Links and Minifeatures 07 27 Thursday

China says activist broke his own neck



Coincidentally after being pushed down 23 flights of stairs? Or is this a case where they are going to claim that it was cause and effect linked by the laws of physics? "Action. Reaction. Criticize the government, break your neck. It's just the way things work."



The Chinese government is real sensitive about criticism of its Three Gorges project. Seems like a national pride project, because I don't understand how the economic benefits are going to outweigh the costs.

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Not all of our allies in the war on terror are democracies, or wholeheartedly on our side: Pakistan urged to probe 7 reporters' deaths

"The handcuff has been identified as those of the kind standard issued by government agencies. Bullets were found at the scene at which his body was left. These bullets have been identified as types frequently used by government agencies," said David Marash, a CPJ board member.

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Dean Calls Iraqi PM an 'Anti-Semite'



And this helps the situation get better how? Are we going to use our troops to replace him, starting the whole democratic process over again? In Howard Dean's wet dreams maybe.



Reminds me of this classic Tom Lehrer song

And till they've seen the light,

They've got to be protected,

All their rights respected,

'Till somebody we like can be elected.

Ah, for the good old days when Democrats ran the government, and we could use military force anytime we wanted, because the media wasn't looking for excuses to criticize the government, eh, Howard?



Related Reading: this hero's story (The fact that he was used for suppression of democracy by US politicians in Central America in no way diminishes the fact that he was a hero)



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Tie the competition up in court: $1 million per month.

Share price hit when the strategy comes to light: 4.6%

Preserving exclusive rights to an expiring patent that is 30% of our revenue: priceless.



Some things money can't buy. That's why we use lawyers.



Bristol says Plavix deal under U.S. criminal probe



In related news, Sorry, that tax plan is patented

lawyers who knew about the patent on the stock option GRAT "did not take it seriously" because this is such a widely used technique.

In other words, they successfully patented something everybody's been doing since dirt was new.



Is there anybody left who thinks our patent system is not broken? (Besides lawyers making a heck of a living manipulating it, that is)



Patents and copyrights should be awarded and renewed by non-lawyer professionals who spend most of their time working in the field at question. I'm to the point where I believe that lawyers should be barred from getting involved at all in the merit or lack thereof of a patent



I can't count the number of times in the last 25 years I've seen a "requests for prior examples" circulated by someone who has to spend the money for a lawyer to break a completely BS patent. At least fifty. Probably a hundred, perhaps twice that or more. Patents are supposed to advance knowledge, not hold it back.



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Global warming advocates officially jump the shark: Scientists: Warming Triggers 'Dead Zone'



If that doesn't work, next week they'll blame it for Al-Qaeda.



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Cool! A New Wave: Scientists Write on Water



But how far behind are "pop up" ads?



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Worth Reading: Michael Barone on the collapse of Doha.



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The next chapter of Bill Whittle's remarkable essays is up at Eject! Eject! Eject!. I wish I had a fraction of the talent for writing about the nature of Civilization he does. I hope he keeps on for many years, because, in the nature of his previous post, we've all got to clap for all we're worth.