Act like a loser to get the political donations rolling in and other news and views for 7 October

  • ‘Losing Messages’ Boost Online Fundraising – “A recent study by researchers at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and the University of California, Berkeley found that donors and would-be donors are more likely to click on a fundraising email and contribute if the candidate highlights a recent poll that shows him or her trailing by a narrow margin.”
  • Why public investment really is a free lunch – “What is crucial everywhere is the recognition that in a time of economic shortfall and inadequate public investment, there is for once a free lunch – a way for governments to strengthen both the economy and their own financial positions. The IMF, a bastion of ‘tough love’ austerity, has come to this important realisation. Countries with the wisdom to follow its lead will benefit.”
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  • The criticism that Ralph Lauren doesn’t want you to see! - “Last month, Xeni blogged about the photoshop disaster that is this Ralph Lauren advertisement, in which a model’s proportions appear to have been altered to give her an impossibly skinny body (“Dude, her head’s bigger than her pelvis”). Naturally, Xeni reproduced the ad in question. This is classic fair use: a reproduction “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,” etc. However, Ralph Lauren’s marketing arm and its law firm don’t see it that way. According to them, this is an “infringing image,” and they thoughtfully took the time to send a DMCA takedown notice to our awesome ISP, Canada’s Priority Colo. One of the things that makes Priority Colo so awesome is that they don’t automatically act on DMCA takedowns. Instead, they pass them on to us and we talk about whether they pass the giggle-test. This one doesn’t. So, instead of responding to their legal threat by suppressing our criticism of their marketing images, we’re gonna mock them. Hence this post.”
  • NBA lines up $24bn TV deal as demand for live sports escalates – “… more than three times the value of its previous contract.”
  • Alcohol abuse linked to number of licensed premises – “Scottish neighbourhoods with the most licensed premises have the highest rates of alcohol-related illness and deaths, according to a new study.”
  • Drug cheats in sport could benefit ‘for decades’, scientists find

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