These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today:

• a good article from @tamaleaver on "Wikipedia: What’s in it for Teachers?" http://j.mp/c0JaXt
• this does look pretty amazing ... "Gmail Priority Inbox Launches: Your E-mail Will Never Be the Same" http://j.mp/aNSWRT
• paris hilton's arrest highlights some of "The Risks of Ghost Twitterers" http://j.mp/clgpFs
• she is a remarkable woman and judge ... "Ruth Bader Ginsburg shows how feminism is done. Again." http://j.mp/a7EMG7
• this obsession over the two-party preferred vote is really becoming incredibly tiresome #ausvotes
• this is not a good start for #xfactorau ... "X Factor beaten in ratings by ACA’s interview with Bert and Patti Newton" http://j.mp/cBtJKX
• The Peter Black Daily is out http://paper.li/peterjblack - featuring @AntonyGreenABC @jdub @MarketingMag @renailemay
• good luck to all queensland year 12 students undertaking the qcs test today and tomorrow!
• at the drum @AntonyGreenABC explains why the aec's national two-party vote is wrong http://j.mp/c211d3
• the oatmeal ... "This is how I feel about buying apps" http://j.mp/bwPFXe
• in the guaridan theo hobson puts forward a defence of liberal guilt ... "Liberal guilt? Good for you" http://j.mp/c8wO5L

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

Every Tuesday morning I have a regular weekly segment on Breakfast with Spencer Howson on 612 ABC Brisbane talking about technology and how it frames our world. In this segment we talk about the Oxford Dictionary moving online, "accidental pirates" and your digital footprint:

These are some of the things I was tweeting about yesterday:

• there are some useful apps here ... "Bothersome online friends have spawned blocking apps - and etiquette dilemmas" http://j.mp/c4BY7E
• there are some useful apps here ... "Bothersome online friends have spawned blocking apps - and etiquette dilemmas" http://j.mp/c4BY7E
• ars technica has some fun with "Beyond Internet addiction: Ars diagnoses your online maladies" http://j.mp/9VO8Zp
• no surprises here ... "Lindsay Tanner still gets minister's salary" http://j.mp/aqB5q3
• it's all about controlling your digital footprint ... "Digging up dirt to salvage a cyber reputation" http://j.mp/aS2GfL
• the end of an era ... "Oxford Dictionary faces internet-only future" http://j.mp/bmGlnO
• are you an "accidental pirate"? ... "Piracy targeted in ad campaign" http://j.mp/alk03V
• talking points memo declares "Best Tweet Evah?" http://j.mp/aOsm6m
• @DanielBry too many lawyers in parliament? http://danieledmonds.net/?p=221 what have you got against lawyers?
• some interesting "Thoughts on Legal Education" from jason mazzone http://j.mp/aAG6EO

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

I have another piece online at The Drum today, Is Election 2010 heading to the courts?:

Tight elections all over the world almost inevitably end up in the courts. And it's looking increasingly likely that the recent federal election will be no different.

With the election result precariously poised and able to fall into the hands of one party or another with even the gentlest push, the protagonists are pursuing every possible avenue to securing government.

One avenue has been to re-read the Constitution to try and find any previously forgotten or overlooked provision that may tip the balance one way or the other. So far this has involved a few faux constitutional issues being thrown into the mix.

The most notable constitutional rumour that had swirled around political and public circles over the past few days had been that Wyatt Roy was not qualified to be a member of the House of Representatives.

On the face of it, it is easy to see how so many people made this mistake. Section 34 of the Constitution does indeed say a member of the House of Representatives "must be the full age of twenty-one years".

However, section 34 also begins with these words, "Until the Parliament otherwise provides", which gives the Commonwealth the power to legislate whatever qualifications they like. And indeed, the Commonwealth has done just that. Section 163 of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 provides that a person who "has reached the age of 18 years" is qualified to be elected as a member of the House of Representatives.

More recently, it has been suggested that several successful candidates could face a constitutional challenge because they were local councillors when nominated. While this challenge will most likely be dismissed, it does raise some interesting issues.

Read the rest here.

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today:

• silicon alley insider lists "'The Social Network' Parodies We Would Watch" http://j.mp/arKsRt
• in the washington post, @howardkurtz profiles "The journalist who revealed Ken Mehlman's secret" http://j.mp/cvwaMB
• this is funny ... "Snooki Tries To Trademark Her Name...And Loses To A Cat" http://j.mp/dAZbXs
• politico tries to explain "Why Americans love conspiracies" http://j.mp/9YFoGt
• federal commission goes after bloggers again ... "FTC Flexes Blogger Rules Again" http://j.mp/d65QFg
• the wall street journal law blog on the blagojevich trial ... "One Steadfast Juror" http://j.mp/afBYQd
• reality tv regrets ... "The ‘Housewives’ and the Husband Who Wishes He’d Said No" http://j.mp/aZ9iiT
• it is a surprisingly tricky question today ... "Who's a journalist? Does that matter?" http://j.mp/d0UKWg
• lol i know what i'd rather do ... "Wow. If You Think Quitting Booze Freaks People Out, Wait ‘Til You Quit Twitter" http://j.mp/d4ZcCU
• it probably is only a matter of time ... "Phone Numbers Are Dead, They Just Don’t Know It Yet" http://j.mp/9f558Q
• study of check in habits ... "Check (In) Yo’ Self Before You Wreck Yo’ Self: Why Foursquare Users Check In “Off The Grid” http://j.mp/9t9Gz1
• lol ... "Looks Like There May Be More Trademark Fights About Mafia Wars Than There Were Actual Mafia Wars" http://j.mp/bXue58
• "Czech Proposal On Copyright Law Would Require Artists To Get Collection Society Approval To Use Creative Commons?" http://j.mp/9nKDT8
• sad news for gamers down under ..."Australia Once Again Decides You Have No Freedom To Tinker With Your Gaming Console" http://j.mp/a5r3TW
• more legal trouble for facebook? ... "Are Facebook ads 'misappropriating the names and pictures of minors for profit'?" http://j.mp/dpKbd9
• i wish i could charge $75,000 to give a speech ... "Here's What Sarah Palin Will Demand To Speak At Your Event" http://j.mp/cYhN4L
• don't you dare say a word against powerpoint ... "Colonel Kicked Out of Afghanistan for Anti-PowerPoint Rant" http://j.mp/bWckLy
• this is quite scary really ... "More Singapore Facebook arrests likely" http://j.mp/9N27ap
• cnn asks "What's next for 'check-in' apps?" http://j.mp/aTTFzV
• what is microsoft doing? "Windows Live Sync now Mesh; online storage strategy still a mess" http://bit.ly/ch4i9v
• umm probably ... "Are Americans the Weirdest People in the World?" http://j.mp/cjGiWK
• this has to be a joke, right? ... "First Klingon Opera Premiering Next Month" http://j.mp/d4iK5v
• a new york times op-ed piece on "Nine Justices and Ten Commandments" http://j.mp/9N4gsk
• interesting ... is it "Easier to be gay in a conservative environment than to be conservative in a gay environment"? http://j.mp/biYdPy
• technology review on porn and technology ... "down the tubes: how free streaming video threatens the porn industry" http://j.mp/dnRxo6
• in defense of casual sex ... "Surprise! Hookups can lead to love" http://j.mp/cfjca1
• slate debates 3d movies ... "The great 3-D debate: Eye muscles are overrated." http://j.mp/aVsgej
• fascinating piece from dahlia lithwick ... "Will the presence of three women really change the court in any real way?" http://j.mp/dwBs3M
• a good wrap of the facebook trademark controversy ... "Can Facebook Trademark the Word 'Face'?" http://j.mp/cRgOP4
• the end of an era ... "Blockbuster to file for bankruptcy" http://j.mp/aVlfwz
• tvnewser on "The Business of Glenn Beck" http://j.mp/b6VkzQ ... say whatever you like about his ideology but he is a smart business man
• i'm looking forward to the new moviecitynews ... "Some Things Old, Some Things New..." http://j.mp/cF6jvt

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today:

• a must watch #insiders tomorrow morning ... "Insiders – Sunday August 29th 9am ABC1 & ABC News 24" http://j.mp/9Huw5f
• only two weeks until junior masterchef ... "Airdate: Junior MasterChef" http://j.mp/9qEeRu
• deep from within bill o'reilly's past ... "Bill O'Reilly Reviews a Porno" http://j.mp/cq3qgq
• this could be cool ... "John Cusack to Play Edgar Allan Poe in 'The Raven'" http://j.mp/9CC7xB
• wouldn't this be a cool job? ... "Very Cool Technology Policy Job Opening on Capitol Hill" http://j.mp/c8VMk1
• what a bizarre decision ... "Living in Sin and Judicial Activism" http://j.mp/amu0Zg
• surprise, surprise ... "Kristin Cavallari: 'The Hills' Was Fake! Really!" http://j.mp/ac2BVO
• i still haven't seen toy story 3 ... "The toys hit a billion" http://j.mp/9o7K0N
• a big lawsuit to watch ... "Microsoft Co-Founder Paul Allen Sues Apple, AOL, Google, Facebook, Others" http://j.mp/9T71lz
• the wrap on science fiction movies ... "'Avatar,' 'Inception,' 'District 9' and the Art of the Infodump" http://j.mp/cfvXyg

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

These are some of the things I've been tweeting about today:

• i'm so glad i wasn't listening or watching the broncos play tonight ... what a depressing result http://j.mp/a4nvhK
• what are they afraid of? ... "Mallesons, Clayton Utz block gossip site" http://j.mp/btXPSl
• techdirt says "Yes, The DMCA Is Still Quite Controversial" http://j.mp/bWHqf1
• @ShannonSaxby there is the legal information institute at cornell but it's not as comprehensive as austlii http://bit.ly/c4EPjU #lwb486
• the hollywood reporter on "What Conan O'Brien can and can't say at the Emmys" http://j.mp/cB5fn8
• techcrunch on "TweetDeck’s Underground Project: Allowing TweetDecks To Talk To Nearby TweetDecks" http://j.mp/dzd01b
• does this mean there won't be a new version of iwork soon? ... "iWork update enables iBooks self-publishing" http://j.mp/a2QnFy

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

via www.youtube.com

The normal way to indicate omitted text is using three dots (“. . .”). But sometimes, especially in some documents filed with the Supreme Court, I see “* * *” used instead. Any sense of why this is so, and which tends to be preferred, and by whom? Is there some difference in meaning that I’m missing? The Supreme Court’s own opinions generally (or perhaps even always, or almost always) use the “. . .” ellipsis marker rather than the “* * *” marker.

Note: There are various guidelines about how to indicate omitted paragraphs, omitted text at the start or end of sentences, and so on; I’m not discussing that here. Likewise, I’m not discussing the centered row of three asterisks used as a delimiter between parts of a document, especially before the conclusion of the document.

via volokh.com

I've always used "..." but I'd be interested to know if anyone uses "***".

A Republican House candidate from New Hampshire has used over a minute of the 80s hit "Cruel Summer" in a campaign video attacking his Democratic opponent, Rep. Carol Shea-Porter. The video from the campaign of Sean Mahoney -- which identifies itself as a "political parody" -- argues that the economic policies of Shea-Porter and the Obama Administration "have given us a cruel summer."

Sean Mahoney for Congress: "Cruel Summer" from Sean Mahoney 2010 on Vimeo.

I have inquiries in to the Mahoney campaign as well as what I believe to be the copyright owners (Sony/ATV for the publishing and London Records for the master), to confirm what I strongly suspect: that the campaign did not get licenses for this use. (I will update this post when and if I hear back.) The self-imposed "parody" label notwithstanding, I think the copyright owners would have a very strong claim if they decided to pursue this. California Senate candidate Chuck DeVore (R) had a much more plausible claim to parody than does Mahoney -- and it was still a loser.

via copyrightsandcampaigns.blogspot.com

An example my LWB486 students may find interesting.