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Totally honest question here, jedicus, and something I really don't understand. The primary manner in which Myriad has wielded its patent has been to exclude competitors from offering tests for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. To perform such a test, however, it is not necessary to synthesize or even utilize in any way the DNA molecules themselves. You merely need to know the sequences of the molecules, and compare them to the sequence of the DNA in an individual. This seems in substance very... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by mr_roboto at 8:45 PM on June 13, 2013

I never trusted this guy
posted to MetaFilter by nightwood at 4:35 PM on June 14, 2013

The Verizon FISA request applied to all communications "between the United States and abroad" and "wholly within the United States".

He's muddying the waters badly by mislabelling that surveillance as "PRISM". But the Verizon leak certainly does indicate that for domestic phonecall metadata collection there is very definitely a there there.... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by We had a deal, Kyle at 11:37 AM on June 14, 2013

Stockman’s office hand delivered a letter Tuesday afternoon to the Committee’s office requesting a subpoena “of all records of every phone call made from all public and private telephones of all IRS personnel to all public and private telephones of all White House personnel” collected under the NSA’s recently-revealed PRISM program.

It's good to see that Stockman is actively working to maintain his stature as one of the dumbest members of Congress.
posted to MetaFilter by nightwood at 10:43 AM on June 14, 2013

I just think its a funny way to say that--highlights the fact that this man took these documents to the geopolitical rival of the United States--a geopolitical rivial with near zero freedoms and an all-pervasive survelliance state. They don't listen to your telephones there. They bug your homes.

Someone plainly knows nothing about Hong Kong, which has rule of law based on British law. If the HK authorities bug anyone's home or tap anyone's phone they... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Mister Bijou at 9:22 AM on June 14, 2013

The foreigner angle is aimed at pacifying the US media and their public. Unfortunately, as an Indian national, who uses Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft services and products all the time, this is a poor consolation to me – in fact, these revelations of the last week would unnerve and alarm every single individual who is not a citizen of the US.

Over the years, companies like Google have created an aura that they are true multinational firms. They deal in services... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by infini at 9:12 AM on June 14, 2013

Wait a minute, there's nobody left to watch.
posted to MetaFilter by infini at 8:51 AM on June 14, 2013

Chi-coms? Are you channeling Rush Limbaugh?
posted to MetaFilter by JackFlash at 8:04 AM on June 14, 2013

Throughout the whole gene patenting issue, I still haven't shaken how really odd it is to me that this is debated in terms of patent law in the first place - I get why it is, because we use the legal tools we have, but it's still weird that the biological makeup of humans was ever even on the table as a patentable thing. It's just.. always been there, in human bodies, for the whole existence of the species. Most of us owned a copy before it was ever discovered. It's an... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by jason_steakums at 4:23 PM on June 13, 2013

The toxicology report will be used to bolster Zimmerman's credibility in that it will corroborate his statement "Looks like he was on drugs" during the 911 call.

I would *love* to hear Zimmerman explain his professional training in making that assessment.
posted to MetaFilter by mikelieman at 11:47 AM on June 13, 2013

what should he have done at that point? I doubt that many will dispute that Zimmerman shouldn't have been there at the first place, but in the question of murder, I suspect that this doesn't matter (note: I'm not a lawyer).

IMO, this is one of those "if you get in over your head then tough shit" situations. If you start a fight, and it turns on you and you use deadly force, then you should somehow still be in the wrong... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by emptythought at 10:57 AM on June 13, 2013

Not at all. It really depends on how the actual fight started (i.e. if Zimmerman threw the first punch, then Martin certainly had a right to defend himself).

From Martin's POV, he was being followed by a suspicious man in a truck, who then got out of the truck and accosted him. It seems to me that there can be no claim to self defense on Zimmerman's part because he drove everything that happened up to the altercation. He singled Martin out, he... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 10:54 AM on June 13, 2013

Just because Zimmerman should have never been talking to Martin in the first place doesn't mean he lost the right to defend himself.

But that implies that Martin had no right to defend himself. There was no altercation without Zimmerman starting it, pursuing it, and bringing it to Martin.

I don't see how Zimmerman can pick a fight with a stranger, shoot them, and then claim self defense.
posted to MetaFilter by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 10:16 AM on June 13, 2013

So there were picture on Trayvon's cell phone of him with a gun. Can't black kids be strong proponents of the 2nd amendment? These same folks who look at Wayne LaPierre as a hero for arming himself think that it's damning that a black kid just has a picture of a gun.

Racism, anyone?
posted to MetaFilter by leftcoastbob at 9:12 AM on June 13, 2013

"you could probably kill somebody” with a bag of Skittles and a can of iced tea.

Mayor Bloomberg agrees.
posted to MetaFilter by gyc at 8:08 AM on June 13, 2013

What ROU_Xenophobe said. Lots of people in the U.S. seem to think "hispanic" means "brown-skinned and of central or south American origin." In fact, hispanic means "having an origin relating to Spain or Spanish-speaking countries.

I have a friend who was amused at how she magically changed race when she moved to the US, from white to "Hispanic". Her family is from South America, but they are considered white in their home country.
posted to MetaFilter by jb at 8:04 AM on June 13, 2013

Race and "wannabe cop" aside, if you are a neighborhood watch officer and you're armed and an unarmed person ends up dead, you are in the wrong.
posted to MetaFilter by zzazazz at 7:39 AM on June 13, 2013

From what I can tell the idea behind submitting the cell phone pictures is to prove that Zimmerman was justified in his belief that all black kids are dangerous drug addicts.

From what I can tell, this "evidence" has nothing to do with winning at trial -- the defense surely knew it would never be admitted -- but with winning at PR.
posted to MetaFilter by Slothrup at 6:58 AM on June 13, 2013

So the prosecution is hoping to use those cell phone pictures to prove that sharing one gun with two other friends makes you a "lil hoodlum" while constantly packing heat with the intent of accosting and murdering a minor makes you a hero? Good luck with that

From what I can tell the idea behind submitting the cell phone pictures is to prove that Zimmerman was justified in his belief that all black kids are dangerous drug addicts.
posted to MetaFilter by shakespeherian at 6:46 AM on June 13, 2013

Racial profiling nothing. "George Zimmerman" sounds like the name of a white guy with Germanic or Jewish heritage, not Hispanic. To be honest, a year later, I just now found out that he's Hispanic, and I imagine a lot of people are in a similar boat.

That Zimmerman has some Spanish ancestors doesn't really change the "white man shoots defenseless black boy" angle, as far as I'm concerned.
posted to MetaFilter by explosion at 6:27 AM on June 13, 2013

while many believe the shooting, subsequent police inaction, and even the court actions had racial undertones - given Martin was black and Zimmerman Hispanic

I don't think this is why people believed that there were racial undertones--I mean, most people didn't know that Zimmerman was Hispanic at first. All we knew initially was that an unarmed black kid was shot and killed, and the person who did it wasn't even charged with a crime or arrested. All... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by MisantropicPainforest at 6:21 AM on June 13, 2013

Huh, I didn't know you could do that. At my trial, I request the judge not to use these words:

guilty
prison
jail

and is required to use these words:

innocent
incredibly handsome
charming
definitely Presidential material
posted to MetaFilter by DU at 6:21 AM on June 13, 2013

Washington Post, "Court ruling against gene patents may open BRCA breast cancer tests to more women, experts say":

Hours after the ruling, one company — DNATraits, part of Houston-based Gene By Gene, Ltd. — said it would offer BRCA gene testing in the United States for $995 — less than a third of the current price.

Additionally, Ambry Genetics has just announced that they will immediately add BRCA1 and BRCA2 to their breast cancer... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 1:42 PM on June 13, 2013

How many genomics researchers (researchers, not clinicians) had Myriad sued or threatened to sue?

I appreciate that Myriad only went to far to monetize the IP it was granted, but the relevance or importance of a law is often larger than the apparent lack of belligerence by any one party at any one point in time.

We have laws so that everyone plays by the same set of rules, not just for Myriad today, but also for some... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Blazecock Pileon at 1:15 PM on June 13, 2013

I was pretty delighted to see the decision that natural genomic DNA is not patentable, and that it was unanimous. It's really too bad the Court swallowed the cDNA argument whole though. The information in naturally occurring mRNAs is indistinguishable from their cDNA copies. They are wrong that the natural production of cDNAs by viruses or their incorporation into the cell is rare. At least this leaves the door open to strike down a cDNA patent based on the demonstration that the cDNA does exist... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by grouse at 1:07 PM on June 13, 2013

It is the very nature of the act of discovery that something must exist before one can discover it. By your logic, nothing discovered can ever be new, so the act seems to contain an inherent contradiction.

On can "discover" a new method of doing something (for example, chaining carbon atoms or whatever) that results in a new composition, which can presumably then be patented. This ain't that.

The "new" in... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sys Rq at 12:34 PM on June 13, 2013

So SCOTUS has effectively invalidated 30,000 patents today? Excellent!
posted to MetaFilter by jeffburdges at 12:35 PM on June 13, 2013

It is also notable that the Court's decision flagrantly ignores the plain language of the Patent Act. "[Myriad] found an important and useful gene, but groundbreaking, innovative, or even brilliant discovery does not by itself satisfy the §101 inquiry."

Section 101: "Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful ... composition of matter ... may obtain a patent therefor ...". (emphasis added).

The Court admits... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Sys Rq at 12:25 PM on June 13, 2013

"Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful ... composition of matter ... may obtain a patent therefor ...".

The Court admits Myriad discovered the claimed DNA molecule (i.e. the gene was a new discovery, as required by § 101). The Court admits the claimed DNA molecule is useful. The Court admits the claimed DNA molecule is a composition of matter. Thus all of the requirements of § 101 are, in fact, met.

Except... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by Kirth Gerson at 12:13 PM on June 13, 2013

Fuck yeah, science! Fuck yeah, SCOTUS!
posted to MetaFilter by filthy light thief at 11:55 AM on June 13, 2013

Thanks for this glimmer of sanity.
posted to MetaFilter by hat_eater at 11:52 AM on June 13, 2013

I really want to look further into this, but isn't there a protocol for whistleblowers to follow? Isn't there a way for them to go to an Inspector General and report something?

Yes, there certainly is. Enemies of the State: What Happens When Telling the Truth About Secret US Government Power Becomes a Crime is a fun video that might give you some more insight. There is some tech talk, but they also all give an overview of the processes they tried... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by nTeleKy at 10:42 AM on June 13, 2013

Secret court won't object to release of opinion on illegal surveillance

I think this is interesting because of the “hey-don't-blame-me” dance that usually goes on in cases like this. The court will claim they can't do anything because their hands are tied by the administration; the administration that they can't do anything because the court is secret; etc. Here we have the FISA court explicitly stepping out of the circle and saying, No, if the... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by hattifattener at 9:22 AM on June 13, 2013

His history coupled with what he's doing now makes me think that Snowden is an attention-seeking asshole with a hero fantasy that he's trying to fulfill. Either that or he's running from the mega-self-absorbed girlfriend. Gawd.

Who says smear campaigns don't work?
posted to MetaFilter by ryoshu at 8:37 AM on June 13, 2013

The story at ryoshu's link is deee-licious:

The FBI and federal prosecutors are using cellphone records in court to try to prove that the five accused men were all nearby when the robbery attempts and planning occurred, as Moss, who is cooperating with the U.S. Attorney's Office, testified.

The prosecution had told defense attorneys that they were unable to obtain Brown's cellphone records from the period before September 2010 because... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by emjaybee at 8:17 AM on June 13, 2013

This is a big deal for non-americans. You guys are obviously blase about the NSA conducting widespread cyber vandalism and espionage against civilian targets.

On the world stage, it makes your government's complaints about chinese hacking of civilian targets, such as google, pretty damn hollow when it turns out you've been doing it for many years - when it explicitly claimed it wasn't.

Going after military, government and non-state aligned... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by ArkhanJG at 1:08 AM on June 13, 2013

I think Snowden is a casualty of some very lazy idealism, because spying in itself is NOT what makes a state evil or wrong or even wrong-headed, which is why everyone does it to protect their sovereignty.

Except in this case the NSA was spying on its own population, which by your line of reasoning means the government is protecting its sovereignty from the very people who endow it with authority. That is an inversion of the most basic tenant of... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by troll at 8:36 PM on June 12, 2013

I almost thought the net had found a topic which couldn't be obfuscated with daft car analogies.
posted to MetaFilter by pompomtom at 6:58 PM on June 12, 2013

This dude is an American who is obviously intent on embarrassing America.

That monster!
posted to MetaFilter by Pope Guilty at 4:46 PM on June 12, 2013

It's OK, I'm sure they can monitor them all.
posted to MetaFilter by pompomtom at 5:49 PM on June 12, 2013

Previous thread.

There are four threads!
posted to MetaFilter by homunculus at 5:48 PM on June 12, 2013

This isn't Watergate, and this isn't Bradley Manning. Those incidents were actual crimes, so Snowden was just airing out the dirty laundry - if somebody can point to a crime being committed under the FISA rulings and USA PATRIOT Act, then they should speak up.

Freedom of Speech

Illegal Search and Seizure

"fundamental right to privacy and to data protection of EU... [more]
posted to MetaFilter by triggerfinger at 5:14 PM on June 12, 2013

This isn't Watergate, and this isn't Bradley Manning. Those incidents were actual crimes, so Snowden was just airing out the dirty laundry - if somebody can point to a crime being committed under the FISA rulings and USA PATRIOT Act, then they should speak up.

Just because a sick government makes abhorrent practices legal, that doesn't make those practices ethical.
posted to MetaFilter by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:05 PM on June 12, 2013

If the intent was to increase the impact of his leak, think outing himself was utterly brilliant.

Also, it help prevent him being rendered by the CIA or whomever if people actually know who he is and will notice if he vanishes.
posted to MetaFilter by His thoughts were red thoughts at 5:00 PM on June 12, 2013

I'm not seeing the criminal activity.

For starters, DNI James Clapper almost certainly committed perjury in Congressional testimony on the NSA's data collection programs.
posted to MetaFilter by downing street memo at 4:58 PM on June 12, 2013

That isn't what the poster responding to you meant and you know it.

I know, right? Straight to toolage. I guess it takes a narcissist to know one. Not like we haven't had this exact same conversation with Assange. Oh that's right, narcissism is a crime. It invalidates the discovery.
posted to MetaFilter by phaedon at 4:58 PM on June 12, 2013

no, what we have here is a guy who wants attention by playing the hero - he could have done the same thing by leaking the documents to the guardian and insisting on anonymity

And you think they wouldn't try and expose him? That he could maintain his anonymity?

Frankly, who gives a fuck about this guy's personality?
posted to MetaFilter by MisantropicPainforest at 4:56 PM on June 12, 2013

I don't, but this guy is no Bradley Manning...he's just exposing shit, and breaking the law doing it

I'm not clear on how that description does not apply to Manning.
posted to MetaFilter by Hoopo at 4:50 PM on June 12, 2013

It only lends ammo to the inevitable charges of his being a Chinese implant.

I've heard that a bit and really don't get it. A Chinese agent would want to stay in their job at the defense contractor and learn more instead of publishing for the world.
posted to MetaFilter by Drinky Die at 4:48 PM on June 12, 2013

Still not seeing any criminal activity. This dude is an American who is obviously intent on embarrassing America.

The USA PATRIOT Act grants legal authority to do what the NSA is doing. In addition to that, there are FISA subpoenas. The HK/hacking thing is basically some dude airing out the dirty laundry...


Awfully strong words for a guy who admits he has no idea what he's talking about.
posted to MetaFilter by downing street memo at 4:43 PM on June 12, 2013