Johann Hari It can be right to discriminate against the religious: related news

Johann Hari: It can be right to discriminate against the religious

Johann Hari: It can be right to discriminate against the religious - Commentators - Independent.co.uk">Digg It

The End of Gamers

Think of all the things you can do with a photograph. You can document the atrocities of war, as photojournalists sometimes do. You can record fleeting moments in time, as did documentarians like Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Frank. You can capture the ordinary moments of family life, as many people do at birthday parties or holidays for an album or shoebox archive. You can take a snapshot reminder of a home improvement project in order to buy the right part at the hardware store. An automated street intersection photograph can capture license plate for future ticketing, and a pornographer can capture a nude body for future titillation.

Why ISPs' "Stand" Against Child Porn Is Actually Not a Stand Against Child Porn

TechDirt has an insightful article on the recent push for ISPs to turn off Usenet access under the guise of fighting child pornography. Unfortunately, the "stand against child porn" isn't actually a stand at all, it seems more like ignoring the issue while trying to snag some headlines and good will. "Taking a stand against child porn wouldn't be overly aggressively blocking access to internet destinations that may or may not have porn (and there's no review over the list to make sure that they're actually objectionable). Taking a stand against child porn would be hunting down those responsible for the child porn and making sure that they're dealt with appropriately... Also, this sets an awful precedent in that the ISPs can point out that it's ok for them to block "objectionable" content where they get to define what's objectionable witho

How Does RSS Work? What Can I Do With RSS?

Really Simple Syndication feeds can be extremely useful! The purpose of RSS is to regularly update your hobby interests by receiving dynamic web feeds directly to your screen. Examples include: tracking DVD prices at Amazon, watching for cheap airfares, following the Don Imus controversy. You can get the latest gossip on Anna Nicole Smith's baby, receive the latest wallpaper from your favorite web photographer, or follow the NHL hockey playoffs. You can get the joke of the day or the quote of the week. You can even get barbecue recipes! There are so many interesting things you can do with RSS. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

The limits of iPhoto slideshows

I have iPhoto ’06 and find that I can create a marvelous slideshow, but I can’t do anything with it—cannot post to MobilMe, can’t drag to my iDisk, can’t drag to my Desktop. If I want to share it, it seems the only thing I can do is export my photos to iMovie and create a mini-movie with my still photos, and then save it and hope my PC friends can see it.

Real-World 3G Monthly Cost With Taxes and Fees?

Kristl writes "I have called AT&T and walked into several AT&T stores to ask 'How much will an AT&T phone plan cost per month with taxes and fees and everything?'. No one can answer this question. They are evasive and become testy when I push them on it. Their answer is they can't tell me what the government is going to charge me as the fees can vary month to month, but I've been an AT&T customer for several years, and my taxes and fees have not varied more than a dollar in all of that time. So I question them: 'Can you just tell me what the taxes and fees will be for a 3G plan in California that has the basic calling plan, basic data plan, and the basic text plan?' I even do the math for them, that's $75. Okay AT&T, what are the taxes and fees on $75? Oh, they can't tell me that, as the taxes and fees can vary from month to month.

Johann Hari: The fake criticisms of Chavez – and a smattering of real ones, part I

Johann Hari: The fake criticisms of Chavez – and a smattering of real ones, part I - Commentators - Independent.co.uk">Digg It

Johann Hari: Why is science allowed to wither in our schools while faith swells?

Johann Hari: Why is science allowed to wither in our schools while faith swells? - Commentators - Independent.co.uk">Digg It

'Flu Vaccination' Protects Bacteria Against Virus

Bacteria – like people animals and plants – can become infected by a virus. Researchers at Wageningen University, together with colleagues from England and the United States, have unravelled a mechanism with which bacteria can defend themselves for a longer period against threatening viruses. Over the long term, this research offers possibilities to protect bacteria used in industrial processes against viral infections by giving them a 'flu vaccination'.

Protect Your Children Against Cyber-Bullying: Parry Aftab Speaks Out Against Cyber-Crime at Girl Scout Event

Protect Your Children Against Cyber-Bullying: Parry Aftab Speaks Out Against Cyber-Crime at Girl Scout Event

Protect Your Children Against Cyber-Bullying: Parry Aftab Speaks Out Against Cyber-Crime at Girl Scout Event

Protect Your Children Against Cyber-Bullying: Parry Aftab Speaks Out Against Cyber-Crime at Girl Scout Event

15 great, free privacy downloads

One of the worst privacy invaders the world has ever seen is the Internet. When you surf, Web sites can find out where you've been and can gather other information about you. Trojan horses and spyware can snoop on you. Key loggers can capture your keystrokes as you type. Eavesdroppers can steal your passwords.

Perl and the Practical Systems Administrator

Systems administrators are very busy people. Sometimes a bit of common sense programming can go a long way toward eliminating some of the repetitive tasks associated with systems administration. Perl can be used to automate many recurring tasks. AccountCheck is an example Perl script that automatically checks for problems that can occur when user accounts are made and deleted without every necessary step being completed. Partially created or deleted accounts can be a security hazard, acting as hidden doors to let intruders enter a system. Most systems have such hidden doors. This Perl script checks for all the common types of errors that can occur. It checks the following:

Can A Company Ban Retailers From Selling Its Products On eBay?

Right on the heels of the awful court decision in France saying that eBay can be barred from selling even legitimate products, it appears some companies in England are shooting for a similar ruling. Jon Pyser writes in to let us know that a bunch of baby stroller companies in the UK are pushing hard to stop retailers from selling their legitimately purchased products on eBay. Effectively, they're trying to put EULAs on baby strollers suggesting that the retailer buyers don't actually have the right to resell what they've legally purchased. Not only is this questionable from a legal standpoint, it's dumb from a business standpoint. A healthy secondary market for products increases the value of the product itself, since buyers intrinsically recognize the potential resale market in determining the value of purchasing the original.

Zumobi Launches Its Widget User Interface For BlackBerry Devices

imageZumobi, which has created an ad-supported user interface using widgets, said its BlackBerry application is now officially available. In addition, the Seattle company said it has new widgets from NPR, AP Olympics report, Major League Baseball, Facebook, Twitter (pictured) and from the blog “BlackBerry Cool”. Users can register and download for the app from either online or from the phone at http://get.zumobi.com. Once the application is downloaded, users can pick 16 widgets that can be viewed from the homepage. To view tiles, users can zoom into quadrants or individual widgets. From the Twitter tile, users can write, read or reply to tweets. An ad at the bottom from Comedy Central is the sponsor. Zumobi, which was spun off from Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT), already has a Windows Mobile app, but has a lot of competition, the largest of w

Can bat, can bowl, can't write

All too few top-level players have the writing skills to match. So why are they increasingly making inroads into the cricket media?

Right To Play Calls on Olympians to Support Online Auction

Olympic memorabilia and sports gear from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. In the ultimate show of sportsmanship, Olympians are donating items they hope will raise money in support of Right To Play programs. Right To Play is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills and foster peace for children and communities around the world. The auction, powered by Lenovo, can be found at www.righttoplay.com/athleteauction.

How Can Nerds Make a Difference In November?

Scott Aaronson offers an intriguing call for ideas on how nerds can supercharge the political process this year. He's clearly an Obama admirer and phrases his challenge this way: "What non-obvious things can nerds who are so inclined do to help the Democrats win in November?" But the question itself is not inherently partisan. The analogy Aaronson gives is to the Nadertrading idea in 2000 (which we discussed at the time). What's the Nadertrading for 2008? "The sorts of ideas I'm looking for are ones that (1) exploit nerds' nerdiness, (2) go outside the normal channels of influence, (3) increase nerds' effective voting power by several orders of magnitude, (4) are legal, (5) target critical swing states, and (6) can be done as a hobby."

Life-extending Protein Can Also Have Damaging Effects On Brain Cells

Proteins widely believed to protect against aging can actually cause oxidative damage in mammalian brain cells, according to a new report in the July Cell Metabolism, a publication of Cell Press. The findings suggest that the proteins can have both proaging and protective functions, depending on the circumstances, the researchers said.

How Social Bookmarking Can Be Used For An Online Business

The Internet offers tons of strategy that you can implement to further improve your online business. Aside from the usual SEO concepts that you can find on the Internet, you can also use other methods that will increase the chances of success for your venture -- like social bookmarking.

Researchers Discover The Gene That Can Cause Suicide

Researchers Discover The Gene That Can Cause SuicideThe Researchers that discovered a connection of some specific genes with suicide, affirmed that this research can help in development of effective treatments for many mental disorders. The group of researchers led by Michael Poulter of the Robarts Research Institute at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ont. and Hymie Anisman of Carleton's Neuroscience Research Institute at Carleton University in Ottawa, compared the brains of people who committed suicide with the brain of people who died from heart attacks or natural causes. Researchers discovered the proteins that can chemically modify DNA directly. The study showed the presence of high quantity of a particular protein in the brains of people who committed suicide.

ARTIST'S RESALE RIGHT

That this House congratulates the Government on successfully introducing the Artist's Resale Right in 2006; notes that under the new right the Design and Artists Copyright Service has so far collected more than £5.2 million on behalf of more than 1,500 artists, who have now received royalties with an average payment of £501 per work of art; believes this has strengthened the flourishing British art market by supporting struggling artists; and considers that the right should be extended to the estates of deceased artists as soon as possible without extending the current derogation beyond 2010.

New DNA Weapon Against Avian Flu Identified

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a potential new way to vaccinate against avian flu. By delivering vaccine via DNA constructed to build antigens against flu, along with a minute electric pulse, researchers have immunized experimental animals against various strains of the virus.

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