MICHAEL TAKEO MAGRUDER (US/UK

6. aprila 2018 so v uradu generalnega državnega tožilca ZDA izdali memorandum, namenjen vsem zveznim tožilcem na območju ameriške jugozahodne meje. Navedeni namen sporočila je bil “takoj sprejeti politiko nične tolerance za vse prekrške, predložene v kazenski pregon” v okviru 8. odstavka 1325.a člena Zakonika ZDA, ob nezakonitem vstopu ‘tujih’ oseb v državo zaradi “neprimernega časa ali kraja; izogibanja pregledu ali preverjanju; [in] napačnega prikazovanja oziroma prikrivanja dejstev”. V tednih, ki so sledili, so ob naraščajoči domači in mednarodni zaskrbljenosti glede škodljivih posledic na migrantske družine, ki bi poskušale prečkati mejo, stališče vlade branili vodje različnih ameriških agencij in oddelkov, odgovornih za implementacijo tega programa. V prvih dveh mesecih veljavnosti takšne politike je bilo več kot 2.500 otrok prisilno ločenih od njihovih družin in preseljenih v več kot sto objektov za pridržanje, ki so razširjeni po vsej državi. Med nasprotujočimi si pripovedmi in poročili številnih vladnih in medijskih virov, ki so komentirali nastalo krizo, ostaja usoda mnogih teh otrok še vedno odprto vprašanje. Nična toleranca je novomedijska instalacija, ki raziskuje kontekst in retoriko v zvezi z ločevanjem in pridrževanjem migrantskih družin, ki prečkajo južno mejo ZDA. Algoritemski video, nameščen izza žičnate ograje, skupaj z vsakdanjimi artefakti, ki jih povezujemo s centri za pridržanje, nenehno povezuje uradne posnetke vlade s tajnimi posnetki iz dejanskih prostorov za pridržanje ter posnetkom javnega govora bivšega generalnega državnega tožilca Jeffa Sessionsa, v katerem poziva k ‘svetopisemski pravičnosti’.  On the 6th of April 2018, the Office of the Attorney General of the United States of America issued a memorandum for all federal prosecutors working along the nation’s southwest border. The stated purpose of the communiqué was “to adopt immediately a zero-tolerance policy for all offenses referred for prosecution” under Title 8 of US Code section 1325(a) concerning illegal entry into the country by ‘alien’ persons for reasons of “improper time or place; avoidance of examination or inspection; [and] misrepresentation and concealment of facts”. In the following weeks, alongside growing domestic and international concern about the detrimental effects on migrant families attempting to cross the border, the government’s stance was widely defended by the heads of various US agencies and departments responsible for implementation of the program. During the first two months of the policy being in effect, more than 2,500 children were forcibly separated from their families and relocated to over one hundred detainment facilities spread throughout the country. Amidst the conflicting accounts and reports put forward by numerous government and media sources commenting on the crisis, the fate of many of these children remains an open question. Zero Tolerance is a new media installation that explores the context and rhetoric surrounding the separation and incarceration of migrant families crossing the US southern border. Set behind chain-link fence and alongside mundane artefacts associated with the detention centers, an algorithmic video continually splices official government footage and undercover recordings from actual detainment facilities with former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ public speech calling for ‘biblical’ justice. 

Viri: –posnetek predvajanja javnega govora nekdanjega generalnega državnega tožilca Jeffa Sessionsa v Fort Wayneu v zvezni državi Indiana z dne 14. 6. 2018, v katerem naslavlja kritike ameriške administracije v zvezi s politiko nične tolerance –uradna vladna video dokumentacija ameriške mejne patrulje, ki prikazuje center za pridržanje v McAllenu v Teksasu; posnetek je bil objavljen 17. 6. 2018 –zvočni posnetek otrok, pridržanih v objektu Urada ZDA za carinsko in mejno zaščito. Posnetek je pridobila neprofitna medijska organizacija ProPublica in ga objavila 18. 6. 2018

Source Material: –recorded broadcast of former US Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ public speech in Fort Wayne, Indiana on 14/06/2018 addressing criticisms of the US Administration’s zero-tolerance policy –official government video documentation by US Border Patrol showing the detention centre in McAllen, Texas that was released on 17/06/2018 –audio recording of children detained within a US Customs and Border Protection facility that was obtained by the non-profit media organisation ProPublica and published on 18/06/2018

Ničelna toleranca / Zero Tolerance, 2018 instalacija / installation

6. junija 2013 so novinarji časopisov The Guardian in Washington Post poročali o tem, da ameriška nacionalna varnostna agencija (NSA) pripravlja portfelj tajnih programov množičnega nadzora v obsegu, ki spominja na Orwellovo distopično družbo, 1984. Pobude NSA naj bi obsegale vse od množičnega zbiranja podatkov z elektronske pošte in zapisov telefonskih pogovorov, do vdiranja v podatkovne infrastrukture vodilnih spletnih podjetij in ponudnikov storitev. V odzivu na te obtožbe je ameriška vlada zatrdila, da so NSA in drugi oddelki njene obveščevalne skupnosti delovali zakonito ter v okviru zakonov, kot sta zakon o nadzoru tujih obveščevalnih služb (FISA) iz leta 1978 in ameriški zakon o domovinski varnosti iz leta 2001, ki sta bila v politični sliki po 11. septembru spremenjena z namenom podpiranja narodove nenehne ‘vojne proti terorizmu’. Toda te dejavnosti nadzora niso bile usmerjene k specifičnim posameznikom ali interesnim skupinam, temveč je šlo za samovoljno kopičenje osebnih podatkov milijonov nič hudega slutečih državljanov, brez jasnih pristojnosti ali preglednega nadzora. Prvi program NSA, ki naj bi ga razkrila omenjena poročila, je bil PRISM – ‘posebna operacija’, odgovorna za zbiranje shranjenih podatkov in spletnih prenosov v živo, pridobljenih od konzorcija tehnoloških gigantov Apple, AOL, Facebook, Google, Microsoft in Yahoo. V sodelovanju z mrežo Five Eyes in velikimi evropskimi zavezniki je NSA uporabila program PRISM in druge, sorodne programe za rudarjenje podatkov iz svetovnih elektronskih komunikacijskih sistemov z namenom kreiranja obsežnih repozitorijev, ki analitikom omogočajo možnost ‘izbire’ in ‘ciljanja’ kateregakoli posameznika na svetu. Glede na čedalje bolj povezano digitalno naravo družbe je treba vsako oklicano korist, ki naj bi izhajala iz takšnih vsesplošnih metod nadzora, pretehtati v primerjavi s posledicami, ki jih bo imela za osebno svobodo in zasebnost ljudi. V tem smislu bi se bilo nemara dobro spomniti zgodbe tistega, ki je s temi razkritji prvi pritegnil pozornost javnosti, torej Edwarda Snowdena – slehernika, ki je bržkone postal Winston Smith informacijske dobe.  On 6th June 2013, journalists from The Guardian and Washington Post reported that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was undertaking a portfolio of clandestine mass surveillance programs on a scale reminiscent of George Orwell’s dystopian society of 1984. The NSA’s initiatives supposedly ranged from the bulk collection of email and telephone records to infil-trating the data infrastructures of every leading Internet company and service provider. In response to these allegations, the US government claimed that the NSA and other sections of its intelligence community were legally operating under the authority of laws such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 (FISA) and the USA Patriot Act of 2001 that had been amended in the post-9/11 political landscape to support the nation’s continuous ‘War on Terror’. However, the surveillance activities in question were not targeted at specific indi-viduals or groups of interest, but rather focused on amassing personal data from millions of unsuspecting citizens indiscriminately and without clear jurisdiction or transparent oversight. The first NSA program to be disclosed in these reports was PRISM – a ‘special source operation’ responsible for collecting stored data and live Internet transmissions obtained from a consortium of technology giants including Apple, AOL, Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo. Collaborating with the Five Eyes network and major European allies, the NSA used PRISM and other related programs to data mine the world’s electronic communications sys-tems in order to create vast information repositories that would give analysts the ability to ‘select’ and ‘target’ any individual in the world. Given the increasingly connected digital nature of society, any proclaimed gains from such all-pervasive methods of surveillance must be weighed against the costs to personal freedom and privacy. With this in mind, perhaps it is useful to consider the story of the person who brought these revelations to the public’s attention, Edward Snowden – an everyman who might now be the Winston Smith of this information age. 

Viri: –celotna zbirka razkritih zaupnih dokumentov, ki jih je objavil Edward Snowden (od 1. marca 2014) – pridobljena iz raznih spletnih medijskih shramb in programov za izmenjavo datotek –sekvenčni video posnetek intervjuja Edwarda Snowdena z Glennom Greenwaldom in Lauro Poitras, dne 6. 6. 2013 – pridobljen z www.youtube.com –sekvenčni video posnetek intervjuja Edwarda Snowdena na nemški TV postaji NDR, dne 26. 1. 2014 – pridobljen z www.youtube.com

Source Material: –complete collection of leaked classified documents released by Edward Snowden (as of 01/03/2014) – obtained via various online news media repositories and torrent file-sharing websites –sequenced video footage of Edward Snowden interview with Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras on 06/06/2013 – obtained via www.youtube.com –sequenced video footage of Edward Snowden interview with German TV channel NDR on 26/01/2014 – obtained via www.youtube.com

PRISM, 2014 instalacija / installation