Clampdown!

In one more attempt to grant a technology clampdown, Computer & Communications Industry Association was obstructed from taking part in the meeting on S. 2560, also known as the INDUCE Act, a proposal created for extend the power of copyright laws and debunk innovation. The stakes involved are high, because the law might affect several sort of devices, as VCRs, optical disk recorders, radio receivers, audio devices, IMs, personal computers, iPods (and other personal music players) and online music services. It simply covers every recording, duplication and information technology device today – even the Internet itself.

[ X - Hungry World ]

Mesh in Salvador

ITU TELECOM AMERICAS is to be held from 3-6 October in Salvador, Bahia. I'm almost certain that 3G will be addressed. Yes, because it is supposed to surrogate the DSL and cable broadband networks. For know, the developing countries have been watching the war between GSM and CDMA. But this is the iceberg's tip. In the undercurrents new and exciting technologies start to emerge, as Flash-OFDM and WiMax. Giants as Intel, Nortel and Cisco back the last. But, in my opinion, Wi-Fi mesh networks could be faster deployed in Brazil, instead of WiMax. Time will tell.

[ Guided by Voices - Everybody Thinks I'm A Raincloud ]

Venezuela From Below

Last weekend I've seen Venezuela From Below, a film by Dario Azzellini and Oliver Ressler, and it made my mind boils big time. It is a well-directed documentary about the revolutionary process by which Venezuela is passing through. The film is absolutely educational and begins with a historic overview introduced brilliantly by the philosopher Carlos Lazo. The ascension of Hugo Chavez, Lazo explains, is the result of a bourgeois process that excluded the left-wing parties from the political decisions. The outcome of this exclusion was inevitable: the reclaiming of a progressive constitution. It is staggering to note how Venezuelan people are politicized and how well they are versed in the participatory culture. The people, supported by the army, refuted two coup d'etat and several attempts of sabotage of the country's main economic asset: the oil production, concentrated in the oil company PDVSA, in Puerto La Cruz. By the way, the army is very embedded into the people environment, and Ressler's documentary has captured the proof of this concept, a show where soldiers and other officers play guaracha before a dancing popular audience. The revolutionary spirit has triggered a broad process of grassroots self-organization in vital areas like education (Mission Robinson, Ribas and Sucre), health care (Barrio Adentro) job generation (Vuelvan Caras) and alternative media (El23.net). Venezuela From Below is highly recommended for Brazilian investigative journalists, left-wing politicians and rappers.

[ Señor Coconut – Autobahn ]