If you're reading this, you're online. Whether you're using a desktop, laptop, iPhone, or some other gizmo I've yet to hear about -- there are many -- you are fulfilling the daily prophesy of those who deem the Internet one of the most valuable tools of all time.

But is it a tool for peace? Yes, say some of the men and women who have the privilege of making nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize each year. The scientists, academics, former winners, and other select members of the intelligentsia had been fielding requests from groups lobbying for the Internet's nomination for months, but only last Tuesday did the committee officially do so.

Nearly 50 years ago, Marshall McCluhan described technology and the "mass media" -- a term he coined -- as "extensions of man," which enable our whims and ambitions. He could never have imagined the Internet of today, making his prescience all the more uncanny. The Internet is doubtless the most far-reaching, powerful "extension of man" created to date.

This isn't to say the Internet will win the peace prize -- there were a record 237 nominations this year -- but its nomination says a lot. While the Internet has facilitated innumerable good things, and indeed it has been used as a tool for peace, hasn't it also been used for the opposite? Each time a hate crime is committed, authorities mine the hard drives and online activities of the crime's perpetrator. For every positive the Internet facilitates, it seems to facilitate a negative.

Just this week, I logged on to Facebook to see that an old classmate from graduate school had posted a link to an article about a right-wing e-zine he just launched, Alternative Right. The article, titled "The 'New' Racist Right," posted on FrumForum.com, made a strong argument against Alternative Right for being a racist rant against anything that isn't lily white with a pronounced set of XY chromosomes.

From the comments posted, it was clear that AltRight has a number of passionate devotees. And of course, they use the Internet to rant against immigration, multiculturalism, feminism, interracial relationships, and pretty much everything else they view as a threat to their ethos of "radical traditionalism."

And that's pretty small fry, compared with other hate groups that rely on the Internet for their communication and recruitment efforts.

Yes, the Internet has done wonders for societies worldwide, improved people's lives, and been generally used in the name of progress. But isn't it also merely a tool for the wills of those who use it? A building can be used to shelter the homeless, or to build bombs. Likewise, the Internet is neither good nor evil -- it is merely an extension of mankind.

[Image: IICD from Wikimedia Commons]

If you saw The Cove, which won this year's Academy Award for best documentary, you're probably glad you're not at student at a Japanese grammar school. In certain parts of that country, dolphin meat is served to children, falsely identified as whale meat. Adults, too, are often served dolphin when they order whale, a staple especially in fishing communities in Coastal Japan.

Now, the filmmakers have set their sights on sushi restaurants in the U.S., namely one in California that was rumored to be serving whale meat, which is illegal here. With stiff fines up to $20,000 and as much as one year in prison, most Japanese restaurants stick with the standards: California rolls, spicy tuna, eel, etc.

But at The Hump in Los Angeles, patrons who ordered "omakase" -- or "chef's choice" -- were being served a helping of whale along with their sashimi, edamame, and fish roe.

The sting operation actually began last October, but took time to execute. The State of California has promised swift action, but has not disclosed exactly what the punishment will be. "This isn't just about saving the whales," says the film's director, Louie Psihoyos. "It's about saving the planet."

[Image: NYTimes.com]

Radio shock jock Howard Stern once again put his foot in it this week. Full disclosure: I have been a fan of the locker room conversational tone of the show and its often brutal honesty for over 20 years. (Though it is not inconceivable that my enduring loyalty of the show has more to do with the fact that I got into the habit of listening daily as a hormonal teenager.) This recent frisson is yet another instance where Howard Stern and I don't agree on an issue. The morning after Academy Award nominee Gabourey Sidibe lost her bid for Best Actress, the Stern show laid it on savagely. From CNN:

During Howard Stern's Sirius satellite show on Monday morning, co-host Robin Quivers commented that Sidibe should have looked around at the Oscars and noticed that none of the other working actresses looked like her.

"What movie could she play in?" Stern questioned on his live broadcast. "You feel bad because everyone pretends that she's part of show business, and she's never going to be in another movie."

Worse, in a beyond-the-pale provocative manner, Stern called the Oscar nominated actress a "fat black chick." Disgusting. Unpardonable, even. And misinformed, since Sidibe has two movie roles and a television role in the works. Still, the question arises: Can talent outweigh size in Hollywood? Could someone as talented and pure of heart but unconventionally attractive as Sibide is build a career in a town so comically shallow?

The effects of Howard Stern's comments have, you can imagine, alighted the blogosphere something ferocious. Hollywood-Elsewhere, for example, calls the comments "needlessly cruel" (they were), adding, "Stern isn't wrong in saying that her prospects are limited." The question as to whether or not an actress of Gabourey Sidibe's size could find work in Hollywood briefly came up when Vanity Fair very publicly -- and controversially -- passed her over for their cover of "Young Hollywood." Stern, for his part, has sort of backtracked -- saying that he made those comments out of concern for Sidibe's weight. What do you think?

As a child of the late '70s and early '80s, I can't deny a soft spot in my heart for the "two Coreys": Feldman and Haim. So it was a genuine shock for me when I learned Wednesday of Corey Haim's death at age 38, presumably from an overdose of prescription drugs.

But as with Heath Ledger, Brittany Murphy, and Michael Jackson, we'll remember Haim not for his sad, untimely death, but for his public persona, and the characters he played in movies like Lucas, The Lost Boys, and License to Drive. Let's take a look at Haim at age 15 in Lucas, just two years before the actor said he tried pot for the first time, on the set of The Lost Boys. Before long, he was on cocaine, then crack, and then meds. Hard to believe watching this gem from 1986.

Amy Farkas of UNICEF's sport for development arm, recently shared this amazing article with me. To summarize, it is about a program called Dance United that's designed to work with ex youth-offenders and youth at risk. The platform used is dance, but the purpose is self confidence, reduced criminal behavior, and a return to pursuing traditional education. The program has proven to be highly effective at ending cycles of criminal behavior. When harnessed properly, the power of such programs can go a long way towards ending homelessness.

We talk a lot about supportive housing and we should, but we shouldn't underestimate how much people can do for themselves, nor the power of community and activities to release self empowerment. As this article mentions, just one youth ex-offender kept out of jail and out of homelessness can save British taxpayers around 80,000 pounds sterling on average.

Lots of people don't know that the organization I work for, Street Soccer USA (before it became part of HELP USA), started as an art program and that our first team was called Art Works Football Club. Indeed, the power of relationships forged through shared experience is at the core of what we do. When human beings affirm each other, hope, dignity, and purpose are abundant and palpable. If recovery, achievement, and progress are going to take hold for those stuck in homelessness and poverty, these goals must be cast on a foundation of personal pride and purpose in life.

It no surprise to me that targeted programming around arts and sports combines creativity and discipline in a way that helps participants balance these two elements in their own lives. I am glad we as practitioners are measuring it and so thrilled that as a society we are starting to take advantage of the power of such activities to build a healthy community.

[Image: The Guardian]