Citizen Reporter

bm121 The Clash between business and alternative news values

Back in 2001 I was working at the Voice, and even then the writing was on the wall: business was booming, and the new media empire would keep growing, and the old values of alternativeness were slowly being discarded, along with the journalists who believed in them.

AudioCommunique #121 (mp3)

Also:
Some audio courtesy of Democracy Now from April 13th.
Voice from Beyond the Grave Article
And then this article from the SF Bay guardian
Music:
Final Fantasy – The Day the Audience Died (something like that)
Clash – Complete Control
Immortal Technique – Dance With the Devil
K’naan – Voices in My Head

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

Little Announcement

Actually I can’t say anything just yet. So instead, I present to you a sketch of the future, provided all goes well.

To help a little with funding for my little project, in the left column you can find a tip jar. Anyone who tips gets a guided tour when they’re in Amsterdam. What a bah-gin!

Nuclear Irony

I burst into the amsterdam vlogger meetup this evening and my opening statement was as follows:

If you don’t want other nations to get nuclear weapons, try not developing them in the first place.

I listened to radio open source on the way from the oud west to de balie, and they were talking about what if Iran gets nuclear weapons. And then the bigshots give their little shpeal about what might happen and what might not. They bring plenty of points, some are even good, but I can’t stop having the same thoughts over and over:

Why does the United States or the European government get to decide who can and can’t have nuclear technology or weapons? I mean, I hate both and think both have brought more harm then good to the world. But put aside my idealistic evaluations — we live in a world where nuclear weapons exist. Yet somehow a few nations try to decide who can and can not have these weapons that can basically lead to the destruction of the earth. Somehow they are more responsible and are more qualified to determine right and wrong, good and evil, and responsible and irresponsible.

It just keeps repeating in my head — these weapons shouldnt exist to begin with, but they do. And who the hell can point the finger and say Iran is not allowed, while Pakistan, India, China, UK, Russia, North Korea, France, hell.. even Brazil has enriched uranium. Its the old double standard of international relations. Hypocracy through and through.

Expats and the elusive Doctors

Check out my doctor’s office! Not Impressed? It’s part of the former hospital that was squatted decades ago. Still not impressed? Well I am.

See I realize many of my readers have lived or do live abroad. Others of you have never lived abroad but you’ve pondered it in your head. Whatever the case, one of the issues that comes up with being an expat is, of course, medical care.

Now right away you start with a strike against you. No matter what work permit or European Union agreement you might have going for you, very often you simply don’t quite get into the system like a regular citizen. Maybe you haven’t filled out the right forms. Maybe you can’t read the right forms to begin with. Medical words are scarey, even in your native tongue, nevermind Dutch. – All this to tell you that despite my almost four years in the Netherlands, I’ve never had a proper doctor.

Until last week.

Using my best friend, the internet, I located my local health centre and noted what documents were necessary. I mentally prepared for any questions they would ask me, cause one of my long running phobias is that I won’t understand and then instead of switching to english, Ill stubbornly pretend I understand, and end up agreeing to an enema or a spinal tap or something.

Since you may be wondering, what’s the big deal – why wait so long to get an MD bm? It’s hard to explain. Mostly it’s this feeling that comes back whenever I have to handle something official, that I’m doing something wrong or committing some crime.

Back to the story–
I walked into the super cool doctors office located in my favorite legalized squat-hospital, and the cutest girl wearing a head scarf greeted me with a smile. After enjoying practicing the pronounciation of my name for a minute, she put me in the computer and voila – I had a doctor and even an appointment to boot. It took four years, but I was going to speak with my very own doctor.

Or so I thought….
(to be continued… insert cliffhanger music and that voiceover guy from Dukes of Hazard)

Oh look.. a blog from South Africa.. or the Netherlands.. or something.

bm120 The Intricacies of Whitehouse Plumbing with John Aravosis

While experiencing one of the most dramatic falls from grace since his fathers unpopular post-gulf war presidency-gone-limp, GW Bush and his footsoldiers are now trying to create another war. John Aravosis of Americablog.com, joins me to discuss white house leakage and the plight the United States both in terms of Iran or anywhere in the world.

AudioCommunique #120 (mp3)

Also:
Politics TV
The Hersh Article about Bush and Iran

Music:
Calexico – Frontera Trigger (Live)
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah – Details of the War

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podcast made possible by you the listener and also Springheeljack.net

Village Voice Lost Forever?

I can barely watch the carnage. The last few years have been bad enough. But now I cover my eyes everytime new articles pop into my Village Voice feed – THEY HAVE DESTROYED AMERICA’S LEGENDARY ALTERNATIVE WEEKLY. DESTROYED IT.

Let’s put aside who “they” are for just a moment.

Long ago, in the year that made the entire US go terrorism crrrrazy, I worked as a lowly researcher at that beautiful news weekly… (flashback music please..)

… oh what a time it was. Making that long commute from Paterson, NJ to Cooper Sq., as soon as you set food in the door of that familiar little building with the VOICE flag hanging over it — it was like stepping into a movie. – for me anyway. Every little cubicle or corner office featured some writer that I had read throughout my teen years, they were newsweekly stars to me. I’d constantly walk by Nat Hentoff’s office, hoping that one of those rare occasions would arise when his door would be open and there he’d be sitting amongst the stacks of carefully aged-yellow newspaper. I’d walk by Cynthia Cott’s cubicle and eaves drop on what assumed were important phonecalls for her column. I’d peak over various cubicles wondering what the hell Michael Musto looked like. And last, but not least, I would steal glances at the cute girl who wrote about all things cool in the NYC music scene. Although the earbuds were permanently affixed to her ears, I’d say hello every morning anyway. She rarely said peep to me, talk about attractive.

Enough of my flashback. The dream is gone. I actually did notice it then, but I tried to ingore it because it was such a romantic experience in my mind. The crusading newspaper I so admired was becoming an empire. It was so dam profitable, media moguls wanted to own it and sell it and buy up other weeklies. The Village Voice was an alternative media empire, it was an oxymoron to me… had to be a mirage or some mistake.

But oh no, tis true. The bubble officially bursted for me when Richard Goldstein and Cynthia Cotts were forced out, just to mention a few. I don’t even know the full story about how the journalistic legend Syndey Schanberg left the paper. But for me, all hell has officially broken loose because they fired James Ridgeway. JAMES RIDGEWAY. I still have to repeat it to myself cause it doesn’t add up – the Village Voice fired James Ridgeway. ?? Oh yeah and they cancelled the blog entitled “the Bush beat”, which fits well with the whole goodbye-critical-journalism theme.

Well thats it. Unless I hear some great explanation from those corporate whores that call themselves management, I’m declaring the Village Voice a dead newspaper. DEAD!
Yes Hentoff is still there. Many of the reporters writing for them still have my respect, including the great journalist and friend who brought me into that world. But I’m sorry, I’m pulling my support. Hell, if this keeps up, maybe I should take it off my CV; I’ve gone from proud to ashamed.

And so I bid thee farewell America’s Largest Weekly. Goodbye to no-holds barred criticism and investigative reporting. So long tradition of Norman Mailer, Jack Newfield and Allen Ginsberg. From here on in, it’s plenty of yuppy hipster trendy artsy fluff journalism, thats what sells ads and attracts the NYC kids.