I assume by "Nook Simple" you mean the original Nook? The only time mine says it's in charging mode is when I've let the battery run completely down. And even then it only displays that message until it gets to a minimum level of charge to function, at which point it operates normally (albeit tethered to its short power cable).

Cough. Also, which of these numbers is lowest, again? Hint: it's not hydro, wind, solar, or biomass.

Except that a service provider isn't supposed to make judgments on the legitimacy of the order. If they receive one, they take the content down and it's the responsibility of the person who posted it to issue a DMCA counter-claim. Doing otherwise risks their safe harbor status under the DMCA.

But for your proposal specifically, how is the service provider supposed to verify if a given piece of content is from something owned by the company that issued the takedown notice? The companies are using keyword searches because there is too much content to verify manually. The amount of work required to track down the actual source of a random file and then compare it to the big list of owned content is a ridiculous amount of effort for slim to no gain for the service provider. Much better then, from a legal and financial perspective just to let the users deal with counter-claims.

And you think that an individual citizen has a greater chance of collecting that money? The problems you make reference to are real, but your solution does nothing to help them.

Except that puts the burden of enforcement on individuals. I know I certainly don't have the resources to stand up to a major corporation in court, do you?

Under the system you're suggesting, environmental enforcement would only happen if the victim was tremendously wealthy or the damage was so egregious that a lawyer could smell a massive payoff (which, of course, would be eaten up almost entirely by attorney's fees). I can't really think of a way your proposal could benefit massive polluters more.

Yeah. His conclusion at the end of the article is specifically about servers:

I guess even the submitters don't RTFA.

You do realize that despite the name, it's a car rather than a scooter, right? $7k is quite good; the closest competitor that comes to mind would be a Smart Car, and those start at $12k in the US.

You're misconstruing development to mean intelligence. Developmental psychology, also known as human development, is the scientific study of systematic psychological changes, emotional changes, and perception changes that occur in human beings over the course of their life span. Intelligence isn't even mentioned in that definition.

They're all just justifications of the administration's existing policies. It's not a platform for interacting with the citizenry, it's a platform to lecture you about why the government is right.

Concern about software patents -> "That's the way the law works. Now we'll talk up our new patent law which doesn't address them."
Religion in the public square -> "The president mentioned you non-believers in his inaugural address, what more do you want?"
Legalize marijuana -> "The War on Drugs totally works guys, I swear."

The only two petitions that got a positive response were about DOMA and student loans, positions the administration had already taken.

He's referencing the response of the Obama administration to a petition to legalize marijuana on it's petition website.

The responses from the administration make it clear that website isn't about listening to the petitioners, but rather telling them why what the government is already doing is the right thing (and why you should just sit down and stop making a fuss, thanks). In the case of marijuana, their argument is painfully thin. They trot out the "marijuana significant use is a source for voluntary drug treatment admissions and visits to emergency rooms" line without mentioning that their source shows that underage drinking causes far more emergency room visits than marijuana (it doesn't mention consumption by adults however. I'd be interested to see that statistic). And then they have this gem:

In other words, if you get it from Big Pharma, it's a-ok. If you buy it from a local grower (or grow it yourself), then you're a drug-using felon.

I don't have a a personal interest in this issue. I don't use marijuana, nor does anyone I know (that I'm aware of, anyway). But the patronizing bullshit that gets spewed by politicians and law enforcement about drug laws shows a level of contempt for citizens that is almost unbelievable to me.

I think you may be right about that. Age of the parents is certainly a factor in other developmental disorders. My parents (who both had a long education, my mother got a Masters and my father is an MD) waited until their mid and late 30s to have children. One of my sisters ended up having Downs syndrome. Their experience is not unique; statistically, older parents are more likely to have children with Down syndrome. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a similar situation with autism.

Maybe I'm being pedantic, but really? anto-social? Could you at least run the submissions through a spell check?

You're quoting the Daily Mail and you say he's full of shit?

This American Life did a story on the very thing you mention, although probably in a different city. In Miami, you have to live 2500 feet from a school, park, or daycare if you're a sex offender. Try going half a mile in a major city without running into one of those things. Pretty difficult. So, as in your case, they just move to the corner cases. Specifically, camping under a bridge.