The Corona Reboot
An attempt to provisionally theorize the emergence of new subjectivities in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
ReadAn attempt to provisionally theorize the emergence of new subjectivities in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.
ReadHow much has changed in just a few days. Here is another text I've composed in an attempt to continue to think about the pandemic, and our lives within it. I hope it's of use, however minorly, as we all try to come to some kind of terms with the novel transformations, precarities, and struggles emerging in every direction.
~i
[Originally published in: The New York Times Book Review, 28 October 1984, pp. 1, 40-41.]
WikiLeaks Reveals Secret Files on All Guantánamo Prisoners
On Sunday April 24, 2011 WikiLeaks began publishing 779 secret files
from the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp. The details for every
detainee will be released daily over the coming month.
One of the biggest promises of the Internet was the transformation of political activism. No longer would change come about solely through the actions of large organizations, claimed the Web's early enthusiasts. Now, they claimed, individuals could rouse the concern of their fellow citizens for a particular cause through Web sites, e-mail, and online petitions. Those who normally shunned demonstrations and limited their participation in the public sphere could be contacted personally in their e-mail box, and all that would be necessary for them to do to show their support would be to click a button or fill in a field. Soon, pundits predicted, there would be a revolution in grassroots participation in the political process.
ReadTechnology companies have a long history of placing their products inschools and other learning environments. The reasons vary. Placement isdone through in-kind donations, competitive grants, achievement awards,and funds earmarked for technology projects. Most of the companies seetheir products as ways to enhance education, and many will claim therevolutionary or transformative nature of their wares. All of them hopeit will be a prelude to increased market-share.
ReadTranslating the abstraction—and banalities—of the Anthropocene into readable cartography has resulted in many past attempts that often ended up reproducing those same qualities. But, as Brian Holmes asserts in this essay, we seem to have found ourselves in a moment where collaboration, engagement, and new forms of knowledge exchange are breaking that deadlock. Tracing his own involvement with artistic practices that both engage with and attempt to represent a “political ecology,” Holmes explains how the evolving, collaborative cartographic practice that brought the "Mississippi. An Anthropocene River map" into being simultaneously reveals and interrogates the power structures of Anthropocence society.
Read"Contemporary civilization differs in one particularly distinctive feature from those which preceded it: speed. The change has come about within a generation," noted the historian Marc Bloch, writing in the nineteen-thirties. This situation brings in its wake a second feature: the accident. The progressive spread of catastrophic events do not just affect current reality, but produce anxiety and anguish for coming generations.
ReadA Complete Manual of Billboard Subversion and Destruction
"When our work is done, advertising and billboards will fly beside the
soviet flag in the museum of dead totalitarian experiments"
Simple steps to take before hitting the streets
Mass protests have broken out across the United States after a Minneapolis police officer killed black Minnesotan George Floyd while he was in police custody.
One thing demonstrators should be aware of before they head out is that their cellphones may subject them to surveillance tactics by law enforcement. If your cellphone is on and unsecured, not only can your location be tracked, but your messages and the content of your phone may also be retrieved by police either if they take custody of your phone or later by warrant or subpoena.
In Antoine de Saint Exupéry's tale the Little Prince meets a businessman who accumulates stars with the sole purpose of being able to buy more stars. The Little Prince is perplexed. He owns only a flower, which he waters every day. Three volcanoes, which he cleans every week. "It is of some use to my volcanoes, and it is of some use to my flower, that I own them," he says, "but you are of no use to the stars that you own".
Read
Jeremy Hammond Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison! Show Him He Still Has Our Support!
Jeremy Hammond is a 28-year-old political activist sentenced to 120 months in prison, with an additional 3 years probation upon his release,
after pleading guilty to the Anonymous conspiracy to hack the private
intelligence firm Strategic Forecasting (Stratfor). A longtime proponent
of "hactivism," his actions are a form of electronic civil
disobedience. He believes that "people have a right to know what
governments and corporations are doing behind closed doors."
Call to Action: Reclaim Pride From the 1%
#OccuPride #OccuQueers #Tranarchism #PinkBloc
Global Facebook event
Pride 2012: The Struggle for Sexual and Gender Justice Continues
This summer, communities across the world will celebrate Pride Festivals
commemorating the birth and victories of the Gay and Trans Liberation
Movements. Despite the profound social change these movements have
accomplished since the first high-heels were thrown over the barricades
at Compton's Cafeteria and the Stonewall Inn, it is clear that the
struggle for queer, trans, and gender-variant liberation is far from
finished.
A demonstration in solidarity with Anonymous Hacker Jeremy Hammond occurred last night (December 3, 2013) at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Sunset Park, Brooklyn where he is temporarily being held. Just two weeks ago, the 28 year old was sentenced to 10 years in federal detention for cyber crimes. Amongst other high-profile breaches, he leaked confidential intelligence data to Wikileaks from a private intelligence firm known as Stratfor. Many consider Stratfor to be a "shadow CIA" operating under even less regulation and oversight than a government entity.
ReadThe 'stateless plug-in' is an extension for your browser that intervenes in digital territory, transforming the issue of stateless people into a multifaceted digital mapping of existing knowledge and information on the Internet.
ReadInterventions in Engineering Cultures
The most significant underwriter of engineering research in the United
States is the Department of Defense, largely acting through the Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA exists to channel funds
from the military to academic and corporate research labs in exchange
for technological innovations that serve the needs of its clients - the
Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines. As DARPA public relations officers
are fond of pointing out, innovations funded by DARPA grants may also
find expression in civilian applications, particularly in the
communications and aerospace industries.
A Salvage Operation
On a clear evening in December, as the sun was setting over the Texas
horizon, a Mexican drone entered U.S. airspace and crashed into a
backyard in El Paso.
It is neither easy nor popular to go against prevailing assumptions in society, especially when they pertain to how justice is dispensed in this country. But speaking out against injustice is and always has been the moral assignment of those who are inspired by the promise of American Freedom. That's why Johanna Fernandez and Kouross Esmaeli sought to tell this difficult story of a system gone awry in the case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. Dissecting what went wrong - and what continues to go wrong - in the American justice system when it comes to people of color or of lesser economic means (and working toward correcting those injustices) is an essential civic duty, and the basis of Justice on Trial.
ReadFree Speech TV Presents
The Historic Deep Dish Series:
Shocking and Awful: A Grassroots Response to War and Occupation
MARATHON ON SATURDAY, MARCH 23 -- REMEMBER THE IRAQ WAR