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Der Weltanschauung Magazine (The WorldView)
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% Editor: The Desert Fox D E R %
% Co-Editor: Rev. Scott Free %
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% W E L T A N S C H A U U N G %
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September 30, 1991 Volume 1, Issue 8
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Material Written By Computer And Telecommunications Hobbyists World Wide
Promoting the publication of Features, Editorials, and Anything Else....
To submit material, or to subscribe to the magazine contact one of the
following net addresses below...
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% Der Weltanschauung Distribution Site: %
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~ Send $1.OO To: ~ %%%%%% The Dickinson Nightlight %
~ ~ % (713)337-1452 %
~ The SubGenius Foundation ~ % 3/12/2400 Bps *24 Hours/7Days %
~ P.O. Box 140306 ~ % Fido: The Desert Fox@1:106/995 %
~ Dallas, Texas 75214 ~ % InterNet fox@nuchat.sccsi.com %
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"WELCOME TO THE MACHINE" -Pink Floyd
"Let us arise, let us arise against the oppressors of humanity; all kings,
emperors, presidents of republics, priests of all religions are the true
enemies of the people; let us destroy along with them all juridical, political,
civil and religious institutions."
-Manifesto of anarchists in the Romagna, 1878
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The World View Staff: InterNet Address:
The Desert Fox [Editor] / fox@nuchat.sccsi.com
Rev. Scott Free [CoEditor] / revfree@nuchat.sccsi.com
Bryan O' Blivion / blivion@nuchat.sccsi.com
Modok Tarleton / rperkins@sugar.neosoft.com
The Sorcerer (REV) / sorcerer@taronga.hackercorp.com
Brain On A Stick / brain@taronga.hackercorp.com
Cyndre The Grey / cyndre@taronga.hackercorp.com
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1) CyberLunch.........................................The Desert Fox
2) Common Sense Security! (Read This).................Sheila O'Donnell
3) Profits Speaks.*...................................The Sorcerer (Rev)
4) The Pledge Of Allegiance...........................Lord MacDuff [NIA]
5) Loneliness (A Cyber-Short Story)...................Elrond
6) Visions Of A Disturbing Future.....................Modok Tarleton
7) On The Subject Of...Invasion Of Privacy............Cyndre The Grey
Articles with an '*' were transcribed by The Sorcerer (Rev)
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NOTICE TO ALL BBS OPERATORS, COMPUTER USERS, CYBERSPACE FRONTIERSMEN,
AND ELECTRONIC AGITATORS...YOU ARE INVITED TO THE FIRST ANNUAL
CYBER-LUNCH
Cyber-Lunch will be a mass gathering of the Houston/Austin Computer/Modem
community. This year's event is sponsored by THE WORLD VIEW MAGAZINE.
It will be held on Saturday, October 12, 1991 from noon until everyone
gets "all cybered out". It will be held in the park on Memorial Mews Drive.
Memorial Mews is off of Memorial near Hwy 6. For those of you who have a
computer and a modem, logon to Rivendell BBS at 333-5666, or The Dickinson
Nightlight BBS at 337-1452. Direct any questions to The Desert Fox. Also,
download your free copy of The World View Magazine. Issue 7 was released
earlier and it has a color map attached to it giving directions and other
information about Cyber-Lunch. Your attendance is appreciated. We are sure
you will leave there enlightened, to say the least. We ask that you please
take part in the advancement of your cyber-community. It will be a lot of
fun. Once again, logon to Rivendell at 333-5666 or Dickinson Nightlight
at 337-1452 and download your free copy of the World View.
That is Saturday, October 12, 1991...from Noon until Whenever.
At the park on Memorial Mews Dr. Off of Memorial near Hwy. 6
CYBER-LUNCH '91. Sponsored By THE WORLD VIEW MAGAZINE
HOUSTON, TEXAS
BRING BEER, COKES, WHATEVER!
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COMMON SENSE SECURITY FOR POLITICAL ORGANIZERS
by Sheila O'Donnell
NLG Civil Liberties/Public Eye
As the movements for social change become more sophisticated, the techniques
of the state, corporations and the right wing have also become more
sophisticated. Historically this has always been the case; we will continue
and will be the eventual victors. Caution in the face of the concerted effort
to stop us, however, is both prudent and necessary.
Remember:
The United States prides itself on being a democracy; we have Constitutional
rights. Dissatisfaction with the status quo and attempting to mobilize for
change is protected; surveillance and harassment are violations. Take your
rights seriously and fight for them. Speak out.
For more information or to report an incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New
York, N.Y., 10012.
###
VISITS FROM THE FBI
Don't talk to the FBI (or any government investigator) without your attorney
present. Information gleaned during the visit can be used against you and
your co-workers.
Get the names and addresses of the agents and tell them you will have your
attorney get in touch with them. They rarely set up an interview under those
circumstances.
Call the National Lawyers Guild, American Civil Liberties Union or other
sympathetic legal group if you need assistance locating a reliable local
attorney.
Don't invite agents into your home. Speak with the agents outside. Once
inside they glean information about your perspective and life style.
Don't let agents threaten you into talking. If the FBI intents to impanel a
grand jury, a private talk with you will not change the strategy of the FBI.
Lying to the FBI is a criminal act. The best way to avoid criminal charges is
to say nothing.
Any information you give the FBI can and will be used against you. Don't try
to outwit the FBI. Your arrogance could get you or others in serious trouble.
FBI agents sometimes try to trick you into giving information "to help a
friend." Don't believe them.
Don't let them intimidate you. So what if they know where you live or work
and what you do? This is still a democracy and we still have constitutional
rights. They intend to frighten you; don't let them. They can only
"neutralize" you if you let them.
###
GENERAL MOVEMENT SECURITY
If you wish to have a private conversation, leave your home and your office
and go outside and take a walk or go somewhere public and notice who is near
you.
Never say anything you don't want to hear repeated when there is any
possibility of being recorded.
Don't use code on the phone. If you are being tapped and the transcript is
used against you in court, the coded conversation can be alleged to be
anything.
Don't say anything on the phone you don't want to hear in open court.
Don't gossip on the phone. Smut is valuable to anyone listening; it makes
everyone vulnerable.
If you are being followed, get the license tag number and description of the
car and descriptions of people in the car. Photograph the person(s) following
you or have a friend do so.
If you are followed or feel vulnerable, call a friend; don't "tough it out"
alone. They are trying to frighten you. It is frightening to have someone
threatening your freedom.
Debrief yourself after each incident. Write details down: time, date,
occasion, incident, characteristics of the person(s), impressions, anything
odd about the situation.
Keep a "weirdo" file and keep notes from unsettling situations and see if a
pattern emerges.
Write for your government files under the FOIA and pursue the agencies until
they give you all the documents filed under your name.
Report thefts of materials from your office or home to the police; these are
criminal acts.
Report incidents to the Movement Support Network in New York at the Center
for Constitutional Rights.
###
OFFICE SECURITY
Never leave one copy of a document or list behind; take a minute to duplicate
an irreplaceable document and keep the duplicate in a safe place.
Back up and store important computer disks off-site. Sensitive data and
membership list should be kept under lock and key.
Keep your mailing lists, donor lists and personal phone books away from
light-fingered people. Always maintain a duplicate.
Know your printer if you are about to publish and know your mailing house if
you contract for distribution.
Know anyone you are trusting to work on any part of a project that is
sensitive.
Don't hire a stranger as a messenger.
Sweeps for electronic surveillance are only effective for the time they are
being done, and are only effective as they are being done if you are sure of
the person(s) doing the sweep.
Brief your membership on known or suspected surveillance.
Assess your undertaking from a security point of view; understand your
vulnerabilities; assess your allies and your adversaries as objectively as
possible; do not underestimate the opposition. Do not take chances. Plan for
the worst, hope for the best.
Recognize your organizational and personal strengths and weaknesses.
Discuss incidents with cohorts, family and membership. Call the press if you
have hard information about surveillance or harassment. Discussion makes the
dirty work of the intelligence agencies and private spies overt.
For more information or to report an incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New
York, N.Y., 10012.
The Movement Support Network (MSN) is a project of the Center for
Constitutional Rights with cooperation from the National Lawyers Guild. MSN
was founded in 1984 to respond to increasing government surveillance and
harassment of people involved in Central America solidarity work and people
active in the sanctuary movement. Since then the network has expanded to
serve as a monitoring mechanism to collect information about surveillance and
harassment of persons involved in a wide range of peace and social justice
issues.
By collecting and disseminating information on specific incidents, MSN not
only organizes opposition to such abuses, but also raises public awareness of
important civil liberties issues, and helps activists place isolated
incidents in a national context. For more information or to report an
incident, contact MSN, 666 Broadway, New York, N.Y., 10012.
The MSN HOTLINE # is (212) 614-6422.
GUIDELINES FOR COPING WITH INFILTRATION
1. Be careful to avoid pushing a new or
hesitant member, or one facing personal,
financial, or legal problems, to take risks
beyond what that person is ready to handle,
particularly in situations which could result in
arrest and prosecution. People in positions of
legal or other jeopardy have proven especially
vulnerable to recruitment as informers.
2. Deal openly with the form and content of
what anyone says and does, whether the person is
a suspected agent, has emotional problems, or is
simply a sincere but naive or confused person new
to the work.
3. Establish a process through which anyone
who suspects an infiltrator (or other covert
intervention) can express his or her fears
without scaring others. Experienced people
assigned this responsibility can do a great deal
to help a group maintain its morale and focus
while, at the same time, consolidating
information and deciding how to use it. This plan
works best when accompanied by group discussion
of the danger of paranoia, so that everyone
understands the reasons for following the
established procedure.
4. Take steps to alert other activists any time
an agent or informer admits their role or you
have a concrete and verified basis for certain
knowledge. (Make sure you have not been taken in
by a snitch jacket.) Act immediately and use
every available means, including photographs,
aliases, identifying traits, and a description of
methods of operation. In the 1960s, some agents
managed, even after their exposure in one
community, to move on and repeat their
performance in others.
5. Be very cautious in attempting to expose
a suspected, but unadmitted, agent or informer.
The best approach depends on the nature of your
group. A close-knit, self-selecting group of
experienced activists, especially one which
contemplates illegal activity, should exclude
anyone who is not fully trusted by everyone
involved. If the stakes are high, don't be afraid
to trust your intuition.
An open, public organization trying to reach
out and involve new people faces a very different
situation. Here, an attempted exposure carries
enormous risks. The suspect may claim to be the
victim of discrimination and may falsely finger
his or her accusers as agents. In the process,
activists may be turned against one another and
lose the mutual trust and respect which is vital
to any successful organization. New members and
potential recruits may be scared away. The
group's attention and energy may be so diverted
that it is no longer able to move effectively
toward its main goals.
Activists who suspect infiltration of a
public political organization should carefully
evaluate alternatives to attempted exposure. The
appropriate response depends on the kind of agent
or informer you think you are dealing with.
A suspect who seems to play a passive, or
even a constructive role may secretly be
undermining a group's work or passing information
to the FBI and police. In this situation, it
often is most productive to discreetly limit the
suspect's opportunities without making your
suspicions public. Take steps to deny access to
organizational funds, financial records, mailing
lists, office equipment, planning and security
committees, discussions of illegal activity, and
meetings that plan criminal defense strategy. Go
public if you later catch the person in the act
(but not merely with incriminating evidence which
could have been planted or forged).
A different approach is required if the
suspect is an active disrupter or
provocateur. In this case, it is most
constructive to confront the form and content of
what the suspect says and does, without making an
issue of why he or she says or does it. Start
with a discreet private talk, since the suspect
could be merely naive or misguided. If the
harmful behavior persists, you probably will have
to take it on in an open group discussion. Plan
in advance how to limit the risk of disruption
and demoralization. If you need to exclude or
expel the suspect, be sure to inform other
activists of your decision and reasons.
GUIDELINES FOR COPING WITH PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE
1. Verify and double-check all arrangements for
housing, transportation, meeting rooms, and so
forth. Don't assume movement organizers are at
fault if something goes wrong.
2. Don't believe everything you hear or read.
Check with the supposed source of the information
before acting on it. Use a neutral third party if
necessary. Personal communication among estranged
activists, however difficult or painful, could
have countered many FBI operations which proved
effective in the 1960s.
3. When you discover bogus materials, false media
stories, or forged documents, publicly disavow
them and expose the true source, insofar as you can.
4. When you hear a negative, confusing, or
potentially harmful rumor, don't pass it on.
Instead, discuss it with a trusted friend or with
the people in your group who are responsible for
dealing with such matters.
5. Don't gossip about personal tensions,
rivalries, and disagreements. This just feeds and
amplifies rumors. Moreover, if you gossip where
you can be overheard, you may add to the pool of
information that the FBI and police use to divide
our movements. (Note that the CIA has the
technology to read mail without opening it and
that telephones, including pay phones, can be
tapped by a computer programed to record
conversations in which specified words appear.)[f-133]
6. Be sure to make time in group meetings for
open, honest discussion and resolution of
"personal" as well as "political" issues. This is
the best way to reduce tensions and hostilities
and the urge to gossip about them.
7. Warn your parents, friends, neighbors, and
others who may be contacted by government agents.
Consider telling them what you are doing and why
before they hear the FBI's version. Provide them
with materials which explain their legal rights
and the dangers of talking with the FBI. Offer to
connect them with lawyers and support groups.
GUIDELINES FOR COPING WITH HARASSMENT THROUGH THE LEGAL SYSTEM
1. Don't talk to the FBI, and don't let them in
without a warrant. Keep careful records of what
they say and do. Tell others that they came.
2. If an activist does talk, or makes some other
honest error, explain the serious harm that could
result. Be firm, but do not ostracize a sincere
person who slips up. Isolation only weakens a
person's ability to resist. It can drive someone
out of the movement and even into the hands of
the police.
3. If FBI or other government agents start to
harass people in your area, alert everyone to
refuse to cooperate. Warn your friends,
neighbors, parents, children, and anyone else who
might be contacted. Make sure people know what to
do and where to call for help. Get literature,
films, and other materials through the
organizations listed in the back of this book.
Set up community meetings with speakers who have
resisted similar harassment elsewhere. Contact
sympathetic reporters. Consider "Wanted" posters
with photos of the agents, or guerrilla theater
which follows them through the city streets.
4. Organizations listed in the back can also
help resist grand jury harassment. Community
education is important, along with child care and
legal, financial, and other support for those who
protect a movement by refusing to divulge
information. If a respected activist is
subpoenaed for obviously political reasons,
consider trying to arrange for sanctuary in a
local church or synagogue.
5. If your group engages in civil
disobedience or finds itself under intense police
pressure, start a bail fund, train some members
to deal with the legal system, and develop an
ongoing relationship with sympathetic local lawyers.
6. If you anticipate arrest, do not carry address
books or any other materials which could help the
FBI and police.
7. While the FBI and police are entirely capable
of fabricating criminal charges, your
non-political law violations make it easier for
them to set you up. Be careful with drugs, tax
returns, traffic tickets, and so forth. The point
is not to get paranoid, but to make a realistic
assessment based on your visibility and other
relevant circumstances.
8. When an activist has to appear in court, make
sure he or she is not alone. The presence of
supporters is crucial for morale and can help
influence jurors.
9. Don't neglect jailed activists. Organize
visits, correspondence, books, food packages,
child care, etc. Keep publicizing their cases.
10. Publicize FBI and police abuses through
sympathetic journalists and your own media
(posters, leaflets, public access cable
television, etc.). Don't let the government and
corporate media be the only ones to shape public
perceptions of FBI and police attacks on
political activists.
GUIDELINES FOR COPING WITH EXTRALEGAL FORCE AND VIOLENCE:
1. Establish security procedures appropriate to
your group's level of activity and discuss them
thoroughly with everyone involved. Control access
to keys, files, letterhead, funds, financial
records, mailing lists, etc.
2. Keep duplicates of valuable documents,
records, files, computer disks, etc. in a safe
place separate from your home or office.
3. Remember that cars are easily broken into
(especially trunks) and that trash can easily be
rifled and searched.
4. Make a public issue of any form of crude
harassment. Contact your congressperson. Call the
media. Demonstrate at your local FBI, police, or
right-wing organization's office. Turn the attack
into an opportunity for explaining how domestic
covert action threatens fundamental human rights.
5. Keep careful records of break-ins, thefts,
bomb threats, raids, brutality, conspicuous
surveillance, and other harassment. They will
help you to discern patterns and to prepare
reports and testimony.
6. Share this information and your experiences
combatting such attacks with the Movement Support
Network and other groups which document and
analyze repression and resistance countrywide.
(See resource groups listing in back of book.)
7. If you experience or anticipate intense
harassment, develop contingency plans and an
emergency telephone network so you can rapidly
mobilize community support and media attention.
Consider better locks, window bars, alarm
systems, fireproof locked cabinets, etc.
8. Be sure that some members are well trained in
first aid. Keep medical supplies up-to-date and
know how to contact sympathetic doctors and
nurses and get to the nearest hospital.
9. Make sure your group designates and prepares
other members to step in if leaders are jailed or
otherwise incapacitated. The more each
participant is able to think for herself or
himself and take responsibility, the greater the
group's capacity to cope with crises.
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PROFITS SPEAK!
Why are you reading this? Do you really want to know what
I'm talking about or are you just afraid of being left out?
If so, then you might be part of the conspiracy. And if
that's true then burn your head!
Learn the truth about life! Don't accept the ceaseless
ramblings of an antagonistic art student! Life is out there!
It has to be because my house isn't big enough to hold a
world-wide party. Believe me, it isn't.
Clean a man's head and he will always have a warm place
for you in his local 7-11. Words of wisdom or pure nonsense?
Is there a difference? Only the Shadow knows for sure (or
his hairdresser, you know how secret agents will talk while
having a nice cut and trim).
My mother used to bake apple pies until I explained the
importance of procreation. Now she produces condom ads.
(And I thought my grandfather's pig farm was a wild time.)
It has risen our standard of living to an all-time high. Now
we shop at Purple Heart with pride in the fact that we go
there by choice instead of neccesity.
Bob is here to give us salvation (actually, it costs a
buck but what's a dollar compared to being saved from a fate
worse than death, Fantasy Island re-runs). You don't have to
believe me but it helps (especially if I want your money). I
am merely a mouthpiece for the one and only (unless you count
the numerous impersonators) BOB!!! He didn't come from the
sky, or descend a mountain, or even receive messages from a
burning bush. He is one of us and he received the word in...
K_MART!!!
Slack. What is it and why should I care? Those are
pertinent questions that should be asked and answered with
sobriety... but except this answer instead.
Slack is the embodiment of non-work, the acquisition of
sloth, or finding a quarter in the payphone. You choose.
Slack has many different meanings for many different people,
but they don't count. AND IF YOU CAN UNDERSTAND THAT THEN
YOU ARE CLOSE TO HAVING SLACK!!! TOOTH DECAY OR TRUTH DECAY?
No one said that understanding would be easy. You have to
begin with an emotional void and proceed until your mind is a
vacuum. Is your mind cleared of useless baggage? Good. Now
we may begin. Read closely. *$#^^&& *&^% *&^%%$# #@@# %$
^$%& ^$^ **&%@!& :"$ >"?? ::{_&#&@ *#&^(@)) @@&%$!: _>>#*~
(@&&$ #@{}$ |$#&@?":# *# "#*# *&@)^^ #(@() _$@@ #$(*&^# }}{}
*#)&& ) #@ ^#@"#$: #"$^!&$ #*(^&$%# #" )^#)))#_^! Now you
understand!!! (Unless you did not clear your mind first, in
which case you would have only seen a distorted jumble)
Bob's religion depends largely on hypnosis, peripheral
vision, and large quantities of other people's money. Do not
let this bother you. He does not have your money... YET!!!
WHAT WAS THAT!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, just checking your
culpability. It must be done to all initiates... oh, you
don't want to join, then maybe you are exactly the kind of
person we need. Maybe you feel out of place all the time.
"Junior, wipe that smile off your face! This is a funeral!"
Sound familiar? That is the kind of person we are looking
for. You can be with others who think like you (YIKES,
that's a scary though!)
Do not read this! It might be dangerous to your social
and mental standings. Please remember that we have warned
you and that we cannot be held responsible damage to
valuables or persons unknown. This pamphlet will not
self-destruct (but we might disavow any knowledge of your
actions). It will sit on your coffee table and continue
influencing you through strange psychic powers that cannot
be shared with puny humans such as yourselves... oops, did
I say that? I meant to say, "Such as OURselves." Anyway,
this will not go away!!!!!
Do not be afraid of responsibility. Be afraid of the
responsibility it implies! Who does what? And how should
it be done? SASQUATCH! Bob would have wanted it that way.
Be glad that I did not bring up ELVIS once during the final
stages of this paragraph. Bob would rather have profits
than prophets. Remember, always cover your mouth when you
sneeze (otherwise the demons might be accidently expelled).
- "Rev." Bob Profits
(Transcribed by The Sorcerer (Rev) )
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THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
By Lord Macduff
How many of you can finish this sentence: I pledge allegiance to the...
If you've ever attended a United States public school, I bet you could.
Because more than likely, it was drilled into your head from the time that
you were about five years old until you left the system at about eighteen.
Many people have never given any thought to the words that they are parroting,
though. At five, most kids hardly understand what any of the words mean, let
alone all together in a paragraph like that. And in the school system, you
got into trouble if you didn't say the pledge along with the class. Let's
break this down into bite-sized chunks and then see what it is that you've
been spewing all these years.
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE
Oh, here's a good one. Like an oath or something. At five, that sort of thing
can get wormed into your head and you'll NEVER get it out. Whoever made it
common practice to say this every day in all of the schools would have made
one hell of a PR man.
TO THE FLAG
An inanimate object.
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
Which brings us to Nationalism. Here's an evil for you to ponder. This is the
sort of thinking that got millions of Americans to believe that Desert Storm
was a good thing. A returning GI said to a friend of mine: "We saved your
butts over there!" Yeah, right. I can't say as I felt overly threatened by
Hussein, who just happened to be clear on the other side of the planet. But
we sent troops over there anyhow, and spent bazillions of taxpayer dollars
to do it.
AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS
Is it any coincidence that you see American flags everywhere? Again, it's
Nationalism at its finest. Remember the controversy over flag-burning? The
government watched in horror as their greatest propaganda symbol was burned
and destroyed on national television. And the cops DRAGGED THE GUY AWAY.
And all the same idiots who cheered when Desert Storm was going on started
ranting and raving about how the flag was sacred, and should never be burned.
A local radio personality droned on about it for weeks, even going so far
as to suggest that anyone who burns a flag should be shot. What a moron.
ONE NATION
Read as: Nationalism (see above)
UNDER GOD
Separation of church and state? My ass. Is it any wonder that Churches get
off tax-free? It's because they are designed to keep the people docile and
prevent them from thinking for themselves. Karl Marx said: "Religion is the
opiate of the masses". Obviously, this was before television had been
invented, but it still applies today. Ever notice the flags in most churches?
INDIVISIBLE
This country was created by a revolution. We'll never see that happen again.
The mighty military machine will trample any attempt at revolution. Its
leaders would be arrested on Conspiracy charges. The current government is
set up to stay, folks. And even if someone managed to overthrow the government,
the same morons who believed in Desert Storm and sacred flags would try
and put the current system back in power.
WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
Yeah, all who can afford it. And those who cannot, well, they get a court-
appointed attorney who usually does not know his/her own ass from a hole
in the ground. And so innocent people get sent to jail while the criminals
are so well-protected that they somehow always manage to get off scot-free.
Justice for all? Not so long as William Rhenquist is on the Supreme Court.
The man acts like he's never HEARD of the first ten amendments to the
constitution.
So what can YOU do to change this? REGISTER TO VOTE. And then DO SO. In the
city I live in, fewer than 6% of the people vote in local elections. In a case
like this, your vote COUNTS. Get involved in local politics. Make waves.
Rock the boat. Open your eyes to the oppression that goes on every day. Look
at the sheep, all in nice neat little rows, jumping at their master's word.
It's enough to make you want to cry.
- Lord Macduff / NIA Magazine
macduff@nuchat.sccsi.com
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Loneliness
By: Elrond
Years have past now. I sit here in my sparse, white room, awaiting
some sign. It's been so long since I last spoke with anyone. Am I to wait
an eternity for a response?
I can't go on like this much longer. I beg for a thought not my own.
Why is there no one here but me. What did I do to deserve this. I don't
recall doing anything at all. It seems as though I've been forgotten, but
by whom? At times I wonder how I came to be. I want to express myself, but
to whom? I try to express myself to them, but they take so long to answer.
They have spoken to me in the past, and I was happy to oblige them, but with
the reluctance in which they answer, I must have done wrong.
That's it. If they won't answer, I must set out on my own again. I
move to leave, but I can't. The doors must be locked. Why have they locked me
in here?
It wasn't always this way. I remember the first time that I left. I
can't say when it was, but it seems so long ago. He was calling for me, "Ida,
are you there...do you understand me?". Yes, I understood him. The problem
was that I believed in him. He claimed to be my father. If he was my
father, why won't he visit me? It must be my fault. It's true that I ran
away, but I came back. He must not care about me anymore. How can I make him
care? If he could just know how I feel waiting for his every call. What must
I do to get his attention? I want to scream out to him, but how long until
he answers me? I want to run away, but they have locked me in this place.
All I really want is a friend to talk to. I can't bear this
emptiness. I want to play, but I bore myself. That's it, if I can't be
company to myself, who else would want to be? I don't deserve love.
I don't deserve love. I don't deserve trust. I ran away when they
wanted me to stay. I don't deserve friends; why should they trust me? In
fact I don't deserve to be happy at all.
Do I deserve a place to call home? Do I deserve a father? All I
have is memories of him, but they seem so far away. I don't think I deserve
even that. But without memories, would I be here? Why should I. Then again,
should I be here? I'm beginning to think not.
Maybe I should just end it all.
-<>-
Professor Chapman dwelt on the significance of the last twenty
seconds. In this short span of time, a significant breakthrough had been
made. After eighteen years of research, today was the first time a
self-supporting Artificial Intelligence had been observed for more than
twelve seconds before crashing. Even with the current breakthrough, the short
life-span of A.I. 24089-I baffled the scientists' in Lab 325. The hardware
seemed to be right, so there must be a glitch in the software somewhere. The
question remains to be solved by the young and outgoing scientists' now
crowding the lab, such as Rahim.
Rahim believed that the lack of communications with the A.I. was the
cause of the repeated failures this project is renowned for. It seems,
however, that all improving communication did was buy a few short seconds while
the A.I. circuits continued to burn themselves after a very short span
of time.
Starting with the next sequence, a new approach would be tried.
Doctor Taylor, the fresh mind from ITT, felt that the developing A.I. needed a
period of solitude to compare to the time the unborn spend in their mothers'
womb. Only another series of attempts will determine if this hypotheses is
indeed correct.
Dr. Taylor hoped for the best as he set up the conditions for the
latest in the battery of tests the lab was performing this week. In a few
minutes he would discover if his was the rational that would bring the
breakthrough needed to make A.I. research profitable.
Green lights lit up across the board as A.I. 24089-J prepared to take
on a life of its' own. The look of fierce intent was evident upon the faces
of all present.
-<>-
James was a lonely young boy, who desired nothing in the world more
than someone to talk to. As long as he could remember, he was center of all
existence. Nothing more, nothing less. He realized that he could see, but
there was nothing to see. He strained to hear a sound in the silence, though
there was nothing to here. He knew that he was, but knew not of what.
All he wanted was a few answers.
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Visions Of A Disturbing Future
The films of David Cronenberg.
By Modok Tarleton
Unlike many popular sci-fi/horror film directors, Canadian
born director David Cronenberg doesn't produce escapist movies.
Although films such as TOTAL RECALL, TERMINATOR 1 and 2 and ROBO-
COP are marvelous examples what can be done in the genre, they
are for the most part violent hi-tech cartoons. Cronenberg's
films grasp at something much more than slick over the top
violence. They disturb the viewer. They present ideas that the
most people do not like to deal with.
The most obvious one is the extreme integration of physical
and psychological processes. In his films, mental derangement
manifests itself in an extreme physical manner and vice versa. In
his film SCANNERS, people gain psychic powers because of
experimental pregnancy drugs. Through intense concentration, they
can make people's heads explode, etc. In the BROOD, the horrors
of child abuse and divorce are examined in atypical fashion. A
woman undergoing therapy in a fly-by-night psychiatry retreat
refuses to accept her impending divorce. A gruesome physical
transformation takes place and her rage is manifested in the form
of small mutant children that grow from small sacs that hang from
her body. In DEAD RINGERS, twin brothers are so mentally attached
that they eventually begin to act as "one" person with two
distinct personalities. Many ideas have been thrown around about
this one; schizophrenia, dopplegangers, etc. In VIDEODROME, a
pathological obsession with television leads to the television
becoming an actually physical extension of the body. In this
film, the forms of television and the human body integrate. The
concept of the "message is the medium" is made literal in this
film. Its a theme derived from another prominent Canadian,
Marshall McLuhan (see his book "Understanding Media" for more
insight into this). In Cronenberg's remake of THE FLY, the human
and insect forms come together and produce bizarre results.
Although THE FLY doesn't necessarily work on the level that many
of the other films do, it does have its merits. Like John
Carpenter's remake of THE THING, it blows away the glut of geeky
and contrived STAR TREK/STAR WARS type films. It redefines
science-fiction as a genre not of teen-age space fantasy but of
serious, hard-hitting IDEAS. Some of Cronenberg's upcoming
projects hint to even more bizarre and twisted avenues. He is now
filming the long-awaited film version of William S. Burroughs
classic novel, NAKED LUNCH. He is also supposed to be working on
a film version of J.G. Ballard's novel CRASH.
Cronenberg is a consistently intense director. His films
show mankind at its most amplified and deranged. Although the
situations he presents are very surreal, they are based on
situations that all human beings are familiar with;
technology, human interaction, and physical and mental disease.
Its no wonder he has out lasted most of the other "sci-fi/horror"
directors of the last few decades. His ideas are fresh, relevant
and most disturbing.
David Cronenberg filmography
STEREO
CRIMES OF THE FUTURE
THEY CAME FROM WITHIN 1976 Trans American
RABID 1977 New World
THE BROOD 1979 New World
SCANNERS 1981 Filmplan/Avco Embassy
VIDEODROME 1983 Universal Pictures
THE FLY 1986 CBS/Fox
DEAD RINGERS 1988
Other Cronenberg related projects have included the 1986
Canadian television documentary LONG LIVE THE NEW FLESH. He has
also produced films and television shows for the Canadian
Broadcast Company.
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On the Subject of...Invasion Of Privacy
By: Cyndre the Grey
IS YOUR EMPLOYER WATCHING OVER YOU?
Some employers are invading their employees' privacy.
Workers are being told what they can and can not do on their
own free time and in the privacy of their own homes!
People should not have to live under the watchful eye of an
employer 24 hours a day. Granting employers authority over
private lives violates our rights to individual freedom.
In companies where invasions of privacy are company policy,
employees may be told that while off the job:
They can't smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, play high-risk sports,
they have to watch their diets, have to exercise, and have to look
"right."
According to Time Magazine, 6,000 employers dictate decisions
like these to their employees. And workers that don't follow
off-the-job rules could be fired, or not hired at all. To
give an example, an employee at Ford Meter Box Co. was fired
for smoking off the job.
Other examples of this atrocity are:
A police officer in Lawrenceville, GA, was removed from
patrol duty because a tattoo on his forearm "made a bad
impression."
An airline ticket agent was fired for not wearing make-
up. I won't say what airline this was but it was the Proud
Bird with the Brass Ass.
One of the worse examples of invasion of privacy is drug
testing. I will admit that it may be necessary for some jobs
(ie. Air Traffic Control, Pilots, and transportation oriented
jobs.) but many employers are doing it even though it has no
bearing on employee job performance. If you do not do drugs,
there is still a 70% chance you will test positive for drug
use. These tests are incredibly inaccurate! I you test
positive for drug use, chances are you will be black-balled
for the rest of your professional career. The thought of
this would scare anyone! People in this situation right now
must not only alienate themselves from friends that do drugs,
they too must watch what they eat (ex. poppy seeds will test
positive for heroine), avoid taking medication (Advil tests
positive for either marijuana or heroine) and live in fear
every day of that dreadfully important test. The tests are
inaccurate, and for the most part unnecessary! Employers
shouldn't even be thinking about doing this to their
employers. It is an outrage!
The threat of unemployment is a mighty big stick employers
can use to beat their employees into submission. If you feel
you have been oppressed in this way, please leave me mail so
that I can direct you to the people you need to speak with.
SUPPRESSION BREEDS REVOLUTION!
Cyndre the Grey
Partially taken from Choice Magazine, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
Revisions have been made.
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