You Can Erase Yourself From the Internet and Other Fascinating News on the Web

1. You Will Be Forgotten

So someone searches for you on the Internet and sees bad or old results that are less than flattering or paint an inaccurate picture of the real you. What can you do about it? According to a landmark ruling from Europe’s highest court, you can request that search engine operators remove links to certain pieces of online content that are negative or embarrassing (I just asked Google to remove me in the 90s). It’s part of a broader European movement known as the right to be forgotten.

+ For our kids, this ruling could mean a whole lot of delete requests. Alexis Madrigal on the staying power of the kid photos you just posted. “Will these photos permanently identify them as they grow older, linking their childhood or teenage antics to their adult identities?”

2. Camden Yards

“This is what small-town America values. That¹s quality family time. And you know what? I made that shit happen in the hood.” If you’ve read an article about Camden, NJ, you know it as one of America’s most broken and dangerous cities. In other words, it’s the last place you’d expect to see little league baseball. It’s also the perfect place. From GQ’s Kathy Dobie: The Undefeated Champions of Defeat City.

+ And from a million miles away (or possibly just a couple towns over) there’s this: The Problem for Sports Parents: Overspending.

3. Disaster in a Coal Mine

Several deaths have been reported and there still could be hundreds of people trapped following an explosion and fire in a coal mine in Turkey. The trapped miners are more than a mile beneath the surface.

4. Oh That’s Totally the Ship

“All the geographical, underwater topography and archaeological evidence strongly suggests that this wreck is Columbus¹ famous flagship.” Five centuries after its disappearance, investigators think they’ve found the wreck of the Santa Maria.

+ And, oh no, CNN is on it.

5. How I Met Big Brother

On December 1, 2012, I received my first communication from Edward Snowden, although I had no idea at the time that it was from him … The email began: ‘The security of people’s communications is very important to me.'” In an excerpt from his book, Glenn Greenwald tells the story of how he met Edward Snowden.

6. Bully for Bullies

We’ve seen plenty of research that explains the long term negative effects of being bullied as a child. Well, how does the behavior affect the one doing the bullying. Sadly, It could be good for their health. According to a researcher from Duke: “Pure bullies had the lowest blood levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker for inflammation.” (It’s still worth punching them to see if they swell up…)

+ Also, swearing is good for you.

7. Road Will

“Zero. It is the number of people permitted to die in Swedish traffic, according to national law.” Sweden has figured out ways to get its rates of road fatalities to an international low. Now Mayor Bill de Blasio is planning to put a similar system — with the same goal — to the test in New York City.

+ “New York City is a mismanaged carnival of stupidity that is desperate for revenue and anxious to criminalize behavior once thought benign.” In other words, Alec Baldwin was arrested for riding his bike the wrong way and getting belligerent with police. See, the streets of NY are safer already.

8. Arm Race

Dean Kamen is most famous for being the inventor of the Segway. But Kamen has invented a lot of incredible things, many related to health and mobility. His latest offering is a “a mind-controlled prosthetic arm that enables tasks as finely tuned as operating a zipper, opening locks, and wrapping a present.”

9. From Bad to Worse to WTF?

Donald Sterling appeared on Anderson Cooper’s show and ended up digging himself an even deeper hole by possibly sounding even more racist than he did before. I think I get the strategy. This week’s Donald Sterling is trying to desensitize us to last week’s Donald Sterling.

10. The Bottom of the News

Big screen smartphones are selling like crazy and now account for a third of the market. Maybe we need bigger phones because we ruined our eyes staring endlessly at the regularly-sized models.

+ The show Louie got a whole lot more serious this week with an episode about a missing kid and this seven-minute scene about the relationship of men, women, and weight.

+ Why red M&M’s disappeared for a decade.

+ “I fave things because favoriting is important and society is broken and Twitter is a meaningless and empty way for me to pass the time and avoid any form of introspection that might make me a better or more productive person.” That’s why Mat Honan favorites Tweets. Here’s why the rest of us do.