Lucas Mast responds to Dorothy Denning's "Why I Love Biometrics" article.

On Thursday, January 24, Joseph Atick of Visionics, Mark Rotenberg of EPIC, Dorothy Denning of Georgetown, and John Woodward Jr. of RAND met at The Cato Institute in DC for a policy forum on the topic of biometrics. Three documents, including this one and "Nameless in Cyberspace" (which discusses Georgia's HB1630), were distributed to attendees.

Biometrics: Hold On, Chicken Little - TechKnowledge Newsletter

When the economy recovers, not all technology hubs around the United States will get equal treatment in terms of jobs, according to a report released this week... "It's going to be a rough year for the Bay Area," said Steven Cochrane, an economist at Economy.com. "San Francisco is hurt by the technology and financial industries, and San Jose has the highest concentration of tech jobs."

Is your tech hub growing? - Tech News - CNET.com

Some very rich Japaneese people talking like gangstas. Very funny. Not for the easily offended.

only in japan

On November 29, USC hosted a lively debate between author/professor Larry Lessig and MPAA president Jack Valenti. The debate begins approximately 55 minutes into the video.

In the new digital environment, what impact do intellectual property rights have on innovation and creativity? Do copyrights and patents hamper or enhance artistic life? How is our creative culture being shaped by changes in law and technology? A spirited exchange between Jack Valenti, President of the Motion Picture Association of America, and Lawrence Lessig, Stanford Law Professor and author of The Future of Ideas: The Fate of the Commons in a Connected World. The event is co-sponsored by the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center and by the Center for the Public Domain, a Durham, North Carolina-based philanthropic foundation."

Lessig versus Valenti on Creativity, Commerce, & Culture [RealMedia]

"To The Point", a Public Radio International (PRI) news program, discusses emerging intellectual property issues in the music industry. Guests include Peter Trimarco, President of Farenheit Entertainment, who released the first copy-protected CD in the US; Robin Gross, attorney for the EFF; Carey Ramos, legal counsel for the National Music Publishers Association, the Harry Fox Agency, and the DVD Forum; Paul Boutin, writer/editor for Salon and Wired; and Todd Boyd, author and USC professor of critical studies.

This discussion starts at about 7 minutes, 42 seconds into the 50 minute audio program.

Summary: Digital technology allows computer users to make and distribute exact copies of the music they get on CDs. While music producers have attacked the practice as "piracy," consumers insist it's "fair use." In an attempt to stop it, the industry has developed a hidden electronic lock that prevents CD owners from producing an exact digital copy and burning it onto another CD or uploading it onto the Internet. Has a new generation of listeners been spoiled by technology? Should the industry establish subscription services and other new models for compensating artists? We talk with industry insiders, civil libertarians and cultural critics about the recording industry's assault on the digital reproduction of music.

The Future of Copy-Protect Music | KCRW's 'To The Point' [RealAudio]

James Bamford, a visiting professor at the Goldman School of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley, will give a public lecture on Monday, Feb. 11, 2002 at 6:30 p.m. at Sibley Auditorium in the Bechtel Center. His topic will be Intelligence Failures that Led to the September 11th Attacks. ... For more information, please call the Goldman School of Public Policy at 642-4670.

Those of you in the SF area may want to check this out ...

James Bamford on 9/11 'Intelligence Failures'

The business model for online gaming is still evolving, but at least one popular online game has already created a powerful free-market economy, according to a study.

Evercrack's collective economy is larger then Russia's!

This is fairly funny...

The Hungry Site - Feeding the New Economorons

Enron Exec commits suicide...

CNN.com - Former Enron executive dies in apparent suicide - January 25, 2002

Adult stem cells discovered that may work just as well as the controversial embryonic brand stem cells. Hopefully this will allow the promise of stem cells to be pursued free from political problems.

New Scientist