Archive | December, 2004

I am doing some research on the music market, and was wondering if any VC readers knew of any data on the total number of music releases worldwide. The RIAA, of course, puts out such data for the United States. Comparative data over time would be especially useful, as would be any other quantitative measures […]

It is unlikely you saw this headline, but you could have. This past week, however, the Bush Administration announced that it would consider imposing additional regulations on the use of sewage sludge as fertilizer based upon a National Research Council study that found the scientific basis for the EPA’s 1993 regulations lacking. While sludge has […]

sets the record straight.

I finally got around to reading Eugene’s NY Times op-ed and the odd response to it by Terence Blacker in the Independent (see Eugene’s post on this). I am not an expert on the First Amendment (as Eugene is). But I found the Independent’s argument unpersuasive and questionable in a way that suggests why people […]

Are you stressed out? This site may provide the relief you need. (Don’t miss the manic mode.)

Over at Crooked Timber, Kieran is looking for an explanation of statements by Justice Department official Brian Boyle at a recent court hearing about the use of evidence obtained by torture. The press accounts I have seen suggest that the military is fine with using evidence obtained by torture against the Guantanamo detainees. Kieran suggests […]

Eric Rasmusen has an interesting theory: I just realized there is a third reason beyond the two of No Prosecution and Unexpected Criminals for Attorney-General Ashcroft’s removing himself from the Plame Affair prosecution: He doesn’t want to put reporters in jail. They hate him already for his politics and religiosity, and if he vigorously pursues […]

No more blogging for me for several weeks. I need to first finish planning and then actually go on my honeymoon. So Happy Hanukah, Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year to all Volokh Conspiracy readers. And speaking of Hanukah and Christmas, don’t forget that your friendly neighborhood Volokh Conspirators would be most grateful if you […]

The Daily Ablution quotes and critiques a column in The Independent (London) that criticizes various things, including bloggers. Referring to my New York Times article yesterday, the Independent column says: The blurring between the expertise and experience of the professional and the enthusiasm of the amateur has become part of the culture. . . . […]

Brad DeLong has not only failed to apologize for writing a bogus, inaccurate post about me and this website, he hasn’t even corrected the original post, even though his own readers corrected him in his comments section, and I forwarded him via email the correction I posted on this blog. So much for (at least […]

Meryl Yourish sends this link, which casts considerable doubt on the original story, especially given that the “eyewitness” didn’t understand Arabic, the language in which the conversation between the soldier and the violinist took place. UPDATE: Various readers have written in to tell me that it’s standard practice at airports throughout the world to ask […]

I am hearing from some readers that contrary to my previous report, the supposed new Tribe blog is in fact a fraud and not by Tribe. A credible source confirms that Tribe knows nothing about the blog. My apologies to Tribe and to VC readers.

Max Boot writes about this in the L.A. Times.

to get your first U.S. Supreme Court argument, I’m not sure that you want press coverage like this. (Link: SCOTUSBlog)

Following my earlier post asking questions about the Third Circuit’s Solomon Amendment ruling, several well-informed readers wrote in to say that my concerns were valid, but that the real problem was the Supreme Court’s decision in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale. Under Dale, they argued, the First Amendment gives groups a right to say […]