Dr Johnson defined gallimaufry as

1. A hoch-poch …
2. Any inconsistent or ridiculous medley. …

Here’s another hoch-poch, or hotch-potch (though, of course, not a hotchpot) of links relevant to the themes of this blog that have caught my eye over the last while. I’ll begin and end with some stories of censorship, and along the way I’ll mention open wifi, international perceptions of Ireland, typography, mobile phones, broadcasting, and the future of our universities.

First, as a supplement to my post on the Lady Chatterley’s Lover trials, Alan Travis in the Guardian argues that the failure of the Chatterley prosecution secured the liberty of literature in Britain over the past 50 years. By way of a similar supplement to my post on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Akdas v Turkey 41056/04 (15 February 2010) that a Turkish ban on Apollinaire’s Les Onze Mille Verges infringed Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the Guardian reports that Turkey is at it again: publisher Irfan Sanci is being prosecuted – under the same Turkish provisions that were found wanting in Akdas – for publishing a translation of another Apollinaire noverl, Les exploits d’un jeune Don Juan (The Exploits of a Young Don Juan). To add insult to this injury, the prosecution comes in the week before Sanci is to be bestowed with a special award by the Geneva-based International Publishers Association. Read the rest of this entry »

Dr Johnson defined gallimaufry as

1. A hoch-poch …
2. Any inconsistent or ridiculous medley. …

Here’s another hoch-poch, or hotch-potch (though, of course, not a hotchpot) of links relevant to the themes of this blog that have caught my eye over the last while, including: unjust enrichment, research integrity, breach of contract, slavery, good samaritans, and privacy.
Read the rest of this entry »

Dr Johnson defined gallimaufry as

1. A hoch-poch …
2. Any inconsistent or ridiculous medley. …

Here’s a hoch-poch, or hotch-potch (though, of course, not a hotchpot) of links relevant to the themes of this blog that have caught my eye over the last while:

First, an Article 10 Right of Reply? considers the various routes to a legally enforceable right to reply to inaccurate information in the same medium where the original statements were published. In this post, Andrea Martin argued that such a development is neither necessary nor desirable, but that a voluntary scheme operated by broadcast media would have a lot to recommend it.

Second, the Irish judiciary has signalled support for setting up a judicial council, a development anticipated by the ICCL in 2007 which I welcomed at the time.

Third, Slate recently published No More Bullet Points, No More Clip Art (h/t Oisín, offline) arguing that “PowerPoint isn’t evil if you learn how to use it”. But so many people fail to learn how to use it that I have no doubt that my antipathy will continue.

Fourth, a story in the Independent on Plagiarism and PhDs: how to deal with copying says that it “may seem counter-intuitive but postgraduates are more likely to commit plagiarism than undergraduates”. Whether postgrads or undergrads – or of that matter, postdocs, lecturers or professors – we must all be on our guard against plagiarism in the academy.

Fifth, I have long been a strong supporter of open access to academic information, so I am heartened to learn that over 20% of the world’s scholarly journals now open access! (Kudos to DOAJ)

Sixth, Thinspiration: Still legal in the U.S.! picks up the proposed French legislation which I discussed in my post on incitement to anoxeria.

Seventh, the online challenge to traditional third-level education gathers pace: U of California Considers Online Classes, or Even Degrees the University of California “hope to put $5-million to $6-million into a pilot project that could clear the way for the system to offer online undergraduate degrees and push distance learning further into the mainstream …”

Eighth, a woman jailed by a Chicago judge for 2 days for wearing an offensive T-shirt to court recalls my post If t-shirts could talk …, discussing a similar Irish case and a more serious US example (there’s also an earlier Illinois example). Cohen v California 403 US 15 (1971) anyone?

In no particular order, here a few posts which caught my eye recently which update issues on which I have blogged on this site.

I am Chicken (Hear Me Squawk…) updates Chicken Soup for the academic soul

The crossed purposes of legal education updates The Goals of a Law School Education

Students have been sold a lie (hat tip Ninth Level Ireland) updates Laptops in class

Dancing with a pole. That’s not pole-dancing, is it? updates Censoring Theatre in Britain and Ireland

Memories in cyberspace and Looking back to Apple’s future update two of the Three internet tropes

Client Fraud and the Lawyer, Madoff victims could reach 3m, say lawyers, New claim of €1.8m made against O’Brien and O’Brien ordered to repay €1.85m update More on Madoff, O’Brien, and Restitution

Wilders heads to Supreme Court updates Incitement

Friday fripperies (the source of the picture, above right) updates Harry Potter copyright update

Alarm sounded over wi-fi networks updates Just when are wardriving and piggybacking illegal?

A fifth of gay people tried suicide – study updates Ethical reporting of suicide [Further update here]

ICO urges organisations to promise to do better on privacy and Staggering absence of data protection officers, ‘DPO survey – the results’ (pdf) update Happy Data Privacy Day, 2009!

Reports of My Death are Exactly Right puts a rather different spin on Mark Twain’s exercise of the Privilege of the Grave

It’s Culture, Not Morality (hat tip: Ninth Level Ireland) updates Plagiarising ‘plagiarism’

And, by way of light relief, Courtoons hilariously updates Legal Citation.