Currently on the Interactivist Info Exchange
Richard Pithouse on Mike Davis, "Planet of Slums"
On Mike Davis' "Planet of Slums"
Richard Pithouse
Visions of the future, presented as aspiration or inevitability, exercise tremendous power over certain kinds of decision making in the present. In cities where local elites are able
to imagine a convivial future for themselves and where the economy is based on
consumption as well as production or extraction, the vision of the future is, above all, the
idea of a ‘World Class City’. This is the idea that guides and justifies the decisions of the
technocratic elites organized in ‘partnerships’ across governments, donor agencies,
NGOs, the academy and corporations. Their decisions produce broadly similar results
around the world – the exclusion and eviction of the poor, the commodification of public
space and public investment in projects for private profit such as conference centers,
casinos, hotels, shopping malls, golf course estates, major sports events and so on at the
direct expense of public investment in public housing, public facilities and public space.
Rem Koolhaas tells us that it is time to get real and the reality is that shopping is “the last
remaining form of public activity.”1
Critical Art Ensemble's Steve Kurtz is Cleared of Mail and Wire Fraud Charges
Critical Art Ensemble's Steve Kurtz is Cleared of Mail and Wire Fraud Charges
Artist and University of Buffalo Professor Steve Kurtz was cleared of charges for mail and wire fraud today in federal court. U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara ruled that criminal charges brought against him by federal prosecutors were “insufficient on[their] face.”
Great Lakes Political Economy Conference and Historical Materialism Conference
Dear Friends,
Upping the Anti would like to encourage all of you in or around the Toronto area to consider attending these two upcoming radical conferences. The Great Lakes Political Economy Conference goes from Wednesday April 23rd to 24th at York University, and Historical Materialism -- what is likely to be the largest Marxist conference in Canada in the last decade -- begins on the evening of the 24th and continues to Saturday April 26th.
The Great Lakes conference website can be viewed at http://greatlakes2008.blogspot.com
The Historical Materialism website is at http://www.arts.yorku.ca/conferences/HMToronto/
NYC Anarchist Forum: "Facing Government Repression"
*Facing Government Repression*
The April NYC Anarchist Forum
On Tuesday, April 8, at 7:00pm, the Anarchist Forum will present a
panel discussion on government harassment, intimidation, and repression of
movement organizing and public dissent. Presenters will refelect on the
history and recent developments of goverment disruption, and draw strong
lessons for informed resistance. Speakers will be Ashanti Alston of
the *Jericho Movement *(jerichony.org) on repression since the 1960s, Eileen Clancy
of *I-Witness Video* (iwitnessvideo.info ) on exposing
illegal disruption of street protest, and Sen of *Family and Friends of
Daniel McGowan* (supportdaniel.org) on the "Green Scare" crackdown on
environmental activism.
Ruckus Society Stages Golden Gate Bridge "Free Tibet" Demonstration
Ruckus Society Stages Golden Gate Bridge "Free Tibet" Demonstration
Hello Ruckus Family,
I write right now with the utmost pride. Right now three activists, including one of our beloved Ruckutistas, are climbing up the suspension cables of the Golden Gate Bridge in an action to support Tibetan independence.
San Francisco is the only city hosting the torch in the United States, and Students for a Free Tibet are responding. The message is clear and visionary: FREE TIBET!!!
Where We Are Now: Locating Art and Politics in New York City
Dear Colleagues and Friends,
In October of 2007 a call was circulated for a meeting amongst art, academic and activist institutions and individuals to discuss the merits of a coordinated strategy that would raise awareness around the multitude of art political discussions and projects in town while having a real impact on the politics of this city, and beyond.
One month later more than 60 representatives from a range of institutions convened, and the Where We Are Now network was born. Our goal is to demonstrate how powerful critical voices still exist, ones that cry out for global justice, agency and participation. Using the pivotal moment of the 2008 presidential election, we share a sense that the times have changed and are ours to claim. Through activities as diverse as art exhibitions, days of decentralized action, street performances and pedagogical conferences, we seek to gauge the status of the political in contemporary art, and consider how we may act as resources to one another and to other communities within and beyond New York City.
George Sossenko, "Remembering Spain, Remembering Heroes! An Encore"
The NYC Anarchist Bookfair 2008 Weekend Kickoff Event
Thursday, April 10th at The New School (65 Fifth Ave.)
7PM, FREE
"Remembering Spain, Remembering Heroes! An Encore"
An opening talk about "Us, -- the Anarchists,-- the only dedicated organization honestly caring about the working class, and also give some examples from my Spanish experience, where entire towns were ran by Anarchists, with order, and efficiency with our libertarian spirit and concern. How the communists betrayed the proletariat world wide, creating a bourgeois class (CEO and contractors), non compatible with our libertarian ideal. How could you understand that the Soviet Union, after 70 years of communism, vanished without fire a shot.The Communists, and also their Unions, are losing support from the working class all over the world."
New York Metro Anarchist Alliance Reading Group: Colin Ward's "Anarchy in Action"
New York Metro Anarchist Alliance Reading Group: Colin Ward's "Anarchy in Action"
Thursday, May 29, 6:30pm:
"Anarchy in Action" by Colin Ward.
"The argument of this book is that an anarchist society, a society which organizes itself without authority, is always in existence, like a seed beneath the snow, buried under the weight of the state and...capitalism..." -Colin Ward
"With chapters on the family, federations, schools, housing, crime, employment, welfare, deviancy, planning, and more, this is probably the best practical look at anarchist ideas in action." -AK Press
(Note: This 137 page book is an excellent, accessible introduction-- this month's discussion will be a good opportunity to invite anarcho-curious friends!)
Location: Earth Matters Cafe, 177 Ludlow St. just below Houston. F Train to 2nd Ave., JMZ Trains to Essex/Delancey St.
New York Metro Anarchist Alliance Reading Group: "Chomsky on Anarchism"
New York Metro Anarchist Alliance Reading Group: "Chomsky on Anarchism"
Join in the upcoming discussions of the NYMAA Reading group!
Thursday, April 24, 6:30pm:
"Chomsky On Anarchism" by Noam Chomsky
"We all know what Noam Chomsky is against. But very little ever gets said about what exactly Chomsky stands for, his own personal politics, his vision of the future. Not, that is, until Chomsky on Anarchism, a groundbreaking new book that shows a different side of this best-selling author: the anarchist principles that have guided him since he was a teenager. This collection of Chomsky's essays and interviews includes numerous pieces that have never been published before, as well as rare material that first saw the light of day in hard-to-find pamphlets and anarchist periodicals. Taken together, they paint a fresh picture of Chomsky, showing his life-long involvement with the anarchist community, his constant commitment to nonhierarchical models of political organization, and his hopes for a future world without rulers." -AK Press
Some key articles collected in the book are available online:
http://www.zmag.org/chomsky/other/notes-on-anarchism.html
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/rbr/noamrbr2.html
http://www.chomsky.info/interviews/19760725.htm
and audio from one interview in the book is available on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5bYAEs29cs
Location: Earth Matters Cafe, 177 Ludlow St. just below Houston. F Train to 2nd Ave., JMZ Trains to Essex/Delancey St.
Gloria Munoz, "The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement"
Gloria Munoz, "The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement"
Please join us for a multimedia presentation on the history and struggles of the Zapatista movement with very special guest from Chiapas, Mexico, Gloria Muñoz Ramírez. Famed author of the recently translated El Fuego y la Palabra (The Fire and the Word), Gloria is probably the closest person to the Zapatistas in Chiapas to have ever come to NYC. Don't Miss this!
Saturday, March 29th, 7:00pm
The Change You Want To See Gallery
http://www.thechangeyouwanttosee.org/
84 Havemeyer Street, at Metropolitan Ave
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY 11211
The Fire and the Word: A History of the Zapatista Movement
Video screening and presentation with the author, Gloria Muñoz Ramírez
The film and book "El Fuego y la Palabra" (Fire and Word) is an oral history that recounts from the beginning of the movement of the Zapatista indigenous communities in the state of Chiapas. Their demands are liberty, justice, democracy, land, health, education, and labor rights. The story is told in the simple words of some of the original organizers of the movement. It is an inspiring testimony of hope and resistance. The author, Gloria Munoz, will be coming in to speak about the film and book to provide us with more insight to the compilation of this oral history and the struggles that the indigenous communities in the state of Chiapas have been organizing against.
"Resurgemus" Dada Fair at Cornell University
DADA FAIR AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY!!!
RESURGEMUS
IVY LEAGUE DISTURBANCES AND SUBVERSIONS!!!
RUMBLINGS IN THE BELLY OF THE ESTABLISHMENT!!!!!
OPEN CALL FOR ART, POSTERS, PROPAGANDA!
April 18 - May 8, Risley Hall
During the "Great War to End All Wars" of 1914-1919, a number of artists, writers, radicals, and intellectuals escaped the trenches and fled to Zurich, where they could seek shelter in Switzerland's neutrality.
There they established the DADA MOVEMENT, an art/theatre/literature purge of bourgeois culture and society, all that had led to the absurdly futile bloodletting of their era. This movement, which questioned and revoked just about everything sacred to art and "civilization" spread like wildfire throughout Europe and New York.
In 1920 the Berlin Dadaists held a momentous "Dada Fair", which featured political diatribes, fantastic paintings, cartoons, a stuffed policeman dangling piggily from the ceiling.To this day it evokes joy, laughter, and a recognition of the vitality of this sort of expression.
Here we are in 2008, once again engaged in an extraordinarily futile bloodbath, and once again feeling the impotence of conventional protest. What a perfect time to revive this festival of dissidence, this visual shockwave of irreverence, freedom of speech, and visual "weaponry".
Brian Holmes "Unleashing the Collective Phantoms" Book Release, London, March 15
Brian Holmes "Unleashing the Collective Phantoms" Book Release, London, March 15
Saturday March 15th, 6:30 PM book launch
Housmans Bookshop, Kings Cross (www.housmans.com)
Unleashing the Collective Phantoms: Essays In Reverse Imagineering by Brian Holmes
Come join us to celebrate the release of Brian Holmes’ new book Unleashing the Collective Phantoms. These insurgent essays describe, prolong and critique some of the cultural and artistic projects that arose with the worldwide wave of protests around the turn of the millennium, against what the global South calls neoliberalism. Dissent and the refusal of a programmed existence continually return to the streets; but they also unfold in the imagination.
Hosted by Autonomedia (www.autonomedia.org) and Mute Magazine (www.metamute.org)
For info on the book: http://www.autonomedia.org/unleashingthecollectivephantoms
Housmans Bookshop
http://www.housmans.com
5 Caledonian Road
LONDON, England
N1 9DX, UK
Nearest tube: King’s Cross St Pancras
The Campus Antiwar Network's East Coast Conference
Their War, Our World: Building The Student Resistance
The Campus Antiwar Network's East Coast Conference
April 4-6th
Hunter College, New York City
Come one, come all! As we enter our 6th year in the occupation of Iraq, our leaders refuse to present an exit strategy or even a truthful representation of what's happening on the ground. Though we keep being told violence is down, US air strikes are up, and in 2007 sectarian killings "ethnically cleansed" Baghdad, turning it from 65% Sunni to 75% Shia. A poll conducted by the British Ministry of Defense found that 82% of Iraqis are "strongly opposed" to the occupation, and "less than 1% of the population believes coalition forces are responsible for any improvement in security." Resistance to the war has emerged on three fronts: Iraqi civilians defending their country against foreign invasion and continued devastation, enlisted US troops refusing to participate in an illegal and bloodthirsty war, and American civilians (particularly the student movement, who feel that effect of the war daily -- as military recruiters continue to haunt our campuses and tuition is raised as the cost of the war depletes funds for education). As of yet, the US government has refused to recognize these forces of resistance as legitimate, but with continued and heightened pressure in the form of independent, grassroots activism, we can hope to create the change we wish to see.
Academic Freedom in the Age of Permanent Warfare
Academic Freedom in the Age of Permanent Warfare
April 3 - 4, 2008
Plenary Session
April 3, 2008, 5 - 7pm
Juan Carlos I Center Auditorium
53 Washington Square South
Ellen Schrecker, Professor of History, Yeshiva University, Frederic Ewen Academic Freedom Center Fellow, “The Squeaky Wheels Go Round Again: Academic Freedom After 9/11”
Reception to Follow
April 4 Conference Program Schedule
9 – 5:30pm
NYU’s Wasserman Center
133 E. 13th St., 2nd fl (between 3rd & 4th)
9:00 am Welcome
John Sexton, President, New York University
"How Class Works" Conference
HOW CLASS WORKS — 2008
A Conference at SUNY Stony Brook
June 5-7, 2008
The Center for Study of Working Class Life is pleased
to announce the How Class Works – 2008 Conference, to
be held at the State University of New York at Stony
Brook, June 5 - 7, 2008.
Purpose and orientation : The conference seeks to
explore ways in which an explicit recognition of class
helps to understand the social world in which we live,
and ways in which analysis of society can deepen our
understanding of class as a social relationship.
Presentations should take as their point of reference
2008 New York City Anarchist Bookfair
THE NYC ANARCHIST BOOKFAIR 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008, 11am-8pm
Judson Memorial Church, 55 Washington Square South, Manhattan
New York City, a center of anarchist life, culture, struggle, and ideas for 150 years, hosted its first Anarchist Bookfair last year with great success. Given this success, we are pleased to announce that we will host the 2nd Anarchist Bookfair in New York City again! We are organizing a whole weekend long event with an Anarchist Film Festival, Bookfair, Radical and Anarchist Art, Talks and Panel discussions, Workshops, Skill-shares and a lot more!
Unmasked: A Marathon of Artists' Videos and Films Contesting Systems of Rule, New Museum, NY
Saturday/Sunday, February 23/24 at 12:15 PM
Classroom, Museum as Hub Space, 5th Floor
http://www.newmuseum.org/events/137
(visit above link or scroll down for film program)
Mapping Power in the City: Lize Mogel and Alexis Bhagat, New Museum, NY
Wednesday, February 20 at 1:30 PM
Classroom, Museum as Hub Space, 5th Floor
http://www.newmuseum.org/events/142
Organized by Elise Youn as part of the Museum as Hub program
The Big Bust: Is The Economy About to Crash?
With Doug Henwood (Left Business Observer), Nomi Prins (Other People's Money), Lewis Lapham (Lapham's Quarterly). Is this a major crisis or merely a hiccup? If we are on the skids, what policies can the left advance to put things right? At Brecht Forum, 451 West St (btw Bank & Bethune St, A/C/E/L to 14th St & 8th Ave, 1/2/3 to 14th St & 7th Ave)., New York City. Sliding scale $6/10/15. Info: 212-242-4201, brechtforum@brechtforum.org & http://www.brechtforum.org
Ernesto, "IFPI Forces Danish ISP to Block The Pirate Bay"
IFPI Forces Danish ISP to Block The Pirate Bay
Ernesto
The battle between the IFPI and the Pirate Bay continues. A Danish court ruled in favor of the IFPI, and ordered the Danish ISP "Tele2?$B!m (DMT2-Tele2) to block all access to the popular BitTorrent tracker. The Pirate Bay, currently ranked 28th in the list of most visited sites in Denmark, is working on countermeasures.
The court case was initiated by the IFPI - the infamous anti-piracy organization that represents the recording industry - and plans to force other ISPs to do the same. However, The Pirate Bay is determined to fight back, as usual.
The Pirate Bay team has already asked other BitTorrent admins to stand up against the IFPI lobby, and arranged a meeting with Tele2 to discuss the current events. Pirate Bay co-founder Brokep told TorrentFreak in a response: "I hope the torrent community understands what this will do to Danish people. It will also act as a very bad precedent for the European Union, and I hope everybody will fight this."
At the moment, The Pirate Bay team is registering new (Danish) domains, to make sure people can still download .torrent files from the Bay when the ban is activated later today tomorrow. In addition the Pirate Bay will launch a campaign website, together with the Danish pro-piracy lobby "Piratgruppen".
