04 Jul 2005
Owner of the Word Stealth 'Protecting' Rights

Let's see, what word would I like to trademark? How about "bullshit"? That oughta generate some royalties....

Just when you thought ownership of intellectual property couldn't get any more absurd: The New York Times is reporting that the word 'Stealth' is being vigorously protected in all uses by a man who claims to exclusively own its rights.

(link) [Slashdot]

00:00 /Copywrongs | 0 comments | permanent link

Agricultural antibiotic use contributes to 'super-bugs' in humans

Well, doh! Bacteria neither know or care where they're at or what they're infecting - their job is to survive, and they'll do whatever it takes to overcome obstacles to their goal. Breeding resistance to them is a bad idea from a human perspective, no matter if it's in cattle, pigs or people.

A paper published in the open access journal PLoS Medicine discusses evidence suggesting that antibiotic use in agriculture has contributed to antibiotic resistance in the pathogenic bacteria in humans.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

00:00 /Agriculture | 0 comments | permanent link

Noncitizen soldiers: the quandaries of foreign-born troops

I linked a site the other day that argued that the US was beginning to resemble classical Rome on the cusp of the transition from republic to empire. One of the hallmarks of the Roman Empire was the use of Roman citizenship to lure young men from conquered territories into the legions...

There are proposals that we formalize a policy of this sort: see this column by Max Boot for an overview of the arguments.

Immigrants with green cards risk their lives not just for advancement within the Army, but for a leg up on the road to US citizenship.

(link) [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories]

00:00 /Politics | 0 comments | permanent link