Fortress Of Freedom Board

Maurice Ali · Posted: Fri Nov 28, 2025 7:47 am Post subject:

More work on the speech.

Making sure all the sound equipment is in the bag with the camcorder for the Shane interview. BTW, that doesn't mean it's happening but you have to be prepared to just get up and go!

This one is funny. I have my 17 Pro Max in an Otterbox case with the plateau not protected, so I had several layers of tape protecting the area. In the end the fix ended up being an aluminum lens protector with the lenses punched out. This works for me and looks the part. This way I keep the Otterbox Commuter case I always used and now I can forget about all of that.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max with aluminum layer attached!

And - I have to say again how much I despise buying launch day iPhones. No cases, unknown issues and all that - never again!

The Nord N30 basically is good to go with the only tweak to let audio out of the USBC port. Remember that these third world phones have a regular headphone jack and they just disable the USBC. Just go into setting and enable the port and everything is compatible with all your phones.

This weekend I have to preen myself up. With everything going on I never have enough time but this will happen on the weekend.

Goodnight.....

https://youtu.be/SqA8h0IBRmY?si=USs3eKMX1w5qp-qI

Maurice Ali · Posted: Sat Nov 29, 2025 7:05 am Post subject:

Dan

I'll contact Shane and see what's happening with the interview this weekend. I called up Dan and he's onboard for an interview so that got done. Slowly things are moving ahead.

Dan

Still no word from the UN about WSIS+20. Nothing is guaranteed though - so keep that in mind. This is real life and nothing is for sure. Nobody owes you anything in the end. All you can do is wait and see what - if anything - happens.....

So in the end it took another week for me to feel comfortable with the Nord N30 phone. The best change for comfort was ditching the navigation buttons for swipe gestures - just like on the iPhone. As I said before, you do wonder where the money went when a three hundred dollar phone works as well as a phone costing over ten times as much!

There is snow forecasted in and around the city this weekend which could impact things. We shall see.....

Goodnight.....

https://youtu.be/JN1_GJHw5uk?si=ox9so8JvKTUrjZva

Maurice Ali · Posted: Sun Nov 30, 2025 6:10 am Post subject:

With people coming on board for the new video shoots I made the decision to shoot the interviews at the studio for the most part. Some will still take place at their homes but most will be here.

The setup for Dalila's video shoot!

I can use and setup the cinema camera, get the lighting right and the audio perfect all before the subject arrives! I'll start work on this on Sunday. Mostly just getting all the tripods out of the drop sheet area at the back. Then set up the boom poll with the microphone just above and in front. But the subject will still have a lav on them.

The actual set up for Shane back in the day!

When it is all set up I will test it all on myself and when it's perfect I start bringing people over. Some will be location shoots and I'll just have tape on the floor to put it all where it used to be. And - it's not lost on me that at the beginning I had an endless supply of young beautiful women at the studio, and now it's just a bunch on old men reminiscing about the days gone bye. How times have changed.....

In other news.

Snow today which sucks!

And I now know what happened to that three grand I spent on the iPhone. It went to the cameras and video. That's the actual answer. The Nord N30 can do everything my iPhone can do except photos and especially video. The camera is the weak point that phone and video was downgraded to 1080p. The Nord 20 had 4K but the processor could not handle extended videos so it got pulled back to HD for the N30. Of course the iPhone has the best video in any smartphone and all the way to ProRes Raw in 4K.

So basically for the iPhone Pro Max you are adding the cost of the video camera to the cost of the base phone which now makes sense. It's still too expensive!

I made decisions in all the UN stuff - and all I have to do is see what happens there.

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Mon Dec 01, 2025 5:57 am Post subject:

The weekend was not a total waste.....

The actual set up for the new interviews!

I actually did get the studio set up for filming interviews. Things are in the right places but I have to get the lighting right and sweat the details. If you look closely you will see this light with barn doors low to the ground and I use that to light the background a bit to get rid of the shadow that falls from the front - stuff like that.

These interviews are going to be tough. Even though I'm older, we all seem to be looking at retirement at the same time. It is sort of a an end of life in a way. And I'm not crazy about getting there.....

It means you can't dream and fantasize about what could "be". Things have played out as stark as can be. These interviews should be good if they ever make it to the studio. I know why Shane is hesitating. He wants to interview me and I'm not crazy about that either. It is what it is and this is over 20 years in all our lives caught on tape.

The speech has been sweated out also. This assumes I get the invite which I have not and there is only two weeks left. Remember that this is real life. I should get the invite but that is up to their discretion. If I don't, then I have made a name for myself, I stand for something; but doing that means they are working against you and your advocacy. I get it - it's not a popular idea there, but to wimp out on the dissemination of a good idea makes the whole journey to the United Nations a complete waste of time! I hope you all see that. I will be judged by what I did and not so much on how others dealt with me and my ideas. I can live with that.

We shall just see how it all plays out.....

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Tue Dec 02, 2025 10:54 am Post subject:

More Vision corporate taxes came back and no fines and nothing to pay. So I now know how to submit corporate taxes online!

As for the WSIS+20 review? We continue to wait but whatever happens will happen. I am playing the long game with the Worldwide Vote, the Positive Mandate for Humanity and the new Global Social Contract. Some of you would probably suggest I said nothing about the application and if I get in I get in and if not, nobody is the wiser.....

Me on the floor of the General Asembly Hall WSIS+10!

Remember that I'm not here to pretend I am something better than I am. You get things in real time! If they don't let me in that isn't on me or my self worth. The Worldwide Vote is unpopular but at odds with WSIS+20 goals that wish for inter-connectivity for all and leaving nobody behind. But what is the payoff for that interconnectivity? A Worldwide Vote giving everyone a say on what happens to global issues is a positive outcome of success at WSIS+20! You have to see that everyone on earth has to get some meaningful improvement to their lives with connectivity and the Worldwide Vote gives them that - and it is called: Self-Determination!

Or what else are they expected to get? A larger group of humanity buying cheap goods served up by robots to take whatever cash they have left? Or disinformation and propaganda shoved to them 24/7 through their smartphones? What is the big revolutionary payoff for everyone on earth being online? You guessed it: The Worldwide Vote!

Pragmatically I would expect to get an invite to the General Assembly Hall event and vote and I then can go to the second ITU event, but they would probably deny me a chance to speak. A total rebuff would mean that my ideas are having an effect in the background - so even if I don't get to go - the idea is being spread like a virus among people and eventually will become a legitimate and open talking point.

Remember, I am in this for the long game. I am an outsider, so I can disseminate unpopular ideas with little downside - then when it becomes a normal talking point, others will chance it and things move ahead. And if it doesn't happen at the UN it will just happen on some large social platform. When push comes to shove, if it even remotely starts happening on a commercial platform - then you will see it happen at the United Nations where member nations will at least have some control.

Anyhow, that is how I see things playing out.....

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Wed Dec 03, 2025 6:52 am Post subject:

On Tuesday afternoon, my application to register for the General Assembly World Summit of the Information Society Review - WSIS+20 event was approved.

So, with the ITU side event on the 15th everything is set up for me to go.

Now, things are never for sure at my age and with my responsibilities, but this is as good as it gets. Even the weather can scuttle things but this is a multi-day event. So I booked the airplane flight and medical insurance and the hotel was already booked - so I am good to go.

United Nations in New York

Those are just the essentials and it's always a hassle and rush with these trips. Anyway I am going there now.

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Thu Dec 04, 2025 7:37 am Post subject:

I did a little more work on the speech. Mostly concentrating on how their multi-stakeholder approach to internet governance includes civil society like IAIJ and the tech crowd - but it should also have a voice for all the billions that use and rely on the internet! The multi-stakeholder form of governance is a core part of the reviews.

The other aspect is the inclusion and diversity aspects of the review along with the goals of internet for all and leaving nobody behind. In the end, the general public who are all the end users of these policies, should have a say at these review processes for example. It is global and not nation specific and has no cultural or religious ties. It just cements the core values of WSIS!

Apart from that I started getting ready for the trip looking at how best to use that Osprey backpack. I didn't know how to use it as I purchased it in a rush so they say it's the best and I'll finally make that work for my situation.

Anyway, my speech and concept has much merit at this event - then watch it go nowhere. But I am still hopeful and prepared.....

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Fri Dec 05, 2025 4:11 pm Post subject:

A late one.....

The internet and phones went down at my father's place and that occupied much in the time. I got my dress shirts off to the dry cleaners as they always take forever. Took out some US cash and Canadian cash for taxis and such. This is just the usual stuff for the New York trip - it just goes on and on!

Just a whole lot of busy today.

Later.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 7:22 am Post subject:

Well Michael is on board for an interview on our updated movie called "Beyond the Fortress Experiment"!

In the photo above, Michael is with L. Stu Young at Metalworks who is a Grammy nominated and multiple Juno winning engineer, and worked on Prince's "Musicology" and "3121". That was 2006 for the "Free with Purchase" album. We had him for a few days and after the band left he would work on his friend's music which was a "who's who" of Canadian musicians - those were the days.....

Speaking of music we have to do the royalties which is Sam's job as pay master. Anyway I'm putting the interviews on hold until after the UN trip as there is too much going on right now!

I will say that I love these days when the traffic is low - just talking to the group that really knows me. When you see real activity - trust me - they are not all fans, but watching me and keeping an eye on me for all sorts of nefarious reasons. They are not here because I'm some influencer or my good looks - you figure it out. Usually some boring posts or links to death metal that I listen to makes them go away. It never lasts though.....

Goodnight.....

https://youtu.be/-mSBEpKtH_s?si=gHw-ectMNoEGnCxP

Maurice Ali · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 9:05 pm Post subject:

Saturday was taking the folks to the mall.

Then I decided to finally try to get wifi calling on the Graphene Pixel. It took a few hours trying stuff but I can now call and text! We shall see how Graphene OS tries to survive in a world that wants us to have no privacy - all sorts of tech advances but the average human gets nothing worthwhile in the end.

I'll also lock down the speech I'll kobe able to give and just carry on.

Oh, and I forgot that Michael wrote an article about Prince's personal engineer back in the day. Here it is:

https://fortressoffreedom.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1210

BTW: It was weird how many bands and famous musicians I met back in those days. I was just in the industry and could spend an afternoon with the Bare Naked Ladies or walk past DMX security at his studio session. Looking back now - it was just kind of wild how that you are so over all that now! Even bizarre stuff like babysitting Gil Moore's (Triumph) kid and that kid locking me out of Metalworks - oh, the memories.....

Goodnight.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Sat Dec 06, 2025 9:10 pm Post subject:

Saturday was taking the folks to the mall.

Then I decided to finally try to get wifi calling on the Graphene Pixel. It took a few hours trying stuff but I can now call and text! We shall see how Graphene OS tries to survive in a world that wants us to have no privacy - all sorts of tech advances but the average human gets nothing worthwhile in the end.

I'll also lock down the speech I'll kobe able to give and just carry on.

Oh, and I forgot that Michael wrote an article about Prince's personal engineer back in the day. Here it is:

https://fortressoffreedom.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1210

That was such a wild time back in the day! I met so many famous bands and musicians back then. I was in the industry and making reality TV for musicians and had got on network TV. I could spend an afternoon with the Bare Naked Ladies or walk past DMX's security to his studio. All sorts of stories. I used to be a fan of Saga and I got a call from Paul Grose that they desperately needed our studio as they were recording with us back then. What does a fan do? I made them wait all day and then had them add an extra tech and Studio 6 to boot! Having a band you were a fan of begging you for something - Ha! We were also coordinating studio time with Glass Tiger back then and doing it on spreadsheets. Even truly bizarre things like babysitting Gil Moore's (Triumph) son one night and having that kid lock me out of MetalWorks was absolutely epic - oh the memories.....

Snuck up on Gil Moore with my video camera at his office!

But I digress.....

Goodnight.....

https://youtu.be/dmVBAIxKBcM?si=DigoVfFelDp-hLhB

Maurice Ali · Posted: Mon Dec 08, 2025 3:41 pm Post subject:

Where do I begin.....

I was depressed a bit heading into the weekend and even more depressed right mow. I'm in charge of everything in the family and things used to be so simple when it was just me to think about.

Anyway, the speech I'll never get a chance to give is locked down. I'll even make some copies to take with me next week. Last time most speeches took five minutes. I'll stick with three minutes as that is more than enough to say what we want to say. It is what it is.

Royalties keep dropping year after year - thanks Spotify. The company survives as it can run on vapours. I actually pay much of the royalties myself though - but the company survives.

And that is where it stands. It's just complicated and depressing all at the same time. But that is how life is. We all get old and dependent and it's embarrassing and all that but I'm first born. Same with the orgs. Eventually there will be secession but for now it all lands on me. Me and the orgs is a nice balance, but add all the family stuff and it gets complicated. As usual it is what it is.

Goodnight.....

https://youtu.be/GiaNp0u_swU?si=Y-ucump3cbfPrbKG

Maurice Ali · Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2025 4:06 pm Post subject:

Just a quickie.....

Still preparing for the trip. I had to get a new jump drive as the usual one was lightening and the new phone needs USB C. The cool thing is that it's fast. So fast I can record ProRes Raw and it works! That's it for now.....

Later.....

Maurice Ali · Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2025 6:42 am Post subject:

Still getting ready for that trip.

These trips are kind of a thing. The last trip in September's General Assembly had something happen under the radar. There was a lead up to some sort of international body that would in some ways police AI activity around the world but the vote (was it Macron that initiated it?) fell through. So I would say the AI race is truly now on, out of control and past those types of safeguards. I think the vote happened a day after I left - but this is all from memory. Anyway I was there in May and September and close but no go. These groups need member nations signing on to have teeth in their recommendations. Anyway at least I was physically there when all that was going down.

Similarly I should be physically there when internet governance is locked in again for another ten year term. I truly will be an old man when the next one comes up so.....

Maurice Ali at the United Nations in May 2025!

For my own advocacy objectives and the broader global objectives that tie into my own advocacy, it is worth the expense to go. Go and see what happens. You have access unlike almost everyone else in the world. Your advocacy is for humanity and not for personal gain, in fact it's a substantial cost for me in the end - but not onerous if I'm honest.

You go and do what you can do.

Goodnight.....

https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n25/228/17/pdf/n2522817.pdf