From Tom:

If you believe in due process of law and the right to freedom of expression you should join us in taking a stand. It is important that we take a stand right now.

It doesn't matter whether or not you support what Wikileaks is doing. If I were handed such a rich trove of private information I might have moral qualms about dumping the whole thing on the Internet. That is totally irrelevant.

In the United States of America we are a country of laws. If Wikileaks has violated a law than the appropriate way to respond to that is through the use of the legal system. In fact, like it or not, it is most likely the case that Wikileaks has not violated the law. Therefore, senior politicians in this country have taken it upon themselves to use their personal influence to shut the website down, and a number of corporations, large and small, have obliged them.

In a free country with a strong legal system and a tradition of upholding the right to freedom of speech, this sort of thing is not acceptable. Life, liberty, and property should only be taken away through due process of law and not simply because some powerful people desire it and present thin arguments in favor of it.

As The Internet Society recently stated in their newsletter:

[Wikileaks] must be subject to the same laws and policies of availability as all Internet sites. Free expression should not be restricted by governmental or private controls over computer hardware or software, telecommunications infrastructure, or other essential components of the Internet.

Unless and until appropriate laws are brought to bear to take the wikileaks.org domain down legally, technical solutions should be sought to reestablish its proper presence...

Anger about these events runs deep. Right now, many of the companies who assisted in cutting off Wikileaks have been subjected to distributed denial of service attacks. While I share the anger of those who are launching these at... [ Read More (0.1k in body) ]

Taking a principled stand on Wikileaks

Toms newest brilliant idea. Check it out!

Announcing my latest website project:

Wiki Voter Guide is a website that helps you research upcoming elections in the United States using Wikipedia. Why use Wikipedia for this purpose? On the one hand, Wikipedia can contain information that is incorrect or misleading, because it can be edited by anyone. However, we believe that Wikipedia can be a useful resource if it is used properly and read with a critical eye. Its openness and collaborative process enables people to work together to create objective documentation of a politican's positions and views, independent of any campaign or special interest. Also, the WikiTrust Browser Plugin makes it easier to identify and eliminate vandalism. You can read a detailed discussion of the philosophy and origins of this website by clicking here.

I said I'd do something about this, and I am.

Feedback?

Wiki Voter Guide

Cool map of next-gen sequencer facilities....although, its a bit outdated (HA has more than this says) its an interesting view.

Next Generation Genomics: World Map of High-throughput Sequencers

Foldit is a revolutionary new computer game enabling you to contribute to important scientific research. This page describes the science behind Foldit and how your playing can help.

The Science Behind Foldit | Foldit

I saw a seminar by the CSO of this company this morning - this is a very smartly designed adenoviral therapy for cancer - its very promising. They have modified the virus to more specifically target cancer cells over normal tissue, and they have made it a lytic virus instead of lysogenic, so the virus lyses the cell, thus avoiding the complication of where the virus will be integrated into the genome. Very exciting to see viral gene therapy progressing forward again!

Vectorlogics Overview

ok - I give - I want one of these.

Amazon.com: Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, 6" Display, Graphite - Latest Generation: Kindle Store

In a SPIEGEL interview, genetic scientist Craig Venter discusses the 10 years he spent sequencing the human genome, why we have learned so little from it a decade on and the potential for mass production of artificial life forms that could be used to produce fuels and other resources.

Entertaining interview from Craig Venter....take it with a grain of salt, but definitely worth reading (if for nothing else than his strong personality).

SPIEGEL Interview with Craig Venter: 'We Have Learned Nothing from the Genome' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News - International

Learn about Fredrick Douglas...in a non work safe manner:)

YouTube - Drunk History Vol. 5 Featuring Will Ferrell, Don Cheadle, and Zooey Deschanel.

Neat fabric wall clings that won't harm your wall and are super cool. Check em out! Lots of neat old school scifi ones.

Craftzine.com blog : Fabric Wall Clings

Venter and his colleagues are working with Novartis and the National Institutes of Health to synthesize cassettes--clusters of genes that could be inserted into a synthetic genome--for every known flu virus in an effort to streamline the vaccine manufacturing process. They envision a system where, if a new strain such as H1N1 emerged, developing a vaccine would be as straightforward as shuffling genes encoding the relevant viral fragments into a synthetic genome. This could then yield a cell that could be used to quickly manufacture the product.

Technology Review: Synthetic Genome Reboots Cell