2008 Prometheus finalists announced

The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced the finalists for the 2008 Prometheus Awards. The winners will be announced at Worldcon in Denver in August.

The "Prometheus Award for Best Novel recognizes pro-freedom novels of speculative fiction or science fiction/fantasy, that dramatize the value of personal liberty, expose abuses of coercive power to the extremes of tyranny, offer anti-authoritarian satires or imagine a fully free future." The prize is substantial: an ounce of gold. Only LFS members are eligible to vote.

The top cyberthreat?

CNet has an article titled "Who trumps bin Laden as a cyberthreat? Look in the mirror." This is hyperbole intended to remind readers that their own carelessness can cost them more than any terrorist's computer network attack. But a better answer to the question might be "Uncle Sam." Not by intent, in this case. But the article says: "Government was the top sector for identities exposed, accounting for 60 percent of the total."

Having all our personal information in a government data base will make use more secure? Don't count on it.

Heritage Foundation resorts to lies

The supporters of Real ID must be getting desperate. As Jim Harper notes on Cato's blog, the Heritage Foundation is resorting to the most transparent kind of lies in order to convince people that Real ID is winning. In a piece titled "All Aboard: Fifty States Now Compliant with Real ID", there's practically a lie in every sentence, starting with the title itself (no states are currently in full compliance).

"This past week, the state of Maine agreed to comply with Real ID regulations."

The state agreed to nothing. The governor, without backing from the legislature, promised to introduce some legislation.

"Maine was the last state to agree to comply with Real ID, making this a remarkable cornerstone for the program."

In fact, there are a number of states that haven't besides Maine. Some have legislation on the books specifically prohibiting compliance.

"All 56 U.S. jurisdictions and states have either complied with the law to implement Real ID security standards by May 11, 2008, or have applied for an extension of the deadline for security improvements."

Here the authors can't even keep their lies straight from one sentence to the next. First they said that all the states have complied; now they're saying that maybe not all have, but at least all have asked for an extension. But even that's a lie. Maine, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Montana have done neither.

Did James Jay Carafano, Charles Stimson, and Diem Nguyen think no one was going to catch them in their wholesale fabrications?

China roundup

I'd like to see China's government have to block three-quarters of the websites in the world in order to keep its population ignorant of its evil nature. Here's my little contribution to the cause:

Foreign journalists in China have been subjected to harassment, including death threats, demanding that they stop "twisting the facts" by reporting Chinese oppression in Tibet. Odds are good some part of the Chinese government is behind it, though nothing can be proven.

Chinese police fired on Tibetan protesters, resulting in eight deaths.

France has stated that President Sarkozy may boycott the Olympics unless China releases political prisoners, investigates the Tibet situation, and opens a dialogue with the Dalai Lama.

Hillary Clinton has urged George W. Bush to boycott the Olympics. (OK, that's not a high recommendation, but I'll take what I can.)

A Tibetan site claims that Tibetan nuns are being compelled to take "patriotic re-education classes."

Merlin's Kin

I've posted a short review of Merlin's Kin, a collection of folk tales from around the world gathered by Josepha Sherman.