Birthday Cards Humorous
Yesterday we visited the matriarch of our family to celebrate a special occasion — her 100th birthday. She showed us the many humorous and touching birthday cards she had received (including one from the President and Mrs. Obama). Since she’s as sharp as a tack, we were able to have a wide-ranging conversation that covered family, politics and sports. (Just for the record, she’s very disappointed in the Red Sox and unwilling to root for the Yankees.) And then, we shared some celebratory cake.
Just before we left, she showed us a beautiful woolen scarf she was crocheting, as well as the stack of scarves she had recently completed. When we asked her about the scarves, she told us that they were destined for a nearby homeless shelter to keep its inhabitants warm during the approaching winter months. We were impressed. Given her age, no one would blame her for kicking back and taking it easy. However, she was very clear about her motivation — she makes these scarves because she wants to be, in her words, useful.
100 years old and still looking for ways to contribute. What a great example for the rest of us.
[Photo Credit: Jessica N. Diamond]
From 9/21 Cyber Report
Internet Turns 40! On September 2, 1969 the first two ARPAnet computers were linked and began exchanging meaningless data. This evolved to the Internet and the ultimate exchange of meaningless data — Twitter. Today there are nearly 1.7 billion Internet users representing 1 in 4 people on the planet — that’s a lot of birthday cards. More Info: Internet by the Numbers 2008; World Internet Usage Stats and the Village Voice’s humorous Top 10 Internet Achievements.
US Control Over Domain Name System to End Sept. 30
In 1998, the U.S. Department of Commerce delegated management of the global domain name system to a newly formed entity – the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). The US-ICANN agreement expires on September 30th, after which ICANN will be independent entity. ICANN and and EU states welcome this move since the Internet has evolved from a Defense Department project to a highway of global commerce (and some international organizations are eager to step into the US role), but there is a push in Congress to establish a permanent relationship with ICANN. More Info: “Threats to Internet Oversight Mount as Key Protection Expires” Circle ID; “Its Congress v. ICANN in the battle for Internet Authority;” Betanews and Congressional Research Service’s 2005 Background Paper on ICANN.
Survey: 95% Clicks Were Fraudulent
A survey released by Seattle based Mpire reports that half of all ad impressions and 95 percent of clicks in online buys were fraudulent. One analyst said that click fraud is “the dirty little secret of the online ad industry that no one wants to talk about.” More Info: Online Media Daily article.
International Briefing The French government has passed a 3 strikes law that would cut off internet access to users who repeatedly violated copyright laws (a prior version was rejected by French courts).
While there is some push to amend the US law banning online gaming, the European Court of Justice held that member states may ban online gambling for crime control purposes – thwarting efforts to liberalize the EU market.
China, however, has announced that starting December 31st every piece of music on Chinese hosted websites (including foreign songs which would have to be translated) would need to be approved by the Ministry of Culture. Unacceptable music includes songs that “endangers national unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity”; harms “national honor”; incites ethnic hatred or discrimination; advances evil cults and superstition; promotes obscenity, gambling or violence; or goes against public morality or cultural traditions.
ILC Begins Third Year
The Internet Law Center enters its third year this month with offices on both coasts and a broad range of clients in 11 states and 4 countries. We will be launching a rebranded version of our award winning newsletter (formerly known as Monday Memo) sometime in October. We may experiment with different looks along the way, so any feedback is appreciated.
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