Buzz abounds for this popular new French film as it enters American threatres. The original title of the film is "Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain." (Be advised: this promotional site is very Flash-intensive.) Visit IMDB for more details, reviews, etc.

   http://us.imdb.com/Title?0211915

So far, with 3700 IMDB votes, it's a 9.0 on a 10.0 scale, making it #39 on the top 250 between #38 Das Boot and #40 Some Like It Hot.

Amelie from Montmartre

Here's an article from the latest issue (October) of the Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication.

Skim through to the section of "Reflexivity". I think MemeSreams should promote valuable discourse among members of the community.

Abstract: In recent times, much has been said about the possibility that the two-way, decentralized communications of cyberspace can provide sites of rational-critical discourse autonomous from state and economic interests and thus extending the public sphere at large. In this paper the extent to which the Internet does in fact enhance the public sphere is evaluated. [A]nalysis shows that vibrant exchange of positions and rational critique does take place within many online fora. However, there are a number of factors limiting the expansion of the public sphere online. [...]

Computer-Mediated Communication and the Public Sphere

Table of Contents includes:
The Idea of Space ... as geography; as political boundaries;
Space and movement
Internet and Space: Transforming Relationships
The elements of the transformation
Consequences of the transformations
Finding a New Space: Cybernetic Space
Internet and Cybernetic Space

From Cyber Space to Cybernetic Space: Rethinking the Relationship between Real and Virtual Spaces

A 184 page book, published this month, takes a case study approach to the practice of ethics online. The table of contents suggests that it covers a fairly wide range of topics, given its (relatively) small size (for a technical book).

"The exponential growth of the Internet is one of the most remarkable technological phenomena of the last century. As the virtual world begins to displace the physical one, we must grapple with many controversial social problems. Cyberethics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace takes an unbiased look at four perennial issues: free speech, intellectual property, privacy, and security. This book draws from the work of legal scholars and philosophers to develop a comprehensive framework that will facilitate analysis of the moral and legal dilemmas that arise in these four areas. Cyberethics is quite versatile, and can be used as a companion text for law, ethics, and policy courses taught in law schools, schools of management, and philosophy departments. It is ideally suited for computer ethics and Internet ethics courses."

CyberEthics: Morality and Law in Cyberspace

"The aim of Nanojournal.org web site is to reference all nanotechnology articles from several research journals. This database gives references (and links) of papers about nanotechnology, from selected scientific journals (PRB, PRL, JACS, JAP, JPCB....) [The] database is [...] a way to obtain the latest news in the area of nanotechnology.

Many of the papers will require an electronic subscription to the referenced publication, or at least a site registration. Further, these papers tend to be highly technical and specific in nature. (The typical PRL paper is for a rather different audience than an article in Scientific American.)

NanoJournal.org: Scientific Publications Database

A new 256-page book, edited by Peter Denning, published in October by McGraw-Hill in cooperation with the ACM.

"Today's leading visionaries discuss the future of information technology"

The Invisible Future assembles an elite group of 17 business and academic leaders to answer [...] fascinating, strategically critical questions. The original essays they provide are as provocative and as powerful as the topics they discuss.

This wide-ranging collection offers tactical insights into the future of technology and computing. The Invisible Future includes never-before published essays by:

John Seely Brown, Michael Dertouzos, Alan Kay, Ray Kurzweil, Bob Metcalfe, Rodney Brooks, Rita Colwell, and more.

The Invisible Future: The Seamless Integration of Technology into Everyday Life

David Farber has a brief column in IEEE Internet Computing online. It appears to be generally available -- no subscription required.

"The United States has gone through a rollercoaster in the balance between individual freedoms and national safety throughout its history. As usual in a capitalistic democracy, profits, immigration, and other societal pressures have all factored in to the challenge. After the tragic attack on September the 11th, the Bush administration has called for, and received, increased powers to listen to our conversations, look at our e-mail, and see who and where we visit in cyberspace -- all with the stated intentions of protecting us from terrorists. Even prior to 9/11, repeated calls for increased powers for law enforcement resulted in ill-thought-out or rushed ideas such as Clipper -- the key escrow proposals of not many years ago -- and hastily adopted, potentially destabilizing schemes such as the Carnivore e-mail monitoring system. Now more than ever, the technical community has a vital role in maintaining the balance."

Balancing Security and Liberty, by David Farber

A new report from the United States Internet Council (USIC) explains that the majority of online users are not native English speakers.

"The Internet continued to grow at a very rapid pace and surpassed a half-billion online users in 2001. In fact, the Internet is growing so rapidly that the architecture of the Internet is being compelled to reshape itself with a new IP structure and new Top Level and multilingual domains. [...] In 2001 the online population crossed the half billion milestone and online demographics began to increasingly reflect offline realities. Significantly, native English speakers lost their dominance in 2001 and now represent approximately 45% of the online population."

Based on this report and a recent Harris poll, it's clear that the now-stagnant US online population no longer dominates the network. In case there was previously any doubt, take notice: the global Internet has arrived.

Not multi-lingual? You may be missing half the Net.

A 71-page text by Pamela Samuelson of UC Berkeley. A well-researched, up-to-date document with lots of footnotes and references to more details on the subject. Outline:

Reverse Engineering ...
    ... in Traditional Manufacturing Industries
    ... In the Semiconductor Industry
    ... in the Computer Software Industry
    ... of Technically Protected Digital Content
    ... as a Policy Lever

The Law and Economics of Reverse Engineering [PDF]

"Ever since the attacks, he's been making like he's been a Central Asia expert for years," said Lisa Reames, a longtime friend of the 30-year-old University of Kentucky graduate student. "Like, the other day, he was saying how after the Soviets left Afghanistan, an alliance of mujahideen set up a new government. Then, he said he remembers when the Soviet-backed government replaced President Barbrak Karmal with Muhammad Najibullah in '86. Yeah, fucking right. I'm sure he was aware of that when he was 15."

Area Man Acts Like He's Been Interested In Afghanistan All Along