Technology and Trade 
Recommended
Google On Trial
Legal disputes have arisen concerning Google’s forthcoming ‘Book Search' utility. Adjunct Cato scholar Timothy Lee discusses this issue in light of a settlement that Google has reached with a group of authors and publishers. Lee claims that the problem is not with Google's stance on the copyright issues, but the expansive powers that the settlement grants. He furthermore cites Librarian of Congress Marybeth Peters, who wrote that "the settlement proposed by the parties would encroach on responsibility for copyright policy that traditionally has been the domain of Congress." Judicial approval of the settlement could alter copyright law, and potentially grant Google with certain unchecked power. Lee concludes that the issue at stake is not the Google case alone, but the establishment of a precedent, stating “Congress, not the judicial branch, is responsible for making broad changes to rules of copyright.”
*(Lee wrote a follow-up article based on a discussion with a Google policy analyst, featured here.)
Is Your iPod Unpatriotic?
The guys at ReasonTV put together this article and visually appealing clip documenting 'Why America Shouldn't "Buy American."' They conclude with the analysis that "Even though plenty of foreigners have jobs thanks to it, so do 14,000 Americans whose duties include designing and marketing the little buggers. So the iPod is a product of America and the world, and these days that describes nearly all the items we buy."