Die Deutsche Demokratische Republik ist jetzt bald seit 20 Jahren Vergangenheit und Dinge geraten in Vergessenheit. Im Gespräch mit Tim Pritlove versuchen Frank Rieger und Martin Schramm das Gefühl, DDR-Bürger zu sein, wieder in Erinnerung zu rufen und zu erklären, worin sich das Leben im Osten vom Westen unterschieden hat.

Themen: Agitatoren in der Schule, Altstoffsammlung (Crowdsourcing), Verkehr, Gemeinschaftsumschalter, Notizblöcke an der Tür (Anrufbeantworter aus Papier), Privatwirtschaft und das Verhältnis zur Gesellschaft, Bezahlen im Nahverkehr, Platzierung im Restaurant, Motivation und Frustration, Kreativität durch Mangel, Polytechnischer Unterricht, Computer in der DDR, Ausbildung Studium, Stasi und ihr Realitätsbezug, der Beginn des Niedergangs, die Wende.

The Misconception: People who riot and loot are scum who were just looking for an excuse to steal and be violent.

The Truth: You are are prone to losing your individuality and becoming absorbed into a hivemind under the right conditions.

Fascinating article about how to handle a specific real world problem using AI

Are they religious fanatics? Deluded ideologues? New research suggests something more mundane: They just want to commit suicide.

China has strengthened its economic and political ties in Africa in recent years in an effort to open up new markets and secure much-needed raw materials. The leaked US diplomatic cables reveal that Africans are growing increasingly resentful of China’s aims and methods.

There are no fewer than 251,287 cables from more than 250 US embassies around the world, obtained by WikiLeaks. We present a day-by-day guide to the revelations from the US embassy cables both from the Guardian and its international media partners in the story

To radically shift regime behavior we must think clearly and boldly for if we have learned anything, it is that regimes do not want to be changed. We must think beyond those who have gone before us, and discover technological changes that embolden us with ways to act in which our forebears could not.

Embassy dispatches show America used spying, threats and promises of aid to get support for Copenhagen accord