….it first had to outswim the Minow [Peter Suderman, Reason]
Posts Tagged ‘movies film and videos’
“Blind man sues Redbox, alleges kiosks are not accessible to visually impaired”
“Because a blind or visually impaired individual cannot discern the visual cues displayed on the kiosk controls, they cannot independently browse, select and pay for DVDs at kiosks, and instead must rely upon sighted companions or strangers to assist them,” states the complaint, filed in a Pittsburgh federal court by Robert Johoda. “Further, the blind or visually impaired consumer must divulge personal information, including their zip codes, to sighted companions or strangers in order to complete a transaction at the kiosks.” [Legal NewsLine]
Update: John Wayne heirs lose case against Duke University
“Woman suing Disney, claims ‘Frozen’ is my life story”
“…a list of motifs Tanikumi claims were taken from her book like: two sisters, open doors or gates, and a moon setting….A Disney spokeswoman responded to her claim, saying, ‘This is beyond ridiculous, she needs to let it go.'” [WAFF]
Boston attack on Padma Lakshmi and crew
If done by anyone other than unionists, this would by now be a trending national story:
The Teamsters picketers were already mad. By the time Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi’s car pulled up to the Steel & Rye restaurant in the picturesque New England town of Milton just outside Boston, one of them ran up to her car and screamed, “We’re gonna bash that pretty face in, you f*cking wh*re!”
“She was scared,” said a Top Chef crewmember who witnessed the incident.
Bravo had incurred the wrath of Charlestown-based Teamsters Local 25 by using its own production assistants as drivers, reports the Boston Herald:
The picketers lobbed sexist, racist and homophobic slurs at the rest of the cast and crew for most of the day, the website reported, and when production wrapped, the “Top Chef” crew found that tires were slashed on 14 of their cars. Milton police confirmed that the union members were “threatening, heckling and harassing” but said no arrests were made.
The Herald quotes a spokeswoman for Local 25, Melissa Hurley, sounding completely unapologetic: “As far as we’re concerned, nothing happened.” Or to put it differently: Teamsters Will Be Teamsters.
More, including the violent history that makes this incident anything but “isolated,” from the Boston Globe. I’ve posted on the curious exemption of unions from the law of harassment, stalking, hostile environment, intimidation, etc. here, here (more on Philadelphia Quaker meetinghouse arson), and in various other posts, as well as in my book The Excuse Factory.
Duking it out
Duke University and the heirs of the late actor John Wayne have been fighting in court for nearly a decade over trademark/licensing rights to the word “Duke” [Eriq Gardner, The Hollywood Reporter]
Britain: publicly funded films must advance diversity
The government-backed, lottery-funded British Film Institute, which backs a substantial portion of film production in Britain, “announced a ‘Three Ticks’ scheme to ensure diversity in films and behind the scenes as it set out new rules for funding. Under the system, to be implemented in September, films must ‘tick’ at least two of three criteria: on-screen diversity; off-screen diversity and ‘creating opportunities and social mobility’.” [Telegraph]
Maryland backs off eminent domain to seize TV show
The state legislature adjourned last week having abandoned a threat to seize the hit TV show “House of Cards” through the use of eminent domain, with negotiations over the extent of tax subsidies to the show still hanging in part. I’ve got an update at Cato, with specific attention to the use of eminent domain to confiscate moveable and intangible assets, as opposed to land; in earlier episodes, Maryland has gone after the Baltimore Colts football team (which escaped) and the Preakness horse race (which agreed to stay).
Maryland vows eminent domain to seize “House of Cards”
Kind of like Venezuela with Old Bay seasoning: “Responding to a threat that the “House of Cards” television series may leave Maryland if it doesn’t get more tax credits, the House of Delegates adopted budget language Thursday requiring the state to seize the production company’s property if it stops filming in the state. … Del. William Frick, a Montgomery County Democrat, proposed the provision, which orders the state to use the right of eminent domain to buy or condemn the property of any company that has claimed $10 million or more credits against the state income tax. The provision would appear to apply only to the Netflix series, which has gotten the bulk of the state credits.” [Baltimore Sun, Washington Post, earlier citing David Boaz]
Medical roundup
- Oscar-winning “Dallas Buyers Club” should please libertarians and FDA reformers [David Boaz/Cato, Jack Hunter/Rare, Kyle Smith/Forbes]
- Don’t assume patent trolls won’t threaten pharma/biotech [Nicholson Price, Bill of Health]
- “Why are patients shut out of the debate over prescription pain medicine?” [Maia Szalawitz]
- A retrospective on the Satanic abuse panic [Richard Noll, courtesy Maggie McNeill] And why you haven’t read it at Psychiatric Times [Gary Greenberg]
- High-profile medical and custody dispute in Massachusetts over teenager Justina Pelletier appears to pit hospital against hospital [Boston Globe (autoplays), CBS Boston, J.D. Tuccille/Reason]
- Actual fertility procedure under FDA consideration doesn’t live up to hype about supposed “three-parent babies” [Nita Farahany]
- Study points to benefits of easing licensing constraints on nurse practitioners [Jeffrey Miron, Cato]
- More: Florida Supreme Court, long elected with support from plaintiff’s bar, invalidates medical malpractice limits [Miami Herald, Alex Stein/Bill of Health]