Global Voices introduces Threatened Voices

Introducing Threatened Voices

Never before have so many people been threatened or imprisoned for what the words they write on the internet.

As activists and ordinary citizens have increasingly made use of the internet to express their opinions and connect with others, many governments have also increased surveillance, filtering, legal actions and harassment. The harshest consequence for many has been the politically motivated arrest of bloggers and online writers for their online and/or offline activities, in some tragic cases even leading to death. Online journalists and bloggers now represent 45% of all media workers in prison worldwide.

Crowdsourcing Authority in the Classroom

?A wacko holding forth on a soapbox.  If Ms. Davidson just wants to yammer and lead discussions, she should resign her position and head for a park or subway platform, and pass a hat for donations.?

Crowd sourced creativity and voice over chaos

The podcast is ready to run. It’s full of interesting online antics as usual. If there is a link or a name you missed in the podcast, you can always check back here where we have all the links.

First up I had a chat with Nick Wadham-Smith is the deputy director of Counterpoint, the think tank of the British Council. They’ve been working on fresh methods of communication since 1934. Some of the latest work includes podcasting and blogging and you can also get involved.

EU replaces definition of “open standards” with meaningless drivel

Lobbyists at the EU have gutted the definition of “open” (part of a proposal to require more open standards and open source tools in European government) to mean “the willingness of persons, organisations or other members of a community of interest to share knowledge.” This meaningless drivel replaces a more robust definition that included, “The standard is adopted and will be maintained by a not-for-profit organisation, and its ongoing development occurs on the basis of an open decision-making procedure available to all interested parties (consensus or majority decision etc.).”

10 Projects that Help Citizens Become Government Watchdogs

With the 2010 U.S. elections coming into view, many people are looking for more information about the people running for office — and the individuals and organizations funding these candidates.

Fortunately, there are dozens of initiatives that mine and share the data that influence policy and policy-makers. Many are funded by The Sunlight Foundation, which aims to use “the revolutionary power of the Internet to make information about Congress and the federal government more meaningfully accessible to citizens.”
Politicians Use Social Media to Bypass the Press Corps

Politicians are figuring out what social media technologies like blogs, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have to offer: direct access to voters. More than ever before, they can bypass the professional press and deliver an uncensored, unfiltered — and unchecked — message.

E-Readers search for place in the market

POLL: Illegal Downloaders Buy the Most Music

The UK?s Independent newspaper picks up on a curious study today: people who download music illegally also buy more music legally, according to a poll?s results. The study comes as the UK plans a controversial ?three strikes and you?re out? rule that would disconnect copyright infringers from the Internet ? it?s set to become law in April 2010.

The Top Internet Memes of 2009

from Mashable! by Christina Warren

BASIC SYSTEMS DISRUPTION

Here’s a simple overview of what is increasingly becoming the dominant method of offensive warfare in the 21st Century.  Early applications of this methodology to modern conflict have been very successful.  In short, it’s better to understand its dynamics than to assume it doesn’t exist.