Inequality, A Function of Virtual Reality

Still from Videodrome (1983) © Universal. Reproduced under Fair Use. Image Source: The Dissolve.

Today, academics at the London School of Economics are discussing socio-economic inequality and the rise of a dual-track system between haves and have-nots. The scholars at LSE recognize that whoever understands and commandeers the narrative of inequality will control new Millennial politics. They think there is a need to reframe the terms of debate, which means Millennial inequality is a partly-unknown quantity which is up for grabs. They consider inequality as a form of identity, that is, a subset of populist nationalism. Unfortunately, by using recognized terms from the 20th century political lexicon, these researchers are missing dimensions of the problem.

This blog has been exploring inequality rather differently. I maintain that technology and the Internet intensify the conflict between the establishment and the precariat. Globalization would be impossible without technology; the global economy's most basic motivating source is not political and is instead a function of the tools we are using. Technology has also fragmented 20th century economies and polities. The Internet compounds the breakdown through intensified media experiences, which lead to contrasting views of reality. That is, inequality is related in cryptic ways to the corresponding expansion and deepening of virtual reality.

Still from Videodrome (1983) © Universal. Reproduced under Fair Use. Image Source: The Dissolve.

I consider the influence of technology to be poorly understood. Philosophically, it implies that there are disturbing new ways of existing, the ripple effects of which are unprecedented and unknown. Of course, the current president of the United States did not come to the narrative of inequality through conventional politics, but through years of experience with the modality of reality television.

If the philosophical implications are difficult to grasp, consider the physical effects of technology for a start. A recent conspiratorial video from Truthstream Media concerns a 2003 patent, here, entitled, Nervous System Manipulation by Electromagnetic Fields from Monitors. The patent concerned the ways multimedia gadgets could be used to alter the functions of the human nervous system to change mass behaviour. It sounds like something for the tin foil hat crowd, except that the author of the patent expressed misgivings about potential abuses of the technology he designed. He recognized that his invention could damage collective psychology and physiology, but he only considered this outcome as a kind of regretful afterthought.

This Creepy Patent Proves They Can Remotely Hijack Your Nervous System (7 June 2017). Video Source: Youtube.

Crisis in a Box

This image circulates on truther sites. I have not confirmed its origin or supposed associated terror event. Image Sources: here and here.

This summer's blog posts assess how weaponized propaganda in the media and on the Internet is affecting behaviour and perception. I have never seen so much chaotic, dangerous and disturbing information and disinformation.

The problem has arisen in an already uncertain environment. The Internet is culturally anti-statist, an attitude reinforced by leaks, hacks and whistle-blowing. Although leaks and whistle-blowing were and are intended to make the establishment more transparent and less corrupt, revelations also destabilize society. Some quarters now exploit the credibility of whistle-blown information, so that 'real truths' become vectors of disinformation. As a result, no one knows what to believe.

In a climate of disillusionment, everything, including real facts, is disbelieved. On the Internet, all authorities are suspect. Truth in international affairs has become a question of atomized subjective belief, confirmation bias, and personal preference. Trust, rather than rationalism, drives the information sphere. The mainstream and alt-media compete for credibility and dominance in the fight to win the public's trust.

North Korea: Rand Corp Discussions

Why the rise in tensions in Northeast Asia? #NorthKorea expert @bwbennett provides critical background and context: https://t.co/mZVCtauqh6 pic.twitter.com/WNzMMgbX7S

— RAND Corporation (@RANDCorporation) June 10, 2017

Bruce W. Bennett, Senior International Defense Researcher with the Rand Corporation, is discussing North Korea's military build-up of 20 to 50 nuclear weapons today. There is a one-hour podcast at the Rand Corporation's Website, here. Other tweets today refer to the Japanese need for military operational experience, and officially ending the Korean War to transform the diplomatic picture in the region.

Might (finally) ending the Korean War be a key step in dismantling #NorthKorea's nuclear weapons program? https://t.co/kKIXTkLHl0

— RAND Corporation (@RANDCorporation) June 10, 2017

Expert: If #Japan wants operational experience, withdrawing peacekeeping troops from South Sudan could be a mistake. https://t.co/PO9X5rIiOM

— RAND Corporation (@RANDCorporation) June 10, 2017

UK Election Feeds

Russia Today: WATCH LIVE: Special Coverage of the snap UK Election (8 June 2017). Video Source: Youtube.

These are live Youtube feeds with discussions on today's UK election, one from Russia Today, one from ITV.

ITV News Election 2017 Live: The Results (8 June 2017). Video Source: Youtube.

Red Pill, Blue Pill, Green Pill, Black Pill

Forbidden fruit: The Apple logo is commonly considered to make an occult reference to the Garden of Eden and relates computer use to forbidden knowledge, information, and soul-testing enlightened liberation. Image Source: The Open Scroll.

Before 1999, there was no word in English, as far as I know, to describe information which shatters one's world view. Techno-political ideologies evolve from an overdose on information and subsequent, broken views of the world.

Information as Forbidden Fruit

The first cyber-ideology to describe the disillusionment of the Information Age was called the red pill, or being red-pilled. The term comes from the film, The Matrix (1999) and Morpheus's speech on how to deal with knowing something you can't explain:

"This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill—the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill—you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember: all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

Red pilling starts with the feeling that there is something wrong in the world, and you don't know what it is. Everywhere you look, things have gone wrong.

The splinter, driving you mad, is that you are a slave, born into bondage in an invisible prison: The Matrix (1999) © Warner. Reproduced non-commercially under Fair Use. Video Source: Youtube.

The Establishment after Post-Truth

Image Source: National Enquirer.

This post considers the struggle between the establishment and the precariat to control the dominant narrative in global media. To start, we need to know what the establishment is. The word 'establishment' has a medieval history. From the late 15th century to the early 19th century, it meant a settled economic arrangement, what we would call an annuity, or it was an income gained from property.

A Constitutional Dance around Surveillance

Full doc: April 26, 2017 FISA court order against the NSA for five years of illegal spying on US citizens https://t.co/5lXP3CwsEs

— WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) May 28, 2017

Julian Assange has posted a link today to the document below, uploaded by the Sinclair Broadcast Group. This is the US Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court's (FISA) ruling on NSA activities, which was declassified on 11 May 2017. This secret court gives intelligence agencies permission to conduct surveillance activities. The ruling reveals the constitutional balancing act and/or illegality of NSA spying on US citizens and non-US citizens for five years. It shows the contorted legalese used to justify, and question, American government surveillance of domestic and foreign populations. From Circa:

"The American Civil Liberties Union said the newly disclosed violations are some of the most serious to ever be documented and strongly call into question the U.S. intelligence community’s ability to police itself and safeguard American’s privacy as guaranteed by the Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unlawful search and seizure."

The Sinclair Broadcast Group has a curious small collection of documents, including the NSA's 2016 Inspector General Report. In a reflection of the broad impact of science and technology, this FISA release acquires an additional surreal touch, juxtaposed with another uploaded article: Healthy offspring from freeze-dried mouse spermatozoa held on the International Space Station for 9 months.

2016 Cert FISC Memo Opin Order Apr 2017 (4) by Sinclair Broadcast Group on Scribd

Good Morning Pyongyang

Good Morning Pyongyang, North Korea © by Alexandre Spalaikovitch/Yemaya Productions. Reproduced non-commercially under Fair Use. Video Source: Youtube.

Today's post reveals the incredible city-wide wake-up call broadcast at 5:00 a.m. or 6:00 a.m. in Pyongyang, North Korea. It looks and sounds a lot like Blade Runner, which drew heavily from 1980s' Asian aesthetic influences. Compare to my similar posts, 1968 on the Way to 2019 and Kowloon Walled City, the Faux and the Real. See this interview for some reflections from North Korean defectors on what life was like there before they left for South Korea, by way of China.

It's 5:00am in Pyongyang, North Korea. Listen to the alarm that wakes the area https://t.co/Bdu709ngq4

— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) April 25, 2017