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February 04, 2006
A down day
One of the most captivating stories of the past few days involves a neo-nazi hate crime that ended in a killing spree a thousand miles away. I'll get into the details at some point; this is a story that, like Columbine, could signal an assault on internet culture. The killer in this situation is a teenage from New Bedford who maintained a very creepy myspace profile, where his friends have been posting notes of support and disbelief and encouragement and sadness for the last few days.
The main event today was Ethan Zuckerman and Andy McLaughlin's article on internet architecture and development. It is excellent reading for someone who is new to all of this, particularly because it makes the turn from the technical to the historical to the progressive (if that is a coherent construction). The authors describe the asymmetrical relationship between internet users/providers in developing nations and those in the US and EU. I hope I learn more about where this issue stands today; it would be excellent to get involved.
Also on my desk: Guns, Germs and Steel, by Jared Diamond, which I was reading over break and now have picked up again as background on my research for Open Source's research on genetic sleuthing; Political Philosophy reader for David Estlund's lecture; Violence and the Media reader for Kay Warren's lecture; Robert Fagles' translation of the Odyssey, for "Odysseus Across the Centuries," with visiting professor Marinos Pourgouris; and International Relations Theory: A Critical Introduction, by Cynthia Weber, for this independent study. I am looking forward to posting on all of those topics as I access them.
Posted by Henry Shepherd at February 4, 2006 11:11 PM
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Comments
well, this is one way for me to find out what you're taking...
Posted by: anty at February 5, 2006 05:00 PM
