Di Locusts and Wild Honey. Originale pubblicato l’otto gennaio 2023 con il titolo Living with Surveillance. Traduzione di Enrico Sanna. Grafica di Eric Fleischmann Tante chiacchiere qua e là tra i presunti antisociali che stanno nel cuore dell’impero: anarchici, gotici, cristiano-progressisti, disegnatori di tatuaggi, contadini utopici, studenti rivoluzionari. Vogliamo l’“anonimato” digitale o no? Ovvero, detto…

Lots of chatter here and there amongst supposedly anti-social residents of the imperial core; anarchists, goths, progressive Christians, tattoo artists, idealistic farmers, student revolutionaries. Do we want digital “anonymity” or not? Or, less dramatically, should we have Instagram? Should we have Facebook? Should we participate in the Matrix so readily? “Anonymity” is in quotes because…

The Lego corporation, popular producer of interlocking miniature toy bricks, has recently been making increased efforts to market its toys to girls. Some of these efforts have met with criticism from feminists, who worry about toys that are stereotypically “girly” in a way that reinforces traditional gender roles. In a recent piece titled “Un-PC Lego…

Su Progressive Review (“Two Types of Terrorism,” 7 dicembre), Sam Smith distingue due tipi di terrorismo: “Quello che usa armi e bombe e quello che usa le parole per terrorizzare la gente e convincerla ad accettare la volontà di chi sta al potere.” Ma tra i due tipi c’è una relazione, come dimostrano le relative…

At Progressive Review (“Two Types of Terrorism,” Dec. 7), Sam Smith breaks terrorism down into two types: “That which uses guns and bombs and that which uses words to terrify the public into going along with whatever those in power want.” But the two aren’t unrelated, as the respective domestic reactions to the Paris bombings…

Police body cameras are all the rage lately. Al Sharpton wants them used to monitor the activities of cops. Ann Coulter wants them used to “shut down” Al Sharpton. The White House wants them because, well, they’re a way to look both “tough on police violence” and “tough on crime” by spending $263 million on new law enforcement technology….

Desde que li 1984 na adolescência, estive fascinado pela presciência de George Orwell. O caso de Edward Snowden e Gleen Greenwald destacou um aspecto dessa sagacidade preditiva, mas o slogan “nós sempre estivemos em guerra com a Lestásia” jamais esteve em mais evidência do que na questão da Ucrânia, Crimeia e Rússia. O desenvolvimento mais…

Knapp: The global political class, like it or not (and they don’t, not one bit), is faced with the inverse transparency David Brin predicted in 1998’s The Transparent Society.