ICANN is the global regulatory body charged with coordinating the Domain Name System, the global address book of the internet that ensures that you can surf to the site you plugged into your browser and send email to any address. There are some good people at ICANN doing a very difficult job — what with…
Category: Politics
YearlyKos Convention Day Two: Presidential candidates step up to the mic
Just checking in on what’s going on at YearlyKos Convention today in SL. I rezzed into a breakout session being run by Hilary Clinton. She’s talking a good talk right now about the need for stronger infrastructure in the US, including our mass transit system and broadband internet. Hurray for mass transit and broadband! There’s…
A Brief Interview with the YearlyKos Organizers
The YearlyKos Convention has started in Chicago and in Second Life (teleport SLURL) It’s amazing seeing the parallel tracks being broadcast in the different meeting areas they have set up in-world, and the avatars gathered to participate virtually. Unlike real conferences, you can instantly teleport around to the different sessions, checking in on a panel…
Opening Keynote tonight for YearlyKos featuring Dean and Durbin
Dire Lobo, one of the organizers of Second Life section of the YearlyKos Convention, reminds folks that tonight at 5PM SLT Senator Dick Durbin and Governor Howard Dean will be speaking at the opening keynote (teleport SLURL.) I asked Dire how preparations for the convention were going. He reported that they are wrestling with some…
YearlyKos is this weekend!
This weekend, August 2-5, progressive activists, bloggers, and politicians from all over the country (and the world) will be gathering in Chicago for the Yearly Kos convention. Joining them will be all the major Democratic Presidential candidates, as well as Democratic party leaders, so you know its going to be quite the shindig. If like…
Submit a question to the Dem Presidential debate via YouTube
YouTube and CNN are inviting citizens to submit questions to presidential candidates via YouTube video this summer. Get your video in by July 22 so it can be considered for the July 23 Democratic candidate debate on July 23 in Charleston, South Carolina. If your question is selected, you may be flown to Charleston to…
Japan rejects e-democracy in campaign time
Kan Suzuki’s boarded up SL headquarters Interesting article in the BBC about how Japan has instituted a freeze on all web-campaigning before their July 29 national elections. Reportedly, Japanese politicians are not allowed to create new websites or update their existing ones prior to the election. Diet member Kan Suzuki has even had to close…
Net radio saved… negotiations between Sound Exchange and net broadcasters resume
It looks like net radio won’t go dark on July 15 as previously predicted. WIRED’s blog "Listening Post" reports that Sound Exchange, the consortium responsible for enforcing royalties for the music industry, has agreed before Congress that they will not collect fees from net radio stations under the proposed new fee structure until a new…
Ben Scott on why the iPhone sucks (hint, it rhymes with “AT&T”)
Here’s a great run-down by Ben Scott of the non-profit group Free Press of what’s wrong with the iPhone from a public policy perspective. (Recorded by Matt Stoller.) For those who can’t spare the time to watch Ben’s cogent 5 minute explanation, here’s the rundown: Consumer Choice: The iPhone locks consumers into one telephone company,…
NORML opens SL headquarters – virtual potheads say “kewl, dood”
I got the news from Laura Judy that the marijuana legalization non-profit NORML has opened a small office in Second Life (teleport SLURL). You already see a good amount of simulated marijuana use in SL, so it makes sense for NORML to start reaching out to residents here. For those that don’t know, NORML’s mission…