Common Cause has just released a damning portrait of a number of "astroturf" non-profits funded by telecommunications corporations to give the impression of public support for their views. Entitled "Wolves in Sheeps Clothing" the report profiles nine fake grassroots groups that are bought and paid for by telecom companies. These include: Consumers for Cable Choice…
Videos of me lindy hopping
Some people have been asking about this “swing dancing” cult that I’m involved in. Sometimes called “jitterbug” or just “swing,” those in the know call our dance the “lindy hop,” since that’s what the original dancers in Harlem in the 40s used to call it. Here are a couple of clips of me dancing lindy…
Freedom to Connect Conf in DC April 3-4
Just found out about the "Freedom to Connect" or F2C conference happening from April 3-4 in DC. Sounds like it will be an important gathering of policy-makers, experts and activists on internet public policy. The goal of F2C:Freedom to Connect is to bring a wide range of thought leaders to Washington, DC to share experience,…
It’s a secret!
My friend Ralf sent me a link to an entertaining flash animation on government secrecy called “In the Dark”. Created under the direction of Matt Wuerker and sponsored by a new coalition called OpentheGovernment.org, the web movie lampoons the US government’s efforts to keep necessary and vital information away from the American people. “In the…
Web conferencing woes
I’m evaluating several web conferencing packages for my organization. In my mind I imagine that there must be one that combines video conferencing, VOIP, traditional teleconferencing, app sharing and recording. And that doesn’t cost $10,000 a year to deploy. I’m quite fond of Elluminate, which is a web conferencing service that comes from the academic…
My cat’s obsession with scarves (videos)
I know it’s not cat blogging Friday, but I was playing around with my new digital camera’s video feature, and I managed to capture my crazy kitten Mole Negro climbing up and forcing his way into my cheap coat closet. He’s quite the climber, and totally obsessed with getting at all my gloves, hats and…
The Internet as Supermarket or Freeway?
The March 20th issue of the New Yorker has a nice "Talk of the Town" piece on the net neutrality debate called "Net Losses." In it they contrast competing visions of what the Internet is to become: Ultimately, Internet providers hope to manage the Internet the way a supermarket owner manages his store, charging companies…
Fair Use explained in comic book form
Here’s an awesome use of a visual medium to convey a complex subject. Bound by Law is a comic book created by the Duke Law School Center for the Study of the Public Domain to teach folks in an entertaining fashion about the principles and pitfalls of the "fair use" provisions of copyright law. The…
Learning about grassroots media activism
I’m at a media reform activist event at the New America Foundation in Washington DC. This series of panels is sponsored by the Media and Democracy coalition, which is being facilitated by Consumer’s Union. The first panel this afternoon is on “Telecommunications and Media Around the World.” The star-studded array of panelists included Jonathan Lawson…
General Assembly Creates New Human Rights Council
The UN General Assembly adopted by a vote today the proposal to replace the much-maligned Commission on Human Rights with the more streamlined and possibly more effective Human Rights Council. The only countries that voted against were the United States (which originally proposed the Council, ironically), Israel, the Marshall Islands and Palau. Given how ineffective…