] It appears that echo chambers have emerged that repeat a
] consistent message within each cluster. Ron Burt, a
] leading network expert, explains that a tightly closed
] network "amplifies predispositions, creating a structural
] arthritis in which people cannot learn what they do not
] already know". With no direct bridges between the clusters,
] these divisions are unlikely to change any time soon.

Political Patterns on the WWW - Evidence of polarization

] President Bush on Tuesday signed legislation creating a
] national "do-not-call" list intended to help consumers
] block unwanted telemarketing calls.

CBS News | 'Do Not Call' Is Law | March 11, 2003 14:49:40

] A journalist attends the World Economic Forum and writes
] her friends an email about the experience. Two weeks
] later, that email is on the Web, people she's never met
] are correcting her spelling, and the journalist is vowing
] to go back to longhand.
]
] Welcome to the world of accidental privacy spills.
] Compared with the problem of keeping personal email
] private, copyright and spam are easy. Full essay inside .
] . . .

This post is extremely long. The internet want poetry. The message conveyed as efficiently as possible so that we can all get on to the next one, as there are so many in the inbox. This doesn't fit the standard. However, it is a perfect explanation of the relationship between copyright and privacy, and also observes the conflict between the old and new journalism. How YOU think these questions will be resolved is an interesting exercise.

LawMeme: Legal Bricolage for a Technological Age - Accidental Privacy Spills: Musings on Privacy, Democracy, and the Internet

] It is possible that new technologies may enable a
] higher-level order through emergent properties, which
] will enable a form of emergent direct democracy capable
] of managing complex issues more effectively than the
] current form of representative democracy.

This reminds my of my essay on "Weblogs and Democracy" posted here.

Emergent Democracy

There are some good observations in this story, but one is missing. Over punishing for computer crimes means its not reasonable to enforce computer crime laws when infringement truely is minor. The problem, coupled with the total lack of interstate and international law enforcement for petty crimes, is what creates the SPAM problem, and what will create even greater problems. Steal a dollar from a million different people across state lines and no one can investigate unless they can correlate all the crimes (which they are unlikely to do if they don't investigate them).

The Internet requires radical rethinking about how basic law enforcement works.

Hackers do it with longer sentences!

] This section would terminate all state law enforcement
] consent decrees before Sept. 11, 2001, not related to
] racial profiling or other civil rights violations, that
] limit such agencies from gathering information about
] individuals and organizations. The authors of this
] statute claim that these consent orders, which were
] passed as a result of police spying abuses, could impede
] current terrorism investigations. It would also place
] substantial restrictions on future court injunctions.

Patriot Act ][ - The Empire Strikes Again.

Justice Dept. Drafts Sweeping Expansion of Anti-Terrorism Act

] The combination of increasing public debate on the
] Internet and a global dialog will help the Japanese
] people become aware of the domestic problems as well as
] the context and responsibility of Japan globally. A new
] sense of global responsibility to achieve a higher
] ethical standard will help the Japanese people create a
] modern democracy capable of solving the domestic problems
] and allowing Japan to participate in the global
] geo-political arena as a true global entity. The
] revolution in Japan will be a ethical revolution about
] the people become aware that they are actually in charge.

How much of this essay seems to ring true in the US?

Joi Ito's Web: My draft essay about the revolution in Japan

] Regulations.gov is the U.S. Government web site that
] makes it easier for you to participate in Federal
] rulemaking - an essential part of the American democratic
] process.

Wow, nice of them to provide this!

Regulations.gov

] It looks like the Bush Administration is astroturfing,
] trying to artificially create the appearance of a
] grassroots movement supporting their policies. A Google
] search on the phrase "demonstrating genuine leadership"
] returns a number of nearly identical letters sent to the
] editors of various newspapers and publications this
] month, each one with the name of a different individual
] attached.

Now, its possible that the names are real and they are sending in a form letter that came from a central group. Political groups do that sort of thing all the time (although usually directed at Congress). Of course, if that was the case, then these papers would have received hundreds of copies of the same letter. Would they have printed them in that case? Is that the reason that so many papers decided to print this letter? Looks like the "letters to the editor" section is a lot more interesting then I thought.

politechbot.com: Google reveals Bush administration's astroturf campaign?

] After meeting with a group of black Republicans, national
] Republican leaders pledged yesterday to do more to
] recruit and support African-American candidates, boost
] the number of blacks on national and state committees and
] better deliver the party's message to the black
] community.

Of course, the Republicans are working hard to change their image...

Newsday.com - Republicans Meet to Lure Blacks Into Party Structure