Links under the snow

• Julian Assange goes out of jail, fears for his life, while Bank of America blocks payments to Wikileaks. I didn’t know that Bank of America had so high moral standards. This is why I do expect that, after blocking the payments process to Wikileaks, Bank of America will also block payment processes flowing to Saudi Arabia and Pakistan whose regimes feed and harbor terrorists. What? Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Okay, so how about this: After having taken part in the most serious financial crisis in the western History, engulfed billions of tax payers’ money, gobbled up those same billions to its own traders and executives, it is only normal that Bank of America takes a unequivocal actions to protect the United States. Aha. When I was a kid I used to think we, the “free world” stood against this sort of things. Now it just reminds me of a quite dark reenactment of the french drama “Tartuffe” by Molière. Meanwhile Private Manning is tortured in a maximum security prison, without any trial.  Did someone say “Soviet Union”?

• It’s Holiday Season, nonetheless, and I thought you may want to take a look at how Christmas looks in Paris, especially under the snow. (Paris is a city that looks particularly beautiful under the snow). Prête-moi Paris has all the details.

• The Opera Browser 11 has just been released, with some very nice tab-docking features, among other things. Yes, it’s proprietary, but it’s innovative and truly standards-compliant.

• India embraces Open Standards for good. Interesting read from Venkatesh Hariharan.

• The EIF and EIS 2.0 are published at last. In many ways it is disappointing, but it is at the same time a clear political gesture in favor of open standards and true interoperability.

• Murky details about the famous CPTN’s buying of Novell’s patents. The result? It looks like the mob just bought the latest casino at Atlantic City.

Best wishes for the Season!