February Feedbag

It has been awhile since I last gave some credit to the great and dedicated comment leavers on this weblog. And naturally there are plenty of gems that I’m going to repost here and share will all of you… specially since I’m exhausted from 3 days of non-stop guiding 30 or so American exchange students through their first few days in Amsterdam. Oh the questions…. the neverending questions… I forget what a confusing place Amsterdam could be to some. Anyway, here come the comment highlights:

Ectropy on the Democrats present at the State of the Union address:

Yeah like they should’ve worn a t-shirt that says “2245 Dead. How many more?” Under their suits and then opened their jackets when they got into the speech. Oh wait, they would’ve been arrested. What a coincidence that the police dropped charges. Guess Bushie got his wish of having Sheehan out of the SOTU.

Aaron W, on the Saddam trial:

About Saddam, International courts are just a glorified conduit for victors justice. There are plenty of people who deserve to be taken to court for committing the same types of crimes as those Saddam is no doubt guilty of.
I’m a big fan of Romanian style “overthrow the dictator, drag him out of the palace to a waiting ‘court’, where you can instantly sentance and execute him.” It is impossible to fairly judge a head of state through any type of “process”, if you are going to have a puppet court you might as well make it quick and efficient and get on with it.

LeMarie on the electoral success of Hamas:

Thanks for pointing out the hypocracy that erupted after the Hamas victory. It seems as if some people do not understand what democracy means. The Palestinian people voted for the party they wanted and they won. That’s how the voting thing works. Doesn’t matter if you(non-Palestinians) don’t like the party, it’s what the people want. The world is acting like democracy is only ok when the “right” people win. I say, good for you Palestinians! I wish you the best with everything you do, because we(the West) should not be allowed to impose our ideologies on you.

The great Sarah on what deserves a Wikipedia entry:

i still want to know– how much buzz does a person need to get into wikipedia?

Of course there are plenty more, but these are my choices for tonight, naturally i love you all and you certainly don’t have to agree with me.. .ever. And here’s a videoblog of my bedroom coverage of the State of the Union address.

His Eyes Are Blood Thirsty

After wrapping up show 100 last night, since it was 3am anyway, I decided to catch some of the state of the union address. Course I could neither stomach or stay awake to watch more than 20 minutes of it, but I still had enough time to catch the war-criminal-in-chief’s Iran segment. And thought I was drowsy, it really hit home….

The man wants to invade Iran. The man wants to bomb Iran into the stoneage. I could see it, for some reason, this look I hadn’t noticed before. This dillusional rich-boy-turned-world leader actually believes it is an option to use war to get Iran to behave the way he thinks they should. And with the potential backing of the EU, China, and Russia, it suddenly occurred to me – he’s crazy, disconnected, and careless enough to order it. What difference does it make to him how many innocent Iranians would die, how many more soldiers would die, and all the remifications of invading a country as strong and proud as Iran.

I usually am not surprised by revelations in the realm of politics and conflict, you can usually see them coming, no matter how bad. But this one is a particularly tough one for me to swallow. I’m already thinking up actions that a podjournalist and an activist can take, to try and expose the stupidity and futility of using large scale violence to subjigate yet another nation in the name of “freedom”.

bm100: State of the World Address

A train wreck? Maybe. But its my 100th show and as an alternative to the state of the union address which says almost nothing year after year, this is my State of the World address.

AudioCommunique #100 ! (mp3)

Too many podcasters mentioned to link in this post… they are all in my blogroll (list to your left).
Beyond that, I jump from continent to continent, thanking those who have inspired me and pointing to issues that illustrate the state of things in 2006.

Music:
Clash – Guns on the Roof
Waldemar Bastos – Paz, Pao, Amor
Dresden Dolls – Coin Operated Boy
Talib Kweli – Rush
Billy Bragg – In Between the Wars
Bloc Party – Blue Light

Unemployed, in Greenland

Is it our attention span? Is it the sheer magnitude of a problem that effects an entire planet regardless of who you are, where you live, or how much money you have? Is it that this dam LOST SEASON 1 box set is so dam addictive? Today I’ve been wondering and reading the results of the UK government study that says very clearly, unless something significant is done to cut greenhouse gases, the greenland ice sheet will melt, and the oceans will rise in a big way; some of your favorite cities, including my dear Amsterdam, will become the new Atlantis.

I’ve been wondering why so little is done. While some governments make a token commitment like the kyoto thing, some governments like the US, Australia, and their new buddies in the Canadian government, refuse to do a dam thing in the name of economic growth. Hope that economic growth makes some floating cities and one of those machines that lets you recycle urine into drinking water like in that crappy Costner film… cause that’s the future.

But it doesn’t feel like it.. does it? I mean, sure it feels like spring in New York City right now. And it snowed for the first time in who knows how long in much of Portugal yesterday. And study after study comes out. While information is supressed. All this, helping to make the FACT that global warming is an undeniable and severe threat to everyone on this planet… somehow not a priority in our minds and for our elected officials.

One day, when this civilization is but a memory, a more intellegent species will study humankind and be completely baffled at how we purposely persued our own extinction.

He Didn’t Constantly Garden

After another Portuguese-in-Amsterdam dinner last night, involving some of my favorite former Lisbonites turned Amsterdamers, I decided 1 in the morning was a goodtime to finally sit and watch the Constant Gardener. Now I wouldn’t normally talk about films on the blog, unless they really deserve to be spoken about… and this little picture caught my eye.

If many of you haven’t heard of it, It’s not very surprising, since it tackles the very un-hip themes of development, AIDs in Africa, diplomacy, big pharma, and white guilt. I’m sure Howard isn’t spending much time on those with all his free speech bullshit rhetoric. But the Constant Gardener, in all it’s imperfection, does a decent job of walking the line between increasing awareness about the health crises in Africa, criticizing how the west behaves towards those countries, and just telling a love story. Not great on either of these, mind you, but again – a good effort.

Surprisingly, what the film really made me think about was what I will call “white guilt.” What does this term mean to you? When I say white guilt, I’m thinking of the feeling by individuals from wealthy nations primarily in Europe and North America, who feel guilty about the incalculable amout of sufferring going on outside their country, and perhaps to their benefit. Sometimes this guilt leads them to act, by donating money or even becoming an aid-worker themselves.

In my daily routine at the university fishtank, I believe I’ve seen something like white guilt. Young men and women show up to persue their graduate degrees, but more importantly, they arrive determined to go “work in Africa.” Be they Canadian, American, German, Swedish, Dutch, French, Portuguese…. I’ve seen it all. I’ve looked into the eyes of young and inexperienced people and seen this look of duty; that their calling lies in the sufferring of the poor nations of the world. It is both impressive and bizarre- just considering how they arrive at this feeling, or why, or if they are even capable of making a difference. Sometimes, I admit, I even think they are full of shit, trying to fill some void or emotional short-coming with what sounds like a noble cause. That’s not to say they don’t go on to do great things – they do. But is the world getting better because of it? – that part is hard to see from where I sit in my comfy chair.

I bet the Lounge Chicken would be a good guy to ask about all this. I smell a show topic.

bm99 Behind Wikipedia

By now you’ve probably heard about or consulted wikipedia to seek information and answers to life’s questions. But what do you know about the collaborative encyclopedia? What about the rules and the people working behind the scenes, how do they manage or not-manage the content that can so often be contreversial or simply vandalized. Im joined in this program by wikipedia editor and administrator David Gerard, as we discuss how wikipedia really works, and what the future holds for information as well as news reporting from wikimedia.

AudioCommunique #99(mp3)

Discussed:
Updates on Hamas, Canadian Elections, GI Jane
News Item – US Military Using Tactic of Kidnapping Suspected Terrorists’ Wives
On the line from London, David Gerard
The orgins of Wikipedia
Wikipedia as Compared the Traditional Encyclopedia
Wikinews – a place for citizen journalists?
Taking out the Garbage
The George W. Bush page – the stalemate
The Bicyclemark’s Communique Entry – explained
Implications for school children
The Future

Music:
Slackers – Information Error
Paco Ibañez – Villancico

Off to Rotterdam, where Im going to meet one of the YesMen today! (I hope)