Home Office Lawyer

Microsoft buying Yahoo?

The internet is busy talking about Microsoft buying Yahoo.

Just another reason to continue to use Google.

The Youngest Grocer in America

I came across this on 37signals blog.

How about a happy story to start off 2007: After the only grocery store in Truman, Minnesota closed, 17-year-old Nick Graham bought and re-opened it to help save his struggling community. People are even volunteering to help him stock the shelves. What a wonderful story. The kid’s got a great James Stewart-like voice too.

Watch the VIDEO of the story.

I know this post is way off topic for the Home Office Lawyer. But, sometimes it is just nice to see a true small town America story like this.

Travelers Beware: Border Searches of Laptops and Other Electronic Gear

Recently on a list I am on, there was a thread on searches of laptops at airports. In order to answer questions about this, and since it is beyond my area of practice, I asked Bonnie Stern Wasser to provide a guest post about it. Bonnie went above and beyond my expectation. Bonnie practices immigration and nationality law in Seattle, Washington. She is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association and currently serves as Chair of the Washington Chapter’s Congressional Liaison Committee.. Thanks Bonnie for such a great guest post. While the post is long, it contains a complete look at the subject.

During this busy holiday travel season, travelers need to be aware of search and seizure laws when traveling internationally with laptops, PDAs, cell phones, iPods/mp3 players, portable hard drives and other kinds of electronic gear containing sensitive personal or confidential business data. Increasingly, border officials are searching and confiscating electronic gear to exclude immigrants from entry to the USA or to bring criminal charges against US citizens and immigrants traveling in and out of the USA. Several recent cases address the legal limits of laptop and electronic data searches. Because US border search authority is very broad, travelers should operate under the assumption that their gadgets could be searched and that nothing contained therein will be deemed private unless one is prepared to litigate the issue. While this is a prime area of law to test the legal bounds of privacy issues, litigation can be expensive and confiscation of equipment can be disruptive to jobs and business. Therefore, the better course of action is to leave your gear at home or limit the data you carry in it. Keep in mind that business cards and address books as well as books and papers among other items can also be searched, scanned and confiscated. This article, however, focuses on electronic data issues.

Veteran's Day

Verteran's Day is the one day a year we honor Veterans. As the FutureLawyer stated in his post, The History of Veteran's Day, one day a year seems somehow inadequate.

Our American Soldiers die and are injured in their service to OUR country. Their service to US is the reason we can do blogs and other media and say what is on our minds. Even if someone, and even if the government does not agree with it.

Our American Soldiers are the reason we can have a free election as we had on Tuesday. An election where you see a peaceful change in power. Even if you don't agree with that change or the positions of those in power, we live in a country where men and women fight and die for OUR freedoms. Lets not forget that on this Veteran's Day.

The next time you see any Veteran or currently serving man or woman, walk up to them and thank them. Thank them for the opportunity to live in a country where we are free to say what we will. And experience the freedom we have of not living under oppressive government.

Kansas St. 68, New Mexico 56

Kansas St. 68, New Mexico 56: "thekansas.com - Thu, 24 Nov 2005 04:28:04 GMT"

(Via All Headline News - kansas news and headlines.)

Coffee does not increase risk of high blood pressure

I like the sound of the story below. However, what evidence is there for men. I love my coffee and this would be my ammo to take to my doctor. And you all know how I love to take my laptop to the local coffee and do some work there and enjoy my cup of coffee. Or two or three cups.

Coffee does not increase risk of high blood pressure: "Go ahead, ladies, ask for that extra shot of espresso in your morning latte. The caffeine jolt might spike your blood pressure for a short time—until lunch, perhaps—but it won't have a lasting effect, according to a study out this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study followed more than 155,000 women for 12 years, asking them every couple of years about their consumption of caffeinated beverages and whether they had been diagnosed with high blood pressure by a doctor. Researchers found no association between total caffeine intake and high blood pressure."

(Via U.S. News & World Report.)

Received a scolding from the Solosez listserve today

I received the following message today from the Solosez email listserve:

"The following list members have been sanctioned for ignoring two warnings.
their posting privileges will be suspended for 10 days. If your name is
shown below, please contact me after the 10-day period has run for
reinstatement of your posting privileges:"

I was one of five (5) members to receive such notice. First, I must object. I did not receive any warning that I was violating some rule. Second, my post were replies to a thread titled: Should the Supreme Court be more right wing?

I am assuming that since I disagreed with the List Manager's own views and since my views tend to be more "conservative, right-wing, and republican" I was "sanctioned" for 10 days. And this is from an organization (American Bar Association) who I thought believed in free speech.

Oh I forgot, that is only if my views are the same as theirs. I am sorry for this post on the Home Office Lawyer blog. However, since I have been silenced from the list for 10 days, I had to vent my frustrations somewhere. I find it rather troubling that we are not allowed to comment on something related to our own profession. And on the same listserve, we can talk all day about what has happened due to Katrina and place the blame on "HUMANS" for such an event.

FOLLOW UP!!!!!

Received two nice comments on this post today. I did in fact remove my name from the list. I see no reason to remain on a list that is so bias to one point of view. And god forbid you disagree with the one point of view. Again, I find it extremely troubling that you can post, and post, and post about that one point of view, and nothing happens. But, don't mention or indicate that you might have a different view. Don't even hint that you might want a conservative judge on the supreme court that might actually not want to do social engineering by making rulings to fit the "times."

I have one more slot for a blog with my TypePad Account. Since this happened, I am considering doing another blog. And this one will be a blog with a political twist and I would accept and publish comments that just might disagree with my own. Let me know if there are any of you interested in participating in a political blog from a lawyer's point of view.