Death threats to a war zone blogger – call for global help

We, his friends, need you. First of all, read this all through.
A young guy, author of a journalistic blog about his country and its conflict, has been menaced of death by a group of Islamic fundamentalists. It is months (and years) this situation has been going on – with him receiving daily threats.
However, threats became more frequent over the last weeks. This happened because he spoke up, because he chose to defend freedom of expression ideal.
His blogs have been hackered more than a time and now, since the intensification of these attacks and threats, we are afraid he could get finally killed. The whole thing sounds like a fictional movie, but it is mere reality.
We do need your help, we are seeking a way to get him out of his country for him to attend a University course. He is a good writer and photo reporter, his English skills are very good and he would love to study Journalism and Sociology.

Please, send this message around or publish it on your personal blog. If you know anyone – person or organization – that could help with offering him a scholarship (or funding it since already found a University that could take him for a BA 3-years-course) or helping in solving the situation PLEASE DO CONTACT US.
You can contact us on this email address: spiralcultures@gmail.com

As sociologist Katz argued: "Internet has the potential to democratize the media", and, perhaps, society. We call for a global civil society to answer this appeal.

Thank you so much for your time and attention.

A feature that came out on the Inquirer of November

This story I wrote it few weeks ago - it is about urban exploration. What it means to me. My adventures are in here, my feeling, my thoughts. Enjoy. [published on the Inquirer, City University Independent Newspaper]

Rarely happens that people stop and notice how the features of a town reflect the features of its citizenship. And even less we notice how fast our facial features change, exactly as the town ones.
If you spend a Sunday going around East London you will be able to notice it. You will see how Bishopgate new skyscrapers is in reality and extension of Londoner’s mind, a rectangular dream which sticks out from our more intimate and hidden wishes of scratching the sky. As if, I laugh while writing it, we want to ticklish god. It does not really matter if a Londoner is religious or not – the push towards defying divinity is intrinsic to every human being. Today, though, it seems like we even give up our own history, our own roots, in order to defy god. We demolish our old houses, our old buildings that once cuddled us, just to run in vertical. It is a vertiginous climb on glass and iron – I wonder if at one point we will suddenly slip down.
There are different kinds of urban exploration, mainly suburban one. I, though, like to explore the visible features of the east part of this metropolis because I have got the feeling that there is a quick painter who is changing them. There is a big architect, who, friend of the big brother, is designing a new map, both in horizontal and vertical. Go to the heart of the cyclone, Hackney, and daub powder will stuck into your breathing system. Wherever you turn while walking along the streets of Shoreditch, Moorgate, Brick Lane, Whitechapel you can see the unmistakable shape of urban cranes biting the sky. Turn right and you will see cranes, red as raspberries throwing new grey materials up the sky, turn left and bananas-yellow caterpillar will be shaking their proboscis while chewing off old walls. And there, in the middle, the urban explorer stands. There is me, a friend, reflex camera and the will of trespassing the old building seized by workers’ blue barriers. Then, the climb, then just us inside the construction site. Apparently there are no dogs and no cctv cameras. We seem to be lucky. The building, on Holywell Lane, is a skeleton of an ex-squat, previously someone else’s house. Graffiti are pending together with the thread of the reinforced concrete, as dry brunches of a dying tree. The challenge, after the tenth picture of the outside, is to break through and climb the whole building. There is scaffolding on the left side of the house. We decide to try from there. After having tested the stability of the scaffolding we ascend as monkeys, perhaps going back to our old nature. The first floor is impossible to get in, so we climb more and get up to the second floor. We hear some police sirens on the back but ignore them and troll into the second floor through a broken window. The scene is awesome: beautifully made graffiti are decorating the walls so we start playing with a black one which is made of floral decorations using our own shadows to create new branches and figures. I thought pops in me: “In few weeks it will be off”. My heart crumples.
“Let’s reach the top floor”, I tell my friend. We get out and I notice that is possible to pass on another building by walking on a close roof. We end up on the top of a wine shop on Shoreditch High Street which is directly looking towards Shoreditch Tube Station construction site. On our left-hand side stands the T-bar, on our right hand side stands a newer brother, Bishopgate skyscraper. From the prospective of two laying human beings it is a quite intimidating silver figure which challenges the peace of the nightlight. After taking some more pictures of the traffic below us we decide to focus back onto our mission: get up on the top floor. But it is not an easy mission and we have to find some ladder in order to accomplish it. We start walking along the scaffolding and find two ladders, a wooden and a metallic one. The metallic one seems more stable, but it is also way to heavy to hold. We decide to try anyway. Freaky but exiting. My friend goes first and I have to hold the metallic ladder. Suddenly the ladder slips and I find ‘donno which force’ to hold it. The other explorer, fast as a tiger, had grabbed the new floor of the scaffolding and saved his ass. Now it is my turn. My legs are shacking a bit, but I find the craziness to go on. Step after step I reach the other explorer. We breathe deeply, take some hero-style pictures and break through the second floor windows with the wooden stair. The second floor is actually a kind of delusion – there are no graffiti and we kind of get bored of it after having watched all London view from it. “Let’s reach the roof”, says Oliver. “Yes, we must”, I reply. Armed with the wooden stair we go back to the scaffolding and fast like two baboon we jump on the roof. The view is breathtaking. I hold Oliver hand while saying: “Mission accomplished, well done explorers.” I am proud of our mission, I am happy that one day, when that building will not exist anymore, I will have the memory of the sensation of stepping on its roof. I will remember for ever the feeling of standing there and seeing lots of smashed old bricks of Shoreditch Station piled few meters away from me as lonely tombs of an ancient forgotten time. Around them, pieces of wall still standing waiting to be demolished today, tomorrow or maybe yesterday. They look like a piece of dark cheddar bitten by a huge rat. I feel sorry for them. They remind me of those people standing in cues waiting to be shot dead by soldiers of a sick regime. I would love to pass my fingers on them and listen to their stories, to all the stories they have been listening to along their existence. Urban exploration is, to me, a way of telling stories of others before they die for ever. It is a way of making immortal something that is condemned to death, no matter if it is a building or a bunch of old dirty bricks.

Our first podcast: an interview with the coordinatior of Sandblast Festival 2007

Made by Cecilia Anesi and Modesto García Maldonado

Click To Play

This podcast is an edited interview with Ana Arenas, coordinator of the Sandblast Festival, made to bring the culture, music and art of the Saharawis to London, which took place the weekend of the 2 -4 of November in the RichMix centre, Bethnal Green Rd, Brick Lane.

Steps we took to create the podcast it:

1- We recorded the interview with a recorder. The file was in .amr format so through a program we turned it into mp3.

2- We edited using GarageBand a Mac software. We cut some pieces, and add a shade of Arabic music.

3- We exported the file to iTunes. During the export the file became in a .m4a format, but in order to publish a podcast on the web we had to convert it back into mp3.

We did this through a software we downloaded: Power Audio Converter.
4- Once we obtained the mp3 file we had to change the ID3 label of the file, which is, giving it a title, an artist, some comments and what you have.

5- Once this was done, we had to publish it. So we registered in www.blip.tv.
After the registration the program gives you the RSS, namely the label you have to paste on your blog's html to be able to see the podcast in your post.

6. Now we wish to add an image, thumbail, to our podcast. To add an image to our podcast, first, we have to insert the image in our blog site [insert it as "NONE" layout]. Second, we need to select 'Edit Html' mode of writing and copy the code of the picture. Once our ctrl+c is done we copy this in the label of our podcast. So we go to the podcast code and we have to look for the image label that will we as such: "src="______________.jpg" .
We delete this one, and paste the new one. End.

LondON burns

According to my Nikon D40 and my balcony:
According to the Guardian: "A huge plume of smoke rose over London today as firefighters battled to control a major blaze on the capital's 2012 Olympics site.
Fifteen fire engines and 75 firefighters were sent to tackle the fire, which appeared to have broken out at Waterden Road, an industrial area close to the Stratford channel tunnel railway station."

Asbestos was found on the site, that was supposed to be demolished the same day it got burned.Coincidence?

OBEY GIANT: modern urban art scene

Dear explorers, I recommand you all to go and see:NINETEENEIGHTYFOURIA ehibition
StolenSpace StolenSpace, Old Truman Brewery, 87-89 Brick Lane 2nd – 25th November 2007

OPENING TIMES Wed - Sun 11:00am - 7:00pm

While thinking about my personal project about urban exploration of London I feel like introducing my visitors to the 'originator of the modern urban art scene'. Obey Giant has got an art exhibition in Brick Lane in the StolenSpace Gallery which presents the artist as:


"Arch manipulator, scoundrel, chief propagandist, provocateur, Shepard Fairey is the man many hail as the originator of the modern urban art scene and is an undeniable phenomenon. First coming to prominence in 1989 with his now ubiquitous ‘Obey Giant’ sticker campaign, the self styled phenomenologist has since gone on to become one of the most recognisable artists of the early 2000’s. His work, a mixture of parody and protest, serves to subvert the very medium to which it attaches itself.
"Wall paper posters adorn advertising billboards that in his own words ‘market nothingness’ while large scale posters with the simple one word message ‘obey’ stir the bewildered masses. His unique use of stencils, collage, photography and painting have led to collaborations with among others, DJ Shadow, Interpol, Smashing Pumpkins and more recently the poster art for the Johnny Cash biopic, ‘Walk the Line’. "

Html-izing Editor's code of practice

NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE PUBLISHING IN THE U.K.

Editors’ Code of Practice

This is the newspaper and periodical industry’s Code of Practice.
It is framed and revised by the Editors’ Code Committee made up of independent editors of national,regional and local newspapers and magazines.

The Press Complaints Commission, which has a majority of lay members, is charged with enforcing the Code, using it to publication in the public interest.

It is the responsibility of editors and publishers to apply the Code to editorial material in both printed and online versions of publications. They should take care to ensure it is observed rigorously by all editorial staff and external contributors, including non-journalists.

Editors should co-operate swiftly with the PCC in the resolution of complaints. Any publication judged to have breached the Code must print the adjudication in full and with due prominence, including headline reference to the PCC.

Accuracy

i) The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information, including pictures.
ii) A significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distortion once recognised must be corrected, promptly and with due prominence, and - where appropriate - an apology published.
iii) The press, whilst free to be partisan, must distinguish clearly between comment,conjecture and fact.
iv) A publication must report fairly and accurately the outcome of an action for defamation to which it has been a party, unless an agreed settlement states otherwise, or an agreed statement is published.

Opportunity to reply

A fair opportunity for reply to inaccuracies must be given when reasonably called for.

Privacy

i) Everyone is entitled to respect for his or her private and family life, home, health and correspondence, including digital communications.Editors will be expected to justify intrusions into any individual's private life without consent.
ii) It is unacceptable to photograph individuals in a private place without their consent. Note - Private places are public or private property where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Harassment

i) Journalists must not engage in intimidation,harassment or persistent pursuit.
ii) They must not persist in questioning,telephoning, pursuing or photographing individuals once asked to desist; nor remain on their property when asked to leave and must not follow them.
iii) Editors must ensure these principles are observed by those working for them and
take care not to use non-compliant material from other sources.

Intrusion into grief or shock

i) In cases involving personal grief or shock,enquiries and approaches must be made with sympathy and discretion and publication handled sensitively. This should not restrict the right to report legal proceedings, such as inquests.
ii) When reporting suicide, care should be taken to avoid excessive detail about the method used.

Children

i) Young people should be free to complete their time at school without unnecessary intrusion.
ii) A child under 16 must not be interviewed or photographed on issues involving their own or another child’s welfare unless a custodial parent or similarly responsible adult consents.
iii) Pupils must not be approached or photographed at school without the permission of the school authorities.
iv) Minors must not be paid for material involving children’s welfare, nor parents or guardians for material about their children or wards, unless it is clearly in the child's interest.
v) Editors must not use the fame, notoriety or position of a parent or guardian as sole justification for publishing details of a child’s private life.

Children in sex cases

1. The press must not, even if legally free to do so, identify children under 16 who are victims or witnesses in cases involving sex offences.

2. In any press report of a case involving a sexual offence against a child:

i) The child must not be identified.
ii) The adult may be identified.
iii) The word "incest" must not be used where a child victim might be identified.
iv) Care must be taken that nothing in the report implies the relationship between the accused and the child.

Hospitals

i) Journalists must identify themselves and obtain permission from a responsible executive before entering non-public areas of hospitals or similar institutions to pursue enquiries.
ii) The restrictions on intruding into privacy are particularly relevant to enquiries about individuals in hospitals or similar institutions.

Reporting of Crime

i) Relatives or friends of persons convicted or accused of crime should not generally be identified without their consent, unless they are genuinely relevant to the story.
ii) Particular regard should be paid to the potentially vulnerable position of children who witness, or are victims of, crime. This should not restrict the right to report legal proceedings.

Clandestine devices and subterfuge

i) The press must not seek to obtain or publish material acquired by using hidden cameras or clandestine listening devices; or by intercepting private or mobile telephone calls, messages or emails; or by the unauthorised removal of documents, or photographs; or by accessing digitally-held private information without consent.
ii) Engaging in misrepresentation or subterfuge, including by agents or intermediaries, can generally be justified only in the public interest and then only when the material cannot be obtained by other means.

Victims of sexual assault

i) The press must not identify victims of sexual assault or publish material likely to contribute to such identification unless there is adequate justification and they are legally free to do so.

Discrimination

i) The press must avoid prejudicial or pejorative reference to an individual's race, colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or to any physical or mental illness or disability. Details of an individual's race, colour, religion, sexual orientation, physical or mental illness or disability must be avoided unless genuinely relevant to the story.

Financial journalism

i) Even where the law does not prohibit it, journalists must not use for their own profit financial information they receive in advance of its general publication, nor should they pass such information to others.
ii) They must not write about shares or securities in whose performance they know that they or their close families have a significant financial interest without disclosing the interest to the editor or financial editor.
iii) They must not buy or sell, either directly or through nominees or agents, shares or securities about which they have written recently or about which they intend to write in the near future.

Confidential sources

i) Journalists have a moral obligation to protect confidential sources of information.

Witness payments in criminal trials

i) No payment or offer of payment to a witness - or any person who may reasonably be expected to be called as a witness - should be made in any case once proceedings are active as defined by the Contempt of Court Act 1981. This prohibition lasts until the suspect has been freed unconditionally by police without charge or bail or the proceedings are otherwise discontinued; or has entered a guilty plea to the court; or, in the event of a not guilty plea, the court has announced its verdict.
ii) Where proceedings are not yet active but are likely and foreseeable, editors must not make or offer payment to any person who may reasonably be expected to be called as a witness, unless the information concerned ought demonstrably to be published in the public interest and there is an over-riding need to make or promise payment for this to be done; and all reasonable steps have been taken to ensure no financial dealings influence the evidence those witnesses give. In no circumstances should such payment be conditional on the outcome of a trial.
iii) Any payment or offer of payment made to a person later cited to give evidence in proceedings must be disclosed to the prosecution and defence. The witness must be advised of this requirement.

Payment to criminals

i)Payment or offers of payment for stories, pictures or information, which seek to
exploit a particular crime or to glorify or glamorise crime in general, must not be made directly or via agents to convicted or confessed criminals or to their associates – who may include family, friends and colleagues.
ii) Editors invoking the public interest to justify payment or offers would need to demonstrate that there was good reason to believe the public interest would be served. If, despite payment, no public interest emerged, then the material should not be published.

The public interest

There may be exceptions to the clauses marked where they can be demonstrated to be in the public interest.

1. The public interest includes, but is not confined to:
i) Detecting or exposing crime or serious impropriety.
ii) Protecting public health and safety.
iii) Preventing the public from being misled by an action or statement of an individual or organisation.

2. There is a public interest in freedom of expression itself.

3. Whenever the public interest is invoked, the PCC will require editors to demonstrate fully how the public interest was served.

4. The PCC will consider the extent to which material is already in the public domain, or will become so.

5. In cases involving children under 16, editors must demonstrate an exceptional public interest to over-ride the normally paramount interest of the child.

Podcast Tutorial: Museum of Confusion

Subscribe a podcast to your iTunes library. This sounds like cirillic to many. In reality it is one of the simplest things that new technologies are offering to people for them to listen and view documents.
This is explained in Podcast Tutorial, a youtube video made by 'Kurt'.



'Kurt' explanation is quite clear and effective but the graphic of the tutorial is very confusing and of poor quality. Our tutor is trying to make people aware of new possibilities offered by new technologies, but he himself is not using the top of it.
He is trying to show a podcast created by him for a museum. It could be very interesting to see the presentation of the images that he created but in the video- tutorial people cannot properly understand how the presentation works.

I believe he could use mac computer (since he is showing podcast functions on a mac program, iTunes) using the corner option that allows you to move the mouse (therefore the view) from an open window to another window and back to the desktop without the need of scrolling down all the pages and minimaze them all the time.

Check it out and leave your comment: