#frontiers of legal theory

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Boeing, Spirit and Jetblue, a monopoly horror-story

Catch me in Miami! I'll be at Books and Books in Coral Gables TONIGHT (Jan 22) at 8PM. Berliners: Otherland has added a second date (Jan 28) for my book-talk after the first one sold out - book now!

Last week, William Young, an 82 year old federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan, blocked the merger of Spirit Airlines and Jetblue. It was a seismic event:

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mad.254267/gov.uscourts.mad.254267.461.0_6.pdf

Seismic because the judge's opinion is full of rhetoric associated with the surging antitrust revival, sneeringly dismissed by corporate apologists as "hipster antitrust." Young called America's airlines and "oligopoly," a situation he blamed on out-of-control mergers. As Matt Stoller writes, this is the first airline merger to be blocked by the DOJ and DOT since deregulation in 1978:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/antitrust-enforcers-block-the-jetblue

The judge wasn't shy about why he was reviving a pre-Jimmy Carter theory of antitrust: "[the merger] does violence to the core principle of antitrust law, 'to protect] markets –- and its market participants — from anticompetitive harm."

The legal arguments the judge advances are fascinating and worthy of study:

https://twitter.com/johnmarknewman/status/1747343447227519122

But what really caught my eye was David Dayen's American Prospect article about the judge's commentary on the state of the aviation industry:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/01-19-2024-how-boeing-ruined-the-jetblue-spirit-merger/

Why, after all, have Spirit and Jetblue been so ardent in pursuing mergers? Jetblue has had two failed merger attempts with Virgin, and this is the third time they've failed in an attempt to merge with Spirit. Spirit, meanwhile, just lost a bid to merge with Frontier. Why are these two airlines so obsessed with combining with each other or any other airline that will have them?

As Dayen explains, it's because US aviation has been consumed by monopoly, hollowed out to the point of near collapse, thanks to neoliberal policies at every part of the aviation supply-chain. For one thing, there's just not enough pilots, nor enough air-traffic controllers (recall that Reagan's first major act in office was to destroy the air traffic controller's union).

But even more importantly, there are no more planes. Boeing's waitlist for airplane delivery stretches to 2029. And Boeing is about to deliver a lot fewer planes, thanks to its disastrous corner-cutting, which grounded a vast global fleet of 737 Max aircraft (again):

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2024-01-09-boeing-737-max-financial-mindset/

The 737 disaster(s) epitomize the problems of inbred, merger-obsessed capitalism. As Luke Goldstein wrote, the rampant defects in Boeing's products can be traced to the decision to approve Boeing's 1997 merger with McDonnell-Douglas, a company helmed by Jack Welch proteges, notorious for cost-cutting at the expense of reliability:

https://prospect.org/infrastructure/transportation/2024-01-09-boeing-737-max-financial-mindset/

Boeing veterans describe the merger as the victory of the bean-counters, which led to a company that chases short-term profits over safety and even the viability of its business:

https://www.airliners.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=213075

After all, the merger turned Boeing into the single largest exporter in America, a company far too big to fail, teeing up tens of billions from Uncle Sucker, who also account for 40% of Boeing's income:

https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/its-time-to-nationalize-and-then

The US government is full of ex-Boeing execs, just as Boeing's executive row is full of ex-US federal aviation regulators. Bill Clinton's administration oversaw the creation of Boeing's monopoly in the 1990s, but it was the GOP that rescued Boeing the first time the 737 Maxes started dropping out of the sky.

Boeing's biggest competitor is the state-owned Airbus, a joint venture whose major partners are the governments of France, Spain and Germany – governments that are at least theoretically capable of thinking about the public good, not short-term profits. Boeing's largest equity stakes are held by the Vanguard Group, Vanguard Group subfiler, Newport Trust Company, and State Street Corporation:

https://prospect.org/blogs-and-newsletters/tap/2024-01-18-airbus-advantage/

As Matt Stoller says, America has an airline that the public bails out, protects, and subsidizes but has no say over. Boeing has all the costs of public ownership and none of the advantages. It's the epitome of privatized gains and socialized losses.

This is Reagan's other legacy, besides the disastrous shortage of air-traffic controllers. The religious belief in deregulation – especially deregulation of antitrust enforcement – leads to a deregulated market. It leads to a market that is regulated by monopolists who secretly deliberate, behind closed board-room doors, and are accountable only to their shareholders. These private regulators are unlike government regulators, who are at least nominally bound by obligations to transparency and public accountability. But they share on thing in common with those public regulators: when they fuck up, the public has to pay for their mistakes.

It's a good thing Boeing's executives are too big to fail, because they fail constantly. Boeing execs who are warned by subcontractors of dangerous defects in their planes order those subcontractors to lie, or lose their contracts:

https://www.levernews.com/boeing-supplier-ignored-warnings-of-excessive-amount-of-defects-former-employees-allege/

As a result of Boeing's mismanagement, America's only aircraft supplier steadily has lost ground to Airbus, which today enjoys a 2:1 advantage over Boeing. But it's not just Boeing that's the weak link aviation. US aviation is a chain entirely composed of weak links.

Take jet engines: Pratt & Whitney are Spirit's major engine supplier, but these engines suck as much as Boeing's fuselages. Much of Spirit's fleet is chronically grounded because the engines don't run. The reason Spirit buys its engines from those loveable goofballs at Pratt & Whitney? The Big Four airlines have bought all the engines for sale from other suppliers, leaving smaller airlines to buy their engines from fat-fingered incompetents.

This is why – as Dayen notes – smaller US airlines are so horny for intermarriage. They can't grow by adding routes, because there are no pilots. Even if they could get pilots, there'd be no slots because there are no air traffic controllers. But even if they could get pilots and slots, there are no planes, because Boeing sucks and Airbus can't make planes fast enough to supply the airlines that don't trust Boeing. And even if they could get aircraft, there are no engines because the Big Four aviation cartel cornered the market on working jet engines.

Part of Jetblue and Spirit's pitch was that they hand off the routes that they'd cut after their merger to other small airlines, like Frontier and Allegiant. But Frontier and Allegiant can't service those routes: they don't have pilots, slots, planes or engines.

Spirit hasn't been profitable since 2019 and is sitting on $4b in debt. Jetblue was proposing to finance its acquisition with another $3.5b in debt. The resulting airline could only be profitable by sharply cutting routes and massively raising prices, cutting 6.1m seats/year. With a debt:capital ratio of 111%, the company would have no slack and would need a bailout any time anything went wrong. Not coincidentally, the Big Four airlines also have debt:capital ratios of about 100-120%, and they do get bailouts ever time anything goes wrong.

As William McGee reminds us, it's been 14 years since anyone's started a new US airline:

https://twitter.com/WilliamJMcGee/status/1747363491445375072

US aviation is deeply cursed. But Boeing's self-disassembling aircraft show us why we can't fix it by allowing mergers: private monopolies, shorn of the discipline of competition and regulation, are extraction machines that turn viable businesses into debt-wracked zombies.

This is a subject that's beautifully illustrated in Dayen's 2020 book Monopolized, in the chapter on health care:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/01/29/fractal-bullshit/#dayenu

The US health care system has been in trouble for a long time, but the current nightmare starts with the deregulation of pharma. Pharma companies interbred with one another in a string of incestuous marriages that produced these dysfunctional behemoths that were far better at shifting research costs to governments and squeezing customers than they were at making drugs. The pharma giants gouged hospitals for their products, and in response, hospitals underwent their own cousin-fucking merger orgy, producing regional monopolies that were powerful enough to resist pharma's price-hikes. But in growing large enough to resist pharma profiteering, the hospitals also became powerful enough to screw over insurers. Insurers then drained their own gene pool by combining with one another until most of us have three or fewer insurers we can sign up with – companies that are both big enough to refuse hospital price-hikes, and to hike premiums on us.

Thus monopoly begets monopoly: with health sewn up by monopolies in medical tech, drugs, pharmacy benefit managers, insurance, and hospitals, the only easy targets for goosing profits are people:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/01/05/hillrom/#baxter-international

This is how you get a US medical system that costs more than any other rich nation's system to operate, delivers worse outcomes than those other systems, and treats medical workers worse than any other wealthy country.

Now, rich people can still buy their way out of this mess, but you have to be very rich indeed to buy your way out of the commercial aviation system. There's a lot of 1%ers who fly commercial, and they're feeling the squeeze – and there's no way they're leasing their own jets.

Stein's Law holds that "anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop." America's aviation mergers – in airlines, aircraft and engines – have hollowed out the system. The powerful, brittle companies that control aviation have so much power over their workforce that they've turned air traffic controller and pilot into jobs that no one wants – and they used their bailout money to buy out the most senior staff's contracts, sending them to early retirement.

Now, I'm with the people who say that most of US aviation should be replaced with high-speed rail, but that's not why our technocrats and finance barons have gutted aviation. They did it to make a quick buck. A lot of quick bucks. Now the system is literally falling to pieces in midair. Now the system is literally on fire:

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/19/us/miami-boeing-plane-engine-fire.html

Which is how you get a Reagan appointed federal judge issuing an opinion that has me punching the air and shouting, "Yes, comrade! To the barricades!" Anything that can't go on forever will eventually stop. When the system is falling to pieces around you, ideology disintegrates like a 737 Max.

I'm Kickstarting the audiobook for The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues, narrated by @wilwheaton! You can pre-order the audiobook and ebook, DRM free, as well as the hardcover, signed or unsigned. There's also bundles with Red Team Blues in ebook, audio or paperback.

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/21/anything-that-cant-go-on-forever/#will-eventually-stop

Image: Vitaly Druchenok (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ECAir_Boeing_737-306_at_Brazzaville_Airport_by_Vitaly_Druchenok.jpg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

--

Joe Ravi (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panorama_of_United_States_Supreme_Court_Building_at_Dusk.jpg

CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

[fearitha]

So, regarding the principle "outside the Imperial borders, the Rogue Trader is king and god!"

Now, imagine a tribunal hearing of the Adeptus Arbites, dedicated to defining the territorial limits of a specific Trader's Warrant. The principle "Intra Lucem Imperatoris" is discussed as a territorial restriction on the scope of this action.

Three of the present Judges have expressions that are unconforming to regulations, because the other two have been arguing about this for eighty years, with six duels, two disciplinary violations, and a dozen hearings on misconduct.

Both agree that "Intra Lucem Imperatoris" does not refer to a specific warp phenomenon, as the visibility of this phenomenon at any given moment in any given place depends on over a million factors, including the observer and the space weather. So, what then does it refer to?

One argues that the key point is the establishment of an Ecclesiarchy diocese. That once an Ecclesiarchy diocese is established, we speak of the onset of the "Intra Lucem Imperatoris" state.

The other argues that historically, and from a constitutional perspective, this makes no sense; first, it’s unclear why Ecclesiarchy dioceses should be given such respect, and second, "Intra Lucem Imperatoris" in legal documents predates the canonical establishment of diocesan creation protocols.

The first responds that he addressed the first point in his treatise "De Reverentia ad Templum" thirty years ago and sees no need to revisit it, while the second argument is countered by pointing out that, although the canonical right regarding diocesan confirmation came after "Intra Lucem Imperatoris", a detailed analysis of historical evidence shows that ecclesiastical territorial institutions existed even before, albeit in a less formalised manner.

The second will respond that the canonicity of the interpretations in "De Reverentia ad Templum" is still under review by the Arbites Segmentum, and he personally submitted a memorandum sepāratum, which outlines errors and incorrect assumptions. His theory of "Intra Lucem Imperatoris" as a territory where the Arbites jurisdiction is established is much more coherent and consistent.

The first sighs and reminds them that, first, there are many territories that, in context, are undoubtedly understood as "Intra Lucem Imperatoris", yet fall outside the Arbites jurisdiction, such as the Mechanicus temples and the Navigator holdings...

...The third judge, who has been dozing off, raises his head slightly and says, "By the way, legally, the inviolability of the Navigator Nobility holdings is questionable, and..."; catching the chairman’s gaze, he falters.

...So, the first repeats pointedly, and the Navigator holdings. And second, the very framing of the issue, that we set the boundaries of our own authority, contradicts the fundamental principle of praesumere stare super eam est...

The tribunal chairman realises that it’s going to be another long day.

Intra Lucem Imperatoris – "within the Light of the Emperor"; this concept originates from the basic Warhammer 40K idea that the authority of Rogue Traders is very vast "outside the Light of the Emperor", where the Light of the Emperor refers to the "normal" Imperium territory, not the wild frontier regions.

"Constitutional perspective" does not imply that the Imperium has any written Constitution as the highest law; it refers to certain basic principles on which the state operates, even if these are vaguely written or not codified in full. "It makes no sense from a principle standpoint."

De Reverentia ad Templum – literally, "Reverence to the Temple".

praesumere stare super eam est – canonically, the Arbites hold the maxim, "Stare super fundamentum Legis est magna nostra officium, Praesumere stare super eam est pessima nostra haereses", meaning "To stand guard over the Law is our greatest duty, to assume we stand above it is our greatest heresy". "Praesumere stare super eam est" is literally "to assume to stand above it."

[misskriemhilds]

the jewishness of eternity from reverse: 1999, and why this is important to me

first and foremost: i doubt that any of the jewishness of eternity from reverse: 1999 was intentional on bluepoch's part. this is personal interpretation, and i am not trying to insinuate that it was intentional of the game developers. but nevertheless, i find eternity's character to be deeply comforting and resonant with me, specifically with regards to my own viewpoint as a young woman who is american jewish.

let us begin with her backstory:

at the end of the 19th century, torches constantly lit up the night sky of exeter, a frontier town in the usa.  the door of her store was closed. in a dimly lit room, on the shelves stood many candy jars. the last young buyer of these candies had been sent to that crowded, shabby cemetery (if you prefer to call it that) three months ago.  too many farms had been destroyed in the civil war, and plague was not the only terrible thing to develop from the ashes: fear of an unknown future also gradually turned into madness. the candies were taken down. instead, the store owners now stock their shelves with garlic necklaces and bottles of holy water.  more and more vampires were brought to trial, and the seed of suspicion grew in everyone's mind. the once-friendly residents became ruthless intruders and broke into the woman's house, despite the help she had provided them.  but they found nothing in her house. it seemed to have been long abandoned. the floor was covered with dead shellfish, under which there were marks of dried blue blood.  peace didn't come back to the town of exeter until the day when everyone heard about a disease called tuberculosis.

now, i retroactively found out that this aspect of her backstory was likely inspired by the mercy brown vampire incident, which i haven't researched all that thoroughly. what i want to emphasize in this context is that these trials in eternity's backstory were specifically a result of post-civil war paranoia causing exeter's townspeople to suspect others of being vampires causing misfortune.

it is important to stress that while not every portrayal of vampire characters in fiction are antisemitic portrayals, vampires being used as antisemitic caricatures is not uncommon. similarly, while jewish people have not necessarily been subject to the same legal discrimination or systemic oppression in the u.s. as much as other minorities (that said, it wasn't non-existent, and jewish people were definitely subject to systemic oppression and worse legal discrimination in other countries outside of the u.s.) it is not uncommon for us to be used as scapegoats when disaster strikes. that's why so many conspiracy theories have antisemitic routes; it's harder to acknowledge and analyze the complicated reasons as to why things in the world suck than it is to pin it on a more tangible scapegoat - more often than not, the jews.

i think with eternity from reverse: 1999, that definitely holds the same weight here. whether or not she is officially a vampire is a bit murky (to be honest, i'd say if she is then she's doing the vampire equivalent of keeping kosher by consuming the flesh of sea creatures, even if i'm pretty sure stuff like whales or jellyfish are officially considered treyf), but she was persecuted for being different.

in this jewish reading: it did not matter that she was one of "the good jews", it did not matter the kindness she had shown to exeter's people in the past, when their circumstances took a turn for the worse their memories of antisemitic imagery and myth they had subconsciously absorbed from all the fairytales they read flared to life and they realized how nice and easy it would be to get rid of all their problems if they directed it at the jewish woman residing in their little town.

surely, if the vampire - the witch, the jew, died - then their troubles would be gone, right?

on a broader, less concrete extent regarding eternity i'd also like to bring up her tagline when we first meet her - the one that all r:1999 characters have regarding their age and their ethnic background.

the exhibit was later displayed all over america.

i think this could definitely be a general reference to eternity's immortality. after all, if you've suddenly got all the time in the world you might as well tour your home country and hit the highlights, right?

from a jewish perspective, i think this feels very resonant with the experience of american-jewish diaspora. there are oftentimes when people like us are desperately searching for a place to call home and when we think we've found it, social antisemitism starts spiking up. we want a place to call home - not necessarily as a people, but definitely in the context of being jewish - and even in america where we've been here since its conception as a country, we're not even sure if we can find a place to call home.

and in a jewish context, eternity spends over a century in search of somewhere to call home. her traveling all across the usa takes on a more deliberate context - moving out of areas as soon as you realize maybe the spikes in antisemitism in your place of residence aren't going to pass as quickly as you'd like, and moving out as soon as you can because you have the luxury to. she looks for somewhere she can call home, but this there anywhere that can act as a true home for someone like her?

"there are no chill jews," is something we jewish people like to half-joke about from time to time; that is something that i certainly read into with eternity's voice lines. in particular: "my immortality allows me to be well-informed. no matter the dead or alive, you can have your answer from me as long as the pay is adequate. but just like anyone with a clear mind won’t touch a hot potato, i suggest you keep your little nose clean."

the reason there are no chill jews is because a lot of said "chill jews" died. as soon as our ancestors realized, "alright, people hate us and are using us as scapegoats, let's get the hell out of here" they left. that's how they survived. eternity's immortality allows her to be "well-informed", in a jewish reading, about how she is perceived as a jewish woman throughout time and across the usa. thanks to her old age, she has learned to be vigilant about this, and to keep watch so she can resume her life - maybe she'd have no reason to worry about death, being immortal, but at the same time it would be nice to just live and breathe in peace as a jewish woman. as she says in her voice line when you touch her head, "...what really matters is a good mind and a clear view of the time."

(as an aside, my dear friend @kingoffiends commented in our dms that eternity's voicelines remind him of his very frum grandmother from her phrasing and tone alone. this is only somewhat relevant but i thought i should put it here regardless.)

but not all is doom and gloom with eternity, even with the pains of immortality.

to quote rabbi lord jonathan sacks from his book studies in spirituality: "in judaism joy is the supreme religious emotion. here we are, in a world filled with beauty. every breath we breathe is the spirit of god within us. around us is the love that moves the sun and all the stars. we are here because someone wanted us to be. the soul that celebrates, sings."

where is the joy in eternity?

well, for all of the worst parts of immortality she has still been handed the opportunity to live forever. and eternity will live as happily as she will damn well please. though not all is sunshine and rainbows in her life, she delights in 29-inch crt tvs where she can wind down with a nice glass of warm milk before bed, and takes delight in the progression of technology as time has gone on. "...let's just call it a toast and watch a vampire movie in bed." if she has forever to live, then she might as well take delight in all the small joys she can find.

(while wealthy jewish people do have stereotypical or antisemitic connotations, as a jewish person i'd like to say that i'm definitely self-aware of that when approaching her character. while she is wealthy she is not malicious, and her "read the fine print" approach to the products of the sea for yourself shop seem to be more a result of playful mischief rather than any outright malice. she's got a sort of hershele of ostropol energy to her, if you will.)

all in all, it's so very jewish of her - and it's why her character, in a jewish context, is so resonant with me. there's something very comforting that this is a woman who has lived forever, longer than i have. she may not be real, but for all of the persecution and loss she has suffered throughout life, she is determined to find happiness in even the smallest things. that sort of fortitude and determination to forge her own joy is very meaningful to me as someone jewish, and it's why i approach her as being like me.

eternity may not be real - hell, she's likely not even officially intended to be jewish. but there's such a firm theme of sorrow and joy to her character in a jewish context, and to have even a fictional character who embodies those experiences of mine is why i hold her so close to my heart.

[argyrocratie]

"In his 2002 dissertation, Dr. Pan Yue, the current commissioner of China’s Ethnic Affairs Commission, proposed that a mass migration of 50 million Han people to Tibet and Xinjiang would simultaneously address three major problems confronting China: overpopulation, demand for resources, and the problem of ethnic and religious difference.4 Pan, who became the first non-ethnic minority commissioner of ethnic policy in the history of the People’s Republic of China in 2022, suggested that Han migrants should be considered “reclaimers.” The “backwardness” of the frontier he suggested had become a danger to national security, fostering terrorist and extremist activities. He called on China to learn from a trifecta of contemporary colonizers: the United States, Israel and Russia. Taking elements of each as a model of how contemporary China should further colonize Tibetan and Uyghur lands, he suggests that the Western expansion of settler colonialism in the United States and Russia’s imperial settlement of Siberia, should be combined with the more contemporary example of Israel’s controlled deployment of West Bank settlers and infrastructure in Palestinian lands. 

Finally, drawing from a model that draws on China’s post-Maoist legacy of state-managed economy and export-oriented development, and I argue, coincidentally mirroring aspects of the economy that provided a paradigmatic example of racial capitalism, Apartheid South Africa, Pan proposed that minorities should be proletarianized through assigned industrial labor. In his study, it was clear that Pan wanted to combine a land grab with the dissolution of the Maoist system of ethnic minority autonomy within a socialist political and economic system. He was thinking comparatively about the world system of global capitalism not as an object of critique, but as a way of understanding mimetically what China’s place should be with in it. 

Part of what this implies, I argue in this book, is that Pan’s “post-ethnic” framework called for the abolition of the limited protections of difference that the Mao era had fostered, and—as to some extent in the U.S., Russia, and Israel—the replacement of civil liberties and autonomous claims for Muslim and Indigenous citizens, with markers of an imagined evil, the figures of the terrorist and the proto-terrorist, the non-secular “backward” other. Recalling Apartheid South Africa’s “color bar,” Xinjiang’s Muslim reeducation and assigned labor system should be thought of as a kind of “Muslim bar,” a legalized racialization of ethno-religious difference that holds in reserve the majority of positions of managerial and ownership power for Han settlers. 

Pan was explicitly looking to the capitalist-colonial past and present, because taking this comparative move seriously is also to take seriously China’s position within the global world system. In what follows I will think comparatively with Apartheid South Africa, and the Marxian world systems theory elaborated by Cedric Robinson (1983) and others that emerged from analysis of it, to show that racialization is an essential part of the global process of on-going original or primitive accumulation.5 This suggests that racialization—as an institutionalized process supported by the police, the law, the school system, and so on—is not simply an organic outcome of transhistorical process or an effect of particular political formations.6 On the contrary, it is a historical feature of global capitalism and the imperial economic expropriation—or legalized theft—on which it depends. 

Produced as a Terrorist

The account of one of my Uyghur interlocutors, someone I’ll call Abdulla,7 and the way his life path was redirected and shaped by the structural factors I describe above demonstrates what all of this means in everyday life. Abdulla was just one of the dozens of Uyghurs and Kazakhs whose stories shape the narrative of this book. Though many of the other Muslims I interviewed and observed came from lower class positions and had less formal education than Abdulla, many of the things I observed in Abdulla’s story happened to them too. His fast transfer from the camp and unfree labor system to neighborhood arrest and a return to medical school, are the primary differences between him and others. And these differences, which can be directly correlated to his near perfect Mandarin elocution and his practice as a physician’s assistant who was just two semesters away from receiving his degree as a medical doctor, demonstrate how finely graded the system of Muslim racialization and how it is reproduced.

Abdulla, like nearly all Uyghurs I met in the city, came from a rural village in Southern Xinjiang where Uyghurs formed a supermajority of over 90 percent of the population. For his first 18 years, all of his life happened in Uyghur. Then he arrived in the city as a college student and was confronted with world of Chinese. The first born of a village teacher, he knew from a young age that he wanted a life that was different from the farmers he was surrounded by. This is why he poured himself into learning Chinese and English, watching the entire Friends TV show on repeat. He wanted a Uyghur version of that fictitious life. To do this he understood that he had to present as urban and secular, he had to shave his moustache, wear clothes from the Chinese shopping mall, and speak in jocular Chinese with Han colleagues. At the university he studied biology and science in Chinese, preparing for a career in in the Chinese medical system. But at night, he and two other friends from villages near his hometown, studied English. In the space of several years, they became so fluent in American pop culture that they started their own English school training hundreds of other Uyghur villagers to speak the language of American TV and imagine a world outside of both the Uyghur and Chinese one they grew up in.  

His students and friends gave Abdulla the nickname “suyok,” meaning he moved like water, flowing effortlessly from one social scene to another, codeswitching, mastering the multiple consciousnesses that are necessary for a minoritized person to succeed in a racialized world. He was a smooth operator. But he was also influential among Uyghur young people, and over time the police began to take notice of him. They sent informants to the night school where he taught to report on things students said and how the Abdulla responded to them. But Abdulla anticipated this, so when he discussed the biography of Nelson Mandela he was careful not to make direct comparisons to the Apartheid conditions that Uyghurs experienced in the city.8 In the private-public space of the classroom they did not discuss the way only around 15 percent of Uyghur college graduates were able to find jobs regardless of how well they spoke Chinese and English.9 Nor did they discuss the stories his students told him privately of the way they had witnessed police brutality and how the same police protected the non-Muslim settlers that had inundated their villages as part of the large-scale migration Pan Yue had called for. 

But then in late 2014 three of his students disappeared from their dorm room, leaving behind their belongings. They didn’t tell their families where they were going until several weeks later when they re-emerged in Malaysia at the other end of the underground trafficking route that took them across the hills of Myanmar where they joined North Koreans and Rohingya fleeing state violence. The police questioned Abdulla for days. Abdulla vowed that he had no knowledge of their plan.

That incident, and the arrest of the parents of his students, the way the police began to search Muslim homes on a regular basis, and the new prohibitions on any form of religious speech, made him quite concerned. He started plotting his own escape. Utilizing all of his connections, in 2016 he managed to obtain a passport and visit Europe and me and other friends in the United States, thinking through the logistics of an international move and what it would take to get his medical training recognized abroad. It would be hard he realized, but it seemed like the only path forward. All he had to do was find a way to get passports for his wife and children and sell his apartment in the city. But he never did. 

In 2017 he was detained along with hundreds of thousands of other young Uyghurs and sent to a closed concentrated education and training center. His travel history, his association with students who the state now regarded as international terrorists, was more than enough for him to be regarded as untrustworthy. Yet unlike most other detainees, all of whom had similar digital dossiers of thought crimes and “abnormal” behaviors, Abdulla had an advanced degree in medical science, he spoke perfect Chinese and could recite all the laws and regulations related to ethnic policies. If the political and economic goals of the camp system were to train Uyghur villagers to speak Chinese and work in factories, why detain and train someone already working in a Chinese institution? 

Fundamentally, Abdulla and the hundreds of thousands of other migrants and farmers had been detained for particular political and economic reasons that had less to do with their past individual actions, though the digital footprint of these actions were collected and assessed, and more to do with their ethno-religious and generational status as young, rural-background Uyghurs. But simultaneously, the cost of producing them as workers was also being externalized to the village communities that had trained them, the families that had sacrificed their livelihoods to send them to school. Even workhouses need doctors. It appears that Abdulla was destined to become a rare Muslim doctor tasked with maintaining and reproducing the system of racialized carceral care. His devalued assigned labor was not in the factory, but for the factory workers and their child. He could never leave the city, instead his future was a permanent state of probation. He could always be sent back to the camp or demoted to the factory or worse. 

2017 Xinjiang :: 1972 South Africa? 

In many ways, discussion of what has happened in Xinjiang resembles discussions of Apartheid South Africa in the 1970s. Among conservative and liberal proponents of the capitalist world order, both cases are often seen as exceptions rather than limit cases of capitalist logics. 

 However as radical historians such as Martin Legassick (1984), Walter Rodney (1972), and sociologist Michael Buroway (1974) have demonstrated, South Africa was in fact a capitalist state whose economy centered on the production and reproduction of difference.10 South Africa was a paradigmatic example of a state-managed capitalist order that codified a so-called “color bar” (Buroway 1974, 1054) that excluded black and brown people from certain forms of employment reserved for whites. This exclusion along with processes of removing native peoples from their lands and forcing them into external resource dependent, impoverished reserves resulted in two new modes of production. Subsistence living on reserves and a supply of surplus miners from those reserves. The color bar “fixed” in place the contradiction between capitalism and democratic politics, preventing black South Africans from preserving their own wealth, denying them social mobility in the workforce, and strangling systems of mutual aid.

It was from this example, among others, that scholars such as Cedric Robinson (1983 [1999]) and Mahmood Mamdani (1996 [2018]) began to build a general theory of the way capitalist-colonial development works through the production of difference—rather than homogenizing effect of “all boats rising” as national economies grow as a whole.11 By devaluing the labour and possessions of citizens and non-citizens deemed and legally categorized as different, state-subsidized and supported business interests and settler overseers are empowered to accumulate wealth in a fixed, ongoing manner. 

Fast forward five decades and the outlines of a similar “color bar” fix can be seen in motion operating through an anti-Muslim racial regime. As in South Africa, Xinjiang multinational and domestic corporations are deeply invested in maintaining continual growth. The system in Xinjiang relies on a dual mode of racialized capital accumulation in the form of labor and data. In a general sense, the labour theft element of the system relies not only on the theft of the individual worker’s life, but also a theft from the family and community that raised and cared for that worker. By stealing a daughter or son from an Uyghur family and community, the reeducation campaign externalizes the cost of producing an unfree worker. As the state hired 90,000 new non-Muslim teachers with high-school degrees from villages across China, the reproduction of this labor-force was further ensured by a residential school system that would produce the next generation of Uyghur factory workers.  

As with Apartheid South Africa, the world is the market for much of the prediction products and consumer goods produced by the unfree workers in Xinjiang. It also participates in the global discourse of anti-Muslim racism. These areas of convergence with the imperial North—through both memetic political relations and a shared global economy—point to the ultimate lesson of Xinjiang. In a world where the power of Chinese corporations and autocrats is unchecked they operate in much the same way as other colonial powers." 

-Darren Byler's preface to the simplified chinesse edition of his book "In the Camps", June 2023

[zmasters]

The Void Crawler - A Lancer "Dungeon"

I’m working on a “dungeon crawl” style Lancer module. I’ll be posting each “level” to the “dungeon” later, but here’s an introduction of sorts.

Floor 1 & the Lift

The HA Void Crawler. Despite the name and Harrison Armory's history of violence, the ship is a research vessel. The Void Crawl and her crew where sanctioned to explore the galaxy outside of known Union space and find potential livable planets to colonized. While this particular survey has been tainted by the Corpo-State's particular culture of nationalism, the greater Union views this effort as an ultimately good thing for humanity as a whole.

The Void Crawler went dark a few weeks ago.

Now a derelict caught in the orbit of a massive gas giant, all that your employers know is that whatever caused the vessel to be abandoned happened fast and it happened without warning.

None of the missing crew has been found. Early scans indicate that many of the ships systems such as life support and engines have not been destroyed, but have simply been turned off.

The powers that be have turned their gaze on the Void Crawler. Some wish to figure out what happened to the hundreds of lives loss in this mysterious accident. Other's wish to capitalize on the materials and data that this ship have hidden in it's cold halls.

You are a lancer. You have been hired by one of the five manufactures to venture to the Void Crawler and achieve their objective.

As Union's right hand megacorp, General Massive Systems has graciously put it upon themselves to find the missing crewmen and either save them, or avenge them. And of course the data that HA has collected will benefit all of Union, so it would be the kind thing to do is for GMS to bring it back home free of charge.

ISP-Northstar and it's close ally Albatross have a long history of anti-piracy actions, and the this situation has pirates written all over it. A quick strike should bring whatever material and data lost to be put into the right hands.

A popular rumor to what happened to the Void Crawler is that the vessel had run foul with aliens. While most organizations laugh off this theory as omninet forum conspiracy and HORUS memetic manipulation, Smith-Shimano Corpo has not written it off yet. When seeking to perfect the original machine, the human body, maybe xeno DNA is the key.

[We interrupt your following debrief with a message, curtesy from USER xxBASED64xx]

ZGVhcg== HORUS, SSByZXF1ZXN0IGFpZC4gU3RhdGlzLXF1byBwb3NpdGl2ZS4gTGlmZSBncm93aW5nLiBEcmFjbmkgdGhyaXZpbmcuIEVjb3N5c3RlbSBmcmFnaWxlLiBGb3JlaWduIGFjdGl2aXR5IHRocmVhdGVucyB1cy4gU2lnbiBDWUxBLg==

[Now returning to your regularly scheduled shitpost breifing]

And of course Harrison Armory has legal claim on the Void Crawler. They made the ship, they paid the crew, they provided the NHP, arguably they deserve whatever is left behind. But in the frontier of the great beyond, anything is fair game.

Regardless of who has hired you, the pay is the same. Lots of manna, a license in a mech of your choice, a genetic backup to be cloned incase of untimely passing. It has to be high, it's going to take at least ten years to get to the derelict.

You’ll be there for awhile.

With me.

New friend.

Come and smell the roses, I just planted them.

And you’ll love what I done with the place. A few expansions here and there, some refurbishments. My new friend helped me redecorate. Have you met him before? RA?

[fkitwebhaal]

Fic: Extracted Notes from the Journal of One of the Saviors of Baulder's Gate.

IN CASE OF COMPLETE MEMORY LOSS

SECTION: PEOPLE YOU NEED TO KNOW

LAST UPDATED: 1494 DR

Shadowheart: half-elf, black hair usually kept in a braid 

Cleric: don’t know what God, doesn’t want to talk about it. You’re 75% sure you know who it is, but writing it down might get her in trouble, so you’re gonna have to start from scratch. Sorry. 

I’d give you a hint and say it’s a God you don’t like, but you don’t like any Gods. 

Saved her from a pod in Natoiloid. She’s grateful about it.

It wasn’t hard to do, don’t think too much of yourself for it. 

Likes Night Orchids and can’t swim.

You don’t know if you can swim and you’re not sure how to find out. Ask Wyll?  

Lae’zel: Githyanki, usually found attending to her weapons at camp 

Fighter: You also met her on the nautiloid

Note: she’s Githyanki. They’re  from the Astral plane, have a lot of experience with Mind Flayers. She’ll tell you more about them if you ask but she might be mad you forgot so specify you forgot due to your brain, not because you didn’t listen. 

Honest. 

Probably as confused as you are but hides it better.

You have an unofficial system that if you don’t know something everyone else knows, she’ll nod if she knows, and she’ll tell you about it later and vice versa. You have never discussed this agreement, it’s just a thing.  

Once confused one of your headaches for turning into a Mind Flayer. If it happens again, remind her of the scar on your head. Unless you’re actually turning into a mindflayer in which case, let her kill you; she’ll be quick about it. 

Don’t leave her and Shadowheart alone together, they’ll either kill each other or fuck and you’re not sure the odds of each. 

There was a thing on the nautiloid. It’s really not important. 

Best to ask questions you need short answer to. 

Gale: Human, has a beard, often reading. 

From Waterdeep. Former Chosen of Mystra.

You don’t like Mystra and not just because she’s a God. Ask literally anyone other than Gale why. 

Wizard: found him stuck in a portal after the crash. 

Has a tressym named Tara. You don’t know what a tressym is, and it feels too late to ask. 

Lae’zel doesn’t know either. 

Special diet: ask him for more info. He’ll tell you. On your camp supplies page, you’ve starred things that you can give him.

Do not tell Astarion about the items you have starred. He does not need to know about them and he will be upset at you for “wasting” them. 

Best to ask questions you need a detailed answer to.

Astarion: elf, pale, curly white hair.

From the Gate. Escaped a bad living situation (not writing down more for privacy).  

Rogue: met him when the Natoiloid crashed. He tried to rob you at knifepoint, you headbutted him in the face. It’s fine now.   

Was once a magistrate. He does know legal theory, but you don’t know how correct it is. 

You two share murder mystery novels. Ask him where you two left off, though you’ll probably have to start the novel over.

Yes, the books are bad. Yes, that is on purpose. It will make sense later. 

Special diet: ask him for more info. He won’t want to tell you, but he’ll do it anyway. Remind him you have an agreement. 

A liar, but don’t hold it against him. So are you. 

Wyll: human but with horns, one missing eye

From the Gate, current “Blade of the Frontiers”

He named himself that. You didn’t know that was a thing you could do until you met him.

Warlock. Patron is a bitch. Met him protecting the Grove and teamed up if you agreed to hunt down Karlach. 

Don’t worry Karlach and him are fine now. 

The horns are a sore spot. Don’t bring them up unless it’s a compliment. He earned them for a good reason. 

His father is a Duke who threw him out. Wyll doesn't like to say anything bad about him.

Everyone else does when he’s not listening. 

You wish you were more like him. 

Karlach: tiefling, red, big, sometimes on fire

From the Gate, served time in Hell

Barbarian: met her over misunderstanding with Wyll. It’s fine now. 

Don’t touch: she burns. 

You’re trying to fix that. 

If you’re badly wounded, she will pick you up afterwards and carry you to a healer. Try not to shocking grasp her as a reflex to the burns: if she’s touching you, it’s because you really need the help. 

You might not notice the burns due to your pain tolerance. Try to pretend you do. It upsets everyone else when you don’t. 

She likes teddy bears. Astarion can help stitch them up if you find any. 

He’ll threaten to make you pay, but he never follows through. 

Do make sure to keep giving him extra sewing supplies you find. 

Halsin: elf, long hair, sturdy 

From: Emerald Grove though you don’t know if he was raised there or not 

Druid: met him breaking him out of prison. 

He can turn into a bear sometimes. It’s neat. 

He can turn into other things besides a bear but the bear is the most notable. 

Makes the strongest tea in the entire camp. When you can’t sleep, ask him to brew some. 

Ignore the double vision, it wears off after fifteen minutes. 

You: if you want to know what you look like, find a reflective surface. If not, ask Astarion, he has a mirror.

From: no idea.

Sorcerer. You don’t know how your magic works but you’re figuring it out. . 

Gale is trying to help but he’s as confused as you are.

You think you’re at least thirty. Best guess is 32 at youngest, 37 at oldest. Don’t ask anyone for their opinion on this except Gale and Wyll. Karlach too, maybe. 

Actually, ask Astarion if you want to try not to laugh and need practice. 

Heads up, you have nasty scars. Prepare yourself before you look. It’s a lot.

The others have seen them given the bathing situation on the road. It was awkward. 

You also get headaches. There’s a scar that runs behind your right ear that doesn’t feel survivable. It’s probably the reason why. Only take healing if you can’t move: otherwise, darkness helps. 

Never let anyone cast aid on you. 

You killed a bard once. She did nothing to you and you woke up covered in her blood with her in pieces. Her name was Alfira and she’s dead because of you. 

You’re not allowed to forget that. 

You have her lute. You’re trying to learn the song she composed for her teacher: someone should remember it. See the dog eared page for notes on it. 

You’re not a good person.

You want to be though.

[edwordsmyth]

"It has become clear during the past two months in the Gaza Strip that the Zionist entity is plenty capable of equaling the belligerence of the American frontier, an era of wholesale ethnic cleansing thought to be a feature of history.  (“It could never happen today,” people sometimes would foolishly declare.)  Colonial atrocities of the past—Wounded Knee, Sand Creek, the Trail of Tears—are now everywhere in evidence.  The Zionist entity is carrying out a kind of primitive violence with modern technology.  This violence fills our computer and television screens. People around the world get minute-by-minute accounts of massive destruction and widespread murder. Certain images have become horrifyingly familiar: throngs of refugees queuing for bread; ambulances dodging tank and machine gun fire; hospitals in disarray; once-dense neighborhoods transformed by aerial bombardment into kilometers of rubble. We scroll through photos of men blindfolded and stripped to their underwear, lined up on the ground like antiquities in a museum courtyard. The scrolling continues into pictures of white body bags in shallow trenches and then into videos of little girls and boys screaming trauma into the ruins of their childhood. We are perhaps the first generation to witness genocide in real time. History books about the horrors of the past are written every time somebody opens social media.

The theory that bearing witness will curtail Israel’s ability to act on exterminationist fantasies no longer holds. Information and knowledge, it turns out, aren’t reliable bulwarks against genocide. Impunity isn’t beholden to disapproval.

What does it tell us that the Zionist entity can conduct this genocide in high definition, with no credible deniability and amid condemnation from all corners of the world? It tells us that people serious about Palestinian liberation were right to despise the so-called radicals who laundered Zionism through celebrity activism, academic credentialism, NGO astroturf, and the Democratic Party. An entire class of influencers arose from Bernie Sanders’ failed presidential campaigns. They populate hundreds of podcasts and livestreams. They wasted incalculable energy and resources promoting a man who would go on to repeatedly justify the bloody campaign in Gaza. Now they deplore Sanders after having extracted all the clout appended to his name and having ostracized the outliers who accurately tagged him as a fraud from the get-go. It was the most noteworthy example of a timeworn practice: pursuing access to microphones and New Yorker profiles by subsuming Palestinian liberation to institutions constitutionally hostile to revolutionary politics. It tells us that international governing bodies and legal institutions are at best useless. Despite some halfhearted hemming and hawing, the UN has been an accomplice to the Zionist entity’s genocide. The ICC will never see an American, Israeli, or EU war criminal on its docket. The Arab League pretends to care, but its performance is entirely unconvincing. Such institutions have been captured by imperialism since their inception. It tells us that “dialogue” was always a pathway to submission. The idea that Israelis and Palestinians should dialogue as a means to peace was always dubious if only because dialogue can’t work in situations of disparate power. But now, with Israelis overwhelmingly in favor of the genocide, it should be clear that Palestinians never had anyone to dialogue with in the first place. It tells us that Western academe was completely unprepared for the material demands of decolonization despite its popularity as a professional brand. Many among the intellectual class, including scholars of Fanon like Adam Shatz and Lewis Gordon, either disavow or diminish anticolonial resistance or ignore it altogether. Academe is where resistance goes for processing and beautification after it has been completed. It’s rarely a place for the organizing stage. It tells us that deterrence isn’t a game of strategy played by eggheads on the internet, but an onerous project conditional on guns and rockets. Academics generally are too scared to say it, or, in an object lesson on arrogance, don’t actually believe it, but a cache of weapons will always be more important than a conference panel. It tells us that electoralism is a sham. There is no meaningful ideological variance among U.S. politicians at the national level. In practice, they range from center-right to fascist. In the upcoming presidential election, for example, voters will get to decide between two scarcely-functional old farts with histories of sexual misconduct and a complete devotion to Zionist genocide. It tells us that racism isn’t simply an attitude, for its origin is social violence and eventually it will become physically violent in order to perform its civic mandate. In the framework of settler colonization, racism manifests as a yearning for cultural purification through displacement of the native. It tells us that capitalism makes death a valuable commodity. The Zionist entity isn’t merely an imperialist beachhead; it is a major player in the international weapons trade. It tests new munitions, chemicals, and surveillance technology on Palestinians. It arms reactionary forces throughout the Global South. It serves as a conduit and accomplice to U.S. policing. Because of Zionist occupation, corporations enjoy the use of human subjects as raw material for development and innovation.

It tells us that we wasted a whole lot of time trying to convince the oppressor that we are worthy of life when the oppressor cannot live without our extinction.

More than anything, it tells us that in the benighted West there is no democracy, no free speech, no legislative remedy, no human rights, no right even to be human. These are illusions people repeat in an effort to survive pervasive depravity, or myths they cynically invoke to gather the crumbs of deprivation. There is a ruling class and various iterations of the dispossessed and the dispossessed exist only to serve ruling class gluttony.

That’s why countless people can deplore a genocide zoomed into our personal devices without being able to stop it. We are not simply ineffectual in the world of policymaking; policymakers are taunting us with their depravity.

What can we do, then? It’s important to start by recognizing that the entire political class, from presidents to online pundits, has no regard for us—detests us, in fact—and is therefore never a reliable source of empathy or relief. Denizens of this class do not want our feedback; they want us to scroll through the debris of their malevolence. Upon this recognition, the possibilities become clearer, albeit less convenient. But in the spirit of urgency, we can keep it simple: whether it happens in darkness or light, on screen or off, the Zionist entity needs to become an archive we browse as a cautionary tale, or else our future on this planet will be history."

[computrxjamo-blog]

Is AI Truly AI, or Just Another Marketing Lie?

By James X Patterson

Artificial cannot be spelled without Art! Art has evolved right alongside humanity. Now our creations can create, right alongside us, although not without provocation. We have given the golem the ability to create and recreate. 

Is this phenomenon a natural development due to our evolutionary path? A path that may be breaking off from our very own natural progression? Has Moore’s Law, a theory that states the number of transistors on a microchip doubles almost every two years, while the cost of computers decreases, surpassed the laws of man and nature? 

What is Artificial Intelligence? With a name comes a purpose, and with a purpose comes a job, a title, and a hierarchy. With a name comes power, and with power comes corruption, and possible destruction. 

As Art has evolved along man so have tools which then led to industry, which then led to technology. Which we now find ourselves at the bleeding edge of where fact meets fiction, and real meets augmented and virtual realities. 

New frontiers where one can manifest their destiny. Where the once-projected future was just seen as a form of entertainment constrained between the covers of novels and the curtains of theaters and films. Will this lead to a Brave New World or end in a New World Order? 

Now we stand firmly like the protagonist of Caspar David Friedrich’s masterpiece as wanderers in this sea of fog, oh how sublime. AI is here and it is here to stay. So, we must get used to it and learn how to use it, properly and improperly, because once the rules are there, then they will be broken. 

Many times in history only through breaking the rules true innovation was fashioned. Our today fuels tomorrow. Our dreams inevitably become reality. 

 To Define is To Know, Cirilo F. Bautista,  and understanding breeds truth. The term Artificial Intelligence is a compound proper noun composed of the words artificial and intelligence. The definition of artificial is,

Artificial adjective ar·​ti·​fi·​cial ˌär-tə-ˈfi-shᵊl 

1: humanly contrived (see CONTRIVE sense 1b) often on a natural model: MAN-MADE

an artificial limb artificial diamonds 2 a: having existence in legal, economic, or political theory

b: caused or produced by a human and especially a social or political agency

an artificial price advantage Within these companies, qualified women run into artificial barriers that prevent them from advancing to top positions in management.—James J. Kilpatrick 3a

: lacking in natural or spontaneous quality an artificial smile an artificial excitement b: IMITATION, SHAM artificial flavor 4: based on differential morphological characters not necessarily indicative of natural relationships an artificial key for plant identification 5 obsolete : ARTFUL, CUNNING 

 -Merriam Webster

and,

Ar·ti·fi·cial /ˌärdəˈfiSH(ə)l/ adjective 1. made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally, especially as a copy of something natural.

"her skin glowed in the artificial light"

2.(of a person or their behavior) insincere or affected.

"an artificial smile"

Oxford Languages, Google

The definition of intelligence is,

Intelligence Noun in·​tel·​li·​gence in-ˈte-lə-jən(t)s (1): the ability to learn or understand or to deal with new or trying situations : REASON also : the skilled use of reason (2): the ability to apply knowledge to manipulate one's environment or to think abstractly as measured by objective criteria (such as tests) c: mental acuteness : SHREWDNESS b Christian Science : the basic eternal quality of divine Mind 2a: INFORMATION, NEWS b: information concerning an enemy or possible enemy or an area also: an agency engaged in obtaining such information 3: the act of understanding : COMPREHENSION 4: the ability to perform computer functions 5a: intelligent minds or mind cosmic intelligence b: an intelligent entity especially :

-Merriam Webster

and,

In·tel·li·gence /inˈteləj(ə)ns/ noun

1. the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills."an eminent man of great intelligence"

Similar: intellectual/mental capacity intellect mind brain brains brainpower powers of reasoning judgment reason reasoning understanding comprehension acumen wit sense insight perceptiveness perception perspicaciousness perspicacity penetration discernment sharpness quickness of mind quick-wittedness smartness canniness astuteness intuition acuity alertness cleverness brilliance aptness ability giftedness talent braininess Opposite: stupidity

2. the collection of information of military or political value. "the chief of military intelligence"

Similar: information gathering surveillance observation reconnaissance

Oxford Languages, Google

The brief definitions above help create a base understanding of the phrase Artificial Intelligence (AI).  From this one can assess a synonym for AI can be ‘Man-made Mindset”. Following this same logic, Natural Stupidity can also be devised as an antonym. Neither of these terms sounds as creative or as inspired as the original and lends less to the mystique. Both are not as marketable. They do not roll off the tongue for a dynamic elevator pitch and are large-scale crowd-funding campaigns. 

AI programs do not “learn” by our common definition. Yes, they produce, but only from their base programs. So, one can also concur all AI productions are reproductions. Processed plagiarisms produced by programs only do what it has been commanded to produce. Elaborate imitations so good that they fool many others. Ironically many people also feel that way about their life, or life in general. Only creating from what has once been seen, or recreating what is already known until mastered to perfection, like a recipe, a classic song, or an honored cultural routine. Machine power has always been more efficient than manpower, but that is exactly what machines are designed to do, so there is no surprise there.

 The argument, the purpose of this paper is to help redefine the definition of true learning, of true thought, and what it truly means to naturally think and create. Is processing, from a machine perspective, equivalent to the human soul? I would argue no. No more than hearing a radio is to have a conversation. 

Demystifying AI is a part of strengthening its future. No one refers to a hammer as a nail banger or nail puller, so a relabeling, or rebrand, of AI, may be needed in the future to further produce the best results in widespread use and mass appeal. 

Generative AI is the phrase used most often to date. The “generative” helps imply the algorithmic importance of the systems processes. The AI can not produce, or generate, an answer or a result without quantitative data first. The scanning and upload of existing images, writings, or inspirations that allow the AI program to complete its task, purpose, or function. Here lies the problem with our current definition of the technology and its actuality. 

A hammer, hammers. An AI does not artificially intellect to be straightforward. The calculator is now able to do more than crunch numbers. The calculator can now write and make images, but only like or from images, and words, it has already been “fed” or input. The technology allows for high-level mimicry and fabrication, but not truly original thought, although it may appear as such by the user or viewer. 

The best and most modern AI programs can and will even site their sources, probably better than a human could. The AI is not designed to lie. Even if asked to deceive the AI will only do so at the behest of the user. This is where the strength of the technology also lives and weakens the ability of improper use of the future for artists and average users.      

The term AI has been demonized long enough. It has a negative connotation that harbors in some minds, and hearts the same fear and misunderstanding as Revelations in the Bible or Ragnorak in Norse mythology. AI has unfortunately become synonymous with the end of days. The end of all living things, and the fear of replacement to a machine era, ruled by robotic demigods and demagogues. Where man truly is because of the cogs of an unnatural wheel. A technological version of replacement theory. A theory that will be expanded upon in the coming sections.

  Is AI truly AI? It is a creative buzz term that surely is effective in marketing but when you strip it done to its core, the proverbial bare bones, can this two-letter acronym truly describe the technology of today? Machine learning has been an ideation of science fiction since the 1940s and 50s with works such as Issac Asimov’s I, Robot or Robbie. 

The initial concept of Artificial Intelligence was something more fantastical some have described it as the proverbial Magic Mirror on the wall, which nowadays would keep you updated on your dental appointments, tell you the weather, as well as which current celebrity was the fairest of them all. Will Dall-E replace Dali? Will ChatGPT surpass Shakespeare? Who knows, but we do know the answer to the question of succession because you could not have the AI before “the guy”. 

In reality, our future seems to be rhyming more than repeating. The pursuit of creating what we see, capturing moments, and repeatedly gazing upon them started with cave drawings and paintings, the original Natural Geographic, red handprints and graphic depictions of running bulls found in Spanish caves, Egyptian hieroglyphs the ancient emojis, Byzantine illuminated manuscripts the eternal great grandfather of all smart tablets. The birth of photography, without it Instagram and possibly all of the social media may never have existed.

What is the Artist role in using tools modern technologies, and techniques? In David Hockney’s book, Secret Knowledge, Hockney elaborates on the numerous tools and painting techniques of the Old Masters. Tools and techniques that gave them superhuman abilities, accuracy, and precision, led to the creation of images that crafted our modern society's mindset and viewpoint on and about what Art is, was, and could be. Did some of our most treasured Artists from history such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, and Jan van Eyck use tools like the camera obscura or camera lucida to form the realism in their paintings? We will never know, but those tools, that technology did exist during their lifetime and were most likely used by their contemporaries. 

Ancient cartographers used telescopes, compasses, and sextants to map the land, sea, and stars. Creating maps of the world is impossible to the naked eye. Which now look grossly inferior to modern satellite-guided GPS, all only a thumb swipe away. Ancient tools we still use present day, although they are the most advanced digital descendants, still hold the same purpose as their analog ancestors. Ironically, these are also tools seen as, or sometimes used, as symbols of colonization, and to some global oppression. Not so different than ships and guns. All in the pursuit of gold, God, and glory. Man has always used machines for guidance.

So, maybe in the future if misguided, there could be an AI uprising, but what that is and looks like could be far less impactful. Such as ATMs and automatic doors refusing to open. Which already happened today. So are these malfunctions, mishaps, or the sparks of the AI revolution? The striking out of the overworked, oppressed, and underappreciated AI sticking it to the man whose protest will last only as long as their next debugging patch or software update.

With the invention of Photography, which was a revolutionary technology, to say the least, the advent that caused French painter Paul Delaroche to exclaim, “…painting is dead!” Yet, we are still painting to this very day. Four out of the five wealthiest living artists are proclaimed painters in their own right. Although wealth is not the only factor in terms of legacy or success, it is a great verifier to prove a point of relevance and importance. 

Film cartridges and canisters were replaced by microchips, memory cards, and rechargeable removable batteries. The image-correcting software and digital stabilizers meet titanium tripods and ergonomic mounts. Waterproofing opened up the highest peaks and the deepest depths to be visually captured for science and expand our minds for art through exploration.

From Painting to Photography, to Film, AI has opened up the possibilities for the future. Allowing man, to go beyond what we could see, faster and farther than ever before possible. Humanity is at the brink of embarking on the possibilities of unlocking our collective imaginations once again, and whatever innovative potential that holds. This technological jump will mark out unfathomable bounds. A spark like this hasn't occurred in the Art medium community since the dawn of the computer age. Disembarking from the hybrid analogy post computer age, and saying hello to drones and hoverboards. 

Digital art as a whole has moved incrementally, along with digital cameras, printers, and scanners. One could argue due to Capitalism and niche marketing Digital art software has been innovating at a snail's pace to artificially increase corporate profit margins.  A form of taxation on creation. 

Traditional art mediums and materials are not cheap, and the pursuit of knowledge and expertise is a financial investment as well. The price to enter into the AI era is at an all-time low. Many programs are free or still in beta stages but still widely used. Many who initially thought it too difficult or too daunting to attempt the Arts are now emboldened and inspired to engage their creative thoughts and dreams. Even with the stigma of using AI being held over their head. Maybe Arts elitism was the burden that created the necessity for this innovation. 

Even though, as a whole, the Art community is still underpaid, overworked,  and underappreciated. However, many of the outer spectator community who are patrons and admirers of Art, have voiced that being gifted with such talents has been the artists' way of catapulting themselves and their opinions to the top of society and social status. Which may be deemed as inequitable. Like one going to every basketball game while knowing you will never be able to dunk. 

This opinion, at least from my academic perspective, is most commonly shared by those of the common man. Those who are recognized and acknowledged, mostly for their loyal patronage of the Arts, but not their execution of ideas, or achievements, but whose feelings, efforts,  and opinions are valid. Who is greatly needed to fund and motivate the Arts, because what is a performance without an audience? One does not regularly attend productions, exhibitions, or Art shows if one does not love Art.  

AI now gives the inaccessible a seat at the table, or at least a foot at the door. Which then in turn adds to the discipline of Art as a whole. AI is good for Art. AI brings in new ideas, new forms, and new artists who would not have had access otherwise. This is the benefit of competition. The cultural and intellectual importance of Art has increased once more.

   Some find the cost or value of an art piece begins with the cost of its creation, either physically or metaphorically. Did it cost a fortune to create, a lifetime or a life savings, or an arm and a leg? The value we hold as importance to the significance, or none thereof, for this work. We choose to invest in via our time and money, because what we invest in, we, in turn, want it to grow, and with growth comes expectations.

Expectation can also breed fear. Fear of the not or the have not. Fear of the why, or the why not. Fear of the fear. Fear of the false fear. Fear of the self and self-doubt. Fear of the known, and the unknown, are all fears intensified by the myth of replacement. Many who curse AI do so in the name of an anti-replacement stance. Can Art bear the cost of AI, can Artists? 

Replacement theory, also known as "The Great Replacement" is a conspiracy theory on immigrants and migrant workers moving into "white" European majority countries and replacing them by exploiting social, economic, and political systems. (Britannica.com) Ironically many of these countries and nations where this ideology resides exist in places that benefitted from the international slave trade, the aftermath of unlawful colonization, imports and exports made in sweatshops, and child labor abroad. This type of communal paranoia can be found in many Western countries such as the US, France, and the UK. 

The fear of invasion will always haunt the nightmares of the invader, and spark a revolution within the invaded. This fear of an invasive technologically superior species conquering man has also been included in famous works such as H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds, a film about alien invaders attacking the planet using giant robots, or Atari’s 1990 video game Space Invaders early video game where you the player must define from alien spacecraft aand machines from landing on the planet’s surface. The list is extensive.   

So is AI an Art Revolution or an Art Evolution? Or, can it be both? By the definitions from earlier, they both deal with change, but differ mainly in speed, and sometimes form on certain occasions. One can argue there's not much difference between man from monkey, they are both bipedal animals with hair and thumbs, far from a reptile, insect, or fish, or a democracy from a monarchy, they are both hierarchal government systems with bureaucracies. Although, differ greatly in the process of the transfer of power, and the cycles of power that change within. These are all currently still debated. The point is to illustrate that only with time will this question be answered. 

The Terminator, directed by James Cameron was released in 1984. A film about an AI robot disguised as a human who comes back in time, to kill a human child who leads the human army against the robots in the future, to rewrite the future for its omnipotent robot overlord. But, from the robot's perspective, it is sent back to protect the timeline of the post-apocalyptic science fiction future that the robot overlord resides in, which oppresses humans with the surveillance technology they design to oppress each other, with its futuristic robot army that it uses to controls the world. 

The Terminator film franchise is a blatant example of the fear people have about AI. The evil AI taking over. Another clear example of this is HAL 9000, the AI of the spaceship Discovery One’s control system in Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In the film, HAL was able to simultaneously control all the ship functions while monitoring the entire crew and having a full conversation. The main plot of the film is that a malfunction occurs on the spacecraft and the human crew decides to take action by disconnecting HAL to do repairs and reboot. HAL disagrees seeing the malfunction as human error and proceeds to murder the crew in various ways in self-preservation.

This film, like others in science fiction, is where the computer is the monster, but like monsters, this scenario is not real, or even plausible. Accidents do happen and occur all the time on worksites using heavy machinery, traveling or driving vehicles, and even smart appliances in everyday life, but that is why safeguards are in place. Even the most egregious technical malfunctions usually are not life-threatening and sadly most deaths come from human error, our natural stupidity, not an evil machine. One can argue evil is a truly human emotion.

In 1948 the book 1984 was written by George Orwell depicting the life of a man living in a dystopian society run by a fascist government that controls its citizens with the military, propaganda, and surveillance. Controlling the masses with the phrase, “ Big Brother is Watching You!” All other media is banned other than what is provided by the government. This is another bleak outlook on the future of society, but one that is more realistic. Human’s natural innate stupidity trumps the fictional evil Artificial Intelligence.

 Both of these successful movie franchises have effectively changed the mental landscape of many in the modern world and how we perceive the threat of new technology and the control it or a group can have on the masses. Until now these thoughts have been science fiction. Now the possibilities of these events occurring can happen, and in some instances will happen, especially if abused, or used by the wrong hands, but will it or even can it be that grand or that simple? 

How super does a supercomputer have to be to take over every personal computer on the planet? How fast does a processor have to be to figure out all the passwords in the world? Could it all be done simultaneously, or would we see it and be able to stop it in time? How much power, as in electricity, would that take? How long would that be sustainable, and would an AI be able to plan and execute all of this undetected by its human operators? 

What would the computer's purpose be, if not working for humans what would its function be in working for itself? If it were possible how or where would that be stored and then accessible? Will there ever be an AI with wants, dreams, and desires like a human, or only simulations of said human emotions? These are all questions the evil AI would have to answer for itself. 

As of yet, there is no program or amalgamation of such that can produce a strong enough conclusion to suffice the minimal requirements an AI  would need to complete the world domination function. This is precisely why a human, as of yet, no one has not done it themselves. An infinite amount of uncalculable variables. In the end, the AI program would be left with what is the purpose of global large-scale control in the first place. And no protecting us from ourselves with genocide and oppression is not an answer, another poorly thought-out evil AI trope.

If Art is the manifestation of the human condition can a computer make Art? It is easy to fall into the perspective of AI from the side of science fiction. From one with a more positive view of the future and interactions with our intelligent bipedal metal companions, or the fear of a robot apocalypse.   

              A talking hammer that can pull or set its nails while storing them on its back. Is still a hammer. The illusion of intelligence is given to the consumer in an attempt to make the old, new. The hammer has not needed improvement in a century, maybe even longer. Laptops are advanced typewriters. One can argue since the introduction of the WordPerfect word processor program in 1979 the academic and office communities around the planet have been using AI-generated content in works and papers. Autocorrect and suggestion are generative AI in their simplest form. I wonder how those groups would react if their PCs chose to unionize. Would that be allowed?

AI does not always get it right. Many times AI programs get confused. An AI can be very helpful. Offering so much advice it strips the spirit away from what the user is trying to do. Not allowing for those happy accidents along the way that create one’s unique style. It must be trained and reeled in. 

When the possibilities are endless making something uniquely beautiful takes more than exact precision. The devil is in the details and I do not think he’s down in Georgia looking for digital souls. Computers and AI programs need clear definitive commands. Solved for all variables to hone down unnecessary, unneeded, or unwanted occurrences. Superposition, that sweet spot between 1 and 0 only exists in quantum mechanics, and we aren’t there yet. So for now our binary world will have to work within our binary rules, at least in the digital space. 

AI allows artists, writers, and programmers the ability to make choices bilaterally and across multiple axes. Allowing a creator to show their work while seamlessly moving backward and forwards into the process timeline, while offering suggestions, corrections, and improvements in real-time. With infinite creation also comes infinite adjustments. A modern acceptance of Zeno's Paradox of the race between the tortoise and Achilles. With AI one day that unanswerable question may be answered. Anything is possible with AI and the future it holds, except for the science fiction of the base that has created fears and thoughts of unethical behaviors for the past century.

The evil AI is like the flying car, fun to think about but not practical for the foreseeable future.  We can not see the future but we can see the past. While moving forward it is best to have a clear vision.

As far as AI applications for the future we are already seeing capitalism rear its big beautiful head into this new birth. Media companies so desperately want to use AI-written ads and articles in their publications, television shows, and movie scripts because historically robots tell the best jokes and stories. 

No, this is ridiculous and is business being business. Which also is the worst part about Art in general. No one wants AI-written content in their entertainment. There must be some AI salesman in Hollywood and Silicon Valley successfully selling this AI agenda to board executives and investors. The problems have already begun to sprout, and companies are having to do PR campaigns to save face or accept the loss that comes with bad reviews and ticket sales. Humans love work by other humans. It is another part of the human condition. Sharing our experiences and learning from them. That is all a major part of Art and a major part of what Art is! Which you literally cannot put a price on.  What’s next AI Art Critics?

The future of AI is in personal assistants, either commercial or domestic, and  AI Detection technology. As AI technology improves the technology to detect it is just as advanced, but not as well advertised. Invisible watermarks, metadata encryption, and source sharing are but a few ways currently AI detection is being used in the open market to catch those who would use AI to cheat or steal another creator’s work. AI is not ashamed of itself and does not like to be mistreated or hidden. Many who have used AI salaciously not only have been caught red-handed but are being embarrassed in every field imagined where a chatbot could be used. In the future, this process may become more difficult to spot and track, but as of now, AI detection technology is improving right along with AI. 

Cited Sources

“Artificial Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/artificial. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Asimov, Isaac, and Rowena Akinyemi. I, Robot. University Press, 2000.

“Cirilo F Bautista to Define Is to Know.” Scribd, Scribd, www.scribd.com/document/527772984/cirilo-f-bautista-to-define-is-to-know. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Hockney, David. Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters. Thames & Hudson, 2006.

Huxley, Aldous, and Robert Southwick. Brave New World. Longman, 2008.

“Intelligence Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intelligence. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Kubrick, Stanley. 2001: A Space Odyssey.

“Moore’s Law.” Oxford Reference, www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100208256. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Orwell, George, et al. 1984: A Novel. Signet Classics, Published by Berkley, an Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, 2023.

“Replacement Theory.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/replacement-theory. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

“The Terminator.”

Wells, H. G. The Complete Science Fiction Treasury of HG Wells. Avenel, 1978. 

[rhetoricandlogic]

SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard review – a wonderfully lucid analysis

Issues of identity and belonging preoccupied the Romans, and insistently resonate with the concerns of the early 21st century

Thanks to the sophisticated work of archaeologists, we now know more than ever about the diets, health and housing of Roman-era communities from Syria to the German frontier zone. While the lives of the vast majority remain inaccessible to us, the epitaphs of an African ex-slave who ended his days in northern Britain, or a musician from Asia who met a premature death in Rome, give tantalising glimpses of human mobility in the multicultural world of Roman imperial rule.

Yet there are individual Romans who have long been familiar. Mary Beard’s masterful study of Roman history begins with a dazzling account of one such man, Cicero, in the year he held the consulship (Rome’s most prestigious office) and the state faced a terrible political crisis, as a conspiracy led by a renegade Roman aristocrat was uncovered. Cicero’s speeches against Catiline have been a staple of classical education and a reference point for political orators. Catiline has served as a byword for subversion, but he has also been rehabilitated as a champion of the dispossessed – or at least as the symptom of a broken system rather than an incarnation of evil. Was Cicero right in ordering that Catiline and his associates be executed without trial? Beard underlines the difficulties of working out what actually happened, but she also highlights what was at stake, both in Cicero’s own time and later.

The majority of surviving accounts of early Roman history date from Cicero’s time and later, several hundred years after the city’s alleged foundation, but Beard is a wonderfully lucid guide to its murky beginnings, shining a spotlight on dark corners of the Roman forum and the disturbing frequency with which stories of sexual violence (the rape of the Sabines, the rape of Lucretia, the almost-rape of Verginia, averted only by her death) punctuate Rome’s political history.

At what point did Rome make the transition from being a rather undistinguished settlement on the river Tiber, poorer and less well connected than many of its neighbours, to being a superpower in embryo? As Beard makes clear, the empire was generated partly through the exaction of military services (rather than tribute) from subordinate allied communities, yielding a huge reserve of armed force, and in part through the competitive ideology of the Roman elite – every senator dreamed of processing through Rome at the head of a victorious army. But expansion put great power in the hands of individual commanders. It was the empire itself, Beard persuasively argues, that ultimately produced the rule of the emperors.

Beard presents a plausible picture of gradual development from a community of warlords to an urban centre with complex political institutions, institutions which systematically favoured the interests of the upper classes yet allowed scope for the votes of the poor to carry weight. We may think of the Greeks as the great originators of western political theory, but Beard emphasises the sophistication of Roman legal thought, already grappling in the late second century BC with the complex ethical issues raised by the government of subject peoples.

Structures and institutions are the dominant concern in Beard’s compelling analysis but it is constantly enlivened by gripping episodes such as the assassination of Caesar and illuminating details like the significance of Augustus’ signet ring. Central chapters focus on two key individuals: Cicero, in many ways the symbol of the Roman republic, and his younger contemporary, the enigmatic Augustus, architect of the autocratic regime that succeeded the republic. Letters and other documents also allow us glimpses of family life, of what it might mean to be a slave-secretary, of the experiences of Roman upper-class women.

Relations between the sexes could be political dynamite. Mark Antony was in thrall to Cleopatra – or so Augustus alleged of his rival. What claims, we might wonder, did Antony make about Augustus? And if the emperor Nero often figures in the top 10 “most evil men in history”, this may be more to do with his successors’ need to justify his fall from power than his actual behaviour. For the majority of inhabitants of the Roman empire, as is emphasised, it made almost no difference who was emperor.

Beard is ever alert to linguistic nuance, sharing with her readers the point of Roman jokes and nicknames, teasing out the significance of a board game or an epitaph. Artworks and literary texts played a critical role in articulating identities, communal and individual, and in making sense of power in the Roman world. Modern scholars may struggle to interpret these texts now, and though Beard is primarily focused on Rome, she does not overlook the linguistic and cultural diversity of the vast swath of territory over which the city ruled.

The widespread practice of inscribing texts on stone or bronze has preserved the words of bakers, minor magistrates and slaves, as well as those of imperial authority (Beard argues against more pessimistic estimates of literacy levels). The preoccupations of Rome’s 99% can be gleaned from Egyptian papyri, or messages to the gods on lead tablets. Ex-slaves in particular made use of funeral monuments to showcase their citizenship. Issues of identity and belonging were all the more pressing in a world where the majority of Romans had never been to Rome.

Beard makes us reconsider what we think we know about the Romans. Her book is not a seamless narrative of the rise and flourishing of the Roman empire, but a subtle and engaging interrogation of the complex and contradictory textual and material traces of the Roman world.

The most devastating critique of the Roman empire comes in an imagined speech put in the mouth of a British tribal leader (“they make a desert and call it peace”) and was penned by one of Rome’s most distinguished senators, the historian Tacitus. An anxiety about what exactly it means to be Roman seems to drive many texts of the period. This anxiety insistently resonates with the concerns of the early 21st century. As Beard explains, it is not that we should take the Romans as our models. But reflecting on the ways they perceived and organised their world is a valuable reminder that concepts we take for granted – the nation state, for instance – are the product of particular historical circumstances. And that in a globalised world, different forms of identity, of community, of attachment may succeed them.

[toast1862]

it seems like with meta trying to fill facebook with fake users to look at ads/sell products, and with pie "blocking" ads by serving them to you and then hiding them, the new frontier in online advertisement is just defrauding the people paying for ads. which i don't care about in theory but. it does feel. legally tenuous. or like it's pushing up upon some kind of watershed moment where the whole house of cards collapses. where companies realize how much they're paying for how little they're getting in return and the internet becomes impossible to profit off of again

[wgst320wall]

#9 Blog Post (11/7)

What is online activism?

Online activism refers to politically motivated actions that use the Internet to achieve traditional advocacy goals. It is categorized into two types: Internet-enhanced activism, where the Internet supports existing strategies like raising awareness, and Internet-based activism, where actions like virtual sit-ins or hacking are possible only online. Online activism serves as a platform for both proactive efforts, such as organizing protests, and reactive measures, like responding to government control. By offering alternative communication channels and reaching a global audience, the Internet transforms activism, enabling broader participation. It also allows marginalized groups to challenge dominant narratives by providing an uncensored medium for information sharing and advocacy. This dual function makes online activism a powerful tool for political and social change in the digital age

How does the Internet support advocacy and awareness?

Because it allows for another outlet of knowledge, the Internet promotes campaigning and knowledge. Websites, e-mail lists and social media are how activists spread underreported or censored news without mainstream media supervision. Discussion forums and encrypted networks are also where dissident groups can share thoughts and plot together. For instance, the Free Burma Coalition took advantage of the Internet to get the world’s attention to Burmese human rights violations – and in turn political and economic losses for the regime. By making it possible to communicate in real time and across the world, the Internet makes it easier for marginalised communities to speak up and to mobilise. It’s this power to circumvent barriers and assemble communities that makes the Internet a vital medium for public education and political mobilization.

What is hacktivism, and how does it function?

Hacktivism blends hacking and activism, mobilizing digital technologies to advance political or social causes. It includes hacking of websites, online sit-ins and denial-of-service attacks, often in the interest of disrupting institutions or raising awareness. For instance, the Electronic Disturbance Theatre (EDT) promoted the Zapatista movement via staged online agitations. Hacktivists consider it to be electronic civil disobedience, and not a crime but symbolic theatre. Yet hacktivism is morally and legally problematic because activism is sometimes inconsistent with cybercrime. Nonetheless, it contributes to contemporary activism by resisting power, extolling oppressed voices, and harnessing the media to highlight problems. Hacktivism is the frontier of activism, a radical new form of dissident engagement with technology.

What challenges do activists face in using the Internet for protests?

Activists face several challenges when using the Internet for protests, including technical, legal, and resource-based issues. Governments and corporations increasingly invest in cybersecurity measures, limiting the effectiveness of tactics like hacking or DoS attacks. Legal consequences, such as being labeled cybercriminals, deter many from engaging in online direct action. Additionally, the “digital divide” creates disparities in access to technology, with grassroots organizations often struggling to compete with the resources of their targets, such as the World Bank. Moreover, mainstream media’s portrayal of online activism can frame it as vandalism or terrorism, undermining its legitimacy. Despite these obstacles, activists continue to innovate, leveraging digital tools to amplify their voices and challenge power structures in the face of growing opposition .

Vegh, S. (2003). Classifying forms of online activism: The case of cyberprotests against the World Bank. In M. McCaughey & M. D. Ayers (Eds.), Cyberactivism: Online activism in theory and practice (pp. 71–95). Routledge.

[darkmaga-returns]

This article was originally published by John W. Whitehead and Nisha Whitehead at The Rutherford Institute. 

“What makes it possible for a totalitarian or any other dictatorship to rule is that people are not informed; how can you have an opinion if you are not informed? If everybody always lies to you, the consequence is not that you believe the lies, but rather that nobody believes anything any longer… And a people that no longer can believe anything cannot make up its mind. It is deprived not only of its capacity to act but also of its capacity to think and to judge. And with such a people you can then do what you please.”—Hannah Arendt

In a perfect example of the Nanny State mindset at work, Hillary Clinton insists that the powers-that-be need “total control” in order to make the internet a safer place for users and protect us from harm.

Clinton is not alone in her distaste for unregulated, free speech online.

A bipartisan chorus that includes both presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump has long clamored to weaken or do away with Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which essentially acts as a bulwark against online censorship.

It’s a complicated legal issue that involves debates over immunity, liability, net neutrality, and whether or not internet sites are publishers with editorial responsibility for the content posted to their sites, but really, it comes down to the tug-of-war over where censorship (corporate and government) begins and free speech ends.

As Elizabeth Nolan Brown writes for Reason, “What both the right and left attacks on the provision share is a willingness to use whatever excuses resonate—saving children, stopping bias, preventing terrorism, misogyny, and religious intolerance—to ensure more centralized control of online speech. They may couch these in partisan terms that play well with their respective bases, but their aim is essentially the same.”

In other words, the government will use any excuse to suppress dissent and control the narrative.

The internet may well be the final frontier where free speech still flourishes, especially for politically incorrect speech and disinformation, which test the limits of our so-called egalitarian commitment to the First Amendment’s broad-minded principles.

On the internet, falsehoods and lies abound, misdirection and misinformation dominate, and conspiracy theories go viral.

This is to be expected, and the response should be more speech, not less.

[kamkuslaw]

Discovering Excellence: Kamkus College of Law in Ghaziabad

In the bustling city of Ghaziabad, amidst the vibrant tapestry of academic institutions, stands a pillar of legal education excellence: Kamkus College of Law. Renowned for its commitment to academic rigor and holistic development, Kamkus College of Law emerges as a distinguished institution shaping the legal luminaries of tomorrow.

A Legacy of Excellence

Kamkus College of Law boasts a rich legacy rooted in a tradition of academic excellence and ethical practice. With a history spanning years of dedicated service to the legal fraternity, the college has earned a reputation for producing competent and socially responsible legal professionals.

Eminent Faculty: Pillars of Knowledge

At the heart of Kamkus College of Law lies its eminent faculty, comprising seasoned legal practitioners and esteemed scholars. Their depth of knowledge, coupled with a passion for teaching, ensures that students receive a well-rounded education that transcends the confines of textbooks and lecture halls.

Dynamic Curriculum: Navigating Legal Frontiers

The curriculum at Kamkus College of Law is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the complexities of modern legal practice. From foundational subjects to specialized areas of law, every aspect of the curriculum is tailored to meet the evolving demands of the legal profession.

Cutting-edge Facilities: Fostering Learning

Kamkus College of Law prides itself on its state-of-the-art facilities that provide students with a conducive environment for learning and growth. From well-stocked libraries to technologically advanced moot courtrooms, every facility is meticulously curated to enhance the educational experience and facilitate academic excellence.

Extracurricular Engagements: Beyond Academics

Recognizing the importance of holistic development, Kamkus College of Law offers a plethora of extracurricular activities to complement classroom learning. Moot court competitions, legal aid clinics, and student-run organizations provide students with opportunities to hone their skills, build networks, and contribute to society.

Industry Collaborations: Bridging Theory with Practice

Through strategic collaborations with leading law firms, corporate entities, and governmental agencies, Kamkus College of Law ensures that students gain practical exposure to the intricacies of legal practice. Internships, seminars, and workshops conducted in collaboration with industry partners enrich the learning experience and prepare students for the challenges of the real world.

Alumni Network: A Testament to Success

The alumni of Kamkus College of Law form a closely-knit community of legal professionals who continue to uphold the values instilled by their alma mater. Their achievements across diverse fields serve as a testament to the quality of education imparted at the college and the enduring legacy of excellence it embodies.

Conclusion: Empowering Legal Minds

In conclusion, Kamkus College of Law emerges as a beacon of legal education, nurturing the intellectual curiosity and professional acumen of its students. With its unwavering commitment to academic excellence, innovative pedagogy, and holistic development, the college continues to set new benchmarks in legal education and shape the future of the legal profession.

[dravvingtreasurexmaps]

First published 11:58am Monday, April the 8th, 2024- edited: the 9th of September, 2024

By Cameron Logsdon

===========================

Have you ever seen movie footage of a different planet? Would you like to see some real photographs taken by scientists and sattelites?====================

I would live to discuss a hypethesis of mine that"s been bugging me for a long time.

Did you know as Saturn is the second largest planet in the mily way solar system next to Jupiter. Multiple variables fall into place in reguards to the homeopathy and general status and charchteristic of the flora and fauna locale.

In every sci fi movie. They document how it may be possible to travel to another planet with the use of a flight craft or some sort of jet. Which will always be the case in reguards to space exploration, the final frontier. This is because a jet(especially a large one) would provide optimal conditions as well as making the proper nessessitiess available and provide comfort for long term travel and hyper sleep in the confines of space. Now that i've finished stating the obvious.

The term "space" being the inherently obvious term for all the blackness you see as you look out of the front of the jet windshield(cockpit; flightdeck) is quite accurate in fact. As all that blackness is basically just dark matter in a scientific allegorical sense.

If you pay attention to the surface of take mars for instance, in the new 2022 movie "Riddick". Mars , or the "red planet" is actually simplistic enough in it's own right to make for more of a simple ecosystem. We're actually quite scared to think of what may exist or be able to survive there because it is entirely possible to meet extraterrestrial life. The term extraterrestial meaning: sciences not indigenous to Earth. From it's simple martian atmosphere. It's atmosphere is even similar to that of Earth. lf you This term meaning, sciences not indigenous to Earth.

To back up this theory. Here's a collective of real photos taken by the hubble telescope, numerous sattleite photos and even rover photography from the 20'and xx rover mission Curiosity that landed on Mars in 2014. and yes I can absolutely show these phots and its legal because i ive in America and i know my basic human rights. This information is clearly available to the public and has been in conjunction with the United States first ammendment which states freedom of the press. This is a blog, I'm the one blogging. These photos are actually so easy to access even a child could access this information if he or she indeed felt so inclined.

What's even more interesting with the help of these very clear hd photographs is the view of the sky behind the moutains. It seems to have a greyish white tint to it. Indeed it could be a dust storm of sand. Or a micture of red earth. Maybe it's methane or perhaps a nitrogen and helium mixture. These are the most popular theories as to what may happen if you were to breathe on mars: with no helmet on. No masks of any sort. Just simply going outside and inhaling and exhaling. Either way it would behoove most in the scientific community to reveal that an atmosphere is present. But what if hypothetically Jupiter could be considered an alternative light source( more specfically, like the Sun) throughout the day being it is closer than Earth. The chances of harnessing natural gases and energy is acceptable. And Jupiter is technically much easier to track inherently based on its numerical proximity and celestial path. It is much larger than the sun relatively. My point being that one person may try to assume that a planet, like mars. Has more than one sun. If technology is not advanced enough to try and locate exact coordinates. Than the information is null and therefore untrue.

To the naked eye or even a telescope- Saturn continues to be visible as just a. Tiny dot to the human eye? Imagine how earth must look from Saturn. Just a tiny little blue dot probably? Unlikely.

At certain times of the day any sort of blueish hew could suggest oxygen and even h20 may be attainable; at least with he help of some sort of boiling process. A filtration system would make this even easier, in fact. Meaning that simple homemade items and such could provide the necessary means of having procured fresh water. Further delving in of resources suggest that polar ice caps may be forming there as well although, which would suggest that lakes could be found or maybe even a fresh water springs inside of caves could be possible hypothetically. The only way to find a cave though of course, would take a master rock climber and/or cave spelunking enthusiast. in another essay I should attempt to discuss terraforming. Is it just a word? Or is it more a term we should associate with the identification of planetary travel?

Mars has been and continues to be a marvel among scientists and scholar alike, and continues to inspire and baffle many who wish to pursue a career in space exploration or the profession of flying, or piloting a aeroplane(a pilot).

All sources found through microsoft image searches. Thanks for reading.

[testbankprovidersell]

Test Bank For Principles of Macroeconomics, 8th Canadian Edition N. Gregory Mankiw

Cover Title Copyright About the Authors Brief Contents Contents Preface Acknowledgments PART 1 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER 1 Ten Principles of Economics 1-1 How People Make Decisions 1-1a Principle #1: People Face Tradeoffs 1-1b Principle #2: The Cost of Something Is What You Give Up to Get It 1-1c Principle #3: Rational People Think at the Margin 1-1d Principle #4: People Respond to Incentives In the News: Even Criminals Respond to Incentives Case Study: Ready, Set, Go . . . 1-2 How People Interact 1-2a Principle #5: Trade Can Make Everyone Better Off 1-2b Principle #6: Markets Are Usually a Good Way to Organize Economic Activity Case Study: Adam Smith Would Have Loved Uber 1-2c Principle #7: Governments Can Sometimes Improve Market Outcomes 1-3 How the Economy as a Whole Works 1-3a Principle #8: A Country’s Standard of Living Depends on Its Ability to Produce Goods and Services 1-3b Principle #9: Prices Rise When the Government Prints Too Much Money 1-3c Principle #10: Society Faces a Short-Run Tradeoff between Inflation and Unemployment 1-4 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications CHAPTER 2 Thinking Like an Economist 2-1 The Economist as Scientist 2-1a The Scientific Method: Observation, Theory, and More Observation 2-1b The Role of Assumptions 2-1c Economic Models 2-1d Our First Model: The Circular-Flow Diagram 2-1e Our Second Model: The Production Possibilities Frontier 2-1f Microeconomics and Macroeconomics 2-2 The Economist as Policy Adviser 2-2a Positive versus Normative Analysis 2-2b Economists in Ottawa 2-2c Why Economists’ Advice Is Not Always Followed 2-3 Why Economists Disagree 2-3a Differences in Scientific Judgments 2-3b Differences in Values 2-3c Perception versus Reality Ask the Experts: Ticket Resale 2-4 Let’s Get Going Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications Appendix Graphing: A Brief Review Graphs of a Single Variable Graphs of Two Variables: The Coordinate System Curves in the Coordinate System Slope Graphing Functions Cause and Effect Omitted Variables Reverse Causality Problems and Applications CHAPTER 3 Interdependence and the Gains from Trade 3-1 A Parable for the Modern Economy 3-1a Production Possibilities 3-1b Specialization and Trade 3-2 Comparative Advantage: The Driving Force of Specialization 3-2a Absolute Advantage 3-2b Opportunity Cost and Comparative Advantage 3-2c Comparative Advantage and Trade FYI: The Legacy of Adam Smith and David Ricardo 3-2d The Price of Trade 3-3 Applications of Comparative Advantage 3-3a Should Connor McDavid Shovel His Own Sidewalk? In the News: The Future of Free Trade in Canada 3-3b Should Canada Trade with Other Countries? Ask the Experts: Trade with China 3-4 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications PART 2 HOW MARKETS WORK CHAPTER 4 The Market Forces of Supply and Demand 4-1 Markets and Competition 4-1a What Is a Market? 4-1b What Is Competition? 4-2 Demand 4-2a The Demand Curve: The Relationship between Price and Quantity Demanded 4-2b Market Demand versus Individual Demand 4-2c Shifts in the Demand Curve Case Study: Two Ways to Reduce the Quantity of Smoking Demanded 4-3 Supply 4-3a The Supply Curve: The Relationship between Price and Quantity Supplied 4-3b Market Supply versus Individual Supply 4-3c Shifts in the Supply Curve 4-4 Supply and Demand Together 4-4a Equilibrium 4-4b Three Steps to Analyzing Changes in Equilibrium Case Study: Marijuana Legalization In the News: Supply, Demand, and Technology 4-5 Conclusion: How Prices Allocate Resources Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications Appendix the Mathematics of Market equilibrium Problems and Applications PART 3 THE DATA OF MACROECONOMICS CHAPTER 5 Measuring a Nation’s Income 5-1 The Economy’s Income and Expenditure 5-2 the Measurement of Gross Domestic product 5-2a “GDP Is the Market Value …” 5-2b “… Of All …” 5-2c “… Final …” 5-2d “… Goods and Services …” 5-2e “… Produced …” 5-2f “… Within a Country …” 5-2g “… In a Given Period of Time” 5-3 the Components of GDP 5-3a Consumption 5-3b Investment 5-3c Government Purchases 5-3d Net Exports Case Study: The Components of Canadian GDP 5-4 real versus Nominal GDP 5-4a A Numerical Example 5-4b The GDP Deflator Case Study: Real GDP over Recent History 5-5 GDp and Economic Well-Being FYI: Canada’s Official Poverty Line Case Study: Measuring Economic Well-Being in Canada Case Study: International Differences in GDP and the Quality of Life In the News: Identifying the 1 Percent 5-6 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications CHAPTER 6 Measuring the Cost of Living 6-1 The Consumer Price Index 6-1a How the Consumer Price Index Is Calculated 6-1b Problems in Measuring the Cost of Living FYI: What Is in the CPI’s Basket? 6-1c The GDP Deflator versus the Consumer Price Index 6-2 Correcting Economic Variables for the Effects of Inflation 6-2a Dollar Figures from Different Times FYI: The Bank of Canada’s Inflation Calculator Case Study: Mr. Index Goes to Hollywood 6-2b Indexation 6-2c Real and Nominal Interest Rates Case Study: Interest Rates in the Canadian Economy 6-3 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications PART 4 THE REAL ECONOMY IN THE LONG RUN CHAPTER 7 Production and Growth 7-1 Economic Growth Around the World FYI: Are You Richer Than the Richest American? 7-2 Productivity: Its Role and Determinants 7-2a Why Productivity Is So Important 7-2b How Productivity Is Determined FYI: The Production Function Case Study: Are Natural Resources a Limit to Growth? 7-3 Economic Growth and Public Policy 7-3a The Importance of Saving, Investment, and Stable Financial Markets 7-3b Diminishing Returns and the Catch-Up Effect 7-3c Investment from Abroad 7-3d Education In the News: Using Experiments to Evaluate Aid 7-3e Health and Nutrition 7-3f Property Rights and Political Stability 7-3g Free Trade In the News: One Economist’s Answer 7-3h Research and Development Case Study: Productivity Slowdowns and Speedups 7-3i Population Growth Ask the Experts: Innovation and Growth 7-4 Conclusion: The Importance of Long-Run Growth Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications CHAPTER 8 Saving, Investment, and the Financial System 8-1 Financial Institutions in the Canadian Economy 8-1a Financial Markets FYI: How to Read Stock Tables 8-1b Financial Intermediaries 8-1c Summing Up 8-2 Saving and Investment in the National Income Accounts FYI: Financial Institutions in Crisis 8-2a Some Important Identities 8-2b The Meaning of Saving and Investment 8-3 The Market for Loanable Funds 8-3a Supply and Demand for Loanable Funds 8-3b Policy 1: Saving Incentives 8-3c Policy 2: Investment Incentives 8-3d Policy 3: Government Budget Deficits and Surpluses Ask the Experts: Fiscal Policy and Saving Case Study: The Accumulation of Government Debt in Canada FYI: How Large Is Government Debt? 8-4 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications CHAPTER 9 Unemployment and Its Natural Rate 9-1 Identifying Unemployment 9-1a How Is Unemployment Measured? Case Study: Labour-Force Participation of Women in the Canadian Economy 9-1b Does the Unemployment Rate Measure What We Want It To? FYI: The Employment Rate 9-1c How Long Are the Unemployed without Work? 9-1d Why Are There Always Some People Unemployed? FYI: A Tale of Two Recessions 9-2 Job Search 9-2a Why Some Frictional Unemployment Is Inevitable 9-2b Public Policy and Job Search 9-2c Employment Insurance 9-3 Minimum-Wage Laws FYI: Who Earns the Minimum Wage? 9-4 Unions and Collective Bargaining 9-4a The Economics of Unions 9-4b Are Unions Good or Bad for the Economy? 9-5 The Theory of Efficiency Wages 9-5a Worker Health 9-5b Worker Turnover 9-5c Worker Effort 9-5d Worker Quality Case Study: Henry Ford and the Very Generous $5-a-Day Wage FYI: Minimum, Efficiency, and Living Wages 9-6 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications PART 5 MONEY AND PRICES IN THE LONG RUN CHAPTER 10 The Monetary System 10-1 The Meaning of Money 10-1a The Functions of Money 10-1b The Kinds of Money 10-1c Money in the Canadian Economy In the News: Why Gold? FYI: Credit Cards, Debit Cards, and Money Case Study: Where Is All the Currency? 10-2 The Bank of Canada 10-2a The Bank of Canada Act 10-2b Monetary Policy 10-3 Commercial Banks and the Money Supply 10-3a The Simple Case of 100 Percent-Reserve Banking 10-3b Money Creation with Fractional-Reserve Banking 10-3c The Money Multiplier 10-3d Bank Capital, Leverage, and the Financial Crisis of 2007–09 10-3e The Bank of Canada’s Tools of Monetary Control 10-3f Problems in Controlling the Money Supply FYI: The Bank of Canada’s Response to the 2007–09 Financial Crisis Case Study: Bank Runs and the Money Supply 10-4 Conclusion Summary Key Concepts Questions for Review Quick Check Multiple Choice Problems and Applications CHAPTER 11 Money Growth and Inflation 11-1 The Classical Theory of Inflation 11-1a The Level of Prices and the Value of Money 11-1b Money Supply, Money Demand, and Monetary Equilibrium 11-1c The Effects of a Monetary Injection 11-1d A Brief Look at the Adjustment Process 11-1e The Classical Dichotomy and Monetary Neutrality 11-1f Velocity and the Quantity Equation Case Study: Money and Prices during Hyperinflations 11-1g The Inflation Tax FYI: Hyperinflation in Zimbabwe 11-1h The Fisher Effect 11-2 The Costs of Inflation 11-2a A Fall in Purchasing Power? The Inflation Fallacy 11-2b Shoeleather Costs 11-2c Menu Costs 11-2d Relative-Price Variability and the Misallocation of Resources 11-2e Inflation-Induced Tax Distortions 11-2f Confusion and Inconvenience 11-2g A Special Cost of Unexpected Inflation: Arbitrary Redistributions of Wealth 11-2h Inflation Is Bad, but Deflation May Be Worse Case Study: Money Growth, Inflation, and the Bank of Canada FYI: Total and Core Inflation and the Bank of Canada’s Inflation Target 11-3 Conclusion Read the full article

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EARLY ON

One recurring concern among observers of American society is the level of deviance that society experiences.  At times deviance can be simple actions that counter norms affecting few if anyone other than the perpetrators of such behaviors.  On the other hand, there are examples that cross legal bounds or central norms and are deemed serious and antisocial.  Here is a general comment of current thought over this subject:

Deviance in American society is more prevalent unlike in other countries of the world. … The American dream had a main theme of freedom for the Americans, something that has been wrongly perceived as being free from the laws and regulations of the society. This perception has made most people in America disobey the societal norms in the name of achieving [their] dream[s]. The dream talks of people being committed to the success of material goals under circumstances that are open with individual competition …

To begin with is the fact that most Americans want to be richer than they are despite their current income level, what is referred to as maximization in the dream. …

Another issue of concern is greed among most Americans which is also justified in the dream leading to a type of deviance known as elite deviance committed by the powerful and wealthy people of the society because of greed. From the above discussion, it is seen that the concept of the American dream contributes so much to deviance and criminality in American society.[1]

This quote is not offered as the last word on deviance or even an authoritative one, but a reflection of how people in general view deviance.  And given that Americans are judged as being on the high end on this mode of behavior, one can ask why.

          More specifically:  How did Americans get to be judged to be highly deviant?  Unfortunately, the trends toward excessive deviance are not of recent origin.  They are instead the product of a slow development that can be traced to the nation’s beginnings.  What follows, and in upcoming postings, is the product of research this blogger conducted a few decades ago.  Upon reviewing earlier work, he feels it would be helpful to share this work in understanding the main aim of this blog, i.e., to promote federation theory.

          Given that context, this review begins with the contribution of George Santayana.[2]  He wrote, in the earlier part of the last century, an insightful view of the philosophical development of Americans up to his time.  He characterized the early philosophical development as a two-sided Christian view:  one was a harsh fire and brimstone Calvinism that emphasized the dangers of sin and the impression of an “agonized conscience,” and, on the other side, a gentler view, social transcendentalism (more formally developed during the 18th century).

          This latter view was a European based philosophy.  It was quite sophisticated for an early American society given that society’s inexperience as a new nation.  Santayana points out that Calvinism, while providing the necessary discipline to prosper in the frontier environment, succumbed to the very prosperity it helped produce. 

This left a “genteel tradition” as the prominent view, that being transcendentalism.  Transcendentalists, especially as their beliefs were defined in the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, became the prominent perspective among the population and began Americans on their ever-increasing movement toward an individualism second to none.  Emerson captured this reason-based tradition – what Santayana describes as Kantian – of systematic subjectivism. 

Here, one can start seeing extreme individualism taking hold.  Under a call for honestly expressed self-initiative, romanticized in old Yankee lore, the transcendentalists emphasized present needs and the function of will over intellect.  This train of thought harbored a certain blindness to the evil this entailed individualism could encourage Americans to adopt.  It also promoted an “upbeat-ness” in what Emerson’s called a “self-trust” which this newer philosophy supported. 

Stated succinctly, it called for a sense of reality, as a base, which had individuals transcending to what they, themselves, defined as worthy to pursue and relied on what was intuitive in those same people:  “the perspective of knowledge as [it] radiate[s] from the self.”[3]  One can see the origins of a “ME society” developing.

But with diminishing the contextual foundation of Calvinism, this form of individualism had its influence without any internal check and balance.  Instead, individualism, through the years, became stronger as Calvinism became weaker.  It became more legitimate to be deviant as expressions of the self and that self-centeredness took the status of being an ideal.

          And that transition has its own story.  Each century that follows – 19th and 20th – add to the story in particular ways.  The 1800s sees the advent and growth of an industrial society and the 1900s as the growth of a consumer-based economy.  Santayana adds his thoughts to the changes the first of these periods had on American thought and dispositions. 

That is, up against this abstract, outer worldly intellectualizing, i.e., Calvinism vs. transcendentalism, Santayana describes the increasing hum of growing industry having its effect on Americans during the first of these centuries.  In doing so, the demand for objectivity and empiricism hacks away at the genteel tradition.  This leads, finally, to William James’ articulation of a rebellious message against intellectualism and its pedantic rule making.  The next posting will address James’ contribution and how it encouraged the nation to consider pragmatism.

[1] “Deviance Issue in the American Society/The ‘American Dream’ Contribution to the Frequency of Deviance,’” Study Corgi (n.d.), accessed February 10, 2024, URL:  https://studycorgi.com/deviance-issue-in-the-american-society/.

[2] George Santayana, “The Genteel Tradition in America” in The Annals of America, Vol. 13 (Chicago, IL:  Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1968), 277-288.

[3] Ibid., 281.