Coke declines to remove BPA from its aluminum can lining

Aluminum cans have to have a liner for sodas, otherwise the somewhat corrosive effects of the soda would eat through the can, which would not be a good thing. At their recent annual shareholder's meeting, a proposition to eliminate BPA from their liners was voted down. The reason? Cost. "It's too expensive!" [/whine] Totally ignores the fact that if Coke made this a requirement, the cost per unit would drop dramatically in a very short period of time.

But heaven forbid a slight lessening in quarterly profits!

http://www.grist.org/scary-food/2011-05-03-coke-bpa-and-the-limits-of-green-capitalism

Al Qaida admits OBL is dead

Didn't take as long as I'd expected.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/no-pictures-it-did-happen-al-qaida-confirms-osama-death/


In related news, possibly from intelligence gleaned from the trove gathered from OBL's compound, drone strikes resumed in Pakistan and Yemen. Yemen hasn't been hit in 9 years.

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2011/05/first-drone-strikes-since-bin-laden-raid-hit-pakistan-yemen/

The Department of Homeland Security asked Mozilla to remove a Firefox add-in

I can't say it any better than the Wired article puts it:

The Department of Homeland Security has requested that Mozilla, the maker of the Firefox browser, remove an add-on that allows web surfers to access websites whose domain names were seized by the government for copyright infringement, Mozilla’s lawyer said Thursday.

But Mozilla did not remove the MafiaaFire add-on, and instead has demanded the government explain why it should. Two weeks have passed, and the government has not responded to Mozilla’s questions, including whether the government considers the add-on unlawful and whether Mozilla is “legally obligated” to remove it. The DHS has also not provided the organization with a court order requiring its removal, the lawyer said.

The add-on in question redirects traffic from seized domains to other domains outside the United States’ reach. Since last year, the U.S. government has seized at least 120 domains in an antipiracy assault known as “Operation in Our Sites.” The domains are taken under the same federal statute used to seize drug houses.

If the government doesn't want me to have something, then I want it all the more. DownloadCount++, it's up to over 8000.

A government by the media, for the media, and of the media.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/firefox-add-on-redirect/

http://lockshot.wordpress.com/2011/05/05/homeland-security-request-to-take-down-mafiaafire-add-on/

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/11/05/05/2147225/DHS-Wants-Mozilla-To-Disable-Mafiaafire-Plugin-Mozilla-Resists


AND there's already been a fork of the MafiaaFire addin called Fireice:
https://addons.mozilla.org/da/firefox/addon/fireice/


Cory Doctrow wrote about DHS's Operation in Our Sites:
http://boingboing.net/2011/04/15/mafiaa-fire-a-firefo.html

Anonymous posts a response to Sony's accusation

Very nicely written.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/05/04/973151/-Anonymous,-Sony,-and-the-rule-of-law

http://games.slashdot.org/story/11/05/05/2229215/Anonymous-Denies-Sony-Claims-of-Disruption-Credit-Info-Theft

Court rules that browsing porn thumbnails is grounds for dismissal of teacher

As it happens, the teacher in question was also the head of a union, so his relationship with the district was not great.

"Here’s how the court described Zellner’s computer-use violation of November 2005:

First, Zellner disengaged the “safe search” filter. He then typed “blonde” into the Google search box. The search produced 20 “thumbnail” images, all of them pornographic, with links to more images within and outside the Google website. He then clicked to display the next 20 images. Zellner then clicked a link entitled “more of these” adjacent to images from www.ardentes.free.frblonde.com. When Zellner did so, another 20 pornographic “thumbnail” images were displayed on his monitor for a total of 17 seconds. Zellner did not click on any of the photographs displayed in his search. The entire incident took 67 seconds.

The appeals court said that 67 seconds was all that was necessary to be fired. It was unrelated to him being a vocal opponent of the district and making comments in the local press, the court said."

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/05/view-porn-be-fired/