More News Stories of Interest

This first article has been really upsetting to Matthew Shepard's family and to many lesbian, gay, bixsexual and transgender civil rights groups. It basically talks about how Matthew's murderers, in their first interview since his death, are claiming that his murder was not fueled by homophobia and hatred, but by drugs. Pretty peculiar since the lawyers tried to get away with using "gay panic" tactics during the trial.

Here's a great political essay, written by Michelle Cottle, about this year's presidential election and "moral values."

This next article is of particular interest to me because it deals with the Solomon Amendment. A federal appeals court has decided that the government cannot with hold funds from institutions of higher learning if the institutions decide to not allow military recruiters on their campuses. The court basically decided that it violated the institutions First Amendment Rights to withhold funding. An important point is that institutions often have non-discriminatory policies with include discrimination based on sexual orientation and that the military still has the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban.

News Stories of Interest

Things have been pretty hectic here at work with the end of the year crunch... not to mention that my computer crashed and burned. I only hope that I can retrieve some of the important documents off my hard drive. Wish me luck!

In the past few weeks, there have been quite a few news stories focused on issues that directly effect the LGBT community. Just in case you haven't caught them, I've posted links to the articles below.

This first article is about New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey resignation after coming out at a "gay American." McGreevey decided to make the announcement while accusations that he had conducted unwanted sexual advances toward an aid were being discussed.

This next article talks about the effects of same-sex marriage one year after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court made the historic ruling.

6th Annual Transgender Day of Remembrance

From the Remembering our Dead Web site:

The Transgender Day of Remembrance was set aside to memorialize those who were killed due to anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. The event is held in November to honor Rita Hester, whose murder in 1998 kicked off the “Remembering Our Dead” web project and a San Francisco candlelight vigil in 1999. Since then, the event has grown to encompass memorials in dozens of cities across the world.

Please take a moment today to remember those individuals who were taken away from us too early by the ignorance, intolerance and prejudice of other people.

Happy Veterans' Day

These words, in a small way, are our offering to the far too many service members and veterans who are unable to say it for themselves.

Today OpFree held its second annual "Silent but Visible" event on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in conjunction with the Veterans' Day ceremony. Thank you to everyone who came out to join us, as well as to those who were with us in pride.

The goal of this event was to thank ALL veterans, as well as to honor especially the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender service members and veterans whose voices and visibility may be lost in the implicit heteronormativity of such an event. To the estimated one million LGBT veterans we thank you deeply. It may yet be years away, but your service and presence will prove to be the foundation of inclusion within the military. Until then, we won't stop fighting for those who are feeling the effects of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.

Once a Marine, Always a Marine

Just wanted to say happy birthday to all the former, present and future Marines on this day, 10 November 2004, as we celebrate 229 years of honor, courage and commitment.

EOTO - Reaction 5

Diana Manevskaya asks the question, "Web-site blocking: Blessing or evil?" I take the information that Diana presents in her Each One Teach One essay to heart because she not only offers an understanding of the political climate in Belarus, but gives a voice to this type of controversial issue. I believe that Web site blocking, in any form, is a serious violation of civil/human rights. It directly limits access to information that could be vital to the well-fare of people all over the world. At the same time, it stifles knowledge, free thinking, freedom of expression, competition and creativity. We should be thankful that we have organizations, such as Amnesty International, that are trying to win the fight for freedom. To be realistic, it's simply not enough. We need more people to get involved to help support the cause.

For me, I am enraged to think that a government could have full control over the type of information that I view or read on the internet. Of course, it's easy for me to take this kind of stance as a citizen of the United States, where it seems as thought the sky is the limit in terms of online accessibility. How often am I unaware or blinded by my own privileges? But as Diana pointed out, even the U.S. exerts its own type of power on regulating sexual content on the internet. If I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand times: If you limit access to something just because it contains information of a sexual nature, you could be limiting access to Web sites that offer important information about breast cancer or Web sites that offer support to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth. This IS a political issue.

Web site blocking is not something that should be taken lightly in any country. As Diana pointed out, how could we possibly determine who should make these types of decisions, on what/who's values should these decision be based, and what is the measure for damaging information?

EOTO - Reaction 4

I was very impressed with the in-depth information Lauren Reynolds presented in her Each One Teach One project. Her essay is very thorough and will be extremely useful to all types of readers because it contains wonderful links to the organizations and projects that are currently underway on cataloguing the internet. Personally, I was vaguely aware of the September 11 Archive and the Minerva Project but was unfamiliar with some of the deeper aspects of the projects she wrote about.

I think this is a subject that hits close to home for those of us enrolled in JOMC 223. For weeks now, we have been using blackboard as a discussion forum: a way to interact, share our thoughts and feelings and to open new doors through education. At the close of the semester, all of that discussion will be lost forever. It really is a shame.

Lauren's essay brought up a salient point in that cataloguing the internet is an insurmountable task. With the amount of information that is out there for us to view and the rate at which some of these Web pages expire, is there any way to capture the whole history of our generation? Surely business pages are just important as personal pages, which are just as important as informational pages. Should we really have to pick and choose between "important" information and "expendable" information? Who should make that choice and what should that choice be based on in terms of usefulness, historical accuracy and values? Just a thought I'd like to put out there.

EOTO - Reaction 3

The emergence of new communication technology, with the assistance of convenience and affordability, has really made it easy to get in touch with each other. So much so, that it is almost impossible to get away. To put it blatantly: we live in a noisy world. I found the content of Steven Anthony's Each One Teach One project to be both comical and enlightening. Cell yell is a great term to explain the way people speak loudly into their cell phones.

I recently graduated from UNC-CH and know very well how loud cell phones and cell phone users can be. Not only do they slowly stroll along the pathway blocking other people are trying to get places, but they also leave them on so annoying ring tones interrupt the middle of class. As well, I've seen people who are eating dinner in the dining hall call their friends who are sitting a few tables away just to chat. Wouldn't it be easier, cheaper and more friendly just to walk over there to talk?

I think the development of these new cell phone/walkie-talkie units is just going to make the problem of cell yell worse. Now instead of having one side of the conversation interrupting your personal environment, you will have the pleasure of being bombarded with both sides of the conversation. I personally can't stand cell phones. I used to have one in case of emergencies, but I have since gotten rid of it. Not only did I have a horrible experience with my service provider, but I also found it more of a hassle than a help. Perhaps my opinion will change again, but for now it's land line all the way!

I think Anthony had some really good ideas when it came to the issue of cell yell. Putting cell zones in place would be a great way to help "contain" this type of busy noise that constantly pollutes our air. If it's not a cell phone going off in the middle of your quiet dinner, it's the loud guy on the bus who mistakenly thinks everyone else wants to hear his conversation. We really are quite "public" as a society.

EOTO - Reaction 2

For anyone who is currently enrolled in an online course or thinking about starting a similar academic program, the content of Christy Kinnion's Each One Teach One project can be both alarming and eye-opening. I was quite shocked, after reading Christy's essay, to learn how prevalent fraudulent institutions can be. With the emergence of these types of accredited online academic programs, which are both convenient and user-friendly, it was only a matter of time before someone else would figured out a way to disguise a "degree mill" program and make money off of it. But at whose expense? Those who enroll in a program hoping to genuinely receive a degree or employers who hire an individual because of an impressive resume filled with deceit?

In an age of digital technology, where identity fraud and fake businesses keep people wary of potential criminals, it's a shame that we must also be wary of people who knowingly take part in these types of scams. If a person were to do some quick research by typing key words into a search engine, he/she would easily find links for purchasing term papers, fake identification cards and yes, fake degrees. There have been a few reports in the news during the past year about high-power executives being fired for falsely claiming to have a certain type of degree.

EOTO - Reaction 1

Jongrak Lee did an excellent job at highlighting important points about copyright infringement in his Each One Teach One assignment. I think, in many cases, people are unaware of the monetary strains infringement can create. As well, you don't hear much about the violation of due process and privacy rights when governmental entities crack down on individuals who commit copyright infringement.

I would like to offer this in conjunction to the information Jongrak provided: Copyright infringement is not just about breaking a law: it stifles progress and creativity and adds a sense of unwillingness by people to create new works of art, music, literature, reserach etc. Therefore, it directly effects the greater good of a society. Without the arts and sciences, a society cannot flourish or be competitive in a global sense.

I think most people are aware about the issues of downloading music and sharing music files because of all the spin involving Napster, Metallica and the RIAA. The fact is that this "general awareness" is not enough to protect both the authors/creators of copyrighted material or the people who unknowingly break copyright laws. I agree with Jongrak in that there needs to be more of an outreach and some sort of public education campaign to protect all involved parties.

As Jongrak pointed out, the latest trend in legal action has been to monitor individual users instead of the centralized services. This seems to be a big issue for colleges and universities because of the fact that students often use their institution's main network. What type of concerns does this raise for institutions when a student is involved in a legal investigation? Could the institution be held accountable for a student's action on a campus-wide network? Just something to think about.