The Internet Broke the Economy
I've noticed that I started to think that every blog post I write must be a fantastic piece of prose. Articles that don't meet the 600+ word count don't meet the cut.
Yea… I've been drinking too much of my own coolaid. Back to the shorter, more frequent posting for me. I suspect that it's more valuable in the long run.
Ofcom Website | Global Citizens and Consumers in the Internet Age
Douglas Rushkoff of NYU has completely blown my mind. It's not often that one finds a completely, world-upside-down, mind-altering … anything. But this is it.
The thesis: The internet has turned the world on it’s head because because it destroys the traditional definition of economy: “rational actors maximizing their value through the acquisition/distribution of scarce resources.”
No Wonder They Don’t Trust Us
Warning: the following is a rant. I'll keep it short.
It drives me crazy to see journalist putting the nail in their own coffin. E&P just republished an AP story that politely complains that Israel still isn't letting journalists into the Gaza war zone.
No wonder 54% of the public doesn't trust the media anymore. Instead of playing Fourth Estate watchdogs, these journalists have been nicely asking the courts of Israel for permission to do their jobs. Nevermind the fact the Israeli government and Hamas are controlling the story and spewing propaganda. It's still a good idea to wait on one of these governments to allow you into a region when they can control what you see.
Grow some balls.
Do your jobs. Please. You're only hurting yourselves through your laziness and ignorance. Don't moan about how hard it is. If were easy, we wouldn't need professional journalists in the first place!
Journalists are expected to add value to what people on the ground tell us in order to curate and inform the mass-public about the actions of governments, industry, and events of the day. How can we do any of that if we're not able to report!?
Journalists. Step up. Now.
The Power of “the Fourth Effect”
If you haven't seen it yet, take a few minutes of your time to view this amazing example of the "fourth effect".
War in Georgia
Georgian soldiers race past an apartment block in Gori after Russian warplanes dropped bombs on the city. GLEB GARANICH / REUTERSFor whatever reason, the US was caught unawares when Georgia attacked Russia last week. We've been slow dealing with the situation.
First off, we don't really understand it. Most Americans still don't understand the difference between Sunnis and Shiites – that's been seven years now. This conflict came out of nowhere, and the average American (myself included) really doesn't understand the reason for the fighting, or even who's really involved.
Update
The NYT has an article explaining some of the background.
To make matters worse, we've got a juicy political sex scandal in Edwards, a tight presidential campaign, and the Olympics going on right now. Needless to say, our sex-crazed media is on top of all that instead of a war that no one understands.
Reuters has done a remarkably good job of doing what they do best – keeping foreign agencies so that they can respond to something just like this. Right now, this is a bigger story than Afghanistan and Iraq. In my opinion, it beats out another sex scandal, a tired presidential campaign, and a sporting event. This is about a war between two countries who's people don't live in the Bronze Age.
When I first looked at TIME's collection of photos my first reaction was: "meh, more war photographs."
But here's what's different: this is a modern war. Fought with modern tanks, modern armies where both sides are uniformed, and civilian casualties that no one is apologizing for. This is a big deal. Once you get past your seven-year familiarity with war photos, these photos reflect their own importance.
Update
The Denver Post also as a rather good collection of AP photos.
How to Save Afghanistan – TIME
Our efforts in nation-building, governance and counternarcotics should be smaller and more creative. This is not because these issues are unimportant; they are vital for Afghanistan's future. But only the Afghan government has the legitimacy, the knowledge and the power to build a nation. The West's supporting role is at best limited and uncertain.
-How to Save Afghanistan - TIME
TIME's article How to Save Afghanistan is fantastically written and simply worded. It presents a surprisingly easy solution for how to fix Afghanistan – do less.
The solution is deceptively simple when you think about it. We suck at building a government. We're good at education (well, better than Afghanistan anyway). We're good at farming. We can train an army. We can build power plants. Let's stop trying to fight all these insurgents. Let's stop trying to tell the Afghans how to run their country. Let's just give them the support ask for to build their country up. If they try to build something we don't like? We don't support it.
Transforming a nation of 32 million people is a task not for the West but for Afghans.
Colombia Releases Video of Jungle Rescue – NYTimes.Com
Now there's a government that knows how to do PR.
Not News to Me…
I've been straying away from posting 'general news' with the intent to focus more on journalism and photography related issues. However, there are sometimes issues that I can't help but comment on:
Surprise, surprise; Iran is developing nuclear weapons.
Part of the agency’s case hinges on 18 documents listed in the report and presented to Iran that, according to Western intelligence agencies, indicate the Iranians have ventured into explosives, uranium processing and a missile warhead design — activities that ordinarily would be associated with constructing nuclear weapons.
-Nuclear Agency Accuses Iran of Willful Lack of Cooperation - NYTimes.com
I recently wrote a paper on the Iranian nuclear problem – the argument was severely hurt by a report from the US intelligence community stating that Iran had stopped work on nuclear weapons in 2003. Well, here's to US 'intelligence:'
“The Iranians are certainly being confronted with some pretty strong evidence of a nuclear weapons program and they are being petulant and defensive,” said David Albright, a former weapons inspector who now runs the Institute for Science and International Security. “The report lays out what the agency knows and it is very damning. I’ve never seen it laid out quite like this.”
Actually, I can tie this back to the press. Let's talk about bias in the media. Take a moment to read this excerpt from the first article:
A National Intelligence estimate published last December by American intelligence agencies concluded that Iran suspended its work on a weapons design in late 2003, in response apparently to mounting international pressure, adding that it wasn’t certain whether the weapons work had resumed.
The agency’s report highlights the amount of work still to be done before definitive conclusions about the nature of the program can be made, a task that the agency-associated official said would require months.
[Bolding applied]
When this news was first broken, the New York Times' coverage took a stance directly contradictory. There was little mention the surety of the government towards the restarting of the program. The focus was entirely about the stopping of the nuclear program in 2003. Here's the lead from the article:
WASHINGTON, Dec. 3 — A new assessment by American intelligence agencies concludes that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003 and that the program remains frozen, contradicting judgment two years ago that Tehran was working relentlessly toward building a nuclear bomb.
-U.S. Says Iran Ended Atomic Arms Work - NYTimes.com
Though the article does go on to quote, "that intelligence agencies 'do not know whether it [Iran] currently intends to develop nuclear weapons,'" the news coverage at the time hardly focused on that angle. There is a bit of revisionist history here. The media has a bad tendency to focus on the sensational. If the NIE was inconclusive enough to say that it was not sure what the current status of the Iranian nuclear program was, then that should have been the focus of the reporting. Using the 'stopped in five years ago' angle is either poor reporting or dishonesty.
The second bolding from the excerpt is just another complaint I have about the whole international nuclear process/angencies/bumbling: It's been years since Iran started to develop nuclear weapons (clearly prior to 2003). It sounds like we've got pretty solid evidence that they're violating some rules:
- "The agency also said that during a visit in April, it was denied access to sites where centrifuge components are being manufactured and where research of uranium enrichment is being conducted."
- "The report makes no effort to disguise the agency’s frustration with Iran’s lack of transparency. It describes, for example, Iran’s installation of new centrifuges, known as the IR-2 and IR-3 (for Iranian second and third generations) and other modifications at its sprawling site at Natanz, as 'significant, and as such should have been communicated to the agency.'"
I'm unclear. What's going to take "months" to do? I don't get it; Iran is clearly in violation of the rules/international law. What's stopping someone from doing something about it?
Why TIME.Com Is My Hero:
TIME.com is running an article on the history of the Church of Jediism. [please feel free to pause reading and laugh for a while; I did.]
The article, entitled: 'Star Wars' is My Co-Pilot is a Q&A of the weirdest and wackiest coverage that I have ever seen on a major news site. Be sure to check out the disappointingly short, but fantastic video they published with the story. Cheers to TIME for covering (and publishing) this fantastically off-beat story.
The Middle East Gets Press Freedom?
“We aim to produce an excellent newspaper out of the region” that will set a new standard for other publications to aspire to, said Hassan M. Fattah, the deputy editor, who was a correspondent for The New York Times in the Middle East before joining The National. “Being government-owned does not equal being government-run,” he said. “There are no ministers sitting in my office” telling the paper what to write.
-A New Mideast Paper Vows to Be Different - New York Times
Abu Dhabi has a new, free newspaper – despite being owned by the crown prince (and therefore the government) So far so good, today's front page of their website had a story about rock quarries producing too much dust for government standards. The story not quite an exposè – it's actually not even new news, and the story doesn't specify the government's role in the matter beyond saying that the judiciary has already ruled on the matter. However, it is a good issue to call attention to, and good to see on a front page of a newspaper that's trying to separate itself from the government.
Already, the paper has attracted some serious competition: on Monday, The Financial Times of London said that it was introducing a new edition for the Middle East, with editorial offices based in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi is one of the more westernized countries in the Middle East, and things look good so far, but it's definitely a 'wait and see' case.
CNN.Com Survives Random Outages – CNET News.com
To make the attack on CNN a literal truth, Chinese Hackers have launched a DoS attack on CNN.com. They've got so far as to launch a downloadable tool for all those interested in assisting in the next attack.
How does bringing down a media outlet help stop western media bias? …when the bias is that the Chinese society is closed and not open to hearing outside opinions?
Chinese ‘Free Press’
That's the image that has served as the banner on top of China's largest internet portal Sina.com. C|Net notes the violent imagery against CNN is disturbing, to say the least.
All of this in protest to CNN's 'media bias' against the Chinese.
EU States Agree That Inciting Terrorism on the Internet Is a Crime
Representatives of the EU's 27 member states formally agreed today to harmonize their respective countries' definitions of criminally prosecutable acts of terrorism by expanding them to include three new types of crimes: "public provocation to commit a terrorist offence, [terrorist] recruitment, and training for terrorism." The definition of "public provocation" was especially controversial, and it encompasses content posted on the Internet, including not only direct incitements to violence but also terrorist propaganda and bomb-making expertise.
EU states agree that inciting terrorism on the Internet is a crime
As a timely follow-up to the recent news that the UK has jailed 6 men for publicly supporting terrorism through speech, the EU has legally declared that internet support of terrorism is also a crime. This is a severe blow to freedom of speech advocates everywhere.
Terrorists are using the internet to spread their message. I don't deny this at all. The problem with making that act illegal is the definition of who a 'terrorist' is. I heartily submit that this definition is by no means concrete enough to make their support illegal.
Al-Queda is a terrorist organization. Banning their internet activities probably enhances our security. Is Hamas a terrorist organization? They are also a political group. Should be ban them? What about PETA? Should their website be taken off-line?
Fortunately, there is still good news. Although the EU has passed this law, they have not really provided a means of enforcing it. Though the paper precedent is on the books, it does not look like it can be acted on … yet.
China ‘Gold Medal’ For Executions – BBC
In case you're wondering what all the Olympic torch protestors have been complaining about, the BBC is running an article about a recent report from Amnesty International on the death penalty around the world. The article focuses on China.
"As the world's biggest executioner, China gets the 'gold medal' for global executions," said the organisation's UK director, Kate Allen.
"According to reliable estimates, on average China secretly executes around 22 prisoners every day - that's 374 people during the Olympic Games," she added.
Apparently, the idea of capital crimes is a bit different in China than the rest of the world:
More than 60 crimes can carry the death penalty in China, including tax fraud, stealing VAT receipts, damaging electric power facilities, selling counterfeit medicine, embezzlement, accepting bribes and drug offences, Amnesty [International] said.
…and the idea of due process is a bit different than western states:
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville, in Beijing, says justice is usually swift - most of those sentenced to death are executed only weeks after they are found guilty.
The article then goes on to discuss the findings in Iran and other Middle Eastern countries – where the death penalty is also prevalent. Iran was the only country to have more reported capital punishments than China.
The report and article end with a call for the world to stop employing the death penalty.
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Olympic Torch Travels on to Oman
BBC NEWS | World | Asia-Pacific | Olympic torch travels on to Oman
Unsurprisingly, the Olympic torch hasn't sparked any protests in the non-democractic country of Oman. Of course it helps that the country is controlled by the Sultan who is an absolute ruler. His interest in limiting any protests is this:
Oman has strong economic ties with China, a major importer of its oil.
It seems that the stop in Tanzania was equally uneventful. The country is democratic, having developed it's government after it's British colonial experience. I suppose that the people of the country have worries greater than the human rights violations of China and/or the freedom of Tibet.
A Lighter Day for Torch in Argentina – washingtonpost.com
Capping a week in which protesters snuffed the torch in Paris and forced organizers to reroute its course in San Francisco, the South American leg of the relay was more festive than disruptive. Small groups of demonstrators held signs decrying human rights abuses in China, but the most serious threats to the torch's progress Friday were a few lobbed water balloons -- easily swatted away by the Chinese security forces that jogged alongside the torch bearers.
A Lighter Day for Torch in Argentina - washingtonpost.com
Well… good news. There were protestors, and they did make themselves heard. It's a shame that they tried to put out the torch – but it's comical that their attempts were primarily using water balloons. …The security people explained before going to Argentina that the torch was propane powered and a rain storm wouldn't put it out, I doubt water balloons will have any effect – let alone enough accuracy.
Looks like the run the Argentina was uneventful, which is great, but the article did have one great quote at the end from an anonymous Chinese blogger in regards to French protestors trying to put out the torch:
"France, I thought you were a romantic and beautiful country but now I realize you are ugly and full of rubbish. No country can stop China from being strong and developing," said one anonymous online commentator.
Me thinks that the Chinese media is putting a pretty strong 'spin' on why these people are protesting. It appears that this guy believes that the West is upset at China's strength and presumable economic progress. I'm pretty sure that the protestors are upset with two things:
- China's human right's violations
- Freeing Tibet from Chinese rule
Chinese economic progress has nothing to do with it, but here's to Chinese censorship!
My Neighborhood – Baghdad Bureau – Iraq From the Inside – New York Times Blog
We carried the injured to our own cars and hurried them to nearby hospitals. Others used wooden carriages to do the job of the ambulance. Some rescuers were using fire extinguishers and buckets filled with water to fight big fires, and others were wrapping the bodies of women, kids and men with blankets and kept shouting, “Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar.”
My Neighborhood - Baghdad Bureau - Iraq From the Inside - New York Times Blog
This is another piece of phenomenal journalism from the NY Times. Written by an Iraqi journalist employed by the Times, this piece describes the resolve and willingness of the Iraqi people to deal with the problems of their country – namely terrorism.
The piece is short, and well written, very worth a read to get a quick insight into the mind of an Iraqi.
Olympic Torch Stops in Argentina – TIME
Authorities are deploying 1,300 federal police, 1,500 naval police and some 3,000 traffic police and volunteers — enough to ensure security "without going to the extreme that nobody will be able to see the torch," Irarrazabal said.
Olympic Torch Stops in Argentina - TIME
HAHA…haha…hoho…hehee… *sniff* – oh dear. Well, at least we can still see the torch.
Comm 'on people … isn't this getting a bit ridiculous? I think that Mayor Mauricio Macri who "… urged protesters to stay away and not make "politics" of a sporting relay," is half right. I mean, yes, it is a sports relay – but you're kidding yourself if you think politics aren't involved. The Olympics were created to show international unity – if there isn't international unity (don't know if you've been checking the news recently, but there's not), then people have the right to protest the Olympics.
Protesting is the right of all people who live in a free state. They even have the right to try to challenge something as symbolic as the Olympic torch. Granted – they risk bearing the consequences (and they well should); but they do have that right.
The security around the Olympic torch should lighten up. It's good that they're so vigilant, but they need to understand the right that people have to protest is going to be used. It's their job to 'secure' the torch not to hide it, put it out, put it on a bus in case of rain, or somesuch.
Also on Friday, the chairman of Japan's National Public Safety Commission said Japan will not accept Chinese security guards when the city of Nagano hosts the torch relay on April 26.
"We should not violate the principle that Japanese police will maintain security," Shinya Izumi said at a press conference. "I do not accept the idea that they will run in Japan as they did in other countries."
The Chinese runners, who wear bright blue tracksuits, ran to protect the torch in London and Paris, where chaotic torch protests interrupted the relay. Beijing has said only that the unit's mission was to guard the flame.
Way to go Japan. I'm well aware that there are greater political statements to be made hear than: 'the Chinese security are overbearing and out-of-line,' but I'm hopeful that Japan at least will host the torch correctly – displaying it proudly and let the protestors do what they may.
What the Heck Is Going on…
"The men in blue perplexed everyone," she said. "Nobody actually seemed to know who they were officially or what their title was. They were kind of very robotic, very full on."
Top Cops Protect Olympic Flame - TIME
My last post encouraged me to do a little bit more searching into the Olympic torch journey. Apparently, these Chinese men in blue are the official security detail from China. They're the ones who decided to put out the Torch in France and have been very rough with … everybody. Be they protestors, torch bearers, or the Chairman of the Olympic Committee (really, read the article).
Several thoughts occur to me:
- If the Chinese are this serious about security, then the chances of a terrorist succeeding in Beijing are very small, go China.
- The fact that these high ranking security guards only understand basics of other languages and were chosen based on how "tall, handsome, mighty, in exceptional physical condition similar to that of professional athletes" they are means that the Chinese are just going to run this Olympics their way – forget everyone else.
- That's not necessarily a bad thing. It might help us westerners better understand the Chinese way of doing things.
- …or it will just piss us westerners off and cause all kinds of incidents
(oh, yea, and I really do like this slideshow from Time that I keep pulling pictures from.)
San Francisco Takes Olympic Torch Off-Route – washingtonpost.com
"I took my kids out of school early to see it," said Greta Keegan, waiting patiently on a curb along the announced route with Cormac, 9, and Maeve, who turned 12 on Wednesday. By 2 p.m. there was no sign of the torch
San Francisco Takes Olympic Torch Off-Route - washingtonpost.com
I thought the French were stupid when they put the Olympic torch out themselves and put it on a bus surrounded by roller-blading cops. But we Americans, have topped that. In San Francisco, they changed the route and didn't bother to tell anyone.
The whole point of the torch going through a city is so that people can see it. Hiding it for security concerns is just dumb. If people want to protest, then that's their right, for that matter, it should be encouraged!
Having the Olympics in Beijing is very controversial, the US and French governments agree (in part) with the protestors. Here's to the Brits for handling this right.
Italy and Dublin
I've finally gotten my Italy photos up in a semi-coherent form. Since I was at it, I decided to be timely about my Dublin trip this weekend. They're both on my 'recent' page.
A funny anecdote:
When I went through passport control entering Dublin from the UK, the officer was by far the friendliest that I've ever encountered. She asked how the trip was, how long us "lads" were staying in the country, and so on. She made sure to write on our visas though (two stamps, not just one), that we were supposed to leave the country in 3 days, just as we had said we would.
When reentering the UK (after 3 days in Ireland), we went through to passport control and before even entering the main que, were asked if we were arriving from Ireland. On saying that we had just come in, we were told that there was no need to go through passport control, just show our boarding pass at the exit, and we went right through.
Needless to say, I was a bit shocked – the UK passport control has been the toughest that I've ever seen. Constantly checking my student visa, and assuring that I was still planning to leave when it expires in 4 weeks.
What I gathered from all this was: Ireland is a separate country, but the UK just doesn't really care. International Politics are funny.
BBC Poll: World Views US ‘More Positively’
The average percentage of people saying that the US has a positive influence has risen to 35% from 31% a year ago, according to the survey.
Maybe it's cause we're electing a new president this year?
North Korea’s Deadly Exit – TIME
To North Koreans, the period just before the spring barley harvest is known as "barley hill." In the past, failure to get over the "hill" has meant death by starvation, particularly during the famine years a decade ago, during which some two million North Koreans died. Even though Seoul is now sending 400,000 tons of rice each month to the North, NGOs have reported scattered food shortages.
North Korea's Deadly Exit - TIME
Hard to believe that we just sent the NY Phil there… and the whole country is still stuck with a sort of autocratic militaristic feudal police state. …and yet the government is seeing to it that it's citizens remain in the country, despite the starvation conditions.
The situation is unlikely to improve. Sources say it was once relatively easy to bribe North Korean border guards to look the other way when people tried to cross over. Not so now. "It appears the North Koreans have increased salaries on the border, or put more senior guards there, over the past year or so, because things are more difficult now," says a Christian activist working under cover in China. This source, whose group claims to have moved hundreds of North Koreans to freedom over the past three years, says the flow is "now down to a trickle." Public executions, he adds, "are meant to ensure that that remains the case."
