Shucks
: The Times of London writes about writing weblogs and says something nice about this very bit of bytes (though I’m the very former editor of EW):
Jeff Jarvis, the editor of Entertainment Weekly, is quick to pick up on showbiz buzz, but has lately been tracking weblog culture in Iraq and Iran. Unlike most bloggers, he can actually write.
Evading the censor
: If you’re in a totalitarian country and you’re having problems reading some sites thanks to the rulers’ censors, the German news site Telopolis has advice and links to a few services that promise to let you read sites that have been blocked. Try SafeWeb and Freebird. [via der Schockwellenreiter]
Sticks ‘n’ stones
: Xeni Jardin reports in Wired that First Amendment protections have been extended to bloggers:
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last Tuesday that Web loggers, website operators and e-mail list editors can’t be held responsible for libel for information they republish, extending crucial First Amendment protections to do-it-yourself online publishers.
Online free speech advocates praised the decision as a victory. The ruling effectively differentiates conventional news media, which can be sued relatively easily for libel, from certain forms of online communication such as moderated e-mail lists. One implication is that DIY publishers like bloggers cannot be sued as easily.
“One-way news publications have editors and fact-checkers, and they’re not just selling information — they’re selling reliability,” said Cindy Cohn, legal director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. “But on blogs or e-mail lists, people aren’t necessarily selling anything, they’re just engaging in speech. That freedom of speech wouldn’t exist if you were held liable for every piece of information you cut, paste and forward.”
I wish Reynolds weren’t on vacation so he could comment on this. [via Anil]
Bozo driver of the day: NJ MKR 635
: I’m initiating a new feature: The Bozo Driver of the Day. Everytime I see a bozo driver, I’ve decided I’ll give the guy the attention he so urgently desires right here. If you all do that, too, look what we can create: a dynamic, nationwide Bozo data base. It’s not unlike my dynamic weblog Consumer Reports: Just say “BrandX sucks” and whenever people search Google for that combination of words, they’ll find warnings from fellow consumers. (My most recent: Expedia sucks and Sears sucks). Soon, you can Google your own license plate and see whether you’ve been busted by the blog cops.
So today’s Bozo Driver of the Day is a BMW driver. Of course. BMW drivers are, as a breed, Bozos. They are the true target market for those penis-enlarger spams.
This morning on I-78, this Bozo kept rushing my tail (though I could go no faster, since I was behind traffic). Then, showing all the strategic acumen of a dot.com stock analyst, he would swerve into the right lane in hopes of passing me us that way, though there was more and slower traffic in that lane. Thus, he went nowhere, except swerving back into my lane behind me again and again. He never learns.
So you know who you are, beemer boy with your shaved head and too-cool sunglasses. You are the Bozo Driver of the Day.
