TresSugar

President Obama to Hold Online Town Hall

CitizenSugar — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 09:30:16 -0700

The everywhere president is headed to a town hall event right where you are right this second! President Obama will hold a virtual town hall, that you can participate in right from your computer.

The president wants you to submit your questions (video format preferred) or vote on other submissions. Tomorrow he will answer some of the most popular questions live on WhiteHouse.gov.

Over a year ago we were all debating the effectiveness of the YouTube Debate - where presidential candidates answered the public's YouTube video questions. Remember the snow man who asked a question about global warming? I wonder if he's worried more about the economy these days?

Do you think technology makes leaders more accountable to the people?

To see video of the president explaining the event, read more.

Source

What's Missing From Your Internet? Google Deletes Content

CitizenSugar — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:30:09 -0800

Google controls 63 percent of the world's Internet searches. It also owns YouTube, where 13 hours of content are uploaded every minute. It's the most influential company on the wild, wild Web, controlling more of what we view and how we view it than anyone else.

With this power come requests to remove content from around the world, but Google is not as interested in censoring as much it is in ensuring its presence worldwide. The one mandate? "Be everywhere, get arrested nowhere, and thrive in as many places as possible."

Flagged YouTube content goes straight to 20-something reviewers in its California office, but requests coming from governments quickly work their way up Google's chain of command. If content violates a country's law or YouTube terms of service, it's immediately removed; however, not all requests are so black and white.

So what's being removed? To find out, read more.

Holocaust-denial sites from Google search engines in France and Germany. Why? Denying the Holocaust is illegal in both countries.
After protesters outside the Google India office demanded a group be removed from Orkut, a social networking site, Google half complied. It removed content that criticized religion - illegal in India - but left content critical of political parties.
In Thailand where it's illegal to criticize the king, videos were removed after government threats to block all Thai IP addresses. While videos attacking the king were removed, those that simply offended the government remained.
Think this doesn't happen in the US? Senator Joe Lieberman's requests to remove so-called jihadist videos were initially denied because the content did not violate US law. However the videos were later removed after YouTube edited its guidelines, prohibiting videos that "incite violence.” The angry followup after the initial denial to Google's CEO couldn't have hurt either!

Since most requests come complete with threats to block entire countries, I can't blame Google for wanting to work it out. Even Google agrees that self-censoring is not a long-term solution, but the best option for now. Considering Google is far more permissive of free speech than many strict countries, I can't say I disagree. But with such a conflict of interest, how long can Google be trusted?

Source

Hey, I Take Issue With This News Report!

GiggleSugar — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:03:41 -0800

The masters of satire over at The Onion have this faux news story about a YouTube challenge to its users: Make a video worth watching. The requirement? That it be somewhat watchable, provide a shred of enjoyment for someone other than the people who made the video, that the person who shoots the video have a reason for doing so other than, "I own a camera," and that the person shoots it while sober. Man, they act as if this, this or this never happened! I rest my case.

YouTube and PBS Say Tape Your Vote For History and Hijinks

CitizenSugar — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:30:49 -0700

With all of the ACORN and voter registration snafu stories floating around, it's nice to find comfort in the cozy arms of technology. That is to say, if you have a video camera, use it. YouTube and PBS are teaming up to encourage voters to upload any footage of the voting process onto a new website. The Video Your Vote site wants to spark people to "document the energy and excitement, as well as any problems you may see." The best clips will air on PBS.

Some bad-voting situations to be on the lookout for? Excessively long lines, broken voting machines, or "overly aggressive" voter identification procedures. But be careful about local rules before putting on your documentarian hat. Some states aren't excited about having you film - a move that could end up in cuffs. The site has a link to the Citizen Media Law Project to tell you who has laws against what. Florida, Georgia and Michigan all prohibit photos and recording equipment in polling places. Are you planning on recording the day in photo or video?

YouTube Baby Food Threats Get New York Man Arrested

LibertySugar — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:00:30 -0700

Anton Dunn, a 42-year-old New Yorker who also goes by the name "Trashman," has ended up in jail after he posted numerous videos claiming that he helped poison millions of Gerber baby food containers. Wearing a black mask, Dunn said that upon his request Gerber employees contaminated the baby food with cyanide, getting him closer to his goal of killing infants.

When authorities apprehended Dunn they found no evidence that he actually did anything to baby food. Now he faces charges of sending threats and falsely claiming to have tampered with a consumer product. He also faces a maximum sentence of five years for each count.

This story reminds me of the possibly-illegal strip joint calling itself a performing arts center as a legal defense - should the law treat a threatening YouTube video as art? Free speech? Terrorism? While it's responsible for law enforcement officials to address disruptive threats, they would have their hands full if they tried to go after all the crazy stuff on the Internet.

Source

Propaganda 2.0? Israel Condemns Released Killer on YouTube

LibertySugar — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 14:30:55 -0700

The Israeli government, no longer willing to wait to for an Arab television interview, is sending their message to the Arab world via YouTube. Israel's government uploaded a video in Arabic and English condemning Lebanese militant Samir Qantar as "the most despicable of murderers." Qantar, released Wednesday in a prisoner swap, received a hero's welcome back in Lebanon. He had been jailed since 1979 for killing a 4-year-old Israeli girl, along with her father and two policemen. The 2-year-old sister also died, because her mother accidentally smothered her while they hid.

Israel is trying to smother the political support for Qantar with the details of his crime sent straight to the Arab world. But the message comes with a warning, too. The Arabic video ends promising a tougher Israeli response than in 2006, if Hezbollah tries a kidnapping similar to its capture of two Israeli soldiers. Hezbollah says that Israel is sending voicemails to Lebanese mobile phones with the same retaliation threat.

YouTube sounds like a promising channel for dialogue, but I couldn't imagine receiving a voicemail from a foreign government hinting at impending military violence. Do you think a message for peace can get out using technology?

Jolly Good Show! UK's House of Lords Gets Hits on YouTube

CitizenSugar — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 10:00:36 -0700

Scoot over Obama Girl, Britain's House of Lords debuted five new YouTube videos this week hoping to spruce up its image as a sleepy haven for elderly, monocled chaps.

The quick clips will air on YouTube's Parliament channel, which has been offering virtual tours of the Parliament building. The new videos try to soften the upper house by making it more accessible to youthful viewers.

The Lord Speaker Baroness Hayman (see! Baronesses! They're just like us!) said, "The videos we have placed on the YouTube channel reflect the diversity and expertise in the House of Lords and its relevance to young people, and we hope that they will help to combat some of the outdated stereotypes of members of the upper house." To see what's in the videos and find out what other high-tech tricks they're up to, read more.

With a production budget of $10,000, they're not your average cute-kitten vids. The focus is on the growing number of minorities and women in the lofty body, and for that youthful edge they were after? Well, they do have the young 'uns - mostly asking questions about what the devil the House of Lords does all day.

Oh, even better than the videos? The - wait for it - "Lords of the Blog," the house's very own, you guessed it, blog. Why just last Thursday blogged about how quickly rumors spread throughout Parliament's two houses. Scandal! Now in all seriousness I'm forever impressed by the Prime Minister's Questions, and would love to see that exported. But Lords on YouTube? What do you think? Will this help mind the gap between the elite and those they rule?

Sexy Shop Protesters Put "Secrets" Customers on YouTube

CitizenSugar — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 08:00:56 -0700

Shoppers looking to snap up a pair of lacy panties (not unlike those the thong bandits arrested over the weekend used) in Vacaville, CA better be prepared to have their shopping habits shown on YouTube.

Protesters have been gathering outside of Secrets Lingerie Boutique to film shoppers heading into the store because they say Secrets "is a shop that is profiting from pornography and other materials that we feel are degrading to people and exploitative."

The store sells lingerie and gifts in front and adult movies in the back. A local business owner defends the honor of the underduds store saying, "from what I've seen so far, it's no worse than Victoria's Secret, or worse than Hanes Underwear store across the way in the factory stores."

Are the panty-vigilantes, justified? To find out, read more.

The Vacaville City Council just passed a law that bans adult businesses. One resident said the store is bad for the town's reputation saying, "I believe Vacaville is a wonderful place to live and to raise a family, but shops like this are going to bring in negative attention." But according to a city representative, Secrets is not breaking any laws.

Protesters haven't followed through and uploaded videos of slinky-goods shoppers, but they're fixing to. Protesting a business you don't agree with is one thing - but does using the internet to expose those who support it, crossing the line of privacy rights?

Source

Girl Seeks Rape Justice on YouTube: Too Much Sharing?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:45:08 -0700

It's a grim addition to the court of YouTube: a Florida 16-year-old who says she's a victim in a rape case that's gone unprosecuted by the Orange County state attorney's office is airing her plea for justice on the video-sharing site.

In the video, she says, "Hi, my name is Crystal . . . I need some help. I didn't want to do it this way, but it's the only way I know that's going to work, that someone out there in the world is gonna listen to me. "The prosecutor wrote in her case file since Crystal was "a mere 1 month away" from turning 16, when it would be "legal to give consent," her case would not be prosecuted. Florida law states that a 15-year-old cannot give consent to sex. To see the danger behind this use of technology, read more.

Though the trend of turning to YouTube as a forum of last resort is growing, the founder of the organization RAINN says this is troubling. He says "A rape survivor's intention may be to reach out, and we encourage that, but this is a dangerous way to do it." If potential savior could see the plea for help, so could the original attacker. Some online confessions of rape include names, photos, and hometowns. The public information could give perpetrators a chance to find them or gain more satisfaction.

Though we've recently seen a video on YouTube inspire results at Fort Bragg, how much sharing is too much? Do you think it's important to expose the role of the justice system in this case? Are victims putting themselves more in danger?

YouTube Video of Fort Bragg Gets Results

CitizenSugar — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 06:00:18 -0700

We've been focused on the ills of YouTube lately, but here's one story where the website was used for good instead of evil. Army dad Edward Frawley paid a welcome home visit on his 22-year-old son - just returning from a tour of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division in the mountains of Afghanistan - and he was shocked to see the deplorable conditions of his son's barracks at Fort Bragg, NC.

In our high-tech age when we want to send a grievance we don't have to wait for a carrier pigeon - and Frawley didn't. He put together this thoughtfully narrated 10 minute video telling the story of his son and showing the conditions, which included moldy walls, a bathroom that looked flooded with sewage, uncapped sewage pipes and peeling paint.

In just a few days, Senator Elizabeth Dole of NC had declared the condition of the barracks “wholly unacceptable and it must be immediately corrected.” She contacted the Army secretary and just three days after the YouTube clip was posted, the Army responded to the claims. Repairs are under way, and the creative response seems to have spurred action.

Is this a happy ending, or a story highlighting a bigger problem? Are you surprised to see this dad had to take matters to the court of YouTube?