Free Republic

The California Supreme Court is taking a dim view of libel lawsuits against Web site operators who post inflammatory information from other sources. The justices said during a 60-minute court hearing Tuesday testing the 1996 Communications Decency Act that Congress and other courts have already spoken on the issue. The justices were leaning toward tossing out a lawsuit against a San Diego woman who posted an allegedly libelous e-mail she received on her site's message board. The widely watched case included briefs from some of the Internet's biggest names, including Amazon.com, America Online Inc., eBay Inc., Google Inc., Microsoft Corp....

AP, TORONTO - Close your mouth. Look into the camera. Don't smile. Don't frown. Canadians applying for passports must now submit photos showing "neutral expressions". They cannot be smiling, frowning, glaring or grimacing, the Canadian passport office said. The changes follow recommendations from the International Civil Aviation Organisation, the UN agency responsible for aviation issues, aimed at making it easier for security personnel to recognise passport holders around the world, a spokeswoman told the Globe and Mail newspaper. The measure took effect on August 15, but the office will accept photos that do not meet the criteria until November 3....

<p>The fuss over frowning has generated so much angst, ridicule and hate mail that the Palo Alto City Council is doing an about-face.</p> <p>The council plans to dump a proposed guideline discouraging members from frowning or using other body language to show ``disagreement or disgust'' at public meetings.</p>

<p>Palo Alto may need to call in the Demeanor Police.</p> <p>The city council is wrestling with a code of conduct that urges elected officials not to roll their eyes. Or shake their heads. Or frown.</p> <p>Experts say the council's plan to discourage non-verbal forms of ``disagreement or disgust'' is odd, unenforceable and almost an infringement on free speech.</p>