Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2007 08:22:21 -0500 (EST)
From: "Robert P. J. Day" <rpjday@mindspring.com>
To: Theodore Tso <tytso@mit.edu>
cc: Trent Waddington <trent.waddington@gmail.com>,
       Bernd Petrovitsch <bernd@firmix.at>,
       "Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu" <Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu>,
       Erik Mouw <erik@harddisk-recovery.com>,
       Giuseppe Bilotta <bilotta78@hotpop.com>, linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Open letter to Linux kernel developers (was Re: Binary Drivers)
In-Reply-To: <20070102125026.GA4608@thunk.org>
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On Tue, 2 Jan 2007, Theodore Tso wrote:

> I can very easily believe it.  The US patent system and "justice"
> system in the US is completely and totally insane, and companies
> often feel they have to act accordingly.  Remember this is the
> country that has issued multi-million dollar awards to people who
> spill hot coffee in their lap ...

MASSIVELY OFF TOPIC:  can we please stop using this "hot coffee in
lap" story as an example of the idiocy of the justice system?  i'm
guessing there's more to this story than most folks are aware of, and
you're welcome to read the details here:

  http://www.lectlaw.com/files/cur78.htm

as you can see, there are two salient points that change the
complexion of this story thoroughly:

1) mcdonald's was not merely serving their coffee "hot," but
*scalding* hot (180 to 190 degrees Fahrenheit), a temperature that
will produce third-degree burns almost immediately, and

2) there had, for a decade prior, been some *700* cases where people
had burned themselves with mcdonald's coffee, so it's not as if
mcdonald's was unaware of the danger, yet continued to ignore it.

  yes, the american system of justice is brain-damaged.  but it's time
to find another example to use as the evidence, ok?

rday
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