http://www.publicreadings.org Readings and Reviews of Public Policy, New Fiction, and the Benefits of Public Libraries Tue, 19 May 2009 19:38:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Pope Benedict's book, Jesus of Nazareth, sold more than 50.000 copies on its first day. Published in a new edition on the pontiff's 80th birthday, the book is the Pope's personal view of the life of Jesus and as such does not represent Church doctrine. With tongue slightly deviated toward cheek, ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=110 Apparently, this trainee asked the wrong question and was detained. There is no word on whether the intern is still in detention. This is one of those arrests that it would be easy to forget, given the media prominence of the official Zimbabwean opposition and the chaos in the country. ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=108 Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak probably had no idea what a firestorm would be let loose when his courts sentenced a blogger to four years in prison for defaming Islam and insulting Mubarak. Egyptian blogger Kareem Nabeel Sulaiman’s appeal is expected to be heard by an Alexandria court tomorrow (March 12th). The ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=107 Anne Broache from CNET news reports that a Congressional hearing on the Future of Radio contains some very bad news for smaller radio stations attempting to compete with satellite providers. According to Edward Markey (D-Mass) and other critics, a Tuesday ruling by the U.S. Copyright Royalty Board threatens the viability of small commercial providers. The ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=106 The BBC and YouTube have announced a deal: The BBC has confirmed a deal with YouTube to make programming available via a number of branded channels, including supplying an ad-funded BBC News clips service Source: business.guardian.co.uk YouTube will offer two BBC entertainment channel. The BBC may be seeking to recover some ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=105 Robert Mugabe's birthday is this week, and Zimbabwe's tyrant is planning quite the birthday bash- a celebration estimated to cost a million dollars in a country racked by 400% monthly inflation , striking doctors and nurses, an outbreak of cholera, and the advent of a police state. Yesterday, Mugabe's policemen killed a meeting ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=102 Internet users in the United Arab Emirates and Iran discovered some time ago that their access to Flickr, the popular social networking-photo archive site, had been blocked yet again, for the third time. In the UAE, the major Internet service provider, Etisalat, is the responsible party. But dedicated photojournalists and ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=100 The Congressional response to the problem and the pseudo-problem of online predation via social networking sites has reached a new nadir. Ted Stevens introduced Senate Bill 49 last month . The putative legislation requires that "any school or public library that gets Federal Internet subsidies would have to block access ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=99 There will be no "Love Song on the Bank of Mekong" tonight if Laos has its way with Thai television.That is the title of a soap opera scheduled to play this evening: \Vientiane has conveyed their concerns to the television executives through the Thai Foreign Ministry last week that the soap ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=98 The United Nations' independent expert on human rights in Somalia , Ghanim Alnjjar,has called for the release of three Somali journalist detained shortly after Ethiopia's lightning invasion of Somalia in late December 2007. The Ethiopians invaded that country to displace the Islamic Courts Union (BBC Backgrounder) and to aid ... http://www.publicreadings.org/?p=97