bicyclemark

bm118 Nepal: Life, Liberty, and the whims of the King.

Lodged between India and China who perhaps steal the spotlight, Nepal continues to suffer as the King tries to keep a tight grip on citizen rights. Meanwhile Maoist Rebels and Government troops clash in a struggle for power. In between these two forces, you will find the Nepalese people growing increasingly impatient with the behavior of both sides and calling for a return to the democracy they once knew. Dinesh Wagle of United We Blog! For a democratic Nepal is my special guest to talk about these themes and much more.

AudioCommunique #118 (mp3)

Reporters Without Borders on Nepal

Music:

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros- Can Anyone
Rasham Firiri – (I think the song is called Srangi, but Im not sure)
Ani Difranco – Everest

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

Getting set to talk Nepal

This evening I’m preparing for a podcast covering the current state of Nepal, with the help of an excellent Nepalese blogger. It’s not often you’ll find information about the struggle taking place in that country on the cover of the NYtimes or on the latest post from your favorite A-list bloggers. Yet the fate of a nation and its 27.6 million people hang in the balance, and there is a whole other part of the blogosphere that is paying attention.

I’m going to wake up at 5 in the morning, which is something I haven’t done.. well.. in years, to get a chance to speak with one of the people behind “United We Blog! for a democratic Nepal.” While reading lots of posts from that blog, I’ve also been consulting the blog of an expat in New York City – Democracy for Nepal, who I should probably also consult for a followup and another point of view, later on.

As I browse all these blogs, I keep coming across the google ad, in Dutch, about taking a trip to Mount Everest. Which got me thinking: so many westerners admire and pursue the idea of climbing everest, yet how many give a shit for what happens in the country where the mountain is located? The challenge of climbing a mountain=cool. The challenge of encouraging human rights and quality of life=not a priority.

Or perhaps I’m wrong. Maybe all the Everest tourists have a deep concern for Nepal. Maybe they write their representatives and urge them to get informed and involved at some level. Maybe they donate to organizations that work in Nepal to enhance life and basic rights.

Tomorrow I shall perhaps learn the answer to some of this and much more. Any questions you’d like me to ask, write them in the comments Radio Open Source style.

bmtv4 Constant Gardener

Please let me know if you subscribers don’t like finding my vlogs in the same feed as podcasts etc. I realize my vlogs aren’t really educational or relating to important issues, but hey, I have fun making them. This one features entirely too many visuals of my face doing pointless things in the garden.

Music:
My intro is Mingus playing Haitian Fight Song
The main song for this vlog is Joanna Newsome singing Cassiopeia

Watch the Video

bm117 Pursuing Global Peace by Developing Bigger Bombs

During a recent press conference when asked why he wanted to go to war so badly, GW Bush told Helen Thomas that no president wants war. Yet this president, like many before him, encourages the development of new nuclear weapons and conventional weapons that can cause more destruction. Today the military announced new tests in Nevada, of a conventional bomb more powerful than any before it. What message do such developments send to the world, regarding the longterm goals of the nation? How does it effect the growing conflict between the US and Iran?

AudioCommunique #117 (mp3)

Lots of audio from Operation Ivy, the US military experiments developing the H-Bomb.
Guardian Article on the Nevada Tests
Normon Solomon, in 2001
The Downwinders
Senator Harry Reid’s Campaign Contributions

Music –

We Are Scientists – Bomb within a Bomb
Operation Ivy – Bombshell
Streetlight Manifesto – Here’s to Life
Steve Earl – Rich Man’s War
The Stars – Soft Revolution
etc etc

Inconsistent Gardener

For we of the four day work week, the weekend has arrived. Which is good cause its 2am and I’m exhausted from my various jobs as well as podcasting til 3am last night. However, tomorrow will be time to take on the garden, as recently nature freed up some space and now I have room to plant and sun.

But before I go off to dreamland I wanted to talk about my new hero of videoblogging. Obviously I have lots of vlog idols, they’re all in my blogroll, as you can see with your own pretty eyes. However, I was watching some French vlog last week and the dude mentioned vinvin’s Bonjour America. I thought, that sounds fun, let’s go see…

What I discovered is my new favorite vlog. It is hilarious and fun, two things I usually don’t get enough of amidst my concern for the state of the world. VinVin explains all things French to the world, especially to Americans. But it’s the style he does it with, it has me spitting up my cereal every morning as I go through the new vlogs. Specifically I refer you to his episode where he makes a Big Poll of French People regarding the US, and then his epic French Cheese Project where he puts Blair Witch to shame.

VinVin, I salute you! Readers and new video blog watchers — Subscribe to Bonjour America!

bm116 Exxon Valdez, The Disaster after the Disaster

It was more than a decade ago, March 24th 1989, when Exxon’s oil spilled into the Prince William Sound. Everyone remembers the images of the dead sealions and otters being picked out of the toxic sludge and thrown into the fire. But who remembers the fallout, as the community imploded and their industry choked to death along with the ecosystem. And what of the verdicts in the trials that followed, against Exxon who has since added a dash Mobile and boasts record setting profits year after year. Join me and exceprts from the well produced Sierra Club TV video blog, to examine and relive the Exxon-Valdez.

AudioCommunique #116 (mp3)

Music–

Ill list it when I wake.