What I’m Reading
Shareworthy articles and content syndicated from other sites. These aren’t things I’ve written or necessarily endorse, for the record.
Internet-Spreading American Gets 15-Year Sentence In Cuba
decora writes “American social worker Alan Phillip Gross, who has spent years connecting developing countries to the internet, has been sentenced by a ‘Security Court’ in Cuba to 15 years in prison. His crime: ‘Acts against the Independence and Territorial Integrity of the State.’ The Cuban government also claimed he was trying to ‘destroy the Revolution through the use of communication systems out of the control of authorities.'”
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Lawyer becomes first in Britain to serve court summons via Facebook
Sussex-based lawyer Hilary Thorpe has become what is thought to be the first person in the UK to serve a court summons via Facebook, using a case in Australia as inspiration to seek permission from a local County Court.
The Telegraph reports that Ms Thorpe found it difficult to get a debtor to attend court to answer questions about their finances, trying all traditional methods of contacting the individual. She recalled a case in Australia that saw a lawyer, who was representing a financial lender, serve legally binding documents to a couple and wondered if the same could be done in the UK.
Enquiring as to whether a British court would allow a summons to be served using a similar system, Ms Thorpe received permission from Hastings County Court, meaning she was then able to log in and serve the court order via the world’s most popular social network.
She said yesterday:
“It is great to see that the courts are willing to embrace new technology.
Being able to use Facebook to do so will certainly assist in the case and allow our client creditor the possibility of obtaining further information to enforce the debt.”
The request was submitted by Ms Thorpe’s employer, legal firm Gaby Hardwicke, which had to prove that the defendants frequented Facebook and state the reasons why serving documents via the social network would be appropriate.Image Credit
thomas kalak: bangkok cable ways
a new exhibition of photographer thomas kalak featuring his work in thailand documenting the electricity and telecommunications cables omnipresent in bangkok.
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