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Guest speaker on Nov 11 : Tobias Flessenkemper

Posted by Christian

Wednesday, 11 November 2015, 10h30-12h00

“The European border regime in South Eastern Europe – between collapse and resurrection”

Tobias Flessenkemper, Senior Associate Researcher
Centre international de formation européenne (CIFE) – European Institute, Nice/Berlin/Istanbul

Tobias Flessenkemper is working on the issue of external and internal security policies of the European Union with a focus on South Eastern Europe and the European neighbourhood. He holds a M.A. of the University of Cologne in Political Science and a European Master in International Humanitarian Assistance of the Ruhr-University Bochum. Since 1996 he worked for international organisations in Brussels and South Eastern Europe and currently manages elbarlament.org an independent organisation working in the field of democratic governance.

www.cife.eu

Blog software updated

Posted by Christian

I managed to update our blog to the latest version of WordPress, so it’s now up and running again. Alas, the old theme by Florian doesn’t work any more, so please bear with us while we’re figuring out a new look for the blog!
If you think you have a good idea for a design, or know a nice theme, let me know.
Christian

Coco Fusco at MC

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http://www.afterall.org/online/coco.fusco.at.mc

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Coco Fusco’s recent exhibit at MC, Los Angeles (2006) included the photographic series Bare Life Study #1, a fictional military interrogation training manual for women, an enigmatic presentation of real manuals on a desk, and in an adjoining room, the 59-minute video Operation Atropos. The show explored the weaponization of female sexuality by the US military that was exposed by the Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay prisoner abuse scandals.

read more!

Art and Its Cultural Contradictions, Joshua Decter

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 http://www.afterall.org/journal/issue.22/art.and.the.cultural.contradictions.of.urban.regeneration.social.justice.and.sustainability

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What is at stake when artists, architects, curators, organisers and other cultural producers facilitate bricks-and-mortar change, on the ground in cities, with citizens, communities and institutions? How do we test the interrelationships between the practices of artists and urban policy makers? What is the metric that we might utilise to determine effectiveness? And what do we mean by effectiveness? Critical effect? (Or, for that matter, critical affect?) The putatively emancipatory outcome generated by some kind of new situational knowledge? Or, is it a question of generating ambiguity, per se, as a means of problematising hegemonic political, economic and cultural formations?

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democracy…

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http://www.spiegelfechter.com/wordpress/1094/eine-gute-frage
wenn Menschen vor die Wahl gestellt werden, ob sie sich für Etwas in den
Folgen Kalkulierbares, Überschaubares entscheiden sollen,
oder für etwas Unsicheres, Unabsehbares, dann neigt die Mehrzahl dazu,
sich für das Kalkulierbare, das Überschaubare zu entscheiden.
Sogar wenn absehbar ist, daß das Resultat mit Sicherheit niederträchtig
und miserabel sein wird.
Das Unkalkulierbare meiden die Meisten, sogar wenn etliche in Frage
kommenden Faktoren weitaus besser sind, als das sichere Schlechte……
Ich frage mich oft, was überwiegt: Der Fatalismus, die Dummheit oder die
gedankliche Bequemlichkeit…..

Da wagt es doch tatsächlich ein holländischer Journalist, der Merkel
eine “nicht vorgesehene” Frage bei der Pressekonferenz zu stellen,
was sich von den gekauften deutschen Journalisten keiner mehr traut…..
sehr delikat…….
Im erhaltenen Originaltext hieß es “und wir dummes Volk haben die auch
noch gewählt”
-da mußte ich einhaken- denn ich habe sie nicht gewählt und gehöre ja
auch zum (dummen) Volk….