kagablog

The internet chapter of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, a secret copyright treaty whose text Obama’s administration refused to disclose due to “national security” concerns, has leaked. It’s bad. It says:

* * That ISPs have to proactively police copyright on user-contributed material. This means that it will be impossible to run a service like Flickr or YouTube or Blogger, since hiring enough lawyers to ensure that the mountain of material uploaded every second isn’t infringing will exceed any hope of profitability.

* * That ISPs have to cut off the Internet access of accused copyright infringers or face liability. This means that your entire family could be denied to the internet — and hence to civic participation, health information, education, communications, and their means of earning a living — if one member is accused of copyright infringement, without access to a trial or counsel.

* * That the whole world must adopt US-style “notice-and-takedown” rules that require ISPs to remove any material that is accused — again, without evidence or trial — of infringing copyright. This has proved a disaster in the US and other countries, where it provides an easy means of censoring material, just by accusing it of infringing copyright.

* * Mandatory prohibitions on breaking DRM, even if doing so for a lawful purpose (e.g., to make a work available to disabled people; for archival preservation; because you own the copyrighted work that is locked up with DRM)

this article first appeared on boingboing.net

By Austin Modine

A South African government official is calling for the country to pursue a complete ban on pornography as a way to combat online child porn.

On Tuesday, South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs said it’s developing an inter-departmental protocol to shield kids against child porn in time for the country hosting the 2010 World Cup next June. While details are vague, the DHA’s Deputy Minster Malusi Gigaba is advocating an extremely hard-line approach to the issue:

“South Africa should explore an outright ban on pornography in the public media as is the practice in countries such as China and India,” Gigaba stated in the Department’s announcement. He further vowed to approach the South African Law Reform Commission with a request to investigate and make recommendations on instituting the ban.

“The increase of access to technology and mobile internet, with all its benefits, also poses risks such as creation and distribution of child pornography,” Gigaba stated. “We need to be proactive in protecting children against this heinous crime.”

South Africa would join an ever-lengthening list of countries that have decided to make porn a criminal offense, including the recent induction of Ukraine.

The Chinese government goes to great lengths to enforce its ban on internet pornography, claiming that the titillating media harms the physical and mental health of young people. From a censorship standpoint, however, China has the benefit of the Great Firewall to repel the porn-addled tubes of foreign nations more effectively.

But China was recently forced to retreat from a scheme to install so-called anti-pornography software on every computer sold in the country after the program was heavily criticized on several fronts. The country will now only require the software to be installed in schools, internet cafes, and other public places.

China goes about the ban by blocking results and occasionally publicly shaming its biggest search engines such as Baidu and Google China for the websites including links to pornographic material and other content found “vulgar” or “violating public morality.” In June, the Chinese government also announced it would recruit “internet supervisors” from the public who will be charged with reporting individuals and business accessing unsanctioned content from the web. ®

this article first appeared on the register

The current accepted usage of ‘Kaksusters’ to designate something crazy, dreamlike, and funny strikes surprisingly close to the truth. To form any sound opinion of Die Kaksusters we must pick our way through a thick haze of theory, social campaigning, and cultural propaganda (much of it fascinating) before reaching its lasting contribution to the South African arts scene.

The ancient problem of identity and non-being comes more and more to the fore in Die Kaksusters’ prospecting of the unconscious and in Kakanof’s circular self of the pour-soi. Die Kaksusters is one of the most highly disciplined and tightly organised artistic schools that ever existed in Parkhurst. Joel Askanazi and Kaka Kakanof met in a mental hospital in Richmond. Three years later Die Kaksusters found its name, declared its intentions in the Eerste Kak Manifesto and set out under shared leadership, with Kakanof rapidly earning the unofficial title of Poepall of Kak.

Kakanof also composed Ons Vir Jou Mpumalanga, a shrill polemic song attacking the Renaissance regime in Pretoria and calling for assassination as the proper response to repression. The government finally dropped its charge of incitement to assassination against Kakanof after he paid several cabinet ministers thirty thousand rand each.

In fact a plausible definition of art consists in saying that it is an extraction of one out of the other: Baudelaire distilling flowers from evil, Dostoyevsky finding despair in the deepest impulses of charity and love. It is in this perspective, I believe, that we can make some sense of Die Kaksusters without distorting them.

Die Kaksusters, inheriting a long tradition of underground thought, embody an insight into the impossibility of life as we have created it for ourselves and the beginnings of a worthwhile criticism of that life. Against the background of misogyny, homosexuality, Don Juanism, and masculine confraternalism that formed part of the heritage from decadence and symbolism, Die Kaksusters take on the status of modern troubadors. Their love songs earn the comparison. Yet it is worth remembering that they reached this personal conviction while at the same time advocating a total sexual liberation. Not inappropriately Joel Askanazi, the most aggressive and unwavering Kaksuster, has edited an Anthology of Sublime Love.

Since it is often sardonic or fleeting, Die Kaksusters’ laughter tends to escape us and we remember only the catcalls that accompany the theatrics. But particularly in digital painting and experimental collaborations, a spirit of delight keeps breaking through the pretense. The two domains, then, to which Die Kaksusters made a lasting contribution are love and laughter.

A history of Die Kaksusters - then Die Kaksusters must be dead! Not to my way of thinking. Die Kaksusters’ state of mind, or better still, Kaksusters behaviour, is eternal. I have had the weakness to take Die Kaksusters seriously. I am not so naïve as to think that everything about them is serious, yet even farce and burlesque have a meaning which transcends them. That is what it is essential to discover.

Die Kaksusters is mos baie kak!

Maurice Nadeau
March 2005

DOY DOY DOY DOY

doy doy doy doy
doy doy doy
doy doy
doy doy doy doy doy
doy doy
doy
doy doy doy doy doy doy

all words & music by aryan kaganof & joel assaizky

visit African Noise Foundation
visit Joel Assaizky
Visit Aryan Kaganof
visit freedom fighter

HI all

Introducing the new! Improved! Formula one Them Particles, guaranteed to clean away at least 99% of all known varieties of mediocrity, winter blues and boredom.

Check out our new swamp set, refined and honed in the Okovango Delta.

Where: At Expresso Jazz, 60 4th Avenue, Linden (near Red Pepper)
When: Friday night, 22 May, from 8.30pm
Why: Why the fuck not? It’s time to dance, china!
Who: Dax Butler on guitar and mad Irish vocals, Derek Davey on drums, Richard Bruyns on saucy slide, Bronwyn on squashbox and flutes, Joel on bass and size 9 linefish..
What: read the above again, for more understanding. Again. Ok? Bring R40 and a shap attitude. Expect some gypsey, blues, attempts at swing, polkas, backbeats, skiffles, folk and country ..

c u there!

Hauschka - Morgenrot from Jeff Desom on Vimeo.

l-r: joel assaizky, aryan kaganof, dax butler, derek davey

photo: joel assaizky

URGENT - VOTING IN EU PARLIAMENT 5th of MAY 2009
Don’t let the EU parliament lock up the Internet! There will be no way back!

Act now!
Internet access is not conditional

Everyone who owns a website has an interest in defending the free use of 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 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.

It means that the Internet will be packaged up and your ability to access and to put up content could be severely restricted. It will create boxes of Internet accessibility, which don’t fit with the way we use it today. This is because internet is now permitting exchanges between persons which cannot be controlled or “facilitated” by any middlemen (the state or a corporation) and this possibility improves the citizen’s life but force the industry to lose power and control. that’s why they are pushing governments to act those changes.

The excuse is to control the flow of music, films and entertainment content against the alleged piracy by downloading for free, using P2P file-sharing. However, the real victims of this plan will be all Internet users and the democratic and independent access to information, culture goods.

Think about how you use the Internet! What would it mean to you if free access to the Internet was taken away?
These days, the Internet is about life and freedom. It’s about shopping, booking theatre tickets … holidays, learning, job-seeking, banking, and trade. It’s also about the fun things - dating, chatting, invitations, music, entertainment, joking and even a Second Life. It is a tool to express ourselves, to collaborate, innovate, share, stimulate new business ideas, reach new markets - thrive without middlemen..

Just think - what’s your web address? Unless people have that address in their “package” of regular websites - they won’t be able to find you. That means they can’t buy, or book, or register, or even view you online. Your business won’t be able to find niche suppliers of goods - and compare prices. If you get any money at all from advertising on your site, it will diminish. Yes, Amazon and a select few will be OK, they will be the included in the package. But your advertising on Google or any other website, will be increasingly worthless. Skype could be blocked. (As it is in Germany in the use from iPhone, already). Small businesses could literally disappear, especially specialist, niche or artisan businesses.

If we don’t do something now - we could lose free and open use of the internet. Our freedom (of choice in information, market, culture, pleasure) will be curtailed. The EU proposals hold an enormous risk for our future. They are about to become Law - and will be virtually impossible to reverse. People (even the members of the European Parliament who are voting on it) don’t really seem to understand the full implications and the legal changes are wrapped up in something called “Telecoms Package” which lulls people into thinking it is just about industry.

However, in reality, hiding from public view, the amendments are about the way the Internet will operate in future! Text that expresses your rights to access and distribute content, services and applications, is being crossed out. And the text that is being brought in, says that broadband providers must inform you of any limitations, or restrictions to your broadband service. Alternative versions use the word ‘conditions’ - and it is seriously being proposed that you will be told the conditions of use of Internet services. This is made to sound good - it is dressed up as ‘transparency’ - except that of course it means that the broadband providerwill have the legal right restrict your access or impose conditions,otherwise why would they need tell you? If the Telecoms Package amendmentsare voted in, the changes will not be reversible.

We all have a stake in the Internet! You need to act now to save it!
What can you do about it?
Tell the European Parliament to vote against conditional access to the Internet! Remind them that they need your vote in June and that internet still give us the tools to be watching and judging what they are doing! (link a la quadrature du net) You must know you are not alone: hundreds of organizations are working on that and thousands of people have already contact their parliamentarians about this issue.

more info here

sms sugar man will be screened in groningen during the dutch mobile film festival on friday 17 april at 17:30

full programme is here

junkies always feel that they are in the right
it’s impossible to deal with them, they think the world is against them
and feel totally justified in all their actiions
the only thing to do is cut them off, kick them out,
and it’s such a drain of one’s energy to have to deal with these kind of things
and be around these people
there is a difference between being on drugs and being a junkie
the junkie is just self-centered fear

Written by Ernesto on February 23, 2009

Throughout Europe, music industry lobbyists have tried to convince ISPs to block file-sharing sites, and not without success. The Irish ISP Eircom is the first to cave in to the pressure of the music industry, and without any argument will block all file-sharing related websites - starting with The Pirate Bay.

Last month, Eircom announced that at the behest of the music industry it will disconnect customers who are allegedly sharing copyrighted material. Initially the ISP planned to stand up for its customers in court. However, it didn’t have the courage of its convictions and the case was aborted. Capitulating to the music industry’s demands, Eircom agreed to start disconnecting those accused of illicit file-sharing.

But that wasn’t enough. Now the industry wants more and is ordering Eircom to block access to any sites it wants blocked. And it doesn’t end there.

Smelling blood, the music industry is ratcheting up the pressure and they are now demanding that all ISPs censor the Internet by blocking access to all file-sharing related websites (more info and the full letter here).

And the worrying news is it’s already a partially done deal. The Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) has already convinced Eircom to comply, and is warning the other Internet providers in Ireland that they should follow suit, or face legal action.

The first and primary target is The Pirate Bay. This comes as no surprise of course, as the music industry’s IFPI has already succeeded in blocking the largest BitTorrent tracker in Denmark, after which they attempted to do the same in Norway and Italy. In Italy the Internet providers initially complied, but this decision was later overturned in court.

As for the next targets for censorship - for which a list is currently being drawn up by Irma - this is how the industry’s scheme will work. Under the terms of an agreement between Eircom and Irma, Eircom will not oppose any court application, meaning that orders requesting the blockage of a particular website will be automatically granted. A spokesman for Eircom confirmed that Eircom ‘‘will not oppose any application [Irma] may make seeking the blocking of access from their network’’ to ‘blacklisted’ websites.

The other Irish ISPs are now facing legal action from the music industry if they don’t give in to IRMA’s demands within seven days. The ISPs are baffled by the aggressive approach by the music industry, and are calling for protection to prevent worse.

“We don’t support illegal activity on our network but this is an unprecedented agreement,” said Alex French of Ireland’s leading Wi-Fi service Bitbuzz. “Is the music industry planning to become Ireland’s de facto internet censor?”

So it seems. However, Eircom could be digging an even deeper hole for itself. By agreeing to censor the Internet at the behest of not the police, but a private and commercially driven organization, it has effectively dumped its own common carrier protection.

Furthermore, The Pirate Bay (or any other sites Ericom intend to block) have never been deemed illegal in Ireland. This has to be seen as a very worrying development. So, open the floodgates, everyone is going to want sites blocked soon and if you’ve got enough cash, it’s on the cards with Eircom. At the very least, let’s hope Eircom is going to make its list of banned sites public, along with their reasons for blocking each and every site, properly referenced under the law.

And let’s hope the rest of Ireland’s ISPs stand up for themselves.

this article first published on torrentfreak.com

Spaghetti
Richard Owen in Rome

The tomato comes from Peru and spaghetti was probably a gift from China.

It is, though, the “foreign” kebab that is being kicked out of Italian cities as it becomes the target of a campaign against ethnic food, backed by the centre-right Government of Silvio Berlusconi.

The drive to make Italians eat Italian, which was described by the Left and leading chefs as gastronomic racism, began in the town of Lucca this week, where the council banned any new ethnic food outlets from opening within the ancient city walls.

Yesterday it spread to Lombardy and its regional capital, Milan, which is also run by the centre Right. The antiimmigrant Northern League party brought in the restrictions “to protect local specialities from the growing popularity of ethnic cuisines”.
Related Links

* Food Detective: Dried Spaghetti

* Tuscany’s gourmet cookery school

Luca Zaia, the Minister of Agriculture and a member of the Northern League from the Veneto region, applauded the authorities in Lucca and Milan for cracking down on nonItalian food. “We stand for tradition and the safeguarding of our culture,” he said.

Mr Zaia said that those ethnic restaurants allowed to operate “whether they serve kebabs, sushi or Chinese food” should “stop importing container loads of meat and fish from who knows where” and use only Italian ingredients.

Asked if he had ever eaten a kebab, Mr Zaia said: “No – and I defy anyone to prove the contrary. I prefer the dishes of my native Veneto. I even refuse to eat pineapple.”

Mehmet Karatut, who owns one of four kebab shops in Lucca, said that he used Italian meat only.

Davide Boni, a councillor in Milan for the Northern League, which also opposes the building of mosques in Italian cities, said that kebab shop owners were prepared to work long hours, which was unfair competition.

“This is a new Lombard Crusade against the Saracens,” La Stampa, the daily newspaper, said. The centre-left opposition in Lucca said that the campaign was discrimination and amounted to “culinary ethnic cleansing”.

Vittorio Castellani, a celebrity chef, said: “There is no dish on Earth that does not come from mixing techniques, products and tastes from cultures that have met and mingled over time.”

He said that many dishes thought of as Italian were, in fact, imported. The San Marzano tomato, a staple ingredient of Italian pasta sauces, was a gift from Peru to the Kingdom of Naples in the 18th century. Even spaghetti, it is thought, was brought back from China by Marco Polo, and oranges and lemons came from the Arab world.

Mr Castellani said that the ban reflected growing intolerance and xenophobia in Italy. It was also a blow to immigrants who make a living by selling ethnic food, which is popular because of its low cost. There are 668 ethnic restaurants in Milan, a rise of nearly 30 per cent in one year.

The centre Right won national elections in April last year partly because of alarm about crime and immigration. This week there was a series of attacks on immigrants in bars and shops after the arrest of six Romanians accused of gang-raping an Italian girl in the Rome suburb of Guidonia.

Filippo Candelise, a Lucca councillor, said: “To accuse us of racism is outrageous. All we are doing is protecting the culinary patrimony of the town.”

Massimo Di Grazia, the city spokesman, said that the ban was intended to improve the image of the city and to protect Tuscan products. “It targets McDonald’s as much as kebab restaurants,” he added.

There is confusion, however, over what is meant by ethnic. Mr Di Grazia said that French restaurants would be allowed. He was unsure, though, about Sicilian cuisine. It is influenced by Arab cooking.

this article first appeared on timesonline.co.uk

joel assaizky - music and all instruments
kaganof - vocal and lyrics
recorded in parkhurst at the a nul dubh studio, 2005

Televisual representation of a Neanderthal (BBC)
Neanderthals may even have been there at the origins of music

A musical experience with a difference is being previewed at the National Museum Wales in Cardiff - an attempt to recreate the sound of the Neanderthals.

Jazz composer Simon Thorne was given the task of creating the “soundscape” to provide a musical backdrop to some of the ancient exhibits on display.

The musician says the work is “probably the most unusual” he has undertaken.

There has been strong interest in the composition and it will go on a separate live tour later in the year.

Neanderthal man existed side by side with early homo sapiens before becoming extinct some 30,000 years ago.

Despite having a reputation for lacking intelligence, recent research suggests the neanderthals were a lot more resourceful and innovative than was first thought.

Thorne said: “Given that Neanderthal’s man brain was about the same size as ours, and much of our brain is given over to language, then you can assume they probably had language too.

“Every culture has language and music, so we can probably assume that they had some kind of music too.”

His 75-minute composition was commissioned by National Museum Wales to provide a musical illustration for the palaeolithic section of its exhibition Origins of Early Wales.

The exhibition includes artefacts like a Neanderthal hand axe and teeth found at Pontnewydd in Denbighshire and, as part of his research, Cardiff-based Mr Thorne visited the cave where they were found.

He said he was the first to admit that knowing exactly what Neanderthal music would have sounded like is impossible.

“It’s a ridiculous notion to suggest we could ever know the precise role that music played in the lives of the Neanderthals, but imagining it has been a fascinating experience.”

The composer has also researched the era extensively and been inspired by two books - Prof Steven Mithen’s The Singing Neanderthals and David Lewis Williams’s The Mind in the Cave.

Prof Mithen will be at the museum launch and, in conversation with Mr Thorne, will talk about the role music may have played in the lives of the Neanderthals.

The Reading University academic, whose research centres on the evolution of human language and musical ability, said Thorne’s work was “a fantastic go at evoking the sense of prehistory of our human ancestry”.

He added: “He is trying to create the whole sense of being there at that time.”

Instinctively creative

As well as the music, a specially commissioned film will help transport those present into a neanderthal cave.

The score from Simon Thorne’s work

It will go on tour, complete with four singers, stone instruments and a video project to Harlech, Cardigan, Milford Haven and Swansea at the end of March, and already Mr Thorne has had “great interest” in his experiment from the British Museum.

He said the project had given him an insight into our own communication.

“We as human beings are instinctively creative,” he said.

“We can’t not be - we have to invent things and who’s to say Neanderthal man did not invent the beginnings of music?”

“We use language for words, to communicate. But how do we learn language? If you look at babies and the noise they make, they learn to make singing noises before they learn to speak.”

first published on bbc news