Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Sergey Karaganov the Russian political scientist who heads the Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, a security analytical institution, and has been Presidential Advisor to both Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin, has published an article on the Project Syndicate titled ‘Fatal Thaws’. Karaganov states “During the Cold War, the Soviet Union and, in a milder way, the United States imposed external limits on the activities of states and societies, causing longstanding conflicts among smaller countries to be “frozen”. Following the Soviet Union’s collapse in the 1990’s, those conflicts began to “unfreeze”. With interethnic tensions already on the rise, Yugoslavia was the first country to dissolve into conflict. Soon after, war broke out between Armenia and Azerbaijan, followed by fighting in Transdniestria and Chechnya. … Most threatening, however, is the possibility that the EU could collapse, triggering a third unfreezing. The EU, established to break the destructive cycle of European nationalism that had facilitated the rise of two totalitarian systems and caused two world wars, amounted to the creation of a prototype of a humane world order. After being its own – and thus the world’s – worst enemy for centuries, Europe became a beacon of peace. …At the same time, Europeans must prepare for an even more profound transformation. In order to regain economic competitiveness, European countries will have to abandon many of their social-welfare policies and reform their political institutions. Most Europeans prefer to ignore the looming challenge of radical policy reform, owing to the decline in living standards that it implies. Global leaders must encourage Europe to tackle its problems decisively by offering advice, financial support, and constructive criticism. Russia must continue to press for an Alliance of Europe – a new framework for economic and diplomatic relations among the EU, Russia, and the rest of Greater Europe – which could offer a way out of Europe’s systemic crisis. The first unfreezing had serious consequences. Now, global leaders must work to minimize the fallout of the second, and use all available means to prevent a third.”

Inspired by Sergey Karaganov, Project Syndicate ow.ly/j4BYH Image source http://karaganov.ru ow.ly/j4BHb

Audrey Garric the French journalist for Le Monde has published an article titled ‘Climate weapons really exist?’ in which she states “Could the rising tide of … natural disasters be explained by man’s voluntary action? Could these cataclysms be triggered deliberately by the army, for political reasons? For years, these conspiracy theories, relayed generously on the Internet, suggest that the climate could be manipulated as part of strategic or tactical wars. …In the U.S., from the 1950s, official reports or statements recognize the military usefulness of climate change techniques. “Intervention in atmospheric and climatic matters . . . will unfold on a scale difficult to imagine at present . . . this will merge each nation’s affairs with those of every other, more thoroughly than the threat of a nuclear or any other war would have done,” said American mathematician John von Neumann at the height of the Cold War in 1955. Between 1967 and 1972 during the Vietnam War, Operation Popeye used cloud “seeding” techniques by injecting silver iodine. The idea was to trigger rain and extend monsoon season in order to slow down the movement of enemy troops through the Ho-Chi-Minh trail. As the U.S. and Russia were holding a scientific race to be the first to control the climate, the UN decided to create a legal framework. In 1977, the Enmod Convention, ratified by the UN General Assembly banned the military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques. It targets “any technique for changing – through the deliberate manipulation of natural processes – the dynamics, composition or structure of the Earth, including its biota, lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere, or of outer space.””

Inspired by Audrey Garric, Le Monde ow.ly/gKAOs Image source Facebook ow.ly/gKACe

Software can help us crack historical ciphers (November 12th)

Kevin Knight a US computer scientist of the University of South Carolina Viterbi School of Engineering, along with an international team have cracked the Copiale Cipher. Knight and his Swedish colleagues Beáta Megyesi and Christiane Schaefer of Uppsala University decoded the secret encrypted 18th century document. The cracking of the 75,000 character cryptogram has revealed the rituals and politics of a German secret society. The document known as the Copiale Cipher, has had its secret meaning shrouded in mystery since discovery at the end of the Cold War, hidden at an East Berlin Academy. The document comprises 105 pages of handwritten messages in abstract symbols and Roman letters. Knight states “I’m happy that linguistic software can help us crack historical ciphers … Now I hope that decipherment techniques can help us build better translation software.”

Inspired by Mark Brown http://ow.ly/7dRWY image source atvn http://ow.ly/7dT7i

Foreign media forced to self-censorship (November 9th)

Luke Daniel Harding the 42 year old UK political journalist who had initially been refused entry into Russia, has been the subject of a brilliant article written with an interesting perspective by Edward Lucas. Harding in February 2011 became the first foreign journalist to be expelled from Russia since the end of the Cold War. Harding’s employer the Guardian linked his expulsion with his unflattering coverage of Russia and the Kremlin. Russia reversed the decision to expel him but granted only a short term visa. Harding did not further renew his visa and returned to the UK, alleging harassment during his Russian return, claiming the Federal Security Service were unhappy at the stories he wrote. Elsa Vidal of the media freedom watchdog, stated: “unprecedented since the Cold War … It’s an attempt to force correspondents working for foreign media in Moscow to engage in self-censorship.”

Inspired by Edward Lucas http://ow.ly/7deBo image source misterdann.com http://ow.ly/7dfmJ

Hope positive gains will not be damaged (July 1st)

My work digital art is essentially political art, or rather politics and art. It’s about iconic people, places and events of our day.  Recorded visually through daily compilations of manipulated digital images, posted online and disseminated via online media and social networks. The works are diaristic in nature that metaphorically record a spectator’s experience of the contemporary digital age.  The resulting work intentionally has a painterly aesthetic acknowledging my historical painting practice.
www.ianbunn.com