The Real Battle

"But I feared no evil. No, not only because Linux was with me but because Linux was with the audience--whether they knew it or not. Technologists--of which there were approximately none in attendance--put it there."

Searls makes the point that what people do matters as much as what they say.

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BBC NEWS | World | Middle East | Western Wall 'leak' prompts speculation

"One of the world's most revered sacred sites - the Western Wall in Jerusalem - is the focus of fevered speculation after apparently springing a leak. "

This story is an illustration of the way in which people learn by noticing detail peripheral to the story.  Although the actual story -- a probable hose leak that some people interpret as heralding the messiah -- was moderately interesting, what I found really fascinating was the picture of the man with the little box on his head.  It turns out this is a tefillin, and that there is an entire prayer ritual surrounding it among Orthodox jews that is based on a passage from Deuteronomy.

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"Sex and the College Newspaper" [Daypop Top 40] 

Yale Daily News breaks new ground.  Actually, I am surprised that it has taken this long for sex columns to become a regular feature of college newspapers.  On balance, I think it is a good thing to have the subject out in the open, particularly at colleges.  The Times article suggests, however, that not much has changed on the campus itself.

Path to Sahara issue settlement is clearly defined, Morocco says [Arabic News]

Clear as mud, except that Morocco has no intention of changing the status of the Sahara.