Bureaux.

tracking the cult of vision

November 20, 2011
by x
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Killing Open Source

Ilya Zhitomirskiy by Karinavan Schaardenburg/Flickr

Correct me if I am wrong, but when a project is proposed to the Open Source community, people in the community should work positively to improve the project. Why then when the hyped Facebook rival Diaspora releases it’s source the community turns hateful and vicious? Then suddenly Ilya Zhitomirskiy, the 22-year-old co-founder of Diaspora commits suicide. Who are these haters, trolls? Are they hired corporate thugs or just idiots who don’t know what contributing to the open source community might mean? Maybe I’m naive, I don’t work in the “official” open source community, but I stand behind any initiative that is open, collaborative and that benefits the public.

Read the Gawker article:
Why Did This 22-Year-Old Entrepreneur Commit Suicide? by Adrian Chen

October 13, 2011
by Antonio
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100,000 Years of Painting

Samples of ocher were collected in large abalone shells, where the first known paint was liquefied, stirred and scooped out with a bone spatula.

In African Cave, Signs of an Ancient Paint Factory
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD
Published: October 13, 2011
New York Times

Digging deeper in a South African cave that had already yielded surprises from the Middle Stone Age, archaeologists have uncovered a 100,000-year-old workshop holding the tools and ingredients with which early modern humans apparently mixed some of the first known paint.

read more at NYTimes.com

September 28, 2011
by x
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U.S. Oil Contracts in Iraq, Libya Next?

Iraq's West Qurna Oil Field

Iraq's West Qurna Oil Field

Just some notes:

ExxonMobile’s (US)  wikipedia page mentions nothing about it’s contract to develop in Iraq’s West Qurna oil field. Considering this it the second largest oil field in the world after Saudi Arabia’s Ghawar oil field.

• This TIME article headline is at first mislead in that appears that U.S. is shut out of Iraq oil auctions?? When later it mentions that ExxonMobile took 80% stake West Qurna Phase 1. Shut Out as Iraq Auctions Its Oil Fields by Vivienne Walt Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. It makes me want to research the oil contracts awarded to U.S. Oil companies since the invasion.

U.S.’s 2nd largest oil company, Chevron was already exploring oil in Iraq‘s Majnoon Oil Fields under the oil exploration contract awarded to Frances Total and Chevron in 2007.

• Finally, where is ConocoPhillips, U.S.’s 3rd largest  oil company?  A little research shows in 2004 Lukoil and ConocoPhillips had formed a strategic alliance in 2004, with ConocoPhillips owning 20% of Lukoil’s shares. In 2007 Lukoil promised ConocoPhillips a share of the West Qurna Oil fields. Lukoil, with ConocoPhillips’s shares at  won the bid in 2009.  So maybe the Time article shouldn’t say U.S.  was “shut-out”completely, as oil contracts in Iraq, despite UN sanctions, are full of holes.

• If you look at the list of largest oil reserves, Libya comes right after Iraq, if you take out the unclean sands oil of Canada and Venezuela. It’s also might seem easier to destabilize under a false premise: WMD (Iraq), a rebel uprising (Libya)?

• Kuwait’s national lines were carved out of Iraq by the British after WWI. Hello BP!

• Kuwait is sandwiched between Iraq and Libya in terms of oil reserve. To no surprise, when Iraq attempted to reclaim Kuwait as the 19th province of Iraq, it only took 5 day for the U.S. forces to intervene. More info Gulf War wikipedia

 

[photo above of Iraq's West Qurna Oil Field from article "Iraq's West Qurna 1 Reaches Production Milestone" - arabianoilandgas.com]

September 27, 2011
by Antonio
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The Occupy Wall Street Journal

vizKult has proposed the initiative of publishing “The Occupy Wall Street Journal” at the occupation of Wall Street which began Sept 17.  The proposal was presented to the Arts & Culture committee  on September 26th. That meeting was an interesting,  power players and cultural gate keepers like Creative Time and The Yes Men have flocked to the fest… The announcement of the “The Occupy Wall Street Journal” was quickly picked up by the press. I wondered if anyone sent out press releases? So far the  New York Times, New York Magazine, The Village Voice , The New York Observer have all covering the story, albeit incorrectly crediting many journalistic renegades and even looping The Yes Men into this.

If you are interested in participating in this initiative please contact x_vizkult.org

August 9, 2011
by x
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Ban on Native Languages Lifted in Colombia

Native Language in Colombia

What good is a language not your own? It doesn’t really speak for you, does it? In the Americas its original purpose was for efficiently managing the European colonies. Spanish continues to be the dominant foreign language in a majority of the Americas, but for how much longer? This new report from Al Jazeera shows how the Americas continue their decolonization beyond political rule. Colombia has lifted the ban on teaching indigenous languages allowing for people to tell their story in the language that developed around their culture.

July 26, 2011
by Antonio
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Decolonizing the Americas, Deeper

Decolonization in the Americas shouldn’t just mean dismantling political control from foreign rule, real decolonization will begin when all colonizing ideologies are acknowledged and undone in the former colony. In most cases these colonizing ideologies run deep within the frame work of a society. Recently Boliva’s the Department of Decolonization has re-established the right to indigenous unions. Another step toward decolonization. This follow’s the “Rights of Mother Earth” law that Bolivia has recently passed in attempt to push back the abuse of nature, another area ingrained with colonial ideologies.

post script: I’m left thinking what could a deeper decolonization process mean for the northern parts of the Americas?

July 21, 2011
by Antonio
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Fake Apple

Fake Apple Store in China?

A recent article on wired.com notes that fake Apple stores are popping up in China. The whole enchilada: products, colors, interior design, etc. The article also mentions that even the workers think they are working for Apple. Guess what, the CHINESE are working for Apple! Apple has factories in China! (You would expect a lower priced computer given the labor cost are kept so low. Nope.)

What is an all American product this day and age? Can Apple be considered an “American” product when it is made in China? Let’s just say that it’s a co-production: Chinese workers + Apple designers.

I think the only tech product we don’t outsource is our military weapons. The High-Tech Top-Secret stuff. But even then I suspect we bend a few rules here and there if we see a good contract -that’s what capitalism is about, isn’t it?