Caroline Lucas, Green Party leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion, called yesterday for Freedom Of Information (FOI) legislation to be extended to banks, telecoms operators and other large corporations providing key services to the public.

In her speech to the Green Party spring conference in Cardiff, Lucas said: “We depend on these corporations in just the same way as we depend on schools or hospitals to deliver our services. When they fail, we all suffer – so they must be opened up to public scrutiny. That’s why I am proposing that the current FOI act be extended to cover major corporations.”

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Jane McGonigal on the Colbert Report

Reader Leet Ninja Pirate writes “An interview with Jane McGonigal on the Colbert Report. Subjects include a wider gaming audience, Urgent Evoke, and the phrase “epic win.” McGonigal…

Jane McGonigal on the Colbert Report

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Prosthetics gallery in Time Life and PowerKnees more widely available

Wonderful gallery in Time Life, In Praise of Prosthetics (via @aeromenthe):

Meanwhile, on Engadget:

“the world’s first and only motor-powered prosthetic knee” was recently…

Prosthetics gallery in Time Life and PowerKnees more widely available

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Link Dump 24-02-2011

Link Dump 24-02-2011

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Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators

theatlantic:

This is like something right out of “The Manchurian Candidate”:

The U.S. Army illegally ordered a team of soldiers specializing in “psychological operations” to manipulate visiting American senators into providing more troops and funding for the war, Rolling Stone has learned – and when an officer tried to stop the operation, he was railroaded by military investigators.

The orders came from the command of Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, a three-star general in charge of training Afghan troops – the linchpin of U.S. strategy in the war. Over a four-month period last year, a military cell devoted to what is known as “information operations” at Camp Eggers in Kabul was repeatedly pressured to target visiting senators and other VIPs who met with Caldwell. When the unit resisted the order, arguing that it violated U.S. laws prohibiting the use of propaganda against American citizens, it was subjected to a campaign of retaliation.

“My job in psy-ops is to play with people’s heads, to get the enemy to behave the way we want them to behave,” says Lt. Colonel Michael Holmes, the leader of the IO unit, who received an official reprimand after bucking orders. “I’m prohibited from doing that to our own people. When you ask me to try to use these skills on senators and congressman, you’re crossing a line.”

Read the full story at Rolling Stone

Army Deploys Psy-Ops on U.S. Senators

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