[microsound] [lengthy] last.panopticon

[Kim Cascone <kim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mr Tuttle,
thanks for your response but somehow this has turned into an argument  
resting on the wobbly premise that there exists something called
1- freedom of choice
2- free markets

in a capitalist society these two concept were merely dreams of Adam  
Smith (who was not a capitalist btw)
neither of which were ever achieved
[similar to how 'true communism' was never really achieved - while  
state capitalism masqueraded in its place]
freedom of choice was replaced with coercive propaganda
free markets was replaced with the 'Three card Monte' tactics of  
scarcity and manipulation

the corporate intrusion into our lives is very much a 'sad state of  
affairs'
and one that too many Black Friday shoppers lined up outside of  
Wal_Mart at 4AM hold dear as a 'personal freedom'
and sadly an illusion that offers empty calories in place of sustenance

if intelligence is a precondition to the ability to make informed  
choices
then why is it the general reading level in the US is at a sixth  
grade level?
don't we all wait anxiously as our educational system stumbles  
around, in vain, trying to create these mythical critical thinkers?

if we look around we see our 'educated masses' hooked on American  
Idol, Project Runway and Britney's daily, and purely sane, reactions  
to the cancer called celebrity
thumbing through Harry Potter and People Magazine on their lunch  
break at soul-sucking jobs
sadly these people are not making decisions from a place of  
intelligence or critical thinking
the general fellaheen make their decision based on stimulus, taste  
and effect
witness the eight year reign of Straussian neocons/neoliberal,  
megalomaniacal, power-hungry, rich white men ruling the roost

in our gadget addicted Idiocracy we call the US
people DON'T think but are trained act/consume on impulse
and the corporations know this full well
as they have learned to train our impulses to coincide with their  
agendas to maximize profits
[read Bernay's 'Propaganda']
http://tinyurl.com/ytn9d8

there is no free choice
only choices groomed for us by propagandists
the ones with the best propaganda win

the warning of 'caveat emptor' tacitly affords permission to a seller  
to dupe the masses
placing the important caveat/warning in 6pt type
hidden at the bottom of the package
and all the while distracting your attention with loud garish packaging
while the facts slip by unnoticed
too busy to care

the 'caveat' you invoke provides an easy out for the seller by  
removing any responsibility for their tactics or product
it's like tripping someone then watching them fall on their face and  
saying
'shoulda watched where you were going moron!'

but that style of 'gloves-off' bully tactics have been at the heart  
of american capitalism for more than one hundred years now
hoodwink the masses
make your profit
and move on to the next unwitting customer
in a true democracy it should be 'caveat venditor' and not the other  
way around

the problem with sites like Last.fm and MySpace
is that they costume themselves as benevolent services offering free  
social networking
complete with cute friends with some whispered subtextual promise of  
'hooking up'
or as some would say a 'dating service' disguised as a networking site

they make no (or little) mention of their data warehousing/strip  
mining of your data up front
rather they adeptly let this little fact hide in the shadows of their  
service being about 'something else'
i.e. wolf in sheep's clothing
like a deft pickpocket they distract you while they slip your wallet  
from your pocket

sorry, but free markets are an illusion
and that can be the only real conclusion made by a free thinker

the only freedom we have is the freedom to educate ourselves based on  
fact and empirical evidence
to arm ourselves with information that is not readily spoon-fed to us  
by corporate media
owned by GE, Westinghouse, Rupert Murdoch and all the others with  
nothing but their bottom lines in their crosshairs

because a thinking customer is not easily fooled
and hence not an easy sell, profits require more expense
and their fat margins shrink like bacon cooking

as far as Last.fm's privacy policy:
yet another EULA has probably been displayed  during my sub'ing to  
their service
but as with all EULA's they pretty much go by like the FBI warnings  
on DVD's: unread and
part of the landscape of incarcerated intellectual property

so I went digging on Last.fm for some information about what happens  
with the data they warehouse
and I couldn't find anything
maybe you can send a link for this?

free will does exist but it comes with the price tag of having to  
think freely and critically and arm oneself with information
and believe me having a child in US public schools tells you all you  
need to know about this wonderful deceit

if these virtues existed en masse then why are we in the midst of the  
worst political circus/theater of lies and deception some people call  
a government?
one only need watch the current presidential campaigns/circus with  
their back room crafting of image and repetitious soundbites
hope, change, experience, a better future, war means peace, etc
this is done to present the packaging only to the masses
while the content has been extracted and sanitized and made safe for  
our consumption
just empty promises
soundbites
nice haircuts
crying on cue
association with the Kennedy's

meanwhile the candidates are all beholden to big business and the  
millions of dollars they fork over
in hopes that someday favors will be returned
laws passed in their favor
heads turned the other way when laws broken
customers fleeced
environments polluted
children given mercury-laden vaccinations

ah, the twin pillars of democracy: freedom of choice and free will
they are pleasant illusions
and are included in the checklist of ingredients of the box called  
the American Dream™
deceptions played out and writ large upon the fabric of what our  
society has become
I say: be disturbed, be *very* disturbed
and don't crawl into the vaporous and scratch-free comfort of social  
networking
but the reasons for why people do this will be saved for another day,  
another discussion

so MySpace, Facebook and possibly Last.fm
all present a sexy package
complete with cute friends
all made up photographed from the perfect angle while scantily clad
acting as tasty icing on a cardboard cake

but how many of us would willingly
subscribe to any of these services
if they stated in
LARGE TYPE ON THEIR FRONT PAGE:
'we warehouse all the data derived from your choices
and links to other members in the network
then sell this data to companies who will use it to target you for  
banner ads and spam'

as for the goon squad:
it seems the Bush admin has been the goon squad for 8 years now
and all one needs to do is read the news each day to see that our  
civil liberties
are eroding a little more every day, week, month, year
the goon squad doesn't need to break down any doors
they place their 'boot on our necks' in many other ways

sorry for the lengthy response but this new French Roast is really  
strong! ;)