Slashdot Mirror

The Globe and Mail also reported this story in today's paper. I think it is interesting that Shaw is attempting to use new privacy laws to protect the people in question. If the courts rule in favour of the ISPs, it will set a good precedent.

Another political prisoner, held without charges, access to lawyers, or consular staff was recently released by his captors too.

Cause we all know that no one innocent was ever held in Guantanamo, right?

The original story was about an Australian busted for the 419 scam. This one is about a Canadian man being nabbed for it.

In October, a shopping mall devoted to 1960s-and-earlier nostalgia opened in Tokyo, The New York Times says. Ichome Shotengai (District 1 Shopping Area), which attracts the elderly, has been doing booming business in an otherwise flat Japanese economy. "Increasingly, young people are turning up to gawk at the artifacts of a world they never knew -- boxy televisions that play tapes of the original black-and-white shows, beauty salons with posters of big, beehive hairdos and public telephone booths with rotary dial phones. In a country where almost everyone under 30 owns a cellphone, it is not uncommon to see young people step into the booths unaware that the caller has to turn the dial to operate the old phones."

A couple of years ago I heard a story on All Things Considered that was about a gentleman who had opened what is basically a free/open repository of genome info on families with autism.

Here is a Globe and Mail article on autism which mentions the genetic database and the people who started it if you are interested.

I'm totally serious. There's a brief test at the end of this Globe and Mail article on the autism explosion and the apparent geek link.

Interestingly enough, I received an AQ of 12 (below the average of 18), meaning I'm more well-adjusted than "normal" people. Rather amusing I thought. :-)

As the commentary intimated, the spread of autism cannot be accounted for genetically since autistics rarely have children. (source: comprehensive Globe and Mail article on this very subject)

Hmm, I posted this story with an article in the Globe and Mail yesterday and got rejected, but "ce la vie".

Here is my slashdot commentary on the article with the direct link to the Globe and Mail article (also in my sig).

Here is the Globe and Mail article entitled: Is there a 'geek' syndrome?. The title points out that parents with a technical background are far more likely to produce autistic children. Some studies have shown that parents of autistic children are twice as likely to be engineers. Rather alarming. The article also features an "autism quotient" quiz to determine the prominence of ones autistic traits.

So while calorie balance is the ultimate arbiter, it is far from the whole story. Possible issues include:

One big issue that I think you missed is nutrient starvation. Most food in the standard american diet is really only a good source of calories and sodium. The food is processed until there's virtually nothing left. Hybridization, genetic engineering, shipping, and declining soil fertility are also combining to make the raw material foods less nutritious than they used to be. I'm convinced that we crave food after our caloric needs have ben met partly because our other needs have not been met.

-personal differences. If you are a Pima Indian, you have a 50% chance of diabetes by age 30 if you eat a typical American diet.

You're completely right. Unfortunately, the Pima aren't unique...they're only the most shocking example. The numbers are slightly lower but the epidemic is the same for the rest of the population of the US too...especially among certain ethnic populations.

Unfortunately none of this should be particularly mysterious. Much of what we're seeing was predicted and explained by a scientist in the 1930s. His work had many many shortcomings, but the evidence and conclusions should have been compelling enough to drive much more research than it ultimately did. Sad but true.

A recent Globe and Mail article on the subject is here.

"Synergies": dot.com-speak for "We don't know what the hell we are going to do next".

Don't believe me? Look at Margaret Wente's commentary on BCE's chair resigning at the Globe and Mail, Michael Posner's comments on Vivendi's fall from grace, and perhaps most damagingly, a recent NYT comment (registration, blah blah).

One problem is that 'content driving distribution' ends up looking like trying to play monopoly (in general terms, not the board game), especially when the 'synergistic' entity restricts content competition on distribution channels. Remember the ABC cable fiasco from a couple of years ago, when they wouldn't let one channel show up on people's tv screens?

Another is not restricting access to avoid the public/governmental response outlined above: where's the 'synergy'? If there is no 'synergy', why bother?

AOL-TW is just the biggest failure, not the only one. And to be honest, the prospect of seeing this kind of 21st century 'new' mercantilism fail actually doesn't bother me a whit.

"Synergies": dot.com-speak for "We don't know what the hell we are going to do next".

Don't believe me? Look at Margaret Wente's commentary on BCE's chair resigning at the Globe and Mail, Michael Posner's comments on Vivendi's fall from grace, and perhaps most damagingly, a recent NYT comment (registration, blah blah).

One problem is that 'content driving distribution' ends up looking like trying to play monopoly (in general terms, not the board game), especially when the 'synergistic' entity restricts content competition on distribution channels. Remember the ABC cable fiasco from a couple of years ago, when they wouldn't let one channel show up on people's tv screens?

Another is not restricting access to avoid the public/governmental response outlined above: where's the 'synergy'? If there is no 'synergy', why bother?

AOL-TW is just the biggest failure, not the only one. And to be honest, the prospect of seeing this kind of 21st century 'new' mercantilism fail actually doesn't bother me a whit.

Just in case you thought Dmitry Skylarov was the only one dealing with this sort of thing...

Land of the free my ass.

For example: Canada's Globe & Mail

Other English-language news sites still responding quickly:
-- The [Toronto] Globe and Mail
-- The Sydney Morning Herald
-- The [Hong Kong] South China Morning Post

There isn't a person alive on this planet that even remotely has the qualifications to say that ABC and XYZ are affecting our planet's climate in 123 way.

When you think about it, that kind of causal information isn't the most important thing when it comes to evaluating environmental change, although it certainly would help in slowing the changes that are in fact occurring. There are people who are qualified to point out that some kind of climate change is actually happening, mostly indigenous peoples who have been living at the poles for generations.

A very good series on global climate change can be found here: Does Humanity Have A Deathwish?.

The thing that most folks who don't want to come to terms with global climate change always say is that there is no data to suggest that in fact it's us that is causing the climate change, that, in fact, climate change is occurring naturally as part of the earth's cycle.

But, even if that is true, why should we be contributing to accelerating that natural cycle? Why not do everything we can to slow the cycle to its least possible rate of change? Our generation and even our children's may not feel the effects of climate change, but if you think that your grandchildren (and yes you may be alive to see this happen, but you'll be a senior citizen and as we can see today, nobody listens to seniors) will have the same habitat as we do today, think again....

As Einstein said, the level of thinking that solves the problems must by definition be greater than the level of thinking that created the problems (paraphrased).

Actually it is covered by the C anadian Copyright Act. S ection 31 covers Retransmission. This is half out of the jurisdiction of the CRTC. I say half because they have influence over the Broadcasting Act.

Retransmission of local signals
(2) It is not an infringement of copyright to communicate to the public by telecommunication any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work if
(a) the communication is a retransmission of a local or distant signal;
(b) the retransmission is lawful under the Broadcasting Act;
(c) the signal is retransmitted simultaneously and in its entirety, except as otherwise required or permitted by or under the laws of Canada; and
(d) in the case of the retransmission of a distant signal, the retransmitter has paid any royalties, and complied with any terms and conditions, fixed under this Act.

The Globe and Mail has a number of articles on iCraveTV that give a better explanation of the court date and give a thorough background on Mr. Craig.

The information I have read is conflicting over whether this is a Canadian company or a company based out of Pittsburgh.

Checking with NSI it looks like their domain is registered in Pittsburgh.

Registrant:
WILLIAM R. CRAIG CONSULTING (ICRAVETV-DOM)
904 Beaver St
SEWICKLEY, PA 15143
US

Domain Name: ICRAVETV.COM

Administrative Contact:
REGISTRAR, DOMAIN (DR13484)
dom@ACEMAIL.COM
416 410 6245X33 (FAX) 416 410 6245
Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
WILLIAM R. CRAIG CONSULTING (WR948-ORG) no.valid.email@WORLDNIC.NET
412 741 8139
Billing Contact:
WILLIAM R. CRAIG CONSULTING (WR948-ORG) no.valid.email@WORLDNIC.NET
412 741 8139

Record last updated on 24-Nov-1999.
Record created on 26-Oct-1999.
Database last updated on 29-Jan-2000
01:24:44 EST.

Domain servers in listed order:

NS1.ACEMAIL.NET 205.207.26.2
NS2.INTERLOG.COM 207.34.202.6

Here's a funny editorial cartoon from the Globe and Mail.

Here's a funny editorial cartoon from the Globe and Mail.

The WSJ article was just plain stupid...

The version I read in the Globe and Mail was pretty terrible: it had a worrisome headline, ("Linux not quite up to snuff") six generally accurate and positive paragraphs, but its author obviously ran out of brains before column-inches, misquoting the study as has already been demonstrated.

I think this was a case of "balance": if something's good, we have to say something bad about it. Unfortunately, they said the wrong things, because they didn't understand what the study was telling them.

The Wall Street Journal ("WSJ") is a "journal" (diary) about Wall Street. It is very popular with people who trade stocks and invest -- indeed, it is more popular in some circles than the National Enquirer. Unfortunately, WSJ isn't printed in English, and doesn't offer home delivery.

I have no idea if it's a good movie or not, though. :-)