Legal news, some illegal. All of it interesting
1. Hell Hath No McFlurry: DOJ Wants Fixable Epuip
On any given sundae, you order an ice cream cone at McDonald’s, chances are you’ll be soft served news the machine’s broken – again. McDonald’s famously, frequently broken Mcchines, that only a vendor technician charging $350 per 15 minutes can repair – has government agencies saying stop the hamburglary. They’re asking the U.S. Copyright Office to drive-thru exemptions to antitrust laws for soft serve equipment. The Copyright Office has allowed similar exemptions for farm machinery repair, cars, and medical equipment. Soft serve ice cream machines are at least as important, for the love of all that’s Mcholy.
2. No More Dancing in the Streets, Cambodia
Guess what the top priority for Cambodia’s prime minister is. Crime? Illegal logging? Human rights abuses? Nope. What’s twerking with his peace of mind is music played through the horns of trucks. The PM, whose dad was PM for 38 years before him, has banned musical vehicle horns. He says the mobile music causes inappropriate behavior – especially among young people – like dancing on the roadside. Authorities won’t let any vehicle caught blasting music electric slide. The tune-playing mechanism will be popped and locked and replaced with a regular horn. Dancing in the streets, says Cambodia’s No. 1, threatens public order and poses more dangers than you can Harlem shake a stick at.
3. Glassdoor, Anonymous No More?
Before you jump on Glassdoor to complain about the creepy work culture or lazy boss – a few words of caution. The site where employees go to leave anonymous reviews of employers, has begun adding real names to user profiles without their consent. Glassdoor originally allowed users to sign up for its service anonymously, but in 2021 it acquired a professional networking app Fishbowl. Everyone on Glassdoor was automatically signed up. But Fishbowl requires all users’ identities to be verified, so now Glassdoor profiles include users’ real names. Granted, the public doesn’t see profiles, but critics say the site is one data breach away from exposing users to employers they criticized.
4. Like the Olympics but With Drugs. It’s a Thing
From the really bad idea files comes this – The Enhanced Games. An Australian businessman is proposing an Olympics-style event where doping’s allowed. Speed skating? You bet. High, high jumps? Yes, please. Performance-enhancing drugs are welcome. Oz’s Sports Commission chief calls the scheme dangerous, irresponsible, maybe deadly. Another official likened it to the “Squid Games.” Even so, publicity’s building. Organizers are offering $1M for broken world records. That was enough for former Olympic medalist James Magnussen to say he’s ready to juice and break his own record. Experts point out that drug bans exist to protect athletes and a number of well-known drug cheats didn’t live past age 45.
5. Art or Discrimination? The Big Q Down Under
Also from Oz, does an art installation that excludes men violate anti-discrimination laws? At the Ladies Lounge of Tasmania’s Museum of Old and New Art (MONA), the lone male allowed inside is a butler. Only Sheilas may pay $325 for tea and bikkies and look at Picassos. But one banned bloke argued in court that keeping him out is bloody illegal. Crikey! MONA says don’t’ be whacka, excluding men is part of the art. The ”Lounge” artist and wife of the museum’s owner, loves the lawsuit, saying it carries MONA into the real world – like an earlier exhibit featuring a “digesting” machine that defecated daily.
