Tag Archives: germany

Executions and Torture Flights

My good friends and fellow podcasters have been speaking about the upcoming execution of Troy Anthony Davis, death row inmate who’s case has a long list of irregularities and unanswered questions. Like them, and many people around the world, I’m against the death penalty and beyond that, against wrongful convictions and corruption in the legal system.

Then I read the latest information about the US government sanctioned, CIA torture flights which flew all over Europe pretending to be transporting government officials. Again, like many citizens around the world, I don’t support any government torturing people and the facilitating of that torture by looking the other way at the airport.

Yet the sad reality, at present, is that both of these things will go forward. The broken death penalty system in the US will execute another person as most Americans will simply go about their business. Later some dedicated investigator or guilt-ridden lawyer will come forward with facts that prove in fact the man they executed was innocent.

Meanwhile in Europe, the German newspapers will fill lots of pages condemning the previous government for allowing the torture flights to use their airports. In Brussels they might just appoint yet another committee to further investigate and then verbally reprimand members states for supporting the practice of mobile-torture.

While plenty of concerned people will be angered. And some might even take to the streets and express themselves, or maybe save their anger for the next ballot box. Most people, in Europe or the US, will keep going about their business… maybe without even thinking twice.

This is the kind of world we have in 2007. Governments torture, governments help torture, a minority of people get concerned, a majority of people can’t or won’t do something about it.

Oh and of course, someone blogs about it.

Upcoming Talk at CCC

Many may remember my participation at the Chaos Communications Congress last December, and what a unique and exciting event it was. Well this August I’ll once again be speaking at a CCC event, this time at the world infamous Chaos Communications Camp.

Whereas my previous talk was all about this thing I call podcast journalism and my theories surrounding it; this time it will have less to do with me and more to do with a special group of rebellious communicators. My talk is entitled “Rebellious Communication and the Federal Flood”; focusing on the work of New Orleans based or focused bloggers as watchdogs and reporters in the process of hurricane recovery.

I plan to spread the word about the work of great activists and concerned citizens who are using the internet to expose corruption, scrutinize badly laid plans, and ask the questions the traditional media are not. I’ll surely use some examples from my own experiences and reports from NOLA.

Unfortunately this year, despite being a speaker, neither my transport nor my entrance fee are covered. This means I shall seek the cheapest possible means to get to the former soviet military base and put myself into extreme poverty just to participate. Why? Because this camp is something rare and not to be missed in this life… who knows if Ill ever have another chance.

Angela Over There, Russia in Here

I’m standing across the street from the EU parliament looking through my packet of information for this conference and suddenly there’s a big to-do across the street. Several of the charming conference organizer ladies start looking towards the main doors in excitement. And there… walking out the door and kissing some people goodbye is the German Prime Minister. Exciting? Well… No. Amusing? Perhaps.

You’d think being here wandering the halls of the European Union, I would be thinking about the big questions like.. what is going to happen with this new treaty business, or what the hell is going on with corrupt Romania and Bulgaria.. but my mind is elsewhere.

This because as I walk around, my headphones are on, and I’m listening to a very inspiring and exciting podcast. The type of podcast I too would like to do more of.. emulate in many ways.. On The Media’s Brooke Gladstone reporting from Russia.

You really have to listen to this one… to hear the old people and young people talking to Brooke. They refer to how things used to be and how things are, debate if theyre living in a police state or if it is just a phase. They argue about what freedom they have or what freedom they lack. Even the great Garry Kasparov is in there… and I must say, his words struck a chord with me.

At some point a man who identifies himself as a communist who has no desire to return to the past starts to talk about how the west wrongly pushes their values on Russia. He goes on and on about the terrible things Western nations have done in Iraq and all the unnecessary death. He is angry, yet calm; with a very interesting and wise outlook on his country and the world outside. As I rounded the corner towards the Parliament cafeteria, I turned off my mp3 player, and looked at the over 200 young journalists in ahead of me… but my mind was still on Russia.. and the great statements in that podcast.

Brooke.. you are my new heroine.

Media Should Not Be Business

Capitalism, at least the version that is commonly practiced in this era that we currently live in, has a long list of terrible drawbacks. The one I was thinking most about this evening, as I cruised the canals of Amsterdam, is the marriage of business and media.

Let us take a step back for a moment. While pure capitalism seems to push for a world where everything is a commodity and everything can be bought and sold. We know, in fact, that many things cannot and SHOULD NOT be for sale. Examples of this include matters of public safety, like the Fire Department. Many centuries ago they experimented with private fire brigades in the US, but of course houses that didn’t pay for service burned down and led to other houses catching fire. Clearly, fire protection was deemed something that cannot be a business.

Let us return to media, a far cry from the world of fires and fire protection. Media is widely operated around the world as a business. While there are numerous public media run from public funds, a majority of the world’s information comes from media companies that are private businesses. Why even in terms of language (english anyway) you hear this cultural norm in the term “the newspaper business”. Yup, when you talk about media, you’re almost always talking about business.

Yet everywhere you look there is evidence of what a terrible and detrimental marriage this is. News reports mixed with advertisements to the point you can’t tell which is which. Media companies buying other media companies and cutting staff and budgets in order to increase profit margins. News programs covering topics that will attract the most amount of people in order to attract the most amount of advertisers, appealing to people’s insecurities, fears, or dreams. Ignoring news that makes people uncomfortable about their lives, their government, or the companies they help fund. Firing or marginalizing reporters that dare to challenge this system, by direct or indirect orders of business managers or sponsors.

Over and over again, now of course, on the internet, we are told that media is a business and that is just how it has to be.

People ask me, “Maybe you could make a living out of your work on the site by having ads or a sponsor”, and I make some excuse about not being sure what to do. The truth is I am very sure it has been and would be a mistake. More than that, I disagree with the global norm, the widely accepted tradition that this is how media works and the world will be fine if this continues. It’s not fine. We are not ok, and one of the most basic reasons is the way our media system functions… the business of reporting the news.

And so I carry on without the sponsors. Without the money that journalists need to survive. Like many of my friends and fellow reporters on the internet, I try to formulate a better way. Or more often, sit here hoping that if I keep doing my work, that new day will finally come when media breaks free from business and finds a better way to exist. One where reporting about people and injustice gets the priority, and funding comes without the need to sell something or compromise the essential principles that make it possible to shed light on what has been left in the dark for much too long.

More from the g8 Summit

Click here to see a good video from today’s events demonstrating against the G8 Summit.

What I like best about this one is how it shows one member of the group speaking politely with police explaining that they are not the enemy and they will not act violently towards them. He even asks if they would please open their helmets and put down their clubs. (which they don’t seem to, but at least one cop seems to want to do so)

From the Front Lines of Resistance

It has been quite difficult to get any of the many organizations involved in demonstrations at the G8 summit in Germany to talk to me. This could be because they are so busy with the never ending media requests they get (wouldn’t that be nice!). It could also be that things are so tense on the front lines of these demonstrations that the last thing you worry about is answering a phone.

Meanwhile, my brave friends Kiwi and Fabian just returned from Rostock where the first days of protests were held and some big confrontations with police took place. Here is a excerpt from Kiwi’s email to me: (note to the grammar police, she’s Estonian and above the laws of grammar)

The weekend was full of impressions. We are still dealing with some of the things that happened. As you know some conflicts escalated on saturday. It started already as the first protesters had just reached the destination of the strike (Rostock harbor). Me and Fabian were pretty much at the front but we didn’t see what happened. People from the Black Block just started running around everywhere. It turned out later
that the police had parked an empty car/bus in the very middle of the protest area + a helicopter was flying right above the main stage making any speech/concert impossible. The organizers repeatedly asked the police to move the helicopter but no action was taken. This was interpreted as pure provocation and some (I would say the BB mostly but thats a guess) tore up the sidewalk an started to throw pavment stones
at the police.
So this was pretty much at the beginning. An hour or two later the situation began to get worse. More and more police gathered at the scene of the protest. Me and a friend had just sat down on the sidewalk and Fabian was away to get st to drink as people just started to run away suddenly.
2 minutes later as we felt an uncomfortable burn in our eyes it became clear that the police had used tear gas to force people to back off. We were only a 100 meters away and I still don’t understand why drastic measures like these were necessary. In our oppinion the crowd was peaceful.

As Fabian came back we wanted to make a plan in case things got worse
but it was obviously to late. A car was burning and 3 fire engines followed by armored cars with water cannons drove into the crowd. Soon the whole place was full with tear gas and water cannons were used to scatter the protesters. The program on stage was disrupted and organizers tried to calm people down. They spoke to the police publicly
and told them to stop the provocation. In the mean time police were everywhere and people were running in all directions. Me and Fabian were cut off from our friend. Since we couldn’t see properly anymore and the situation began to get dangerous we tried to run into town but the police were blocking some of the streets so we felt really trapped.
Well these are just some of the weird ways the police acted. The rumor was actually that they tried to get as much of the riot on tape as possible so they could argue against further protests, get more freedom to act cruel or whatever. I must say it fits to the profile.
Anyway, the sad part is the way our beloved media is pulling the whole protest into dirt and not even mentioning the motives of “peaceful” protesters. There are so many great discussions – the people are doing an amazing job. But it is not in the interest of the system to let them be heard.