bmtv58 Burma!

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BURMA! Who needs history when the mainstream media presents BURMA! to us. This is a vlog commentary on Burma with some factoids. Also testing my new camera… and apparently the battery was dying or I pushed the wrong something as you might see the sound getting out of sync.

Marching Band Culture

Now it may not qualify as a global concern or even under reported news, but a big part of my youth revolved around music. As a French Horn player since the age of 10, throughout high school I was a very active member of the marching band. It was a very important part of my adolescent development, a place and a group of people that made high school – a very traumatic experience – more pleasant.

If you had similar experiences or are simply curious of what is actually a very complex, multi-layered world, I highly suggest the latest edition of On Point that looks at Marching Bands in the US, their function and their great rise over the past decades.

If you’re not interested at all, tomorrow we can get back to Burma, Chavez, Trade Agreements, and all our usual favorite issues.

Short Memory of the Net

Much like society, there are alot of problems with the internet and how it functions. Especially in terms of how people use the internet, what becomes popular, and what is commonly done or not done. Today I’m thinking about history, personal histories, and how they are recorded, archived, and passed on.

Over the summer I’m standing in a shop with my mother, in the small city of Caldas da Rainha, when the clerk behind the counter looks up at my mom. “You don’t remember me do you? Secondary school? We were in the same class… I know I look very different, but I recognize you!” What followed was the usual trip down memory lane, some names forgotten, some friends remembered. Then the clerk excitedly reports: “You know there’s a blog! Yes… one of those sites.. where we’ve posted old photos (circa 1960’s) and we’re trying to get people to explain the photos; who is who, where we are, and when it was taken.” My mom looked at me with that “did you hear that?” look.

That night we went to the alleged blog, and sure enough, a bunch of blog posts with black and white photos. And indeed.. a few scattered comments with people posting names and writing things like “oh my god I can’t believe you have this photo, I recognize her but who is that behind us.” Naturally mom got to work naming names and frequently shouting to me about how cool it was to see photos of her friends from almost 40 years ago.

What a simple yet vital use of the internet. To gather information, record and piece together our histories. Trying to get the people, places, and dates organized so that they won’t be forgotten.. but instead.. passed on. Also in hopes of reconnecting people who cared so much for each other. Not to mention remembering how things were then.. and how or why life had changed.

Recently I noticed Todd’s lost and found photos project. Not exactly the same thing, but the spirit remains the same. Using photos, piecing together stories, seeking to understand histories… personal histories.

What the internet needs, is less minutia.. less energy talking about nothing or trying to sell one another something, and more recording of history. More reporting about the present, the past, and sure some reflection on the future. Your family history, your classmates from 6th grade, your first job.. all these moments in your life had an influence on who you are… they deserve to be remembered.. and this could be the place to help us remember.

bm226 Dishwasher Pete on Work and Workers

In his quest to wash dishes in all 50 states, Pete Jordan was seeking freedom, adventure, free food and whatever peaked his interest. Many of his objectives have to do with the very human desire to find some form of freedom within a structured work place. In this podcast we talk about his experience with work, labor unions, different cultures, and more.

Pete’s website
His Book: Dishwasher

We discuss:

– Pete’s early thoughts on working
– Responsibility, avoiding it
– Freedom to think and quit
– Labor Unions for Dishwashers
– Decline of Labor or the Return of Labor?
– Cultural Differences in the workplace, Netherlands vs US

Highway Through Poland

With all the problems related to automobile exhaust and the destruction of wetlands throughout the world, I didn’t expect to hear that an EU nation was pushing to build a new highway through wetlands in order to connect to neighboring countries. But that is what has been going on in Poland.

It is not a new story, but it is an unresolved issue that seemingly doesn’t make the radar of most European media. Or if it does, it is summarized in brief in a tiny little column.

In the latest reports I’ve found at this moment, construction of the highway has been haulted because of pressure from the EU. But the fact that the Polish government wanted (and still wants to) execute such a project despite all that we’ve learned in the last decades about how important natural preserves and wetlands are. Somehow having a highway from Poland to Finland is more important that maintaining an ecosystem when so many have already been destroyed.

This might call for a conversation with the great blogger and journalist in Poland, Mr. the Beatroot. I’m especially interested in just how these plans can be reversed and the opinions of Polish people and other follow citizens on this continent. Building a highway.. how 20th century. Build a high speed rail line, or better yet.. a maglev train… whatever you do, plan for the future with what we’ve learned from the past.

Indonesian Approach to AntiTerrorism

As I chose my fruit and vegetables at the street market this afternoon, I was listening to Australia’s Radio National podcast – Background Briefing. I’m a longtime listener of BB, and every now and then they cover a topic that makes me stop what I’m doing, rewind, and listen again to every detail.

Today’s topic was one of those, focusing on Indonesia’s tactics to prevent acts of terrorism. According to the report, which includes a very eye opening interview with the nation’s anti-terrorism director, Indonesian police make it a priority to treat suspects with respect and not break laws in the name of obtaining information. Meaning no torture. No secret prisons. Due process for all suspects.

There must be American military and CIA listening and thinking it is either a lie or the worst tactic ever, since it is basically the opposite of theirs.

At some point in the program they go into detail about how police make sure that convicted terrorists are visited by their families. They talk to children and spouses, and provide money for the family to live on or pay tuition for children to stay in school. During the broadcast you hear from convicts who actually cooperate with the police to tell them about tactics. You hear how some of them have changed their minds about means of fighting for what they believe in, especially when it comes to taking the lives of innocent people.

My summary, is of course, not enough to understand what is discussed in the program. You really must hear it in it’s entirety. I’m sure critics will denounce it as lies. But even if its only 50% true… it is still a very impressive outlook on how to treat the issue of terrorism, and one that I think the world could learn alot from.