pay for placement = extortion?
A Texas diet pill manufacturer has brought a number of search engines to court, claiming that people who search for their products are being sent to competitors who pay for higher placement on the engines. This is a major challenge to the way that some search engines conduct business. The suit is requesting $440 million in damages. Named as defendants are: AltaVista, Overture, FindWhat and Kanoodle. One example, quoted in the article:
PerfectHealth4Life.com, for example, recently paid Overture 72 cents per click to be the top result for queries about Mark Nutritionals' Body Solutions, though it does not sell that product. It was followed in the rankings by Visionizin' America, a shopping site that paid 71 cents for each person sent to a sales pitch for its own brand of diet pills.If the suit is successful, it might trigger some extreme changes in the way that pay-for-placement search engines conduct business. Perhaps they will switch to a search method that returns results based upon relevance. You know, people might like that.
russell peterson revisited
Energy efficiency without pollutants is within reach, by Russell Peterson. A well written summation of the message Delaware's former governor began to present on Wednesday night at the University of Delaware.
shaggy dog tale
The following from the ever interesting InstaPundit.com:
After getting nailed by a Daisy Cutter, Osama makes his way to the pearly gates. There, he is greeted by George Washington. "How dare you attack the nation I helped conceive!" yells Mr. Washington, slapping Osama in the face.
Patrick Henry comes up from behind. "You wanted to end the Americans' liberty, so they gave you death!" Henry punches Osama in the nose.
James Madison comes up next, and says "This is why I allowed the Federal government to provide for the common defense!" He drops a large weight on Osama's knee.
Osama is then caned by John Randolph of Roanoke and soundly thrashed by James Monroe, Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson, and 65 other men who love liberty and America. As he writhes on the ground, Thomas Jefferson picks him up and hurls him back toward the gates, where he is to be judged.
As Osama awaits the ferry to take him to his final, very hot destination, he screams, "Aieee! This is not what I was promised!"
An angel replies, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you! What did you think I said?"
legal essay contest
The Bench Bar Media Conference of Delaware is sponsoring a contest for high school students in 11th and 12th grades. The conference includes members of the media, the Delaware Judiciary, and the Delaware legal community.
The Bar-Bench-Media Conference of Delaware is sponsoring a 500-word essay contest on the importance of an independent judiciary and free press for 11th and 12th grade Delaware public high school students. Three students (one from each county) will win the opportunity to intern with a Delaware judge or justice, a Delaware lawyer, and the electronic and print media for one day each during a one week period. Each winner will also earn a $500 stipend. A maximum of one entry from each school will be considered. The three winning essays will be published in The Delaware Lawyer magazine, various Delaware newspapers and posted on the web site of the Bar-Bench-Media Conference hosted by the Supreme Court of Delaware.For more details, visit their Programs page.
- William Slawski
