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Comment Surprised? (Score 5, Insightful) 537

I'm a little surprised that (a) this surprises _anybody_, and (b) that there are plenty of Slashdotters who are convinced it's lies and propaganda. You're making the mistake that because Bin Laden subscribed to an ideology that was sexually repressive, he must also have been sexually repressed. This isn't the case. The sexual mores of the conservative (read: fundamentalist) Islamic world are pretty twisted; the reason burqas are mandated for women is because the men supposedly can't help themselves if shown a bit of ladyflesh, even a bare ankle. The onus for sexual purity is placed almost _entirely_ on women (which sounds a little like the US, come to think of it); it's no surprise, then, if Bin Laden is a total pervert. Honestly, I'd be surprised if there _wasn't_ porn in the compound.
Medicine

Merck's Drug Propecia Linked To Sexual Dysfunction 235

zaxios writes "Merck — the pharmaceutical giant previously featured on Slashdot for drawing up a 'hit list' of doctors that criticized its drug Vioxx, and creating a fake medical journal to endorse its products — is embroiled in a new scandal. USA Today is reporting on two new studies that show Propecia, Merck's $250 million prescription medication for baldness, can make men irreversibly impotent. Lawsuits have been filed in the United States and Canada from men claiming to have permanently lost their sexual function after taking the drug. All this is reminiscent of Merck's difficulties with Vioxx, a once $2.5-billion-a-year drug, which was withdrawn from the market in 2004 after a study showed it doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke in users."

Comment -itis? (Score 1) 369

Am I the only one who gets irritated when people tack on -itis to a word to turn it into a malady? The suffix has a specific meaning, which is "inflammation"; hence, tonsilitis is an inflammation of the tonsils, endocarditis is an inflammation of the lining of the heart (endo = inner, card[iac] = heart), etc. So "consolitis" would be an inflammation of the console. Wonderful.

Comment Re:1st Amendment (Score 1) 329

The Fairness Doctrine does not say that a talk radio network must broadcast both right-wing and left-wing shows. It had nothing to do with allowing equal time, but simply required that anybody with a broadcast license give some recognition to opposing viewpoints, even if it's marginalized, ridiculed, and ignored. In other words, the Fairness Doctrine is Alan Colmes.
Television

Submission + - My TV has an OS, it's L I N U X!

Zolan writes: Very recently I purchased what I deem as a nice Television (Hitachi LCD Rear Projection Television [55VS69A]). After setting it up and doing the whole "Oooohhh Aahhhh" thing, I decided to flip through the manual. Mainly I was quickly looking through it to figure out how to configure the remote. That is when I made my even more glorious discovery. I flipped to a page and saw three glorious letters on it... GNU... After a moment of complete shock I read more.

I quote from the "Operating Guide for 50VS69A 55VS69A and 62VS69A", "Your Hitachi brand digital television (the 'DTV') uses certain open source operating system software (the 'OS Software') distributed pursuant to GNU GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2 and GNU LESSER GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE Version 2.1, each as defined and published by the Free Software Foundation, Inc."

Among the list of software used are: Linux Kernal, busybox, dhcpdcd, ifupdow, net-tool, iptables, libstdc++5, glibc, libposixtime. Following this list it goes on to mention that if you would like to request a copy of the Source Code Modifications from HITACHI, please send an email to the following address: tvsoftwaresupport@hhea.hitachi.com. Following that, there is, in full, a copy of the GPLv2 and the GLGPLv2.1. That almost brought a tear of joy to my eye.

This TV has a serial port though I've yet to attempt to see if there is a console on it yet.

Anyway, I am posting this because I was amazed that after doing some Google searches it seems there is no mention of this on the web, nor is there a mention of it on Hitachi's site. I figured /. would want to know.

If I find anything exceptionally cool once I finally try the serial port I shall return to post my findings. If anyone else discovers or does something cool with this TV I would love to know about it.
The Internet

Submission + - The Pirate Bay Interview

An anonymous reader writes: Gottfrid "Anakata" and Peter "Brokep" from the Pirate Bay took place in Computer Swedens "hot seat" this week, where the readers asked them questions (Swedish) about their income, copyright infringement, Sealand and more. TorrentFreak translated the interview for all The Pirate Bay fans outside Sweden.

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