John Protevi's Blog

Today's Middlesex update: new letters, from Cambridge Philosophy and others; new pics

Many new letters protesting the initial decision and the suspensions, including those from Faculty of Philosophy, Cambridge (this has never been a parochial "continental philosophy" campaign), University of Sussex Philosophy, the Parlement des philosophes (Strasbourg), and many more. 

And three new pics from the I Occupied Middlesex campaign: 

Angry: 

 

Psychedelic: 

 

19th Century: 

 

Photos from the Hendon rally and occupation | Save Middlesex Philosophy

Following a rally attended by 200+ people on the afternoon of Thursday 27 May, members of the Save Middlesex Philosophy campaign occupied a third chunk of Middlesex University property. This time, after occupying first the Mansion and then the library at Trent Park, they camped on the front lawn of the main building of the Hendon campus. They set up a dozen tents and a marquee....

Middlesex managers ended the first occupation with a high court injunction. When the police visited the scene of the second occupation, they decided that this injunction didn’t apply, and implied that it had been inappropriately served in the first place. There were plenty of police and community support officers on hand to keep campaigners company during their third occupation, and this time the question of the injunction never came up at all.

Read the rest here at savemdxphil.com

Paging D+G! BBC reports that "Creative minds 'mimic schizophrenia'"

Creativity is akin to insanity, say scientists who have been studying how the mind works.

Brain scans reveal striking similarities in the thought pathways of highly creative people and those with schizophrenia.

Both groups lack important receptors used to filter and direct thought.

via news.bbc.co.uk

Middlesex UCU moves into action | Save Middlesex Philosophy

We had some great news on Friday: an emergency meeting of Middlesex University’s UCU branch voted to condemn the disciplinary action against staff and students, demand the immediate reinstatement of postgraduate philosophy programmes and recruitment – and go into official dispute with the management if the staff suspensions are not lifted by 12 noon on Wednesday.

via savemdxphil.com

"Corporate State" in Gulf: BP / US govt 'Command Center' with private security

Jeremy Scahill, who has done excellent work on Blackwater in the past, writes:

I just got off the phone with my friends Naomi Klein, author of "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism," and her husband Avi Lewis, host of al Jazeera English's popular program Fault Lines. They are traveling around the devastated US Gulf reporting on the horrific disaster caused by BP's massive oil spill. They described to me a run in that they just had with the private security company Wackenhut, which apparently has been hired to do the perimeter security for the "Deepwater Horizon Unified Command." The "Unified Command" is run jointly by BP and several US government agencies including the US Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, the Department of State and the Department of Homeland Security.

Read the piece here at www.thenation.com

A New Front in the "I occupied Middlesex" campaign!

You knew it was coming. It was inevitable. 

 

Solidarity meeting with suspended students after MDX hearing

A great picture from London!Click on photo to go to site for larger version and for other great pics! 

I Occupied Middlesex | Save Middlesex Philosophy

ince Middlesex management have been making their decisions to suspend students and lecturers based on our campaign pictures, we have decided to make the difficult work of their investigation a little easier.

Brilliant campaign tactics in the best "I am Spartacus" tradition! Take a picture of yourself with an "I occupied Middlesex" sign and email it to savemdxphil@gmail.com

Here's mine: 

 
 

UPDATE from my partner in crime, Todd May: 

UPDATE 2: A new front opens in the campaign!

Rally report and Friday activities | Save Middlesex Philosophy

We heard speakers from seven different London universities, as well as activists from the UCU lecturers’ union and students from Sussex University who have also been victimised for fighting cuts. We heard philosophers talking about the need for united action against bosses and trade union militants talking about how Socrates stood up for truth and justice.

via savemdxphil.com

A Letter from the Students to Ed Esche & the Board of Governors | Save Middlesex Philosophy

If you've ever wondered if it's worth defending Middlesex Philosophy, read this letter from the students. The courage, commitment, intelligence and solidarity are simply admirable. It would be shameful not to support them to the fullest.

Thank you for your letter. However, we feel that it does not adequately address the issues we have collectively raised.

Beyond the alleged facts governing your reasons for closure, which we have reason to dispute, we are concerned at your lack of engagement with the issues raised by this campaign: the incongruity between your decision and the world-class status of the centre, and its contribution not only to the reputation of the University but to the intellectual and academic arena at large; the status and aim of University education beyond issues of revenue; and most importantly, the irreversibly damaging effects that your decisions are indubitably having on the reputation of the University, and on the staff and students who continue to work there.

As we do not accept the justifications you have provided for the closure of the philosophy department, and have good reason to believe that not one of them would hold up to scrutiny, we remain undeterred in our demand for a reversal of the closure. We furthermore vehemently oppose the targeted suspension of members of the department, staff and students, who have taken proportionate and legitimate actions to protest the decision, and we demand their immediate reinstatement.

Read the rest here