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Comment My response would be, I'm afraid, no. (Score 1) 1746

I'm not going to acknowledge that.

If someone is on record as not only saying, but actively paying to support making sure a group of people enjoy fewer civil liberties than another, and that person's *job* is managing people, some of whom are in that group?

In that case, I don't think it's bigoted to question whether they are capable of perfoming that job well.

That's not bigotry. That's common sense.

And to heck with 2008, while we're at it. If his suport for treating people equally had changed in the past six years, he had more than enough opportunities, including the CNET interview less than 72 hours ago, to not directly avoid answering that question.

Comment Re:My answer (Score 3) 525

...But I wonder how much of the mess that happens at borders is caused by cultural misunderstanding....I have great sympathy for the traveler described in the article, but I've never had a single problem traveling in the US and my only frustration with TSA is that they slow things down.

I'm sure some problems do happen because of cultural misunderstandings, but speaking as someone who grew up in the USA: the problems with the TSA are far more than cultural misunderstandings. I've had good experiences, to be sure, but some pretty horrible ones as well. I'll now drive half way across the country to avoid flying when it's possible, sadly that won't get me to many of the other places I need to get to.

Comment Re:Food and Drug (Score 1) 42

No, the inclusion of "articles intended for use in the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in man or other animals" in the original act creating the FDA (the FFDCA, the C is "Cosmetics", btw) has been more or less uncontroversial for longer than you or I have likely been alive.

Moreover, I have really have no desire to return to the era of Mrs. Moffat's Shoo-Fly Powders for Drunkenness , or the bionic equivalent thereof.

Wikipedia

Submission + - The popularity of Wikipedia articles: catalysts, trends, and applications (wikipedia.org) 2

The ed17 writes: "A fascinating report on Wikipedia's traffic patterns highlights some of the view peaks in the encyclopedia's history. The winner? Whitney Houston's article received some 425 views per second upon news of her death, and Amy Winehouse came in second. Celebrity deaths dominate the top events, challenged only by American football's Super Bowl halftime show.

Equally as interesting are the catalysts that drive these viewers. In addition to cultural events, the Google Doodle, DDOS attacks, and even Slashdot play significant roles. With traffic following a power-law distribution, should Wikipedia editors be concentrating on these few popular topics (regardless their academic merit) in order to better shape public perception?"

Education

Submission + - German science minister stripped of her PhD (nature.com)

An anonymous reader writes: In a move likely to have major political implications, the University of Düsseldorf has revoked the doctoral degree of Germany’s science and education minister, Annette Schavan. The commitee investigating allegations of plagiarism came to the conclusion that she "systematically and deliberately claimed as her own intellectual achievements which she had in fact not produced herself". Schavan wants to appeal the decision in court and has not resigned from her post so far.
Microsoft

Why Microsoft Office For iOS Will Likely Never See the Light of Day 270

MojoKid writes "It has been over six years since Apple introduced the iPhone. Millions of apps have been written for the platform in that time, with collective downloads into the billions. Apple's App Store is a thriving marketplace with a huge amount of software available, except Microsoft Office. There's a version of Office for iOS supposedly in the works, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer threw cold water on the idea when asked about upcoming events for the Office suite after launching the new Office 2013 / Office 365 products earlier this week. Revenue sharing is reportedly a major sticking point. Microsoft is trying to push people towards yearly subscriptions with Office 2013 and Office 365, but Apple requires a 30 percent profit share on sales of any app in their store. Microsoft reportedly isn't thrilled at the idea of sharing that much revenue. It's ironic — when Bill Gates agreed to port Office to the Mac nearly 20 years ago, it was seen as a lifeline for the beleaguered manufacturer. Now, Microsoft is knocking on the door of Apple's business and Cupertino seems disinclined to answer."

Comment Re:stripping metadata? (Score 1) 129

Funny, I had just been talking about this the day before yesterday.

In any case, http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/1202

(b) Removal or Alteration of Copyright Management Information.— No person shall, without the authority of the copyright owner or the law—
(1) intentionally remove or alter any copyright management information,
(2) distribute or import for distribution copyright management information knowing that the copyright management information has been removed or altered without authority of the copyright owner or the law, or
(3) distribute, import for distribution, or publicly perform works, copies of works, or phonorecords, knowing that copyright management information has been removed or altered without authority of the copyright owner or the law,

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