] LOS ANGELES (AP) - Marvel Enterprises Inc. is suing two
] firms behind a computer superhero role-playing game it
] claims allows players to make virtual characters that are
] too similar to ``The Hulk,'' ``X-Men'' and other heroes
] in the comic book company's stable.
]
] The lawsuit claims South Korea-based NCSoft Corp. and San
] Jose-based Cryptic Studios Inc. violated Marvel's
] trademark characters in their game ``City of Heroes.''
] Marvel seeks unspecified damages and an injunction
] against the two companies to stop using its characters.

As I understand it, NCSoft didn't create a Marvel character in the game, but they do give players the abilities to design their own characters, and a couple of those characters seem to be obvious copies of Marvel characters.

In my own products, the way we usually deal with this is that if someone creates something which is an obvious ripoff of someone else's work, we tell them to zap it and start over. But that requires a fair amount of manpower to chase after customers, follow up complaints, and make judgment calls about what is and is not copyrighted material. For a much larger game with powerful and easy to use creation tools, that gets much more difficult.

It'll be interesting to see how this works through the courts.

Marvel Sues NcSoft over Characters in 'City of Heroes' MMORPG

] Press Briefing by White House Counsel Judge Alberto
] Gonzales, Dod General Counsel William Haynes, Dod Deputy
] General Counsel Daniel Dell'Orto and Army Deputy Chief of
] Staff for Intelligence General Keith Alexander

I've been surfing the web trying to learn more about Gonzales. As usual, I get annoyed with articles which just offer quick opinionated snippets about controversial issues, and so I look for the raw information -- memos written by Gonzales, or transcripts of interviews with the man himself. Here's a transcript of a 90-minute press briefing he did in June 2004, where he talks about one of the more controversial elements that's come up related to his name -- A February 2002 memo discussing the White House's views on torture and prisoners.

I'd still like to see the raw text of the actual February 2002 memo though. If anyone can find it, please meme it? Thanks.

June 2004 Press Briefing by White House Counsel Judge Alberto Gonzales...

] The 1963 launch of Syncom, the world's first
] geosynchronous communications satellite, vanquished
] forces of time, cost, and geography to begin a
] communications revolution.

Just found this page, and am meme-ing it for personal reasons. My father, Stan Dunin, (though not mentioned on this particular page) was on the launch team for this satellite. My father taught math at UCLA, and worked for Hughes Aircraft in the Space Systems Division, doing things like calculating trajectories of a vehicle making a soft landing on the moon. For Syncom, he was part of the launch crew at Goddard Space Center, and was responsible for calculating the optimum (minimum fuel) trajectory of a satellite launched into geosynchronous orbit.

Elonka

History: Syncom Satellite

] It defies reason, in much the same way that 52% of the nation
] does. -k]

See, this statement is what scares me. Maybe it's because I'm more centrist? I can see valid points on both sides of the spectrum. I see and agree with points on the liberal side, and I also see and agree with points on the conservative side. I don't regard *either* side as having a 100% lock on Reason and Truth. It pains me when I hear liberals refer to the religious right as "evil". It also pains me when I hear those on the right say, "We want less government, because people should be able to make choices for themselves. Except when it comes to moral values."

Do you really believe that 52% of the nation is just clueless? Is there any part of you that can try to see things from the other side, even if just as an intellectual exercise? Or do you keep coming back to, "They're wrong, I'm right, they're all idiots"?

I truly believe that there are intelligent, wise, compassionate, patriotic people on *both* sides of the spectrum (and a lot of places in between). It bothers me to hear extremist views from either side, from people who deny the possibility that there might be intelligence on the other.

RE: MSNBC - Rove tells conservatives to chill out

] MR. RUSSERT: The last time you were on in January of '01
] after the president had been elected, we had this
] exchange. Let me show it to you:
]
] (Videotape, January 21, 2001):
]
] MR. RUSSERT: You're heading over to the national
] cathedral for a prayer service with our new president.
] What are you gonna pray for?
]
] MR. ROVE: Wisdom and patience. Humility. That's
] important, I think, for people who come here to realize
] that we are here for only a time and we have an
] obligation of service and we need to keep things in
] perspective.
]
] (End videotape)
]
] MR. RUSSERT: Wisdom, patience, and humility, the
] watchwords for the second term?
]
] MR. ROVE: Yes. Those that the Gods destroy they first
] make prideful. So, absolutely.

Interesting reading, and gives me more hope about the next few years. :)

MSNBC - Rove tells conservatives to chill out

] On October 24, 2004, the liberal Arab websites
] www.elaph.com and www.metransparent.com published a
] manifesto written by Arab liberals, in which they
] petition the U.N. to establish an international tribunal
] which would prosecute terrorists, as well as people and
] institutions, primarily religious clerics, that incite
] terrorism.

MEMRI: Arab Liberals Petition the U.N. to Establish an International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Terrorists

A list of several countries, with a paragraph summary by each one, listing their stance on gay marriage. It looks a bit out of date, and may only be current as of late 2002. It definitely doesn't cover some recent developments in France (a gay marriage occurred earlier this year, and then was annulled by a court about a month later). I'm still meme-ing it as a reference though.

Gay Marriage -- Gay Laws Around the World

March 2004:
] (AP) Three years after Amsterdam's mayor officiated at
] the Netherlands' first gay wedding, the gay marriage rate
] is falling, the first divorces are being registered and
] the issue has disappeared from the political agenda.

The Global View Of Gay Marriage

] To the outside world, Zanzibar is a laid-back tourist's
] paradise but in recent months, Islamic groups have
] spearheaded a campaign to cleanse the island of
] "corrupting" practices such as homosexuality and alcohol.
]
] In August, the government of the semi-autonomous island
] archipelago that forms part of Tanzania, outlawed gay sex
] and set prison terms of up to 25 years for men and seven
] years for lesbians.

Well first, I'm appalled. But second, this makes me think about an interesting side question related to the gay marriage issue in the U.S. If we did legalize gay marriage, would that make the Islamic fundamentalists hate us more? Or what about other "regular" countries that weren't Islamic, but did have more conservative social views... Would it make them have a lower opinion of the U.S.? And how much should that factor into our decision?

It seemed that during our election season, there were a lot of Americans (especially liberals) calling for us to make decisions in order to have the respect of other countries. Should our stand on gay marriage be considered in the same light, in terms of how other countries perceive us?

Secrecy, stones and insults: the gay life on Zanzibar

] In its present form, the bill gives same-sex couples who
] live together in long-term relationships legal rights
] similar to those heterosexual couples enjoy.
]
] At the moment gay people may have no claim on the
] property they share if their partner dies and they are
] not registered as a legal owner.

I'm interested to see how this plays out in the U.K. It's also intriguing how they're trying to extend it to cover siblings.

Vote in the U.K. on 'Gay Partnership' Bill