Time to Unplug the CPB
By Steve Rendall and Peter Hart, Extra!
De-funding public broadcasting has long been a dream of the Right. Now you can add one liberal voice to the chorus. In the October issue of its newsletter Extra!, the progressive media watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) argues that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is corrupt beyond repair, and should be replaced with an independent trust fund for public broadcasting. — Leif Utne
http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2671
Earth+1000
Jamais Casico, World Changing
Have you ever dreamed of riding an elevator into space? Well, now you are just that much closer, as recent tests of a new technology enabled a climbing robot to scale a ribbon 1000 feet into the air. The LiftPort Group that executed the test hopes to build a working space elevator by the year 2018. — Rose Miller
http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003566.html
Arab Superheroes Take to the Air
By Staff, Aljazeera.net
Kids in the Middle East have four new heroes: Jalila, Aya, Zein,and Rakan. They are the creations of AK Comics and, complete with stunning moves and gorgeous hair, they’re giving Superman a run for his money in Saudi and other markets. While selling comics is part of AK’s goal, they also promote nonviolence and a positive view of Arabs around the world. They’re subtly political — the bad guys’ names are plays on those of public figures — and non-denominational, but the issues featuring the glamorous Jalila and Aya won’t be appearing in more conservative areas. — Sarah Wash
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B66A298A-D802-43B1-A336-3BEEDEC42B8C.htm
‘UnGoogleables’ Hide From Search
By Ann Harrison, Wired News
How far will you go to steer clear of Google’s all seeing eye? Some people don’t publish blogs, participate in internet communities, or reveal their names online to ward off identity theft and maintain a low profile for political or personal reasons. Wired terms this class of ‘digitally privileged’ folks who intentionally don’t have a visible presence on the internet UnGoogleables, and some of them make some extensive efforts to maintain this status. — Rose Miller
http://www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,68998,00.html
Participate in Digital Culture with pbwiki
By Staff, pbwiki.com
You may visit Wikipedia on occasion to glean kernels of knowledge from this popular online open-source encyclopedia, but it is less likely that you have contemplated establishing your very own wiki. Whether you want to collaborate with friends or colleagues on a project, or simply explore online publishing wiki style, this service lets you create a site for free and provides you with publishing instructions. According to the service’s founders, it’s as easy as making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. — Rose Miller
http://www.pbwiki.com/
UbuWeb
By Staff, Ubu.com
Culture vultures can quit swirling and finally swoop on ubu.com. After a summer of rebuilding, this filled-to-the-gills, free-to-the-public collection of visual, concrete, and sound poetry once again has hundreds of gigabytes of sound files, books, texts, and videos ready for consumption. Featured artists range from John Cage to Eugene Ionesco to Kiki Smith. — Archie Ingersoll
http://www.ubu.com/
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