On Wednesday, tech giants (eg Google, Wikipedia, Craigslist, Reddit, Mozilla, the Cheezeburger network, Wired) played the role of Paul Revere, spreading the word that Congress was on the verge of passing a bill supported by (some say written by) the content industry, a bill that they argued would be the death of the Internet as we know it. Twenty-six Senators now publicly oppose the legislation. Google says...

An excellent 11-minute documentary explaining how the bills would work, who’s behind them and why we should be concerned from New Left Media. Meanwhile, protest works. A spokeswoman for Google confirmed that 4.5 million people added their names to the company’s anti-SOPA petition today. A total of 103,785 people signed We the People petitions asking the Obama Administration to protect an open and...

Wikipedia is shutting down its English language site tomorrow to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales tweeted the announcement yesterday, “Student warning! Do your homework early. Wikipedia protesting bad law on Wednesday!” “The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess,” Wales said in an email to The Associated Press. “I am personally asking...

Is there any historical basis for the alliance between certain Latin American nations and Islamic fundamentalist Iran? For Spain’s La Vanguardia, apparently exasperated columnist Pilar Rahola says that, “If Simon Bolívar were raise his head and see Ahmadinejad and Chávez in his noble land, he would die a second time of pure shame.” For La Vanguardia, Pilar Rahola writes in part: At what...

Is it the United States – and not Iran or Venezuela – that the world’s people need to worry about? According to this news account by María Lilibeth Da Corte of Venezuela’s El Universal, the arrival of Iran President Ahmadinejad in Latin America has begun with a Venezuelan ‘love fest’ of sorts, with lots of spicy language about the United States. For Venezuela’s El...

What’s a risky business to go into? Apparently one of the riskiest is to be a nuclear scientist in Iran – since yet another one has been killed: At a time of growing tension over its nuclear program and mounting belligerence toward the West, Iran reported on Wednesday that an Iranian nuclear scientist died in what was termed a “terrorist bomb blast” in northern Tehran when an unidentified motorcyclist...

But then, Rick believes they have too much regulation and government intervention over there. Ars Technica: A court in Paris, France has fined Google $65,000 because its search engine’s autocomplete feature brings up the French word for “crook” when users type the name of an insurance company. RELATED: How Rick Santorum Is Making His “Google Problem” Worse.

Who’s doing the best job? Which technologies are most important? Who’s the new kid on the block to watch? What makes you say/believe that? #MittRomney | #RickSantorum | #RonPaul #NewtGingrich | #BarackObama

She’s using a typewriter to write a letter… The letter is to a friend in Spain who sent a postcard — “apparently people don’t send them anymore, either” — asking for a real letter. She bought the typewriter last summer at Goodwill. “I just love old things… I was surprised that the ribbon is still good.” Note the paper dictionary she must use to find...

If you are a voter in Indiana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin (or know someone who is) listen up. The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has found signifiant anomalies with an optical scanner produced by Election Systems and Software (ES&S) and shows jurisdictions in these states using the equipment. Because of the “anomalies”, close races could be decided incorrectly. From the...

Legal challenges are still alive. A long time ago, December 2005, the New York Times broke a story about the Bush Administration monitoring domestic telephone communications without first obtaining a warrant.[1] The affair, which began no later than 2001, became known as warrantless wiretaps. Flash forward six years. As 2011 came to a close, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals “reinstated a closely watched...

Jump Links Back Story How Much Does Ticketmaster Charge In Fees? What About The Competition? What Do Competing Ticket Companies Charge? How Should Fees Be Structured? Text of Settlement Email From the “you may have missed this in real time” department: If you are an online Ticketmaster customer, you may be eligible for a $1.50 per purchase discount on tickets purchased from 2012-2016. No joy,...

Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

Is America’s fear of terrorism putting a chill on essential scientific research? For Italy’s La Stampa, columnist Piero Bianucci warns that the White House, in an unprecedented move to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on an even more deadly form of bird flu, has persuaded science journals Science and Nature to censor themselves, undermining the free flow of information that scientific...

Taylor Jones, El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico This copyrighted cartoon is licensed to run on TMV. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.

As I wrote here: One of the most interesting and exciting assignments during my U.S. Air Force career was my tour of duty at the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) complex some 1,400 feet beneath granite Cheyenne Mountain, south of Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the height of the Cold War. The assignment was interesting and exciting not only because we were working to “protect North America from a space,...

From US Drought MonitorThe southern US, almost coast-to-coast, remains mired in drought conditions. Comparisons to the Dust Bowl are common; one estimate has the Texas drought lasting another 10-15 years. And Texas has been “in a period of enhanced drought susceptibility” since at least the year 2000. The drought of 2007-2009 “was one of the worst” residents could remember. In central...

A missing chapter in the history of U.S. military aviation On the eve of this most recent Veterans Day, I had the privilege of accompanying World War II veteran John Tschirhart to a reception hosted by the Texas Veterans Land Board at the Capitol Visitors Center, in Austin, Texas. Tschirhart, a B-17 bombardier with 35 bombing missions over Nazi occupied Europe under his belt, is now 91 and every time I hear...

The NTSB is proposing a nationwide ban on the use of cell phones while driving but the ban would not apply to hands free devices or to use by passengers. Although it would not eliminate the mental distractions caused by cell phone use, the ban would eliminate the physical distractions caused by holding the phone itself. While I would rather that people exercise the common sense idea of not using a phone while...

In a move that would excite even Sheldon Cooper, scientists at CERN have made major progress in the quest for the Higgs boson. As discussed here, the Higgs boson is what some refer to as the God Particle, a theoretical (or perhaps now not so theoretical) object that could help explain how the universe works. Although this is a major simplification, objects like quarks and electrons are thought to help provide...

WASHINGTON — I’m inclined to believe that the apparent result of the climate change summit in Durban, South Africa, might turn out to be a very big deal. Someday. Maybe. That’s my view, but it’s hardly universal. After the meeting ended Sunday, initial reaction basically ranged from “Historic Breakthrough: The Planet Is Saved” to “Tragic Failure: The Planet...

Update: : video on MSNBC.com Three staff members in the office of Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) were outed Thursday for tweeting about drinking on the job. The Congressman’s office reported that the three were fired within an hour of their learning about the tweets. News reports identify the three as Seth Burroughs, Elizabeth Robblee and Ben Byers. I learned about the story Thursday evening while attending...

Update: my post on President Obama’s speech. Imagine my surprise when I went to the WhiteHouse website tonight to get a copy of the President’s speech on the economy. I was greeted with a splash page asking me to sign up for an email list. No! This is an unnecessary – and extremely annoying – barrier to government content. It is, however, the hallmark of all political campaign websites...

HONG KONG — China has to find a way to continue its rapid growth without choking to death. Literally. When I landed in Beijing last week, the sky was a brownish miasma through which distant landmarks were only faintly visible. The moment I stepped outside the city’s vast international airport, I noticed an acrid hint of burning coal in the all-too-palpable air. The next day, when I went to...

After learning that Facebook had settled with the FCC (pdf) for what is basically a slap on the wrist regarding its history of privacy violations, this is what I tweeted Tuesday: Facebook’s settlement with the FTC shows the company cannot be trusted with your personal info: econ.st/vUlr51 Why? From The Economist: On November 29th America’s Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released the results of an investigation...