Google Checkout for NGOs announced

[Jonah Bossewitch]

 >> Personally and on behalf of my organization (Friends of the Earth
 >> Australia), we would not touch this offer and have concerns regarding
 >> Goggle
 >> (a..ka mega corp information control) aspirations.

 > I'd like to hear your concerns, I'm sure we can fix this.

I think the problems might be a bit more systemic than a quick fix:

http://www.metamute.org/en/InfoEnclosure-2.0

"From this perspective, it can be said that Web 2.0 is capitalism’s 
preemptive attack against P2P systems... The mission of Web 2.0 is to 
destroy the P2P aspect of the internet. To make you, your computer, and 
your internet connection dependent on connecting to a centralized 
service that controls your ability to communicate. Web 2.0 is the ruin 
of free, peer-to-peer systems and the return of monolithic ‘online 
services’."

There are issues with this critique (especially since the federated 
protocols metamute advocates don't exist (yet)), but the analysis is 
frightening and general.

Sure, there are more optimistic takes on web 2.0 (I first saw this link 
here - http://healthhacker.org/satoroams/?p=780, and I myself have faith 
- 
http://alchemicalmusings.org/2007/02/26/the-organizational-digital-divide/), 
but I think this essay may help clarify the anxiety that Friends of the 
Earth and others are feeling.

/Jonah