remote video interviews and reportage on select aspects of politics, technology, business, and culture
David Meyer, a freelance technology reporter based in Berlin, Germany, talks about the recent electoral success of the Piratenpartei Deutschland (Pirate Party Germany), their belief in government transparency, the operation of their Liquid Feedback platform, and the challenges they face as they grow, recorded from Berlin, Germany, on May 15, 2012.
Michael Nicula, founder of the Online Party of Canada, talks about that group’s system of direct democratic determination of policy positions, the advantages of this approach, and the proper role of elected officials in a democracy, recorded from Toronto, Canada, on May 11, 2012.
James O’Keefe, “Captain” of the Massachusetts Pirate Party, talks about the group’s philosophy, policies, and plans, including its views on copyright, privacy, and transparency, recorded from Somerville, Massachusetts, on May 10, 2012.
Professor Martin Haase, Chairman of the Department of Romance Languages at the University of Bamberg, and an active member of the Piratenpartei Deutschland (Pirate Party Germany), talks about the origins, goals, operations, and spirit of this organization, and about its use of Liquid Feedback software to create what it calls “Liquid Democracy,” recorded from Bamberg, Germany, on May 9, 2012.
JP Hollembaek, candidate for the Massachusetts House of Representatives from Middlesex (Lowell and Chelmsford), talks about his campaign and the Massachusetts Pirate Party, recorded from Lowell, Massachusetts, on May 8, 2012.
Klaus Sambor, coordinator of the Attac group for an unconditional basic-income (UBI) guarantee, talks about the campaign to qualify a European Citizens’ Initiative that would implement such a program in the European Union, recorded from Austria on May 6, 2012.
Jan Willem Goudriaan, Deputy General Secretary, European Federation of Public Service Unions, talks about the Right2Water (www.right2water.eu) campaign to qualify a European Citizens’ Initiative to guarantee Europeans’ right to water as a public good and turn back efforts to privatize the provision of water and sanitation services, recorded from Brussels, Belgium, on May 2, 2012
Carsten Berg, ECI Campaign Coordinator with Democracy International and other, related NGOs, talks about the recently-promulgated European Citizens’ Initiative, which allows a million EU citizens to propose new legislation to the European Commission, recorded from Bonn, Germany, on April 24/25, 2012.
Joonas Pekkanen talks about the origins, status, and functioning of the “Open Ministry” open source collaborative platform now being used in Finland for the creation of crowdsourced legislation, recorded from Helsinki, Finland, on April 5/6, 2012.
David Cruz Thayne, a Democratic candidate in the 26th Congressional District campaign, talks to Etopia News about immigration, education, health care, jobs and the economy, off-shore oil drilling, renewable energy, contraceptives, Israel and Iran, high-speed rail, the distribution of wealth in the U.S., the Citizens United ruling, technology and unemployment, and the possibility that U.S. Representatives should spend more time in their districts, recorded from Westlake Village, California, on ...