The Just-World Bias Gets Us All. cherylcline, der Blaustrumpf (2011-03-28). After reading about the horrific gang rapes of a Texan child, and the assault of Lara Logan in Egypt, I am starting to suspect that anti-rape activists and sympathizers are as caught up in the just-world bias as rape apologists.  In this NYT "update" on its previous coverage of the… (Linked Wednesday 2011-03-30.)

Julian Assange and Naomi Wolf. cherylcline, der Blaustrumpf (2011-03-28). Last year Naomi Wolf wrote some interesting essays on the international indifference to sexual violence; unfortunately, they were written to defend a rebellious and charismatic man, Julian Assange, who may very well be a rapist.  I was very tempted to go easy on Wolf because she sometimes seems like the closest… (Linked Wednesday 2011-03-30.)

C4SS Fundraiser: One More Day. Kevin Carson, Mutualist Blog: Free Market Anti-Capitalism (2011-03-30). Well, we’ve got one more day left in the C4SS fundraiser and still need a little less than $1800 to pay our writers and staff through December. As Director Brad Spangler says, if we don’t raise enough money by the end of the First Quarter to pay our expenses through… (Linked Wednesday 2011-03-30.)

Best General Strike Poster Ever. reddit: the voice of the internet — news before it happens (2011-03-25). submitted by rechelon to Anarchism [link] [4 comments] (Linked Wednesday 2011-03-30.)

Monsanto Sued By Organic Farmers Who Don’t Want To Be Accused Of Patent Infringement. Mike Masnick, Techdirt (2011-03-30). Monsanto’s incredibly overaggressive use of patents to corner the market on certain crops and to bully farmers has been well-documented over the years. Some of the really crazy stories involve Monsanto accusing farmers of patent infringement, because some of its “patented” seeds were used by neighboring farms, and the newly… (Linked Friday 2011-04-01.)

You Say Anarchy Like It's a Bad Thing. Thomas L. Knapp, Center for a Stateless Society (2011-03-30). Writing in The American Conservative, William Lind bemoans the tendency revealed by current upheavals in the Middle East. "[T]he worst possible outcome ... is the disintegration of states and their replacement either by statelessness — as we see in Somalia — or by fictional states, as in Iraq and Afghanistan."… (Linked Friday 2011-04-01.)

Unsorted Thoughts on Libya. Sheldon Richman, Free Association (2011-03-26). Jacob Sullum put it well when he wrote, "Obama claims ‘we cannot stand idly by when a tyrant tells his people that there will be no mercy.’ Yes, we can, and we often do.” I'd only add this: Some of "our" best friends have been tyrants (sometimes called prime ministers… (Linked Friday 2011-04-01.)

i love our political culture. On Tuesday, Senator Charles. Captain Capitulation, eye of the storm (2011-03-30). i love our political culture. On Tuesday, Senator Charles Schumer convened a media conference call of Democratic senators, in order to talk about the budget negotiations. Moments before the call was to start, Schumer briefed the other senators on the talking points they should be using. But the phone line for the… (Linked Friday 2011-04-01.)

+1 for knowing your history. Kellan, Laughing Meme (2011-03-30). "+1!!!@@e2;20ac;b3; is a convention that arose on the Apache Software Foundation mailing lists. The ASF still has the best, most functional process for mailing list based collaboration which has ever been evolved of which -1/0/+1 is only the thin wedge. (the whole vocabulary of lazy consensus, commit-then-review, etc is incredibly… (Linked Friday 2011-04-01.)

Jury Says it's Okay to Record the TSA. schneier, Schneier on Security (2011-01-31). The Seattle man who refused to show ID to the TSA and recorded the whole incident has been cleared of all charges: [The jury] returned not guilty verdicts for charges that included concealing his identity, refusing to obey a lawful order, trespassing, and disorderly conduct. Papers, Please! says the acquittal… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

Revolution in Egypt: Learn More! inciteblog, INCITE! Blog (2011-02-01). Are you excited about the grassroots revolution happening in Egypt?  Do you want to learn more about the background of what's happening and what the movement is organizing for?  Here are some resources: First, a recent video of a protester in Tahir Square in Cairo.  She explains the political goals… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

“Free as in Sexist?”: Sexism in the Free Culture Movement. Joseph Reagle (2011-01-28). The introduction to my draft on free culture and sexism: In the summer of 2010, David Finsher and Aaron Sorkin’s film about the beginnings of Facebook (“The Social Network”) attracted much discussion about the portrayal of women in geeky projects. Tracy Clark-Flory (2010fpo), writing for Salon.com, wrote the film prompts… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

Early Corporate Welfare: "An act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen" Jad Davis, The jVerse (2011-01-31). A friend pointed out a fascinating article on "An act for the relief of sick and disabled seamen"[1] which the author points to as a precedent for Congress mandating health coverage for citizens of the United States. I don't have any disagreement with his conclusion, that the Constitution in no… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

Annual Bay Area Anarchist Cafe. kate, Anarchoblogs in English (2011-02-01). The Anarchist Cafe is on! Every year, the Bay Area Anarchist Bookfair is preceded by the annual Anarchist Cafe, an sober-space gathering with vegan dinner and performances, that provides a space for folks to gather before the madness of Bookfair weekend sets in. Much fun, good eats, lots of good… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

It's a Child, Not a Choice. Center for a Stateless Society (2011-02-01). “No, it’s not an anti-abortion rant… The problem isn't lack of competition within the government education mandate. The problem is the government education mandate.” (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

Obama Marxism Watch — Be Very Afraid! Kevin Carson, Center for a Stateless Society (2011-01-06). For over two years, we unappreciated patriots have taken upon ourselves the thankless task of outing Barack Obama as a closeted Marxist and exposing his insidious socialist agenda for enslaving this country. While Obama sat in his Red Study Circle with comrades Geithner, Summers and Rubin, busily reading "Quotations from… (Linked Tuesday 2011-02-01.)

Traffic Problems Will Disappear by Year 2000 (1955) Matt Novak, Paleofuture Blog (2011-02-01). From the 1958 Disneyland TV episode Magic Highway, USA The September 22, 1955 Lewiston Daily Sun (Lewiston, ME) ran a wonderful piece titled, “Hope For the Motorist: Traffic Problems Will Disappear by Year 2000.” Such unbridled optimism for the yet to be developed Interstate Highway System is downright cute. Well,… (Linked Wednesday 2011-02-02.)

Store Fronts. Dorothy, Cat and Girl (2011-02-01). (Linked Wednesday 2011-02-02.)

Hell No, We Won’t Fire. Jesse Walker, Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2011-01-31). When the troops won't shoot, the game's just about over: The Egyptian army has said it will not use force against protesters calling for the removal of President Hosni Mubarak ahead of a "million people" march. The military said it considers the people's demands "legitimate". (Linked Wednesday 2011-02-02.)

Andrew Jackson. IOZ, Who Is IOZ? (2011-01-10). Is there a bigger, more sanctimonious boob in the whole blessed world than Keith Olberman? “Violence, or the threat of violence, has no place in democracy”? Um, uh, what? Tell it to the Cherokee. Tell it to the Iraqis. Tell it to Baltimore and Washington South of the Capitol. Tell… (Linked Wednesday 2011-02-02.)

"That Show By Those Hipster Know-It-Alls Who Talk About How Fascinating Ordinary People Are" Jesse Walker: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2010-10-25). “Most of those broadcasters enjoy support from the government in one form or another (though not all of them do: WFMU is subsidy-free as well as commercial-free). But they’re not a top-down project. They’re a decentralized set of shows that seek funds where they can find them, and they could survive if the CPB were fully privatized. They might even do better, if the new CPB decided to spend less of its money on actual stations (which haven’t always benefited when the corporation funds them) and more on independent producers.” (Linked Monday 2010-10-25.)

WikiLeaks Removes the Cloak. David D’Amato, Center for a Stateless Society (2010-10-25). Late last week, major media outlets announced, to the bated breath of the world, the latest disclosures of classified materials on the war in Iraq from Wikileaks. The documents — almost 400,000 files comprised mostly of the U.S. military's daily field reports — detail a staggering civilian death toll and… (Linked Monday 2010-10-25.)

Mantid of the week. Jill, I Blame The Patriarchy (2010-10-26). Greetings from Spinster HQ, O ye commenters and readers of comments! The "Latest Blamer Invective" sidebar function upon which you have come to dote so warmly has experienced a warp core breach. Two female characters with names are discussing it, and should have it back online before the third act…. (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-26.)

At the bottom of the 178 countries Somalia scored 1.1, just. Captain Capitulation, eye of the storm (2010-10-26). At the bottom of the 178 countries Somalia scored 1.1, just below Afghanistan and Myanmar (1.4) and Iraq (1.5). surely someone somewhere is actually worried about the fact that the countries we invaded and 'liberated' are two of the four most corrupt in the world. we said we brought you this… (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-26.)

Another flabbergastingly stupid comment from Jim Pasco. Dr. Q, Gangsters in Blue (2010-10-18). Since the issue of filming police became a hot topic in the mainstream press (see here), I've been very interested in hearing the arguments that police use to justify placing limits on the right to record cops. To me, the idea that people ought to be allowed to film police… (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

Boofrickityhoo. Unqualified Offerings (2010-10-18). “Now, I do realize that there might be economic repercussions if bankers are unable to recover some of their losses. Fortunately, I have a solution: They can sell their own organs to raise cash.” (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

The Explosion of Pink. Rachel, Our Bodies Our Blog (2010-10-12). It's October, so the explosion of pink products at the grocery and other stores shouldn't surprise us: it's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the time of the year when we're asked to eradicate breast cancer by buying pink-ribboned  products. Over the years, many women's health activists have criticized the pink… (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

Primary Sources for USA vs George Donnelly. George Donnelly, Anarchoblogs in English (2010-10-18). As promised, here are my primary sources for the short film United States of America vs George Donnelly: How US Marshals Framed a Peaceful Photographer. I apologize for the delay. I'm working on getting even more information and hope to release it soon. Here is the raw video footage from… (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

Kathryn Schulz on Wrongness. Igor Kandyba, FiveBooks (2010-10-17). The author of Being Wrong says punditry is conducive to bombast and certainty, both major contributors to wrongness. You are not more likely to be right if you're on the left, or on the right. !!!@@e2;20ac;2dc;If you think like a fox you're more likely to have a sophisticated, nuanced way of thinking…. (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

Drug cops smash into wrong house, terrorize elderly couple – Chicago Breaking News. www.chicagobreakingnews.com (2010-10-18). Andrij and Anna Jakymec were startled by a late night raid on their home by Cook County sheriff’s police gang crimes narcotics unit officers executing a search warrant. (E. Jason Wambsgans/ Chicago Tribune) Cook County sheriff’s police on a drug raid smashed into a Southwest Side house late Thursday night, (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

Intellect as Evasion. Mel, BroadSnark (2010-10-14). Normally, I like Jay Smooth.  But this video really irritated me. I understand why people are critical of the anti-intellectualism displayed by right wing populists who seem so disdainful of reading books, processing facts, or critical thinking of any kind.  But it amazes me when otherwise observant people can't see… (Linked Monday 2010-10-18.)

To Protect and Serve. Daily Brickbats (2010-10-19). Cops are here to keep us safe. (Cont’d.) By running red lights, crashing into bicyclists, and leaving the scene of the accident. (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-19.)

Little Miss Muffet. Jill, I Blame The Patriarchy (2010-10-19). "Here is my question," announces blamer JenniferRuth. "Can arachnophobia be blamed on the patriarchy?" The answer is yes! Patriarchy is the gnarly firmament of dominant culture, and nothing may exist outside it; therefore absolutely everything can be blamed on it. This, friends, is the beauty of patriarchy-blaming. Whenever one encounters,… (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-19.)

Letters Respond to Lancet Home Birth Editorial With Feminist Perspective. Rachel, Our Bodies Our Blog (2010-10-19). In July, The Lancet published an editorial, "Home Births: Proceed with Caution," in which the editors discussed the apparent safety of home birth for most low-risk women, contradictory or low-quality evidence on infant outcomes, and the recent, controversial Wax meta-analysis. Perhaps most likely to cause feminist double-takes was the following… (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-19.)

Civic Engagement is for Suckers. Kevin Carson, Center for a Stateless Society (2010-10-19). I frequently encounter "progressives" who argue that political involvement is the only way to achieve significant change. Refusal to participate in the process is "defeatist" and "irresponsible." This, apparently, is what passes for gritty realism on much of the "progressive" Left. That argument is pessimistic beyond belief. The events of… (Linked Tuesday 2010-10-19.)

So, I got married... Anarchoblogs in English (2010-10-20). In steampunk attire, of course. Mazel tov, Db0! (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-20.)

Molly'sBlog 2010-10-17 17:35:00. mollymew, Anarchoblogs in English (2010-10-17). AMERICAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT MINNEAPOLIS:RNC (FOUR) AGREE TO PLEA BARGAIN:This the latest from the Defend the RNC 8 group. The four remaining defendants will likely enter a plea bargain next Tuesday. What this means the future will tell. Here’s the story.@@@@@@@@@@Important Update on the RNC 8 Case: New Hearing Tuesday 10/19… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-20.)

Dissent in the age of Obama. Phil Dickens, Anarchoblogs in English (2010-10-05). Following on from Sunday’s post on Barack Obama’s appalling civil liberties record, I have come across an interesting opinion piece by Cindy Sheehan. It seems that Obama’s line of dissidents carries echoes of the Watergate Scandal and even the Red Scare. Her thoughts can be found over on Al Jazeera;Recently,… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-20.)

Genes are left-wing. Cory Doctorow, Boing Boing (2010-10-13). Writing in the Guardian, clinical psychologist Oliver James claims that genetics has turned into a “left wing” science, because it has failed to identify any innate, genetic reasons why some people are winners and others are losers — suggesting that, instead, it’s society’s fault that some people end up on… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-20.)

Cultural Authoritarianism Breeds Political Authoritarianism. Kevin Carson, Center for a Stateless Society (2010-09-24). Libertarians sometimes tend to focus on political freedom in isolation, and to view cultural authoritarianism (at least as long as the state isn't directly involved) as something libertarianism as such has nothing to say about. I believe this is a mistake.  Cultural authoritarianism — such as occurs in the family,… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-13.)

Corvus Editions interview at Making Change. Shawn P. Wilbur, Out of the Libertarian Labyrinth (2010-10-05). Corvus Editions is among the projects featured on the Making Change blog, which covers Etsy artists "who create with a political/environmental/social agenda," and I'm sending some of my bottle-cap pins down to the Making Change store in Santa Monica, California. It's an interesting adjustment, trying to make my projects intelligible in… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-13.)

Solomon Burke, RIP. Radley Balko, Radley Balko: Reason Magazine articles and blog posts. (2010-10-13). Soul great Solomon Burke died at a Netherlands airport over the weekend. Burke is one of my favorite vocalists, so I'm going to indulge in a bit of appreciation. Depending on whom you believe, Burke was either 70, 72, 74. Given his 400+ pound frame, that he lived that long… (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-13.)

Fatal Costco shooting: The family's view. Las Vegas Sun Stories: Opinion (2010-09-21). My son, Erik Scott, was shot seven times by three Metro Police officers on July 10. (Linked Wednesday 2010-10-13.)

Committee Created to Review Coroner's Inquest System. mom_in_las_vegas, Las Vegas Anarchoblogs (2010-10-14). Committee Created to Review Coroner’s Inquest SystemFrom the ACLU:All members of the public are invited to provide input to the committee, and we strongly encourage you make your voices heard.You can provide comments to the committee directly at a public meeting: * Monday, October 18, from 5 pm to 9… (Linked Thursday 2010-10-14.)

If You're Not an Extremist, You're Not Paying Attention. Kevin Carson, Center for a Stateless Society (2010-10-14). If you follow U.S. cable news and mainstream editorial pages, you've probably learned that some arguments don't have to be answered. They just have to be quoted or paraphrased, with an eye roll, and summarily dismissed. So you get Keith Olbermann treating suggestions that the federal government might become tyrannical,… (Linked Thursday 2010-10-14.)

Much A-D'oh! About Nothing?: Banksy's opening for The Simpsons. Arturo, Racialicious – the intersection of race and pop culture (2010-10-14). By Arturo R. García Most of the stories we've read about the now-infamous opening sequence prepared for The Simpsons by artist and documentary subject Banksy include a sentence along the lines of: The extended sequence was apparently inspired by reports the show outsources the bulk of their animation to a… (Linked Friday 2010-10-15.)

Flash Player: Real classy Adobe, bundling trialware with your… Adobe UI Gripes (2010-10-15). Flash Player: Real classy Adobe, bundling trialware with your plugin to make a few measly bucks more off your users. Only companies who have stopped caring about their product and only care about squeezing more dollars out of their customers at all costs pull crap like this. More info on… (Linked Friday 2010-10-15.)