IRISH POLICE, LONDON PRISON GUARDS PHONE IN SICK
    Contacts: press@rtmark.com, decadent@underbelly.demon.co.uk
RTMARK SPONSORS GALLERY TAKEOVER
    Contacts: press@rtmark.com, molotovski@theglobe.com
GEFFEN TOLERANCE EVAPORATES
    Contacts: press@rtmark.com, illegalart@detritus.net
FEASIBILITY OF NEW FUNDING METHODS EXPLORED
    Contact: press@rtmark.com

    IRISH POLICE, LONDON PRISON GUARDS PHONE IN SICK

Four fifths of Ireland's police force of 8,500 called in sick on May 1 to demand higher wages, shortly after Decadent Action appealed for such actions in an interview on Irish National Radio. More than 100 prison guards at a London prison also called in sick following earlier Decadent Action and RTMARK appeals, including one on the BBC. (Reuters, Irish News, and BBC articles about these "sickouts," and other articles about the April 6 Phone In Sick Day orchestrated by Decadent Action and sponsored by RTMARK, can be found at www.rtmark.com/faq.html.)

Last year, Phone In Sick Day was credited with inspiring two thousand British Airways workers to phone in sick instead of striking in a dispute with management, and in the current cases the links are even stronger between the calls and the actions.

The Irish police force is barred by law from striking, and this is the first time it has found an equivalent means of amplifying its voice. A Decadent Action (decadent@underbelly.demon.co.uk) spokesperson said: "The point this makes is that phoning in sick is becoming a legitimate form of political and social protest. It may start with those that have no other form of 'strike' open to them, but it will spread like the wildcat strikes of yesteryear when workers realise how effective it is in a dispute with the boss--and for some workers it means they don't even have to lose a day's pay."

    RTMARK SPONSORS GALLERY TAKEOVER

The Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), one of London's most prestigious galleries, found itself the victim of an RTMARK-sponsored action last Saturday, when the Molotov Organisation (mailto:molotovski@theglobe.com) mounted a rival exhibition--in the ICA restrooms--that detracted from the gallery's opening of a "rubbish art" show. In attendance, besides the usual art crowd, were newspaper and television reporters there specifically for the Molotov show, which, according to the artists, questioned the "vegetable-human relationship."

RTMARK will reward the Molotov Organisation with the US$2000 anonymously donated for an action that "dramatically exposes the pretentiousness and insipidity of a world-class art space, in a manner that can be understood by anyone, and that is reported in the mainstream media."

See members.theglobe.com/molotovski/artwing.html for more about this action, and watch our press page (www.rtmark.com/faq.html) for links to articles as they appear.

    GEFFEN TOLERANCE EVAPORATES

Geffen has joined its parent company, BMG, in formally demanding that Illegal Art and RTMARK cease distribution of Deconstructing Beck, a CD of unauthorized samplings of Beck produced by Illegal Art and sponsored by RTMARK. This action has surprised both Illegal Art and RTMARK, who were recently assured by two high-ranking Geffen employees that Geffen was not concerned about the CD and had no intention of doing anything about it. (See www.rtmark.com/faq.html for more about Deconstructing Beck, and www.rtmark.com/lawletters#hilderley for the full text of Geffen's demand, as well as the earlier reassurances.)

Illegal Art and RTMARK are consulting with attorneys to determine a course of action.

    FEASIBILITY OF NEW FUNDING METHODS EXPLORED

As the need for RTMARK's services rises, and as governmental and corporate moneys for activist art disappear, RTMARK must seek new ways to increase its funding abilities. We are very near to completing installation of our new "mutual fund" system, which will make individual contributions "safer" and easier, and will tap into models that have been extensively proven; see www.rtmark.com/altfundstrat.html for details.