Steve Kudlak
Since 2004
Works in Watsonville, California United States of America

BIO
I have a BS in Biocehmistry and BA in Art with a concentration in Printmaking. Recently I have become interested in digital media. When I get a webpage done I will post the info
Discussions (71) Opportunities (0) Events (0) Jobs (0)
DISCUSSION

Re: Re: Re: Blog vs Board (re: Blogging Survey)


I really miss the old BBS world. Now I spent what I call my second
adolescence;) on tree structured BBSes in a small (well medium sized
university town of some note). The systems had their pasrticular
problems, for example almost all BBS systems were a refelection of
their sysops. But I don't know whether it was the BBSes that were
good, whether it was an interesting time in my life, although at
some point not a pleasant one or whether it was that we held parties
at the beach Anyway I we had an interesting group of people doing
various things. It was all very interesting.

Good blogs start to come close; one really needs to have interesting
comments so it isn't a one person show. I find that I like epistolary
a bit better, I end up seeing interesting things on mailing lists.
Of course it often gets scattered and one has to look through a lot
of stuff before one can find anything interesting.

The problem is that blogs need to be more than one person talking.
When I try to write mine, it always seems like I am talking to myself
but it is hardly worth it at large. I guess one might just have to
keep it up and then one might start getting responses.

I do consider many bloggers just as good as the major news people.
Although I haven't seen anyone as interesting or willing to stick
their necks out there as Crispin Sartwell in his essay about Monstrous
Sainthood. I really think that had to be said and the downside of religion
is seldom ever mentioned in that it kills people and runs planes into
buildings, that religious idealism has its multifaceted darkside.

But overall I have seen leftie and rightie bloggers who are just
as good as Malkin, Sowell and Hentoff. So it maybe that the medium
will get better after awhile.

Have Fun,
Sends Steve

> jva,
>
> blogs can tend to be narcissistic, in the wrong hands...
>
> reading a blog can be a lot like watching some one else masturbate, it
> really depends on who's doing it, as to whether or not it turns you on.
>
> cheers!
>
>
> AE04
> atomicelroy.com
> don't bitch... run for office!
> +
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> +
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DISCUSSION

Re: AP piece in Wired on Steve Kurtz indictment -- not funny


Yes I agree! This is why it needs to be fought and fought and
fought! The other thing is that the subpoena against the small
press publisher Autonmedia is still active and they don't have
flashy representation.

This furthermore exactly what the authorities like to do. If they
can't get someone one way, they will get them the other way.
It arill is a very repressive thing. People *SHOULD NOT* think this
is all over. In fact even when it hopefully is all resolved in Steve
Kurtz et al's favour, it might be good to keep the CAE defense idea
intact and expand it and have something around that can help promote
artistic freedom and protect it from attack. There are a nimber of
people who would restrain artistic and intellectual freedom and they
will use almost any means to acomplish it. That statement that Freedom
Requires Vigilance holds true. We have to make sure that our freedoms
especially artistic freedoms are maintained and strengthened.

Have Fun,
Sends Steve

P.S. I will cross post this to the CAE Defense mailing list and ask
what is being done about the fraud charges. I assume Paul Cambria Jr.
will do something as he is good at these things. I really wonder if
tbe University of Pittsburgh is going to do anything. I mean this seems
to be an issue of academic freedom and the person the FBI attscked is
a person of considerable merit and is well regarded. This has to be won.
Things of what they would try with any of us less prominent folks.

> (scroll down and read the last sentence of this article)
>
>
> WIRED NEWS
> Two Indicted in Bio-Art Case
> http://www.wired.com/news/medtech/0,1286,64040,00.html
> 04:44 PM Jun. 29, 2004 PT
>
> An art professor whose use of biological materials made him the target of
> a federal terrorism investigation -- which sparked an outcry in the world
> art community -- was indicted Tuesday on charges he obtained the materials
> illegally.
>
> Steven Kurtz, a University at Buffalo professor, was charged along with
> Robert Ferrell, chairman of the University of Pittsburgh's Human Genetics
> Department, in a four-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury
> seated earlier this month.
>
> Prosecutors said Ferrell used his University of Pittsburgh account with a
> biological supply company to order potentially harmful organisms for
> Kurtz, which colleagues said Kurtz intended to use in an art project.
>
> "The charges do not relate to bioterrorism," U.S. Attorney Michael Battle
> said. "Very simply, this is a case about fraud."
>
> Kurtz is a founding member of the Critical Art Ensemble, which has used
> human DNA and other biological materials to draw attention to social
> issues, such as genetically altered foods.
>
> As a private individual, Kurtz was not eligible to order the materials
> allegedly obtained for him by Ferrell, authorities said.
>
> A call to Kurtz's attorney was not immediately returned.
>
> Outraged by the investigation of Kurtz, artists and academics earlier this
> month held simultaneous rallies in Buffalo, New York; Vienna, Austria;
> Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Berkeley, California.
>
> A colleague of Kurtz's who was among several people subpoenaed to testify
> before the grand jury called the indictment "a total joke."
>
> "It sounds like they're trying to keep face because they overreacted and
> made fools of themselves," said the colleague, speaking on condition of
> anonymity.
>
> The investigation began in May after Kurtz called 911 to report the death
> of his wife, Hope, in their home. Firefighters who responded noticed the
> biological materials and notified Buffalo police, who then contacted the
> Joint Terrorism Task Force. The JTTF spent two days removing materials
> from the home.
>
> The University at Buffalo, in a statement, said it would review the
> charges before considering any action, while stressing its commitment to
> the academic freedom of faculty members to pursue research.
>
> As for Ferrell, "He is still a faculty member at the university and a
> distinguished scientist," spokesman Robert Hill said. "We do hope for a
> swift and positive outcome."
>
> Both men face 20 years in prison if convicted.
>
>
> /////
>
> [!!!]
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> +
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>

DISCUSSION

Re: unsubscribe


You are not on any of my mailing lists. You are on
the high volume rhizome raw mailing list. When you
subscribed it told you how to unsubscribe or change
your subscription.

The Steve Kurtz case involves the powers that be
threatening artists for their work and is well within
the rubric of rhizome raw material.

People should read when they subscribe to things.
When one subscribes to "Rhizome Raw" it warns you
that it is a high volume mailing list and involves
anything closely related to art.

There is another "best of Rhizomne" mailing list
selectred by some moderator or something that gives
one a lower volume of email.

People who use things like hotmail or other free email
services with limited mailbox, or who are accessing
the internet from a library and who only want email
from friends or something should be very careful as
to what they subscribe to.

As a general thought, maybe we should have a sort of
"advice for newbies (people new to the internet)" sort
of thing. People interested in the Arts come from a
variety of backrounds and can not cavalierly be assumed
to be technologically literate or internet saavy.

I have seen things like this time and time again
and it often seems that a lot of people think an email
address is like a phone number and get all alarmed
when they get five emails from other than their friends.
It's not really their fault, they have no idea what is
going on because they haven'tr been told.

Have Fun,
Sends Steve

DISCUSSION

[Fwd: [CAE_Defense] final press release: "BIOTERRORISM" DOWNGRADED TO PETTY THEFT IN FBI EMBARRASSMENT]


---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
Subject: [Fwd: [CAE_Defense] final press release: "BIOTERRORISM"
DOWNGRADED TO PETTY THEFT IN FBI EMBARRASSMENT] From: "Steve Kudlak"
<chromazine@sbcglobal.net>
Date: Tue, June 29, 2004 9:26 pm
To: steve.kudlak@cruzrights.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [CAE_Defense] final press release: "BIOTERRORISM" DOWNGRADED TO
PETTY THEFT IN FBI EMBARRASSMENT
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 00:02:11 -0400 (EDT)
From: flux@rtmark.com
Reply-To: CAE_Defense@yahoogroups.com
To: CAE_Defense@yahoogroups.com

June 29, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: mailto:media@caedefensefund.org

"BIOTERROR" CHARGES DOWNGRADED TO "MAIL FRAUD" IN STEALTH INDICTMENT U.S.
Attorneys attempt to cast $256 technicality as health and safety issue in
"stealth" indictment

Professor Steve Kurtz was charged today by a federal grand jury in
Buffalo, New York--not with bioterrorism, as listed on the Joint
Terrorism Task Force's original search warrant and subpoenas, but with
"petty larceny," in the words of Kurtz attorney Paul Cambria. (See
http://www.caedefensefund.org/ for background.)

Also indicted was Robert Ferrell, head of the Department of Genetics at
the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health. The charges
concern technicalities of how Ferrell helped Kurtz to obtain $256
worth of harmless bacteria for one of Kurtz's art projects.

The laws under which the indictments were obtained--Title 18, United
States Code, sections 1341 and 1343, covering mail and wire fraud--are
normally used against those defrauding others of money or property, as in
telemarketing schemes.

This is a far cry from the bioterrorism charges originally sought by the
District Attorney. To make a "federal case" out of such minor
allegations, the District Attorney will have the burden of proving
criminal intent.

"There was very obviously no criminal intent," said Kurtz attorney
Cambria. "The intent was to educate and enlighten." Cambria suggested that
the pursuit of such a minor case at the federal level was
profoundly absurd. "If the University of Pittsburgh feels that there was a
contract breach, then their remedy is to sue Steve for $256 in a civil
court."

A STEALTH INDICTMENT

The U.S. District Attorney attempted to cast the issue as one of public
health and safety in a public press conference called without the
knowledge of either defendant's lawyers, thus eliminating the chance of
rebuttal. During the conference, parts of which were broadcast on local
Buffalo news channels, U.S. Attorney William Hochul and U.S. District
Attorney Michael Battle repeatedly alluded to "dangerous" and
"bio-hazardous material," even though the charges have nothing to do with
such issues, and scientists universally regard the materials in question
as safe.

At one point in the press conference, U.S. Attorney Hochul stated that
Serratia marcescens, one of the two bacteria ordered by Ferrell, "is in
fact a dangerous material in that it can cause pneumonia." Serratia cannot
cause pneumonia, only aggravate it in someone who already has it, and very
rarely at that. Furthermore, it would be hard to
characterize as a "dangerous material" something that high school
students routinely use in biology class experiments. (Easily trackable by
its bright red color, S. marcescens is commonly used to demonstrate the
many ways microbes can be destroyed--e.g. with household bleach. The other
bacterium, Bacillus globigii, is also used in experiments as a stand-in
for dangerous microbes--precisely because it is harmless.)

Many believe the attempt to cast the $256 technicality as a public health
and safety issue is a face-saving measure by the government, which has
already expended an enormous amount of time and money in their fruitless
pursuit of this case.

ONLY THE BEGINNING

Although the original bioterrorism charges are now completely off the
table, the trial still promises to be financially and psychologically
draining for the defendants.

The international support of the defendants by artists, scientists and
other citizens has been remarkable; it is crucial that this support
continue as the government extends this outrageous and wasteful
persecution into a grueling trial.

To donate to the defense fund, please visit
http://caedefensefund.org/donate.html. Updates on the case will be posted
at http://www.caedefensefund.org/. To receive more frequent updates by
email, please join
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CAE_Defense/.

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DISCUSSION

Re: Update: FBI loses terrorism case will try to safe face with 'mail fraud'


I am waiting for the people in Buffalo on the CAE
defense list to prepare a press release. I will post
it here as soon as it occurs. Several are in preparation.
I will post one as soon as it is available. I am waiting
on people who actually are in Buffalo and have access
to Steve Kurtz himself and Paul Cambia Jr. his attorney.

The important thing is this be followed to the end as unless
the FBI is totally routed it will try this again with
someone else.

Have Fun,
Sends Steve

> Hi Steve,
>
> Yes - I need such, for at our end in the UK there is much happening to
> support Steve Kurtz. & Critical art ensemble...
>
> marc
>
> http://www.furtherfield.org
>
>>This just in from Paul Cambria Jr. Steve Kurtz's Attorney.
>>The FBI did not prevail upon any of the bioterrorism charges,
>>or endangerment of public health. It looks like the FBI is
>>grasping at straws to avoid having to say they actually made
>>a mistake. Longer message under seperate cover. I can forward or
>>point you at a press release if you need such.
>>
>>MY email is thus, my alternated is: chromazine@sbcglobal,net
>>My phone is: (831)786-8643.
>>
>>Have Fun,
>>Sends Steve Kudlak
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>+
>>-> post: list@rhizome.org
>>-> questions: info@rhizome.org
>>-> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
>>-> give: http://rhizome.org/support
>>-> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
>>+
>>Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
>>Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>
> +
> -> post: list@rhizome.org
> -> questions: info@rhizome.org
> -> subscribe/unsubscribe: http://rhizome.org/preferences/subscribe.rhiz
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> -> visit: on Fridays the Rhizome.org web site is open to non-members
> +
> Subscribers to Rhizome are subject to the terms set out in the
> Membership Agreement available online at http://rhizome.org/info/29.php
>