May 30, 2009
Last night on the Journal, Bill Moyers introduced excerpts from Sherry Jones’s documentary, Torturing Democracy. As Moyers said, it’s difficult but necessary to watch these atrocities so that we can name things properly: our country has tortured, it has not engaged in “enhanced interrogations.”
If we cannot prosecute those who broke the law, then another country needs to prosecute us. If we allow the Bush administration’s illegal actions to go unpunished, we will reap the negative karma. We need to say what we’ve done and make amends. There’s no other way forward. I don’t know if Obama’s administration has the guts to help the American people take this step. Do we?
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Ethics |
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Posted by sdshattuck
March 23, 2009

Ana Sisnett (1952-2009) was Executive Director from 1998-2006 of Austin Free-Net, a community technology center. But her pioneering on the internet began earlier when she co-founded Technomama with Gisele-Audrey Mills. Technomama worked with the Institute for Global Communications (IGC) and the Association for Progressive Communications (APC) back when the text-only internet presented more opportunities for social justice activism than for consumerism. Funded in part by the Foundation for a Compassionate Society, Technomama trained women left out of the digital revolution and viewed equal access and ability as an international human rights issue.
An early adopter who delighted as much as the next geek over a new application or gadget, Ana nevertheless always thought through the complex questions of access, training, and ability. If the technology excluded, well, then…where’s the fix? She admired the work of Knowbility, whose annual AIR-Interactive (Accessible Internet Rally) features a web-design contest focusing on assistive technology and accessible design.
Over the last three years, Ana struggled with ovarian cancer, and she passed away on January 13. She leaves behind many, many people who were touched by her vision of a usable and just technology that bridges differences and helps us realize our better selves.
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Gender, Social Justice, Technology |
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Posted by sdshattuck
January 14, 2009
Ana Sisnett passed away yesterday at 4pm in Austin TX after dealing with ovarian cancer for three years. If you don’t know Ana, let me share her with you so that you will be as inspired as I have been. Most recently, she’s worked as a visual artist. More long-term, she’s a poet, activist, voice for social justice, internet pioneer. Here’s an article from the Austin Chronicle that gives you a little information on her work as Executive Director of Austin Free-Net, a community technology center: “Ana Sisnett: The Reluctant Heroine.”
An African Panamanian, Ana remained moved by her childhood geography and the sounds of Caribbean English, Spanish. She used the sound of her Barbadian grandmother’s voice in her children’s book, Grannie Jus’ Come. Ana wrote the poem first, and after hearing it, I told her it would make a wonderful children’s book. She took me seriously. We took each other’s words seriously — especially when it came to writing, art, politics, family — coffee and Scrabble. Even with cancer, she still kicked my butt in Scrabble.
I’ve got so many more stories, but I’ll stop now. I know there will be a huge memorial in Austin. Ana’s big soul affected so many people.
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Posted by sdshattuck
January 11, 2009
The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Commitee has declared Monday (12 January 2009) “Wear Your Kuffiyeh” day in support of Gaza. They’ve also declared Tuesday a day of fast and recommend sending the money you would use for food to Gaza. Here’s their website:
http://www.adc.org/
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Posted by sdshattuck