the IT blog

W. at the APEC summit.

Christopher Hitchens is scolding the Pope and Mother Teresa in his latest article for Slate. He concludes saying, she was a fanatic, a fundamentalist, and a fraud, and a church that officially protects those who violate the innocent has given us another clear sign of where it truly stands on moral and ethical questions.
Mommie Dearest [slate]

Ever thought about that? Here's what pt says: [D.Blaine] didn't really bury himself in a box in nyc, or a block of ice nor did he stay 44 days in box in london. [...] he's fooled us all, over and over and with all this media, no one noticed how he did it?
Can anyone reveal the truth?

NY mags most recent feature on the explosion of consuming cyber porn becoming common habit. Now that Jenna Jameson has become a cultural icon, even Dawson is doing it.
Not Tonight, Honey. I'm Logging On. [NYmag]

Finally we see the first sprout of scientific publishing which becomes accessible to everyone! The Public Library of Science starts with PLoS Biology on October 13. This is a completely new model of scientific publishing as it is accesssible to everyone. Unlike the traditional magazines such as Science, PLoS is not charging the reader or demanding high subscription fees.
So we are really looking forward to that and hope that there'll be something like that for the humanities and cultural studies as well.
Publish and be praised [guardian]
Free science journal hits press [nature]
Public Library of Science Goes Live [paidcontent]

What we never got to see or to hear about the Afghan War: 'an alternate history of the [...] conflict'. [via ES]