truth in advertising
Wonder Bread does your body good, doesn't it? As a settlement in a law suit, Interstate Bakeries has agreed to stop showing an advertisement that makes the claims that calcium-enriched bread can help children think better or improve their memories.

The FTC brought charges stating that Interstate Bakeries had no scientific evidence to back the claims made in the commericials. The company had pulled the ads before being contacted by the FTC because the campaign appeared to not affect sales positively.

However, they agreed to not run similar ads in the future unless they had scientific evidence to back such statements.

netscape making a list
Why is it that this news doesn't come as a surprise with all the other shenanigans being perpetrated on the web?

A network traffic analysis performed by the Washington Post indicates that searches performed through the URL bar and search button function of Netscape Navigator 6 are being tracked and recorded by Netscape.

This tracking isn't disclosed on the Netscape web site in their privacy policy concerning the browser.

pennsylvania memorial
A national park and memorial has been proposed for the site of the crash of flight 93. No news as to what shape the memorial will take, but I think that this is a good idea worth pursuing.

who decides?
Legislation was approved this last Thursday by the Energy and Commerce Committee's telecommunications panel to create an internet domain safe for children. A company named "NeuStar Inc." will be responsible for setting standards, and making decisions about content for sites in the domain.

So who is "NeuStar Inc?"

For one thing, they keep track of telephone numbers in the United States:

Based in Washington DC, NeuStar operates the authoritative registry of all North American telephone numbers and administers the database, which all North American carriers rely upon to route billions of telephone calls daily. NeuStar also operates the dot-US registry, ``America's Internet Address''. NeuLevel, NeuStar's subsidiary, operates the .BIZ registry, the world's first top-level domain dedicated exclusively to business. Over 4000 telecommunications and service providers currently rely upon NeuStar's services.

But I'm wondering how this qualifies them to set standards for safe surfing for children under 13 years old.

And why a "kids.us" suffix instead of a ".kids" suffix?

Maybe the House has recognized some of the problems behind their good intentions:

While there was widespread support for the bill among lawmakers, Rep. Anna Eshoo said issues to be addressed include how to enforce it and the international implications of regulating certain Internet content.

"We may be creating an impossible task," said Eshoo, Democrat-California.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), the international body that governs domain names, has refused to create a ".kids" suffix, questioning who would determine what material was appropriate for children.

the superior court funding saga continues...
Several weeks ago I brought to this dim light that the crisis of a lack of funding for state funded legal representation was much more serious than reported. As is typically done, there was a temporary band-aid thrown at one case, and it was suggested to us that the problem is at least temporarily fixed.

Today we have another case before us that was delayed for a similar reason.

Hello!

There is a never ending line of cases waiting to move through the courts. You cannot solve a system-wide problem by writing a check on one case.

And still, no one has yet acknowledged the plight of the mentally ill and their even more poorly paid attorneys and the Black v. Black attorneys. Yes, I am one of them. And yes, if there were an increase in the payments I would be a likely recipient. If I weren't directly involved I probably wouldn't know about that aspect of this crisis.

Like, apparently, the rest of the State.

the delaware state defense force
When I first heard that we were going to be forming a volunteer militia, called the Delaware State Defense Force, I was both pleased and concerned.

I was pleased that steps are being taken to plan responsibly for emergency situations within our state.

I was concerned that it might be handled in a less than an organized and professional way.

In researching this matter, I found to my surprise that the laws regarding the establishment of this force are already in place:

20 Del. C. § 301. Establishment and composition.
(a) The Governor may organize such military forces within this State in addition to the Delaware National Guard as the Governor deems necessary for the defense of this State. Such forces shall be distinct from the Delaware National Guard and shall be known as the Delaware State Defense Forces. Such military forces shall be uniformed and comprised of officers and enlisted personnel who shall be citizens of this State who shall volunteer for such service.

(b) The Delaware State Defense Forces shall not be called into active state service unless the Delaware National Guard or a part thereof has been called into active federal service.

(c) The Governor may organize a command staff for the Delaware State Defense Forces which staff shall develop plans for mobilization of said force.

(d) The command staff of the Delaware State Defense Forces may maintain lists of volunteers for service in such forces and develop an organizational structure for such forces when called to active service.

(e) Nothing contained herein shall prohibit the Delaware State Defense Forces from meeting on a voluntary basis at no cost to the State when not in active service.

I was also pleased to learn that this force is being organized by solid military professionals, under the eye of our Governor, and staffed with trained veterans.

The history of Delaware's militia is rich and significant in the establishment of Delaware as a separate State. And, it was the predecessor to the Delaware National Guard.

dmca and extraterritoriality
A motion to dismiss was filed in a case which asks a judge to Just Say Nyet to U.S. Net Laws. In Russia, it is against the law to release software which does not allow you to create a backup copy to archive. The Adobe ebooks programs don't enable you to create archival copies.

A Moscow company released software on servers located outside of the United States which would enable you to make additional copies of the ebooks released by Adobe. Is the Russian company in violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, for releasing their software?

This case, and some others like it, which deal with questions about a country's overview and regulation of internet activities will be important in mapping out our rights online and are worth watching carefully. Another case, referred to in the wired article involves Yahoo.

There have been few other decisions on how one country's legislation affects Internet users and businesses in other countries, the most sensational of which involves Yahoo's battle with the French government over the Internet company's sale of Nazi-related memorabilia on its site.

A French court initially required Yahoo to abide by the French law, but last November U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel ordered that the French law violated Yahoo's First Amendment rights.

In a tit-for-tat move last month, the French court brought criminal charges against Yahoo and Timothy Koogle, its former chief executive, for allegedly condoning war crimes with its Nazi sales. A trial date will be set on May 7.

Does it matter that the server you download the Russian software from resides in Michigan? The attorney for the defense claims that that it shouldn't, but I'm not so certain. Playing devil's advocate, I just have to ask, does any of the Adobe ebooks software download from a Russian server?

blog indexing
Want to find a blog near you? The Pepys Project indexes weblogs by geographical regions, and added us as their first Delaware listing yesterday. Any other Delaware weblogs out there? We're a small state, but I know that there are some other diamond staters keeping a weblog.

always carry your ID?
I can't count the number of times that I've done this, but I live on a one-way street. The California Supreme Court ok'ed the arrest (ny times - reg. reg'd) of a bicyclist who didn't have ID on him when he was pulled over for pedaling down a one-way street the wrong way. (via Organizing the Anarchy) Note to self: must remember to carry ID when riding bike.

always buckle up?
I was stopped today at a seatbelt checkpoint on Delaware Avenue, in Newark. Delaware has a website dedicated to getting the word out about the requirements to wear your seatbelt. You can't get a citation for not wearing your seatbelt unless you are pulled over for some other moving violation first. That's a fortunate thing for me, since I wasn't wearing mine when I was stopped. I usually strap myself in, but didn't today. The police officer kindly reminded me of the legal requirement in Delaware to wear a seat belt. Note to self: must remember to buckle up when driving.