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Comment This is an uphill battle (Score 1) 641

I do not envy Mr. Weaver in this case. IANAL but as I understand Canadian libel law, not only must he prove false claims were made, he must also prove they did damage to his reputation. So he will essentially be required in open court to trash himself.

In addition, I believe this sort of lawsuit is counter productive. I agree that the science should stand on its own, and now, despite his lawyers claims that the libel has 'gone viral,' the supposedly libelous story will witness a new level of exposure.

Also, according to the article, he is suing the paper, three writers and will attempt to sue commentors on the paper's website. I say to him, good luck.

Comment Some more resources (Score 1) 165

The article doesn't mention http://www.sharedtalk.com/ - a free service offered by Rosetta Stone that allows you to chat via text or voice with other people. You enter your native languages and practicing languages, and find people to talk to. Works quite well.

I've been meaning to get through some more rosetta stone mandarin lessons...

If you're interested in mandarin in particular, this guy also has some cool info including a list of the 3000 most used characters, ranked by how common they are. Supposedly 3000 is the magic number for reading your average Chinese newspaper. http://www.zein.se/patrick/3000char.html

Comment Re:So...IPv6 then? (Score 1) 326

As hard as it is for this crowd to hear, Microsoft is very much synonymous with technology for those who have no clue. Unfortunately, many of those people still hold a great deal of sway in the `real world` of politics and corporations.
If I was the US military realizing I had no control over the internet and freaking out, the next best way I can think of to dominate global communication again is to create my own, slightly different internet, where the differences are mostly to do with the level of control I have over it.
Then all I need to do is get everyone else to start using my network, and a good way to start is with the big corporations whose interests already somewhat align with my own.

whoops, forgot I had that foil hat on, never mind

Comment Mod Parent Up (Score 1) 647

Mod parent up. This is exactly right. Hundreds of accidents are caused every day by perfectly sober people who are just terrible drivers to begin with. Why should I be held to a higher standard because I was actually a better driver at some previous point. Shouldn't the definition of acceptable safety be uniform across the board?
Medicine

Submission + - Psychopaths have brain structure abnormality (examiner.com) 4

mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Psychopaths-have-brain-structure-abnormality A group of scientists have identified a structure in the brain of psychopaths that is abnormal when compared to controls. The change is found in the uncinate fasciculus, a bridge of white matter that connects the amygdale (emotion/aggression brain region) and the orbitofrontal cortex (decision making region). Interestingly, the greater the abnormality in the region, the more severe the levels of sociopathy in a subject. A researcher on the team suggests the finding could have considerable implications in the world of criminal justice, where such scans could presumably be presented as evidence in a trial.

Comment Re:Wind Could NOT Provide 100% of World Energy Nee (Score 1) 867

Is this a joke? I remember laughing in high school physics about the absurdity of electrolysing water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then recombining it again in an attempt to have a net gain of energy from the process. It would be a perfect solution if not for that pesky first law of thermodynamics.

Comment Re:Slashdot (Score 2, Funny) 1397

There is a lab at school with about 30 boxes all running scientific linux but each one is named after a different distro... kubuntu, fedora, yellowdog etc etc. Why? I suppose someone thought it would be funny to those in the know and confusing as hell to anyone trying to learn linux. Took me a few days even.

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