I read the excerpt (which has now been slashdotted) and all I can say is...*yawn*. This is the kind of sci-fi writing that Philip K. Dick would term as "hack" (and not in the sense of "hack-ING"; hack as in hack writers!). I really can't stand reading lengthy paragraphs of explanatory narrative, expecially technical.
This is the sort of cheap, juvenile drivel that 14 year olds enjoy because of the "cool toys." Truly great sci-fi transcends this technology fascination and really doesn't care how sound the science is - it's secondary to the story itself.
You want to read good sci-fi? Try: Gun, With Occasional Musicby Jonathan Lethem The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick The Disposessedby Ursula K. Leguin
Empire of the Senselessby Kathy Acker (fans of Neuromancer would hate this) Trouble on Triton by Samuel Delany (intro by Kathy Acker - edition!) Software/Wetware by Rudy Rucker Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino (and the sequel, t zero)
Anyhow, no doubt we all have different tastes, so If you love or hate this book it won't make you any cooler/less cool.
In Chicago - check out this equipment from Lucent:
http://www.wavelan.com/pro ducts/productdetail.html?id=28. I like consume.net's very community-friendly approach to building a network. I'm interested in getting something like that together in Chicago - Not-for-profit, non-hierarchical, and somewhat subversive.
Wireless ethernet conforming to the 802.11 standards is a license
free networking technology which runs at up to 8 mbits. It can be
thought of as the networking equivalent of CB radio. The technology is
low cost and standards based and comes actually plays to some of
ethernets stronger points (ethernet was origninally developed as a
wireless broadcast medium). There are 2 license free bandwidths that may
be used in the uk 2.4 Ghz and 3.5 Ghz. Most activity is in the 2.4 Ghz
range which leaves a virtually unused band which consume.net will
exploit. There is much activity in the states in the wireless isp
industry and as a result most of the common problems and there solutions
are in the public domain. The equipment is also fairly well supported
for drivers under linux and bsd. The low cost of the medium makes it
ideal for consume's initial phase. It may be used in directional or omni
modes depending on arial design. Directional instalations obviously fit
more bandwdith into a smaller physical space and are prefered. Omnis are
useful for street wide coverage etc. It may be that the backbone of the
netywork is initially done over 3.5ghz directional and the last hop to
laptops etc. is done over 2.4 ghz gear...
You see, they plan on using the 3.4 Ghz and a mixed model of wireless ethernet-type for a particular street's coverage and directional (lasers or 3.5 Ghz RF) for their backbone. As long as they're not trying to flood the airwaves with 2.4Ghz, they should be okay going with street-wide-area power (like the achievable range of my cordless 2.4 Ghz phone). With some smart routing technology it should be quite possible.
Another thing that they're talking about is implementing ip6. Hooray!
Keeping sites simple may end up being the best solution for advertisers, given that Jupiter's research estimated Americans are currently exposed to
520 marketing messages per day.
(emphasis added).
Only 520, eh? I swear I get more than that, and I don't even have a TV! It seems like there's absolutely nowhere I can turn my eyes (except what little of the sky I can see in Chicago, and the pavement) that isn't plastered with adverts. I'm beginning to think the entire US economy is based on advertising.
Earlier it mentions that their text-based ads have a click-through rate four times higher than the average banner ad. Someone here mentioned earlier that a lot of sites blur the distinction between content and commercial -- well if they put up text link ads, keyed off of search criteria, of course people are going to click on them because they don't realize that they're ads, plus nobody's used to seeing ads on Google.
People have a natural (well, socialized) aversion towards advertising so it's logical that they take this subtle approach (that and the bandwidth issue).
But all in all, I think Google is a great service and a teensy bit of advertising to support costs isn't evil or anything.
I had a chance to hear Canadian Radio for a bit while in Cleveland or somewhere on the road - it was one of the variety, non-music channels, don't remember which, but their stuff is about 10 times more politically savvy than NPR, and more varied. Depends on the show in particular.
The PTA and the School Board has agreed to enact a new policy based on a promising new technology called 'Digital Angel Mark V'. This technology promises to enhance school saftey and the health of your child tremendously. All children will receive this added benefit at no extra cost to you -- it is being funded by President Bush's "Take Our Schools Back from the Bad Guys" program. The devices will be installed with all children on Tuesday, with absentees to be made up the following week.
Note: Cases of excessive absenteeism will be reported to the FBI.
From now on, you will never have to worry if your child falls ill while in class because physical abnormalities will be immediately detected and treated! Never will you have to worry about your child instigating fights or misbehaving, because Digital Angel Mk 5 detects biochemical and/or hormal changes as well! The school infirmiry will insure that all children are monitored closely and that proper psychiatric medication is applied to ensure a relaxing, pleasant, and disciplined learning environment.
Thank you for your continued support of the PTA and remember to invest in $schoolname stock options!
Sincerely,
Principal $principlename
P.S. Don't forget the upcoming Mind@Ease Mental Health Drug Expo in late September!
I can imagine it now: I'm on the interstate, coming up on a huge TFT-LCD billboard. Suddenly it senses my presence and looks up my info on ads.doubleclick.com and decides to plaster a huge advert for Maxim or something equally insipid. Next thing I know, some militant feminist tries to run me off the road in her Hummer...
Every day the admin to our proxy server reviews the logs and sets up site bans based on type of content. My company has a line straight out to UUNET and our clients on our private network tend to abuse this great bandwidth for non-business related stuff, ie. mp3's, quicktime movies, realaudio/video, and of course, porn. So, it's a simple process, really. Look at the logs, check some questionable ones out, and block them. Keep doing it until people get the idea and stop eating into the bandwidth. Open and shut case.
The Public Space side:
These computers are provided for entertainment while people wash their clothes. Well, let's say instead of computers you just had nice benches where people could read. Say some guy walks in with a pornomag and flips through that while he washes his clothes, then leaves the magazine there. You can't expect the laundromat to be responsible if some old lady throws a fit upon that magazine's discovery, now would you?
If some moron wants to get his jerk on in an laundromat, then the cops (or the people inside) will kick him out. Just make sure each station has no privacy whatsoever.
You bring up a good point - that as much information as they are gathering it really doesn't amount to anything if you don't buy into their bullshit. I mean, we're bombarded with advertising every waking moment of our lives (which is why I don't have a TV at home) but I think most of us have learned how to tune it out. People doing market research are working for the same soul-less corporations that you or I are working for, they're just people after all. The young, hip adults designing advertisements aren't publishing propaganda for some ideological purpose; they're using their imagination and creativity to drive capitalism - that's their job.
So who really gives a damn? I usually buy books that have been recommended through word-of-mouth, anyway, who cares what Amazon's computer cooks up for you? Hell, I really don't care about the cookies on my computer - if someone steals my credit card number then it'll show up on the statement and I can get my money back. So what if Maxim ads always always pop up on yahoo sites for me? So I clicked on one, once.
Spam is pointless - I'm immune to it. I'm sure everyone who's grown up with television is, too. I'd rather go outside and sit in the sun anyway (but I'm stuck here at work).
Hmm, actually now does feel like a good time for a smoke break...
...is all the FBI amounts to. And think about the origin of the pigs:
Lancastshire, England - at the start of the industrial revolution. Suddenly certain people are getting wealthy (not just royalty) and most everyone else is crowding into cities and working 40 hours a week (in contrast, even a medieval peasant worked no more than 20 hours a week!).
Well, there was nothing between the few rich and the many poor - so they created pigs. Peel was the name of one of those famous first pigs, so they used to call them "peelers".
Anyway, these guys were basically paid to stand around and watch people going about - and people didn't like that too much, that is, having some geezer standing about just watching. So a lot of times a mob would get together and torch the pig house and they'd have to start all over again. In fact, sometimes they'd tear the place down before they even finish building it. Eventually the rich just hired the army to guard the construction of the pig houses.
So just remember that pigs are just there to protect the rich from the poor, just like the army is protect the aristocracy from it's subjects. Since when has a pig done anything except get there too late, or shoot the wrong guy (or some kid), or defend the interests of the status quo, eh?
Same goes with the FBI - A nationalist pig force. And the best way for them to keep us from taking back what's ours in the first place is to watch us all as much as possible. The child pornography BS is a distraction - overhyped by the media.
"OFF THE PIGS" -Popular Slogan
Amazed that you're a Libertarian
on
Selfish Society
·
· Score: 1
What you're talking about, then is the idea of autonomous individuals voluntarily forming into social contracts when interactions arise. Ah, but what is the Ayn Rand objectivist materialism that you bring up? And this Free Market Economics that you value so much? What you want then, is a world where governments are replaced by corporations -- oh, so that's just great -- super neo-Liberalism replacing our semi-free market Realist permeable-border State model. Hell, why don't you go out and have a street brawl with some LaRouche New Federalist?
Libertarians truly disappoint me. Some of them pretend to be anarchists (with the label "individualist anarchist") but are really too chicken and too intellectually vapid to understand what anarchism is really about (anti-authoritarianism, and being against any form of power structure; corporate/psychological/state/etc.) Others are people recovering from fundamental Christianity who've turned to objectivist/rationalist and atheist ideology (an extreme reverse) to fulfil the same pathological craving for a dogma to be impassioned about. That's pretty lame, too, IMHO.
Shit, if you're going to be anti-government why not be anti-corporate? And if you're going to be logical and clear thinking why embrace the irrational values of Rationalism? And if you're going to read fiction as a basis for your political beliefs...well, you might as well go back to the Bible or Dianetics, for that matter. Get out of the psychological backwater of Colonialist Rationalism! And stop handing out those stupid charts, because I'm not on it!
Isn't that comparing apples to oranges? I mean, anyone can get your credit card number off the receipt you just threw in the trash on your way out of the store. A lot of states have SS# printed right on your driver's liscence. Addresses...marketing companies sell and collect addresses names and numbers all the time - these are correllated from credit card purchases.
Even if a hostile person came across your credit card number, and used it, what would be the point of publishing it for everyone to see? Technically they need your signature to complete the transaction (except online).
Let me take your example a bit further - truly personal information like a diary - publishing someone's private info is illegal, right? But don't the paparazzi do that to celebrities (and make things up) all the time?
My point is, there's nothing really stopping someone from taking someone else's personal (and vital) info and sharing it with the world. However, for some reason people just aren't doing it.
The reason why, of course, is that there's usually nothing to gain (except to do it for pure spite) from publishing a private citizen's info. Corporations want your info and every byte of personal information you give out they pounce on like flies on shit. It's like the Foucault-ish power-derived-from-observation thing, except with corporations rather than states: the watcher has the power. What the MPAA doesn't like is the fact that DeCSS empowers the consumer, to some degree.
That dead tree spam comes to you courtesy of using credit cards, from which your buying habits and and address can be sold. Try not using your credit card. Ever.
Yeah, right. Your bank has to have an address from you in order for you to open an account. Most cash-checking places need an ID and proof of address. Your credit rating is affected by how many times you've moved in the last few years. So your credit card is only one catalyst in the chain reaction of junk mail that gets sent. And don't even think about filling out the form to be part of those Supermarket Discount clubs (ooh, save $1.09!).
I don't watch Seinfield, but I imagine that it's pretty darn impossible to have no address. One way might be getting Post Office Box, then moving. The post office box is where you base your voting record (cannot vote without an address, that's why the homeless don't vote), bank accounts, and other crucial things. But wait! Don't you need to get a phone line (or DSL) to this anonymous new home of yours in order to pay your online bills? And the water, electricity -- who's name is that in? Those girl scouts may be even cleverer than you think - taking down orders and selling your info to Market Research Inc. You want a Pizza delivered to your house? Might as well have asked for ten "special deal" coupon sheets to be mailed to you every month.
There is one way to do it -- squat! Find a nice, abandoned building (Philly has more abandoned buildings than homeless people, I hear) and fix it up. A lot of times city water services will still work and they can't figure it out. Hell, most old apartments in the City get free cable. Heating may be a problem, so perhaps this better done in New Orleans. But not only will you have no junk mail, you'll have no bills to pay, either. No mortage, no landlord...
I believe that there are laws (particular to each city) that declares you the owner of the building if you've lived in it for a certain amount of time. Well, put some effort in it - fix it up: insulation, new windows, solar panels, furnace - and you've just made a good return on your investment (check local laws!).
You can afford that stuff -- you're a/.'er, right? Don't you have a cushy tech job? Why not take your spare time/money and that abandoned factory and make it into a super clubhouse for your secret ninja (geek) gang! With all the money you're saving on rent/mortage, you could afford a satellite-modem hookup (have the stuff mailed to your office). And don't forget to have your papers in order when you've been there long enough!
(My original response was a bit on the cynical/sarcastic side, so I'll be straightforward this time:)
You say that capitalism is necessary for survival, though America isn't the ideal model for it. Yes, America certainly isn't an ideal version of capitalism, but I disagree that capitalism at all is necessary for survival. I don't wish to explain that any further--that's a view that you either arrive upon by yourself or only in a deluded sort of way, or not at all.
You are appalled at some companies' actions and anti-competitiveness. That's not my position; I'm appalled at the way they exploit people, natural resources, and even governments themselves.
Lastly, Nationalism is the extreme opposite to Anarchism - tacking "capitalism" on to either of those words doesn't make any sense, either. Anarchism is "without hierarchy", whereas Capitalism necessitates a hierarchy in order to function. Nationalism places nationality as the qualitative factor of a hierarchy.
I'm not really disagreeing with your main points, but some of the details I felt warranted a response.
Just a proposal: Take away the ability for corporate entities to have IP and give it exclusively to people (groups are okay, but as long as those groups are explicit to specific people). Corporations have way too many rights and benefits at the cost of people. I think that's the real battle here.
Intellectual Property is an extension to our current economic model, which is based on property. The reason it seems so silly is because it takes to an extreme a principle that is a logical fiction in the first place: ownership.
Thus, an economy based on property and ownership needs IP.
However, I believe that there are alternative economic models possible. Check out some of the local currency projects, which base their value on time of labor - these alternative economics could definately support a lack of IP.
I agree with you, but I think that in order for IP to be freed, all information within a society must be freed, otherwise it doesn't work. Most importantly, making government completely transparent (and hence actually resembling a democracy).
People may argue that this would create a state of absolutely no privacy, but the idea of privacy is a fanciful dream, at best. Better that we are allowed to know exactly everything the government does and is as well -- the Fed already knows everything about us. As for marketing companies, you always have a choice as to whether or not to buy their crap.
Thanks for the nationalist viewpoint on things. In fact, you're completely right about the American economic system (and global hegemony) being largely due our control of many IP's. Gee, it's a good thing we're on the right end of the choke-chain! Damn those hungry, huddled masses and free-wheeling Third World lefties! They'll get their crumbs after we get our Nike's.
What, bring them into the modern age? Let them produce their own essential pharmaceuticals? Never! Gotta keep those profit margins up, up, UP!
Ladies and Gents, please rise and place your hand over your wallets for the Nationalist Anthem.... Ahh-merica, Ahh-merica, we gotta have Nike's...
In fact, it sounds exactly like a major plot element in that book. A company designing a robot's behavior program with GA rather than a complex AI: they modelled the behavior of people in a home and bred the robot algorithms that didn't kill or maim the virtual people or wreck the virtual houses.
I've been wanting to do something like this for years...too bad someone beat me to it. (well, I'm sure there have been other, similar things done as well)
I think all it really amounts to is what kind of banners you tend to see. Does everyone see that Maxim banner as much as I do? What did I do to deserve that banner follow me around like a puppy? Argh!
When my 6'7" friend stayed in Hong Kong for a while, tailors would chase him down the street demanding they be allowed to make a suit for him.
Okay, I'm not sure what that has to do with the subject, but I'm sure it's related somehow....?
Before they [MSNBC and CNN] die out, Pacifica and NPR will probably be totally sold out to corporate interests, as if they aren't enough already. The local news shows are the ones that bother me the most, however.
The web-site I've linked to in my user header, www.piratemotel.org is going to have a section that is essentially a barterBay, that is, a matchmaking database for bartering. Interested in contributing?
Slashdot Mirror
This is the sort of cheap, juvenile drivel that 14 year olds enjoy because of the "cool toys." Truly great sci-fi transcends this technology fascination and really doesn't care how sound the science is - it's secondary to the story itself.
You want to read good sci-fi? Try:
Gun, With Occasional Musicby Jonathan Lethem
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch by Philip K. Dick
The Disposessedby Ursula K. Leguin Empire of the Senselessby Kathy Acker (fans of Neuromancer would hate this)
Trouble on Triton by Samuel Delany (intro by Kathy Acker - edition!)
Software/Wetware by Rudy Rucker
Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino (and the sequel, t zero)
Anyhow, no doubt we all have different tastes, so If you love or hate this book it won't make you any cooler/less cool.
In Chicago - check out this equipment from Lucent: http://www.wavelan.com/pro ducts/productdetail.html?id=28. I like consume.net's very community-friendly approach to building a network. I'm interested in getting something like that together in Chicago - Not-for-profit, non-hierarchical, and somewhat subversive.
Another thing that they're talking about is implementing ip6. Hooray!
Only 520, eh? I swear I get more than that, and I don't even have a TV! It seems like there's absolutely nowhere I can turn my eyes (except what little of the sky I can see in Chicago, and the pavement) that isn't plastered with adverts. I'm beginning to think the entire US economy is based on advertising.
Earlier it mentions that their text-based ads have a click-through rate four times higher than the average banner ad. Someone here mentioned earlier that a lot of sites blur the distinction between content and commercial -- well if they put up text link ads, keyed off of search criteria, of course people are going to click on them because they don't realize that they're ads, plus nobody's used to seeing ads on Google.
People have a natural (well, socialized) aversion towards advertising so it's logical that they take this subtle approach (that and the bandwidth issue).
But all in all, I think Google is a great service and a teensy bit of advertising to support costs isn't evil or anything.
And whitey's burning up satellites like they was so much paper...
I had a chance to hear Canadian Radio for a bit while in Cleveland or somewhere on the road - it was one of the variety, non-music channels, don't remember which, but their stuff is about 10 times more politically savvy than NPR, and more varied. Depends on the show in particular.
The PTA and the School Board has agreed to enact a new policy based on a promising new technology called 'Digital Angel Mark V'. This technology promises to enhance school saftey and the health of your child tremendously. All children will receive this added benefit at no extra cost to you -- it is being funded by President Bush's "Take Our Schools Back from the Bad Guys" program. The devices will be installed with all children on Tuesday, with absentees to be made up the following week.
Note: Cases of excessive absenteeism will be reported to the FBI.
From now on, you will never have to worry if your child falls ill while in class because physical abnormalities will be immediately detected and treated! Never will you have to worry about your child instigating fights or misbehaving, because Digital Angel Mk 5 detects biochemical and/or hormal changes as well! The school infirmiry will insure that all children are monitored closely and that proper psychiatric medication is applied to ensure a relaxing, pleasant, and disciplined learning environment.
Thank you for your continued support of the PTA and remember to invest in $schoolname stock options!
Sincerely,
Principal $principlename
P.S. Don't forget the upcoming Mind@Ease Mental Health Drug Expo in late September!
I can imagine it now: I'm on the interstate, coming up on a huge TFT-LCD billboard. Suddenly it senses my presence and looks up my info on ads.doubleclick.com and decides to plaster a huge advert for Maxim or something equally insipid. Next thing I know, some militant feminist tries to run me off the road in her Hummer...
"Well, whatever it is, it's probably not friendly. C'mon, Chewy." "Waaargharghh!"
Every day the admin to our proxy server reviews the logs and sets up site bans based on type of content. My company has a line straight out to UUNET and our clients on our private network tend to abuse this great bandwidth for non-business related stuff, ie. mp3's, quicktime movies, realaudio/video, and of course, porn. So, it's a simple process, really. Look at the logs, check some questionable ones out, and block them. Keep doing it until people get the idea and stop eating into the bandwidth. Open and shut case.
The Public Space side:
These computers are provided for entertainment while people wash their clothes. Well, let's say instead of computers you just had nice benches where people could read. Say some guy walks in with a pornomag and flips through that while he washes his clothes, then leaves the magazine there. You can't expect the laundromat to be responsible if some old lady throws a fit upon that magazine's discovery, now would you?
If some moron wants to get his jerk on in an laundromat, then the cops (or the people inside) will kick him out. Just make sure each station has no privacy whatsoever.
So who really gives a damn? I usually buy books that have been recommended through word-of-mouth, anyway, who cares what Amazon's computer cooks up for you? Hell, I really don't care about the cookies on my computer - if someone steals my credit card number then it'll show up on the statement and I can get my money back. So what if Maxim ads always always pop up on yahoo sites for me? So I clicked on one, once.
Spam is pointless - I'm immune to it. I'm sure everyone who's grown up with television is, too. I'd rather go outside and sit in the sun anyway (but I'm stuck here at work).
Hmm, actually now does feel like a good time for a smoke break...
Lancastshire, England - at the start of the industrial revolution. Suddenly certain people are getting wealthy (not just royalty) and most everyone else is crowding into cities and working 40 hours a week (in contrast, even a medieval peasant worked no more than 20 hours a week!).
Well, there was nothing between the few rich and the many poor - so they created pigs. Peel was the name of one of those famous first pigs, so they used to call them "peelers".
Anyway, these guys were basically paid to stand around and watch people going about - and people didn't like that too much, that is, having some geezer standing about just watching. So a lot of times a mob would get together and torch the pig house and they'd have to start all over again. In fact, sometimes they'd tear the place down before they even finish building it. Eventually the rich just hired the army to guard the construction of the pig houses.
So just remember that pigs are just there to protect the rich from the poor, just like the army is protect the aristocracy from it's subjects. Since when has a pig done anything except get there too late, or shoot the wrong guy (or some kid), or defend the interests of the status quo, eh?
Same goes with the FBI - A nationalist pig force. And the best way for them to keep us from taking back what's ours in the first place is to watch us all as much as possible. The child pornography BS is a distraction - overhyped by the media.
"OFF THE PIGS" -Popular Slogan
Libertarians truly disappoint me. Some of them pretend to be anarchists (with the label "individualist anarchist") but are really too chicken and too intellectually vapid to understand what anarchism is really about (anti-authoritarianism, and being against any form of power structure; corporate/psychological/state/etc.) Others are people recovering from fundamental Christianity who've turned to objectivist/rationalist and atheist ideology (an extreme reverse) to fulfil the same pathological craving for a dogma to be impassioned about. That's pretty lame, too, IMHO.
Shit, if you're going to be anti-government why not be anti-corporate? And if you're going to be logical and clear thinking why embrace the irrational values of Rationalism? And if you're going to read fiction as a basis for your political beliefs...well, you might as well go back to the Bible or Dianetics, for that matter. Get out of the psychological backwater of Colonialist Rationalism! And stop handing out those stupid charts, because I'm not on it!
Anarchism Links from DMOZ
Even if a hostile person came across your credit card number, and used it, what would be the point of publishing it for everyone to see? Technically they need your signature to complete the transaction (except online).
Let me take your example a bit further - truly personal information like a diary - publishing someone's private info is illegal, right? But don't the paparazzi do that to celebrities (and make things up) all the time?
My point is, there's nothing really stopping someone from taking someone else's personal (and vital) info and sharing it with the world. However, for some reason people just aren't doing it.
The reason why, of course, is that there's usually nothing to gain (except to do it for pure spite) from publishing a private citizen's info. Corporations want your info and every byte of personal information you give out they pounce on like flies on shit. It's like the Foucault-ish power-derived-from-observation thing, except with corporations rather than states: the watcher has the power. What the MPAA doesn't like is the fact that DeCSS empowers the consumer, to some degree.
Yeah, right. Your bank has to have an address from you in order for you to open an account. Most cash-checking places need an ID and proof of address. Your credit rating is affected by how many times you've moved in the last few years. So your credit card is only one catalyst in the chain reaction of junk mail that gets sent. And don't even think about filling out the form to be part of those Supermarket Discount clubs (ooh, save $1.09!).
I don't watch Seinfield, but I imagine that it's pretty darn impossible to have no address. One way might be getting Post Office Box, then moving. The post office box is where you base your voting record (cannot vote without an address, that's why the homeless don't vote), bank accounts, and other crucial things. But wait! Don't you need to get a phone line (or DSL) to this anonymous new home of yours in order to pay your online bills? And the water, electricity -- who's name is that in? Those girl scouts may be even cleverer than you think - taking down orders and selling your info to Market Research Inc. You want a Pizza delivered to your house? Might as well have asked for ten "special deal" coupon sheets to be mailed to you every month.
There is one way to do it -- squat! Find a nice, abandoned building (Philly has more abandoned buildings than homeless people, I hear) and fix it up. A lot of times city water services will still work and they can't figure it out. Hell, most old apartments in the City get free cable. Heating may be a problem, so perhaps this better done in New Orleans. But not only will you have no junk mail, you'll have no bills to pay, either. No mortage, no landlord...
I believe that there are laws (particular to each city) that declares you the owner of the building if you've lived in it for a certain amount of time. Well, put some effort in it - fix it up: insulation, new windows, solar panels, furnace - and you've just made a good return on your investment (check local laws!).
You can afford that stuff -- you're a /.'er, right? Don't you have a cushy tech job? Why not take your spare time/money and that abandoned factory and make it into a super clubhouse for your secret ninja (geek) gang! With all the money you're saving on rent/mortage, you could afford a satellite-modem hookup (have the stuff mailed to your office). And don't forget to have your papers in order when you've been there long enough!
Oh, and support squatters' rights!
You say that capitalism is necessary for survival, though America isn't the ideal model for it. Yes, America certainly isn't an ideal version of capitalism, but I disagree that capitalism at all is necessary for survival. I don't wish to explain that any further--that's a view that you either arrive upon by yourself or only in a deluded sort of way, or not at all.
You are appalled at some companies' actions and anti-competitiveness. That's not my position; I'm appalled at the way they exploit people, natural resources, and even governments themselves.
Lastly, Nationalism is the extreme opposite to Anarchism - tacking "capitalism" on to either of those words doesn't make any sense, either. Anarchism is "without hierarchy", whereas Capitalism necessitates a hierarchy in order to function. Nationalism places nationality as the qualitative factor of a hierarchy.
I'm not really disagreeing with your main points, but some of the details I felt warranted a response.
Just a proposal: Take away the ability for corporate entities to have IP and give it exclusively to people (groups are okay, but as long as those groups are explicit to specific people). Corporations have way too many rights and benefits at the cost of people. I think that's the real battle here.
Thus, an economy based on property and ownership needs IP.
However, I believe that there are alternative economic models possible. Check out some of the local currency projects, which base their value on time of labor - these alternative economics could definately support a lack of IP.
Ithica, New York's HOUR System
Participatory Economics Project
People may argue that this would create a state of absolutely no privacy, but the idea of privacy is a fanciful dream, at best. Better that we are allowed to know exactly everything the government does and is as well -- the Fed already knows everything about us. As for marketing companies, you always have a choice as to whether or not to buy their crap.
What, bring them into the modern age? Let them produce their own essential pharmaceuticals? Never! Gotta keep those profit margins up, up, UP!
Ladies and Gents, please rise and place your hand over your wallets for the Nationalist Anthem.... Ahh-merica, Ahh-merica, we gotta have Nike's...
If only Sony would open up the source code for Gran Turismo, I would begin breeding a population of fully modded Mitsubishi Twin Turbos immediately!
I've been wanting to do something like this for years...too bad someone beat me to it. (well, I'm sure there have been other, similar things done as well)
When my 6'7" friend stayed in Hong Kong for a while, tailors would chase him down the street demanding they be allowed to make a suit for him.
Okay, I'm not sure what that has to do with the subject, but I'm sure it's related somehow....?
Before they [MSNBC and CNN] die out, Pacifica and NPR will probably be totally sold out to corporate interests, as if they aren't enough already. The local news shows are the ones that bother me the most, however.
The web-site I've linked to in my user header, www.piratemotel.org is going to have a section that is essentially a barterBay, that is, a matchmaking database for bartering. Interested in contributing?