Challenges in the news - 02/16/2008

Lakers are pointing to the next challenge.

Double challenge to Bejing orthodoxy. New Democracy party launched in China. Land-claims test for collective ownership. In two highly unusual public challenges to core tenets of Communist rule in China, an academic has announced the launch of a democratic opposition party and farmers in four provinces have claimed ownership of land seized by local authorities.

Apple and Fox clinch deal to rent new releases via iTunes. Move could change pay film content is paid for. Potential to transform movie distribution. “Fox and potentially other studios are coming around to the idea that there is nobody out there to challenge iTunes. This deal is a sign that media mobility is coming to the mainstream.”

Art Review: It pays to be book smart and street wise. ‘Read Me! Text in Art,’ a 19-artist exhibition at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, challenges not only theory but practice as well.

OLED: The Next Bid Thing for Screens? Organic Light-Emitting Displays Could Challenge LCDs, Some Say.

Gemini – (May 21 – June 21): It’s challenging to keep your expectations in the realm of reality; maybe you just shouldn’t. Allowing yourself to think in impossible terms will set your imagination on fire.

International station going multinational. European lab being carried to space today adds cross-cultural challenges for Mission Control.

TechTalk: Google tests Wikipedia rival. In a challenge to the wildly popular Wikipedia, Google Inc. is working to assemble an Internet encyclopedia consisting of articles submitted by experts identified by name, under the name Knol, which stands for a unit of knowledge.

Election-rule questions tie up school vote results. Mayor claims victory, but the teachers union may challenge him.

Inside Karen’s Crowded Mind. In a new book, a psychiatrist details his most challenging case, a woman with 17 personalities.

Wanted on the Hill: A Few Good Scientists. They’ve never been big in Congress, but as their work is challenged, that may change. “To a great extent, (scientists) see that their way of life is being challenged and that it’s time for them to strike back.