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Comment Re:Should X be paid for by taxes? (Score 1) 861

"As an added bonus, you are completely free to purchase a composting bin and/or create a backyard compost pile on your private property"
1) Pretty much nobody in San Francisco owns their property.
2) Nobody in San Francisco has a back yard.
3) Pretty much everyone in San Francisco (that I know) if absolutely fine with the composting rules and are glad that the city is progressive in their handling of waste.

Image

Former Military Personnel Claim Aliens Are Monitoring Our Nukes 498

An anonymous reader quotes Reuters "Witness testimony from more than 120 former or retired military personnel points to an ongoing and alarming intervention by unidentified aerial objects at nuclear weapons sites, as recently as 2003. In some cases, several nuclear missiles simultaneously and inexplicably malfunctioned while a disc-shaped object silently hovered nearby. Six former US Air Force officers and one former enlisted man will break their silence about these events at the National Press Club and urge the government to publicly confirm their reality." I won't worry until Gort shows up.
Music

Judge Lowers Jammie Thomas' Damages to $54,000 390

An anonymous reader writes "Judge Michael Davis has slashed the amount Jammie Thomas-Rassett is said to owe Big Music from almost $2,000,000 to $54,000. 'The need for deterrence cannot justify a $2 million verdict for stealing and illegally distributing 24 songs for the sole purpose of obtaining free music. Moreover, although Plaintiffs were not required to prove their actual damages, statutory damages must still bear some relation to actual damages.' The full decision (PDF) is also available."

Comment Not Cutting Edge Law (Score 2, Informative) 103

The federal rules for civil procedure (FRCP) were updated in 2006 to address issues like this. Part of the FRCP is what guides production formats during civil suits. A lot of state courts are now using the FRCP as a guide for developing their own standards with regards to management of electronic data for legal purposes. This is the rule, pretty clear. http://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/Rule34.htm

Previously if you have 10,000 emails you could just print them out to loose piles of paper and turn over boxes (sometimes 100s of boxes) of paper to opposing counsel. After 2006 there is a default that the other side of a lawsuit is entitled to the documents in the same format they are kept in the course of business. This includes meta data and it is specifically mentioned in the FRCP. Most lawyers will make agreements during their discovery conferences (aka 30b6) to agree to production formats that both sides won't find unduly burdensome.

Space

New Map Hints At Venus' Wet, Volcanic Past 118

Matt_dk writes with this excerpt from Space Fellowship: "Venus Express has charted the first map of Venus' southern hemisphere at infrared wavelengths. The new map hints that our neighbouring world may once have been more Earth-like, with a plate tectonics system and an ocean of water. The map comprises over a thousand individual images, recorded between May 2006 and December 2007. Because Venus is covered in clouds, normal cameras cannot see the surface, but Venus Express used a particular infrared wavelength that can see through them."

Comment Re:This should be a lesson... (Score 1) 780

Smart move; I applaud your initiative.

You are both setting yourselves up for a fall.

If your company is ever sued one of the first things that will happen is the legal department will start going through your records retentions policies. Things like: destroy all deleted data from backups after two weeks, etc. They will relay this information to the rest of the parties involved. Do you know how poorly the court takes it when they find out a year into a litigation that there is a secret stash of backed up data...*any data you were supposed to report on* that you didn't disclose?

I'd have fired you.

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