Daily Twitter Links for the weekend 27-28 October 2012

Here are today's must-reads:

1. Robert Shrum: Why Obama Will Win: 

After the debacle in Denver, I argued that the structure of the race hadn’t fundamentally changed—and wouldn’t unless the president faltered again in the second debate. He didn’t. He let Romney into the game; state and national polls did tighten—mostly because undecideds who lean Republican and voted for McCain moved to Romney. They would have anyway.

Now the surge is receding—and contrary to the conventional verdict, the second and third debates not only stemmed Romney gains, but restored Obama’s advantage. Even the outlier of outliers, the flawed Gallup tracking poll, which recently accorded Romney a seven-point lead, shows him only three ahead in a seven-day average—which means the numbers will almost certainly shift further toward the president as the bad days drop out of the average. Gallup drives news, but it’s increasingly discounted by political analysts. The Greenberg survey for the Democracy Corps—a rare survey in which 33 percent of the respondents were reached on their cellphones—has Obama leading 49 to 46 percent.

It’s not a big lead—and never will be. But the president has other big advantages that will prove decisive. And here is where the fundamentals haven’t changed.

The outcome will be decided in the battleground states—and here Obama has many more paths to a 270 electoral-vote majority. 

2. Journalists, Twitter Gaffes and Freedom of Expression: 

What action should media employers take when one of their journalists crosses the line on Twitter? And what are the implications for freedom of expression when a news organisation seeks to sack, or censor a journalist over an independently published tweet? These are questions I’ve been pondering as I complete my PhD thesis – The Twitterisation of Journalism - and as I deliver social media training to journalists in newsrooms around Australia. 

To demonstrate the potential real world consequences of an indiscreet or injudicious tweet in a journalism education/training setting, I often cite the sacking of CNN’s Octavia Nasr (who was booted for tweets sympathetic to a deceased Hezbollah leader) and The Age columnist Catherine Deveny (sacked over that questionable satirical Bindi Irwin tweet), among others. 

But I also encourage debate about the implications of media employers effectively censoring journalists’ individual Twitter accounts. 

3. In the Legal Profession, the Gender Card comes up Trumps:  

The gender card, so we’re told, has been played by the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard.  In the context of contemporary debate about sexism in public life, I’ve had a few interesting conversations lately about issues concerning women.  These conversations have been with educated men with whom I usually enjoy excellent interaction.  I have to say though that their thoughts about sexism and women in the context of the discussions we have had, did surprise me.  Mostly, it seems to me that not just in the public sphere but also more broadly, so many men (and some women) can’t (or won’t) see the issues as so many women experience them.

I have asked myself whether, perhaps, I misunderstand my own experiences.  That the current public debate about sexism has it seems captured the imagination of so many women indicates that I am not alone.  In addition, there is a lot of evidence, including scholarly study, that would back me up.  Why is it then, that the way that women experience sexism is not acknowledged? 

These are some of the other things I've been tweeting about over the weekend:

• "Clicking This Will Make You Stupider: The 10 worst foreign policy campaign ads of 2012" http://pjblack.me/R97wSf
• "Robert Zemeckis Returns to Live Action Movies With ‘Flight’" http://pjblack.me/RckRJo
• he now wants to amend the constitution: "John Paul Stevens’s Quest for Four Little Words" http://pjblack.me/PWtuNi
• "Infographic: Are You Looking At Too Many Infographics?" http://pjblack.me/PWiyzb
• "Eric Schmidt is headed to Paris to head off French proposal to charge Google for linking" http://pjblack.me/PWh6wL
• this app looks good: "Drive: An Excellent Companion App for Drivers" http://pjblack.me/PWgGqm
• an endorsement from the @nytimes: "Barack Obama for Re-Election" http://pjblack.me/RcFqpb
• "Two years after launch, Rdio finally ready to make a splash" http://pjblack.me/PWMDyz
• the disgruntled small donor in the 2012 american election: "What to Expect When You’re Electing" http://pjblack.me/RcjryJ
• "In the Legal Profession, the Gender Card comes up Trumps" says @KatGallow http://pjblack.me/RcmA1n #auslaw
• umm dear me: "App Turns Smartphone Into a Sex Toy for Couples" http://pjblack.me/PWgtDp
• "NASA's Time-Lapse Video of Hurricane Sandy is Terrifying, Beautiful" http://pjblack.me/RYZA7S
• "Why Pandora Could Survive An Apple iRadio Challenge" http://pjblack.me/PWfHWV
• "GoSoapBox Year One: A Visual Story" http://pjblack.me/PWg2sL #highered
• "Obama and Romney Raise $1 Billion Each" http://pjblack.me/PYuEIa
• "The Shift Toward Law School Specialization" http://pjblack.me/SdpgjN #highered
• "800 clowns gather in Mexico City for convention" http://pjblack.me/TJFEEz
• "Dog debarking policy at AVMA raises activists' howls of protest" http://pjblack.me/RO6cpw
• "Championing Life And Liberty For Animals" http://pjblack.me/SbSOOF
• "The Social Networking Lives Of The Dead Celebrities" http://pjblack.me/SbPSRZ
• computers are changing art in unexpected ways: "Old Media, Digitized, Make New Forms" http://pjblack.me/RNrnrE
• "Microsoft launches Bing Elections to curate news, results, and social media insights" http://pjblack.me/PWhbk2
• "Do Political Ads Actually Work?" http://pjblack.me/PWj7Jr
• "Brisbane Times becomes state’s top news website" http://pjblack.me/PXiizZ
• a thoughtful post form @julieposetti: "Journalists, Twitter Gaffes and Freedom of Expression" http://pjblack.me/PXibV2 #kkb175
• so what's the moral of story?: "Study: Even 'Moderate' Drinking Impairs Brain Cell Formation" http://pjblack.me/PWNyPG
• my last halloween themed tweet (for now): "They're Here!: The 14 Creepiest, Funniest, Best Halloween Ads Ever" http://pjblack.me/PWN5Nw
• "Dressing up for Halloween: a feminist's guide" http://pjblack.me/R9Uhk4
• this is cool: "This Clever Instagram Camera Halloween Costume Shoots Full-Frame Photos" http://pjblack.me/R9U9kK
• "Scary snaps: How to shoot frighteningly good photos this Halloween" http://pjblack.me/R9U6p0
• "Here’s What Happens When Geeks Who Like Path Get Overly Excited About Halloween" http://pjblack.me/PWMUBJ
• happy halloween!: "So, goblin porn exists" http://pjblack.me/R9TAHy
• happy halloween!: "Has Anyone Ever Really Handed Out Poisoned Halloween Candy?" asks @mental_floss http://pjblack.me/R96m9d
• "Most Popular (Worst) Passwords Of 2012: 'Password' Tops List For Second Year In A Row" http://pjblack.me/R92xRz
• there is something to this: "Arguments About Politics Are Like Arguments About Phones" http://pjblack.me/PWGClJ
• "BuzzFeed Partners With Rdio As it Pushes Into Music Space" http://pjblack.me/RO6ahk
• 'California's Measure B: What's so bad about condoms in porn?" http://pjblack.me/PWAjys
• a profile of mitt romney's eldest son tagg, and his family's myth of self-reliance: "Growing Up Romney" http://pjblack.me/R9gPBK
• "Campaign 2012: Will Obama win Ohio thanks to Bush v. Gore?" asks @rickhasen http://pjblack.me/R9wlNY
• "China Blocks Web Access to Times After Article" http://pjblack.me/R94M7e #openinternet
• "Adam Carolla Joins Fox News Channel" http://pjblack.me/R94nBX
• "Netflix must ponder its endgame strategy" http://pjblack.me/SbtuIx
• "A tale of money, sex and power: The Ellen Pao and Buddy Fletcher affair" http://pjblack.me/SbtsAl
• i think this is right: "Robert Shrum: Why Obama Will Win" http://pjblack.me/R95LEI
• not again!: "Man Charged Again With Faking Disability to Get Diaper Changed" http://pjblack.me/RNmHlF
• "100 Ideas That Changed Photography" http://pjblack.me/SbjI9l
• zynga sees game and advertising revenues decline: "Zynga Isn’t Blaming Anybody for Its Problems (Not Even Facebook)" http://pjblack.me/RN9LMG
• "Apple's Slow But Radical Overhaul Of Education" http://pjblack.me/RN9wkN #highered
• i do really hate ironing: "Why We Should All Wear Wrinkled Clothes" http://pjblack.me/RIHPtj
• humans do not have a monopoly on moral behaviour: "The kindness of beasts" http://pjblack.me/SbiURJ
• "From an international medical student to the health minister" http://pjblack.me/RMwOr1 #highered
• "Most Facebook Users Would Rather Have Fake Friends Than No Friends" http://pjblack.me/QHISKj
• a look at the very real problem of contract cheating: "Write My Essay, Please!" http://pjblack.me/RGVS2y #highered
• good question: "In The Age Of Cloud Music, The iPod Nano Endures — But For How Long?" http://pjblack.me/RGTcSv
• but they're not always the leaders in the ratings: "Social media collects the buzz around new TV series" http://pjblack.me/RO5Xuu
• from @THREsq: "Sony Sued Over William Faulkner Quote in 'Midnight in Paris'" http://pjblack.me/RN9h9i
• "Why Are States So Red and Blue?" http://pjblack.me/SbrjVk

Follow me on Twitter @peterjblack.

And you can get my latest links anytime on my Rebelmouse social media front page.