I'm posting Brecht's poem 'A Worker’s Speech To A Doctor' to draw attention to the recent publication of a pamphlet by the Radical History Network of North East London, The NHS IS 60: undervalued, under-funded, undermined.

Variant, one of the few magazines covering the grim process of stealth privatisation of Glasgow's cultural assets, appears to have been specifically targeted by one of the very privateers it criticised, and who has banned its distribution at Tramway gallery, in a highly defensive abuse of power:

The spectre of poverty has always been used by the powerful as a stick to goad those wishing to live without working. Here Demetra Kotouza explores the intimate relationship between the management of the pauper and the (re)production of the labourer, overseen by state and philanthropic institutions. Whether stigmatised by the workhouse, cushioned by welfare or patronised by the neoliberal rhetoric of self-help, she argues, the poor are a necessary constant of capitalism

Launched in July 2006, Norfolk Open Link is the largest community wireless broadband network in the UK and is apparently the only network in the UK that offers free mobile internet access for public sector employees, the business community and the general public.  The network covers much of Norwich city centre and other 'key' locations including the University of East Anglia and Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.  It is managed by Norfolk County Council and is fully funded by the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).  The following links describe the project in m

Five students from Chelsea College of Art have prepared an ambitious programme of public talks, discussions, workshops and screenings to investigate art and activism

For programme details and times see http://collide-collabo.org/

collide/collabo, a series of events and workshops free and open to the public, 25th- 29th June 2006, 10-20h, Chelsea College of Art, Millbank London SW1P 4RJ, tube: Pimlico

Brief Description:

Dutch parliamentary democracy has long worn the mask of multi-culturalism, but its swing to the right in recent years has exposed the limits of Holland’s famous tolerance. Now that it looks like the UK government may be following suit, we present here a new version of Eric Krebbers’ text on Dutch assimilationist racism originally published in De Fabel van der illegaal in January 2005

In the lead up to the May local elections in the UK, the selection of a Greek-Armenian candidate by the British National Party (BNP) has seen the party descend into turmoil. The admission of ‘ethnics’ to the party, hardliners have claimed on bulletin boards and in the national press, has destroyed one of the last bastions of white working class racists.

The info-technological development of Africa is providing a critical laboratory for testing the utilitarian and egalitarian claims of the FLOSS community. The question of whether to adopt a free or proprietary route quickly expands beyond the immediate consideration of set up costs. Soenke Zehle considers how FLOSS fares in the competition to be the fittest 'tropical' technology, assesses different visions of continent-wide development, and examines FLOSS's own ambiguous economics

Tramway presents a multi artisit/country/media project that features the first post of an online magazine by Jocelyn Cottencin and involves interaction with the visitors. Cottencin wants to explore the concept of boundaries, territory, displacement, 'of leaving behind, going to and everything in between'.

Danish artist collective N55 want to rethink the office as a place for social cooperation rather than executive control, but have the 'imagination industries' beaten them to it? Craig Martin on the Office of the Future project

> OFFICE OF THE FUTURE, N55, 2004

The Science Museum’s Future Face exhibition claimed to provide a critical take on the culture of superficiality. Laura Sullivan visits and finds in the mirror world of cosmetics, masks and digital image manipulation a reflection of the society of control

Daniel Berchenko reports on recent developments in legal protest in the US and offers a critical analysis of the ‘state of inclusion’

Dark, fast and heroically anti-social, Black Metal is perhaps more renowned for its practioners’ acts of violence and murder than its musical form. But is there more to it than burning churches and diabolical pseudonyms? Cameron Bain looks into the abyss

Morality and Immortality - the games industry under siege