OpenCities and Seneca College

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As many of you know I’m deeply interested in Open-Source systems and so was super thrilled when David Humphrey invited me over to Seneca College for a reception at the Centre for Development of Open Technology (CDOT). Who knew such a place existed. And in Toronto no less! There is something in the air around Toronto and open-source systems… why is that?

This is exactly one of the questions those of us planning OpenCities are hoping it answers… (as our more formal blurb hints at)

What is OpenCities Toronto 2007? Our goal is to gather 80 cool people to ask how do we collaboratively add more open to the urban landscape we share? What happens when people working on open source, public space, open content, mash up art, and open business work together? How do we make Toronto a magnet for people playing with the open meme?

Registration for OpenCities starts today. If you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comment box below, or, drop me an email. I’m doubly pumped since the whole event will be taking place at the Centre for Social Innovation – I can’t imagine a better space. (If you wondering – do I live in Toronto or Vancouver, I don’t blame you, I sometimes wonder myself).

Policy.ca?

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So who knew there was a website called policy.ca? This place has been laying low.

I’m looking forward to checking it out further and would love to hear thoughts or reactions.

At first blush it seemed promising with feeds from a number of reputable thinktanks and institutes. The only red flag were a handful of weird and paranoid pieces. My favourite was this piece courtesy of The Narco Bulletin News:

The Age of Atlantica: As Goes Mexico, so Goes the US and Canada

The End of Sovereignty and Democracy Tolls for Upstate New York, Northern New England, Quebec and the Maritime Provinces, and, Soon, for Boston and NYC Too

For those of you who, like me, were unaware what Altantica is, it is a new geographic entity formed out of (what we presume will be the former) regions of the Northeast US and Eastern Canada by an alliance of big business owners who are openly plotting to Mexicanize the region’s economy.

Confused? So was I. But wait until you get to the part about truck-trains…

Sigh.

Netneutrality.ca back up

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Good news! Netneutrality.ca is back up and running after a long, legally imposed, hiatus.

What does net neutrality mean? In short net neutrality is the principle that consumers should control what content, services and applications they use on the Internet. That this use should not be mediated, manipulated or impeded by your internet service provider. Essentially, the cable and phone companies want to charge content providers (e.g. webpages) a premium for preferred access. Sites that pay the premium would load faster than those that don’t and/or would have access to more bandwidth.

Kevin McArthur – the previous owner of the site posted the following note on Facebook explaining why the site was down and why he has handed it over to Michael Geist.

“So most of you know that I had to shut down the neutrality.ca site 6 weeks ago due to a cryptic ‘increasing legal concerns’ reason. Well, I still can’t talk about why exactly I had to do this but there are a few things we can learn.

First, defamation law is fundamentally broken in Canada. Not only are you guilty until proven innocent, but you are expected to mount a 6 figure defense to any filed allegation if you expect to win. This technique is known as a SLAPP lawsuit, and no longer must the agressors actually file papers, as the threat is sufficient enough to make any activist ponder principle or bankruptcy.

I made my choice, [ I really like my MINI cooper ], but others have chosen to stand and fight. Dr. Michael Geist [michaelgeist.ca] who holds the Canada Research Chair of Internet and E-Commerce Law at the University of Ottawa, is one such person. He’s stood up for Canadians, and is now being sued by Wayne Crookes in an separate but strikingly similar case to which I was to be subject.

I decided that he was just the right person to stand up for Net Neutrality and that he had the best chance of keeping the site going. As a result, I gave him the Neutrality.ca site, which when shut down was receiving about 20,000 visitors a month.

I’m sure he’ll take the site where I never could, and hopefully we’ll all get Net Neutrality in Canada.

The fight is far from over though, and I need each and every one of you reading this post to tell at least 3 people about Net Neutrality. Blog it. Put banners on your site. Scream it from the rooftops. It doesn’t matter so long as people know about it.

Failure to act on this issue will mean that the Internet as we know it will simply cease to exist, and a commercial medium devoid of non-commercial interests will emerge. Just like Radio and TV before it.

So stand up, take notice, and sign the petition on http://www.neutrality.ca !

Replacing Junkets with Junkets?

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In yesterday’s post I berated the Globe and Mail for slamming MPs over increasing their international travel budgets. I thought it would end there. But then yesterday’s Globe and Mail published this editorial arguing that MPs should retire their junkets.

Now in the editorial the “junkets” the G&M refers to are international trips paid for by third parties. The Globe argues that “If a trip is important, the Commons has a budget allocations for such ventures… senators and MPS recently added another $1.2 -million a year to their $3-million annual federal allotment.”

Interesting. So to prevent undue influence peddling the government should cover the costs of relevant and important trips. That sounds like a sensible solution.

However, last Thursday, when the $1.2-million increase was announced to enable MPs to attend interparliamentary association meetings, the Globe described this solutions as a “secretly approved… extra $1.2-million a year for junkets and other perks that come with their global network of interparliamentary committees.”

Yesterday’s scandal is today’s editorial solution. I love the consistency.

Isn’t the Globe and Mail interested in the world?

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Why is the Globe and Mail schizophrenic on international affairs? After conducting polls and focus groups it determined that what its readers cared about most was international news. This was part of its redesign and explains why it redeployed some of my favourite columnists (Ibbitson) abroad.

So… international issues and foreign affairs matter to Globe readers. Great. Got it.

Which means the Globe must have been excited that MPs decided to expand their international travel budgets to more effectively collaborate, exchange ideas and promote understanding with their legislative counterparts from key partners around the world.

Yes, they were so excited that in a Thursday article covering the decision the opening sentence read: “Canada’s MPs and senators have secretly approved for themselves an extra $1.2-million a year for junkets and other perks that come with their global network of interparliamentary committees, federal officials have told The Globe and Mail.”

Junkets? Ah yes, so at a time everyone is worried that American legislators don’t know or care about Canada the Globe focuses on tainting one of the few opportunity at our disposal to educate these legislators and forge relationships with them. Does the Globe feel the same way about such potential connections with Chinese legislators as well?

Clearly the Globe and its shareholders believe that sending their own correspondents abroad is not a waste of money. Nor should they. As they themselves discovered Canadians are concerned about the world and foreign policy. Heaven forbid our elected representatives act on those interests.

Everything Bad is good for me

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So after reading Steven Johnson’s Everything Bad is Good for You a few months ago I’ve been feeling less guilty about watching TV. Johnson, whose counterintuitive thesis argues that pop culture is making us smarter is a gem of a book – especially for those looking for some fun, but interesting, non-fiction summer reading. One example he uses in his chapter on Television is Lost, a show characterized by a complex network of relationships and an opaque narrative that dares viewers to try to guess the show’s premise by weaving together the nuggets of information it reveals to them. According to Johnson, the shows complexity makes it brain food.

Brain food or no, this is the first time I’ve found a television drama really engaging. Not bad for a medium getting its butt kicked by the internet… isn’t it great how competition creates better, and smarter, content.

Anyway, since we’re on the topic I can’t resist sharing some thoughts on the Lost Season Finale (spoilers included!)

  • I’m betting the boat Jack Shepard calls for a rescue via satellite phone is operated by the Dharma Initiative who’ve been busy scouring the ocean trying hard to locate island they lost contact with after Ben killed their team.
  • Colleen W. suggested that, after their rescue, the castaways start to die. This is why Ben yells at Jack to not “make the call and kill 40 people.” It also explains why Jack believes they weren’t supposed to leave the island, accounts for his suicidal behaviour and is an excuse for why no one attended the funeral.
  • People may note that Richard Alpert, one of Ben’s right hand men, has not aged a day since encountering the teenage Ben escaping from the Dharma Initiative camp. We’re all familiar with the island’s restorative powers, perhaps in addition to preventing illness it also stave’s off age? Also, in a move that would imply some nice kharmatic balance in the island universe, maybe if people can’t die they also can’t have babies? That would certainly eliminate any population problems an ageless island-bound might create.
  • As an aside, this season finale completely makes up for the show’s aimless and disastrous, mid-season.
  • More importantly, the deal struck by the producers with the network, to give the TV show a specific amount of time (3 years – 100 more episodes) with which to complete is story arc is a major turning point in North American television. As my friend Dawn R. noted, American television may finally be learning from British television, in which good stories are allowed to be told, but aren’t flogged to death or extended beyond the their natural narrative arc. An important part of a good story is knowing when to end it.

The Walking Strategy

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As my friends are all too aware, I’ve adopted the “walking strategy” in my life. My rule is that, whenever in Vancouver, I must walk at least one direction to any meeting. Why?

Well here are 3 few reasons:

  • Having spent a decade away from Vancouver, I thought walking the city would help me get reacquainted with it (it has!)
  • After learning that you essentially burn as many calories walking a specific distance as running it, I thought this might enable me to maintain my love affair chocolate chip cookies and brownies
  • My job – which has me on the road a lot – has few demands of me when I’m in Vancouver, so I have the time

However, two other technologies really clinched it for me.

The first was the discovery of books on CD, or, more precisely, books on MP3. The number of lectures (such as those by Larry Lessig) and books (such as the beautifully narrated A Short History of Nearly Everything) that I’ve been able to devour through my shuffle has been astounding.

The second has been the mapping software made possible by Web 2.0 technologies. I use GMaps Pedometer to map out my routes (in part because I’m A-type) but more because, by knowing the distance I can gauge how long it will take me to walk to my destination. This ensures that I arrive (mostly) on time. Also, I can plan out the quietest routes (away from traffic) to ensure I can hear my lecture or book.

I’d also talk about the benefits of keeping one’s carbon emissions low, but with the amount of air travel I engage in, I cannot , at the moment, even begin to go down that road.

So, in short: It’s summer, and you have to try it.

All you nee is an ishuffle. Some books on MP3 and access to Gmaps.

Birthday

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So, as apparently even the Facebook corporation knows, today’s my birthday – indeed it is my Champagne Birthday (I’ve only recently heard the term, but hey, if it is in Wikipedia, it must be true!).

To reward myself for surviving this long I’ve purchased myself a Wii. Yes, with all the free time I have, I thought I’d buy a product that was bound to help me be still more productive.

I blame Beltzner for planting the seed and getting me hooked. Damn those Alpha geeks!

Sadly, I will not getting my Wii fix today as I’ll be spending the day at 30,000 feet enroute to Toronto.

I’m not holding my breath, but I’m going to ask for an upgrade. :)

Aerial bombing and Afgan Poppies

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If you didn’t catch Taylor’s piece first time around in the Walrus – his article on the US bombing of Cambodia has been reprinted in Japan Focus and is picking up some serious press. This piece has obvious implications for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Indeed speaking of Afghanistan, the Senlis Council has opened an office in Ottawa. For those not familiar with Senlis they are a think tank that is very active in Afghanistan, especially around the issue of narcotics. They (like me) are deeply concerned about the American desire to spray Afghanistan in order to kill the poppy crop – a move that will very likely drive most locals into the hands of the Taliban. They’d proposed a licensing system for Afghan poppies so that they could used to manufacture medicines – it was an idea that virtually every liberal leadership candidate (at least those that spoke about foreign policy) latched onto.

Will be curious to see if Senlis has an impact on Canadian policy in Afghanistan – particularly under this government. All that said, be for good or bad reasons, the one interesting thing about Senlis setting up an office in Ottawa is that they clearly think Canada matter in Afghanistan. Now isn’t that interesting…?