New landscaping
June 8th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
Must be nice being a University and being able to afford your landscaping fully grown.
Tungle vs Paper
May 22nd, 2009 / 2 Comments » / by Drew Loika
Just sent this off to Tungle, I’m curious to see how they respond…
I’m a happy Tungle user and have been doggedly trying to get my department to start using it as well but I keep running into the wall that more than one important individual in the organization uses a paper calendar. (Day planner, paper organizer, whatever you want to call it.) It would sure be great if you could put some marketing material on your website demonstrating a usage scenario and justification for using Tungle for paper users so that I could show it to people. As it is I’m having a hard time articulating why they should use Tungle to save me time when it’s their time that is more important.
UPDATE:
Just received a response from Tungle’s support, I’m looking forward to hearing more about this.
Hey Drew,
Glad to hear you’re a happy Tungle user. You’ve just pointed out our biggest competitor though – the ol’ Paper Calendar. Keeps me wide awake at night. Terrifying, really.
You’ve motivated us, we’ll be blogging about it shortly. I’m sure we can come up with something convincing!
I’ll let you know,Thanks,
Jason
Mutual Construction: The Relation Between Software & Globalization
May 17th, 2009 / 1 Comment » / by Drew Loika
Introduction
The history of computer software as a fundamental part of Information Technology is tightly coupled with modern globalization. Defined by neither liberalism, universalization, internationalization, nor other similarly limited concepts, globalization can be thought of as an eclectic synthesis of many different theories, with major trends loosely identified by Geography, Production, Governance, Identity, and Knowledge. Major developments in these areas coincide, and are closely related to, developments in software and information technology. While information technology is hardly the cause of globalization the two are so closely related it’s difficult to determine just which is influencing the other. Primarily written and documented in English, software has served to spread the English language and to a lesser extent Westernization to all technically capable corners of the earth. English as a second or third language is increasingly taught the world over as a competitive advantage. That same software is usually built on top of standards determined not by State or treaty but by supraterritorial agencies lobbied just as heavily by States as they are by multinational corporations. The modern software developer who doesn’t want to see their job outsourced needs focus not on a particular skill or technology but on a whole suite of them that will distinguish them from their overseas competitors with cost of living expenses a fraction of their own. This “knowledge worker”, whether from the USA, India, Brazil, or China is afforded both sides of that double-edged sword, just as they must compete globally so too can they offer their skill set on a global market. Time will tell if this is an opportunity for all or a race to the bottom.
Geography
For those that can afford it, which is sadly a small percentage of the global population, globalization has torn asunder the previous limits of geography. Commoditized transportation, global communication, and a mobile workforce have all greatly reduced the importance of geography. (And increased the importance of rapid pandemic response.) Many knowledge workers have taken advantage of these advances.
The most familiar example of using information technology to scale geographical barriers is the act of outsourcing to India. Using global communication and to a smaller extent transportation, both driven by software and information technology, outsourcing has in turn driven dramatic changes in the software industry. Positions in higher cost of living nations where being physically present isn’t a competitive advantage have been sent overseas, where entire industries and government-driven education programs have sprung up to meet demand. The knowledge workers in these locations, often performing more mundane tasks than their 1st world counterparts and at a fraction of the pay, nonetheless receive better pay than was otherwise likely. Of course better pay still isn’t considered adequate pay by many. Sites such as Rentacoder and eLance have built on outsourcing to further commoditize development work. Allowing jobs to be posted and reviewed by developers from all over the world, any individual with access to a globalized banking system can offer their services or post jobs. With as little as a credit card and a few minutes I was able to contract a team from Pakistan to do several hundred dollars worth of work for me, after reviewing bids from development teams from all over the world.
The Imagine Cup competition is another example of the union between information technology and globalization. While not on the scale of the other examples discussed in this paper it is something I had direct experience with for two years. Sponsored by Microsoft, a multinational corporation selling its products to most of the world and with development centers in several countries including the tax haven Ireland and probably the single biggest employer of software developers, the Imagine Cup is an international competition for English (or close enough) speaking students. The students compete in several categories with a general theme of making the world a better place. Nationality/territoriality is of little consequence to the competitors, with the result of their work intended to be applicable to a broad international audience. While browsing the Imagine Cup forums and talking to other contestants and the judges it was usually evident for whom English was not their first language, but beyond that I was just as likely to be talking to someone from China, Brazil, Jordan, or a large list of other countries. Different times, different place, different languages and cultures, a common identity was formed around the Imagine Cup. This was all made possible by information technology, but was driven by a globalization poster-child in Microsoft in a not-so-thinly veiled attempt to identify and hire the top competitors.
Production
Software makes for an interesting product. It is very expensive to produce once, but free to make infinite copies of thereafter. Paradoxically, software is used to create software, and recent advances in software have contributed to increases in software production, most recently in the form of “Web 2.0″. Software is used for the production of much more than just other software, in fact it forms the backbone of international supply chains, just-in-time inventories, and similar globalized constructs of nearly all large companies.
Software production is a good example of the globalization of an industry. Teams from multinational corporations or self-employed individuals collaborate online, never meeting face to face before completing a project and splitting up to move on to new tasks. Location, nationality, and language are of little importance to the leaders within corporate teams, as they will frequently travel to other centers around the globe to facilitate in person. In less desirable circumstances a developer will move to another center for continued employment. In these cases their identity, geography, and governance are as much associated with their employer as the country they were born in. Possibly limited to only the near future, a lot of travel and outsourcing between countries occurs within the software industry due to a lack of qualified professionals able to meet current demands. It is for this reason that outsourcing growth has slowed in India and even China and moved into Eastern Europe, as these early outsourcing targets have not been able to keep up with demand. Interestingly, this has contributed to an increased wage for qualified software professionals in each of these countries in turn, so for at least a short period globalization has lifted all boats. What’s not clear is if demand will continue to outstrip supply, or if it has even continued to do so during the current economic crisis, in which case most boats will begin a race to the bottom.
Possibly the most contentious, and thus most deserving of closer examination, facet of the software landscape is the idea of open source software. Software is made of code, and code is simply text, and thanks to the printing press we have been very adept at sharing and disseminating text for a long time. The idea is that if a software product is accompanied by its source code, future bugs or fixes can be made even if the publishing company goes out of business. Building on the idea of open source software is the idea of free software. Because code can be distilled to basic ideas, and because these ideas are dependent upon the work of the software industry up to this point, free software advocates argue that not only should software be open-source, a company has no right to “steal” ideas consisting mostly of the ideas that came before it, in fact nobody has the right to steal ideas in general from humanity, ideas should be free for all. Open-source and free software are interesting in the context of globalization because they represent a new model of production, a new model of governance, and a new idea of knowledge. Open-source software is often produced by any number of individuals with varying degrees of affiliation and completely different locations. Sometimes a typical model of governance is used where a “leader” determines what does and doesn’t happen, but just as often the direction of a project is decided by whomever decides to code that direction, and these people often lose interest after a time only to be replaced by the next round of enthusiasts. Finally, the really contentious part of the free software movement concerns what should be free, not free as in donated by a company but free because nobody has the right to “own” it, free as in freedom. This applies not just to software but information in general. Thanks to information technology and the internet infinite free copies can be made of anything from Microsoft Office to a hot new album to the latest summer movie. All of these companies, and most recently the newspaper industry, are having to learn to deal with a world in which information has been divorced from physical packaging that was easy to control and monetize. As more of our lives move online and thus are able to be copied instantly the world over, what new business model will be used? The power of software in combination with information technology and the other forces of globalization cannot be overestimated as a disruptive force.
Governance
Gitmo may be closing and the CIA may stop torturing people (for a little while) due not to the interests of the United States or new found decency, but because of pressure from various state and non-state actors. Consortiums of scientists describe the increasingly visible effects of global warming and Democracy Now reports the details of death and injustice the world over. Globalization of governance is evident in many of the software and information technology standards bodies. Not officially beholden to the traditional nexuses of power, standards are ostensibly decided based on what’s best for the industry, or at least the multinationals lobbying quietly in the background.
Software and information technology have been less directly affected by the globalization of governance and more a primary enabler of what new forms of governance have developed. The best example of this is the use of the internet to communicate and organize between non-state actors. While the death of the State is far from near, these affects can’t be ignored. The election of our current president has been attributed in part to his use of the internet as an organizing, communicating, and fundraising tool. While highly unlikely to be found on Fox News or CNN, first-hand accounts of genocide and countless injustices the world over are at least made known to more than the people about to get machete’d into a hole. And one of the more impressive recent propaganda campaigns, Israel’s “defense” of its people (and subsequent murder of Gaza civilians) is as quickly dispelled as the amount of time it takes to bring up a photo of a white phosphorus burned and disfigured Gaza child.
Sadly, software and information technology is just as easily used against common humanity, perhaps even more so. The Great Firewall of China is a good example of using misinformation and lack of information to protect the interests of an existing power structure. Of course, information disruptful enough to be blocked in China is still readily available in the United States where it seems to make little difference, so perhaps the criticism of China’s firewall is overstated.
Identity
The idea of identity continues to grow more amorphous thanks to globalization and the practical impact of software and information technology. Once potential dates and employers were able to Google the entire online lives of a potential candidate, identity grew to encompass a broader spectrum of options, many of them made possible by software and information technology.
The current leading provider of online identity is Facebook, where individuals are defined by what they do and say, much like the real world, but with the addition of a perfect memory and instance search. Facebook serves to vastly decrease the distance between geographically separated parties, and allows people to keep track of each other. Tweets from Twitter gives real-time feedback on the activities of your friends, regardless of where they are and regardless of where you are, and new applications demonstrated on the iPhone and similar smartphones can display the real-time GPS location of your friends with accompanying map. This last feature is interesting because it can do the opposite of the location-deemphasizing that’s occurred thus far. Now you can become hypersensitive to your location and the people around you with whom you may only have a passing affiliation, such as a fascination with cat videos on YouTube, but with whom you are interested in because they are close enough for a face-to-face meetup. The commoditization of social interaction might be an adequate description.
Identity is closely linked to our societies, and how we partake. It is unsurprising therefore that popular culture has been unable to keep up with the pace of advancements, as evidenced by firings after drunk or topless photos appear on personal blogs or Facebook pages, or the draconian stances some companies take to any mention of themselves online, especially negative mentions. One of the most discouraging examples are the teachers who behaved differently online, or even previously in their lives, than they currently do in front of their students, such as stripping or posting bikini photos. Of course it was the internet that enabled these individuals to be “outed”, just as it has a variety of people engaged in other edge-case activities.
Knowledge
Writing software is an extremely rationalist activity. The developer has control over nearly the entire “world” and can expect everything to operate in a predictable manner. Of course, being predictable shouldn’t be confused with a developer accurately predicting all the possible outcomes! In this sense software falls in step with the influences of modern globalization, though I have a hard time imagining “software” falling under a different epistemology. Conversely, software can definitely be said to have been used to promote reflexist/rationalism via the Internet, but the Internet is just as capable at disseminating other world views. Of course, being able to access the Internet typically signifies a lifestyle condoned by corporate and nationalist interests, so perhaps at that point it’s already too late?
Conclusion
The software industry and modern globalization are truly linked in a cycle of mutual construction. Fortunately they are not so closely linked that the outcome of one absolutely dictates the outcome of the other. Software can be used to reduce the impact of geography for all people, not just the corporate managers running sweatshops. Software can be used to fine-tune and coordinate local production like never before, not just develop Roundup ready corn. Software can be used for journalism, accountability, and labor organization, not just identification and surveillance of dissidents. Software can be used to facilitate a plethora of diverse and satisfying relationships and identities richer than ever before, not just as a tool to ensure “moral” compliance. And finally, software can be used to promote any number of competing world views, not just a censorship tool. Thus software can be said to have great power, whether in tandem with modern globalization or not, but with that power comes responsibility.
“The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins remorse from power.”
William Shakespeare
REI Doesn’t Hate its Customers but it Hired the Wrong ATM Company
May 12th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
So, controversy here: http://iamshane.com/2009/05/09/of-atms-iphones-and-911/
I sent this to REI…
As a heavy REI shopper and someone that frequently recommends REI to others I was quite disturbed to learn of REI’s part in Shane Becker’s harassment and the attempt at violating his rights.
http://iamshane.com/2009/05/09/of-atms-iphones-and-911/
You owe mister Becker a sincere apology, and you need to find a different ATM service vendor.
I’m extremely disappointed in REI, I expected MUCH better of you.
Assuming the author’s recount of events is accurate (which I do) than I’m rather disgusted with the whole thing. REI should have asked the ATM vendors to leave, not contribute to one of their customers getting locked up.
REI, you can do better than this!!!
UPDATE 2009.05.15
Here’s what I heard back from REI today…
Drew –
Thank you for your email and the opportunity to explain the incident that occurred between one of our customers and a security company servicing an ATM in our Seattle store. It is unfortunate that the situation escalated to the point that the police were called by the ATM security officers and the customer was detained by the police. At no time did REI detain the individual and we did not request a trespass to be invoked. We do not intend to enforce the trespass issued by police, and the customer is free to visit our store in the future.
We appreciate people sharing their varied points of view about what should or should not have happened at the store. We regret that the matter couldn’t be defused before the police became involved. One step we are taking is to discuss with the ATM security company ways to prevent the circumstances that led to this problem.
We hope to serve your outdoor needs in the future.
Megan Behrbaum
REI Public Affairs
Frankly this sounds fairly reasonable. Will I stop shopping at REI? No. Should this have happened in the first places? Hells no. Could REI have done better? It certainly sounds like it, but it also sounds like the majority of the blame falls on the I-couldn’t-be-a-real-one-so-I-like-to-pretend cops. The best way to move forward would be for REI to cancel all contracts with the ATM company and review this incident with the replacement.
My thanks to REI for taking the time to address my concerns and my best wishes to Mr. Becker and the resolution of this situation.
SanDisk Screwing it’s Customers
January 15th, 2009 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
Or at least that’s what it feels like when the prepaid card I received as a rebate expired in only FOUR MONTHS. I paid enough extra for “name-brand” cards that the rebate wasn’t even that great of a deal to start with, even if I HAD actually received it.
SanDisk, stop scamming your customers and use rebate processors with better terms!!! I don’t care about your quality or reliability if you’re deliberately trying to rip me off! You seriously disappointed me on this one, and I’ve been a customer for years.
Can’t Save When Table Recreation Required
November 12th, 2008 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
I’m working in the SQL Server Management Studio today and came across an extremely annoying little error stating my changes require the table to be re-created and that the table can’t be cre-created or an option is enabled that prevents saving changes that require the table to be re-created.
Fortunately, quick Google turned up an answer. Just change your options in the Management Studio, see screenshot. Obviously, you wouldn’t want to be doing this on a production table!
Import Contacts Into YouMail – FINALLY!!!!!
August 15th, 2008 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
Let glorious rays of sunshine beam down from the heavens and all earthly creatures find a smile on their faces, YouMail now imports contacts!!! I’ve had a few words to say on this topic in the past when when I claimed “YouMail Hates Its Customers“. One of the founders of YouMail gave me a call to let me know a beta for importing contacts was right around the corner. Well, it’s here! It was a bit disappointing as far as betas go, with nary an issue to troubleshoot nor bug to file, my contacts were added seamlessly.
The importer will grab online contact info from Gmail and Yahoo, or offline contacts from
Outlook, Outlook Express, Thunderbird, Palm Desktop, LinkedIn, Plaxo, or anybody else than can export into the CSV format of one of those. Also note that YouMail can pull contacts from Plaxo which syncs with just about EVERYBODY, making the list of sources rather complete.
Congrats to the YouMail team for making this happen, I’m really looking forward to tighter integration of my communication habits with YouMail now that this critical feature has been released. Thanks!
Zivity – A Tantalizing Combination of Different Elements
August 15th, 2008 / No Comments » / by Drew Loika
Cyan Banister, founder of Zivity, was kind enough to take the time to comment on my recent post regarding Zivity and body image and requested that I elaborate on ways that Zivity could be improved. In response I’ve finally decided to post my experience with Zivity, a topic I’ve been meaning to touch on for a several months but have kept postponing. Well, I’m slacking no more!
General Premise
In short – awesome! I wouldn’t have become a beta member, I wouldn’t have been recruiting friends, and I wouldn’t be writing this post if the idea didn’t intrigue me.
Beauty & Freedom
Every woman has an inner model trying to get out. Zivity empowers women to feel their most beautiful and comfortable. With helpful guides on makeup, hair, and photo shoots, Zivity is the place to unleash your inner model. We offer cool social tools to track your fans, tally your votes, share your photos with friends, and even collect royalties.
You Choose the Stars
Zivity’s collection of models from every walk of life is uncensored, advertising-free, and different from online photo sites because you can actually interact with the real models and photographers you’re voting for. Connect with stars, become a top fan, and chat with photographers about upcoming photo shoots with new models.
Vote, Share, Create
Zivity models and photographers enjoy the privilege of a free Zivity membership. Zivity is an exclusive, invite-only community with real models, real photographers, and real votes. These votes convert to real revenue (aka CASH) for models and photographers.
My understanding of the above paragraphs, the Zivity FAQs, and interviews I’ve read with Cyan and others is that Zivity is a combination of a monetized social networking site, a photography community, and a certain amount of editorial control and vision promoting female beauty ultimately bringing the pieces together in a sum greater than the parts. I think this is an excellent premise, and apparently so do the VC backers who’ve funded Zivity to the tune of $7 million.
It is through the lens of this understanding that I evaluate my actual experiences with Zivity, and if I’ve an errant assumption here then it would readily explain any shortcomings mentioned below.
Content
I strongly suspect that this will improve as the number of Zivity members, models, and photographers grows, but I would really like to see more diversity in the Zivity content. This includes but isn’t limited to ethnicity, body type, costume, poses, location, lighting, photographic style, abstractness, and the amount of digital alteration. Also, I’m far from the most liberal guy out there but even I can appreciate the occasional fine photograph of a man, and the photographic possibilities opened up by capturing the muscle and strength of men combined with the fluidity and form of women together are myriad. So why must Zivity be limited to female beauty, rather than human beauty? Keeping the content “clean” is easier to judge if sexes are kept separate, so as a compromise why couldn’t part of my Zivity preferences be whether I wanted to see male photography, female photography, or both? I will concede that featuring both sexes could make Zivity the target of negative attention given the realities of American society, and understand the female-only focus if this is the case.
Social Networking
Not having any information about the Zivity feature roadmap it’s impossible to say what Zivity is leaving out and what they just haven’t gotten to yet. However, the current social networking features of the site are very… basic. Basic profile fields, status updates, messaging, and a rudimentary news feed round it out. Thumbnails in the news feed don’t feature rollover enlargement as thumbnails do elsewhere in the site, and there’s not much content for the news feed beyond new friendships and new votes for photo sets. I realize that a balance needs to be struck between features and keeping Zivity focused, but I really feel the social networking aspect could use a bit more substance. Finally, and this doesn’t apply to just Zivity but is a pet peeve of mine with every social networking site I’m aware of, I wish an incentive could be found to encourage people to only friend individuals they have or are forming a relationship with, rather than the seeming competition for who can have the most.
Photography Community
This is the strongest area of my interest, and thus the one I’m the most opinionated about. One excellent source of content for the news feed would be building community around photography. While I host some of my own photography on Flickr my favorite photo site on the web is actually stodgy old photo.net. This site is fantastic for constantly highlighting new, excellent and diverse photography, and providing a wealth of information and discussion around it making the site a constant source of inspiration. Topics discussed include location, subject matter, cameras, lighting, Photoshop techniques and much more. On the one hand I appreciate a simplistic interface that’s just for viewing photography, but as a photographer there were many Zivity sets where I was dying to know the location or the light equipment used. Might Zivity have multiple “views”, one for just enjoying the photography, but perhaps with an expandable panel showing discussion and data about the shot? Of course the discussion wouldn’t be limited to photography topics, but could also include fashion, posing, or anything else Zivity members, photographers, and models are interested in.
Editorial Control and Vision
The last piece in the Zivity puzzle is the way these elements are brought together. New sets are reviewed to see if they meet the content guidelines, keeping the level of qualify for the site high. I think this is the right way to do it, but I think an opportunity is also being missed. What about the photographers and models that would really like to be on the site, but whose work isn’t accepted? Sure, a Zivity staffer could spend the time giving specific feedback and making suggestions, but I think the community would be even better suited for this. Couldn’t denied sets that still meet a base set of conditions such as no men (for now!) and no sex acts be posted in a “learners” section, where feedback could be given from a wide variety of members with the goal of getting the next submission approved? Votes could even be allowed, giving Zivity members the ability to ask the Zivity editorial staff to reconsider, and seeing this learning process could encourage other people to submit their own photos. Members of the community who are photographers or models and are located in the same region could offer to help in person, if they desired. An interactive “learners” section would give the community the opportunity to interact and grow, just as commenting at the photo level would provide another opportunity.
Commenting at the photo level also brings to mind rating at the photo level. Voting is (mostly – see below) a good idea but it only captures a general preference. Allowing votes or ratings at the photograph level would allow members to highlight the shots that really stand out to them. Also, while I may not be very representative of other members I’m conservative with my votes simply because they cost me money. A two tier rating system would allow me to pick my absolute favorites (vote) but also express a broader range of opinion using free ratings.
Hopefully this more nuanced representation of preference would make the leader board more interesting and useful. As it stands, Pearl (I voted for her, she’s gorgeous!) has been at the top of the leader board since I joined the site, meaning I have to look elsewhere if I want new and interesting content. Perhaps a better alternative would be to maintain an all-time favorite’s leader board reserving a spot at the top for Pearl, and to add a time-limited leader board such as photo.net does. This would give me the ability to log in and see what’s hot right now, and still see fresh content when I do the same thing in a few days.
One item which I don’t feel qualified to discuss is the impact of a site like Zivity on a society with so many gender-inequality and body-image issues. I’ll leave broaching this topic to someone far more knowledgeable than I, other than to say Zivity needs to be careful around this issue, and appears to have been so thus far. These issues are perhaps underlying the comment I received from a female friend of mine whom I tried to invite to the site.
I am going to pass. I don’t like the basic premise of models tallying votes. It makes it a competition between women and a popularity contest. That’s my perspective at least. Thanks though.
Balancing the different aspects of the site such as community versus uncluttered access to the photos has got to be a challenge, and in my unqualified opinion is one that will play a large role in Zivity’s success.
Other
There are many pieces of Zivity I haven’t commented on at all, such as the revenue sharing system they have in place (great idea!) but I’ve covered most of the stuff I wanted to talk about. One feature that I couldn’t find anywhere on the site was an ability to search for photographers and models that are located in my region. A Google Maps mashup of Zivity member locations would be a great tool for building the Zivity community in the real world. Another thing I’d really like to see is Flickr or Strobist style meetups, where Zivity members get together for shoots, learning, and general socializing. Other than facilitating the organizing for these meetups there’s not a whole lot Zivity can do. However, a great way to get the ball rolling would be for Zivity to host the first ever Zivity SF meetup by bringing together models, photographers, and a photogenic location and inviting members of the site. The meetup could provide a variety of information and demonstrations while encouraging everyone to participate and socialize.
Conclusion
Zivity has a great idea going, but currently there’s a bit of a disconnect between the stated goals of what Zivity is trying to achieve and the site itself. I fervently hope (and suspect) that this is because Zivity is a small company just getting started, with really great things to follow. Hopefully someone from Zivity will read this and leave a comment confirming the situation. And if I’m way off base in my assumptions then best of luck to them anyway, based on the information I found on the web about the individuals behind the company they’re a fun, hardworking bunch, and I look forwarding to seeing whatever they accomplish.
Russian Information War Against Georgia, Right Here on Premagination!
August 11th, 2008 / 2 Comments » / by Drew Loika
Oh damn this is just absolutely fascinating. Earlier today I posted a tweet about Russia’s cyber attack aka cyber warfare against Georgia’s routers and internet infrastructure.
Imagine my interest and surprise when I receive a comment on my post about installing headers in my truck, not about anything truck related but rather about the “real situation” in Georgia.
New comment on your post #84 “Hedman Elites Installed in 73 Blazer”
Author : Martin (IP: 121.246.9.238 , 121.246.9.238.dynamic.ahmedabad.vsnl.net.in)
E-mail : m0wz8ds@yahoo.com
URL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkAcFoaoipA
Whois : http://ws.arin.net/cgi-bin/whois.pl?queryinput=121.246.9.238
Comment:
real situation in Georgia real situation in Georgia
This comment is obviously spam, especially given the topic of the original post, and I was about to delete it until I wondered if Russia’s cyberwarfare against Georgia has extended beyond disabling their internet infrastructure into information warfare. Might Russia be attempting to influence international response to their invasion of a sovereign nation by influencing international citizens directly?
Following the link results in a YouTube post from an infrequently understandable person claiming to be a South Ossetian, suspicious (where’d his internet come from?!) but impossible for me to verify. Then I notice the dozens of other posts on YouTube, all claiming to have the “truth” about Ossetia and how Russia only responded to genocide being perpetrated by Georgia. Many of these clips were lifted from Russia’s tightly-controlled and censored mass media. Was Georgia committing horrible atrocities against the citizens of South Ossetia? I have no idea whatsoever, it’s entirely possible. However, when a message is so consistently and widely communicated, with no opposing viewpoints available, my propaganda alarm screams so loud it wakes up the neighbors. (And where were the WMD’s in Iraq, anyway?)
Clearly, I’m woefully undereducated regarding the history of Russia and Georgia, the actions undertaken by Georgia while currying Bush’s favor, and the current events happening in the region now. Just as clearly the sovereign nation of Georgia has been invaded and attacked and Russia or agents acting on its behalf are waging an information war against it, and I happened to experience a tiny piece of it.
This is history in the making folks!
Zivity and Body Image
August 9th, 2008 / 2 Comments » / by Drew Loika
According to Mary Hodder, posing (clothed) for Zivity only sexualizes and objectifies women. And according to Meryl Steinberg it’s tantamount to prostitution. That’s right, women’s bodies are dirty and shameful and should always be hidden, and individual women shouldn’t be allowed the freedom to make up their own minds on how to use them.
These two are claiming to be looking out for the other women in Silicon Valley? (And didn’t you know the only thing Cyan Banister is good at is taking off her top?) Perhaps they think women should only be seen in public wearing full length robes so as to hide their dirty bodies? Zivity is FAR from perfect but this level of criticism is just plain ridiculous. Wake me up when a thoughtful discussion of Zivity and its issues is started.
[Note: It's conceivable I'm mischaracterizing Mary or Meryl, more than conceivable actually as I did exaggerate their statements, and that they're just ranting or some such in the post I linked to. However, I really don't see how someone could claim that Zivity equals prostitution or anything similar, even if they're blowing off a little steam.]
