I was writing an opus on SOPA & PIPA and by the time I got to my point, a number of the lawmakers previously in support of the bills had abandoned ship. Yeah, the Republic! The legislation isn’t yet dead, so I may have to crystalize my thoughts after all, but in the meantime, here are some neat AV summaries of thought from which I draw. Applicable topics dance around economic theory, the nature of employment, the tools available to a citizenry to keep its government in check, and the evils of censorship. You’ll have to cut and paste until WordPress disembarks its toilet of protest and lets me make actual links. Happy clicking!

Summary of Bills from Web-gurus’ & Artists’ POV:

Wikipedia:   great overall explanation with a variety of links for further research

WordPress:  halfway down the page, an explanatory video that explains the intention and the likely outcome.

Mashable: Pete Cashmore has an IT blog that keep current on trends and products

Letter from Artists via Mashable: actors who are not in favor of having the internet regulated.

Economics / Entrepreneurship:

The Midas Nation:  Rob Slee got his start by creating a valuation rubric for privately capitalized companies; his evolution into entrepreneurial guru is based on his keen understanding of business models and value drivers (when you pull the page up, click on the blue box to the left of the page titled, ‘Business in the Aggregation Age: Will You Survive?’)

Challenges of Capitalism: the guy is a Marxist, and while I don’t support Marxist economics, his analysis on the inherent limitations of Capitalism are sentient.

Atlas Shrugged: this book by Ayn Rand explores what happens to a society when the Capitalists do decide to take a break–vastly over-simplified synopsis…

Education:

The Khan Academy: TED talk by founder Salmon Khan on internet in education

Schools Kill Creativity: Ken Robinson’s compelling argument for recontextualizing the role of education in modern society

Society @ Large:

The Empathic Civilization:  rethinking our relationships near and far in a way that allows for our interconnectedness; can’t we all just get along?