Ken MacLeod's Blog, page 37

New poem on The Human Genre Project

'Communication Breakdown', by ecologist Julian Derry, author of Darwin in Scotland and the rather more technical Piospheres .

CRU hackers reveal: Climate science conducted by human beings!

The right-wing blogosphere is having a pearl-clutching fit of the vapours, modulated by a little concern trolling, over this:

"I've just completed Mike's Nature trick of adding in the real temps to each series for the last 20 years (ie from 1981 onwards) and from 1961 for Keith's to hide the decline."

These 33 words, it seems, are all most of them need to convince themselves they're living in a Michael Crichton novel, and they're an army of Davids, each lockstep blogpost slinging another shiny ...

"It's like Sputnik went up and we think it's just a shooting star."

Thomas L. Friedman on how Red China's going Green could leave the US running to catch up. (Via.)

Darwin discussed tonight at McEwan Hall

Late notice, I know, but a panel of distinguished academics are discussing Darwin tonight at the McEwan Hall, Teviot Place, Edinburgh. Online bookings full, but spaces available - ask at the door.

The body in the library: crime authors discuss forensic science

I was going to blog about our very successful second Social Session, with Ian Rankin, Lin Anderson and Steve Sturdy, but I see that Edinburgh City Libraries' own blog has beaten me to it, with photos and everything.

Three new poems

Three new poems up this week at The Human Genre Project: joseph merrick's bones by Angie Werren, Chromosome 2: love remembered by Chris S. Packard, and a witty haiku/senryu by Edinburgh poet Juliet Wilson.

Chris Harman, 1942 - 2009

Chris Harman, who since the 1960s was a leading thinker and activist in the Socialist Workers Party (Britain), died on Friday. Although I didn't know him personally, his writings had a huge effect on my life, as they did on many thousands of others.

Condolences to all those who did know him, particularly his family and friends.

Why We Fight

A 'senior serving soldier' tells The Independent about some problems with training the Afghan police:

We went out to Helmand to mentor the Afghan National Police without understanding the level they were at. We thought we would be arresting people, helping them to police efficiently. Instead we were literally training them how to point a gun on the ranges, and telling them why you should not stop cars and demand "taxes".

Most of them were corrupt and took drugs, particularly opium. The lads...

Battle of Ideas

Last Saturday I took part in a panel on pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) and the 'designer babies' controversy at Battle of Ideas, an annual festival of discussion organised by the Institute of Ideas (IoI). The panel, 'Frankenstein's Daughters: from science fiction to science fact?', sponsored by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and the Wellcome Trust, was chaired by Science Media Centre director Fiona Fox. Leading fertility specialist and practioner Dr Alan Thornhill opened wit...

StarShipSofa Stories Volume 1

I've just received my author copy of this fine work, and very good it looks too. Designed throughout in the style of an old pulp magazine or paperback, from the pseudo-distressed cover to the retro ads for products that no longer exist and probably never worked when they did, it collects a number of stories from the site's podcasts. Available as a free download and in several hardcopy editions, the book got a rave review on BoingBoing.