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War and Terror Archives

We are faced again with the small minority of leaders who are unwisely choosing to use violence and war to solve problems. Will the real Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, etc. please stand up?

September 11, 2011

9/11/11: A Decade of Breakdown and Renewal

A decade ago, a 25 year old in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, I remember driving over the Manhattan bridge, seeing the smoke coming from the first tower, and thinking what idiot crashed some small plane into the World Trade Center.

In the hours and days that followed, I remember feeling the amazing shared sadness across New York City. It was both the worst of times and best of times, when our individual experience became shared across worlds.

What if we had chosen peace?

No where was this sense more prominent than in Union Square, where a memorial emerged and there were intense conversations about what our response should be as a nation. For that first week, I remember thinking, "What would be possible if the United States chose to take a deep breath and choose a non-violent response to this act of terror?"

Eli Pariser had started an email list called 9/11 Peace that gathered hundreds of thousands of email addresses of those calling for restraint and peace. Imagine a 21st century defined by such a profound choice inspired by Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, and one of the original crew - Jesus of Nazereth.

Radiohead Idioteque: This is Really Happening

Of course, the Bush administration chose the more expected and less inspired path, which led a team of us to create the video below, inspired by the prophetic Radiohead song Idioteque, which we completed in November of 2001.

Now a decade later, reflecting on my time away from ground zero, having lived internationally in France, Singapore, and London, and now based in San Francisco, I still feel deeply connected the New Yorkers and others who have felt the impact of war over these years.

We Have Always Been at War, Our Time to Rise

Because I grew up without experiencing any violence towards me, I know it's naive for me to tell those impacted by war to choose peace. But the recent movements across the world, particularly the true non-violence leadership in Egypt, give me hope in the face of the institutional breakdown and extreme weather. I offer the song below as a tribute to those continuing to build.

The first inspiration for the song below came the night of 9/11, on the promenade in Brooklyn Heights, where I experienced New Yorkers singing together outside for the first time. Over the years, as I continued to listen to both old and new voices of those impacted by war, this song has continued to evolve and grow. This morning, on the tenth anniversary of that day, I put the finishing touches on the lyrics and finally discovered the name of the song, "Our Time to Rise."

For all of those who felt and continue to feel the sadness and loss that comes from acts of war and terror, and all of those who are building towards the dream of a world that chooses non violence, thank you and keep building.

Posted by Colin | Permalink | Comments ()

August 22, 2006

Idioteque enters the Youtube experiment

Inspired by Radiohead's prophetic song, a group of friends and I collaborated in November of 2001 to create Idioteque, using footage and images from "Here is New York," television ads and archives, and the film Baraka. Just submitted to youtube, and I'm curious to see how the response is, both from viewers and also from youtube and EMI and other copyright holders.

When we had first completed it, I exchanged emails with the Radiohead manager at the time, only to accidentally send a faulty link and lose track of the email address. Since then, I became educated in Fair Use and the possibility of the commons, and am interested to see how the youtube copyright battles shape up, and if Revver's more pro copyright model will win out. Till then, enjoy the video (despite the unfortunate thumbnail image chosen by youtube).

Posted by Colin | Permalink | Comments ()

August 17, 2006

The Evolution of 9/11's Loose Change

Ever since I watched smoke coming out of the first WTC tower as I drove over the Manhattan Bridge on that fateful morning of September 11th, 2001, I wondered who and what was behind such a horrible act. I was disappointed and deeply skeptical of the official story as I watched my President and my country choose War to respond to War in the name of all of us who were affected on that day.

Since 2001, I have become less interested in the conspiracy theories of how our government may have played some kind of role, and more interested in looking forward to transform our political and economic culture to become more healthy, constructive, and sustainable.

However, as I've been getting my MBA in Europe and Asia, there have many many that have done tedious work of gathering information in an organized and compelling narrative to communicate their alternative versions of the 9/11 attacks on the American people. I watched one of the most popular videos last night, called Loose Change. Despite the sometimes overzealous desire to prove its case, it definitely got me reinterested in the conversation, and was well worth the watch.

For a counter version, with a narrator pointing out inacurracies, check out Screw Loose Change. The wikipedia entry seems have a balanced view of the film.

Posted by Colin | Permalink | Comments ()

September 8, 2004

Looking for the New Che: Arundhati Roy

As I began to gather images that could become contrasted, two tone graphics for walls, laptops, or cars through a new for-benefit company called Transforms, I thought about the most successful two tone meme of recent memory, the Che image. Then I wondered, who is the Che of today? Could it be Arundhati Roy? As perhaps the most powerful voice challenging the current war, she is also ridiculously beautiful. Would you buy her image on a tshirt? Does the image cheapen her message? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Posted by Colin | Permalink

May 9, 2004

The American Conservative calls for US Withdrawal from Iraq

After one of the most humbling and humiliating weeks for American power and prestige in memory, another blow to President Bush is coming from an unexpected source: the American Conservative, a political magazine started by Pat Buchanan.

In words that echo what Democratic Presidential Candidate Dennis Kucinich has been saying since the beginning, the article states that "The administration's Iraq policy is in shambles and the time has come for the United States to withdraw." "The war was a tragic, avoidable mistake, and those who opposed it have been vindicated. The administration should be held accountable, both for leading the nation in war under false pretenses and for its willful failure to think through the consequences of going to war with Iraq." Let's hope for all of our sakes that both President Bush and John Kerry will listen to the wisdom, now coming from all sides.

Posted by Colin | Permalink