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David garcia | 2 Jun 09:11
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BMM by a Knock Out!

BMM by a Knock Out !

Last night Dutch reality TV and shocksploitation giants BMM ('Bart’s
Never-ending Network) won the world 'tactical guerilla media
championship' of the world’ with a stunning first round knock out.
The unexpected result left the assembled world press, gathered last
night at Hilversum stunned, as they stood eagerly waiting to gawk
and to fulminate at the latest example of the Dutch commercial
media’s capacity to invent ever more outrageous reality TV. But in
the dying moments of the event, the moral credibility tables were
turned. The media world (not to mention the entire Dutch political
establishment) were rocked and awed by the revelation that the world
title (previously held by Orson Wells) for most daring media hoax now
resides in the Netherlands.

Is this it? Have we reached it, ‘tactical media’s’ final frontier.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6714287.stm

David Garcia
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John | 2 Jun 06:13
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Current State of Political Debate on the Left

Hello All,

Below please find the full text of an editorial recently run in the Wall 
Street Journial.  In it the author makes a claim that I believe to be 
worthy of consideration by the Nettime readership.  While this piece 
specifically focuses on US politics, those readers from Europe and 
elsewhere may also find something here worth considering.  Is Peter 
Berkowitz's statement that the the political discussion on the Left is 
stagnant with little debate on the major issues?  If not, what evidence 
of a lively debate in political opinion can be brought to bear in 
demolishing this audacious claim?

Kind regards,
John

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110010137

"The Conservative Mind
The American right is a cauldron of debate; the left isn't.

BY PETER BERKOWITZ
Tuesday, May 29, 2007 12:01 a.m. EDT

The left prides itself on, and frequently boasts of, its superior 
appreciation of the complexity and depth of moral and political life. 
But political debate in America today tells a different story.

On a variety of issues that currently divide the nation, those to the 
left of center seem to be converging, their ranks increasingly 
untroubled by debate or dissent, except on daily tactics and long-term
(Continue reading)

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Ana Peraica | 4 Jun 15:39
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Fw: Media art database (call for works)

Hello everyone, 

forwarding a call from Media art database

best
Ana 

***

Dear Artists,
Dear Friends,

my inquiry concerns your contribution for the M.A.D. – Media Art Database, with its main purpose of
bringing together information on media art (art using electronic media) in a thoroughly accessible and
research-compatible pool.  

The first part of the M.A.D. – about 1.100 documented Media installations, -performances, and –films
as well as internet projects – is based on the results of our research published partially in the
reference-scale book “Closed Circuit Video Installations. A Contribution to the History and Theory
of Media Art. With Modules for an Encyclopaedia of Artists” (published in German in December 2004).
This time we would like to present the actualised Information medium-fairly, without any content-,
language-, geographical or other restrictions.

I would be delighted if the project found your interest and would look forward very much to having you
provide me the following:

1)
your Copyright-permission for the publishing of the images/documents/photographs/diagrams of your
artworks for the sole purposes of academic and historic documentation within the M.A.D.-Media Art
Database. M.A.D. has no commercial interests at all. At the same time, M.A.D. develops an
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Rasmus Fleischer | 4 Jun 23:55
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Copies & contexts in the age of cultural abundance

This is the text from a performance at last week's Reboot conference  
in Copenhagen, by Magnus Eriksson and Rasmus Fleischer. It mainly  
circles around the question of the meaning of "live performance" in a  
context of universalized reproduction of recorded music.

- - -

PERFORMANCE:
COPIES & CONTEXTS IN THE AGE OF CULTURAL ABUNDANCE

We are both co-founders of Piratbyrån, a Swedish group that has been  
around for four years. Piratbyrån explores how file-sharing and other  
copying technologies interact with creativity and change how people  
relate to everyday culture. We analyze tendencies and cases and  
discuss possible future scenarios and opportunities.

Internationally we are mostly known for starting up the The Pirate  
Bay, which we no longer run but are in close contact with. By this  
and many other projects, campaigns, performances, talks and media  
appearances, we have intervened in the discussion known as "the file- 
sharing debate".

Almost exactly a year ago, at the time of the last Reboot conference,  
The Pirate Bay was taken down in a controversial raid that involved  
about 180 confiscated servers and pressure on the Swedish government  
from US officials and lobby groups. Still today, over 100 servers  
remain in custody and the prosecution is just about to be delayed for  
several months more.

The raid was followed by demonstrations just three days after co-
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Alan Sondheim | 6 Jun 16:03
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Book Reviews - Books I like and some hardware/software as well

Books I like and some hardware/software as well (not much)

I'm behind in my reviews; the last few months have been a mess. I may be
missing some books. I may have misplaced. others. I hunger for reading,
but it's all transparent, pathetic, collapsed. There's nothing to say
about reading that hasn't been said before. Humans compress history's
repetition until the world's squeezed out. If I'm missing a book in what
follows, forgive me; the oversight wasn't deliberate, just an effect of
physiology. The following books are in no particular order; for the most
part, they're books that have been more than useful, have been inspira-
tional, works I've returned to at times. I'm including some miscellaneous
reviews of software/hardware as well. (First off, apologies for the poor
style below; it's hard for me to convey sustained excitement, but such
underlies most of what follows.)

Buddhist Dictionary, Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines, Nyanatiloka,
Buddhist Publication Society, Sri Lanka. This is an amazing and often
technical work, documenting the terms of the Pali Canon and beyond; it has
information I literally haven't found elsewhere. The Pali vocabulary is
extensive, often highly structured conceptually, and this has proved, not
only to be an invaluable guide, but also an interesting read in itself.

I am a Cat (three volumes), Soseki Natsume, translated Aiko Ito and Graeme
Wilson. The original Japanese work appeared in the first decade of the
20th century; it's an amazing rumination on everything by a cat. The work
is reminiscent of Sterne and I found myself enveloped in it (in a manner
similar to reading something like The Journey to the West); it says a
great deal about Japanese modernization and city life, and is beautifully
written. It's not an 'animal' story in any sense of the term. The work's
available from Tuttle. (Alexanne Don introduced me to this years ago.)
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Konrad Becker | 7 Jun 00:04
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GSA: ET Biopolitics and Creative Industries

Below is a text from the French new science journal "Le Planete
Laboratoire". The latest issue investigates the laboratory model of social
organization. It was presented at "Espionage Technologies and Art"
conference organized by RIXC in Liepaja Karosta. 
GSA presented a keynote on shadow technologies and provided aerial security
for the event. More on cultural peacekeeping and a whole range of critical
information relating to safety issues and services at:
www.global-security-alliance.com 

->K

Extraterrestrial Biopolitics and Creative Industries 

Global media and business networks create a planetary environment for
geopolitical experimentation with global parameters of life - and death. 
The "Grand Chessboard" of the geo-strategic world has expanded to outer
space and inner space. Conflict management has migrated into the military
entertainment complex, the domain of culture, media and the creative
industries.

The space age began with a grand media spectacle. In the 1960's, for the
first time in history, planet Earth was emerging in the consciousness of a
global audience, terrestrials on a pale blue dot in the vastness of the
skies. But the innocent picture of Man on the moon was diverting attention
from an advanced weapons program for the militarization of space. The
rockets of the United States space program and the Soviet Union's Cosmic
Troops were based on the V-2 ballistic missiles of World War II. In 1945
Wernher von Braun and his team, who developed and manufactured the V-2 based
on slave labor, were brought to America. This operation named Project
Paperclip included scientists linked to human experiments in concentration
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Ewen Chardronnet | 7 Jun 16:24
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Governing the global home

Hi,

Following Konrad Becker's text, I post here some more from the 
"Laboratory Planet" journal. It is published in 2 versions, french and 
english, and was presented first time at the "Espionage technologies and 
art" conference, during the great Art+Communication festival, 31st may - 
10 june 2007. More to follow. Hope the english translation are ok.

bests
Ewen

Governing the global home

by Sophie Gosselin and David Guignebert

/
"« The global home » is under the threat of devastation. [...] 
Politicians are responsible for the future."
Jacques Gaillot (a man of God)1/

The imbalances caused by technico-scientific developments to the world's 
eco-system during the 20th century have driven citizens and scientists 
to call on politicians to react by seriously addressing the new 
ecological deal. At the moment, we can note that politicians as well as 
transnational corporations2 are slowly beginning to integrate the 
ecological dimension into their plans.
The political parameters of their global and long-term strategy now tend 
to be organised around this new dimension. They talk increasingly of 
'sustainable development', 'respecting bio-diversity', 'fair trade', 
'ethical investment,' in the fields of economy, culture or health3.
(Continue reading)

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Mute Announce | 7 Jun 16:40

[Mute-announce] REMINDER - Mute Talks - Richard Pithouse - Tonight

THE SHACKS FIGHT BACK:
THE SHACK DWELLERS MOVEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA

7pm, Thursday 7th June, Centerprise, 136 =96 138 Kingsland High Street, =

Dalston, London E8

A talk by Richard Pithouse of the South African shack dwellers movement, =

Abahlali baseMjondolo

http://www.abahlali.org/

Abahlali have fought for the right of Durban's shack dwellers to basic
amenities - housing, water, land. This democratic grassroots movement
has confronted the lies and evasions of local government and aid
agencies to show that real participatory democracy is possible: when it
is organised by and for the dispossessed.

Richard Pithouse, an academic and journalist who has been active in the
movement since its inception, will talk about the struggle, show some
short videos, and answer questions.

We hope that the parallels between Abahlali's struggle and
that of Londoners who face the decay and privatisation of their services =

will become clear. This is an opportunity to make connections and find =

inspiration.
(Continue reading)

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Ewen Chardronnet | 9 Jun 16:02
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Freedom and machines

This one again from "Laboratory Planet" and by Ange Valderas

aaa+
Ewen

--

FREEDOM AND MACHINES
by Ange Valderas

1. The freedom of action of machines

With the revocation of the dogma of the immortality of the soul (1),
knowledge has acquired a cardinal position in the control of the human
mind. The access to truth is no longer achieved through spiritual
practices but along the indefinite road of knowledge. Divine fatality
has thus been replaced by a real existence in which nothing is left
unexplained (2).

In such an existence, there is an insoluble tension between the
(ethical) freedom of the individual and the causality of knowledge,
between subjective autonomy and objective heteronomy. This tension
is expressed in the conflict between freedom of action and the
physical, psychical, social or metaphysical obstacles that limit
its exercise. In this, the tension can be understood as a biblical
reminiscence, since Satan is the Hebrew verb for all that obstructs or
hinders movement, the noun form of which was translated into Greek as
diabolos, everything that leads us astray.

Just as knowledge, through its claim to bring about freedom of the
(Continue reading)

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Ewen Chardronnet | 9 Jun 15:44
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The Planet-Laboratory

Another text from the "Laboratory Planet" journal. By Michel 
Tibon-Cornillot.
bests
Ewen

The Planet-Laboratory
The general reconstruction of the world
by Michel Tibon-Cornillot

1. The interminable ending of industrial societies

What is more commonplace than to wish or expect an end to industrial
societies! They are hated by billions of people, who have lost or
are losing their culture, because they know they are summoned to
participate in them on unequal terms; others dream about being part
of them, even at the risk of their lives, and are prepared to travel
thousands of kilometres to do so. As for the inhabitants of industrial
societies, for many the belief in progress is uncertain, at least in
a country like France, where scepticism and pessimism have long gone
hand in hand. (1)

But the expectation of an end to industrial societies has quite a
special character: it seems interminable. Would it not be better to
speak of the /interminable/ ending of industrial societies? Of course,
no one can forget the ravages that accompanied their creation and
development in the history of European countries and the processes
taking them from industry and world wars to colonial genocides and
social conflict, as well as to the contemporary dissemination of this
“model” through globalisation, at the price of considerable suffering
and terrible wars. But we also need to remember the many failures
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Gmane