I mentioned 
Emergent Democracy and so I feel compelled to mention this interesting letter by Dee Hock (the founder of VISA). He argues that it isn't sufficient (or effective) to challenge the entrenched corporate/goverment power structure. Instead a new, more efficient structure of governance must emerge that becomes, a new de facto government. An interesting thought. He calls it chaordics.
I'm planning to offer a presentation to the department on blogging and wiki stuff. I realize as part of that, I would be well advised to have some biology-oriented blogs that folks might want to look at. One called nodalpoint has some bioinformatics postings. Biologging looks interesting. NewiBlog has a hard URL to remember. Oh, there's lots of stuff! Corante biotech looks good. Here's another one with a hard-to-remember URL. The DMOZ science and culture list is a good place to find them.
Many years ago, I remember having a discussion with my dad and brother about the fact that people were skeptical of science. I remember we were trying to think up the ways that believing in the scientific solution would be a bad idea in the long run. I recall that we couldn't think of many, though I'm pretty sure we identified barbers and bloodletting as an example.
Today I was reminded of the discussion when I found that a new study suggests that the primary vector in the spread of AIDS in Africa was dirty needles in healthcare.
HIV-positive children had an average of 44 injections in their lifetimes, compared with 23 for virus-free children. And in one clinic treating STDs, Gisselquist found that 28 per cent of attendees treated with injections had HIV, compared with 17 per cent who had not had injections.
I remember as a kid lining up with everyone else for my vaccinations. I just assumed it was safe. I guess they did too.