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Comment Re:Astronomers are so funny (Score 1) 302

According to F=ma, an object with negative mass would accelerate in the opposite direction of an applied net force. It's hard to visualize what that would mean... you try to throw the negative mass baseball and it goes the opposite direction you expect? How would it do that without going through the back of your hand?

Comment Re:Establishing a pattern here (Score 1) 435

Beyond arguments about when a jury *should* be allowed to find someone not guilty, there is the practical matter that they *can* do so without having to defend their decision to anyone. For better or worse, a jury can acquit for any reason. In the USA, once the acquittal is read aloud and the judge bangs the gavel, as far as I know, the defendant is protected from double jeopardy, even if the jury acted on a whim. The debate about the limits of a not-guilty verdict therefore carry no legal weight; only possible persuasive weight for future jurors.

Comment At least they told you they were spying on you (Score 1) 182

... If that practice is going out the window then my business just went out the window for them as well, and I'm certain I'm not alone.

I certainly understand your sentiment. I wonder where you will go as an alternative? Even if a competing service "refuses to back down", how can you be certain that your messages are not being intercepted? In this day and age, I think we all have to assume that anything we didn't encrypt ourselves is being read by somebody.

Advertising

What To Do About CC License Violations? 437

An anonymous reader writes "In the past, I've seen my pictures used by big commercial companies despite the Creative Commons license that clearly limits them to non-commercial use. I just let it slide because a friend who's a lawyer says that all I can do is sue. They've ignored emails and comments. Today, I saw two other examples that show this is pretty rampant. These big commercial corporations are some of the most tech savvy publications around, but they just grabbed the image. One, BoingBoing, even reprinted the 'non-commercial' clause, warning others to stay away. But they've got their ads from Cheerios, HP and Mazda running alongside. Does anyone care that we've gone to all this trouble to create new, more flexible licenses? Does it even matter when very smart people just flip the bird to the license? Is the only alternative to sue? I wouldn't mind asking for $150k and settling for $1 for each copy made, but that seems a bit crazy. I hate to type out DMCA notices but their attitude is that only uncool people complain about this and I should be happy about the publicity. Then they can be happy about not sharing their ad revenue with artists or photographers. What can I do?" Update: 08/30 18:39 GMT by T : (Very belated; mea culpa.) Cory Doctorow writes: "The anonymous submitter is not the creator of the photo. The creator of that photo is Jennifer Trant, a friend and colleague of mine who has no trouble with my use of her photo. I have just gotten off the phone with her and confirmed that she did not submit the story and also that she is happy to have this photo on Boing Boing." The photo has since been added back to BoingBoing.

Comment Re:I'd much rather... (Score 1) 636

The state's business is whatever the voters say it is. If you don't like what they're regulating, go vote for someone else.

This is known as "tyranny of the majority", and is terrifying to people who care about the rights of minorities and individuals. The "state's business" needs to be limited by a constitutional framework so that do-gooders and ignorant masses are kept from crushing any random eccentricity that rankles their sensibilities. Not that regulating TV commercial loudness is an example, but I had to respond to this odious assertion.

Television

"Loud Commercial" Legislation Proposed In US Congress 636

Hackajar writes "Have you ever caught yourself running for the volume control when a TV commercial comes on? Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA) has, and is submitting legislation that would require TV commercials in the US to stay at volume levels similar to the programming they are associated with. From the article: 'Right now, the government doesn't have much say in the volume of TV ads. It's been getting complaints ever since televisions began proliferating in the 1950s. But the FCC concluded in 1984 there was no fair way to write regulations controlling the "apparent loudness" of commercials.'"

Comment Re:How can this be legal? (Score 1) 176

I have never liked the idea that the US federal government can regulate content of public airwaves. By the same theory, it could regulate speech in newspapers that are delivered on public roads. Oh, but there's that pesky First Amendment that explicitly forbids that. Too bad the founders didn't know about electromagnetic waves.

Comment Re:According to Rush Limbaugh ... (Score 4, Insightful) 712

Rush Limbaugh does sound like a doofus when he tries to talk about science, but he is no racist. He consistently agrees with Dr King's ideal of judging people by the content of their character, not the color of their skin. Rush agrees with and supports people who agree with his political viewpoint regardless of skin color, and opposes those who disagree in like kind. A man who had a problem with black people would not let Dr Walter Williams guest host his show so often, would not interview Justice Clarence Thomas on his program, etc. It saddens me that politics has become so polarized that it is considered normal for people who never listen to Rush Limbaugh to "know" that he is a racist, plus get modded funny based on that smear.
Earth

Antarctic Ice Bridge Finally Breaks Off 505

GreennMann writes "An ice bridge linking a shelf of ice the size of Jamaica to two islands in Antarctica has snapped. Scientists say the collapse could mean the Wilkins Ice Shelf is on the brink of breaking away, and provides further evidence of rapid change in the region. Sited on the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula, the Wilkins shelf has been retreating since the 1990s. Researchers regarded the ice bridge as an important barrier, holding the remnant shelf structure in place. Its removal will allow ice to move more freely between Charcot and Latady islands, into the open ocean."

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