Today wraps up the three-day convention known as DARPATECH. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects) is a research arm of the Pentagon, charged with the most far-out research ideas for improving military technology. DARPA helped create the earliest version of the Internet, thirty-five years ago.

Some of DARPA’s projects are patently utilitarian, such as a net that catches rocket-propelled grenades, brain-controlled prosthetics, and a device that can translate spoken languages.

But then there are the weird projects. Like lizard robots. Or cyborg moths. Oh, and don’t forget pig feces.

More on:
DARPA here.
DARPATECH official website here.
Live blogging of DARPATECH here.
Slate Magazine review of DARPATECH here.
Brain-operated prosthetics here.
Pig feces research here.
Luke’s Binoculars here.

podcasts, technology | No Comments »

This past weekend, liberal bloggers, politicians and activists got together for YearlyKos, an annual convention held this year in Chicago.

Among the visitors this year was Sergeant David Aguina, who has put himself smack dab in the middle of a blogging slugfest by engaging in political discourse while in uniform. That kind of behavior is strictly forbidden, and he was quickly admonished for it by the speaking panel, which consisted of an Army Reserve Captain and Retired General Wesley Clark.

The conservative blogging world has been trying to spin the event as a case of progressives censoring dissenting opinion. The progressives, meanwhile, are arguing that it was purely a matter of following the law.

Lost in all of this is, of course, Sargeant Aguina’s desire to bring people together, not drive them apart. And where is he’s appearing tonight, in order to further his cause? The O’Reilly Factor.

We can only asume the bickering will continue.

More on:
Video of panel’s reaction to Sergeant Aguina here.
Video of Sergeant Aguina’s comments and subsequent interview here.
Daily Kos full account of what happened here.
Interview with Sargeant Aguina the next day here and author commentary here.

politics, podcasts, media | No Comments »

More on what happened this week:

Sarkozy suspected of a secret arms deal with Libya here.
Entire email exchange between Bruce Schneier and TSA head Kip Hawley here.
Internet pharmacy spammer gets 30 years in the clink here.

podcasts, week in review, TSA | No Comments »

Well, it’s actually pulping them, but what’s the difference?

Cambridge University Press has agreed to destroy all unsold copies of a book linking Saudi charities with terrorism, after a Saudi businessman threatened a lawsuit. That businessman, Sheikh Khalid Mahfouz, has brought libel suits against multiple publishers for their books accusing the Saudis of supporting terrorism through various charities. The publishers often settle rather than going to trial, regardless of the validity of the claims, causing free speech advocates to fear a chilling effect.

More on:
Cambridge University Press decision here.
Blog commentary from author who won a British libel case here.

podcasts, media, terrorism | 1 Comment »

The CCIA - Computer and Communications Industry Assocation - filed a complaint this morning with the FTC, against the NFL, Major League Baseball, Dreamworks and other media companies, with regard to their copyright statements. While the Fair Use Doctrine allows for the use of copyrighted material in certain circumstances, these media companies tend to use overbearing and, as the CCIA argues, misleading copyright statements. Often times, websites receive takedown notices for materials that are not infringing on copyright laws.

All of this stems from the lack of a standard, clear copyright statement, which the CCIA hopes the FTC will create.

More on:
The CCIA’s complaint here.
Copyright and Fair Use here.
The NFL’s battle with Professor Wendy Seltzer here. Seltzer’s NFL post here.

(the opening clip in today’s audio is from a Michael Moore press conference)

podcasts, sports, media | No Comments »