Academic freedom: A court decision in the United States rescinding an order to turn over academic e-mails in response to a freedom-of-information request is welcome.

Link: Academic freedom: A court decision in the United States rescinding an order to turn over academic e-mails in response to a freedom-of-information request is welcome.

Scottish law exempts academic work from the freedom-of-information laws, but the rest of the United Kingdom does not. Ireland also exempts, and although the United States is commonly thought to, it turns out that, as so often in that country, it is left to the courts to decide. So, just what should researchers make of freedom-of-information laws?

America's self-defeating 'war on drugs'

Link: America's self-defeating 'war on drugs'

The murky doings of the hacker group Anonymous took a remarkable turn in recent days. A Mexican drug cartel allegedly kidnapped anAnonymous member, and then, after the loosely organised hackers said they would reveal names of cartel personnel, released him with threats to kill the hacker’s family if the names were revealed.

The affair, which played out in blogs and on Twitter, coincided with a week I spent in central Mexico, where I led several workshops for new-media creators. In conversations with a number of people during my visit, I got a clearer understanding of the fear that pervades Mexican society – an undercurrent that also combined despair and anger at the way the cartels have corrupted the country’s institutions.