Citizen Reporting

I wonder sometimes what this whole blogging thing really amounts to. You write your little posts, people agree or do not, and at the end of the day, maybe you make an impact, maybe not. Sometimes, however, blogs matter in ways that nobody seems to have thought of before, as in this case.

Some good news to come out of the current war in the Mideast is that there is an ongoing conversation between Lebanese and Israeli bloggers. This is probably the first time in human history that civilians on opposing sides in a cinflict can freely communicate, and nobody has any idea what effect this will have.

From the link above, perhaps the most astonishing blog I've ever come across:

The internet has also been offering some surreal experiences, like the ability to have a Beirut-Tel Aviv online IM chat in real time while the missiles are falling. That's what happened to me and this blogger a few nights ago. We chatted while he was sitting on the roof of his apartment building in Beirut, watching missiles from Israeli planes fall on his city and describing it to me. He was carrying on an online conversation with another Israeli at the same time. And he was able to describe his feelings and the atmosphere in a human, personal way that no newspaper article or television news segment could achieve.

Now, given that a critical part of any war is the dehumanization of the enemy, how is that going to work when all you have to do to look at the people on the other side is log on the internets?

Much to ponder, it seems.

I did something I haven't done in a while: I went to hear a candidate speak.

I know that I announced my public divorce from the Democrats last year, but I moved to a small town, and the next thing I knew, I was asked to become politically active. I don't know if my doorbelling days are fast re-approaching, but at least I've met a candidate who I can believe in.



So I'd like to introduce you all to Michael A. Arcuri, who is running for the vacant 24th Congressional District seat in New York State, currently held by a Republican who's retiring.

Arcuri has been the District Attorney for Oneida County for 13 years.
Arcuri is charismatic. Not surprising for someone who was a football All-American, went to law school, and is a black belt in Tae Kwan Do. He carries himself with grace and ease, but when he speaks, his passion takes over. And I like passion.

Here are some of the highlights from his talk. I am paraphrasing from my notes, but you can check his positions on his Web site to confirm that I'm stating them accurately.

IRAQ:

UPDATE | 9 June 2006
It is amazing what money will do. While there are more then 15 prominent sites running the Brangelina photos --the embargo is over after all-- I was insulted and berated by one of the lawyers of the company that serves the IP to my hosting company.

There are proper procedures that IP and hosting companies have to go through when there is a C&D. A C&D is not necessarily an order for a take down. Can you imagine if everybody could invoke the DCMA on an email everytime they didn't like something written about them?

I have been informally adviced that it is illegal to not follow certain steps and procedures and so I am weighing my options. Especially since I did not use the image to write about gossip but to criticize corporate tactics meant to curtail fair use and freedom of speech.

I am writing a longer piece on this issue especially the need for cultural creatives and progressives to invest in rock hard IT businesses. Back in the days art collectives like The Thing [ www.thing.net ] where dial-up networks themselves, 20 YEARS AGO, because they knew of the danger of being shut down for unpopular art.

To save democracy we are going to have to build a new infrastructure capable of sustaining it. That means, investing in businesses that will fight for fair use and freedom of speech instead of cower to the bottom line.

I get an AIM from Lynn and her husband saying to call them immediately. I freaked out given her recent health woes; but they reassured me it had all to do with the Brangelina photo.

The lawyers for TimeWarner AOL and Getty Images invoked the Digital Millenium Copyright Act sent a Cease and Desist letter to AboveNet, a company that services hosting companies.

With no questions asked, AboveNet immediately contacted Simpli.biz, the company that holds our servers. They ordered a "DCMA TAKEDOWN". It means, it does not matter if TimeWarnerAOL is lying about the infringement of copyright allegations. They would force Simpli to force me to take down the image within 24 hours or risk losing their IP and their business by having it blacklisted. And they can force them to do so because this kind of harrassment is protected under the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act.

It really does not matter if I claim Fair Use. If I did not comply within 24 hours they would blacklist the hosting company and all IPs they held. What that means is that, once they blacklisted the IP, they would in effect put Simpli.biz out of business.

So what exists in place with the DCMA is a legally allowed harrassment system in place. If you are writing a blog that a big media company like TimeWarnerAOL finds to their dislike, they can use the DCMA to take you down, no questions asked. And the cost to fight to get back online makes it almost impossible for anybody to fight these kinds of battles.

So I asked Lynn what to do. She knows that ten years ago a similar thing happened to my kids' father with his Barbie spoof, The Distorted Barbie. It was the first in a string of actions that would culminate in Mattel v. Walking Mountain Productions [PDF].

This is what came out of our conversation :

My friend Joy Garnett, who is the the source of culturekitchen's guerrilla man logo, has also become an expert on fair use. She sent me this bit posted at the FairUseNetwork mailing list:

The fair use doctrine permits anyone to use copyrighted works, without the owners' permission, in ways that are fundamentally equitable and fair. Common examples of fair use are criticism, commentary, news reporting, research, scholarship, and multiple copies for classroom use.

[...]

News reporting = blogging.

TimeWarnerAOL owns People Mag. They happen to be one of the biggest lobbyists behind the DCMA (after the RIAA). They also declared with their new "anti-spam" policy how the stand against net neutrality : they want to create different paying levels of access to email, rss, web, ftp, you name it. The want as many tolls they can lay and control along the information superhighway as they can.

Which is why it puts into a whole different context these comments from the people of Hello! and Getty Images :

[via Shiloh Not Ready For Close-Up, Gets It Anyway - Yahoo! News]:

"It's a complete mystery," Hello!'s Herd told Reuters. "And we are very concerned at this breach of copyright.

"It is very difficult to control the Web and this proves how rampantly out of control it is. We have absolutely no idea how the picture was leaked."

A spokesperson for People magazine, meanwhile, had other ideas.

"Somebody from Hello! must have leaked it," the unnamed rep told BBC News. "I don't know how it got there."

However it did, it makes for a particularly pricey stealing of thunder.

As for Getty Images, which Pitt and Jolie announced earlier this week would market the photos, they claim the picture could be seen more as a teaser, enticing the celeb-savvy public into seeing the rest of the shots.

"Our legal team are looking into it and we will take it from there," spokeswoman Alison Crombie told Reuters. "But I really don't think it will devalue the pictures as everyone is dying to see the full set."

The C&D's are after the jump.

With a slogan that says, "Collaborative Media for the Masses", ePluribus Media excels as a cooperative of citizen volunteers dedicated to researching issues of common concern and encouraging the highest standards of ethics and journalism.

Image via The People's Yes

One of the interesting people I did not get to meet at SXSW was Sean Coon of Connecting The Dots. Tag-daddy Thomas Vander Wal told him to ping me about his new project, The People's Eyes :

[via thepeopleyes / Introduction]:

We're creating a platform to enable people who are interested in sharing their personal experiences and POV's with the world via a collaborative blog. As participation grows, and the blog gains a greater footprint in the conscious of the web, we plan on devising a CPM advertising model to provide a return to each individual participant.

100% of the revenue will go directly into the hands of the individual contributers.

I think this is a real interesting project that deserves more attention. Sean is looking for help with incorporating as a non-profit organization and that's why he needs all the pro-bono help he can get.

Here's the deal though : I have had more than one blogger asking me for legal referrals. I am going to ping Jeralyn Merrit with this one, but seriously, for up-and-coming lawyers, there is a market there for per-diem work with bloggers of all kinds, especially with issues of incorporation, trademark and contract negotiation.

I have discovered a new truth : It is impossible for me to blog while at a conference. That has already happened to me in several ones including Personal Democracy, IDPI and now SWSX. I just can't do it.

First, because the bandwidth usually sucks and even previewing a post takes an eternity. More importantly though, there is the issue of distraction. You go to SXSW for the people, the chatting and networking, not just the panels.

Speaking of which : the Better Blogging Brainstorms was a kick ass panel and not just because I was the moderator. It was an amazing miracle of last minute juggling for Hugh Forrest. We not only clicked as a group but we had such a diversity of experiences as bloggers that it really made for a lively and upbeat opening of the South by Southwest panel orgy.

If you were one of the more than 150 people in the room who liked our panel, please drop me a line or two here in the comments section. Let the world now how much you liked us so they can have us again.

Kim Hynes reports from Connecticut with My Left Nutmeg :: All Charm, No Compromise

Senator Lieberman was gracious and welcoming, and went on for a few minutes about how he thought that debate on the war was vital to the cause (yadda yadda yadda). John Hartwell and I put forth our arguments that the war was at the point of being damaging to the US, Iraq, and the Middle East, and urged him to support a plan for withdrawal/redeployment of the troops. I brought up the fact that it would be very nice if the Senator could take the lead in acknowledging that "staying the course" and "cutting and running" were not actually the only options here. Again, gracious response, that indicated while, he was happy to sit and drink coffee while we talked, he was not changing his stance, and the president was doing just fine with the war, thanks.

Vicki Usher and Carol (from Marilyn Mackay's group - sorry I don't remember your last name, Carol!) brought up the Alito nomination, and we all were pleasantly surprised with Senator Lieberman said that a filibuster was on the table for him - hopefully he'll stick to his guns!