The case for head space

Web hosting company C I Host paid a guy to walk around with its logo tattooed on his shaved head for five years.

I'm trying to decide how much this disturbs me.

Answer: Less than the fact that someone else is trying to start a
business built around a similar idea, renting out the otherwise vacant
forehead space of needy college students.

(Spotted on Viral Marketing Blog.)

(Note: For the sake of full disclosure, I'm a C I Host customer.)

Trump trademarks

Billionaire and reality TV icon Donald Trump has filed papers to trademark his "Apprentice" catchphrase "You're fired," The Smoking Gun reports.

Well, if there's one thing the show's made clear, it's that the Donald doesn't pass up business opportunities.

FCC as language police

Salon's Eric Boehlert examines the Federal Communications Commission's new role as an "indecency hanging judge."

"They're on a roll," says Arthur Belendiuk, a Washington communications attorney who has helped file indecency complaints against radio broadcasters in recent years. "Indecency is clearly the flavor of the month at the FCC. How long it will last nobody knows."

Update: The Associated Press issued a handy Q&A on just what constitutes indecency when it comes to broadcasting.

Different takes on Yee

There are a lot of ways to tell the latest story of U.S. Army Capt. James Yee, a Fort Lewis-based soldier who served as a chaplain to detainees at Guantanamo Bay before being arrested on suspicion of espionage. That accusation didn't pan out and the Army dropped all remaining charges against Yee yesterday.

• The Associated Press offers a basic, just-the-facts account.
• The Newark Star-Ledger also takes a fairly straightforward approach that emphasizes the official explanation about national security concerns driving the decision.
• The New York Times, meanwhile, takes a more critical look at a case that had become "a lingering embarrassment for the Pentagon." The Times points up Lee's lawyer's contention that a trial could have been conducted without any sensitive information being made public, and suggests that the numerous delays in prosecution "provided an opportunity to negotiate a settlement."
• The Washington Post gets a military law expert's take on the merits, or lack thereof, of the government's case against Yee.
• The Seattle Post-Intelligencer raises the question of whether the Pentagon's prosecution (and persecution?) of Yee were motivated by his race (he's an Asian American) and religion (he's Muslim).