stray bullets

So Much for the 'Looted Sites' A recent mission to Iraq headed by top archaeologists from the U.S. and U.K. who specialize in Mesopotamia found that, contrary to received wisdom, southern Iraq's most important historic sites -- eight of them -- had neither been seriously damaged nor looted after the American invasion. (via)

Cyber-capos: How cybercriminals mirror the mafia and businesses Cybercrime, the harvesting and sale of credit card and other data for online fraud and theft, is a "shadow economy" that mimics the real business world in its practices and the mafia in its structure, according to a new report from security firm Finjan. I wonder how much of this is typical security-pro-speak, exagerrated to generate the requisite fear to sell more security? (via)

How China's taking over Africa, and why the West should be VERY worried While the bounty has, not surprisingly, been welcomed by African dictators, the people of Africa are less impressed. At a market in Zimbabwe recently, where Chinese goods were on sale at nearly every stall, one woman told me she would not waste her money on 'Zing-Zong' products. 'They go Zing when they work, and then they quickly go Zong and break,' she said. 'They are a waste of money. But there's nothing else. China is the only country that will do business with us.' (via)

also:

Yeats Meets the Digital Age, Full of Passionate Intensity (via)
Videogames getting minds of their own
Alabama man turns 112, still spends days drawing