Testimony from African Geek to USA Congress

"My name is Antibo.  I'm from Central Africa."


Thank you for the opportunity to testify today


America is a wonderful place.  We have watched the enormous technological accomplishments, in airplanes, jets, computers, cell phones, communication, travel and manufacturing.  Your role in the past century is unique, and fantastic.


At one point we thought America had a weakness - slavery, segregation.   We read papers and saw coverage in the 1950s and 60s, and we had fears.  We know now that America was dealing with these problems, and after a struggle, put them behind you.   We are even more impressed to see USA emerge as a model of racial tolerance and opportunity.

Egypt's Revolution Profiled - Wolman, Stewardship miss 'ewaste' role

DAVID WOLMAN - David Wolman is a contributing editor at Wired, a former Fulbright journalism fellow and a winner of the 2011 Oregon Arts Commission individual artists fellowship. His third book is The End of Money.  (The Atlantic, May 4, 2011)


Wolman's new book, The Instigators, follows how Revolution 2.0 came to a head, and how online and Wired activists were able to communicate and sell the democracy on the Arab street.


I have sent a note to Wolman (though these never seem to get anywhere) suggesting that he go back a little further in his timeline.   As I've said many times, the revolution did not happen on Ipads and Android phones.   Vermont had a role in exporting about 30,000 affordable used computers to Egypt between 2002 and 2008.  In 2008, the Egyptian customs seized $80,000 worth of P4s in three sea containers, and our direct trade was broken.

Two years later, Jim Puckett of BAN was applauding the Egyptians classification of any computer manufactured more than 3 years earlier (i.e., costing less than half your annual salary) was illegal "e-waste", working or not.  The CRT display devices, which are good for 20 years, were banned.


But Mubarak could not put the Genie back in the bottle.  (photos below)  The efforts to "profile" geeks of color as polluters, as terrorists, as primitives, went down in the 9th round.