Marriage Equality, Conservatives, Islamists, Blasphemy, Atheism, Europe, Science Under Siege, Creationism, Evolution

Marriage Equality

• Pope Says Gay Marriage Poses A Threat To 'Justice And Peace' In World Day Of Peace 2013 Address--Says the man obstructing justice by protecting pedophiles.
• George Takei: We Are Not Murderers, Mr. Scalia
• Popularity of tiny Dutch Caribbean island soars following gay marriage

Conservatives

• America Isn't as Decadent as Social Conservatives Think It Is
• Biblical Economics--"An irony of modern politics is that many conservative Americans view themselves as devout believers in the Bible yet they ascribe to right-wing, dog-eat-dog economic theories that Jesus and other Biblical figures would condemn. The contradiction has pushed Biblical economics out of mainstream debate, says Rev. Howard Bess."
• Two and a Half Men 'filth', says show star Angus Jones--"The 19-year-old explained that the show's raunchy humour conflicted with his recent bible studies." He did end up apologizing to the cast and crew.

Islamists

• Mass rape, amputations and killings – why families are fleeing terror in Mali
• Blues for Mali as Ali Farka Toure's music is banned
• Egyptian Islamists: 'We've Won Elections, Now Democracy Isn't Good Enough?'
• Group of Christian women banned from voting in Egypt’s referendum
• Moroccans Fear That Flickers of Democracy Are Fading NYT

Blasphemy

• Kuwait introduces death penalty for 'cursing God and prophets'
• Debunking 'weeping Jesus' forces exile--When drinking sewer water is valued over rational thinking.
• Egyptian Copt Alber Saber jailed for blasphemy
• Dutch parliament to abolish blasphemy law
• Ireland's blasphemy laws condemned

Atheism

• Add This Group To Obama's Winning Coalition: 'Religiously Unaffiliated'
• UK: Census 2011 religion data reveal there are 4m fewer Christians and 1 in 4 is now an atheist
• Atheists around world suffer persecution, discrimination: report
• When a Church Partners with a Public School to Raise Money for a Christian Charity, an Atheist Steps In
• Why I Don't Want to Be a West Point Graduate--"[T]he tipping point of my decision to resign was the realization that countless officers here and throughout the military are guilty of blatantly violating the oaths they swore to defend the Constitution... through unconstitutional proselytism, discrimination against the non-religious and establishing formal policies to reward, encourage and even at times require sectarian religious participation." Emphasis mine.

Europe

• Polish ritual slaughter illegal, court rules--"Poland's top court has ruled that the religious slaughter of animals is illegal, weeks before an EU law allowing the practice takes effect."
• Italian church to be stripped of tax exemption from 2013
• Vatican disciplines Austrian dissident priest

Science Under Siege

• Dinosaurs and Denial--"Senator Marco Rubio created quite a stir with comments about the age of Earth, but his answer was in line with the consensus of the Republican Party." NYT
• Lamar Smith, Global Warming Skeptic, Set To Chair House Science Committee--This is Texas' fault
• Anti-Evolution Rep. Broun Wants to Stay on Science Committee

Creationism

• Pat Robertson admits Biblical creationism is false--He says "the earth is much older than Biblical creationists are willing to admit.
• Debate on Islam and evolution has to be called off after revolt by student societies--"Muslim opposition highlights growing influence of creationism and literalist interpretations of the Koran."
• Rubio: "There is no scientific debate on the age of the earth"--"The Florida senator clarifies that he believes the Earth is 'at least 4.5 billion years old.'" Salon
• After creationism bill failed, Indiana senator will push 'truth in education' measure
• Say What? Kentucky Legislator Mike Wilson Won’t Push Creationism?
• A Marshall McLuhan moment with creationist Paul Nelson
• The Top 10 Claims Made by Creationists to Counter Scientific Theories

Evolution

• New contender for oldest dinosaur
• The Real Tree of Life
• xkcd: Feathers

Cavemen, Discoveries, When in Rome, History, Nazism, Communism, WWII

Cavemen

• Europeans did not inherit pale skins from Neanderthals
• Mesolithic man find could rewrite Stone Age history
• Neanderthal Me
• Homo Heidelbergensis as Skilled Hunter
• Cave paintings are older than we thought
• Cave paintings were Stone Age animations
• Cavemen were better at drawing animals than modern artists

Discoveries

• 'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea - a huge undersea world swallowed by the sea in 6500BC
• Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found?
• Drilling discovers ancient Antarctic rainforest
• Tomb of Maya Queen Found—"Lady Snake Lord" Ruled Centipede Kingdom
• Mysterious elk-shaped structure discovered in Russia
• Stonehenge up close: digital laser scan reveals secrets of the past--"Most detailed analysis yet of prehistoric stone circle shows how masons spent more time making key areas look the best."
• They Cracked This 250 Year-Old Code, And Found a Secret Society Inside

When in Rome

• Treveri Versus Romans In The Conquest Of Celtic Gaul
• Roman cavalry helmet makes £2.2 million at auction
• Colosseum in Rome is leaning, officials say
• A hotel? An archaeology site? Or both?
• Roman ship found laden with cargo
• Roman jewellery found in ancient Japan tomb
• First-time Berkhamsted metal-detector finds one of UK's largest Roman coin hoards, worth £100,000

History

• The Most Spectacular Mutation in Recent Human History--"How did milk help found Western civilization?"
• Researcher finds slaves quarried sandstone used to build Smithsonian Castle
• Historian mashes up historical images with modern-day reality
• Oliver Stone's 'untold American history'
• People Celebrated 12/12/12 100 Years Ago by 'Writing a Great Many Letters'

Nazism

• How fiction fooled Hitler--"Pulitzer Prize-winner Tina Rosenberg discusses the novelist who helped defeat the Nazis." Salon
• "I liked to shoot women pushing prams": Secret Nazi tapes shocking Germany
• Britain favoured execution over Nuremberg trials for Nazi leaders--"Declassified account shows Britain would have preferred to see Nazi leaders executed or imprisoned at end of second world war."
• D For Deception: Tina Rosenberg on the British spy novelist who hoodwinked Hitler
• Norway's police apologize for deporting Jews
• Secretly taped Nazi PoWs reveal the banality of war
• xkcd: Kill Hitler

Communism

• New dig launched in Poland for victims of communist terror
• Declassified documents add to proof that US helped cover up 1940 Soviet massacre
• Solzhenitsyn's One Day: The book that shook the USSR

WWII

• Reporter's untold story of Pearl Harbor attack is finally published--"On Dec. 7, 1941, Elizabeth McIntosh was a reporter for the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. She wrote a first-person account of the attack on Pearl Harbor, but editors thought it was too graphic. Now, it is finally published."
• Eric Lomax, World War II Prisoner Who Forgave, Dies at 93 NYT
• Weighty memento: war veteran's secret revealed after his death
• Can you crack the code?--"A dead pigeon discovered recently in a chimney in Surrey may be able to provide new answers to the secrets of World War II."
• Postcard mailed during WWII arrives at NY home

The Hobbit, TV, Music, Videogames, Comics, Art and Literature, Signs of the Times

The Hobbit

• 'The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey': Inside Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Rings' Prequel
• The Hobbit Box Stacking--Doin' it right.
• The Onion: Highlights Of 'The Hobbit'

TV

• Breaking Bad : Reflections On Heisenberg - The Uncertainty Of Walter White
• The 'Mad Men' Economic Miracle--"Television's golden age is an artistic feat built on a disturbing economic model." Note: Has TV plot spoilers right on the first paragraph.
• The CALM Act finally puts the muzzle on loud TV commercials

Music

• The greatest blessing: R&B legend gets a second chance--[Lester] Chambers had been worked over by Columbia Records during his heyday, a 10-year era that included the making of such hits as 'Time Has Come Today,' Love, Peace and Happiness,' and a remake of Otis Redding's 'I Can't Turn You Loose.' He never saw a penny in royalties from 10 of the 17 albums that the Chambers Brothers released."
• Teen Titan: The man who made Justin Bieber.
• Meet the Late Night Barbershop Quartet: The Ragtime Gals--"Jimmy fulfills an audience request to fuse both reggae music and a barbershop quartet

Videogames

• Atari Teenage Riot: The Inside Story Of Pong And The Video Game Industry's Big Bang
• Games are art: Rock Band, and its history, prove it
• These 14 Video Games Have Been Definitively Declared Art By The New York Museum Of Modern Art
• All-TIME 100 Video Games
• Spike VGA's 10 Best Videogames of the Last Decade

Comics

• Full 'Batman: Dark Knightfall' Short Delivers Intense Stop-Motion Animated Action
• World's Finest Film [Thanks legion!]
• Cool DC Posters
• Bazooka Joe and pals laid off as gum company discovers kids don't like comics
• All The Skottie Young Marvel NOW! Baby Variant Covers

Art and Literature

• I'm Sick Of Pretending: I Don't "Get" Art--He's got a few follow-ups to this article.
• Local historian finds Hans Christian Andersen's first fairy tale
• A Hunger for Tales of Life in the American Cul-de-Sac--"Russians are making a surprise hit out of a book that explains the minutiae of life in the United States, including the phenomenon of teenage baby sitters and unfortunate aversions to vodka." NYT

Signs of the Times

• "No motorboats"--Just in case, you're at a loss.
• "Alcoholism. There is hope ahead."
• "Trespassers..."
• "Is there life after death?"
• "Warning: Depression on highway"--Seems to be contagious.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Law and Disorder, International, Recording, Shooting Spree, Injustice

Planes...

• Horror in Himalayas: Seven Britons on way to climb Everest among 19 killed after their jet strikes VULTURE and bursts into flames
• Snakes on a Plane: cobra forces plane into emergency landing
• Delta kicks musician out of SkyMiles program
• American Airlines to fix seats in 48 757s
• Ach! No End In Sight For Berlin Airport Woes

Trains...

• Woman feels 'disrespected' after being kicked off train--She was talking loudy for hours on her cellphone in the 'quiet' car.
• Thief who robbed Swedish man after he fell onto subway tracks sentenced to prison, deportation
• Railway guard Christopher McGee jailed for manslaughter after 'seconds of negligence' caused death of drunk teenage girl who fell underneath train

and Automobiles

• Report details Traffic Court awash in favoritism
• Amir Khan KOs six yobs trying to steal his £100,000 car
• Deputies: Spring Hill woman tries to bail on $161 cab fare--"He escorted her to his vehicle with the intention of calling law enforcement and she started to resist. At one point, she threatened to 'call rape' if he didn't let her go...."
• Melissa Miller Drives 100 MPH After God Tells Her To
• Police: Driver called for tow but not 911 after deadly crash
• U.S. Postal Service Asking Floridians To Drive Carefully After 14 Vehicles Have Struck Post Offices in 2012
• Russian Insurance Scams--Why are they becoming so prevalent?

Law and Disorder

• Accused shoplifter dies after Walmart security place him in choke hold
• Judge suspended after 'getting a witness pregnant' - months after sending topless picture of himself to married colleague
• Weird news: "Cleaning fairy" sentenced with one year probation--"An Ohio woman dubbed the 'cleaning fairy' after she broke into a home, cleaned it and left a $75 bill has been put on probation for one year." Salon

International

• British engineer hacked to death on his South African farm
• Pakistan: 'Gangster' lawyers of Lahore, from heroes to hooligans
• Naked statue man charged with possessing offensive weapon

Recording

• Supreme Court rejects plea to ban taping of police in Illinois
• California Man Jailed Four Days for Recording Cops
• NYPD cop secretly records evidence of a ticket and arrest quota system
• Miami-Dade School Officials Force Student to Delete Footage of Security Guard Abuse
• University police fire officer after video of altercation goes viral on YouTube

Shooting Spree

• Gun Enthusiast Kills 17-Year-Old for Playing Loud Music; Lawyer Says He Acted "Very Responsibly"
• Florida Man Shoots Unarmed Black Teen After Argument Over Music
• Police Shoot 137 Times Into Car After Chase, Killing Unarmed Couple

Injustice

• The Dark Dangers of Tunnel Vision--"Why police and prosecutors suspect the wrong person—and then dig in."
• A Check on Bad Eyewitness Identifications--"An Oregon Supreme Court ruling shifts the burden of proof to prosecutors to show that eyewitness identification is sufficiently reliable to be admissible as evidence at trial." NYT
• Louisiana death row inmate freed after 15 years – with a little help from DNA

Marriage Equality & DOMA, International, Religion; Conversion Therapy, Politics, Media

Marriage Equality & DOMA

• Supreme Court to Hear Two Challenges to Gay Marriage--And Scalia tips his hand early. NYT
• The Marriage Plot: Inside This Year's Epic Campaign for Gay Equality
• Seattle: A license to marry: It's official--"Just after midnight, as hundreds rejoiced, King County issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples for the first time."
• Women Marry At West Point Chapel, First Same-Sex Couple To Wed There
• Federal judge says 'perpetuation of the human race' justifies Nevada gay marriage ban--Infertile couples who don't plan to raise kids, your marriage licenses have been revoked.
• Boeing Won't Offer Pension Benefits To Same-Sex Couples
• Soldier's last wish: Let DOMA die before I do
• George Will: 'Quite Literally, The Opposition To Gay Marriage Is Dying'
• Poll: Plurality supports gay marriage [H/T Hector]
• Possibly the most beautiful ad for marriage equality we've ever seen

International

• Gay marriage to be illegal in Church of England--"The Church of England and Church in Wales will be banned in law from offering same-sex marriages, the government has announced." David Cameron was for allowing it.
• French protests against gay marriage bill
• Experts: Mexico Ruling Opens Door to Gay Marriage
• Uruguay's Lower House Approves Gay Marriage Law
• Israel gets same-sex divorce before same-sex marriage

Religion

• Christian's year of living 'gay' leads to dramatic change, sparks controversy
• 'Europe's first gay-friendly mosque' sparks controversy
• Gay And Muslim: The Challenge Of Homophobia In Islam
• Is Mormon Teaching About Gays Evolving?
• Rick Warren: Churches Are 'Probably' Responsible For Negative Attitudes Towards Gays--And he's 'probably' trying to deflect blame.
• Christian group says demon sex makes you gay--"A Christian magazine warns that homosexuality is caused by sex with succubi -- and that's just the beginning." Salon
• Berkeley students seek Christmas ban on Salvation Army bell ringers--"The student government at the University of California-Berkeley (CAL) passed a resolution last month that would ban Salvation Army bell ringers and their iconic red kettles from campus this Christmas because of the Christian organization's alleged bias against homosexuality."

Conversion Therapy

• UK government: Gay "cure" therapy is harmful--"The Department of Health does not condone the concept of therapists offering 'cures' for homosexuality. There is no evidence that this sort of treatment is beneficial and indeed it may well cause significant harm."
• Judge temporarily blocks California's ban on gay conversion therapy Salon
• 'Gay Conversion' Therapy Is Not Protected Free Speech--"Just because a treatment is carried out through words doesn't mean it's safeguarded by the First Amendment."

Politics

• President Obama nominates first openly gay Latina judge to U.S. District Court
• When Barney Frank announced he was 'coming out of the room' (er… the closet)
• Republican Pa. lawmaker announces he's gay
• Marco Rubio Says Homosexuality Is A Sin — But Not In A Judgmental Way--No homo.
• Cuban transsexual elected to public office--"Adela Hernandez, jailed for 'dangerousness' in the 1980s, becomes first transgender person to hold public office in Cuba."

Media

• 'I Couldn't Accept Being Gay Because I Was too Afraid'--An interview with first openly gay boxer Orlando Cruz
• Major Corporate Foundation Suspends Support For Boy Scouts Over Anti-Gay Discrimination
• Passengers left stranded on bus after driver refuses to board because of gay rights advert on the side
• South Lyon teacher suspended for playing song about being gay
• AP bans the word "homophobia"
• Where masturbation and homosexuality don't exist
• Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay [H/T Hector]
• APA Revises Manual: Being Transgender Is No Longer A Mental Disorder
• Dear Prudence: Follow-up letters from the twincest writer and the minister's wife
• My husband's secret gay life Salon

Fiscal Cliff, Disability; Right-To-Work, Workers, Government at work, Immigration; Elections Aftermath, Republicans; Fucks News, Media & Journalism

Fiscal Cliff

• Obama takes his case to people for "fiscal cliff" deal
• Republicans wave the white flag--Even Ann Coulter thinks so.
• McConnell Filibusters His Own Bill To Lift Debt Ceiling--Maybe the Senate can work something out to stop this ridiculousness.
• Poll: Republicans think anti-tax pledge is bad idea--GOP is still scheming how to avert the blame.
• Republican Congressman's Excuse For Not Extending The Middle-Class Tax Cuts--"Rep. John Duncan (R-TN) admits that he won't extend middle-class tax cuts in order to keep control of the floor out of the hands of Democrats."
• Why Not Push the Pentagon off the Fiscal Cliff?
• Billionaires Warn Higher Taxes Could Prevent Them From Buying Politicians--"Introducing a new wrinkle into the already fraught fiscal cliff showdown, a consortium of billionaires today warned that if their taxes are raised they will no longer have enough money to buy politicians." Let's see how many fall for this piece of satire.

Disability

• Senate Republicans' profiles in moral cowardice
• What Kind of Party Votes Against Protection for People With Disabilities?
• Stewart Rips GOP: 'They Hate The United Nations More Than They Like Helping People In Wheelchairs'

Right-To-Work

• Michigan passes 'right-to-work' measures--"Michigan's GOP-dominated statehouse voted Thursday in lame-duck session in favor of right-to-work laws that critics say would limit workers' rights and weaken unions."
• "This is where Democracy goes to die today."--"In this clip, State Rep. Brandon Dillon (D-Grand Rapids) explains his opposition to House Bill 4054, a proposal to make Michigan a 'right-to-work' state. The proposal was pushed through the House in one day without a single committee hearing and without taking a single word of testimony."
• 'It's Not Just Anti-Union. It's Anti-Worker.' NFLPA and MLBPA Join Fight Against Michigan Right-to-Work
• NFL Players Union Opposes Michigan's 'Right-To-Work' Push: 'We Don't Think Workers Deserve This'
• Obama: Right-To-Work Laws Mean 'Right To Work For Less Money'

Workers

• Krugman: The Forgotten Millions--"Let's get one thing straight: America is not facing a fiscal crisis. It is, however, still very much experiencing a job crisis." NYT
• The End of Middle Class Growth: What It Means for the Future of Work, Family, and the Economy
• McJobs Should Pay, Too: Inside Fast-Food Workers' Historic Protest For Living Wages
• The argument in the floor: Evidence is mounting that moderate minimum wages can do more good than harm
• This week in the War on Workers: This cartoon about taxing the rich outraged Rush Limbaugh

Government at work

• Was spruce-up of Point Breeze lot a trespass?--Good samaritan gets sued by city for cleaning up trash.
• Disabled daughter dies just hours after state takes her from mom--Stay classy, Florida.
• Rick Scott's Job Czar Hunting Deutsch Quits After Collecting Unemployment Benefits While Traveling Through Europe--Stay classy, Florida.
• Florida State seeks details of young women's sex lives--Stay... ah, forget it. This is why they got their own Fark tag.
• Wikipedia Bans Congress--"A one-week ban on IP addresses associated with the US Congress will stay in effect until the Wikipedia Foundation can collect comments on abuses of Wikipedia by Congressional staffers."

Immigration

• Republicans' Immigration Bill Blocked by Senate Democrats--It would have ended up "abolishing an annual lottery that distributes green cards to foreigners from countries with traditionally low immigration to the United States." NYT
• The GOP's immigration jam
• Understanding Immigration Reform"--Comprehensive immigration reform means different things to different people. What should we look for in attempts to fix the system?" NYT
• Top 10 Reasons Why The U.S. Needs Comprehensive Immigration Reform
• Illegal immigration drops after decade-long rise Salon

Elections Aftermath

• How President Obama Won a Second Term--"Political strategist James Carville breaks down where the Republicans went wrong – and what it means for the future."
• Where Americans stood this election--"See how much selected voter groups voted Democratic or Republican in the 2012 election national exit poll."
• Ex-Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist tweets he’s 'proud and honored to join the Democratic Party'
• The Real Republican Adversary? Population Density
• Florida Rejects Christian Slater's Ballot--He resorted to using a provisional ballot after waiting for hours in line to vote.

Republicans

• RNC launches official review on 2012 election
• GOP Resurrects Plan to Rig Electoral College--"After Romney got walloped on November 6, Republicans want to change how electoral votes are awarded."
• Almost Half of Republicans Indulge the 'Stolen Election' Delusion
• Billionaire Casino Mogul Sheldon Adelson Says He'll Double Down On GOP - Literally
• Will the GOP ever get serious?--"The Republicans' big-idea guys and policy wonks outlined their 2016 platforms this week. They sound a lot like 1980." Salon
• Paul Ryan Responds To Election Defeat By Swinging Even Further To The Right
• Joe Scarborough: Conservative Media Is 'Destroying' Republican Party

Fucks News

• Publicist confirms it: Fox News banned book critical of George W. Bush
• Fox News has oldest cable audience
• PR Stunts: Fake Study Links Fox News to Low IQs--"It was a headline destined to simultaneously inspire a dozen highfalutin op-eds and a million bitchy comments: Fox News Viewers Are the Dumbest. One problem, though: it was what we in the media world call 'a bunch of BS.'"

Media & Journalism

• FCC Taking Beating For Plans to Gut Media Consolidation Rules--Wawtch Sen. Bernie Sanders discuss why 'big media shouldn't get bigger.'
• Time Gives Up on Factchecking--"Corporate media can't find a way to tell the truth."
• 10 Brilliant Quotes by Noam Chomsky on How Media Really Operates in America
• The Oatmeal: I wrote a response to Jack Stuef's BuzzFeed article about me--The amount of misinformation in Stuef's article is absurd, and I saw a pathetic hack piece on Salon piling on Inman.
• What Disturbs Us Most About the N.Y. Post Subway Death Cover

World Human Rights Day; Megaupload, Pirate Bay, Copyfight; Internet Freedom, Surveillance and Privacy, Tech Tracking; Patents; Online Gambling

World Human Rights Day

Megaupload

• New Zealand Government Admits That Order To Suppress Illegal Spying On Kim Dotcom Only Such Order Issued In 10 Years--"Signed by acting prime minister Bill English while Key was aboard."
• Dotcom can pursue case against police, GCSB
• Dotcom Announces Brand New "Lobbyist-Proof" Kiwi Domain for Mega--The original name, Me.ga, was taken away.
• Kim Dotcom posts screenshots of upcoming Mega site: key generator, registration, and file manager
• Kim Dotcom's Open Letter To Hollywood

Pirate Bay

• Pirate Bay Founder Released From Solitary Confinement
• The Pirate Bay Is The World's Most Efficient Public Library
• UK ISPs Unblock Pirate Bay’s Artist Promos After Protests

Copyfight

• Digital Rights Groups Shut Out of Secret TPP Negotiations--Why does it matter? Glad you asked.
• Staffer axed by Republican group over retracted copyright-reform memo--"Big Content doesn't like the GOP advocating for copyright changes."
• Dark dealings of 'The Hobbit'--What the New Zealand government did to ensure the movie production stayed there.
• How 4 Microsoft engineers proved that the "darknet" would defeat DRM
• Blast fromt the Past: Get a Real DVD!--How convincing.

Internet Freedom

• ITU Approves Deep Packet Inspection Standard Behind Closed Doors, Ignores Huge Privacy Implications
• House approves resolution to keep Internet control out of UN hands--397-0.
• The UN's Threat to Internet Freedom

Surveillance and Privacy

• Senator Al Franken revives debate on privacy act requiring user consent for location sharing
• Here We Go Again: Latest Draft Of White House Cybersecurity 'Executive Order' Is Leaked
• Appeals Court Holds Firm: The Government Cannot Be Sued For Violating Its Own Wiretapping Laws
• Cops to Congress: We need logs of Americans' text messages--"State and local law enforcement groups want wireless providers to store detailed information about your SMS messages for at least two years -- in case they're needed for future criminal investigations."
• New 25 GPU Monster Devours Passwords In Seconds

Tech Tracking

• Facebook: EU's 'Right To Be Forgotten' Will Enforce More User Tracking--War is peace. Freedom is slavery.
• How to get targeted ads on your TV? Try a camera in your set-top box.--"Verizon has filed a patent for a DVR that can watch and listen to the goings-on in your living room. In the application, the company proposes to use the technology to serve targeted ads appropriate to whatever you're doing in the, uh, privacy of your own home—fighting, cuddling, or hanging out with your cats."
• In Some Stores, the Mannequins Are Watching You

Patents

• In the High-Tech Patent Wars, an Inventor's Lament--"In high-tech industries, the patent system is tilted in favor of large companies that are mainly engaged in incremental innovation, according to Stephen Perlman, a well-known inventor and entrepreneur. That makes things increasingly difficult, he contends, for inventors who are pursuing longer-term breakthroughs."
• Numbers don't lie: Patent trolls are a plague
• America's dysfunctional patent system is stifling innovation--"Instead of rewarding invention, US patents just help corporations work monopolies and legal 'trolls' make parasitic profits."
• The Meteoric Ascent of the Patent Troll and the Devastating Consequences for Innovation
• Facebook, Google, Zynga Ask Courts To Reject Patents On Abstract Ideas That Plague Tech Innovation

Online Gambling

• Poker is game of skill, not chance, New York judge rules, upping Internet ante
• Kentucky reverses 141-site net casino land grab
• Why Republicans Should Favor Legalized Internet Gambling

International Anticorruption Day, Transparency, Bradley Manning; China, Canada, UK, Greece, Eurozone Crisis; World News; Racism

International Anticorruption Day

• Corruption Perceptions Index 2012
• How Corruption Is Strangling U.S. Innovation
• Newly Released Index Finds Perceived Corruption Increased After 'Arab Spring'
• Why Do People Defend Unjust, Inept, and Corrupt Systems?
• Corruption: It's Easier Than You Think

Transparency

• President signs whistle-blower bill for US workers--The bill "affords greater protection to federal employees who expose fraud, waste and abuse in government operations."
• Julian Assange: the fugitive--"Julian Assange has been holed up in the Ecuadorian embassy for six months. In a rare interview, we ask the WikiLeaks founder about reports of illness, paranoia – and if he'll ever come out."
• U.N. Development Agency Launches Open Data Site To Track All $5.8B In Projects

Bradley Manning

• Bradley Manning: a tale of liberty lost in America
• WikiLeaks Suspect Bradley Manning: 'I Thought I Was Going To Die In That Cage'
• Bradley Manning 'wants to go into politics'

China

• China's challenge with corruption--"China's leaders have been decrying corruption - and doing very little about it - for decades. But some corruption experts say there may be reason for a little more hope this time around (NYT)."
• China surpasses U.S. as top global trader
• Mr. China Comes to America--"For decades, every trend in manufacturing favored the developing world and worked against the United States. But new tools that greatly speed up development from idea to finished product encourage start-up companies to locate here, not in Asia. Could global trade winds finally be blowing toward America again?"
• US software firm hacked for years after suing China
• Why one of China's richest men is squaring off against Obama in court--"Wu Jialiang, CEO of Ralls Corp. is challenging Obama's refusal on national security grounds to let him build a wind farm in America, marking the first such high level case in the US from a Chinese firm."
• When in China, don't leave your laptop alone--"If you travel to China or Russia, assume government or industry spooks will steal your data and install spyware. Here's how to thwart them."
• Top Ten Myths About China in 2012

Canada

• Toronto's combative mayor ordered to leave office
• Police looking for more suspects in Salvation Army theft
• Canada among least corrupt countries, report says

UK

• How the Ministry of Defence tried to prevent publication of Danny Nightingale's story--"The Ministry of Defence tried to prevent The Sunday Telegraph from publishing SAS hero Danny Nightingale's story, explains Sean Rayment."
• UK Independence Party couple have foster children removed from care
• Russian mafia whistleblower, 44, found dead in UK

Greece

• Greece 'most corrupt' EU country, new survey reveals
• For Greece, Oligarchs Are Obstacle to Recovery NYT
• Greece can root out corruption – just like Hong Kong did
• Greeks Protest Racist Attacks on Immigrants
• Greeks turn to the forests for fuel as winter nears--"As austerity tightens its grip, many of the middle class find themselves in a desperate struggle to make ends meet."

Eurozone Crisis

• It's Official: Austerity Economics Doesn't Work
• Spain's unemployment heads to 5 million
• Mario Monti to quit as Italian PM amid waning support for austerity policies--"Prime minister announces decision hours after former leader Silvio Berlusconi confirms he will seek office again."

World News

• Spain regions: Catalonia nationalists win election
• Scottish independence: Cameron and Salmond strike referendum deal
• IOC suspends India from Olympics after row over upcoming elections
• Serbia's NATO ambassador suddenly leaps 10 metres to his death at Brussels Airport
• Enslaved Children Freed After Being Forced to Make Christmas decorations

Racism

• Ireland: Man knifed in neck for challenging racist jibes, court hears
• Australia: 'Speak English Or Die'' Viral Video Update: Schmucks Identified
• Anger as Hungary far-right leader demands lists of Jews--"A Hungarian far-right politician urged the government to draw up lists of Jews who pose a 'national security risk', stirring outrage among Jewish leaders who saw echoes of fascist policies that led to the Holocaust."