Writing for The Nation – Urizenus Sklar’s Secret Shame!!!
by Alphaville Herald on 17/09/10 at 12:03 pm
Herald founder explains WikiLeaks and activist hackers
Ignoring the life-and-death Second Life political scene for more ephemeral fare, Herald founder Urizenus Sklar (Peter Ludlow) weighs in on WikiLeaks and Hacktivist Culture at The Nation – a guilty pleasure to be sure – but one that may steer the Wikileaks debate in a more realistic direction. As Ludlow points out
The traditional media, governments and their security organizations just cannot get unglued from the idea that there must be a single mastermind behind an operation like WikiLeaks. While this model works great in fictional dramas, it does not track what is really happening. This is not a one-man or even one-group operation. It is a network of thousands motivated by a shared hacktivist culture and ethic.
To support his argument, Ludlow traces the hacktivist aesthetic – information should not be hoarded by powerful constituencies—it needs to be placed in the hands of the general public – through a number of high profile incidents such as the 4Chat assault on the Church of Scientology, the work of the Cypherpunks, Hong Kong Blondes, Urban Ka0s, and others.
The conclusion? WikiLeaks is a network enabled social movement that is far from unique – and almost certainly unstoppable.
Ludlow’s analysis may remind Second Life residents of recent developments in the metaverse that parallel the WikiLeaks scandal, including the exposure of the Justice League Unlimited Brainiac database and the revelations that led to fall from grace of the Emerald Viewer gang – so perhaps there is some redeeming value to be gleaned from Uri’s shameful practice of moonlighting for the Nation.
Little Lost Linden
Sep 21st, 2010
@Selene Putzo
No Offense Selene, but it is undeniable that China has population problems, and also it is undeniable that the U.S. has obesity problems.
China needs to slim down their population, and U.S. needs to slim down their fat bellies.
I don’t think anyone can deny those two allegations, unfortunately.
Persephone Bolero
Sep 21st, 2010
@Little Lost Linden “U.S. needs to slim down their fat bellies.”
What if someone decides they like food and the potential health risks from indulging in eating are worth it to them for the pleasure they derive from excessive consumption?
It’s not the choice many of us make and we value slenderness over indulgence. But why can’t people just be free to decide for themselves what values they’ll live by?
We
Sep 21st, 2010
@Persephone Bolero
Thanks for proving me right. You defend your libertarian fueled sources as fact like the Christians defend the bible as literal truth.
General Drama
Sep 21st, 2010
We,
Actually, the one with the religious devotion is yourself. You worship big government as the big sugar daddy in the temple in the holy district of Columbia (Columbia is a fake goddess created by the founders to represent the US). Uncle Sugar can perform miracles of economic wonder, create money out of nothing, give as much of it away as he wants to the people who properly petition and pray for his relief. Those who kneel in obesiance and tithe their labor to their God for their whole lives are rewarded at the end of their lives with glorious condos on golf courses and monthly stipends from the Miraculous Fount of Ponzi and limitless free health care.
No, calling a libertarian religious is akin to accusing an agnostic of religious devotion. Libertarians believe in little or no government, much as atheists and agnostics believe in no supernatural being.
Persephone Bolero
Sep 21st, 2010
@We Actually, I was mocking you.
You said in your original comment: “You’d have better luck convincing a devout Christian that god doesn’t exist than trying to convince a libertarian that their beliefs are ridiculous.”
So, I demonstrated how you’re no different from a religious fanatic. You pretend you’re motivated by a benevolent need to save souls, when you actually just want control over people’s personal choices. And so you create a bunch of paranoid unsubstantiated fears about how the world will end if we give people the freedom to do as they please.
You compare me to Christians? Hear that sound? It’s your glass house shattering.
Little Lost Linden
Sep 22nd, 2010
“What if someone decides they like food and the potential health risks from indulging in eating are worth it to them for the pleasure they derive from excessive consumption?”
Oh, that’s fine, as long as they pay for 2 airplane seats…
“But why can’t people just be free to decide for themselves what values they’ll live by?”
That’s fine too, as long as they save extra money for their excessive healthcare costs and don’t weigh down the rest of the nation with them.
http://www.unbred.com/
Fattest Man, People or Persons in the World
Who is the fattest person alive
Here is a list of the fattest people in the world alive or have passed away.
1. Carol Yager-1189lbs
2. Jon Brower Minnoch-More than 1400lbs
3. Roselie Bradford-1200lbs
4. Michael Edelman-1200lbs
5. Walter Hudson-1197lbs
6. Francis John Lang 1187lbs
7. Johnny Alee-1132lbs
8. Robert Earl Hughes-947lbs
9. Mohaned Naaman-1055lbs
10. No Name 1050lbs
11. Carol Haffner-1023lbs
12. Mike Parteleno-1022lbs
13. Mills Darden-1020lbs
14. John Finnerty-1012lbs
15. Jerry Currant-1000lbs
16. Sylbanus Smith-1000lbs
17. David Ron High-1000lbs
18. Michael Hebranko-907lbs
19. G Hopkings-980lbs
20. Denny Welch-980lbs
21. Big Tex-924lbs
22. Leonard Brown-920lbs
23. Ida Maitland-911lbs
24. Mickey Mounds-910lbs
25. John Hanson Craig-907lbs
26. Arthur Knorr-900lbs
27. Santiago Garcia-900lbs
28. Joselina da Silva-895lbs
Pappy Enoch
Sep 22nd, 2010
Hell that ain’t no list, Lil’ Lost Linden Feller.
Ain’t nary an Enoch on it. We do claim kin to “Big Tex” (no. 21) but it am by common-law marriage, not blood.
We
Sep 22nd, 2010
@General Drama
“You worship big government as the big sugar daddy in the temple in the holy district of Columbia (Columbia is a fake goddess created by the founders to represent the US). ”
Who said I’m fully devoted to government? Or anti-capitalist? Government can and often is extremely corrupt and backwards. Corporations are the source of many comfort of living products that make things better. This however doesn’t mean that government should be abolished, or corporations should have free rule to do what they want with zero regulations. It’d be like chopping off your head to cure a headache.
“No, calling a libertarian religious is akin to accusing an agnostic of religious devotion. Libertarians believe in little or no government, much as atheists and agnostics believe in no supernatural being.”
They also believe in the perfection of the “free market” against all logic and evidence, and that somehow letting corporations have free reign wouldn’t result in giant monopolies, safety and health violations abound, child labor, and numerous other horrible results, despite ample evidence to the contrary.
@Persephone Bolero
“So, I demonstrated how you’re no different from a religious fanatic”
Sorry, I must have missed that? All I saw from you was a long ridiculous evangelical rant, which did demonstrate something very well, but more about you than I. It’s funny, because I support people’s ability to choose more than you do.
Little Lost Linden
Sep 22nd, 2010
@Persephone
“What if someone decides they like food and the potential health risks from indulging in eating are worth it to them for the pleasure they derive from excessive consumption?”
If you are going to continue to eat excessively like that and fill up the whole planet with your ultra-large excessively super-sized body, then it’s settled…I’ve decided to move to Planet Michael where everyone is thin and purple…
Who’s with me?
http://thebotzone.net/2010/09/21/prepare-yourself-for-planet-michael/
I know Pappy will join me.
Pappy Enoch
Sep 22nd, 2010
@LittleLost…yep I plans to git off ol’ Earth rite before all the fat folks sends ‘er out o’ orbit.
A smart feller done telled that that if’n that happens, we will be fixin’ to go crashin’ into that-there great ball o’ fire called the Sun that goes around the Earth.
I ain’t goin’ to no Planet named Michael, howsoever. I are fixin’ to join up with them Leather Goddesses o’ Phobos for a big ol’ smack down. Then I won’t need no SL to fap no more.
Persephone Bolero
Sep 22nd, 2010
@Little Lost Linden “That’s fine too, as long as they save extra money for their excessive healthcare costs and don’t weigh down the rest of the nation with them.”
And this is a fine example of the problem with having government take care of us. You allow government to determine what medicines you take, no one can get marijuana because politics and not individual choice decides what medicines you can take.
You let government run your healthcare, and now people can justify why they should be able to dictate your personal health choices. The second you collectivize these services, they become everybody’s business and personal choice ceases to flourish.
Dude
Sep 22nd, 2010
Here’s what I hate about this: it prevents the gatekeepers from wasting time.
The world is better when they’re allowed to bark up the wrong tree. You’re being too clever for your own good, Ludlow.
We
Sep 22nd, 2010
@Little Lost Linden
You sir, are a master of shamelessly whoring your shitty blog wherever you go.
Little Lost Linden
Sep 23rd, 2010
@Persephone
“You let government run your healthcare, and now people can justify why they should be able to dictate your personal health choices. The second you collectivize these services, they become everybody’s business and personal choice ceases to flourish.”
Super plump people present more problems to the world then you are admitting. As an example, if I am on an elevator, and a super jumbo person walks into that elevator and as a result, the cable snaps hurling the elevator to sudden destruction below, well, quite frankly, that just isn’t fair to me as a person.
As another example. If a regular person were to accidentally fall on me and the persons body weight was average (say under 200 pounds), well, an injury like that may not be life threatening, however, if a 942 pound person fell on me, well, that would hurt quite a bit more.
As another example, if I am in a building and there is a large genetically spliced manmade dinosaur inside the same building and everyone is running to the door and a large 827 pound man gets stuck in the doorway, I would then be eaten by the manmade dinosaur in the room, and that to me, is just not fair.
So you see, super plump people can be dangerous and they themselves become a walking, living, breathing health hazzard to all those people around them. And that is why they must be stopped, that is why it is a bad idea to eat exessively until bursting as you suggest many people might enjoy doing due to their excessive compulsive eating disorders.
The next time you feel the urge to eat like Sigmund the Seamonster, just remember the innocent persons you will be hurting. Think of them, instead of yourself. And if you know any superplumps, please help make them aware of the danger they represent to others. Perhaps just taking the first step of educating them can make all the difference in the world.