WikiLeaks Debate: A "Transparency Activist" Takes Issue with Assange; WikiLeaks

If you haven't noticed by now, the Democracy Now! program is an excellent resource for the kinds of topics and issues we've been covering in class and/or we're covering via the tracking papers. Host Amy Goodman frequently brings guests on to discuss contemporary issues such as net neutrality, media conglomeration, access to information and so on. She's been one of the go-to journalists staying on top of the WikiLeaks story, and the other day, she hosted a very interesting debate from two people. One is a "transparency activist," a person dedicated to some of the same principles WikiLeaks espouses, but who feels WikiLeaks will ultimately do more harm than good to open information principles. The other is a Constitutional scholar and writer who is in favor of WikiLeaks.

The nuances and standpoints in this debate are very interesting, and go well beyond the kind of black-and-white soundbites you might hear on network news, for example. Check it out if you have a few minutes.

Here is the link to the debate, which you can also read as a transcript on the same site.

News Report: San Francisco Public Library and Homeless Patrons - A Novel Approach

Please watch this short video about the approach the San Francisco Public Library has taken to offer services to its homeless patrons - while increasing comfort for staff and other library visitors. How do you feel about this approach?

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7459682

Another Short Video for Module 4: "Everything's a Remix"

Brought to you by another intrepid young mash-up fan/access advocate/artist on the Web, here is another video - this one very brief - of a project underway that gets at some of the same general ideas and concepts as our required viewing, "Can I Get an Amen? The Amen Break Movie" and our highly recommended optional viewing, "RiP! A Remix Manifesto" do.

What is particularly interesting about this effort is both its focus (some would say "ripping on") of Zeppelin as a particularly egregious bunch of blues rip-off artists (a theme touched on in RiP!, too) as well as the comments below this first installment that take issue with what some viewers consider the creator's conflating and confusing of terms and actions like "sampling," "remixing" and "mash-ups" ("mashings up"? I don't know).

To be sure, there will be much less video content available on the open web for our later modules, so enjoy this while you can!

Everything is a Remix from Kirby Ferguson on Vimeo.