What was the most interesting place you've traveled to?

In real life or in my head? China Mieville took me to New Crobuzon, that was interesting. I was homesick for Waterdeep for years, still am occasionally. But real life interesting? Probably some place in Second Life.

Ask me anything

yooo.. just saw you on twitter ...the new ipad from apple is out if ur a member of twitter u can beta test 1 for free if u use this site http://bit.ly/cUZnCr

Beta test an iPad for free? with a side order of spam and internet cooties? nothanx.

Ask me anything

What's the origin of your name?

Calamity Kessel is my Second Life avatar's name. I picked it because I intended to roam SL as a kind of Space Pirate. I got distracted several times over.

Ask me anything

When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A lorry driver. I still wouldn't mind it. It would have to be a big lorry.

Ask me anything

Financial Times wont run this ad..

The FT refused to run this advert.


So.. Amnesty asked bloggers to do it. So here it is.

Stinks, doesn't it?

Trafigura gets Carter Ruck to gag media, calls in Streisand Effect on self

Trafigura got their lawyers Carter Ruck to gag the media earlier this year, to prevent reporting on a parliamentary question which related to their dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory coast in 2006, which has killed and injured many locals. Eventually they had to give in, largely due to the internet and it's usual response to censorship in any form. These videos were available on BBC's website for a few hours, then they mysteriously vanished. The assumption of course, is that Trafigura and Carter Ruck are at it again.

Please spread these videos and this PDF .

(Streisand Effect)

Carter-Ruck, Trafigura, the Guardian Gag, and the Streisand Effect.

Richard Wilson's blog "Don't Get Fooled Again has an entry from August 2008 which I like, for the headline quote:

“I don’t see any reason why I or my company should follow some arbitrary set of ethical values”

"Some arbitrary set of ethical values" indeed. This is the PR company that also worked for Carter-Ruck, who are fast becoming internet-famous along with their killer-toxic-waste dumping client Trafigura, thanks to something known as the Streisand Effect

I love the Streisand Effect, probably because I hate to know that there is something I don't know, especially if I don't know it because Someone has decided I mustn't know it.