[Upd-discuss] Meeting up in Barcelona before the COMMUNIA meeting

[Andrius Kulikauskas]

Carles,  See the Barcelona meeting of COMMUNIA, October 1-2, 2009 
(Thursday, Friday)
http://www.communia-project.eu/ws06
and be sure to register:http://communiaws06.eventbrite.com  
Let me know if you'd like to participate through Minciu Sodas, please 
write more about yourself and your interests.

Anki, Yes I fly into Barcelona airport on September 30 at 13:05.  It 
would be great to meet with you and others.  Would that be possible? 
What is your phone? Mine is +370 699 30003. 

Anki, you asked me to explain about the "EU absurdities".

COMMUNIA pays for my flight to Barcelona.  I had hoped that I could stay 
in Barcelona and work from there for several weeks afterwards, practice 
my Spanish, find participants for my lab, Minciu Sodas, participate in 
events like the Free Culture Forum http://fcforum.net and even see some 
of Spain, which I've never been to.  All of these are good things, yes?  
I think my Annex V of my contract with COMMUNIA allows me to do that. 

However, as Juan Carlos de Martin explained, (thank you for trying on 
our behalf), eligibility of expenses is evaluated at various levels: 
COMMUNIA management team, the coordinator Politecnico di Torino, the 
Project Office of the European Commission, the external auditor, and the 
European Court Auditor.  The European Union auditors decided (in 
conflict with my reading of the contract) that "if you arrive earlier 
and/or depart later than normal, it means that you had other business to 
perform in that place (or vacation time, it does not matter), therefore 
you ought to split the cost of travel in half between COMMUNIA and your 
other business, whatever that might be."

This means that if I do good things of my own initiative, then I should 
be penalized (and lose reimbursement for half of my flight).  Whereas if 
I did them because the EU allows me to do them (when I am selected 
through any of its official programs), then I should be rewarded (like 
stay in a fancy hotel and eat fancy food).   This is how the EU builds a 
civil society.

It's pathetic that I'm so poor that I would leverage free travel as an 
asset; and it's pathetic that the EU is so self-centered to take that 
away.  The EU has no concept of sharing, I suppose, because it has no 
concept that anything could be important except the EU.

It's a tyranny of the auditors.  They violate the contract to keep me 
from any chance of upsetting their auditing.  They have no connection 
that I can see to the wishes of taxpayers or citizens or politicians.  
They don't even have names.

It's very strange for me because I grew up in the US where we were 
taught to assume that people are good (and will do the right thing, like 
pay their taxes) but politicians, bureaucrats, auditors are suspect (and 
need to be checked and balanced).  Whereas in Europe the assumption is 
that politicians, bureaucrats, auditors are good (their motives are 
pure) but people are suspect (their goal in life is to cheat).  I think 
this comes from a history of two classes, the nobles who make the rules 
and the peasants who follow the rules.  Whereas in the US the people 
tell their officials, "you work for me".

What's most interesting is that there isn't any civic society in Europe 
where anybody would hold the EU accountable.

The end result is that Andrius with some 70,000 euros of personal debt 
has to be a "charity" for the European Union, working for free at these 
meetings for some 12 x 4 days but prohibited to leverage that for 
anything that might help my own future.  I'm supposed to do it because 
I'm an idealist.  Of course, a wicked idealist because I keep trying to 
look after my self-interest.  Or simply somebody who believes in sharing 
and can't make sense of the waste ecologically, economically, socially, 
psychologically of this very strange set of EU non-values.

 From a practical point of view, it means that there's no point in me 
bringing together (as I did in Vilnius in 2008 and London in 2009) ten 
or so Minciu Sodas participants from Africa, Europe, the US - who know 
each other through their work together in the Public Domain, but have 
never had the chance to meet.  These are the people who actually use and 
reuse Public Domain materials.  The best I can do is to offer to 
reimburse people for half of their journey, that is, their tickets to 
Torino in July 2010, and then they can stay in Europe as long as they 
want and buy their own tickets home (yes?)

The whole purpose of the Public Domain is to allow for a culture of open 
sharing of resources that I and Minciu Sodas stand for.  I will continue 
to participate so that I might support the Public Domain.

Carles, Anki, do you know of a family or a place (like a squat) where it 
might be good for me to stay in Barcelona (September 30 - October 4)?  I 
could pay a small amount of money if I can get an invoice for that (by 
my reading of the contract).  Otherwise, I will stay at a youth hostel.

Andrius

Andrius Kulikauskas
Minciu Sodas
http://www.ms.lt
ms@ms.lt
+370 699 30003
 

Andrius,

Feel free to share our letters, but I am not sure that trying to arrange 
a meeting between us is of much interest to the community ;-)
On what day do you arrive to Barcelona? (I am leaving on october 1st, 
maybe we still have a chance to meet)

However, the most interesting meeting in Barcelona will probably be the 
Free Culture Forum (http://fcforum.net/) next month. A whole different 
approach than the COMMUNIA workshop, of course. (I hope I will not miss 
that one). Maybe you should consider coming back then but, of course, 
there's no European funding for this one.

By the way, what do you mean when you say that you are leaving "as 
instructed by COMMUNIA, because of EU absurdity" ???

Anki Toner
http://www.ankitoner.com
http://www.hazardrecords.org

Carles Torra wrote:
> I live on Barcelona and I would like to receive information regarding 
> the Communia meeting that it seems is going to be held in BCN october 
> the 5th
>  
> Best regards
>  
> Carles Torra
>
>  
> 2009/9/22, Andrius Kulikauskas <ms@ms.lt <mailto:ms@ms.lt>>:
>
>      
>
>     Anki,
>
>     I'm glad to learn of you through the UPD list, and others might
>     also, so
>     I share our letters.
>
>     I was hoping indeed to stay in Barcelona, practice my Spanish and
>     make
>     contacts, but I am leaving on October 4, as instructed by COMMUNIA,
>     because of EU absurdity.
>
>     I have been assembling Spanish speakers for my lab, Minciu Sodas
>     http://www.ms.lt <http://www.ms.lt/> at
>     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/minciu_sodas_ES/
>     perhaps you might help me start discussion in Spanish?
>
>     I note that you're a musician. I've started learning how to make
>     music
>     with Linux. I write songs in Lithuanian.
>
>     Andrius
>
>     Andrius Kulikauskas
>     Minciu Sodas
>     http://www.ms.lt <http://www.ms.lt/>
>     ms@ms.lt <mailto:ms%40ms.lt>
>     +370 699 30003
>
>     anki toner wrote:
>     > Hi Andrius,
>     > I live in Barcelona, and I am quite interested in the Public Domain
>     > issues. My main concern is music, or at least that was the
>     source of
>     > my interest since I am a musician. I sometimes lecture and hive
>     > workshops on Plunderphonics.
>     > Unfortunately, I will not be in Barcelona during the COMMUNIA
>     meeting.
>     > /Which is a pity since I was invited to represent the Archives
>     of the
>     > Crown of Aragon at the meeting, but one cannot be at two places
>     at the
>     > same time)
>     > However, I am coming back to town on monday 5th. I understand from
>     > your leter that you are going to be around for some days (but
>     maybe I
>     > have read it wrong). In case there is a chance, it would be nice to
>     > meet and exchange thoughts.
>     > Do you think it will be possible?
>     > Greetings from Barcelona
>     > Anki Toner
>     > http://www.ankitoner.com <http://www.ankitoner.com/>
>     > http://www.hazardrecords.org <http://www.hazardrecords.org/>
>     >
>     > Andrius Kulikauskas escribió:
>     >> Minciu Sodas is a member of the European Union's thematic network
>     >> COMMUNIA for the Public Domain http://www.communia-project.eu
>     <http://www.communia-project.eu/> We
>     >> (and all) have the opportunity to provide our ideas for what
>     should
>     >> be the European Union's policy regarding the Public Domain. I
>     >> encourage us to write and will share our thoughts through the
>     >> COMMUNIA mailing list and at the Barcelona meeting on October
>     1-2, 2009.
>     >>
>     >> I share below my own thoughts on the policy that I would like
>     to see!
>     >> Of course, my letter is in the Public Domain.
>     >> Andrius Kulikauskas, Minciu Sodas, http://www.ms.lt,
>     <http://www.ms.lt,/> ms@ms.lt <mailto:ms%40ms.lt>
>     >>
>     >>
>
>
>
>
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