November 22, 2009
UTNE READER

Emerging Ideas Round-Up

(Page 6 of 6)

March / April 2006
By Staff 
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(Source: Actions Speak Louder Than Bumper Stickers)

Check Their Sources

The cable networks and op-ed pages are peppered with "experts" from think tanks, trade associations, and industry-sponsored front groups. And revelations about manufactured news stories emerge almost daily. So how do you know whom to trust -- or, more importantly, whom not to trust? Enter SourceWatch.org. Like Wikipedia, the popular online encyclopedia, the site taps the swarm intelligence of Internet users by allowing anyone to add or change an article, with a staff editor keeping a watchful eye out for accuracy. In just over three years, SourceWatch has compiled almost 9,000 articles on topics ranging from disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff to industry groups like the Global Climate Coalition to "fake news," the nefarious practice of planting fake corporate or government news stories.

Obey My Odors

Think authority stinks? Take a whiff of the latest battlefield technology that delivers orders with odors. Researchers at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles are patenting a collar adorned with capsules containing wicks dipped in powerfully scented liquid, according to NewScientist.com (Nov. 8, 2005). Each smell is assigned a predetermined action and can be released by remote control. Olfactory commands are more effective than spoken ones in noisy environments. More importantly (and frighteningly), they trigger powerful emotional responses that might prompt soldiers to carry out orders without question.

First seen in the Utne Web Watch

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