Aptenobytes

March 23, 2001

I was going to talk about politics and work, but I'm too tired to write about intelligent things. We started the process of reinforcing the foundations of our building today. This meant we had to empty the basement completely. 18 years of residence in one spot makes for a lot of detritus in a basement.

March 20, 2001

Politics.
Dirty word? Yes.
Somehow the people in my life have got it into their heads that I should run for office. I'm not sure what I think of that idea. As an anarchist, I really don't like the idea of participating in a process that I fundamentally disagree with. On the other hand, I have a big enough ego that I am both flattered by the idea and sure that I would better represent any given constituency than the idiots that are normally attracted to politics.
I've been examining my beliefs on anarchism and politics recently. Things were a lot clearer when I was an eighteen year old anarchist punk rocker. My idealism still exists, but to a certain extent it has been coloured by experience, and a lot of cynicism has crept in. The system as it stands does not work, that much is true. I still believe that any system that has the threat of violence as it's root is evil, and is slavery by another name. The real questions are what are the best methods of creating that better society. Armed revolution is always an option, but definitely not a good option. Currently I see the open source methodology for creating software as a good model of anarchist organisation. How do we translate a post-scarcity model like open source development of software to the scarcity world of distributing food? I don't have the answers but I'm trying to come up with options in my little pea head.
Another thing I've been trying to reconcile is my work and my beliefs. I work for a family business. It is a jewellery design and manufacturing company
. There is nothing that relies more on scarcity than the industry I find myself in … and that's been hard, but I'll write my justification for that for my next post.
It's bedtime now.

March 17, 2001

I found the above quote while surfing the web, and it struck a chord. I've ranted a few times on this page about copyright and I've been trying to figure out why I've been so pissed off about this.

The music industry as a whole has become one of the major tools for controlling "The ungovernable force"; the youth. By co-opting the music they are defusing one of the most powerful voices that has been historically used to cry out for change.The major labels are tools of their parent corporations who have agendas of their own.

Music is supposed to be about passion. Music is not supposed to be just another product created by some commitee . I believe the real danger that the free exchange of MP3's over the internet represents to the music industry is the lack of control. They are trying their best to lock down content creation, not just copy controls. Even the bands that are trying to fight for a change like Rage Against The Machine, and Chumbawamba were forced into the business if they wanted to reach an audience, and their message was diluted.

With MP3's the musicians and agit-popsters, can reach an audience without the expense that creating hard copy CD's cost. All that's missing is the economic model for bypassing the middleman of the music industry between the artists and the audience. The person who comes up with that model will be attacked more viciously than anybody realizes. That at least is my prediction. That will be the real battle.

March 14, 2001

Lesson one ; if you're going to generate a website based on your bookmark file, back it up religiously. I hosed my bookmark file a couple of days ago, and had to rebuild it based on a two month old version, and my local mirror of this site. Dumb!!!

On the bright side, it made me realize what a mess my bookmark file is, and that it's overdue for a reorganization. There is way to much duplication, and even I'm having difficulty finding what I want to find in the mishmash of levels and topics. Now I have another project for my plentitude of free time.

March 6, 2001

I rarely just cut and paste stuff, but I want this to get out to as many people as possible.

Stand up to creeping police state tactics in
Canada!

A Simple Plan for Solidarity and Action to:

* Support the Citizens of St.-Foe and Quebec City and

* To signal to the Federal Government which is CO-ordination
the "New Iron Curtain" and police state measures in Quebec City
to protect the corporate driven Summit of the Americas Meeting
on the Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Greetings All!

What is the situation?

By now you have heard that the City Councils of Saint-Foy
and Quebec City have passed by-laws prohibiting the wearing of
scarves to cover a part or a whole of the face, not only during
the demonstrations planned in Quebec City for the Summit of the
Americas to promote the Free Trade Area of the Americas, BUT
ALSO IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE EVENT! People are subject
to fines and/or a jail sentence.

The intent is to:

*Make it easy for the security forces to spray tear gas
directly into the face, mouth and nose.

*Make it easy for the security forces to photograph people who
attend in Quebec City so that they can be entered into the
security files of the rapidly expanding security system
supposedly focused on "terrorism."

*Build a climate of fear and inhibition in citizens to stop
people from expressing their constitutional rights to
peacefully assemble and petition the government.

Several weeks ago, several students were arrested and taken
to jail, temporarily, in Quebec City for distributing pamphlets
on a public sidewalk without a permit!

We all also know that during the Summit of the Americas, the
'authorities' are closing off a 3 square kilometer area of the
inner old city of Quebec with 2 to 3 meter high chain link
fences set in concrete highway dividers. This is to keep the
heads of state and the 'corporate' contingent safe from the
assembly and petition of citizens. All those living inside the
"New Iron Curtain" must have police passes to come and go to
their own homes or businesses!

The erosion of civil liberties piling up in Quebec City is
driven by the Federal Government, the same Federal Government
which signaled to the RCMP to pepper spray students in British
Columbia several years ago to prevent 'embarrassment to the
criminal and genocidal leader of Indonesia, President Sukharno,
now 'retired.'

Do we stand for democracy and constitutional rights or for
the creep-in of corporate driven, neo-liberal authoritarianism
which now has too many governments in a puppet posture?

*What is the action?

The Ottawa Chapter of the Council of Canadians formed an
action group Wednesday night to develop a democratic,
non-violent and overwhelming response to this erosion of
democracy. The concept of the action is based on one of the
most successful civil, non-violent direct actions in modern
history. In Denmark, during the NAZI occupation, the order was
sent to round up Jews on a given date for 'transport.' They
were ordered to wear a yellow star of David.

The whole Danish people in Copenhagen and elswhere,
including the King, donned yellow stars and appeared in public
thus stopping the NAZI action. The NAZIS dared not deport a
whole nation!

We can do something similar.

The Action is "A Scarf Wearing Call-out on April 2:

The call is for those who can to hold vigils and marches
before Federal Government buildings ACROSS CANADA starting
early in the morning on April 2 and continue all day. WEAR A
SCARF AROUND THE FACE! Mount placards and pamphlets of your own
making! Call the media! Call your municipal, provincial and
federal representatives and protest the erosion of democracy.
Stand in solidarity with the citizens of Quebec City and
St.-Foy who will be otherwise left to the decisions of the
security forces! Hold similar vigils and marches before your
municipal and provincial houses! Ottawa citizens, go to
Parliament Hill with your scarves around your faces! Ottawa
citizens going to the April 2 FTAA demonstration in Ottawa in
front of the Lester B. Pearson Building, wear your scarves
around your faces! Go to work wearing a scarf around the face.
Tell your colleagues to come with a scarf on the bus, in the
car, and going home also. Tell the story of how democracy is
being hollowed out by our corporate serving government.
Students, bring out your scarves on April 2! Wear them at every
opportunity! All people, everywhere, wear scarves on April 2!
Members of Municipal Councils, Provincial Legislators and
Members of Parliament, those of you who stand for the freedoms
guaranteed by the constitution and the spirit of democracy,
hold noon-hour vigils in front of your legislative chambers,
join the forces of Democracy!