Tag Archives: democracy

A mission statement

Speaking with Sijeka in London recently, for an upcoming podcast on the French elections, she mentioned opendemocracy.net. I was invited to write an entry for their blog “The Democratic Image”. And so I did, and as it turns out, I really enjoyed writing it and have been meaning to put these thoughts and facts into words, so go give it read please.

Here’s a quote, just for fun (its sad when you start quoting yourself)

It seems to me that despite all the potential that the internet and personal publishing in all its forms brings to the world, we are still in the primordial ooze stage of what could become a long media evolution.

bm198 Zimbabwe Students Movement

Like much of the population in Zimbabwe, students are suffering a great deal at the hands of the government. Their struggle for human rights, academic freedom, justice, and representation is reaching out across borders and continents. In this podcast I sit down with Tendayi Lynnet Mudehwe, information and publicity secretary of ZINASU, the Zimbabwean National Students Union.

We Discuss:
– The circumstances for students in Zimbabwe
– Healthcare, Student Fee’s, and Rights
– Mugabe, who supports him?
– The goal of travelling to Europe
– The role of outside countries
– How close is change?
– The dangers that activists face

ZINASU Website
Clips used from SW Radio Africa

Change From Within

This evening, through a series of coincidences and a thoughtful friend, I stumbled upon what is known as “Lloyd Time” at the always bustling Lloyd Hotel, here in Amsterdam. Although the name reminds me of the NYC cops that long ago declared it Giuliani time as they violated a man with a plunger, Lloyd Time is ACTUALLY a weekly night of art, culture, and education, at the hotel restaurant. With invited speakers and a pretty decent audience.

But before any of that, the reason I originally went there, was to be introduced to two special individuals staying at the hotel: two representatives from the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU). It was an honor to meet them, as I have read and heard so much about their struggle for basic rights and legitimate democratic governance.

There will be a podcast this week, featuring an interview I did on the topic of the ZINASU and the state of the struggle in Zimbabwe. But tonight I just wanted to share with you a very simple, but for me, a very poignant thing that one of the brave students told me.

I asked about the problem of having a corrupt and brutal group of people in charge of her country, and if she ever thought a good solution would be for another country to come in with military force and push that government out of power. (as is so often preached and practiced these days)

She replied something like:

“The solution to the problems in Zimbabwe and the movement to push for real democracy and a true constitution, will come from within the country. And it will come not by coups or the use of guns or war, it will come through direct action and democratic means.”

Of course she said it much better than my quote, and she said alot more than that, so look forward to that on a podcast this week. But keep that in mind next time a politician tries to sell you a war.

And if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam on a monday night and you don’t want to come play frisbee… head over to Lloyd Time.

Portugal’s Yes

I was on the phone with mom earlier this evening and I asked if she’d heard about the results of the referendum. “NO I haven’t!” she said.

Portugal held a referendum yesterday on the question of abortion. While I was there in December I did see a scattered few billboards in Lisbon urging either a YES to legalize abortion or NO to keep abortion illegal. While I did get to ask a few people about it, i don’t remember much conversation on the topic, but I was definitely watching the results come in last night as Im sure many of my Portuguese friends were.

The result is that the Yes vote got 59% of the vote. A very loud statement that the voting citizenry of the nation were tired of seeing women being incarcerated for seeking abortions or fleeing to other countries in order to get one. Unfortunately less than 50 percent of elligible voters actually turned out, which I believe doesn’t make the referendum fully binding… but it looks like this will provide the necessary push for lawmakers to change the law.

I watched the annoying coverage on CNN last night; its Portugal so you can’t expect more than 2 minutes with 30 seconds of video… cut to commercial for Dubai or some other wealthy play ground apparently Im supposed to consider visiting based on their ads.

The graphic under the brief video read “most of Portugal is catholic.” I read the graphic and kept thinking… GREAT. They should have added a graphic, “Portugal may have citizens who think for themselves and don’t look to the vatican for instructions on how to run a country.” I realize many do look to the vatican, but I still think the graphic and the image that Portuguese are so completely tethered to religion is a somewhat out-dated assumption. Somebody get me the church attendance numbers.

All in all, an interesting milestone in the history of Portugal as the nation evolves and democracy matures. If you accept that this is how a democracy matures; declining voter turn out, struggle with religious traditions… sounds fairly typical.

Stay tuned for a podcast related to this topic in the coming week, as I just realized Women on Waves is in my neck of the woods.

bm184 Bangladesh, A Welcome Emergency

The few images you see in the international press paint a picture of protests in the streets and a goverment in crisis. Yet any real information about what is really happening in Bangladesh is rarely heard. In this program, with the help of my guest, documentary film maker and blogger Shafiur Rahman, we look at what is happening, why, and who is seriously effected. From the garment industry to government corruption.. there’s a lot to cover.

We Discuss:
— What life is like since the state of emergency
— What led to the current crisis
— Elections
— Economic factors
— The Garment industry, regulations and labor practices
— What should happen, who must act
— Shafiur’s documentary: Bostrobalikara – The Garment Girls of Bangladesh

His BLog, Imperfect World

bm175 UnderReporting the 23C3

At least 4,000 people have gathered here in Berlin at what is often referred to as a HACKERS conference. If one walks around and strikes up conversation, many different types of people with assorted interests can be found. Yet this annual event, which is so unique in the world, goes under reported or badly reported by the major media in various countries. This report I recorded throughout the second day of this four day conference. It includes many fun and wise personalities which you may just recognize. Below you’ll find links for many of them. (not all.. Ive got to get some sleep.)

Nicole Simon
Atul Chitnis
Anders Pollas
Rop Gongrijp
Tim Pritlove