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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?

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 (0)

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 (2)

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 | Comments (1)

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 | Comments (1)

May 2, 2004

america faces images of the realities of war

After a year of fighting and dying in the Iraq war, the American people have finally seen images of the real human costs. The Pentagon's policy of censuring images of the coffins of dead soldiers is disrespectful to the lives and families of the soldiers who have fought honorably for our country and disrespectful to the integrity of the American people. We were also exposed to the embarrassing and shameful behavior of some of our soldiers, which has been known about for months, that have led to universal apologies from US officials.

The sharing of these images has forced the American people to begin to confront the horrific images of American soldiers and Iraqi civilians dying and being tortured. Although many pundits will surely call for punishing the individual soldiers to frame it as an isolated incident, let's be real and acknowledge that this behavior is and has always been one of the systemic realities of war. I think the Pentagon has tried to push a policy that suppresses these images because if America continues to see the images of the human costs of war, the American people will not choose to go to war again.

Posted by Colin | Permalink