around the web

SIMPOL (minded). The main article, about "a new way to think about solving the world's biggest problems," isn't very good, but the discussion thread veers off into intriguing directions. See, in particular, the subthread about indigenous Australians and nomadic uses of fire (Naked Capitalism)

Alex on Film discusses Slacker (1991). In some ways slackers were the prototype of The Blogger, in some ways they were the sui generis product of a particular time and place (Austin, TX, late '80s/early '90s). Still mulling this one over.

Noam Chomsky on intellectual Heathers (he doesn't use that term).

The town where some Roman-era mosaics are being studied (Hyperallergic) was Palestinian until 1948, when, according to Wikipedia, it was "depopulated."

Libertarian Sheldon Richman thinks depopulation is bad because it violates individual property rights, not so much because it ethnically cleanses a "people." That's a point worth considering, but in the bigger picture, some people have title to land because of their individual efforts, tenacity, and innate Ayn Rand-ian talents, but many more have it because of their social connections and/or leverage within an organized group. A scheme of recorded land titles protects both types, yet it depends on having a government in place to enforce it.