Frankly, it was a no-brainer.

Okay, so the title of my post was intentionally stick-poking, but Tony Blair has joined the Catholic faith:

“It can be confirmed that Tony Blair has been received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor,” the head of the church in England and Wales, the church said in a statement.

“I’m very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church,” the statement quoted Murphy-O’Connor as saying.

“For a long time he’s been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months he’s been following a program of formation for his reception into full communion. Our prayers are with him, his family and his wife at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together,” Murphy-O’Connor said.

Welcome to the fold, Mr. Blair. It’s very nice to have you.

An interesting stat from the same article:

In England’s last census, 72 percent of people identified themselves as Christian. Many are Anglicans affiliated with the Church of England, which was created by royal proclamation during the 16th century after King Henry VIII — who married six times — broke ties with the Roman Catholic Church in a dispute over divorce.
advertisement

The Church of England has said that less than 10 percent of its members are regular churchgoers.

Less than 10 percent?

Why bother identifying yourself as anything if you aren’t even gonna bother heading out to church once a week?

Just sayin’.

There’s a bit of language in this video, but the song is so catchy it’s on my iPhone now… If you already saw it on my Twitter, my apologies, but it’s worth a look…

The Lower East Side has a Pathmark. That Pathmark might be closing down to make room for some condos. Now normally, Pathmark would be one of the first things people would try to keep out of their neighborhood. In New York City, it’s just not cool to shop at a supermarket. You’re supposed to spend $22.99 for a box of cereal at Julio’s Corner Bodega if you want real street cred.

Anyway, Gothamist, with barely any sense of irony to them, points out that the sale would change the neighborhood for all the “old-timers”:

Now, while a Pathmark Supermarket isn’t exactly a charming home-grown New York institution, it is relied on by many on the LES, particularly the old-timers, because it’s the only (non-Asian) affordable supermarket in the area. Located on Cherry Street, the Pathmark seems to be standing in the way of some dope new luxury condos!

The only dope here is the one writing the article.

Why not implore the “old-tmers” to shop locally? After all, that’s what the protestors told people when the Pathmark on East Tremont Avenue in the Bronx was being built. We heard about how it would decimate local businesses, kill the neighborhood, bring in traffic, and kill kittens.

Okay, so it didn’t bring in traffic, but still, why is it okay to decimate Asian businesses? Oh right… For the same reason it’s okay to shut down Korean businesses in Harlem. Those slanty-eyed people just don’t belong here. We only care about brown-skinned people and their local businesses.

Seeing Gothamist come out swinging against the potential (not finalized) closing of a Pathmark really was the ironic highlight of my week.

As usual, the ACLU is wrong…

A high school official made a mistake by telling a student to cover up a lesbian-themed T-shirt or face suspension, the school’s principal said Friday, a day after the ACLU demanded the school apologize to the teen.

Bethany Laccone, 17, said she was asked to cloak a logo of two interlocked female symbols while attending a hotel management class this month at I.C. Norcom High School in Portsmouth. She’s a senior at nearby Woodrow Wilson High School, where she has not faced a similar ultimatum.

In a letter sent Thursday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia asked Norcom administrators to remove any mention of the incident from Laccone’s records and agree not to similarly censor other students.

ACLU leaders want administrators to clarify that students can express political views. The school’s dress code prohibits “bawdy, salacious or sexually suggestive messages.”

The ACLU gave the school until Jan. 11 to respond or possibly face further action.

Schools have a right to set their own dress code for any reason they want with any standards they want. The ACLU should stick to what it does best; smiting all references to God from the sight of impressionable people.

Did you see it?

Oh… You probably missed it…

Well whether or not you saw it is irrelevant. It’s causing a huge uproar in the blogosphere right now. Photographer Lane Hartwell is cheesed off because someone took a photo she posted to her flickr stream and put it into a parody video about the web. The band, not wanting to incur the wrath of a hyperbolic photographer removed the picture that appeared for less than one second, credited every other photographer whose image they used, and then reposted the video.

Not good enough for Ms. Hartwell, who, in the interest of “sticking it to the man” and getting paid is now invoicing the band for the use of her image.

As the Richter Scales stated in their blog, the video that used my image - without my permission - was viewed just under one million times on YouTube. In the end, the band opted not to work with me toward a fair resolution of the issue. I have to say that I’m very disappointed with the members of the band I negotiated with in good faith. I question whether they would have acted differently if they’d been contacted by Billy Joel’s management or the stock photo agency Getty Images.

I continue to maintain that individuals must be fairly compensated for their work. The Richter Scales have chosen another path. I believe the discussion generated as a result of this issue is healthy, necessary and will be ongoing. People who post their digital photos online should be able to do so secure in knowing that their imagery will not be used for commercial purposes without their permission.

I will be sending the band an invoice for their use of my image in the first version of the video. I hope they pay it as I’ll use the money to pay my lawyer and donate the rest to www.kids-with-cameras.org. Kids with Cameras is a non-profit organization that teaches the art of photography to marginalized children in communities around the world. This was the offer I proposed to the Richter Scales that they chose to disregard.

Individuals must be fairly compensated for their work. I would not argue such a thing, ever. That being said, however, individuals must also understand something called fair use.

The crux of Ms. Hartwell’s argument is that because her photo was used from her flickr stream, where her license says “All Rights Reserved” she has a right to collect payment for each use of the photo. She contends that because the use was commercial, she has a right to be paid. The only problem with that is that a parody video of a song isn’t exactly commercial use, is it? I could understand her point if the Richter Scales, the band in question, were selling the song, but they aren’t. As it is, she took the pictures at an event with the intent of using them for commercial purposes and you can bet she didn’t get model releases for Owen Thomas and all the other people she took pictures of that night, so isn’t it really a wash anyway?

Techcrunch, as always, is right on the money:

There have been arguments on both sides about whether the use of these images in the video would fall under the fair use doctrine of copyright law. Ultimately, only a court can decide. My co-editor Michael, who has a law degree from Stanford but is by no means a copyright expert, argues that it most certainly is fair use. Hartwell (and her lawyer) argue that it is not, principally because the image was used in its entirety without permission and the group who put the video up (the Richter Scales) stands to benefit from sales of their CD and concerts since there is a link to their site on their YouTube page.

Never mind that the Richter Scales is a not-for-profit a capella group that sold a total of eight CDs the week the original video was up. Under copyright law, it doesn’t matter. Damages are based on how much Hartwell could have sold those pictures for, and since she is a professional photographer, that would have been a lot. Unless, of course, all the publicity around the image has helped to drum up more business for Hartwell.

Like I say, you can argue both ways. Is the work transformative? Yes, the image takes on a new context within the video. Is it covered under parody if the video is not making fun of Hartwell’s image, but rather using it to make fun of Silicon Valley? Yes, because Hartwell as a Silicon Valley party photographer and the image in question of Valleywag editor Owen Thomas are both part of the very culture being parodied. (Thomas also happens to hail from Business 2.0—Time Inc. was right, that magazine was nothing but trouble). But Richter Scales took the entire image, and that is not allowed! Yes, but how do you take an “excerpt” from a photograph, unless you crop it? Anyway, a court might decide that the brief flash of Hartwell’s image in the original work constitutes an “incidental reproduction.” (And, no, I am not a lawyer).

Lane Hartwell should do two things:

1. Stop posting pictures on public sites and making them publicly available if you don’t want people using them in a fair use situation, or in more nefarious cases commercially (something I completely agree on). If you’re worried about your commissioned work being used elsewhere, don’t post commissioned work you do for others on the web. It’s not right, but it is reality that anything on the web is “stealable,” and while the Richter Scales didn’t really do anything wrong here, someone else might not be as pure of motive.

2. Apologize, call it a misunderstanding, and forget the whole “I’m invoicing them” thing. It’s utterly ridiculous and only serves to make Hartwell look vindictive and childish. As it is, a large majority of comments I’ve seen on the subject think she’s wrong altogether, so it may not be a bad idea to drop this thing and let the chips fall where they may. As it is now, she’s only inflaming the situation leading me to believe that despite her protests, she’s enjoying the fact that suddenly lots of people know who she is.

Kudos to the Richter Scales for responding so quickly and dropping the picture out of their video altogether and shame on Lane Hartwell for keeping this childish and idiotic crusade to punish a small-time band going.

Damn this is good. The ad they discuss can be seen here.

In one short interview, Huckabee proved exactly why he’s the leading candidate (as far as polls) on the right side of the aisle. Instead of backing down and apologizing for offending “some people,” (some people being the people who were offended but not named) he just said “it’s a bookshelf.”

Imagine that.

The beauty of what Huckabee is doing is amazing. He’s not backing down from who he is. He’s not distancing himself from his religion. And most of all, he’s not putting up with the idiotic arguments that the ad he wrote may be offensive. If you’re offended by an ad wishing you a Merry Christmas, you’re part of the problem.

He also makes a very good point in that next Tuesday, you’ll most likely not be working. You’ll probably be paid for it, too. You’ll most likely be with friends or family, and you’ll most likely be celebrating the holiday in some form whether your right or left wing, or any denomination of Christian.

That is, unless of course, you’re some cockeyed atheist who fears melting in the mere mention in the name of Christ.

Huckabee has something that only Mitt Romney offers. Honesty. He is what he is and he’s not ashamed of it. People like Rudy Giuliani and John McCain should be utterly terrified of Huckabee because, unlike them, he’s not afraid to say what he means. People see it. People have responded to it, and mark my words. All it’s going to take is one primary win to prove his “electability.” Once that happens, it’s over for his competition and it isn’t going to take any kind of divine intervention to make that happen.

• Ding Dong, Digg is Dead
  The world is waking up. ‘Bout time.
  (tags: blogging blogs digg Geek)

• Top 20 Wordpress Plugins
  Nice list of plugins for Wordpress.
  (tags: download list php plugins wordpress)

Now, a lot of you are probably watching this and laughing at it, but there is a certain reality contained therein.

Florists, bakers, DJ’s, and all the others, simply don’t care what the guy has to say. In fact, they all believe that men are just sitting there to agree to something and hand over a credit card or cash. How do I know this? Because I was there, and it wasn’t that long ago.

While I can honestly say that our “people” weren’t terrible, the bias toward Beth was very obvious every time we met with someone. When we met with the florist, the nice young gentleman barely looked at me the entire time. When we met with the studio that was going to do the photography, they pretty much ignored me and asked her what kind of pictures / video she wanted. At the end of our appointments, the hand flew forth across the desk and in it, I placed a stack of hundreds. That was how our wedding was conducted.

I don’t hold any bitter feelings about it, but it may not be a bad idea for wedding planners and the associated service providers to stop treating men like ATM’s and at least acting like we have an opinion and that it actually matters. It may actually make men want to have an active role in the planning of one of the biggest events of their lives.

Just a suggestion.

Seesmic review.

My response to the idiotic claims of racism in the video below…

• Caroline: The Girl Deserves a Camera.
  This girl makes AWESOME videos. Please consider donating a few bucks to help her get a good replacement for her now dead cams. After all, it is Christmas
  (tags: caroline camera charity giving christmas)

I saw this on TMZ TV tonight and in the process completely disappointed my wife with the fact that I hadn’t already seen it… I figure there should be more people like me out there, so without further ado…

What happened to all that “writer solidarity” and such? Guess all that strongarming isn’t turning out so well…

An unfair labor practices complaint filed against Hollywood studios is a bid to force them back to the negotiating table with striking writers, guild leaders said.

But a studio alliance responded with disdain to the claim it illegally broke off talks, as alleged in Thursday’s filing by the Writers Guild of America with the National Labor Relations Board.

The “baseless, desperate NLRB complaint is just the latest indication that the WGA’s negotiating strategy has achieved nothing for working writers,” the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said in a statement.

Negotiations in the six-week strike collapsed Dec. 7 when the alliance refused to bargain further unless the union dropped proposals that included the authority to unionize writers on reality shows and animation projects.

The labor board did not immediately return a call to its Los Angeles office.

I have no dog in this fight either way, but the fact that they’re trying to get the NLRB involved, in my mind, means they’re weakening. They didn’t have much of an argument to begin with and this strikes me as the last desperate moves of a union dying to prove it’s still relevant to its members.

And, while the union postures and postures and postures, writers are still out of work. Five bucks says that the folks in charge of the union, however, are still getting paid, which is the problem with unions to begin with. They exist solely for the preservation of themselves. Anything additional is a happy little bonus.

My first word was dating. Check hers out…

Is she hinting? I wonder…

Consider the cake taken…

ALVIN — The father of a 13-year-old Alvin Junior High cheerleader said the school district overstepped its bounds when it suspended his daughter for taking a cell phone photo of another cheerleader getting out of the shower during a sleepover in his home.

“This makes me realize how little control I have over my daughter when the school district can take action on something that happened at my home on a Saturday,” Michael Bailey said.

Bailey said school officials overreacted on Nov. 6 when they suspended five eighth-grade students in the incident. Officials said it became a school issue when several boys were looking at the photo on the junior high campus.

“They acted on the hearsay,” Bailey said, complaining that officials suspended the students without seeing the photo.

The board took no action on the issue Tuesday.

Imagine what they’d do to all the boys if they knew how much pr0n was on their computers?

I’ve discussed congestion pricing a lot on this blog in the past, and yesterday it came up yet again. This time, however, it’s the most stinging repudiation of the idiots that think that the poor and middle class will be most affected by it.

Check this out:

The Independent Budget Office released a report examining who might be affected by congestion pricing. The report, “Behind the Wheel: Who Drives Into The Proposed ‘Congestion Zone’” can be read here (PDF) but the topline is that drivers are middle-class and over half are from Nassau County, Westchester, NJ, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

The report states, “Looking at the extremes of the earnings distribution for all congestion zone commuters, motor vehicle users were less likely to be in the lowest 10 percent of earners and more likely to be in the top 10 percent.” The average yearly income of motorists is $75,523, which is “24% more than other commuters,” and those drivers who live in NYC have a median income of $41,209, versus a median income of $32,379 for NYC residents who take other means of transportation. Other interesting points: Motorists are twice as likely to hold government jobs, are more likely to be self-employed, and many work in the private sector.

Reaction to the study is mixed: The NRDC says it proves “Congestion pricing would evenly distribute the cost of maintaining the transit system,” while congestion pricing opponent Richard Brodsky says it proves it’s a regressive tax. Well, regressive for the middle class, sure, as the study says, “These findings largely counter concerns that congestion pricing would disproportionately affect workers less able to afford additional commuting costs.”

While the whole thing is interesting, I never understood that last part. Is there anyone who realistically thinks that people who are poor are driving into Manhattan, specifically in the area below 86th Street?

Really?

Here’s the bottom line. If you can’t afford to drive into Manhattan, don’t. If you can, you probably shouldn’t either. Keep your gas-guzzler in the outer boroughs, not in the already grossly overcrowded Manhattan streets. There’s enough crap to deal with without some lazy schmuck from somewhere else whizzing in in his beautiful black Benz, alone, because he can’t be bothered congregating with the little people on the Subway.

I wish they’d do the congestion pricing thing already. Enough talking about it and start charging these sons of bitches that ruin the city for the people who live here a few bucks for making our lives more difficult.

Free shipping is a significant price reduction on books and a violation of laws…

I kid you not…

Amazon.com may not offer free delivery on books in France, the high court in Versailles has ruled.

The action, brought in January 2004 by the French Booksellers’ Union (Syndicat de la librairie française), accused Amazon of offering illegal discounts on books and even of selling some books below cost.

The court gave Amazon 10 days to start charging for the delivery of books, which should at least allow the company to maintain the offer through the end-of-year gift-giving season. After that, it must pay a fine of 1,000 Euro (US$1,470) per day that it continues to offer free delivery. It must also pay 100,000 Euro in compensation to the booksellers’ union.

Retail prices, particularly of books, are tightly regulated in France.

We keep hearing how enlightened Europe is, and yet we’re consistently shown this kind of stupidity. Amazon should just do what I would do. Pull out of France and tell them to shove their over-governing nanny bullshit where the sun doesn’t shine. France has every right to impose stupid laws, but Amazon has no obligation to do business there.

Shame they don’t have the stomach for it.

via Techdirt