I’m not a big advocate of awards shows, particularly in advertising, but the Outdoor Grand Prix winner the 56th Cannes Lion International Advertising Festival this year is noteworthy. From AdAge:

The “Trillion Dollar Campaign” for the newspaper The Zimbabwean from TBWA Hunt Lascaris, Johannesburg, South Africa, plastered real Zimbabwean trillion-dollar banknotes onto billboards, murals and fliers, serving as a real-life symbol of the country’s record inflation and economic collapse. The campaign ultimately aimed to raise awareness of Zimbabwe’s suffering under the Mugabe regime and increase the newspaper’s customer base elsewhere in the hopes of getting it back into the hands of Zimbabwe people.

The paper was exiled from the country for exposing the corruption of its government, which subsequently imposed a 55% luxury import tax on the publication, making it unaffordable for the average citizen.

I’m glad the campaign is getting recognition outside of Zimbabwe.

‘From Stonewall to Mainstream, A Timeline of the American Gay Rights Movement’ is an interactive timeline we just launched in anticipation of the upcoming 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. The timeline enables you to view key events in the struggle for gay equality in the United States since Stonewall, six nights of disturbances in the West Village which most historians and activists mark as the the beginning of the modern push for lesbian and gay liberation. Navigate by clicking on the left and right arrows on the side of the event details or by clicking a year on the timeline.

Back [in our early days] it was very knee-jerk: You’d want to kick out a stained-glass window to get your point across. Now you try to deliver better business plans to corporate entities so they can still make a profit, but do it without destroying land or culture.

“The historical account provided by ‘Rights and Wrongs at the RNC’ is particularly important since the NYPD has defended all of its actions during the Convention and has insisted that it made no mistakes,” said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the NYCLU. “The performance of police was decidedly a mixed one. While hundreds of thousands of people were able to make their voices heard, the right to protest was severely undermined by the mass arrests of hundreds of peaceful demonstrators and bystanders, the pervasive surveillance of lawful demonstrators, and the illegal fingerprinting and prolonged detention of nearly 1,500 people charged with mostly minor offenses. This compromised their Constitutional right to protest.”

Among the recommendations from ‘Rights and Wrongs’ is that the City establish an agency independent of the NYPD to oversee the planning and management of large demonstrations, with the NYPD remaining part of the planning — but with a focus on law enforcement. ‘Rights and Wrongs’ also calls for an end to the indiscriminate tactics by police that sweep up lawful protesters and innocent bystanders; and for an end to the practice of fingerprinting those arrested for minor offenses. The report also calls on the NYPD not to detain people arrested for minor offenses for excessive periods of time and for arraignment; and to ensure that any holding facilities for arrestees are open to public inspection by appropriate government officials, advocates and members of the press.

The 64-page ‘Rights and Wrongs’ documents the important events in the months leading up to, during and after of the Convention. In a city with a long history of fervent protest activity, the Convention presented a crucial test of our commitment to the right to free speech and dissent. Although demonstrations were peaceful, police arrested more than 1,800 people — the largest number of such arrests at a national convention. More than 90 percent of those arrests have since been dismissed or ended in acquittals.

Among the policing deficiencies cited by the NYCLU report are:
The indiscriminate mass arrests by the police of bystanders and peaceful protesters, such as the arrest of 227 demonstrators soon after their anti-war march began on August 31st. On October 6th, the Manhattan District Attorney threw out those arrests at the request of the NYCLU.
Detention of protesters for excessively long periods of time in hazardous conditions such as Pier 57, where hundreds of people were held on mostly minor offenses under filthy conditions and often without access to legal assistance or their loved ones. Two-thirds of those arrested who filed complaints with the NYCLU were held for longer than 24 hours; 40 percent were detained for longer than 36 hours — all mostly for minor offenses.

The routine fingerprinting of people charged with minor offenses which is not allowed under New York law. This practice raised concerns about whether the NYPD was seeking to build a database of the fingerprints of political activists.
“In an effort to maintain tight control over protest activity, the NYPD too often lost sight of the distinction between lawful and unlawful conduct,” said Christopher Dunn, Associate Legal Director of the NYCLU. “Despite dire predictions that the Convention would be the target of violence or even terrorism, the demonstrations were peaceful.”

In the aftermath of the Convention, the NYCLU filed three federal lawsuits against the NYPD, challenging the mass arrests and detention tactics as well as the fingerprinting of those arrested at the Convention. The NYPD has since announced that it has destroyed all fingerprints. The NYCLU lawsuits are pending in court.

Meanwhile, the New York Times is reporting that the Republican National Convention arrests will be investigated:

The Justice Department will investigate claims that the police violated citizens’ civil rights in making arrests during the Republican National Convention last year. Responding to a request from the ranking Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee, Congressman John Conyers Jr., the Justice Department said in June that it would investigate his allegation that the police engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional conduct. The police arrested 1,806 people during the convention, and in most cases the charges were dismissed or the defendants acquitted. Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said lawful dissent had been accommodated.(NYT)

The LAPD’s reaction to Mark of the Beast was spurred by a single phonecall of complaint, according to gallery director Mike Russek, and Transport was shuttered by officers who never set foot in the gallery to see the work for themselves.

Several weeks earlier, on April 6, 2005 secret service agents showed up for the opening of Columbia College in Chicago’s exhibit of stamp art featuring 47 artists from 11 countries, called “Axis of Evil: The Secret History of Sin.” The Sun Times reports that “the agents asked what the artists meant by their work and wanted museum director CarolAnn Brown to turn over the names and phone numbers of all the artists.” Curator Michael Hernandez deLuna said any government involvement could come close to trampling First Amendment rights. “It frightens me … as an artist and curator. Now we’re being watched,” Hernandez said. “It’s a new world. It’s a Big Brother world. I think it’s frightening for any artist who wants to do edgy art.” [link]

In February of 2005 43-year old artist Ed (Gonzo) Stross was sentenced to serve 30 days in jail, do two years of probation and pay a $500 fine for violating a city sign ordinance. Stross painted a mural of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Man” on his own studio Gratiot in Roseville. He was also ordered to cover Eve’s bare breasts and the word ‘love’ on the mural before serving his jail sentence. According to Stross, “removing the work is the ultimate punishment. The jail time is nothing compared to removing what I painted.” [link]

And then there is the artist Steven Kurtz who on May 11, 2004 was arrested on charges of bioterrorism.

Early morning of May 11, Steve Kurtz awoke to find his wife, Hope, dead of a cardiac arrest. Kurtz called 911. The police arrived and, after stumbling across test tubes and petri dishes Kurtz was using in a current artwork, called in the Joint Terrorism Task Force.

Soon agents from the Task Force and FBI detained Kurtz, cordoned off the entire block around his house, and later impounded Kurtz’s computers, manuscripts, books, equipment, and even his wife’s body for further analysis. The Buffalo Health Department condemned the house as a health risk.

Only after the Commissioner of Public Health for New York State had tested samples from the home and announced there was no public safety threat was Kurtz able to return home and recover his wife’s body. Yet the FBI would not release the impounded materials, which included artwork for an upcoming exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.

While most observers assumed the Task Force would realize that its initial investigation of Steve Kurtz was a terrible mistake, the subpoenas indicate that the feds have instead chosen to press their “case” against Kurtz and possibly others.

The government has since dropped the bioterrorism charges, but is still actively prosecuting Steven Kurtz. An email from the Critical Art Ensemble Defense Fund on May 17, 2005 states:

Today in Buffalo, Judge Kenneth Schroeder heard motions to dismiss a federal criminal case against artist Steven Kurtz. Professor Kurtz was charged with mail and wire fraud last summer after prosecutors found nothing to support their original allegations of bioterrorism. (Please see http://www.caedefensefund.org/faq.html for an overview of the case.)

In today’s hearing, defense attorney Paul Cambria argued that a dangerous precedent would be set by “exalting” into a federal criminal case of wire and mail fraud what is at best a minor, civil contract issue–the purchase of the bacterium Serratia marcescens by scientist Robert Ferrell for use by Kurtz in his artwork.

Judge Schroeder seemed to agree, asking Federal Assistant District Attorney William Hochul whether an underaged youth who uses the internet to purchase alcohol across state lines, for example, should be subject to federal wire fraud charges. “Yes,” Hochul answered after some hedging, and Schroeder chuckled. “Wow, that really opens up a Pandora’s Box, wouldn’t you say?” he asked Hochul.

Schroeder also asked Hochul whether there is any federal regulation at all (OSHA, EPA, or other) concerning Serratia. Hochul admitted there wasn’t. (The alleged danger of Serratia forms the basis of the government’s argument for making this a criminal case, rather than simply allowing the bacterium’s provider to pursue civil remedies if it feels it was wronged.)

Cambria further argued that the FBI intentionally misled a judge into issuing the original search warrant. That judge was never told of Kurtz’s lengthy, credible and complete explanation of what the seized bacterial substances were being used for, nor of the fact that Kurtz tasted Serratia in front of an officer to prove it was harmless. Also, the judge was told of Kurtz’s possession of a photograph of an exploded car with Arabic writing beside it, but not of the photograph’s context: an invitation to an important museum art show. The photograph, by artists the Atlas Group, was one of several exhibited pieces pictured on the invitation.

Because of the photo, the judge issued a warrant calling for the seizure of anything with Arabic writing. “Would that have included the Koran?” Judge Schroeder asked Hochul at today’s hearing. “Nothing in Arabic was in fact seized,” Hochul replied. Schroeder repeated the question, and Hochul admitted that the Koran would have been seized, “if the officers hadn’t recognized what it was.”

Today’s apparent courtroom victory for Cambria does not mean that Judge Schroeder will grant any of the defense motions. And if he does, it is certain that the prosecution will appeal the decision–”all the way to the Supreme Court if they can,” according to Cambria.
Whatever the outcome of today’s hearing, it will not come quickly: rulings in such hearings typically take two or three months. The defense has so far cost $60,000 for Kurtz alone; as for the taxpayer bill, it is well into the millions.

As the Buffalo News reports, Kurtz contends that “fanaticism” and “neo-McCarthyism” in the federal government are behind efforts to prosecute him for obtaining bacterial agents through the mail:

While not discussing the specifics of his case, Kurtz said he believes that the charges filed against him last year were part of a Bush administration campaign to keep artists from protesting government policies.
“There’s no doubt that this is a politically motivated case, to my mind,” said Kurtz, 47. “Look back to the tendencies of the government and the Department of Justice. . . . There’s fanaticism in the air.

“I think we’re in a very unfortunate moment now in U.S. history. A form of neo-McCarthyism has made a comeback. . . . We’re going to see a whole host of politically motivated trials which have nothing to do with crime but everything to do with artistic expression.“

These are dangerous times for artists who do politically-driven work and who seek to express themselves without fear of censorship or arrest. While it’s easy to see these as isolated incidents, there is a rather obvious pattern emerging of prosecuting artists in the United States who voice their dissent through their art. Threats to our right of freedom of expression should not be taken lightly.

Sprol is a planetary sightseeing blog. Visit some of the worst places in the world via satellite imagery. Our mission is to use the powers of space imaging to show people the visual macroscopic effects of our decisions and behavior. Since previous generations have not had the advantage of this viewpoint it is our responsibility to use it wisely.

While not geared towards corporate accountability, making the destruction of our planet transparent through new technologies could spark new environmental awareness and lead to other environmental efforts. If only I knew what ‘Sprol’ means..

[via Future Feeder]

The police presence at Union Square was heavy, including many undercover cops (who stood out like sore thumbs) and a police helicopter. Sadly, at least 18 people were arrested last night during the Critical Mass rides. From the New York Times’ coverage:

In one of the first arrests of the evening, a young woman who was straddling her bike and walking it out of the south end of Union Square Park was seized and personally arrested by Assistant Police Chief Bruce H. Smolka Jr.

“You’re riding your bicycle on the sidewalk,” Chief Smolka said. “You’re under arrest.”

The woman protested that she had done nothing wrong. The chief insisted that she get off her bicycle immediately, and then he tried to pull her off. The woman argued, and then other police officers, some of them wearing plainclothes, joined the chief and forcibly removed the woman from the bike.

Ride participants tried to retrieve the woman’s bike and scuffled with police officers, who then arrested a second woman.

The sight of a senior chief in the Police Department struggling in a crowded public place with the woman roused the gathering of people.

Cries of “Let her go, let her go,” and “fascist state” filled the air, as Chief Smolka and other officers led the woman into a van. A line of 10 motorcycles then sealed the edge of the sidewalk at the intersection of 14th Street and Union Square East. The arrested woman began to give her name in response to a question from a reporter, but only uttered one word – “Lisa” – before she was pushed into the van and the reporter was forced away from her.

Chief Smolka is the police official in charge of southern Manhattan, and oversaw many of the mass arrests made in August before and during the Republican National Convention, including more than 100 arrests of bicyclists at a Critical Mass ride that swelled to include 5,000 riders.

Since then, the mass rides, which were conducted peacefully for several years before that, have become a point of contention with the Police Department.

There’s one image from last night in particular that I can’t get out of my mind. A few hours after the ride started, a group of cyclists passed by Union Square chased by several police cars and at least 3 police vans. As I stood on the corner and watched, a police car moving at high speed swerved in front of a young cyclist who was riding by himself by the side of the road and who was clearly obeying traffic laws. It was an incredibly dangerous and aggressive move by the cop driving the car. Luckily the kid on the bike avoided the car and injury..

Matt Ransford wrote about his experience riding last night here. Also check out Gothamist’s interview with
Matthew Roth a Time’s Up volunteer and bicycle enthusiast.

Here’s a gallery of photos including many of the heavy police presence.

On March 22, 2005, The City of New York filed and injunction against TIME’S UP!, an 18-year old, New York-based environmental group, and four of its volunteers, enjoining them and their unnamed associates from participating in and promoting (read: talking about) the Critical Mass bicycle ride, which meets the last Friday of every month in Union Square Park. But this is about a lot more than bike riding. The suit also challenges the rights of 20 or more people to meet in a park without a permit, or talk about doing so.

The City of New York is using Critical Mass to methodically chip away at our rights to free speech and free assembly. “The ramifications of this lawsuit are very troubling. Under the City’s view, advocates should not be able to advertise or promote protest activity, (which is) a prior restraint and a violation of the First Amendment. It’s clearly unconstitutional,” said civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, who is representing the defendants. “Under these circumstances the successful organizing of the civil rights and labor movements would never have been possible, the march to Montgomery, the Greensboro sit ins, the bus boycotts, the Union Square labor rallies, all would have been illegal before they even took place.”

As members of the creative community we are particularly vulnerable to these kinds of discretionary rulings, which are selectively enforced by various agencies. For those of us who strive to represent the truth in all its complexity, this lawsuit is a disaster and we should all be seriously concerned about its outcome.

Oppose the City in its attempt to curtail our constitutional rights by getting the word out about the case and by supporting the TIME’S UP! defendants and Critical Mass. A few things you can do:

+ Send letters of opposition to Mayor Bloomberg, Police Chief Kelly, City Council members and newspaper editorial boards. This is an election year.

+ Inform your community board of the issue and ask them to resolve against it.

+ Throw a benefit event or house party to help pay for legal fees.

+ Donate goods or services to TIME’S UP!

+ Use your creative skills to draw attention to this issue.

+ Enlist your friends, family and colleagues to do the same.

To allow tax-deductible donations, TIME’S UP! has established the TIME’S UP! Bike Legal Defense Fund. Legal fees alone, already highly discounted, may exceed $100,000. Even small donations help. In-kind donations are also very welcome.

The suit against TIME’S UP! is being used as a test case, so it’s very important to get the word out about its far-reaching implication. Please, if you do nothing else, talk about this situation where and whenever you can. Put free speech and assembly on the agenda in the media, the courts and your neighborhood, Make your basic constitutional rights an electoral issue in this election year. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please feel free to contact timesup@panix.com.

This lawsuit is very disturbing.. please spread the word and do what you can to support Time’s Up! and our constitutional rights.

Update: The following is an email I received this morning from Time’s Up! with more information:

As you may have heard, four TIMES’S UP! volunteers—and TIMES’S UP! itself—are being sued by the City of New York. Why are the City of New York and the New York City Parks Department suing a group of Environmentalists? For riding bikes, talking about riding bikes to the press, and encouraging other people to use this sustainable, environmentally-sound form of transportation.

If you care about your right to free speech and free assembly, you should be incredibly concerned. The suit against us has major ramifications on First Amendment activity nationwide. That’s why it’s so important that we win—and to win, we need your help. TIMES’S UP! is currently facing $30,000 in legal fees. Please visit http://www.times-up.org/legal_newswire.php today and make a donation to the TIMES’S UP! Bike Legal Defense Fund.

Many of you may have ridden in the Critical Mass bike ride, or at least heard of it. Started in San Francisco in 1992, Critical Mass rides take place monthly in almost 400 cities on six continents. New York’s Critical Mass is now under attack–and the four of us and TIMES’S UP! are being singled out in that attack.

In New York, August 27, 2004, was the date of a massive police crackdown on this peaceful community event. Two days before the start of the Republic National Convention (RNC), some 5,000 cyclists gathered together to ride their bikes through the city. By the end of the night, 264 were cuffed and sent to jail—for riding bikes. They’ve been charged with disorderly conduct and parading without a permit, the criminal equivalent of a speeding ticket. (To date, more than 80% of those charges have been dismissed or thrown out for lack of evidence.)

So what does this have to do with us? As Critical Mass participants, we—and many, many others—spoke out against the police’s egregious behavior. We spoke to the press. We’ve been quoted in the New York Times, the BBC World News, USA Today, as well as many smaller community papers, and we’ve been regularly featured on network news and radio. Because we spoke out, we have been targeted. Our names and titles as listed in the lawsuit come directly from descriptions of us in the papers.

Despite police threats, we keep riding every single month. And the police keep arresting. At every Critical Mass since the RNC—except for December—the police have arrested bike riders. In March alone, 37 people were arrested simply for riding bikes in a group.

But cuffing cyclists wasn’t enough. In September and in March, the NYPD illegally seized dozens of bikes. Many of these were chained to public property (such as parking signs and light poles) near where the arrests were taking place. The police used their most sophisticated machinery and highly trained Emergency Service Unit forces to cut bike locks! The owners of the bikes–many of whom were not even Critical Mass participants–were charged with no crime. They simply had their bikes stolen by the cops. They knew they were in the right, and five cyclists sued the police in Federal Court. Their victory on December 23, 2004, was a victory for everyone who cares about Critical Mass and our right to due process.

After this clear win, we assumed the harassment would end. But in March, the City of New York, the NYPD, and the Parks Department took the next step. Now they’re suing us. They have requested an injunction, which, if granted, would make it illegal for us to talk about or participate in the Critical Mass bike ride. In fact, it would also make it illegal for YOU to talk about or participate in Critical Mass.

This suit is an obvious limitation of our first amendment rights. We’ve amassed an incredible legal team, including renowned civil rights attorney Norman Siegel, to defend us and prove that we’re right and that this time the city has gone too far. But our defense costs money. Although our attorneys will defend us pro bono, we must raise a significant amount of money to pay for legal expenses. The bottom line: we have until May 5 to raise $30,000. Here’s where you come in.

If you’ve ever ridden in Critical Mass–or even ridden a bike–if you care about the environment, if you care about citizens’ right to use public space, or if you believe in protecting free speech, then please make a donation to our legal fund today. You can visit http://www.times-up.org/legal_newswire.php to make a donation and read a copy of the lawsuit. Or write a check to the “TIMES’S UP! Bike Legal Defense Fund” and send it to P.O. Box 2030, New York, NY 10009. All donations are 100% tax-deductible.

We thank you for your time and your generosity, and we encourage you to get involved. Stay tuned to www.times-up.org for the latest information on our case. Please do not hesitate to contact Leah or Matthew for more information.

Sincerely,
Bill DiPaola
Brandon Neubauer
Leah Rorvig [email: leahrorvig@gmail.com, phone: (646) 831-6802]
Matthew Roth [email: almonroth@yahoo.com, phone: (917) 825-3027]
defendants: New York City v. Time’s Up! et. al.

In the Press
(http://www.times-up.org/press.php)
Big Pack of Bikes Piques Police
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-11-15-bikes-new-york_x.htm
After Court Loss, Police Crack Down on Time’s Up!
http://www.times-up.org/press_view.php?article=050330_villager_with_lawsuit
New York Times Editorial Suggesting Police Use Restraint on Rides:
http://www.times-up.org/press_view.php?article=041205_nyt_cm_editorial
Defendant Matthew Roth and Attorney Norman Siegel Discuss Case on Democracy Now!
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/28/1434209
Civil Rights Attorney Norman Siegel Statement on continued harassment:
http://www.times-up.org/press_view.php?release=050327_norman_siegel

The Swap-O-Matic will attempt to promote the recycling of objects through the interface of a vending machine, which features used rather than new products. Participation with the system will allow users to rethink spending patterns, view consumption with a different perspective, and explore issues of material possessions and American consumption through a public installation. The Swap-O-Matic is intended to be both a solution and critical response to the gluttonous culture that we live in today: its core function to support the reuse and recycling of consumer products through swapping among participants. The project’s form, a vending machine, not only supports the function of an automated, self-contained system for swapping, but also frames the interaction in the problematic cultural context which it comments, insinuating notions of the immediacy, instant-gratification, and convenience, values often associated with vending machines.

A prototype currently lives at the Lower East Side Girls Club in New York City with an opening tonight from 5-8pm. Love that retro style!