Saturday, January 04, 2003

Internet Collateral Damage?

Have we let them take over the once-free Internet?
asks political scientist Ron Deibert

There was once a time, not that long ago, when pundits could claim that the Internet was a lawless frontier immune to regulation and control by governments and states. Libertarian by nature, open in its architecture, the Internet encouraged democracy, freedom, and liberty around the world.
Attempts by oppressive regimes to block information were futile. Thanks to this unstoppable, open, liberal architecture, citizens would be able to communicate and deliberate with each other, forming the basis for a single, vibrant global village polity. Whatever its original merits, this conventional wisdom should now be declared dead.
· Wisdom [Globe & Mail technology]

History Hidden Casualties & Secret Diplomacy: The History of US Relations with North Korea

Although most people don't realize it, the Korean War never officially ended. It has been a legal ceasefire for the past 50 years. The public has been led to believe, however, that the war was, for all practical purposes, over. The truth is, the fighting has never stopped. Proving this fact and how it illustrates how we can avoid full scale war if we truly desired to do so is For one year, from September of 1989 to September of 1990, I served in a high level intelligence unit in South Korea called CSCT #1, or Combat Support Coordination Team #1. Its mission was to act as a liaison unit between the US 8th Army and the South Korean 1st Army. What I learned while there, from both classified and private sources, helps illustrate why a war with Iraq is clearly not about the threat of Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction.
· History of conflict [CommonDream]

Irony Intended A Must Read For Every Sane Blogger

It is a well known fact that reading is never good for anything for anyone for any reason. It's true. It's been proven by science.
This is extra-true for books on parenting. Right now, I can't give much advice to parents, but I can say this. Parenting books only exist to make you feel like shit.
Every parenting book is 20% actual true stuff based on science (e.g. change its diaper when it pisses itself, don't shake the baby, don't let it play with plastic bags) and 80% completely unsupported axe-grinding on the part of the author (e.g. don't feed your child meat, don't use a pacifier, don't bind feet).
· Media Dragon’s Partner-In-Irony [Irony Central]