Musings & Messages

When I was invited to participate in the Berliner Gazette’s annual conference, I did not know what to expect. The theme “Tacit Futures” sought to investigate the (frequently invisible) sites of “movement control” and explore both their democratic potential and their murky future implications.

Sounds rather ambitions, doesn’t it?

Over a weekend, academics, activists, coders and journalists fused two German words “Bewegungskontrolle" (movement control) and "demokratische Kontrolle” (democratic control) into “demokratische Bewegungskontrolle" (democratic control of movement).

The Berliner Gazette’s Krystian Woznicki explains: “Fusing the two terms …was meant as a provocation, playing with the dystopian/emancipatory aspects of control, twisting them, turning them upside down.”

The results: a multimedia feature, position papers and experimental games.

I explored the issue of migration with a talented team of journalists, coders and activists in the workshop “Traces of Movement and the Question of Rights” .

Here’s what we produced:

“Millions of people are fleeing their homes. Their movement is being recorded like never before. Instead of using this expanding knowledge to paint a realistic picture of migration, mass media often reproduces stereotypes. In contrast to that, the workshop “Traces of Movement and the Question of Rights” worked with a first-hand experience of migration by telling the story of Hamed, a young man, who fled his home in war torn Afghanistan. Using his travel notes (text messages, videos and photos), we explored an intimate and complex story. By combining Hamed’s story with data , graphics and statistics, we hope to illuminate what the movement of people means in terms of human rights. To read it, click this link:http://bit.ly/2eCvJTf”

Friendly Fire: 2-4 Nov. 2017 in Berlin 

I’m excited to once again be part of the Berliner Gazette’s conference. This year, the theme “Friendly Fire” will explore the notion of conflicts and how we could embrace conflicts and dissent in order to make societies more democratic.

If you are a researcher, activist, coder, journalist or someone just interested in the topic, take part! To find out more visit http://berlinergazette.de/friendly-fire/. You’ll find me at the workshop: “Who benefits from statelessness?”.

Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq won this year’s Polaris Music Prize for her album, Animism, beating out Arcade Fire, Drake, and Mac DeMarco. In her acceptance speech, she encouraged people to wear and eat seal and said, “fuck PETA.”

 However, it was her performance at the Polaris ceremony was unforgettable. Flanked by a screen displaying the names of missing and murdered aboriginal women, Tanya's voice delivered a primeval message I hope all Canadians hear. RCMP statistics released in 2014 show that Indigenous women are four times more likely to be murdered than non-Indigenous women. This must change. 

What needs to happen to stop the violence?

A concerted, national response that is comprehensive, coordinated, well resourced, and developed in collaboration with Indigenous women and girls themselves.

You can help.

Expelled From Every Other School: Last Chance High

When Björk met Attenborough (HD) (by Mollylurcher)

The Ishtar Gate, one of the eight gates of the inner city of Babylon, built during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II.

An ongoing art/photography project, inspired by Radiohead lyrics.

In 2004, I worked in a one-person newsroom for the Caldonia Courier, a paper that cover the community of Fort St. James.

Founded by Simon Fraser in 1806 on the shores of beautiful Stuart Lake,Fort St. James was the economic and administrative capital of New Caledonia (an area that encompassed much of northern B.C.) for more than100 years.

Isolated and ignored, the community has seen its fair share of tragedy. I worked there in 2004 and - in the span of a year - covered two brutal murders; a months-long search for the bodies of two teens in love, who drowned in a frozen lake at Christmas; wrote about a man who died from alcohol poisoning during a stag party and chronicled the lasting effects of mercury poisoning on a nearby First Nation. (And there were many more stories that made me angry and sad to be in a part of Canada which we largely ignore.)

The murder of Fribjon Bjornson (CBC coverage) has many similarities to slaying of a mother in 2004. Even then, people from Nak'azdli were vary of the Mounties. Below is a story I wrote after charges were laid against a cousin of Barbara Joseph: