http://backspace.com/notes/ en 2008-05-01T08:11:23-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/05/twitter-for-freedom.php Twitter for Freedom. “[James Karl] Buck, a journalism grad student, was arrested in Egypt last week, and his only communication to the outside world was through his cellphone, which he used to post a message on the micro-blogging site [Twitter]. ‘Arrested,’ he typed into his phone, a message that broadcast via the Web to his friends in the United States and bloggers in Egypt.... His friends contacted the U.S. Embassy and his school, the University of California at Berkeley, which sent a lawyer to get him out of jail.”

A good use case to add to the repertoire of texting and activism. It’s like your own personal urgent action network. Thank you, Blaine!

Update: See this Wired item on using Twitter to coordinate events, rumor control and public safety during direct actions against the war in San Francisco.]]> www john 2008-05-06T08:28:16-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/05/imf-losing-money-and-influence.php IMF losing money and influence. A rare bit of good news coming out of recent economic disasters.]]> john 2008-05-02T06:33:35-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/05/migration-and-displacement.php posters john 2008-05-01T08:11:23-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/04/water-table.php Articles on the New York Times website do not generally retain graphics and photos used in the print edition, particularly among older articles. So for a presentation on information design for advocacy, I went offline and dug up that graphic... publishing john 2008-04-28T08:18:13-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/04/the-king-never-smiles.php Excerpt on photography and nationalism in Thailand, from The King Never Smiles: A Biography of Thalians’s Bhumobol Adulyadej by Paul M. Handley: “At each juncture his power and influence increased, rooted in his silent charisma and prestige. Thais, who believe... gov john 2008-04-24T15:26:25-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/04/ad-council-creative.php Ad Council Creative. Archive of public service announcements produced by pro-bono by ad agencies on issues related to health, safety and education.]]> video john 2008-04-23T09:22:19-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/04/mumbai-direct-action-over-vanishing-sidewalks.php Mumbai Direct Action over Vanishing Sidewalks. “‘Our people will be painting the middle of the road to tell the traffic police that this is pedestrian territory and this is where we want to walk, free from illegal structures, vehicles, hawkers or encroachments,’ says [Krishnaraj Rao, co-founder and spokesperson of Sahasi Padyatri (Brave Pedestrian).]

Pedestrians have been ignored by urban planners who come up with fancy mega road projects that never include a decent pavement where people can walk freely and safely.… The organisation demands that pedestrians be provided a six-foot-wide walkway along the middle of the roads.” ]]> built john 2008-04-20T11:28:00-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/04/how-to-win-a-practical-guide-to-defeating-the-radical-right.php How To Win: A Practical Guide to Defeating The Radical Right. Activist toolkit text from 1994: “A one-stop, do-it-yourself guide to fighting the Radical Right at the local level. In it you will find hands-on information on a range of practical matters, including how to organize coalitions, how to run an election campaign, how to work with the media, how to use polling, and how to intrepret and put to good use the relevant body of law.” See the Table of Contents. (Posted on The WELL via Gopher!)]]> www john 2008-04-18T19:21:21-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/04/blogging-for-office.php I’ve heard of candidates keeping blogs, but I think this is a first. From the Hindustan Times: “Malaysia’s political landscape was hit hard from cyberspace last week when a blogger entered Parliament after winning in elections that saw the ruling... gov john 2008-04-16T07:49:31-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/04/torch-relay.php Democracy Now, April 10, 2008: Amy Goodman: I was shocked in reading last night the history of the Olympic torch relay — you know, the torch itself going back to ancient Greece — but the relay to be Nazi Olympics,... memory john 2008-04-13T00:30:01-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/04/fossil-fools.php Fossil Fools. This April 1st saw a host of organized pranks, hoaxes and actions on climate change, oil and coal in the U.S., UK, Australia and New Zealand. April Fool’s Day is a hard context to punch through, but could this be the start of a May Day-like tradition? A more direct-action Earth Day?]]> energy john 2008-04-08T23:57:51-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/04/war.php By Polish poster designer Paweł Synowiec. I found this on Flickr while searching for something else. It stopped me cold.... posters john 2008-04-03T08:04:51-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/03/mapping-electoral-fraud-in-zimbabwe.php Mapping electoral fraud in Zimbabwe. Murder, abduction, violence, food hoarding, buying votes... an overview of election conditions mapped by Zimbabwe Election Watch]]> www john 2008-03-28T07:26:20-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/2008/03/knitin-for-peace.php On March 19, the Granny Peace Brigade met in the rain in front of the military recruiting station in Times Square to mark the 5th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, “knitting ‘stump socks’ for amputee veterans, baby... product john 2008-03-21T07:32:04-05:00 http://backspace.com/notes/links/2008/03/seattle-bans-bottled-water.php Seattle Bans Bottled Water. No more bottled water at city facilities and events. See also San Francisco ban and Chicago tax. Happy World Water Day!]]> product john 2008-03-21T07:02:33-05:00