Automobility: A Conference

Hosted by the Centre for Social Theory & Technology at Keele University, UK, September 8th -10th, 2002.

Call For Interest: Papers, Discussants and Participants

Outline

Automobiles, their production, consumption and semiology, have vexed and intrigued theorists, governments, businesses, unions,
protestors and activists from their inception in the late 19th century to the present day. As a figure of the contemporary
landscape, the automobile coalesces the dominant concerns and themes of modernity, whether it be the rationalized, automated
production line of Henry Ford, or the seemingly insatiable appetite for speed and movement that is its counterpoint. As
undoubtedly important as the automobile is, the aim of this conference is to look beyond the car itself to consider the basic
conception of automobility that underlies it. To be automobile is to feel simultaneously autonomous and to have, at least the
potential for, movement. Yet paradoxically the automobile subject is anything but independent and autonomous. The lines of
subjectivization that automobilities traverse draw together complex webs of governance, desire, capital and resistances in order
to produce the phenomenon of an automobile self. Even further, automobility is characterised as much by motility as by mobility:
the potential for movement and independence seems to be indefinitely deferred as a future promise that perpetually reproduces the
desire for automobility.

"New Technologies in Media Literary" Program

Annual Mediterranean Regional Summit AGORA 2002"

Athens, Greece, 15-18 June 2002

Supervised by the Hellenic Audiovisual Institute

Produced by European Childrens' Television Center www.3rd-ws.org

Organized by Childrens' Media Development

Focused on New Technologies in Media Literacy, AGORA 2002 aims to bring
together some of the most prolific researchers, producers and innovators
from the field of ICT and education, while providing unique opportunities
for synergies and investements in the fast developing marketplace of the
Mediterranean basin.

Enclosed find a synopsis of AGORA 2002 program, as well as details for
participation, to a unique platform of possibilities for synergies and
investments on the children's audiovisual environment of the Mediterranean
region.

Anonymous Comrade writes: "

"Freedom Downtime" to Appear at New York City Film Festival

The 2600 documentary "Freedom Downtime" has been accepted at the New York International Independent Film and
Video Festival and will be screened in February.

The screening is scheduled for Saturday, February 9 at 2 pm at the Sutton 1 Theater, located at 205 East 57th
Street by 3rd Avenue.

hydrarchist writes: "Italian police have identified six members of a hacker group charged
with
attacking thousands of Web sites in 62 countries, replacing official
home
pages with anti-globalization slogans, finance police officials said
Tuesday. The group is one of the most important to be discovered in
terms
of the number and significance of its targets, officials said. The
hackers, all students between the ages of 15 and 23, began their
attacks
last July during the G8 summit in Genoa, which led to
anti-globalization
demonstrations. Hackers placed the slogan "Hi-Tech Hate" on Web sites,
police said. However, the attacks did not cause much monetary damage,
so
the hackers are not expected to be severely punished.

hydrarchist writes: ""First ever for slash.autonomedia.org: A video link!

Listen to Eben Moglen, General Counsel of the Free Software Foundation, convey some very bad news to those who love property! History hasn't gone away you see.

Incendiary, portentuous, and funny. A Fifty five minute prsentation: real video and quicktime formats.

http://www.ibiblio.org/moglen/

This is also a serious lecture on economics and reflection on anarchist production and distribution, historical in scope: from music to software and the problem of property... Can technology be the means to overcome alienation?

If the above description is not enough to have you salivate, here are the first lines of the lecture:

"
A spectre is haunting multinational capitalism -- the spectre of free information. All the powers of globalism have entered into an unholy alliance to exorcise this spectre: Microsoft and Disney, the World Trade Organization, the United States Congress and the European Commission.

Where are the advocates of freedom in the new digital society who have not been decried as
pirates, anarchists, communists?

hydrarchist writes: " This article is taken from 2600.com.

On December 20, a ruling was issued denying Ford's complaint against 2600. Last April Ford Motor Company sued 2600 Enterprises for pointing fuckgeneralmotors.com at their website. The judge's decision reaffirms the right of domain name holders to point their websites where they choose. While the court avoided ruling on important First Amendment issues, it flatly rejected all of Ford's trademark infringement claims. "This is a decisive victory and we are absolutely delighted," said attorney Eric Grimm who argued the case for 2600. "The court ruled consistently with the law and all precedent."

Bob Erler writes:

Luddites and Neo-Luddites

Chaos Day 2001 Lecture by Peter Lamborn Wilson

The December Anarchist Forum

On Tuesday, December 11, at 7:30pm, the Libertarian Book Club's Anarchist Forum welcomes Peter Lamborn Wilson giving his annual Chaos Day
presentation. Peter has been called by the "Village Voice" the Underground-anarcho-Sufi. Peter is well known both for his radio show "The Moorish Orthodox
Radio Crusade"â and his numerous books, including the recent Escape from the Nineteenth Century

Peter will speak on "Luddites and Neo-Luddites" ,
discussing the moral and ethical arguments against the excesses of new technology, from King Ludd to the Internet. When is resistance to change the right choice
and when the wrong? After his presentation, an open period of questions and discussion will follow. Peter will also be ready to sign copies of his books.

The event
will take place at the Brecht Forum on the 10th floor of 122 West 27th St. [between 6th and 7th Aves.], a short walk from the 28th St. 1, 2, N, and R stops,
the 34th St. B, D, and Q stop, and the 23rd St. F stop.
There is no set fee for the presentation, but a contribution to aid the LBC is requested. If you have questions, contact the LBC /Anarchist Forum,
212-979-8353, 339 Lafayette St., Room 202, NYC, NY 10012 or e-mail: roberterler@erols.com.

LIBERTARIAN BOOK CLUB / ANARCHIST FORUM
339 Lafayette Street, Room 202
New York City, New York 10012

onion writes: "The Guardian (London) Friday November 30, 2001
John Vidal
Mexico's GM corn shocks scientists

Researchers baffled as ancient variety of maize tests positive for
modified organisms in area where no engineered crops are grown

One of the world's oldest varieties of maize has been "contaminated" by
genetically modified organisms, say US researchers who have had their work
confirmed by the Mexican government.

Molly Maguire writes: Many who embrace social contestation still have not got the message about free software. As a result, political measures which hinder its growth do not receive the attention I believe they merit. The following interview is helpful not only in explaining what free software is, but also in offering a hopeful vision of what it may be a harbinger of on a wider social level.

// FREE SOFTWARE & G P L SOCIETY //

Interview with Stefan Merten, Oekonux, Germany

by Joanne Richardson, November 2001

>> Q: Oekonux - an abbreviation of "OEKOnomie" and
"liNUX" - is a German mailing list discussing the
revolutionary possibilities of Free Software. Many
people speak of Free Software and Open Source Software
interchangeably - could you explain how you understand
the differences between them?

The term "Free Software" is older than "Open Source".
"Free Software" is used by the Free Software
Foundation [http://www.fsf.org/] founded by Richard
Stallman in 1985. The term "Open Source" has been
developed by Eric S. Raymond and others, who, in 1998,
founded the Open Source Initiative
[http://www.opensource.org/]. It's not so much a
question of definition as of the philosophy behind the
two parts of the movement - the differences between
the definition of Open Source Software and Free
Software are relatively few. But whereas Free Software
emphasizes the freedom Free Software gives the users,
Open Source does not care about freedom. The Open
Source Initiative (OSI) was founded exactly for the
reason to make Free Software compatible with business
people's thinking, and the word "freedom" has been
considered harmful for that purpose.

Geeks and Spooks

Bruce Sterling

A speech at "Global Challenges, Trends and Best Practices in
Cryptography," the Information System Security and
Education Center, Washington, DC

November 20, 2001

Hi, my name's Bruce Sterling, I'm a science fiction
writer. And a futurist. You might also call me an
industry observer. If you were kind.

The reason I showed up here is to listen to you guys,
because I'm rather interested in what comes next for
crypto, and you're standing a lot closer to that fire than
I am.

I myself don't do much 'best practice' for crypto,
because personally, I don't have a dog in that race. So,
having so little to offer, and being so humbled by your
technological brilliance and all, my feeling is that I
should at least be frank. Like, very frank. Like:
painfully frank.

So: flame on. Here's the story as I see it. The
big story about crypto is a power struggle between two
American tribes: geeks and spooks. Occasionally innocent
people blunder into this situation, but they get lost,
either because they don't understand the technology
(that's what geeks say) or they're not to pry any further
into stuff beyond the reach of mere civilians (that's what
the spooks say).