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Policed State in Amsterdam?

Watch the video

Tonight my friend and I were forcefully searched by the Dutch police walking out of a restaurant. The police had no reason or right to search as we were exhibiting no suspicious or illegal behavior.

update:
Because this film does not portray the events completly, I ask that you listen to this podcast by bicycle mark before posting.

click here for podcastAudioCommunique #83(mp3)
31min+, 80kbps, 17Mb+

This post would have probably been understood better had the title read, "Is Amsterdam becoming a policed state?"

It is not a major event folks, but it is a warning sign. It's not about being searched on the streets or about being Dutch or American, it's about civil rights and how much of your freedom you are willing to give away for the feeling of security? I would have gladly been searched if there was some terrorist, or illegal action taking place in the area. But there was not. I was simply walking in an open space, and EVERYONE was being frisked. There was no discrimination by the police on that point. I agree that in other countries this is MUCH worse. I always felt safe in the Netherlands, and always respected the way the Police carried themselves. Up until now. That's what this is about, nothing more, nothing less.

As far as the palbeach video that people are reffering to: It is very shocking to see what happend. The woman was speeding and was asked repeatedly to step out of her vehicle. She was breaking the law, and then resisting the officer's to step out of her car. I don't think walking out of a restuarant constitues breaking the law.

I know the footage that I filmed is not enough to give the whole picture. I wish I could have had it running the whole time, but I can't film my life 24-7, and furthermore it's not about America. Pavle says it best: "Does this put it in the same league as blacklisted torture camps? Of course not. Then again, the film is an off-the-cuff personal item and should not be seen as an intentional statement on the state of the world."

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RTL News talks about vlogging

So now the Dutch media is finally getting around to talking about vlogging, and of course they turn to Andrew to talk about it. Hey RTL! We're also here in Amsterdam. I feel kind of special having some of the first interviews already with Amanda and Andrew. If you haven't seen it, check out this interview I did the past summer, before the Hype got crazy. But there are a lot more shows and fun news shows that are better than rocketboom I believe. Have a look at mobuzz for instance.

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NRC Handelsblad interviewed me about the video podcasting

Go get yourself a copy of the NRC Dutch newspaper if you can. I did an interview with them this morning and it's already in the paper this afternoon! Vlogging is becoming respectable I guess. For those that don't know Dutch media, the NRC is kinda like the Financial Times of Holland. We are right above the weather which is cool, which is predicting easy going mist and sun. If you can't get a hard copy, just click on the pic to read it if you hands on a hard copy. We'll have a vlog up shortly about it. Or you can look at it online: (Thanks Daniel)

NRC Post

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The end is just beginning

The forum.xolo.tv is over for now, and I am exhausted. I want to thank all the speakers that came and gave great presentations. The stream is no longer streaming but we will be posting ALL the presentations online for everyone to download, mashup, and repost at their own discretion. By next week this time we will have vlogs of all the speakers and the panel discussions. And as we have in the title, this is only the beginning as we are already talking about the next forum in 2006. Stay tuned as this development continues with the collaborations that have founded their seed at the forum.xolo.tv!

I would personally like to thank those that brought this together:
the Machouse Amsterdam
The Xolo.tv team (you know who you are)

our speakers:

Anil from mobuzztv

Ryanne from freevlog

Stef from vodcast.nl

Bjorn and Paul from Creative Commons

Jay and Daniel from FireANT

Peter from mefeeedia.org

Chris from 49media.com and SpinXpress

AND to all those that attended both in person and who watched the stream.

And with that all I have to say is,"it was vlogging vlogerific!!"

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Podcast Shuffle Directory

I've been submitting Gabe.nl and Xolo.tv to a bunch of podcast directories today. If you want to see a great page with a bunch of links of where you can submit your videoblogs and podcasts, check out this webpage.

One site I was really impressed with was Podcast Shuffle directory. The owner sent me this e-mail almost immeditaly.

Thanks for submitting your show. I've added it to the directory. FYI -I created a new category for your show "Video Blogs" and thus changed your category from Audio to Video. I checked your show out in iTunes and it worked great!

So go check out our listing in the videoblog directory. And for those of you with Panther on the mac installed he even has a cool widget for searching the directory. Thanks Jeff!

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An American Photographer in China

My good friend Betsy Green is rounding up her 6 month trip in China. She has been photoblogging the entire event. She is a Camera Obscure photographer, and was asked to come teach at an art school in China the last semesters. Go check out her blog and see some great photos deep in the forests, cities and more. She'll be coming back home soon and start to develop all the pictures she's been taking with her cardboard camera. I can't wait to see! Come home safely Betsy, but enjoy the last moments in China!

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Edit HD with the new Playstation

Sony announced the much anticipated Playstation 3 at E3 this week. Besides the 2 HDTV outputs, Blue-Ray DVD recorder, up to 7 bluetooth and PSP controllers support, Sony also said they:

Will offer a high definition camera as a peripheral to the PS3, allowing players to use the game machine as a makeshift video phone or let them broadcast their own programming, whether live or from the machine's detachable 2.5-inch hard drive.

That is SO COOL! Folks, just get yourself a Sony Playstation 3, and HD Camera, and a BIG internet connection, and you are broadcasting LIVE to the world! Oh man. Everyone will have their own TV station soon. Maybe we will all get so sick of each other, that we will actually go outside and try to improve the environment. Nah!

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My Powerbook after drinking beer

Last Friday I was VJing for the Jamparty. Great Party btw. Everyone had a great time. In any case, all night people kept putting their drinks next to my laptop. I constantly asked people not to, but of course it doesn't help. The whole night went great up until the last song when the barman was cleaning the empty glasses, and you guessed it spilled a beer all over my powerbook!

AGHHHHHHHHHHH! Quickly I rememberd a post on a forum somewhere of what to do when someone spills liquid on your laptop.

  1. Quickly turn the laptop over and pull out the battery. Don't worry about shutting down. You have seconds o remove all power to the laptop. Don't waste time saving documents!
  2. Then begin to dry the laptop completely. Get as much water (or in my case beer) as you can.
  3. Then let it sit in a dry place, open for 2 days. This is to make sure all the moisture is dried out, and that when you turn it back on, the electrics won't fry. Make sure to keep the battery out during this time.

So this afternoon I powered up my laptop and prayed! The keyboard is a little sticky, and it smells a bit like the laptop has a hangover (old beer smell). But it's powered up and working. The only real damage besides a feeeeeew keys sticking is the display. It looks like the crystals don't like beer, and some areas of the display are brighter than others. Displays are expensive things to replace on laptops, but at least it less than the laptop, (but not by much). If I had lost my laptop, I had a backup from last week, so not to much damage would be caused there. Remember to BACKUP your work!

So my laptop is now a drunk on beer. Man. I hope you never have this, but if you do, you know what to do.

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