UK: ex-politician wrongly accused as pedo will sue tweeters who linked him to sex abuse

Xeni Jardin 8:30 am Mon Nov 19, 2012

Former Conservative Party treasurer Lord McAlpine was accused of pedophilia in a now-famous Newsnight broadcast that led to the ouster of the head of the BBC. McAlpine now says he plans to sue Sally Bercow, the wife of the Speaker of the Commons, and George Monbiot, a columnist for the Guardian, for tweeting his name after the television program was was broadcast. Snip:

Lord McAlpine's solicitor, Andrew Reid, said the "nasty" tweets would "cost people a lot of money", warning the guilty parties: "We know who you are."

He added: "Twitter is not just a closed coffee shop among friends. It goes out to hundreds of thousands of people and you must take responsibility for it.

"It is not a place where you can gossip and say things with impunity, and we are about to demonstrate that."

Google AI researcher Timnit Gebru fired after complaining of "aggressions and harassments"

Timnit Gebru, an AI ethics researcher at Google, was fired this week after sending an internal email complaining that marginalized voices at the company were being silenced. Google, for its part, claims that Gebru failed to follow Google's requirements for a paper submission and that she subsequently threatened to resign. Ms Gebru is a well-respected… READ THE REST
Modem noise spectrogram

Scotty H created this spectrographic animation of a classic dial-up modem's startup noise. Here's a breakdown, by Oona Räisänen, of what each section concerns: READ THE REST
Apple's head of security indicted in iPads-for-gun-licenses bribery case

Apple's Chief Security Officer Thomas Moyer was charged with bribery Tuesday after allegedly giving 200 iPads to local officials in exchange for concealed-carry gun licenses for Apple's security team. The Morgan Hill Times reports that others indicted included Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Undersheriff Rick Sung, Capt. James Jensen, and local businessman Harpreet Chadha, also… READ THE REST
This training can launch your new career in real estate management

At first, the thought of jumping into the real estate game after the world's year under the COVID-19 bubble could feel like a risky proposition. But, while the depressed economy might trigger fears of fewer business and residential customers, some prominent real estate investors say the current state has many properties selling at great prices,… READ THE REST
These 10 portable projectors will liven up your home theater

We're all usually overjoyed to add a new piece of technology to our galaxy of devices. But, once you've spent a lot of time with that new addition, it can start to lose some of its luster – and your eye starts wandering. Call it the 'seven-year itch' of technology. But considering how fast technology… READ THE REST
Skullcandy is serving up end-of-the-year deals on all of its top earbuds and headphones

Skullcandy has carved out an interesting lane for itself in the ultra-competitive audio earbuds and headphones market. Unlike the big business interests of most of their big-name corporate competitors, Skullcandy was born from a simple human moment. Sitting on a chairlift in Park City, Utah in 2003, Skullcandy founder Rick Alden couldn't take a call… READ THE REST