Tag: political activism

Posted on

Stephen Barnwell’s Capital Offenses

From Antarctica Arts:

Capital-Offenses-200Capital Offenses is a new fine art monograph by Stephen Barnwell. Barnwell’s work often blurs the lines between political activism, humor, and observation. This first edition is a ten-year retrospective of his unique satirical prints.

As an artist, Barnwell considers no subject off-limits. He feels that political correctness and political extremism are destroying our national discourse. Using satire to explore controversial ideas and forbidden subjects, he subverts the language of power to criticize power.

stephenbarnwellart-425

Capital Offenses, published by Antarctica Arts, has a publication date of May 1, 2014.

Special Pre-release Offer:
The first 50 books of this first print run will be signed and hand-numbered by the artist.

Related links:

  • Artist Stephen Barnwell Designs Official OWS Protest Currency
  • Stephen Barnwell”s Bailout for America

    • Related posts:

    1. And From a Tiny Acorn…
    2. Join Us for the NYC 38th Annual April Fools’ Day Parade (2023)
    3. Catch the First Four Joey Skaggs Oral Histories at the (Virtual) New Jersey Film Festival Friday
    4. Flotilla Choir Presents: We Con the World
    Posted on

    F.B.I. Burglars Come Clean After 43 Years

    In 1971, eight anti-war activists, including John and Bonnie Raines, broke into a suburban FBI office outside of Philadelphia and stole just about every file in the building.

    john-and-bonnie-raines-425

    They then leaked pertinent documents to the media that directly implicated J. Edgar Hoover in his efforts to discredit protestors, particularly black student activists, with extraordinary surveillance and “dirty tricks”. In particular they uncovered an operation called COINTELPRO, short for Counter Intelligence Program, which followed “subversive” domestic political groups, specifically to discredit people and destroy their reputations.

    Said one of the most damning memos regarding the surveillance: “It will enhance the paranoia endemic in these circles and will further serve to get the point across there is an F.B.I. agent behind every mailbox…” The burglars, who remained anonymous until now, feeling the information they revealed was more important than their identities, put the first chink in Hoover’s formidable power base, eventually helping to bring down his operation.

    Betty Medsger of The Washington Post was the first reporter to write about the files. She has now written a book, out this week, called “The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI“. Documentarian Johanna Hamilton has produced a film called “1971,” about this daring feat.

    For the full story:

  • Burglars Who Took On F.B.I. Abandon Shadows, The New York Times
  • After 43 years, activists admit theft at FBI office that exposed domestic spying, NBC News
  • ‘Somebody had to do it’: Aging activists confess to being behind great FBI heist in 1971 which shed light on controversial surveillance program (and say ‘hi!’ to Edward Snowden), The Daily Mail

    • Related posts:

    1. Dick Tuck, RIP
    2. Stephen Barnwell’s Capital Offenses
    3. CIA Torture Whistleblower Gets Royal Prison Send-off
    4. The Film That is Not a Film
    Posted on

    Pussy Riot Update [English & Russian]

    Why three members of Pussy Riot were arrested

    Here’s the video of their protest in the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour of the Russian Orthodox Church in Moscow:

    More on the subject:

  • Meeting Pussy Riot, an interview with Pussy Riot days before their arrest by Henry Langston, Vice.com, February 2012
  • Pussy Riot from Wikipedia
  • The Wrong Reasons to Back Pussy Riot, an Op-Ed by Vadim Nikitin, New York Times, August 20, 2012
  • Pussy Riot Rocked My Family Dinner Table, commentary by Lara Vapnyar, Wall Street Journal, August 20, 2012
  • Kasparov grilled over Pussy Riot protest bite, AFP, The Australian, August 21, 2012
  • Russian clerics forgive Pussy Riot for Putin rant, by Mansur Mirovalev, AP, August 18, 2012
  • Pussy Riot против Попов!(передача Большая разница), YouTube, published by serg54999999
  • Femen Movement. Woman Power, more female Russian activists sought by Russian police
  • Free Pussy Riot website – for further updates

    • image: <a href="Meeting Pussy Riot” target=”_blank”>Vice.com

    Related posts:

    1. Pussy Riot To Pursue Human Rights Agenda
    2. Vaginal Politics: What’s Good for the Goose Is Good For the Gander
    3. Brisbane’s Bitter Bench Battle
    4. Protesters Bare All Over a Proposed San Francisco Law
    Posted on

    Vaginal Politics: What’s Good for the Goose Is Good For the Gander

    State Pols Outraged by Anti-Abortion Laws Push Onerous Restrictions on Viagra
    by Allison Yarrow
    The Daily Beast
    March 14, 2012

    Want to use the popular potency drug? First undergo a rectal exam, celibacy lecture, and waiting period. How fed-up female state legislators””and at least one male””are pushing bills to retaliate against the male-led, restrictions-laden drive to limit women”s rights to abortion and birth control.

    In the fierce public debate about contraception and abortion, revenge legislation is the new attack weapon. Women pols are using their posts to wage war on bills and laws that work to govern women”s wombs. And they”re not denying the obvious humor involved in what they”ve proposed. Monty Python is even a touchstone.

    To give men a taste of how invasive and prodding government oversight into women”s sex lives has become, a number of state politicians sporting two X chromosomes have championed bills that mandate a pesky list of prerequisites for men who want Viagra pills. These include celibacy lectures, rectal exams, affidavits from former lovers swearing impotence problems, and forced viewing of a video pimping the medicine”s side effects. Acquiring the goods to get hard could be incredibly difficult. It’s tough enough reading that list of regulations with a straight face.

    “We”re talking about it, that”s a start,” said Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, who in the last 24 hours has been anointed the latest liberal media darling for introducing her version of a Viagra bill. The senator wants to “protect” Ohio’s men “from the risks of PDE-5 inhibitors, drugs commonly used to treat symptoms of impotence.” Turner is retaliating against her state’s cadre of male pols who push what are essentially abortion and contraception bans. They have, her press release suggests, been so protective of women”s insides that reciprocation is only fair.

    “If you want to be preoccupied with regulating women”s wombs, we”re going to do the same thing with men,” she challenged.

    Read the rest of this article here.

    Related posts:

    1. And the message is… VOTE!
    2. Speaking of Artificial Intelligence…
    3. R.I.P. Tom Hayden (1939-2016)
    4. PAC-ing a Punch
    Posted on

    The Film That is Not a Film

    A Video From Tehran: It”s Not What It Isn”t, but What It Is
    by A. O. Scott
    The New York Times
    February 28, 2012

    He”s Jafar Panahi, but “˜This Is Not a Film”

    The title “This Is Not a Film” nods in the direction of René Magritte”s famous painting of a pipe, but at least at first glance, this new 75-minute work of cinema by Jafar Panahi has little in common with any sly Surrealist prank.

    This video essay was recorded in Tehran last year, as Mr. Panahi, one of the leading Iranian filmmakers of the past decade, was under a legal assault from his government that included the confiscation of his passport, the threat of a long prison sentence and an even longer ban on making movies.

    Careful to obey the letter of that injunction “” and thus exposing the preposterousness as well as the meanness of its spirit “” Mr. Panahi did not write a screenplay or wield a full-size camera. A colleague, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (credited as co-director), comes to his apartment to shoot, and Mr. Panahi restricts his activities to talking, recording with his iPhone, commenting on some of his earlier films and reading aloud from existing scripts. So if this is not a film, it is, among other things, a statement of creative resistance in the face of tyranny and a document of intellectual freedom under political duress.

    Continue reading “The Film That is Not a Film”

    Related posts:

    1. Catch the First Four Joey Skaggs Oral Histories at the (Virtual) New Jersey Film Festival Friday
    2. Speaking of Artificial Intelligence…
    3. Stephen Barnwell’s Capital Offenses
    4. Flotilla Choir Presents: We Con the World

    Back to top