30,000 have asked the Norwegian Nobel Committee to give the Nobel Peace Prize to Bradley Manning.
It would correct the absurd mistake of giving one to Obama.
You can sign the petition here. There is also a link at the bottom of the page to the audio of Bradley Manning’s statement in court.
Albert Einstien on Personal Liberty [Video]
Albert Einstein became a refugee from his native Germany after the Nazi’s rose to power. Listen to this rare recording of him speaking on individual liberty – a pertinent topic of our times.
We are concerned not merely with the technical problem of securing and maintaining peace, but also with the important task of education and enlightenment. Without such reason there would have been no Shakespeare, no Goethe, no Newton, no Pasteur”
Mel Brooks & Anne Bancroft, Polish rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown [Video]
If you enjoy music, here’s Mel Brooks & Anne Bancroft performing their Polish rendition of Sweet Georgia Brown
the Overview Effect [Video]
Richard Branson shares his amazement of the “overview effect” on the Virgin corporate blog.
a perspective-altering phenomenon that many people experience after visiting space. They noted: “Common features of the experience are a feeling of awe for the planet, a profound understanding of the interconnection of all life, and a renewed sense of responsibility for taking care of the environment.”
Membership
Robert Fulghum warmly welcomes everyone of us as a member of the Society of the Pill Chasers of the World and the Spring Allergy Division of the Fellowship of the Late Night Sink Eaters. No spoilers – read the whole thing in full.
Digital identity vs physical identity [article]
T.Robert Wyatt explores the question of identity: “Is your digital identity a separate self or is it identical to your real-world self?”, and how it impacts our lives:
Our legal and social framework for identity insists that me in high school and me today are the same person when there is a world of difference between the two. Me then and me now would have very little in common, including friends, opportunities, philosophies, quality of life or future prospects.
Hunger strike in Guantanamo Bay [Article]
Guantanamo’s hunger strike story is not in the media. As Amy Davidson points out in the New Yorker, the US Administration seems intent on hiding the fact that 1 in 5 of the 166 inmates of the illegal prison are on a hunger strike. More than half of the inmates have been cleared for release (there is no evidence to legally hold them in prison), yet are being held without reason.
The numbers strike one as all wrong—not incorrect, that is, but proof that something has gone very wrong at Guantánamo. The right numbers—the ones one would expect from a prison run by a country of laws—are a hundred and sixty-six facing trials, and zero held for no good reason. ……….. Taking a dozen prisoners a day to a room where they are force-fed with tubes stuck into their noses should not be part of the normal routine at Guantánamo, or at any American prison.
Free Market Mythologies and the Future of Public Ownership [Article]
Thomas M Hanna has this interesting post about the alternative if we reject the mythical ideal of the “free market“
The free market utopia is in fact a banana republic, an individualistic Randian society in which a small group of extremely wealthy individuals, hidden away in gated communities and protected by their disproportionate influence of key functions of the state (the courts, political parties, and so on), control the vast majority of productive wealth and property while the rest of the population is forced to fight for an ever shrinking share of whatever scraps are left on the table.
April Fools news – Dave Winer [Article, LInk]
The only good idea is an unoriginal idea [Article]
James Altucher has some advice on what makes an idea great:
Take an idea from 100 years ago. From yesterday. From 1000 years ago. From your friend. Tell a story around it in modern terms. Make it uniquely yours.