Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Tune to KKCR Thursday for more news from outside the Democratic Convention
Katy Rose emails:
Thursday, August 28 4 - 5:30 on KKCR (Kaua'i Community Radio)
Join Katy and guest co-host Marcus as we speak with a protest organizer and bloggers at the the site of the Democratic National Convention in Denver. (Jimmy Trujillo will be off this Thursday.)
We'll talk with Jim and Judy Tarbell, writers and community radio programmers from Northern California. Jim is the co-author of "Imperial Overstretch: George W. Bush and the Hubris of Empire." Jim and Judy are in Denver participating in protests and
reporting on the events at their "Justice Rising" site:http://afdjusticerising.blogspot.com/search/label/Conventions%202008
Also, we will be joined on the phone by Clayton Dewey of Unconventional Denver, a local chapter of the Unconventional Action committee, a nation-wide anarchist network organizing protests and direct action at the Democratic and Republican conventions.
http://www.unconventionalaction.org
Note that you can stream the program from kkcr.org if you’re out of listening range.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Your humble blogger banned from Advertiser blog!
by Larry Geller
I wanted to check again what Rich Figel posted the other day, which I had not read completely. So I clicked over to his blog. Look what I got:
Yeah, me. I am banned! Can you beat that.
My guess is that anyone would get that message, but I can’t be sure. They still feature Rich’s blog on their blog page:
How crude. Maybe they mean that Rich has been banned, but that’s not what they said.
It’s not like I’m a nasty commenter or something. I’ve never posted a comment on a blog at that website.
I checked some of the other Advertiser bloggers who are supporting the strike. Stephen Tsai’s popular Warrior Beat is still there. You can read his last story though comments are now blocked (but not before an astounding 1087 comments were posted!). Others seem to be still there. ‘Cept for Rich. Whatever he said in his last post must have been real good!
Well, I’m not going to creep into a corner and cry about being banned by the Advertiser. I’d just like to let them know that this is a dumb way to treat web visitors. I’m pretty sure they are sending that message to anyone who dares to visit Rich’s blog, so I won’t take it personally.
I learned from Tsai’s last article that the newspaper has a policy prohibiting their bloggers from participating in any other site. So I guess no one will be shifting over to Disappeared Blogs after all. It was just an idle thought (it’s still there, though, if it can be of any use).
If the strike is prolonged, I hope Advertiser bloggers will each find their own way to get back onto the Internet. I enjoyed reading several of them, including Rich’s now disappeared blog.
Injunction against Office of Elections fails
by Larry Geller
Oh, well. It was a very good try. Perhaps a different judge would have ruled differently.
Update: Foolish me. I was going by the Maui News story. The suit hasn’t failed, according to an email from attorney Lance Collins. Just the motion for preliminary injunction. The judge wants to have a full trial and a full record.
The Maui News reports today (snippet):
Judge denies renewed request to ban electronic voting machines
A judge Monday denied a renewed request by five Maui residents who had sought a preliminary injunction to prevent electronic voting machines from being used in state elections.
While commending the residents for their "active participation in government," 2nd Circuit Judge Joseph Cardoza said, "The damage to the fast-approaching elections would be considerable if this court were to issue preliminary injunctive relief."
So instead of damaging the elections by preventing the machines from being used, now the risk is that the machines will be allowed to damage the elections all by themselves.
Without knowing where the machines might be emailing their vote tallies, and as long as the software is secret and proprietary, there’s no way that a person who uses the machines can be sure that their vote will count, or won’t be “flipped” in favor of the other candidate.
Following airport delays
by Larry Geller
I thought I would share a useful website with you.
Today CNN announced flight delays due to a computer problem in Atlanta. I’m not flying, but I was wondering if there was a way that people could easily tell what’s happening with that. So I visited my favorite airplane states site, flightstats.com, and sure enough, they have a Google mashup showing flight delays right there. And no delays shown except on the East Coast.
But this is really just an excuse to let you know about this handy site. I use it when I have to pick someone up at the airport. You can put in their flight, and it will send messages to your cellphone.
So I get a message enough ahead of the flight arrival that I figure it’s about time to think about going to the car. Then, while waiting someplace near the airport, it lets me know the flight is in. That’s a cool service.
You can put your own flight in and I think it is supposed to let you know if there will be significant delays before it leaves. I did that, but there were no delays, so I couldn’t test it out.
Following the DNC, what to do?
by Larry Geller
Bottom line, I’m looking at streaming video sites like ustream.tv. There was just a stream of Hillary speaking. Tomorrow, Wednesday, there will be a live stream of a healthcare forum featuring Hillary Clinton and others. That will be 5:30 a.m. in Honolulu, and a website with info is here.
There’s so much alternative coverage. What is turning out to be disappointing is clicking around to blog sites for those who are live-blogging. Why? They can only be in one place at a time.
Using a newsreader to pick up the blog RSS feeds is helping. I’m not going to spend any time on this, though, because I don’t feel a burning need to actually spend all my real time on this circus. I’m concerned that none of the demonstrators get hurt, and also that none of the cops actually use those deadly-looking weapons on anyone. Why do they give those things to cops anyway? That’s a recipe for trouble. I wonder if they’re really loaded.
Democracy Now is broadcasting two hours for the duration, but most stations won’t carry more than the first hour. Even their website doesn’t make the second hour available as a podcast. You can see the whole two hours by clicking on their embedded video. So that’s what I’ll be doing, later this evening.
Much of the coverage actually obscures what’s happening, though Democracy Now has discussed it without flinching. What’s happening is that Obama is surrounding himself with Clinton’s hawkish advisors. Biden as VP is not good news to me. Letting AT&T richly reward congresspeople visiting their party is shameful.
Hope for hope and expectation of change are going down the drain rapidly. But we can’t flush, we need to choose the lessor of the two evils, or we’ll end up with more Bush, more neocons, more war, more evil judicial appointments.
The circus is really turning into a tragic spectacle, I suspect, for those who hoped for better.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Advertiser locks out comments for striking blogs (space available elsewhere, though…)
by Larry Geller
I visited some Advertiser blogs. Some are still posting, apparently not joining the strike. Others have comments locked out (also see the comment posted to Newspaper meltdown 9: Hawaii’s first blog strike.
I hope the strike doesn’t go on too long, many of the Advertiser blogs are really good reading. Of course, I also hope the paper settles its dispute with its staff and gives them a nice, new contract.
If the blog strike goes on and bloggers are itching to post, it’s so easy these days to create your own blog, even for temporary use. I created this one, Disappeared Blogs, in something like 20 seconds. Anyone can do it. There’s a few things that would still need tweaking, but I just wanted to illustrate how fickle the web can be. Locked out one place? Go to another.
And we’re still a two-newspaper town, both bristling with blogs and possibly welcoming new ones.
There’s no monopoly on blogs, right? The trick is to get people to come read yours after you have committed your article to the infinite blogosphere.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Tear gas used against protestors in Denver? No news yet…
by Larry Geller
… but there is a tweet from Ian Lind, on the ground in Denver, about an hour ago:
Eyes stinging after riot police confront protest group downtown-tear gas used?
This is the value of Twitter. Instant news.
Follow Ian at his blog, or you can even subscribe to his tweets.
I couldn’t find any news yet on the web but haven’t searched thoroughly. If I twittered, it would be to let you know I’m off shortly to see the Merchant of Venice, so no time to follow events in Denver for a while.
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Newspaper meltdown 9: Hawaii’s first blog strike
by Larry Geller
Why would people who are not paid go on strike? In this case, because they aren’t being paid. From Rich Figel’s latest article:
The Advertiser blog strike is supposed to start Monday, Aug. 25, so after Sunday I don’t know when (or if) I’ll be back. One issue is staff writers want to be compensated for extra work, such as blogging, Fair enough. But shouldn’t freelance bloggers be paid for our contributions as well? Content is content, and the Advertiser should pay writers who provide it.
Rich is discussing something that has so many aspects to it… I’d like to take up this thread. But randomly, since my thoughts don’t have a logical sequence to them.
Subordinating paper to web
The Advertiser appears desperate to promote its web site. I say that because it’s clearly sacrificing the print edition, using space and its most eye catching graphic highlights to suggest to readers that they drop the paper and rush to their computers right now. If I were running a restaurant, do you think I would send my customers to another establishment for desert and coffee? I don’t think so. But that’s what they’re doing.
Recently there was a big promo for Metromix, a feature of the Advertiser web page, which turns out to be owned by Gannett and Tribune Co. I can’t find the reference, but I recall that this website can be run by only two people. My guess is that, just as print staff is being tapped to create the on-line blogs, the arts and entertainment staff could be pressured into providing fodder for Metromix. Just a guess. How else will they fill it up? Only by sucking the blood of the print staff.
As you see from the pic, I did as I was supposed to, I took the paper over to my keyboard and checked Metromix out on the web.
So the web biz will be nurtured at the expense of the print publication. The article pictured in the August 13, 2008 Island Life section above is nothing more than a big infomercial.
Although I said “The Advertiser,” it’s pretty clear from reading blogs around the web that other Gannett papers are going through a similar process.
Here’s another example of trashing the print paper.
Yup, I’m back at the keyboard. The Advertiser runs the beginning part only of three blogs at the top of their Classified section. In order to read them, I need to drag the paper to my computer and go to the web. Heck with the paper, think I. Why not just go to the web in the first place? And what about granny and grampa, who don’t have a computer? They can never read the ending to the stories. Shame on whoever thought of this disrespectful and desperate strategy. I can’t think of any kind words for it, believe me, I tried.
Ok, I need to make a contrast. The other day I picked up my free Star-Bulletin at Subway. Leafing through it, I felt as though the editors wanted me to read the paper.
Here’s a long feature, a short story actually. In a newspaper. They are giving me something to read! Bless them. The feature story complements the content on the right-hand page.
This pic was snapped at my dining room table, no need for a computer at all. And granny and grampa might enjoy the story. It explains why one young woman accumulated a series of tattoos as her relationships collapsed. It’s of inter-generational interest. Although tattoos aren’t high on my interest list, I didn’t feel shoved away from the paper, I was encouraged to embrace it. That’s my point.
The Star-Bulletin, despite its hard little right-wing heart, is still something one can admire (both papers have admirably qualities, I’m just getting carried away with this concept of a paper wanting people to read it).
Newsprint can’t even compete with this
Gannett also invests in shoplocal.com (try it, put in your zip code). Going to the website, I noticed that I won’t need to look at the numerous ads packed with the Sunday paper any more. OfficeMax, RadioShack and more, they’re on this website. Even better, if I am looking for a Garmin GPS (for example), I can search for the best deal in Honolulu. That takes work, if all you have is the circular ads.
Logical extension: another reason why you don’t need to subscribe to the print edition. Just as Craigslist knocked classified ads out of the business model for print papers, services such as shoplocal could put a real dent in advertising circulars.
If publisher Lee Webber is planning to save the paper by doing this, he may be shooting himself in the foot (but no good NRA member would do that, so I’m assuming that Gannett is shooting him in the foot).
Oh, the site offers to send sale info to your email inbox. Can you beat that?? Perhaps a second Craigslist is in the making. And more layoffs at the print paper. Honolulu could end up a one-paper town after all.
I have to reveal a secret. I’ve wanted to be able to put together a comparison-shopping site for years, before there was actually an Internet. Of course, I never did anything with the idea. And now we have shoplocal. When it becomes possible to compare the price of milk (say) at Safeway, Times and Foodland, my idea will have been realized.
Note, please, all the investments in the web. Fine, good. How much is being invested to keep the newspaper alive, or are they (and other papers) thinking they can lay off staff and save it? We’ll have to see how that works out.
Blogging isn’t reporting
It seems the Advertiser is pushing its staff to write blogs. Without compensation. The push is amazingly strong. A huge crowd of bloggers have been assembled at the Advertiser website from among staff and freelancers. It’s as big a change for the paper as going from black-and-white to color might have been in the old days. A real benefit.
Yet it won’t compensate its bloggers, who are a key part of the plan to save its business?? Come on, now.
Worse, it’s easy to find blogs that are interesting, and some can be newsy, but vanishingly few blogs do the same work as experienced, trained reporters. And if the paper rots away, what will we bloggers have to quote (or complain about)?
There’s also something about the blog comments, which take us to Rich Figel’s latest-article-but-one: “Idiocracy”: Reading Article Comments. The stupid, ill-informed comments that are allowed to collect around many blogs, whether newspaper sites or not, are part of a world that is very different from anything that could be described as traditional journalism. A website does no service to the public by providing a forum for useless trash comments. If comments were moderated as they do letters to the editor, something of value might come of them. As it is, while there may be worthwhile reading amid the trash, it’s often just too much work to pan for the gold.
It’s also ugly, something like not picking up the litter around the yard. The whole scene gets trashy. And those commenters aren’t valued readers of the newspaper. They buzz around any website that will allow them to leave their narcissistic remarks.
If this is what a venerable newspaper is creating as its legacy, then the future is pretty much predetermined. Either we will have a respected newspaper with value to the community, or a cheap-to-operate website with standards low enough to accommodate comment junk.
Recognizing death throes when you see them
With shrinking experienced local staff, how long can a paper stretch out its survival? We can expect “media consolidation” in the form of more imported articles. More AP stories, for example. This inevitably turns “fair and balanced” into AP’s bias. Look, for example, at today’s breaking news and you’ll find these “balanced” articles:
Yup, each candidate gets a story. One is a fawning pro-McCain AP article, one a strongly anti-Obama AP article. And this, in a very pro-Obama town. If the editors are thinking at all, what do they think their readers will make of this transparent bias? Neither story addresses substantive issues. If I wanted to read USA Today I would have bought that paper. Oh, this is a web page. I forgot for the moment. Let’s see what is printed in the newspaper.
The spot previously occupied by Dick Adair’s editorial cartoon is filled, very awkwardly, by some national cartoon unrelated to Hawaii. Each time I look at that spot, I am reminded that Adair’s cartoon used to be there. The uncomfortable import is a pretty glaring reminder of how the reader’s interest has fallen by the wayside.
Let me close by saying that the Advertiser website has, IMHO, improved immensely. The layout is better (especially if your ad blocker is turned on), and the navigation is better than when they first cut over to the new system. I rely on them for breaking local news. The website’s value is largely derived from its mirroring of the print edition supplemented by breaking news coverage that print cannot achieve. Yeah, the blogs are good too.
Let’s have more and better newspaper websites. And more and better local apps like shoplocal.
But not at the expense of the print paper. It would be sad to lose The Honolulu Advertiser as a sacrifice to keep www.honoluluadvertiser.com alive.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Obama picks Biden, so we’re in for Cold War
by Larry Geller
Condoleeza Rice’s rushed signing of an agreement with Poland to house a missile defense system was highly provocative, and no doubt linked to US military support for Georgia against Russia. In other words, Bush is starting up a new Cold War in his last moments in power.
Now Obama picks Biden as his running mate.
Progressive activist and former California Senator Tom Hayden’s recent article in The Nation, Warning to Obama on the New Cold War, argues that “the same Republican neocons who fabricated the reasons for going to war in Iraq are back, and now they have been paid to trigger a new cold war with Russia that benefits John McCain.” Pointing out the lamentable fact that we won’t hear such forthright warnings from Sen. Obama “or anyone in the Democratic hierarchy,” Hayden emphatically cautions that “[t]hese are dangerous, expensive unwinnable games being played with American lives to benefit Republican politicians and their oil company friends.”
…Hayden’s most imperative recommendation is that those supporting Obama “should step up their criticism of his hawkish mimicry of McCain, and consider lessening their support--though still voting for him--unless he distinguishes himself from McCain on the immediate crisis.”
The pressing need for sending such a signal to the presumptive candidate was made all the more urgent during the past week, when Sen. Joe Biden, “rumored to be very high on Sen. Barack Obama’s list of running mates,” met with the president and prime minister of Georgia. According to Politico, Biden made the trip in the interest of “further burnishing his foreign policy credentials ahead of Obama’s decision.”
Claiming to have seen no evidence supporting Russian assertions “that the Georgian military was engaged in a ‘genocide’ in the region of South Ossetia,” Biden promised $1 billion to "help the people of Georgia to rebuild their country and preserve its democratic institutions." He also used the occasion of his journey as an opportunity to engage in his own “hawkish mimicry” of McCain’s bellicose rhetoric toward the former Soviet Union. [opednews.com, 8/23/2008]
While this strengthens the Democratic Party ticket’s foreign policy cred, it also means, since Biden is a supporter of Bush’s moves against Russia, that no matter who is elected president, we’re likely to see the new administration supporting this new Cold War.
Not a good sign.
The future holds more mass illegal detentions
by Larry Geller
Caging demonstrators, clearing streets with preventitive detention sweeps, and indiscriminate arrests violate the spirit and the letter of the Constitution of the United States. [publiceye.org]
Of course. But New York City police, experts at unconstitutional mass arrests and street sweeping, have been advising the Denver police. So I guess we can expect more illegal police activities next week.
In NYC, police did not hesitate to arrest anyone and everyone in their path. Lawsuits were dragged on for years, and ultimately they settled ($2 million to be paid to 2004 protestors, NYC cops won’t have to admit fault). What a bargain.
If we see a repeat in Denver, they’ll do their thing, Constitution be damned, get sued by the ACLU and others, and pay up later. The payment will be considered to be a cost of doing business.
Let’s see if this is what business as usual in a police state looks like. Denver police could do the right thing, or they could emulate their NYC cousins. Which do you think will happen?
There are resources for activists on the Public Eye website, including this page, Security for Activists: Overcoming Repression.
Update on Maui elections lawsuit
by Larry Geller
The real news will come Monday. The hearing today on the lawsuit challenging the use of Hart voting computers without administrative rules lasted from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Gads, three hours on the operating table. It must have been something.
Expect a ruling Monday afternoon. And news of the outcome right here.
Election software may have been losing votes for ten years
by Larry Geller
Hey, just in time. Wish I had seen this before writing the previous post:
Electronic Voting Company Admits System Flaw Could Cause Lost Votes
A major electronic voting company has acknowledged its voting system contains a critical programming error that can cause votes to be dropped and lost. The company, Premier Election Solutions, formerly known as Diebold, said the problem has been part of its software for ten years but was only recently identified. The flawed software is on both touchscreen and optical scan voting machines made by Premier, which supplies voting machines to thirty-four states. [Democracy Now, 8/22/2008]
Ten Years! A problem that could have caused lost votes has been part of their software for ten years!
This is a different manufacturer, but again I ask, why is Hawaii risking our voting system with a precipitously granted and questionable contract for voting computers while other states back off?
And who will do something about it?
Legislature should investigate Hawaii election office
by Larry Geller
There is enough smoke surrounding the Office of Elections that the Legislature might think about conducting its own investigation into the integrity of the system.
What’s more important than our vote?
The issues around the Hart Intercivic contract, use of secret and therefore suspect software, and irregularities in procedure have been discussed here, but have also been covered by other blogs. Today’s Star-Bulletin editorial, Primary ballot change complicates voting, correctly points out that the Office of Elections has changed the previous ballot system, which was reliable and familiar to voters, with one designed to cause trouble and invalid votes (snippet):
…In previous primaries, voters selected a ballot color-coded for a party's candidates in partisan races. The new ballots will have voters checking one of six political parties, but all candidates' names will be listed on the same ballot.
This could cause confusion if voters think they can choose candidates from parties other than the one they checked. Voters also might mistakenly think they have to be registered party members. Others might consider themselves independent, check that and have their ballots rejected.
Cronin's office says instructions will be clear and voters at polling places will have a chance to redo their ballots if filled out incorrectly. However, that won't be possible when an absentee ballot is cast.
Star-Bulletin editors are right to highlight this bad decision, and restrained in their criticism. I would have liked to see the debate at their editorial conference about how much heat to put on Cronin, the Chief Elections Officer, for this very bad move.
I also think that we should no longer accept that he’s doing “a heck of a job” and get busy—immediately—to protect our elections. Just look at what this ballot change could mean:
Imagine that 2%, 5%, 10% or more of the voters are confused and have to re-do their ballots. Will there be enough extra ballots for them to fill out? Will there be enough time to process all the rejects before the polls close? How long will the lines grow as the confusion persists? How many voters will tear up their ballots rather than submit to the chaos?
The Star-Bulletin editorial continues (please read the whole thing):
Since absentee voting has grown in popularity - more than a third of total votes in the 2006 primary were by absentee ballots - the number of invalid ballots could increase.
There will be no helpful election officials handy to re-do those ballots. They’ll simply be lost if voters make a mistake.
The blogs are buzzing. Ian Lind today points to a post on the Progressive Democrats blog by long-time activist Bart Dame. Read that if you can, it’s very detailed on the myriad of issues challenging the system today.
I disagree with Bart on the value of open-source voting computer software. Anything is better than the secret software that completely erases citizen trust in these voting computers and makes us question the sanity of election officials nationwide who chose them (in fact, states are backing off on these computers while Hawaii seems to be creeping into bed with them) (see: Bring Jimmy Carter to Hawaii, please! Quickly!).
Open source software can be inspected by anyone. And geeks will jump at the opportunity. I doubt any funny business would get by. As time passes, open source software can only get better, and wrinkles in the system can be ironed out—in full public view.
But I’m only arguing one point. Bart’s discussion is very comprehensive. Check it out.
You’ll likely get steamed up at what he reveals about how our election system is being run. Secret meetings, questionable actions (like not allowing review of the ballots before they are printed).
If any of these actions are contrary to law, who’s enforcing the laws?
There’s time for our Legislature to hold hearings on what the blogs and newspapers have revealed. They better book the State Capitol auditorium, I’ll bet lots of people would attend.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Local press and the political conventions, find a new paradigm or die
by Larry Geller
(They taught me all I knew).
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
I give them all a rest.
–from The Elephant's Child, by Rudyard Kipling
With the coming political conventions, starting with the Democrats in Denver, will come a media deluge. After all, it's all a show, an extravaganza, a spectacle. Standards of journalism, we can expect, will be stretched to the interpretive limit.
How boring it would be for a reporter to attend a circus and simply report "the clown circumambulated the inner ring three times before tripping over his shoe and tumbling off to the right amid thunderous applause." Same thing for these political circuses.
Neither print nor Internet nor video media will resist going beyond the "Five W's" of reporting. Way beyond. It's the age of "infotainment," after all. Except maybe for CSPAN, we are used to talking heads telling us everything we already saw, but with their twist added.
Since most TV viewers are set in their ways, they can be expected to come away with the slant or "take" that their favorite network imposes. The media are far from neutral reporters. They won't miss the chance to push their line at every opportunity. Fox News isn't going to change its stripes and suddenly become truly "fair and balanced."
This time, though, bloggers have been given accreditation at the Democratic Convention that starts next week. So the gaggle of reporters will be augmented by the blogging corps. So will the professional photographers. Bloggers are often well-versed in the hot technologies of modern alternative media. Expect live video, tweets, photo- and video-blogging, and more.
Actually, there is perhaps an intermediate level between the professionals and the unwashed bloggers. It’s the alternative media, and since they possess essentially the same technologies as the bloggers below and subscribe to the principles of the commercial journalists above, I think they will also provide a valuable service.
It’s up to us to choose where we look (if we look at all) for our convention coverage.
Hawaii is fortunate to have Ian Lind representing us in the blogger corps. Tune in to his Twitter (microblog) tweets, instant photo posts and of course his stories over at his blog. Volunteering to take this trip is truly a sacrifice, I suspect, and we are the passive beneficiaries of the trials and tribulations he will endure for our sake (Applause) (really!).
For the alternative media, check Democracy Now each day. They are expanding their broadcast schedule to two hours daily, but local TV may carry only one hour. Both hours will be found on their web page, only a click away.
Let’s see how our newspapers do. In this case, they are the less-favored media. Local papers are still in crisis mode even as we demand something brilliant from them. They are getting thinner and relying on outside sources for their coverage. It makes sense to simply skip to those sources directly via the Internet. Sorry about that, local papers, but here is one case where I’d love to be surprised by local analysis, local cartoons, and insightful editorials. So surprise me. Until then, I’ll be tuned via the Internet to my favorite networks.
So what is a role that might be successful for local papers anywhere? What opportunities for brilliance in journalism do they have? I suggest they consider emulating the blogs. Instead of just covering the faraway news, which they must still do a little bit, they should work at creating new visions and new interpretations of events. They might try to connect the dots for us. How do these political events relate to Hawaii? Assume I’ll be watching on TV. So when the morning paper hits my doorstep, I’ll have seen it all. Now tell me something about it that I didn’t know.
Local dailies simply can’t compete for convention news. The visual is so much more powerful and efficient. The blogs are poised to outdo what newspapers usually offer in print, instantly, and with no limits on story length. Newspapers might think like bloggers for a change.
Why should real newspapers emulate mere bloggers? Because a large segment of our population still does not surf the Internet, though they do watch TV. The papers need a new paradigm to keep TV viewers as subscribers. This may be it. There’s a risk. TV viewers may become so excited at the spectacle (on their shiny new giant home theater screens) that they forget to renew their newspaper sub.
I think it’s already happening with the Olympics. Papers have effectively dropped out of the race. It’s hard to compete with a 42-inch LCD screen no matter what kind of fancy German press you have.
Here’s a chance for print publications to carve out a new future for themselves. It’s radical. Instead of gathering the news, help us make sense of what we see.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Ten French soldiers reportedly killed by NATO air support, not by Taliban
by Larry Geller
Who was flying the support mission that might have mistakenly killed French soldiers in Afghanistan?
The French army and ISAF in Kabul meanwhile refused to comment on a report in Le Monde newspaper quoting French soldiers who had survived the ambush saying they came under fire from NATO planes that had come to help them escape.
The soldiers also reportedly complained they had to wait for four hours before any backup was sent.
In Brussels, a NATO official said the alliance would "look into the report", while the Pentagon said it had no information that close US air support resulted in French casualties. [Sarkozy tells French troops in Afghanistan to keep fighting, AFP, 8/20/2008]
This is still under investigation. The story has been covered in several countries and by AFP, Al Jazeera and some other news services.
It’s possible that American pilots were involved, so pending the outcome of the investigation, I wonder how much coverage the report will get here.
Hawaii courting space industry folly again
by Larry Geller
I was just listening to Bytemarks Café, a new program on Hawaii Public Radio (Wednesdays 5-6 p.m., KIPO 89.3 FM or streaming from hawaiipublicradio.org). It will be available as a podcast in a couple of days, and I’ll post the link. It’s well worth listening to. In-studio was host Burt Lum and Ryan Ozawa.
I was interested in the first part. It seems there is to be an event at the State Capitol Auditorium tomorrow pushing Hawaii’s future in the space biz. Oh, well, here we go again. Sure, maybe something will happen, after all, there is some military shooting of satellites that happens from Kauai.
I’ve written about DBEDT’s high-tech folly before. I wouldn’t mind being proven wrong, but so far, while there is some high-tech industry, we are far from a place that has the education, infrastructure, or proximity to research facilities, vendors, or customers to sustain something like a space industry.
The second guest on the program was Guy Kawasaki, the well-known venture capitalist and Apple evangelist. He was raised in Hawaii (but he left…). He knows this place well (maybe that had something to do with his leaving?). So I called in and asked him a question.
I asked about the space plan. A couple of years ago Kawasaki was speaking at the UH business school. Someone, perhaps from DBEDT, I can’t remember, asked about Hawaii’s advantage since it was in middle of the Pacific, between the time zones of the Mainland and Asia. He totally shot that down, pointing out that it was no advantage whatsoever, and that Hawaii was just too far away from anyplace to do the kinds of things they were talking about.
So today I asked him about this space plan. Can Hawaii become the center of the universe for some kind of space industry? Of course, he shot that down too. To paraphrase, while lightning can strike anywhere, we should look at where we have an advantage. For example, we have a better chance at being successful in hotel software development than someone in Indiana in a place with one Holiday Inn.
He asked how we could think of building a spaceport (?) when we can't even build a train that goes from the airport to UH and Waikiki.
I think it was Ryan who then asked him what we should do to be successful in high tech. He said we should develop our engineering schools at UH. Later, he said that will take at least three administrations and maybe 20 (?) years. I guess he meant, don’t hold your breath.
Hmmm... my thinking exactly. How come I'm neither rich nor famous?
Anyway, congratulations to Burt Lum on his new program. And tune in to Disappeared News, I’ll post when the audio is available.
Town Square Thurs 8/21 5-6 pm on Native Hawaiian issues re ConCon
by Larry Geller
It seems that there are ConCon programs, panels and discussions sprouting everywhere these days. Good thing. But it’s usually a bunch of white guys arguing pro or con or with ideas about what needs changing.
Tomorrow, tune in to Hawaii Public Radio’s Town Square program for Annelle Amaral, Mililani Trask, and Lehua Kinilau discussing their views on a constitutional convention with host Beth-Ann Kozlovich.
One hour is certainly not enough time, but it’s a beginning. You can call and join in also.
Town Square is Thursday, 5-6 p.m., KIPO 89.3 FM or streaming from hawaiipublicradio.org. Guests will be introduced at the beginning, and Beth-Ann will announce the call-in number frequently. Have your pen, pencil or keyboard ready.
Who’s guarding the palace? Who’s guarding the State Capitol?
by Larry Geller
Governor Lingle has been deflecting criticism of the state’s role in protecting the Iolani Palace (an obligation it has to all the people of Hawaii, including the original people). She has focused on the HPD response issue, which is certainly important, while avoiding discussion of the lack of preparedness by the state itself.
In an interview, Lingle said, "This was the second incident, but this one involved a more serious situation. There's been a history of this issue -- long before I even became the governor -- there's been this jurisdictional issue and I just wanted to make certain that there was an unconditional assurance to me, to the people of the island of Oahu , that it doesn't matter whose property you're on, when there's trouble you call HPD we're going to get a response." [Officials discuss palace security, Star-Bulletin 8/20/2008]
The State Capitol is adjacent to Iolani Palace, and in my observation, security is just as lax.
I’m not advocating turning the State Capitol into a prison, but these days, and in particular while the Governor herself is involved with questionable ties with the Indonesian military, shouldn’t the state look at what measures need to be taken to be sure that any visitor to the State Capitol remains safe?
Suppose, just suppose, a FedEx truck drove down the ramp and parked in the loading area while the Governor was addressing the Senate. Now, suppose the driver left the van to deliver a package.
Now suppose instead of delivering a package, he caught a taxi and left the scene. And then, suppose that the FexEx truck blew up.
Goodbye senators, goodbye governor.
Simpler (no truck needed), suppose someone walked into the Governor’s office (or a legislator’s office) with a gift. Say, a carved wooden horse with wheels. Nice horse. Kind of heavy, but nice horse… then bang!
When you go into a courtroom there is security at the entrance. Nothing for Iolani Palace, nothing for the State Capitol, either.
A conservative historian on Afghanistan, Iraq, and more
by Larry Geller
I found myself glued to my mp3 player as I listened to today’s Democracy Now interview with Andrew Bacevich, “Retired colonel who spent twenty-three years in the US Army. He is professor of history and international relations at Boston University…” and author of The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism. An audio link is here. Video is here. Better, go to today’s program page for the full program video, or move the slider along to about 32 minutes for this segment. You can watch the program tonight on Oahu at 10 p.m. Channel 56.
 | The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism by Andrew Bacevich Read more about this title... |
A complete transcript is here. Snippets can’t do justice to the conversation, but here are a few:
AMY GOODMAN: You say the Department of Defense didn’t actually do defense. It was prepared—it specialized in power projection.
ANDREW BACEVICH: It still doesn’t do defense. I mean, it is a remarkable thing, I think, that the reflexive response to 9/11 is, first of all, to create a new bureaucratic entity that supposedly does defend the country—that’s the Department of Homeland Security, as we call it—but to continue to see the purpose of the Department of Defense, so-called, as power projection.
So, what has the Department of Defense been doing for the last seven years since 9/11? Well, been fighting a war in—where? Afghanistan. And a second one in Iraq. Now, I think you can make the case for Afghanistan, at least in terms of you can make a case for the necessity of holding the Taliban accountable for having given sanctuary to al-Qaeda. You can’t make any case for the invasion of Iraq as related to the global war on terror. And frankly, it’s becoming rather difficult, I think, to make a case for the continuation of the Afghanistan war as part of the global war on terror….
…if we look at Afghanistan today, we have to see a country that historically, at least as I understand Afghan history, has never really functioned as an integrated and coherent nation state. It’s never been ruled from Kabul. It’s always been ruled from the—in the provinces by people you might call tribal chiefs. You might call them warlords, you can call them local bosses, but authority has been widely distributed. But we are engaged in a project in which we insist that we’re going to transform Afghanistan into something more or less like a modern, coherent nation state, and indeed, we insist that it has to conform to our notions of liberal democracy.
Were we able to actually do that, I think it would be a wonderful thing. But seven years or so into this project, I’m not sure we can do it. Matter of fact, I’m increasingly persuaded that we can’t do it…
Skipping ahead:
AMY GOODMAN: So how is this narrowness [between the positions of presidential candidates] taking place? I mean, yes, you have McCain saying we’ll be in Iraq for a hundred years. You have Obama speaking out against the war, but he votes with McCain for funding for the war all through the years—
ANDREW BACEVICH: Right, right, right.
AMY GOODMAN: —as a senator, and then he says we’ll send thousands more, we should send thousands more troops to Afghanistan.
ANDREW BACEVICH: Right, right. I think there are differences between the two, but I think we should see the differences as differences in operational priorities. McCain insists that Iraq is the central front in the war on terror and that it must be won, and it’s clear that if we, the American people, elect him, that we will be engaged in Iraq for a long, long time. Senator Obama says, “No, Afghanistan is the central front in the global war on terror. Elect me and will shift our military effort to Afghanistan.” It’s a difference, but it’s a difference in operational priorities; it’s not a difference in strategy.
Both of them—McCain explicitly, I think Obama implicitly—endorse the notion that a global war on terror really provides the right frame for thinking about US national security policy going forward. A real debate would be one in which we would have one candidate, and certainly it would be McCain, arguing for the global war on terror and an opponent who was questioning whether the global war on terror makes sense. I don’t think it makes sense.
I think you’ll enjoy the whole interview. Please check it out.
Is there anyone working here against Hawaii’s ties with the Indonesian military?
by Larry Geller
In a comment to my post yesterday, Lingle should break her ties with murderous Indonesian military, commenter John wrote:
The East Timor and Indonesia Action Network (ETAN) continues to campaign against U.S. military assistance to the Indonesian military as a way to pressure for reform, human rights and accountability. See http://www.etan.org.
They would love to work with anyone in Hawaii to oppose its collaboration with the Indonesian military.
This comment raises the question: is anyone working here in Hawaii to oppose LIngle’s collaboration with the Indonesian military?
Comments please.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Lingle should break her ties with murderous Indonesian military
by Larry Geller
The Indonesian military is recognized for its brutality around the world and held responsible for massacres and genocide in East Timor and Aceh Provence. A reminder of this was part of today’s Democracy Now (10 p.m. Channel 56 if you are on Oahu):
Judge Rules Aceh Villagers Can Sue Exxon for Human Rights Abuses
A federal judge has ruled that a suit alleging human rights violations against Exxon committed in Aceh can be heard in a US court. Eleven villagers from Aceh say Exxon should be held liable for alleged violent crimes by military units of the Indonesian national army hired by Exxon to protect its facilities. According to some estimates, ExxonMobil has extracted some $40 billion from its operations in Aceh.
This news item reminded me that although the Indonesian military should be shunned and condemned by good people everywhere, Hawaii’s governor, Linda Lingle, has traveled to Indonesia and cozied up to their military establishment.
In fact, she’s agreed to help them repair helicopters, which could directly support future human rights atrocities. Earlier, I asked:
Why is Hawaii, a state, involved in high-level talks with the Indonesian military in the first place? Shouldn't Washington attend to intergovernmental affairs? Has Lingle been given some sort of special assignment unknown to the people of Hawaii? [Is Hawaii's governor Lingle setting up a secret military alliance with Indonesia for Bush?, Disappeared News, 6/11/2007]
We shouldn’t forget, in this election year, that Lingle is playing a role in Bush’s foreign policy. We might ask why, and demand that Hawaii not be involved in an individual’s ambitions.
Our cooperation with a hated regime may also make our islands a target of extremists.
"We should build up cooperation between the TNI (Indonesian Armed Forces) and the Hawaiian National Guard to beef up professionalism at the level of soldiers and low-ranking officers on maintenance of military equipment, such as helicopters and other equipment made by the United States," [Indonesian Defense Minister] Juwono [Sudarsono] said.
"In the coming months, scores of our soldiers will be sent to Hawaii to get trainings of the maintenance which could boost the capacity of troops," he added. [Indonesia, Hawaii set up military cooperation, people.com (China)]
The rest of this article is from the archive, a re-run, so to speak, but if you have not seen it before, read and understand why I think we should break this cooperation even as it is underway. Perhaps the Legislature might do something next session. It won’t, though, unless we, the people, ask it to.
Getting to know Hawaii's new partner, Indonesia
Aceh and US-supplied arms and ammunition
The Indonesian military committed massacres comparable to those committed in East Timor in Aceh province. They could not have committed their atrocities without US help, but that does not mean that Hawaii should become a part of it. Moving now to Aceh and Papua, from a post-tsunami article:
In Aceh, over 12,000 civilians have fallen victim to military operations that have included mass sweeps and forced relocations. These operations, almost constantly since the late 1970’s, have entailed brutal treatment of civilians including extra judicial killings, rape, torture and beatings. While the military’s quarry in these attacks, the pro-independence Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or GAM has also been responsible for human rights abuses, the State Department's Annual Human Rights reports have consistently reported that most of those civilians died at the hands of the military.The Indonesian military stepped up its actions to crush the popular Aceh separatist movement after the tsunami, opportunistically using the disaster to crush it:
Throughout this period, extending from 1965 to the early 1990's the U.S. military maintained a close relationship with the Indonesian military, providing training for thousands of officers as well as arms. From the late 1970’s to 1992, that training included grant assistance under IMET [International Military Education and Training]. The arms provided by the U.S. were employed by the Indonesian military not against foreign foes (the Indonesian military has never confronted a foreign foe except for brief clashes with the Dutch in West Papua) but rather against their own people. In the 70's and 80's, U.S.- provided OV-10 Broncos bombed villages in East Timor and in West Papua. Military offensives conceived and directed by IMET-trained officers against usually miniscule resistance caused thousands of civilian deaths.
... It’s unfortunate that it took the devastation of a tsunami to get the world to turn their heads. As TV viewers cringe and gasp at the piles of bloated bodies being bulldozed into mass graves, little do they know that mass graves are commonplace in Aceh. It’s one of the worst situations of repression in the world. The military occupation of Aceh, designed to defeat an armed independence movement and operated by convicted human rights abusers in the Indonesian military (Tentara Nasional Indonesia), has killed tens of thousands of civilians over the last three decades. The known murderers are now in charge of relief efforts in the worst-hit area of the tsunami disaster that has left over 100,000 people dead. The number of casualties are rising, as the politically driven bureaucratic mess of the Indonesian authorities restricts the flow of aid from to where it’s most needed.
As sympathizers of tsunami victims pour in donations, they need to know where the money goes. They need to know of not just the present destruction but the decades long devastation that has been forced on the Acehnese people.
Life in Aceh before the tsunami was no paradise. Even though Aceh is rich in resources, the people live in poverty with high rates of hunger and poor nutrition. A massive natural gas operation accrues high profits for Exxon Mobil and the government in Jakarta but leaves the people of Aceh oppressed and empty handed. In response to continuing exploitation from the Indonesian government, people in Aceh demanded independence. For decades, armed rebels known as the Free Aceh Movement (Gerakan Aceh Merdeka or G.A.M.) have battled the Indonesian military, demanding a referendum on independence from Indonesia. The Indonesian military has used G.A.M. as a scapegoat, blaming them for the lack of aid distribution in post-tsunami Aceh. Shortly after the tsunami hit Aceh, G.A.M. declared a ceasefire to ensure safe movement of humanitarian relief workers to locate victims, distribute aid and allow family members to track their loved ones.
Under martial law, the people of Aceh are not free to move. The military conducts regular sweeps where they stop cars on the road and pull people out. If you don’t have proper ID you’re taken into custody. If you resist, you are beaten. If you are on a military intelligence list of activists or sympathizers, you “disappear”. There is systematic torture, rape and murder. Mass graves pile high with victims of military beatings and massacres.
The Indonesian military is using the tsunami devastation as an opportunity to further implant their military power. They continue to attack and harass the civilian population. More lives are being lost as the military takes control of all relief efforts. The Indonesian military blames the G.A.M. for the imposed tight security restrictions on aid workers, even though the G.A.M. has publicly announced their appreciation: “We extend our deepest gratitude to the peoples and governments of countries that have not only shared our griefs and losses but have come to help our suffering people in such a swift, massive and unprecedented generosity.”
Meanwhile, reports of military control hampering relief operations are as follows:
Local NGOs are forbidden to participate in the distribution of aid to survivors and the families of victims.
Aid packages are being stock piled in Banda Aceh and Median airports and are not being effectively distributed.
Survivors lined up outside distribution centers are denied aid if they cannot produce identity cards. Sometimes they are harassed and beaten.
Donated food is being sold at black market prices outside of distribution centers.
The only hospital still functioning is operated by the military. Some international medical personnel are denied access.
Iolani Palace takeovers—what’s next?
by Larry Geller
The brief occupation of Iolani Palace by Haiku residents Akahi Nui, and his wife, Akahi Wahine, and their supporters, may seem over, but somehow I don’t think so.
There are questions lingering, some related to the action itself and some to the security situation around the palace itself. Let’s dispose of those first.
Linda Lingle is making a big deal about HPD supposed inaction at the palace grounds. That remains to be sorted out, and even as I write this, a press conference is taking place over at Mufi’s place. We’ll learn more from that, I’m sure, as soon as the reporters file their stories.
My question, though, is: where exactly were DLNR police or security guards? Is it fair to shift the blame to HPD to cover up the lack of vigilance of the state itself? And the state is ultimately responsible for security at the site, not HPD. Yes, the state was asleep and so the palace could be occupied.
The question of whether an HPD officer acted appropriately should also be settled soon, but again, I wonder if there had been a prior jurisdictional agreement which clarified that HPD was not in charge there, or was supposed to call DLNR, or something like that. We’ll possibly find out.
Ok, back to the main event.
I am an outsider, but as an outsider I wonder what the purpose of the takeover action might have been. Had the king made his way to the throne room and actually tried to stay there, chained or not, he would have ultimately been removed. And he had to know that.
The action earned publicity across the country. Perhaps that was its objective. It even made last night’s Democracy Now:
Hawaiian Pro-Independence Activists Occupy Former Palace
Police arrested twenty-two pro-independence activists in Hawaii on Friday after they briefly took control of the grounds of the Iolani Palace, the former home of Hawaii’s last monarchs. The protesters were members of the Kingdom of Hawaii, a group that supports returning a monarchy to Hawaii. Another pro-independence group called the Hawaiian Kingdom Government occupied the Palace grounds in April.
So what next? Yesterday’s Advertiser story indicated that Akahi Nui and Akahi Wahine would be returning to Maui yesterday on the Superferry. Yet according to sources who wish to remain anonymous because…, heck, why does anyone have to have a reason to remain anonymous? Anyway, not everyone has left.
So perhaps there is more to this story. It feels very much as though the other shoe has not yet dropped.
Friday, August 15, 2008
I love raw oysters, but beware these
by Larry Geller
Just a word to oyster lovers.
I suggest not buying oysters at Costco unless the box is sealed shut.
We were over there today and observed three teenage boys going through the boxes of oysters in the refrigerator cabinet. They were opening each box and handling and inspecting each oyster!
Of course, we called this to the attention of nearby staff, but they took a long time getting over to the oyster fridge, and so the boys were gone. We suggested that they now need to throw out all the oysters in the fridge because they don’t know which ones were handled.
At the customer service desk we suggested that the boxes be taped shut before being put out. Nearly everything has a safety seal, you’d think oysters would also.
Many people eat oysters raw, so we thought you ought to know about this.
Update: An anonymous comment warns against the dangers of eating raw oysters that have not been properly processed. Since many people don’t look at comments, I thought I would copy it into the main article here. Anonymous writes:
Check out the website www.rawoysteralert.com. I was shocked to learn that several individuals die each year from the consumption of raw oysters that are contaminated with naturally occurring Vibrio bacteria. Some gulf states have chosen to not take action in order to make raw oysters safe for ALL consumers.
Several years ago, the state of California made a requirement that all imported raw oysters must be pasteurized and since that requirement was put into place there have been NO FURTHER DEATHS in that state.
In order to affect change, consumers need to only accept oysters that are SAFE through post harvest processing or through being cooked. Consumer demand drives the market and the industry would be forced to provide oysters that did not lead to unnecessary deaths.
The website www.rawoysteralert.com has a wealth of information available and also explains how you can help in making the consumption of oysters safe for everyone. Please help us to spread the word and sign the petition.
Reading through the website, it seems to me that the number of individuals who get sick seems low, but on the other hand, one doesn’t want to become one of them. The consequences seem rather horrible!
Knowledge is good, so make your own choice about when/if to eat raw oysters.
Newspaper meltdown 8: Shrinkage at Honolulu Weekly
by Larry Geller
There’s a box in the current Weekly announcing that Brian Schatz won’t be appearing any longer in the paper. In part, it says:
Unfortunately, Schatz’s recent election as Chairman of the Democratic Party of Hawai’i makes his presence as a regular columnist unworkable in the context of our responsibility to report fairly and without the appearance of favoritism on issues facing our community.
It isn’t just Brian’s column which is gone, the entire front layout of the paper has been disappeared. Schatz hasn’t been replaced with anything.
At the same time, the Weekly, perhaps following the industry trend, is retreating to the Web. There seems to be no 1-week delay imposed on articles any longer. Might as well just start with the web and save some trees. If you’re reading this, you’re already a discerning web-surfer anyway.
Don’t miss Joan Conrow’s article in the Weekly, Unearthing burial laws. We on Oahu could learn much from the activism of the Kauai folks who are taking a firm stand against further desecration of burial sites by developers. The protests include legal action with a case currently before Judge Kathleen Watanabe.
Keep in touch with this movement via Joan’s blog, KauaiEclectic. Yup, on the web. The Star-Bulletin has an article and picture today: Building may continue atop burials. Yup, in print.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Follow Cindy Sheehan via Google Alerts
by Larry Geller
(Click for larger)
Photo: Flickr/smellyknee
Can a national peace icon with only $300,000 collected so far mount a successful challenge to Nancy Pelosi, the powerful speaker of the house? You betcha.
As the most powerful woman in government, Nancy Pelosi is used to confronting political rivals, but the House speaker has trouble on her flank. Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan (right), displeased with the Democrats’ lack of progress against the war, has gathered enough signatures to challenge Pelosi as an independent. [Sheehan qualifies for Pelosi challenge, truthdig.com, 8/12/2008]
She says Pelosi has failed the country by refusing to cut off funding for the war after Democrats reclaimed the majority in the 2006 elections. [Cindy Sheehan qualifies to run for Pelosi's seat, AP, 8/11/2008]
Even with less money, Sheehan’s straight talk should contrast nicely with Pelosi’s excuses for inaction and ought to offset some of the economic disadvantage.
Since