Monday, November 29, 2004

Quality of Journals. Brian Leiter is collecting anecdotal evidence about the quality of feedback etc philosophers get from journals. If you have stories to share, head over there. [Thoughts Arguments and Rants] 9:03:58 PM    comment []

Frontiers of viral marketing. Happy birthday to Manila. Just realized I started blogging on Manila even before it shipped. Bonus link: the Frontier Kernel blog. [The Doc Searls Weblog] And I realized today that I'd missed an anniversary: I've been blogging more than five years! I started blogging to extend my filter e-mail list and ''land o' links'' page of lukewarm (i.e., not quite hot) links, moved from Blogger to Manila (for the X-Ray Net blog) not long after, and to Radio in solidarity with Salon the day this little community opened its doors. 9:01:55 PM    comment []

Will nuclear bargain with Iran work?. A European deal with Iran is approved, but some see its demands as too ambiguous. [Christian Science Monitor | Top Stories] 9:00:08 PM    comment []

It's Starting to Look a Lot Like Eldred (Donna Wentworth). Or at least, that's what federal Judge Maxine Chesney was evidently thinking when she dismissed [PDF] Kahle v. Ashcroft, a challenge to a number of laws extending/expanding the term of copyright. The decision begs the question: Just how twisted (or rather, contorted) does copyright law have to get before the courts can step in? More from John Borland at ZDNet here. Later: Joe Gratz, who personally helped out with the Kahle challenge this past summer: "Chesney sees all challenges to CTEA foreclosed by Eldred, and chooses to apply rational basis review to challenges to all other copyright statutes. Under Chesney's simple reasoning, any law that creates more or stronger copyrights is rationally related to the progress of science and automatically passes constitutional muster. Because all of the challenged statutes grant more rights to copyright holders, Chesney reasons, they must all be immune to further constitutional scrutiny. Chesney is wrong, and I wish Chris Sprigman, Larry Lessig, and the rest of the Kahle team luck in their appeal to the Ninth Circuit." [Copyfight] 8:59:10 PM    comment []

Heavy Iran day here, huh? 8:56:24 PM    comment []

Iran Backs Away From a Demand on A-Bomb Fuel. The Iranian retreat appeared to salvage a nuclear deal reached Nov. 15 between Iran and France, Britain and Germany. By ELAINE SCIOLINO. [NYT > International] 8:52:48 PM    comment []

Google " Arabian Gulf" and get the You Mean Persian Gulf page, or the Did you mean: Persian Gulf. Your search - arabian gulf - did not match any documents page, or this Arabian Gulf info page. (Seeing legofish's The Persian Bomb, I realized I didn't do my part by linking to a relevant page when I blinked hoder's post on the subject last week. Accept my apology, lotfan.) 4:38:10 PM    comment []

Scott on The great Social Security swindle. Context, clarity, coherence. 4:38:06 PM    comment []

Brian Hatch, at Security Focus, on ssh: SSH Host Key Protection SSH User identities SSH and ssh-agent 4:38:02 PM    comment []

Iran strikes deal on uranium issue. On CNN [NewsIsFree: Popular Items] 6:23:56 AM    comment []

Passport Privacy Protection? Nope. The Bush administration opposes security measures recommended by privacy advocates for new microchip-equipped passports, saying it's concerned for the safety of American travelers. Critics say the chips are good for identity thieves and government snoops. [Wired News] 6:18:17 AM    comment []

Contracts Keep Drug Research Out of Reach. Academic institutions and researchers are often seen as impartial actors in drug trials, but sometimes independence comes with strings attached. By BARRY MEIER. [NYT > Education] 6:17:41 AM    comment []

The Epistemology Page.  I was talking to a prospective student interested in epistemology recently who had not yet seen Keith DeRose's excellent resource, The Epistemology Page.  In addition to commentary on graduate programs, it contains a reasonably current bibliography of writings by epistemologists, and lots of useful links.  Students, current and prospective, as well as faculty in epistemology and cognate fields, will find it of considerable value. [Leiter Reports] 6:17:32 AM    comment []

Federal Plan to Keep Data on Students Worries Some. A government proposal to create a database of enrollment records on college students is raising concerns that the move will erode the privacy rights of students. By DIANA JEAN SCHEMO. [NYT > Education] 6:13:35 AM    comment []

Wikipedia Creators Move Into News. The folks behind the open-source reference site that's challenging the encyclopedia industry decide to give journalism a go. Through the experimental Wikinews site, anyone can take a stab at being a reporter. By Joanna Glasner. [Wired News] 6:12:27 AM    comment []

New ways of releasing music. Opsound is an experimental record label and open sound pool, a laboratory looking at how artists can release music that fits the internet's capacity to communicate and share. Opsound explores the possibilities of developing a gift economy among musicians, borrowing from the model of the open source software community. (thanks Sal!) [Smart Mobs] 6:12:26 AM    comment []

Swiss: Limited Stem Cell Approval. A measure that forbids cloning human embryos but allows scientists to extract stem cells from unwanted embryos for medical research is approved by Swiss voters. The restrictive legislation is similar to that of the Netherlands and Spain. [Wired News] 6:12:16 AM    comment []