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Government

Submission + - Governor Tramples First Ammendment

Submitted by
bladesjester
bladesjester writes: "Ohio's Governor, Ted Strickland, has ordered that Nativity scenes be replaced at two state parks because they are "an appropriate part of our traditional holiday displays".

In response to concerns voiced over violation of the First Amendment, it was stated that some other symbols would be allowed on a case-by-case basis (at least one has already been refused).

If someone wanted to add a menorah near the Nativity scene, that would be acceptable, but not a Zoroastrian symbol, according to Strickland's spokesperson, Keith Dailey. "It's not something that is traditionally displayed" during the holidays, he said.

In a related note, the article touched on a similar controversy in the town of Whitehall in which the City Council refuses to remove the prominently displayed Nativity scene on public grounds. In response to the outcry, City Council member Chris Rodriguez said "I think people should get over it and stop being so smug about their rights.""
Yahoo!

Submission + - Church files order for Yahoo to release identities (ledger-enquirer.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Yahoo and consumer opinion site RateItAll had until Friday to follow an order by a Muscogee County, GA Superior Court judge to disclose the identities of 5 people who emailed and posted anonymously about Cascade Hills Church of Columbus, GA and its pastor Bill Purvis.
The Courts

Submission + - Judge allows RIAA expert to testify (blogspot.com)

Submitted by
NewYorkCountryLawyer
NewYorkCountryLawyer writes: "Judge David G. Trager has ruled that Dr. Doug Jacobson can testify as an expert in UMG v. Lindor even though Dr. Jacobson had conceded at his deposition that his method satisfied none of the "reliability factors" enunciated by the U.S. Supreme Court in Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc., 509 U. S. 579 (1993) and that he had no reason to think MediaSentry's materials — upon which Jacobson's testimony was based — could satisfy them either. The Daubert factors are "(1) whether a theory or technique "can be and has been tested," (2) whether the theory or technique has been subjected to peer review and publication, (3) a technique's known or potential rate of error, and the existence and maintenance of standards controlling the technique's operation, and (4) whether a particular technique or theory has gained general acceptance in the relevant scientific community". Judge Trager dismissed these as mere "suggestions" by the high court, but could point to no cases where any other judge had allowed expert testimony where not a single Daubert reliability factor had been satisfied."
It's funny. Laugh.

Submission + - Ubisoft threatens to sue owner of somethingawful

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Ubisoft threatens to sue over cartoon which shown Jade Raymond giving oral pleasure as a bonus to buying Assassins Creed.
Other than trademark violations Ubisoft isn't happy with the damage the comic supposedly gives to Jade Raymond's reputation.

Reference: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=2686438
Privacy

Submission + - Japan to Fingerprint, Photograph all Foreigners (theage.com.au)

Submitted by
MochaMan
MochaMan writes: "As of this Tuesday, November 20th, Japan will be requiring mandatory fingerprinting and mug shots of all foreigners entering the country, making it one of only two countries in the world to do so. The program goes further than the US program in that it also applies to visa-holders and permanent residents. The prints will be stored and shared with other governments. The Japanese government has produced an explanatory video, and even a promotional PDF poster. Japanese and international civil rights groups have raised concerns that the practice is both an invasion of privacy and discriminatory. An online petition to abolish the program is available. Is the age of privacy over?"
Censorship

Submission + - Singapore Bans Game Over Alien Lesbian Sex

Submitted by
Frosty Piss
Frosty Piss writes: "Singapore has banned an Xbox 360 video game because it contains a sex scene between a woman and a female alien, the city-state's censors said Thursday. "Mass Effect," a futuristic space adventure, has been banned because of "lesbian intimacy," Chetra S., deputy director of the Board of Film Censors, in a statement. The human-alien duo are depicted kissing and caressing each other in a sex scene that ends with the alien saying, 'By the gods, that was incredible, commander.'"
Privacy

Submission + - KY High School to Punish MySpace Bullying (wlky.com)

Submitted by computerman413
computerman413 writes: The Bullitt County, Kentucky school board has enacted a new policy subjecting students to suspension or expulsion for things they post on MySpace. The ACLU is up in arms, saying, "The government or school authority now is attempting to regulate speech that is occurring off-site or off-campus," adding, "The analysis for the courts will be whether or not the school can reasonably forecast a disruption of school activities because of the speech." Read the whole story here. So, anti-bullying, or another step towards a nanny state?
The Internet

Submission + - Morality and Domain Ownership (holyjuan.com) 3

Submitted by
HolyJuan
HolyJuan writes: "I got laid off a few weeks ago. A year ago, when I still had a job, I mentioned to my boss that our company should buy its "actual" domain name. His current domain name was shortened version of the company name. He thought that was a great idea and would think about it. I sent him reminder e-mails. I talked to him again in person. Nothing came of it. So I bought it myself and politely forwarded the traffic to the company's webpage. Now they have laid me off and I'm wondering what I should do with the domain. http://www.holyjuan.com/2007/07/i-own-my-ex-compan ys-domain-name-what.html"
The Courts

Submission + - Motorists Sue Over 'Hot' Fuel 5

Submitted by i_like_spam
i_like_spam writes: Motorists in 13 states have filed lawsuits against big oil companies and gas retailers alleging unfair pricing practices related to fuel-pumping temperatures. From an industry standard developed in the 1920's, the price for a gallon of gasoline is based on the density of the fuel at a temperature of 60 degress F. A gallon of gas at higher temperatures is less dense, and therefore contains less energy. The lawsuits claim additional costs of 3 to 9 cents per gallon without temperature adjustments. The fuel industry claims that the costs of installing temerature-adjustment sensors on every pump would be prohibitively high. These sensors are already installed in Canada, however, where the colder temperatures favor consumers.
Security

Submission + - Greatest Phone Freak Action To Date (ieee.org)

Submitted by Bartlet
Bartlet writes: A recent IEEE Spectrum article details how an Athens phone system was compromised.
"... unlike the Cuckoo's Egg, the Athens affair targeted the conversations of specific, highly placed government and military officials. ... Though the scope of the activity is to a large extent unknown, it's fair to say that no other computer crime on record has had the same potential for capturing information about affairs of state."
Security

Submission + - British Bomb Scare Prompts U.S. Camera Call (thehill.com)

Submitted by mattnyc99
mattnyc99 writes: Senator Joseph Lieberman is riding the successful capture of several terror suspects by British authorities in an alleged car bomb plot this weekend as ammunition to call for wider use of surveillance cameras in the U.S. It turns out the U.K. is already testing new flying police drones equipped with closed-circuit TV cameras. So is constant urban surveillance on the horizon? Or is Britain just ready to foil the next threat even faster, with better tech than we have back in the States?
Privacy

Submission + - Personal data exposed! Can legislation fix it?

Submitted by
rabblerouzer
rabblerouzer writes: "Millions have had their personal information stolen because of lax security and may not even know it because of the patchwork of state laws that fail to mandate timely notification of victims. Boston-based law firm Mintz Levin is seeking feedback on what you would like to see included in draft legislation. You have a stake in this; speak up."
The Internet

Submission + - Canadian Supreme Ct Upholds Net Publication Ban

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Michael Geist is reporting that Canada's Supreme Court has just upheld the ban [decision here] on publishing election results on the Internet before the close of polling stations. The dissent was apparently concerned with the impact on the Internet, noting that people who rely on the net for news would be denied access for hours to election results.

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