SelfUnfocused: Coming to Terms with Being Human

MacBook for Earthquake Detection

Seeded on Mon Mar 31, 2008 11:39 PM EDT (Wired News)

Seismologist Elizabeth Cochran of the University of California at Riverside would like to use your MacBook's sensors to build an earthquake detection system.

science, wired, earthquake, network

Advocating the Role of the Editor in Bottom-Up Systems

Seeded on Wed Feb 13, 2008 12:57 AM EST (The Technium)

Kevin Kelly of Wired magazine lays out his "heretical" notion that bottom-up systems require top-down controls to achieve excellence.

technology, networks, bottom-up, top-down, evolution, social-networks

RNC Reruns Failed Attack Ad

Seeded on Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:52 PM EST (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

The RNC is threating to run a "weak on security" ad against members of Congress who do not support Bush's telecom immunity proposal. The ad itself is an over the top scenario that could work as an episode of "24".

politics, security, republican, fisa, congress

What's Really Wrong With Newspapers

Seeded on Sat Feb 2, 2008 1:08 PM EST (The Rogue Columnist)

Jon Talton argues that the standard reasons given for the decline of newspapers are wrong. Talton points to the flaws in the modern paper's business model and how the choices made by newspapers themselves have lead to their slow demise.

business, newspapers, monopoly, business-model

Tesla: 'The Cars Are Coming In March. No -- Really.'

Seeded on Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:27 PM EST (Wired News)

Tesla Motors has set an assembly date on their all-electric sports car. The first Roadsters are supposed to be pieced together beginning March 17th. These models will be using a transmission system that is already slated for replacement.

technology, tesla, car, electric

Engineered Mosquitoes Could Wipe Out Dengue Fever

Seeded on Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:22 PM EST (Wired News)

Genetically modified mosquitoes could lower the transmission of Dengue, a disease that is passed to up to 100 million people a year.

science, mosquito, gm, genetic-engineering, dengue-fever

Are Amazon's Top Reviewers Corrupt?

Seeded on Wed Jan 23, 2008 12:19 PM EST (Slate)

The publishing industry solicits reviews from Amazon's top reviewers. Meanwhile, Amazon itself claims that the review system is a way to step outside publishing spin and hear directly from other readers.

business, web-2-0, amazon, reviews, publishing, corruption, social-web

High Tech Mapping Starts to Redefine International Borders

Seeded on Mon Jan 21, 2008 12:34 PM EST (Wired News)

Once there was the "cannon shot rule", which gave nations claim to anything three miles out from their shores. In modern times, countries have had to be content with the end of the continental shelf.

science, international, borders, maps, wired, russia, arctic

New Findings Confirm Darwin's Theory: Evolution Not Random

Seeded on Fri Jan 18, 2008 6:27 PM EST (Science Daily)

A new study shows that evolution is deterministic rather than random.

science, evolution, darwin

Library of Congress uses Flickr to Tag Archive

Seeded on Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:58 PM EST (Library of Congress)

The Library of Congress, in partnership with Flickr, is opening up their photo archives for tagging by the public. This project will allow greater access to the library's extensive archive by using the power of "crowdsourcing" to better document these important images.

technology, library-of-congress, photo, flickr, crowdsourcing, web-2-0, archiving, tags

"Digital Theft Prevention" Requirements Remain in Higher Education Bill

Seeded on Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:26 PM EST (Electronic Frontier Foundation)

H.R. 4137, the College Opportunity and Affordability Act of 2007, would require universities to police illegal downloading on their campuses. In this piece, the Electronic Frontier Foundation gives their opinion of the bill and links to relevant sources.

politics, eff, piracy, higher-education, mpaa

Malawi severs links with Taiwan

Seeded on Mon Jan 14, 2008 4:37 PM EST (BBC News)

The country of Malawi, one of the few nations to have official ties to Taiwan, has announced the coming end of that relationship. This comes soon after the Malawian government strengthened its ties to China.

world-news, africa, malawi, china, taiwan, diplomacy

Bar's frequent drinkers program to offer prizes, trips

Seeded on Mon Jan 14, 2008 12:04 PM EST (Network World)

A New York bar is offering a variety of prizes in its "frequent drinkers program".

odd-news, bar, alcohol, new-york

Ford Determines that Taking Pictures of Your Car Equals Piracy

Seeded on Mon Jan 14, 2008 2:01 AM EST (Boing Boing)

The members of an online auto forum have been told that distributing photos of their cars infringes on Ford trademarks.

business, cars, ford, copyright, trademark

New Drug Addiction Pathways Uncovered

Seeded on Sun Jan 13, 2008 10:18 PM EST (The Economist)

Chinese scientists have uncovered new biological pathways to addiction by analyzing thousands of available studies. This article, published in The Economist, expands on what has already been mentioned in the recent press coverage.

science, drug-addiction, china, biology

Pirate Party Leader Speaks

Seeded on Sun Jan 13, 2008 5:48 PM EST (The P2P Consortium)

The leader of the Swedish Pirate Party shares his views on the copyright debate in Sweden. He explains why his party now argues civil liberties over economics and expounds on the future of government surveillance.

politics, pirate, civil-liberties, copyright, sweden, falkvinge

Camels and guns: welcome to Mogadishu

Seeded on Wed Jun 21, 2006 1:04 AM EDT (alertnet.org)

An interesting on the ground view of Somalia.

human-rights, somalia, war, africa, world-news, mogadishu

Inside Brazil's Landless Movement

Seeded on Thu Jun 8, 2006 4:55 PM EDT (Slate)

Slate covers the lives of Brazilian land activists.

human-rights, brazil, poverty, world-news, activists, squatter

A slow simmer may reach boiling point in Zimbabwe

Seeded on Mon May 22, 2006 4:49 PM EDT (alertnet.org)

People prepare to take to the streets in protest of Zimbabwe's standard of living.

human-rights, zimbabwe, strike, africa, poverty, world-news

Seven U.S. lawmakers arrested in Sudan protest

Seeded on Tue May 16, 2006 6:58 PM EDT (alertnet.org)

"Seven African-American members of the U.S. Congress were arrested on Tuesday at the Embassy of Sudan, where they were protesting atrocities in that country's Darfur region."

congress, protest, sudan, us-news

The End of Marriage: Advocating a Civil Union Only State

Tue May 16, 2006 3:07 PM EDT

The United States government should stop issuing marriage licenses. In the place of these licenses, the government would issue civil union contracts. By making this change, the state would remove itself from a social argument that should not involve any governing institution.

Continue reading this entry ...

human-rights, gay-marriage, marriage, politics, civil-union, same-sex-marriage

Abuse of Women and the Price of a Bride

Seeded on Tue May 16, 2006 1:32 PM EDT (alertnet.org)

A survey in Tanzania shows that many women believe that the cultural practice of paying for a bride encourages household abuse.

human-rights, abuse, africa, tanzania, world-news, womens-rights

Taps are Dry in Malawi's Largest City

Seeded on Mon May 15, 2006 7:50 PM EDT (nationmalawi.com)

Water rationing is the order of the day for many of Blantyre's residents. Like so many urban centers around the world, Blantyre's population has outgrown it's infrastructure.

human-rights, water, africa, poverty, malawi, world-news, slums