Future People by Alabama Shakes

"There are only four ways in which a ruling group can fall from power. Either it is conquered from without, or it governs so inefficiently that the masses are stirred to revolt, or it allows a strong and discontented middle group to come into being, or it loses its own self-confidence and willingness to govern. These causes do not operate singly, and as a rule all four of them are present in some degree. A ruling class which could guard against all of them would remain in power permanently.

Ultimately the determining factor is the mental attitude of the ruling class itself. ... From the point of view of our present rulers, therefore, the only genuine dangers are the splitting-off of a new group of able, under-employed, power-hungry people, and the growth of liberalism and scepticism in their own ranks. The problem, that is to say, is educational. ... and ... the level of popular education is actually declining." - George Orwell, 1984

Sundown by Chris Lake

EVE Rooks and Kings: Message in a Bottle

[–] lord_maldoror[S] 299 points 2 days ago

When people speak about Chinese internet culture, the subject of imposed national firewalls is never far behind. Indeed, the 'Great Firewall' of China is linked to the (then) legal issues that required the creation of a separate Serenity server in the first place.

I should mention that when Fulcrum first contacted me in the ‘Ironclad’ era in late 2009/early 2010 or thereabouts, it was a Guardian group he was seeking to build and perfect. While this short video deals with tools that involve people screaming a lot, he has adapted quite a range of our meta and tactics over there, and hopefully I can share some more of that in future.

Some of the notions touched on here – to do with the direct meeting of the two worlds in some form or other – may never happen. Still, it’s a time when dinosaurs are running rampant in Deklein, goonhammers are being forged, banks are funding epic wars (okay, that happens in life too) and Dan & co. wield the reddit pen as a sword. So perhaps anything is possible.

Everything Is Alright by Dan Dakota

The Possible Human by Gabor Maté