[artinfo] WEF projects attack, protect artinfo@c3.hu

Tue, 29 Jan 2002 15:14:21 -0400 (AST)

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Jan. 28, 2002
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Release and Annual Report

NEW PROJECTS COMBAT CRIMINALIZATION OF DISSENT

In response to The World Economic Forum Meeting at the Waldorf Astoria
Hotel in New York City (January 30 to February 3), RTMark investors
have sponsored several new projects to fight the corporate takeover of
public space and expression:

* The "reaming" of the WEF's website with automatic parody software
* "Ready-to-revolt" smart clothing
* Tear-gas tennis
* A virtual sit-in of the WEF's website
* Avoidance/destruction of surveillance cameras
* Street-writing bicycles

*****************************************

The World Economic Forum Gets Reamed

The Yes Men have released version 2.0 of Reamweaver, their automatic
website-parody software, and have set it loose on the World Economic
Forum website. "We think http://world-economic-forum.com is more
forthright about the WEF's goals than their real site is," said Andy
Bichlbaum of the Yes Men.

The free, open-source software (http://reamweaver.com) was first
released when the World Trade Organization tried to shut down Gatt.org
in November. "The WTO tried to capitalize on the post-9/11 climate by
attacking any kind of dissent," said Cue P. Doll, one of the
Reamweaver coders. "By automating the parody process, this software
scales web dissent from a small group to a global network, ensuring
the WTO's kind of tactics will never work."

******************************************

The World Economic Forum Gets Sat Upon

The Electronic Disturbance Theater is releasing a virtual sit-in
(denial-of-service) tool specially tailored for the World Economic
Forum website. Users are invited to join the cyber-protest at
http://www.thing.net/~rdom/ecd/fools.html.

*******************************************

New Ways to Avoid or Destroy Video Surveillance

Two new projects help citizens regain some of their privacy by helping
them to avoid surveillance or destroy it. The Institute for Applied
Autonomy's iSee (http://www.appliedautonomy.com/isee/) is an
interactive map that shows walkers the path of least surveillance
between any two points in Manhattan. And for those who want to take
the direct route, an anonymous group explains how to disable
inappropriate cameras (http://rtmark.com/cctv/).

*******************************************

Bikes Paint Messages As You Ride (Project BIKE)

An anonymous investment of $500 has allowed the distribution of a
tool that turns any bicycle into a street-writing device. Bradley
Pitts (mailto:bmpitts9@hotmail.com), a spokesperson for the group
that created the tool, calls it "an efficient way to get a message
out on the street... over and over and over again." 
(http://architecture.mit.edu/~atmarcus/bikewriter/writer.html)

******************************************** 

Prêt-à-Révolter Design Civil Disobedience Equipment (Project PRET)

Concerned by the new police and government tendency to treat any
social movement as criminal, an investor has paid $1700 to help
develop and deploy functional fashions for protest. The colorful
costumes are fitted with padding at shoulder and rib regions to ward
off baton blows, and miniature video cameras and transmitters to
broadcast police brutality live to remote recorders.
(http://www.sindominio.net/fiambrera/web-agencias/pretaverde.html)

********************************************

Athletes recruited for "Tear-Gas Tennis" (Project LACR)

An investor is offering $200 to the first lacrosse, tennis, or
jai-alai team that methodically catches and returns tear gas canisters
before they land among protesters. "Protests often turn violent
because of police actions, like shooting people with tear gas
canisters," said RTMark spokesperson Frank Guerrero. "Project LACR
opposes the violence with a bit of sporting fun, and it could help
keep a protester or two from getting seriously injured."

********************************************

LOOKING BACK: 2001 ANNUAL REPORT

RTMark posted reasonable cultural dividends for its investors in 2001,
but the gains were bittersweet as civil liberties went up in smoke and
authoritarian regimes instituted repressive policies on the ruins of
the World Trade Center.

The main dividends of 2001:

Impostors passed as the World Trade Organization at a "Textiles of the
Future" conference (http://theyesmen.org/finland.html) and on European
Marketwrap, a prime-time program on CNBC
(http://theyesmen.org/tv.html). An anonymous investment covered some
travel expenses.

A conference session on techniques to counter anti-corporate activism,
normally available for $225 to corporate clients, was made available
to activists for free at http://rtmark.com/prsa, thanks to an
anonymous donor. 

One thousand vanity mirrors were distributed at the G8 protests in
Genoa, and were used to reflect the sun into the eyes of attacking
policemen (http://rtmark.com/archimedes.html).

A software development kit and book from http://hactivist.com,
entitled "Child as Audience", teaches anyone to reverse-engineer the
Nintendo Gameboy; it was co-sponsored by RTMark.

The same label that enraged Geffen Records with "Deconstructing Beck"
issued its fourth RTMark-sponsored release, "A Mutated Christmas"
(http://detritus.net/illegalart/xmas).

A catapult used to hurl stuffed animals over the fortress walls at the
Quebec FTAA meeting fulfilled Project MDVL and garnered a cash reward
for the creators.

Thousands of brochures advertising "Deportation Class" seating were
secretly placed in airplane seat pockets to illustrate how commercial
airlines traffic in unwilling human cargo (http://rtmark.com/luft). 

The :CueCat, a freely available barcode scanner meant to help
advertise to people in their homes, was hacked into a tool for
learning about corporate misdeeds (http://rtmark.com/cuejack).

The "Heads and Tails Video Reclamation Program" which encourages
videotape renters to record public service messages over previews, has
resulted in hundreds of altered tapes across the US and Canada
(http://rtmark.com/fundlabor.html#DUBM and
http://rtmark.com/fundlabor.html#FLMC). 

And finally, Dr. Andreas Bichlbauer of the World Trade Organization
has chosen the winner of this year's Corporate Poetry Contest:  The
Organization of American States' "Chant to the OAS," in the
"Children's Corner" section of their website
(http://rtmark.com/corpoetry.html).

RTMark's primary goal is to publicize corporate subversion of the
democratic process. To this end it acts as a clearinghouse for
anti-corporate projects. A list of just-added projects is maintained
at http://rtmark.com/new.html. 

                             # 30 #

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