21sme.com

While I tend to think that Wikipedia is a good thing overall, that's because I know it's not a source that should be relied on by itself for important decisions -- such as whether or not to grant political asylum to an individual. It can be useful as a starting point, if that information can be corroborated elsewhere. Apparently, the Department of Homeland Security felt otherwise in using Wikipedia to deny a request for asylum for a woman. An Appeals Court has now overturned that decision, noting the problems with using Wikipedia as a sole source of info, but the whole scenario should make you wonder. Did DHS really not have the ability to check the legitimacy of the woman's documents without resorting to Wikipedia? What sort of resources are provided to immigration officials that they're making judgments based on a Wikipedia page?

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Big Three automaker plans hit congressional desks (Reuters)

TransUnion: 3Q mortgage delinquencies shoot higher (AP)

GE and autos ignite Wall Street (Reuters)

Tesco shares jump on trading update (AP)

Beazer Homes 4Q loss balloons as revenue plunges (AP)

GE sees fourth-quarter earnings toward low end of range (Reuters)

Goldman shares fall on fear of $2 billion fourth-quarter loss (Reuters)

Investor Sues to Block Mortgage Modifications (BusinessWeek Online)

Staples 3Q profit drops 43 percent on charges (AP)

Beazer loss widens on housing market deterioration (Reuters)

Bargain hunting and auto bailout hope lift stock futures (Reuters)

Staples posts higher-than-expected profit (Reuters)

Bargain-hunters fail to save retail sales (Reuters)

Global stocks tumble (Reuters)

HK index tumbles 5 percent on US losses (AP)

Goldman faces $2 billion loss: report (Reuters)

Boeing engineers approve work contract (Reuters)

JPMorgan to cut 9,200 Washington Mutual jobs (Reuters)

Bernanke says Fed has options as rates near zero (Reuters)

U.S. working on new lending programs: Paulson (Reuters)