Bloggasm

Damian Penny is a lawyer in Corner Brook, Newfoundland, Canada. Inspired by the aftermath to 9/11 and popular sites like InstaPundit.com, He started up his weblog, Daimnation!, in October, 2001. His site - which concentrates primarily on international affairs, but also Canadian politics, pop culture, cars and sports - is affiliated with Blogging Tories and Pajamas Media.

Simon Owens: In our last interview in early 2006, you said that blogs would never be able to replace the mainstream media because they don’t have the resources to do original reporting. Do you think now, a year later, they’re doing more investigative journalism?

Damian Penny: I think we’re starting to see a lot more “on the scene” reporting from bloggers, especially from people like Michael Totten and Michael Yon. Totten, in particular, finances most of his reporting from the Middle East with readers’ donations, and the result has been some excellent reporting you don’t see anywhere else. When bloggers have the resources, or if something important is happening on their doorstep, you get a lot more original blog reporting.

Simon Owens: Do you think that as online advertising increases, the major blogs will be able to hire on-the-scene reporters so they can break news just like other more traditional outlets?

Damian Penny: Some bloggers already publish guest posts from people on the scene, but I don’t think you’ll see reporters “hired” to report for blogs. One of the defining features of blogs is that they are personal, and most bloggers will want to keep it that way. Maybe you’ll see some add full-time guest bloggers to look at things from other perspectives. (My most prolific guest-blogger, Mark Collins, knows a lot more than I do about military matters.)

Simon Owens: I’ve interviewed a number of Pajamas Media bloggers in the past, and I always try to get their insider input on the network. How has your experience been with PM? Do you think it will continue to stay strong?

Damian Penny: I’ve been very happy with PJM, and I think they are getting better. Picking up some high-profile guest bloggers, like Victor Davis Hanson and Ron Rosenbaum, was a very good move.

Simon Owens: You said in our last interview that you first became inspired to start blogging partially because of 9/11. As someone outside the US, how did that event affect your political views?

Damian Penny: 23 Canadians were killed in the 9/11 attacks, along with hundreds of people from dozens of other countries. Attacks against one country will almost certainly have repercussions - and victims - from other nations, and Canada is so intertwined with its southern neighbour that 9/11 had to have a major impact. Indeed, many of the planes grounded on that day ended up here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Simon Owens: How does the Canadian political blogosphere differ from the US political blogosphere? Do they act in the same manner?

Damian Penny: I think the American blogosphere has received much more recognition from the US media than Canadian bloggers have received from Canadian news outlets. Some Canadian blogs have gotten pretty big, but none of them have become near-household names like Daily Kos, InstaPundit or Power Line. The high-water mark for the Canadian blogosphere was when the sponsorship scandal was at its peak - fueled, ironically, by American blog Captain’s Quarters, which had a source inside the sponsorship inquiry (and wasn’t bound by a Canadian publication ban).

Lindsay Beyerstein is a freelance writer, photographer, and blogger. Her blog Majikthise, which focuses on liberal politics, has been quoted in a number of major publications, including The Washington Post and The Weekly Standard. In a widely-read Salon article, Beyerstein wrote about her own encounter with the Edwards campaign and their offer to hire her as a blogger, which she eventually turned down. In this interview, she goes more in-depth about those decisions.

Simon Owens: In our last interview in early 2006, you said that the blogosphere had a “potential for a much larger readership than we have now.” Do you think the political blogosphere has grown significantly in the past year? Has its effect on politics grown?

Lindsay Beyerstein: The political blogosphere’s influence on politics has continued to grow. This year’s YearlyKos convention will host its own presidential candidate’s forum. Campaigns are investing heavily in netroots outreach. At the same time, increasing numbers of bloggers are becoming established as credible sources of original reporting and commentary. For example, Talking Points Memo is credited with breaking the US Attorney scandal.

Simon Owens: In your widely-read Salon article on why you didn’t blog for Edwards, you said that your outspoken atheism would likely be a problem for the Edwards campaign. Do you find it depressing to face the reality that atheists are so feared by the average voter? Do you think atheists like Richard Dawkins are effective as activists for atheist rights?

Lindsay Beyerstein: I am sometimes dismayed by the widespread anti-atheist prejudice in the USA. I was very excited last week when Pete Stark of California became the first American Congressman to declare himself a non- theist. So far, I’m not aware of any significant backlash. So, maybe other politicians will be emboldened by Stark’s example.

I think Richard Dawkins is an excellent example of an effective surrogate. He’s good for atheists because he’s willing to push the boundaries of mainstream discourse. People often misunderstand Dawkins’ role. He’s not out there trying to convince anyone to become an atheist, he’s acclimatizing the public to the existence of atheists. I find some of his overt sneering a little off-putting. But I’m glad there’s someone out there doing that on TV.

Simon Owens: Let’s pretend for a second that you had signed on with the Edwards campaign, and the right had launched a similar swift boat attack your way. How would you have handled it?

Lindsay Beyerstein: That’s a really tough question. During the actual onslaught, there was very little an individual blogger could do. Amanda later said that it was excruciating to be under attack and unable to respond on her own behalf because of campaign discipline. I don’t know whether I would have ultimately resigned or not. I don’t think so–unless I was under immense pressure to do so from inside the campaign. I’m just stubborn that way. Resigning would have meant conceding. On the other hand, resignation might have been the best thing for the campaign. Personally, I think that the furor would have died down eventually when people realized that a campaign blogger just blogs press releases and not their own stuff.

Simon Owens: How did the Salon article come about? Did you pitch it to them, or did they approach you?

Lindsay Beyerstein: Amanda wrote about her experiences in Salon. They published one of my photos to illustrate Amanda’s article. So, I emailed Amanda and asked her which editor she worked with for the article. Then, I wrote to the editor and pitched the story.

Simon Owens: As someone who oftens posts pictures of your real-world encounters with other bloggers, what’s it like to meet someone face to face after you’ve only known that person through a computer screen previously?

Lindsay Beyerstein: It’s surprising how few surprises there are. People get to know each other online better than they realize. If I like someone online, I’m confident that I’ll like them in person.

A lot of people are initially apprehensive about mixing their online and offline lives. There’s this sense that the Internet is unknown territory and that it’s somehow risky to interact with people you met there. People think “Oh, I think I know that, but they could be anyone!” After your first couple meetups, that sense of apprehension goes away and it feels perfectly natural.

You get a real sense of how someone’s mind works when you read their writing regularly. So, meeting for the first time doesn’t necessarily feel like an introduction. It usually feels more like a continuation of the relationship that was initially established online.

Simon Owens: What do you think are some of the tactics the liberal blogosphere will use in the 2008 elections? Do you think Web 2.0 products like Youtube will provide an increasing influence over swaying votes?

Lindsay Beyerstein: It will be very interesting to see what happens with social networking sites. The $64,000 question is how you translate blog reading into political action. Arguing about politics online doesn’t win elections. Blogs are like other media. They can push a message, but they aren’t necessarily the most effective organizing tools. Owning the news cycle is great, but it won’t deliver 25 people to walk precincts the next day, I can exhort my readers in California or Virginia to get out and vote, but it doesn’t mean much coming from me. It’s much more effective for someone in their own community to give them a phone call, or offer them a ride to the polls.

So, a lot of really smart people are trying to figure out how they can use the web to organize people in their own communities to do the nitty gritty stuff that actually wins elections. That’s what all this hype around MySpace and Facebook and Second Life is coming from. Campaigns want to figure out how to use the internet as a decentralized organizing tool that will actually get people to do stuff locally.

I’m sure we’re going to see a lot of viral marketing. Campaigns and interest groups are going to produce fun videos and hope to disseminate them online. Individual activists will be putting their content up, too.

The blogosphere will help by identifying and promoting talent. If an obscure 15-year-old posts a powerful political video on YouTube, it only takes one blog reader to pass that link on to John Amato of Crooks and Liars and BAM! national exposure for that video.

On a flight between Delhi and Heathrow a woman in her seventies died. The air crew, who apparently didn’t have a plan for such an incident, decided to move her to first class:

A BRITISH Airways passenger travelling first class has described how he woke up on a long-haul flight to find that cabin crew had placed a corpse in his row.

The body of a woman in her seventies, who died after the plane left Delhi for Heathrow, was carried by cabin staff from economy to first class, where there was more space. Her body was propped up in a seat, using pillows.

The woman’s daughter accompanied the corpse, and spent the rest of the journey wailing in grief.

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I just received this press release via email:

I wanted to contact you about a major event in the world of atheism that is occurring at Harvard this April. The Humanist Chaplaincy is hosting a once-in-a-lifetime gala to celebrate its 30th anniversary. I am very excited about attending, as are the majority of big names in atheism, humanism, secularism and the like (Salamon Rushdie, E.O. Wilson, Ned Lamont to name a few). I’ve included part of the conference press release. Also, please check out the thenewhumanism.org for a great overview. We would love to see word spread about the conference, and would appreciate any action on your part

Harvard’s God-Free Chaplaincy Turns 30
Salman Rushdie, others honored by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — A group of renowned Humanists, atheists and
agnostics will gather at Harvard in April, to take on an unlikely
opponent: atheist “fundamentalists.”

The Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard has long been among the most
distinct institutions serving the non-religious community, and this
April 20-22 it marks its 30th anniversary with an international
conference asserting humanism is a non-theistic philosophy that
allows for understanding and respect between believers in God and
atheists.

“Vocal atheist authors such as Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris have
recently publicized the notion that atheists must defeat religion and
that science is all we need to understand the world. The press dubbed
this phenomenon ‘the new atheism,’” said Humanist Chaplain of Harvard
University Greg M. Epstein.

But Epstein said “Humanism”, which encompasses but does not end at
atheism, is the philosophy that best represents the diverse, emerging
population of 1.1 billion non-religious people around the world. And
so the Chaplaincy is calling its upcoming conference “The New Humanism.”

The April 20-22 conference at Harvard will include some of the
greatest thinkers of our time, including novelist Salman Rushdie,
Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning scientist
E.O. Wilson, and renowned psychology professor and author Steven
Pinker. Humanist Congressional lobbyist Lori Lipman Brown, of the
Secular Coalition for America, will speak about how humanists can
become more active in politics. Singer-songwriter Dar Williams will
perform a private concert.

“Humanism takes science seriously, but is more than just science!”
Epstein said. “Humanists love life here on Earth, find inspiration in
human creativity, and respect all human beings.”

“The time has come to say to the world that inclusiveness is the best
approach, for non-religious and religious people alike,” Epstein said.

Thanks for your attention!

Tom

Humanist Chaplaincy Intern
Atheist Volunteers Webmaster
Rational Response Squad

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A great fake trailer mash-up of the Boston scare and the Die Hard movies:

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The finalists for the National Magazine Award have been announced.

One of the most notable things that caught my eye was that they’re giving one to Christopher Hitchens, for “both his prolific columns in Vanity Fair and as the subject of a masterful profile by Ian Parker in The New Yorker.” I haven’t actually read the New Yorker profile and with a quick google search it looks like it was never placed online for some reason. Damn. I really want to read it. I don’t have much respect for Hitchens, I think he’s a fact-dropper, one of those people who debates dirty by dropping in some random tidbit to prove his point that people don’t have time to fact-check right away. In most cases, it turns out the “fact” was a complete fabrication, but because it comes from out of nowhere, the people on the panel are unable to call him on it right away.

As a news journalist, I ran into a local Republican once who I guess used to somehow handle Hitchens’s media relations. He fondly told a story of Hitchens showing up to a debate with several well-informed college professors who had actually prepared for the discussion. The Republican described Hitchens as obviously hung-over, and said that he had had to ask what the discussion topic even was. Then he proceeded to go onto the panel and start bashing the professors for their opposition to the Iraq war.

The way the local Republican told the story, it was like he was giving a compliment. I kind of nodded my head, but to me, this was the epitome of what Hitchens stood for: lazy journalism. He treats it like a Trivial Pursuit game where if you can have just one random piece of anecdotal evidence that nobody else has, then you can win the discussion. Plus, he argues like an asshole.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to go off on a Hitchens rant. Back to the finalists. I was glad to see that “The New Yorker leads the list of 125 finalists, with a total of nine nominations.” I was surprised that this is the first time that The Economist made it onto the list. People have always told me how great a magazine it was, even though I haven’t read much of it myself. It looks as if both Salon.com and Wired Online got snubbed in the online category, neither were nominated.

via bookslut

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Haha, if you’re someone in my generation, this is hilarious

via pajiba

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