Comment Re:I know why... (Score 1) 841
nice
Comment Re:OK, I'll say it... (Score 1) 841
Was he giving a speech to the CDC? No. Know to target the right audience. I'm still searching for the "point" he was trying to make targeting THAT group of people in an act that could be considered terrorism under our "new and improved" laws.
uhh... because they're rich and might lend money to the cause? Do you think the CDC needs convincing that malaria is a problem?
Comment Re:astroturfing tag (Score 1) 841
yeah, I was just posting about this at the same time you were. I really don't get it. The word has a specific meaning, and it's losing it very quickly and gaining a new one: "my enemy's advertising technique". Now I think I know why I need to explain what this word means to people every time I use it.
Comment Re:Only poor people? (Score 1) 841
er... infected. not sure how elected worked its way in there
Comment Re:Only poor people? (Score 4, Informative) 841
He said "there's no reason only poor people should be infected", not "there's no reason only poor people are elected". Poor people did nothing to deserve being infected.
Secondly, Bill Gate's little show had a lot more of a point than PETA getting naked. Whereas the latter is merely a publicity stunt, Gate's maneuver also serves to make potentially rich donors uncomfortable with the idea of the suffering of others by experiencing a small part of it. Nothing about PETA getting naked serves this sort of purpose.
Lastly, I also dearly hope that Bill Gate's political leanings aren't whats preventing you from otherwise helping to stop the spread of malaria...
Comment who tagged this astroturfing?!?! (Score 4, Insightful) 841
What about this indicates a faux grassroots movement? Words like 'astroturfing' quickly lose their meaning when abused like this...
Bill Gates Unleashes Swarm of Mosquitoes 841
An anonymous reader writes "Microsoft founder turned philanthropist Bill Gates released a glass full of mosquitoes at an elite Technology, Entertainment, Design Conference to make a point about the deadly sting of malaria.
'Malaria is spread by mosquitoes,' Gates said while opening a jar on stage at a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars.
'I brought some. Here I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected.'" Say what you will about the guy, that is showmanship. Well done.
Comment Re:I don't get it (Score 1) 1475
If you count civil unions, then he can also throw in the two remaining continents (unless you want to also count Antarctica) and several more states.
South Africa and Nepal were the latest to join, bringing Asia and Africa to the list.
Here's your source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage
I'll never understand why people don't at least check wikipedia before demanding a source... and yes, the wikipedia article cites its own sources on the particular issues of Africa and Asia.
Comment Re:The anthropic principle isn't a principle. (Score 1) 683
I wish I had mod points. Thank you. This is exactly what i think every time I see an argument like this, or about the chances of life originating on a planet; especially intelligent life. There's a fuck-ton of planets, so it's more about the chances of it happening on one out of many of them (which will then, not by chance, be the one where it's observed), rather than the chances of it happening or not happening on one of them.
Microsoft's Annual Report Reveals OSS Mistakes 348
mjasay writes "Microsoft's most recent annual report suggests that the company is increasingly coming to grips with open source, yet also seems determined to perpetuate myths about open source that poorly serve it and its shareholders. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has suggested before that 'free software means no free soda' for Microsoft employees; but this is perhaps the first time that Microsoft has managed to enshrine its ignorance in a public document. In the annual report, Microsoft makes two primary false claims about open source: 1) Open source companies don't invest in research and development and instead largely free-ride on Microsoft's patents and copyrights; and 2) Open source projects don't innovate and instead mimic Microsoft's products. Perhaps Microsoft has forgotten its own 'innovative' past copying of markets and technologies created by Apple and others. But at least Microsoft gets one thing right: 'To the extent open source software gains increasing market acceptance, our sales, revenue and operating margins may decline.'"
White House Wins Ruling On E-mail Records 243
An anonymous reader writes "The White House Office of Administration is not required to turn over records about a trove of possibly missing e-mails, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly found the agency does not have 'substantial independent authority,' so it is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act."
Charlton Heston's Impact On Sci-Fi 531
An anonymous reader writes "As you're probably already aware, Charlton Heston passed away yesterday. Wired has a piece looking back at Heston's extremely notable work in the sci-fi genre, with roles in films like "Planet of the Apes" and "Soylent Green". 'Heston also roared out some of sci-fi's greatest and most memorable lines, bringing his macho swagger and over-the-top intensity to the screen in movies like 1973's food freak-out flick Soylent Green and the Planet of the Apes series. In a pivotal scene from 1968's Planet of the Apes (see clip), Heston's character, time-traveling astronaut George Taylor, utters the first words spoken by a human to the simian rulers of a bizarro future Earth: "Take your stinking paws off me, you damn dirty ape!'"
White House Says Phone Wiretaps Will Resume For Now 262
austinhook brings us news that the U.S. government has resumed wiretapping with the help of telecommunications companies. The companies are said to have "understandable misgivings" over the unresolved issue of retroactive immunity for their participation in past wiretapping. Spy agencies have claimed that the expiration of the old legislation has caused them to miss important information. The bill that would grant the immunity passed in the Senate, but not in the House.
Writers Strike Officially Over 499
CNN is reporting that the 100-day Hollywood writers walkout is now officially over. The new contract managed to snag two of the three major points the Writers Guild was looking for. The writers will now have "jurisdiction" for content created especially for new media (Internet, cell phones, etc) and will get paid for the reuse of content on new media when the studios get paid. "Leslie Moonves, chief executive officer of CBS Corp., told The Associated Press, 'At the end of the day, everybody won. It was a fair deal and one that the companies can live with, and it recognizes the large contribution that writers have made to the industry. [...] It's unclear how soon new episodes of scripted programs will start appearing, because production won't begin until scripts are completed, the AP reported. It will take at least four weeks for producers to get the first post-strike episodes of comedies back on the air; dramas will take six to eight weeks, the AP said.'"
Physicist Calculates Trajectory of Tiger At SF Zoo 713
KentuckyFC writes "Is it really possible for a 350-pound tiger to leap a 12.5-foot barrier from 33 feet away? (Said another way: a 159-kg tiger, a 3.8 m barrier, and 10 m away.) A physicist at Northeastern University has done the math, a straightforward problem in ballistics, and the answer turns out to be yes (abstract on the physics arXiv). But I guess we already knew that following the death of Carlos Souza at the paws of Tatiana, a Siberian Tiger he had allegedly been taunting at San Francisco zoo at the end of last year."
