Priscilla Grim writes

Enter your comments into the FCC public record!

Last month AIVF filed (along with a coalition of other organizations) for an extension for the public commentary period on the Biennial Regulatory Review of Ownership Rules for Broadcasters. The extension has been granted, and now you have the opportunity to file comments to curb media concentration.

The Bomb Project writes "The Bomb Project is a comprehensive on-line compendium of nuclear-related links, imagery and documentation. It is intended specifically as a resource for artists, and encourages those working in all media, from net.art, film and video, eco-intervention and site-specific installation to more traditional forms of agitprop, to use this site to search for raw material. The Bomb Project has gathered together links to nuclear image archives (still and moving), historical documents, current news, NGOs and activist organizations as well as government labs and arms treaties. It makes accessible the declassified files and graphic documentation produced by the nuclear industry itself, providing a context for comparative study, analysis and creativity.

The Bomb Project
http://www.thebombproject.org"

nomadlab writes

"The Australian Federal Government plans to stop Australians gaining access to websites used to organise protests.

The move is part of a major crackdown on Internet-assisted crime.
Justice Minister Chris Ellison, acting on a request from NSW Police Minister Michael Costa, will look at upgrading federal powers to block certain websites.
A police ministers meeting in Darwin this week agreed it was "unacceptable websites advocating or facilitating violent protest action be accessible from Australia".

The Internet regulator, the Australian Broadcasting Authority, only last week decided not to block access to websites organising protests for the World Trade Organisation meeting in Sydney.

more info on the Queensland Courier Mail and on slashdot

The Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based Arts has set the
goal for itself of promoting the wide development, application and
distribution of, and reflection on new technologies in the visual arts.

Starting in 2002, the Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo/Time Based
Arts is inviting artists from The Netherlands and other countries to apply
for a three till six months research period to carrying out investigations
in three areas:


Streaming media

Wireless applications

3D applications


In 2002 and 2003 we are focussing on streaming media. One of the current
disadvantages of live and on-demand streaming media on the Internet (video /
audio) is the confined space in which streaming media applications run.
Often this is not more than a linear interpolation of current video and
television formats in existence. This is emphasised by the media player,
which often is no more than a representation of a television only with low
quality imagery and sound. This confinement is a restriction for creating
and investigating new formats for streaming media.

The Fall issue of Onward is out now! This issue features a Sept. 11
anniversary statement by the Revolutionary Association of the Women of
Afghanistan, information on the Plan Pueblo Panama and on the US PATRIOT
Act, and news from around the world! We devote much space to anarchist
and other radical organizations, highlight two new anti-authoritarian
(con)federations in North America and several existing groups: an
important analysis of the Challenging White Supremacy workshop in San
Francisco; a special look at Argentina's popular rebellion, and a look
at the problems and prospects of broad-based movement building in
Ontario.

"New Media Culture in India

A Visit to the Sarai New Media Initiative"

Delhi, October 2002

By Geert Lovink,nettime

[Editor's Note: Sarai publications are available through Autonomedia's on-line bookstore: Autonomedia]

A year and a half after the new media centre Sarai opened, I returned to
Delhi, curious to meet new staff and see how projects have evolved.[i] The
centre is a buzzing hub, full of energy. During the six days of my stay I
only got a glimpse of what is going on. I will not attempt to sum up all the
projects that Sarai is initiating and facilitating but will briefly go
through a few of the activities and feature a subjective melange of
projects — and people — that I became familiar with during my stay.

Alf Heben aufheben writes:

Aufheben #11 (2003) is now available. Contents:

'Picket and pot-banger together': Class re-composition
in Argentina?
Reports on the Argentinian movements over the last 12
months have been scattered between the issue of the
national debt and the IMF, the struggles of the middle
classes, the 'piqueteros' unemployed movement, and the
generalized 'rejection of politics'. How do all these
aspects fit together - do the various struggles in
Argentina constitute a proletarian attack against
capital? Is the 'rejection of politics' a radical
advance for the movement, or an expression of
sectional fragmentation? We suggest that the
'neo-liberal' attack has resulted in a massification
of the class in which the middle classes are being
absorbed into the proletariat. This is happening in
specific conditions of a country on the periphery of
capital, where an immediately social mobilization
around the neighbourhood is possible. We examine the
history of Argentina to explain the origins of the
current situation.

derive approdi writes:

Open letter from "DeriveApprodi" to the European movements

At the beginning of November, as decided during the Porto Alegre meeting,
the "European Social Forum" will convene in Florence. That Italy hosts the
meeting is particularly significant, since it is here that the impetus, that
began during the anti-WTO demonstrations in Seattle in November 1999, has
resounded more strongly than in any other European country. The profile of
the anti-capitalist movement, its modes of organisation and expression have
been entirely redefined. The Genoa protests of July 2001 have not only
constituted the highest point of the "global movement" in quantitative
terms. They also have had concrete consequences for the history of Italian
politics. Despite the reverberation of September 11th, a new movement has
formed that has expressed itself at both the national and the local level,
through campaigns against war, against the repression of social movements
and for the rights of migrants. This has frequently resulted in the forging
of new relationships with diverse political actors, such as the trade unions
at the forefront of the struggle for the defence of workers rights,
currently coming under attack from a right-wing government.

Notes on the US Left

Julio Huato, October 14, 2002

Introduction

On 10/6/02 I went to the Not-In-Our-Name rally in NYC Central Park's East
Meadow. According to some, there was a crowd of about 25 thousand demanding
to stop the war on Iraq and the violations of individual liberties at home.
Not bad, if viewed in context. A step in the right direction. It has great
potential, but I'd like to focus here on the challenges as future
demonstrations are being planned.

[1] A Critical Assessment of the Peace Rally

The last two paragraphs in the New York Times' note about the rally are very
telling:

First, the fatalistic quote attributed to a New York University professor:
<"Maybe," she said, "something has to start before it can be stopped."> She
referred, apparently, to the war on Iraq.

Then, the words by the Bard College student: <"It's like pop culture,
concentrated teen angst," she said of the rally. "The rhetoric is too
heavy-handed. That's the problem with American activists. They need to
simplify." Someone on stage railed against police brutality and she rolled
her eyes.>

Actually, these two things go together: (1) our ability to actually change
US policy in a reasonable period of time and (2) the composition and tone of
the movement.

In my opinion, besides the lack of focus exhibited at the rally, the tone
was set to a large extent by the apparently radical youth. In the second
part of the rally, most speeches I heard were of this type. Of course, the
participation of young people is necessary -- it must be welcomed and
encouraged. But if we expect working-class and middle-class Americans to
shift on to the left and approach the views of dyed-haired,
pierced-and-tatooed college students about this matter of grave concern
then, indeed, the war will start and go on (and may even finish) before that
happens.

In fact, the only way I can imagine for that to happen is if the war goes
on for a long while and begins to turn in a steady stream of US casualties.
That's a big if. And who desires such a thing? Not me.

Iraq is not Vietnam. In my view, the argument against the war on Iraq is
not that it will prove costly or impossible for the US to pull off. I think
the US alone can win the war and overthrow Saddam at a relatively low cost.
The issue is not that the US cannot. The issue is that the US should not!
But even if Iraq were like Vietnam (Kristoff in the New York Times warns
that people in Iraq will fight back). Still, if we wait for "average"
Americans to radicalize, by then a lot of the damage would have been done
already.

No. The movement has to be much broader to succeed. In fact, only until
the parents of those college kids that were cursing yesterday from the stage
(i.e., people who work, are taxed, vote regularly, and fund political
campaigns) take action massively, a change in policy will be effected.
Otherwise it won't or it'll take much longer. The argument, tone, and style
of the movement have to adjust to appeal to these people. The sooner we
realize that, the better.

Working-class and middle-class Americans will actively oppose the current
policies, foreign and domestic, if they perceive their interests to be
threatened by such policies. And, in my opinion, it is very clear that
their interests, both in the short and long run, are jeopardized by the Bush
doctrine abroad and the Ashcroft doctrine at home. In spite of the
relatively low turnout at the rally, I believe a great deal of Americans are
ready to embrace this. I believe, they just need a more cogent rationale.

The case can be made that waging a war on Iraq will not help things in the
short run and will prove disastrous in the long run. Maybe the case has to
be made in layers, on different levels, adjusted to different audiences.
There are issues that cannot be ignored. For example, the rationale has to
state how specifically the US should deal with Saddam's threat (which does
exist, particularly to people in the Middle East).

To give an outrageous example of what I have in mind, consider
BusinessWeek. In its last issue, the magazine ran an editorial criticizing
the US unilateralism. It was not a very shy critique considering its
source. This week's issue will feature an excerpt from a book by Jeffrey
Garten, The Politics of Fortune. This book is a critique of the Bush
unilateralist doctrine in foreign policy from the perspective of American
capitalists. Garten is no lefty. In fact, he is an academic at Yale and
worked for Kissinger and Cyrus Vance in the past. (Upon request I'll send
the BusinessWeek's piece titled "A Foreign Policy Harmful to Business.")

We all know what an average reader of BusinessWeek magazine looks like.
That's why, in my opinion, in the political debate, arguments like Garten's
pull a lot of weight. These opinions are seriously pondered by the average
BusinessWeek reader. Again, radical college students and the old Left
should not be dismissed. For now, they are a catalytic force. Let's hope
they don't drag the movement backwards in the coming months. The immediate
goal is to switch the country's policy tracks. In order to do that, the
Left cannot afford to reject allies like Garten, that is, if it wants to
win.

But why should we try to attract people with liberal inclinations instead
of appealing to people with radical inclinations? Shifting the tone towards
liberalism will put off the latter and it may not attract the former. Well,
the left has to take the chances if it wants to get anything done.

snufkin9 writes "Daybreak! #3 is out!
Your favorite regional anarchist newspaper is now out and ready to be distributed all over the Midwest!

This issue is the best yet, including; Who Killed the Family Farm, Residents Riot Against Killer Cops, anti-war editorial, anti-police stuff, our endorsement of the Minnesota Twins, an update on community gardens, intl news, local anarchist history (of revolutionary anarchist Bowling League), prisoner support page, DIY page, book zines and music reviews, a little fiction, as well as an amazing crossword.

We're trying to make distribution more decentralized so

1) if you live in the Twin Cities: You can pick Daybreak! up at one of the hubs where we dump alot of copies. North Country Co-op, Hard Times Cafe, Seward Cafe, Arise! Bookstore, Fine Grind, Eclipse Records, Resource Center of the Americas, 5th Element, Big Brain Comics, Dreamhaven books. Please take as many of these as you can use, hand them out to interested people on the street, or put a couple copies in places where they won't get thrown out (liquor stores, high schools, community centers, cafes...). We're trying to reach a big audience here so please help us!

2) If you live anywhere else: Send 1$ for one issue but please consider distributing more for us. We still need locals to take responsibility for handing Daybreak! out in their towns and rural areas! Contact us and we'll send you a box! Or send us a contact who'd be willing to take them for us.

Donations are needed! We put this free paper out relying mostly on benifits and donations, please consider subscribing as we're still way in the debt for this issue. 10$ for 4 issues (No Checks)

Daybreak!
Po Box 14007
Minneapolis MN 55404
daybreak@tao.ca
www.freespeech.org/mn/daybreak"