By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  February 12th at 01:00 AM  | 

The UN’s WIPO is an established, but controversial, arbiter of Internet domain name/trademark disputes. So I find it absolutely hilarious that Ron Paul is using it to go after his own supporters. This is even sillier than Hasbro shutting down My Little Pony: Fighting is Magic, the game that raised thousands of dollars for cancer research.

Just because we have the right to do something, it doesn’t mean that it is right to do that thing. Sometimes exerting your rights to their fullest extent just isn’t the right thing to do, and some sort of solution should be found that’s win-win. Especially when we’re raising money for cancer, as in the case of MLP: Fighting is Magic in the Evo contest.

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  November 30th at 08:36 AM  | 

Nothing has illustrated the definition of insanity more than the cycle of propping up the Palestinian Authority under the the assumption that they are moderates, in the hopes of achieving peace.  Yesterday’s vote by the UN to recognize a Palestinian country on parts of Israel’s sovereign territory should be the final straw to end this craziness that has consumed our foreign policy for 20 years. | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  September 22nd at 06:30 AM  | 

Wow: For a year FCC was tracking the movements of its speed testers without telling them! Privacy! Transparency!

Meanwhile the administration continues to try to do things on its own, without bothering to check that part of the Constitution that says how a bill becomes a law. Remember, the Lieberman-Collins Cybersecurity Act failed in the Senate. It has no business becoming an executive order. It also turns out that they are also looking to grab power when it comes to spectrum, which isn’t great news given the FCC’s obstruction and opposition to the use of efficient market allocation.

By: Brad Jackson (Diary)  |  September 20th at 10:03 AM  | 

On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by David Williams to discuss efforts by the EU to tax American airlines, the UN plans to tax tobacco in the US and the growing movement here at home to tax online purchases.

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  June 21st at 12:30 AM  | 

WCITLeaks having some success, possibly, as WCIT itself starts talking about openness. When even pro-Internet-regulation folks oppose UN or ITU regulation of the Internet, it needs sunshine for public evaluation. Mary Bono Mack’s response is the right one: oppose all government meddling, not just the UN or ITU.

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  June 9th at 03:00 AM  | 

You want more proof that every single private industry privacy debate in DC is completely wrong headed? MSIE 10′s do not track default is unpopular. People don’t care. They value cheap/free stuff and convenience over privacy protection. Other countries are looking to tax American businesses online. Does Barack Obama have the guts to fight for us? Or will he bow once again?

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  May 31st at 03:30 AM  | 

Gotta love it when Tech at Night is delayed because Comcast, despite telling me they’d auto-bill my card, choose not to do the auto-bill and instead just shuts off my Internet out of the blue. Lovely. So anyway, I’m unfortunately now low on time to create lengthy narratives, so we’ll do what we can. So, Steve Scalise, a rising tech star in the House, is | Read More »

By: Jake (Diary)  |  May 28th at 01:25 PM  | 

From the diaries by Neil One of the problems we find in politics these days is the rash of bills with rather Orwellian titles. The best example in recent years is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (you know, Obamacare). But fortunately, some things have titles that are all too appropriate. The Law of the Sea Treaty is one of them, which is rather | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  May 28th at 10:45 AM  | 

Memorial Day weekend brought little news, so Tech at Night will be quick tonight. Enjoy. It’s an argument we’ve all made, but it apparently still needs to be made: Market pressure is better than government at protecting people’s ability to get what they want. We can see this from the actual behavior of actual companies, and that’s just one reason that Net Neutrality and countless | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  February 14th at 03:00 AM  | 

Yup, I’m back. And I have roughly a week’s worth of stuff to cover, so let’s go. Top story seems to be that The Obama/Holder Justice Department has no problem with Google’s vertical integration takeover of Motorola Mobility. Interesting. I also await word on whether Google will drop all aggressive patent lawsuits, as they claim to use patents only defensively. Some people never learn. Google | Read More »

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  September 21st at 12:31 PM  | 

Not surprisingly, Obama doubled down on his message of moral equivalence between Israel and the so-called Palestinians in his UN General Assembly speech.  Yes, he tossed out some politically motivated bromides about our deep friendship with Israel, but overall, he continued to view the two sides equally. Obama’s overarching theme was that peace in the Middle East is “so hard” to achieve.  He asserted that there | Read More »

By: Daniel Horowitz (Diary)  |  September 12th at 10:42 AM  | 

The video embedded above shows the jubilant celebrations taking place in Gaza, while we were attacked on September 11.  No, it wasn’t just a few “extremists” who were celebrating; it was the average Joe Palestinian.   Unfortunately, not only have we declined to treat them as an enemy, we have refused to cut off any foreign aid.  Instead, the Bush and Obama administrations have diverted our | Read More »

By: Neil Stevens (Diary)  |  August 18th at 03:00 AM  | 

No really, Governor Haslam, you do not want to bring California taxation to Tennessee. Have you seen our unemployment? That’s why we just might defeat it at referendum. PETA people are hijacking phones, sending malicious messages without consent, and running up text message bills. People need to be careful about what they install, but this sort of thing needs to send people to jail, as | Read More »

By: Jeff Emanuel (Diary)  |  June 22nd at 12:00 PM  | 

Last week, at House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) request, the Obama administration provided a brief (32 pages plus classified addenda) overview of its activities in Libya, its conversations with Congress about them, and its rationale for not needing Congressional approval to continue this war ad infinitem.  The full document (minus the classified annexes) is available here in pdf form.  Here are a few highlights. 1. | Read More »

By: Lori Ziganto (Diary)  |  April 2nd at 10:30 PM  | 

On Friday, as many as 20 United Nations staffers were killed in Afghanistan. Reuters reported it this way (emphasis added): (Reuters) – Afghan protesters angered by the burning of a Koran by an obscure U.S. pastor killed up to 20 U.N. staff, beheading two foreigners, when they over-ran a compound in a normally peaceful northern city on Friday in the worst ever attack on the U.N. in Afghanistan. Note the | Read More »