Fortress Of Freedom Board

[Maurice Ali]

Looks like the trip is now "green" for go!







Technically I have until midnight tomorrow to call it all off - but everything seems a go now.



Just go and prepare for everything and get your ass down to New York.




Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

I may as well get this out now.....



I'll really start packing tonight and tomorrow. The preliminary list of speakers is up and - surprise - IAIJ is not on it just like I told you so. To be honest, with the exception of maybe one they were all bigger than us. But we had a real message - a message they did not want to hear - but an important message regardless.



That list was preliminary and could get cut down even more. So any idea of add-on speakers is highly improbable - not impossible but improbable. There is 25 on that list but I think last time only like 11 made it up there - but this is from memory.



I'm still ready to go at a moment's notice but face reality and carry on. If you have to catch the last plane out that day you leave. So, the important thing is that we are on the list on non-governmental stakeholders. 136 of them and like maybe 94 member nations. The nations all get to speak and 25 stakeholders are on the preliminary list.



Yes, we are on the list as stakeholders as we were at WSIS+10 ten years ago. This is important as there needs to be a sizeable list of orgs to keep things looking multi-stakeholder. So that is why we are there and in-person. The only thing to do is pack and go. Not being on the speaker's list makes it all a bit less stressful but I'd rather be stressful and speaking.



I'll take care of the usual stuff while there. I'll be backpacking it also.



That is enough for now.




Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

I guess I should get this out now - and not wait.



There is no getting out of this now. Hotel and air fare non-refundable. ITU meeting on Monday and an evening event at the UN by Albania and Kenya on Tuesday in addition to the speeches on the General Assembly Hall. That UN evening affair is a formal affair with a lineup of people greeting you and all that. The three days are starting to fill out.



As much as you may find that all interesting, with me it's melancholy. You realize the reality of things. My original goal was just to make it to the UN on real business and that happened with the NGO Committee and consultative status. But every goal gained is another goal started and it just kept going. Back home everyone asks me when I'm retiring. Even at the UN people you know retire and move out of jobs. Everyone my age and younger is being pushed out and replaced. As for me I feel fine and in very good health. You just want it to carry on while everything around you says otherwise. Things can still happen and you want to be a part of it - life is what it is.....



There really is not anything more to do but to finish packing and get on with this trip early tomorrow.




Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

Just waiting to get on the plane.







Why get involved in all this? WSIS is how all this got us started at the United Nations. From the Canadian Commission for UNESCO to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris for that 10 minute speech (2013). Then that big General Assembly speech in July of 2015. Then onto the vote in December of 2015.




So here I am again with 136 other orgs along with member nations to ensure a multi-stakeholder attendance at ratification. Expensive - yes. A hassle - most certainly. Necessary - absolutely!



As one director stated on Sunday, nobody held a gun to my head so I can't complain. The world is smaller than you know. Nobody thinks about internet governance until some shit happens and then they start pointing fingers at people like me. Like I didn't try to make things better! It is what it is.




Later.....

[Maurice Ali]

Ok I'm in New York and Monday was intense multi-tasking which is rare at the UN.




On the floor of the General Assembly Hall!



First was a never ending series of voting for resolutions that happened on the General Assembly Hall while I was there in the morning. One after another that the Secretariat made a mistake in one outcome that had to be addressed and changed. That was funny as there were oos and ahs - but really it was easy to change.




One vote in a United Nations Resolution!



Then back to the hotel for lunch and then back to the UN for the ITU meeting. I got lucky at the hotel and only had to pay them an extra 50 bucks to check in at 10am instead of 3:00pm which made this day so productive. 50 bucks for that was cheap in Manhattan - all day every day.....




Secretary General of the ITU!



Much like the one during General Assembly, the ITU afternoon meeting was similar but this is way more convenient than traveling to Geneva. In September we had almost the same lineup but the cost to go there (Geneva) was astronomical! This is in comparison to Manhattan! Usually countries pay for these trips to these locations but it always is too expensive for NGOs - by design? It is what it is.....



An international crowd at this event!



Anyway the Secretary General of the ITU gave the first speech and there it went for another two hours. While all this was going on I was doing other things as I know my way around the United Nations after 10 years. And for those that saw me in person for the first time - what did you expect, another pretty face? I was a younger man when I came here and even today I am pretty well preserved. But nobody dodges time. It would be great if I was 35 and doing what I am now. But this all takes time and time catches up with you. I'm amazed I am still perfectly healthy with the resources to keep on with this advocacy. I'm sorry I got old on you - but actually, this is as good as it gets and I should look older - Ha!



And that was Tuesday.....



Wednesday has the start of the Plenary for the World Summit of the Information Society - WSIS+20. We will be in and out of that for the next two days. Remember that out of the entire world, only 136 orgs and companies were there to make sure this event reflects the true multicultural nature that it is supposed to be. And companies like Meta and Google are not like IAIJ - grass roots! In fact, take out the UN and UN affiliated organizations and the large high tech companies, the number of real grass roots orgs is small and of those representing all of humanity is a handful - out of 8 billion people. I am honoured to be one of those few looking at the well being of all of humanity! That is why I am here! Judge me by my actions and you will see this is true.....



IAIJ is also there in person just incase anything outlandish happens and has to be reported on. We are a journalist and news org after all.....




Want proof? Diana NIkolova at IAIJ has a smashing multi-day journal of a large musical festival in Romania. Enjoy:

https://www.iaij.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1151



Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

Tuesday was another busy day.....




The host opens up the reception!



Actually I'll get into the extracurricular stuff in the upcoming days, but the interesting get together was the reception at the Delegate's Lounge at the UN Tuesday evening.




The crowd at the reception!



I did my usual thing pushing my unpopular agendas and then back to the hotel.




Me posing for a shot!



Tomorrow I will stick around until I have to catch my plane and that will be it for WSIS+20.




Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

Home.....

[Maurice Ali]

WSIS+20 is over...







I did not stick around for the ratification because I wanted to get home at a reasonable hour. However the live stream was there and I have to say that was the most under-whelming, lacklustre affirmation of the review yet. Last time people were clapping and standing up and all - this time it felt like an after thought.



At some events if you are not chosen to speak, some times, if they have enough time they open up the floor to the "also rans" but at these General Assembly Hall events that never occurs. So I went home early and took the family to the mall and watched the proceedings on my phone.



The big deal for this trip was personally talking to people high up at the UN. Like the Secretary General of the ITU. However, I did get to speak to someone high up at the UN itself (DESA) about that worldwide vote. So, was it better to have a face-face with someone high up or a speech at the event. A speech on the General Assembly Hall floor is prestigious and ordinary folk see it and are impressed. But the one-on-one may have a more impactful result. I was there to disseminate and I did just that!



The other thing I did at WSIS+20 was a bit of a protest speech because I felt the registration of speaking at the event was not proper. In the application you just toggle a switch stating you would like to speak at the event, unlike other applications they did not have you upload that speech for consideration. Then, you just got a statement of the speakers for the event and that was that! I was not the only one that felt that way but I didn't make a fuss about it - I had my own plan.



There was only one day when I was assured access to the floor of the General Assembly Hall and that was the first day. So I just sat down at the back of the hall and read my speech quietly there and then - all recorded in 4K ProRes - Ha!




Yup, gave my speech here - I am the back door man, but this was indeed the floor of the General Assembly Hall! !



I did two speeches, one for the actual WSIS+20 speech as planned for that event and then one about the new Global Social Contract. Two passes each with one done while in session and loud and the other when things were quiet so you could properly hear me. All recorded just so I can reminisce and laugh at that! My WSIS+10 speech was an actual speech on the floor of the General Assembly - just not the General Assembly Hall, but beside it at the ECCOSO conference room. I made a video showing that conference room and the event being "General Assembly" and the high table literally saying I had the floor. This fulfilled my ultimate goal stated in the original Fortress TV Show back in the day - I actually stated the goal (a speech on the floor of the General Assembly - note I did not say hall) so that I would actually have a goal to always strive for.


That WSIS+10 speech was in July and then in December for the vote in 2015, I just figured I was in the General Assembly Hall floor for two days, so I just read that same speech at the back so that if anyone said my speech was not in the hall I could answer that snide statement with a snider reply.


So, that's what I did here, I felt the selection of speakers was not proper and so I gave the speechs as my own little quiet protes - my way.....



And that was WSIS+20!



In other news.....



A handful of short videos basically had me blow past the storage space of a 500gig iPhone 17 Pro Max device. Seriously you need 1TB at least if you go on vacation and 2TB if you are a journalist like me archiving things. I had thought I was a bit of a chump getting that expensive 2TB phone but now it was worth it. It even took better photos with the better reach with the telephoto. So the phone actually worked out for me.....




Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/tuuCKyCrcT0?si=S8J5a3sjY-RAnOZE

[Maurice Ali]

One funny thing that happened in New York was the promise I made before hand that if I got to speak I would take a limo home. To save cash instead of paying 65 bucks for a cab, I would take a train to Union Station, then walk to the subway and take that to the Fairview Mall station near my house, then take a bus to my major intersection and then walk two blocks to my house in the cold weather. Anyway, I was passing by the limos at the airport and figured that I made a couple of speeches on the floor of the General Assembly - so I decided to honour those speeches and got a limo and paid an extra 20 bucks. No it wasn't a stretch limo but one of those black SUVs with the leather and wood. In the end I thought it was funny and appropriate.




Guess what I was doing here?



Another was whether to keep the US cash for the next trip or put it back into my account. It used to be a hassle to get US cash. You had to go to your bank and wait in line, then ask for US cash and they would have to go to the vault and take some out and count it and put it in an envelope and all that. Now you can take out and put it back in the account at special ATMs - so.....



No ICE in Manhattan. Never a worry though you do carry your passport and drivers licence. Canadians do say "sorry" too much as Americans just bump into and push past you without saying anything. You can spot a foreigner in Manhattan as they actually wait at stop lights while natives cross when the way is clear. Things like that.




418gig on a three day trip - you need one or two terabytes!



I'm back home unpacked but tidying things up and putting them away. I am also transferring video files - which are huge. That new selfie camera on the new phone was put to good use as I used it to record my impromptu speeches in 4K ProRes video. Again, another improvement with the phone that I did not have in September with the 14 Pro Max. Again, just a handful of short videos will blow you by 256gig and creep up on 500gig. I'll give you a screen shot of this - and this was after I cleaned out all photos and videos from the phone before crossing the border and coming to NY. If you are an amateur videographer you have to get at least 1tb and preferably 2tb. A quality thumb drive will let you record ProRes Raw but that's living dangerously with the USB C connection. Buying more storage from the get go is the way to go. Also, you are never going to use ProRes Raw so just buy the internal storage and be done with it.....



Anyway, Friday is getting back to normal things.....




Goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

Things are basically back to normal.



All I want to do is relax and watch a movie and do nothing. That whole week was too frantic! Not just NYC but I get back to find one of our gang had to have serious surgery but he's ok now. Shane and I put off the video interview until after Christmas.




The iPhone 17 Pro Max!



I transferred all the videos at NYC into our workstations and will import and fool around with them in our editors to get the best workflow for the best video. I'm back to some minor home renos and the first is plumbing. It never ends with a house.



Overall my strategy is to prepare for retirement but keep going until AI or circumstances make continuing impossible. Then you fall back to retirement. At my age nobody is hiring me for anything. That makes strategy a more
clear cut set of decisions.







The NY trip is paid off now. Was it worth it? Actually I would say yes, and we are now doing things we did not do before and have successfully transitioned to the next level of interaction. Well done IAIJ! That speech stunt also had to happen. It seems to be getting harder to do things like I did when I started doing things there. I held the Worldwide Vote and Positive Mandate for Humanity side events there all by myself and webcasted both from inside the United Nations Secretariat building out to the world at large. You can't do that anymore. I actually had more access to the floor of the General Assembly Hall before consultative status. It took ten years to find myself back on the actual floor! That is why I didn't squander another chance to make my secret speeches there. My speeches my way - and on the floor of the General Assembly Hall. And there are no guarantees I will get proper access to the General Assembly Hall floor again as all slots are basically take now by Member States, observers and satellite agencies. No matter, we are talking to people that matter and earlier this year that was some unknown thing we had to figure out how to do - Done now!




Anyway - goodnight.....

[Maurice Ali]

[Maurice Ali]

Home reno's have begun - finally.....




Getting ready to give my speech at the back of the General Assembly Hall in 2015 - those were the days!



Aside from that, have you wondered why I do not seem to need or want more people or orgs connected to us as I do the advocacy? The reason is that (especially) at the beginning, when people align and openly support your advocacy, it gets harder to change things and you get less active in your advocacy. This is because when you were on your own you could do anything you wanted without a second thought. With a small community of orgs supporting you every move or change has to taken into consideration. Radical action runs off these orgs in negative ways - for example. If let's say you decided to do something provocative, you may feel it necessary to bounce these ideas and achieve consensus in the move before you do it. This starts to cripple what you do and how you do it.




On the floor of the General Assembly Hall in 2015!



In fact, this reminds me of when we ran the newspaper. It gets easier to handle costs when you get a big advertiser, but what happens next is you become dependent on that advertiser and because you need them to pay the bills - you steer clear from any news articles or editorials they may not like. So much for free speech in journalism. Similarly, the price you pay for having others endorse you begins subtly when actions need to be taken. Is this worth it in the end? It depends but definitely not at the beginning.




Hanging out with member states after the WAIS+10 vote on 2015!



So it gets even more complicated than this. At WSIS+20 almost every agreement in the outcome document was a compromise. If you know this going in that's fine. But knowing this if you have other orgs at the beginning, you have to compromise from the start so that in the end of the while thing - all you have is this incredibly watered down thing that doesn't look anything like your original vision.




Ever wondered what that green marble UN lectern looks like up close?



So that is the quick reason on why I did it my way - because it is my way. If the idea takes hold, then you sort of have to get others onboard and compromise - just not yet!




Goodnight.....





https://youtu.be/uA4mfu_5TyI?si=U2pzAv5iQxJdcwuy

[Maurice Ali]

I have to travel downtown in snow and ice to pick up Christmas Dinner.....


That basically what is happening today.







The only other thing I was thinking about was the loss of a big FOFSTOCK 2. Yonge Dundas Square settling at just over 20 thousand for a Canada Day music festival - then doubling the cost ditched that opportunity. And all this after several meetings with the square!




Cool? Summerstage in Central Park!



The other big one was Central Park in New York City It sounded far fetched and at a cost of a quarter of a million dollars (Can) - but when you took the plunge others would come in with you and it was just as expensive as Yonge Dundas Square - or you might possibly get your money back. Then the trade war with the States happened nixing that opportunity. That one really hurt as that would truly be one one f**king big ass concert to hang your musical industry hat on! The final kick in the end was that the City Works Department in New York secretly held a secondary date for me just in case - they were so sure of this and then - you all know what happened to Canada and the USA. FOFSTOCK 2 - just like that - gone like the wind.....




Cool? Look at that cheap guitar and what's happening with his fretting hand?



I'll recap all that just before New Year's Day. It's funny looking back - I actually do some cool things! There is a reason nobody leaves this organization. Young good looking women will size me up and matter of fact state "you're cool" and I always laughed that off. But I could see how someone outside would see all that activity as cool.....



When you are doing it all it's just hassle - nothing romantic or cool at the time - trust me on that.....




Goodnight.....






https://youtu.be/DBE9-G8DU1Y?feature=shared

[Maurice Ali]

Christmas Eve and I'm running around.





The only thing to note is that the Trademark office sent me a litter about re-jigging the upcoming trademark renewal. Yes, it's been 15 years, and yes our registered trademark is real!







Anyway, back to the madness that is today.....




Later.....

[Maurice Ali]

Christmas Day....



So we did the gifts under he tree and all that and now I have a few hours before getting Christmas supper ready.



With that time involved I may as well do FOFSTOCK taxes as the NGO Committee at the United Nations may ask about that. All that starts in January - like just a few weeks away.



The taxes never end.



Right now we are watching a cute western woman vacationing India. - anyway she will not recommend India to anyone for a visit (the thumbnail is: India Never go there!). A famous backpacker did the same and got 50 million (angry Indian) views, so even though he hates going there, he keeps coming back - going into the seediest places and creating trouble with the locals. However that pays the bills. I'm just curious to see how a white young woman fairs in Mumbai - but she is staying in the cleaner parts of the city. There were calls in India to ban the other YouTuber from ever coming back again - anyway.....




Later.....