Guns don’t kill people, people kill people. Well, sure, but guns make it a whole lot easier. So I will immediately compromise my argument by saying that while that statement holds logically, it doesn’t hold up in practice. But a hammer, for example, we would never ban just because it also makes a handy murder weapon if your mate insults your carpentry. A nail gun? With physical tools it seems to come down to how many people you could easily slay with your weapon of choice, and it is a world-wide custom to limit access to the truly dreadful weapons we have created. Except of course for our vaunted leaders – way to go handling that responsibility guys!
[That was sarcasm, in case I have you confused already. [Setting a blistering pace, says ed.] just so I can tell you why he said that and get back to hammers for a moment. Once when I was thirteen or so we went to England and Scotland for a month and they had basically one television channel, which was showing Highland Games, and in particular, the hammer toss. One gentleman took his turn, undoubtedly an ancestor of Magnus von Magnusson
and threw this enormous hammer incredibly far, and the commentator said calmly that he had “set a blistering pace in the hammer toss” in a fabulous Scottish accent, and setting a blistering pace became a surprisingly humorous thing in our lives. That wasn’t much of a tangential story, but all worth it to meet Magnus von Magnusson, who also has a super excellent name, as if he had been born to be the world’s strongest man.]
But what about a tool that lets people disseminate information? Is there more harm in the ban than in letting her rip? History just can’t but be on the side of full-disclosure, and a massive dose of caveat emptor. One of the problems we always face when considering these kinds of issues is: can we trust the masses? Of course not, cries whoever is in charge. No way, say those who lose an election. Are you kidding, says me, just look at them! But we are the masses, and we tend to make very good rational choices when we have good information. And we can be trusted better than an elite to determine our own best interests, because we know our own situations better than anyone, somewhat prima facie.
But what about that throw-away clause about access to good information?
There was a sterile period for information transfer in the twentieth century as audiences got used to sitting passively through a filmed performance, or sat in front of a radio listening, or sat together glued to their nation’s Walter Cronkite, where in the past they could throw a handy tomato at a speaker they didn’t like. This made control of content incredibly easy for ruling authorities. Part of what brought about the fall of the Soviet Union was their mistaken [or did they do it on purpose, making it an all time great scam?] distribution of shortwave radios so they could broadcast to the far reaches of their country. The German Nazi’s had used radios, but only longwave, with strict limits on their use printed right on the radios along with threats of imprisonment if misused. There is an excellent Econtalk podcast about this:
Bernstein on Communication, Power and the Masters of the Word
William Bernstein talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his latest book, Masters of the Word. Bernstein traces the history of language, writing, and communication and its impact on freedom. The discussion begins with the evolution of language and the written word and continues up through radio and the internet. A particular focus of the conversation is how tyrants use information technology to oppress their people but at the same time, technology can be used to liberate people from oppression.
The internet has changed the nature of communication in many ways, two of which come to mind. One, any idiot, myself included, can clutter the airwaves with their own brand of nonsense which has introduced competition that is blowing the cable and network television model out the window allowing consumer choice to start to be reflected in the products we are offered. And many people are choosing more information over more strictly pure entertainment. This has fragmented certain kinds of media domination. And two, the internet is interactive and allows a response from the audience.
Any tool can be used corruptly if you set your mind to it, and there was much objection from scribes and authority figures when the printing press appeared because it would basically lead to internet porn. But when it comes to getting information and ideas into the light it is best to let the bad ones appear too, so they can be identified and squashed, And we have to trust the masses to begin to be able to discern the wheat from the chaff. The smart phone revolution has put the power of the internet into the hands of many of the world’s poor. They won’t be ignorant for long, and the information they get is at least not censored by a controlling authority in most of the world. We have Google to contend with but I think I would rather deal with that kind of commercial oligarch than one who enforces his information control with jails and guns. Caveat emptor is common sense always, and never more so than when consuming information. But you mustn’t shoot the messenger, just the message.
I hope you have a satisfactory Saturday, and don’t freeze any body parts if you are feeling a little vortexed, polarly or otherwise.
To carry on from the previous thread, yes there is much sock-puppetry out there, much of it paid, and a great deal of deception by heads of industry, but according to this apparently undated story, there turns out to be money made by suing the deceptors, and so lawyers are circling:
Internet’s ‘sock puppets’ are threatened species
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=629cd434-431b-4b55-9997-b74968608a79#__federated=1
And good morning. I am me, by the way, just in case you were wondering.
lately i have been noticing really hard-core sock puppetry in the comments after articles on the main internet home pages that require Facebook to comment, or even “like”. once you have a healthy skepticism about the integrity of “anonymous” commenters, certain things really start jumping out at you. well, i have not had time to look into it. but i think that Facebook makes it easier in some way. i refuse to join, so i may just have to let one of you other guys investigate this anyway!
the new blog subject is great. i want to find some information on network types to post. for instance TV and radio are one-way communication, and from one to many. the internet allows two way, from one to many, from any to any, etc. all of the network types have names that i have forgotten. i have not read the podcast yet either, so maybe this subject is discussed.
and good morning, i am, and you are, and it is still winter here. argh.
i read the podcast. very good. have some blizzard clean up to do, so will get back.
but first this… goes well with your theme, “when is a tool evil?” this corporate owned media shill is why they resort to sock puppets. anyone not totally brainwashed can see what is happening in this interview – or should i say what is meant to happen. but the message crafted by the corporate/banker/gubermint borg does not always prevail. obviously the new Greek financial minister is not only blunt, brilliant, confidently honest, but not bought and paid for. and score one for the little guy.
can’t find the network stuff i wanted to post. there is a cursory mention anyway in the podcast. i will keep this thread alive somehow.
hey, check out the Freeople blog. Ron Shimshock is now posting under his real name there.
i do not know how it is done, but Stane has managed to scrub almost her entire history off the web. i do not think it is possible to completely cover your tracks, but there obviously are ways to bury stuff. not my area of expertise though.
be back later.
Freeple? at least that you could pronounce. If you want to start a movement something people can actually remember and say is usually a good start: CHAOS SPECTRE UNCLE
Freeple and sheeple … what a silly bunch. I think a lot of Stane’s history was simply her own plethora of websites and I assume she could delete most of their content, and get rid of the sites.
But it is true that the question of anonymity vs being yourself is fraught with complexities. Those who have worked to legalize marijuana in Canada have been fairly uniformly jailed to give a simple example of why speaking your mind is dangerous. [There was an old Shoe cartoon that basically said smoking marijuana was bad for you because it could get your whole body thrown in jail.] But the shocking abuse of anonymity is such an eye-opener to the close balance of good vs bad in this weird world. And those who abuse the privilege of anonymity really risk ruining an important tool in the struggle for freedom of information and thought. It was obvious that the metals world was just full of false information flooding the cyber-world trying to hype or trash certain companies or people or ideas, like Jim Cramer using his television advice to pre-run certain stocks … shysters with a new platform.
It’s still in its infancy though this new medium – and presumably like print, the good will out and the bad will be outed. Few people today are in favour of book burnings, or would argue that the spread of the written word was bad.
i missed this article some how, but better late than never. and so very germane!
http://wallstreetonparade.com/2015/01/radical-left-wins-in-greece-leaving-the-koch-brothers-in-a-cold-sweat/
i’m telling ya, the pendulum is swinging back towards center…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-bernie-sanders-is-right-to-be-outraged/2015/01/30/d5f17576-a886-11e4-a06b-9df2002b86a0_story.html
i joked to my neighbor this morning that the groundhog was going to be pissed off about being disturbed today. we were cleaning up after maybe 10 inches of snow… hard to tell because the winds were absolutely brutal and so the snow drifted. it then dropped below 0 degrees Fahrenheit by this morning.
anyhow, when i saw this, i just had to post it. i can’t believe how right my prediction was!
edit: oops. i forgot to say that Jimmy is Wisconsin’s groundhog. not as famous as Punxsutawney Phil, but he’s a lot better looking than that rat faced bastard!
All in a tizzy because we are off to California this morning … never been and much excited. I can’t believe [I don’t mean that literally] that 90% of the world’s almonds are grown there. That seems like a bad monoculture kind of idea. But can’t wait for sunshine and Joshua Tree and the ocean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ty_WlmIKvY
but I want to be the girl with love in her heart and flowers in her hair …
😉
wow – this time it is Gallup telling the truth. i’m telling ya, something is happening. and this time it’s looking like no bait and switch, er i mean “hope and change”.
http://www.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/181469/big-lie-unemployment.aspx
and here is another doom and gloom article from a right wing gold bug site. except that is isn’t. not at all. in fact i would go as far as to say it is as non-partisan, unbiased, and completely honest as you will find anywhere on the internet.
http://www.theautomaticearth.com/is-it-socialism-or-just-failure/
just saying.
Good morning! We made it and this morning there is a roaring ocean outside the window. I am hoping you can enjoy my good fortune vicariously. Here is the view out yesterday’s window:
and this morning’s:
i had thought that you were driving out there. i need to go back and check my facts.
please post more pictures so i can try out that vicarious thingy.
edit: doh! it’s right there in the sidebar. you stated that you are flying out, then renting the hippie van. well, glad the Mystery Machine video still makes sense.
south
north
So I went for a little walk this morning and after going into a Saveway because they had a mini-Starbucks and I felt the need for some chai tea because my belly is not happy and observing the security guard – in a little off beat Saveway? on a Wednesday morning?, I went into a little market type store I had passed and got some kefir and oatmeal and then some yummy Indian vegetable soup. As I fumbled with your interesting American money, cunningly all coloured the same shade of green regardless of value, and all the same size, I apologized to the nice vaguely Spanish cashier that I was from Canada, and the first thing she asked me was how was our economy. That is not usual. So I told her we were lucky because we had much more boring banks and politicians and a smaller population and that America had unique problems because it was so big and so populated that it was insane to think one man could govern it and that only an egomaniac would try. Then I told her about that Gallop article, especially the fact that they do not count people who have been unemployed for just four weeks but have given up looking. She listened. And we had a little more chat and she said she was very in tune with what I had said – that she was paying attention.
The internet removes all filters. Each and every one of us is free to pursue confirmation bias to our hearts desire, and spiral down the rabbit hole of our choice farther than ever before. This isn’t freedom or liberation. It’s madness. It drives people toward the lunatic fringe of whatever their bag happens to be. Some handle it OK, or perhaps can change or recover, others are irreparably harmed. For society as a whole, it’s a ‘Net Negative, if you’ll pardon the pun.
Off to stir the sauce…
I think you use the internet weirdly EO – I find it an astonishing source of a wide variety of information coming from many different sources, which thanks to the unfiltering, actually allows people to come to their own conclusions. And I think most people are quite capable of doing so. What about medicine? Engineering? On-time delivery instead of massive inventory … health care in remote places … the positive uses of the internet massively outweigh any nonsense in the hard metals camp or care of rats vs squirrels.
Is it your goal to stop the internet? What would you rather? Isolated communities of lunatics with no access to alternative information? I do not understand why you keep coming to the internet to say it is terrible.
Nobody is going to “stop the internet”. But I am convinced that success or failure for each of us depends on our ability to inoculate ourselves from it.
i have given up all hope of ever reconciling your contradictions EO. the nicest way i can say it is that you are the most reactionary flaming liberal i have ever met.
but i will suggest that if you are paying attention, you will find that plenty of people (and corporations are people too!) are trying to stop the internet, and arguably succeeding to a significant degree. i will spare you any links since you surely must be aware of the net neutrality debate. and i have already posted enough articles on corporate media capture, including on the internet, going all the way back to TFMR.
but to your credit EO, you did get us back on topic!
Xty – i loved that you posted your experience talking with the cashier. you have a chance to not only use (abuse) your blog on the Internet to inform, but bring a very objective perspective being Canadian.
i do not have a twitter account so i hope i can get someone to read this article by posting it here.
http://www.theautomaticearth.com/2015/02/time-for-greeklivesmatter/
for 44
for the Dude
from Spain’s largest free local newspaper in English. it is short and to the point, fwiw.
https://www.euroweeklynews.com/columnists/mike-walsh/item/125739-the-great-illusion-of-free-press
Jesse is finding some good stuff today.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/politics/The_Death_Of_The_Wisconsin_Idea
the comments after this are quite good also.
reading through the comments on that last article, no one can seem to figure out why guys like Walker keep getting reelected! isn’t it obvious? he motivates the base. the base for the democrats stays home. why is that? the democrats offer no convincing alternative. it is either corporatocracy light or full blown back to the dark ages wingnuttery.
and thanks Obama, you suck. if that TPP trade deal passes, you will go down in history as the worst president to date.
other than that, the weather here today is awesome. almost warm enough to grill in shorts. it is above freezing, and the sun is even out. you didn’t need to go all the way to Cali Xty.
off to go for a long walk, and coming back with a slab to slowly smoke over apple wood.
so i’ll shut up now. see y’all.
left to right – Campo del Cielo, Canyon Diablo, Sikhote Alin