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Saturday, September 22, 2012

Central Bank bars Nigeria airlines from bank loans

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) ? Nigeria's Central Bank has barred the nation's top two airlines from receiving any additional loans over their massive outstanding debts, an official said Friday, as passengers were stranded by the nation's aviation industry crisis in which its largest carrier grounded all its domestic flights.

Arik Air Ltd., the nation's top carrier which indefinitely halted its domestic flights Thursday claiming that the nation's aviation minister wanted to destroy the company for her personal profit, owes the state-run Asset Management Corp. of Nigeria more than $534 million, according to information released by the Central Bank.

Aero Contractors Co. of Nigeria Ltd., the airline of choice for many of the foreign oil companies working in Nigeria, owes more than $203 million to the state-run company, according to the Central Bank.

Ugo A. Okoroafor, a Central Bank spokesman, told The Associated Press on Friday any bank that gave companies or individuals on the list loans would face serious fines from the government. While acknowledging the struggles of the airline industry, the spokesman said the bank could not allow massive debts to pile up on the nation's banks and threaten the financial market.

"Adverse consequences exist for people who take part in such unhealthy acts," Okoroafor said.

Simon Tumba, a spokesman for Aero Contractors, declined to immediately comment Friday. Arik Air spokesman Adebanji Ola said the airline "was not in receipt of that particular" order by the Central Bank and declined to comment further.

The list of debtors barred from bank loans, first published in the Friday edition of ThisDay newspaper, also includes other top members of Nigeria's business elite, who regularly have access to and patronage of top politicians in the oil-rich nation.

Jimoh Ibrahim, who ran carrier Air Nigeria until the company recently collapsed owing staff four months' pay, owes the state-run company $175 million for loans to his company Nicon Investments Ltd. Zenon Petroleum & Gas Ltd., run by Femi Otedola, a supporter of President Goodluck Jonathan, owes an eye-popping $1.2 billion to the state-run asset company.

The Central Bank's decision likely will sow further chaos in Nigeria's aviation industry, which has been plagued by problems since a jetliner crash in June killed more than 160 people in Lagos. Only three of Nigeria's nine domestic airlines are now flying, as others remained grounded over maintenance, financing or other problems.

Thursday, Arik Air announced it would stop all its domestic flights following what it described as a raid by Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria employees on its operations at Lagos' Murtala Muhammed International Airport. Arik Air officials also accused Aviation Minister Stella Oduah of having a financial interest in seeing the airline fail, but declined to elaborate on the claim. An aviation ministry spokesman denied the allegations and said Arik Air was trying to distract the public from how much money it owed the federal government. Arik Air officials acknowledge that debt and say they make monthly payments to try and resolve it.

Arik Air, a private firm born out of the pieces of country's former national airline, had grown into a major international air carrier in West Africa over the last few years, with direct flights to Johannesburg, London and New York. The airline has more than 20 aircraft in its fleet and ordered more than a dozen new planes. It also provided more flights domestically than any other carrier in Nigeria, a nation of more than 160 million people.

Despite a series of fatal crashes over the last decades, air travel remains the quickest and safest way to travel across Nigeria, a nation about twice the size of California. The nation's road network, a series of decrepit highways that have some of the worst fatality records in the world, remain littered with axle-busting potholes, filled with speeding drivers and preyed upon by gangs of armed bandits. Nigeria's moribund railroad system, though undergoing repairs, remains woefully unable to provide a legitimate alternative for travelers.

Arik Air has said it will rebook passengers on flights when it begins flying again, though the company has not given a date when it will resume its domestic operations.

For passengers like Amina Maikori, who found herself stranded Thursday at the Lagos airport while trying to fly to Abuja, Nigeria's capital, it meant rebooking her ticket on Aero Contractors and waiting for a later flight.

However, even that flight ended up leaving the airport three and a half hours late without explanation, she said, something she just had to accept with a shrug.

"I think it's more frequent here than anywhere else," Maikori said.

___

Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP .

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/central-bank-bars-nigeria-airlines-bank-loans-143303345--finance.html

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Thursday, August 9, 2012

Thursday, August 9, 2012 - Observations on Modern Black Fatherhood

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Source: http://www.burtonfamilyjewels.com/2012/08/placing-human-human-face-on-crisis-of.html

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Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Wear it proud: The flag as a fashion statement

In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 photo, Nick Miller, left, and his sister Kendall Miller, center, from San Francisco, wear leotards in the colors of the United States national flag as they walk with a friend through Olympic Park at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. Patriotism and the games have always gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn, seen all over London and especially at Olympic Park and other spots where the games are being played. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this Sunday, July 29, 2012 photo, a couple wearing a British flag walk near to the river as other visitors arrive at the Olympic Park during the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. Patriotism and the games have always gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn, seen all over London and especially at Olympic Park and other spots where the games are being played. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)

In this Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 photo, British fans wearing leotards in the colors of the flag pose for other spectators to take pictures of them in front of the Orbit Tower in Olympic Park at the 2012 Summer Olympics, in London. Patriotism and the games have always gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn, seen all over London and especially at Olympic Park and other spots where the games are being played. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

In this Monday, July 30, 2012 photo, a fan wearing leggings marked with the stripes of Great Britain's flag rests on the grass at the rowing venue in Eton Dorney, near Windsor, England, at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Patriotism and the games have always gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn, seen all over London and especially at Olympic Park and other spots where the games are being played. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

In this Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 photo, a fan replete with representations of Great Britain's flag watches the competition at the rowing venue in Eton Dorney, near Windsor, England, at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Patriotism and the games have always gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn, seen all over London and especially at Olympic Park and other spots where the games are being played. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

LONDON (AP) ? There was no mystery as to which team Varun Pemmaraju was supporting: His American flag was tied around his neck, the Stars and Stripes floating like a cape behind him.

"I was going for the Superman, Captain America-look," said the beaming 19-year-old computer science and chemical engineering student from San Jose, California, as he stood a stone's throw from Olympic Stadium. "I thought America was a little under-represented."

Patriotism and the Olympic games have long gone together, but gone are the days when one just waved a flag. Now flags are worn.

The fashion flags can be found at Olympic Park and around London as shift dresses and smocks, pants and shorts, hats and shoes, even dangly earrings and bracelets. There's apparently no garment ? nor nail polish ? that can't be fashioned into something akin to a national banner.

Although the sponsorship police at the International Olympic Committee can stop merchants from using the five Olympic rings, there's no trademark police on flags.

Besides, capitalizing on a good fashion idea is not new. In recent years, "fast fashion" has transformed the retail industry, as mainstream companies seize the hottest ideas from the catwalk, copy them as quickly as possible and move them onto the shop floors. Some manufacturers have gotten so fast they can produce wearable creations from factory to store in the same season in which they were created by top designers at Chanel, Ralph Lauren or Dior.

None of these flag fashions are going to give Burberry a run for their money ? they are not made to last.

Jayne Ody got her raincoat, which was covered in Union Jacks, from Primark, a British store that specializes in cheap, cheerful fashion. And it was a bargain, at 8 pounds ($13).

Her friend Ann Wanklyn was wearing two Welsh flags ? emblazoned with a dragon ? that had been sewn together into a simple shift dress. But Wanklyn is not about to claim she's a fashion princess ? Olympic Park is a sporty crowd.

"You won't see anyone here walking around in heels, I can tell you that," Wanklyn said.

Turns out those flags can be handy in this unpredictable British weather. Someone seems to have a concession of selling a plastic variety that doubles as a raincoat. The British flag, as one might expect, seems to be very popular, but so is the tricolor of France and the triangle-cornered ones of the Czech Republic.

And then there are the Dutch. Who needs a flag when your nation is basically a color ? blinding orange? There are orange jackets, overalls, shoes but you almost never see the Dutch flag itself.

The orange also comes in the form of tiny hats ? a bargain at 1 pound ($1.56) each ? as worn by three Wagenaar sisters. Sabine Wagenaar, 24, simply laughed when asked about her fashion choice.

"It's a nice little hat," she said giggling. "It's girlie."

Then there are those just trying to buck their athletes up. Hugh Barton, 11, from Brisbane, Australia, was sad that the Aussie swimmers weren't at their best this year. He wore a flag around his neck and held one in his hand for maximum patriotism.

"Australia needs moral support," he said.

Before the games, American athletes were briefed on how to hold the flag should they be lucky enough to win. The U.S. Olympic Committee pointed out a picture of swimmer Missy Franklin displaying the flag properly after winning gold ? right hand on stars, left hand on stripes.

Americans have rules outlining the proper way to show respect to the flag and athletes, as ambassadors and representatives of their country, are expected to respect that and do it right. Under federal law, the flag is not dipped to any person or thing, for example.

"The (USOC) take the ambassador program very seriously," said Bill Mallon, a historian. "They try to avoid the ugly American image by doing proper things at the games and teaching (athletes) the right things to do."

But fans at Olympic Park were wearing the Stars and Stripes were doing so in joy and exuberance ? honoring the flag in their own little way.

"It's a way of celebrating all the things that your country is about," said Pemmaraju, the University of California student said. "I know America is not a perfect country ... but it's got me where I am. I'm proud to be an American."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-08-06-Flag%20as%20Fashion/id-583434434fac452287db91b49c99e848

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Derby educator returns to US after mission in Africa - blog*spot

By Lois Knapton

Director, Special Education

Derby Public Schools

After months living in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa, I am headed home to Derby.

? As the? 747-400, double-decker airplane attempts lift off, I am filled with mixed emotions.?

?I remember how excited I was to be going to serve in Africa, but this time, the excitement is not the same.
Although? I am looking forward to seeing all my friends, family, and colleagues, back in the U.S., at the same time, I know it will be an emotional struggle to re-integrate into a society that is so opposite to what I have been living in for the last three months.

? I am already missing the many intimate friendships I made with the Kenyans.?

?Although I lived in a "normal' house at night with all the amenities, including "house help," during the day I worked deep in the slums of the Mathare Valley... and words and pictures simply cannot describe it.

In the slums, there is no sewer and no running water, no washing machines, no bathrooms, no stoves, no sinks, no refrigeration, one bed for 10 people, dirt floors in a tin shack; and maybe there is a small kerosene cook stove where rice is boiling.??

They lead such a simple, yet so difficult life, solely based on survival and lead by their deep faith.?? In this survival mode, there is no room for "American" thinking... Americans are loud. Many are materialistic, egocentric, self-centered, fast-paced and on their own "mission" to make "me" feel as comfortable as "I" need.??

This outlook on life is completely the opposite of how I have been living for the last 2.5 months. My anxiety toward re-integration is real.?

As I did my first load of laundry on U.S. soil, my mind kept flashing back to the many women, hand washing their clothes and bathing their? children in a small bin filled with? water they had lugged on their head for miles.?

?Driving home from the airport, we passed a 32-foot, fifth-wheel trailer being pulled by a Ford 350;? a house on wheels used for vacationing, probably for two people. That house could fit 12 families in Kenya.?

It is amazing what we can do without. We are all human beings...how can our experience of life be so opposite yet so much the same?

Knapton training teachers in Kenya

As an educational leader, I knew my leadership skills would be put to the test..and I passed with flying colors.??

This was a big challenge and I learned so much from these people. I was successful in developing procedures and forms describing referral and assessment for students with special needs. Then I held 23 teacher, parent, and student trainings to inform all stakeholders of the new system.? The remainder of my time was dedicated to job embedded professional? development of their first special needs educator.?

In Kenya, some teachers actually have been studying special needs in college but the K-12 school systems do not yet know how to use these teachers.
I was truly implementing a cutting edge system...and it is evolving. The new resource room was being painted as my plane lifted off.
I learned that leadership matters.? At any level, the leader? truly is the key to success.? A good leader is rarely seen. A servant leader stays in the pack with all their colleagues, as the pack moves toward their vision and aspirations.??

At times, the leader needs to put forth a new idea, get stakeholder buy in and move the system forward. That is what I was able to do in a third world country; and I was successful.?

Another lesson I learned was sustainability is key. A good leader puts columns in place to sustain the implemented changes.??
In Africa, whenever I trained, or developed forms, or devised procedures, I had a Kenyan take the lead on the action because I knew I would not be there forever and I needed to know someone else could carry the torch.?

I learned that no matter what I did do, I am not indispensable.? Any job I have, I know I can be replaced. When a leader thinks they are indispensable, that is when they will start to crumble.? Leaders should never believe they are indispensable.? We are all replaceable.? However, some leaders are more successful than others; I will always give 110 percent at my job.
? Clearly, excellent leaders have earned their status by producing successful outcomes.

I thank all of you for your continued support while I was away. And I thank you for continuing to read my weekly column. If you pass me on the street, stop and say hello. I would be happy to share my experiences in more detail.

? Now to start a new adventure, another school year in Derby. I am sure it will not be without its challenges, but I am also sure of another thing, I am a different person.

?I am confident in my leadership abilities, I have softened my views on what I "need" versus what I "want"; my outlook on life has changed dramatically.

?????????????
"Don't sweat the small stuff, and it's all small stuff."?

Here I come Derby.

Labels: Africa, Derby, Kenya, Lois Knapton, special education, special needs

Source: http://naugatuckvalley.blogspot.com/2012/08/derby-educator-returns-to-us-after.html

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Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Phelps calls Ye speculation 'sad'

American swimming great Michael Phelps Monday defended Chinese prodigy Ye Shiwen and said it was "sad" that her Olympic performances had been greeted with scepticism.

Phelps, who retired in London with a record haul of 22 medals, including 18 gold, said 16-year-old Ye had simply worked hard to achieve her two Olympic titles, one set in world-record time.

"It's kind of sad that people have a great swim and that's the first thing they say," Phelps said in an interview with CNN.

"People who work hard -- it shows. There are people who just jump to that conclusion sometimes, and it's not right."

Ye's 400m individual medley world record, whose final lap was quicker than US winner Ryan Lochte in the men's final, was described as "impossible" by American coach John Leonard, and also questioned by British media.

Ye flatly denied doping, and her team-mate Sun Yang was also angered by the speculation.

"It is all down to training and hard work that we have results," he said. "Chinese are not weaker than those in other countries."

Phelps added that he had been pleased to see Ye swim. "Being able to watch her was pretty amazing," he said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/phelps-calls-ye-speculation-sad-200319456.html

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Indian Sikhs shocked and angered by US temple shooting

Indian Sikhs, led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, voiced shock and anger Monday at the killing of worshippers at a Sikh shrine in the US, with some suggesting Muslims may have been the intended target.

"I am deeply shocked and saddened to learn of the shooting incident that has resulted in the loss of precious lives," said Singh, himself a Sikh.

"That this senseless act of violence should be targeted at a place of religious worship is particularly painful," Singh told reporters in New Delhi.

In Sunday's attack, a gunman shot worshippers at a suburban Sikh temple in Wisconsin, in the mid-western United States, killing at least six people before he was shot dead by police.

"I hope the American authorities would investigate who is behind this dastardly attack on innocent devotees and that they will ensure that such ghastly events do not take place," Singh said.

By religious tradition, Sikh Indians wear turbans to cover their uncut hair and sport long beards.

In the United States, they have often been confused with Muslims and targeted by anti-Islam activists, particularly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Leading Sikh politicians in India said the temple shooting in Wisconsin may have followed a similar pattern.

"I think it is a case of mistaken identity. Sikhs are often mistaken to be from the Middle East," Manpreet Singh Badal, founder-president of the People's Party of Punjab, told AFP.

"This is an opportunity, although a very sad one, to raise awareness among Americans about the Sikh culture and identity," he said.

At Sikhdom's holiest shrine, the Golden Temple in the northern Indian city of Amritsar, the atmosphere was tense and sombre as shocked devotees went to offer their prayers, amid the daily influx of tourists.

"This attack on Sikhs in the US is shameful. People come to the gurudwara (temple) to find peace. It is a holy place," said Kulwinder Singh, 50.

"Sitting in India we are helpless," said Nita Singh, 45. "The US government must take steps to see such incidents never occur in the future."

Separately, Indian Foreign Minister S.M. Krishna said he "condemned this incident and every right-thinking person has to condemn this".

He told reporters in New Delhi that India would "like to assure the Sikh community the government of India would do everything within its powers to ensure their (US) places of worship are going to be protected".

Asked whether the shooting was a result of a "gun culture in the United States," Krishna replied New Delhi was "certainly not going to interfere in the internal affairs of United States".

At the same time, he added, Americans "will have to certainly take a comprehensive look at the this kind of (gun culture) tendency, which certainly is not going to bring credit to the United States".

In Indian Kashmir, which has a large Sikh community, protesters blocked a national highway and brandished banners calling for stronger US gun laws.

In Delhi, several dozen Sikhs demonstrated outside the US embassy and chanted slogans denouncing "hate crimes".

"Sikhs contribute a lot to America, they are an important part of America," said Manjit Singh, president of a Delhi-based Sikh party.

"This is a racially motivated case and the (US) government needs to educate people about different communities so it doesn't happen again."

US ambassador Nancy Powell visited New Delhi's largest Sikh temple to show solidarity with the grieving community over what she described as "this ghastly act of violence".

"We hope that families find comfort in the fact that so many around the world share their grief," she told reporters.

In Amritsar, Giani Gurbachan Singh, head priest at the Akal Takht, Sikhdom's highest seat of religious and temporal authority, urged all Sikhs in the United States to "remain vigilant".

"This is a security lapse on the part of US government wherein Sikhs have become the victims of violence," Singh said, adding that a "chain of prayers" would be held in Sikh temples across India, including the Golden Temple.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/india-ambassador-hearts-bleed-sikh-deaths-042136541.html

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Q & A with NASA Filmmaker & Conspiracy Theorist John Beck ...

By Ariel Nishli, Aug 05, 2012 in Filmmaker Q&A's, Pop Culture

There?s a fine line between curiosity and paranoia. Curiosity, after all, did kill that cat. How deep should one continue to dig once powerful opposing forces begin to surface? Ask John Beck Hofmann, director of photography for NASA?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and he?ll most likely point out the lesser-known rejoinder to the old maxim about our feline friend, that ?satisfaction brought him back.?

Curiosity has been a significant part of Mr. Hofmann?s life over the last few years, that is to say the Mars rover Curiosity, which landed on the red planet?s surface at 10:31 PM PST on Sunday, August 5^th. Curiosity will be doing its own digging, literally, for any proof that life may have existed outside of Earth. Hofmann?s latest film project, a video dubbed 7 Minutes of Terror detailing Curiosity?s mind-boggling landing, has sparked a frenzy of interest in our scaled back government space program?s watershed mission.

You are watching ?The Martians: 7 Minutes of Terror?

Related: Watch ?The Martians: Good for Flight?

As for paranoia, it serves as rocket fuel for Mr. Hofmann?s socioeconomic and political concerns as well as his artistic endeavors, all of which blend together in his gripping conspiracy thriller series Tyranny. KoldCast TV airs the Show that attempts to answer difficult questions about where Internet companies? perpetual mining of personal data will leave us, how large brand conscious corporations exploit individuals for the sake of profits, and why an economic collapse could trigger a new world order. The one asking these questions is Daniel, an artist who undergoes an experimental brain scan. He wakes up to find himself privy to some disturbing information about a dystopian future bleak enough to make big brother resemble a loyal friend.

Daniel and his creator have a lot in common. Aside from being an adept filmmaker, Mr. Hofmann possesses another curious talent ? he?s able to predict the future. Tyranny was written over a decade ago, yet its first season chillingly plays like a newsreel from 2008 to the present. A centerpiece of the show?s upcoming second season is Daniel?s foray into the bowels of a secret society comprised of a select group of rich, powerful men intent on controlling the lives of many through technology and economic prowess.

Click to play Episode 1 of Tyranny, ?The Beginning of the End?

Hofmann?s life has a funny, if not ominous way of imitating his art. His 7 Minutes of Terror video, now viral, was recently watched during a private gathering of The Bohemian Club, a secret society notorious for bringing together university presidents, future American presidents, military commanders, and media moguls on weekend retreats to discuss matters of national interest. Among those at the viewing was Henry Kissinger, according to a source close to Hofmann who was present at the event.

Tickled, but by no means surprised at yet another example of reality unfolding one step behind his work, John Beck Hofmann sat down with The Sixth Wall to talk about the future, or at least what?s left of it.

Ariel Nishli, Editor-in-Chief of T6W, on the Set of Tyranny with John Beck Hofmann

THE SIXTH WALL (T6W): So John, are you as paranoid in real life as Daniel is in Tyranny?

JOHN BECK HOFMANN (JBH): I used to be. I used to be overly untrusting of every official statement, whether it was from the government or a corporation. This started when I was working for an ad agency, named of all things, ?No Comment.? That was in 1994. I kind of sucked at it because I was a bad liar so they fired me. I told all our clients the truth.

T6W: The truth about why their products weren?t that great?

JBH: Like how much things cost to make. I got so mad for being fired that I essentially said, ?I hate advertising!? I picked up an Adbusters magazine, which fueled my angst towards corporations.

T6W: Was the reason you were let go ever communicated to you?

JBH: The president of the company, this French guy, didn?t know what to say. He goes, ?John it?s like this. It?s like peeing. I show you how to pee and you pee. It?s that simple.? That was my firing speech.

T6W: When did you start getting interested in government conspiracies?

JBH: I researched US history around then. The Kennedy assassination, the real reason for the Iraq war (the first one), what we had done in Iran back in 1953 when the CIA ousted the Shah.

T6W: Was this purely an intellectual pursuit or was there anger behind it that made you feel personally wronged?

JBH: Actually, my girlfriend at the time was working in public relations. We broke up in 1997. I didn?t have any money at the time and that alone made me feel tired of people in big business with a lot of money. I wanted to be the underground rebel character. I did not intend to play a role in Tyranny when I started writing it.

John Beck Hofmann as Daniel McCarthy in Tyranny

T6W: It seems like you were on a crash course to fight the power structure, and yet you were working at NASA this whole time?

JBH: I?ve been at NASA for 21 years. I only took the job at the ad agency when we lost our spacecraft, the Mars Observer, the day before it was to arrive on Mars in 1993.

T6W: And NASA is trying again with the Curiosity rover, set to land on Mars on August 5^th. Are they publicizing this mission more than they traditionally have with past missions?

JBH: This is the biggest media campaign we?ve ever had. We have a video game in Xbox where you can land the rover yourself using your body to move it into position. There are all kinds of campaigns they?ve come up with.

T6W: Such as 7 Minutes of Terror,

Click to play Episode 2 of Tyranny, ?Evaluation?

Watch the next episode of Tyranny

T6W: Are they planning on bringing anything back?

JBH: No. We had a sample collection mission that got cancelled. Next will be a manned Mars mission, by somebody else probably. Little do they know they won?t be coming home.

T6W: And why?s that?

JBH: It?s totally impossible with today?s technology. I know there are a lot people that say it can be done. But do you know how hard it is to blast off from Earth in a spaceship? Even though Mars has a third of the gravity that Earth does, it has such little atmosphere. It?s kind of like how a helicopter performs at high altitude.? You just can?t get any further unless you have rockets.

T6W: Is it an issue with the atmosphere on Mars, the problem described in 7 Minutes of Terror?

JBH: I?m actually not exactly sure since I?m not a rocket scientist. I have heard it said it would be easy if Mars had no atmosphere or if it had more atmosphere, but it has just enough to make it really, really difficult.

T6W: Between the high technology and futurism you?re a part of at NASA, has your work on the missions to Mars bled into Tyranny at all?

JBH: One of the cool little trivia tidbits about NASA?s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) where I work in relation to Tyranny is that two of the scientists are in the show. There are two doctors. One that first examines all the wires attached to my head, Steve Collins, works on the rover mission. He has worked on all the rover missions. You will see him in mission control. All that lab gear in Tyranny ? he made that. He?s the one that said ?Waveforms, that?s all thoughts are my friend.?

T6W: What is all that equipment designed for?

JBH: Well in the fictional world it?s supposed to be building patterns based on everything I do, think about, and look at? kind of like Facebook. We don?t even have to wear these things anymore. Facebook and Google are taking care of that because people so badly want to tell the world all the things they like.

Daniel Undergoes the Experiment in Tyranny

T6W: And the next moment you?ll see an advertisement based on that ?like.?

JBH: This is my paranoia. It is very difficult to live in this world and not be part of the technological breakthrough, but this stuff is really learning us? knowing us better than we know ourselves.

T6W: It?s getting more accurate at predicting our behavior.

JBH: Eventually it will predict our behavior. This is what Tyranny is about at its core. The first season is really just about where it begins, but seasons two and three will show where it?s going and the technology that comes as a result. I was writing this back in 1999! There was no iPhone, no iPod, no YouTube, no Facebook. I came up with this device called the ?IV? that people would wear on their arm. It was always hooked into them and it learned everything about them. It had their phone, their camera, their computer, it monitored their house and everything was in the palm of their hands.

T6W: Do you think people are giving away their personal information too readily to companies requesting email addresses, access to Facebook accounts and the like?

JBH: I think that there is a healthy paranoia that we should all be exercising and we don?t. It is going to be too late.

T6W: Too late in what sense?

JBH: We are a very trusting people for some reason, which is amazing given the amount of bad things we?ve done, are capable of doing, and have seen other people do. Being American, we think we?re immune. What if the Nazis ran Facebook? What if a cult ran Facebook? We would all think, ?Oh my god I cannot give them my data.? But for some reason we trust these unknown people with our information. Try calling Facebook. Try even finding the number, which will take you a long time in itself. When you do find the number, you will never get a person on the phone and never be able to leave a message.

Daniel in the French Quarter

T6W: How ironic for a company that is recording human history and connecting people.

JBH: It?s kind of Kafka-esque or what you would expect in a Woody Allen story. This is the most powerful network and it has control over everyone?s lives. You can?t live without it. These are your friends. This is your Rolodex. This is how you communicate!

T6W: Facebook is also becoming our personal branding tool. If I go to John Beck Hofmann?s Facebook page, I?ll get a feel for what you are all about, or at least what you want me to think you?re all about.

JBH: I don?t think we?re friends? It?s weird. People are looking at themselves in kind of a corporate way ? I wouldn?t be surprised if sometime in the future people become trademarked and incorporated as an entity. I am John Beck Hofmann, incorporated. This is my face, this is my identity, and if you use my name or my face you are using the corporate logo. I don?t know why movie stars don?t do that.

T6W: Kim Kardashian gets paid $10,000 per tweet.

JBH: Well that?s shocking for a host of reasons. All the things that are in Tyranny are still ahead of what is currently happening in the world. It?s just not as shocking as it once was though. One of the things that the future world of Tyranny holds is a big economic collapse. No news there.

T6W: How does Daniel interact with this dismal future?

JBH: In the story, Daniel and his underground group have devices that spoof the world?s grid sensors. The grid reads and records everything. They go out and take grid readings, making sure they know the exact patterns so they can have some kind of freedom to walk in public. Their IDs are replaced so as soon as they walk pass a camera it will distort their picture. Things like that which give them a little freedom temporarily. There is always a glitch in the system somewhere.

T6W: They play the angles to exploit the grid?

JBH: They do, but towards the end of the story there are new security measures that they were unaware of and can?t get around. They start to think, ?If we are ever going to make our move, now is the time.? It starts to feel like this is almost the perfect storm and maybe they are being set up to move. Maybe they were being watched all this time and just didn?t know.

T6W: And who?s doing the watching?

JBH: There is this ?Committee of 600,? and not much is known about them but Daniel is starting to figure out whom its members are. The committee has secret meetings in their underground headquarters in Prague, where they start to think they have to do something about Daniel. That is the tension that will climax at the series? end, and that climax is actually what Daniel?s trying to remember in episode one, where we see him talking to that strange doctor in the lab coat, struggling to remember what happened.

Daniel on a Bridge in Prague

T6W: Were you inspired by any Orwellian, big brother conspiracy movies?

JBH: Yes! Actually in episode two, Daniel is reading 1984 on the subway. You can barely see it. The book and movie Twelve Monkeys are both huge influences.

T6W: You said you used to be paranoid. Have you exercised your demons through Tyranny or are you not letting your guard down just yet?

JBH: I?m less paranoid, but very prudent in who I am going to believe in. I don?t trust anybody in the professional world, or anybody that has any kind of power. Let?s just say I am highly suspicious.

Filmmaker John Beck Hofmann on the Set of Tyranny

Ariel Nishli is the Editor-in-Chief of The Sixth Wall. He?s got a big apple in his heart but moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. After graduating from Vanderbilt University in 2007, he worked in the motion picture literary department at ICM, then moved on to feature film development at Parkes MacDonald Productions. Ariel?s wardrobe has steadily devolved from designer suits to worn out slippers, as he now focuses on screenwriting and journalism when he?s not obsessing over this magazine.

Source: http://blog.koldcast.tv/2012/koldcast-news/q-a-with-nasa-filmmaker-conspiracy-theorist-john-beck-hofmann/

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