I love the Economist. They eviscerate the Democrats and Republicans with impunity. The last sentence from the leader of their most recent issue is great:
Two years ago, this newspaper narrowly favoured Mr Kerry’s incoherence over Mr Bush’s incompetence (see article). Since then, Republican incompetence has exceeded even our worst fears. How depressing to report that Democratic incoherence has soared too. America deserves better.
American politics | Taking on George Bush | Economist.com
A very interesting UCLA study on media bias finds that most mainstream media do lean to the left. I think this is true, although I cannot help but question a couple of the methodologies. For example, it looks like there is an implicit assumption in the ADA score that every issue has a liberal side and a conservative side, and that they are equally far from the center. Also, I wonder how closely the scores of the media outlets track with their audiences - i.e. do more liberal people use mainstream media for their news?
Media Bias Is Real, Finds UCLA Political Scientist… 12/14/2005
A fascinating and courageous post by Baris Karadogan about a potential societal future where harems become more popular than monogamy. Would be a great basis for a science fiction novel, because it explores why the Internet could enable this change in behavior.
From Istanbul To Sand Hill Road: The Big Web 2.0 Harem
A good explanation of what’s wrong with the patent system in the US, and why. Better yet, it includes some real proposals for fixing the problem. Thanks JohnK for the pointer.
Our proposed reforms start with the recognition that much of the information needed to decide if a given application should be approved is in the hands of competitors of the applicant, rather than the USPTO. A review process with multiple levels efficiently balances the need to bring in outside information with the reality that most patents are unimportant. Multilevel review — with barriers to invoking review increasing at higher levels, along with the review’s thoroughness — would naturally focus attention on the most potentially important applications. Most patents would never receive anything other than the most basic examinations. But for those applications that really mattered, parties would have an incentive and opportunities to bring information in their possession before the USPTO, and the USPTO would have more resources to help it make the right decision. (Changes in this direction are at the heart of the patent reform bill currently under consideration in the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.)
WSJ.com - Innovation and Its Discontents