Intelligence must become self-conscious, realise its own power, and, on a global scale, transcending functions that are no longer appropriate, dare to exercise it. History will not overthrow national governments; it will outflank them. The cultural revolt is the necessary underpinning, the passionate substructure of a new order of things. — Alexander Trocchi
Thursday, June 30, 2011
In Tunisia, Women Play Equal Role In Revolution
“Women in Tunisia are unique in the Arab world for enjoying near equality with men. And they are anxious to maintain their status.”
@NPR
Public Workers Strike in Britain Over Pensions
“Joining a growing wave of unrest in Europe over government austerity measures, tens of thousands of British teachers and public-sector workers walked off their jobs on Thursday to protest proposed changes to their pension plans.
“More than 10,000 schools were affected by the strikes, as were universities, social security offices, courtrooms, airport customs desks and other governent operations. Union officials warned that the strike could be the first of a series of walkouts here in the next few months, reflecting growing unhappiness over layoffs, salary freezes, tax increases and a persistently sluggish economy.”
@The New York Times
US extends drone strikes to Somalia
US extends drone strikes to Somalia
First drone strike in Somalia reported to have wounded senior al-Shabab militants.
The US has conducted its first drone strike on Islamist militants in Somalia, marking the expansion of the pilotless war campaign to a sixth country.
Declan Walsh
@The Guardian
Fighting Wars With Music and Art
Katibe 5: Rapping Against Occupation from Cultures of Resistance on Vimeo.
“Out this week on DVD, director Iara Lee's new documentary, Cultures of Resistance, serves as a sharp reminder that at any given moment, a sobering portion of the world is embroiled in political turmoil. The film hops us from one fraught location to the next, showing the graphic truths of oppression, civil war, and industrialization. Lee's purpose, though, is not to send you into a permanent funk, but to highlight artistic forms of resistance and protest all over the globe.”
@Mother Jones
Nostalgia (for an age yet to come)
“Hauntology is probably the first major trend in critical theory to have flourished online. In October 2006, Mark Fisher—aka k-punk—described it as ‘the closest thing we have to a movement, a zeitgeist’. A mere three years later, Adam Harper prefaced a piece on the subject with the following caveat: ‘I'm all too aware that it's no longer 2006, the year to blog about hauntology’. Two months ago, James Bridle predicted that the concept was ‘about six months away from becoming the title of a column in a Sunday supplement magazine’. Only four months to go, then. My hunch is that hauntology is already haunting itself. The revival starts here.”
@The Guardian
The New Panopticon
“This paper is an attempt to describe what the panopticon model is and to provide support that elements of the panopticon model inherently exist in the structure of the Internet. This paper provides examples of how Internet user’s privacy is being overlooked in order for certain corporations to provide declared necessary services such as security against terrorists and hackers, control over illegal content (pornography, pirated computer, music, and film files, and dangerous information on how to build bombs etc.). Still, it remains too early to say that any kind of organized conspiracy exists with the goal to strip Internet users of their rights and monitor every interaction.”
@Theory & Science