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Public Library of Science Launches
limbicsystem writes "The first issue of the free journal Public Library of Science Biology hits the presses tonight. With Lawrence Lessig on the Board, the PLOS team are taking the Creative Commons to the world of science publishing and hope to compete with the big-name journals Science and Nature. The move towards freely-available scientific journals is supported by major funding bodies who are tired of seeing their grant money spent on subscriptions to commercial journals that can cost thousands of dollars a year. PLOS-Biology is available online at plos.org.
The inagural issue has an
essay by the executive director of the creative commons, Glen Otis Brown. Oh, and it's all running on Linux ;)"
It is with great sadness I note that my quote from CNN has rececived 50% Offtopic and 50% Overrated moderations, resulting in a "Score:-1, Offtopic". No, I'm not a "karma whore", but, and that is a bloody BIG BUT - giving in to superstition, metaphysics, and supernatural beliefs in general is in no way not part of me.
How the [please insert any popular vulgarism] do people believe information is to spread rapidly through an impoverished polulation and, as from what the CNN article insinuates, an active mob infuriated from superstitious beliefs and with blatant disregard for human rights? No, they probably don't have internet access. Yet, this may be a first step towards a better, more educated world. Nothing more nothing less. There are, as far as I can see it, no fancy strings attached to it. Just a plain, public library.
Please, read the entire article. It IS horrifying. This is from 9th October 2003, not 2003B.C. Please read the entire article in full, again. Please. Besides, how the whats can this be Offtopic?! Here again:
BANJUL, Gambia (Reuters) -- A 28-year-old man accused of stealing a man's penis through sorcery was beaten to death in the West African country of Gambia on Thursday, police said.
A police spokesman told Reuters that Baba Jallow was lynched by about 10 people in the town of Serekunda, some 15 km (nine miles) from the capital Banjul.
Reports of penis snatching are not uncommon in West Africa, with purported victims claiming that alleged sorcerers simply touched them to make their genitals shrink or disappear in order to extort cash in the promise of a cure.
The police spokesman said many men in Serekunda were now afraid to shake hands, and he urged people not to believe reports of "vanishing" genitals. Belief in sorcery is widespread in West Africa.
Seven alleged penis snatchers were beaten to death by angry mobs in Ghana in 1997.