An interesting BBC Video that explores the origins of Islamic Fundamentalism and Neo-conservatism. Well worth the time it takes to watch. “Both [the Islamists and Neoconservatives] were idealists who were born out of the failure of the liberal dream to build a better world. And both had a very similar explanation for what caused that… Continue reading The Power of Nightmares
Category: society
Security vs. Privacy
As usual, Bruce Schneier puts it more eloquently than I can: …it’s precisely why, when people in their business are in charge of government, it becomes a police state. If privacy and security really were a zero-sum game, we would have seen mass immigration into the former East Germany and modern-day China. While it’s true… Continue reading Security vs. Privacy
“Stranger Safety” and “Public Solitude”
Today I saw an ad for a video called “Stranger Safety.” It’s supposed to teach your children how to be safe around strangers. Thinking about it afterward, I realized that there is this mentality – driven into our collective mindset over many years – that ALL strangers are not to be trusted; that ALL strangers… Continue reading “Stranger Safety” and “Public Solitude”
Our Paranoid Society
This is what happens when everyone is afraid of everyone else: His mission was to photograph each of the nation’s 50 state capitol buildings and dispatch a postcard from each city, using postage stamps from a childhood collection. Each postcard would be mailed to the next state on his journey, where he would pick it… Continue reading Our Paranoid Society
Applying Old Laws to New Technology
You’ve probably heard of the RIAA and the MPAA (the Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America, respectively) before. They’ve been in the news a lot lately – suing old people who don’t have a computer for sharing mp3 files on the Internet and so forth. A recent Slashdot story… Continue reading Applying Old Laws to New Technology