The Scout Report -- Volume 11, Number 27

Since 1994, the Internet Scout Project has focused on providing better tools for finding, filtering and presenting online information. We've recently added a new section to the Scout website -- http://scout.wisc.edu/About/TenYears/ --celebrating the project's first 10 years and looking forward our next decade. We hope you'll enjoy the special new commemorative pages featuring user experiences with the Scout reports, archives and open-source software, and highlighting the evolution of Scout. Many thanks to those readers who responded to our invitation to share what Scout has meant to them. We've included a selection of your responses and thank all those who wrote. Of course, we're always happy to hear from our readers so please continue to keep in touch. [CL]

Warm regards,

Chris Long
Managing Editor

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/

The motivating vision behind the Rethinking Schools organization is the notion of "the common school." This vision includes the belief that schools are integral "not only to preparing all children to be full participants in society, but also to be full participants in this country's ever-tenuous experiment in democracy." The organization was founded in Milwaukee in 1986, and has been intimately involved with addressing such educational issues as standardized testing and textbook-dominated curricula. Visitors to the site can learn about the organization's various programs, and more importantly, read a number of articles from its in-house journal, Rethinking Schools. One particularly nice feature of the site is the collection of thematic articles organized into such topics as "Bilingual Education" and "Teacher Unions." Finally, the site also has collected a list of selected online resources, such as links to the Global School Network and the American Federation of Teachers. [KMG]

http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/features/andersen/homepage.html

The British Library is well known for its many fine exhibits, and this particular one dealing with the world of Hans Christian Andersen is no exception. This online exhibit is designed to complement the in situ exhibit that is at the Library until October 2005, and has been generously supported by the Kingdom of Denmark and the Bikuben Foundation. Visitors may want to begin by looking through a timeline of seminal events in Andersen's life, then consider an essay by Andersen's biographer, Jackie Wullschlager. The "illustrated themes" offered here are a real treat, as visitors can view such themes as "Hans Christian Andersen, the traveler" and "Admiration for Hans Christian Andersen". Each theme provides some insight into Andersen's work and life, and is visually augmented by primary documents, including the opening page of his manuscript for that teary tale, "The Little Match Girl". Users who wish to pass on the good word about this exhibition may want to send along a e-card from the site as well. [KMG]

http://www.ncseonline.org/NLE/

The National Council for Science and the Environment (NCSE) established the National Library for the Environment in order to provide a "single-point entry to environmental information and data." Visitors can peruse Congressional Research Service reports, NCSE announcements, and environmental news culled from the Earth Vision organization. The Research Service reports can be searched by topic (such as biodiversity or climate change), or through a keyword search engine. The site also contains a number of briefing books on such timely topics as agriculture policy, global climate change, and electric utility restructuring. [KMG]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/

As its website proclaims, the "Woman's Hour" on BBC Radio is designed for the purpose of "celebrating, informing and entertaining women." As part of a larger set of sites dedicated to like-minded resources for women from the BBC's Radio 4, this particular program tackles a number of germane subjects, including relationships, health, politics, and cooking. One of the definitive highlights is the drama section, where visitors can listen to radio versions of plays such as "The Reef" by Edith Wharton. Visitors can listen to the current edition of Woman's Hour, or elect to listen to previous programs from the same week. Guests are also invited to send in their own comments on timely topics and also offer their input on a series of moderated message boards. [KMG]

http://www.brookings.edu/views/articles/gordon/survival20050603.pdf

Understanding some of the policy shifts between the United States and Europe regarding international intervention strategies can be difficult, and there are numerous factors that must be considered in any such analysis. This compelling paper from Philip H. Gordon of The Brookings Institution looks at the changing approach to policies in the Middle East during the past few years, with special attention paid to previous conflicts that played themselves out during the 1950s. In his remarks, Gordon notes that, "In the Middle East today, the Americans are merely walking in the footsteps of Europeans who, when they were the world's great powers, also felt it necessary to use force to try to reshape the region." With its keen eye towards historical analysis in light on contemporary events, this paper will be of significant interest to the general public and those with an interest in political science. [KMG]

http://www.g8.gov.uk/

Every year since 1975, the heads of state of the major industrial democracies have met to discuss and debate the major policy issues affecting the international community and their own domestic situations. This year this important meeting (referred to as the G8 Summit) was held at the Gleneagles Resort in Scotland. This site is the homepage for the summit, and as such, contains a host of materials on the meeting, including a FAQ section, information about the countries that participated in the G8, and a glossary of relevant terms. Of course, most visitors will want to learn about the main issues that will be dealt with this year, such as countering terrorism and climate change. The "Summit Documents" area is a section that definitely warrants a closer look, as it contains information on previous summits and policy statements that were adopted during these meetings. [KMG]

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/chavezravine/index.html

Urban renewal in its various guises swept through many American cities beginning in the early 1950s, and there are many who have not forgotten these experiences. Jordan Mechner, a filmmaker, has brought together the experiences of those who lived through the demolition of the Chavez Ravine community in Los Angeles for the Independent Lens series on PBS. The story of Chavez Ravine is quite complex actually, as it involves both the protests of the existing Mexican-American community that lived on the site, the owner of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and the mayor of Los Angeles during the period, Norris Poulson. The film explores much of the controversy surrounding this project, and also offers space for the voices of those affected by this decision. The site includes a brief overview of the film, an amazing photo album that features images of the Ravine in 1949, and a question-and-answer section with the filmmaker. [KMG]

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/whitman-home.html

An impressive feat of literary collation, the Library of Congress presents this exhibition on Walt Whitman, probably America's first superstar author, and Whitman's book of poetry, Leaves of Grass. Initially published in 1855, Leaves of Grass contained 12 poems. Whitman continuously revised it until his death in 1892, when it contained 400 poems. The poet added new poems, renamed older ones, reworded lines, changed punctuation, and regrouped poems (through the 1881 edition), as well as inventing typography, and posing for frontispiece portraits wearing various styles of clothing and props. (front and back views of a cardboard butterfly that Whitman posed with in 1877 are included in the show). The exhibition traces this evolution of Leaves of Grass and Whitman's life, as a poet and a person, from the first appearance of the lines "I am the poet of the body, And I am the poet of the soul" in a notebook dating 1847-1950s, to the final "Deathbed edition" of 1891-1892. A wealth of interesting biographical material on Whitman, his friends and associates, his work as a teacher, tending the wounded during the Civil War, and for the federal government, also appears in the exhibit. [DS]

http://www.komando.com/index.asp

Billed as the "Digital Goddess", the radio host Kim Komando has been providing assistance to those befuddled by computer technology for many years, and her website will prove to be most valuable to those looking for assistance in this area. First-time visitors to the site will want to peruse some of her recent columns, which address such timely topics as hacking, preserving digital images, and securing laptops from theft. The homepage also offers access to helpful shareware that she has found valuable. Those guests who find the site helpful may also want to sign up to receive her tip of the day or her newsletter. Also, the site has a "Kim On-Air" map, which allows interested parties to find out which radio station in their area broadcasts her program. [KMG]

http://www.cdt.org/

Since its creation in 1995, the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) has worked "to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age." The homepage contains thematic headings that will guide visitors to much of the important material here, and includes such areas as the CDT's Legislative Center, its Resource Library, and several of its most recent policy briefs. Perhaps the best way to begin learning about the work of the Center is by browsing through the Issues section on the homepage. Some of the issues visitors can learn about include the latest developments in the worlds of digital copyright, consumer privacy, and open government. The Resources area is also worth a look, as it contains full-text articles, recent Congressional testimony on a number of germane issues, and headlines in RSS format. [KMG]

http://www.onthemedia.org/

With generous support from The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, and a number of other organizations, the On the Media radio program provides insightful and substantive coverage of the wide world of media. Going far beyond the general witless banter of other media commentary programs, On the Media has most recently looked at the recent decision by the Supreme Court on Grokster and a recent report from the Pew Research Center that looked at public support for the press. Visitors can listen to each show in its entirety, offer comments on each program, and also read a complete transcript. Another nice feature allows users to download the program as an mp3 file, so that they might listen at their leisure. The site also contains archived programs dating back to 2001 and a place for users to sign up to receive the program newsletter. [KMG]

http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/chazen/

Much of the world of business has been transformed by the processes of globalization, with many transnational corporations having multiple headquarters located in far-flung corners of the world. Recognizing this important transformation, Jerome A. Chazen (an alumnus of Columbia University's Business School) offered a donation to begin the Institute of International Business that bears his name. First-time visitors to the site will want to peruse the "News & Events" section on the homepage straight away, as it offers insights into the recent activities of the Institute. The real highlight of the site is the Chazen Web Journal of International Business, which contains papers and research reports on a wide range of topics, including management, finance, and entrepreneurship. The site is rounded out by the information it provides on grants and prizes awarded by the Chazen Institute. [KMG]

http://www.jetico.com/

Unwarranted attacks from unscrupulous hackers are increasingly common, and users concerned with such activities would do well to take a look at the Jetico Personal Firewall. With this application, users will have three levels of protection. The application will effectively filter network packets, application-level network events, and of course, various Trojans that might try to sneak into Internet Explorer or some such browsing application. Jetico Personal Firewall 1.0.1.6 is compatible with Windows 98 or newer. [KMG]

http://www.thewaysoft.com/speechexpert/index.html

It is sometimes much more convenient to listen to text rather than merely reading it off a monitor. Stepping in to provide such a service is SpeechExpert 1.03, which can read emails and other documents directly from various Web browsers. Additionally, visitors can convert the various documents into audio files for their own convenience. For those interested in having documents read in various languages, SpeechExpert 1.03 functions in ten separate languages. This version is compatible with Windows 98 or newer. [KMG]

Why London won the Olympics [Windows Media Player, RealPlayer]
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/other_sports/olympics_2012/4618507.stm
Weighing Pros and Cons of London Olympics
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/06/AR2005070601464.html
Chirac left with oeuf on his face
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2005/07/06/ng806.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/07/06/ixnewstop.html
We Have Let Down America
http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/316981p-271126c.html
Dejected Olympics Also-Rans Absorb Defeat
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/07/06/sports/s123834D31.DTL
London 2012 [Windows Media Player, RealPlayer]
http://www.london2012.org/london2012/london2012/index.html

This Wednesday, the city of London received the news from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it had made a successful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Given that these events are viewed by billions of people around the world, the Games are often seen as a way to draw investment into their host cities and as a way to showcase the accomplishments of their host nation. In the decisive round of voting, London barely edged out Paris by a vote of 54 to 50. The media coverage surrounding the competition between the cities competing to host the 2012 Olympics was intense, and the decision also happened to coincide with the G8 meeting at the Gleneagles resort in Scotland, which heightened some of the drama of this announcement. The people of Paris seemed to be somewhat crestfallen by the announcement, and the mayor of the City of Lights remarked that This is an immense disappointment. I just cant explain how it happened, to tell you the truth. Alternately, Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain was elated, noting It is not often in this job that you get to punch the air and do a little jig and embrace the person standing next to you.

The first link leads to a fine piece of reporting from the BBC Sport division that looks at some of the reasons London was able to create and sustain a successful bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The second link will take visitors to an article from the Washington Post that outlines some of the positive and negative long-term (and short-term) impacts that the Olympics may have on their host city and nation. The third link leads to an online Telegraph article which discusses the broader setting of the G8 summit, which is going on this week at Gleneagles. The fourth link leads to a trenchant piece from the New York Daily News which discusses how local politics in New York potentially adversely affected the Big Apples bid to host the Olympics in 2012. The fifth link leads to a piece by William J. Kole writing in the San Francisco Chronicle that offers some observations on how cities that were unsuccessful in their bids to host the Olympic Games are reacting to the recent news. The sixth and final link leads to the official London 2012 homepage, which provides ample information on the city's successful bid, including some of its promotional videos and presentations. [KMG]