The samba and the sauna - How the World Works

How the World Works - Salon.com: "One can make an argument that both countries are at home in the realm of digital culture for unique historical and cultural reasons."

I think that Andrew Leonard's column in Salon is one of the best things it has. It's interesting, and I disagree with him a lot of the time but in a good way.

This piece is interesting, and it takes a look at the particularities of Finland and Brazil through the lens of information sharing.

In the stuff on Brazil, he links to musician Gilberto Gil's "phenomically articulate and poetic manifesto for the social value of copying and sampling and mixing cultural expression." I still need to read the piece, but I've got Two Many DJs playing in the background, and I have to say that they're a music manifesto in and of themselves. Their website includes a hilarious look at their efforts to gain permissions for all their songs. One of my best cd acquisitions in the last year.