Ignorance, that is. First Ted and now this: Rick Santorum was on NPR this morning talking about why he voted against the Stem Cell Bill. Apparently it’s because he’s a scientist and knows that stem cells won’t provide the answers researchers are looking for and as soon as they discern that they will start aborting human babies- because they’re older than stem cells. Adding to his reasoning: Since they already do this with animals it’s the next logical step, obviously.
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In this episode of Digital Citizen we wrap up the Governance Nuggets, David Totten reports on internet access to remote villages in Alaska, and we talk to Damien Pfister about blogging.
Music: The Digital Citizen by David Totten.
The Digital Citizen is a CC-derived and licensed composition. David’s thoughts on the music and on the Creative Commons can be found here.
DC News:
E-Voting: Diebold v Democracy
Piotr Konieczny on Tabbed Browsing
Wiki-Law Launches
Jonathan Lu on Blackberry Thumb
Gilmore v. Gonzoles
Censorship in China after Civil Unrest
Jonathan Lu on H.R.3997
Wikipedia Hoax
Thanks to Piotr for the links!
David Reports on Internet Access in Alaska
Damien Pfister talks about Blogs
Using del.icio.us and want to pitch in? Send any relevant bookmarks to for:digitalcitizen.
Technorati Tags: government, politics, tech, technology, Alaska,censhorship,blog,china,wiki-law,Democracy,diebold,voting
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In episode two of Digital Citizen we feature more DC news as well as “Governance Nuggets”- news and commentary by students from the Digital Governance course at the University of Pittsburgh. Then we move on to Dr. Stuart Shulman and his recent trip to Kazakhstan and his E-Rulemaking Research.
DC News:
Massachusetts pulls back on Open Document:
Jason Cohen on Corbis
Sony Debacle Continues
Salvatore Moschella on Digital Dumping
SBC Punishes New Orleans over Municipal Wireless Internet Access
Eva Wright
E911 Off the Hook
Patty on Evangelical Blogging
More trouble for the Wikipedia
Joohyun on Podcasting and citizen media.
ICANN
Space Mountain Rants on Copyrighted Culture
Stuart Shulman
Shulman & E-Rulemaking
One story we didn’t get to mention this week was the use of Machinima to create political films- in this case a movie about the Paris Riots using a video game called “The Movies.” Check it out!
Episode 3 will be up next week.
Technorati Tags: government, politics, tech, technology, ICANN,WIFI,Kazakhstan,E-Rulemaking,Copyright,Democracy
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I was reading over some material this weekend regarding the steady dwindling of ownership of the various mass media outlets and a thought occurred to me. Time was, my standard example of the effect of consolidation in mass media was boy-band-ism, the development and marketing of absolute lowest-common denominator pop music. I think I’m going to start tossing off a new example:
Openly biased, political news media
It is no coincidence that even the mainstream media is reporting on corporations and news organizations taking on an openly political bias. As they have less and less to fear from consumers, and need to sate those regulators who would keep them in power, becoming more propagandistic is a given. I’m sure Noam Chomsky has said something similar.
My point being: Less competition, fewer voices, no one to make those voices stop. Of course, the whole system of FCC governed private tv ownership is pretty fucked up anyway…but that is for another post.
(more…)
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I am trying very hard not to despair.
I am trying not to think the worst is coming, that the majority of americans actually wish discrimination upon their fellow countrymen.
I am trying not to think that we are going to openly declare our intent on Empire.
I am trying not to think that our environment is going to get worse and that our cost of living will go up.
I am trying not to think that the world, which held its breath until yesterday, is now ready to fight against our country.
I am trying not to think that a majority in our nation believe that there should be no separation of church and state, and all the discrimination and disparity that will entail.
I am trying not to think that we are steadily allowing superstition and fear to rule our lives.
I am trying not to think that the vote was stolen quietly by Diebold, Sequoia and Electronic Systems & Software. By their black boxes that don’t allow for a manual recount.
I am trying not to think about all the voters whose votes, regardless of the outcome, simply did not count. Because they sent in absentee ballots (fearful they would be turned away from the polls, or that electronic voting devices would not properly report their vote). Because 135000 people were challenged in Ohio and had to cast provisional ballots. Ballots that will not be counted.
These are things I’m trying not to think about.
Yet, I can not.
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So who else thinks that these heavily armed cops, security guards, security cameras on every corner and constant inducements to fear are not going away for a long long time. And how long until one of them goes too far against a group of protesters.
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The week Fahrenheit 9/11 opens, George Bush Sr’s Carlyle Group decides TO BUY LOEWS CINEMAS
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David Cross will be on Air America’s Majority Report tomorrow night. I am going to try and capture the stream somehow. I think I may prefer Majority Report to the O’Franken Factor, but that is probably because Janeane Garofalo is such a doll.
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