What I've been reading: 2008-05-25

• Beyond Belief (The Nation)
  Religious freedom protects one's right to believe, but too often it has been interpreted as doing no more than that, and not just by sleepy executives who prefer golf and war to the subtleties of civil liberties.
• Cryonics movement leader deanimates (Accelerating Future --> Miami Herald)
  The Plantation psychologist was a funny guy who was serious about life after death.
• Is Aging Itself A "Disease"? (Anne Corwin - Existence is Wonderful)
  I now recognize...why the rhetorical device of "aging as disease" bothers some people.
• A Stroke Leads a Brain Scientist to a New Spirituality (NYT)
  Jill Bolte Taylor was a neuroscientist working at Harvard's brain research center when she experienced nirvana.
• Disgraced Human Cloning Scientist to Hawk Dog-Copies Instead (io9)
  BioArts International, a biotech company in California announced this week that they're partnering with South Korean cloning expert (and fraudster) Hwang Woo-Suk to deliver dog copies to the five highest bidders in their pet-cloning auction.
• Japanese super-thief uses GPS to steal rental cars (Engadget)
  The man -- a former auto factory worker -- used two ex-wives to rent the cars, and would then make copies of the keys and install GPS units or cellphones with GPS capabilities inside the vehicles.
• Unusual penetrating brain injuries (Neurophilosophy)
  Some of the more unusual penetrating brain injuries that I stumbled across while performing a quick search for the one above, starting with the least unusual, a self-inflicted nail gun injury.
• Where Are My Cybernetic Implants? (io9)
  As a disabled person whose body is basically falling apart (details too gross to go into), I've been wondering for a long time when I can get my cyborg transformation underway.