Random News Stories

[Junkenstein]

Goood news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22895161

Human genes may not be patented, but artificially copied DNA can be claimed as intellectual property, the US Supreme Court has ruled unanimously.

The court quashed patents held by a Utah-based firm on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

The opinion said DNA came from nature and was not eligible for patenting.

The US biotechnology industry had warned any blanket ban on such patents would jeopardise huge investment in gene research and therapies.

"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in Thursday's opinion.

But his ruling said that synthetic molecules known as complementary DNA can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring".

[Reginald Ret]

Goood news:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22895161

Human genes may not be patented, but artificially copied DNA can be claimed as intellectual property, the US Supreme Court has ruled unanimously.

The court quashed patents held by a Utah-based firm on two genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

The opinion said DNA came from nature and was not eligible for patenting.

The US biotechnology industry had warned any blanket ban on such patents would jeopardise huge investment in gene research and therapies.

"We hold that a naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated," Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in Thursday's opinion.

But his ruling said that synthetic molecules known as complementary DNA can be patented "because it is not naturally occurring".

Very cool!

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Yay, that's rad!

[Trivial]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/211690051.html  My home state is getting very stupid.

[Reginald Ret]

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/purple-wisconsin/211690051.html  My home state is getting very stupid.

What the fuck.

[Junkenstein]

Another odd article from the BBC. I say odd, I mean poor attempt at propaganda.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22947160

More than 400,000 people were caught watching TV without a licence in 2012.

By caught, they mean "were sent a letter"

it's breaking the law to watch live television without a licence so anybody doing this risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000."

Worth noting that the only evidence ever used to convict anyone of this offence is their direct confession. No other evidence will actually secure a conviction. The "detector vans" seem to be a hoax.
http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2008/10/31/bbc-admits-that-tv-d.html

I've certainly never seen one, nor met anyone who has.

I have seen and met the bargain basement bailiffs that TV licensing employ. From what I witnessed, I think the main qualification was knowing what a TV looked like.

[Junkenstein]

Oh this is good:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22951654

Leaders at the G8 summit have agreed to "stamp out" ransom payments to terrorist groups, UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced.

Up to $70m (£45m) is estimated to have been paid to free Western hostages in the last three years - an average of $2.5m (£1.9m) for each captive.

Downing Street said a "very strong" declaration was expected.

Mr Cameron called on private firms to follow the G8's example and refuse to pay ransoms to kidnappers.

Much of the money handed over is thought to go to terror groups including al-Qaeda and its affiliates, and the Taliban.

The announcement comes after the International Maritime Bureau said piracy - including hostage-taking - on the West Coast of Africa, had overtaken the level experienced off Somalia, on Africa's east coast.

But it added that at least 78 people were still being held captive by Somali pirates.

Cain, I'd appreciate your take on this. I'm guessing it's largely bullshit posturing. Part of me thinks that they're trying to set up a no-negotiation stance for when Syria(Or where-ever) goes really bad and there's international hostages of all flavours. It is a recession after all, and £2 million a head gets pricey. A lot quicker and cheaper to mail a condolences card with a compensation cheque. Sounds like fucking terrible news for journalists, among many other professions.

[Cain]

Usually it's the private firms who pay out anyway, and kidnapped government officials are not normally done for financial reasons in the first place. 

I'd have to look into it more, though - ransom kidnappings are not my forte.

[Junkenstein]

Military personnel would fall under the government purse though. It's not hard to think of a situation where you've got soldiers as hostages either. Just seemed a little off to me.

[Cain]

Yeah, but normally if you're going for an easy profit, there are softer targets than soldiers.  In fact, practically anyone is a softer target. 

Usually, you kidnap soldiers for show trials, or for pressure to release prisoners, not as a financial goal.

[Junkenstein]

This is why I'm not a global threat yet.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22954505

More Phone hacking, Naughty newscorp as usual.

[Junkenstein]

Somewhat related:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-22965046

Afghanistan has suspended talks with the US to discuss the nature of US military presence after foreign troops withdraw in 2014.

A spokesman for President Hamid Karzai said the decision was taken over "contradictions" in the US proposal of direct talks with the Taliban.

Mr Karzai also ruled out talking to the Taliban until the peace process was "Afghan-led".

Earlier, four US soldiers died in a Taliban attack at an Afghan air base.

A spokesman for the Taliban said the militants had launched two rockets at Bagram airbase, the largest military base for US troops in Afghanistan.

The attack came just hours after the US announced it would open direct talks with the Taliban at their office in the Qatari capital, Doha.

A condition for the talks was for the Taliban to renounce violence. However, US President Barack Obama did not make a ceasefire part of the preliminary negotiations.

With the timing, I'd almost think this to be a deliberate slight. Everyone must have been briefed on everyone's likely reactions.

[Telarus]

I noted this story just before the above story broke. Coincidence? Nah.

http://thehill.com/blogs/defcon-hill/policy-and-strategy/305991-corker-blocks-afghan-war-funds-over-cia-ghost-money-to-karzai-government-

[Junkenstein]

Nice find. Not heard the term "ghost money" before. Seems a long way to say "bribe"

[Junkenstein]

While we're waiting for his teeth go go missing and find out that he had taken more substances than Black Sabbath, have this:

(Put down any drinks)
http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/national/news/10497663.Publisher_agrees_payout_to_psychic/

The publisher of a national newspaper(DAILY MAIL) has agreed to pay "substantial" damages to a psychic after an article suggested she had "perpetrated a scam" on a theatre audience, a High Court judge has been told.

Associated Newspapers had apologised to Sally Morgan - who sued for libel after the article was published in the Daily Mail in September 2011 - and also agreed to pay her legal costs, Mr Justice Tugendhat heard.

At a High Court hearing in London, the judge was told Mrs Morgan was a psychic who had become well-known through appearances on television and in the theatre.

Graham Atkins, for Mrs Morgan, told the court his client was a psychic who had become well-known in the last five years or so.

"She has performed in over 600 shows in more than 100 different theatres or venues to audiences stretching into the hundreds of thousands," Mr Atkins told the judge.

"It was following a theatre performance in September 2011 in Dublin that an article appeared in the Daily Mail which, in the context of a general attack on psychics as being charlatans, accused Mrs Morgan specifically of having used a hidden earpiece during her performance in order to receive instructions from her team which she then repeated on stage as if she had received them from the spirit world."

He added: "The article thereby suggested that Mrs Morgan had deliberately and dishonestly perpetrated a scam on her audience in Dublin."

Yes Folks, UK Courts are taking Psychics being upset seriously. And what's even stranger is that a Judge ruled against the Daily Mail. Even stranger is the ton of other articles claiming exactly the same thing (Hot-reading with earpieces). This should get amusing.