square white world :: 2013 :: February

{ Monthly Archives }

February 2013

link to interview with China Miéville

over

here

2013 02 28

inside the traditional New Zealand family, and outside the traditional New Zealand family, in the wider economy

2013 02 25

requiescat in pace et in amore Ralph Hotere (11 August 1931 – 24 February 2013)

2013 02 25

preliminary exercises in redundancy from the Theoretical Practice of Perversity series

2013 02 24

Ecuador’s Rafael Correa – economic reform for public good – thanks KM

the government also had to reform and re-regulate the financial system. And here it embarked on what is possibly the most comprehensive financial reform of any country in the 21st century. The government took control over the central bank, and forced it to bring back about $2bn of reserves held abroad. This was used by the public banks to make loans for infrastructure, housing, agriculture and other domestic investment.

It put taxes on money leaving the country, and required banks to keep 60% of their liquid assets inside the country. It pushed real interest rates down, while bank taxes were increased. The government renegotiated agreements with foreign oil companies when prices rose. Government revenue rose from 27% of GDP in 2006 to over 40% last year. The Correa administration also increased funding to the “popular and solidarity” part of the financial sector – co-operatives, credit unions and other member-based organisations. Co-op loans tripled in real terms between 2007 and 2012.

The end result of these and other reforms was to move the financial sector toward something that would serve the interests of the public

2013 02 21

pique-assiettes

link to ink article on Indymedia & strangehold of corpocratic online networks

The rise of the giants has been propelled by massive investment in developing software.

The undoubtedly dirty money that the corporate monsters get through stealth advertising, selling other people’s content and from ‘no strings attached’ venture capital is what makes this constant development possible.

2013 02 19

network critical

U.S. Cyber Command, zero-days & other malware exploits: “Part of our defense has to consider offensive measures.”

“the Grugq:” “exploits are not weapons,” … “an exploit is a component of a toolchain … the team that produces & maintains the toolchain is the weapon.”

in 2012 the U.S. Air Force invited proposals for developing “Cyberspace Warfare Attack capabilities” that could “destroy, deny, degrade, disrupt, deceive, corrupt, or usurp the adversaries [sic] ability to use the cyberspace domain for his advantage.”

a “digital Pearl Harbor”

“The parallel is dropping the atomic bomb but also leaflets with the design of it”

2013 02 17

pique-assiettes

‘Do What Thou Wilt’

2013 02 15

pique-assiettes

… the difference

– “Am Am Not Am Not Willing,” by Carl Andre, 1972 (from here)

2013 02 15

“It shows very well the difference between the public sphere and the private sphere,” the jury said. The jury said, “It shows very well the difference between the public sphere and the private sphere,” “It shows very well the difference between the public and the private,” “It shows very well the difference.”

– Petra, sculpture by Marcel Walldorf (more here)

2013 02 15