Crypto Party, Brains!, Baathists, Red Rosa Luxemburg

[tcpip]

Saturday evening went to the Melbourne Crypto Party, a very well attended event (c76 based on head-count) at a great evenue. The principle of the meeting was sound; we don't send our mail without being enclosed in an envelope, so why do we do we send material in clear-view across digital media? So privacy and security issues are important, and people are beginning to understand that - especially as various States continue their various campaign against such communications. The presentations were mostly of a very high level (which of course, in tech-speak, means they were only modestly useful), although hasimir did give a good, practical talk on GPG for email clients; the same character has also contributed an insightful article on the Isocracy Network. Overall however, whilst newcomers in particular would have found Crypto Party useful, I would have preferred something a little more solid in the material and presentation.

On Sunday Katherine Phelps gave another invigorating and entertaining address on brain lateralisation, critical of popular psychology myths which overstate the distinction and particular the tendency to over-value holistic creativity over analytical logic or vice-versa. I couldn't help thinking of some of the very cool software that I've had some involvement with. After this positive experience the social justice meeting was a somewhat less than optimal; a visit from the pro-government front "Australians for Syria" group argued that the media and Amnesty International is involved in a conspiracy against secular Syria, that only "foreign terrorists" are responsible for the civilian killings etc. Preparing to meet them half-way, I asked how they expected to stop the violence given that (a) neither the Assad regime nor the Free Syria Army are likely to give up and (b) most civilian deaths occur by air and artillery strikes in population centres, rather than small arms or assassinations. To say the least, the question wasn't answered - instead we were told from a former Army captain that "Eighty percent of Syrians support our beloved leader". Leaving such nonsense one can only ponder that it is unsurprising that two branches (Stalinism and Baathism) of left-wing fascism have much in common.

Appropriately, I have been reading a great deal of Rosa Luxemburg of late, possibly the one good Marxist in the old historical tradition. She certainly had no illusions about the idiotic claim of rights of "nations" to self-determination - as if nations can have any rights at all independent of the rights of the people who live in them. She also argued for a dialectical mediation between revolutionary spontaneity and political organisation - a theme which one would also find in her arguments on the Mass Strike. Finally, and as can be expected, she made a number of extremely prescient remarks about the trajectory of the Russian revolution as early as 1918. Wondering aloud, perhaps the time is right for a Rosa Luxumburg conference?

Comments

[mr-orgue.livejournal.com]

Fascinating middle paragraph. Had no idea Syria had fake grassroots groups in places as far afield as Australia - I thought it so regionalised that there'd maybe be something in France (given their historic association) and that would be it?

Good questions asked, anyway. Syria situation continues to distress me because it doesn't seem like there's much way out of it. A Syrian friend circulates all the anti-govt/popular resistance news on FB and the tone of that has shifted dramatically over the last six months. It's pretty acidic and pessimistic now. Shifting Bashar is going to take years at a heavy cost. But there's no way back to the old equilibrium either; it just seems nasty no matter which way things go from here. That's not based on any deep reading, of course, if you can see any rays of light out there I'd love to hear them.

I loved Damascus. One of the nicest places I ever visited.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Oh, look I'm sure Assad has supporters - Gaddafi did as well. But they're of the same nature, their presence in other parts of the world has a large section for spying on locals, especially students. Talk to Iranians about that!

The last couple of months have been particularly violent with the largest number of civilian casualties, which describes the acidity. It is true, of course, that there are anti-secularists fighting against the Assad regime as well, but they are in a significant minority, about 1/10th of the total force of the FSA. When the regime finally does fall - and I think it will - the follow-up will be pretty similar to Libya.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

I REALLY envy you the intellectual environment! I know Alicante University has an interfaith society but I haven't investigated what else .

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Universidad de Alicante look like an interesting place.. As for an intellectual environment, well is always just a matter what you read and who and how you associate with others :)