Information from the UN Conference on Women is rapidly winging
its way from Beijing to locations around the world - via the
Internet. Thanks to the WomensNet project at the Association for
Progressive Communications, conference proceedings, documents and
speeches are being made available on the World Wide Web
(http://www.womensnet.apc.org/beijing) as well as through local
dial-up services in countries where Internet access is not widely
available.
(The Independent, England; September 11, 1995)
Australian writer Dale Spender, author of "Nattering on the Net:
Women, Power and Cyberspace," says there are not enough "women
moguls" in cyberspace. "Women must be full participants in
shaping the system and the rules, and be involved in the
cybercommunity in the same numbers and on the same terms as
men," she says. Spender has also launched other big projects
like WITS (Women, Information Technology and Scholarship)
(http://gertrude.art.uiuc.edu/wits/witshomepage.html) and
WIKED (Women's International Knowledge Encyclopedia and Data).
(Information Age; August 1995)
"Make their ears ring, their fax machines burn out, their
telephone systems collapse and their Internet lines glow," reads
a protest message targeting the French telecommunications network
in response to the Mururoa Atoll nuclear testing. This is power
to the people on a global scale - but can this also be called
electronic terrorism? The Net's character is nothing more than a
reflection of society, according to Kevin Johnson-Bade,
coordinator of CyberVote, (http://www.ozemail.com.au/~midac/) a Web site that
links Net nuclear protest sites worldwide. On one end of the spectrum, such
activity can be used to mobilise citizens in different
geographical areas; at the other end of the spectrum are
activities like spamming.
(The Age, Melbourne; September 5, 1995)
Leading academics and lawyers from more than 50
universities across 40 countries have challenged the
legality of the French decision to resume nuclear testing in
the South Pacific. David Anton, lecturer in international
and environmental law at Melbourne University, organised the
challenge by contacting colleagues around the world via the
Internet. This is one of many global protests coordinated
and launched against the French testing program via the
Internet. Check out these links (http://www.uel.ac.uk/pers/1420/no_nuke.html) (http://www.macmedia.com.au/nuke/nuclear.html).
(The Sunday Times, Britain; August 4, 1995)
All you may get out of politicians who use the Internet is a
library full of stuff you would never read on paper. Despite the
excitement over the political side of Internet access, you most
certainly will not get a two-way electronic link into the
decision-making process of your preferred party. Politicians
would prefer that you read their thoughts - but they do not have
the time to read yours. The real reason many of them seem to turn
to the Net is to look cool. (http://www.links.net/gov/)
(The Sunday Times, England; September 10, 1995)