copyriot writes:

"'Content Flatrate' and the Social Democrats"

Rasmus Fleisher

Recently, the communities of IP critics and P2P filesharers has been hit by a wave of demands for an "alternative compensation system". June 2004 was a month of European breakthrough for the idea of "content flatrate", as a solution intended to save filesharing, whilst "compensating" copyright holders who feel that their traditional means of income are slipping out of hand due to technological development.

Here I will discuss this new tendency, its premises, weaknesses and its relation to anti-copyright-activism, polemically arguing that "flatrateism" is a mistake. My observations are based mainly on German discussions, but also on Swedish, French and American proposals of "alternative compensation systems".

A Secret Conference Thought to Rule the World

Alan Cowell & David M. Halbfinger, New York Times

Since its first meeting 50 years ago, the Bilderberg conference, a secretive gathering of global power brokers, has inspired layer upon layer of conspiracy theories, which it has done little to dispute. Over the years, the deeds laid at the conference's devious door have included the creation of the European Union, the invasion of Iraq and the bombing of Serbia — all to service its most cherished goal: the creation of a world government.

The conspiracy theories bubbled to the surface anew last week, after it was reported that a well-received speech by Senator John Edwards at the conference last month in Stresa, Italy, was one reason for his selection as John Kerry's vice-presidential running mate.

Yoshie Furuhashi writes:

"Why Does 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Pursue Conspiracy Theory?"

Yoshie Furuhashi, Critical Montages

Some left-wing viewers of Fahrenheit 9/11 — perhaps out of wishful thinking? — believe that the film makes an argument that Riyadh and Washington "have collaborated for decades in a violent project of repression" (Doug Henwood, LBO-talk, July 9, 2004) based only on well-checked facts provided by credible experts (Dennis Redmond, LBO-talk, July 9, 2004).

I wish that Fahrenheit 9/11 made such an argument, but it doesn't.

bhagat writes:

The article below is by Martin Rosenberg, Ph.D., a scholar of science, technology and culture living in the Pittsburgh area. I know it's a few weeks old now, but Martin is currently working on a new article about the CAE case, and so any comments from this audience would be much appreciated. The upcoming article, which will appear in one of the major Boston papers, makes an argument about the CAE case transforming the entire Ashcroft Justice Department into a conceptual art piece. Maybe a draft of the next piece will get posted here? — Lex

"The Paranoid Persecution of Steve Kurtz"
Martin E. Rosenberg, Pittsburgh Post Gazette

For the past month, artists, scientists, academics and others interested in freedom of thought and expression have had their eyes on Buffalo and a bizarre grand jury investigation into the case of The Artists Who Play With Petri Dishes.

The case involves a heart attack victim, and then a range of claims and denials: wrongful death by bacterial infection, possession of biological agents suitable for warfare, public health threats, terrorism, sedition, artistic freedom and First Amendment violations, paranoid McCarthyism and Keystone Cops shenanigans. Artists and scientists are so united in outcry that you would think that C.P. Snow had never written his "Two Cultures" thesis that in the modern world, never the twain shall meet. The Bill of Rights makes for strange bedfellows.

"Tandem Surfing the Third Wave:

Critical Art Ensemble and Tactical Media Production"

Ryan Griffis, Lumpen

This interview (from 2001) with Critical Art Ensemble was the first part of a series of investigations into collaborative/group artistic practice taking place in, and critical of, the e-conomy. Critical Art Ensemble (CAE), a collective of five artists working since 1987, produces cultural products ranging from books to Web projects to performances that investigate moments in art, technology, activism, and critical theory.

Ryan Griffis: How did CAE come to be a working group?

Critical Art Ensemble: It's too bad CAE has no heroic formation story about a grand international like the one the Situationists are often mythologized as having. CAE's story is much more mundane. We were students looking to develop a network that would have a cultural impact-some way of organizing that would give us enough financial, hardware, and labor resources that we could begin to construct a platform for a public voice. Collective activity seemed (and still seems) to be the best option.

"South America's New Revolt"

Chris Harman, Socialist Review, July, 2004

Nearly four decades after the murder of Che Guevara, a new ferment of
revolt is beginning to spread across South America. Three governments have
been driven out in three years — in Ecuador, Argentina and Bolivia — by
spontaneous uprisings. In Peru the Toledo government that took office after
the fall of the Fujimori near-dictatorship is being shaken by recurrent
rebellion against its economic policies. In Brazil discontent with the
policies of the Workers Party government of Lula elected just 20 months ago
is giving birth to new left currents. And in Venezuela the intense political
polarisation of the whole country after the two failed attempts to overthrow
the government of Hugo Chavez seems likely to come to a head in the next few
weeks.

"Emancipation"

Brian Holmes

"L'amour est la seule passion qui se paye d'une monnaie qu'elle fabrique elle-même." ( "Love is the only passion that pays for itself in a currency of its own fabrication.") — Stendhal

The "world market." Never have two words encompassed such promise. Power. Pleasure. Ubiquity. Freedom. And it's no illusion. The world market can get you that — if you obey its injunction. To distinguish yourself from the others. To stand apart. To rise above. To become the sovereign individual.

What is the paradox of the market individual? To conform — through uniqueness and originality — to the perverse law of value which gives rarity its price. Within the world market, amidst the abundance of power, pleasure, ubiquity and freedom, each rare and precious individual has a price — on their head.

"A Deafening Silence of Meaning"

John Chuckman

Recently, John Kerry and his wife held a barbecue at the Pennsylvania White House. Never heard of the Pennsylvania White House? It's actually the homestead of Kerry's wife, a white-columned mansion on a tailored estate outside Pittsburgh built from the proceeds of a billion cans of spaghetti and bottles of ketchup. Kerry wants everyone to know he's an ordinary guy so he's holding barbecues these days instead of crystal-and-candlelight dinners. People who normally never would get past the front gate have now been allowed on the rolled greens to chomp hot dogs.

"Why Stephen Harper Lost:

Reflections on an Interesting Canadian Election"

John Chuckman

Hubris played an important role in the recent Canadian election.

Paul Martin's assumption of power, after pushing aside a popular and successful, though aging, Liberal leader, was disconcerting to many. Then, despite Martin's reputation as an able technocrat in Jean Chretien's cabinet, he quickly demonstrated he was not an apt public speaker. It was not just the manner of his speech, but its content, often repeating generalities heard many times about new tax revenue for cities.

Yoshie Furuhashi writes "

How did the David Cobb/Pat LaMarche ticket receive the Green Party nomination? And what does it mean for the Green Party in particular and American politics in general? My conclusion is that the so-called "red states" Greens, by rejecting Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo campaign, diminished the Green Party's own strength in the "safe state" of California, ironically without helping the pro-war Democratic Party candidate John Kerry (despite the hope of the Cobb/LaMarche faction) in the most crucial "swing states": Ohio (20 electors/3.6% victory margin in 2000), Florida (27/0.0%), Pennsylvania (21/4.1%), and Michigan (17/5.1%).

California Green Al Sheahen reported that "The geographic voting was striking. The big industrial states of MA, CA, MI, MD, NJ, NY, and PA cast a combined 181 votes for Nader and 91 for Cobb -- a 2-1 ratio. The southern states of AL, AR, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, and VA cast a combined 99 votes for Cobb, but only 13 for Nader -- a 9-1 ratio" (June 27, 2004, republished at GreenAllianceUSA@yahoogroups.com, June 28, 2004).