interesting things
A judge on Tuesday voided the approval for construction of the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, which has been opposed by critics of Islam.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/30/us/tennessee-judge-rescinds-approval-of-new-mosque.html
After years of work, backers of the sweeping Cybersecurity Act of 2012 say they’re eager for Senate debate on the bill, but divisions over privacy and regulation show little sign of abating.
This was supposed to be the bill that got everyone on board. But its sponsors are back at the drawing board with Republicans, who say the bill would create too much government regulation; and with civil-liberties groups and some Democrats, who say the proposal could run roughshod over privacy laws.
The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has introduced broad cybersecurity legislation annually for the past several years, with little to show for it. Orchestrated by Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., a multi-committee, bipartisan working-group process was supposed to break the stalemate and deliver an omnibus bill.
via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/daily/cybermess-security-bill-is-nowhere-near-being-signed-20120529
Mitt Romney officially won the Republican nomination Tuesday in the Texas primary, the Associated Press reported, a coronation for the man who essentially secured the party’s nod two months ago.
Romney went into Tuesday with 1,086 convention delegates, according to an Associated Press tally, just 58 short of the 1,144 necessary for a majority. Texas has 155 delegates at stake.
Romney said in a statement after results had been returned, “I am honored that Americans across the country have given their support to my candidacy and I am humbled to have won enough delegates to become the Republican Party’s 2012 presidential nominee. Our party has come together with the goal of putting the failures of the last three and a half years behind us. I have no illusions about the difficulties of the task before us. But whatever challenges lie ahead, we will settle for nothing less than getting America back on the path to full employment and prosperity. On November 6, I am confident that we will unite as a country and begin the hard work of fulfilling the American promise and restoring our country to greatness.â€
With all of Romney’s main rivals having left the race, the outcome in the Texas primary was never in doubt. The former Massachusetts governor did not bother to campaign in the Lone Star State this week.
via Homepage http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/romney-wins-texas-to-become-official-gop-nominee-20120529
An article by Joel Whitney asserts that The Paris Review was “a covert international weapon of soft power.”
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/salon-article-rekindles-debate-about-paris-review-and-c-i-a/
In a pair of articles at GigaOM, David Galbraith shares some lessons from building Wists, a visual bookmarking site that was a precursor to Pinterest. In part one, he describes how the site came about:
I get too much credit for RSS and for Yelp, but the one thing that I can unashamedly claim to have invented is visual bookmarking, and more specifically the “choose images to thumbnail via a bookmarklet” method that Pinterest is based on. It’s not much of an “invention” per se. It’s a moronically simple thing, but it’s the right moronically simple thing. And given that more than one billion dollars rests on the idea, maybe it’s worth looking back at its history.
In part two, he talks about the rise of grid sites:
Although a seemingly trivial distinction, grid sites have their distinct advantages and disadvantages over linear ones. They look pretty, but require scanning in two directions. This is not good for news, where you need to understand the timeline at a glance. However, for scanning thumbnails, a grid is particularly efficient. But even then, the success of such image-rich sites as Tumblr made people think that the river worked for everything. I suspect the key UX component of Tumblr’s success is the ease of sharing or reblogging. Also, in such a heterogeneous text/image environment, you can’t just have a grid.
I disagree strenuously with David about the importance and utility of grids for visual sites…using Pinterest for more than a few seconds makes me want to smash things.
Tags: David Galbraith  Pinterest  Wists
via kottke.org http://kottke.org/12/05/a-short-history-of-image-bookmarking
OSLO (Reuters) – Opera Software would cost Facebook over $1 billion as competition from Google and others could push up the price tag, analysts said on Tuesday, as takeover talk pushed the shares up as much as 26 percent on Tuesday. Oslo-listed Opera, coveted for its advanced mobile phone software technology, would be a perfect fit for Facebook but the firm’s business is also vital for some of the industry’s biggest players so any bid is likely to attract others to the table. “Opera would be sensible for Facebook on several levels,” Arctic Securities said. …
via Yahoo! News – Latest News & Headlines http://news.yahoo.com/facebook-could-pay-over-1-billion-opera-analysts-102648522–sector.html
Publicity rights, trademarks, libel, unfair competition … a suit over the 2008 film “Soul Men” had it all. Ultimately, the film studio beat the musician in a nasty fight with big implications for Hollywood.
via Hollywood Reporter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/weinstein-sam-moore-lawsuit-330072?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Fnews+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Top+Stories%29
In a new book, Chen Xitong denies years of accusations that he turned Deng Xiaoping against students and then played a key role in organizing the military assault.
via NYT > Most Recent Headlines http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/world/asia/former-beijing-mayor-speaks-of-tiananmen-crackdown.html
ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – The Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden faced accusations of corruption and other wrongdoing long before he was captured by Pakistani intelligence agents and then jailed for 33 years for treason. In interviews over the weekend, several current and former Pakistani officials described the doctor, Shakil Afridi, as a hard-drinking womanizer who had faced accusations of sexual assault, harassment and stealing. They said his main obsession was making easy money. …
via Yahoo! News – Latest News & Headlines http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-pakistan-doctor-bin-laden-case-called-corrupt-013819138.html
We’ll show you the money — or at least a plan for making some.
After commanding big bucks from investors and enlisting legions of users, the next generation of tech startups is focused on revving up the revenue engine. Companies like Foursquare, Tumblr and Pinterest have all in recent weeks…
via NY Post: Business http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/ca_flow_flash_Bvdhq5iw8W7X1HHW3OHlbK?utm_medium=rss&utm_content=Business