Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
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There are lots of reports regarding the problems with computer voting in the US. But Europe has its own problems as governments buy into these systems and ignore the dangers involved. Rop has spent much of his career working with computer related projects, but these voting computers are one thing he is funamentally against…
“We don’t trust votingcomputers dot nl”
Article about Dutch made machines in Ireland
In the conclusion of my last podcast, I threw out the cynical question if there had been a successful boycott since the Montgomery Bus boycott.. 50 years ago. As various listeners and Max and Stacey from Karmbanque pointed out, there have – of course – been many successful boycotts since then. In this program I look briefly at select boycotts from the past decades and consider who initiated them, what were their goals, and how successful they were.
Common Dreams Article on Boycotting
The Nation Article on Coke and Nike boycotts
United Farm Workers
Taco Bell boycott carried out my students and migrant workers
Nestle Boycott
To call it a soda company would be an understatement. There is no corner of the world where the name isn’t known, and in the last decade, communities in places like Kerela, India, have shed new light on the business practices of the cocacola company. They site cases of human rights violations and environmental terrorism. Cocacola, meanwhile, says its quite the opposite.. so who’s opinion do the facts support?
Background Briefing from Australian Public Radio, Episode on Water in India
Common Dreams Article on Dasani Water
CorpWatch on CokeIndia, Uzbekistan
It would be interesting to know how many of the super-crazy-soccer fans watching at home or there in the stadiums, are the same people who vote for politicians and policies that close the doors to immigrants and make the process of immigration excessively difficult. So many wealthy nations have policies that seem to say — you’re welcome here as long as you can score goals or entertain us.. otherwise, too bad.
Mixed in you’ll hear audio from Karmabanque
as well as FreeSpeechRadioNews (circa 2003)
and Peter, who was with me in the Leipzig segment, can be found (in German) at Blogwinkel.
(fixed because I am an idiot and it is 200 degrees centiheit in here. )
This apartment is like a furnace. My first impressions of being in Berlin will always be how dam hot it is. By second impression will be that of Alexanderplatz, as good friends from the Chaos Computer Club berlin took me to see some “Leftover shit from the East Berlin Days”. It was a fascinating walk just as it’s a fascinating city, especially with the very insane world cup being in full swing. As inept France stumbled to another tie, this podcast was recorded, focusing on just where we are in terms of uniting the east and west Berlin of old.
The semester is over, yet the fishtank spilleth over at work these days. A neverending wave of American and international students are here to participate in the plethora of summer programs that are offerred. The groups I notice most of all are the American ones.. boston university, nyu, minnesota… you can’t miss them as their discussions are at a volume louder than everyone else’s, at least according to my ears.
As I tried to get through this final day of work before the Berlin, I took extra notice of their conversations. Each table in the cantina was filled with a different group, who apparently were working on projects related to a class on conflict resolution. The terms kept repeating from table to table.. over and over, “peacekeepers”, “training”, “democracy”, “free elections”, “war crimes”… it was like being in a room full of future Bush speech writers.
Of course they’re much better than that, but after awhile the topics began to annoy me. Each person trying to outdo the other with bigger words and mentioning as many acronyms as possible. They spoke about democracy like a group of doctors collectively dispensing medicine that will heal the world. On and on and on… democracy democracy democracy. The cynic in me wanted to ask if when they were finished, they could find the first world some salvation from the terrible so-called democracies we’re locked into.
But why nag them for wanting to save the world, that at least is a noble wish that even I can support. The truely disturbing part about listening to the great minds of some of the countries top universities, is their obsession with themselves. The deliberate practice of trying to shmooze other professors while one-upping their classmates. I guess it’s practice for the future, when they intend to get into important jobs that could potentially help the world… and then proceed to focus on making themselves real famous and important.
In other news, Trinidad & Tobago deserved to win.