We don't need no stinkin' Geneva Convention. We don't need no stinkin' Geneva Convention – US plans death camp – plans to turn Guantanamo Bay's Camp X-Ray into a death camp are in the works. [MetaFilter]

umm, no, this should not happen. They should be brought to the U.S. for the regular round of criminal proceedings.

BOFH cops a virus. Episode 10 Bring the tranquiliser gun [The Register]

new bofh, woo hooo!

Gaming as a Solution for Computer Science Woes.

The New York Times ran an article this past week that discussed the changing times for computer majors. The boom of the 90's ended in a bust, and further layoffs and dim forecasts by the technology industry have caused many students to reconsider the profitability of a degree in computer science.

 At Carnegie Mellon University, applications to the School of Computer Science for next fall are down 36 percent from their peak in 2001; applications to Virginia Tech's computer science department have declined 40 percent since 2001. At M.I.T., renowned for its computer science curriculum, 20 percent fewer freshmen declared electrical engineering and computer science as their central focus this spring than did in 2001 or 2002.

[Xplana]

ZIPPP, SLASH, CUT. Two years ago we put forth proposals that would have brought Computer Game Studies to Virginia Tech in a big way, but for a variety of reasons the Institution basically said NO WAY, it's not RESEARCH, even though the proposals demonstrated that it was clearly research and that it would be highly beneficial to the University in a BIG MONEY sort of way….

Because of this, I don't think that Games are going to save any computer science department, one problem is that Games aren't built on the back of computer scientists. Some of the innovation in games comes from there, but the really great games come from people with a broad background and interests in the humanities and social science, interests in HUMANS, not in computers. The IGDA curriculum that i commented on and now exists on their website is illustrative of this, computer games is much broader than computer science. Given the funding structures and student interests in 'normal' computer science. I can see where they could be in a pickle for a while, not just here, but elsewhere.

So anyway, I suppose this is the same case other places…. I see the places that are working on computer games and those are places that break disciplines and break paradigms, many universities in the U.S. are less likely to do that, I think.

behind the razzle dazzle. That the debate over the higher education institutions in Australia is conducted in very utilitarian terms should come as no suprise, since Australia's public philosophy is utilitarian one. Currently, the key issue in the debate is the private/public funding of the university. The funding issue mostly ignores any consideration of the impact of the corporatisation of the liberal university that we find here. And what is rarely spoken about is the connection between the university as an ethical institution in civil society and the broadening of liberal democracy. Consider this response to Brendan Nelson's proposed reforms to higher education. Davidson makes two points. First: “Behind the razzle-dazzle, with the promise of an injection of an additional billion dollars of taxpayer funds, is a scheme for creating a two-tier system that will intensify the competition for a place in the top tier based on family wealth and, hence, ease the competitive… [philosophy.com]

This is an excellent and interesting analysis of events… But lets realize that australia has always had two classes of universities, they had the technical universities as second class citizens for a long time, then suddenly, technical capacity was prioritized and i wonder what happened next….

Red vs. Blue: kickass short movies made with video-games. Sez Cory:

The two most astonishing things about the Red vs. Blue shorts are:

• How convulsively funny they are
• How emotive, expressive and inherently comedic game-avatars can be

Check 'em out yourself at Red Versus Blue. [A blog doesn't need a clever name]

the appropriation of games and their inherent usefulness in creative and educational endeavors has yet to be explored to my satisfaction….

The Revolution will be telestreamed.

Here are the Adbusters Epiphany finalists. My fave: Human branding.

These are great! more anti-commercials more of the time….

[The Doc Searls Weblog]

Fedora – Digitial object repository management system. Quote: “The Fedora project was established under the auspices of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to build a digital object repository management system based on the Flexible Extensible Digital Object and Repository Architecture (Fedora). The new system, designed to be a foundation upon which interoperable web-based digital libraries, institutional repositories and other information management systems can be built, demonstrates how distributed digital library architecture can be deployed using web-based technologies, including XML and Web services”

Comment: via Raymond Yee. [Serious Instructional Technology]

This is somewhat related to a project that I'm working on, though my project had nothing to do with theirs….

LYNCH A.A.R.. Donald Sensing links a WaTi report that the Army's CID is investigating the circumstances of the ambush in which PFC Jessica Lynch was initially captured…. [OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY]

watch that 'wag the dog' action, isn't it pretty.

EINSTEIN SYNDROME. Thomas Sowell has an interesting column on a syndrome with which I had been largely unfamiliar: geniuses who are labeled autistic or mentally retarded because… [OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY]

This is an interesting phenomena, but i wonder how many of those who develop language later are geniuses….

Second Lowest Form of Wit.

Jean Baudrillard (Apologetic): I’m sorry I’m so late for dinner, dear, I got stuck at the office. Have I missed everything?

Mrs Baudrillard (Annoyed): Welcome to the dessert of the meal.

I know there’s a genre of these jokes waiting to be born.

[Kieran Healy's Weblog]

but there is no mrs. baudrillard, which makes this even funnier.