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26 Apr 2009 23:54

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U.S.: Barbara A. Ringer, the queen of fair use in copyright

  • The basic human rights of individual authors throughout the world are being sacrificed more and more on the altar of … the technological revolution.
  • Barbara A. Ringer • In a 1975 speech discussing the rights of authors in the use of content. It’s crazy, by the way, because it seems her comments would be even more relevant now than they were 34 years ago. Ringer, by the way, is the author behind the Copyright Act of 1976, which both gave copyright-holders more rights in retaining copyright and established the very fair use that allows us to quote this article from The Washington Post. She’s kind of our hero, and makes the Library of Congress seem vaguely awesome. • source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 23:11

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Tech: Here’s a collection of Windows error messages. (It’s huge.)

From Windows 95 to Vista, the history is long and depressing for Microsoft’s cash cow. BSODs ahoy! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 22:59

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Tech: Facebook will open up its platform to developers. Woo-hoo!

  • why? Right now, Facebook, everyone’s favorite pre-Twitter social networking site, is a walled garden. You can do some stuff in it, and it seems open, but you have to do everything within its interface. Twitter has gone out of its way to make the environment open for others, part of the reason it’s thriving. (That and Oprah.)
  • dangers Facebook’s opening of its garden to outside developers (which they’ll announce officially tomorrow) is mostly a good thing for users, but it’ll have to contend with people who have been burned by the service on issues ranging from privacy to design. Will users agree to yet another policy change? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 22:22

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U.S.: Cut cholesterol and keep your prostate cancer-free, all at once!

  • Researchers say statin drugs help old dudes in more ways than one. In a test of 2,447 older men, research showed that just 6% of all men using statin drugs, already shown to help prevent heart disease, got prostrate cancer. On the other hand, those who didn’t take statin drugs were three times more likely to get it. The rates are still preliminary, and more testing will be needed to confirm the claims, but hooray for research! source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 21:51

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Music, Offbeat: The PS22 Chorus: An “Eye of the Tiger” you can get behind

  • It’s official: This guy playing the guitar is the coolest teacher in the history of awesome. If only we had this teacher, we’d be less pathetic than we are. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 21:18

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Culture: Box-office: Obsessive “Obsessed,” sleepy “Soloist”

  • $28 million The box-office take of “Obsessed,” starring Beyonce Knowles and Ali Larter – big, but not huge, stars
  • $9.7 million The box-office take of “The Soloist,” starring Jamie Foxx and Robert Downey Jr. – huge stars source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 20:53

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Sports: This NASCAR race had it all: Crashes, injuries, and flying debris

  • 7 were injured when Carl Edwards’ car went flyin’ at Talladega source
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26 Apr 2009 11:46

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Culture, Tech: The young little prick in this family photo is Bill Gates

Little Billy was an annoying little hellraiser who grew up to be a rich supergenius. He was mean to his sister. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 11:38

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World: Tamil Tigers: We want a cease-fire. Sri Lanka: No.

  • cease In response to a severely weakened position as well as for humanitarian reasons, the Tamil Tigers have asked for a unilateral cease-fire. “We are in full agreement that the humanitarian crisis can only be overcome by declaration of an immediate cease- fire,” the group said.
  • surrender Despite thousands of people suffering and criticism from the UN, the Sri Lankan military says the Tigers must surrender. “They were not fighting with us; they were running from us,” Sri Lankan defense secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa said, calling the cease-fire offer a “joke.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

26 Apr 2009 11:22

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World: Thanks swine flu: In Mexico City, everything’s closed, even churches

  • We are all Catholic, so this is a big step. I guess I’ll have to come back later.
  • Johana Chavez • A 22-year-old who went to Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral to get confirmed, only to get turned away by federal police in blue masks. The policemen were there to prevent further spread of the swine flu that’s killed dozens and sickened over a thousand. Most other public places were closed in response to the outbreak, by the way. So, point to take from this: If swine flu hits, not even religion is there for you. • source
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