Most read posts 2012

PodiumFor all those who have started to follow the blog since the beginning of the year, or anyone who might have missed a post, here is a summary of the most read posts of the year. I’ve grouped them into ‘families’ for ease of use.

Actually, though, there is a really wide spread over the posts, and, even more pleasing for me, people continue to call up old posts a long time after their publication. As a blogger, it is really satisfying to know that the posts are still useful and don’t fall into the “published and forgotten” basket!

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The ten worst things a judge can do to a court interpreter

guest bookI just couldn’t resist inviting Tony Rosado onto the blog again (see below for more), with this fantastic post he has written about judges working with court interpreters. It’s also great advice for all those lawyers and judges reading who might not realize what they’re doing wrong! Tony blogs over at The Professional Interpreter in English and Spanish, and as well as being a qualified attorney, has been a freelance interpreter for almost 30 years. He runs Rosado Professional Solutions in Chicago.

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Season’s Greetings from WordstoDeeds

Snowman made out of sand. Holiday concept can be used for New YeAs I imagine that at least some of you might be getting ready to rush off on holidays tomorrow, I thought would post my very best seasonal wishes today.

I’ve chosen this picture as I know that many of you live in places where it may not be cold – and maybe some of you are even off to warmer climes for a vacation!

Thank you all so much for following the blog, and have a wonderful relaxing time!

By the way, don’t forget that eating mince pies in the UK on Christmas Day is banned 😉

Translating Parmesan, the cheese of choice for astronauts

formaggio granaI did enjoy this article on Forbes.com, all about protected trademarks for local speciality foods such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Kobe beef. The author explains that when the cheese is ‘translated’ into English and called “Parmesan”, the name is no longer protected in the U.S., leading to cheeses of far inferior quality being passed off as the real thing.

Not sure if this really qualifies as a Monday smile, but food is certainly a pleasant subject!

I also discovered that real Parmigiano Reggiano is so healthy that American and Russian astronauts are fed it in space! There’s an interesting point about the trademark protection of Champagne not being applicable in the States too.

Which (if any) legal system for Facebook?

guest bookI am delighted to introduce a guest post today by Johann Morri, a judge at the Administrative Court of Versailles, in France. He studied law both in France and in the United States, where he was a law clerk for a Federal Judge in the District of North California for several months. He also served at the French Ministry of Economy, Finance & Industry, where he led the international law office within the Department for Legal Affairs.

In the article below, Judge Morri has written a summary (with the author’s permission) of a 37-page article, Facebookistan¹, by Professeur Anupam Chander.  I’m sure you will very much enjoy it, and we look forward to your comments!

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Medicines Patent Pool

ted_talksI have blogged before about the great initiative TEDTalks, and here is one that I think might interest you. Ellen ’t Hoen is an independent medicines law and policy consultant. In 2009, she founded the Medicines Patent Pool at WHO/UNITAID, to accelerate the availability of low-cost HIV treatments, especially antiretroviral medicines, in developing countries through patent licensing.

She recently gave a TEDxTalk in Geneva, Switzerland, about how collaboration from drug companies can allow AIDS drugs to be made available at a much lower cost.

Here is her talk, entitled “Pool medical patents, save lives“.

hand gesture body languageYou might also be interested in two other TEDTalk posts – Plain language in Portugal, and Arianna Huffington on sleep habits – How to succeed? Get more sleep