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Poor Insurance Companies

Seems like with every year that goes buy, there are more and more things you can buy insurance for. Travelling, living, playing, borrowing… hell the city of New York is even hoping someday soon you’ll have to buy insurance just to record video of it.

On the other hand, whenever there comes a time when people look to their insurance companies, which they’ve been paying for years without ever receiving a dime, the companies work hard at finding a way not to pay. You probably saw that scene in Sicko, where it is right there in black and white, Nixon’s advisor explaining how medical insurance and HMO’s will work, make money by providing as little as possible. It has always been a big part of the insurance business, but it seems like now its the only part of the insurance business…. collect money and do everything in your power NEVER to pay out to a client.

So recently we see the appeal in New Orleans, where the judge has ruled against the citizens who have lost their livelihoods; their homes. They were insured in case of the dangers that come with owning a home in New Orleans. However the insurance companies, panicking at the idea that they will actually have to pay out a huge sum of money from the even larger sum of money they’ve collected over the years…. they have fought tooth and nail in order to stop their customers from being allowed to collect the insurance they thought they had.

I heard a few news reports that talked of the difficult position insurance companies are in. They’d risk huge loses by having to pay for the flood damage caused by hurricane katrina. Once again I repeat in slightly different words: they’d risk huge financial loses by actually providing insurance payments to their paying customers. For them its more honorable and necessary to find a loophole… its not their fault bad things happen, they’re only the insurance company, working hard to hang on to their record profits.

Greetings from CCC – Nerd Camp

It is quite a site. Could there possibly be any gathering in the world that looks like this place? Glorious lighting that I watched until the sun started to come up, tents and caravans everywhere. Bunkers and hangars, from military installations to centers for hacktivism and fun. While many of us may be lacking sleep for most of these next few days, at the very least we won’t miss many moments of what is such an enjoyable and unforgettable creation.

bmtv53 Amsterdam Pride 2007

The following is just a brief vlog entry as I cruised the canals of Amsterdam with good friends during Pride 2007 over the weekend. I was joined by Amy Joy and JaG among others. It was a lovely day and a great celebration, but my hope is that people don’t forget amidst all the celebrating, that equal rights have not yet been achieved in so many countries throughout the world, and that even in Amsterdam the LGBT community has recently been the subject of ongoing attacks and harassment, which must be stopped.

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Yearly Whatever

Lots of things happening in my professional life as well as the social life, as it seems all my good friends in Amsterdam are inviting me places lately. And behind all this, preparations have to be made for my upcoming talk at the Chaos Communications Camp which begins this week. I’m taking my talk extremely seriously this time, as I’m going not to represent myself, but rather to talk about the important work of New Orleans bloggers and grassroots net activists.

As I prepare this I notice lots… no.. excessive blog posting throughout the internet about a conference held by a dominant mainstream American blogger. It sounds like a lovely time, yet at the same time.. yet another conference to talk about how revolutionary they the bloggers are. The truth is, as an offshoot of one of the two corporatist political parties of the US, they are anything BUT revolutionary. More like the voluntary pawns of a political game that gradually moved online, yet the talking points remain the same.

This is what I was thinking about, along with all the other endless distractions and talk about nothing on places like facebook or twitter, as I listened to the latest Amsterdam Forum from radio Netherlands. The focus of the podcast was what the internet has done or not done for society, art, and information. Many of the participants spoke at length of the amount of useless conversation and endless new websites for alleged community building that are popping up all over on the internet. They also talk about book publishing and what will happen to that industry, and of course – the media – as one man goes on and on about the important of gatekeepers… which of course, I don’t agree with. (read the text)

What I like best about the program is that it brings up a very important fact — there’s alot going on with the internet today… but much of it isn’t FOR any particular reason. And why should it be? In my opinion, because there are many more important things that the people of the world are in desperate need of that we might be able to help with if we’d only stop using all the power and innovation for such shallow objectives.

In many ways.. just writing this post adds to the pile.

Join us in Heidelberg

Some of you may recall last year’s conference in Milan, this year vlog Europe is coming a little earlier and a little closer to Amsterdam.

Heidelberg, Germany is the location, September 1st and 2nd are the dates. If you are a vlogger or someone who watches vlogs or at all interested in the practice and art of making videos for the internet, you should definitely join us.

Visit the site, add yourself to the wiki, it is less than a month away and these meetings are an exception in the world of conferences and the internet. why? Because at vlog europe we have a tradition of cutting out the bullshit, being ourselves, and maybe even learning new things. Its not about youtube, it’s about vlogging!

Owning the Media

On the flight back from Lisbon, I listened closely to another excellent On Point program. This one focused on media mogul Rupert Murdoch, his bid to buy the Wall Street Journal, and more importantly: his power to influence his media.

Years ago while writing my MA thesis, I remember collecting Murdoch quotes about his opinion on influencing his newspapers. My least favorite was something to the effect of: He wants to take a sledge hammer and destroy the wall between the marketing department and the news room. That in itself told the whole story of what kind of person this is and how much he values a free and independent press.

During the On Point program you hear from journalists who say they won’t tolerate him taking over the paper. Both because of the times where he has been hands on, and because of the type of media he also owns such as Fox News, The Daily Standard and other tabloid /info-tainment/ conservative newspapers. (myspace!) You also hear of examples where he doesn’t get involved or interfere in the work of media professionals at his own companies. The contrasting habits of a man that owns such a huge chunk of the global media.

Which ever style of owner he behaves as once he takes over the Journal, this is still another nail in the coffin of mainstream press. Because business is business and somewhere somehow it was decided that media was just another business and therefore can be bought and sold and picked apart or bullied by its owners and shareholders. On the one hand, another sad day for journalism, on the other hand, yet another reason why the work of independent and alternative journalists, especially on the internet, is VITAL.