* Google opens OneBox music service *

* Google opens OneBox music service *
Search giant Google enters the online music market with a new service for
finding and buying music online.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/technology/8331290.stm

* Canada jails Rwandan war criminal *

* Canada jails Rwandan war criminal *
A Rwandan man convicted of war crimes is jailed for life by a Canadian court,
without the prospect of parole for 25 years.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/americas/8333046.stm

Survey of blocked Uyghur websites shows Xinjiang still cut off from the world

Reporters Without Borders/Reporters sans frontières

29 October 2009

CHINA
Survey of blocked Uyghur websites shows Xinjiang still cut off from the world
http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34859

Reporters Without Borders has surveyed access to websites dedicated to the
Uyghur community, including sites in the Uyghur language, in Mandarin and
sometimes in English. These sites, operated for Uyghurs, are for the most
part inaccessible both to Internet users based in Xinjiang and those
abroad. More than 85 per cent of the surveyed sites were blocked, censored
or otherwise unreachable.

"The discrimination to which Uyghurs have been subjected for decades as
regards their freedom of expression and their religious and economic
freedom now applies to their Internet access as well," Reporters Without
Borders said. "Four months after the violence in Urumqi, the Chinese
authorities continue to keep the province cut off from the rest of the
world. We must not be duped by the illusion of normality. Most Uyghurs
still cannot go online, send SMS messages or even make phone calls."

The press freedom organisation added: "The official reason given for this
blackout, that 'terrorists used the Internet and SMS messaging,' is
unacceptable. Do the Pakistani or Afghan authorities suspend the Internet
because terrorists sent email messages? No. The Chinese government seems
more interested in preventing Xinjiang's inhabitants from circulating
information about the real situation in the province, especially about the
crackdown after the July riots."

Reporters Without Borders urges the authorities to restore Internet and
phone connections in Xinjiang without delay. "The dozens of websites in
the Uyghur language and websites about Xinjiang that have been closed must
be allowed to reopen and those who edit them must have freedom of
movement," the organisation added.

Carried out in October, the survey examined around 100 Uyghur websites,
portals, forums, blogs and other kinds of online platform. Various factors
were considered, such as the country in which the site is based, the type
of site (such as forum or blog), the type of content (such as news,
politics, culture or sport), the language, and the problems encountered
when the attempt was made to visit the site (such as change of address,
overly long delay in opening or error message).

The results highlight the degree of paralysis of the Uyghur Internet
during the pasts four months. The more than 85 per cent of the sites that
are inaccessible include very popular ones such as Diyarim
(www.diyarim.com), Xabnam (www.xabnam.com) and Ulinix (www.ulinix.com), a
site registered in the name of the University of Xinjiang that served as a
portal.

More than half of the websites – including Uzmakan (www.uzmakan.com) and
Uzonline (www.uzonline.net), whose addresses refer explicitly to the
Uyghur community – are inaccessible because of interminable connection
delays. Others have for months been displaying temporary error messages,
which disguise the fact that they have been closed down for good.

The few accessible sites such as Uighurbiz (www.uighurbiz.net) are based
in other countries, often the United States, where there is a sizable
Uyghur diaspora, or are based in China but have a content that is in no
way political and have no sensitive information, such as Blogbus
(www.qutyar.blogbus.com).

Some sites are the victims of targeted censorship. The news section of the
Gazina website (www.gazina.com) was inaccessible during the survey but its
music and cinema sections were working. The Akburkut (www.akburkut.com),
Tahdir (bbs.tahdir.com), Uyghurum (www.uyghurum.net) and Karamet
(http://karamet.5d6d.com) websites did not let visitors register in order
to post messages.

Many reports have confirmed Xinjiang's isolation since July 2009 and the
severe problems being encountered by Internet café owners, online stores,
and students while they wait for the Internet to resume working. Ordinary
residents are also hard put to send or receive emails or text messages.

The Chinese authorities meanwhile continue to regularly censor websites in
general. An average of one site is shut down every two days. This is what
happened on 24 October, for example, to the blogs on the Free China Forum
(http://zyzg.us.), one of the most influential political debate platforms.

Similarly, Window of Southern Breeze, a website linked to the Guangzhou
Daily News Corporation's online magazine, was blocked on 26 October after
it posted an article from the 21 October print issue about incidents
involving the police. Other sites that had reproduced the article had to
remove it.

---------

CHINE
Etude sur le blocage des sites Internet ouïghours : le Xinjiang toujours
coupé du monde
http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=34858

Reporters sans frontières a mené une enquête sur la situation de l'accès
aux sites Internet dédiés à la communauté ouïghoure. La plupart de ces
sites, en langue ouïghoure, chinoise et parfois anglaise, fait par ou pour
des Ouïghours, sont, pour la grande majorité, inaccessibles aux
internautes, que ceux-ci soient basés au Xinjiang ou bien à l'étranger.
Sur 91 sites répertoriés, plus de 85% étaient bloqués, censurés ou hors
d'atteinte.

"La discrimination qui frappe depuis des décennies les Ouïghours dans leur
liberté d'expression, leur liberté religieuse et économique, s'étend
maintenant à leur accès à Internet. Presque quatre mois après les
violences à Urumqi, les autorités chinoises maintiennent la province
coupée du monde. L'illusion de la normalité ne doit pas tromper, la
majorité des Ouïghours ne peuvent toujours pas consulter Internet, envoyer
des SMS ou tout simplement téléphoner. Et les motifs officiels de ce black
out – "les terroristes utilisent Internet et les SMS" – sont
inacceptables. Est-ce que les autorités pakistanaises ou afghanes
suspendent Internet car les terroristes envoient des emails ? Non. Le
gouvernement chinois semble plutôt intéressé d'empêcher les habitants du
Xinjiang de faire sortir les informations sur la situation réelle dans la
province, notamment la répression qui a suivi les émeutes de juillet", a
affirmé l'organisation.

Reporters sans frontières demande que les connexions Internet et
téléphoniques soient rétablies dans les meilleurs délais au Xinjiang. "Les
sites en ouïghour ou dédiés au Xinjiang qui ont été fermés par dizaines
doivent être rouverts et leurs responsables libres de leurs mouvements", a
précisé l'organisation.

Réalisée en octobre 2009, l'enquête repose sur l'examen d'une centaine de
sites Web, portails, forums, blogs et autres plateformes ouïghoures.
Plusieurs facteurs ont été pris en compte au cours de cette enquête, comme
le pays dans lequel le site Internet est basé, le type de site (forum,
blog, etc.), le type de contenu offert par le site (informations,
politique, culture, sport, etc.), la langue et les problèmes rencontrés
lors de la visite du site (changement d'adresse, délai d'ouverture du site
trop long, message d'erreur, etc.).

Les résultats sont éloquents sur la situation de quasi-paralysie de
l'Internet ouïghour depuis près de quatre mois. Plus de 85% des sites sont
inaccessibles et on compte parmi eux des sites très populaires tels que
www.diyarim.com, www.xabnam.com ou www.ulinix.com, site enregistré au nom
de l'université du Xinjiang et faisant office de portail Web.

Plus de la moitié des sites visités, comme www.uzmakan.com ou
www.uzonline.net dont l'adresse fait explicitement référence à la
communauté ouïghoure, sont inaccessibles en raison de délais de connexions
dépassés. D'autres sites affichent des messages d'erreur temporaires
depuis plusieurs mois, qui masquent une fermeture définitive.

Les rares sites accessibles, à l'instar de www.uighurbiz.net, sont basés à
l'étranger, souvent aux Etats-Unis où la diaspora ouïghoure est
importante, ou bien en Chine, mais dans ce cas leur contenu n'est jamais
politique, et ne traite pas d'informations sensibles (par exemple:
http://www.qutyar.blogbus.com).

Certains sites sont victimes de censures ciblées. Durant l'enquête, la
rubrique d'informations du site www.gazina.com était inaccessible alors
que les rubriques de musique et de cinéma fonctionnaient. Les sites
www.akburkut.com, bbs.tahdir.com, www.uyghurum.net ou
http://karamet.5d6d.com/ ne permettaient pas de s'enregistrer pour poster
des messages.

Depuis juillet 2009, de nombreux témoignages ont confirmé l'état
d'isolement dont est victime le Xinjiang, et du désarroi des propriétaires
de cybercafés et de magasins en ligne ou des étudiants qui attendent
qu'Internet fonctionne à nouveau. Les habitants rencontrent également des
difficultés pour envoyer et recevoir des mails et des messages par
téléphone.

D'autre part, les autorités chinoises continuent à censurer régulièrement
des sites Internet. Un site, en moyenne, se retrouve fermé tous les deux
jours. Ainsi, le 24 octobre, les blogs établis sur la plateforme du site
Free China Forum (http://zyzg.us.), l'un des plus influents dans le débat
politique, ont subi ce traitement. De même, le site officiel Window of
Southern Breeze, lié au magazine en ligne du Guangzhou Daily News
Corporation, a été bloqué le 26 octobre. Selon l'organisation CHRD, le
site avait mis en ligne un article du magazine papier du 21 octobre
relatant des incidents impliquant la police. L'article a dû être retiré
d'autres sites qui l'avaient également republié.

Vincent Brossel
Asia-Pacific Desk
Reporters Without Borders
33 1 44 83 84 70
asia@rsf.org

Tiny banner advertisements attached to flies.. should work great in the North!

"... A company at a German trade show has attached tiny banner advertisements to flies and set them loose on unsuspecting visitors, in a bizarre yet effective marketing stunt.The banners, measuring just a few centimetres across, seem to be causing the beleaguered flies a bit of piloting trouble. The weight keeps the flies at a lower altitude and forces them to rest more often, which is a stroke of genius on the part of the marketing creatives: the flies end up at about eye level, and whenever a fly is forced to land and recover, the banner is clearly visible. What's more, the zig-zagging of the fly naturally attracts the attention because of its rapid movement..." But what will PETA say?

Prosecutors Turn Tables on Northwestern University's Student Journalists

---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists
From: moderator@PORTSIDE.ORG
Date: Sun, October 25, 2009 22:00
To: PORTSIDE@LISTS.PORTSIDE.ORG
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Prosecutors Turn Tables on Student Journalists
By MONICA DAVEY
New York Times
October 25, 2009
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/us/25innocence.html?th&emc=th

[excerpt]

EVANSTON, Ill. - For more than a decade, classes of students at
Northwestern University's journalism school have been scrutinizing the
work of prosecutors and the police. The investigations into old crimes, as
part of the Medill Innocence Project, have helped lead to the release of
11 inmates, the project's director says, and an Illinois governor once
cited those wrongful convictions as he announced he was commuting the
sentences of everyone on death row.

But as the Medill Innocence Project is raising concerns about another
case, that of a man convicted in a murder 31 years ago, a hearing has been
scheduled next month in Cook County Circuit Court on an unusual request:
Local prosecutors have subpoenaed the grades, grading criteria, class
syllabus, expense reports and e-mail messages of the journalism students
themselves.

The prosecutors, it seems, wish to scrutinize the methods of the students
this time. The university is fighting the subpoenas.

Lawyers in the Cook County state's attorney's office say that in their
quest for justice in the old case, they need every pertinent piece of
information about the students' three-year investigation into Anthony
McKinney, who was convicted of fatally shooting a security guard in 1978.
Mr. McKinney's conviction is being reviewed by a judge.

Among the issues the prosecutors need to understand better, a spokeswoman
said, is whether students believed they would receive better grades if
witnesses they interviewed provided evidence to exonerate Mr. McKinney.

Northwestern University and David Protess, the professor who leads the
students and directs the Medill Innocence Project, say the demands are
ridiculously overreaching, irrelevant to Mr. McKinney's case, in violation
of the state's protections for journalists and a breach of federal privacy
statutes - not to mention insulting.

John Lavine, the dean of the Medill School of Journalism, said the
suggestion that students might have thought their grades were linked to
what witnesses said was "astonishing." He said he believed that federal
law
barred him from providing the students grades, but that he had no
intention of doing so in any case..

[...]

ManyCam Virtual Webcam 2.4.44 [MAC & WIN]

ManyCam Virtual Webcam 2.4.44
http://www.manycam.com/

If you're the kind of person you has a need for being in several different
places at once, the ManyCam application is worth a look. Essentially, the
application allows interested parties the ability to use their webcam with
multiple programs simultaneously. The application also allows users to
customize their backgrounds with falling snow, flickering flames, or a
pelagic view that gives the appearance of being 20,000 leagues under the
sea. This version is compatible with computers running Windows 95 and newer
and Mac OS X 10.5 and newer. [KMG]

Thanks to:
>From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2009.
http://scout.wisc.edu/

Five reasons corporations are failing at social media

Five reasons corporations are failing at social media

[excerpts]

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/132126

"It's not rocket surgery."

That malapropism became a bit of a mantra at last week's Inbound Marketing
Summit.

Social media isn't complicated. When you boil it down it's about listening
to your customers, being helpful by offering your knowledge and giving
them interesting content to share and thereby advocate for you. The IMS
speakers shared several case studies (yes, too many of them mentioned
Comcast and Zappos) on how organizations have embraced social media to
connect with and built trust and affection among customers. None of the
examples required hyper-specialized knowledge or technology for a company
to connect with people.

So why is it so difficult for so many companies to successfully integrate
social media? I dug through my (30 pages of) notes to try and find some
themes in what the speakers shared and came up with a this list of why
organizations might be getting hung up.

1. They can't talk about anything broader than their own products.

[...]

2. They listen to customers but don't take any action

[...]

3. They aren't calibrated internally with the technology

[...]

4. They're not framing risk accurately

[...]

5. Their internal culture isn't aligned for social media success

The Yes Men Fix the US Chamber of Commerce

Canadian Folk-Blues-Jazz Radio Shows

This site is a listing of folk, blues, and jazz related shows aired on
campus and community radio stations in Canada (and a few CBC shows, too).
It is maintained by Melissa Kaestner (as passed on from Ian Gifford). If
you find something that needs correcting (shows, spelling, stations,
whatever!) or if you have a new listing then please email me at
melissa.kaestner[at]gmail.com.

A note from some campus and community radio music directors (other music
directors and programmers may have different opinions and approaches):
Artists/bands are encouraged to send releases to the station (Music
Director) to ensure charting. If music only gets to the show hosts, then
the release may not be eligible for charting, nor will the station have
access to your recording once the show hosts move on. Artists are
encouraged to contact the stations to find out their policy. Tips on how
to get airplay: blogs at http://www.myspace.com/communityradio and
http://www.myspace.com/digyourroots

Charting: Campus and community stations report to a variety of charts and
publications. The main publication for the sector is !earshot Magazine.
http://www.earshot-online.com/
!earshot maintains a weekly Top 50 and a monthly Top 200 spanning all
airplay and genres, as well as a Top 10 for specific genres, including:
Folk/Roots/Blues, Jazz, Electronic, Hip Hop, International, and Loud.
!earshot also publishes music reviews and other music-related resources,
including top picks from music directors around the country. It is
published online as well as monthly in Exclaim! Magazine.
http://www.exclaim.ca/

http://sites.google.com/site/rootsradiolist/

HERB & DOROTHY

"Most of us go through the world, never seeing anything. Then you meet somebody like Herb and Dorothy, who have eyes that see." —Richard Tuttle, artist

He was a postal worker. She was a librarian. Together they amassed one of the most important contemporary art collections in the world.

HERB & DOROTHY tells the extraordinary tale of Herb and Dorothy Vogel, a seemingly ordinary couple who filled their humble one-bedroom New York apartment with more than 4,000 works of art over a 45-year period. Filmmaker Megumi Sasaki turns her lens on the Vogels during a critical period of transition for the couple and their cherished collection.

Herb and Dorothy at The Gates, Central Park, 2005

From the earliest days of their marriage, the Vogels delighted in art. While working the midnight shift at the post office, Herb studied by day at the Institute of Fine Arts. Dorothy soon followed suit and began taking classes in painting and drawing. But ultimately, Dorothy confesses, they were "wannabe artists" and quickly gave up their own ambitions when they realized the joys of collecting.

Despite their modest income, the two began acquiring work that was undiscovered or unappreciated in the early 1960s, primarily Minimalist and Conceptual art by such visionaries as Robert and Sylvia Mangold, Donald Judd, Richard Tuttle, Sol LeWitt, Christo, Lynda Benglis and many other artists who are featured in the film.

More at

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/herb-and-dorothy/film.html

Ancient aboriginals in Australia may have been faster than a speeding Bolt!

http://www.australiannews.net/story/554479

[excerpt]

Edinburgh, October 15 : A leading anthropologist has suggested that
ancient aboriginals in Australia would have outrun Usain Bolt, the fastest
man alive, while a Neanderthal woman would have crushed Arnold
Schwarzenegger in arm-wrestling.

According to a report in The Scotsman, Peter McAllister, the author of
"Manthropology: the Science of Inadequate Modern Man", claims men today
are the weakest in history and would have been trumped in feats of
strength or speed by our ancient ancestors.

McAllister finds evidence he believes proves modern man is inferior to his
predecessors in, among other fields, the basic Olympic athletics
disciplines of running and jumping.

His conclusions about the speed of Australian aboriginals 20,000 years ago
are based on a set of footprints, preserved in a fossilised claypan lake
bed, of six men chasing prey.

Do you need media insurance?

Do you need media insurance?

October 13, 2009 · Filed Under News

The Online News Association is surveying digital journalists to gauge the
need for low-cost Media Liability Insurance coverage, which includes
libel, defamation, copyright and other publishing torts.

If ONA determines enough need and interest, we will work to provide a
program tailored for digital journalists under the ONA name.

Please take a few moments to complete the following survey. If you aren't
in need of Media Liability Insurance, please forward this to someone who
might be.

http://www.cyberjournalist.net/do-you-need-media-insurance/

Report: Top Keyword Price Nears $100 Per Click

Report: Top Keyword Price Nears $100 Per Click
by Laurie Sullivan, Wednesday, October 14, 2009, 3:45 PM

[excerpt]

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=115431

The highest-priced keyword in the United States last month sold on Google
for $99.44 per click, according to the AdGooroo Search Engine Advertising
Update: Q309.

The report released Wednesday pegs Mesothelioma as the highest-selling
keyword in September. The same word sold on Yahoo in the No. 1 spot for
$60.68 per click. The phrase "auto insurance comparison" took top honors
on Bing, bringing in $55.20 per click.

It's the first time that AdGooroo's quarterly report has analyzed the
price for keywords, according to Rich Stokes, founder and CEO of AdGooroo.
He couldn't tell Online Media Daily how many times the top keywords were
clicked on during the month.

As for the word "mesothelioma," it seems lawyers have ramped up
paid-search ads based on lawsuits related to the asbestos-causing lung
cancer. The paid search ads direct people to lawyers affected by the death
sentence. "If I was a law firm specializing in mesothelioma lawsuits I
would put the paid-search ads on Bing," he says. "The word hasn't caught
up demand on Bing as it has on the other two search engines."

Stokes believes average cost per click (CPCs) will remain flat through
2010. Advertisers can expect to see keywords shift in and out of the
top-priced list. It suggests the industry has begun to mature.

The report also lists the top 25 U.S. advertisers by search engine. Among
the top in alphabetical order are Amazon.com, Ask.com, Att.com, eBay.com,
Google.com, Priceline.com and more. Companies come and go from this list
each quarter, Stokes says. Travel companies seem to dominate in the first
quarter, replaced in the fourth quarter by retail.

Actual Newspaper Story or the Onion Headline?

Ever read a small-town newspaper and just scratch your head in disbelief
at the funny headlines? We do all the time, and we can't help but notice
how similar many are to headlines in The Onion. Think you can spot real
news from fake?

http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/36766

AP’s Tom Curley on the “oversupply” of news and whathe’s doing about it

By Zachary M. Seward / Oct. 13 / 8:40 a.m.

Tom Curley, president and chief executive of The Associated Press, was in
China last week for a government-sponsored media summit, where he compared
digital content to NCAA basketball and explained the AP's plans to build
revenue online. But Curley was far more revealing when he spoke without a
prepared text on October 6 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in Hong
Kong. I wrote about the big news from that talk on Friday but can now
share the audio and transcript.

http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/10/aps-tom-curley-on-the-oversupply-of-news-and-what-hes-doing-about-it/

Linux laptop for every pupil in Uruguay

* Laptop for every pupil in Uruguay *
Uruguay has given 362,000 primary children laptops which run on a Linux
desktop.
Full story:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/2/hi/technology/8309583.stm

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Portal Ceibal
http://www.ceibal.edu.uy/
One Laptop Per Child
http://laptop.org/en/

MEDIA: South-South Radio from Caracas to Africa

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Frederick Noronha <fredericknoronha@gmail.com>
Date: 2009/10/8
Subject: [cr-india] MEDIA: South-South Radio from Caracas to Africa
To: cr-india@sarai.net


http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48749

MEDIA: South-South Radio from Caracas to Africa
By Mildred Pineda

CARACAS, Oct 6 (IPS) - Poverty, attacks on human rights and corporate fraud will be among the main news coverage focuses of a new regional public radio network, Radio del Sur, which will link stations from South America and Africa.

Radio del Sur (Radio of the South) emerged as "an instrument of integration in a world of shifting power alignments and geopolitical changes," said Helena Salcedo, director of the Radio Nacional de Venezuela (the state-owned national radio station), who heads the new Caracas-based station.

Salcedo said the Venezuelan government, which launched the new network of public stations, is providing "a small amount" of funding, but did not provide figures.

The new station is motivated by the same objectives underlying Telesur, the Caracas-based regional TV network that for four years has been broadcasting news coverage, documentaries and series aimed at "giving a voice" to those who have none in the mainstream media.

Telesur is a 24-hour Latin America-wide network jointly owned by the governments of Venezuela, Argentina, Uruguay, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. The bulk of the station's financing comes from the Venezuelan government, with other governments providing mainly logistical and in-country support.

For now, Radio del Sur is broadcasting mainly music and some news, using the internet for international coverage, over a network of stations that reach 40 percent of the country.

The first day it went on the air, on Sept. 27, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said "People in Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa are going to learn about their history and their revolutionary political struggles."

That was a concrete objective, he said, laid out by the second Africa-South America summit held Sept. 26-27 on Venezuela's Margarita Island, where the governments of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile and Ecuador pledged support for the initiative.

Radio del Sur will closely follow news on the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), the new regional lender Banco del Sur, Petrocaribe, the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR), the Universidad del Sur (University of the South), the Gasoducto del Sur (pipeline of the South) and the Southern Common Market (Mercosur) - blocs and projects aimed at political, financial, economic, energy and cultural integration, many of which were Chávez's initiatives.

The radio network will also provide coverage of social movements and cooperation agreements between the regions.

The programming will be planned with partner stations from Mexico to Argentina. Contacts have also been made with community and indigenous stations in Colombia. Venezuela will provide the system with news programmes and interviews, and editing and coordination will take place in Caracas.

On the Radio del Sur web site, www.laradiodelsur.com, 88 stations from Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, Canada and Spain are listed as partners: 18 from Argentina, 10 from Colombia, five from Bolivia, four from Uruguay and Honduras, three from Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and the United States, two from Cuba, Ecuador, Haiti and Peru, and one from Chile, El Salvador, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

The eventual goal is to translate the programming into French, English, Dutch and Arabic, so that it can expand throughout the African continent.

Programming content will also be shared with several radio stations in Africa: stations in Gambia, Benin and Algeria – which have Spanish language broadcasts – and in Equatorial Guinea, where Spanish is one of the official languages.

Writer and media expert Luis Britto García, a member of the Telesur advisory council, told IPS that "Radio del Sur's broadcasts must provide an accurate view of reality, because the conventional media tend to create an illusory world; they only air reruns while transmitting U.S. values as if they were our own."

In U.S. programming, "we are depicted as picturesque beings, but actually, we have our own cultures," he said.

The question of the impartiality of Radio del Sur could be a point of controversy, as it will be largely financed by the Venezuelan government.

But Britto said that will not be a problem, because the government "is governed by the constitution, which stipulates that news must be veracious."

Furthermore, the station "is not going to sit on news items until they are no longer important, nor is it going to lie or censor, as the transnational news networks do – something that can be seen simply by turning to certain channels," he said.

Salcedo said "nations that have been subjected to the transnational news networks will now have a station that will be open to participation."

Magda Gibelli, a 21-year-old journalism student at the Santa María University in Caracas, said "it is always good when new media outlets are opened, but that depends on the focus that it will have, because we often see that official channels only show one viewpoint on what is happening in Latin America – in this case, from the angle of the left."

Another journalism student, Yosvelin Saavedra, 23, said "on Radio del Sur, listeners can find other eyes and microphones to see reality as it is; I just hope they focus on social issues instead of waging media wars."

The new station itself complains about a smear campaign and "counteroffensive" against the Chávez administration's so-called "Bolivarian revolution" by local and international stations.

The directors of Radio del Sur recall, for example, that in 2005, U.S. Congressman Connie Mack, a Republican from Florida, sponsored a bill that was to increase broadcasting to Venezuela "as a way to provide an accurate and comprehensive alternative source of news to the people of Venezuela" and counter Telesur's "anti-Americanism." The broadcasting would be financed by the U.S. government.

In late July, the Venezuelan government broadcasting watchdog Conatel ordered the closure of 32 radio stations and two TV stations because they failed to comply with regulations – a decision that drew wide criticism, on both the local and international levels.

Public Works Minister Diosdado Cabello, who oversees Conatel, said some of the stations were shut down because they did not renew their broadcasting licenses, and others because the stations had been illegally transferred to new owners.

Radio del Sur will broadcast on 98.5 FM, which it was assigned by Conatel prior to the July closures.

Salcedo said her team "has fulfilled all of the legal procedures," unlike the outlets that were taken off the air on Aug. 1. (END/2009)

--
Frederick Noronha :: +91-832-2409490
Writing, editing, alt.publishing, photography, journalism
Blog: http://fredericknoronha.wordpress.com
Photos: http://photosfromgoa.notlong.com
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Should access to broadband be a right?

Finland has made broadband a 'legal right', leading experts to question
whether the UK government is similarly committed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8311081.stm

Google launches e-book platform

Google launches e-book platform

[excerpt]

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/books/story/2009/10/15/google-ebook-frankfurt.html

Google Inc. is launching an online service that will let readers buy
electronic versions of books and read them on such gadgets as cellphones,
laptops and possibly e-book devices.

Google Editions marks the company's first effort to earn revenue from its
ambitious Google Books scanning project, which attempts to make millions
of printed books available online. Although the scanning program has faced
complaints from authors and publishers over copyright, Google Editions
will cover only books submitted and approved by the copyright holders when
it launches next year.

The books bought through Google Editions will be accessible on any device
that has a web browser, including smart phones, netbooks and personal
computers and laptops, putting Google in competition with Amazon.com Inc.
and its Kindle e-book reader.

Tom Turvey, head of Google Book Search's publisher partnership program,
said Thursday the e-book market is evolving to allow access of books from
anywhere and from any device.

Consumers can buy directly from Google or from any number of online
booksellers and other retail partners using the Google Editions platform.
Google will actually host the e-books and make them searchable.

Sell The Vatican, Feed The World (HD, Official)

Sarah Silverman's ambitious plan for feeding the world.

Piano stairs - Rolighetsteorin.se - The fun theory

Video

2009-11-08 14:15

”Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator and feel better” is something we often hear or read in the Sunday papers. Few people actually follow that advice. Can we get more people to take the stairs over the escalator by making it fun to do? See the results here.
http://www.rolighetsteorin.se/en/

Canuk Feds accused of softening stance on anti-spam law

Feds accused of softening stance on anti-spam law

OTTAWA — The Conservative government has buckled under pressure from businesses to water down its anti-spam legislation so some marketers can continue to send unsolicited e-mails.

And the government is now looking for an opposition party to help pass a bill with new loopholes, after Industry Canada officials released a list of more than 40 proposed amendments on behalf of the government. Some are technical and will not affect the scope of the bill meant to curtail junk mail, but others will narrow the reach of the proposed law.

They include new exceptions for: product updates, solicitation to participate in surveys or market research, and information on self-governing professions.

The government proposal also expands implied consent to receive unsolicited e-mails in instances where a person has provided her e-mail address to the sender, and removes the need for explicit consent for software programs for updates or upgrades, if consent was obtained in the past.

The John Howard Society of the NWT Logo

The John Howard Society of the NWT Logo
Originally uploaded by The MediaMentor

George Lessard
is pleased to announce, that at the John Howard Society of the Northwest Territories AGM Oct 8, 2009 he was elected to serve as Vice-president of the Society. The society's office is located in the basement of the Tundra Building (867) 920-4276...

JOHN HOWARD SOCIETY PARTNERS FOR HOMELESS DAY SHELTER

YELLOWKNIFE (October 1, 2009) – The Honourable Sandy Lee, Minister of Health and Social Services, Mayor Gordon Van Tighem, City of Yellowknife, and Richard Morland, Interim President and Chief Operating Officer of BHP Billiton’s EKATI Diamond Mine are pleased to announce their partnership with the John Howard Society. The John Howard Society won the request for proposal and will operate the day shelter in Yellowknife.

The day shelter will be operated as a pilot project for three years to allow the facility’s usage and future capability to be evaluated. The day shelter will be open and ready for use by the fall.

For more information contact:
Damien Healy
Communications
Department of Health and Social Services
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: (867) 920-8927 Fax: (867) 873-0204

Max Hall
City of Yellowknife
Tel: (867) 920-5624 Fax: (867) 920-5649

Deana Twissell
Superintendent of Corporate and Community Affairs
BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc.
Tel: (867) 669-6107 Fax: (867) 669-9293

Lydia Bardak, Executive Director
The John Howard Society of the NWT
(867) 920-4276

Who Makes the News

Who Makes the News

In November 2009, the world news media will once again come under scrutiny during the 4th Global Media Monitoring Project (GMMP). Volunteers from women's rights organizations, media associations, academia, etc across the world will collaborate in a one-day global research on gender in their local news media. GMMP research results are applied as a tool for change towards gender equality in and through media.

Livebrush

What is Livebrush?

Livebrush is a drawing application. It employs an easy-to-use brush tool
that reacts to your gesture. By combining simple motion controls with
brush styles, Livebrush offers a fun and unique way to create graphics.

Livebrush runs on all major operating systems. But it should be noted that
as an image creation tool, the type of image you're trying to create plays
a large part in how the software performs.

An internet connection is required to access help files and documention

http://www.livebrush.com/index.html

Webnographers: Resources for Virtual Ethnography + Cyberanthropology

Cyberanthropology is but a fetal field, far from defined. This website was developed in the interest of providing a central hub for those interested in ethnography of the internet. Created by and for webnographers, its success in contingent on your participation.

Ethnography is not constrained solely to anthropologists, and indeed the barriers that divide the various social sciences are at once arbitrary and collapsible. Any individual interested in the complex social, cultural, and psychological facets of humans relating with and through the internet is encouraged to join in this nascent community.

http://webnographers.org/index.php?title=Main_Page

ISES Solar World Congress (SWC) 2009

http://www.solarworldcongress2009.com/

 Renewable Energy Resources can Unlock Africa's Potential

The potential solutions that renewable energy resources can provide in solving the world's energy problems will be presented by scientists and researchers at the ISES Solar World Congress (SWC) 2009 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg from 11 – 14 October 2009. 
 

 The ISES SWC 2009 will not only focus on global issues but will clearly reflect significantly on Africa, while also paying increased attention to environmental and social responsibility issues, global warning and climate change. The Congress will address, in particular, the role that the renewable energy resources can play in the sustainable development of poor and rural communities in Africa.  
 

 First and foremost will be the use of various new technologies that can convert the abundance of solar energy on the continent into electricity to boost much-needed economic development, which relies heavily on energy supplies. Presentations will include the latest research and technological advances in these conversion processes. 

 "Our continent's potential to be one of the biggest users of renewable energy should not be underestimated," said Jon Adams, Chairperson of the conference steering committee and member of SESSA. Therefore, the timing of this event on the African continent is seen as very appropriate. "In most places in Africa photovoltaic systems are the only source of providing light to those infamous two billion people that live on less that $1 a day and without access to electricity," Adams continued.  
 

 Top international scientists and researchers will share their latest findings and innovations with peers and the energy industry. Presentations will cover a diverse range of themes such as Resource Assessment, Solar Heating and Cooling, Solar Electricity, Solar Buildings, and Solar Energy & Society.  

The Congress programme is still being finalized, but it already holds promises of a good balance between science and research with a generous touch of current affairs and controversy. High profile national and international speakers will address the most recent and current topics in the sustainable energy field.  

Another speaker who is expected to attract wide attention is Prof. Vivian Alberts of South Africa, who will discuss his reasons for moving his enterprise to Germany. A panel discussion on concentrating solar power and Eskom's technology choices is bound to attract considerable interest from governments and industry in the southern African region.  

The recent announcement in South Africa of the Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff (Refit) has created quite a buzz in the industry and it is expected that the pros and cons of Refit and the level of the tariffs will be hotly debated during the congress. Dr. Hermann Scheer who first introduced the Feed-in Tariff into the German Parliament will also be one of the keynote speakers.

"The above examples represent just a small sample of the level of debate that can be expected at the Congress. We will make more information available about the programme as invited speakers confirm their participation," so Adams.

ISES SWC 2009 key objective are to:

• ensure a sustainable energy future
• promote and increase the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency
• promote the use of renewable energy resources to positively impact on the quality of life for future generations
• development of future opportunities for the use of renewable energy in Africa
• jointly seek solutions which are consistent with the principles of sustainability - affordability, environmentally sound and socially acceptable .

 

Renewable Energy Expo

http://www.solarworldcongress2009.com/index.php/expo.html

Parallel to this Congress, SESSA will also promote the interest of the trade and the public by introducing a Renewable Energy Expo, a trade exhibition. The theme of the Expo is Efficient; Alternative; Sustainable, and it will focus on solar, renewable, sustainable, alternative and efficient energy resources and products, services and developments. The Expo will showcase the industrial and domestic use of new technologies and inventions that will be of interest to the business sector and the public at large. SESSA envisages this Renewable Energy Expo to become an annual event. 

Pulitzer Center Internship Fall 2009

Pulitzer Center Internship Fall 2009
  Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
  http://www.idealist.org/en/internship/142968-111
Location: Washington, District of Columbia, 20036, United States

[excerpt]

"... Last day to apply: October 14, 2009
The internship pays $1,000 per month and runs through May

The Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting seeks an intern for spring 2010, preferably starting the week of January 3, 2010. We are especially interested in web-savvy applicants eager to get the word out about our international reporting projects to as many people as possible - through social networking platforms, online media, campus networks, special events, and other avenues.

With the aim of increasing traffic to our reporting projects and expanding the debate around these international issues, the intern's main duties will include:
• maintenance of our website
• maintenance of our online profiles and channels (including YouTube Channel)
• outreach to the online world, including blogs, social networking sites and new media tools
• compilation of newsletters
• efforts to increase online traffic and expand newsletter subscription base
• assistance with event coordination

Not required but desirable: familiarity with HTML, familiarity with the blogosphere, and experience with increasing web traffic through campaigns such as Google Adwords and social networking sites. Applicants should also have an interest in, and some familiarity with, current international affairs.

The Pulitzer Center is a non-profit leader in sponsoring the independent journalism that media organizations are increasingly less willing to undertake on their own. Pulitzer Center-funded stories shed light on underreported issues and regions around the globe. Our Global Gateway education initiative then brings those stories and the journalists into high schools and universities.

For information on our reporting projects and outreach efforts please see our website, at http://www.pulitzercenter.org The Pulitzer Center is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., near Dupont Circle.

The internship pays $1,000 per month and runs through May. Possibility of internship extension through summer 2010 based on further discussions with applicants and upon mutual agreement. ..."