Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
Last week Wikileaks was talked about in alot of media outlets, but not for exposing some crime or wrong doing, but because a judge ordered the site taken down.
In this vlog entry I talk about that story as well as what makes wikileaks special and other stories the site has helped expose.
I refer to a Guardian Article and a Christian Science Monitor article, both related to wikileaks.
One year ago this week I was in NOLA, heading down the Gulf Coast seeing how people were dealing with the damage and neglect of the Federal Flood. Here’s an excerpt from one of the posts on the subject of housing in New Orleans,
It was probably my second day in New Orleans and I decided to go visit the common ground legal clinic. I had heard they were providing free legal advice and a mini computer lab for local residents who want to get informed about their rights and perhaps how to manage property issues that have emerged after Katrina. After some nice emailing with one of the spokespeople… I figured going there would be an interesting experience.
As usual I drove around in circles, distracted every five minutes by another neighborhood of abandoned or destroyed houses. Eventually I found the legal clinic on a very lovely and typical new orleans street with the nice trees growing in the middle island that people seem to refer to as neutral territory. A large house with a dry cleaners on the ground floor, as I pulled up I could already see lots of people hanging out using their computers… I knew I had come to the right place.
Fast forward an hour or so, I’m sitting on the front porch sharing a little plastic table with a pretty young lady on her laptop, both of us typing away franticly.
At some point I strike up a conversation. She’s a law student from Seattle… as are many of the volunteers at the legal clinic. They come down in waves whenever they can, and right now it was spring break. When I asked her what tasks she was working on, she held up a stack of photocopied newspaper pages.
“You see these… they look like classified ads don’t they? These are printed in the big local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, everyday. Thing is, they’re not classified ads, they notices of properties that are considered abandoned, warning people that they will be evicted from their property if they don’t do something about it.”
I looked at the tiny print and the neverending list of properties, each one representing a life, or probably a family. Looking up at the young law student, I asked if this was legal?
Read the full text here. The struggle continues.
This week, as I continue to suffer under the oppression of Dutch internet providers and the demands of my new employment, I bring you a lost episode of this podcast. Recorded the first day of 2008, this is Emmanuel Goldstein of 2600, his radio work as well as 2600 have long been an inspiration and a huge influence on the kind of journalist that I strive to be. This is a brief conversation we recorded on a train platform at Alexanderplatz in Berlin.
Most importantly, we talk about The Last Hope, the big hacker meeting in NYC this July (no I wont be there)In addition we mention:
It was one year ago that I was making my way to New Orleans. From there I travelled along the Gulf Coast, visiting communities and good friends, many who’s lives had been dramatically effected by the Federal Flood and hurricane Katrina.
Jay wrote to me a few weeks ago to say that he was heading there, to give some seminars or talks on videoblogging. More recently he sent me a message talking about how great it was to be there, and the good news: a new NOLA videoblog has launched. Despite all the great voices, like Dambala, Morwen, and Ray, who write about the city’s issues on a regular basis, there has long been a lack of consitent video blogging on these topics. Now, Citizen’s City Hall looks like a great contender to fill that void.
-Nice job Jay, and welcome CCH!
I have a scar on my forehead.
The year was probably 1986 and a large object fell into my forehead.
Like any ironbound (newark) mother would, my mother carried me to the car and sped to St. James hospital for treatment.
I have a bellybutton. (an innie in fact)
The year was 1979 and my mother gave birth to me on a December afternoon.
Like so many ironbound children born of immigrant families from every corner of the planet, I came into the world in the maternity ward of St. James hospital. A hospital so dedicated to serving the multilingual community, it functioned in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
While our family grew older and settled in the suburbs outside the city, St. James never stopped being that place… whenever I would go down Jefferson St., that steadfast anchor that commanded the respect and appreciation of the community.
Last week, in the face of all the hard work of volunteers, hospital staff, and concerned citizens, the corporation that owns St. James -closed it down. Cost savings. Business decisions. We regret to inform you…
The collapse of the United States, as a nation made for and by the people continues, and one more working class community has one more giant scar to prove it.
Greetings from Paris. The following video entry was put together to direct more attention to the extremely important gathering a few weeks ago in the US called Winter Soldier. It was organized by the Iraq Veterans Against the War organization and the stories you will hear… the testimony.. well.. every citizen should have to listen and relisten whenever they start to think that war is ever an option or an answer.
Video excerpt is from democracynow and ivaw