For my final post for the month of February, I want to include a SPECIAL COMMENT from Keith Olbermann- An American Cry For Help
I've seen it already on a couple of websites, and have commented about it. If you haven't seen this, please take the time to watch. There are few among us who will not relate to Keith's words.
Commentary Yesterday afternoon my cousin Terri posted a link on FACEBOOK about the 20th century writer- philosopher Ayn Rand (1905-82) and her fascination with William Hickman, a sadistic murderer who was executed in 1928 for the horrific killing of 12 year old Marian Parker. What makes this relationship relevant to today and to modern American politics is because of the resurgence of Rand's philosophy of objectivism, and Rand's popularity among modern American conservatives and Libertarians, among them Alan Greenspan, Clarence Thomas, Bob Barr, and Ron Paul. President Ronald Reagan was said to be an admirer of Rand's work.
Initially I was going to just provide a link to the page on AlterNet that told the story of Rand and Hickman, but then I became involved in spending sometime in reacquainting myself with Ayn Rand and objectivism. So for about six to eight hours on Saturday I read about Rand, and read more about her philosophy and her works of fiction, including The Fountainhead and what may have been her defining work, Atlas Shrugged. In recent years sales of Atlas Shrugged have seen a spike because her views of laissez-faire captalism, and of the ability of "man the producer" to lift himself higher to a full potential has appeal to those on the political right, and has been adopted by some in the "Tea Party" movement as a manifesto. And while doing my research I came across the original article about Rand-Hickman on The Exiled website. If you go to that version of the story you can see photos of Tea Party members carrying signs in support of Ayn Rand and her philosophy.
What began as a short linkup for this blog became a weekend long mini research project to to rediscover Ayn Rand- just who was she and what were her beliefs? And I struck gold with some amazing videos she made in her lifetime. So I watched her live performance with Phil Donahue from 1980, as well as an interview she did with a University of Michigan professor (circa 1960)....and I took notes; lots and lots of them.
Ayn Rand was born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum Tsarist Russia in 1905. Her family could be called non-observant Jews. After the Revolution of 1917 Rand attended the University of Petrograd, majoring in history, but also studying the philosophical works of Plato, Aristotle, and her greatest influence, Friedrich Nietzsche. Authors she admired greatly were Edmond Rostand and Victor Hugo, among others. Rand emigrated to the United States in 1926, saying she was going to visit relatives in America....she never returned to the Soviet Union. She adopted her new name and became a naturalized American citizen in 1931.
Rand met director Cecil B. DeMille and worked as an extra in his silent epic about the life of Christ, King of Kings. She subsequently became a screenwriter, which opened the door to her writing works of fiction and non fiction. She married actor Frank O'Connor in 1929.
The basis of Rand's objectivism can be summed as "the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute."
This concept, and her demand for limited government and laissez-faire capitalism, has helped to lead to a resurgenece in interest in Rand by conservatives and some in the "Tea Party" movement, who see the actions of the Obama administration as being too much government interference, with the Wall Street and bank bailouts, and the Obama administration's attempt to reform health care.
What I find interesting is the "cafeteria approach" conservatives have as far as Rands objectivism....Catholics who are seen to "pick and choose"doctrine they can adhere to are sometimes referred to as "Cafeteria Catholics". And Rand's conservative fans, it seems, are "guilty" of the same thing....which may be a poor choice of words because belief in objectivism may leave the user void of any sense of guilt. But I'll explain what I mean momentarily.
Objectivism is a belief that man lives to be a producer, and in doing so he must stay on course to reach that goal to obtain his individual happiness. Its up to the individual to find his own destiny and happiness.
But here are some problems....and here's why Rand and objectivism have strange bedfellows with the modern conservative movement.
Objectivism and atheism; Rand was an atheist almost from the time she was a child, and remained one throughout her life. To her organized religion and belief in a God were illogical and dangerous. A video interview posted at the Ayn Rand Institute website from the time of Atlas Shrugged's publication shows her referring to people who lead by faith as "witch doctors". She decried organized religion as "mysticism", and found those who practice faith as being weak and illogical.
There is such irony here, especially when President Obama took so much heat from conservatives for an inviting an atheist group to the White House, while some of the same critics believe Rand's economic philosophy but turn a blind eye towards her atheism and disdain for practitioners of religion. I wonder how many of these "Neo-Randians" have actually taken a look at her whole life and philosophy? And just how many "TheoCons" would hold her in such esteem had they known of her atheism?
Objectivism rejects altruism; This is a part of Rand's philosophy that caused me the most problem. "Altruism" is the concept of living a life to do good for others. Rand's objectiveism incorporates the belief in egoism- doing what is in one's best self interest. I thought about the altruism we see in everyday life- we sometimes do what's best for our friends and family, because of our love for them. Cops and firefighters risk their lives for complete strangers everyday. Teachers instruct children of adults they don't know, public defenders make sure those accused of crimes get a fair shake in court. The men and women of our armed forces fight and sometimes die because they want to serve something that is bigger than them.
And then I thought about the World Trade Center on 9/11, and all of the first responders who ran into an inferno to save lives, knowing they may not come back....and those countless people who have sprung to aid Haiti after the destructive earthquakes.
There's something noble and right and ethical about altruism....and not so for the "me first" doctrine of Ayn Rand's ethical egoism, a theory that tells you to leave your family and friends if you think they are a hindrance to you.
Its disturbing...its wrong....its unAmerican.
And to my religious friends, its about as un-Christian a concept as I've ever seen or heard.
The development of "professional intellectuals"- The Republicans and conservatives are often accused of being "anti-intellectual". You may or may not agree. But in the same interview from the Ayn Rand Institute Rand talks about developing "professional intellectuals"...I suppose these "Pro's' would have been selected on the basis of how closely they agree with Ayn Rand.
Liberals are often labeled by the Right as "the Elite".
But I have yet to see the anyone else other than Ayn Rand call for a special category of our work force who's only purpose would be to tell us all how stupid and nonsensical the rest of us are. But I'm sure Ann Coulter likes Rand, so how elite can she be?
Below, I embedded the five part episode of DONAHUE featuring Rand in 1980, about two years before her death. Its an interesting glimpse into a controversial mind. I found her to be chilly, distant, and- not surprisingly- more than a little disturbing. Her answer about what to do with the disabled and mentally challenged (whom she referred to as "retarded") are close to being fascistic.....and actually display her belief in Charles Darwin and survival of the fittest.
Also, look at how she handles criticism from the audience members- there was no room for descent in her ranks- my way or the highway.
My bottom line with Ayn Rand....while attempting to be a philosophical and intellectual liberator of man, she became an intolerant judge of all that was around her. To find her being an icon and hero of many in a political movement is more than a little disturbing to say the least.
We're all Americans. And we should be made of better stuff.
This is an older story on CNN that I just picked up on; John McCain's campaign has linked his opponent for his Arizona Senate seat, J.D. Hayworth to prominent "birthers" Phil Berg and Orly Taitz.
You may remember Orly Taitz....she tried to prove that President Obama was actually born in Kenya. The only thing she succeeded in doing was proving she was the craziest person this side of Glenn Beck.
But the Republican attendees kept saying "Start over" and "a clean sheet of paper".
And MSNBC's Chris Matthews called the GOP'ers use of choreographed talking points "synchronized stalling" and "Kill (the) Bill".
To be frank, I believe little was accomplished in yesterday's health care reform summit, other than President Obama proving once again that he is the smartest guy in the room....and the display of mutual testiness between the president and former presidential opponent John McCain did prove to be an eyeopener.
But both sides seem to be entrenched in their positions, and what we had was basically a daylong photo-op for the competing sides in the healthcare debate.
What was amusing...and more than a little stupid on the part of the Republicans...was the use of the rehearsed talking points, ad nauseum. Their objections came off as artificial as John Boehner's sprayed on suntan.
Enjoy the video....a classic in editing from MSNBC.
The snowstorm that was predicted for the Northeast began yesterday morning in the wee hours of the morning, with temperatures just slightly above the freezing mark. It remained above freezing for most of the day, so there was a heavy, wet, slushy snow that felt like cement when you tried to remove it. The roadways remained clear but slick, with little visible accumulation.
That all changed at sunset yesterday....it dropped below 32 degrees and has been there since, and then winds kicked in with 50 MPH gusts. The roads were covered, snow started to drift, and so far there has been more than 8 inches of new snow with an additional 6-10 inches predicted before the storm exits this evening.
The system is like a pinwheel in the Atlantic, centered off of the coast near Long Island, with an eye similar to what you'll see in a tropical system. So far for the winter we are in excess of 40 inches, probably closer to 50 at this point. Around 18 inches of snow is typical for a winter in the New York-New Jersey- Connecticut TriState area.
One thing is for sure....the record snowfall for any month in the history of New Brunswick has been 29 inches; 27 inches had fallen as of the start of the storm, so unofficially we are at 35 inches and counting, making February 2010 "The Snowiest Month In The Recorded History Of Central New Jersey".
I should have visited my brother and his family in balmy Cleveland for some better weather!
UK IP hero James Dyson has sued competitor VAX for infringement of one of his UK registered designs. The VAX Mach Zen product does, to this untutored eye, bear some resemblance to Dyson's UK design 2043779 (which is probably the one in suit), but there are also some differences, notably the position of the hose.
VAX's Press Release, however, merely blathers on about how much they respect Dyson, how the design wasn't copied, and how great their product is. Given that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery I suppose one can accept the first point; the second two, even if true, appear irrelevant. The case appears to be HC10C00126 TLC /10, and from a professional point of view we are delighted to see that it will be fought between heavyweight teams: Dyson are represented by Wragges (who largely succeeded for them against Qualtex on pattern spares) and VAX by EMW Picton Howell. Advocacy will be an 11 South Square party, headed by Henry Carr and Ian Purvis respectively. It should be an interesting case on scope of what was, in its time, a fairly striking design - watch this space, and pray it does not settle.
Socialism!!!! The word scares the bejeesus out of Middle Americans, conservatives, Dittoheads and Teabaggers. The GOP has been using the word to describe healthcare reform- though at today's summit with President Obama they have remained civil and not brought out any photoshopped pictures of Mr. Obama and any of Leon Trotsky's surviving grandchildren.
The President has been called a socialist by such experts in the field as Limbaugh, Hannity, and Beck....but I think most Americans are still confused....they still don't know the answers to the questions....
"What is a socialist? Is it like a communist? And What is a Marxist?"
Leave it to our British friends to explain it simply for an American audience.
Below, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Terry Jones take us into a fictional panel discussion involving the icons of Marxist-Socialism.
Trade-mark-oriented readers may recall the ECJ G-Star decision concerning jeans (Benetton Group v G-Star International, ECJ case C-371/06, 20 September 2007) in which the shapes of stitching and other aspects that gave substantial value to the jeans were unregistrable as marks despite subsequently acquired reputation. The Class 46 blog carries an Italian sequel. In January, in the absence of copyright or trade mark protection, the Milan Court allowed G-Star's unfair competition claim based on copying of their "Elwood" jeans. It is pleasing to see that G-Star also successfully enforced the design of the "Limit Regular" jeans, registered as Community Designs at OHIM (where they have registered more than 100 RCDs).
Another round in the endless litigation on those love-'em-or-hate-'em fluorescent plastic clogs made famous by Crocs Inc. Both a utility patent, number US6993858, and a design patent, number D517789, were asserted. For Hal Wegner's comment, follow this link to IPFrontline.
The CAFC reversed the ITC's finding of non-infringement on the design patent, applying the Egyptian Goddess "ordinary observer" test of similarity. In so doing, they criticised the trial judge's reliance on a detailed verbal description of the design - rightly, we think, as putting the essential "look and feel" of a visual design into words is often very difficult as witness the difficulties of the European courts in the Procter and Gamble v Reckitt Benckiser cases, where snakes and lizards slithered their way into a dispute over air freshener spraycans.
A more interesting issue, perhaps, is the reversal of the obviousness finding on the utility patent; essentially the issue was that Scott Seaman, the Crocs inventor and founder, added a foam heel strap to the prior-marketed foam "Acqua Clog" (which he did not design). Heel-straps on clogs were known from, for example, US6237249. However, the ITC held the combination non-obvious - partly because of evidence of the massive commercial success of the Crocs Inc. products corresponding to the patent.
It might have been still more interesting to see whether the design patent would have withstood an obviousness attack under the Egyptian Goddess "ordinary observer" approach. Broader scope entails a lower likelihood of validity, so does a "plain vanilla" heelstrap at the back of a distinctive clog, often pivoted out of view onto the clog itself, make much difference over the prior art to the wearer (who can't see it in use) or those around her? Perhaps this issue will be resolved in the pending OHIM European appeal.
Now that the snow had receded enough from the two previous storms, I finally got a chance to check out the downed trees and branches that were on the property...and spent the best part of the day doing some cutting with my handy pole saw, taking care of any big branches that could take out the powerlines in what appears to be the 4th major snowfall of the season and the third in the month of February.
Its supposed to be a 36 hour event, starting in the AM on Thursday.
Predicted snow totals for this area could be a foot or more.....somehow I think the earth very quietly shifted on its axis and I'm now living where Buffalo used to be.
This afternoon...to the A&P with all the other nervous town folk....I have more milk in the house than the average day care center.
Nothing more to say other than I'm beat....will go to bed early....and go on snow removal detail for the foreseeable future.
Pro-designer action group Anti Copying in Design (ACID) has just issued another warning regarding guides with easy-to-miss small print. According to its recent circular:
"Following our previous campaign against the Fair Guide, produced by a company called Construct Data Verlag GmbH based in Austria, we are aware of a similar exhibition guide called Expo-Guide, produced by a company registered in Mexico, which appears to be virtually identical.
Exhibitors at major exhibitions are sent a mailshot for 'free' advertising space in an 'exhibitors directory'. They are asked to check that the accompanying order form has the correct data on it after which 'your free listing will be activated' However, some people use the attached form to make corrections to their 'free listing' and submit it, unaware that they are using the form which requests a 'payable insertion'. As the offer is sent at roughly the same time as official exhibition documentation, the confusion occurs because the Expo Guide offer letter is headed 'Exhibitors Directory in the Expo-Guide' and also states the name of the exhibition where a stand has already beenbooked.Many people sign the document believing that their name will appear in the actual exhibition 'list of exhibitors' guide for the exhibition.
The cover letter has clear notification that the ‘Expo Guide’ is ‘independent, objective and not related to any organiser or marketing association.’ However, this information is set out in the body of the text, and is not immediately obvious to the reader.
The order form itself, where you are encouraged to ‘please confirm the accuracy of your details’ also states ‘This form is only for your correct listing as an individual advertisement entry’ and this is also misleading. The actual payment terms and length of the agreement are in smaller print at the end of the document.
There it states that the cost of the listing in the Expo-Guide will be 1181 Euros, that it is a 3 year contract and will continue for that period unless ‘cancellation notice is given in writing by letter at the latest 3 months before order’s expiry’ which is not a clear statement and liable to misinterpretation.
If you sign a contract without having thoroughly read all the small print, you are legally responsible. You cannot argue that you were unaware of any of the obligations that will then bind you. Your only option will be to argue that there is something fundamentally wrong with the contract, such as a failure of consideration, or a breach of the contract. Even then, the contract may be deemed only ‘voidable’ and not totally void or invalid. Click here for a downloadable version of this advice and an example of the form and the cover letter".
Class 99 wonders whether any of its readers have been in dispute with the publishers of guides of this nature and what was the outcome of such disputes. Do let us know (there is no charge for telling us ...)
When I heard that former Vice President Dick Cheney, 69, had his fifth heart attack since age 37 I thought long and hard about commenting. I lost a grandfather to heat disease, my father has had a triple bypass and my mother has had a couple of angioplasties- I know what its like for a family to live with heart disease. And in that regard, I have empathy for the Cheney family.
But it is harder for me to have empathy for Dick Cheney.
My conscience tells me its wrong to wish him ill because I find his politics divisive; but my heart keeps me from wishing him a speedy recovery- and that troubles me. If I were to wish him well, it would be hollow and said only because I feel required to do so in the name of humanity. But frankly, the thought of this man leaves me numb; not angry or spiteful, but just wanting him to fade into the background once and for all.
Cheney is an elected official who has condoned the use of torture in questioning prisoners of war and detainees, and has used his influence and know how to circumvent the Constitution in the name of national security. His voice was the one that may be most responsible in leading this nation into a war in Iraq that will be seven years old next month, has cost 4,000 American lives, many more thousands wounded, and countless casualties among the Iraqi civilian population. In many ways, the Iraq War is more "Cheney's War" than "Bush's War".
I think of Dick Cheney receiving the best healthcare available because of his position while 40,000,000 of his countrymen have no health insurance at all. Your tax dollars, and mine, are paying to keep Mr. Cheney alive.
If he were John Q. Citizen instead of a former VP, his insurance company would have dropped him years ago, and he most likely would have been forced into bankruptcy.
And I ask- where is Cheney's empathy for those of his countrymen who cannot receive even the most basic healthcare? A person with his health issues with any sense of empathy- and a pulpit for eight years to express them- could have made a difference in the lives of others had he chosen to do so.
Instead, he chose to help direct the nation into a near disaster in Iraq that was underfunded and was one crack in the fabric of our economy; many others were to follow.
Dick Cheney has had five heart attacks and five deferments from the draft in the Vietnam War. Conversely, I had zero deferments and zero heart attacks....for the grace of God.
But I fear my first heart attack may be my last....I won't have government paid access to Walter Reade.
I'll just follow the Republican health plan- drink diet soda instead of the good stuff, and walk five miles a day, or until my knees give out.
You hear, see, and read so many negative stories involving professional athletes...and its good to see some very positive press about one of the NFL's good guys.
Shaun O'Hara of the New York Giants is endowing a scholarship at his alma mater, Rutgers University.
Controversial FOX NEWS commentator Glenn Beck may be the most popular voice on that network, but according to the website stopbeck.com the list of sponsors who have dropped advertising for his nightly show or have refused to advertise on it has risen to 119.
The latest sponsors to drop Glenn Beck in the United States are George Foreman Cooking, Sylvan Learning, and Weight Watchers.
Click here to read statements from these three companies.
More stories continue to emerge in the aftermath of Joseph Stack's attack on a building that housed an Internal Revenue Service office in Austin, Texas.
Stack flew a small plane into the IRS offices killing IRS agent Vernon Hunter, 67, a Vietnam War veteran and severly injuring two others. This morning Stack's daughter Samantha Bell called her father a "hero". She stopped short of condoning the attack calling it "inappropriate" and "wrong". Bell is Stack's daughter by his first marriage. Before flying his plane into the Austin building he set his home on fire, endangering his current wife and child. Bell was interviewed via telephone on Monday on GOOD MORNING AMERICA.
Below, some of her quotes that appear on nydailynews.com. She said Stack is a hero....
"because now maybe people will listen."
"I have many cases of people I know that are suffering in the hands of the government and people literally dying because they are not getting the help they need,"
Below, a YouTube copy of the interview.
Some on the extreme right have begun calling Joseph Stack a hero and a champion against high taxes and big government.
His daughter, Ms. Bell, moved to Norway after losing her job in the United States while she was pregnant. In Norway she pays higher taxes but is eligible for government run medical care. Vernon Hunter's son makes that point very clear when he was asked about the Bell's comments.
Below, more from Vernon Hunter's son, Ken.
Also of note....this week the staff of NEWSWEEK debated among themselves- "Should Joseph Stack be regarded as a terrorist?
It is an interesting debate- lone wolf, separatist, right wing radical-left wing radical, lunatic, crazy, domestic terrorist, or just plain terrorist?
In my opinion, I agree with Patrick Enright NEWSWEEK'S Senior Articles Editor- if your intent is to indiscriminately kill innocent as well as the perceived guilty, then you are a terrorist.
And one more thing....all of the noise we've heard from the usual gasbags on the Far Right about the "underpants" bomber" from last Christmas, who's failed attempt gave so much grief to the Obama Administration from its critics....where are those same voices now? Are they afraid of alienating some of their base by calling this act by what it was, simply murder?
Last month Class 99 asked if Norway was about to join the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, thus completing the set of European Union and non-EU EFTA states. Well, Solvår Winnie Finnanger (Senior Legal Advisor, Design and Trademark Department, Norwegian Industrial Property Office) has emailed to say that Norway is indeed finally acceding to the Geneva Act ("We have been waiting for this for a long time!", she adds), pointing out that her office's website has all the necessary information ready and available in English here.
I've decided to give myself an unofficial-official night off from blogging tonight- I spent the day watching some college hoops and had a great seafood dinner, and quite frankly, I'm feeling a bit lazy right now.
Also....I'm still feeling just a little pissed off about the idiots who started the FACEBOOK page for Joseph Stack, aka The Austin Kamikaze. And quite frankly the antics of the usual wingnuts at the recent CPAC Convention have me wanting to take a break before my brain explodes.
But before I go....please enjoy the little tune leading off the old musical PLAYLIST, "Deadicated" to all future Teabagger Cruises, or any in the past that I may have missed.
I'll be back tomorrow with more stuff- that's a promise, not a threat.
One of the first things I saw this morning was a story on Tomcat's Politics Plus blog about some anti-Obama whack jobs who started a FACEBOOK page dedicated to Joseph Stack, the man who deliberately crashed his plane into a building that contained an IRS office in Austin, TX. A man believed to be Vernon Hunter, 67 years of age, was killed in the fiery crash, and two others were seriously injured.
After seeing that a group that allegedly numbering 300 people banded together to form a FACEBOOK group (since deleted) honoring a man who murdered an unsuspecting senior citizen and sent two more people to the hospital, I was outraged. But after calming down a bit I came to the realization that there are some out there in cyberspace who were even crazier than Joseph Stack; those who sought to turn him into an anti-government icon.
And after FACEBOOK deleted their page, some of these clowns started whining about their "right to freedom of speech" being violated. How about Vernon Hunter's right to see his 68th birthday and beyond? How about the lives of innocent people going to their jobs in that building that were not even related to the IRS? Or the lives of the average citizens who could have been in the IRS offices to pick up tax forms or to ask a question?
Some of these anti-government, anti-IRS, anti-Obama types couldn't understand the US Constitution if you gave them a coloring book version.
They've just condoned murder and domestic terrorism. Disgusting.....and shameless.
At 11:00am on Friday February 19th I wasn't one of the throngs glued to my TV to watch Tiger Woods make his statement regarding his extramarital affairs and his sexual addiction. I told myself I had things to do....but when the clock struck 11, I did have my car radio tuned into the presser....and after my 10 minute trip to TARGET was completed I stayed in my car to hear the final four minutes of Woods statement.
No....I was not "above it all".
It is commendable that Woods tried to make things right, and that he apologized to wife Elin, to his children, his friends, his family, and to all whom he may have hurt. But then he seemed to be offering an apology to not only all who were watching and listening, but to the rest of the nation...and the world....as well.
I for one have this to say.....Mr. Woods, you don't owe me an apology. Yes, you hurt your wife and your loved ones....you owe them an apology, and even more contrition. But for Woods to offer an apology to the public....and for those in the public who feel they are owed one from Woods....you are way, way, way off base.
Eldrick "Tiger" Woods is a prominent athlete who everyone once thought was squeaky clean All American role model, and proved to be a serial philanderer. He was caught, and then put through the modern equivalent of the stocks and the pillory....he becomes the butt of jokes by late night comics, he is the subject of constant scrutiny by the tabloid press and media, his estranged wife, kids, and mother are stalked by paparazzi. We really haven't evolved all that much from our Pilgrim and Puritan forebearers; we still practice the public humiliation of adulterers and cheats, only we don't do it in a town square anymore.
Yes Woods became a role model to millions, and yes he let them down....but it was the public who chose to idolize this man.....and the money machine that was behind this presentation is partially culpable in this public deception- they helped to enable a man with an addiction. Gillette and AT&T, and many others, threw millions of dollars at Tiger Woods. He won tournaments and became a legend before age 30, and the product endorsers helped sell the legend as an American Icon. And as Americans always seem to do....they took the bait.
But I ask this; isn't it the epitome of a perceived self importance that any individual outside the immediate circle of Tiger Woods feels they deserve an apology from him because he cheated on his wife? Adding to this mindboggling mentality is Woods actually apologizing to the known universe for something that at its base is a family matter.
The bottom line ....Tiger needed to grow up. And so do too many people who are wasting their lives pontificating and pointing fingers at his guilt, and those who can't get enough of watching this man emerge from the train wreck he caused.
The ancients believed that the gods had conflicts in their realm, and often walked about in our world at will, sometimes to resolve issues with each other, or with mere mortals. We moderns don't have "gods" in our world....but we do have a deified class that we call celebrities....once defined by the late Merv Griffin as "someone who is famous for being famous".
I believe it was George C. Scott who once said that the only thing he owed the public was a good performance. He was a hard drinking and often temperament guy who could care less about the trappings of stardom or awards....he once won an Oscar, and never showed up to pick it up, and never accepted it.
And Tiger Woods....he owes us a good performance on the golf course, but much more than that to those in his family and the ones closest to him.
Today Tiger Woods talked about the meaning of Buddhism in his life, and how he needed to get back to its principles. Many years ago I read a book that presented an old wisdom- many who idolized Woods should examine it. The book's title came from an ancient saying attributed to a Zen Master...."If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him."
Of course, that is meant in symbolic terms, a metaphor if you will...it was not meant to say "go murder a teacher or your mentor". It means that being a follower of someone can be counterproductive, or even destructive. You may think you know him but you never really can. However, each of us has it in ourselves to be better people, even if we do not feel it or see it. But you must seek it internally. We must keep trying.
That philosophy might be in play as of now for Tiger Woods....and maybe it should be for the rest of us as well.
The ever-informative International Law Office newsletter carries a report by Lauren Eade and Lisa Lennon of Gilbert + Tobin on recent Australian case law, within which there is a useful discussion on Chiropedic Bedding Pty Ltd v Radburg Pty Ltd[2009] FCA 1163 that serves to illustrate the effect of a "Statement of Novelty".
The Australian Designs Act 1906 (now superseded but applicable to old designs) required a Statement of Novelty. In this respect it was the same as the UK design statutes (until the 2001 amendments which brought the UK Registered Designs Act 1949 into line with the new EU design law), and those of many other countries having a historical relationship with the UK. In the Designs Act 1906, “Statement of Novelty” was defined as "a statement relating to the representations of an article to which the design is applied that indicates those features of the representations in respect of which novelty or originality is claimed".
The general intention of a statement of novelty is to direct attention to particular aspects of a design registration, but its specific effects on validity and on scope of protection for infringement purposes have long been the subject of confusion. Very often, a Statement of Novelty would simply state that "The novelty resides in the shape and configuration [or pattern and ornament, or both] of article shown in the representations", but such statements could also be used to draw attention to particular parts of a design. For a fairly recent New Zealand case on wording and amending the Statement of Novelty, see AEP v ScholleIPONZ, 1/2002.
Chiropedic Bedding's design was for a single-sided 'posture top' mattress, incorporating a separate sprung section on top of the main body of a sprung mattress, and contained the following statement of novelty:
"Novelty is claimed in the shape and configuration of the upper layer of the mattress portion of the mattress and base as indicated by the beading as shown in the representations."
In the UK it was generally thought that, for validity purposes, the statement of novelty acts as a "disclaimer". That is to say, it acts as an admission that all other aspects of the design not mentioned in the statement are not novel. This was to lead to a catastrophe in the case of Evered & Co Ltd's Application (Design), 1961 RPC 105 (differing from older case law), in which an applicant filed two designs showing the same product but with different statements of novelty each directed to a different part - each denied the novelty of the other, so neither was valid.
After a detailed review of the Australian and UK authorities, the Federal Court in Chiropedic cited with approval the remarks of Slade LJ in Sommer Allibert (UK) Ltd v Flair Plastics Ltd [1987] RPC 599 to the effect that "While the court does not have to assume that it [the statement of novelty] is correct, it precludes the proprietor, who has obtained his registration on the grounds that certain features of the design give novelty to it, from thereafter denying their novelty and asserting their immateriality, so as to extend the scope of the protected design."
In considering the scope of the design for infringement purposes, UK case law wavered. Generally there could be no infringement if a competing design did not take the features referred to in the statement of novelty, as the remainder of the design, lacking novelty, could not be validly protected on its own. But the situation of a competing design which takes only the the features referred to in the statement of novelty and not the entirety of the design has been treated inconsistently. The UK case law (for example in Sommer Allibert) appeared to have reached a state where greater weight was attached to the features referred to in the statement of novelty, but the remainder of the design could not be ignored, though it was downplayed.
The question of the effect on infringement did not directly arise in Chiropedic, but the Federal Court in Chiropedic quoted paragraph 100 of the Australian Designs Law Review Committee Report (Report on the Law Relating to Designs, the "Franki Report") of February 1973 to the effect that "in testing the novelty and originality of the design, attention would be directed to the two front legs and that this feature of the design would be given particular weight in testing infringement, although an infringement could not be proved unless the relevant tests were satisfied in respect of the whole chair." This would seem to be broadly in line with the UK Court of Appeal in Sommer Allibert.
This case therefore usefully highlights the difference in effect between a "partial design" and a Statement of Novelty. The former defines the part of what is shown which is the subject of the design monopoly, under laws (such as the new EU law) which permit protection of the designs of parts of products.
By contrast, when the latter is used, it is the entire design of the product which is protected; under the old UK law, parts of products could not generally be registered in isolation and, according to the Evered case, a Statement of Novelty could not be used to achieve the same effect.
An important column from The Washington Post's Kathleen Parker. In Uganda there is proposed legislation to execute people for homosexuality. Even if it never becomes so extreme that gays are executed, the specter of imprisonment will be present.
A few hours after hearing the news about a plane crashing into a building in Austin TX, apparently piloted by Joseph Stack in an act of vengeance, I felt as if there was an epidemic of homicidal craziness striking out in all areas of the country. At the University of Alabama- Huntville last Friday Professor Amy Bishop allegedly shot and killed three colleagues and wounded several others in a dispute involving tenure. Today in New Jersey Shamsid-Din Abdur-Raheem pleaded not guilty to charges of throwing his two year old daughter off of a bridge into the icy waters below after snatching the baby after a rift with the child's mother.
I listened to the news in Austin this afternoon as it broke...and I heard the bits and pieces come in about the crash; that there was an IRS Office in the building, and the question came immediately- was there a connection ? Was this an accident or was it a deliberate act of violence.
After more information came in, and we found out more about the pilot, Joseph Stack, we began to get a glimpse of a once promising life that fell out of control. Stack was an engineer who believed his life was destroyed by the Internal Revenue Service. Before setting his home on fire and setting foot in the plane Stack wrote a rambling six page suicide note that aired his grievances against the wealthy, organized religion- in particular the Roman Catholic Church, Former President George W. Bush, and above all, the IRS.
I printed out his letter...after two pages of reading it became nearly incomprehensible, and more angry and paranoid with its Big Brother references. But even though Stack was angry at the government and its operation, he didn't seem to adhere to a specific political ideology. That fact seemed to stand out- he had no agenda other than revenge.
His solution to his problems was to burn down his house, and fly a plane into IRS offices to take out as many people as he could. Fortunately, there were no fatalities as of this writing, though two people are in critical condition and one person is unaccounted for.
Was this an act of terrorism? Some will say no. But to paraphrase what a commentator on CNN said today- had this event taken place in Baghdad instead of Austin we'd be calling Joseph Stack a suicide bomber.
And that's what this writer shall call him- a sad, twisted, angry domestic terrorist who's solutions to a troubled world included doing his best to make it just a little bit worse.
When I first heard the news of a "Draft Mellencamp" movement regarding the soon to be open United States Senate seat held by Democrat Evan Bayh, I thought it was a mere trial balloon being floated by some who find the idea appealing. But then I thought about it for awhile...can there be a candidate anywhere in America who cares more about the working poor, displaced, and dispossessed? A guy who would and could run on his own agenda and gain grass roots support from Independents in a nominally conservative state in the American Heartland? A maverick who is more "mavericky" than certain self proclaimed mavericks?
And to those who are going to yell "just shut up and sing"....the usual right wing gasbags....its too late for that- the genie as long escaped the bottle. Performers and media types have been running and winning (or being appointed to) political office for decades now- think Shirley Temple, George Murphy, Clint Eastwood, Fred Thompson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and yes, Sarah Palin are among that list.
But how can I forget a man named Reagan? And those are just the Republicans who were once made a living on film and/or television screens.
So why not John Mellencamp for US Senate?
Heck, had he known about this twenty-five years ago he might have kept the aborted stage name of John Cougar...it was easier to remember, and would have made for better bumper stickers.
This winter has been an especially cold one here in New York and, as any loyal reader can confirm, I haven't reported on many tattoos that I have glimpsed in the city.
However, last night at the grocery store around the corner, I met Neal, who let me take a quick snapshot of his foo dog on the left side of his neck:
Foo dogs are traditional Asian-style tattoo designs, and have various meanings and interpretations. Click here to see some other posts on the site that have featured foo dog designs.
Neal told me that this was inked by Koji at Studio Engima on Avenue U in Brooklyn many years ago. Work from Studio Engima has appeared previously on Tattoosday here.
Thanks to Neal for sharing his foo dog with us here on Tattoosday!
Vice President Joe Biden is interviewed by CBS EARLY SHOW host Harry Smith in this in depth 21:17 video clip. The Vice President talks about his stimulus plan, the state of the economy and job loss and creation, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, his relationship with President Obama, and the former Vice President, Dick Cheney.
One of the most revealing aspects of this interview is Biden's assessment of Washington, in his words, being "broken" and "dysfunctional", and that this is the worst he's seen it in his time in public service.
This is n interview worth watching in its unedited form, unfiltered.
The CBS News series "Where America Stands" takes a look at what has happened to manufacturing jobs in America, and what can be done about it. The Untied States used to be a nation of builders and people who work with their hands, and now those jobs are being exported overseas. Americans are in danger of becoming a people who import more manufactured goods than they make themselves.
Today, 16 February, is Shrove Tuesday -- the day before Ash Wednesday, better known in some quarters as Pancake Day.
To mark this event, Class 99 draws the attention of its readers to the concept of the designer pancake (shown, right; recipe here). This raises a perennially popular question for the intellectual property fraternity: to what extent may design protection or artistic copyright protection of a completed three-dimensional object such as a pancake be secured through a merely verbal account of its construction, such as a recipe?
While there appears to be no common approach to this issue within the Single European Market, Class 99 is pleased to report that the European Commission has yet to receive any specific complaints regarding this manifestly non-level part of the economic playing field, at any rate from consumers ... of pancakes. Have a lovely day!
I was already interested in the film because of all the buzz; yesterday the Jeff Bridges profile on CBS Sunday Morning had me even more interested. And this afternoon I decided to celebrate President's Day by treating myself to a movie.
And Crazy Heart was indeed a treat with Oscar nominated performances by Bridges and co-star Maggie Gyllenhaal, as well as for the BEST SONG, T- Bone Burnett and Ryan Bingham's The Weary Kind.
Bridges plays Bad Blake, once a big time country music performer and songwriter who's career now consists of playing bowling alley lounges and dives in the Southwest. Bad is 57 years old, has been married four times, walked out on his first wife and their now adult son 24 years before, smokes constantly, in an alcoholic, is broke, blunt, usually irresponsible, slovenly and unkept....but the magic of Jeff Bridges' performance is you almost automatically like the guy. He is talented and charming, and has a miniscule, loyal but mostly aging fanbase that he caters to on his road trips.
At one of these gigs Bad meets an attractive young reporter for a small newspaper. Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who is a divorced single mother of a four year old. Though Bad is broke and one step away from a total physical breakdown- and that he is at least 25 years older than Jean- they fall in love. What follows next is the bittersweet story of a man and a woman who do love each other, and at least one (Jean) suspects that it will only end in heartache. The audience roots for things to work out for them because we grow to like and care about the characters- and then rational thought takes over, and we viewers know that this is doomed; if they really love each other they must go in different directions.
Robert Duvall, who was a producer of the film, steals a few scenes when he appears towards its end as Wayne, Bad's bar owner buddy in Houston, and Colin Farrell does a great job as country superstar Tommy Sweet, a onetime protege of Bad's who's career skyrocketed while Bad's careened towards earth. Though Bad and Tommy remained friends, Bad's pride made him envious of Tommy's stardom.
This is a gentle, easy to like film, in many ways its similar in theme to The Wrestler- but at the end of that film the audience felt sadness at the apparent demise of Mickey Roarke's character. In Crazy Heart you leave with a feeling of hope for the futures of the two main characters.
Jeff Bridges played "Bad Blake" like he just got out of Outlaw Country Boot Camp run by Willie Nelson and Hank Williams, Jr. He's part of Hollywood royalty but he became a Good Ole Boy's Good Ole Boy. And the dude can play, and is a pretty good singer. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Jean was a strong, smart young woman who had been damaged in the past, and wanted no part of that for her and her young son again. Her relationship with Bad was a longshot....but she rolled the dice anyway.
Kudo's to writer/director Scott Cooper who adapted Crazy Heart from the novel by Thomas Cobb. This was his first foray into direction, and he did a great job.
After seven tries Jeff Bridges may finally have that first Oscar for his mantle..and maybe one for Maggie Gyllenhaal as well.
Rob Deans and André Human (Clyde & Co.), writing for International Law Office, have produced today this summary of proposed amendments of intellectual property laws in the United Arab Emirates. Regarding designs they mention
"(i) an increase in the term of protection for designs from 10 to 15 years; and (ii) clarification on the basic standards of registrability, which were not expressly stated in previous versions of the Patent Law. The Patent Law will require novelty to be judged on an absolute, worldwide basis.
Similar to the position in relation to patents, this is welcomed, although some additional clarification and further changes would also be beneficial. For example, the provision which excludes infringement by users of a design whose use pre-dates the filing or priority date for the application should be removed. It is hard to make sense of this provision as such prior use would appear to destroy novelty, rendering the design unregistrable".
It's not clear when any legislative changes will take effect, though. As the authors add:
"The government is ... engaging in a consultation process, which is ... welcome news and which may result in further positive amendments to the legislation. However, much will depend on the implementing regulations, which are yet to be published and which will have a significant impact on how the amendments are to work in practice".
So what does an inkblogger get his sweetheart on Valentine's Day?
Why, a love-themed tattoo, of course.
Lucky me, the good folks over at Thicker than Water Tattoo had a Cupid special, $14 tattoos on February 14.
A lot like the Dare Devil Tattoo Friday the 13th Special (one of which is documented here), the lucky tattoo recipient can choose from an assortment of day-themed flash.
Here's what my lovely bride Melanie had to choose from:
When we got to the shop, Melanie signed in #53, and they were averaging a dozen or so per hour, so we knew we had a little bit of a wait.
I specifically selected Shon Lindauer, since he did such an awesome job with my tiger tattoo.
It was nice that Melanie got to meet Shon and the piece she selected was one that he had drawn up.
He tattooed her in the middle of the back and took just about fifteen minutes:
She was very happy with the end result:
When we left around 3:45, the waiting list was over a hundred, so they looked like they had a long night ahead of them.
Thanks to Shon and the staff at Thicker Than Water for another great tattoo experience!
Pro-designer action group Anti Copying in Design (ACID) has just issued another warning regarding guides with easy-to-miss small print. According to its recent circular: The order form itself, where you are encouraged to ‘please confirm the accuracy of your details’ also states ‘This form is only for your correct listing as an individual advertisement entry’ and this is also misleading. The actual payment terms and length of the agreement are in smaller print at the end of the document.
Last month Class 99 asked if Norway was about to join the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement, thus completing the set of European Union and non-EU EFTA states. Well, Solvår Winnie Finnanger (Senior Legal Advisor, Design and Trademark Department, Norwegian Industrial Property Office) has emailed to say that Norway is indeed finally acceding to the Geneva Act ("We have been waiting for this for a long time!", she adds), pointing out that her office's website has all the necessary information ready and available in English here.
The ever-informative International Law Office newsletter carries a report by Lauren Eade and Lisa Lennon of Gilbert + Tobin on recent Australian case law, within which there is a useful discussion on Chiropedic Bedding Pty Ltd v Radburg Pty Ltd [2009] FCA 1163 that serves to illustrate the effect of a "Statement of Novelty".
Today, 16 February, is Shrove Tuesday -- the day before Ash Wednesday, better known in some quarters as Pancake Day.
Rob Deans and André Human (Clyde & Co.), writing for International Law Office, have produced today this summary of proposed amendments of intellectual property laws in the United Arab Emirates. Regarding designs they mention 
