http://www.ustvmedia.org Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:24:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en If you thought SOPA and PIPA were bad, let us introduce you to their Big Brother, ACTA. Just because SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) & PIPA (Protect IP Act) have been derailed (for the moment) in the US doesn't mean the fight is over. The giant media corps that are behind ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/media-and-democracy/2012/02/02/what-is-acta-and-why-it-needs-to-be-stopped/ This is an enlightening and disturbingly revealing discussion on the radically expanding levels of online surveillance that governments and corporations are able to wield today over your personal information on the internet. It is about the new technology of "mass surveillance," referred to as "strategic interception," where corporations are helping to ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/the-patriot-act/2012/02/01/how-the-state-of-online-surveillance-is-rapidly-expanding/ An excellent interview with one of my favorite political figures, (now former) FCC Commissioner Michael Copps. This man is a hero when it comes to working to make for a more democratically-accountable, civically healthy society in this country. Unfortunately, its been an uphill, and often sisyphean battle. Some of the most ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/media-and-democracy/2012/01/29/former-fcc-commissioner-michael-copps-on-broadband-access-and-the-state-of-our-media-and-journalism-today/ Another excellent presentation by author and journalist Chris Hedges. Here he discusses his book "Death of the Liberal Class" and the destruction of critical culture, which flourished before World War I, but was destroyed soon afterwards. He provides a short, but spot on overview on the history of the American ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/the-american-revolution-is-it-over/2012/01/24/hedges-on-the-occupy-movement-culture-propaganda-labor-suppression-more/ They're baaaack. Like an energizer bunny of mendacious stupidity, SOPA-sponsor Lamar Smith has changed tactics, and is now back to pushing provisions of his internet censorship agenda under the guise of protecting Americans from…wait for it…child pornographers. Yes, the new bogeyman with his online 24/7 surveillance act, H.R. 1981 is ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/the-patriot-act/2012/01/22/the-legislation-that-could-kill-internet-privacy-for-good/ http://www.ustvmedia.org/media-and-democracy/2012/01/21/%e2%80%aaunderstanding-pipa-sopa-why-you-should-be-concerned%e2%80%ac/ Paul Krugman brought something up in one of his recent blog postings which went directly to the very same point that I was thinking when I heard about Romney's supposed campaign trail flub about liking to 'fire' people. I thought it was unfair to go after Romney on the rhetorical ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/taxes-the-commons-and-the-social-contract/2012/01/20/whose-fires-who-the-lie-of-free-market-health-insurance/ Good to see Bill Moyers back on the media scene. This is an insightful report on the wide variety of people who have involved themselves with the Occupy movement, and why they support it. I definitely recommend it for people who keep asking what this movement is supposed to be ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/politics-in-america/2012/01/16/bill-moyers-on-occupy-wall-street/ I was recently introduced to this rather patronizingly dismissive debunking of the Occupy Wall Street movement by media commentator/columnist Bill Whittle. He claims to have the "solution" to the OWS movement, for which all he needs is "three and a half days" of each protestor's time. Now, this date's from ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/politics-in-america/2012/01/12/in-response-to-criticisms-of-the-occupy-wall-street-movement/ The total number of people employed rose by 80,000 in September of 2011. That is slightly worse than consensus expectations for a gain of 85,000. This report was slightly weaker than the ADP report on Wednesday. That report showed 110,000 private sector jobs created, and the expectations were ... http://www.ustvmedia.org/general-topics/2012/01/10/unemployment-in-america/