An Assault on Neurospace (Misguided Directions for)

Matteo Pasquinelli

We are implicit, here, all of us,

in a vast physical construct of

artificially linked nervous systems.

Invisible. We cannot touch it.

— William Gibson, "In the Visegrips of Dr. Satan"

1. A libidinal geology of media spaces

What is the field that media art and media activism are meant to occupy today? What is the place of the creative act? From the modern
utopias to movie and television imagery into the cyberspace of digital technologies, different kinds of media spaces populate contemporary history and produce each their own characters,
conflicts, aesthetics and narrations. Quoting Michel Serres1 we can say today: "we inhabit a multiplicity of media spaces". The present paper sketches out a short history of material and immaterial, political and psychic media spaces, wondering with Jameson: "why should landscape be any less dramatic than the Event?" 2. According to
Henry Lefebvre (author of the seminal The production of the space3) space is never a neutral background, but always the product of a
social conflict. In that sense we want to study its invisible architecture, how our desires are invested in it, how new spaces are opened by new technologies, languages and practices. We would like to apply to media spaces what Lefebvre wrote in 1974, not without being accused of fetishism: "Today more than ever, the class struggle is
inscribed in space". Today's place of political and artistic action is but a stratification of previous spaces, and we need a sort of a
geology of the invisible to write its history.

nolympics writes:

"Alleged Anarchist Bomb in Barcelona"
Beirut Indymedia

An allegedly anarchist "small, handmade bomb exploded today outside the Italian Cultural Institute in Barcelona, injuring a policeman and killing a bomb-sniffing dog", the Italian Embassy and Spanish officials said.

The bomb was identified as a "Coffee Pot (mocha or Kafeta) with wires sticking out placed at the enterance of the institute" media reported.

Media reported on the account of the Spanish authorities and the Italian ambassador that the explosion went off as the dog and his policeman were checking it after a call from the employees at the institute. The authorities reported that that policeman is slightly injured! The Labrador dog is yet another victim of the cruel exploitation of animals on the hands of the corporate world and the state and its repressive clusters.

New Issue of ephemera on "The Politics of Social Forums"

Hello from Edinburgh; where the state of emergency of today's political situation becomes very apparent.

The new issue of 'ephemera: theory & politics in organization' tries to be a minor intervention in this very situation by focusing on the organisation and politics of social forums, which have become one of the most popular alternatives to the illegitimacy of political spaces such as the G8.

The Carnival of Values and the Exchange Value of Carnival

The Commoner

In this issue of The Commoner we are beginning to clear a path (or maybe several paths) out of the dust emerging from the front line, and try to make sense of what is the reason for the smoke and sparks. We see a strange phenomenon occurring: what we practice is often not what we value and what we value is often not what we practice (and in saying this let us not forget that “practice” means many diverse things: work, shopping, eating, filling forms, writing, taking the train, watching the telly, harvesting a crop, reading, struggling, changing nappies ... and each and one of these involve direct or indirect relations to the “other”).

John Bissett writes:

“Capitalism and Other Kids’ Stuff”

“Capitalism and Other Kids’ Stuff” – a popular new film, which argues the anti-capitalist case in simple language, and which has won much acclaim in recent months — is now re-edited and can be viewed and downloaded as a BitTorrent at www.socialist-tv.com

The film, made by 4 members of the Socialist Party in the UK, is 52 minutes in duration and, beginning with a look at how we treat our children, explains in non-jargonised terms, the insanity of a system that places profit before human need.

This version of the film is a re-edited version of the original that was produced in March, and contains a lot of imagery not seen in the first version.

"Writer and Activist Marty Jezer Dies"

Randy Holhut, Brattleboro Reformer

Brattleboro, Vermont — Journalist, political activist and author Marty Jezer died Saturday morning at the age of 64 at his Prospect Street home, after a long fight against testicular cancer.

The writer and activist part of Jezer's life is storied. He was deeply involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements in the 1960s.

His biographies — Abbie Hoffman: American Rebel (1992) and Rachel Carson: Biologist and Author (1988) — and his 1982 history of post-World War II America, The Dark Ages: Life in the United States 1945–1960, are notable works of scholarship.

Daybreak Anarchist Collective writes:

Daybreak 6 Now Out!

Daybreak is a 12 page anarchist tabloid put out from Minneapolis. Issue #6 has been on the streets for a couple weeks but is just now finding its way onto cyberspace. All writings are anti-copyright and can be distributed through independent media. The PDF can also be downloaded and printed out on 11 x 17 paper.

This issue contains articles on transit cuts, the attacks on the Pine Island Bog, DIY advice, record and zine reviews, anti-police info, and the usual low theory you've come to expect from us

Viva writes:

"Mistaken Identity: Sikhs in America"

Winner of three first prize awards at documentary film festivals "Mistaken Identity: Sikhs in America" is a 9/11 story of the racial profiling, verbal abuse and physical assaults and killing on American Sikhs. Mistaken for terrorists because of the turban and beard, which they wear for religious reasons, Sikhs are being shot and killed to date.

Film was produced by two non-Sikh women, 22-year old Amanda Gesine who hosted and initiated the idea one week after 9/11. She never had a Sikh friend in school or college, and felt that racial profiling was due to "ignorance and fear."

Check out websites: www.cultural-diversity.biz.co.uk, www.mistakenidentity.tv; and www.mi-sia.com where you can review 3 min of film on streaming video and buy VHS/DVD via Pay Pal.

hydrarchist writes:
Imc Italy seized? Bah!

At the moment, Indymedia Italy site can be accessed, no matter the attack (DDOS) that's targetting the server since May 1st, no matter the press agencies claiming the site has already been seized. Again. Few months have passed since FBI seized the hard disks of the server that hosted IMC Italy, and on the same day that the high court declared that crimes against catholic religion are punishable no more than crimes against other religions are, a zealous public prosecutor from Rome, Salvatore Vitello, charges Indymedia Italy with the crimes of offence to catholic religion and personal offences to the Pope, asking for the shutdown of the IMC.

Anonymous Comrade writes
Bored by the prospect of another May Day “celebration” that threatens to be neither enjoyable nor interesting, a few radicals in Portland, Oregon have decided to shake things up as they can. Rather than using this coming May Day as a means to “speak truth to power”—those at the reigns of power are our enemies, and we do not address ourselves to them—we have decided to speak instead with those struggling each day against the conditions imposed by our society, those who, like us, feel the need for revolt.

As one small contribution to such a discussion, we have prepared a pamphlet of radical anti-capitalist, anti-state perspectives. We will distribute this pamphlet at May Day events in Portland. We also plan to talk face-to-face, play, enjoy ourselves and generally not act like oh-so-serious militants or political missionaries. None of us believe that we have final answers; we’re simply putting our perspectives out there in the hopes that they will inspire further thought, discussion, and action against the capitalist order.

Our pamphlet includes an article on the revolutionary history of May Day that challenges leftist mythologies surrounding this day; information on the May 4th day of action for the “Aachen Four” anarchist prisoners in Germany; musings on class, alienation and revolt; and a reprint of “Some Notes on Insurrectionary Anarchism” from Killing King Abacus #2. The pamphlet is available online as a .pdf file here:
http://www.socialwar.net/main/mayday.pdf

We encourage comrades in other locations to print and distribute this document as part of their own May Day celebrations. We hope that it provokes dialogue, critical exchanges, and action to transform our world.

Feel free to circulate the pamphlet link widely.

In revolt –

Troublemakers somewhere in Portland"