The tragic events of March 11th in Madrid revealed something about how different people mourn. In the United States people were angry and wanted revenge, while depending on television for their news and trusting in the motives of the present administration. In Spain, however, crowds gathered with signs calling for peace and a new government was voted in. This article explores the differences in public space and private space between the two countries.

 
The power of corporations are all-pervasive. For citizens it is important to be aware of how these multinationals are structured in order to do something about this centralization of economic power. This site is a way to visualize how these companies are interrelated and how much influence they have.

 
Here is an interesting review of a recent book by William Gibson. The article is written by the eminent postmodern philosopher Fredric Jameson. It discusses the prevailing pull between the emergence of style and the commodification of culture that is a theme in the book.

 
One of the future goals of a new economy is to create more leisure and a stable source of income. The increased automation of factories will eventually lead to a new evaluation of how to administer wages, and a need to create a basic guaranteed income. It will be the realization of what the future was supposed to be.

 
Taxation is an enduring issue. Here is a new idea that applies peer to peer principles to tax collecting. It proposes that a percentage of income tax can be collected by private agencies or used in ways specified by the taxpayer. It is a direct way to connect people's wishes with the need to fund the infrastructure.

 
Here is a wonderful interview with notable theorist Manuel De Landa. His use of systems and complexity theory has placed a new interpretation to the postmodern philosophy of Gilles Deleuze.

 
Here is an interesting article about the ability of black holes to hold information as well as matter. It proposes that the universe is made up of matter that can be broken down into a binary code of information, and that the size of a black hole's event horizon determines its ability to retain information.

 
The Academy Awards have passed, and there is now a three-way tie for most nominations won. Along with Ben Hur and Titanic, The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King won all 11 nominations. I had suspected that best makeup, best costumes, best score, and best director would be won but that other films would garner the other technical awards offered. Usually a sweep of the Oscars by one film overshadows the accomplishments of the other nominees, but Mystic River was able to get the best actor and best supporting actor. Overall, of the 9 predictions I made, I got 4 right.

 
In many of the protest movements, there is great participation by young people. However, the legal authorities attempt to suppress civil disobedience and that means that these young people can be arrested. This article looks into the possible responsibilities of adults toward children in the protest situation.