W on Facebook: Leadership, China and Wikileaks

For anyone who missed the Facebook live interview with George W. Bush, here is the video. Bush was in rare form in the interview and shared a few of his thoughts with Facebook creator and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Bush made frequent jokes about being there to sell his book,  reminding Zuckerberg and another questioner to get back to selling the book. At one point when discussing Condi Rice Bush quips, "If you're listening Condi, why aren't you in the audience? Have you bought the book?"

 Bush referred to Facebook's success throughout. At one point he compliments Zuckerberg for giving back to the country through his education initiatives. He often drew comparisons between he and Zuckerberg when discussing criticism and leadership. At one point Bush is asked how do you stay the course, he responds, "By not whining. By setting an example..." He then goes into a rather long and interesting discussion on managing and leadership. If you can't watch the whole interview the 10 minutes after the 20 minute mark are interesting.

Bush shares his thoughts on working with Bono and relates a story of Jacques Chiraq lecturing Bush on unilateralism. Bush let Chiraq have it which evidently impressed Bono. From there the discussion moves to China. Bush relates an anecdote where he asks Hu Jintau what keeps him up at night, Jintau answers "creating 25 million new jobs a year. Bush thought this was very reflective of China and the Chinese people. Again this is a really interesting segment that comes after the 40 minute mark.

Lastly Bush discusses Wikileaks, quite reluctantly. He was very emphatic when he ultimately declares these leaks dangerous and says that the leakers must be prosecuted. He related this to a similar episode he shares in the book. He goes on to say that there may be difficulty establishing trust when working with foreign leaders as a result of the leaks. The balance of the interview is fairly light hearted but in my estimation this was Bush at his absolute best. This is worth a watch if you have the time:

facebookguests on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

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Another dangerous global warming denier: David Letterman's mom

H/T: Doug Powers

Maybe the apple really does fall far from the tree after all. Joining the list of global warming deniers is David Letterman's mom:

Dave’s mom noted the unseasonably warm temperatures plaguing his hometown of Indianapolis. “That’s that climate change,” Dave responded.”It’s the global warming. You know that, mom? Do you believe in the climate change, in the global warming?”

“Not really,” she said. Dave shook his head:

Any chance HuffPo will add Letterman's mother to the list of "dangerous global warming deniers?

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Obama is all aboard the federal pay freeze - UPDATED

President Obama is set to announce a pay freeze for federal workers today.  The pay freeze could save up to $30 billion over the next five years, though the freeze would be in effect for two years.  Though the pay freeze made its debut in the GOP Pledge to America, Obama is likely influenced by the public support for the freeze:

There are about 2.65 million civilian employees of the executive branch, per the Washington Post. That's about 8.4 federal workers per 1,000 American citizens.

A Washington Post poll in October found that 52 percent of Americans believe federal workers are overpaid. About half of respondents said they believe federal employees work "less hard" than their peers in the private sector.

Zero Hedge  thinks government workers should be thanking Obama, "as this means federal salaries which have exploded in the past 5 years will be stuck at all time highs for at least two years, even as nominal salaries for everyone else (except FIRE workers of course) continue to decline."  He does hate it when people forget to thank him for all his hard work.  Of course the hard thing here would be cutting federal pay but I wouldn't expect to see Obama doing the heavy lifting on that anytime soon.

UPDATE 
Ed Morrissey doubts we'll see much in terms actual savings:

Will we actually see this cost savings?  Probably not.  Gabriel Malor received an official explanation given to federal employees today, which assured them that the freeze “will not impact step increases or bonuses for federal workers.”  It applies to cost-of-living increases, mainly.  If an agency wants to give a worker an increase, they just need to increase their pay grade or boost their bonuses to make it happen.

Come on, this is pathetic.  There is no such built-in workaround for seniors who won't be getting their COLA for social security.  Even if a legitimate pay freeze is necessary and perhaps long over-due, this doesn't get to the institutionalized waste and abuse that a massive bureaucracy invites, as Rep. Darrell Issa points out at The Corner:

“At a time when our nation’s seniors have been denied a cost-of-living-increase and private sector hiring is stagnant, it is both necessary and quite frankly, long over-due to institute a pay-freeze for the federal workforce. As Republicans outlined in our Pledge to America there are a number of actions the President and Congress should immediately act on to demonstrate a real commitment to reigning in the excessive growth and spending of the federal government.

“To put this in perspective, the Obama Administration says this two-year pay freeze will save $2 billion, however, just last week, OMB released a report revealing that the federal government’s improper payments for FY-2010 totaled $125 billion, $15 billion higher than the previous year. It is unthinkable that we have come to accept having a bureaucracy that has institutionalized waste, fraud and abuse to the point where $125 billion in improper payments were made last year. The first place we should look to make progress on higher costs, increased debt and a stagnant economy is look inward at how taxpayer dollars are being spent and doing more to ensure that tens of billions of dollars are no longer erroneously paid out.”

What a disgrace, $125 billion in improper payments in one year?  This is Barack Obama's Smart Government at work:

“There are some who question the scale of our ambitions — who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short.  For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage. What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them — that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works.”

It's not working Mr. President.  It's not smarter, it's at least 15 billion dollars more wasteful than the year before.

Heh: Leave it to Stacy McCain to capture the spirit of Obama's message:

Shorter Obama: ‘In This False Dilemma, America Must Make a Manichean Choice Between My Indisputably Wise Policies and My Tendentious Straw-Man Caricature of Republican Policies’

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My favorite things: A list of amazing gifts for women

A few of my blogging friends have put together gift suggestions that serve a dual purpose. First these are great suggestions for gifts and frankly the hardest part of shopping is deciding what to buy. Second, any item purchased through one of these links will also support the blog at no additional cost to you. Amazon pays a small commission when a reader follows a link from here or any other blog when the link results in a purchase.    You can also use the Amazon search bar on the sidebar of this blog if you know of something specific you want.  Since you would be buying there anyway, searching from here just helps me make a little bonus.

I put together a list of my favorite things.  Honestly, my favorite things list is way better than Oprah's; look who she chose for President.  I don't buy myself much but when I do I like it to be something I will use for a long time.  Generally speaking, things that last longer are higher quality and yes a bit higher priced.  Still, I would rather have one nice bag or great shoes than a variety that don't hold up as well.  The items I am recommending here are all things I have purchased or would love to have as a gift.  Hopefully you might see something here that would be perfect for a wife, girlfriend or hey women how about treating yourself.  Here is the list:

This is a fantastic coat.  I have one, or rather had one, I should say.  My daughter took it from me and now seems to believe it is hers.  If you are looking for a gift this is a great option.  Michael Kors tends to run on the small side so I would not suggest going smaller on this coat.  This is a really flattering coat that looks great on women of all sizes.  I originally went looking for a Michael Kors coat after Sarah Palin was spotted wearing one in the famous Thanksgiving turkey massacre video.  She had a similar Michael Kors coat paired with a Burberry scarf.  Amazon has a nice knock-off if yo don't have a couple hundred laying around to shell out on a scarf.  See Premium Pashmina Plaid Shawl Wrap Scarf - Sand and a little nicer version here 100% Cashmere Scarf.  Together the combination looks really amazing but the coat does look great alone.

Next on my list of amazing things for women is the Ugg Coquette slipper in either black, Women's Ugg Cozy II Chestnut or the awesome new color Women's UGG® Australia Coquette-9--Bomber Jacket.  They have them in all sizes so the links really just take you to the color.  I have the black and am now on my second pair.  These just feel amazing on your feet.  I wear them with jeans out or with anything around the house.  I also highly recommend the Women's UGG Bailey Button Boot.  These look great and are so warm and toasty I hate to take them off.  Both the boots and the slippers run very large.  I buy a size down and they fit perfectly.  They only come in whole sizes so if you are an 8 1/2 buy the 8's, etc.  I think I will be looking to get the new bomber jacket color in the coquettes this year.



The new Kindle 3G wireless is also something I have been wanting for quite a while.  I have the Kindle app added to my laptop but I really feel as though I am tied to my computer enough as it is.  I also have it added to my blackberry but the screen is just too small to make that something I would use regularly to read a book.  Here is what I love about digital reading though, the books are available in a matter of a minute.  When Decision Points (which is great by the way) became available at midnight, I had it 12:05 AM.  I didn't have to wait to make a trip to the bookstore and hope they still had a copy.  I didn't have to wait until Amazon's free shipping finally got here. Books are cheaper and there are a lot of classic books that can be downloaded for free.  The savings makes this purchase one that will pay for itself quickly.  This is one amazing invention and something that will be a necessity in the future.

Ok, so don't choke on the price of this gorgeous black wristlet.  That is the bag I would choose if money were no object.  For most of us that isn't the case.  I do, however, think a really nice wristlet bag is one thing I absolutely can not do without.  I carry mine everywhere and find it all that is really necessary when I make a run to the store or really almost every trip I make anymore.  I almost never carry a pocketbook anymore but the wristlet goes with me everywhere.  Here are some really nice picks if an $800 little black bag will bust the budget.  First, this Cole Haan Gramercy Clara Wristlet,Black, is really beautiful and much more reasonable at $128.  It also comes in Dark Aubergine which is very pretty too.  Another nice choice is this Latico Cris Cris Pocket Wristlet which comes in right under $100.


Fragrance is always a matter of personal choice but there are some great perfumes that smell incredible on everyone.  I love the new perfume LOLA by Marc Jacobs and the bottle is just adorable.  This would be one of my top picks for a new perfume this year.  I usually wear Dkny Be Delicious By Donna Karan For Women.  which I love for its' clean fresh apple scent.  A great choice for a younger woman is Vera Wang Princess By Vera Wang.  This is one of my daughter's favorites so occasionally I use a spray or two of hers.  This smells delicious and I can't imagine a woman of any age not enjoying it.  Of course some women don't go for perfume at all.  If they do, however, these are all great choices.   For men Acqua Di Gio By Giorgio Armani  smells incredible as does my all time favorite PACO RABANNE By Paco Rabanne .



























Some great beauty choices for stocking stuffers or just a nice treat.  First off is the Nars blush/bronzer duo in the provocatively named "orgasm."  I have been wearing this blush, which has a nice pinky-peach glow for years.  I saw it in a beauty magazine listed as a color Jennifer Aniston wears.  It doesn't make me look like her but it gets me a little closer anyway.  Seriously, it is a nice blush in a very pretty, flattering shade.  Next up is one of may favs by Smashbox their hydrating perfecting powder.  This is a little pricey but worth every penny.  Once again, after I bought this my daughter actually used her own money to buy herself some as well. There is no higher testimony to the worth of a product than watching my daughter actually buy it herself.

A great stocking stuffer is the Tweezerman slant-tip tweezer.  These are the best, you would never ever buy another brand after using them.  Also on the stocking-stuffer list is Rosebud lip balm, awesome stuff.  Last on the list is the slightly pricey Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Firm Resolutions kit.  I got a few samples of the peel included in this kit recently and was shocked what a difference it made in my skin.  Although this price might seem a bit high, it is actually a really great value and a heck of a lot cheaper than having a peel done by a Dermatologist.  I am planning on buying this after having tried the sample.

Amazing Belgian chocolates for those want to give the best to your favorite chocolate connoisseur.  From a great review:
 If it is possible to fall madly in love with a box of chocolates, then the assortment is the perfect place to start such an adventure. These chocolate are named after Leonidas Kestekidis, who definitely knew how to create chocolates for the true chocolate connoisseur. 

When he moved back to Belgium he not only married his true love, he created chocolates the world now adores. When you taste these chocolates, your taste buds will also finally know true chocolate happiness. Whether you try one of these with a cup of coffee or tea or enjoy one as a daily indulgence, these will impress. 

Sounds incredible to me.  I have always wanted to try these so maybe this year I will give them a try.

Still my all-time favorite cookbook.  I have tried a lot of these recipes and they make the patient cook into a gourmet chef with ease.  Last Thanksgiving I shared a couple recipes from this book and that post is one that is frequently searched on the blog or found through google.  This is not a cookbook you will use everyday but for those special occasions it is undoubtedly my favorite.

For one that will become dog-eared from daily use there is nothing better than Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006 or the original itself Joy of Cooking.  Another great cookbook that I use constantly is Julia Child's The Way to Cook.  These cookbooks are invaluable to anyone who wants to learn and master the fundamentals of cooking.


I have been looking at Wacom pen tablets for over a year now.  While I find it amazing what can be accomplished on the Wacom Cintiq, the $1000 price tag is just out of my league with one kid in college and another one headed there soon.  I finally broke down and bought this great starter tablet because the sale price ($56) was really too good to pass up.  That is my little Christmas present to me.

This is the review  that sold me on this model:
For as cheap as this little tablet is, it does a GREAT job! I purchased it to have an extra travel one; I have a larger Intuos that is PHENOMENAL (I won't lie, it is much more sensitive and because it is larger it is much, much, much more precise) but the problem is that it is totally unsuitable for a mobile lifestyle. This little cutie works excellent for the things I do on the fly. 

Considering that I am a professional digital imaging specialist who uses my tablets constantly, I hope you'll take this advice: for those of you who are weekend enthusiasts or whom are just getting started and perhaps may have never used a tablet before, this is a good one to purchase. It does just fine for most applications and is sensitive enough to do the average things. Once you've totally become addicted to it and know for sure that it suits your needs, maybe then save up and get a larger Intuos.

I can't wait to get this little device up and running. After spending most of the day putting this list together I think I got myself in the shopping mode. Hopefully something I have listed here helps those of you looking for a great gift or a nice treat for yourself.  Happy shopping!

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Next tragedy of the impending climate change apocalypse

Your Thanksgiving turkey is going to be like all pasty and dry and just generally nasty:

Climate change could one day affect the cost and quality of dishes traditionally served for Thanksgiving Day dinner, suggests a recent paper in the journal Food Research International.

Pasty, dry turkey meat along with expensive fruits, vegetables and potatoes could be on the horizon if more variable extremes in regional weather patterns continue as a likely result of climate change, indicates author Neville Gregory.

The usual star of the Thanksgiving Day feast, roast turkey, could suffer in quality as a result.

Poor things are going to be all heat stressed.  Maybe it's just turkey menopause or something.  Meanwhile if  the country is actually cooking like a cat on a hot tin roof  we're going to be fretting that our Thanksgiving turkey is not very juicy?  I think not, but thanks for playing.

Via Memeorandum

Also blogging:  theblogprof, Watts Up With That?, YID With LID and Pirate's Cove

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Let there be pie

Happy Thanksgiving to all.  

There is much to be thankful for this year.  I have two healthy and relatively happy - as happy as teenagers get anyway - children who are doing well in school and appear to be on a path to being productive people in the future.  Whether they will have jobs waiting for them is anyone's guess but, hey, let's not let the small things get us down.  I am still hopeful we can turn this around.

I am grateful we have elected a new Congress that is unlikely to hold votes, at all hours, when the country is least paying attention, in order to pass legislation most of the country opposes vehemently.  That we get to wrestle the gavel from claws of a certain someone in the process is, as Martha Stewart would say, "a good thing."

I am grateful for all those who come here and read what I have to say.  I mean that more than I can say, so thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I hope you are all well and enjoying a wonderful day with family and friends.

I am endlessly grateful for my health and continued well-being of my family.  As I look around to some of my friends posting on the internet, there are amazing stories of people who accomplish so much with a positive spirit when many would become bitter in the face of such adversity.  Far too often, it takes a reminder that people make do with far less, thrive under the most tragic circumstances to remind us to be grateful for things we take for granted everyday.

Speaking of health, I am really grateful that our Queen Michelle has deemed, in her infinite wisdom, that on this one day we can eat cake.  Well, really she said pie, but why quibble when we get dispensation from the paragon of fitness and health herself:

Michelle Obama said it's fine to eat what you want on Thanksgiving.

"Don't worry about how much you eat. Just enjoy it," she said. "This is the time. Have pie."

There you have it, it is ok for just this one day, to have your pie and eat it too.  So, let there be pie.  Have a happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Shout outs to my friends in the blogosphere below the jump.

Settlement reached in Palin V Gawker

Scroll down for updates to this post

Days after Sarah Palin and her publisher Harper Collins scored a major win  over the mean team at Gawker, we learn a settlement has been reached.   Alas, there won't be a TSA screening  for Gawker at the hands of Sarah Palin any time soon.  While some may be disappointed the attorneys at Harper Collins won't get to rifle through the junk in Gawker's trunk, this is still a major victory for team Palin.

Reading between the lines of the statements by both sides, we can piece together key pieces of the settlement between the parties.  Gawker has agreed to keep the infringing material off its website and will not post the material at any time in the future.  Erin Crum, a spokesperson for Harper Collins gives us insight why Gawker readily agreed to this point:

Ms. Crum said that a federal judge said that Gawker had published a “substantial portion of the book” and that it had “not used the copyrighted material to help create something new but has merely copied the material in order to attract viewers.” 

The judge was obviously well acquainted with the findings of Harper & Row V Nation Enterprises.  The language reported by Crum sounds remarkably similar to words used by Justice O'Connor when she wrote of The Nation, "went beyond simply reporting uncopyrightable information and actively sought to exploit the headline value of its infringement, making a "news event" out of its unauthorized first publication."  

Crum points out the judge said Gawker had not used the material to create something new.   In a famous 1994 Supreme Court ruling found the transformative nature of the use to be a chief indicator of fair use.  Justice Souter wrote, "The more transformative the new work, the less will be the significance of other factors, like commercialism, that may weigh against a finding of fair use."   I am going to go way out on a limb here an guess the judge was unlikely to be persuaded that gawking gave new meaning or expression to Palin's book.  Gawker was going to lose.

Crum declined to comment whether there had been any financial settlement had been reached.  Does anyone ever disclose terms of a financial settlement?  There was probably some financial settlement.

Compare and Contrast the wealth of information weighing in favor of Palin and Harper Collins vs the meager but belligerent spin from Gawker:

Remy Stern, editor in chief of Gawker, said in an email: “HarperCollins’ decision to file suit against us and seek a temporary restraining order generated a good deal of press for Ms. Palin’s book in advance of its publication. Now that the book is out and destined to appear on the bestseller list, we’re pleased that Harper Collins proposed settling this case as is, this avoiding lengthy litigation for both sides.”

So maybe Gawker thought Palin was going to have a hard time showing the infringement undercut the marketability of her book.  Palin's book is going to do very well but there was a case to be made a couple million gawkers gawking at nearly 10% of Palin's book online for free was going to cut into some sales.  Note however, Stern makes a point of mentioning Harper Collins proposed settling the case as if going to trial was going to be a bigger loser for Palin than it would be for Gawker.  It would certainly be expensive for both.  Perhaps Palin found having her rights as an author protected while Gawker ended up covered with egg a nice outcome.  That Maureen O'Connor wagged her sorry finger in Sarah Palin's face only to have it turned on herself likely added a sense of emotional victory as well.

While an extensive probing of Gawker's junk might have provided further embarrassment to an organization that richly deserves it, Palin and her publisher would have been open to charges they were using her copyright to bully a bully.  Unlike the many copyright holders who abuse their copyright to extract a settlement when they have no reasonable claim, Palin's original question "Isn't that illegal" has been answered with conviction.

She protected her constitutionally afforded right as well she should.  She may have gone further than most in sheltering those who believe fair use is a right worth protecting as well.   Bill McGeveran, a law professor at the University of Minnesota, notes fair use is "fragile enough as it is."  Protracted litigation might have served the purpose of undermining its legitimacy further:

As with illegal music downloaders who try to stretch fair use to cover outright piracy, extravagant claims of fair use for large-scale leaks of significant chunks of a book risk undermining the perceived legitimacy of those rights.

Though McGeveran appears to be no fan of Palin, he laid blame for that potential outcome at Gawker's doorstep.  While I would love to have seen Gawker probed in a way they so richly deserve, there does come a point when winning a battle leads to losing the war.  As with all things Palin, the media attention generated during a battle between her and Gawker would be astounding.  McGeveran concern is a legitimate one I am afraid.

Settling the case so soon after the judge issued the injunction may serve to underscore the point sites like Gawker and Palingate can't use someone's unreleased book to generate page hits for their pitiful websites.  As copyright expert Ron Coleman wrote, "[h]ating someone doesn't mean you can infringe her copyright." This is a huge victory particularly when the left feels perfectly entitled to probe Palin's uterus so why should they stop to consider they are not entitled to her book as well.   I would add that is was particularly satisfying to see mean girl Maureen O'Connor get schooled by a woman she believed was her intellectual inferior.  All in all, that's not a bad days work for Sarah Palin.
Linked by The Other McCain - Thanks!

UPDATE : Via Memeorandum
Galleycat has the full statement from Harper Collins. Judge Grisea read Gawker the copyright infringement riot act it seems:

On Saturday afternoon, Judge Thomas Griesa of the US District Court in Manhattan entered a temporary restraining order against Gawker. In an opinion issued yesterday, Judge Grisea stated that “the purpose of the copyright law is to prevent the kind of copying that has taken place here.” Judge Grisea’s opinion also said that Gawker “published what amounts to a substantial portion of the book” but “essentially engaged in no commentary or discussion”, and that it had “not used the copyrighted material to help create something new but has merely copied the material in order to attract viewers.” Immediately after the hearing, Gawker removed the offending pages from its web site as the Judge ordered.

Read the rest as they say.  I hope Maureen O'Connor has taken a moment to read those links she asked Sarah Palin to read.  If she hasn't, Judge Grisea seems perfectly willing to walk her through it.

Also blogging: Cubachi at Hot Air and cross-posted at Cubachi.com

Heh, Jim Treacher delivers a shpanking commenting on Gawker's meager yet belligerent spin:

That’s right, sweeties, you meant to do that. To help her sell books. Because if there’s one thing Gawker is good at, it’s selling books. Oh wait no never mind.

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/11/24/world-war-three-averted/#ixzz16Dsi1idi
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Chalk up another GOP win in the House: Ann Marie Buerkle wins NY-25

This news  is surely music to The Lonely Conservative's ears.  The incumbent Dem Rep Dan Maffei, who represents NY-25, has finally conceded to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle.  The Lonely Conservative has been following  Maffei's reluctance to admit defeat:

"Rep. Dan Maffei (D) continues to deny the obvious. I suppose he’s thinking that perhaps a few voting machines or bags of ballots will magically appear so he can continue with his Keynesian fantasy. But even if he’s successful, he’ll be in the minority. If the Republicans have learned their lesson, the historic GOP gains in the House would render him impotent anyway.
No matter how you slice it, Ann Marie Buerkle has won the election. "

Yes indeed, it appears she has won and so have the people in New York's 25th.

The Other McCain  adds this:

"With last night’s concession in TX-27, Buerkle’s win puts the incoming GOP House majority at 242 seats.

A 4 p.m. press conference is scheduled.

EXPECT UPDATES . . ."

The Lonely Conservative  has confirmation from Buerkle's staff that Maffei conceded the race.

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North Korea Fires on South Korea

Hillary warned against those potential 3 AM phone calls. Given the recent discovery of a secret uranium enrichment facility, as well as rising tensions between the North and South, this news is most disturbing:

South Korea says it has returned fire after North Korea fired around 200 artillery shells onto one of its border islands, reportedly killing one marine.

The South's military was placed on its highest non-wartime alert after the shells landed on Yeonpyeong island.

North Korea has not yet commented on the incident, in which three marines and two civilians were also injured.

Correspondents say this is one of the most serious since the Korean War ended without a peace treaty in 1953.

There have been occasional cross-border clashes since, but the latest incident comes at a time of rising regional tension.

North Korea's reclusive leader Kim Jong-il is believed to be ill and trying to engineer the succession of his youngest son. And on Saturday, North Korea showed off what it claimed was a new uranium enrichment facility - potentially giving it a second route to a nuclear weapon.

Predictably, the markets don't like what they're seeing here.

Since this story is developing, I will embed a twitter widget that should update with news as it becomes available. Stay tuned:



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Jill on our national obsession with thinness

Jill  of Pundette fame has a new article on Rightnetwork. She offers this sage advice:

By all means, be an excellent example. But not obsessively so, nor with large doses of nagging or praise. Kids are very good with subtext and will easily figure it out when parents have an agenda that goes beyond fun and fitness. The message we do not want to send is that we'd love our kids more if they were thinner.

Do let your kids in on the secret that people who are blessed with good health, an athletic body, or cover-girl beauty (not the only kind), can thank their genes and dumb luck for a good portion of it.

Take care not to hold up fitness as a cardinal virtue. Crossing the line between that and narcissism is easy to do, if the deportment of professional athletes is any indication. The humble ones stand out because there are so few of them.

I wonder who she had in mind there? Please go read the rest and hit the like button too!

Hurricane Barack Raining on Middle East Peace

Consensus in Israel and Palestine at last, both sides are losing hope and trying to cope with the rain:

Even those who still believe in the process that Obama has championed view his conduct as a deeply unfunny comedy of errors.

“He’s like rain,” said a top Israeli official involved in diplomacy with the U.S., speaking of Obama’s role in negotiations. “You can do all kinds of things to cope with it.”

Some fret that not only has Obama failed to move the process forward, but that he and his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts may have dealt it a setback that will leave it worse off than when they began.

“Each of them has exacerbated the mistakes of the other,” said Michael Herzog, a retired general who still plays an informal role advising Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s negotiators. He worries that the result of the bumbling could be “disastrous: people will lose hope in the possibility of a two-state solution.”

Fuzislippers spots the eye of the hurricane: The problem with Obama’s incompetence is not that Obama has suddenly, magically become incompetent but that he’s been incompetent all along.  Let's not be too harsh, at least the Israelis and Palestinians finally found one thing they can agree upon.

Left Coast Rebel has a roundup of one-liners from this article.  There are many.

H/T: Memeorandum
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Sunday night snark

A roundup of links 

TSA Grope and Grab Fest

Obama responds weakly to TSA outrages  - Pundette

Graphic Government Warnings: TSA Edition - Right Klik

Don't opt out. Wear a burka  Carol's Closet
Sooper Mexican has a new TSA logo - Don’t GROPE me, BRO! - Go see it, it's great

H/T: The Prudence Paine Papers

Sarah Palin V Gawker
Hating someone doesn't mean you can infringe her copyright - Likelihood of Confusion
Depose the Left. Palin V. Gawker. A Case Study - Backyard Conservative
Sarah now you get to give Gawker a TSA Screening - Legal Insurrection


Fiscal Insanity
Make your check payable to "Bureau of the Public Debt" and STFU about raising taxes - Wyblog


Manic Media 
Obama: Shiva the Destroyer? - The Other McCain
Mediaite Malpractice and Steve Benen's Crackpot Column  - POWIP


Dems in Disarray
Remember How Hardly Anyone Noticed that I was the First Woman Speaker? - Jimmie Bise
Actions Speak Louder than Words  Fuzzy Logic
Lame Plans for Lame Ducks/ Big Bro Run A-Mok? - Nice Deb
Next up for lame ducks? The Dream Act - Adrienne
The Ballots Have Been Counted in NY-25, Ann Marie Buerkle Comes Out on Top - Lonely Conservative


Miscellaneous
More idiots coming out of the woodwork- Political Junkie Mom
Help DaTechGuy write DaScript for DaTechGuy on DaRadio - DaTechGuy
Whoopi Goldberg Observations Maggie's Notebook
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SNL: A message for you from the TSA

Lonely during this holiday season? Is the groping you got from your friendly TSA agent the most action you've had in a while? Saturday Night live has a very special message just for you:




H/T: Hot Air Headlines

If that isn't enough action for you, visit American Power for a Full Metal Salute to Special Linkmaster Smith - a Farewell Edition

Linkmaster Smith – a.k.a Smitty at The Other McCain and the conserva-sphere's babe-blog aggregator par excellence – will soon deploy to Afghanistan. Word has it that a new hipster, Wombat Socho, will be taking over the honors. Apparently the Wombat's still gettting up to speed on the ways of the RSS feed, although Ruby Slippers indicates temporary workarounds are available for non-Wordpress bloggers – so as not to miss out on the festivities. (And no doubt Opus_6 will be pleased!)

Smitty will certainly be missed in the blogosphere and I know many many bloggers, myself included, will be anxiously awaiting his safe return from Afghanistan.
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Did Gawker read those fair use links they suggested Sarah Palin read? UPDATED- Judge orders Gawker to pull pages

UPDATE: Via Palin TV Judge orders Gawker to pull pages 
11/22 - Linked today by Human Events thanks to John Hayward aka Doc Zero for the link!
Scroll down for updates:


I saw this lawsuit coming a mile away.  Sarah Palin expressed concern that excerpts of her new book were posted on the pernicious pages of Gawker before her book hit the market this coming Tuesday.  Far from taking the concern of a copyright holder seriously, Gawker did what they do best and mocked her concern:

[Sarah: If you're reading this—and if you are, welcome!—you may want to take a moment to familiarize yourself with the law. Try starting here or here. Or skip the totally boring reading and call one of your lawyers. They'll walk you through it.]

So let's go there since Gawker has kindly invited us to familiarize ourselves with the law, shall we?  The first link goes to Wikipedia which actually does a reasonably good job summarizing the complexities of the fair use exception to copyright law.  Since she linked it, I have to wonder if Gawker's writer Maureen O'Connor took a moment to familiarize herself with the law?  It seems to me the answer would have to be no.

In the opening passage explaining "fair use" Wikipedia notes:

Fair use, a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work, is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders. Examples of fair use include commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author's work under a four-factor balancing test.

Ms. O'Connor may have read just that far and figured she was offering plenty of commentary and criticism on Sarah Palin's unreleased book America by Heart : Reflections on Family, Faith, and Flag.  No need to worry right?  Not exactly.  If we venture on the second link Ms. O'Connor cheerfully supplies we find this nasty warning in the opening paragraph: "Unfortunately, the only way to get a definitive answer on whether a particular use is a fair use is to have it resolved in federal court."  So it seems that Sarah Palin skipped the boring reading part and did what Ms. O'Connor and Gawker should have done, called a lawyer. Exercising her exclusive right to her original expression, which is provided in the Constitution, Palin and her publisher are now going to walk Gawker through a lesson on the murky nature of the fair use exception.

Fair use is an affirmative defense, meaning the burden will rest upon Gawker to prove their use of Sarah Palin's work (that has not yet hit the market) was fair.   Stanford law outlines the four factors and explains each in detail at the links:

1. The Transformative Factor: The Purpose and Character of Your Use
2. The Nature of the Copyrighted Work
3. The Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Taken
4. The Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market

Fair use is based on common law so the judge will use case law as precedent when weighing the four factors. There is a lot of case law to consider but a key case that seems relevant here is Harper & Row V. Nation Enterprises.  Wikipedia summarizes: "Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 (1985)[1], was a United States Supreme Court decision that determined that fair use is not a defense to the appropriation of work by a famous political figure simply because of the public interest in learning of that political figure's account of an historic event. 

Moreover, there are key findings in the Harper & Row ruling that point to problems Gawker will encounter in mounting a case for fair use and gives a sense how the four factors are applied:

(d) Taking into account the four factors enumerated in § 107 as especially relevant in determining fair use leads to the conclusion that the use in question here was not fair. (i) The fact that news reporting was the general purpose of The Nation's use is simply one factor. While The Nation had every right to be the first to publish the information, it went beyond simply reporting uncopyrightable information and actively sought to exploit the headline value of its infringement, making a "news event" out of its unauthorized first publication. The fact that the publication was commercial, as opposed to nonprofit, is a separate factor tending to weigh against a finding of fair use. Fair use presupposes good faith. The Nation's unauthorized use of the undisseminated manuscript had not merely the incidental effect, but the intended purpose, of supplanting the copyright holders' commercially valuable right of first publication. (ii) While there may be a greater need to disseminate works of fact than works of fiction, The Nation's taking of copyrighted expression exceeded that necessary to disseminate the facts, and infringed the copyright holders' interests in confidentiality and creative control over the first public appearance of the work. (iii) Although the verbatim quotes in question were an insubstantial portion of the Ford manuscript, they qualitatively embodied Mr. Ford's distinctive expression, and played a key role in the infringing article. (iv)

The fact that Sarah Palin's book has not yet made its public appearance weighs heavily in favor of Sarah Palin.  Gawker published photographic copies of pages of the book, well beyond what might have been deemed necessary for criticism or commentary, for the sole purpose of allowing their readers to Gawk at them and mock them.  Gawker took Sarah Palin's original copyrighted expression when they could have substituted their own words to express the ideas contained in the book but who would gawk at that?  They also appear to have been either too lazy or so blatantly antagonistic they didn't even bother to whittle down the amount copied to a key phrase or sentence here or there.  Again, they just wanted the reader to gawk at 21 pages of Palin's work before it had a chance to hit the market.

Some have argued that Gawker's use of Palin's protected expression does nothing to undercut the marketability of the book. The Harper & Row case involved a cancellation of a contract with Time Magazine that effectively took $12,500 from the pocket of the author, former President Gerald Ford, and the publisher. There is no such cancelled contract here but we read in the Supreme Court decision a cancelled contract was not the only loss considered:

More important, to negate a claim of fair use, it need only be shown that, if the challenged use should become widespread, it would adversely affect the potential market for the copyrighted work. Here, The Nation's liberal use of verbatim excerpts posed substantial potential for damage to the marketability of first serialization rights in the copyrighted work.

So how widespread might Gawker's use become?  Gawker posted the pages on November 17, 2010.  This was also their highest traffic day this week:

The number of people who saw the pages since Wednesday is fairly easily determined.  There will be an expert or two who would be willing to testify what a couple million Gawkers might do to sales of Palin's book.

The costs to Gawker for infringing on Palin's work don't stop there:

The legal penalties for copyright infringement are:

Infringer pays the actual dollar amount of damages and profits.
The law provides a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed.
Infringer pays for all attorneys fees and court costs.
The Court can issue an injunction to stop the infringing acts.
The Court can impound the illegal works.
The infringer can go to jail.

That is starting to look like a pretty expensive day poking fun at Sarah Palin.  As I write this however, the greatest evidence that Ms. O'Connor didn't read the links she provided or take her own advice and contact a lawyer, suddenly comes to light.  Gawker has just now reduced the copied material significantly.  I am guessing a lawyer saw a whole heap of trouble Ms. O'Connor and Gawker did not.  It doesn't pay to skip the boring reading or the call to the lawyer does it Ms. O'Connor?

Related:
Hot Air  notes Palin exercised her exclusive right to post an excerpt from her own book on Facebook.  Skip Gawker and go read her there.

UPDATE: The AP reports:

NEW YORK — A federal judge on Saturday ordered Gawker Media to pull leaked pages of Sarah Palin's forthcoming book "America by Heart: Reflections on Family, Faith and Flag" from its blog.

The injunction prohibits Gawker from "continuing to distribute, publish or otherwise transmit pages from the book" pending a hearing on Nov. 30.

That the judge issued the injunction does not necessarily mean Palin will prevail, but it does prove that Palin had a substantial case that merits a hearing.  An injunction is issued to prevent further damage to the copyright holder.  I tend to side with those who are exercising a fair use claim as a general rule.  It is often the copyright holder who uses the law to silence critics or more importantly carve out larger niches for their work in the marketplace.  Nevertheless, I see no reason to give Gawker the benefit of the doubt here; their infringement  seems egregious, lazy and blatantly stupid.

UPDATE II:  The Other McCain has an exclusive copy of the restraining order - Also an email from a source familiar with the case noting this was a big win for Harper Collins attorneys.


Many many thanks to Jim Treacher at the Daily Caller for linking this post and to Stacy McCain whose link here made this post visible.  Welcome Daily Caller Readers and The Other McCain readers too!


More to come on Memeorandum
Thanks to Anne Leary for linking
Internet Scofflaw links with "Refudiated"
NewsRealBlog in the headlines
The Slatest at Slate links too
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