CivicActions

In the ever expanding world of Media Mover modules, I finally put together a quick module that handles some of the basic configuration of the JW Flash player. Largely, this helps reduce installation time as no custom theming is required to get the flash player on the page if you're using XSPF Playlist for your content delivery.

In September we launched JustCauseIt.com (beta) a social networking website that acts as a companion to a forthcoming print magazine. When the folks at JUSTCAUSE came to us with their idea and told me their mission is (as they put it on the website):

On November 7th, CivicActions launched the WITNESS Video Hub, (more information about the Hub can be found here on our site).

Hi everyone, and welcome to our post-9/11 police state.

I'm really troubled by two recent examples of the accepted methods of law enforcement and the way the media reports on them.

Example #1:
The guy at the Kerry political talk who got tazered: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvrWt_dHAT4

Example #2:
The MIT student who was arrested today at Boston's Logan airport as a terrorism suspect: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070921/ap_on_re_us/fake_bomb

A video of the Guantamo Bay prisoner, Adel Hamad, may have had an impact on his pending release, according to this article at Law.com.

The power of the Internet, most people would agree, is awesome, but has it done what the federal courts may no longer have jurisdiction to do-helped to free a possibly innocent man held at Guantánamo Bay?

Over the weekend I read about Viacom's efforts to fight the Youtube/Google behemoth. Today Viacom announced they have made a deal with Joost (not even in open beta yet) to distribute their content (from networks like Comedy Central and MTV). So you'll have to wait until the summer to watch your favorite episodes of the real world.

What was AT&T's vision of the Internet? Movies on demand? Bridges without stopping to pay toll? What about he CRAZY stuff, like: Meeting without your shoes on?! Faxing from the beach? Tucking your baby in from a phone booth? Who the hell knows what a phone booth is?

I just downloaded and listened to the new Tom Wiats track "Road to Peace" (i got it free from eMusic.com, you can also get it from Pitchfork Media for free (Waits has released it for free along with a few other tracks). I had no idea what I was in for. The song is a ballad about the conflict in the Middle East, particularly the Arab Israelli conflict and the resent war between Israel and Hamas. It is defitely worth a listen.

It seems like there might be a resurgence of the "political ballad". Earlier this year, Neil Young released an entire album of "war protest" songs called "Living With War". I've got to say though, as much of a Neil Young fan as I am, I found "Road to Peace" to be far more compelling.