German trainee in Australia, no, make that the Antipodes/Referendarweblog Neuseeland

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…jurabilis! links to the weblog of a German law student who is spending part of his trainee period in Auckland, New Zealand. downwärts , subtitled seb goes to kiwihausen has been running since May. Amusing details of adjusting to life in NZ (including a photo of the water in a washbasin swirling anti-clockwise) and choice details on law courses.

* Beim Aussteigen aus dem Bus bedanken sich fast alle beim Fahrer. Sehr putzig.
* Die niedrigste Münze hat hier den Wert von 10 cent. D.h. Preise werden an der Kasse gerundet oder im Voraus nicht kleiner als 10 cent angegeben.
* Es gibt hier keine Tiefkühlpizza ohne Fleisch!

Harry Potter leak / Strafbarkeit der Verbreitung des neuen Harry Potter

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The Times online (via Boing Boing) reports that it may be possible to trace the person who leaked the Harry Potter book in photos on the Web yesterday (the publisher, Bloomsbury, won’t confirm that this was genuine, presumably as a damage limitation exercise). The serial number of the camera is part of the EXIF data, and if the camera, an early Digital Rebel, has been repaired or registered, the number will be linked to a name.

However, there would probably be no criminal charges, as there was no commercial gain. Civil damages would be based on the loss in book sales.

If traced, the person who photographed the Harry Potter novel could be found guilty of copyright infringement, but would be unlikely to face criminal charges as the photos appear not to have been published for commercial gain, lawyers said.
“There are criminal provisions in copyright legislation, but they tend to be used in cases of obvious counterfeiting – such as selling fake computer games or DVDs in a car boot sale,” Mark Owen, an intellectual property partner at the London firm Harbottle & Lewis, said. “If Bloomsbury were to pursue an action, it would more likely be a civil case, in which case any damages would be assessed according to the loss in book sales.”

The Times calls the EXIF numbers ‘digital DNA’!

Some EXIF data (bottom left) from a Sony DSC-H5 (click to enlarge).

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Unidentified moth / Unbekannter Falter

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Can anyone identify this? I don’t take enough photos of insects (all my dragonfly shots have been failures), but this actually came indoors.

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This is fairly close.

Now closer – at a German site for identifying moths and butterflies, it looks like Phragmatobia fuliginosa (Zimtbär – Ruby tiger moth – borealis? more brown than red on top).

I really should be doing something else, at least cleaning that floor. The insect has disappeared, so I never photographed its underwings.

EU reform treaty / EU-Reform-Vertrag

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EUobserver reports that last Thursday, Giuliano Amato said “They [EU leaders] decided that the document should be unreadable. If it is unreadable, it is not constitutional, that was the sort of perception”.

He said that if the document was unreadable, it would make it easier for the UK prime minister to say there is no need for a referendum.

The speech was recorded by UK based think tank Open Europe. It is also available on YouTube.
“This is an extraordinary admission from someone who has been close to the negotiations on the EU treaty”, said Open Europe director Neil O’Brien.
“The idea of just changing the name of the Constitution and pretending that it is just another complex treaty shows a total contempt for voters.”

But quite a few voters have been worn down by the misinformation constantly appearing in the press. I’d heard that to sell the treaty in the UK, it was necessary for it not to be called a constitution – no matter what was in it.

The organization Open Europe has a weblog. The heading of its report on this matter is ‘Loathsome Smugness’. I am not sure it separates fact and comment, but I suppose that’s the thing about blogs.