On this most unique of days, a round-up of stuff that has caught my eye over the last week or so:

1. Copyright shakedown agents Part 2- Getty Images
Some time ago, a corporation named RightHaven appeared in the news for it's persistent and blatant attempts at extorting money from users of copyrighted material, even when that usage fell within the boundaries of Fair Use as allowed by most copyright law. After a number of failed legal actions, RightHaven was counter-sued and finally put out of business in January 2012.
There now appears to be an (un)worthy successor to RightHaven in the form of Getty Images. For the last 6 years, the company has been sending vaguely threatening letters to people it deems to have used its copyrighted images without permission or attribution. The letters make vague allegations and demand significant payments to Getty as compensation by the recipients for violation of copyright and licensing rules.
As Ken at Popehat is fond of saying, vagueness in legal letters is usually the hallmark of bullying and thuggery. The letters from Getty or its legal agents certainly fall into that category. The main thing I notice is a total lack of supporting detail as to whether Getty actually owns the copyrights for the images it is citing in the letters. In fact, in at least one case, there is clear doubt about their ownership, and in other cases they have failed to provide compelling evidence of ownership despite being asked to do so.
The sheer number of letters of this type that have been sent by Getty or its legal agents has led to a plethora of internet forums devoted to discussion of these activities.
It seems to me that Getty Images is joining RightHaven in the pantheon of copyright bullies. They had better make sure that they do not end up in the same place as RightHaven, the legal end-game of that corporation is well-advanced, although, like trolls in all of literature, it hasn't quite drawn it's last breath...yet.

2. Charlie Crist joins the Democratic Party
Always the mark of a true opportunist. However, I am hoping that the Democratic party declines to support any run for elective office by Crist as a Democratic Party member, until he finally admits what is blatantly obvious even to me (me, with a limited gaydar), namely, that he is a gay American. His marriage to a well-connected Florida lady proves nothing about his sexuality, given the track record of many prominent Americans for finding "beards" (see Hudson, Rock). However, it does convince me that he is a deeply closeted person living a public life that is shot through with artifice. While I tend to be suspicious of reading too much into images, this picture of Crist taking questions from reporters at his wedding, with his wife looking totally disconnected, offers a profound visual story. The ever-present fake perma-tan on Crist is merely the icing on this cake of deception. (I decided a long time ago that I would be very wary of taking any person seriously if they either have a comb-over or a permanent fake tan, since I regard both of these stylings as affectations, pure artifice).

3. World War II - Norwegian resistance and the drive to prevent Germany from building a Fission Bomb
In the middle of World War II, fears that Germany was working on an atomic bomb program were stoked by the discovery that Germany was building a heavy water concentration plant in Norway. Using cheap hydro-electricity and other engineering concepts pioneered by Norsk Hydro, a plant had been constructed near Telemark for fertilizer production, which produced heavy water as a by-product. (Heavy water, the oxide of Deuterium, was regarded at the time as highly usable in nuclear reactors as a moderator, because of its much larger neutron cross-section).
Fearful that the Germans might be able to make enough heavy water to start operating a nuclear reactor, the order went out to destroy the concentration plant. After one failed attempt, a second attempt was mounted by a combined Norwegian and British team in February 1943. Birger Stromsheim, who died last week at the great age of 101, was one of the members of the team. RIP Birger.

4. The strange case of Sen. Rand Paul's opthalmology certification
In which Rand Paul, while still practising medicine, apparently set up a rival to the American Board of Opthalmologists (ABO), had himself certified under this rival certification authority, let the rival board cease operations, then revived it later. As this article explains, it is not at all clear how many opthalmologists are solely certified via Sen. Paul's board, nor is it clear what the certification process is. In short, this is all murky, inexplicable, and it begs the question of why Rand Paul would attempt to end-run a certification process in the first place. The only rational explanation I can think of is that he wanted to strike a blow for "freedom" by refusing to submit to an industry standard certification process.