This paper boldly challenges the long established misconception that the catastrophic failure of expensive software projects is detrimental to society. Historical analysis of bureaucracies such as the Australian Tax Office shows that massive software automation has not increased their real efficiency since the 1950s. Any increase in the efficiency of individual workers has simply been consumed by increased bureaucratic complexity, as predicted by Parkinson's law. As the primary net effect of software is to facilitate bureaucratic complexity it is therefor essential that software projects fail if society is to function effectively. In this way the heavy burden of guilt can be lifted from the shoulders of the numerous project managers that have subconsciously devoted their careers to ensuring that projects rarely, if ever, succeed.
What, exactly, is Rupert Murdoch thinking? First, he announces that all of Newscorp's websites will erect paywalls like the one employed by the Wall Street Journal (however, Rupert managed to get the details of the WSJ's wall wrong - no matter, he's a "big picture" guy). Then, he announced that Google and other search engines were "plagiarists" who "rip off" Newscorp's content, and that once the paywalls are up (a date that keeps slipping farther into the future, almost as though the best IT people work for someone who's not Rupert "I Hate the Net" Murdoch!) he'll be blocking Google and the other "parasites" from his sites, making all of Newscorp's properties invisible to search engines. Then, as a kind of loonie cherry atop a banana split with extra crazy sauce, Rupert announces that "fair use is illegal" and he'll be abolishing it shortly.
It's finally happened! He's sneaked a laser into orbit and will melt the world unless he gets a million billion trillion dollars! He's holed up under Antarctica surrounded by henchmen in orange jumpsuits! We're all going to die! And I never told you that I loved you. Get a grip. World domination is obviously his long-term goal, but the builders haven't finished grouting the shark tanks. So far he's only declared war on . . .The BBC, for using public money to undercut independent journalism?
It's finally happened! He's sneaked a laser into orbit and will melt the world unless he gets a million billion trillion dollars! He's holed up under Antarctica surrounded by henchmen in orange jumpsuits! We're all going to die! And I never told you that I loved you. Get a grip. World domination is obviously his long-term goal, but the builders haven't finished grouting the shark tanks. So far he's only declared war on . . .
The BBC, for using public money to undercut independent journalism?
PC World: Google and French Wire Service Settle Lawsuit (April 7, 2007)
The AFP and Google have signed a licensing agreement that grants Google permission to use AFP news and photos, the AFP said Friday in a news release. AFP sued Google in March 2005, alleging that Google broke the law by including, without permission, AFP material in Google News, a site where Google aggregates links, text snippets and thumbnail photos of articles from thousands of media outlets. In its defense, Google argued that the Google News site is protected by the fair use principle, which allows for limited use of copyright material, and that headlines, text snippets and thumbnail images aren't protected by copyright.
AFP sued Google in March 2005, alleging that Google broke the law by including, without permission, AFP material in Google News, a site where Google aggregates links, text snippets and thumbnail photos of articles from thousands of media outlets.
In its defense, Google argued that the Google News site is protected by the fair use principle, which allows for limited use of copyright material, and that headlines, text snippets and thumbnail images aren't protected by copyright.
you are the media you consume.
Unkind, but more probable than a win for News Corp(se).
The row over the sacking of Professor David Nutt is, it seems, rumbling on nicely with this exchange between Evan Harris and Alan Johnson in regards to the accuracy, or otherwise, of comments made by Johnson in his statement to the House of Commons: The exchange contains this classic example of politician, Johnson, answering the question he'd have preferred to have been asked, not the one he was actually asked:
The row over the sacking of Professor David Nutt is, it seems, rumbling on nicely with this exchange between Evan Harris and Alan Johnson in regards to the accuracy, or otherwise, of comments made by Johnson in his statement to the House of Commons:
The exchange contains this classic example of politician, Johnson, answering the question he'd have preferred to have been asked, not the one he was actually asked:
To Index on Censorship and English PEN it has become increasingly clear that English libel law and the use of `super-injunctions' are having a profoundly negative impact on freedom of expression, both in the UK and abroad. Writers such as Simon Singh, and respected current affairs programme Newsnight, have found themselves facing defamation suits, whilst human rights campaigners are often forced to edit and retract articles in the face of potential libel action.
no change, not now or ever probably. there's far too much money protecting the status quo. keep to the Fen Causeway
Max Mosley, the former president of Formula One's governing body FIA, is to challenge the law of privacy in the European court of human rights in Strasbourg.Mosley, whose private sexual practices became news in July last year, says the £60,000 damages he received from the News of the World is not an adequate remedy. He wants editors obliged to contact the subject of their revelations before publishing articles that could invade privacy.
Max Mosley, the former president of Formula One's governing body FIA, is to challenge the law of privacy in the European court of human rights in Strasbourg.
Mosley, whose private sexual practices became news in July last year, says the £60,000 damages he received from the News of the World is not an adequate remedy. He wants editors obliged to contact the subject of their revelations before publishing articles that could invade privacy.
In the Bloomsbury branch of Waterstone's, I am trying to find a quiet seat to read Tacitus's account of Seneca's suicide when I come across something more diverting. A customer is asking an assistant to explain the baffling price deal on Hilary Mantel's Booker-winning novel Wolf Hall."I'm confused," she says. "It says here that if I spend more than £10 I can have the book for £8.99." That would be a good deal: the recommended retail price (RRP) for the hardback is £18.99. But there is a problem. "I only want to buy this book and nothing else. Does that mean I'll have to pay the full price, £18.99?""I wish they wouldn't do that," the assistant says. "They shouldn't have deals that are so confusing it takes more than a minute to explain."
In the Bloomsbury branch of Waterstone's, I am trying to find a quiet seat to read Tacitus's account of Seneca's suicide when I come across something more diverting. A customer is asking an assistant to explain the baffling price deal on Hilary Mantel's Booker-winning novel Wolf Hall.
"I'm confused," she says. "It says here that if I spend more than £10 I can have the book for £8.99." That would be a good deal: the recommended retail price (RRP) for the hardback is £18.99. But there is a problem. "I only want to buy this book and nothing else. Does that mean I'll have to pay the full price, £18.99?"
"I wish they wouldn't do that," the assistant says. "They shouldn't have deals that are so confusing it takes more than a minute to explain."
LONDON - For the first time brands will have the content of their websites policed by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) under plans to extend the regulator's remit to include all 'online marketing'.
We at EFF, like the public at large, are often left in the dark about what the government's practices in this area look like. However, sometimes -- just sometimes -- the fog will clear and we'll get a worrisome picture of what the government gets up to behind closed doors. Sometimes this happens when an independent-minded judge publishes an opinion revealing the government's practices, like the judge that first revealed that the government was tracking cell phones without warrants. Other times, someone served with an SCA demand such as a National Security Letter comes to us for legal assistance. Recently, one such recipient of an SCA demand did come to us, and we're glad she did. The story of that subpoena -- to the administrator of www.indymedia.us, an independent activist news site aggregating stories from Indymedia web sites across the country -- provides yet another example of how government abuses breed in secrecy. Hopefully this analysis will be helpful to other online service providers who receive such bogus requests masquerading as valid legal process. 2. The Subpoena to Indymedia On January 30th, 2009, Kristina Clair of Philadelphia, PA -- one of the system administrators of the server that hosts the indymedia.us site -- received in the mail a grand jury subpoena from the Southern District of Indiana federal court. The FBI had sent an email to Ms. Clair a couple of weeks earlier asking where a subpoena directed at the indymedia.us site should be sent. So, we at EFF were ready and waiting to evaluate the subpoena as soon as it arrived. Yet even we were surprised at what we saw. A PDF of the entire subpoena is available here.
Recently, one such recipient of an SCA demand did come to us, and we're glad she did. The story of that subpoena -- to the administrator of www.indymedia.us, an independent activist news site aggregating stories from Indymedia web sites across the country -- provides yet another example of how government abuses breed in secrecy. Hopefully this analysis will be helpful to other online service providers who receive such bogus requests masquerading as valid legal process. 2. The Subpoena to Indymedia
On January 30th, 2009, Kristina Clair of Philadelphia, PA -- one of the system administrators of the server that hosts the indymedia.us site -- received in the mail a grand jury subpoena from the Southern District of Indiana federal court. The FBI had sent an email to Ms. Clair a couple of weeks earlier asking where a subpoena directed at the indymedia.us site should be sent. So, we at EFF were ready and waiting to evaluate the subpoena as soon as it arrived. Yet even we were surprised at what we saw. A PDF of the entire subpoena is available here.
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Women's careers are being stymied by more than a glass ceiling. Bosses believe women have more family-work conflict, which is a misconception that is holding them back, according to new research. And it's not just male managers who have the wrong idea. "These perceptual biases held for both male and female managers," Jenny Hoobler, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her co-authors said. "Even though female employees actually reported slightly less family-work conflict than their male counterparts, their managers still perceived them as having greater family-work conflict, a perception that had significant implications for women's organizational advancement." Hoobler and her co-authors, Sandy Wayne and Grace Lemmon, ironically found than problems often emerged as a result of company-sponsored programs meant to assist workers in managing family-work conflict. Their findings, published in the The Academy of Management Journal, showed that employees participating in such programs may send the wrong signal to their managers, particularly that they have family demands and need assistance in balancing home and work domains.
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Women's careers are being stymied by more than a glass ceiling. Bosses believe women have more family-work conflict, which is a misconception that is holding them back, according to new research.
And it's not just male managers who have the wrong idea.
"These perceptual biases held for both male and female managers," Jenny Hoobler, of the University of Illinois at Chicago, and her co-authors said.
"Even though female employees actually reported slightly less family-work conflict than their male counterparts, their managers still perceived them as having greater family-work conflict, a perception that had significant implications for women's organizational advancement."
Hoobler and her co-authors, Sandy Wayne and Grace Lemmon, ironically found than problems often emerged as a result of company-sponsored programs meant to assist workers in managing family-work conflict.
Their findings, published in the The Academy of Management Journal, showed that employees participating in such programs may send the wrong signal to their managers, particularly that they have family demands and need assistance in balancing home and work domains.
Following eight years of a relatively business-friendly administration in Washington, D.C., companies can expect to be under the microscope as the Barack Obama administration gears up to look into alleged patterns of discrimination and other potentially litigious issues, according to attorneys who gathered at a North Jersey labor and employment law conference sponsored by regional law firm LeClairRyan.... "President Obama has increased funding for staffing at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and is adding labor economists who will be looking for [trends that indicate] systemic discrimination patterns," said Judy Keenan, a trial attorney with the New York District office of the EEOC who served as a panelist at the LeClairRyan conference. "So companies that use credit checks or even criminal background searches as part of the employment process may be reviewed to see if their investigative actions have a disparate negative racial or gender-based impact." The EEOC is also looking into alleged cases of wage discrimination, where employees who engage in similar work are paid differently according to their nationality, Keenan said. The EEOC is also looking carefully at severance or separation agreements -- where a company provides an involuntarily terminated employee with cash or other benefits in return for the employee's agreement not to sue over the layoff, Keenan said.
"President Obama has increased funding for staffing at the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and is adding labor economists who will be looking for [trends that indicate] systemic discrimination patterns," said Judy Keenan, a trial attorney with the New York District office of the EEOC who served as a panelist at the LeClairRyan conference. "So companies that use credit checks or even criminal background searches as part of the employment process may be reviewed to see if their investigative actions have a disparate negative racial or gender-based impact."
The EEOC is also looking into alleged cases of wage discrimination, where employees who engage in similar work are paid differently according to their nationality, Keenan said.
The EEOC is also looking carefully at severance or separation agreements -- where a company provides an involuntarily terminated employee with cash or other benefits in return for the employee's agreement not to sue over the layoff, Keenan said.
A Brazilian student who was expelled from university for wearing a short dress has been readmitted.Bandeirante University, a private college in a suburb of Sao Paulo, reversed its decision, following a public outcry and government criticism. Videos of people jeering and swearing at the student, Geisy Arruda, have circulated widely on the internet. They show the 20-year-old being led off by security guards on 22 October with a long, white coat covering her dress.
A Brazilian student who was expelled from university for wearing a short dress has been readmitted.
Bandeirante University, a private college in a suburb of Sao Paulo, reversed its decision, following a public outcry and government criticism.
Videos of people jeering and swearing at the student, Geisy Arruda, have circulated widely on the internet.
They show the 20-year-old being led off by security guards on 22 October with a long, white coat covering her dress.
Commenting on news that there have been three more resignations from the Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, in the wake of the sacking of its Chair, Professor David Nutt, Liberal Democrat Science Spokesman Dr Evan Harris MP said; "The latest resignations represent a deepening in the crisis of confidence of scientists in the Government - in particular, in the Home Secretary. That they come after Alan Johnson met the ACMD demonstrates that he just doesn't get it when it comes to the importance of respecting the academic freedom and integrity of independent, unpaid, science advisers
"The latest resignations represent a deepening in the crisis of confidence of scientists in the Government - in particular, in the Home Secretary. That they come after Alan Johnson met the ACMD demonstrates that he just doesn't get it when it comes to the importance of respecting the academic freedom and integrity of independent, unpaid, science advisers
The Vatican may be a little closer to deciding how it deals with the tricky problem of extra terrestrial - and most likely non-Catholic - life forms, as it wraps up a conference on astrobiology this week. The Vatican Observatory has been running a "joint study week" on Astrobiology this week together with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. The Vatican has been already deemed 2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy, with the Pope kicking off proceedings last December by saying what a standup guy Galileo was, and musing on the pagan origins of the Roman cityscape.
The Vatican may be a little closer to deciding how it deals with the tricky problem of extra terrestrial - and most likely non-Catholic - life forms, as it wraps up a conference on astrobiology this week.
The Vatican Observatory has been running a "joint study week" on Astrobiology this week together with the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
The Vatican has been already deemed 2009 to be the International Year of Astronomy, with the Pope kicking off proceedings last December by saying what a standup guy Galileo was, and musing on the pagan origins of the Roman cityscape.
If an inept or abrasive boss is ruining your workday, you may be taking that stress to heart, literally. New research links having a poor supervisor to a higher risk of heart attack, and that's not all: people who don't like their managers also take more sick leave. The findings, which come from surveys of thousands of employees in Europe, don't prove that bad bosses cause illness and heart problems, the report's author said. And the findings regarding heart attacks only look at men.
Couple Sues AARP | Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato | 10 Nov 2009
The suit, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims that James and Allison Halpern purchased an AARP Medical Advantage Plan in March 2008, after receiving an advertising packet touting it as a "primary insurance plan." The couple dropped their old health insurance policy. But after Allison Halpern was diagnosed with breast cancer, they learned their new plan only provided limited coverage, and would not pay for the cost of a crucial surgery. According to the complaint, AARP's advertising materials did not indicate that the health plan only provided limited coverage. AARP suspended sales of the policies earlier this year when Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) opened a congressional investigation into their marketing.
According to the complaint, AARP's advertising materials did not indicate that the health plan only provided limited coverage. AARP suspended sales of the policies earlier this year when Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) opened a congressional investigation into their marketing.
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AARP royalties Buns of Steele inefficient subsidies Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
