Gavin said (November 13, 2010):

I tend to agree with Gregory's post in that the author of this article, is mistaken when he identifies the Internet in solely negative terms.

Unlike the 20th century the internet has put the spotlight on the PTB and every move they make is scrutinised, debated and put through the wash till a large number of people generally get a good idea of what's going on. In short, the elite are often stymied and seem to be having a hard time pushing through their agenda.

For example, thanks to the internet the global warming meme is on the ropes and it's cousins, peak oil and water scarcity seem to be going nowhere. These fear mongering promotions were designed to control people, centralise power and siphon off money through taxes, carbon trading etc. There is no way the climategate emails would have gotten the traction and publicity they did without the net. Even the most important promotion of the power elite, central banking, seems to be in big trouble these days, again thanks mainly to the net.

An outstanding site, IMHO, which observes and reports on these memes (thedailybell.com) says the internet is the modern equivalent of the Gutenberg printing press of 500 years ago. Because of the invention of this press ordinary people could then read the bible and they found out that the Catholic Church had been telling fibs. This led to the Reformation, Protestantism (Protest) and a more opening up of society in general.

On a related note, a British MP recently proposed a full reserve, honest money, banking bill in the UK parliament. It would seem that this is a slap in the face for the British power elite and you could bet such a bill would not have been introduced if it weren't for the internet shining a light on their dodgy banking practices.

‪Douglas Carswell's UK banking reform bill, first reading (2010-09-15)‬

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMGr-OuXihg

Duane said (November 13, 2010):

The pub culture in the uk is suffering. Yes there are nightclubs and all that entails but a primary area of meeting and critical discussion is being systematically destroyed by higher prices, smoking bans (yes guys a lot of trade was lost when that was brought in) and a general misdirection to trivial entertainment.

Men spend time in pubs and will discuss many issues from the trivial to the significant. Taking this social element out of British society in my opinion is a major tool in destroying UK identity and therefore causes a major paralysis in the population's ability to digest the crap that is currently being thrown at them and formulate an appropriate response. If you cant discuss, you cant act.

The Internet is both a diversion and an alternative. I plead guilty to playing online games with the rest of us. My salary is stretched so thin that I seriously have to consider the cost of "going out" down to the last penny and generally conclude I cant afford it. So I now go to my hobbit hole, log on and get a bit of entertainment and interaction knowing that it is all a bit superficial but a knowing diversion it is.

However the information is there using the Internet source. The major problem is that for most of us the knowing is also irrelevant as we cannot interact in a manner to effect change. Information is not power when there is nowhere to direct it and an obsession with accumulating it through watching tweets.

The Illuminati often use the perverted karma maxim of "we warn you, you do nothing, its your fault".

If a group puts a person in an impenetrable cage, tells him what they are going to do, do it till they scream and then tell them that its their fault for not escaping the cage then they are building up a shitstorm of judgment against themselves.

The bars of the cage have been built, the warnings have been made, the damage is being done....... I just want to see the shitstorm dumped on these bastards so I can start laughing again.

David re. Gregory said (November 12, 2010):

The elite gave us the internet. Attali tells us why: to lure us into an electronic control grid.
The window of free speech the internet currently offers us is counterbalanced by how it distracts, alienates and dumbs down.

Gregory said (November 12, 2010):

David Richards, the author of this article, is mistaken when he identifies the Internet in solely negative terms. Contrary to
Richards' wholely negative description of the Internet, the Internet has become the primary alternative news source throughout the world,
and the Internet has been the venue which has allowed freethinkers and dissidents everywhere to communicate and network in a very productive
and unprecedented manner.

The Internet is simply a form or venue of 'media', like books, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, research articles, films, radio, and
television. Even talking or 'word of mouth' communication is a form of 'media'. The forms of media are neutral; what matters is the
content of the communication. Ignorant, misinformed, and trivial communications can occur in any media -- talking face-to-face, in
writing, on the radio, on television, in films, or on the Internet.

Conversely, truly enlightened communications can occur in any media.

Of course the ruling elites want to control the Internet the same way that they control publishing, films, radio, and television -- and the elites may eventually succeed in doing just that. Until then, the Internet is the best communications and networking tool for dissident
activists.

During the Viet Nam War, anti-War activists were handicapped by the fact that the ruling elites controlled the major media, and that alternative media was a marginal resource. The anti-War movement of the 1960s and 70s would have been far more effective if it had had access to a communications and networking resource like the Internet.

9/11 Truthers and other informed opponents of the ruling elite appear to be somewhat evenly scattered around the USA and around the globe.
The Internet has been, and continues to be, their primary communications and networking tool. At this point in history, without the Internet, communications and networking among dissidents would be severely handicapped.

In nearly all societies there have almost always been a majority of people who choose to constantly immerse themselves in vapid and
trivial entertainments. The Romans had their gladiator games and today we have Hollywood movies that serve propaganda purposes and a
commercial music industry that dwells in a state of perpetual juvenalia.

The problem is that too many adults choose to remain in a continual state of childishness and they refuse to honestly and courageously
face the real and serious issues that surround us. The majority of people function as 'adult children' who trust their government and the
media to tell them the truth and to decide for them what's right and wrong. These 'adult children' educate their own children to continue
the tradition of servile obedience and childishness from generation to generation.

David Richards posted his article on the Internet, where it will probably attract far more readers than at his local pub. My point in a
nutshell is that it's not the media that matters; it's the message.

Clive said (November 12, 2010):

I live in Canada on Vancouver Island and the article and Chris' comments are equally valid here.
This article puts into words something that I have been observing for years and has been puzzling me - namely the virtual complete lack of interest in anything beyond the TV screen.
There are reports of

- oil continuing to gush forth from fissures surrounding the Makondo oil wells in staggering quantities - the real possibility of oil and Corexit spreading eventually throughout the oceans
- the inundation of the world with toxins in chemtrails - mainly aluminum and barium - trees dying
- the danger of GM foods and soon GM fish
- vaccines containing thimerosal and sterilising hormones
- genocide in Palestine
- depleted uranium

This is just to mention a few dangers facing the world. And yet there is absolutely no concern for any of these and when one mentions them, one is generally met with condescension. What a difference to 50 years ago, when we marched and demonstrated against the war in Vietnam and the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

I have two older children from my first marriage, who reached maturity before the age of PCs. I now have two younger children, who have had access to a computer since infancy. What a difference!
They and their peers live in a world of sitcoms, video games, 15 sec soundbites - gone are the days of coherent thought, of logical and critical evaluation of information and reality.

One can deny them access to these distractions, but I find it almost impossible to instill in them any intellectual interests and the educational system is completely useless in this regard.

One important point about the Internet is that 80% of Internet traffic is from pornographic websites.

I have also read that the Pentagon subsidizes the development of war-related video games. Is this true?

Robert said (November 12, 2010):

The almost universal use of false names on blogs and other Internet communications is evidence of the potency of the lure of this virtual existence. Western Christian culture was built on belief in personal responsibility. The pseudonym users have lost the sense of the importance of this principle, for which they will pay a tremendous cost.

Chris said (November 12, 2010):

ref. Don's comments; he is right. As is the writer of the article; when he says
"there is virtually no anger". I notice this all the time here in UK. It is
absolutely staggering.
People are just SO switched off. You'd think they were on some kind of denial
drug, or something. It's as if they consider everything to be "inevitable, so
why fight it?". It is horrifyingly
awful; and those of us who are watching in disbelief are made to feel as if
we're the odd ones out when we try to warn them. God help us when the dung hits
the fan and they suddenly realize what's been going on. Us "awake" types are
being dragged down with them, too. British spirit? Pah. Gutless, the lot of em
(almost the lot).

Don said (November 12, 2010):

LOVED the new Digital Nomads post!! SOooooo true...have been thinking about that a lot and other aspects--just writing about the 'amusement' part--you know that word means 'away from thinking'?-