suec03's Comments (1634)

“Amen”

“Didn't a previous news article say the problem was that she had used a forum to make comments anonymously, and that the data set provided by Netflix provided the key to piercing the anonymity of several of the posters who were Netflix customers including herself? I expect she sued on behalf of herself and other Netflix customers whose identities were similarly compromised. She had to show how such a disclosure could cause her damage. She pointed out that as a closeted lesbian, she had been taking pains to prevent disclosures like the one Netflix made, due to concerns over ridicule or retaliation toward herself or her children by those with anti-gay prejudice, including employers, parents of her kids' friends, etc.”

“A previous news report said she filed suit using a Jane Doe pseudonym to protect her privacy. The issue was that Netflix provided a customer data base or data set to researchers or web developers, but did not use sufficient protections for privacy of customers. As a result those provided the data set were able to triangulate using other sources and discover the identities of several Netflix customers.”

“I thought a previous news report said she used a Jane Doe pseudonym in her lawsuit to protect her identity from public release. Remember Roe v. Wade? The plaintiff's name wasn't really Jane Roe. It was a pseudonym allowed by the court due to the plaintiff's privacy interest in an abortion case.”

“The short article says he was there for the Hanukkah menorah (hannukiah) lighting last week, but not present for Wednesday's Hanukkah dinner.”

“You may experience that if you try to read a major paper like the NY Times for free from its website. That is not the same as paying for an electronic edition of a regional paper and reading it on your computer. I switched to the E-edition of my regional newspaper. I shows me each page, complete with the ads, exactly as laid out in the print edition. I read it the same way as a printed newspaper. I see a horizontal section of the paper and can scroll up and down columns the way your eyes do when you read a printed paper. Since my computer screen can't show the entire page at once at readable type size, if I encounter a very long, multicolumn article, then I open that one before reading so it is reformatted. I read more than 60% of what is printed in my daily paper. I don't think I read any less than I did when it was printed. The e-edition also gives me all four regional versions of the local section of the paper. The weekly subscription price to the e-edition is much, much less than the subscription price to have a paper version of the daily paper thrown in my driveway. Although conversion to papers viewed online does cost the jobs of printers, delivery personnel, and customer service workers, it does save cutting down so many trees for newsprint and later loading up landfills with discarded newspapers.”

“Because courts outside the jurisdiction of the Ohio Supreme Court are not bound to follow this ruling, it would not serve as a precedent decision outside of Ohio. It may yet be appealed to the federal system. The US Supreme Court might well grant a writ of certiorari to review this case as resolving the issue would have a major impact on law enforcement agencies nationwide. Lawyers in cases before courts outside of Ohio could urge their courts to consider the majority opinion in the Ohio case for its persuasive effect if the majority opinion is well-reasoned, but that persuasive effect is undercut by the fact that the Ohio court split 5-4, which means there was not a strong sense of the court as a whole in favor of this interpretation of the law. I have not read the opinion. I do not know to what extent it relies on Ohio-specific precedents or whether it draws on cases nationwide to support the decision of the court. I hope the Ohio opinion is well written and well reasoned, to frame it in the best light for further review at the US Supreme Court.”

“Check the Environmental Working Group's online database at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to find out what ingredients are in your favorite lipstick and what risks they pose. You can also use the database to find less risky alternative brands.”

“HuffPost Editors: Please change headline on Technology main page to read that OHIO Justices have ruled that (in Ohio) police need a warrant to search a cell phone. Without clicking to the article, it can leave the impression that the US Supreme Court ruled on this. It will be interesting to see what happens when police agencies and prosecutors in Ohio take this case up to the US Supreme Court.”

“According to the Wikipedia article on the Ala Wai Canal, citing articles in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, in March 2006, heavy rains overwhelmed the city sewer system, causing a pressurized sewer line to break. According to the article, days later when the news of the sewage line break became public, Mayor Hannemann made the decision to divert 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal to prevent sewage backup into homes and hotels. The Ala Wai is a man-made canal with low water flow and could not flush out so much sewage. Warnings had to be posted. "This sewage then tainted Waikiki and the nearby beaches. leading to closure of the beaches for health reasons." The article says one person died of septic shock from exposure to the bacteria after falling into the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor.”

“According to review of B&N's Nook in January 2010 issue of PC World (just received), Nook users can also stop reading on the Nook and pick up where they left off on "select BlackBerry and Motorola phones with a free Barnes & Noble e-reader application."”

“Wait a minute... When you say "They are all like that," who is "They"? Al Gore is from Tennessee too (although he spent much of his childhood in Washington, DC). Poets Arna Bontemps and Nikki Giovanni hail from Tennessee. Actors Kathy Bates, Cherry Jones and Morgan Freeman were born in Tennessee. The Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin was born in Tennessee, as was famed singer Tina Turner. Artist Red Grooms is from Tennessee. True many of them gained fame after they left Tennessee. Be more specific. Did you mean white, male Republican politicians from Tennessee tend to be "like that"? Perhaps on that limited issue we could find agreement.”

“Good advice to consider meditation to help along with his treatments. As Rep. Johnson is one of two Buddhists in Congress, he may well already be heeding your advice to meditate.”

“Were you being ironic in calling Sen. Byrd a Republican? He is the longest serving Democrat ever in the Senate, and several years ago was Senate Majority Leader during a Democratic majority, the job Sen. Harry Reid has now. Rather than bashing Sen. Byrd, folks should look at where he started from and in what direction he is moving. He was elected to represent a coal producing state, but he relates to the miners and other residents as well. Maybe he can move some of the objectors along. He clearly is trying to convince them that global warming is a real issue. Don't condemn him. Remember that he also stands up for civil liberties and pulls out his well-worn copy of the US Constitution on the floor of the Senate to speak up when he thinks a President is violating the Constitution.”

“Yes, I know RTFA means "Read the BLEEPING article!," doesn't it? The use of the F is what made me think it was over the top, but I'm older.”

“Kashmir is outside the Mediterranean region and is north of Pakistan and India, isn't it? Maybe you meant the Mediterranean region, including Greece, and also in Kashmir?”

“Temsi: RTF post you are commenting on a few more times before you fly off the handle! Using the past tense "at 11:30 there just wasn't much on anyhow," balancedsolution's point was that Leno's reputation is based on the days when he used to be on at 11:30 PM. His/her point is that now that Leno is on at 10 PM against a variety of other choices (DVR, local news, dramas on other channels), it is clear Leno's value was only as an 11:30 PM show against other talk shows. However, balancedsolution misspelled "hawking." "Hawking" is trying to get people to buy your product; "hocking" is taking something down to the pawn shop as collateral for a loan.”

“Yes, note that it just says the employment downtrend will hit bottom in early 2010. There will be a lot of work to move back up the slope to get employment back up to the levels of the past. I am also concerned that some parts of the country may stop losing jobs in early 2010, while other parts of the country may take much longer to thaw out.”

“While saving up nuts for the winter seems like good advice, our economy continues to shed jobs. It is becoming more clear that the previous stimulus package was too small. The economy will need a further stimulus to get more people back to work so that they can pay their mortgages and their taxes and moderately and reasonably increase consumption (we can't use home equity as a piggy bank anymore). While individuals should try to save enough for an emergency cushion, right now the federal government should be stimulating the economy, not panicking and cutting spending. That would be repeating the error of 1937. Targeted spending to increase employment is what we need.”

“I wonder how many Martha Stewart fans are also Sarah Palin fans? I wonder if there will be a backlash by conservative viewers. Bravo to Ms. Stewart to feeling secure enough to say what she thinks. I am not surprised, as she has supported Democrats in the past.”

“San Diego? The zoo is in St. Louis, Missouri. I agree with you that the practice of moving animals from Arctic climates to the central midwest or Sunbelt states must be quite a shock to the animals acclimated to a snow and ice environment. I wonder if in the future we will have zoos of large HD flatscreens so we watch Arctic and Antartic species in the wild over monitors.”

“Did you notice that the Emperor reciprocated with the modern gesture of shaking hands with a slight bow toward President Obama? It also appears that the Emperor is older than President Obama, and our President is known to show polite respect to his elders.”

“Since President Obama was not bowing for the purpose of showing subservience, it was not a kowtow. When will we get it in the US that the Japanese royal family represents ancient tradition, and ancient tradition in Japan is to bow, not to shake hands. President Obama was showing respect, not subservience.”

“Guess the writer got hung up on the word "intercourse" and couldn't think past it!”

“A hook-up with a co-worker in the office where you work would be an INTRAoffice hookup. Hooking up with someone who works in an office somewhere ELSE would be an INTERoffice hookup. Let's be careful about choosing the correct word to express an idea, rather than using a word whose meaning is at odds with what we were trying to say.”