Recently I've gotten into some more indie surf music, as some call it, after initially being introduced to Vampire Weekend by my uncle. This time I've found one on my own, Two Door Cinema Club, a great band that sounds amazing and has a great feel to it. An added plus are their music videos, which are great and can definitely be watched over and over again. For your audio and visual pleasure, I will post them here for you to enjoy.
What You Know-
I Can Talk-
The first time I saw this video, I barely noticed everything that way going on, but the repeated viewing showed me how amazing the camerawork and editing is in this one. Still amazes me.
Something Good Can Work-
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
The War Against Censorship: ACTA
While the controversy surrounding Anti-Piracy bills and legislation has settled down to a mere murmur in America, the European Union has gone forward with a new piece of legislation that would be worse than SOPA and PIPA combined and could spell the end for internet privacy and freedom of speech. Sponsored by the United States as well as many other prominent European countries, the ACTA legislation has risen up to the forefront in European politics. Being discussed behind closed doors, the bill would have all complying countries form an outside organization to deal with online piracy. (Similar to the the WTO or other international organizations.) However it has come under attack as restricting many forms of internet trade along with censoring the internet. Obviously this raises some fears that it would trample on the freedom of speech, expression, and digital rights. Parallels have been drawn from it to SOPA and PIPA, but with the number of countries seemingly ready to ratify it and the international aspect it is much more dangerous.
Originally drafted in 2006 by the US and Japan, more countries soon joined, in secrecy of course. These nations include: Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Morocco, and the European Union (who signed off with 22 non-represented states present). Other countries, like Mexico for example, have been involved in talks but have yet to sign on it. You would think that this would at least be decided by elected officials, representatives of government. Wrong. The main contributors to the bill have been corporations, ones that easily have a bias for this type of bill. Disney, Time-Warner, Sony, and many more entertainment and legal corporations have pledged monetary support for this bill. The bill that would help them increase and already outrageous profit while choking out individuals rights.
Similar to SOPA/PIPA, ACTA will require the internet service providers to monitor internet activity for piracy. This means they'll take the fall for anything that passes under their watch, so they will most certainly take precautions. Censorship will be inevitable as the providers work to avoid pricey fines and legal issues caused by piracy on their service. Remember how Facebook and pretty much every social media site would have to censor user content/ Emails being pre-read to determine any illegitimate material? Yeah, that would totally happen with ACTA. And because this isn't just the US, it would be way harder to circumnavigate. Think Big Brother only internationally, that's pretty much it. Or the beginning of it. Because once the world lets a piece of legislation like this pass, it will be much easier to pass similar, stronger bills than it will be to take it back. The line is drawn here, and if ACTA isn't shot down then we could all be royally screwed.
Luckily there's always things we cyber-activists can do. (I must say its cool to be a cyber-activist.) As always you can sign online petitions. You may not think it makes much of a difference, one signature. But the petitions are meant for the statistic standpoint. If representatives of opposition can go up and be like "Hey, we've got millions of people against this think, you better watch it." Its much better to have evidence of this than just hearsay. Also contact INTA, an organization currently compiling a report on the bill. Let them know your concerns with the bills in order for them to fully document the opposition and reasons for opposing the bill. And as always, read the actual bill. While the internet may be tempting with it's TL;DR versions, reading the actual bill along with these sources will give you a thorough understanding of the issues and enable you to speak about it in order to inform others. Informing others is everything. Also besides the bill, read up on it through wikileaks. This gives you background on the bill besides what it actually says. That way you know the history and where the bill is coming from.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Retaliation:
Recently on Saturday there was a worldwide rally against ACTA, the bill that could "destroy absolutely everything you hold near and dear, including kittens and puppies." <= (Felt like being sensationalist.) Millions of people took to their respective streets to raise awareness and protest the bill, which has been pretty secretive until now. Thousands of places across Europe are participating, as well as those across the world. While the United States had minimal action in the physical sense, millions took to the web to express their discontent with the bill.
Happily these protests have had results with Poland hesitating last week. Several other countries have joined Poland today in withholding their support of the treaty. Slovakia, Czech Republic, Latvia and Germany have all held their support due to the popular protests. In fact, healthy opposition has even taken root in the EU parliament. EU Parliament President Martin Schulz criticized the treaty on national television, saying he was not content with it in it's current form. Holy schnikes, things getting done. Progress being made? Can you smell the activism in the air, oh so refreshing.
Originally drafted in 2006 by the US and Japan, more countries soon joined, in secrecy of course. These nations include: Canada, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Morocco, and the European Union (who signed off with 22 non-represented states present). Other countries, like Mexico for example, have been involved in talks but have yet to sign on it. You would think that this would at least be decided by elected officials, representatives of government. Wrong. The main contributors to the bill have been corporations, ones that easily have a bias for this type of bill. Disney, Time-Warner, Sony, and many more entertainment and legal corporations have pledged monetary support for this bill. The bill that would help them increase and already outrageous profit while choking out individuals rights.
Similar to SOPA/PIPA, ACTA will require the internet service providers to monitor internet activity for piracy. This means they'll take the fall for anything that passes under their watch, so they will most certainly take precautions. Censorship will be inevitable as the providers work to avoid pricey fines and legal issues caused by piracy on their service. Remember how Facebook and pretty much every social media site would have to censor user content/ Emails being pre-read to determine any illegitimate material? Yeah, that would totally happen with ACTA. And because this isn't just the US, it would be way harder to circumnavigate. Think Big Brother only internationally, that's pretty much it. Or the beginning of it. Because once the world lets a piece of legislation like this pass, it will be much easier to pass similar, stronger bills than it will be to take it back. The line is drawn here, and if ACTA isn't shot down then we could all be royally screwed.
Luckily there's always things we cyber-activists can do. (I must say its cool to be a cyber-activist.) As always you can sign online petitions. You may not think it makes much of a difference, one signature. But the petitions are meant for the statistic standpoint. If representatives of opposition can go up and be like "Hey, we've got millions of people against this think, you better watch it." Its much better to have evidence of this than just hearsay. Also contact INTA, an organization currently compiling a report on the bill. Let them know your concerns with the bills in order for them to fully document the opposition and reasons for opposing the bill. And as always, read the actual bill. While the internet may be tempting with it's TL;DR versions, reading the actual bill along with these sources will give you a thorough understanding of the issues and enable you to speak about it in order to inform others. Informing others is everything. Also besides the bill, read up on it through wikileaks. This gives you background on the bill besides what it actually says. That way you know the history and where the bill is coming from.
___________________________________________________________________________________
Retaliation:
Recently on Saturday there was a worldwide rally against ACTA, the bill that could "destroy absolutely everything you hold near and dear, including kittens and puppies." <= (Felt like being sensationalist.) Millions of people took to their respective streets to raise awareness and protest the bill, which has been pretty secretive until now. Thousands of places across Europe are participating, as well as those across the world. While the United States had minimal action in the physical sense, millions took to the web to express their discontent with the bill.
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| ACTA protests across Europe. |
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Break #3
This week was really easy for a break post, as I found this amazing video. I swear I watched this thing more than 20 times. Anyways, this especially caught my eye because the guy is a college professor at Rutgers College. That's right, hes in the American Studies Department. He filmed himself after ea to make the video, no mean feat. And it was the first time in five years he had shaved. Crazy right? Anyways "Mattstaches"s twitter is here if you're interested. I'd say a pretty good turnout from the internet for today.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Tweets from Tahrir
Aljazeera English recently put up a new mini-series of videos documenting the Egyptian uprising. Can you believe it's been a year already? Real change is still yet to come however, as the military is still in control in their interim-government position. But things have definitely come a long way from Hosni Mubarak's tyrannical rule. As I watched these short yet bittersweet clips, i got chills down my spine. I remember how enthralled i was when this was going on. I cannot imagine how it must have been for the Egyptians fighting for their country, their families, their lives. I hesitantly look forward to the documentaries that will air, no doubt sooner than later.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Break Week #2
AS with last week I've decided to post another video that should help you take a break from all the political activism and world knowledge you've amassed from this week. From now on I might try to do a weekly "break" video. We'll see how that goes, but for now here's a creative way to get acquainted with your phone:
Reddit: Activism Center
I've referenced Reddit before in a couple of posts and I thought I would explain and highlight it more here. Along with my love fair with Al Jazeera, Reddit gives me breaking news and discussion on events as they happen. Reddit is a social news sharing site; people post links to videos, pictures, comics, articles, anything and everything you could think of. It is also made up of many different subreddits that each deal with a certain topic. The most popular ones are on the frontpage, what everyone sees when they first visit Reddit. Politics and World News are a couple that I find quite useful in finding stories and discussion on them. Also the SOPA subreddit has become pretty big, with numerous posts a day and lots of discussion. Sometimes subreddits are small however. They may not have very many posts, or if they do little discussion. However, these subreddits are still useful as they can give you links to stories and videos that you may have never seen otherwise. R/Egypt is a good example, not that many readers but numerous good posts. I cannot tell you the number of times I've stumbled upon something on Reddit only to hear it a day later on the news. Reddit frequently shows itself to be one of the first place news stories emerge, as they are a large community on the internet. In today's style of journalism, stories often break over the internet and I find that Reddit is a good place to discover these. Plus it also supplies tons of entertaining content as well. I suggest you go check out Reddit, I think you'll enjoy it.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Revolution 2.0
With the Super Bowl coming up many Americans are getting ready to get their chips and queso, beer, and plop in front of the TV as they are entranced by the game (and also the commercials). Quite different from American football is Egyptian from football. As with the rest of the world, they call what we call soccer, football. Things are often taken more seriously with this sport, with different clubs having fierce rivalries and fans often get caught up in less-than satisfactory situations. Unfortunately one of these situations happened in Egypt, a place of instability since Mubarak's ousting. The worst brawl in 15 years, recently a riot broke out after club Al-Masry defeated rival club Al-Ahly 3-1. Immediately after the game ended, Al-Masry fans flooded the field to celebrate. What exactly prompted the next course events is uncertain, but it became an overall riot. The usual finger-pointing was had between the two clubs, but regardless things quickly got out of hand. Firecrackers and flares were thrown into crowds and reports of stabbings were rampant. The Al-Ahly team has to sprint off the field and hunker down in their locker room until they were rescued, as thousands outside brawled. This all happened with little intervention from police. Is this an indication of more to come? What has this have to do with Egypt's revolution and it's future?
The security at the soccer game may have been too small to properly handle a riot of that magnitude, but many are calling out the interim government for not responding quickly to the violence erupting after the game. Others even say that the military general led government purposely allowed the violence to happen in order to extend their rule. Regardless of the motive behind the lack of response, this situation clearly represents what can and will happen in a country will a security vacuum. When the police have been the enemy for so long, the new government is bound to pull them back a lot because of the public outcry against them. But this creates new problems, as seen here. The whole revolution has left people with the taste of disobedience and action, and this can lead to situations like this. Between this and dissatisfaction with the interim government, these clubs are often politically inclined, sometimes leading to risky maneuvers. In this case the Al-Ahly club has been vocal against the interim government and how things are taking place after the revolution. Some believe that the lack of security and the fact that the Al-Ahly club was stranded there before they were rescued was because of their political leanings. That this was meant as a lesson to them to keep quiet about such things. Now most of these theories sounds like conspiracy theories, but one has to remember the place where this is taking place. Government and political cover ups are nothing new to Egypt, so one must not be too quick to throw out these seemingly out there theories. Because the egyptian people have definitely become angry with the government after this.
After the riot, anger flared at the government for they lack of response. Soon people took to the streets once more, calling for better protection and for a government that responds for the people. However this time response was much more than at the riot, as riot police took to the streets as well, firing tear gas and reportedly live rounds, leaving at the moment 4 dead after the initial riot and 138 injured. Citizens took the the streets to protest against the government in Cairo, but things soon deteriorated into a riot as Interior buildings were set on fire and riot police fought back as the protestors neared the Interior Ministry.
The security at the soccer game may have been too small to properly handle a riot of that magnitude, but many are calling out the interim government for not responding quickly to the violence erupting after the game. Others even say that the military general led government purposely allowed the violence to happen in order to extend their rule. Regardless of the motive behind the lack of response, this situation clearly represents what can and will happen in a country will a security vacuum. When the police have been the enemy for so long, the new government is bound to pull them back a lot because of the public outcry against them. But this creates new problems, as seen here. The whole revolution has left people with the taste of disobedience and action, and this can lead to situations like this. Between this and dissatisfaction with the interim government, these clubs are often politically inclined, sometimes leading to risky maneuvers. In this case the Al-Ahly club has been vocal against the interim government and how things are taking place after the revolution. Some believe that the lack of security and the fact that the Al-Ahly club was stranded there before they were rescued was because of their political leanings. That this was meant as a lesson to them to keep quiet about such things. Now most of these theories sounds like conspiracy theories, but one has to remember the place where this is taking place. Government and political cover ups are nothing new to Egypt, so one must not be too quick to throw out these seemingly out there theories. Because the egyptian people have definitely become angry with the government after this.
 |
| Troops were deployed in Port Said following the clashes. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the country's ruling military council, vowed to track down those behind the violence. |
 |
| Egyptian protesters help a wounded man during clashes with security forces near the interior ministry in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2012. (AP / Khalil Hamra) |
Clashes between police and protestors over the past few days have intensified and leads many to wonder if there is a possibility of a revolution mark II. Many in the country, especially the youth who started the revolution, are upset that many of Mubarak's cronies and generals are still in power. Despite their claim that they will hand over power to an elected official or new parliaments soon, the interim government has yet to do so, increasing distrust among it's citizens. This distrust has culminated in this riot against them, sparked by their inaction at the soccer riot. Tensions are running high as ever and violence is looming. With all of these recent happenings it seems that there may be another revolution to oust the post-revolutionary government. Being one of the first countries to succeed in the Arab Spring, Egypt is still very much a leader in this revolution era. But with all the problems they have been facing, it seems that Egypt has to get everything together before it can act as a role model for other countries in this tense time.
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