Category: culture-and-politics

So yes, I've almost completed Free Culture. (300 pages out of 352). My Palmtop Tagged version is up for all to grab if you want to read it on the go. I've been limiting myself to reading it only on the way to work and from work. Get some very funny looks from London commuters on the Train to Cannon Street from Elmers End. Wont tell you what time I leave for work however.

Anyway I was reading on owrede's log that there is now a wiki for people who want to remix the text while reading. Nice idea and I was thinking aloud with Dave about it yesterday. Was thinking about a Wiki based editor for async devices like palmtops and smartphones. So you can read it and edit it then upload the changes while your online. Kind of like a checking in checking out CVS or Webdav model. Only this time for ebooks?

Anyway getting all wound up ready for the copyright vs community lecture now. Reading lots and getting dave to do bits in college while I'm away as such. Need to watch Lawrence Lessig on the screen savers and I see he's also in London on the 27th may at the lift 2004 event. What ever happened to accessable sites? Thank god Lawrence put some detail down in his post

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Places I've posted to:
united diversity – WTF events, Louise Ferguson's london events list, London social forum, London free list, NTK event queue, European social forum, radicalendar, GLLUG,

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Things have got bigger, alot bigger… Not only do we have the one and only Richard Stallman at 1400, we now have the recently moved to London Cory Doctorow from the EFF at 1630. and the legendary Fravia from Searchlores at 1100.

Found a useful video of Cory talking earlier this year at an american university.

Let me just clear it up again…
Fravia, Stallman and Doctorow on the same day in Ravensbourne College… Boy oh boy this is going to be the best day in Ravensbournes history. Even beating all the Rave on air's I reckon. But on with the plan…

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25th March in the Lecture Theatre, Ravensbourne College at 2pm

And now theres a site… cubicgarden.com/copyright

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Watching this well made and captivating documentary about Racism in the UK. Wish I'd made a copy of the programme now. Its truly haunting to see how the BNP have changed there image and used clever propaganda to gain support in critical areas where the local community are split.

Mon 15 Mar at 01:55 on BBC Three

Ten years ago, 21 year-old Matthew Collins fled the country, a wanted man. As a far right activist, he'd witnessed the formation of the terror group Combat 18, and been involved in some violent attacks on innocent people. But there was something about Matthew that his friends didn't know. He'd become an informer, working against them from the inside. Eventually his evidence led to convictions and he was forced to flee Britain for Australia at short notice.

But Matthew Collins isn't hiding any more. Now he's come back to face the demons he left behind and rebuild his life in Britain. Dead Man Walking charts Matthew's return journey as he tries to find out what's changed on the far right since he left a decade ago and prepares to face the race hate groups from the outside this time.

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EU backs tighter rules on piracy. Its all too late… Here are some more stories. Anti-piracy directive could expose consumers
Can you believe this all went through without much media coverage? All the web finds nothing. Yahoo news. Altavista news. Shame on you searchlores.

Thank god for slashdot. and ip justice.

I saw this while browsing – European Union Copyright Directive lecture. and this is great – Why America’s Mistake is Europe’s Future. Can you trust your computer? by Richard Stallman. Lawrence Lessig's comments. And finally spiked-online has a debate in the same area, while I was reading Lawrence again…

Some more fall out later after the date. EU Tightens Copyright Laws

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European is about to vote for or against the European Union Directive for the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights, which would ultimately create a intellectual property legislation that copies and extends the American DMCA.

The legislation would allow copyright owners, such as record labels, to raid P2P users' homes if they suspect the user for sharing copyrighted material via P2P networks. It would also allow copyright owners to seize users' assets and get their bank accounts frozen whether they had any financial — or any other — gain from file sharing or not.

Briefing Materials on the European Union Directive on Data Protection
Campaign for digital rights – European Union Copyright Directive

European Union directive – Wikipedia
Use this page to contact EU Parliament members with a pre-written message from EFF

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Keep on forgetting to send people who ask different questions about the stallman lecture this bunch of links. Well hopefully just look at my blog will do now.

http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/thegnuproject.html
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-software-for-freedom.html
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/linux-and-gnu.html
http://www.gnu.org/gnu/why-gnu-linux.html
http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-doc.html

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Miles sent a few of us, an article to get us ready for Stallman. A Radical Theory of Property. I've also been reading the Open sources book again, to get a full grip of stallmans thoughts on different matters. I'm also going to bid for the Free as in Freedom book on amazon soon as I get paid again. I believe theres no need to invest in the selected essays book because there all online at GNU.org. Really looking forward to the lecture…

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Birch sent me a link which basicly said all what I had said about the twin cities. In Birch's own words I coined it, that article is everything you already iterated.
Birch (19:29:05): Did you ever call it or what? Cars are the biggest problem. Whether driven or parked, they require enormous amounts of space. Unless auto dependence is reduced, the classic neighborhoods that Minneapolis plans for cannot happen. More transit and more walking are the only answers.

At the same time I was talking to Miles about the whole Twin cities thing and he pointed me towards Jane Jacobs which I'm sure I've either read or heard of before. I know we had talked about her thoughts along time ago but I'm sure i've read her books. She thought all this through 40 years ago and no one took her serioulsy till 25 years ago. How many times do we hear the same story? McLuhan, Chomskey, etc etc… Its a shame because we could be in such a better state if we did.

Miles asked a important question regarding the twin cities.
italicdj (20:00:51): Is through planners – or is it social change? that things are happeing in twin cites?

Birch replies
Birch (20:27:26):
I believe we are all products of our environment. Regions of climate extremes tend to embrace femenine qualities. Not at the individual level, but at a cultural level. Social structures are of course evolutionary abdaptation that ensure survival. Public transporation, health care, public schools, etc are all natural aspirations now that colder cultures as able to satify Maslow's hierachy need



Birch (20:29:57):
urban planning is logical social step on the cultural latter. social change is a bi-product of the history/climate. we are what we are. nothing nobel about it.



Birch (20:33:26):
Geert Hofestede is a Dutch author who developed this theory by make cross cultural comparisons. It is Hofestede's 'Masculinity-Femininity' theory to which i am referring. It shreds perspective on why Sweden exists in one frame of mind while Texas exists in another.


Birch (20:36:17):
The theory would suggest why northern U.S./Canadian cities tend to fall on the far more socialistic end of the spectrum. Why they might adopt social change more quickly then cities of the south

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