If you’ve been alive for a few decades you’ve surely noticed how fast time passes and how things seem to change, sometimes even without us fully comprehending what has happened. Once a year, somewhere in Germany, several thousand enthusiastic individuals get together to consider those changes and look into what else is possible in the future. Beyond that, old and new friends get a chance to catch up, share knowledge, and maybe even get inspired.
This event, known as the Chaos Communication Congress, has brought me friends and acquaintences that I feel very fortunate to have and look forward to seeing year after year. Two such friends and fellow audiofiles, join me on today’s program to kickoff CTRP 2015 properly; by reporting from the congress and evaluating what this meeting is all about and how this thing connects to the big thing out there. Today on the program: Emmanuel and Kyle of 2600 Magazine, Off the Hook and Off the Wall.
Tag Archives: information
Infobescity and the Revolutionary Pregnancy of Tunisia
“There is an information war going on in Tunisia,” Adel explains to me one beautiful afternoon in a suburb of Tunis, “people are constantly consuming and waiting for that next message.” In an unexpected podcast conversation my new friend began right away talking about the good news and the bad news when it comes to changes in Tunisia over the past 2 years. He also talks about the importance, now especially, to be an activist-cyclist in this nation in transition. He guided us safely during our critical mass ride and in this conversation he guides us through how he lived the revolt of 2011.
Small Groups, Loud Actions
A suicide bomber attacks a vehicle traveling on the airport road in Kabul yesterday. 14 people are killed, people throughout the city are once again confronted with a major act of violence and destruction. Throughout the world millions read the headlines and chalk it up to another blow in the already (presumed) failed story of the new Afghanistan nations around the world have worked to help stabilize. Despite the fact that millions of Afghans went about their day, working, socializing, living life, it is the suicide bomber and the 14 victims that become the latest symbol for the nation.
Groups of angry protestors around the Middle East and North Africa (and beyond at this point) take to the streets and attack their local US embassies as an angry reaction to a poorly produced video clip that presumably insults their most important prophet and religion. In one case a group of militants in Libya take advantage of the chaos and attack; the now infamous story that ends with the murder of several people including the American ambassador. Throughout the world, especially in social media circles, people express their anger at the violence and the stupidity of the protestors for a long list of reasons. Further conclusions are drawn about what has happened in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, in places like Egypt and Tunisia where many now presume angry fundamentalists have new found power and will continue to carry out these types of acts and worse.
Again, millions upon millions of Libyans, Egyptians, Yemeni’s, Tunisians, etc did not take to the streets and attack innocent people and set fire to American buildings. But those people don’t make headlines, the bold criminals who take advantage of a situation and are led by blind rage, they’re the ones we base our judgements on. Like so many moments in the history of the world, even in the era of so much information and the possibility to hear from so many voices, small groups of people willing to take action (in this case for destructive, criminal means) are the ones who shape perceptions of reality.
This is not to say such groups aren’t dangerous. Or that recent events involving mass protests and violence aren’t significant. But it is to point out how, as always, be it 82 million Egyptians or 6.5 million Libyans, regular people in far away countries get painted with the broad brush, and we’re convinced the image we’re given must be the whole picture.
This World, That World
Watch my talk “Not Soy Fast: The Silent March of the multinational GM Soy industry” Tuesday at 12h45pm CET, 6h45 EST. Streaming from one of these links.
Inside we are several thousand, over the past 3 days, shuffling about the Berliner Congress Center. Some for the first time, some for the third time, and many for the 25th time. The voices are loud and plentiful, people waving a laptop in one hand, planting them in front of neighbors to show them something they’re working on. A whole line of guys in one corner all have those Madonna headsets, though none of them has said a word in the last 30 minutes.? The flying object guys connect their flying objects to various sockets, an occasional test to see how the take off would look or the propellers are spinning. They don’t notice the Italian hacker walking around in his flowing robe with a bottle of grappa and a stack of plastic cups for anyone who wants to partake.? He comes over to the group of people I am withContinue reading “This World, That World”
More Wikipedia Trouble
Longtime readers, listeners, and viewers of my humble communique may recall my fued with wikipedia. For those who don’t remember, use the search box; but basically I got banned from touching information on my own life and work, and then the entry about this blog and related activities was completely deleted. Course, then came the podcast with the editor from wikipedia where we officially learned that they do alot of picking and choosing about what IS important and what ISNT.
I decided it didn’t matter. I like wikipedia for some information, and I don’t like it for other things. I figured life would go on this way, but they’ve shown more signs of poor judgement. Read Tony Pierce’s experience; a man who has been blogging and blogging hard, forever. He’s had aventures, and all sorts of trials and tribulations, he has groupies, and all sorts of run-ins with trouble, but somehow wikipedia decided he’s no good and they’ve banned him too, I think. (update: madge weinstein is on their target list as well!?!)
I went back to look at what happens when you use my name as BM or simply my fullname, and what comes up. It seems, apart from having been part of Bandits of the Acoustic Revolution, more of my past projects have been deleted, including the big entry that was up for over 3 years about One Cool Guy, a once beloved third wave ska band from New Jersey.
This bothers me not only because it is about me, though I will confess to being too nascisitic with this stuff.. but hell.. I am a blogger. But what really bothers me is being erased. I can’t remember half the stories that were compiled in those entries, and with my birthday coming up on Sunday, I’m sure to forget lots of the small details that are so fun and interesting to have recorded and reported on the internet. I can imagine others will suffer the same fate, because this hugely popular and highly useful site is so plagued with counterproductive rules and incompetant editors.
What do to? Many will say — dont use it! And I like the idea, but Ill still use it.. its much too handy for some things.
I am interested in an alternative. So i googled… alternative to wikipedia. And what do you know… I present to you.. Citizendium! Odd title. yes. And yes.. it isn’t quite ready. But it has some important differences, I think. Actually I still don’t know what to think. But Im ready to sign up to participate in the pilot project. In their founding text it states:
we want to create a responsible community and a good global citizen.
Sounds like my kind of project.