And a choice quote (New York Times via Taranto) on how the legal system disposes of it all:
“If the administration gets it wrong, we’re looking at years of litigation, legislation and public and business outcry,” said a senior administration official who asked not to be identified so as not to provide an easy target for the incoming Republicans. “If we get it right, we’re facing the same thing.”
Ontario is being urged to tackle the problem. “The thing about SLAPPs is they are very effective. They are so effective that you never hear about them, because, the whole thing about them is, they are trying to shut people up,” said an environmentalist who favors broader protection for speech. [The Globe and Mail]
Among other counts in her lawsuit, Jeannette Hawkins says she would never have gone to work for Rev. Marcus Lamb had she not been taken in by his show of conformity to “the highest standards of Christian behavior.” [OnPoint News, AP/CBS]
The much-hyped new Devra Davis book on cellphone radiation reviewed: “There are so many things wrong in Disconnect it is difficult to know where to begin.” [Lorne Trottier, Science-Based Medicine]
He loses a suit arguing that the bar should have checked patrons for weapons. [Point of Law]
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has repeatedly delayed the implementation of the testing and certification rules required by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, the economics of which is likely to capsize many smaller producers. Now time may be running out for further extensions after the Feb. 10 deadline. [Rick Woldenberg, AmendTheCPSIA.com] Comments from affected parties are here.
A former Congressional candidate in Westchester County, N.Y. is suing 16 reporters, writers, campaign officials and others for $1 million apiece, saying they unfairly portrayed him as racist. Jim Russell ran unsuccessfully in the Nineteenth Congressional District against Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), one of those named in his suit; he came under heavy criticism during the campaign over his 2001 authorship of a 16-page article in a publication called the Occidental Quarterly. [White Plains, N.Y. Journal-News] Last week we noted a lawsuit by a losing Congressional incumbent in Ohio.
Sponsored by Reps. Jared Polis (D-Colo.) and Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), it would OK some now-banned health claims about food. “A few years ago, for example, the Food and Drug Administration sent warning letters to orchards that had boasted that tart cherries contained antioxidants, anti-inflammatory agents and other beneficial properties…. All such activities, in the FDA’s words, ’cause your products to be drugs.'” [Vincent Carroll, Denver Post]
Honestly, it was only a finger twitch, I wasn’t meaning to infringe: “Hopewell Culture & Design reckons it owns the act of double-clicking, and is suing Apple, Nokia, Samsung and just about everyone else for breaching its patent.” [The Register]