Law and politics worldwide, etc. (That description should stick for a while)
Otto Schily is the German Federal Interior Minister and thus occupies the same kind of position as John Ashcroft does. Read this excellent speech by Schily on dialogue with Islam in the latest installment of Qantara.
The rest of the latest issue of Qantara is worth a look, too.
Don't know anything about trademark law, so Fox's suit is an opportunity for some research (and btw, go here and find the link to Jon Stewart's Comedy Central commentary on the suit; it's Friday, after all). If you want to delve into some electronic records, go to the USPTO site, here. (From Sadly, no!, via Pandagon.) A search today for "Shock and awe" turns up some strange stuff. Sony backed out, but lots of others didn't.
One lawyer has attempted to trademark the phrase "excellence in the pursuit of justice." And, in a funny coincidence that would make Justice Scalia happy, a trademark with the phrase "living constitution" (a logo for a political reform group, apparently) is classified as "dead."
MORE: I think I published an earlier version of this post and then overwrote it. I try not to do that (except to correct obvious spelling errors). Sorry!
Compliments paid to those with whom you disagree. All the nastiness about "the left," the "homosexual agenda," the "attack on the family," "anti-Catholic bigotry," "America-hating, buck-toothed lefty dork[s]," and so on, has gotten me a little depressed. Jim Joyner graciously provides an antidote: kind words about people with whom he often disagrees. I'm on the list, so I appreciate the kind words for personal reasons as well, but Jim's generosity should be emulated.
The arguments are also pretty bad. Here's the complaint (PDF file, from Findlaw). I cannot believe that a news organization could argue, with a straight face, that the use of the term "fair and balanced" by a political humorist in the title of his book could "tarnish[] the mark" because it "lessens the reputation of FNC for having a team of first-rate journalists and news personalities who gather, report, and analyze the news." It's satire, for God's sake.
I don't know anything about trademark law, but if Fox has anything close to a chance of success here, then the law needs some radical revision.
And the implications of the suit are staggering. Anyone who makes fun of Fox (for monetary gain only? Not sure) by using the words "fair and balanced," prominently, would seem to be subject to such a suit. Unbelievable.
You have really, really, really got to be kidding me.
"Sometimes I'm even 'fair and balanced.' The phrase is somewhat in disrepute nowadays, so don't just take my word for it." --Me, about me. Today. See stage right.
See here, here, and here, and here.
If this kind of lawsuit doesn't make you worry about the intersection of corporate power, the state of trademark law, and the news media, then nothing will.
Harald Martenstein rips into the Bush administration's treatment of prisoners at Guantanamo, Diego Garcia, and Bagram, in this Tagesspiegel article. Martenstein isn't presenting new facts, so the article is useful as a reflection of some sectors of German opinion. The word "Justizmord" pops up in his discussion of the possibility of the death penalty being applied against prisoners at Guantanamo. This is strong language with overtones of comparison to Nazi Germany. Whatever you think about the sincerity of those charged with implementing them (and I have no reason to doubt their sincerity), Martenstein's piece indicates the direction that foreign reactions might take in response to military tribunals, and that is something that the administration must take into consideration. We not only have to be fair in these tribunals; we should want the reputation of being fair. And it is most emphatically not unpatriotic to point out the dangers here.
Press release from the Constitutional Review Commission in Kenya: a split executive is a bad idea. Read the article in the East African Standard, here, and check out the Constitutional Review Commission's web site here.
Arnold ernst nehmen! ("Take Arnold Seriously!"), from Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff, in Die Zeit. My favorite lines:
Republicans project onto Schwarzenegger a muscular and anti-intellectual conservatism. A man who came from nothing, amassed a fortune with his own hands, is presentable and true to principles, can talk to ordinary people. Of course, behind this projection is the myth of Ronald Reagan, the eternally underestimated hero of the right. This comparison invigorates the right's most favorite legend, the myth of the sacrifice, according to which conservatives are oppressed in a leftist mainstream culture and must assert themselves in an heroic battle for their own values.
Republikaner projezieren in Schwarzenegger das Bild des muskulären und anti-intellektuellen Konservatismus hinein. Ein Mann, der aus dem Nichts kam und mit eigener Hände Arbeit ein Vermögen ansammelte, der vorzeigbar und prinzipientreu ist, der mit einfachen Menschen kommunizieren kann. Natürlich steht dahinter der Mythos von Ronald Reagan, dem ewig unterschätzten Heros der Rechten. Dieser Vergleich ruft auch die liebste Legende der Rechten wach, den Opfermythos, demzufolge Konservative von einer linken Mainstream-Kultur, zumal in Hollywood, unterdrückt würden und sich in heldenhaftem Kampf um die eigenen Werte durchsetzen müssten.
The article is worth a read. Kleine-Brockhoff's thesis is that Schwarzenegger is a social moderate, but that Republicans are willing to embrace him for the reasons stated above and because his success in California might help create permanent Republican gains in the state.
Permalinks are busted and my archives aren't working. Oh well. Last night Anita and I watched two movies: Monty Python's The Holy Grail and Igby Goes Down. Neither of us was too impressed by the second (seemed to me to be a long movie about people who are careless with their lives, which is inherently depressing). The first, however, came to mind today when I was trying to figure out how to fix my archive and permalink problem: Blogger's new "knowledge base" is the online equivalent to the "man from Scene 24."
MORE: Everything should be in order now, I hope. Note the new link to an archives page.
