The following is what I believe to be a very unique cultural experience here in Tokyo, a place where those who cannot or do not own cats can pay a small fee and go spend time in a wonderland of felines.  Here they can sit for hours just watching cats or actively petting and playing with them.  Why? Who cares? All these questions are valid, and as your intrepid reporter, I considered these questions.  With help from my Japan anthropologist friend Semisara, here is what we learned in the form of a video entry.

First video entry from me here in Siberia. Standing in a park in downtown Tomsk just assessing how the trip is going and what plans have been made for the next few days.

I was particularly excited and proud to have seen video footage (included in this video entry) from the school I graduated from in 2001, William Paterson University of New Jersey.  As you can see from the images, that spirit of resistance and dedication to a cause is alive and well at my alma mater. It is particularly wonderful to see the familiar faces and hear the passionate voices of faculty members who played and continue to play a big role in helping me find my voice and choose my path as an activist-journalist.

Instead of trying to further explain it, I’ll end on a lighter note, with a video of me being remixed by my good friend and videoblog veteran Raymond who was in town from Norway.

Although GMO crops have only been in use for about a decade, the  report looks at this decade in terms of yield/production  as well as the impact these crops have had on the environment. The results, as you can read and hear about, are poor for a technology that is supposed to save the world from hunger. In fact, it turns out there are a few other methods that have proven far more productive than genetically modified crops.

In this video entry I go over the biggest conclusions of the report. I recommend you also have a look for yourself, don’t just take my word for it.

It has been more than a month since CurrentTV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were detained by North Korean authorities on the China-North Korea border. Yet relatively little has been made public about what their status is as well as what the US government or their media corporation is doing to ensure their fast and safe release. If convicted of the crime of entering the country illegally, they face something between 5 and 10 years in a North Korean prison. The following video entry explains the situation.

(click play on the viewer or the link below)

References in this video include:

Huffington Post on Laura Ling and Euna Lee’s arrest.

Reporters Without Borders

(click on the player on the right or the link below)

This video entry was inspired partly by that edition of This American Life that Ive so often referred to in the last month. Its also inspired by economist and professor David Beim who has pointed to the fact that in the US the amount of GDP is now equal to the amount of public debt. Last time that happenned, 1929. Moreover he calls into question something the mainstream media isn’t willing to do, our way of life.  This way of life that call for more borrowing, spending money you don’t have, and gambling with other people’s money.  Tough questions that would force people to look at both themselves and the larger system that we’ve been taught is the only way to live by.

So here’s the video, just a citizen reporter on the internets, looking at data and being critical.

Note: As mentioned in the vlog entry, I’ll be returning to Istanbul in April to work on more content relating to press freedom, alternative media, and other quality of life related topics.

The Banana Book, by Dan Koeppel, has arrived here at the politburo. The book that looks at the secrets and controversial history of the banana. How its farmed, how it finds its way to our kitchen, and more.

Also I mention another book I just picked up, and a little on the new camera I traded-up for, the very affordable Kodak Zi6.

I’m not embedding the player on this post, just use the player at the top right of the blog or click on the direct link icon.

Note: Full credit to the 25C3 video team who put out this video and I then chopped it up into this. Thanks my friends.

For your viewing pleasure, perhaps, I offer you video of my GMO soy talk at the 25C3. It is choc-full of jokes that no one laughs at, technical mishaps, and me waving my arms around like a madman.  You can see it on archive on their flashplayer or just scroll down on that site and click on the mp4.  I don’t want to direct link to the file or everyone’s portable player will have a very large file for downloading. If 45 minutes is too long for you, I will release an 8 minute highlight reel as a video entry this week.