Whether you want to call it participatory journalism, citizen journalism or just the noise of the many, the ease of online publishing tools for quick, spontaneous expression means there are a whole world of alternative war perspectives online. Wikipedia has become known as an incredibly valuable resource, not just for encyclopaedic definitions, but for it’s coverage of current events – such as the Israel-Lebanon conflict. Partner project Wikinews now also comes with RSS feeds – meaning you can subscribe to the latest world, regional or topical news.
Elsewhere, impressively leveraging the capacity of Google Earth’s 3D topography & satellite photos, a site has put together a collection of placemakrs which show exact locations of military actions based on news reports – with a whole bunch of added embedded information. Quite intense to browse.
Kevin Sites is a veteran war correspondent now signed up with Yahoo – who aims to travel to every armed conflict in the world, in one year. Using a HD camcorder, satellite phone, powerbook, & satellite modem he sends in articles and edited video from warzones, aided by a production team in the States. Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon are all on his list, but also a whole string of lesser known conflicts such as those in Chechnya, Congo, Haiti, Kasmir, Nepal, Sir Lanka, Sudan and a whole host of others.
Mazen Kerbak‘s response to the craziness of inheriting a war, was not just to blog about it, but to perform and record improvisational music to the sound of bombs falling nearby. That, comics and paintings await.
Salam Pax‘s blog coverage of war in Iraq is also worth a mention, and ABC’s Andrew Denton has a good interview with him about his experiences.