Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Ending the Age of Embedded Journalism...

Julian Assange, in my view, is an activist and first of all an investigative Journalist heading an investigative Journalism network. Investigative Journalism is a noble and dangerous profession and always was. Beyond that any musings about Julian Asssange's character or private preferences are none of my business. He is, after all, not an elected official or a state officer...
I keep thinking that if Wikileaks had appeared in the atmosphere of the 70s or even the 80s (here in Germany at least) it would have made the news, but it would not have lead to any hysterical reactions. In these old days the "mainstream media" themselves still were thoroughly engaged in investigative Journalism. But we now have lived in the age of embedded journalism for such a long time that we hardly remember what investigative journalism in nation-wide major newspapers looks like. An entire generation grew up without ever encountering it! And the face of embedded journalism is diverse: long before Journalists were embedded in selected military units encountering selected operations, they had been embedded (and thus effectively neutralized) in commercial units leading to selective whitewash reporting. At one point Journalistic output had become more defined by corporate advertiser interests than by the earnest urge to inform the public. What Wikileaks might be able to achieve, if anything, is to shake up Journalists, writers and citizens and remind them that a truly free press is an absolutely mandatory pillar of a truly free society. The best example to the contrary may well be Italy with a head of state who simply owns all major media outlets and thus controls much of the public opinion - enough to win elections. And albeit current day Italy may be an extreme case, the other western countries differ only by degree, not in principle. We need a free press. We need investigative journalists. I really dislike the worn out word "hero", but perhaps they can be called the "heroes of democracy". And I wonder if the likes of Sarah Palin ever bothered to familiarize themselves with the works of George Orwell or Aldous Huxley - on my side of the Atlantic they still are mandatory reading in high school.

Thursday, October 07, 2010

Picture Moment

Since Sophie is in the header with me, here be an Image of Liv and me. It became somewhat famous and was used in numerous publications around the globe. If interested do a google image search on “Pipitdapo”.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Top Three Most Sustainable Brands: Wagner & Co Nominated for German Sustainability Award

(Cölbe July 21, 2010) The corporate philosophy of the solar energy pioneer Wagner & Co Solar Technology can be summarized in a single phrase: sustainability is our business. Now Wagner & Co was selected by a high profile Jury as one of three nominees in the category "most sustainable brand". The company is finalist for the German Sustainability Award. It will be awarded by the German Sustainability Council during a Gala in Düsseldorf on November 26, 2010. The event is held and organized under the auspices of the German federal government and Chancellor Dr. Angela Merkel.

 
 
For more than thirty years Wagner & Co developed, constructed and manufactured award winning top flight solar energy systems, motivated by the idealistic goal to make clean and independent energy available and affordable for everyone. Wagner & Co is known for continuous innovation, including the planning and installation of many large scale solar plants, among them many technological "firsts". But the company does not only excel in the field of sustainable technology - the organization is also built upon sustainable foundations: from the outset, the 9 founders from the anti nuclear student activist scene devised the company as employee owned and with democratic decision structures. Despite more than thirty years of perpetual growth and economic success, these structures as well as the flat hierarchies, are still firmly in place and form the heart and soul of the company - a company now globally active, serving customers all over Europe and beyond, with branches in four European countries and the United States.
 
Following the motto "solar technology for everyone", the company also engages in corporate responsibility and supports sustainable development projects in diverse settings: solar hot water for a school cantina in the Chernobyl affected region of Belarus, solar light for a boarding school in Tanzania, solar water supply for a Nigerian village, to name a few.
 
The nomination for the German Sustainability Award confirms the path and strategy of Wagner & Co, focusing on sustainable high-quality products and a sustainable corporate governance with healthy work/life balance and a participatory climate for the company's employees. Past awards and nominations went to companies like the organic food brand Alnatura and the global logistics giant Deutsche Post/DHL. The high profile of these corporations as well as the status of individual prize winners underscore the nomination's value. The illustrious list of prize recipients includes for example the British heir to the crown and environmental activist Prince Charles or the retired UNEP director Klaus Töpfer, who also serves on this year's jury board.
 
Having been identified as one of Germany's three most sustainable brands and thus been nominated for the Sustainability Award is yet another encouragement for the company to further promote and live a cooperative and environmentally friendly business style. For a common solar future.
 




Wagner & Co is one of the leading collector manufacturers in Europe. The company offers solutions for solar heating applications and solar electricity. In 1979 Wagner & Co was spearheaded by nine college students rooted in the ecology and anti nuclear movements of the 70s. Nowadays the company headquarter and main production facilities are situated in Cölbe and Kirchhain, right in the geographic heart of the EU (near Frankfurt, Germany). The company is employee-owned, independent from the stock market and has more than 350 employees. The total turnover amounts to approx. 250 million Euro. Thanks to its subsidiaries in France, Spain, Italy and the United States the company passes on its more than 30 years of solar energy know how and experience throughout Europe. Many times Wagner & Co products came out first in rigorous tests by Stiftung Warentest (German consumer testing agency), and currently the solar package COMBI line SH 1440 AR is certified as “best in test” for the third time in a row in spring 2009. In the field of solar electricity the company offers highly efficient photovoltaic systems with precisely dimensioned installation components produced by globally renown manufacturers. Wagner & Co is a pioneer on the European solar market and received numerous awards, including the "Ethics in Business" award and the OTTI Innovation award.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Mind Virus Internet

The internet was invented by the military. The World wide web was invented by researchers, and in the beginning it all was good - I recall that at first, back in 1994, the intention was to keep the web free and clean of the stain of commercial activities. It was to be a realm of research and experimental communication. But that did not take into account that the world is in the grip of only one remaining religion or ideology, depending on the point of view: the "Profitum". Money. We have long entered an era where money has not only become an end in itself - which already is a ridiculous notion, no, the sad and ultimately all consuming fact is that money is the only all dominating end in itself remaining. The focus of all human activity is to serve a religion that is indebting us all, a religion that creates guilt (debt) and guilt only. A religion without ethics, moral, sense or sensibility. A religion that is unintelligible in its entirety. The Internet is only the latest tool to serve the total exploitation of the human mind, soul and bank accounts. And indeed: much of the websites are parasitical. If not the entire web is a parasite of the mind, a gargantuan mind virus stealing our time, our thoughts - our life. Did life get better in any true and tangible way thanks to the internet? I think the development of the web shows clearly what United States Culture is mainly about: advertising. Trying to brainwash people into believing that they cannot live without possessing certain - in fact entirely useless or unnecessary - things. It is a culture focused on having instead of being. A culture that has and has ever more and more and constantly feels deprived of something without ever quite knowing what that is.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Why I am not a good Blogger

Actually I think nobody is a good blogger – nobody can be. The principle of the blog is to perpetually babble on about something. About anything. Ideally daily. Unfortunately nobody has something relevant to say every day. In fact most of us never have anything relevant to say in the first place. So – why would I bother spending my time writing something irrelevant day in, day out?

Think about what kind of Blogger Albert Einstein would have been. The great Albert, the Icon of intellectual superiority and moral integrity in the 20th century. He would have written E equals m c squared. Grand. He would have written on a bit the Lorenz transformation. Interesting. And a few rather incomprehensible treatments on tensor calculations and 4 D space time. A no – actually he would not have written that in a blog as he would have published these things – as he did then – in peer reviewed academic journals. So what would Einstein have written in a Blog? Maybe a few witty statements about fashion, God (also a fashion) and a few things about people and their follies in general. There are a few dozen bonmots about Einstein. But not much more. Actually I believe he would not have become a blogger. Because there is no reason for it. Maybe some students would have sat down and collect his quotes and put them up on a blog or on Twitter or a similar one of all those hollow internet entities.

Einstein simply did not have enough to say to create an interesting blog. So who the hell would I be...