[GreenYouth] Pirates
*Interesting version - who the pirates are:* ** Well, there are two piracie; the original one, which was foreign fishing piracy by foreign trawlers and vessels, who at the same time were dumping industrial waste, toxic waste and, it also has been reported, nuclear waste. Most of the time, we feel it’s the same fishing vessels, foreign fishing vessels, that are doing both. That was the piracy that started all these problems. And the other piracy is the shipping piracy. When the marine resources of Somalia was pillaged, when the waters were poisoned, when the fish was stolen, and in a poverty situation in the whole country, the fishermen felt that they had no other possibilities or other recourse but to fight with, you know, the properties and the shipping of the same countries that have been doing and carrying on the fishing piracy and toxic dumping. Fishing piracy means fishing without license, fishing by force, even though the community complains, even though whatever authorities are there complain, even though they ask these foreign fishing fleets and trawlers and vessels that have no license, that have no permit whatsoever, when they tell them, “Stop fishing and get out of the area,” they refuse, and instead, in fact, they fight. They fought with the fishermen and coastal communities, pouring boiling water on them and even shooting at them, running over their canoes and fishing boats. These were the problems that had been going on for so long, until the community organized themselves and empowered, actually, what they call the National Volunteer Coast Guard, what you would call and what others call today as “pirates.” to continue reading: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/4/14/analysis_somalia_piracy_began_in_response --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Re: BJP on FOSS fence: Modi embraces Microsoft
this period of hidutva ideology-where savarkerian-golwalkerian ideology is going to be in the same line.even in orgasational base,they can unleash a reign of terror very easily,from the riots of jabalpur (1962) to gujarath genocide-this ideology is penetrating.the post-emergency period,shabanu,babri masjid demolition,pokhran etc-they have a clear cut position of a strong nation state,where majoritarian ambition is very clear and in that period of hindutva identity politics,we can see a lot of MOU in mineral rich areas of india.A pro-corporate politics identified with a 19th century based nation state model of one nation,culture and society politics will have no relevance in this era.it promotes a fascist appeal to the society. yes,The cpim type left is speaking in multiple voices. recently,they have a political advancement in rajastan where traders are also in their platform.rural poor based politics was in a non-leninist way. and their core states,they are preaching anew governance agenda and other states,they have to take a anti-establishment voice. --- On Sat, 18/4/09, geetheshp Nair geetheshpn...@gmail.com wrote: From: geetheshp Nair geetheshpn...@gmail.com Subject: [GreenYouth] Re: BJP on FOSS fence: Modi embraces Microsoft To: greenyouth@googlegroups.com Date: Saturday, 18 April, 2009, 1:27 PM On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 1:04 PM, C.K. Vishwanath ck_vishwanath2...@yahoo.com wrote: There are multiple voices in BJP. The leaders like sudeendra kulkarni thinks that a strong nation state rooted in hidutva cultural base,has a technocratic vision of india and expands a base in minority communities as well.the other elements like modi,coming from RSS backgrounds claiming to be a pure hindu rashtra. but,all these are representing a majoritarian hindu india and to be a part of military-industrial complex of the world.neo-liberal growth model is their ambition,speaking in multiple voices ,accommodating various opinions. Isn't it good that the BJP speaking in multiple voices and accommodating various options. If the left is stuck and if BJP is very adaptable, isn't it a good sign? Does the left have multiple voices ? Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Re: BJP on FOSS fence: Modi embraces Microsoft
--- On Sat, 18/4/09, C.K. Vishwanath ck_vishwanath2...@yahoo.com wrote: From: C.K. Vishwanath ck_vishwanath2...@yahoo.com Subject: [GreenYouth] Re: BJP on FOSS fence: Modi embraces Microsoft To: greenyouth@googlegroups.com Date: Saturday, 18 April, 2009, 7:44 PM this period of hidutva ideology-where savarkerian-golwalkerian ideology is going to be in the same line.even in orgasational base,they can unleash a reign of terror very easily,from the riots of jabalpur (1962) to gujarath genocide-this ideology is penetrating.the post-emergency period,shabanu,babri masjid demolition,pokhran etc-they have a clear cut position of a strong nation state,where majoritarian ambition is very clear and in that period of hindutva identity politics,we can see a lot of MOU in mineral rich areas of india.A pro-corporate politics identified with a 19th century based nation state model of one nation,culture and society politics will have no relevance in this era.it promotes a fascist appeal to the society. yes,The cpim type left is speaking in multiple voices. recently,they have a political advancement in rajastan where traders are also in their platform.rural poor based politics was in a non-leninist way. and their core states,they are preaching anew governance agenda and other states,they have to take an anti-establishment voice. The hidutva governance of gujarath(lancy lobo's study)provides the new hidtuva model of development.rural displacement is higher than in other states of india,communities like Valmikis are getting a new hinduised identity which has not given any self-respect to these communities. --- On Sat, 18/4/09, geetheshp Nair geetheshpn...@gmail.com wrote: From: geetheshp Nair geetheshpn...@gmail.com Subject: [GreenYouth] Re: BJP on FOSS fence: Modi embraces Microsoft To: greenyouth@googlegroups.com Date: Saturday, 18 April, 2009, 1:27 PM On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 1:04 PM, C.K. Vishwanath ck_vishwanath2...@yahoo.com wrote: There are multiple voices in BJP. The leaders like sudeendra kulkarni thinks that a strong nation state rooted in hidutva cultural base,has a technocratic vision of india and expands a base in minority communities as well.the other elements like modi,coming from RSS backgrounds claiming to be a pure hindu rashtra. but,all these are representing a majoritarian hindu india and to be a part of military-industrial complex of the world.neo-liberal growth model is their ambition,speaking in multiple voices ,accommodating various opinions. Isn't it good that the BJP speaking in multiple voices and accommodating various options. If the left is stuck and if BJP is very adaptable, isn't it a good sign? Does the left have multiple voices ? Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ Add more friends to your messenger and enjoy! Go to http://messenger.yahoo.com/invite/ --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] The Nano and its Discontents
*http://www.tehelka.com/story_main41.asp?filename=Ws180409nano.asp As the Nano is launched to the accompaniment of thunderous acclaim in the national and trade press, **Venu Madhav Govindu** and **Deepak Malghan** - academics from the Indian Institute of Science and the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore - raise several searching questions on the appropriateness of the Nano model of industrialisation* --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Re: This is not a war on terror. It is a racist war on all Tamils
The challenges of solidarity Th*e urgent need in Sri Lanka is a resolution to the humanitarian crisis and strong pressure to stop government attacks on minorities, argues Ahilan Kadirgamar. But solidarity has to be pluralist, he emphasises, recognising the brutality of the Tamil Tigers and avoiding the polarisation or marginalisation of the country’s diverse communities..* http://www.redpepper.org.uk/The-challenges-of-solidarity 2 more articles in this section on focus on Lanka. On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 6:03 PM, Bobby Kunhu bobby.ku...@gmail.com wrote: AfthabI think the answer for lack of responses is provided in Nirmala's article itself viz. the role of the tamil diaspora. what is termed as LTTE's past mistakes was a full blown war by itself. I have personally lost friends who have belonged to other tamil separatist outfits like TELO to LTTE bullets in TN - LTTE did not even spare academic voices like neelan thiruchelvam when the voices were critical of them. In that context, the tamil situation in sri lanka is rather tragic caught between a genocidal government and fascist liberator 2009/4/18 Afthab Ellath aftha...@gmail.com I have gone through the comments below this articles on www.opendemocracy.nethttp://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-tamil-diaspora-solidarities-and-realitiesand haven't seen a genuine Tamil voice in that thread supporting the views of Nirmala, through some of them criticize LTTE for some of its mistakes in the past... So what makes you believe that Roy is off the mark while Nirmala is on the mark ? Afthab Ellath On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, devika Jayakumari devu...@gmail.comwrote: I do think Roy is seriously off the mark on Sril lanka. Not that the SL govt's war is forgivable; but the other side is equally disturbing. The last thing SL Tamils want is the acceptance of LTTE as their representative. Nirmala Rajasingham's piece, to my mind, has a more focused and political perspective. I've copied it below. It is on http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-tamil-diaspora-solidarities-and-realities The Tamil diaspora: solidarities and realities Nirmala Rajasingam The Tamils abroad mobilising in response to events in Sri Lanka need to face difficult truths about the political narratives and forces that have contributed to their compatriots' plight, says Nirmala Rajasingam. 15 - 04 - 2009 The Sri Lankan Tamil community may not be the largest of the diaspora communities represented in London or other such greatly diverse cities around the world, but the numbers and conviction they have mobilised in recent days to highlight the plight of their brethren at home have been exceptional. The demonstrations by Tamils in the centres of London, Toronto and other cities have been spectacular, defiant and spirited displays of grief and anger: men, women, and many young people have gathered with colourful flags and banners, staged sit-ins, and chanted slogans, while several of their number have promised to fast unto death. Their slogans are simple: Genocide!, Pirapaharan is our leader!, and We want Tamil Eelam!. These references to the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the aspiration to an independent state in northern Sri Lanka are accompanied by the touting of images of this figure and the waving of flags showing the Tiger emblem. Several parliamentarians in Britain and Canada have voiced support for the demonstrators. The humanitarian situation in parts of northern Sri Lanka - especially in the narrow strip of land around Mullaitivu - is indeed desperate, as the Sri Lankan army's advances have continued and as they lay siege to LTTE redoubts where approximately 100,000 civilians are confined - the latest stage of a long war that has persisted since 1983 (see Sri Lanka's displaced: the political vice, 8 April 2009). The cries of genocide have risen with the intensification of the military campaign and a sharp turn for the worse in the fortunes of the Tamil Tigers. They have spread too beyond the official Tiger propaganda stream (radio, TV and newspapers); the blood-splattered images and messages have inundated cyberspace: via Facebook and YouTube and other cyberspace outlets, via a torrent of emails, the drenching claim is simple, direct and frightening: genocide. This campaign has mobilised even those who had never been politically involved before. The sorrows of commitment The genocide alert is at heart about the trapped civilians in Mullaitivu. But the truth about the horrific circumstances in which civilians are stranded there is not stated in full. They are caught between two armies, each of which seeks to use them as pawns in this war. The government forces have shown no inhibition in bombing and shelling indiscriminately into crowded civilian areas, schools and hospitals as long as their military objective of crushing the Tigers is achieved. But the civilians are dying not
[GreenYouth] Re: This is not a war on terror. It is a racist war on all Tamils
Without having read all the posts here in detail except for having browsed over there, I am tempted to post two links from the latest issue of countercurrents, with the hope that our concerns be pushed a little ahead. 1. Genocide of Tamils : UN Action Appalling By Dr C P Thiagarajah http://www.countercurrents.org/thiagarajah170409.htm The Tamil race had come to their low ebb of their endurance. Unless this genocide is stopped forthwith under power vested under UN charter 39-42 military measures it will be another blot on the current century 2. Sri Lanka: Politics of Perceptions By Chandi Sinnathruai http://www.countercurrents.org/sinnathurai170409.htm Tamils have to face the reality rather than engaging in mere play with words. Iyakkam cannot stand still nor can it become stagnant. It ought to be taking steps to stand in the gap, regain its moral force, and take full political charge. Even that were to mean, politics of forgiveness and healing of memories. A liberation movement must have within its capacity to engage not only in politics but also in statesmanship. And to this end the Tamils must rise up! On Apr 18, 11:23 pm, damodar prasad damodar.pra...@gmail.com wrote: The challenges of solidarity Th*e urgent need in Sri Lanka is a resolution to the humanitarian crisis and strong pressure to stop government attacks on minorities, argues Ahilan Kadirgamar. But solidarity has to be pluralist, he emphasises, recognising the brutality of the Tamil Tigers and avoiding the polarisation or marginalisation of the country’s diverse communities..* http://www.redpepper.org.uk/The-challenges-of-solidarity 2 more articles in this section on focus on Lanka. On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 6:03 PM, Bobby Kunhu bobby.ku...@gmail.com wrote: AfthabI think the answer for lack of responses is provided in Nirmala's article itself viz. the role of the tamil diaspora. what is termed as LTTE's past mistakes was a full blown war by itself. I have personally lost friends who have belonged to other tamil separatist outfits like TELO to LTTE bullets in TN - LTTE did not even spare academic voices like neelan thiruchelvam when the voices were critical of them. In that context, the tamil situation in sri lanka is rather tragic caught between a genocidal government and fascist liberator 2009/4/18 Afthab Ellath aftha...@gmail.com I have gone through the comments below this articles on www.opendemocracy.nethttp://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-tamil-diaspora-solidarities-...and haven't seen a genuine Tamil voice in that thread supporting the views of Nirmala, through some of them criticize LTTE for some of its mistakes in the past... So what makes you believe that Roy is off the mark while Nirmala is on the mark ? Afthab Ellath On Sat, Apr 18, 2009 at 11:10 AM, devika Jayakumari devu...@gmail.comwrote: I do think Roy is seriously off the mark on Sril lanka. Not that the SL govt's war is forgivable; but the other side is equally disturbing. The last thing SL Tamils want is the acceptance of LTTE as their representative. Nirmala Rajasingham's piece, to my mind, has a more focused and political perspective. I've copied it below. It is on http://www.opendemocracy.net/article/the-tamil-diaspora-solidarities-... The Tamil diaspora: solidarities and realities Nirmala Rajasingam The Tamils abroad mobilising in response to events in Sri Lanka need to face difficult truths about the political narratives and forces that have contributed to their compatriots' plight, says Nirmala Rajasingam. 15 - 04 - 2009 The Sri Lankan Tamil community may not be the largest of the diaspora communities represented in London or other such greatly diverse cities around the world, but the numbers and conviction they have mobilised in recent days to highlight the plight of their brethren at home have been exceptional. The demonstrations by Tamils in the centres of London, Toronto and other cities have been spectacular, defiant and spirited displays of grief and anger: men, women, and many young people have gathered with colourful flags and banners, staged sit-ins, and chanted slogans, while several of their number have promised to fast unto death. Their slogans are simple: Genocide!, Pirapaharan is our leader!, and We want Tamil Eelam!. These references to the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the aspiration to an independent state in northern Sri Lanka are accompanied by the touting of images of this figure and the waving of flags showing the Tiger emblem. Several parliamentarians in Britain and Canada have voiced support for the demonstrators. The humanitarian situation in parts of northern Sri Lanka - especially in the narrow strip of land around Mullaitivu - is indeed desperate, as the Sri Lankan army's advances have continued and as they lay siege to LTTE redoubts where approximately 100,000
[GreenYouth] Tasleema again..
http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?tabId=11programId=1073753765BV_ID=@@@contentId=5383751contentType=EDITORIALarticleType=Malayalam%20News -- The so called caste-hindus are bitterly opposed to the depressed class using a public tank not because they really believe that the water will be thereby spoiled or will evaporate but because they are afraid of losing their superiority of caste and of equality being established between the former and the latter. We are resorting to this satyagraha not becasue we believe that the water of this particular tank has any exceptional qualities, but to establish our natural rights as citizens and human beings. - Dr B.R. Ambedkar, Mahad Satyagraha Conference, December 25th , 1927 --~--~-~--~~~---~--~~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups Green Youth Movement group. To post to this group, send email to greenyouth@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to greenyouth+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth?hl=en-GB -~--~~~~--~~--~--~---
[GreenYouth] Re: This is not a war on terror. It is a racist war on all Tamils
Like Palestine ,in Sri Lanka Today, hope is a four letter word *By Qadri Ismail* *B*ulldozed from the land, bombarded from the air and sea, brutalized in general, one would think the Palestinian people would make a sensible calculation, put their hands up and surrender. They don’t. Most of the world is with them, but that doesn’t really matter because the dominant global power, the United States, is against. Indeed, the U. S. refuses to prevent, or even condemn, the merciless assault of the Israeli state. Thus encouraging, abetting it. Barack Obama’s silence is particularly repugnant. One would think that Palestinians would get the message. They don’t. Their cause seems so hopeless some might even think they should capitulate. Clearly, however, they won’t. Like Palestine, in Sri Lanka today hope is a four letter word. In the three years since the Rajapakse brothers captured the presidency, our citizens continue to be denied equality, our rights have been stolen systematically, our lives are increasingly terrorized. The constitution is treated, at best, as an inconvenience. The press, a threat. Human rights activists are accused of aiding terrorism. One of our leading lawyers, J. C. Weliamuna, had his home grenaded. Lasantha Wickrematunge was murdered – for opposing, as everyone including its apologists is aware, the government and its warmongers. The Tamils, of course, are the primary target of this regime’s policy of systematic slaughter. Since Don Shelton Senanayake, they have been less than equal citizens. Since Junius Richard Jayawardene, they have been brutalized. Mahinda Percy Rajapakse and his brothers are inspired by the worst examples of both. Under the pretext of a war on terror, Tamils are routinely murdered, maimed, displaced, dispossessed in Sri Lanka today. Never before in our postcolonial history have they felt more politically insignificant. Never before has their every step been monitored, scrutinized. They are even denied the right to move freely across the country. More than a thousand are arbitrarily detained in northern camps – including some fleeing the LTTE. The number incarcerated in the south is unknown. In Sri Lanka today, the Muslims, too, are being made politically irrelevant. In the east, under the pretext of saving the environment, hundreds of acres of their land have been alienated. At some future stage, no doubt, this property will be transferred to Sinhala settlers. Soon it may be next to impossible for Muslims to elect representatives from any but the most densely populated parts of the east (like Kaththankudy). In such a context, it is infuriatingly ironic to find Rajapakse, not to mention the JVP, express sympathy for the Palestinian people. The same Rajapakse who unabashedly buys guns and gunships from Israel. Similar weapons, no doubt, to those directed, as you read this, at Palestinian lives. If not Palestinian life itself. For the Rajapakse regime is like the Israeli state. The Iranian government of that anti-Semitic anti-imperialist, Mahmoud Ahmedinejad, may think it proper to subsidize the brothers – despite their repression of Sri Lankan Muslims. Despite the fact that Iranian money ends up subsidizing the Israeli arms industry. Despite the Defense Secretary’s own admission on Wednesday that the Sri Lankan and Israeli navies exchange ideas on tactics. But, to repeat: the Rajapakse regime is like the Israeli state. Palestine is a territory occupied by Israel. An analogous argument could be made about the Sri Lankan army in the north and east. The Palestinians are an oppressed people. So are the Tamils. Israel is a pariah state. So is the Rajapakse regime. The sympathy of the conscience of the world is with the Palestinians. And the Tamils. The Israeli military says it targets only the resistance. And yet, most of its casualties are civilians. The same is true of the rhetoric and victims of the Sri Lankan military. The Israeli government often stages military actions around elections. The Rajapakses, ditto. The Israeli government only accepts Palestinian politicians it can puppet, like Mahmoud Abbas. The Rajapakses pull the strings of Douglas Devananda, “Karuna” Muralitharan and “Pillayan” Chandrakanthan. Israeli leaders are routinely accused of corruption. The Rajapakse brothers appear to revel in it. Parallels are not restricted to the present, but extend historically. The Israeli state has systematically settled Jews in Palestinian territory. Perhaps they learned this from the Sinhala state, which has pursued such a policy since Senanayake. And Israelis Jews believe themselves to be a chosen people. That god himself bequeathed Palestine to them as their exclusive homeland. Likewise, Sinhala Buddhists believe Buddha himself blessed this country as their sole possession. If you believe in absurdities, said Voltaire, you will commit atrocities. Unfortunately, in both Palestine and Sri Lanka, atrocious acts are not limited to one party. The
[GreenYouth] Fwd: nettime Ippolita Colective, The Dark Side of Google Chapter 7 (part 2)
-- Forwarded message --
From: Patrice Riemens patr...@xs4all.nl
Date: Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 10:04 PM
Subject: nettime Ippolita Colective, The Dark Side of Google
Chapter 7 (part 2)
To: nettim...@kein.org
NB this book and translation are published under Creative Commons
license 2.0 (Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike).
Commercial distribution requires the authorisation of the copyright
holders: Ippolita Collective and Feltrinelli Editore, Milano (.it)
Ippolita Collective
The Dark Side of Google (continued)
Chapter 7 Technocracy (part 2)
Miracles of technology: from subjective opinions to objective truth.
It is amidst such a gigantic data base that the 'good giant' Google
appears in the landscape with a message for us: we are part of a yet
unheard of global electronic democracy; the results of PageRank[TM] are
correct since they spring forth from a direct democracy, as expressed by
the links validated by Google's algorithms, which reinstitute us, in a
certain sense, in our rights to 'open it up'.
Epistemologically speaking, however, popularity can never been
acknowledged as a test for 'objective quality'. Because if that is the
case, then the concept itself of objectivity would be based on an unstated
assumption, viz. that a mass of subjective ideas (the 'opinions' expressed
by way of links) would somehow, as if by magic, be transformed in their
exact opposite (in this case, a 'revealed' objective truth) by the sheer
virtue of its number passing the majority threshold. This is {exactly} how
ranking becomes a token of quality, since it is the explicit outcome of a
technology based on the manipulation of information.
But how can quantity ever become quality? One assumes, but without
admitting so much explicitly, that the technical mediation of the
algorithm is {in itself} a guarantee of 'objectivity', and one associates
to this objectivity the qualitative characteristic of 'good', {then} of
'best', and {finally, that} of 'true'. And all this has to be rendered
fast, nay, immediate, and transparent, thanks to the annihilation of the
time factor and the ergonomic sophistication of the interface.
The consensus creation mechanism Google considers as the manifestation of
'direct democracy' by users~voters does not convince, for two main
reasons: first, it presumes that the majority is always right, and then,
it implies that the majority opinions must necessarily go through a
technological mediation to {really} benefit users. Yet how that precisely
works is never explained properly.
The dichotomy between what is objective and what is subjective,
superimposed on the concepts of truth vs. opinions, is totally
inappropriate in the world of networks. Science, has always created
nature-culture hybrids for the sake of exactitude, meaning that it has
invented techniques and fostered technologies. On the one hand,
observation and experiments take 'nature' as their field of endeavour, and
it is in that sense that they can be considered 'objective'; on the other
hand, the results obtained are highly subjective because science operates
under influence of individual will and political and social perception;
this as science is mediated through language (even though it is the
language of scientific communication) and because science is also a source
of power (up to and including the atomic bomb).
The technology that drives networks is the current application of the
scientific method creating nature-culture hybrids', which amounts to
umpteenth scientific objects presenting themselves as ever more fiable
tokens of reality, en lieu and place of human beings [*N1]. The
technological hybrid that is PageRank[TM]'s verdict is henceforth more
valid than anyone else's opinion, and Google's result carry more weight
than the view on an expert in the matter. Was it only because
PageRank[TM]'s advice is always one click away - unlike the expert's.
As we stated in the introduction, the Internet is a 'natural' phenomenon
after all. It is a material object, made up of mechanical and electronic
machines; and at the same time, it is a cultural phenomenon, because it
would not exist without the meaning that culture has assigned to it, which
is constituted by meaningful interaction between human actors, or, {to be
more precise} between biological underling and electronic machines
underling, and between both of them. The hybrid character of networks is
the {necessary} consequence of of the hybrid character of the technology
itself.
Another possible viewpoint on the issue of subjectivity vs. objectivity is
about the decision-making model: how to decide what is relevant? It is
easy to assume, in a relativistic context, that an information is
'objective' when it comes from a site (or a blog, or from Google, or from
an official source) if this value judgement {itself} is the outcome of
clear assumptions, of a transparent process, and of a limited, localised
viewpoint. A network based on trust, that is a group of
[GreenYouth] Fwd: nettime Ippolita Collective: The Dark Side of Google (Chapter 7, part 3)
-- Forwarded message --
From: Patrice Riemens patr...@xs4all.nl
Date: Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Subject: nettime Ippolita Collective: The Dark Side of Google
(Chapter 7, part 3)
To: nettim...@kein.org
NB this book and translation are published under Creative Commons
license 2.0 (Attribution, Non Commercial, Share Alike).
Commercial distribution requires the authorisation of the copyright
holders: Ippolita Collective and Feltrinelli Editore, Milano (.it)
Ippolita Collective
The Dark Side of Google (continued)
Chapter 7 Technocracy (part 3)
Escape routes: independent media, cryptography, blogs, FoaF ...
The blog phenomenon [*N5] - websites exposing the personal views of their
authors, the links they chose, and the comments of their readers [cf
however Geert Lovink's 'Zero Comment' ;-) -TR] - has given rise to what is
now commonly called the blogosphere. Estimates today [i.e. 2007 -TR] run
to around 60 million blogs, with 4 billion links and 1.3 million postings a
day. The blogosphere expands at the rate of 1 lakh [see chapter 1] per day,
and doubles in size every 6-7 months [*N6].
Mathematically speaking, blogs behave according to Darwin's law and present
the distribution characteristics of a 'long tail' market: a few hundred
blogs amass a considerable amount of links (with 4000 of them making out
the blog's 'Who's Who'), but most of them - millions actually - have very
few of them. In this sense, as we saw already in chapter 2, blogs are part
of the same economic set-up as (re)search. A blog enables one to share her
declared, individual, and subjective viewpoint without any filter; the
number of links to a blog is witness to its popularity and hence measure of
its authority, which can equate or even surpass that of dailies and other
traditional media as far as influence on public opinion is concerned.
Credibility, trust and reputation are only related to the blog's
importance: as a particular blog's popularity grows, it becomes difficult
for it to go astray without being immediately strafed - which means not be
linked anymore and thus to vanish quickly from memory [*N7].
The authority commanded by Beppe Grillo's blog, the only Italian amongst
the world's 100 most popular blogs as expressed in the number of links, is
greater than that of the blogs of La Repubblica or Corriere della Sera [the
2 major Italian daily papers -TR]. The personage Beppe Grillo writes in an
idiosyncratic vein, and does not claim to sell the truth: he simply tells
from his point of view. In a certain sense, blogs create self-managed
sharing spaces; sometimes they even become the sole sources of
{independent} information amidst the 'normalised' {mass media}. This was
for instance the case of Iraqi blogger Salam Pax (aka Salam al-Janabi)
during the second Gulf War [*N8].
The greatest novelty blogs bought to {the spread of} information is the
automatic bundling together of different sources through RSS feed, which
has become the de facto standard of exporting content on the Web. In short,
RSS is an automated method to rapidly switch from one web site to another,
and to find and export contents that are of interest /to us/. The
popularity of blogs is probably the main reason why RSS is so successful:
thousands of weblogs are producing RSS contents, so that one sees a
profusion of sites, called blogs aggregators, which offer a selection from
the most-read blogs, and also of programmes that enable one to access any
blog directly/on one's machine/. This makes it possible to search for
contents in the blogosphere without going through Google.
The fact that it has become possible to automatically receive on an
individual's computer the latest stuff that has been written on subjects of
greatest interest to this user is an innovations that is clearly bound to
have enormous consequences for the way the Web is being used. Or put more
generally, we see here the first step of a development whereby it becomes
possible to have any data at hand in a format that is easy to share,
transform and expand. RSS hence makes an information accessible on all
digital supports indifferent whether it is a site, a programme installed on
a machine, a mobile phone, or what ever kind of technological device.
There are however many other ways to go looking after information. Whereas
Google presents itself as a public and objective tool, Indymedia.org [*N9],
for instance, profiles itself as a collectively run media outlets for the
creation of radical, accurate, and passionate tellings of the truth. Hence
the group of people who make out Indymedia act in accordance with a very
specific kind of public [publication?] policy: in the right hand column,
the so-called newswire, everyone is free to publish. Nothing gets censored,
even though
the posts that are clearly 'racist, sexist of fascist' are being hidden,
but not deleted. Indymedia therefore, is a service that spawns
{a kind of} users who are active in creating information and which
