November 30, 2006

Retired

sLop (the blog you are reading) is retiring..

The archives should stay up indefinitely though so feel free to continue linking in if you like..

In the coming weeks, I should have something new up. Please stay tuned.


Posted by vanevery at 11:49 AM | TrackBack

May 27, 2006

The War Tapes, Opening Soon

The War Tapes: The War Tapes Opens in NYC June 2!
I saw and early cut of this and must say that it was incredibly moving and left me feeling very conflicted. War is definitely not pretty and this film shows that along with the human side. Want to know what is really happening in Iraq (from a service man's perspective), see this.

Posted by vanevery at 11:47 AM | TrackBack

Net Neutrality takes a step forward

Free Press : House Judiciary Passes Net Neutrality Bill
I love how AT&T is trying to spin this:
“While we are disappointed that the Judiciary Committee chose to move toward regulating the Internet, we are pleased that the majority of the majority recognized that this legislation would deter investment in our nation’s broadband infrastructure,” said Tim McKone, AT&T executive vice president federal relations, in a prepared statement. “We are optimistic that the majority in Congress will see this legislation as an attempt to solve a problem that does not exist, and will instead focus on bringing choice to consumers by passing video choice legislation.”

"the majority of the majority" .. That is nonsense.
"will instead focus on bringing choice to consumers by passing video choice legislation" .. Now there is a problem that doesn't exist!

Wake-up!

Posted by vanevery at 11:27 AM | TrackBack

May 26, 2006

Poor Earth..

Three Legged Legs - "Humans!"

Posted by vanevery at 06:35 PM | TrackBack

May 21, 2006

Protesting the telco money machines

National Day of Out(R)age | Save Access

Not only are the telcos giving over your call records to the NSA but public access and the like are in trouble with National Video Franchising legislation in consideration by Congress being pushed by the telcos.

Posted by vanevery at 10:17 AM | TrackBack

May 19, 2006

Colbert Roasts Bush

Colbert Roasts President Bush - 2006 White House Correspondents Dinner - Google Video
Slightly dated, I know but Colbert has some guts!

Posted by vanevery at 06:44 PM | TrackBack

April 19, 2006

ITP End of Year Events - Thesis Presentations and End of Semester Show

ITP Spring Show 2006
A two day exhibition of interactive sight, sound and physical objects from the student artists of ITP.

This event is free and open to the public. No need to RSVP.

ITP Thesis Presentations 2006
ITP's graduating students will be presenting a wide variety of highly creative and interactive projects that they have constructed over the course of their final project seminars.

Students have been encouraged to undertake projects that bring together the conceptual and design issues that they have engaged in during their two years of study at ITP.

Projects will include installation based work, digital video and audio pieces, interactive 3D, games and educational applications, to name only a few.

ITP will be providing a live webcast of all the thesis presentations.

Posted by vanevery at 02:41 AM | TrackBack

April 07, 2006

Beyond Broadcast: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture

Beyond Broadcast, May 12-13 2006 — Beyond Broadcast 2006: Reinventing Public Media in a Participatory Culture Archive
Beyond Broadcast, a conference being put on at the Berkman Center is coming up in a bit more than a month. The conference second day will be a second convening of the Open Media Developers Summit and is shaping up nicely.

Please feel free to visit the blog and wiki, attend and participate.

From the blog:
You are invited to an open convening at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. We will explore the thesis that traditional public media — public broadcasting, cable access television, etc — face a unique opportunity to embrace new participatory web-based media models — podcasting, video blogs, social software, etc — and create a stronger and more vital public service.

Posted by vanevery at 10:13 AM | TrackBack

January 23, 2006

New Senate Broadcast Flag Bill Would Freeze Fair Use

EFF: DeepLinks
From the article:
Draft legislation making the rounds in the U.S. Senate gives us a preview of the MPAA and RIAA's next target: your television and radio. (Please write your Senator about this!)

You say you want the power to time-shift and space-shift TV and radio? You say you want tomorrow's innovators to invent new TV and radio gizmos you haven't thought of yet, the same way the pioneers behind the VCR, TiVo, and the iPod did?

Well, that's not what the entertainment industry has in mind. According to them, here's all tomorrow's innovators should be allowed to offer you:

"customary historic use of broadcast content by consumers to the extent such use is consistent with applicable law."

Had that been the law in 1970, there would never have been a VCR. Had it been the law in 1990, no TiVo. In 2000, no iPod.

Posted by vanevery at 12:24 AM | TrackBack

January 18, 2006

Al Gore's MLK speech...

LibertySpeeches.org: A Joint Project of the American Constitution Society and the Liberty Coalition
Let's hope people keep speaking out against Bush!

Posted by vanevery at 04:00 PM | TrackBack

Network Neutrality

Free Press : Press Release
From the report:
"Congress should enact tough new laws prohibiting cable and telephone companies from blocking consumer access to content and services on the Internet, bilking both consumers and Internet-based companies," said Jeannine Kenney, senior policy analyst at Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. "If they don't, these big companies will use their market power to line their pockets by discriminating against competitors in favor of their own content and service offerings."

I completely agree.

Hopefully, if Congress doesn't do something, the marketplace will.

Here is an idea: http://www.freepress.net/news/13403

Posted by vanevery at 02:28 PM | TrackBack

January 17, 2006

Free Chris

evilutionary virtual log >> Blog Archive >> Free Chris
Webmaster of NTFU thrown in jail on obscenity charges after opening his adult site up to soldiers in Iraq to post pictures.

From the post:
Chris Wilson, of Lakeland Florida, is the webmaster of NTFU, a user forum created in June of 2004 where people could post pictures of their wives or girlfriends nude. It recieved some national attention for the “G.I. Jane” controversy, but most recently for images of corpses in Iraq.
Chris granted interviews to dozens of news agencies and websites about this issue. He expressed his opinion on the morality of posting these images, and pornography in general. This sparked some major controversy with islamic groups, and anti pornography groups.
On October 7th, 2005, Polk County Sheriff officers raided his home and seized computer equipment and other files, including 20 films and 80 photos, and arrested him on 300 counts of obscenity charges. He is currently being held on $101,000 bail.

Posted by vanevery at 02:59 AM | TrackBack

January 16, 2006

Massive Media, distilled

Future Of Television Is Self-Service, P2P Distributed Media Consumption - Robin Good's Latest News
Robin Good edits and re-presents Dan Melinger's Massive Media thesis.

Posted by vanevery at 11:48 AM | TrackBack

January 15, 2006

NYC Grassroots Media Coalition Conference - February 11

NYC GMC

Posted by vanevery at 06:13 PM | TrackBack

December 09, 2005

Future of Television Conference

Beyond TV: TVSpy.com Next Generation TV
So, I went to the Future of Television conference a couple of weeks ago and was somewhat suprised. Last year, I poked my head in to see what was being discussed and it was a big snooze. After checking out the website, I figured it was worth my time this year so I went.

Wow.. I was surprised. You wouldn't know it but there are people in TV who really "get it"... Larry Kramer from CBS most notably get's it.

Here is what I had to say on the day of:
I am writing from Future of Television Conference at NYU's Stern School of Business today. I am here for several reasons, first of all I would like to know what the networks and traditional media concerns think of the scrappy interactive folks. Second, I am here doing recon. Specifically, I would like to know how long video bloggers and other decentralized media creators have before traditional media begins to offer enough of what they are doing to satiate "consumers". (Perhaps that is not exactly my fear but close enough for now.)

First of all, I have to say that Larry Kramer gets it. He really does. He is open to experimentation. At CBS he has launched many interactive initiatives from a broadband news channel to podcasts of daytime soaps to fantasy sports sites to deep entertainment content add-ons to viewer/user photo posting to writer and producer blogs to actual audience participation through SMS. Phew..

CBS isn't the only media company doing this type of experimentation. The other networks, cable and broadcast are doing the same or similar. Notable is ABC News Now, ESPN, Playboy and the like.

The question is, whether or not this is enough. Will this engage and empower viewers enough to keep them despite the ever growing number of alternative content channels. The networks certainly know how to deliver programming to a passive audience. They are just beginning to support a more engaged and digitally connected viewer.

A later speaker in the day, IBM's Saul Berman described the audience by categorizing them in 3 camps. "Massive passives", the folks that CBS has always served, lean back, over 35, want to be entertained but don't feel compelled to buy the latest gadget or create their own media.

The next camp, arguably the focus of most of these efforts he described as "Gadgetiers". He describes this group as heavily involved in content, they are fans, will seek out other individuals who are interested in the same content they are. They will purchase the latest devices, use time shifting (TiVo) and will space shift (TiVo To Go). They are also the heavy buyers, the early adopters, in short, the people that the advertizers (and therefore the networks) covet.

It remains to be seen whether what the networks are starting to do will appeal to this group in the long run. In the short term, it is clear, if you put it out there they will come. How long they stay is another matter.

The last camp, the "Kool kids", the ones really getting all of the attention, are the hardest to understand. He suggests that this is the group that rejects DRM and "walled gardens", in short, the group that wants media on their own terms. This is the group that uses P2P software and is heavily social. They have dream devices that aren't out in the market as of yet.

I know that the kks (short for "Kool kids") are what have network executives up at night. They are the hackers and inventors who are really driving the internet. TV and media in general will fit into their game or be disregarded.

Ok.. So the big question at the end of the day? Will the cable and TV networks run scared and do everything possible to protect their business models or will they embrace the new like they must. My feeling after this conference is that they have learned something from the music industry and will try to embrace but there will still be a major shakeup and Yahoo! and Google just might become the "new" networks. Good or bad.

Posted by vanevery at 09:31 PM | TrackBack

December 08, 2005

EPIC is about to arrive, powered by Googlezon

EPIC 2014

Posted by vanevery at 02:28 PM | TrackBack

October 19, 2005

Fighting FCC closed door decision making

Hear Us Now:
I like the animation ;-)

Resist the Tower! Fight Media Power!

Don't let the FCC regulate your media behind closed doors. Turn up your speakers and tune in! And sign our petition calling for the FCC to hold at least 10 public hearings across the country.

Posted by vanevery at 01:52 PM | TrackBack

October 09, 2005

Closed Caption Text from Blog RSS feeds..

META[CC] -Main
From the site:
META[CC] seeks to create an open forum for real time discussion, commentary, and cross-refrencing of electronic news and televised media. By combining strategies employed in web-based discussion forums, blogs , tele-text subtitling, on-demand video streaming, and search engines, the open captioning format employed by META[CC] will allow users to gain multiple perspectives and resources engaging current events. The system we are developing is adaptable for use with any cable news or television network.

Posted by vanevery at 10:29 PM | TrackBack

October 08, 2005

Advocating Bicycling in NYC

Transportation Alternatives, NYC

Posted by vanevery at 12:01 PM | TrackBack

September 17, 2005

3 Bills up in Congress that will Kill Public Access

MNN Announcement
Hmmn.. I am going to have to read these bills.
Here is some more information from the Alliance for Community Media: http://www.alliancecm.org/index.php?page_id=201

Posted by vanevery at 02:18 PM | TrackBack

August 09, 2005

Darknet: J.D.'s New Book is out

Darknet
From the site:
Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation is a new book that offers first-person accounts of how the personal media revolution will impact movies, music, computing, television and games

Posted by vanevery at 04:33 PM | TrackBack

March 06, 2005

Forget about Free Speech

Dan Gillmor on Grassroots Journalism, Etc.: The Gathering Storms Over Speech
Dan gives an overview of how Apple, recent legislation and politicians under corporate influence are doing everything and anything to take away our Freedom of Speech rights.
From the article:
We're moving toward a system under which only the folks who are deemed to be professionals will be granted the status of journalists, and thereby more rights than the rest of us. This is pernicious in every way.

Posted by vanevery at 02:34 PM | TrackBack

February 25, 2005

Want to know what your representatives are voting for?

GovTrack.us: Track Federal Legislation
From the site:
GovTrack is one step in a process that will change the way we deal with information about our government. The next steps are to create more tools, based on free & open information, for participating in politics, and from there creating a semantic web of political information.

Posted by vanevery at 06:54 PM | TrackBack

February 20, 2005

Dept of Ed vs. Buster the Bunny

Ryanne's Video Blog
Ryanne's Video Blog has an interesting interview piece regarding the recent issues that have come up between the show and the Department of Education over an episode that included a segment with a that has same sex parents. This could perhaps be the pivitol piece that kicks citizen journalism via video blogs into high gear.

Check it out: Dept of Ed vs. Buster the Bunny

Posted by vanevery at 08:12 PM | TrackBack

February 16, 2005

Stay Free! now has a blog

Stay Free! Daily
The tag line:
Periodic ramblings from Stay Free!, a Brooklyn magazine focused on American media and culture

Posted by vanevery at 11:51 PM | TrackBack

February 03, 2005

State of the Union Parsing Tool

style.org > State of the Union Parsing Tool
Fun.. Almost

Posted by vanevery at 12:10 PM | TrackBack

December 13, 2004

The Betamax case of the digital age

Wired News: File Sharing Goes to High Court
I have my fingers crossed on this one. If these file-sharing services can be held responsible for the actions of their users, what does that mean for any company developing software that allows people to connect via public networks? What about ISP's and common-carrier laws? What about FTP, IM, Email and so on?
The devil in this one may be that the media companies will renew vigor in lobbying congress for legislation like the INDUCE act.

Posted by vanevery at 01:40 AM | TrackBack

December 06, 2004

Decide where your money will go


Choose The Blue

ChooseTheBlue tells you what corporations donated to political parties.
Here is a quick example:

BrandParent Company% to Dem% to Rep$ to Dem$ to RepOther Brands of Parent
Gap IncGap Inc 61% 38% $144,621 $90,092None Known
Barnes & NobleBarnes & Noble 98% 2% $101,283 $2,067None Known
Bed Bath & BeyondBed Bath & Beyond 93% 7% $76,725 $5,775None Known
Bigg's
Circuit City StoresCircuit City Stores 3% 97% $3,496 $113,053None Known
Costco CompaniesCostco Companies 98% 2% $196,296 $4,006None Known
Home DepotHome Depot 6% 94% $40,642 $636,727None Known
JC Penney CoJC Penney Co 18% 81% $17,921 $80,647None Known
Saks IncSaks Inc 5% 95% $5,830 $110,770None Known
Sam's ClubWal-Mart Stores 19% 81% $356,355 $1,519,201Wal-Mart Stores, others...
Sears, Roebuck & CoSears, Roebuck & Co 24% 76% $63,706 $201,737None Known
Staples IncStaples Inc 42% 58% $46,819 $64,655None Known
Target CorpTarget Corp 28% 72% $81,133 $208,629None Known
Wal-Mart StoresWal-Mart Stores 19% 81% $356,355 $1,519,201Sam's Club, others...
Walgreen CoWalgreen Co 47% 53% $59,671 $67,289None Known
Wax CoWax Co 0%100% $0 $77,000None Known

Posted by vanevery at 04:17 PM | TrackBack

Hillary support's The INDUCE Act

I was dismayed to learn that Senator Hillary Clinton has come out and in fact co-sponsored Senator Hatch's Induce Act. What follows is a draft of a letter that I am writing to Sen. Clinton to express my concern. I hope that others will do the same.

Here is some background material:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c108:S.2560:
http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,64315,00.html
http://techlawadvisor.com/induce/
http://www.corante.com/importance/archives/004563.html
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20040618-3906.html
http://www.futureofmusic.org/articles/INDUCEanalysis.cfm
http://action.eff.org/site/pp.asp?c=esJNJ5OWF&b=164928

Like your iPod, read this:
http://www.eff.org/IP/Apple_Complaint.php

Please comment on the letter as you see fit.


Dear Senator Clinton,

I was dismayed to learn that you have come out in support of Senator Hatch's Induce Act. I hope that on further consideration of the issues that this bill covers that you change your stance to better reflect the opinions of your constituents and for the betterment of our society.

The Induce act as it currently is written does much to stifle free-speech, artistic and fair uses of media. Imposing legal responsibility on the makers of devices and software for illegal use such device or software will create a burden so great on manufacturers and creators of such programs that they will not develop or offer products that have potential for misuse.

I fear that by trying to curb the theft of copyrighted material you will instead be curbing the ability for individuals and groups with legitimate uses for the technology that enables such to use it. Being thoroughly immersed in an academic and artistic atmosphere, I am witness every day to fair uses of technology that would not exist today were such a law in existence. In fact I feel that the software that I am using to write this letter would not have been developed simply because it includes the ability to cut and paste text from any source into the document.

I believe that should this Bill become law that it will undo much of the progress of free-speech and alternative media creation that has been enabled by the internet, personal electronic devices, computers, tape recorders and so on. Furthermore it will be a giant step backwards and lead to increased power by the media and further relegate citizens to the role of consumer without a voice.

I hope that you will reconsider your position on this matter.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Shawn Van Every

Posted by vanevery at 11:35 AM | TrackBack

CANADA CHARGES PRESIDENT FOR WAR CRIMES - BUSH ARRESTED

CNN.com
;-)

Posted by vanevery at 03:35 AM | TrackBack

Why I LOVE the direction of this country - This is ridiculous

Boston.com / News / Nation / Aid cuts threatened by US over tribunal
From the article:
The US government is quietly threatening to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars of foreign aid aimed at combating terrorism, resolving conflicts, and building democracy unless countries agree to shield Americans from prosecution at the UN permanent war crimes tribunal.

Thanks to Ann for the Link.

Posted by vanevery at 02:53 AM | TrackBack

December 02, 2004

Here we go again...

Wi-Fi Acacia's next patent target | CNET News.com
Acacia, a representation of all that is wrong with our patent system, having successfully extorted companies using streaming technologies has turned to companies using WiFi, attempting to enforce another patent that they apparently have purchased.
I heard a while ago that they Acacia was short on money. Hopefully a couple of high-profile legal battles will drain them and we can sing good night Acacia, good night (until they sell their patent portfolio to another company willing to sue sue sue).

Posted by vanevery at 01:21 PM | TrackBack

November 11, 2004

black box voting - "consumer" protection for elections

Black Box Voting - Bev Harris - one of the leading groups doing voting machine investigations. A nonpartisan, nonprofit, consumer protection group for elections.
BBV_thumb.jpe.jpg

Posted by vanevery at 11:12 AM | TrackBack

November 04, 2004

Unhappy with the election results?

Electing to Leave (Harpers.org)
An enlightening article on the difficulty of leaving.

Posted by vanevery at 10:27 AM | TrackBack

October 20, 2004

Share the political media

About : p2p-Politics
From the site:
There is an extraordinary range of political speech that has been created for this election, some of it professionally made, most of it not. We are volunteers who think that it should be easier for people to show other people the content they think they should see before they vote.

We built this peer-to-peer site to enable people to send personalized messages with links to video clips about this election.

Posted by vanevery at 04:32 PM | TrackBack

October 17, 2004

I read this as "Ashcroft Vows Privacy Assault" :-)

Wired News: Ashcroft Vows Piracy Assault
Nothing more to say..

Posted by vanevery at 02:15 AM | TrackBack

October 10, 2004

Debates Re-Mixed

Been coming across more and more audio and video remixes of the debates. Going to list them here as they come:

Debate Wars

Posted by vanevery at 10:28 AM | TrackBack

October 09, 2004

Watching the Electoral College

Welcome
From the site:
Al Gore won the popular vote by over half a million votes but George Bush won the electoral vote by 5 votes and became president. Thus watching the electoral vote is more important than watching the national polls. This website is dedicated to tracking the electoral vote by examining the state-by-state polls.

Posted by vanevery at 05:04 PM | TrackBack

August 29, 2004

Konscious Convention Broadcast

Konscious.TV Konscious Convention
A bit of blatant self promotion. Monday and Tuesday night we will be broadcasting on MNN (Time Warner channel 34 in Manhattan) and streaming online from within Madison Square Garden during the Republican National Convention as well as from a couple of spots around the city. All of the camera people will be using the Interactive Tele-Journalism system for a truely engaging interactive television experience. Check it out!!!

Posted by vanevery at 11:24 PM | TrackBack

Bikes Against Bush creator arrested during interview

NYC IMC: feature/106015
Josh arrested while demonstrating his polictically motivated bicycle to Ron Reagan. Talk about ridiculous arrests, his bike sprays chalk messages on the street/sidewalk. A little water and the message is erased. Are they going to start arresting kids who draw hopscotch squares on the sidewalk?

Posted by vanevery at 12:03 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Aug. 28th Critical Mass Coverage from Indymedia

NYC IMC: feature/104892
It turned ugly as the police used excessive force and trapped many of us at various spots. It was a good ride and I am proud to have participated.
The video from IMC is particularly disturbing.

Posted by vanevery at 11:56 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

August 17, 2004

Will YOU vote for ANYBODY other than Bush?

(Vote for) Anybody but George W. Bush?
From the site:
Americans disgusted with President Bush have promised to vote for "anybody but Bush." To which we respond, "ANYBODY?" To test critics' mettle, we've decided to put the matter to a vote. Thanks to our state-of-the-art survey software, people typically forbidden from voting -- teenagers, felons, Canadians, and African-Americans who live in Florida -- may join the rest of us in helping select the next U.S. President

Posted by vanevery at 06:58 PM | TrackBack

August 05, 2004

Where can you join Michael Moore, Hulk Hogan, Mr. T and Howard Stern to DEFEAT BUSH

THE ANTI-BUSH VIDEO GAME

Posted by vanevery at 12:19 AM | TrackBack

June 06, 2004

Very nice - Truth in labeling

Label Instructions

Posted by vanevery at 12:52 PM | TrackBack

May 31, 2004

A nation of debtors

Maxed Out Generation - A Consumer Debt Blog
I've been thinking about the massive debt that I have incurred as a result of school. It was quite a wake-up call for me to look at the total owed on credit cards and student loans in relation to my income (which is $0 right now) and monthly expenses.
This blog offers a sympathetic human perspective to the problem.
From the blog:
Millions of people are caught in the trap of credit dependence. There is a silent epidemic of shame and anxiety because our society perpetuates the belief that this problem is self-inflicted, that people who have debts are deadbeats. Meanwhile, credit card companies keep coming up with new ways to deceive us and to keep us locked in debt, with the help of our lawmakers. This blog explores the human side of debt, what the credit industry doesn't want us to know, and strategies for survival.

Posted by vanevery at 02:24 PM | TrackBack

Clay's talk about games, rules, code and the real world

Shirky: Nomic World: By the players, for the players
In this talk (edited version online), Clay Shirky discusses code as the rules and structure of virtual worlds (online multiplayer games). Much is stated about the structure that these worlds might assume if control was given to the players and what the out-comes might be. In the end he states: "We should experiment with game-world models that dump a large and maybe even unpleasant amount of control into the hands of the players because it's the best lab we have for experiments with real governance in the 21st century agora, the place where people gather when they want to be out in public. "

Posted by vanevery at 10:59 AM | TrackBack

May 30, 2004

Wow! Japan copyright laws worse than ours..

Japanese website closed after screenshot-related arrest - Ferrago
From the story:
Reports this morning inform us of the rather troubling news from Japan that the owner and Editor of popular online gaming site Gamesonline, one of Japan's most popular news sites, has been arrested for alleged breach of copyright concerning screenshots used on his website.

Posted by vanevery at 11:57 AM | TrackBack

RIAA: We must not allow any use, let alone fair use

Mindjack - Will Digital Radio Be Napsterized? by J.D. Lasica
From the article:
The Recording Industry Association of America has discovered that digital radio broadcasts can be copied and redistributed over the Internet.
The horror.
And so the RIAA, the music business's trade and lobbying group, has asked the Federal Communications Commission to step in and impose an "audio broadcast flag" on certain forms of digital radio.

Posted by vanevery at 11:52 AM | TrackBack

Clear Channel using patent to keep bands from selling concert CDs

RollingStone.com
Another example of patent abuse.
From the story:
Artists net about ten dollars for every twenty- to twenty-five-dollar concert CD that's sold, no matter which company they use. But with Clear Channel pushing to eliminate competition, many fear there will be less money and fewer opportunities to sell live discs. "It's one more step toward massive control and consolidation of Clear Channel's corporate agenda," says String Cheese Incident manager Mike Luba, who feuded with Clear Channel last year after promoters blocked the band from using CD-burning equipment.

Posted by vanevery at 11:46 AM | TrackBack

May 17, 2004

What is the dominant party where you are right now?

Red | Blue from Gravity Monkey
Good illustration of some of the interesting software that may be developed with cell phones as they start integrating various technologies and bridges between them with J2ME.
From the site:
red | blue (pronounced 'red or blue') is a free Java app that figures out where you stand, or perhaps more accurately, where you are standing in our politically polarized country.

Posted by vanevery at 11:55 PM | TrackBack

The truth about the H2 (Hummer)

FUH2 | Fuck You And Your H2
From the site:
The H2 is a gas guzzler. Because it has a gross vehicle weight rating over 8500 lbs, the US government does not require it to meet federal fuel efficiency regulations. Hummer isn't even required to publish its fuel economy (owners indicate that they get around 10 mpg for normal use). So while our brothers and sisters are off in the Middle East risking their lives to secure America's fossil fuel future, H2 drivers are pissing away our "spoils of victory" during each trip to the grocery store.

Posted by vanevery at 10:51 PM | TrackBack

April 25, 2004

Air America really streams

RAIN: Radio And Internet Newsletter
Air America broke a couple of records for concurrent streams on it's first day out of the gate. The article mentions some interesting metrics for internet radio.
RealNetworks said that it delivered 50,000 concurrent streams on the network's first day of broadcasting (March 31), which the company says makes it the highest-ever usage of the Real Broadcast Network for a "non-breaking news service."

Posted by vanevery at 01:00 AM | TrackBack

April 24, 2004

Portrait of Bush made of soldiers killed in Iraq

Photo Matt Moving Image

Posted by vanevery at 11:58 PM | TrackBack

April 07, 2004

There is always more to the story

FactCheck.org
Taxing Social Security & Gasoline: Bush Attack Lacks Context

Political ads are like statistics, the facts can be used for whatever you want with the right spin. Here is an example of how Bush is using facts against Kerry in a well, let's just say a not completely honest way.

Posted by vanevery at 06:11 PM | TrackBack

March 27, 2004

Fighting for LPFM (Low Power FM) in the Cities

About the Prometheus Radio Project!
What is Prometheus all about:
To serve as a microradio resource center offering legal, technical, and organizational support for the non-commercial community broadcasters
To research and develop technical resources in anticipation of legalized micro-radio. Upon legalization, we will offer technical services to non-commercial micro-stations- equipment testing, frequency searching, submitting FCC applications, studio advice and so on
To sponsor and produce educational tours, conferences, events and literature on microradio and democratic media issues.
To serve as a public interest advocate on microradio issues, and to help facilitate public participation in the FCC rulemaking and legislative process.
To help start a regional micropower association, which could eventually serve as a self-regulating association for low power fm analagous to the ARRL for HAM radio. Until this is formed, we will perform some of its future functions, primarily performing a coordinating and secretarial role to facilitate communications among existing stations.

Posted by vanevery at 07:11 PM | TrackBack

March 26, 2004

Lessig's new book, Free Culture

== Free Culture ==
From the site:
All creative works - books, movies, records, software, and so on - are a compromise between what can be imagined and what is possible - technologically and legally. For more than two hundred years, laws in America have sought a balance between rewarding creativity and allowing the borrowing from which new creativity springs. The original term of copyright set by the Constitution in 1787 was seventeen years. Now it is closer to two hundred. Thomas Jefferson considered protecting the public against overly long monopolies on creative works an essential government role. What did he know that we've forgotten?

I have uploaded a PDF copy of Lessig's book, Free Culture, download it.

Posted by vanevery at 02:08 AM | TrackBack

March 21, 2004

The Center for Democracy and Technology

CDT Mission
From the site:
The Center for Democracy and Technology works to promote democratic values and constitutional liberties in the digital age. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in global communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media.

Posted by vanevery at 01:47 AM | TrackBack

March 20, 2004

Power Pilgrims - Strange tech/performance art..?

Power Pilgrims
From the site:
The Amber Order is a cult that pays reverence to, and expresses their trust in, the Great Technological Systems through sartorial submission and silent praise. Four Amber brothers made their first pilgrimage to Den Gr Hal for the 1/2 machine event in August 2003.

Posted by vanevery at 04:37 PM | TrackBack

Nuclear war, yup that's what the US does.

POISONOUS LEGACY

Posted by vanevery at 02:41 AM | TrackBack

March 18, 2004

See what your neighbors do with it and how they make it

Neighbor Search
Wow! Donating more than $200 to a campaign, the world knows..! From an art organization, what does this mean? Is Eyebeam showing everyone what information is collected and available to those in the know?
From the site:
Use the location search (on your home address) to find those who live near you that have made presidential campaign contributions. You can also search for friends or celebrities by name

Posted by vanevery at 03:58 PM | TrackBack

March 17, 2004

What happened inside the Pentagon leading up to the War in Iraq

Salon.com | The new Pentagon papers
From the article:
I witnessed neoconservative agenda bearers within OSP usurp measured and carefully considered assessments, and through suppression and distortion of intelligence analysis promulgate what were in fact falsehoods to both Congress and the executive office of the president.

Posted by vanevery at 12:38 PM | TrackBack

March 13, 2004

P2P video archive and sharing system

NGV
From the site:
New Global Vision is a digital video archive project. The goal is to build up a network of dedicated ftp servers and a peer-to-peer file sharing system able to overcome the bandwidth problems related to the size of video files.

Posted by vanevery at 04:39 PM | TrackBack

March 10, 2004

I hear Al Franken, literally.

Air America Radio
From the site:
On March 31, 2004 Air America Radio begins airlifting entertaining, progressive talk radio to millions of Americans who for far too long have been and are being neglected by talk radio broadcasters today.
Our on-air personalities and guests represent today's top political and popular humorists, commentators, activists and analysts.
Our irreverent, informative programming sparks the kind of challenging political and social dialogue that has been absent from AM radio for years.

Posted by vanevery at 11:02 PM | TrackBack

March 09, 2004

You only feel safer

Wired 12.03: VIEW
A nice concise argument why we are wasting our money on all of these precautionary measures intended to make us safer but do nothing but make us feel safer.
From the article:
Every day, some 82,000 foreign visitors set foot in the US with a visa, and since early this year, most of them have been fingerprinted and photographed in the name of security. But despite the money spent, the inconveniences suffered, and the international ill will caused, these new measures, like most instituted in the wake of September 11, are mostly ineffectual.

Posted by vanevery at 02:55 PM | TrackBack

March 03, 2004

Make your voice heard.

EFF: Homepage
"Defending Freedom in the Digital World"
Where would we be without them?

Posted by vanevery at 10:44 AM | TrackBack

Looky here, we aren't all consumers after all.

Internet News Article | Reuters.com
The article states the 44% of internet users post or upload information to the web. Look out Big Media...

Posted by vanevery at 10:38 AM | TrackBack

February 29, 2004

Public Access TV Related Sites

The Alliance for Community Media
Global Village CAT
The Buske Group
Study of US PEG Access Center

Policy and Media Activism Sites:
National Federation of Community Broadcasters
Media Reform Network
Center for Creative Voices in the Media
Independent Media Centers
Prometheus Radio Project
Media Access Project
Spectrum Policy, New America Foundation
The Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers

NY State Legislation:
New York State Public Service Commission

New York City Public Access Centers:
Brooklyn Community Access TV
BronxNet
MNN
Queens Public Television
Staten Island Community Television

Posted by vanevery at 10:07 PM | TrackBack

1968 was messed, maybe more so than now, maybe.

Rare 1968 TV Highlights

Posted by vanevery at 01:50 AM | TrackBack

February 28, 2004

"Where Left is right and Right is wrong" ...

LiberalOasis

Posted by vanevery at 08:36 PM | TrackBack

Free Radio Berkeley

Free Radio Berkeley: International Radio Action Training Education
From the site:
Welcome to Free Radio Berkeley. Founded on April 11, 1993 as a Free Speech voice challenging the regulatory structure and power of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Free Radio Berkeley has been engaged in an ongoing legal battle with the FCC. Until it was silenced by a court injunction in June 1998, Free Radio Berkeley was broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 104.1 FM with 50 watts of power as the alternative voice for the greater Berkeley/Oakland area. The original Free Speech mission to provide community news, discussions and interviews, information, a wide range of music, and more has now been taken up by Berkeley Liberation Radio.

Posted by vanevery at 12:40 PM | TrackBack

Pirate radio information


yourpiratestation.com

Great information on creating a pirate radio station.. Why, how and what..

Posted by vanevery at 12:25 PM | TrackBack

February 21, 2004

Video-Sharing Syndicate/Network

v2v | peer-to-peer video syndication release group | ${config.now.dc}

A Call to Join and Contribute to the Establishment of a Video-Sharing Syndicate/Network

Posted by vanevery at 01:23 AM | TrackBack

Free Books, Free Books, Free Books

The Online Books Page

Listing over 20,000 free books on the Web

Posted by vanevery at 12:54 AM | TrackBack

February 20, 2004

This is the beginning of the end...

Guardian Unlimited | Arts features | 'Mr Ferrer can't be with us tonight'
Tagline:
Artists from all over the world are being refused entry to the US on security grounds.

I think this signals the beginning of the end of NYC's time as a center for art and other culture. Oh, where will we go..?

Posted by vanevery at 12:59 PM | TrackBack

February 18, 2004

Ernie's run-down on the Digital Democracy Teach-in at O'Reilly's Emerging Technology Conference last week

Ernie The Attorney: Digital Democracy Teach-In at ETCON

Posted by vanevery at 07:49 PM | TrackBack

February 15, 2004

Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age

illegal-art.org :: a project of Stay Free!

Posted by vanevery at 02:54 PM | TrackBack

February 12, 2004

Shady (online, social software) marketing tactics..?

New Media Strategies and us
From the post:
But "Dixie" 's posts about "All My Children" got me curious. I looked up her IP address. Why am I not surprised it's registered to a company called New Media Strategies and that New Media Strategies offers:
Highly effective online Word-of-Mouth marketing (that) drives buzz about your brands and products. NMS harnesses the power of the online communities and opinion leaders to raise awareness of your brands and, ultimately, produce sales that bolsters your bottom line.
So, just in case Google indexes this page: New Media Strategies sucks. Let me repeat, "New Media Strategies sucks."

Posted by vanevery at 06:40 PM | TrackBack

February 09, 2004

The Corporation Documentary

The Corporation
From the site:
Considering the odd legal fiction that deems a corporation a "person" in the eyes of the law, the feature documentary employs a checklist, based on actual diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization and DSM IV, the standard tool of psychiatrists and psychologists. What emerges is a disturbing diagnosis.

Posted by vanevery at 03:18 PM

February 06, 2004

Acacia streaming patent case started

Does Acacia Own Streaming Media?

Acacia Media Technologies, a division of Acacia Research (Quote, Chart), sued a group of porn producers in the U.S. District Court in Calif. for allegedly infringing on its patents. The company says these patents give it the right to charge licensing fees to anyone who streams media via the Web.

Posted by vanevery at 10:05 PM

February 04, 2004

A festival bringing together media, art and politics

next 5 minutes :: festival of tactical media

Next 5 Minutes is a festival that brings together media, art and politics.


Next 5 Minutes revolves around the notion of tactical media, the fusion of art, politics and media. The festival is organised irregularly, when the urgency is felt to bring a new edition of the festival together.

Posted by vanevery at 09:13 AM

BE THE MEDIA

Independent Media Center | www.indymedia.org | ((( i )))

BE THE MEDIA
Keep your servers running, organize and create media.

Posted by vanevery at 08:55 AM

Article about contemporary video activism and the internet

LiP | Feature | Pixel Visions: The Resurgence of Video Activism

Posted by vanevery at 08:52 AM

Video is a powerful tool for social good

Video Activist Network

The VAN is an informal association of activists and politically conscious artists using video to support social, economic and environmental justice campaigns.

Posted by vanevery at 08:41 AM

Take aim at that corporate culture machine and FIRE

LiP Magazine Home Page
From the site:
What We Believe and What We Intend
LiP takes creative aim at a culture machine that strips us of our desires and sells them back as product and mass mediocracy. Brazen, audacious and presumptuous, LiP combines a biting aesthetic consciousness with a structural understanding of power. Refusing to be colonized by despair, cynicism or apathy, LiP gives voice to those working for a sustainable society rooted in cooperation and diversity. LiP confronts the miserabilist capitalist system with dangerous humor, liberated eroticism and Informed Revolt.

Posted by vanevery at 08:35 AM

Autonomy event listings..?

Autonomedia

We seek the widest variety of radical, autonomist, not-for-profit events listings only. No major commercial or for-profit posts will be approved for listing. We encourage you to register here and add your own events. You may also wish to post additional events announcements or more information on our forum page.

Posted by vanevery at 07:12 AM

Independent news program, broadcasting everywhere

About Democracy Now!
From the site:
Democracy Now! is a national, daily, independent, award-winning news program airing on over 140 stations in North America.Pioneering the largest public media collaboration in the U.S., Democracy Now! is broadcast on Pacifica, community, and National Public Radio stations, public access cable television stations, satellite television (on Free Speech TV, channel 9415 of the DISH Network), shortwave radio and the internet.

The program is hosted by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez and produced out of the Downtown Community Television Center, a community media center in New York City's Chinatown (shown to the right).

Posted by vanevery at 07:02 AM

ABC NoRio's InterActivist Network

InterActivist Network

We seek to offer new, dissenting perspectives, and to disseminate information about news-worthy events often overlooked or misrepresented by mainstream media.

Though the issues we address will be specific to our community, our goal is to instigate both a national and international conversation concerning similar issues affecting other communities.

The InterActivist Network is a model for community action using new media and technology to invigorate notions of public dialogue; to inform current debates within our community, both local and global; and to motivate non-mediated communication between the general public and participants in news-worthy events.

Posted by vanevery at 06:54 AM

Community art and activism

ABC No Rio | About

ABC No Rio is a collectively-run center for art and activism. We are known internationally as a venue for oppositional culture. ABC No Rio was founded in 1980 by artists committed to political and social engagement and we retain these values to the present.

We seek to facilitate cross-pollination between artists and activists. ABC No Rio is a place where people share resources and ideas to impact society, culture, and community. We believe that art and activism should be for everyone, not just the professionals, experts, and cognoscenti. Our dream is a cadres of actively aware artists and artfully aware activists.

Posted by vanevery at 06:48 AM

January 31, 2004

Watch the MoveOn ad on CNN during the Superbowl

MoveOn.org Voter Fund
From the page:
Join the One-Minute Boycott of CBS
The CBS network still refuses to run our winning ad in the Bush in 30 Seconds ad contest during the Super Bowl. This Sunday, during the Super Bowl half time show, join us in changing channels on CBS. At 8:10pm and 8:35pm EST, switch over to CNN to watch "Child's Pay" on a channel which doesn't censor its ads. We'd like to keep a tally of the number of people who participate -- just fill out the form below:

Posted by vanevery at 12:40 PM

January 30, 2004

March 20th: The World Still Says No to War

United for Peace and Justice

Momentum is building across the globe for the Global Day of Action against War and Occupation on March 20, the one-year anniversary of the U.S. bombing and invasion of Iraq.

Posted by vanevery at 04:05 PM

January 25, 2004

Dean's "rant" was nothing..

http://www.webmastersforamerica.com/Idiom_Studio/theSpeech_HiBand.mov

I like the remixes though: http://deangoesnuts.com/

For a description of why it sounded worse than it actually was: http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/news/wabc_2004vote_012904dean.html

Posted by vanevery at 11:20 PM

NYC Green Guide

Gotham Green Guide - New Yor City Green Living Links

Gotham Green Guide
Green Living in New York City
Dedicated to the Vision of a Big Green Apple
And a Kinder, Gentler, More Beautiful World

Posted by vanevery at 05:02 PM

Open Source Idea's, Defeat the patent system.

OpenBrick Community: Ideas

Not much here yet but a damn good idea.

Thanks again to Hans for the link.

From the site:
This section contains ideas published by OpenBrick users. Publishing and idea with some example of implementation allows to destroy the possibility of having that idea patented by others. Since we all have 10 ideas per week and since writing a patent takes 2 days, we will never have enough time to patent all our ideas. It would be very sad if someone else did and remove our possibility to use our own ideas. So, please publish your ideas here: this will make patents from Hitachi, IBM, etc. invalid.

Posted by vanevery at 03:48 PM

The Danger of Software Patents

Thanks to Hans for the link:

Speech by Richard Stallman at Cambridge University,
25 March 2002

You might have been familiar with my work on free software. This
speech is not about that. This speech is about a way of misusing laws
to make software development a dangerous activity. This is about what
happens when patent law gets applied to the field of software.

It is not about patenting software. That is a very bad way, a
misleading way, to describe it, because it is not a matter of patenting
individual programs. If it were, it would make no difference, it would
be basically harmless. Instead, it is about patenting ideas. Every
patent covers some idea. Software patents are patents which cover
software ideas, ideas which you would use in developing software. That
is what makes them a dangerous obstacle to all software development.

Posted by vanevery at 02:39 PM

Do turkeys enjoy thanksgiving?

The Hindu : Do turkeys enjoy thanksgiving?

Since seeing a speech that Arundhati Roy gave in NYC last year I have paid close attention when coming across her words. Here is the transcript from a speech she recently gave.

From the article:
It's not good enough to be right. Sometimes, if only in order to test our resolve, it's important to win something. In order to win something, we need to agree on something." After a tour d'horizon, the author of The God of Small Things calls for a " minimum agenda" as well as a plan of action that prioritises global resistance to the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Here is the text of her speech at the opening Plenary of the World Social Forum in Mumbai on January 16, 2004:

Posted by vanevery at 02:28 PM

January 21, 2004

Check the facts

About Us - FactCheck.org
From the site:
We are a nonpartisan, nonprofit, "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding.

Posted by vanevery at 09:19 PM

Bush IS an Asshole (or many)...!

art of resistance - bush mosaic

Th Bush Asshole Mosiac

Posted by vanevery at 05:56 PM

January 18, 2004

Our patent system does everything except encourage innovation

Fight The Patent: Providing information and Prior Art about patent abuse cases currently covering Acacia Research Corporation(Acacia Patent Lawsuits) vs (sueing) Everyone, SightSound vs (sueing) CDnow / BMG, and USA Video vs (sueing) Movielink.com. Providing patent prior art for the defense / defendants in litigation at no charge

The purpose of Fight The Patent is to bring awareness and activism to Internet-related patents that affect all websites. In addition, this website presents searches for Patent Prior Art.

Posted by vanevery at 09:59 PM

January 16, 2004

The criminal justice system is being completely ignored

Out of Repression, Into Jail

when it comes to "Homeland Security".

Posted by vanevery at 01:21 PM

January 13, 2004

What is the story behind Love Canal?

Love Canal
From the site:
Love Canal is a neighbourhood in Niagara Falls, New York. The nickname "Love Canal" came from the last name of William Love who in 1896 began digging a canal connecting Lake Ontario and Lake Erie (bypassing Niagara Falls) in order to serve as a water power conduit. It was never completed but the Hooker Chemical Company, located west of the canal, had the ingenious idea of turning the uncompleted canal into a dumping ground for the chemical by-products of its manufacturing process.

Posted by vanevery at 11:42 PM

January 12, 2004

Thanks for the memories Saddam

View the flash movie

The truth behind the US' long love affair with Saddam.

Posted by vanevery at 12:07 PM

January 10, 2004

Commercialism and American culture, they are the same, right?

Stay Free! info

Stay Free! is a print magazine focused on issues surrounding commercialism and American culture

Posted by vanevery at 09:09 PM

January 05, 2004

Move On's Bush in 30 Seconds Ad's

Bush in 30 Seconds
My favorite: In My Country

They all deserve air play.

Posted by vanevery at 06:05 PM

December 19, 2003

FCC and Big Co.'s trying to change the nature of the internet

Mercury News | 12/15/2003 | Battle to control Internet threatens open access

This Internet may be dying. At the behest of powerful interests, the FCC is buying into a warped vision that open networks should be replaced by closed networks and that the FCC should excuse broadband providers from longstanding non-discrimination requirements.

Posted by vanevery at 02:42 AM

November 29, 2003

Alliance for Community Media

ACM: Home Page

From the site:
The Alliance for Community Media is committed to assuring everyone's access to electronic media. The Alliance advances this goal through public education, a progressive legislative and regulatory agenda, coalition building and grassroots organizing.

Posted by vanevery at 12:11 AM

Get Bush outta here...

One-Term President

Posted by vanevery at 12:08 AM

November 28, 2003

Looks like my instrument is already patented...

United States Patent: 5,689,078

Music generating system and method utilizing control of music based upon displayed color


Abstract
An apparatus and method for generating music from color input data is disclosed. Color data extracted from a selected portion of a still or moving picture image displayed on a color graphical output means is converted by a central processing unit into a signal comprising musical information which is played by a sound output means. The images are retrieved from a storage device. The image portion converted into musical information corresponds to the location of a cursor displayed over the image. The central processing unit is programmed and controlled by a keyboard and mouse to move the cursor to varying positions on the displayed image and to generate different musical information depending on the color data at each position. The apparatus and method can also be used to transform audio input from a musical device and a MIDI interface into color data for display as an image on a color graphical output means.

Posted by vanevery at 08:14 PM

October 25, 2003

10 technologies that deserve to die

Microsoft bCentral: Today's Business News

Good article by Bruce Sterling

Posted by vanevery at 03:04 PM

October 24, 2003

Progressive Magazine, Events, Video and Art

LUMPEN

Posted by vanevery at 07:33 PM

October 21, 2003

EFF takes on the Music Industry

#nextScene

From the site:
For years, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has been waging war against peer-to-peer file-sharing software and the technologists who create it. Now the RIAA has turned its crosshairs on you, threatening to sue you for sharing the music you love. But even shotgun-style lawsuits won't solve the RIAA's problem. As more and more Americans learn to love online music, the answer must lie in new business models that harness the power of P2P as a vehicle for paying artists. If artists get paid when we share files, then artists win, we win, and yes -- even the RIAA wins.

Posted by vanevery at 12:57 PM

Progressive Community Editorial and News Site

Common Dreams

"Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community"

Very interesting editorials...

Posted by vanevery at 11:54 AM

October 16, 2003

How ridiculous can the Bush administration get?

U.S. May Expand Access To Endangered Species (washingtonpost.com)

From the article:
The Bush administration is proposing far-reaching changes to conservation policies that would allow hunters, circuses and the pet industry to kill, capture and import animals on the brink of extinction in other countries.

This would be funny if it wasn't so utterly devastating..

Posted by vanevery at 01:58 AM

October 15, 2003

Wired News

Wired News

News and articles concerning just about everything I care about.. Hard to imagine the world without Wired.

Posted by vanevery at 12:40 PM

October 14, 2003

Archive all that old software.. DMCA says "not so fast"

Wired News: Fighting to Preserve Old Programs

From the article:
But the Internet Archive's initiative -- to create permanent copies of as much software as possible -- is beset by legal and technical problems.

Another example of the DMCA running amuck..

Posted by vanevery at 11:04 AM

October 11, 2003

Grand Theft America

GRAND THEFT AMERICA

Posted by vanevery at 07:02 PM

McWorld and Globalism on NPR

WNYC - The Brian Lehrer Show: The Fear Factor (October 01, 2003)

From the site:
Benjamin Barber argues that the McWorld is not a democracy. He accuses the Bush administration of confusing free-market ideology -- sold on the sizzle of brand-marketing -- with the spread of democratic ideals. Barber is the author of Fear's Empire: War, Terrorists, and Democracy. According to Barber: "The two axial principals of our time %u2013 tribalism and globalism %u2013 clash at every point except one: they may both be threatening to democracy."

Posted by vanevery at 12:26 PM

October 10, 2003

More Democracy Quotes

Notable Quotes - Democracy

"The real truth of the matter is, as you and I know, that a financial element in the larger centers has owned government ever since the days of Andrew Jackson."

Franklin D. Roosevelt in a letter to Woodrow Wilson's closest adviser, Col. Edward M. House dated November 21, 1933

Posted by vanevery at 01:35 AM

Amending the Constitution, foreign born Presidents

"Natural-Born" Killer - Abolish the idiotic constitutional clause barring immigrants from the presidency. By Jefferson Morley

"Barring immigrant citizens from the White House is a pointless insult. Such nativism is weirdly out of place in the charter of a multicultural nation where immigrants run our largest businesses, command our armies, and preside over our courts."

Although Hatch has pushed for this I still think it is a good idea.

Posted by vanevery at 01:30 AM

Right-wing resorts to phone pranks

Salon.com News | Right-wing crank yankers

"Texas bug-man Tom DeLay and the New York Post's Bob McManus are harassing MoveOn.org with silly phone tricks."

Posted by vanevery at 01:25 AM

Democracy Quotes

Democracy Quotes | Democracy Quotations | Democracy Sayings | Wisdom Quotes

"... the 20th century has been characterized by three developments of great political importance: The growth of democracy, the growth of corporate power, and the growth of corporate propaganda as a means of protecting corporate power against democracy."

Australian social scientist, quoted by Noam Chomsky in World Orders Old and New

Posted by vanevery at 01:24 AM

September 23, 2003

ACLU Criticizes the Patriot Act

Wired News: ACLU Chief Assails Patriot Spin

Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, speaking Friday at a conference on information technology and homeland security at the University of California at Berkeley, said the government has "repeatedly made false statements about the Patriot Act, presumably to deceive listeners into thinking the act gives the government less unilateral power than it actually does."

Posted by vanevery at 11:55 AM

Clark and Kerry ahead of Bush

http://politicalwire.com/archives/003017.html

Posted by vanevery at 01:31 AM | Comments (1)

September 18, 2003

Clark Presidential Bid Follow-up

Wired News: Clark's Run: Net Made Him Do It

Wired article reports on the use of the internet in bringing Clark around to running. Some interesting discussion of how it all went down and what it might do to the Dean campaign.

FYI, I like Dean quite a bit but I think Clark has a better chance in beating Bush (which has to be a main goal here).

I am waiting to see his stance on everything before making up my mind. I find it great that he thought that invading Iraq without the support of the UN was a mistake (before it happened).

Posted by vanevery at 01:34 AM

September 17, 2003

EFF: Take a Stand Against the Madness; Stop the RIAA!

EFF: RIAA Petition

Posted by vanevery at 01:15 PM

Wesley Clark is running..

Michael Moore.com : Mike's Words

An appeal from Michael to Wesley to run... Turns out that he is going to after all.. This looks like good news in the main goal of getting rid of Bush.

Posted by vanevery at 11:18 AM

September 15, 2003

Misleader...

Misleader.org: Daily Mislead

A Daily Chronicle of The Bush Administration Distortion

Posted by vanevery at 10:00 PM

Two Years Later (9/11)

Two Years Later . . .

At least *some* media questions the intentions of the administration.

Posted by vanevery at 12:59 AM