Citizen Reporter

Madge, Live in Paris

MAdge Madge Weinstein is an internet celebrity, a culinary pioneer, and an extremely irritable elderly lesbian. Beyond all that, she is an inspiration to several generations of children around the world. After surviving many tragedies, including 3 Bush presidential terms and the current socio-political disaster that has gripped the United States, this podcasting diva has moved her life to Paris where she is sharing her talents with the people of France who already hate her.

A long time friend of citizenreporter.org, we went to visit her in her tiny Parisienne home where the water had suddenly been cut off. There we had the chance to ask her about her decision to leave the United States, the political and social reifications of that move, and her interest in the global occupy movement. The discussion spontaneously evolves into topics like dominance of mainstream media, the human centipede 2, and yeast.

Listen to Madge’s legendary Podcast: Yeast Radio

This Bus Goes to Kosovo

The border crossing looks new and partly unfinished. In different corners there are exposed wires and lamp fixtures that will probably soon find their permanent place. It is the middle of the afternoon on a quite holiday afternoon, the border guard in his nice new blue jacket and pants saunters onto the bus looking at each person’s passport. As he approaches a few other western passengers seated in from of me, I notice the nice blue patch on his arm featuring the yellow outline of the country, “Its your first time in Kosovo?” he asks each of us, “Just visiting?”

The whole process takes less then a minute and soon we’re passed the customs area, passed the 4 construction workers staring at an open hole in the ground, and back on the two lane highway. The mountains here are steep and drenched in red, yellow and orange autumn colors. Occasionally we pass a little hamlet and I notice a newly completed bridge or road, even the lonely single track railroad seems to have been recently renovated. As we drive into the heart of this infamous part of the world, I can’t stop thinking of how much it reminds me of mining country in Eastern Pennsylvania.

The towns we passed may have some new pieces of construction, but they don’t look like happy places. The typical unfinished houses look vacant and what becomes even more clear as we get nearer to Prishtina, is that there is an overabundance of empty office space in Kosovo. One after another we pass shiny new warehouses and storefronts that look abandoned before they could ever be occupied. This one would probably be good for selling tractors, that one over there looks more like a furniture outlet, neither has a single sign of life. We drive on slowly, passed the Greek KFOR military base, the speed limit reads 60kmph, I find myself thinking of how different this place is from my dear Portugal, where no one respects such speed limits on country roads.

The beautifully vast and empty horizon finally changes after what seems like an hour, there is clearly a city up ahead, and I think it is Prishtina. The two lane highway becomes 4 shiny new lanes, and the slow pace speeds up some. On either side of the road its a mix of motels of small scale commercial operations. Each one making heavy use of the following flags in this order: Albanian, Kosovar, American, followed by a hodgepodge of European Union member state flags. The favorite seems to be the French followed closely by the German flag. “Made in Germany” several of the advertisements for machine parts along the road read in smaller print. Pulling into the quiet bus station and it seems like the entire city could be on vacation. “Prishtina is quiet” is the first uncontrollable conclusion I make in my head. I could not have been more wrong.

Making Change by Moving Your Money

BTD Bank Transfer Day was this past weekend. Even now, people around the world are looking at their bank account thinking, maybe I dont want my money with these guys. What are the alternatives? Many will say “all banks are the same” as a way of justifying not doing anything. But what a little investigation can easily reveal is that not all banks are the same.

In the US much of the focus is on community banks and credit unions. In Europe, in the Netherlands for example, we have two small banks that are known for their dedication to transparency and sustainability. And now more then ever, as people flock to occupy more spaces to express their disgust and frustration with the global financial system, there is great interest in expressing your dissent by moving money from the big banks to the small sustainable banks.

My guest is James Vacarro, head of Investment Banking for Triodos UK. If you’ve never heard of Triodos or perhaps you’ve only heard a few things about Triodos, give this program a listen. James and I talk about where we stand in this world when it comes to banks, the real impact if moving money, and how the occupy movement is actually very relevant when it comes to pressuring banks and creating initiatives like sustainable banks. For those who have been asking what impact the occupy movement could possibly have on the financial sector- this podcast will give you an answer.

7 Roads to Macedonia

I arrive in Macedonia just in time to enjoy the last bits of sunlight as the airport taxi whirls into Skopje. In a nation of just over 2 million people, its capital is a tiny place with a lot of history. And who’s their favorite historical figure? – Their very own Alexander the Great. And just like I observed at Mongolia’s Chinggis Khaan airport last year, Macedonia has also named their “Alexander the Great Airport” after their most famous citizen of all time. Coincidentally just this summer I was in another important site connected to this same historical juggernaut – Herat, Afghanistan, city that Alexander ruled back somewhere around 330BC. Herat would eventually be destroyed by an invasion by none other then Chinggis Khaan. Another reminder of just how connected the world is.
Talk about connected, this land locked nation borders Kosovo, Albania, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia. Looking at the map and discussing travel options with a taxi driver, I suddenly had the urge to pop over to Albania for a day, then up to Kosovo for another day, and on and on… with all these nations nearby, it becomes clear that Macedonia continues to be what it has historically been, a place where many roads lead.

Voices from Occupy Amsterdam

Occupy Amsterdam has just entered into its 3rd week. 3 weeks of building a community where people have come together and occupied a public space, where debates are an almost 24 hour phenomenon and cooperation is currency.

Over the first 7 days of occupyamsterdam I was there checking in with people and observing how things developed. During those days I observed meetings of the General Assembly, as well as work groups that are dedicated to different aspects of the movement. I observed teach-ins or education lectures. At the weekend I listened to and even participated in speeches and musical performances. By the beginning of week two it had become a fully functional camp where some people could live and anyone can and did stop by to participate or look around.

The following 4 interviews are taken from week 1, they were carried out with people I saw regularly participating and attending events. My goal in these conversations was not to do what the mainstream media does: asking people why they are here as if I don’t understand. Instead, my goal was to hear about the details of how the movement functions and how it deals with a dysfunctional press that is unlikely to communicate their message with much accuracy. Of course during these interviews opinions, experiences, and statements lead to a number of topics popping up beyond how occupyamsterdam functions. We also get into the feeling or spirit of occupy, the outside perception and challenge the group faces when it comes to being understood and heard, and of course the lesser known facts about how the banking system has impacted the very core of how nations function and how people live.

Lastly you’ll hear from legendary musician and activist Michael Franti.. as he walked right by me and climbed on stage to give a surprise performance and words of support for the occupy movement.

Thailand’s Oppressive Media Law

It was the summer of 2008 and I was in Bangkok, Thailand, on a then work related trip that left me enough spare time to look around and do some reporting. My focus included alternative media, and lucky for me, a good friend introduced me to Jiew, editor of the alternative magazine Prachatai.com. We did a very interesting and informative podcast about the situation in Thailand, which included a discussion of the limitations on press freedom in that country.

During the interview we touched upon the “Lèse Magesté”: extremely oppressive laws that govern how you can or cannot talk about the royal family. As a journalist, you are not allowed to criticize the royal family in publications. Doing so would constitute a serious offense and while I can’t remember what the average sentence could be, I remember it was bad. Jiew was extremely well versed in what a reporter or media channel could and couldn’t do in their work, even an alternative source. To my surprise she even asked me to turn off my recorder when we got to the part about the laws regarding media and the royal family. She explained off the record how it works and the risk that one ran by publishing anything considered critical the exalted king. It marked, still to this day, one of the few times in the 7 year history of my program, that I’ve had to turn off a recorder for legal reasons- even just to hear a seemingly harmless explanation of the rules.

Over the years Jiew and I have of course remained in contact, whenever there’s something (and there always is) going on in Thailand or SouthEast Asia, I know I can ask her for help with information or perhaps a good source to better understand what is happening.

Unfortunately, and to my great shock and disappointment, the Thai government is now pursuing a case against her. Claiming, I believe, a violation of the Royal Family criticism laws at her publication; they are seeking a jail sentence. As many watchdog groups have reported, the government is clearly afraid of someone so committed to reporting what is really going on behind the dog-n-pony show Thailand puts on for the tourist masses.

And so an excellent journalist, a friend of this citizenreporter.org, and someone who has dedicated her life to making the world around us a better place faces the looming threat of being convicted of a crime that should have long been stricken from the legal books in favor of real universal human rights. All the more reason for us to help Jiew beat this bogus charge in any way we can, so she can fight twice as hard next time to keep this from happening ever again.

(To be continued, trail posponed to February)