Hugo sends me this amazing song/video made in Minecraft. Of course, that leads to 10 more, 14 more… there are so many!
When you make the tools available to the people, and allow them to create (in this case under the safe harbor of “parody”) wonderful things happen. Its NOT all about the money, profit, control... Its about imagination, art, creativity, culture. Thats how it happens: copying, re-using, mixing, adjusting, modifying.
After supporting the NYPL efforts to fight back budget cuts, I have received a lovely message of thanks from Christine C. Quinn (Speaker, NYC Council), along with a very nice suggestion:
Dear New Yorker, Many thanks for your email expressing your support for our city`s libraries. […]
We cant do it alone, though, and I hope youll consider signing up for Council “enews”. These issue-based e-mail updates are a great way for us to stay connected and engaged with you and other New Yorkers about the budget, healthcare, and other important issues affecting our city.
The citizen platform #15MpaRato is preparing legal action to take Rodrigo Rato to court.
Today they started asking small Bankia stockholders to file an anonymous report, so it can be used in a lawsuit.
Here is their news release [ES]:
https://15mparato.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/accionesparato/
Here is their website:
https://15mparato.wordpress.com/2012/05/29/accionesparato/
Here is their twitter:
@15MpaRato
Hashtag:
#accionpaRato
If you know any Bankia stockholder, ask him/her to contact:
15mparato@gmail.com
Good luck!
May 15th I went to the #15M demosntration in Malaga (Spain). As I was by myself, and to document and support “the cause”, I took my camerca and zig-zagged thourgh the crowd, in a kind of amateur sociological analysis of the most interesting social movement in these turbulent times. Here are some not-so-random thoughts:
While no particular spacial organization can be detected in the demonstration, the group dynamics and power hierarchy (even if perceived representation power) applied their invisible forces once more to take the radicals (or most outspoken at least) to march in the front line, families in the middle, and party goers and curious at the back Most “organizers” and “speakers” and “banner-holders and support van drivers” were foreign (mainly Argentinians) Although supposedly devoid of political affiliation, the only ones showing political signs were those without direct political representation in the form of “their own party” (anarchist, republicans, etc) While there was no “organized plan of action” (I wonder if the “assemblies” could get to one without some sort of non-hierarchical order and/or structure), the #cazerolada and #lacaixaesmordor seem to channel the discontempt towards the direct real cause (superficial, first and most apparent, but not necessarily the most important) of the dire social tensions of today: banks and the financial system… although how about the political system that allowed that to happen (from corruption to “democratic” representation)?
After posting graphs and cold data (quite ilustrative, I believe), and the discussion it has generated (people, why don`t you use the “comment” instead all the other unstructured methods you are using?), please let me write a caveat about graphs and cold data.
In my high-tech gym, you have the option to have a lot of data collected, for your own, private and personal use. It seems like a great idea at first.
Government debt does not explain it all:
Unemployment is, indeed, quite inapelable:
And minimum wage:
So, perhaps, taking all those (and the last “devastating evidence” one) graphs into account, French and German governments have tricked, via manipulative markets and rating agencies, ignorant technocrat Spain`s PP government into cutting social spending (like education and health, which in turn becomes productivity, and minimum wage and job stability, which promotes spending and growth) so we go deeper into the hole, and they take advantage of our excellent engineers at a low rate, while speculating with debt and making sure Spain does not become a strong competitor…
Since I could not get a hold of tickts for New Museum`s Seven on Seven, I decided to make the most out of my day yesterday (defying my cold), so I even had time to visit the NYC anarchist book fair, at Judson Church (Washington Square).
[mudslide:picasa,0,111219615350942087056,5731668030633382577]
I wish I had had more time to devote to exploring all the literature (great and aweful) on display. But at least I had time to notice:
