Happy Weltfrauentag!
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zum 101. Weltfrauentag, die Damen! Bild oben von Artthreat.
Photography: Nigerian Sex Workers in Italy
Unbequeme Fotoserie von Paolo Patrizi über nigerianische Prostituierte, die in der italienischen Pampa anschaffen gehen.
The phenomenon of foreign women, who line the roadsides of Italy, has become a notorious fact of Italian life. These women work in sub-human conditions; they are sent out without any hope of regularizing their legal status and can be easily transferred into criminal networks. Many are Africans working as prostitutes to send money home to their families.
For nearly twenty years the women of Benin City, a town in the state of Edo in the south-central part of Nigeria, have been going to Italy to work in the sex trade and every year successful ones have been recruiting younger girls to follow them. The Nigerian trafficking industry is fueled by the combination of widespread emigration aspirations and severely limited possibilities for migrating to Europe.
Voina burns Prisoner-Van for Art
Die russische Künstlertruppe Voina hat an Silvester einen Brandanschlag auf einen Polizei-Van verübt, in dem Gefangene auf Protesten abtransportiert werden. Man kann nun über den künstlerischen Anspruch dieser Aktion trefflich streiten, ich selbst bin Voina-Fan und der künstlerische Wert ihrer Aktionen ergeben sich für mich sicher nicht aus den „schönen Bildern“, sondern aus der Schnittmenge aus lokalem Aktivismus, gezielt eingesetzter Anarchie und „Terrorismus“, dem direkten Feedback und Bezug zum lokalen System, in dem sie leben, und eben Kunst. Mit einem Wort: Großartig!
Es stimmt allerdings auch, was Andrei V. Yerofeyev sagt, ein russischer Intellektueller, der damals der prominenteste Fürsprecher der Truppe war, als sie mit ihrem Riesenpimmel auf einer Brücke in St. Petersburg einen hoch dotierten Kunstpreis abräumten. Der hat zur Gefangenentransport-Aktion wohl auch nicht zuletzt im Hinblick auf die Gesundheit der Künstler folgendes Statement abgegeben:
[Yerofeyev] said he thought that the group had helped awaken a more activist spirit in the Russian populace, and that it should move away from radical political acts like the burning of the police vehicle. “The goal of art is deeper than activism,” he said. “They have carried out their assignment.”
Von Rebel:Art: Voina: „Cop’s Auto-Da-Fe, or fucking Prometheus“, mehr Bilder hier.
On December 31, 2011 at 23:25 Voina activists climbed over the fence to the yard of the police station №71 in St. Petersburg to hold an auto-da-fe for a police prisoner transport truck. The prison-on-wheels was set on fire with Molotov cocktails and totally burned down. Oleg Vorotnikov, Leonid Nikolayev, Natalia Sokol and other activists took part in the action. Cops didn’t succeed in arresting any of them.
Alexei Plutser-Sarno’s statement: “Dear Russians, this action is a modest gift to all of you from the Voina Group. It’s a gift to all political prisoners of Russia: Philip Kostenko, Sergei Udaltsov, Taisia Osipova, Sergei Mokhnatkin, Vladimir Bukovsky and many others. We dedicate this action to the deceased heroic political prisoners Sergei Magnitsky, Anatoly Marchenko, Kronid Lyubarsky, Alexander Ginzburg, Andrei Sinyavsky, Yuri Galanskov, Yuli Daniel. Let’s destroy all prisons! Freedom to all political prisoners! Feds don’t fuck us – we fuck feds! Happy New Year, comrades!
Animal New York: Voina Art Group torched a Cop Vehicle (mit Video)
NYTimes: Russian Art Group Claims Attack on Police Van
Vandalog: Voina Wanted makes it to Atlanta
Vorher auf Nerdcore:
Voinas giant Penis wins russian Art Prize
Voinas Girls kiss Policewomen in the name of Art
Interview with Voina (who stole Chicken in a Vagina, errected a Penis on a Bridge or fucked for Art)
Rebelart: Interview mit Voina, Throwers of Cats, Stealers of Chicken, Raisers of Pimmelbrücken
Artists steal a Chicken in a Vagina (NSFW)
Streetart: Die Pimmelbrücke von St. Petersburg
Petition für Freilassung ägyptische Blogger
Ich habe grade die Petition zur Einstellung der Verfolgung von Internetdissidenten in Ägypten der Reporter ohne Grenzen unterzeichnet and you should, too.
Petitionsschreiben an den Obersten Rat der Streitkräfte
Ihre Exzellenz Essam Scharaf, Ministerpräsident von Ägypten,
Blogger und Aktivisten haben das Recht, ihre Meinung kundzutun, auch dann, wenn die Übergangsregierung diese Meinung nicht teilt. Dies gehört zu einem demokratischen System, zu dem sich ihr Land bekennt. Die Repressionen gegen Blogger und Internetnutzer müssen enden und die Zensurmaßnahmen eingestellt werden.
Mit Alaa Abdel Fattah und Maikel Nabil Sanad wurden zwei ägyptische Internet-Aktivisten verhaftet. Der Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad wurde zu einer mehrjährigen Gefängnisstrafe durch ein Militärgericht verurteilt. Der Oberste Rat der Streitkräfte muss der Strafverfolgung von Zivilisten vor Militärgerichten ein Ende setzen, oder Sie gefährden den erfolgreichen Übergang Ägyptens zur Demokratie.
Wir fordern die Militärregierung auf, die Verfolgung von Internet-Dissidenten einzustellen sowie die Blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah und Maikel Nabil Sanad sofort freizulassen.
Wir möchten Sie außerdem daran erinnern, dass das Sammeln und Verbreiten von Informationen ein Recht ist, das im Artikel 19(2) des „Internationalen Pakts über bürgerliche und politische Rechte“, den Ägypten unterzeichnet hat, garantiert wird. Dies beinhaltet „das Recht auf Meinungsfreiheit und freie Meinungsäußerung; dieses Recht schließt die Freiheit ein, Meinungen ungehindert anzuhängen sowie über Medien jeder Art und ohne Rücksicht auf Grenzen Informationen und Gedankengut zu suchen, zu empfangen und zu verbreiten.“
Petition zur Einstellung der Verfolgung von Internet-Dissidenten sowie zur umgehenden und bedingungslosen Freilassung der ägyptischen Blogger Maikel Nabil Sanad und Alaa Abdel Fattah (via Netzpolitik)
Doku-Trailer: Art as a Weapon
Schönes Projekt von Jeffrey Durkin, der grade die Doku „Art as a Weapon“ über Politik, Burma und Streetart über Kickstarter finanziert.
Art as a weapon will look at the power of creativity for social change, by using the fight for Democracy in Burma as a case study. Giving the audience a peek into the creative movement that is happening on the Thai/Burma boarder by young Burmese refugees- A Buddhist monk poet, a Burmese punk band and a political street artist will show us- that out of great struggle comes great creativity.
Art as a Weapon is a feature documentary that will also investigate the dialogue between the people of Burma’s fight for democracy and the western artists who respond by supporting their struggle through art. This will be a “connections film” which looks at the overlap between the big forces that shape humanity- Art, Politics and Religion in both the eastern and western worlds. By combining beautiful cinematography, clean graphic design, Buddhist philosophy, emotional interviews and Art that carries a message, the project will illustrate the power of art in a modern-day revolution. Part art film, part political film, the goal is to continue spreading the word by using art as a weapon for peace in Burma.
Art As A Weapon (via Obey Giant)
Charlie Chaplins Great Dictator-Speech set to contemporary Clips
(Youtube Direktunite, via @blabbermaul)
I do not want to be an emperor. That’s not my business, because „You have the love of humanity in your heart.“ Nach dem Klick das Transkript von Chaplins Rede.
Ai WeiWei launches harsh Criticism on China
Oh oh, ob das mal gut geht. Ai WeiWei, der seit seiner Freilassung unter strengen Auflagen im Juni nach wie vor unter Hausarrest steht, hat im Newsweek Magazine einen bitteren Artikel voller Kritik an der chinesischen Führung veröffentlicht, in dem er andeutet, das Land verlassen zu wollen, was er bislang immer abgelehnt hatte. Meiner Meinung nach sollte er das tun. Besser im Exil leben und den chinesischen Diktatoren auf den Sack gehen, denn als Märtyrer für die Kunst und die gute Sache zu sterben. Komm’ nach Berlin, Dicker!
There are positives to Beijing. People still give birth to babies. There are a few nice parks. Last week I walked in one, and a few people came up to me and gave me a thumbs up or patted me on the shoulder. Why do they have to do that in such a secretive way? No one is willing to speak out. What are they waiting for? They always tell me, “Weiwei, leave the nation, please.” Or “Live longer and watch them die.” Either leave, or be patient and watch how they die. I really don’t know what I’m going to do.
My ordeal made me understand that on this fabric, there are many hidden spots where they put people without identity. With no name, just a number. They don’t care where you go, what crime you committed. They see you or they don’t see you, it doesn’t make the slightest difference. There are thousands of spots like that. Only your family is crying out that you’re missing. But you can’t get answers from the street communities or officials, or even at the highest levels, the court or the police or the head of the nation. My wife has been writing these kinds of petitions every day, making phone calls to the police station every day. Where is my husband? Just tell me where my husband is. There is no paper, no information.
The strongest character of those spaces is that they’re completely cut off from your memory or anything you’re familiar with. You’re in total isolation. And you don’t know how long you’re going to be there, but you truly believe they can do anything to you. There’s no way to even question it. You’re not protected by anything. Why am I here? Your mind is very uncertain of time. You become like mad. It’s very hard for anyone. Even for people who have strong beliefs.
This city is not about other people or buildings or streets but about your mental structure. If we remember what Kafka writes about his Castle, we get a sense of it. Cities really are mental conditions. Beijing is a nightmare. A constant nightmare.
The City: Beijing – Ai Weiwei finds China’s capital is a prison where people go mad, Reuters: China dissident Ai Weiwei launches scathing attack on govt (Bild: Ai WeiWei von ahn sang-soo)
The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 – Trailer
(Youtube Direktmixtape, via Twitch)
X-Posting von den Filmfreunden (denen wir gestern übrigens ein neues Design verpasst haben): Schöner Trailer zur kommenden Doku „The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975“ über die Black Panther- und schwarze Bürgerrechts-Bewegung in den 60er und 70er-Jahren.
THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-1975 mobilizes a treasure trove of 16mm material shot by Swedish filmmakers, after languishing in a basement of a TV station for 30 years, into an irresistible mosaic of images, music, and narration chronicling the evolution one of our nation’s most indelible turning points, the Black Power movement. Featuring candid interviews with the movement’s most explosive revolutionary minds, including Angela Davis, Bobby Seale, Stokely Carmichael, and Kathleen Cleaver, the film explores the community, people and radical ideas of the movement. Music by Questlove and Om’Mas Keith, and commentary from and modern voices including Erykah Badu, Harry Belafonte, Talib Kweli, and Melvin Van Peebles give the historical footage a fresh sound and make THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967-75 an exhilarating, unprecedented account of an American revolution.
Happy World – Burma, the dictatorship of the absurd
(Vimeo Direktburma, via MeFi)
Superinteressante halbstündige Doku über Burma und den völlig absurden Alltag dort. 2008 hatte Blogger Tristan Mendes-France ein Posting über das Drogenmuseum (tatsächlich: ein dreistöckiges Gebäude auf tausenden Quadratmetern, das allermeistens komplett menschenleer ist) gefunden, hatte recherchiert und so dermaßen viel unfassbar absurde Dinge über Burma herausgefunden, dass er über ein paar Kontakte mit Gael Bordier dort hinfuhr und dieses Projekt stemmte. Hat sich mehr als gelohnt!
While posing as tourists—since that’s the only way to legally enter Burma as a foreigner—the two French filmmakers behind Happy World uncovered a number of arbitrary and oftentimes laughable measures employed by a regime known more for its brutality than its silliness. For instance, traffic patterns are based on horoscope readings; currency was once divisible by the junta’s lucky number, 9; and people are superstitiously forced to grow a shrub called kyet-suu, because its name is the inverse of democracy leader (Aung San) Suu Kyi’s.
Among the more bizarre moments of the 30-minute film is a visit to the Drug Elimination Museum, which the junta created to divert attention away from the fact that it is profiting from the country’s opium trade. If the public is being fooled by this charade, then there must be some other reason no one goes to this giant three-story paean to prohibition: The filmmakers were its first visitors in ages.
Mehr Infos aus der Website zum Film und nochmal mehr Infos über das Projekt hier: HAPPY WORLD: THE ABSURD DICTATORSHIP IN BURMA.
Ai Weiwei is free!
BBC meldet, Ai Weiwei wurde auf Kaution freigelassen: „Detained Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has been freed, state media report. He was released on bail after pleading guilty to charges of tax evasion, the state-run Xinhua news agency said.“ Hier der Link zur Xinhua News Agency, spOnline. (via @DerFreitag)
Skateboarding Monks in Myanmar
(Youtube Direktskating, via Electru)
Vor rund einem Jahr hatte ich bereits einen Arte-Bericht über skatende Jugendliche in Burma, so gesehen haben die Macher des Film „Altered Focus: Burma“ hier nicht so ganz Recht, wenn sie behaupten, die Skate-Kultur dort hingebracht zu haben, auch wenn sich nur previligierte Kids dort das Skaten leisten können.
Wie auch immer: Die Filmemacher Alex Pasquini und James Holman sind 2009 mit Skater Ali Drummond durch Burma gereist und haben eine kurze Doku gedreht und die haben sie nun online gestellt. Oben ein kurzer Bericht von CNN, hier der komplette Film:
(MADE PUBLIC – 9th May 2011) Filmed in the summer of 2009, Altered Focus: Burma follows three film makers and skateboarders including Harmony and Analog UK rider Ali Drummond, as they travel across Yangon and Mandalay. The film explores the reaction to this unseen activity whilst touching on the political situation there.
Hier noch ein Interview mit den Jungs auf Crossfire.com: GONE SKATING IN BURMA
What’s your favourite memory from the trip?
James – Man, there are so many, from adopting a street kid called ‘Crazy Joe’ during our time in Yangon and taking him to see Terminator 4 to teaching English in the school. That is probably mine actually. I really enjoyed that, it’s something I never thought I’d have the chance to do and playing football with the kids everyday on the roof of the school was awesome. I’m really proud to have gone to Burma and have done what we’ve done. Without sounding super pretentious, it’s not something many people get to do or would want to do!
Ali – Skateboarding with all the locals in Yangon. I have since got to hang out with those guys for the best part of 7 months and they have become close friends. I have so much respect for them. They can’t buy quality skateboards in their country and the only place they do have to skate will eat your board like its a bacon sandwich. Yet despite all this they have the same passion and admiration for skateboarding as anyone else I’ve met and they do it all with a smile on their face. True overcomer’s of adversity.
Free Amina!
[update] Es werden Zweifel an der Identität Aminas laut, vom Wall Street Journal: Photos of Syrian-American Blogger Called into Question: „A London publicist said Wednesday that the photos circulating on the Web and in the media show someone else entirely. The photos are of Jelena Lecic, who lives in London, according to publicist, Julius Just.“ Ich lasse das Posting erstmal so, wie es ist, sollte sich die ganze Story als Fake erweisen, mache ich nochmal was dazu.
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Im April machte ein Posting einer lesbischen Bloggerin aus Syrien die Runde, die von Milizen „abgeholt“ werden sollte und deren Vater es schaffte, sie mit den richtigen Worten da rauszuboxen. Gestern Nacht wurde sie nun entführt.
Amina was seized by three men in their early 20’s. According to the witness (who does not want her identity known), the men were armed. Amina hit one of them and told the friend to go find her father.
One of the men then put his hand over Amina’s mouth and they hustled her into a red Dacia Logan with a window sticker of Basel Assad. The witness did not get the tag number. She promptly went and found Amina’s father.
Aus einem Update auf ihrem Blog (geschrieben von ihrer Cousine):
I have been on the telephone with both her parents and all that we can say right now is that she is missing. Her father is desperately trying to find out where she is and who has taken her.
Unfortunately, there are at least 18 different police formations in Syria as well as multiple different party militias and gangs. We do not know who took her so we do not know who to ask to get her back. It is possible that they are forcibly deporting her.
From other family members who have been imprisoned there, we believe that she is likely to be released fairly soon. If they wanted to kill her, they would have done so.
Hier die Free Amina-Facebook-Seite, hier die Meldung um Guardian, hier auf Al Jazeera. (via Jens)
Fighting for Freedom with Copyright-Violations
Vor ein paar Tagen hatte ich über Videos auf Chinas Youku.com gebloggt, die Regimekritik in Clips aus urheberrechtlich eigentlich geschützten Filmen verstecken, die dort aber nicht gelöscht werden, weil’s die Chinesen mit dem Copyright nicht so genau nehmen. Jetzt hat Evan Roth einen weiteren Clip hochgeladen und eine Anleitung zum Selbermachen ins Netz gestellt.
China’s lack of restriction over copyrighted material can be exploited to help spread outlawed content to a large online audience seeking entertainment. Youku and toudo.com are mainland China’s largest online video providers, and are fertile soil for planting seeds of democracy in the cracks of copyright violation.
How To:
1) Download movies popular in China. Make sure they are in Mandarin, or with Chinese subtitles. If searching on Youku or Tudou, search for the Chinese title of the movie (rather than the English equivalent) and then download the video (Download Helper is a good tool). English Wikipedia entries will often include the Chinese characters of Chinese movies, people and events.
2) Download videos of issues outlawed in mainland China. A good place to find this kind of content in Mandarin is on Taiwanese news websites or on youtube by searching for a topic in Chinese (e.g., 茉莉花革命 = “jasmine revolution”).
3) Edit clips from step #2 into the clip from step #1. Keep the added content short and sporadic enough that they don’t draw too much attention away from the main attraction. I’ve been inserting about 30 seconds of political content for every 30 minutes of entertainment.
4) Upload the finished product to youku.com, toudo.com or others. Remember that all text should be in Chinese. It may be helpful to copy and paste text from existing uploads of the same the movie. Chinese video sites are more likely to remove a video for political content rather than copyright violations, so once the movie is uploaded don’t draw attention to it by linking to it.
Egypt Sentences Blogger to 3 Years:
Egypt Sentences Blogger to 3 Years. FREEDOM! Von der New York Times: „An Egyptian blogger was sentenced Monday to three years in prison for criticizing the military in what human rights advocates called one of the more alarming violations of freedom of expression since a popular uprising led to the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak two months ago.“ (Falls Ihr bei der NYTimes auf die Paywall stosst: NYTClean hilft.)
