bmtv17 The Cemetery in my Father’s Town

Being as I’m in rainy Paris all weekend and I’d like to spend some time outside or at least in some café somewhere without my laptop. I’ve pre-prepared a vlog which is actually from my time in Portugal only a few weeks ago. This one is low on explanation, but basically whenever I meet my parents in Portugal, we go to the cemetery to visit my grandparents (father’s side). The interesting is always going from grave to grave with my father, and him telling each person’s story and where they immigrated to and how he remembers them from when he was a child.

If you’ve never been to a Portuguese cemetery, I think they are amazing. Hence the Antony and the Johnson’s song which seemed fitting.

Watch the Video

Il Pleut Chats et Chiens

I rode the Thalys train from Amsterdam to PAris today… WITH a bottle of WATER.

Nobody cared.

Know why?

Cause it’s water.

———-


Seriously friends, greetings from the city of lights. I’m here all weekend visiting the John of the Americablog. I should also mention I’m not his only visitor this weekend as a podcasting-blogging-software developer by the name of Kyle is sitting just across from me.

As I rode the train over, I was loving the magic of high speed european train travel. So smooth. So quiet. Warm yet not too warm. Quiet yet not too quiet. And best of all: no one cares to see your ID nor do they give you a second look for carrying liquids. Or should we call them, tools for potential terror attacks!

As you know from reading this blog, I have little regard for high security. I scoff at metal detectors, manuel searches, and pre-travel interview screening. I’m the guy you shake your fist at and proclaim “if we did it your way, the terrorists would destroy the world.”

All that aside. I recommend people stop getting on planes if they can avoid it. See what the other options are. Check if there’s a train, bus, or even a boat. It could be a wonderful relief from all the ignorant paranoid stupidty taking place at airports and on planes these days. Plus you can bring your gels, creams, foams, and water liquid compounds you want. Live FREE, Don’t Fly!

Law & Order in the Whitehouse – Criminal Intent

The discussion surrounding what or who has caused the United States to head in the direction it is going, is neverending and often yields little agreement. Someone always starts by saying W. Bush is the problem and once he’s replaced with a democrat things will improve. Others argue that it isn’t one person, but in fact a whole group of people running the country, who’s values and worldviews are steering it in such a way. Then of course there are those who say its the regular people who actually like what is going on and applaud all the government’s decisions over the past 6 years.

Those are only a few of the arguements I most frequently hear in the comments of this blog and elsewhere. And while I sometimes feel there is an excessive focus on Bush and his cronies, when I read about some of the administration’s actions and attempts at changing national and international law, it becomes very clear that no matter who’s fault it is, the current government in the whitehouse stands head and shoulders above any previous administration when it comes to criminal intent and attempting to ignore or abuse law.

The latest action that prompts this post was last week’s revealing that the Bush administration is trying to amend the war crimes act in order to “prevent prosecutions of US personnel for humiliating and degrading treatment of detainees in the war on terror. “ A familiar theme from the past years, the idea that US military and other secret personel who are involved in torture, they should be given a free pass and a garuntee that they will never be held accountable for having committed what is a crime according to the war crimes act of the US, not to mention international law.

I’m sure it sounds like old news. No big deal, some will say. Amazing how if they just keep doing it, changing laws or kidnapping and torturing will both become common practices that cause every newsreader in America to yawn and turn the page.

Just in case you’re somehow still unconvinced that the government and the military should have the protected right to not be subject to the war crimes act, maybe you’d like to read the Amnesty Report.

And whatever you believe to be the cause of the terrible state of affairs in the US, surely the current squatters in the white house have some significant role in it all.

bm148 General Motors and the Death of Public Transport

Around the 1930s, General Motors decided, together with other major corporations related to the auto industry, to form front companies which would buy up urban train and trolley lines in the United States (and attempted some Canada). From there trolleys were gradually killed off and disappeared. But who is responsible really?

Some Links:

The Trial: United States vs. National City Lines
Testimony from Bradford Snell
Criticism of the theory that General Motors was responsible
Some propaganda photos from that period

 

Dr. B On the Move

A little over 2 years ago… I send an email to a then little known but highly contreversial blogger by the name BitchPhD. At the time I was compelled by her stories and opinions which included family stories as well as commentary on current events with a particular focus on feminism and reproductive rights. I emailed Dr.B to say hello and also to help with a technical issue since I was, at that time, a masters student with plenty of time on my hands here in Amsterdam.
From there I remember Dr. B responding in a very positive way and from there we exchanged lots of emails and frequently caught up with each other via IM. Yet another one of these instant friendships that I’m sure many of us have experienced since the dawn of blogging.

I mention this because I hadn’t thought about it in awhile until I was riding through Portugal reading my favorite newspaper – O Público. Their magazine pullout section had a special article on feminism and blogging. Many of the blogs were in Portuguese, which of course didn’t surprise me. But to my surprise, right there on the first page of the article in big letters, a link and a description of BitchPhD’s blog. Instant smile on my face to see the good doctor getting recognized, even in Portugal.

So of course yesterday I emailed her to let her know and catch up a bit. She was happy to hear the news and I passed along the bibliographic info. We talked a bit of her upcoming adventures that I had read about on the blog. That brought back memories of when we first became friends long ago when her blog and my blog were still young. Speaking of age, here’s one of my most favorite of her posts from this summer, entitled: 40 is the New Fuck You .

Citizen Journalists Are Targets

I’m a citizen journalist.

Why?

Because I said so. It’s just about that easy.

That and… I always carry either a recorder or a camera on me for the express purpose of capturing events that unfold around me that I feel need reporting and I am comitted to doing that reporting myself. Sometime ago, about the time I started this blog, whether I even knew it or not, I stepped into a new role for the average joe. I went from guy with lots of opinions and who reads too many newspapers, to citizen journalist.
Clearly some days are more citizen reporter whereas other days are simply me giving my opinions or personal analysis on topics of my choice. Regardless of what I choose to do on a given day, I’m disseminating information on a mass scale. To you sitting in your office after a great vacation, or you sitting home thinking about how you don’t want to get another job and you’re going to enjoy this time off.

I’m stating what might be the obvious because the concept of citizen journalist is often abused, overlooked, ignored, or simply unkown to many people out there. They still see the big, well funded, household name media outlets as the official reference points for information and those are the only people who get the sacred title of “journalist”.

Those days are obviously on the way out. But there’ still much to be done.

Take the current situation with Josh who videoblogged the events that unfolded at a San Fran g8 demonstration earlier this year. I’ve taken some time to finally mention this because I’ve been so stunned and disappointed at how badly things have gone for him.

Briefly, the police discovered that Josh had videoblogged the demonstration and the clashes between police and protesters, they believed he had unpublished material containing evidence about who hit who. They demanded he hand it over. He refused citing the same rules that protect journalists from revealing sources or handing over material to authorities. As a videoblogger, he is, after all, a citizen journalist. But of course, a courtroom is the last place to expect modern thinking or knowledge of any concept like that. And even worse is the the federal government that is somehow persuing this case and rejects the idea that he is a journalist and deserves such protection.

That’s only a quick summary.. for more you can listen to the recent ON THE MEDIA which covers it well. Also there’s Josh’s blog which now seems to be run by his mom as he is now in jail. (yes.. its come to that point)

I’m watching this case and I’m horrified and glad to not be in the United States as an active citizen journalist. Actually the question comes to mind, could such a thing happen to me here in the Netherlands? I shamefully have no idea, my only strategy to this point is to stay the hell away from cops and give them as little information about my self as possible.

Dark days for the citizen reporter. But evil do-ers and governments beware… we’re out there.. we’re everywhere.. and when all is said and done, there are more of us then there are of you. I think.

Thanks Ryanne for reminding me that this issue needs to be blogged about.