Three meanings of “free”: after “free beer” and “free speech”, “free the Internet”

I have come across free software advocates who want to expand the range of their social causes and get involved in reforming society itself. I hope they are already aware of at least three meanings of “free”. This is a friendly reminder if they’re not. Free software advocates are generally familiar with the first two: [...]

Prehistoric peoples could kill mammoths: how about corporations?

Most legal systems today recognize the registered business firm as a distinct legal person, separate from its stockholders, board of directors or employees. In fact, laws would often refer to “natural or legal persons”. It should therefore be safe to conclude that such registered business firms or corporations are persons (ie, organisms), but not “natural [...]

Restrictive copyright practices

I referred in an earlier post to increasingly restrictive copyright practices. These practices are like a tightening noose around the neck of everyone in search of knowledge. Here’s one example: Most online academic journals have been charging academics, researchers and students to download individual articles ever since new technologies made this possible. This is an [...]

A meeting of copyright researchers and activists

I just attended the December 6-10 meeting in Kerala, India of the CopySouth Research Group (CSRG), an international network of copyright researchers and activists. The discussions were intense but cordial. We were all critical of the current state of copyright laws and regulations, which had become so restrictive that the copyright regime was becoming a [...]

Organic rice from the rice terraces of Ifugao

In a meeting I attended last December 3, I heard Gov. Teddy Baguilat himself, governor of the province of Ifugao, describe his plans for organic production in Ifugao, home of the world-famous Ifugao rice terraces. Ifugao’s commitment to organic farming means four of the Philippines’ 89 provinces are now committed to organic production: Cebu, Ifugao, [...]

Low-power community radio: a technology for localization

For every criticism, it is good to propose an alternative, if one is available. My earlier post was critical of the Internet for its built-in bias for globalization, which in effect forces the poor to subsidize the rich. I’m not saying we should not use the Internet, but it is important to be aware of [...]

On the Internet: do the poor subsidize the rich?

["Original title: Perverse subsidies". It is Chapter 13 in my book Towards a Political Economy of Information (2004). I reproduce it here because it raises an issue that is taken very much for granted today.] It was appropriate technology advocate E.F. Schumacher, author of the widely-acclaimed book Small is Beautiful, who once said that technologies [...]

Electronic voting machines fail miserably in Israel

The December 2 primary election of the Israeli Labor party was scheduled to involve 60,000 party members in an internal party voting to select candidates. They were to vote in 275 polling stations spread throughout Israel. However, in an embarrassing fiasco that may have direct impact on the Labor Party’s chances in the next elections, [...]

System of Rice Intensification (SRI): failure still counts as success

Last November 27, I was invited by SRI-Pilipinas trainor Aga Milagroso as guest speaker at the graduation ceremonies of 36 farmers of Alaminos, Pangasinan, whom he had trained over a whole season on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), organic fertilizer making, indigenous microorganism (IMO) activators through rice fermentation, and other useful knowhow for the [...]