Burning Planet

Scotland July 2005 - G8 Jihad! Anti-G8 Protests Kick Ass

G8 protests

Witnessing the protests againt the meeting of the G8 (the world's 8 most powerful leaders) was inspiring as hell.
Coming from America, where political repression and violent militarized policing have dampened the possibilities of dissent, it was quite invigorating to see so much passion and fearlessness amongst so many diverse people gathered to confront the apocolyptic agenda of the G8. This gathering was far more international than say, the assemblage of corrupt nation states at the UN. It was certainly far more genuine than the staged and pompous internaionalism of the Olympics which nations were competing to host.

We felt good about shutting down all the major roads leading to Gleneagles, despite hordes of riot cops. We had to escape them through fields of sheep and cows and cliffs and woods. Ah, welcome to Scotland. Tis quite lovely in the countryside actually when you are not running for your life from darth vader like cops. This was no vacation, but rather, a revolutionary furor manifesting. Diverse flames coming together - a bonfire of the insanities. But it is not we who are insane.. We want to protect life on earth, while they, the G8 - burn people to death in the thousands, as in Iraq, as their profit driven suicidal madness is irreversably destroying the earth's life support systems.


Aye! as the Scottish would say, what's a lassie to do!?! Like the Americans once confronted the fascists on the shores of Normandy, wave after wave of anarchists, insurgent clowns, irate Italians, 'respectable' socialists, and black clad Spanish and Germans shouting 'anti-capitalista!' - threw themselves into the fray. The seemingly impentrable fortress of Gleneagles where the G8 was meeting was indeed disrupted. The fence surrounding the perimeter at Gleneagles was not only breached, but the fence itself was picked up by the people's unquenchable thirst for anarchy - and thrown at the cops. They had to send for more troops, police dogs, and chinook helicopeters to try and intimidate people. The world saw that the G8 world leaders were being challenged, confronted, and discredited, and that their promises were hollow and that they were indeed lying bastards.


The world saw that global opposition to tyranny, greed and war is indeed alive and kicking ass. Thank you very much.

posted by silentscream @ 5:13 PM 6 comments

The Impact of Technology on Human Consciousness

My first post on my first blog. What a fascintating concept ... a chance to glimpse the internal workings of people's brains and marvel at how much they are like our own. I supposse that could be helpful.

The internet seemed years ago, to me like the development of a global brain. Picture the planet earth from afar... and there is this buzzing species on it, and now they knowledge share this UNI-brain to which they are all connected; kind of like how books spread and share thoughts, but now we can do so in a much more comprehensive, and perhaps intrusive way... How will this technological developments effect our lives and our evolution?

Humans think of the ways in which technology will benefit and provide convenience... not in terms of how it may compromise our living or impact our very evolution.

i.e - the invention of the automobile, is viewed as a great invention. But a NEUTRAL technology - it is not. As we know now, fossil fuel buring is threatening the future of life on earth. Not to mention, we have to kill brown people in far off places to keep our supply going. I guess we have to weigh the cost/benefit thing... and interestingly, the original Model T used less gas than the Hummer.

How about the technological advancement of war? Humans have been warring for ages (when will we learn?!) but now we have the technology to wipe out the entire species, (and not just our own) which is an enormous power but is it a true benefit or net gain? In terms of technology's impact on our evolution, well, just because we have fancy weapons like fuel air explosives, bunker busters, and ICBM's... does not mean that our compassion and wisdom has evolved - even though the technology has. (One might argue that while human kind isn't learning fast enough, we are making bigger mistakes.)

My main point is that we have to be vigilant and cautious about how our technological developments may actually impact human behavior and evolution.

One could be similarly critical of other technologies like television. From its conception, T.V was viewed by the CIA as important tool of social control. Look up "Operation Mockingbird" which is all about placing operatives in the various TV networks to influence coverage. Journalists don't merely get embedded with the troops - the Generals and spooks are EMBEDDED in the networks and news rooms. I have developed a website about the topic of media and social control - and most importantly - the need to democratize the airwaves. See: http://www.informationliberationfront.net

Other than political manipulation - which is blatant, TV affects us in far more insidious and destructive ways. Much has been written about this. I highly reccomend reading the brilliant book by Jerry Mander, "Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television". It's easy to read, but incredible in pointing out how we are personally and culturally manipulated by T.V, advertising, etc.

Other technology that impacts human evolution, just for an example, is cell phones, e-mail, etc. - affects the way we talk to and treat each other... In fact, cell phones contain a material that can only be gotten through mining - which involves some earth destructive practices, (I forget what the mined material is called) but it comes from parts of the world like Africa that are extremely poor, and torn by violence. Foreign mining industries make the situation worst through environmental destruciton and labor exploitation. Consider that the next time you think, "wow cell phones are the best!"

If we are not conscious about the technologies we use and depend heavily on - we are much more susceptible and vulnerable to being shaped by the technology - than simply using it to influence and direct our world. In other words, while technology is meant to work FOR us - can it sometimes work AGAINST our best interests?

This isn't about simply rejecting technology and moving into a cave - as its too late for that. However, should we blindly accept the benefits of modern technology - without a critical perspective and thoughtfulness about the unpredictable ramifications of a given technology?

Perhaps I do benefit from the internet - and that is good. When I push a button, I can send an e-mail to someone far away - I wouldn't otherwise be able to communicate with. However, when a large corporation pushes a button, a forest gets cut down somewhere, or when the Pentagon pushes a button, Fallujah gets bombed. My point is - while we do indeed benefit from technology - some people benefit MORE - MUCH MORE from it - and at great cost to the rest of the planet.

posted by silentscream @ 2:00 PM 1 comments