The prison abolitionist who dares to envision a world without ‘unfreedoms’ - Aeon

Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez's new performance is a grotesque parade of visual delights that defangs our toxic relationship to our screens. Artistic attempts to contend with technology’s ever-tightening grip on our attention, institutions, and social abilities too often take the form of post-human fever dreams of the Black Mirror school — works that, while intended to be critical, easily devolve into discursive, cyborg-filled feedback loops. Julio Torres and Martine Gutierrez’s Marina, which premiered at Manhattan’s Little Island last week as part of the 2026 Whitney Biennial program, opts for a radically different tack: laughing at technology instead of fearing it, and winning our hearts rather than rotting our brains. The air is humid with a storm that never materialized as audience members stream into The Amph, Little Island’s open-air amphitheater, on Thursday, August 26. Onstage, a figure in a burgundy pinstripe suit mouths wordlessly into a payphone set on a wooden dock suspended above a vaguely apocalyptic underwater mise-en-scène. Framed video screens playing water-wave patterns rise from coral outcroppings encrusted with rubber-tire bits, junk, and debris.

Ukrainian forces continue to report widespread disruptions to the Starlink satellite network, despite Donald Trump’s claim that Elon Musk had lifted restrictions on the service. The slowdown, which has affected the key communications system used by Ukrainian troops, began last week after Trump and Starlink founder Musk publicly criticised Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, over continued strikes on Russian oil refineries. The restrictions have raised questions and confusion about who ordered the slowdown and why, with both Trump and Musk denying responsibility. “I don’t comment one way or the other,” Trump said on Thursday when asked about reports that he had personally called Musk to demand the restrictions be lifted. “The bottom line: he put it back.”But Ukrainian officials said on Friday morning that speeds remained capped at about 100mph, with no indication that the restrictions had been lifted. “At present, we have not observed any lifting of the restrictions on Starlink,” said Serhii Beskrestnov, a military expert who advises Zelenskyy.

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The proposal comes days after Pyongyang says it moved new military units into ‘firing positions’ along the border. South Korea has proposed holding military talks with North Korea in a bid to calm rising tensions over their heavily fortified border. Seoul said on Friday that it had invited Pyongyang to discuss restoring communication channels. The offer was made as military activity on the border increases. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4North Korea fires multiple ballistic missiles towards the sealist 2 of 4China and North Korea open New Yalu River Bridge, state media reportslist 3 of 4China-North Korea border bridge may do little to spur trade, experts saylist 4 of 4North Korea to resume propaganda broadcasts, South Korea urges dialogueend of listTalks with North Korea would aim to “mutually confirm” the precise location of the land Military Demarcation Line (MDL), “discuss ways to restore military communication lines and prevent accidental clashes in border areas”, Kim Hong-cheol, deputy minister for national defence policy, told reporters.