Category: politics
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Prediction Markets and The Wisdom of Crowds
FT Predict is more than just a game. Predictive markets collect the wisdom of the crowd in a single dynamic price unit that can be far more sensitive to changes in the market than standard survey-based research. And a growing number of today’s leading companies embrace predictive market models in order to harness the wisdom…
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Great Speeches: Oprah and Obama
A couple of speeches currently getting rave reviews: Oprah’s Stanford Commencement, 2008 Barack Obama’s Father’s Day Speech, Chicago Stanford always seem to nail that commencement speech. via Ramit’s del.icio.us links and 37signals’ Signal vs. Noise
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Behavioural Addiciton: Gambling in Las Vegas
A conference on gambling addiction, run by the National Center for Responsible Gaming, is to be held in Las Vegas later this year. Put aside the irony for a moment, there are more sinister events afoot. Salon’s article Gambling with Science notes that the NCRG is funded by the gambling industry and may have a…
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NI Health Chief: Homosexuality is a Mental Illness
Homosexuality is a mental illness, according to the head of Northern Ireland’s health committee, Iris Robinson MP. Can we say ‘forced resignation’? After apparently branding homosexuality as “disgusting, loathsome, nauseating, wicked and vile” she went on to recommend […] “a very lovely psychiatrist who works with me in my offices and his Christian background is…
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2008 Reith Lectures – Chinese Vistas
If you haven’t yet discovered, the 2008 Reith Lectures are currently under way over at BBC Radio 4. This year they are being held by Jonathan Spence – a specialist in Chinese history – and the first two lectures have been on the topics of Confucius and UK-China relations.
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When Obama Wins
I’ve just been reminded of the amusing micro-site When Obama Wins, created by the eminent technologist and blogger Jason Kottke. For the reasoning behind the creation of WOW, see here. My favourite? When Obama Wins… we will all shower in beer and soap will be replaced by bacon.
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Another Example of Middle-East Ignorance
Dunkin’ Donuts removes ‘terror scarf’ ad – The US chain Dunkin’ Donuts has pulled an advert following complaints that the scarf worn by a celebrity chef offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism. She was wearing a black-and-white checked scarf around her neck that resembled a traditional Arab keffiyeh. This fashion choice incensed at least one…
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Suing in the Name of God
Soon it’s going to be illegal to see into the future; contact the deceased; and find out what’s inside closed envelopes. Well, probably… New laws are about to criminalise clairvoyants who fail to note on their advertisements that their services ‘are not subject to scientific proof’. Obviously, I’d like to think that the more intelligent…
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Unsubscribe from Human Rights Abuse
Unsubscribe is an Amnesty International campaign asking you to ‘unsubscribe’ from the human rights abuses undertaken around the world in your name. Illegal detention and torture are just two of the acts that are common place in the so-called ‘War on Terror’, and guilty or not, people deserve better treatment than what they currently get…
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Oxfam: Reshaping the World
Remember that great visual that accompanied Alisa Miller’s 2008 TED Talk? Oxfam in Action have produced a similar graphic covering the topics of world poverty, education, HIV infection rates, hunger, population, and trade. Ever wondered what extreme poverty on a global scale looks like? It’s not a pretty sight – as you can see on…