Does this count as a "peer reviewed publication"? (Probably not, but here they are.)
All My Tweets
The site does offer a mirror of what's been on my mind day-to-day (for better or worse) and yours too, if you use Twitter.
Sunday, September 09, 2012
Here are all my Tweets
Does this count as a "peer reviewed publication"? (Probably not, but here they are.)
All My Tweets
The site does offer a mirror of what's been on my mind day-to-day (for better or worse) and yours too, if you use Twitter.
Saturday, September 08, 2012
I will be using Weibo -- Chinese Twitter -- accidentally
您好我在中国的朋友。我将使用微博偶然。
As a way to further my understanding of people and events in China, I've gotten an account on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Weibo means "micro blog." My friend Tang Xiaofeng, also called Denver, a graduate student in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer, is helping me get started.
My first Weibo message (above) announced, "Hello to my friends in China. I will be micro-blogging occasionally."
Denver saw it and sent me this message: "Congratulations on your first Weibo entry. However, the Google translation means, "I will use Weibo accidentally."
I love it! In my previous attempts to translate to Chinese into English using Google Translate the results read rather like 1950s beatnik poetry -- lots of wild and weird images thrown together in ways that make some, but not too much, sense. This has a wonderful echo because one source of liberation for me as a teenager in small town California was -- along with rock and roll, jazz and my discovery of "the great books"-- was beatnik poetry, Ferlinghetti's "Coney Island of the Mind," for example.
So I'll be perfectly happy if the mistranslations of my Weibo tweets have that quality -- writing accidentally!
As a way to further my understanding of people and events in China, I've gotten an account on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter. Weibo means "micro blog." My friend Tang Xiaofeng, also called Denver, a graduate student in Science and Technology Studies at Rensselaer, is helping me get started.
My first Weibo message (above) announced, "Hello to my friends in China. I will be micro-blogging occasionally."
Denver saw it and sent me this message: "Congratulations on your first Weibo entry. However, the Google translation means, "I will use Weibo accidentally."
I love it! In my previous attempts to translate to Chinese into English using Google Translate the results read rather like 1950s beatnik poetry -- lots of wild and weird images thrown together in ways that make some, but not too much, sense. This has a wonderful echo because one source of liberation for me as a teenager in small town California was -- along with rock and roll, jazz and my discovery of "the great books"-- was beatnik poetry, Ferlinghetti's "Coney Island of the Mind," for example.
So I'll be perfectly happy if the mistranslations of my Weibo tweets have that quality -- writing accidentally!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Spanish Hacktivists to speak about their digital tools
Here's the poster for a scholarly colloquium I've organized for next Wednesday at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. All are welcome. If we find a way to stream the event on the Net, I'll post the notice here as well.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Science Fiction Cinema and Social Criticism: My course for this fall term
Science Fiction Cinema
and Social Criticism
Prof. Langdon Winner
STSS-2962 and STSH-2962
Mon. & Thurs., 4 – 5:50 in Sage 3705
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Fall
2012
Dept. of Science and Technology Studies
Office hours: Wed. 10-11:00 & Thurs.
3-3:50 in Sage 5709 and by appointment: winner@rpi.edu
This class
studies relationships between science fiction films and serious works of modern
social criticism. Through a careful
reading of texts, analytical viewing of films and comparison of the two
experiences we will explore some of the most significant issues in modern
society. As in all your classes, the
real subject is: How to think!
Meetings.
We will meet twice a week. Roughly
half of our time will be spent viewing the films, the other half discussing
them in relationship to the readings you be doing. Everyone should come to class fully prepared
to discuss the readings, films and their own ideas about them. Regular, active participation is required
and is an important part of your grade. Attendance
will usually be taken. You are responsible for putting initials next to your
name in the day’s attendance sheet.
Please arrive promptly and be seated so we can view the lengthy films
and discuss them. [Note: Because we will focus upon the material and
each other – rather than the vast world of outside distractions -- this class
will strictly maintain a “no laptop, no tablet, no smart phone” policy.]
Readings:
Some of the books
for the class are available in the Rensselaer Bookstore. Others are online or on reserve in digital
format (indicated by * on this syllabus) at Folsom Library listed under the
course name and “Winner”. http://library.rpi.edu/setup.do
Readings will
usually be discussed on the day they are listed. Readings listed as “optional” readings often
can be found by online search, in Folsom or through inter-library loan. They are not required and have not been
placed on reserve, however.
Weekly short
papers: For many (but not all) weeks of the term
there will be short papers to help clarify and express your ideas, one page,
single spaced (no longer!). Usually
these will be due at the Thursday session. These writings should be thoughtful,
neat and printed. The goal is to make
sure you keep up with readings and ideas, making sure that when asked about the
readings and films, you will have interesting things to say to the group. [Note: Weeks in which there are no papers due will be
announced in class, in advance.] Grades
on these papers will be on a 5 to 1 scoring scale (5 = very good, 4 = good, 3 =
average, 2 = poor, 1 = very poor, 0 = did not submit.
Three essays: I ask you to write three short essays, five pages
double spaced (no longer!). These essays
will discuss the connection between the readings and films you have been
studying. Sample topics will be
distributed, but you may propose topics and approaches to writing of your
own. Grades will be given on and A
though F scale with “+” and “–“ as
appropriate. Excellent: A; Good: B; Average: C; Very
poor: D; Failing: F. Due dates: Sept. 27; Oct. 25; and Nov. 15. No
short essays are due on any of these due dates. However, you must have done the readings for
the day and be fully ready to discuss them.
Final exam: On December 6 there will be an in class
final exam consisting of several short answer questions and one short essay.
Writing
standards: To help you understand and anticipate the standards I will use to
evaluate your writing, three items will be useful to you. First is the “Key to the Marginal Notes”
which provides an arcane code for understanding my notes on style,
organization, and other features of your writing. Thus, the code “UC” means “This passage is
unclear.” Second, you will receive a
list of key features I’m looking for in your written work, each one arrayed on
a sliding scale from Very Good to Needs to Improve. Third, is the wonderful essay, “Politics and
the English Language” by a writer, George Orwell, whose novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four, we’ll read during
the term. URL for the essay: http://orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/
Grades.
Your grade for the semester will be determined by:
(1) attendance
in class and active participation in discussions 20%;
(2) weekly short
papers with your comments on course materials, 20%
(3) three short
essays: 45%
(3) in class
final exam: 15%
Absences: You
may miss any two daily sessions without excuse and skip any one week’s short paper without penalty. If you
miss more than that, your grade will suffer. Excused absences will be recognized for
illness, family emergency, required varsity sports travel, and other crucial
matters with written notification.
Usually, a simple email will suffice.
Late
papers: ALL PAPERS MUST BE SUBMITTED IN
CLASS and on time. There will be NO
EMAIL OF PAPERS at any time during the term.
(Don’t ask. If you miss turning in a paper for any reason, just bring it
to class the following session. The
grade will be necessarily lower, but often better than zero.) Your weekly short papers are due on Thursday
unless notified otherwise.
Other
materials on the Web: As
the course moves along some additional course writings and illustrations from
the web may be assigned.
Academic
integrity: All work submitted must be your own. If you borrow ideas or information of any
kind (which is always essential to learning and creativity), please just give a
clear reference to the original source, a footnote or endnote, for
example. This is easily done, expresses
gratitude and is a good habit to cultivate.
Evidence of plagiarism, borrowing materials or ideas without credit as well
as other forms of cheating, will be dealt with severely – a grade of “F” for
the course.
Learning Outcomes:
With any luck, students
in this class will improve their ability to:
(1) understand and interpret important works
of social criticism and corresponding themes in modern movies;
(2) read books and watch films in an active,
engaged (rather than passive) manner;
(3) recognize contrasting ideas and arguments
crucial in debates about politics, policy and ethics
that
involve scientific technologies;
(4) grasp the ways that film makers express
ideas and concerns about humanity’s present
and future prospects;
(5)
improve their ability to think and write clearly;
(6) ponder ways in which their own lives and
careers might include reflective artistry in
professional work or other pursuits:
(7)
fathom and anticipate ways in which bureaucratic strictures such as Orwellian Newspeak
“learning outcomes” statements tend to infringe upon academic freedom in ways
that commodify, degrade and infantilize the process of becoming a thoughtful,
well-educated person.
Schedule
Week 1: Introduction
August 27: Discussion
of the aims and requirements of the course.
Introductory comments
about Fritz
Lang’s “Metropolis.”
Readings:
Roger Ebert, “How to
Read a Movie,” http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/08/how_to_read_a_movie.html
“MacGuffin,” [a plot
device in films]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MacGuffin
August 30: “Metropolis” -- vision of a technological
future
Readings:
Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, “The
Communist Manifesto”
Available in
several formats: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/61
“Metropolis (film),” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%28film%29
Week 2: Interpreting Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis”
September 3: Labor Day holiday (no class)
Readings:
(to be discussed on Thursday, Sept. 6)
*Edgar Jung, “The
Organic German Nation” in Roger Griffin ed., Fascism
*Ernst
Junger, “The Emergence of a New Type of Human Being,” in Griffin
*Martin Heidegger,
“National Socialism as the Custodian of European Being”
Joseph Stiglitz, “The
Price of Inequality,” interview with Amy Goodman
September 6: Workers, robots, class struggle, and the
search for redemption
Readings:
Adam Call Roberts,
“Metropolis: A Proto-Fascist Anti-Utopia”
Optional reading (for
the truly inspired): Siegfried
Krackauer, From Caligari to Hitler
Week 3:
The Bomb, Scientists and Paranoia
September 10: Alien invasions – a message for planet Earth
Film: “The Day the Earth Stood Still”
Readings:
*Cyndy Hendershot, “The Atomic Scientist,
Science Fiction Films, and Paranoia:
The
Day the Earth Stood Still, This Island Earth, and Killers from Space”
*Albert Einstein,
“Survival is at Stake”
*Lewis Mumford,
“Gentlemen You are Mad”
September 13: Science fiction films as expressions of
social unrest
Readings:
Cyndy Hendershot, “Monsters at the Soda
Shop: Teenagers and
Fifties Horror Films”
Seth
D. Baum, et al, “Would Contact with Extraterrestrials Benefit or Harm
Humanity?
A Scenario Analysis”
Ian Sample, ““Aliens may destroy
humanity to protect other civilisations, say scientists”
Optional reading (for sci-fi pulp
magazine fans): Henry Bates, “Farewell to the Master”
[the 1940s short story that inspired
“The Day the Earth Stood Still”]
Week 4:
The Total State and Technologies of Control
September 17: George Orwell’s vision of humanity crushed
Film:
“Nineteen Eighty-Four” (Michael
Radford’s adaptation)
Reading:
George
Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four
September 20: How many of Orwell’s fears are being realized
today?
Reading: Orwell, Nineteen
Eighty-Four (to the conclusion)
Glenn
Greenwald, “Extremism Normalized”
Newt Gingrich, “Language: A Key Mechanism of
Control”
Week 5:
Supreme Rationality and/ or Utter Madness
September 24: America’s technocratic era
Film: “Dr. Strangelove”
Readings:
Ida Hoos, *Systems Analysis and Public Policy, (selections
on reserve)
“Robert MacNamara,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_McNamara
September 27 [First
essay is due in class.]
Films: “Dr. Strangelove” (conclusion) and a BBC
documentary: “Pandora’s Box”
by Adam Curtis
Readings:
Louis Menand, “Fat Man:
Herman Kahn and the Nuclear Age”
Optional reading (for the
curious): “Herman Kahn,” in wikipedia
Week 6:
Humans and Androids in a Dystopian World
October 1: The imagination of Philip K. Dick
Reading:
Philip K.Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
[Note today we will
discuss Dick’s novel fully and look only at the very
beginning of the
film.]
October 4: Artificiality and the “other”
Film: “Blade Runner” (the final cut, 117 min.)
Optional reading: (for the
philosophically minded)
Stanislaw Lem, “Philip
K. Dick: A Visionary Among the Charlatans”
http://www.depauw.edu/sfs/backissues/5/lem5art.htm
Week 7:
How to Read a Movie
Tuesday, October 9 – [Note: Monday becomes a
Tuesday session this week]
Film: A scene-by-scene analysis of “Blade Runner”
in “cinema interruptus” mode
Reading:
Roger Ebert, “How to
Read a Movie,”
[Read the some of the comments
that follow Ebert’s essay as well.]
October 11 – Cinema Interuptus: “democracy
in the dark” continues
Week 8: Philosophy of Technology in Cinema
October 15
Reading: Jacques Ellul, The Technological Society, pp. xxv-xxxvi
and pp. 3-107
October 18
Film, “Koyaanisqatsi (Life Out of
Balance)”
Week 9:
Mass Media, Reality and Illusion
October 22: Is everybody happy? Oh, yeah!
Film: “The Truman Show”
Reading:
Chris Hedges: Empire of Illusion: The End of Literacy and
the Triumph of Spectacle,
chapters I and IV
October 25: An illusion called “America”
[Second
essays are due in class.]
Reading:
Empire of Illusion, chapter V
Week 10:
Reinventing Discrimination (and Blasting It into Space!)
October
29: The origins and dynamics of
inequality
Film: “Gattaca”
Readings:
*Derrick Bell, “After We’re Gone:
Prudent Speculations on America
in
a Post-Racial Epoch”
*Sun Ra, This Planet is Doomed: The Science Fiction Poetry of Sun Ra,
selected poems
with
Introductions by Amiri Baraka and Bhob Steward
Film: “Sun Ra Arkestra live at Montreux 1976” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7j-Hm2NgFM
November 1: Genetic engineering and social policy
Readings:
“Racial Segregation in
the United States,” Wikipedia
“Eugenics in the United
States,” Wikipedia
Week 11:
Is High Tech Civilization Inherently Violent?
November 5: Earthlings as the alien invaders
Film: “Avatar”
Reading:
*Derrick Jensen, Endgame, Vol. I, selections to be
announced
November 8 Beings in harmony with nature
Reading:
Endgame, selections to be announced
Week 12:
Post-Apocalyptic Visions I
November 12: concluding discussion of “Avatar” and Jensen
readings
Reading,
Endgame, selections to be announced
November 15: Environment and society collapse
[Your third essay is due in class.]
Film: “The Road” [Note the film will be show in its entirety
today.]
Reading:
Begin reading Cormac
McCarthy’s The Road
Week 13:
Post-Apocalyptic Visions II
November 21
No film today. Continue your reading of The Road, now and over the Thanksgiving holiday.
November 24 – No class, Thanksgiving
feasting!
Week 14: Post-Apocalyptic Visions II (continued)
November 26
Discussion of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road in comparison with the movie,
“The Road,” based upon the novel
Weeks 14 and 15: Technology and Narcissism (a pungent
combination)
November 29
Reading: Chris Hedges, Empire of Illusion, chapter II, “The Illusion of Love”
Film, “15 Million Merits” (from the
Black Mirror series)
December 3
Readings: James Rivington, “Project Glass: what you
need to know”
Sherry Turkle, “The Flight from
Conversation”
Film: “The Entire History of You,” (from the Black
Mirror series)
December 6: Final
exam in class
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The boys and their toys: Drones R Us
A seldom acknowledged dimension of the U.S. military today is what the impish historian of technology David F. Noble used to call "the boys and their toys." The logo above from the "Program Executive Office" of the "Unmanned Aviation and Stike Weapons" program shows the ghoulish fun that the guys are having with the latest collection of gadgets in their toybox -- the drone aircraft. Yes, your tax dollars are paying to produce menacing graphics of The Grim Reaper surrounded by the circular bureaucratic logo on what appears to be a Pentagon door or in a military Power Point display.
The idea that designing, building and using lethal weaponry is a kind of game is a common obsession in America today. It is clearly on display, for example, in the "build a robot to smash other robots" competitions that are commonly used to attract middle school, high school and college students to careers in computer science and engineering. The subtext is that killing and destruction are all part of the enjoyment that sophisticated technology involves. To point out (as I sometimes do) that this approach is ultimately pathological and certainly not a great way to attract young people to lives as technical professionals is dismissed as "denying the kids their fun," and "rejecting the best way to recruit the next generation of engineers."
In the interest of truth in advertising, my suggestion would be to include the Pentagon's stylish new grim reaper on advertisements for the next round of killer robot games we take to the country's school children. They need to know what they're getting into. (Perhaps they do already.)
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Spanish activists drag bankster into court
An interesting episode from the ongoing financial crisis in Spain is the move by Spanish activists to file suit against financial mogul and conservative political bigwig Rodrigo Rato, former head of the International Monetary Fund and, more recently, president of "Bankia,"one of Spain's largest banks. The trial is now taking place in Madrid. Some details and commentary are offered below.
(I worked with Florencio Cabello to do a quick English translation of the story written by F. Fafatale. The term "15M" refers to the continuing mass movement that began in Spain on May 15, 2011.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
INTRODUCTION
To a considerable extent the current financial crisis in Spain was
triggered by the collapse of a particular bank, "Bankia," a relatively
new financial institution composed of several smaller banks in 2011.
Responding to the panic of "bailout," "austerity," and cuts in social
services, a group of Spanish citizens related to the M15 movement has
launched a campaing called 15MpaRato*
(http://15mparato.wordpress.
has been to file a lawsuit demanding that Bankia's former director,
Rodrigo Rato, as well as the rest of the board, be held accountable
for the mismanagement and possible criminal behavior involved in the
notorious bank's demise. The story below provides details of the
citizens' case against Rato.
[*The term "15MpaRato" is an untranslatable pun meaning in Spanish both
"M15 is out to get Rodrigo Rato" and "M15 is here to stay".]
TRANSLATION OF THE ARTICLE:
15m Pa Rato: Citizens' networks find their own voice in the "Bankia case"
The signature of the memorandum [bank bailout plan] with the EU hasn't
caught 15MpaRato flat-footed. Here we review the course of the
citizens' initiative that has been successful in including its lawsuit
in the case against Bankia brought before the Audiencia Nacional [the
Spanish court that deals with serious crimes].
F. Fafatale (Madrid)
July 20, 2012. Issue 179
http://diagonalperiodico.net/
"In the war between the elites and the common people, fear has changed
sides. Now we are the ones who define the targets", proclaims the
15MpaRato campaign website. On the web site we can find the lawsuit
against Bankia recently admitted by Fernando Andreu, judge of the 4th
Central Court of the Audiencia Nacional. This means that the M15
movement is already fully entitled to appear in court in this case.
Some weeks ago, the Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office backed the
lawsuit filed by the UPyD (Unión Progreso y Democracia) party. This
meant that Rodrigo Rato and 32 former members of Bankia's board are to
be investigated on charges of falsifying accounts, dishonest
administration, price manipulation and improper appropriation of the
bank's funds.
Why is the 15MpaRato complaint different from UPyD's and others? In
their own words: "Our complaint includes almost every charge that
judge Andreu levels against members of the board, but also expands the
first lawsuit to include offenses contained in Article 282bis of the
Spanish Criminal Code". This article imposes jail sentences ranging
from one to six years and fines ranging from six to twelve months if
the administrators of a public company falsify economic and financial
information in ways that cause serious damage. The 15MpaRato demand
adds: "The charges of falsifying accounts, dishonest administration,
price manipulation and improper appropriation are intended to protect
Bankia's legal goods, which formerly were public".
However, this complaint (launched by the Platform for a Citizen Debt
Audit, Xnet, Citizens' Bailout Plan, Iaioflautas (aging M15
activists), Platform of People Affected by Mortgages, Euribor
Operation, #CierraBankia, Real Democracy Now network and Madrilonia)
goes a step further: "We intend to protect the people, the affected;
we represent no other interest than the common interest of the people.
We are the people! The admission of our complaint allows us to appear
in court and watch over those interests at every moment in the process".
After the admission of its lawsuit, the 15MpaRato campaign has
required the judge Andreu the intervention of Bankia before Spain
signs the memorandum of agreement with the EU. This memorandum implies
modifying Spanish laws to turn the banks' private debt into public
debt. "The issuance of bonds is the trick to pay the big creditors,
but in ways that will later increase the national debt", explains
15MpaRato. On the contrary, If the judicial administrators intervene,
as will be discussed this week at the Audiencia Nacional, the
Government-backed issuance of new bonds could be abruptly stopped.
The next steps of 15MpaRato will be to expand attention to the
criminal aspects of the dispute and to gather information from Bankia
workers. Besides, this campaign collaborates with the platform of
#OpEuríbor, which focuses on the possible manipulation of Euribor, the
reference rate upon which most Spanish mortgages are indexed. to.
Together they reclaim "the nullity of all contracts signed by Bankia,
on the grounds that the calculation of Euribor in Spain has been
revealed as a fraud of historic dimensions, in much the same way that
we are seeing the Líbor scandal unfold in the UK".
The 15MpaRato lawsuit is also distinctive in its mode of operation,
showing the power of network collaboration achieved through the
Internet. The citizen response to the online campaign exceeded its own
promoters' expectations: the crowdfunding campaign launched to obtain
the ? 15 000 needed to file the lawsuit pulverized all records,
raising the money in less than 24 hours; all the information required
to initiate the case was gathered in 23 days, something that would
have been impossible for any single citizen to accomplish acting on
her own; in just 12 hours 50 small shareholders offered themselves as
plaintiffs and dozens of inside witnesses were located.
- From a communicative perspective, the campaign bears the imprint of
M15 movement, making the most of social networks. The press conference
organized in June to announce the filing of this lawsuit was both
twitted and streamed. The message was clear: "Impunity is over. For
each bank intervention, we will save schools, hospitals and jobs for
the benefit of all. We don't owe, we won't pay. They owe, they shall pay".
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Will we regard Coke and Pepsi the way we do cigarettes?
The presence of high fructose corn syrup in the food and drinks we consume is now commonly linked to America's obesity epidemic and a range of associated health concerns. A story by Susan Heavy in Reuters notes:
" A leading U.S. cancer lobby group is urging the Surgeon General to conduct a sweeping study of the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on consumer health, saying such drinks play major role in the nation's obesity crisis and require a U.S. action plan.
In a letter to U.S. Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the American Cancer Society's advocacy affiliate on Tuesday called for a comprehensive review along the lines of the U.S. top doctor's landmark report on the dangers of smoking in 1964.
"An unbiased and comprehensive report on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages could have a major impact on the public's consciousness and perhaps begin to change the direction of public behavior in their choices of food and drinks," American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network wrote."
In a similar light, the the descriptions below by John Cassone, PhD of Cassone Wellness, arrived in a Google+ message. They seem plausible.
* * * * * * * *
This is what happens to your body within one hour of drinking a can of soda.
10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. You'd normally vomit from such an intake, but the phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.
20 minutes: Your blood sugar skyrockets. Your pancreas attempts to maximize insulin production in order to turn high levels of sugar into fat.
40 minutes: As your body finishes absorbing the caffeine, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver pumps more sugar into the bloodstream. Adenosine receptors in your brain are blocked preventing you from feeling how tired you may actually be.
45 minutes: Your body increases dopamine production, causing you to feel pleasure and adding to the addictiveness of the beverage. This physical neuro response works the same way as it would if we were consuming heroin.
60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, which boosts your metabolism a bit further. High doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners compound this effect, increasing the urinary excretion of calcium. The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (You have to GO!) Your body will eliminate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was otherwise heading to your bones. And you will also flush out the sodium, electrolytes and water. Your body has eliminated the water that was in the soda. And in the process it was infused with nutrients and minerals your body would have otherwise used to hydrate your system or build body cells, bones, teeth.
The sugar crash begins. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You start feeling like crap. Time to grab another?"
* * * * * * *
It's been years since I've had a Coke or Pepsi. I moan when as I watch friends order them in restaurants or at the ball park. Once thought to be harmless beverages emblematic of the good life, they now loom as an increasingly obvious menace to our well-being. Efforts to remove them from the American are often resisted with much the fervor that greeted anti-smoking campaigns and attempts to require the use of auto seat belt campaigns. It's a question of precious "freedom" don't you know?
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Smashing victory over censorship at RPI and Troy
During the spring of 2008 at
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York the scheduled presentation
of “Virtual Jihadi,” a piece of performance art by artist Wafaa Bilal, was
banned by the university. Mr. Bilal had
been invited by the Department of Arts to show his work – a modified version of
a first person shooter video game that depicts armed conflict in the Middle
East – for the campus community.
Following a protest by the campus Republicans, Shirley Ann Jackson,
President of Rensselaer, decided that the work was not suited for campus
viewing, and forbid the artist to show and discuss his politically
controversial anti-war statement. (I
wrote extensively about this incident of explicit censorship in this blog
during that period.)
As an alternative, the off
campus Sanctuary for Independent Media located in north Troy, offered its
auditorium for an evening showing.
Despite the presence of picket signs and protests outside the Sanctuary,
the event to place in a fully packed house.
But the next morning, officials of the City of Troy arrived and locked
the building, claiming that “code violations” made the place unfit for any
social activity there. Thus, Mr.
Bilal’s art was censored a second time within a week. Troy joined R.P.I. on the list of
institutions eager to suppress constitutionally protected free speech.
It’s a long story, folks, but
the long and the short of it is that the Media Alliance that operates the
Sanctuary for Independent Media, filed a civil rights law suit against the City
of Troy and won. Part of the settlement
involved an agreement for the Sanctuary and City to write a grant proposal to
the National Endowment for the Arts.
Today the news came through that the proposal had been awarded an NEA
grant, one to be matched dollar for dollar by The City of Troy. Here’s the message of the Sanctuary’s Steve
Pierce about this astonishing outcome.
Hi-- Good news!
Our federal civil rights lawsuit against the City of Troy for shutting
down an anti-war art exhibit at the Sanctuary in 2008 comes to a close today
with the announcement of a grant award from the National Endowment for the
Arts, to be matched dollar for dollar by $50,000 from the city as agreed in our
settlement of the case (http://www.nyclu.org/regions/capital-region/sanctuary-settlement-022712). If you're unfamiliar with the history,
there's a great short documentary about what happened: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v42OLzCDr98 Thanks for all your support over the
years... --Steve
% % % % % %
At RPI, in Troy, New York and everywhere else, this a victory worth celebrating.
Congratulations to Branda Miller, Steve Pierce and their colleagues who've made the Sanctuary for Independent Media such a lively place for art, education, community activity, media, and politics during the past decade.
Note: The documentary listed above is fabulous. It should be required viewing for university and city officials who believe it would be a wonderful show of strength and moral character to censor political speech and works of art. The stupidity of such measures is shockingly obvious. Especially notable in the video are the absurd, laughable arguments in favor of censorship, especially the repeated insistence of RPI managers that Wafaa Bilal's provocative video presentation must be banned because it is equivalent to child pornography.
Congratulations to Branda Miller, Steve Pierce and their colleagues who've made the Sanctuary for Independent Media such a lively place for art, education, community activity, media, and politics during the past decade.
Note: The documentary listed above is fabulous. It should be required viewing for university and city officials who believe it would be a wonderful show of strength and moral character to censor political speech and works of art. The stupidity of such measures is shockingly obvious. Especially notable in the video are the absurd, laughable arguments in favor of censorship, especially the repeated insistence of RPI managers that Wafaa Bilal's provocative video presentation must be banned because it is equivalent to child pornography.
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