The US Congress is about to pass an internet censorship bill written by the copyright and corporate music and film lobbies, claiming that this bill is written in your name to “protect creativity.” The law would allow the government or corporations to censor entire sites — they just have to convince a judge that the site is “dedicated to copyright infringement.”

In fact, PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) are backed and largely written by the Hollywood film industry, namely the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which is trying to sell goods and ideas that are already free. Similar to its most well-known President, Jack Valenti, who represented Hollywood interests in Washington, and vice-versa, the current chairman and CEO of the MPAA is Chris Dodd, a prominent member of the Democratic Party and US Senator from Connecticut for 30 years.

Artists, musicians, actors, writers, and media-makers need to sign. Your statement is powerful because the corporate music and film lobbies push these laws to censor the internet in your name.

In solidarity, Turbulence.org will feature a block out page from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST today, January 18.

INTERNET GOES ON STRIKE: ALL SITES AND PEOPLE TO GO OUT

Major sites all over the internet have gone on strike due to SOPA and PIPA, the hot-button anti-piracy legislation. Experts expect strike to last 150 seconds, and agree this is a “near eternity” in internet time.

Congress is about to pass what has been called the internet censorship bill, even though the vast majority of Americans are opposed. The Senate is scheduled to vote on its version of the internet censorship bill on Tuesday, January 24th, and unless there are 41 senators to voice their opposition to allowing the bill to proceed, it is expected to pass.

Legislation called the PROTECT-IP Act (PIPA) in the Senate and the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) in the House are purported to be a way to crack down on online copyright infringement. In reality the bill is much broader. It would empower governments and corporations to take down virtually any website, create new liabilities and uncertainties for web innovators, and make the web less safe. According to the varied and multitudinous reasons large numbers of sites and individuals are opposed to the bill, it betrays basic American tenets, such as free speech, prosperity, and national security. On top of all that, cybersecurity experts say it wouldn’t stop copyright infringement.

The legislation is backed and largely written by the MPAA, as they have said in media reports. They have also spent millions in lobbying dollars to pass this legislation.

To see the bills, go here:
www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s968/show
www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3261/show

NOW, IT’S YOUR TURN TO TELL CONGRESS NO TO WEB CENSORSHIP:
CALL (202) 224-3121

WHAT’S WRONG WITH SOPA / PIPA?

Free Speech

Takes down hosts of content and legitimate free speech. The legislation is overly broad and could block some of our favorite websites to Americans only over just one claim to an infringing link posted by users.

The Economy

Creates massive new legal uncertainties and liabilities for web startups, stifling job creation in our most vibrant sector. As 54 leading tech venture capitalists wrote to Congress, the censorship bills would, “stifle investments in internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness.”

Security / Privacy

A web security initiative that has been in development for more than a decade and is just beginning to be implemented, DNSSEC, would be illegal under the bill. The DNS filtering and anti-circumvention provisions in the bill would force a huge step backwards for securing critical national infrastructure from cyberattacks, preventing online identity theft, and stopping the spread of malware.

Copyright Infringement

People that want to share copyrighted content online would still be able to. To get around DNS blocking, all you have to do is enter the IP address of a website into your browser’s url bar.

Learn more:

americancensorship.org is supported by Public Knowledge, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Free Press, Wikipedia, Creative Commons, Fight for the Future, Participatory Politics Foundation / Open Congress, Center for Democracy and Technology, MoveOn, Cato Institute, Don’t Censor the Net, Urban Dictionary, 4chan, Wikimedia Foundation, Mozilla, Demand Progress, Free Software Foundation, and see more at americancensorship.org/supporters.html

The bill is opposed by:

CEO’s of Huffington Post, Google, Twitter, and thousands and thousands more. To see a full list, go here.

SOPA becoming election liability for backers

To the ranks of same-sex marriage, tax cuts and illegal immigration, add this to the list of polarizing political issues of Election 2012: the Stop Online Piracy Act.

The hot-button anti-piracy legislation that sparked a revolt online is starting to become a political liability for some of SOPA’s major backers. Fueled by Web activists and online fundraising tools, challengers are using the bill to tag its congressional supporters as backers of Big Government—and raise campaign cash while they’re at it.

Among the fattest targets: SOPA’s lead author, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), and two of its most vocal co-sponsors, Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.). House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has also felt the wrath of SOPA opponents.

Even GOP presidential contenders Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum were asked by voters recently to weigh in on the bill (neither gave definitive answers, though activists have interpreted Santorum’s response as more sympathetic to SOPA than Romney’s).

KEY POINTS ABOUT SOPA / PIPA

1. Leading constitutional scholar Laurence Tribe and internet law expert Marvin Ammori have argued that the bill violates the First Amendment because they would restrict considerable speech by people who are not engaging in infringement, either directly or indirectly.

2. 54 leading internet venture capitalists have signed a letter stating that legal uncertainties under PROTECT-IP would “stifle investment in Internet services, throttle innovation, and hurt American competitiveness.”

3. Contrary to its supporters’ claims, the bill will affect domestic websites. Any site that can be shown to enable circumvention of website blocking under the bill would face penalties. This could include sites where users have posted links to IP addresses or new domains for sites that have been blocked.

4. The bill would use DNS filtering to block sites, which is the same technique used for web censorship in China and Iran. The U.S. will no longer have a moral high ground when talking about protecting internet freedom globally.

5. An internet security initiative that has been in the works for more than a decade and is just starting to be implement, DNSSEC, would be considered an illegal circumvention tool under the bill. The DNS filtering and anti-circumvention provisions in the bill would force a huge step backwards for securing critical infrastructure, preventing identity theft, and stopping malware.

6. The bill has not received sufficient committee work and is not ready for floor action. The bill did not receive a single hearing and the mark-up session held by the Judiciary Committee on May 26th lasted less than 8 minutes and featured no amendments and no substantial debate.

Published by internet sites around the world. To get more involved see americancensorship.org

World X Diagnostics is a revolutionary system that evaluates and diagnoses citizen responses to socio-economic conditions resulting from the global economic meltdown. Public data measuring gross national well being is collected from participating users and translated into real time sound frequencies through programmed algorithms. Through the system’s network, users are able to access the compiled data from their geographical region, as well as from any location on the globe. Real time sound frequencies sonify collective malaise, well being and outrage through a series of durational chords and tones produced by a sound output module. The interpretative data will serve as evaluative material for restructuring global resources following the traumatic collapse.

World X Diagnostics emerged from a coalition of outraged citizens frustrated with government responses to the crisis. Tremors of this global discontent could be found as early as 2000, in protests in France, the US, and the UK where economic students circulated petitions denouncing economics as an “autistic science.” Major newspapers and magazines gave extensive coverage to the students’ struggle launching the “Post-Autistic Economics movement.” Similar criticisms can be found in the Ecological Economics movement that question the sustainability of standard economic practices assuming unlimited growth, expansion, and profit. In contrast organizations such as the New Economics Foundation has developed the Happy Planet Index, which is designed to challenge well-established indices of national development such as the Gross Domestic Planet and the Human Development Index. World X Diagnostics calls upon citizens to reconsider these economic models and imagine future possibilities for reform.

The public launch of World X Diagnostics will occur August 13-27, 2009. Finland will be the first country to beta test the system as users will be able to participate in the survey that inputs user responses at Gallery Titanik in Turku, Finland. The sonic translation of their responses will be heard in New York City at Harvestworks where the sound output module will be located. Using a live Internet stream, the audio will be re-transmitted back to Turku filling Titanik Gallery with sound.

If you are in Finland and would like to participate in the survey Gallery Titanik will be open August 13-27 from 12:00-18:00 with an opening Thursday, August 13 from 18:00-24:00.

For those in the NYC metropolitan area and surrounding vicinity Harvestworks will be open to the public for public viewing and listening of the sonic output module on Saturday August 15, Noon - 3PM.

Internet access is not conditional. Everyone who owns a website has an interest in defending the free use of the Internet… so has everyone who uses Google or Skype… everyone who expresses their opinions freely, does research of any kind, whether for personal health problems or academic study … everyone who shops online…who dates online…socialises online… listens to music…watches video…

Millions of Europeans now depend on the Internet, directly or indirectly, for their livelihood. Taking it away, chopping it up, ‘restricting it’, ‘limiting it’ and placing conditions on our use of it, will have a direct impact on people’s earnings. And in the current financial climate, that can’t be good.

The internet as we know it is at risk because of proposed new EU rules going through at the end of April. Under the proposed new rules, broadband providers will be legally able to limit the number of websites you can look at, and to tell you whether or not you are allowed to use particular services. It will be dressed up as ‘new consumer options’ which people can choose from. People will be offered TV-like packages - with a limited number of options for you to access.

For more… see: http://www.blackouteurope.eu/

This is not just a European problem. The struggle between an open Internet and one controlled by the big cable and phone companies that control access is ongoing in the US. The cable and phone companies want to be gatekeepers; they want to decide which Web sites and services you can use depending on which companies have paid them the most. They want to turn the open Internet into a closed, private toll road. For those who know little about the struggle for a free and open internet, here’s a beginner’s guide: http://www.freepress.net/resources/beginners_guideTo keep up with what is happening on a daily basis, and learn how you can help, read the Free Press Media Reform Daily.

What is the sound of community organising? A five-session practice-based workshop on activism and sound art open to UK-based artists, social movement activists, community organisers, and students. The artist activist collective Ultra-red will present a workshop in five daylong sessions at Raven Row, a new contemporary art exhibition centre in Spitalfields, London. The workshop introduces participants to the art of sound and learning from what we hear in the methods and politics of community organising. For fifteen years Ultra-red has used sound to investigate anti-racist organising, the struggles of migration, social housing mobilisation, and AIDS activism. This history informs the approach to sound art and activism presented in the Raven Row Sessions.

Drawing on the experiences and investments of workshop participants, each of the five sessions will examine our understanding and practice of community organising. Workshops will include walking tours of the city; making site-specific audio recordings; an analytical listening to recorded sounds; generating new strategies for collective action; investigations into the crucial concepts of political process, participation, and political action; and a final public event held at Raven Row featuring the collaborations of participants.

Fifteen participants in the Raven Row Sessions will be selected through an application process. Ultra-red is seeking participants who have experience in community organising, social movement activism, or radical research and/or who work in sound art. Individuals do not need to be an artist or a musician in order to apply. Applicants must be 16 years or older. Given the cumulative nature of the workshop, participants must commit to attending all five sessions. Participants should be prepared to conduct site-visits in the city and listen intensively. Bring your experiences, open mind, open ears, and an eagerness to collaborate. Equipment, materials, travel stipend, and meals will be provided.

Application: Raven Row Sessions is limited to fifteen participants. Applicants must submit a 350 to 400-word description of their artistic and/or community-based work. Students are welcome to apply. Submissions must include applicant’s name, home address, email and contact telephone number. Deadline for application is Sunday 15 March. Email application to info@ultrared.org. Or send application by mail to: RAVEN ROW SESSIONS, c/o Raven Row, 56 Artillery Lane, London E1 7LS.

About Ultra-red: Founded fifteen years ago in Los Angeles, Ultra-red conduct Militant Sound Investigations alongside social justice movements where sound is both the medium and the site of the investigation. While the image serves as the foundation for much of our understanding of activist art, Ultra-red turn the focus to the ear: the sound of communities organising themselves, the acoustics of spaces of dissent, the demands and desires in our voices and in our silences, and the echoes of historical memories of struggle. These investigations take the form of audio recordings, art exhibitions, performances, or simple walking tours. The nine members of Ultra-red work with organisations such as Rural Racism Project (Devon, UK), the autonomous community development organisation Union de Vecinos (Los Angeles), the German anti-racist network Kanak Attak, Community HIV/AIDS Mobilisation Project (New York/Los Angeles), and Woodcraft Rangers which facilitates education programmes in sixty-one schools in Los Angeles County.

Contact: info@ultrared.org

Ultra-red members facilitating Raven Row Sessions include:

Elizabeth Blaney (Ultra-red member since 1997) is an organizer with the autonomous community development organisation Union de Vecinos in East Los Angeles.

Manuela Bojad?ijev (2001) co-founded the German anti-racist migratory network Kanak Attak and participates in various
anti-racist movements in Germany and across Europe.

Pablo Garcia (1999) organises inquiry-based education projects in Los Angeles County schools with the organisation Woodcraft Rangers.

Janna Graham (2005) initiated radical arts education initiatives with artists, youth, indigenous and migrant groups
in Toronto and is currently Education Projects Curator at the Serpentine Gallery.

Taisha Paggett (2006) performs extensively as a professional dancer. She also teaches dance in Los Angeles.

Elliot Perkins (2005) is a community organiser for Rural Racism Project in the southwest of England.

Dont Rhine (co-founded Ultra-red in 1994) is an activist in Los Angeles with Community HIV/AIDS Mobilization Project and teaches in the low-residency MFA Visual Art Progamme at Vermont College of Fine Art.

Robert Sember (2005) has taught art and public health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University New
York, UCLA, and NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Leonardo Vilchis (1997) is executive director of Union de Vecinos in East Los Angeles coordinating initiatives around
fair housing, urban planning, and participatory local government.

This workshop is presented as part of Ultra-red’s residency at Raven Row, a new contemporary art exhibition centre run by Alex Sainsbury. While in the UK, members of the group will support Ultra-red’s ongoing anti-racist work in the rural Southwest of England and early sound investigations with students and teachers in the Edgware Road neighbourhood, the latter undertaken in partnership with Serpentine Gallery.

Subscribers will receive a numbered / limited edition of S.W.A.M.P.’s “Notepad” sheet of paper with an envelope. It looks like an everyday yellow legal paper, but each line is constructed of micro-printed text and contains the personal details of Iraqi civilian casualties. Subscribers are triggered to write a letter or memo or draw a picture on it and send it to the White House, then signing up for a free replacement sheet on the S.W.A.M.P. website, if they want. Once in circulation each sheet then acts as a “Trojan horse” - slipping the unwanted and unacknowledged civilian body count data into official governmental archives. This is a joint action that proves how paper and pixel together can make the difference.

Become a tour guide and take artist Kelly Andres on a one-hour bicycle ride of your Banff. Andres will accompany you with her mobile sound lab, Songbike, transforming your narrated ride into a unique soundscape composition broadcast live to the world on www.radio90.fm.

In August 2006, Songbike was presented as a concept for the Interactive Screen 06 competitive pitch session at the Banff New Media Institute. It was awarded a co-production residency to develop the project. Songbike traveled to Vancouver to participate in Video In/Video Out’s Signal and Noise Festival, April 19th-21st. Although Songbike was not fully developed, it provided participants the opportunity to create unique soundscape compositions based on specific bike routes in west and east Vancouver.

The concept of Songbike is to create mobile, urban, soundcape compositions to share through a website. The idea is that anyone can build a “Songbike” by throwing together whatever consumer electronics they can find to make a recording or broadcasting unit. Each time Songbike is performed it is different… never a prescribed set of components or objects. Songbike uses sound as a subtle activist gesture - narratives of current issues, noise pollution, the body extended, politics of space, time and movement arise through cues only available while listening.

Music plays a pivotal role in many people’s lives as part of everyday popular culture because it is so unmediated. At times as a real world, at others as a reflecting surface for one’s own and others’ projections, music provides scope for manifold liberating, activist or subversive strategies at a far remove from consumption or glamour.

Just Play – Music as Social Praxis discusses music as an open system, as a field for potential connections and dissociations, feedbacks and appropriations; as myth and the possibility of freedom and scope, of authenticity and commitment, of enthusiasm and alternative action. The works shown are about a social praxis that raises issues relevant to society as a whole rather than merely exposing the usual market mechanisms or deconstructing symbols and signs. Music becomes the vehicle for constructing identity and différance, orientation and dislocation, collectivity and individuality.

So this song kills fascists, explores ideas of performance as a means of protest. The sound work, from which the installation takes its title, questions the revolutionary potential of music while new drawings, reminiscent of Surrealist or psychographic automatic writing, suggest a non-visible dimension implicit in the music. The central installation, Last Dance of the Nodding Folk, resembles an expressionist stage set, a theme echoed in the theatrical images leaning, placard-like against it. Footage of a fire juggler introduces an element of ritualised and controlled movement, which links to the energy of the drawings and the viewer’s choreographed passage around the installation. Patane identifies an aesthetics of subculture where protest has been exchanged for stylised performance, a husk detached from belief.