US blogger just out of jail

Americans have caught up with the Third World. You can now be jailed in the US for posting a video clip on your blog!

Josh Wolf spent seven and a half months in a federal prison for protecting his sources after posting a video on his blog.

People have been jailed in Third World countries for reasons such as politics, religious issues, or racism, but Wolf was in prison for refusing to hand over video he shot during a protest in San Francisco in 2005.

In a brokered deal, Wolf posted the uncut video on his site JoshWolf.net, gave prosecutors a copy, told them he had not witnessed any crimes - and was released on April 3, 2007.

In exchange, prosecutors acceded to Wolf's key contention: that he not be made to appear before a grand jury and identify those on his video.

However, the broader issue is whether he is a Journalist or an Activist. Being a journalist might entitle him the right to protect his sources. The debate is ongoing.