Sunday, 13 March 2011

The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

JPBarlow John Perry Barlow

What spreads faster than radiation? Irrational fears about radiation.

Exodus from Japan nuclear plant

An estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated from the area around a quake-damaged nuclear power station in north-east Japan that was hit by an explosion, the UN atomic watchdog says.

A building housing a reactor was destroyed in Saturday's blast at the Fukushima No.1 plant.
The authorities said the reactor itself was intact inside its steel container.
Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami is believed to have left more than 1,000 people dead.
The Japanese government has sought to play down fears of a meltdown at Fukushima No.1, saying that radiation levels around the stricken plant have now fallen.

But on Sunday morning, concerns were raised about the safety of a second reactor at the plant after operator Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) said the cooling system of another reactor had failed.

Since Friday's earthquake, radioactive air and steam has been released from several reactors at both Fukushima No.1 and No.2 plants in an effort to relieve the huge amount of pressure building up inside. Sea water and boron is being pumped into the site to lower temperatures.
Tepco said four of its workers were injured in Saturday's explosion, but that their injuries were not life-threatening. The Japanese government doubled the size of the evacuation zone around No.1 plant to 20km (12.4 miles) after the blast.
Reuters news agency quotes a Japanese nuclear safety agency official as saying that tests indicate that at least nine people have been exposed to radiation from the plant, and local authority estimates suggest this figure could rise as high as 160.
The government has urged local people to remain calm and is preparing to distribute iodine to anyone affected.
The UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement: "In the 20-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daiichi (No.1), an estimated 170,000 people have been evacuated.
"In the 10-kilometre radius around Fukushima Daini (No.2) an estimated 30,000 people have been evacuated. Full evacuation measures have not been completed."
Scenes of devastation
The tsunami that followed the 8.9-magnitude earthquake wreaked havoc along a huge stretch of on Japan's north-east coast, sweeping far inland and devastating a number of towns and villages. Powerful aftershocks are continuing to hit the region.
The BBC's Damian Grammaticas in the coastal city of Sendai, in Miyagi prefecture, says the scenes of devastation there are astonishing - giant shipping containers have been swept inland and smashed against buildings, and fires are still burning close to the harbour.
Police said between 200 and 300 bodies were found in just one ward of the city.
The town of Rikuzentakada, Iwate prefecture, was reported as largely destroyed and almost completely submerged. NHK reported that soldiers had found up to 400 bodies there.
NHK reports that in the port of Minamisanriku, Miyagi, the authorities say that about 7,500 people were evacuated to 25 shelters after Friday's quake but they have been unable to contact the town's other 10,000 inhabitants.
A local official in the town of Futaba, Fukushima, said more than 90% of the houses in three coastal communities had been washed away by the tsunami.

Couple walk past overturned vehicles in Miyako (12 March)

"The tsunami was unbelievably fast," said Koichi Takairin, a 34-year-old truck driver who was inside his four-ton rig when the wave hit Sendai. "Smaller cars were being swept around me. All I could do was sit in my truck."
Tens of thousands of troops backed by ships and helicopters have been deployed on rescue and relief missions. More than 215,000 people are said to be living in 1,350 temporary shelters in five prefectures.
International disaster relief teams are being sent to Japan, with the UN helping to co-ordinate the operation.
President Barack Obama has pledged US assistance. One US aircraft carrier that was already in Japan will help with rescue and relief efforts, and a second is on its way.
Japan's worst previous earthquake was of 8.3 magnitude and killed 143,000 people in Kanto in 1923. A magnitude 7.2 quake in Kobe killed 6,400 people in 1995.
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Nadia Plesner: 'It's time for an intervention and you are all invited'

My latest work, Darfurnica, is a modern version of Picasso’s Guernica. In our time, the boundaries between the editorial and advertising departments in the media are disappearing and entertainment stories about the lives of Hollywood celebrities have become breaking news. Apparantly a genocide in Darfur can be happening RIGHT NOW without being important enough to make headlines. This is unacceptable and I refuse to turn the blind eye to what is happening.

In Darfurnica I have mixed some of the horrible stories I have learned about Darfur over the past years with some of the Hollywood gossip stories which made headlines during the same time period.

In collaboration with ARTMANIPULATOR, my first solo exhibition, INTERVENTION, took place in the Odd fellow Palace in Copenhagen from January 7th until February 4th, 2011. It consisted of Darfurnica and FORBES/DARFUR, a series of drawn portraits of the most and least influential people in 2009. The most influential are based on the list “Forbes 100″ and the least influential are portraits of children in Darfur. The show was opened by the Danish Culture Minister, Per Stig Møller, and was greatly visited, both at the opening day and throughout the month.

AND NOW LOUIS VUITTON HAS SUED ME AGAIN

As I returned to Holland in the beginning of February, I had received a verdict in a new court case started by Louis Vuitton. They are very angry about the bag that the boy in the middle is carrying. They claim again that I infringe their design rights on the pattern used in their “audra” bag and they had the court in Hague put 5000 euro penalties for each day I continue to show this painting on my website or in galleries or anywhere else. They have been counting since January 28, so at the moment the amount is higher than 220.000 euros (!)

Here you can read an English translation of the Court Order

I only heard about this lawsuit when I received the verdict; I have therefore not been able to defend myself. This seems a clear violation of my freedom of speech and artistic freedom.
I have spent the past month searching for an attorney and I am now blessed to have the help from Jens van den Brink and Christien Wildeman from the lawfirm Kennedy Van der Laan.
They have kindly agreed to start helping me but I need to find funds to defend myself and enable me to fend off fines Louis Vuitton may claim.

PLEASE HELP ME RAISE FUNDS TO DEFEND MYSELF

Any donations can be transferred to this Dutch account:

R.M. Keesom
Account nr: 1057.26.818
BIC/SWIFT code: RABONL2U
Iban nr: NL02RABO0105726818

to this Danish account:

M. Engelbrecht
Reg. nr: 3306
Account nr: 4083473037
BIC/SWIFT code: DABADKKK
Iban nr: DK9030004083473037

Please note, the accounts are not in my own name as I can risk to have my accounts seized by Louis Vuitton.

THANK YOU!

In a few weeks we plan to start summary proceedings against LV to try to have the order lifted.
I can’t believe that our world has come to a place where protection of design and copyrights apparently is more important than protection of human rights.
According to The Save Darfur Coalition, the last bombings of villages in Darfur took place no less than a few weeks ago, and 45.000 new refugees arrived in the Zamzam IDP Camp.
However – this is not something you hear in the media at all.

The story about Darfur must be told, and I believe I should have my artistic freedom of speech to do so.