Adbusters’ founder Kalle Lasn talks with The Tyee about his role in the current US protests, other contributors, and what he sees as the nub of the problem:

When the financial meltdown happened, there was a feeling that, ‘Wow, things are going to change. Obama is going to pass all kinds of laws, and we are going to have a different kind of banking system, and we are going to take these financial fraudsters and bring them to justice.’ There was a feeling like, ‘Hey, we just elected a guy who may actually do this’ … And then slowly this

Lawyers are often rebuked — and sometimes mocked — (it’s those very hard ‘k’s that do the damage, isn’t it?) for delighting in doublets and, heaven forfend, even triplets. You know what I mean: null & void, cease and desist, right and title, &cet. Of course, “doublet” suggests that these word-pairs are identical twins when to a discerning solicitor they’re often barely fraternal. Even so, wise heads recommend that we not chase perfection down both forks of the road (and certainly not trivia) and instead content ourselves with a broader term in a proper context, trusting in the good sense . . . [more]

Posted about a half hour ago:

More:

• GG Speech: 100th Anniversary of the Appointment of the First Canadian JAG
• Office of the JAG
• Current JAG: Brigadier-General Blaise Cathcart
• JAG Role and Responsibilities

We mourn the passing of Steve Jobs, whose singular achievements are recounted by the HuffPost, MTV on his impact on music, Washington Post , Wired and the Daily Telegraph.

For the legal community, the perspective is slightly different. Jobs contributed to a host of patents reviewed here. Law firms toyed with Apple computers for a while in the 1980s, but currently the only firms that are using that platform tend to be IP and media law firms who are following their clients – the creative community has always loved Apple machines. And of course there are . . . [more]

On the 26th, Newspapers Canada released its 2011 National Freedom of Information Audit.

Everybody fails, apparently, (and especially BC, and Ottawa) except PEI. At least, that’s what the reporting emphasizes, though the report itself is more balanced. 88% of BC requests were not filled within the required 30 business days, though all eventually were.

Newspapers Canada also followed up on its audit with further requests for department emails, some of which it has released, concerning the audit itself, and that is where the really interesting story is, as reported by the Tyee. . . . [more]

Fenerbahçe S.K. is a football club based in Istanbul; aka the Yellow Canaries. Fenerbahçe are defending league champions in the Turkish Süper Lig. On July 21, 2011, Fenerbahçe’s fans rushed the field in a protest against perceived slights of the team by the media. As you might be aware international football has been plagued with fan violence in recent years and football’s governing bodies have taken steps to punish teams where such violence has taken place. In response to the incident on July 21, the Turkish FF (TFF- Türkiye Futbol Federasyonu) sentenced Fenerbahçe to a closed door match, . . . [more]

Ok, this is cool. Well, cooler than you think it’s going to be when the instructions say, “Draw a stickman.” How often do you get to create a hero or heroine? Here’s your chance. And lest you think some modicum of artistic talent is necessary, or even useful, let me reassure you that nothing could be further from the truth. Witness my… effort:

I sense, even from this distance, that you believe my drawing could be improved. Sure. You might attach hair — or a superhero cape — to your figure. Or do a better job than I . . . [more]

While I was pondering the angle to take on the new television show Pan Am, I came upon Patrick Smith’s article on Salon.com, “Why I’m not watching Pan Am”. The author (a pilot) offers (in jest, I assume) that he feels hurt that he was not invited to provide his expertise as a technical advisor, and “it’s a TV show, not a historical documentary, and I’d be liable to find myself sitting there grumbling at the screen, pointing out inaccuracies and taking the whole enterprise a little too seriously.”

In a way, the reason why I wanted to watch . . . [more]

The Harvard Business Review has an interview with Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes, “Implementing Strategies in Extreme Negotiations,” that contains advice that may help with any important and difficult negotiation. In essence, the advice is to:

• “understand what’s motivating the other party;
• “come up with a variety of possible solutions and invite critiques;
• “use facts to persuade;
• “demonstrate a commitment to a fair and reasonable outcome;
• “build trust over time;
• and focus on actively shaping the process of the negotiation.”

In preparing for a negotiation, Weiss and Hughes suggest using a “seven-elements checklist” developed by their colleagues at . . . [more]

This news story caught my eye yesterday: an elderly woman in British Columbia is suing her children for parental support. Ms. Anderson is asking that her two children each pay her $750 a month to make ends meet.

Most provinces in Canada have some legislative obligation for children to support their parents. For example, the Civil Code of Quebec stipulates that:

585. Married or civil union spouses, and relatives in the direct line in the first degree, owe each other support.

A few decisions in Quebec have been rendered under this section; however, it is clear that this provision does . . . [more]

All of the papers from the 2007 Brooklyn Law School symposium on law, science and truth “Symposium: A Cross-Disciplinary Look At Scientific Truth: What’s The Law To Do?” as published in (2008) 73 Brooklyn Law Review are are available for downloading in one pdf here.

I recommend them (for whatever that’s worth).

Any Canadian lawyer-type reading any of those pieces should also read Mr. Justice Binnie’s “Science in the courtroom: the mouse that roared” (2007) 56 UNB LJ 307. The article is available on Carswell/Westlaw and can be found here and here.

He has more to say about science . . . [more]

We all seem to be part of social networks these days, indeed it is proving more and more difficult to avoid them. Movies are being made about social networks, devices are being marketed based on their social network capabilities, the phrase itself is becoming ubiquitous. I heard the following item this week and had to look into it more. It seems that in Switzerland (and Switzerland is a veritable font of information for Slaw), Guinea Pigs (amongst others such as budgies and goldfish) have been identified as a “social species” that are protected by law. That is, in . . . [more]