nettime's_indigestive_system on Fri, 26 Mar 1999 19:48:50 +0100 (CET) |
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<nettime> yugoslavia updates 2 |
Edward A Hirsch <thirsch+@andrew.cmu.edu> Re: <nettime> yugoslavia updates honor <honor@va.com.au> Help B92 Officially Launched Melentie Pandilovski <mpandil@soros.org.mk> Developments in Macedonia - part 2 "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net> Day 2 McKenzie Wark <mwark@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> information war human being <schizo@sirius.com> war for oil - oil for war (?) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 17:04:31 -0500 (EST) From: Edward A Hirsch <thirsch+@andrew.cmu.edu> Subject: Re: <nettime> yugoslavia updates Excerpts from mail: 25-Mar-99 <nettime> yugoslavia updates by nettime_indigestive_@Des > can be seen at http://www.b92.com.. this url is for "the only urban contemporary station in central illinois." while this may be of interest to anyone planning a roadtrip to chicago in the near future, i think most of us will be more interested to see http://www.b92.net. thanks, tad institute for applied autonomy - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 07:45:35 +0930 From: honor <honor@va.com.au> Subject: Help B92 Officially Launched INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENT MEDIA IN YUGOSLAVIA As NATO's crushing air strikes commenced across Yugoslavia, the state of emergency declared by President Slobodan Milosevic began to bite hard for residents of the stricken country. Even before the first missiles were deployed, Yugoslavia's most important independent media entity, radio station B92 was closed. On the night of 24.3.99, Radio B92's Belgrade transmitter was confiscated by the Serbian authorities. B92's editor-in-chief, Veran Matic, was arrested and held in custody for over 8 hours. In response to these extraordinary events, an international support group, comprising writers, activists and media practitioners from across Europe and around the world, has been founded to stage a campaign to help B92 continue to provide news updates about the situation in Yugoslavia as it develops. The campaign is centred in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, through the internet service provider, XS4ALL and the cultural organisation, De Balie. With the assistance of internet provider XS4ALL, B92 has broadcast its radio programs on the internet since December 1996. These digital broadcasts are picked up by the BBC World Service and retransmitted via satellite. Through a network of local radio stations, the programs of B92 can be heard throughout Serbia. Despite repeated attempts by the authorities to silence the station, this method has ensured that B92 has been able to provide up-to-date news about developments within Yugoslavia to many media entities across the country. The support of XS4ALL has ensured that, in spite of Yugoslavia's repressive information laws, B92 has been able remain operative. Despite this support, the current crisis situation in Yugoslavia means that the possibilities of B92 continuing its independent news service will be limited even further. The recently founded support group intends to take measures to distribute news by and about B92, from Amsterdam. For this purpose a special website has been established: http://helpB92.xs4all.nl B92 is the backbone of the independent news service in Yugoslavia. Without immediate financial support this last source of independent news for the inhabitants of this region is endangered. A fund raising campaign is being started by the support group, with the objective of sending money and equipment to B92 and other independent radio stations in Serbia and Kosovo. There are four key ways that you can assist the group in its support of B92. 1) Link to our website: http://helpb92.xs4all.nl By using the logo from the website and promote the spreading of this logo in any way you can. Also link to the B92 website: http://www.b92.net 2) Help us raise funds for B92 and other endangered independent news services from Serbia and Kosovo. The special account number that has been opened for donations is 7676. International money orders are payable to: Press Now Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10 1017 RR Amsterdam the Netherlands International bank transfers can be sent to: Postbank Amsterdam Swift address: INGBNL2A Account number: 7676 in the name of: Press Now Kleine Gartmanplantsoen 10 1017 RR Amsterdam the Netherlands 3) Distribute the press release about the fundraising campaign to your local media. 4) Sign the guestbook on the website if you want to express your individual support or, if you represent an organisation that wants to become part of the support group, mail us more details about the organisation and nature of the support offered, preferably accompanied by a small logo in gif-format to include on our website. The Help B92 Team is: B92: http://www.b92.net/ De Balie: http://www.balie.nl/ De Digitale Stad: http://dds.nl/ Next 5 Minutes: http://www.n5m.org/ Press Now: http://www.dds.nl/~pressnow/ radioqualia (Australia): http://www.radioqualia.va.com.au/ De Waag (MONM): http://www.waag.org/ XS4ALL: http://www.xs4all.nl/ r a d i o q u a l i a ((o)) audio -> modulation radioqualia@va.com.au http://www.radioqualia.va.com.au/ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 23:42:54 +0100 (MET) From: Melentie Pandilovski <mpandil@soros.org.mk> Subject: Developments in Macedonia - part 2 After entering in the yard of the American embassy in Skopje some of the present youth started smashing its windows. Several embassy or NATO jeeps were damaged. The demonstrators were shouting in favor of Yugoslavia, Russia and Macedonia and waiving with SFRJ (ex-Yugoslavia) flags, and singing the Yugoslav anthem "Hej Sloveni". This has not been seen in Skopje for a long time. It reminded a lot of the All - Yugoslav spirit of the 70ies and 80ies. The demonstrators then proceeded affront of the German and British Embassy where they continued to protest in a similar manner. Witnesses say that the police shot smoke grenades and tear gas in the air, and prevented the demonstrators to enter into the building. The prime minister Georgievski addressed the Macedonian public on TV accusing the Macedonian media of an anti-NATO campaign and confirmed the firm pro-NATO direction of the Macedonian government and stressing the guarantees of NATO for Macedonia. However he said that the Western allies were so far only verbally preventing the possible humanitarian catastrophe in Kosovo and Souther Serbia, and that if it happens the West is to be blamed. The demonstrators were not very impressed loudly saying that the threat for Macedonia is on the contrary NATO and demanded the Prime Minister to speak to them directly which hasn't happened yet. Demonstrations stopped after some time. Larger demonstrations with participants from all of Macedonia expected to continue tomorrow noon. The minister of interior Trajanov accused the demonstrators of being very aggressive and said that Macedonia remains neutral in the conflict. As a result quite many policemen are infront of the embasies guarding them during the night. Otherwise people are cautious and storing food supplies. Streets are now calm except for white helicopters (I think it is UNPREDEP which is still around) circling extremely frequently around the center of Skopje and creating awful noise during the night . Melentie - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - From: "Ivo Skoric" <ivo@reporters.net> Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 23:10:57 +0000 Subject: Day 2 The factory where Yugo cars and ammo for Yugoslav Army were made, Zavodi Crvena Zastava in Kragujevac was set on flames yesterday. Is this was done in 1991, thousands of lives in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo might been saved.. About 40 other military targets were hit around Yugoslavia. Civilian casualties were minimal (around 10), and apparently just one bomb hit a private home. Three MIGs who dared challenge allied air force were shot down. Tonight another 20 cruise missiles were launched and B2s are sent back. The only worry is would NATO succeed in destroying Yugoslav military potential to fight before Yugoslav military succeed in destroying Kosovo Albanian potential to self-adminsitration: as NATO raids ceased in the morning, Yugoslav Army in Kosovo went in business of abducting Albanian professionals, intelectuals and public figures. The incessant yammering about sovereignty is gibberish from my perspective. I believe that a country that treats UN declaration of human rights, Geneva convention and similar charters with sarcastic disdain, should be stripped of its sovereignty the same way like a Congressman who kills is stripped of his immunity. Protection of international law applies to those who uphold the international law. Milosevic is a war criminal. It is sad that Serbian people have to endure this fear of being hit by a bomb (should the sattelite navigation go askance), as it was sad that many Germans had to die in Berlin and Dresden for Hitler's folly, and it is commending that NATO is careful to minimize civilian casualties. ivo - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Fri, 26 Mar 1999 16:02:59 +1100 (EST) From: McKenzie Wark <mwark@laurel.ocs.mq.edu.au> Subject: information war zczc *aus*edued* catchline:information war Information War McKenzie Wark Friday, 26 March 1999 Now that the war in Europe is on in earnest, so too is the information war. Watching television newscasts the day after NATO launched its first air strikes, what struck me was that news airtime played host to another kind of air strike. This was not news, this was the simulation of news. Nearly all channels carried images of what we are told are Tomahawk cruise missiles being launched from ships, and what we are told are images of B2 bombers. Then we cut to images of something burning in what we are told is Belgrade, or some other site in Serbia -- little brightly coloured maps give a crude approximation of locations. These reports were all vague and sketchy, except concerning the type of weapons used. These details, like the images of the weapons of war, clearly come from military sources. The editing creates the impression that the missile or the bomber is the one that creates the damage in the following shot. Given the way these montages conjure impressions of NATO power, its really quite understandable that the Serbs should try to prevent journalists from filming the results of the air strikes. Those images that photojournalists and camera crews have transmitted to the west are clearly being used in the west for propaganda purposes. So too are those eerie images of bunkers being blown up in Iraq, the use of which clearly has nothing to do with the facts of this war and everything to do with creating the fantasy of the destructive power of the air strike. When a news program cuts together an image of a cruise missile launch with an image of an Iraqi bunker blowing up, we reach the surreal situation where *neither* image is actually of an air strike against Serbia, yet both are presented as if as visual 'proof'. The newspapers don't necessarily fair much better. Last Friday both the Australian and the Sydney Morning Herald carried the same photo, which the former claimed showed damage to a Serbian aircraft factory, the latter a *military* aircraft factory. The picture shows a litter of air conditioning ducts, light fittings and what are clearly *civilian* planes. Meanwhile, talking heads conduct their own war. Video shot in Russia, Serbia, America, England show leaders who appear to be talking to each other as much as to their respective national publics. International news becomes the site of a subtle verbal conflict. Global media vectors make possible not only the fictional war stories favoured by the evening news, but equally entertaining tales composed by duelling statesmen. That truth is the first casualty of war is now a truism. Broadcasters no longer feel obliged even to identify the military or government sources of much of their video. But perhaps this simulation of news of war is really just a heightened form of the fictional nature of news in general, in which video and press handouts feed a voracious demand for stories with the comforting illusion of reality about them. Even from this sceptical point of view, it still matters, perhaps matters even more, that the information war means the shutting down of alternative claims to fabricate images and stories. Last week, the Serbian government confiscated the transmitter of Radio B92. The station's editor in chief, Veran Matic, was held in police custody for 8 hours. Broadcast media vectors are easy for governments to control, due to their centralised means of information transmission. The laptop, the modem, the cell phone and the satellite are making it hard for either side to have complete control over the manufacture of wartime reality. Since 1996, B92's critical view of the Serbian government has also been available via the Dutch internet service Xs4all. These digital broadcasts are sometimes picked up by the BBC World Service and retransmitted via satellite. A network of local radio stations in Serbia then rebroadcast the B92 signal. Media activists around the world are now working to maintain not only B92 but other independent media from Serbia and Kosovo. The web site http://helpB92.xs4all.nl has more details -- and an urgent call for help in maintaining the free flow of information from diverse sources under these conditions of information war. According to the Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Serbian media has been drafted for the information war, and in perhaps an even less subtle way than in the west. The Institute's monitoring points to the effective used of vox pops -- interviews with ordinary people in the street -- and of opinion polls, to create the impression of unified Serbian support for the war. The Institute also has its criticisms of B92, which it claims has done an excellent job in terms fusing a variety of news sources, but which inserts anti-government editorialising too. (See http://www.iwpr.net). I'm not convinced that news in wartime is necessarily more fabricated than news in peacetime. What strikes me as the real problem is that the process of fabricating coherent flows of image and story becomes polarised. The rival sides do their best to subordinate the news-making process to war aims, and in the process the range of perceptions and interpretations of events is reduced. No wonder wars always seem to go wrong. The process of producing and selecting facts to fit a story predetermined by the war aims of one side or the other seems to come up against increasing difficulties. The available images and facts increasingly fail to fit the story chosen in advance for them. Whether in Yugoslavia, or Iraq, or Somalia, or Afghanistan, the news story, as it progressed, seemed increasingly unable to account for the available facts. Boredom and another crisis somewhere else usually intervenes -- but notice, in retrospect, how mistaken the story propounded in the information war was in each of these cases. Saddam Hussein is still in power, despite the supposedly lethal accuracy of those smart bombs, the video images of which are being recycled now, for yet another war. This is why the efforts of xs4all to keep B92's views flowing matter -- as a form of resistance to the collapse of perspective that is the information war. McKenzie Wark is the author of Celebrities, Culture and Cyberspace, published by Pluto Press, and is senior lecturer in media studies at Macquarie University. nnnn __________________________________________ "We no longer have roots, we have aerials." http://www.mcs.mq.edu.au/~mwark -- McKenzie Wark - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Date: Thu, 25 Mar 1999 22:29:45 -0800 (PST) From: human being <schizo@sirius.com> Subject: war for oil - oil for war (?) is it possible that the 'moral imperative' is more base and profane than soley the humanitarian concerns for the ethnic Albanians? is it not possible that US National Security is threatened by the non- US controlled energy resources that will be primary to the world's energy markets in 2020. that is, long range strategic planning for the world's oil & natural gas pipelines to fuel the machine.usa ? ... CRUDE OIL AND OIL PRODUCTS "This, very important part of total CI's activities, is determined by strategically excellent position - laboratory and inspection facilities are placed beside the main crude oil pipeline in this part of Europe - Adriatic Pipeline - that links refineries from Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Yugoslavia as well as Hungary, Slovak and Czech Republic." http://www.croatiainspect.hr/crud_gb.htm GREEN LIGHT TO TRANS-CASPIAN NATURAL GAS PIPELINE Turkmenistan has come round to supporting the Trans-Caspian natural gas pipeline. Turkey is taking a big stride for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline to be a major oil and gas transit terminal in the new century. The USA says the project makes sense, but its support is still not certain at this point. Turkeyís natural gas needs until 2020 are the backbone of these oil and natural gas pipeline projects. " [http://www.turkpulse.com/green.htm] oct 2nd 98 "NEW GREAT GAME IS ENTERING DECISIVE PHASE Turkey's Republic Day would have been a milestone in the worldís energy projections for the 21st century, but ongoing multilateral bargaining may delay it a few weeks. Will Turkey and the United States continue the very productive cooperation for the Baku-Ceyhan pipeline hitherto or will it be a sad parting of ways? If the latter what will it involve and how durable is it likely to be? What are the Turkish reactions to and trump cards for this New Great Game? " http://www.turkpulse.com/new3.htm oct 21st 98 TURKEY BEING WOVEN WITH NATURAL GAS PIPELINES Natural gas pipeline projects have been given a spur to save Turkey from the energy bottleneck in the new century. Natural gas will account for more than a third of Turkeyís total energy consumption. Iran waives $245,000 fine a day for Turkeyís delay in completing the pipeline in time. The United States suspects that Turkmen gas may arrive in Turkey via Iran and strongly objects to it. Turkeyís basic policy is to diversify its natural gas, oil and energy imports. Relations with Iran have been given a boost recently, but it has not yet gone as far as tripartite cooperation including Syria, as suggested by Tehran, because of dodgy document Damascus handed to Turkey about the PKK. " "Americans try to prevent gas from Turkmenistan passing through Iran " http://www.turkpulse.com/turkey8.htm feb15th 99 bc ________________________________________________ a r c h i t e x t u r e z : an online community for hacking and cracking the architectural code www.sirius.com/~schizo/architexturez/main.htm -----End of forwarded message----- --- # distributed via nettime-l : no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a closed moderated mailinglist for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@desk.nl and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # URL: http://www.desk.nl/~nettime/ contact: nettime-owner@desk.nl