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Submission + - How DNA evidence creates victims of chance (newscientist.com)

Submitted by azoblue
azoblue writes: Even when analysts agree that someone could be a match for a piece of DNA evidence, the statistical weight assigned to that match can vary enormously, even by orders of magnitude. For instance, in one man's trial the DNA evidence statistic ranged from 1/95,000 to 1/13, depending on the different weighing methods used by the defense and the prosecution.
Communications

The Truth About Net Neutrality Job Loss 187

Posted by Soulskill from the watch-out-for-net-neutrality-death-panels dept.
snydeq writes "Robert X. Cringely investigates recent claims that passing net neutrality regulations will result in nearly 1.5 million lost jobs by 2020, finding the report at the center of these claims suspect. The report, put forward by The Brattle Group, conjectures that net neutrality adoption would curtail broadband growth by 16 percent, costing 342,065 jobs in that sector alone. The 'total economy-wide impact,' however, of such a policy would result in five times as many job losses by 2020, they say. The study is the latest of several weighing the economic impact of net neutrality, including those by law schools (PDF) and free-market think tanks alike. The Brattle Group report (PDF), however, should be met with skepticism, Cringely argues, in large part because the lobbying firm who paid for the report, Mobile Future, is anchored most notably by AT&T. Moreover, the report is 'based entirely on a single assumption: Regulating US telecoms in the late 1990s and early 2000s hurt them to the tune of about 15 percent per quarter, relative to the cable companies.' Yet, as he points out, regulation was not alone in causing this sector shrinkage. In fact, the Baby Bells' own bureaucratic intransigence was much to blame."
Government

Submission + - The Truth About Net Neutrality Job Loss (infoworld.com)

Submitted by
snydeq
snydeq writes: "Robert X. Cringely investigates recent claims that passing net neutrality regulations will result in nearly 1.5 million lost jobs by 2020, finding the report at the center of these claims suspect. The report, put forward by The Brattle Group, conjectures that net neutrality adoption would curtail broadband growth by 16 percent, costing 342,065 jobs in that sector alone. The 'total economy-wide impact,' however, of such a policy would result in five times as many job losses by 2020, according to The Brattle Group. The study is the latest of several weighing the economic impact of net neutrality, including those by law schools and free-market think tanks alike. The Brattle Group report, however, should be met with skepticism, Cringely argues, in large part because the lobbying firm who paid for the report, Mobile Future, is anchored most notably by AT&T. Moreover, the report is 'based entirely on a single assumption: Regulating U.S. telecoms in the late 1990s and early 2000s hurt them to the tune of about 15 percent per quarter, relative to the cable companies.' Yet, as Cringely points out, regulation was not alone in causing this sector shrinkage. In fact, Cringely writes, the Baby Bells' own bureaucratic intransigence was much to blame."
Censorship

Submission + - Chinese Propaganda Official Pranked (chinasmack.com) 1

Submitted by
FGS
FGS writes: "Deputy Director Wu Hao, a Chinese propaganda official, was pranked during a speech by being showered by 50 cents RMB notes. For those who don't get the joke, the Chinese government hires people to make pro-government comments online, primarily on Chinese message boards. These people are said to be paid 50 cents RMB per post and, as such, are called the wu mao dang, or 'fifty cent party'. So, given the exchange rates, someone really does have a nickle for every time that happens. There has been no word yet on what happened to the guy who pulled this prank. This is the original story, for those who can read Chinese."
Politics

Submission + - Federal Reserve Must Disclose Bank Bailout Records (bloomberg.com)

Submitted by gibson123
gibson123 writes: The Federal Reserve Board must disclose documents identifying financial firms that might have collapsed without the largest U.S. government bailout ever, a federal appeals court said.

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled today that the Fed must release records of the unprecedented $2 trillion U.S. loan program launched primarily after the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. The ruling upholds a decision of a lower-court judge, who in August ordered that the information be released.
Businesses

Ex-Sun Chief Dishes Dirt On Gates, Jobs 241

Posted by CmdrTaco from the why-is-there-no-extra dept.
alphadogg writes "Former CEO of Sun Microsystems Jonathan Schwartz has taken to his personal blog, provocatively titled 'What I couldn't say ...,' to dish some industry dirt and tell his side of the story about the demise of Sun. He has already hinted at plans to write a book, and a new post suggests a tell-all tome could indeed be in the offing. 'I feel for Google — Steve Jobs threatened to sue me, too,' Schwartz writes, apparently referring to Apple's patent lawsuit against HTC, which makes Google's Nexus One smartphone. As for Bill Gates, Schwartz says he was threatening regarding Sun's efforts in the office software space."

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