July 2, 2010
Greets and Huggers. Posted the evening of July 2, 2010. Over the past couple of years, the Internet has become an integral part of American life/society. Access to the Internet is no longer a novel form of entertainment, but has evolved into a utility/service almost as necessary as water, gas or electricity. We communicate on-line, bank on-line, purchase goods on-line and download songs, movies, games, etc. for our entertainment, on-line. Our Federal Courts have already converted to electronic filing and Missouri Courts will start transitioning to electronic filing in June of 2011. Free printed copies of the Official Missouri Manual � often called the Blue Book � and free printed copies of the Revised Statutes of Missouri will no longer be available, since they are now available on-line. Missouri Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 57.01 has been amended to mandate that electronic copies of interrogatories shall be served upon the opposing party “… in a commonly used medium such as a diskette, CD-ROM or as an e-mail attachment read by most commonly used word processing programs, such as Word for Windows or Wordperfect 5.x or higher.” And in the rest of the industrialized world? (BBC NEWS) – Access to internet: a legal right? “Finland has become the first country to make access to broadband a legal right for every citizen. The Finnish deal means that from 1 July all telecommunications companies will be obliged to provide all residents with broadband lines that can run at a minimum speed of 1 megabit per second. The government has promised to connect everyone to a 100Mbps connection by 2015.”
No doubt the practice of law is evolving to deal with this change in technology, perhaps, not for the better. (BBC NEWS) – US pirate hunters target movies. “An organization set up in the US to track down and punish illegal file-sharers is coming under increasing scrutiny from civil liberty groups … But civil rights group the Electronic Frontier Foundation is not convinced the fight against piracy is its prime motivation. “The USCG attorneys bringing these suits are not affiliated with any major entertainment companies, but are instead intent on building a lucrative business model from collecting settlements from the largest possible set of individual defendants,” said a spokeswoman for the body. “We’ve long been concerned that some attorneys would attempt to create a business by cutting corners in mass copyright lawsuits against fans, shaking settlements out of people who aren’t in a position to raise legitimate defences,” it added. The cases that have gone to court appear to be following this pattern. USCG recently filed seven cases in Washington, with thousands of alleged pirates targeted in each case … EFF alongside ACLU has asked the judges in the cases to cancel court summons against those accused. Judges involved in the case have asked USCG to explain why it has brought together so many people together in one lawsuit. It has until 30 June to explain why it is pursuing cases in this manner.” How does USCG have standing to sue? Is a list of IP’s suspected of file sharing, generated by a German company, sufficient grounds to file suit naming thousands of “John Doe” defendants, cause summons to issue and allow blanket subpoenas to Internet Service Providers demanding the names and addresses of the persons the IP address is registered to? If you are a named defendant, how do you avoid a default judgment if you can not afford to travel to DC to defend the action? What redress to you have, after spending the money to travel to DC and defend the suit, when you prevail?
We can all agree pirating intellectual property is ethically and morally wrong, not to mention stupid and against one’s self interests since it limits an artists ability to improve the product or write the sequel. EQUALLY wrong is filing a law suit, naming thousands of defendants, who may or may not have downloaded illegally, knowing they lack the ability or funds to travel to DC to defend the suit, resulting in multiple defaults. In essence, trolling for default judgements. Further, I question how “real and substantial” piracy now is, since both the music industry and film industries have changed their business models to market single, downloadable songs for less than a dollar and Netflix and pay-per-view make QUALITY movie copies available for home consumption for next to nothing. RIAA has stopped filing copyright violation/file sharing suits. I find lawyers using the court system to line their pockets, rather than seeking redress for wronged clients, offensive. I find this “business model” as offensive as the collection law firms, who buy defunct credit card accounts from credit card companies for fractions of a penny on the dollar, then file blanket collection suits, KNOWING they have no documentation to support their claim and rely on a failed response to a “Request for Admissions”, to take a default judgment or hammer some unrepresented pilgrim into a settlement. Once we tolerate such behavior in our brethren by not speaking out, we have forfeited the right to call ourselves, view ourselves, as the guardians of our system of justice. Our profession is not just another business, we are a profession based on service to others … not self service. Some have forgotten that.
And while we wage a war in Iraq and Afghanistan, there is the ongoing 39 year “War on Drugs” declared by President Nixon in 1971. I wonder how many billion dollars we will spend this year to protect our children from “Reefer Madness“? And this stupidity: (CNN) – ACLU sues Wal-Mart for firing employee using medical marijuana. “The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart for the termination of a Michigan employee whose doctor verified his illness qualified for medical marijuana use. Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest retailer, fired Joseph Casias in November 2009 after he failed an on-the-job injury-related drug test. Casias suffers from a rare form of cancer in his nasal cavity and brain, and he relied on his doctor’s medical marijuana prescription to alleviate the daily pain. Casias is one of about 20,000 legal medical marijuana users in Michigan. “Medical marijuana has had a life-changing positive effect for Joseph, but Wal-Mart made him pay a stiff and unfair price for his medicine,” said Scott Michelman, staff attorney with the ACLU Drug Law Reform Project.“ I was not aware the ACLU had a drug law reform project. From their website: “The Project has an unparalleled track record, having successfully litigated issues ranging from racial profiling in drug law enforcement to protecting medical marijuana users and their doctors from prosecution. We will continue that tradition of success, combining litigation, education, and community empowerment to achieve a humane and sensible drug policy that respects basic human rights and the liberties enshrined in our nation�s Constitution.” Care to support the ACLU on this issue? Why? … because … after 39 years, it is time to stop SPENDING billions of dollars on a war, (the War on Drugs), that we can not win. Declare the “War on Drugs” a victory, then legalize, regulate and tax. Dry up the funds supporting this tragedy: (BBC NEWS) – Mexican singer El Shaka killed after denying his murder. “Mexican singer Sergio Vega, 40, has been shot dead only hours after he had denied reports he had been murdered. The singer, known as El Shaka, told an internet site he had increased security measures after a growing number of Mexican musicians were killed. Musicians performing narcocorridos, songs celebrating the lives of drug barons, often become the targets of rival drug gangs.” … or this one: (BBC NEWS) – Mexico arrest over US consulate killing. “Mexican police say they have arrested a gang leader responsible for killing three people connected to the US consulate in Ciudad Juarez in March. Jesus Ernesto Chavez admitted targeting a US consular worker because she was thought to have given visas to a rival gang, police said … The murders raised fears that US interests had become a target in Mexico’s drugs war.” Why are we continuing to fund, (the money from illegal drugs funding the cartels, and our government funding the Mexican government), both sides in the Mexican Drug Cartel war? Didn’t we learn anything from our “Prohibition” experiment?
Still hot outside Ft Timmerman, as I edit these Ramblings. The “Editorial Staff” is enjoying the cool tiled floor. They go out for awhile, then scurry back in to cool down. We are looking forward to a 3 day weekend, (although I do have to meet a client tomorrow afternoon.) It will be nice to turn off the phones and the doorbell. The garden at Ft Timmerman is beautiful, (Gallery 1 & Gallery 2). Time to post these Ramblings and hunker down for the weekend: just Susan and I. She in her office designing and making cards, reading “Vampire” romance novels on her “Nook” and me? Printing some of the images I captured in our garden and perhaps redoing a couple of PhotoShop tutorials. Sauteed shrimp for lunch tomorrow, BBQ’s burgers and potato salad on Sunday … Ribs on Monday. Using “Snus” as a crutch, I’m down to a 1/2 pack of cigarettes a day, (from 3 - 3 1/2 packs), no Brandy. Had my annual medical “Fluff and Buff” yesterday … guess I may make it another year. Something to be grateful for in this evenings “Thank You’s”, included? Having Susan to share that year with … and of course, a bag full of “Please Lord, let our men and women in uniform come home safe and soon!!” (Care to join me in that prayer?) Be and sleep well, enjoy a safe 4th of July with family and friends … and remember you can do so, because some of the best our America has to offer, is standing watch so you can. Ig my post offends, I apologize … that is not my intent. As always …
A Warm Brotherly Hug
KarlT (the dumb old country lawyer from Holden, Missouri … and the “Editorial Staff”, Dinker, Willie, Karly, my L’il Buddy … and Floydious Irritatus … the copy boy.)