On "net neutrality"...

In the past few days I've been seeing all of these articles about ISPs and governments trying to get more control over the information on the internet. Verizon is going to court with the FCC to try and make a two tiered internet where certain sites will have traffic priority over others which will mean big money for the people who have and control it and take options away from the people who don't.

In England the proposed legislation is that there will be national filters on the internet; one of which for "esoteric" content, which really could be anything... It seems like they are getting more and more afraid of new ideas... The internet already has ads, shopping and useless, trash entertainment- I'm hoping that there will still be information and tools of actual worth on here as well... These are the things that make this whole computer business worth all of the money, time and social anxiety... The kindof fable about the internet being the next step toward human/cultural evolution.

We've all bought into the idea that the internet is the safest, easiest tool to get all of our business done- we've moved our banking, bill paying, our shopping and communication to the computer because it's been the easiest option and everyone else is doing it; and what bothers me about that aside from the obvious tracking / data mining is that now that everyone's become dependent on this thing which at least to my generation has become a resource or utility that's almost inescapable; and now the people in power want to make sure that it's only used for what they want you to use it for... Strictly a platform for selling you garbage- propaganda and otherwise...

Having a free internet where people are able to share new ideas and strategies was the sugar to help the medicine go down... This is why we pay upwards of $60 a month to these conglomerates instead of going out to the bar, the club, the local movie theater... Tangible goods and experiences are not in our budgets anymore; this alternative works because we have more of a choice in what's available to see/read/listen to. This relative freedom to seek out different ideas, art and to connect with like-minded people is what the whole tradeoff was for...

All of this "austerity" in the western world; in America they're talking about cutting the post office, 1 in 5 people on public assistance and all of these people getting up in arms about it... Libraries are closing, schools are underfunded and people are finally starting to see just how broken the system is... Is it any wonder why they would want to restrict the choices of information the general populace may be privy to?

Everything is on the internet or through it now... It's all just data- "We've closed the library and moved it over to the internet for your convenience..." OK... "but you can't have access without a special pass..."
To hell with that...

I'm sure people will find a way to subvert it or figure out some new or forgotten way of communication to get around it, but it still sucks and it gives even more light to how desperate these people are to remain in control. They are out of ideas and terrified by them.

Here are a few articles on the Verizon / FCC case...

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-09-09/net-neutrality-goes-on-trial-a-guide-to-verizon-v-dot-fcc

http://www.forbes.com/sites/waynecrews/2013/09/08/net-neutrality-fcc-and-verizon-finally-head-to-court/

 Original graphic published at www.reachinglight.com.

 

William Burroughs interviewed by Kathy Acker

Alan Watts Interviews Bertrand Russell

Graham Hancock on personal freedom.

prrrrrrisssssssssmmmmmmmm...

fuck...

It's interesting that more people are starting to hear about some of this stuff and are starting to wonder what this whole thing is about and what the ends are or might be... Fucking paranoid future for sure...

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I do not expect to see home again' | World news | The Guardian
 


A short interview with Glenn Greenwald about the story.



Obama's statement about the situation...

FBI wants "wiretap ready" websites NOW.

NSA Prism: Why I'm boycotting US cloud tech - and you should too • The Register

Robert Anton Wilson interviewed by Genesis P. Orridge and Richard Metzger

J.G. Ballard - future now

Aldous Huxley on life, freedom and control.

"Aldous Leonard Huxley (26 July 1894 – 22 November 1963) was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel writing, film stories and scripts. He spent the later part of his life in the United States, living in Los Angeles from 1937 until his death.

Huxley was a humanist, pacifist, and satirist. He later became interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism,^[1][2] in particular Vivekanda's Neo-Vedanta and Universalism.^[3] He is also well known for his advocacy and consumption of psychedelic drugs.
By the end of his life Huxley was widely acknowledged as one of the pre-eminent intellectuals of his time."