know.

It's really up to the police departments to pursue the cases, but
with greater opportunity to commit the crime, more cases could arise,
Abrahamson said.

"It's hard to say. We have to take a look at what's out there.
Obviously, it would have to be brought to our attention to look at,"
he said. "But I'm not saying at this point that it opens Pandora's
Box on filing libel charges."

Weichel's libel case continues in court next month.


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

[[Seen on Telecom Digest]]



http://www.mass.gov/?
pageID=ocapressrelease&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Business&L2=Identity
+Theft&sid=Eoca&b=pressrelease&f=081114_IDTheftupdate&csid=Eoca

November 14, 2008 - For immediate release:

Business Community Given Additional Time to Comply with Identity
Theft Prevention Regulations

BOSTON - November 14, 2008 - The Office of Consumer Affairs and
Business Regulation (OCABR) today extended the deadline for compliance
with standards for how businesses protect and store consumers'
personal information.

Recognizing that the majority of breaches involve the theft of
portable devices and that data encryption significantly neutralizes
consumer risk if information is lost or stolen, the regulations issued
in September call on businesses to encrypt documents sent over the
Internet or saved on laptops or flash drives, encrypt wirelessly
transmitted data, and utilize up-to-date firewall protection that
creates an electronic gatekeeper between the data and the outside
world and only permits authorized users to access or transmit data.

The regulations were initially set to take effect on January 1, 2009,
but in light of intervening economic circumstances, OCABR has extended
the deadline in order to provide flexibility to businesses that may be
experiencing financial challenges brought on by national and
international economic conditions.

"These sensible measures are already widely used by many Massachusetts
companies, but we recognize that some businesses, currently facing
economic uncertainties, will benefit from having additional time to
comply," said Undersecretary of Consumer Affairs and Business
Regulation Daniel C. Crane. "The action taken today serves to provide
flexibility to businesses working to implement the necessary measures
to safeguard their customers' personal information in a timely
manner."

The new deadlines are as follows:

* The general compliance deadline for 201 CMR 17.00 has been
    extended from January 1, 2009 to May 1, 2009. The date is consistent
    with a new FTC Red Flag Rule, which requires financial institutions
    and creditors to develop and implement written identity theft
    prevention programs. Businesses addressing the new FTC requirements
    can now address the state regulations during the same time frame.

* The deadline for ensuring that third-party service providers are
    capable of protecting personal information and contractually binding
    them to do so will be extended from January 1, 2009 to May 1, 2009,
    and the deadline for requiring written certification from third-party
    providers will be further extended to January 1, 2010. This tiered
    deadline for requiring certification will ensure proper consumer
    protection and facilitate implementation without overburdening small
    businesses during harsh economic times.

* The deadline for ensuring encryption of laptops will be extended
    from January 1, 2009 to May 1, 2009, and the deadline for ensuring
    encryption of other portable devices will be further extended to
    January 1, 2010. Many data breaches reported to date relate to
    laptops, and laptops are more easily encrypted than other portable
    devices such as memory sticks, DVDs and PDAs.

OCABR will continue its outreach and educational initiatives
throughout the fall and winter to educate businesses about these
important data protection and storage requirements and their
respective deadlines.

To review OCABR's report on data breach notifications, a compliance
check list, FAQs and other information related to identity theft
prevention, please visit
http://www.mass.gov/?
pageID=ocatopic&L=3&L0=Home&L1=Business&L2=Identity+Theft&sid=Eoca


--
The war on privilege will never end. Its next great campaign will be
against the privileges of the underprivileged. H. L. Mencken


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

[[Today the RIAA announced the abandonment of its ingenious "Sue Our
Fan Base" strategy]]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122966038836021137.html

TECHNOLOGY
DECEMBER 19, 2008
Music Industry to Abandon Mass Suits

By SARAH MCBRIDE and ETHAN SMITH

After years of suing thousands of people for allegedly stealing music
via the Internet, the recording industry is set to drop its legal
assault as it searches for more effective ways to combat online music
piracy.

The decision represents an abrupt shift of strategy for the industry,
which has opened legal proceedings against about 35,000 people since
2003. Critics say the legal offensive ultimately did little to stem
the tide of illegally downloaded music. And it created a public-
relations disaster for the industry, whose lawsuits targeted, among
others, several single mothers, a dead person and a 13-year-old girl.

[SNIP]


--
The war on privilege will never end. Its next great campaign will be
against the privileges of the underprivileged. H. L. Mencken


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Those who oppose the RIAA's lawsuit campaign against file-sharers may
be tempted to see Harvard Law professor Charles Nesson as a white
knight who hoists the Lance of Sheer Intellect and Harvard's Shield
of Obscene Endowments, who jousts with music industry lawyers and
knocks them, one by one, from their chargers. And he may well do so.

But, in defending Boston University graduate student Joel Tenenbaum
and challenging the constitutionality of massive statutory damage
awards, Nesson has also managed to infuriate the federal judge
overseeing the case. Judge Nancy Gertner last night got so fed up
with Nesson that she wrote in a court order, "The Court will not
hesitate to impose appropriate sanctions, including potentially
substantial costs, should the Defendant waste either the Plaintiffs'
time and money or scarce judicial resources by filing frivolous
motions in the future."

At issue is Nesson's attempt to depose lawyer Matt Oppenheim, an
outside lawyer who coordinates many of the RIAA's legal cases and
represents the group at settlement conferences. Music industry
lawyers had already complained about this, telling the court that
Nesson hadn't followed the rules when he made his deposition request.
Further, he wanted to grill Oppenheim in a large Harvard classroom,
and he apparently wanted to ask about material that would almost
totally be covered by attorney-client privilege.

Judge Gertner agreed on every point, and went on to note that Nesson
has not yet even "made his initial disclosures pursuant to Fed. R.
Civ. P. 26(a)(1), [and so] D. Mass. Local Rule 26.2 bars him from
initiating any discovery, including depositions, absent an order from
the Court."

Furthermore, even if Nesson did make those disclosures, serve
Oppenheim personally, pay his mileage and witness fees, and do the
deposition within 100 miles of Washington, DC (where Oppenheim
works), "the subject-matter of any deposition of Mr. Oppenheim
invites extremely close scrutiny."

Meet-and-confer... seriously!

Not only that, but Nesson is apparently still not holding telephone
"meet-and-confer" meetings with music industry lawyers. Such meet-and-
confers require attorneys to hash out various issues directly without
using up the court's time, but Nesson has been telling RIAA lawyers
that he will only do the meet-and-confers if he can record them for
educational purposes.

Judge Gertner "notes with displeasure the continuing difficulties
with the meet-and-confer requirement" and says that the meetings
"must not be conditioned on Plaintiffs' consent to the recording of
those sessions." Gertner last month had reminded Nesson that
recording required the permission of all participants; Nesson seems
to have responded by simply refusing to do the phone calls unless the
opposing lawyers gave their consent.

What makes the whole situation even more surreal is that Gertner
actually found Nesson for Joel Tenenbaum when he appeared before her
as a pro se defendant. Gertner has let loose on music industry
lawyers from the bench, telling them that they were "basically
bankrupting people, and it's terribly critical that you stop it."
Nesson even represented the judge once, years ago.

None of that has stopped her from administering a judicial smackdown
to Nesson, and he certainly received the message. "Not feeling so
chipper at the moment," he tweeted last night. This morning, he
added, "Got slapped hard by judge gertner: kept me awake for awhile."

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/03/p2p-judge-blasts-
frivolous-motions-from-harvard-prof.ars

http://tinyurl.com/dywwu6


--
The war on privilege will never end. Its next great campaign will be
against the privileges of the underprivileged. H. L. Mencken


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Dwight Hines, Ph.D.
IndyMedia
P.O. Box 562
St. Augustine, Florida 32085
August 10, 2009
Mayor and City Commission,
St. Augustine,
St. Augustine, Florida

Dear Mayor and City Commissioners:

Yesterday about 3:30 p.m., I was speaking with Greg Travous, an artist set
up on the west edge of the downtown plaza of St. Augustine.  Mr. Travous and
I had been speaking a few minutes when he told me there was a policeman
behind me taking our photographs.  I turned around and there was the
policeman, in uniform, on a bicycle, with his camera pointed towards the
area where Mr. Travous and I were talking.  I yelled at the officer to quit
taking my photograph and tried to take his photograph.  He yelled back (we
were across the street from each other so we had to yell to be heard), that
I was taking photographs.  Officer Carroll does not understand that the
constitution places limits on what people in law enforcement, or their
designees are allowed to do.  Moreover, Florida State Statutes, like the
Florida Anti-SLAPP Act, place additional limits on government agents and
elected officials, or others acting on their behalf, when they are in
litigation with private citizens.

Mr. Travous told me that the police had taken numerous photographs of him
and others and he had reviewed some of the photos.  I told him that I had
already filed one Anti-SLAPP complaint against the City as a court motion
that was not resolved in a public records request case, and that the taking
of photographs of people who were in litigation with the city by the police
was unacceptable.

As I hope the Mayor and the City Commission have been advised, the case
between the City and the artists, with Greg Travous being one of the
artists, is still not finished.  Taking of photos of Mr. Travous and the
people who talk with him is not only a violation of his right to be left
alone, but appears to me to be an intimidation tactic used to �chill� his
ability to deal with people, and potential customers, and a retaliatory act
for the artists winning the injunction against the city for violations of
the first amendment rights of all of the artists, as well as violations of
other rights.

As I hope you remember, I have spoken to the commission, on the record, in
the past about my litigation against City Attorney Brown.  That litigation
is still not resolved and my belief is that the City is attempting to
inhibit me from pursuing the litigation by using the police for blatant
surveillance photography of me and anyone that I talk with in the City.

Please advise the Chief of Police to immediately cease and desist all
surveillance, including photography of me and anyone whom I speak with,
inside the City or outside the City.   Please note that I am gathering
material to write additional articles about the City�s illegal dumping and
other illegal activities.  My gathering of information is protected by the
First Amendment.

I think it is important for the Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, United
States District Judge, having responsibility for the case of the artists
versus the City, to know of the Anti-SLAPP actions by the city, as well as
the other violations.

Dwight Hines

P.S.   Because the plaza had many tourists browsing the tables of goods that
were being sold, the taking of multiple photographs of me and Mr. Travous,
and Mr. Guinta (who was also talking with Mr. Travous), must have included
people, tourists, in the background.  I am notifying other writers in
different countries to be aware of the surveillance practices of St.
Augustine police.  The fact that their �tourist� photographs may now be on
record with the local police and, because of the establishment of the new
law enforcement �fusion� centers, their �tourist� photographs may well be
forwarded to state, federal and international law enforcement agencies to
become part of multiple government files.  It will be of value to know if
people from Latin American countries who visit St. Augustine have concerns
about these practices.

Copy:

The Honorable Marcia Morales Howard, United States District Judge, 11th
Federal Circuit
Attorneys Cushman, Gray, and Shephard
Global Investigative Reporters
Friends


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Dwight Hines, Ph.D.
IndyMedia
P.O. Box 562
St. Augustine, Florida 32085

August 22, 2009

Mr. Mike Switzer, Civilian,
Rank & Title-Unknown
Florida National Guard
2305 S.R. 2007
St. Augustine, FL 32086

Dear Mr. Switzer:

Pursuant to Chapter 119, Fla.Stat. (2009), I am requesting:

(1) an opportunity to examine and review, and possibly make copies of
the owner names, ranks, assignments, and vehicle license plate numbers
for all civilian vehicles that have embossed, or engraved, or painted,
or burned into the vehicle�s license plates any words or symbols or
insignia that identify the vehicle as related to, or in the service
of, the �Florida National Guard�, or the �Army Reserve�, or the
�National Guard�, or any other military entity, such as �Coast
Guard.�, for the past 7 years.

(2) an opportunity to examine and review the guidelines, and
requirements, and criteria for any person to obtain specialized
license plates identified in paragraph (1) above;

(3) an opportunity to examine and review the guidelines explaining or
specifying what the responsibilities are of the driver of any vehicle
with specialized vehicle license plates as specified in paragraph (1)
for the past 7 years.

4)� an opportunity to examine and review any non-criminal complaints
made against any driver of any vehicle with specialized vehicle
license plates as specified in paragraph (1) within the past 10 years;

(5)� an opportunity to examine and review the result of any criminal
investigation or prosecution via civilian or military code or
administrative disciplinary actions � related to or about any driver
of any vehicle with specialized vehicle license plates as specified in
paragraph (1) within the past 20 years.

(6)� an opportunity to examine and review the guidelines,
restrictions, requirements or suggestions on the possession of, use
of, or display of weapons of any type by the driver of any vehicle
with specialized vehicle license plates as specified in paragraph (1)
for the past five years.

(7) an opportunity to examine and review any and all records of the
vehicles specified in paragraph (1) that pertain or relate to the
vehicle or the driver being involved in any action or event or case or
investigation as a law enforcement agent, or putative law enforcement
agent, of any type inside or outside the State of Florida, within the
past 20 years.




(8) an opportunity to examine and review any and all records of the
vehicles specified in paragraph (1) that pertain or relate to traffic
violations for the driver of the vehicle with tags specified in
paragraph (1) in and outside of the State of Florida, for the past 5
years.

Although the Florida National Guard is a Constitution-based State of
Florida agency, I understand that the Florida National Guard has
opined that components of the Florida National Guard are not
answerable to or responsive to Florida State Public Records laws or to
the Governor of the State of Florida.� If the Florida National Guard
interprets these public records requests, in part or in total, as
falling under Federal jurisdiction, please notify me, in writing, of
the legal bases for that decision and forward these requests to the
appropriate federal agency or department.

In order to comply with FOIA requirements, I am making this letter a
parallel request for documents, as specified in paragraphs (2) through
(7) above, in electronic or hard copy format, pursuant to the United
States Freedom of Information Act.� Because the material I am
requesting will be used in articles and essays to be published in
electronic format (the �Internet�) and published in hard copy format
(local and state and national traditional media), and because I am a
member of the professional group Investigative Reporters and Editors,
and because I have previously published numerous news and non-news
articles in hardcopy and electronic formats, and because the
information I am requesting is of great public news interest, I am
requesting a waiver of all fees.� I am willing to pay a minimum fee of
$25.00 but it�s important to note I have never been required to pay a
fee by federal agencies, including but not limited to the United
States Post Office and the Drug Enforcement Agency and the United
States Air Force.

Finally, I am requesting expedited review and response to my requests
because they will be used in news articles and are of great public
interest.

Dwight Hines

Copy:

Impunity Watch

Stetson Kennedy


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Dear Roger:

You asked some very good questions.  PDF attached that has proper formatting

First, as you know the Army has an excellent Manual on
Counter-Insurgency (final draft June 2006)
<www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24fd.pdf>, a manual that is
definitely a change from the past and one that makes for meaningful,
positive results in conflict theaters like Afghanistan.  In addition,
there are some excellent thoughtful scholarly papers now on
counter-insurgency and human rights (Stigall, Dan, �Human Rights and
Military Decisions: Counterinsurgency and Trends in the Law of
International Armed Terror�, 30 University of Pennsylvania Journal of
International Law 1467 (2008-2009, free download at
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=1433513>), that are a breath of fresh air
when the debates on military intervention appear to be centered on who
to blame for torture or who made the decision to send troops to a
specific location, or can we win.

Second, there is little doubt now that the Afghanistan mission is not
going well.

Third, looking at the behaviors of some of the National Guard troops
in the field, as well as the behavior of some of the National Guard
troops in the United States, it is obvious that some of the troops are
still practicing war and conflict from a pre-Manual of
Counter-Insurgency mind-set.  The reasons might be that they have not
read the Manual of Counter-Insurgency, they may not like what the
Manual states is best military practice, or they do not understand
what the Manual states is what they are supposed to be doing.

Fourth, while it may not be much safer examining historical and
current National Guard practices in the southern states of the United
States than in examining current National Guard practices in conflict
areas of operations in foreign countries, such as Afghanistan and
Iraq, the examination is a necessary preliminary to a Truth Commission
(as in South Africa or El Salvador) or an on-going Historical Enquiry
Team approach (Northern Ireland) for events that occurred in the
United States.

I don�t know if you are old enough to remember that �whiteness� was a
requirement to join the National Guard, but in some states it was also
expected that a National Guardsman be a member of, or a supporter of
the ku klux klan.  One reason we might be having recurring problems
with race in civilian populations in the United States, as well as why
we continue to experience unacceptable behaviors by the National Guard
in foreign conflicts is that the residuals of the past are still very
much with us.  In effect, the argument that the unacceptable National
Guard behaviors are caused by the stresses of war is weak until we can
determine the observable current unacceptable behaviors, so we can at
least attempt to covary out the residual effects of discriminatory
practices that today would be considered bullying behaviors.

I want to emphasize that the questions that need to be answered are
not about post-traumatic stress syndrome caused by military
confrontations but are about how some National Guardsmen are
frustrated in expressing bully-behaviors upon any civilian or group of
civilians who do not respect the privileged position of the National
Guard, or who are primarily from a different subculture of the United
States.  We need to know how much and what levels of the unacceptable
behaviors are present before individuals joined the National Guard and
how much and what levels of unacceptable behaviors are expressed by
individuals within the United States in their home communities before
and after any conflict assignments, or in the absence of any military
conflict assignments.

Examining vehicular behaviors as they relate to the State National
Guards today, be it the Georgia National Guard that conducted regular
drive-byes of the community known as Koinonia in Americus, Georgia,
shooting at the buildings with ammunition bought by tax money in the
1950s and into the 1960s, or be it the Florida National Guard
vehicular behaviors such as blocking the car of Dr. Hayling, a dentist
who was active in civil rights in St. Augustine, taking him and his
friends out of the blocked car and using a military issue rifle to
break all the fingers in his hands, but were unable to set him and his
colleagues on fire before the police finally got there, in 1964, may
account for some of the variance in aberrant vehicular behaviors that
are continuing today.

I addressed the letter to the man I spoke with at a National Guard
building as a civilian because I doubt if he has any jurisdiction over
activities by National Guardsmen.  His jurisdiction is limited to
civilians.  Specialization is at a peak in the military with detailed
descriptions of who is responsible for what and when and where but
that specialization can become part of a very effective delay and
avoidance system.

It�s key to remember that the military is fighting in Afghanistan for
specific rights that we believe we have in the United States.  To
observe the National Guard do a dance of avoiding open records
requests is astounding and those hypocritical acts are not missed by
the people we are characterizing as �the enemy� in Afghanistan or in
the domestic areas. Delegating open records requests to someone who is
not qualified or trained or experienced and who does not have
authority to answer such questions also is not missed by the rank and
file National Guardsmen.   Impunity Watch is now examining these types
of dodges and illegal avoidances of accountability in third world
countries and it does not make me proud to see these behaviors in the
United States.

Finally, the basic premise of state supported bully behaviors has been
negated in so many countries (Poland, East Germany, South Africa, see
Ash, T., The Polish Revolution, 1993, 2002), for the state National
Guards to fail to notice or take action against bully guardsmen is a
strong indicator of a failure of discipline or leadership with respect
to what the Manual of Counter-Insurgency requires and sends a signal
to newly, and not yet completely enfranchised minority groups that
there are those who still operate above and outside the boundaries of
the Bill of Rights.

The people who are most negatively impacted by the bully behaviors are
the bullies, but until they recognize that, and until the military
recognizes that fact, we�ll continue to need civil rights enforcement

DH


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************

Dwight Hines, Ph.D.
IndyMedia
P.O. Box 562
St. Augustine, Florida 32085

Dear Roger:
You asked some very good questions. �Attached is pdf because the plain
text below does not preserve formatting.

First, as you know the Army has an excellent Manual on
Counter-Insurgency (final draft June 2006)
<www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-24fd.pdf>, a manual that is
definitely a change from the past and one that makes for meaningful,
positive results in conflict theaters like Afghanistan. �In addition,
there are some excellent thoughtful scholarly papers now on
counter-insurgency and human rights (Stigall, Dan, �Human Rights and
Military Decisions: Counterinsurgency and Trends in the Law of
International Armed Terror�, 30 University of Pennsylvania Journal of
International Law 1467 (2008-2009, free download at
<http://ssrn.com/abstract=1433513>), that are a breath of fresh air
when the debates on military intervention appear to be centered on who
to blame for torture or who made the decision to send troops to a
specific location, or can we win.
Second, there is little doubt now that the Afghanistan mission is not
going well.
Third, looking at the behaviors of some of the National Guard troops
in the field, as well as the behavior of some of the National Guard
troops in the United States, it is obvious that some of the troops are
still practicing war and conflict from a pre-Manual of
Counter-Insurgency mind-set. �The reasons might be that they have not
read the Manual of Counter-Insurgency, they may not like what the
Manual states is best military practice, or they do not understand
what the Manual states is what they are supposed to be doing.
Fourth, while it may not be much safer examining historical and
current National Guard practices in the southern states of the United
States than in examining current National Guard practices in conflict
areas of operations in foreign countries, such as Afghanistan and
Iraq, the examination is a necessary preliminary to a Truth Commission
(as in South Africa or El Salvador) or an on-going Historical Enquiry
Team approach (Northern Ireland) for events that occurred in the
United States.
I don�t know if you are old enough to remember that �whiteness� was a
requirement to join the National Guard, but in some states it was also
expected that a National Guardsman be a member of, or a supporter of
the ku klux klan. �One reason we might be having recurring problems
with race in civilian populations in the United States, as well as why
we continue to experience unacceptable behaviors by the National Guard
in foreign conflicts is that the residuals of the past are still very
much with us. �In effect, the argument that the unacceptable National
Guard behaviors are caused by the stresses of war is weak until we can
determine the observable current unacceptable behaviors, so we can at
least attempt to covary out the residual effects of discriminatory
practices that today would be considered bullying behaviors.
I want to emphasize that the questions that need to be answered are
not about post-traumatic stress syndrome caused by military
confrontations but are about how some National Guardsmen are
frustrated in expressing bully-behaviors upon any civilian or group of
civilians who do not respect the privileged position of the National
Guard, or who are primarily from a different subculture of the United
States. �We need to know how much and what levels of the unacceptable
behaviors are present before individuals joined the National Guard and
how much and what levels of unacceptable behaviors are expressed by
individuals within the United States in their home communities before
and after any conflict assignments, or in the absence of any military
conflict assignments.
Examining vehicular behaviors as they relate to the State National
Guards today, be it the Georgia National Guard that conducted regular
drive-byes of the community known as Koinonia in Americus, Georgia,
shooting at the buildings with ammunition bought by tax money in the
1950s and into the 1960s, or be it the Florida National Guard
vehicular behaviors such as blocking the car of Dr. Hayling, a dentist
who was active in civil rights in St. Augustine, taking him and his
friends out of the blocked car and using a military issue rifle to
break all the fingers in his hands, but were unable to set him and his
colleagues on fire before the police finally got there, in 1964, may
account for some of the variance in aberrant vehicular behaviors that
are continuing today.
I addressed the letter to the man I spoke with at a National Guard
building as a civilian because I doubt if he has any jurisdiction over
activities by National Guardsmen. �His jurisdiction is limited to
civilians. �Specialization is at a peak in the military with detailed
descriptions of who is responsible for what and when and where but
that specialization can become part of a very effective delay and
avoidance system.
It�s key to remember that the military is fighting in Afghanistan for
specific rights that we believe we have in the United States. �To
observe the National Guard do a dance of avoiding open records
requests is astounding and those hypocritical acts are not missed by
the people we are characterizing as �the enemy� in Afghanistan or in
the domestic areas. Delegating open records requests to someone who is
not qualified or trained or experienced and who does not have
authority to answer such questions also is not missed by the rank and
file National Guardsmen. � Impunity Watch is now examining these types
of dodges and illegal avoidances of accountability in third world
countries and it does not make me proud to see these behaviors in the
United States.
Finally, the basic premise of state supported bully behaviors has been
negated in so many countries (Poland, East Germany, South Africa, see
Ash, T., The Polish Revolution, 1993, 2002), for the state National
Guards to fail to notice or take action against bully guardsmen is a
strong indicator of a failure of discipline or leadership with respect
to what the Manual of Counter-Insurgency requires and sends a signal
to newly, and not yet completely enfranchised minority groups that
there are those who still operate above and outside the boundaries of
the Bill of Rights.
The people who are most negatively impacted by the bully behaviors are
the bullies, but until they recognize that, and until the military
recognizes that fact, we�ll continue to need civil rights enforcement
DH


**********************************************************************
For Listserv Instructions, see http://www.lawlists.net/cyberia
Off-Topic threads: http://www.lawlists.net/mailman/listinfo/cyberia-ot
Need more help? Send mail to: Cyberia-L-Request@...
**********************************************************************