Go to the TIME Magazine site and click on the story in the right column below the picture of Madonna called “Blogging all the way to jail”. (Apologies for the odd routing, but there’s a reason for it—honest).
This is a pretty important one for the blogger/citizen journalist movement. A) Can the Feds can force an independent video-blogger to turn over unpublished material, and B) What jurisdiction do the Feds have in a purely local case? (I guess from the rulings on Medical Marijuana we know the answer to that one….) but Silicon Valley Watcher has more on that aspect.
Categories: Uncategorized
Whether you agree that a video of a crime serves the public good or not, I think the discussion as to the reasons behind the action of THIS Federal administration needs full disclosure. This is an administration that punishes whistle blowers, interprets international law and the Constitution in a self serving manner, and operates in secret as much as it can. I wonder if the Feds would be interested if the video showed brutality by SF police? Also at issue is this administration’s fight to destroy net neutrality so that corporate control of content can further impede the free exchange of research, political thought, ideas and discussion. There was a revelation on the news the other day (news that usually lacks committment to revelations), it showed a so called “amature video” mocking Al Gore’s views and science on global warming. The video was complete with crued cartoons and unprofessional background music. It turns out the video was produced by a company whose client base includes Exxon. The video was a blantant attempt at corporate propaganda hidden in sheep’s clothing. There is evil out there but so far Americans are uninterested as long as they can shop a Walmart.