June 2011 - P2P-Foundation - lists.ourproject.org

Fwd: [opennetcoalition] UN Report on Freedom of Expression Bashes G8, ACTA, Hadopi.
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: La Quadrature du Net <jz(a)laquadrature.net> Date: Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 3:44 PM Subject: [opennetcoalition] UN Report on Freedom of Expression Bashes G8, ACTA, Hadopi. To: opennetcoalition(a)laquadrature.net La Quadrature du Net - For immediate release Permanent link: http://www.laquadrature.net/en/un-report-on-freedom-of-expression-bashes-g8… UN Report on Freedom of Expression Bashes G8, ACTA, Hadopi. *** Paris, June 3rd 2011 – A report on Internet policy by the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of freedom of opinion and expression will be presented today. The report's guidelines aimed at protecting fundamental freedoms clash radically with the course set by governments of the G8. This report will be essential to help citizens hold their governments accountable for policies undermining online freedoms. *** The Report [1] of the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, brilliantly draws the lines governments should not cross in order to protect citizens' fundamental rights and democracy. Alarmingly, most of the governments harmful policies regarding the Internet adopted lately [2] are in clear contradiction with the report's conclusions: * The report states that governments should not make Internet intermediaries liable for their users' activities [3]. Such condemnation of private censorship blatantly conflicts with he G8's conclusions, which called for internet actors to implement measures to “prevent future copyright infringements”. * These conclusions regarding the role of intermediaries are also in total contradiction with the new EU Copyright Policy and the ACTA agreement – soon to be signed and put to vote before the European Parliament. Through the imposition of broad new criminal sanctions, ACTA would force Internet companies to police their networks and their services' users [4]. * Among other recommendations, the report requests that the French government withdraw its infamous Hadopi “three strikes” legislation [5] and that the UK governments withdraw the Digital Economy Act. * The report condemns censorship of content as a dangerous and inefficient measure [6]. It opposes the kind of administrative censorship currently being implemented in France, or proposed at the EU level. “The UN report on Freedom of Expression online is a blow to the G8 governments, the European Commissioner Michel Barnier, and the governments involved in negotiating the ACTA agreement, as they all plan to turn Internet companies into a private copyright police. The UN Special Rapporteur Frank La Rue affirms that Freedom of Expression is more important than copyright, and should be protected at all cost, in authoritarian regimes as well as in democracies. Citizens of the world should be inspired by this report and hold their governments accountable for their policies that undermine the Internet and our freedoms.” concludes Jérémie Zimmermann, spokesperson for citizen organization La Quadrature du Net. * Références * 1. see the report at: http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/14session/A.HRC.14.23.p… 2. Governmental attempts to control the Internet are multiplying in all geographical areas: the US Governments' reaction to WikiLeaks and takedowns of domain names in the name of copyright; the Egyptian black-out of the Net; censorship of web content happening all over Europe; the talks of creating a “Great European firewall”, the ACTA agreement turning Internet service providers into a private copyright police, etc. 3. 40. [...] Holding intermediaries liable for the content disseminated or created by their users severely undermines the enjoyment of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, because it leads to self-protective and over-broad private censorship, often without transparency and the due process of the law. 42. [...] Furthermore, intermediaries, as private entities, are not best placed to make the determination of whether a particular content is illegal, which requires careful balancing of competing interests and consideration of defences. 47. [...] To avoid infringing the right to freedom of expression and the right to privacy of Internet users, the Special Rapporteur recommends intermediaries to: only implement restrictions to these rights after judicial intervention; be transparent to the user involved about measures taken, and where applicable to the wider public; provide, if possible, forewarning to users before the implementation of restrictive measures; and minimize the impact of restrictions strictly to the content involved. Finally, there must be effective remedies for affected users, including the possibility of appeal through the procedures provided by the intermediary and by a competent judicial authority. 4. The Special Rapporteur says that he “remains watchful about the treaty’s eventual implications for intermediary liability and the right to freedom of expression”. 5. 79. [...] the Special Rapporteur urges States to repeal or amend existing intellectual copyright laws which permit users to be disconnected from Internet access, and to refrain from adopting such laws. 6. 70. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned by increasingly sophisticated blocking or filtering mechanisms used by States for censorship. The lack of transparency surrounding these measures also makes it difficult to ascertain whether blocking or filtering is really necessary for the purported aims put forward by States. As such, the Special Rapporteur calls upon States that currently block websites to provide lists of blocked websites and full details regarding the necessity and justification for blocking each individual website. An explanation should also be provided on the affected websites as to why they have been blocked. Any determination on what content should be blocked must be undertaken by a competent judicial authority or a body which is independent of any political, commercial, or other unwarranted influences. ** About la Quadrature du Net ** La Quadrature du Net is an advocacy group that promotes the rights and freedoms of citizens on the Internet. More specifically, it advocates for the adaptation of French and European legislations to respect the founding principles of the Internet, most notably the free circulation of knowledge. In addition to its advocacy work, the group also aims to foster a better understanding of legislative processes among citizens. Through specific and pertinent information and tools, La Quadrature du Net hopes to encourage citizens' participation in the public debate on rights and freedoms in the digital age. La Quadrature du Net is supported by French, European and international NGOs including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Open Society Institute and Privacy International. List of supporting organisations : http://www.laquadrature.net/en/they-support-squaring-net-la-quadrature-du-n… ** Press contact and press room ** Jérémie Zimmermann, jz(a)laquadrature.net, +33 (0)615 940 675 http://www.laquadrature.net/en/press-room _______________________________________________ Opennetcoalition mailing list Opennetcoalition(a)laquadrature.net http://laquadrature.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/opennetcoalition -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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spanish storify
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

hi chris/amaia, can you look at this as well, http://solomonsmindfield.blogspot.com/2011/05/spanish-revolution-storifyto-… worth embedding or reselecting from, for continued coverage in our own blog? Michel -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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#europeanrevolution Assembly of Syntagma Square (Greece)
by Synnove Mathe 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

http://real-democracy.gr/en/vote-peoples-assembly-syntagma-square -- Synnöve

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Re: [P2P-F] How the 'ecosystem' myth has been used for sinister means
by Sy 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

I've just been blogging about the 2nd part of All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace (Adam Curtis's new documentary)... http://mediaecologies.wordpress.com/2011/06/01/the-use-and-abuse-of-cyberne… Generally I quite like Adam Curtis's documentaries. I admire the fact that at a time where expository documentaries presenting wide scale socio-cultural arguments are hugely out of fashion he makes films which probe big issues around power, politics and history. I hugely enjoy the aestheitc of his work, the heavy usage of archival material to visually illustrate the points the narration makes. In All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace I also particularly enjoyed the soundtrack (it was mainly a collection of Nine Inch Nails material) which combined excellently with the visual material to provide an affectively potent piece of media. However while I found the argument made in part one of the documentary to be somewhat partial and lacking, I was immensely disappointed by the contents of the second part. The central argument the documentary makes is that from the 1950?s onwards there was a movement which began with cybernetics and sought to reduce humans to mere nodes in complex networks of matter and energy rather than following the enlightenment view that humans were distinct from the rest of the world, and unlike the determinate automatons of nature, that humans and humans alone possessed free will. Curtis appears to regard this idea as a dangerous proposition which de-emphasised the sanctity of individualism, and which undermines analyses of power and politics presenting instead the notion that systems can self-organise without a command and control hierarchy being in place. Now the first thing which is crucial to point is that the Enlightnement view of humans as being ontologically distinct from the rest of the natural world as championed by Curtis is of course complete nonsense. It is based on on the nature/culture dualism which has roots in monotheistic theology and has no basis in fact. The notion which stemmed from the cyberneticists that humans, other living creatures, and machines could be understood as complex systems governed by circular causality -- that is, feedback -- is not a dangerous ideological myth, it is factually correct. The utility of the cybernetics movement, and indeed the disciplines which grew out of it such as systems biology, complexity theory, autopoiesis, connectionist AI, cognitive sciences etc all did so because the basic premises that feedback is a crucial process in dynamic systems was correct. One of the places where Curtis goes hopelessly wrong was his definition of feedback. Curtis explored negative, or self corrective feedback, which was one of the two types of feedback loop discovered by the cyberneticists but completely omits positive feedback from the film. While the majority of the early cybernetics was dominated by issues around reducing noise through negative feedbacks, positive feedback has played a crucial role in contemporary understandings of how change occurs in dynamic systems, particularly within the domains of chaos theory, complexity theory and nonlinear dynamics. Indeed, current understandings of open systems, systems which are dynamically balanced at a point far from equilibrium, and maintain this dynamic balance through taking in flows of energy (such as food for many living systems) are largely predicated on knowledge which can be traced back to cybernetics. Yet Curtis's film fails to mention anything about this. Probably because it totally undercuts the narrative he portrays. What makes this ironic is that while claiming that the natural world is too complex for the analyses derived from cybernetics to provide useful models, we see images of swarming creatures to illustrate this argument. Swarming is of course an emergent behaviour which can be simulated and replicated using just three very simple rules; 1) Keep moving in the same direction as your neighbours 2) Keep close to your neighbours 3) Avoid colliding with your neighbours. This is a classic example of the kind of self-organisation which Curtis is trying to argue does not occur. Similarly Curtis goes on to argue that unlike humans, who have free will and so can make choices, machines are purely determinate automatons, whose every action can be predicted. Which is true of many kinds of simple, linear and closed machines. But which is clearly not true of cellular automata, artificial neural networks or other systems which are based on emergence. Presumably the reason these types of system are not mentioned is that they would undercut the nature/culture dualism Curtis seeks to maintain which imbues humans with special properties not found elsewhere in the universe. While the majority of the film presenting a very misleading picture of the legacy of cybernetics, the final section then deals with alleged examples of contemporary self-organising systems and protest movements. Which was so utterly woeful that it actually made the rest of the film appear competent. I was expecting to see the Zapatistas, the alternative globalisation movement, the Peoples Global Assembly, the World Social Forum or a range of other organisations who have organised in non-hierarchical ways to present a political alternative to the discredited radical politics of Leninist vanguardism, whereby a small elite violently seizes power in order to then create an egalitarian democracy. The motivation behind the movements which have used these types of democratic, grassroots organisation to mobilise pro-democracy movements has largely been to organise in a way that reflects the kind of politics a group seeks to achieve, rather than to attempt to create an egalitarian society via dictatorship. So what did Curtis have to say about this? Sadly the answer was nothing. Instead of focussing on the methods of these types of movement we instead were told that the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine was an example of self-organisation and a leaderless nonhierarchical movment. The Orange movement was in fact a movement heavily funded by groups such as the US State Department, who according to the Guardian had spent $67 million in the Ukraine in the two years before the disputed Presidential run off. It was a 'leaderless' 'self-organising' movement which was centred around trying to get one particular corrupt political candidate, Viktor Yuchenko, elected over a rival, corrupt political candidate, Viktor Yanukovich. Largely it was a struggle between the western half of the country, aided by western governments who wanted Yuchenko to prevail pitted against the eastern half of the country and Russia who wanted Yanukovich to prevail. In other words it had nothing to do with spontaneous self-organisation, non-hierarchy or systems thinking. It was a great example of corrupt politics as usual. The only reason I can muster for Curtis to use such a ridiculously awful example to illustrate the point is that using a more relevant example would have undercut the epic narrative he sought to explicate. Which ultimately is a big part of why the kind of grand narrative based expository documentary is so out of fashion, while its easy to make a compelling argument based on affective manipulation through audiovisual means, an hour (or even three one hour parts) just isn't enough time to really explore complex issues in any amount of depth. Which means that documentary filmmakers end up creating narratives which are hugely misleading, which is exactly what Curtis does here. Sy Message: 2 Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 01:23:03 -0400 From: Samuel Rose <samuel.rose(a)gmail.com> Subject: Re: [P2P-F] How the 'ecosystem' myth has been used for sinister means To: Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> Cc: P2P Foundation mailing list <p2p-foundation(a)lists.ourproject.org>, "Paul B. Hartzog" <paulbhartzog(a)gmail.com>, Andy Robinson <ldxar1(a)gmail.com> Message-ID: <BANLkTimhtVSc=tymvo=O8f9dORtVBDH3+w(a)mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 I made it out alive. We lost power for a couple of days. I just sent a response even before I read this request that I send a response :) As such, my response was not all that great. On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 1:40 AM, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> wrote: > > Sam, > > > > I hope you survived the tornado? > > > > I hope some of our participants can react to this very interesting challenge > > from Adam Curtis in the Guardian, > > > > Michel > > > > On Sun, May 29, 2011 at 9:50 PM, Kevin Flanagan<kev.flanagan(a)gmail.com> > > wrote: >> >> >> >> How the 'ecosystem' myth has been used for sinister means - Adam >> >> Curtis - Guardian >> >> >> >> When, in the 1920s, a botanist and a field marshal dreamed up rival >> >> theories of nature and society, no one could have guessed their ideas >> >> would influence the worldview of 70s hippies and 21st-century protest >> >> movements. But their faith in self-regulating systems has a sinister >> >> history >> >> >> >> >> >> http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/29/adam-curtis-ecosystems-ta… >> >> >> >> Episode 1 of his current documentary is up on youtube >> >> >> >> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xX5jImWRREc >> >> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> >> P2P Foundation - Mailing list >> >> http://www.p2pfoundation.net >> >> https://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation > > > > > > > > -- > > P2P Foundation:http://p2pfoundation.net? -http://blog.p2pfoundation.net > > > > Connect:http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: > > http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation > > > > Updates:http://del.icio.us/mbauwens;http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; > > http://twitter.com/mbauwens;http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens > > > > > > > > > > > > -- -- Sam Rose Future Forward Institute and Forward Foundation Tel:+1(517) 639-1552 Cel: +1-(517)-974-6451 skype: samuelrose email: samuel.rose(a)gmail.com http://futureforwardinstitute.com http://forwardfound.org http://hollymeadcapital.com http://p2pfoundation.net http://socialmediaclassroom.com "The universe is not required to be in perfect harmony with human ambition." - Carl Sagan

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Re: [P2P-F] P2P Lecture tour in Australia around June 10-14, 2011
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

thank you Steve, looking forward to the conversation, Michel On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 2:19 PM, Steven Wright (Infotech) < steven.wright(a)monash.edu> wrote: > Great, here is the notice I have sent around the faculty (mainly to > postgrad research students, also a few staff as well as undergrads in my > social informatics class) ... > > *Round table discussion with Michel Bauwens > * > Michel Bauwens will be visiting Caulfield campus on Wednesday 15 June for a > round table discussion of the social and economic implications of > peer-to-peer production. > > Michel is an active participant in the P2P Foundation ( > http://blog.p2pfoundation.net/) and has published, amongst other places, > in C Theory, First Monday, and Capital & Class. > > The discussion will be held in H7.84, starting at 10.30am. > > > > > On 3 June 2011 16:54, Michel Bauwens <michelsub2004(a)gmail.com> wrote: > >> perfect Steven, suits me very well! >> >> >> On Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 9:34 AM, Steven Wright <steven.wright(a)monash.edu>wrote: >> >>> Michel, >>> >>> my idea for our session on the morning of Wednesday 15 June is for a very >>> informal session, where I would begin by asking you some questions about >>> P2P, and then students who are present can join in the discussion. >>> >>> So no need for you to prepare a presentation, it will be more like an >>> information session. How does that sound? >>> >>> Then I will buy you some lunch, and can give you a lift to RMIT ... >>> >>> >>> Let me know what you think. >>> >>> All the best, >>> >>> Steve >>> >>> >>> On 10/05/11 4:48 PM, Michel Bauwens wrote: >>> >>> yes, sorry for that!! >>> >>> On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 7:44 AM, Steven Wright <steven.wright(a)monash.edu >>> > wrote: >>> >>>> OK, thanks. >>>> >>>> It's appearing as afternoon in my calendar, but I'm guessing that's the >>>> time zone difference ... >>>> >>>> >>>> On 10/05/11 3:21 AM, Michel Bauwens wrote: >>>> >>>> timing is okay, I've put it in my agenda, >>>> >>>> Michel >>>> >>>> On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 2:37 PM, Steven Wright <steven.wright(a)monash.edu >>>> > wrote: >>>> >>>>> Hi again, >>>>> >>>>> I will see what is possible fee-wise. I can certainly provide a good >>>>> lunch and transport assistance. My idea was an informal session before lunch >>>>> with research students and interested staff ... >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 9/05/11 3:34 PM, Michel Bauwens wrote: >>>>> >>>>> hi Steve, >>>>> >>>>> I'd be happy to speak at your place and will be roughly there from 10 >>>>> to 15, I gave you access to my agenda, >>>>> >>>>> however, thanks for checking if there is any lecture fee, I get $195 at >>>>> the other uni places and I really need extra income if possible, but I'll >>>>> come anyways if there is no possibility for that; agreed for a meal ... if >>>>> for free, I prefer deep conversation with small committed group rather than >>>>> uncommitted students <g> >>>>> >>>>> 15 before lunch could work, then we have lunch, and transport >>>>> assistance to get at rmit by 2:30 would be appreciated >>>>> >>>>> On Mon, May 9, 2011 at 11:24 AM, Steven Wright < >>>>> steven.wright(a)monash.edu> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Michel, >>>>>> >>>>>> I would be pleased if you had time to speak at a seminar or workshop >>>>>> at Monash Caulfield campus. I don't think think there is money to pay, >>>>>> although I am more than happy to take you for lunch if that is any kind of >>>>>> inducement ... >>>>>> >>>>>> Hope all is well, >>>>>> >>>>>> Steve >>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>>> On 20/04/11 7:36 PM, Michel Bauwens wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Dear friends, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I'm in the process of being invited to Gathering 11 in Melbourne, >>>>>>> around June 10-14. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> I would be very much interested in giving extra lectures regarding >>>>>>> p2p and the commons, preferably paid, In Australia either before or after >>>>>>> that date. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> If you are in a interested in our work, thanks for considering my >>>>>>> participation, or recommending such an event to people you know in >>>>>>> Australia, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> My previous lecture tour in 2006, was a very happy occasion for me, >>>>>>> with still very fond memories, so I hope to renew the experience and share >>>>>>> what the p2p foundation collaborative has learned over the past few years, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Michel >>>>>>> >>>>>>> -- >>>>>>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>>>>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >>>>>>> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >>>>>>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -- >>>>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>>>> >>>>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >>>>> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >>>>> >>>>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >>>>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>>> >>>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >>>> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >>>> >>>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >>>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - >>> http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >>> >>> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >>> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >>> >>> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >>> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net >> >> Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: >> http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation >> >> Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; >> http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens >> >> >> >> >> >> > > > -- > All the best, > > Steve > > Steve Wright > Caulfield School of Information Technology > Monash University > Email: steven.wright(a)monash.edu > Phone: +61 3 99032994 > > -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: <nettime> Janos Sugar sentenced for „Wash your dirty money with my art”
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

thanks Dante! ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Dante-Gabryell Monson <dante.monson(a)gmail.com> Date: Fri, Jun 3, 2011 at 6:28 AM Subject: Fwd: <nettime> Janos Sugar sentenced for „Wash your dirty money with my art” To: Forwarded conversation Subject: <nettime> Janos Sugar sentenced for „Wash your dirty money with my art” ------------------------ From: *Geert Lovink* <geert(a)xs4all.nl> Date: Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 11:29 AM To: nettime-l(a)kein.org Three years ago, on June 18, 2008 Hungarian artist János Sugár sprayed the stenciled sentence „Wash your dirty money with my art” - sized 60 x 80 cm - as part of the exhibition at Kunsthalle Budapest, and at the same time illegally as a protest onto two private art institutions. One of those institutions, VAM Design Center, Budapest, filed a lawsuit against the artist, accusing him of vandalizing their building, arbitrarily estimating the damage first at 500,000 HUF (approx. 2,500 USD), then after having seen it on display at Kunsthalle Budapest, raised the value to 1,400,000 HUF (approx. 7,800 USD), then court experts revised it to 214,000 HUF (approx. 1,200 USD), and a second expert opinion eventually further reduced it to 34,000 HUF (approx. 190 USD). The lawsuit brought the attention of the public and the press to the work, and indirectly resulted in Ludwig Museum of Contemporary Art, Budapest purchasing a paper version of the stencil graffiti for their permanent collection. The case was heard in court on April 22, 2011. During the hearing János Sugár admitted, as he had done earlier, having sprayed the sentence, but pleaded not guilty of vandalism, because he considered the act a work of public art, being socially useful, generating discussion, and ultimately stopping the controversial art management activity of VAM Design Center. The judge did not take into consideration the public art aspect of the act, but instead labeled it as graffiti vandalism. The court did not allow the appearance of two expert witnesses of the defense: Prof. László Beke, art historian, director of the Art History Research Institute of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences; and Mr. Barnabás Bencsik, art historian, director of Ludwig Museum Budapest. The court sentenced János Sugár to 5 months in jail, with two years probation, along with a fine covering the cost of renovation, 34,000 HUF (approx. 190 USD) plus legal costs. The judge considered it an aggravating factor that the work is now on display in a museum; she blamed the artist for making money out of vandalism and also pointed out that he is an art professor who is setting a bad example to his students. Since January 1, 2011, parliament passed a new law against graffiti in Hungary: regardless of the damage caused, those who are caught doing graffiti/street art can also be sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail. János Sugár is appealing against the sentence. See also: http://www.artmargins.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=180%… # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime(a)kein.org ---------- From: *Armin Medosch* <armin(a)easynet.co.uk> Date: Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 1:56 PM To: nettime-l <nettime-l(a)kein.org> Geert, thanks for informing us about this, is there anything that we (meaning net critical intellectuals) can do? Does this sentence mean, if confirmed, that Janos actually has to go to jail or is it a suspended sentence? Is there any organised support campaign? cheers Armin <...> ---------- From: *Calin Dan* <adsl487504(a)tiscali.nl> Date: Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 6:01 PM To: nettime-l <nettime-l(a)kein.org> I think Janos himself is best positioned to say what would help his case, but if I read correctly his interview, and also based on what I know about the situation in that region, raising the political awareness of the (informed) audiences beyond the tame level of politically correct art gatherings remains an issue, even more than in our sedated West. Addressing that is complex and time consuming. This particular case might need quicker reactions. The well known and a bit tired support letter? ----- Original Message ----- From: "Armin Medosch" <armin(a)easynet.co.uk> To: "nettime-l" <nettime-l(a)kein.org> Sent: Thursday, June 02, 2011 1:56 PM Subject: Re: <nettime> Janos Sugar sentenced for „Wash your dirty money with my art” -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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reproducing open design comes of age
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

Dear Massimo, I'm still interested in reproducing your earlier series on open design coming of age, would that still be possible? if you don't have time yourself, perhaps you can send the source code to Chris or me? I'd like to feature this June 10 and after, during my next road trip, Michel -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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it is on
by Mark O' Cúlar 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

Hello peers, Happy to be on this list as recommended by Kevin Flanagan. Quick intro as am tired and worn out on the usual staying up to early, soaking up knowledge on the interwebs I've been working on a few things over the years that promote more open societies. My interest is in remix culture and documentary. (oops, sorry for the double post.. forgot the change the title) Kind regards, Mark Cantwell phone +353 86 8484961 skype itison twitter @itison email mc(a)itison.tv The Future Belongs To Those That Create It //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// __________________________________ itison.net itison.tv http://about.me/markocular/bio

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deterritorial support group
by Michel Bauwens 03 Jun '11

03 Jun '11

hi kevin, I wonder if you could write something about them, with some of their nice posters included, see http://p2pfoundation.net/Deterritorial_Support_Group (they have a facebook presence as well) -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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Fwd: [fcf_discussion] Your organisation and info material at OKCon 2011
by Michel Bauwens 02 Jun '11

02 Jun '11

---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Daniel Dietrich <daniel.dietrich(a)okfn.org> Date: Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 8:34 PM Subject: [fcf_discussion] Your organisation and info material at OKCon 2011 To: OKCon Organising Committee <okcon(a)okfn.org> Dear all, this is just a short mail to invite you and your organisation to be present at this years OKCon in Berlin. We have a exhibition space where people, projects and organisations can present their ideas and projects to the public. So if you would like to present your organisation and the projects you have been working on over the last year, please let us know. We are so excited about this great speakers to come and talk at this years OKCon: http://okcon.org/2011/speakers We are also thrilled about the fantastic line up in the programme http://okcon.org/2011/programme Join OKCon and get your Ticket now: http://okcon2011.eventbrite.com Hope to see you in Berlin! Daniel -- Daniel Dietrich The Open Knowledge Foundation Promoting Open Knowledge in a Digital Age www.okfn.org - www.opendefinition.org Mail: daniel.dietrich(a)okfn.org Mobil: +49 171 780 870 3 Twitter: @ddie ----- +info http://list.fcforum.net/wws/info/fcforum_discussion ---- -- P2P Foundation: http://p2pfoundation.net - http://blog.p2pfoundation.net Connect: http://p2pfoundation.ning.com; Discuss: http://lists.ourproject.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/p2p-foundation Updates: http://del.icio.us/mbauwens; http://friendfeed.com/mbauwens; http://twitter.com/mbauwens; http://www.facebook.com/mbauwens

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