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22 Apr 2010 20:43

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U.S.: Protip: Using black bar redactions on PDFs doesn’t really work

  • Mediaite broke it. DocumentCloud totally owned it. The Blago corruption court case hit a new high today after it was suggested that Obama might be implicated in the case. But this fact didn’t come out directly. It was actually redacted in this subpoena released today. However, a glitch in the PDF software they used to make the document made the redacted statement very easy to read. Which gave the boys at DocumentCloud a chance to show off their mad skillz. Check ’em out. They’re pretty awesome. source

22 Apr 2010 20:30

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Politics: Evangelist says controversial things about Islam; Pentagon freaks

  • You can’t beat your wife. You cannot murder your children if you think they’ve committed adultery or something like that, which they do practice in these other countries. I don’t agree with the teachings of Islam and I find it to be a very violent religion.
  • Evangelist Franklin Graham (son of Billy Graham, who’s still kicking) • Regarding the Islamic religion. He said these statements in an a CNN interview last year, and now they’re being thrown in his face as the Pentagon is blocking him from taking part in National Day of Prayer events at the large, pointy mecca (whoops, wrong choice of word) hub of the Department of Defense. Just think of it this way, Frankie: At least radical Muslims didn’t suggest you’d be killed for your controversial statements, like Trey Parker and Matt Stone. source

22 Apr 2010 20:13

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Tech: Microsoft’s great quarter not amazing; Wall Street whines loudly

  • +6% Microsoft’s boost in sales this quarter, a new record for the company
  • +35% Microsoft’s rise in income this quarter, great but not eye-popping
  • -4.5% fall in share prices after the news; where’s the love, guys? source

22 Apr 2010 11:22

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Biz: Lehman Brothers hearing: Who is this bad@$$ at the podium?

  • William Black here just got his teeth out and threw some knowledge out on the SEC, Lehman Brothers, and the financial system in general. He calls the problems that caused Lehman’s decline a “self-fulfilling policy of regulatory failure.” Why isn’t this guy like, running an agency? This is seriously a star turn here. source

22 Apr 2010 11:13

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U.S.: Protip: Don’t take a tribe’s DNA and do all willy-nilly with it

  • ethical Arizona State University takes DNA from the Havasupai Indians to help with research into high rates of diabetes for the tribe.
  • unethcial The school uses the DNA for many other unrelated studies, and now the school is paying the tribe lots of money. source

22 Apr 2010 11:07

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U.S.: One California county could be a big loser due to pot legalization

  • $500 million yearly from illegal pot manufacturing source

22 Apr 2010 11:00

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Biz: Why is there a push to cut back on salt in foods, anyway?

  • 2,300 the number of milligrams of salt dietary guidelines recommend
    you eat daily
  • 3,200 the number of milligrams of salt people actually eat daily; see the problem here? source
  • » Putting it in manufacturers’ hands: The Institute of Medicine released a report about this on Tuesday, which the FDA may use to set limits for how much salt can be in certain foods. The food industry is complaining about this: “It is a very complicated, technical challenge for our food scientists to execute this,” said General Mills vice president Susan Crockett. “What you want to do is reduce the sodium so the taste is good enough and the consumer doesn’t add salt with the shaker.”
 

22 Apr 2010 10:49

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Tech: Bill Gates thinks the iPad is merely “okay,” but not great

  • It’s okay. The scenarios aren’t that clear. But it’s good looking. [Steve Jobs] does good design, and [the iPad] is absolutely a good example of that.
  • Bill Gates • Discussing the iPad yesterday, in blunt terms. The former Microsoft CEO and Chairman has a history of being a straight-shooter when he needs to be, but has also praised Steve Jobs in the past for his ability to save Apple (and then some). But dude doesn’t think the iPad is gonna change the world. source

22 Apr 2010 10:39

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U.S., World: Happy Earth Day or something. It’s 40 years old today.

The New York Times (of course) has a killer timeline on the environment, and Earth Day’s role within that history. source

22 Apr 2010 10:31

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Tech: Is Facebook’s “Like” button a bid for world domination?

  • Some seem to think it’s great. Others think Mark Zuckerberg overestimates his own service. Yesterday’s Facebook announcements were nothing short of epic, showing how Zuckerberg was able to turn his site into a link-servicing platform which allowed for a wider number of sharing opportunities. PC World’s Peter Smith makes a good point, however: Lots of people see Facebook as a time-waster, not a game-changing superplatform. Our opinion: If they can get us traffic, we don’t care what Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion of it is. source