Re: [microsound] [lengthy] last.panopticon

[reSet Sakrecoer <sakrecoer@xxxxxxxxx>]

i respect your writing alot.
/Set

On Jan 31, 2008 6:45 PM, Kim Cascone <kim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> 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! ;)
>
>
>


-- 
Set Hallström
AKA
reSet Sakrecoer
+34 697 903 606
http://reset.mxx.ch