Bruce Sterling’s comments and responses are relatively interesting…
Also check out his keynote at http://www.transmediale.de/en/keynote-bruce-sterling-us-atemporality
Archive for the ‘conflict’ Category
Melbourne’s Gen Y
Karen doesn’t need to tell Gen Y to shut up and shop … Where is Karen?
Read more at The Age – Get Y @ 30 … Here’s what their sample looks like:
It’d be interesting to read about India’s Gen Y or China’s Gen Y.
How dictators watch us on the web
I haven’t read much critiques of internet activism/protest – and here’s a good article to consider.
Yet even if the internet doesn’t always bring people out onto the streets, its adherents have another, subtler argument. For democracy to succeed, they say, you need civil movements to help make protests more intense, frequent and well-attended. A vibrant civil society can challenge those in power by documenting corruption or uncovering activities like the murder of political enemies. In democracies, this function is mostly performed by the media, NGOs or opposition parties. In authoritarian states—or so the story goes—it is largely up to lone individuals, who often get locked up as a result. Yet if citizens can form ad-hoc groups, gain access to unbiased information and connect with each other, challenges to the state become more likely. And social theorists like Robert Putnam argue that the emergence of such groups increases social capital and trust among citizens.
Also, worth keeping track of a story by Victoria Police sharing information with corporations about protestors.
Blood Computers and Mobiles
Blood Coltan is a documentary about the West’s demand for Coltan, used in mobile phones and computers, is funding the killings in Congo. Under the close watch of rebel militias, children as young as ten work the mines hunting for this black gold. ‘Blood Coltan’ exposes the web of powerful interests protecting this blood trade. Meet the powerful warlords who enslave local population and the European businessmen who continue importing Coltan, in defiance of the UN.
A documentary by Java Films – Year : 2007 / Duration : 52 min / Production : Tac Presse / Director : Patrick Forestier / Version available : English, France.
Watch the film on Google Video, embedded below:
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