The Gutnick Case, and Film Quiz Fun
A recent judgement by the High Court of Australia may not bode well for bloggers, who are rapidly growing accustomed to expressing whatever they feel in their blogs. Joseph Gutnick, an Australian mining magnate, was the subject of an article published in the Oct 28, 2000 Barron’s Online (and in the print equivalent journal, dated Oct 30 2000). Having considered the article defamatory, he sued in Australian court for damages.
The question was, would the fact that the publication of the article originated outside of Australia (on a server in New Jersey) prevent the lawsuit from proceeding, since the story was downloaded in Australia? The Court said no, and ruled that a lawsuit could be filed in Australia against Dow Jones & Co, who own Barron’s. Dow Jones appealed, and the appeal was dismissed. Opinions in favour of the judgement and against are appearing in increasing numbers. The growing concern is what some consider an impending threat to what the Internet provides for millions: a platform for free speech and expression. Some are saying the judgement could be critical, because it opens anyone who expresses an opinion of someone or something in another country to be subject to that country’s libel laws.
Someone likes the name of this blog.
FilmWise is a nifty site that poses movie quizzes, including Invisibles, wherein they digitally remove the bodies of actors from scenes, leaving only their clothing. You try to guess from which movie each scene is. Here’s the latest quiz. Good luck.
December 20th, 2002 at 00:57
Damn! Space Quest 1 was awesome.
(goes and downloads)
December 23rd, 2002 at 19:41
Didn’t “pod bay door” come from a movie – not a video game? I think it was Battlestar Galactica or something.
December 26th, 2002 at 18:31
‘Pod bay door’ comes from none other than that film classic “2001 – A Space Odyssey”.
December 27th, 2002 at 01:22
With apolgies to Randy, I question the wisdom of posting a ‘recognition’ from a site that thinks PBD came from a classic 1991 videogame. It was with scathing sarcasm that I chose Battlestar Galactica (the pre-cable nadir of SF) to be confused with. Thanks Stanley – I still hold the ticket stub for the reserved seat at the Paramount (initial week’s run). It’s still full of stars …
December 27th, 2002 at 18:58
Hmmmmm