There has been an ongoing discussion on the publication culture with the computer science research community in CACM, carried out through a series of editorials, opinion pieces, articles and letters. It covers the usual topics — the best role of workshops, conferences and journals, reviewer responsibility, the effect of deadlines on publications, etc. All important issues.

Jonathan Grudin has an opinion piece in the current (Feb) CACM

Technology, conferences, and community. J. Grudin, 2011. Comm. of the ACM, 54, 2, 41-43.

He has also made available a list of the 16 recent CACM articles (with links) on the topic. It’s a list of papers worth reading.

Image by Flickr user jmscottIMD

Naming a star for your special someone is so last year. This year, name something that could withstand a nuclear attack!

Can’t find a conversation heart with the perfect, low commitment saying? Try this for a last minute Valentine!

Whether you love love or you’re just waiting for February 15, there’s a mix tape for you.

How dangerous is it to learn about Arab culture?

This isn’t a rhetorical question, it’s being debated in the Mansfield (Texas)school district.

The school district received a $1.3 million Foreign Language Assistance Program federal grant that is being used to integrate Arab culture classes into elementary schools.

This decision ignited a firestorm of protests from parents. Almost 200 parents to show up the Mansfield school board meeting to voice their opinions. Some gave their support while most others expressed concern.

“We don’t want to discriminate against the entire Middle East . . . but [9-11] is hard to forget. They said they aren’t going to teach religion, but I don’t see how you can teach that culture without going into their (Arab) beliefs.”

While Islam does play a large role in Arab culture it is unclear how the classes woulf be taught.

Some parents welcomed the new language course. They were happy to know their children would be educated about a culture which Americans are mostly ignorant.

Meanwhile many federal agencies face a desperate shortage of proficient Arabic speakers. Five years after 9/11 the FBI only had 33 agents with such skills.

The school board has made it very clear that the classes will be optional not mandatory.

What do you think, what are the implications of teaching Arabic culture to young minds?

While historic events are shaking the Middle East… in Italy, people are shaking their heads… in disgust.

January, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi found himself in the middle of yet another sex scandal, this time involving an underage girl. Above is a video of the head of state himself calling a talk show to defend himself, er…insult the host.

Berlusconi is not new to scandals (we’ve counted at least 12 different ones). Yesterday, thousands of Italians attended rallies to protest the Prime Minister’s behavior. The crowds demanded a country where it was possible for women to live in dignity, playing Aretha Franklin’s “Respect”.

Does this point to a possible change in leadership? Well,not really, according to many. The women seem disgusted, but the husband of a protester said,

“People vote for him because he personifies defects that Italians have in their DNA. When you hear about what he does, 80 percent of men think, ‘I wish I were in his place.’”