Links for Jan 9/05

China to Outlaw Selective Abortions (Globe & Mail, registration required)
The Chinese government is doing something about the increasing gender imbalance in its country.

Stem-cell Ambivalence (Washington Times)
Joyce Howard Price discusses the current state of stem cell research and the limited potential for adult stem cells.

Death Trumps Choice (SF Chronicle)
What if you knew that legalizing assisted suicide meant that sick and disabled people, who don't ask to die, nonetheless would be killed? That's the central question that Sacramento lawmakers will have to address as they consider a bill to legalize assisted suicide.

Autistic Liberation Front Fights the "Oppressors Searching for a Cure" (Telegraph)
It is the latest freedom movement for an "oppressed" minority: the Autistic Liberation Front. You can wear a badge, buy a mug or don a T-shirt proclaiming the movement's goals - to celebrate autism, stop the search for a cure and "defend the dignity of autistic citizens".

Humanists, Atheists Look to Higher Global Profile (Reuters)
Humanist and atheist groups around the world are looking to boost their profile in 2005 to counter religious fundamentalism and efforts by some Western leaders to relaunch faith as a keystone of national life.

What Was the Cold War About? Evidence from Its Ending (PDF, Political Science Quarterly)
John Mueller assesses the rhetoric and actions of important international actors and concludes that the Cold War essentially ended in the spring of 1989. This suggests that the Cold War was principally about an ideological conflict and not about the military, nuclear, or economic balance or about Communism as a form of government--issues that would be resolved later.

Tsunami of the Absurd (Reason)
Patrick J. Michaels reveals how global warming alarmists are riding the wave of world attention.

Quantum Teleportation Useless to Teleport Humans (Pravda.ru)
The quantum teleportation, however, will be used in new type of superpowerful computers.

Supernatural Powers Become Contagious in PC Game (New Scientist)
Eerie occurrences in The Sims 2 have been traced to rogue computer code accidentally spread between players like an infectious illness.

Companies That Have Fired People for Blogging (via BoingBoing)