OVERSIGHT: THANK YOU FOR VOLUNTEERING, CITIZEN
Tom Scott
2013, 2 min 15 sec
what happens when you privatise Big Brother.
All posts by zap-editor
m. Eric Baudelaire, Letters to Max
LETTERS TO MAX
Eric Baudelaire, Paris
2014, 6 min 26 sec
Abkhazia is something of a paradox: a country that exists, in the physical sense of the word (a territory with borders, a government, a flag, a language), yet it has no legal existence because for almost twenty years it was not recognized by any other nation state. And so Abkhazia exists without existing, caught in a liminal space, a space in between realities. Which is why my first letter to Max was something of a message in a bottle thrown at sea.
p. Roger Penrose, The quantum nature of consciousness
THE QUANTUM NATURE OF CONSCIOUSNESS
Roger Penrose, Moscow, Russia
2013, 7 min 8 sec
Knighted in 1994 for his contributions to science, Sir Roger Penrose OM FRS, is an English mathematical physicist, mathematician and philosopher.
Penrose is internationally renowned for his scientific work in mathematical physics, in particular for his contributions to general relativity and cosmology. His primary interest is in a field of geometry called tessellation, the covering of surfaces with tiles of different shapes. In this segment he concentrates on the concept of consciousness.
m. Monsanto Tribunal
MONSANTO TRIBUNAL
Ruptly tv, The Hague
2017, 1 min 29 sec
Judges of the Monsanto Tribunal delivered their legal opinion regarding the activity of the agro-chemicals giant Monsanto at The Hague, Tuesday, arguing that the company has violated basic human rights to food and health.
Having examined testimonies of witnesses, the judges concluded that “there has been an infringement on the right to food,” including by “denying peasants access to the seeds they need” and that the tribunal “considers that Monsanto’s conduct has offended the right to health.”
The tribunal comes after a growing number of lawsuits have been filed against Monsanto over allegations that one of the much maligned corporation’s herbicides is a cause of malformations in babies and cancer in agricultural workers.
l. Jane Austen, Public and private space
PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SPACE
Jane Austen, The British Library, Great Britain
1975, 2 min 58 sec
Professor Kathryn Sutherland considers the depiction of public and private spaces in Jane Austen’s novels. Filmed at Jane Austen’s House Museum, Chawton.
q. Mckenna discusses if reality is real
TERENCE MCKENNA DISCUSSES IF REALITY IS REAL
The Taxonomy of Illusion
1993, 7 min 29 sec
Segment of a lecture of Terence McKenna on the Taxonomy of Illusion, specifying on the concept of truth and reality, using the example of language to elaborate.
n. parking space savers
BOSTON BEGINS REMOVING PARKING SPACE SAVERS
CBS, USA
2015, 3 min 3 sec
Boston is putting the breaks on people’s attempts to use everyday items to hold parking spots they’ve spent hours digging out from the snow. Anna Werner reports from Boston, where their removal is getting a chilly reception.
o. Peter Linebaugh, the Magna Carta
MAGNA CARTA AND THE COMMONS
Peter Linebaugh, Law of the Commons Conference, Seattle, USA
2009, 51 min 33 sec
Talk by Peter Linebaugh, Professor of History at the University of Toledo on “Magna Carta and the Commons” given March 13, 2009 at the Law of the Commons Conference at Seattle University and sponsored by the Seattle Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild.
m. Rebecca Solnit, A Paradise Built in Hell
A PARADISE BUILT IN HELL
Rebecca Solnit, California reads, USA
2012, 2 min (selected excerpt)
In the aftermath of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, or the Loma Prieta Earthquake, author Rebecca Solnit collected hundreds of interviews and spent time in various disaster zones. What she found is contrary to what the media often reports: in times of crisis, humans have shown themselves to be deeply communitarian, altruistic, brave, and improvisational.
Here Solnit, author of California Reads selected book A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster, shares her thoughts on how we function within and what we really need from society. She speaks about our common desire for love and agency, a desire to contribute a voice and to be heard. While many believe that disasters turn us into chaotic and stampeding herds, Solnit asserts that times of crisis provide rare openings during which she has witnessed astonishing acts of humanity. These openings, she says, provide the building blocks for a truer and healthier democracy.
n. Forrest Man
FORREST MAN:
THE STORY OF JADAV PAYENG
William Douglas McMaster
Polygon Window Productions & Title Media
2014, 1 min 14 sec
Since the 1970’s Majuli islander Jadav Payeng has been planting trees in order to save his island. To date he has single handedly planted a forest larger than Central Park NYC. His forest has transformed what was once a barren wasteland, into a lush oasis. Humble yet passionate and philosophical about his work. Payeng takes us on a journey into his incredible forest.