From jai.sen at cacim.net  Wed Jan 18 11:31:48 2012
From: jai.sen at cacim.net (Jai Sen)
Date: Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:31:48 +0530
Subject: [Commons-convergence] Fwd: In protest,
	Wikipedia blackout on Wednesday
References: <1326831715.32065.YahooMailNeo@web120101.mail.ne1.yahoo.com>
Message-ID: <3B9898EC-38C0-4FF0-9818-07F27C0AE5D5@cacim.net>

Wednesday, 18 January 2012



THE (EN)CLOSURE OF OPEN SPACE?



In protest against so-called ?anti-piracy legislation? under  
consideration in the US Congress, Wikipedia blackout today

Just yesterday, at the launch of two of our books (Interrogating  
Empires and Imagining Alternatives, as posted here / on some lists  
just last week), Anja Kovacs of the Internet Democracy Project based  
here in New Delhi gave an excellent presentation on, among other  
things, just this question : The closure of what we tend to take for  
granted is open space.  (For details of Anja and the Internet  
Democracy Project, see below.)

The event was streamed live, and a recording will soon be posted on  
the OpenWord site, http://www.openword.in.

Exactly the same thing is taking place in India at the moment, with  
the present dispensation that is called the government is insanely  
trying to both threaten service providers and to bring in legislation  
to control content.

As Anja also did in her presentation, please take a look at the  
following chapters in one of the books released yesterday, and the  
related discussion that took place around these presentations, also  
contained in the attachment; and please also take a look at the work  
of the Internet Democracy Project (www.internetdemocracy.in).  This  
book will soon become available from Daanish Books (http://www.daanishbooks.com/ 
) :

Shuddhabrata Sengupta, 2011 ? ?The Politics of Knowledge Sharing?, in  
Jai Sen, ed, 2011a - Imagining Alternatives, Book 3 in the Are Other  
Worlds Possible ? series, pp 74-83.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish  
Books

And :

C K Raju, 2011 ? ?New Technology in an Old Social Order?, in Jai Sen,  
ed, 2011b - Imagining Alternatives, Book 3 in the Are Other Worlds  
Possible ? series, pp 84-91.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books

             Thanks once again, Shuddha and CK, and also Anja ? and  
all strength to what you are saying, writing, and doing !  And to all  
those fighting on this crucial front.

             In solidarity with the folks at Wikipedia !

             JS

Anja Kovacs, Internet Democracy Project, New Delhi

Anja is the driving force behind the Internet Democracy Project (www.internetdemocracy.in 
), which engages in research and advocacy on the promises and  
challenges that the Internet poses for democracy and social justice in  
the developing world. The project currently focuses in particular on  
issues related to freedom of expression and the Internet ? especially  
in India and South Asia, but also globally; see http://internetdemocracy.in/2011/10/07/in-defence-of-democracy/ 
.  Anja is also a Fellow at the Centre for Internet and Society,  
Bangalore, where she has worked on a range of issues, including  
researching on online activism in India. She obtained her PhD in  
Development Studies from the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK,  
and has been based in India since 2001.

anjakovacs at gmail.com



att

AOWP Book3 Imag Alt 8 OS2 FIN ac230910.pdf


fwd


Begin forwarded message:

> From: Adsm <andym1997 at yahoo.com>
> Date: January 18 2012 1:51:55 AM GMT+05:30
> To: IHRO <IHRO at yahoogroups.com>, "sikh_news at yahoogroups.com" <sikh_news at yahoogroups.com 
> >, "sikh at yahoogroups.com" <sikh at yahoogroups.com>, "sikhs_in_bay_area at yahoogroups.com 
> " <sikhs_in_bay_area at yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: [IHRO] Re : In protest, Wikipedia blackout on Wednesday
> Reply-To: IHRO at yahoogroups.com

> In protest, Wikipedia blackout on Wednesday

The Associated Press, Updated: January 17, 2012 13:06 IST

New York:  Wikipedia will black out the English language version of  
its website Wednesday to protest anti-piracy legislation under  
consideration in Congress, the foundation behind the popular community- 
based online encyclopaedia said in a statement Monday night.

The website will go dark for 24 hours in an unprecedented move that  
brings added muscle to a growing base of critics of the legislation.  
Wikipedia is considered one of the Internet's most popular websites,  
with millions of visitors daily.

"If passed, this legislation will harm the free and open Internet and  
bring about new tools for censorship of international websites inside  
the United States," the Wikimedia foundation said.

The Stop Online Piracy Act in the US House of Representatives and the  
Protect Intellectual Property Act under consideration in the Senate  
are designed to crack down on sales of pirated US products overseas.

Supporters include the film and music industry, which often sees its  
products sold illegally. They say the legislation is needed to protect  
intellectual property and jobs.

Critics say the legislation could hurt the technology industry and  
infringe on free-speech rights. Among their concerns are provisions  
that would weaken cyber-security for companies and hinder domain  
access rights.

The most controversial provision is in the House bill, which would  
have enabled federal authorities to "blacklist" sites that are alleged  
to distribute pirated content. That would essentially cut off portions  
of the Internet to all US users. But congressional leaders appear to  
be backing off this provision.

Tech companies such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo, Twitter, eBay, AOL and  
others have spoken out against the legislation and said it threatens  
the industry's livelihood. Several online communities such as Reddit,  
Boing Boing and others have announced plans to go dark in protest as  
well.

The Obama administration also raised concerns about the legislation  
over the weekend and said it will work with Congress on legislation to  
help battle piracy and counterfeiting while defending free expression,  
privacy, security and innovation in the Internet.

Wikipedia's decision to go dark brings the issue into a much brighter  
spotlight. A group of Wikipedia users have discussed for more than a  
month whether it should react to the legislation.

Over the past few days, a group of more than 1,800 volunteers who work  
on the site and other users considered several forms of online  
protest, including banner ads and a global blackout of the site, the  
foundation said. Ultimately, the group supported the decision to black  
out the English version of the site.

Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia who first announced the move on  
his Twitter account Monday, said the bills are a threat to the free,  
open, and secure web.

"The whole thing is just a poorly designed mess," Wales said in an  
email to The Associated Press.

Wikipedia is also requesting that readers contact members of Congress  
about the bill during the blackout.

"I am personally asking everyone who cares about freedom and openness  
on the Internet to contact their Senators and Representative," Wales  
said. "One of the things we have learned recently during the Arab  
spring events is that the Internet is a powerfully effective tool for  
the public to organize and have their voices heard."

Wikipedia will shut down access from midnight Eastern Standard Time on  
Tuesday night until midnight Wednesday.

This is the first time Wikipedia's English version has gone dark. Its  
Italian site came down once briefly in protest to an Internet  
censorship bill put forward by the Berlusconi government; the bill did  
not advance.

"Wikipedia is about being open," said Jay Walsh, spokesman for the  
Wikimedia foundation. "We are not about shutting down and protesting.  
It's not a muscle that is normally flexed."



http://www.ndtv.com/article/world/in-protest-wikipedia-blackout-on-wednesday-167710?pfrom=home-otherstories&cp
> __,_._,___
>

______________________________

Jai Sen

jai.sen at cacim.net / MOBILE : +91-98189 11325

NEW OFFICE ADDRESS : CACIM, G-5 Jangpura Extension (basement), New  
Delhi 110 014, India  www.cacim.net / http://www.openword.in

LANDLINE : +91-11-4504 7319 OR +91-11-4155 0963

Nearest Metro station : Jangpura

Old and registered address : A-3 Defence Colony, New Delhi 110 024,  
India

NEW PUBLICATIONS :

Jai Sen, ed, 2011a - Interrogating Empires, Book 2 in the Are Other  
Worlds Possible ? series.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books

Jai Sen, ed, 2011b - Imagining Alternatives, Book 3 in the Are Other  
Worlds Possible ? series.  New Delhi : OpenWord and Daanish Books

FORTHCOMING PUBLICATIONS  :

Jai Sen and Peter Waterman, eds, forthcoming (2011a) ? World Social  
Forum : Critical Explorations. Volume 3 in the Challenging Empires  
series.  New Delhi : OpenWord

Jai Sen and Peter Waterman, eds, forthcoming (2011b) ? The Movements  
of Movements : Struggles for Other Worlds. Volume 4 in the Challenging  
Empires series.  New Delhi : OpenWord

CHECK OUT CACIM @ www.cacim.net, OpenSpaceForum @  
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AND SUBSCRIBE TO WSFDiscuss, an open and unmoderated forum on the  
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