John on Thu, 9 Sep 2004 01:51:25 +0200 (CEST)


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Re: <nettime> Reviews of Books and the law of unintended consequences


> The images released last night of hostage takers videoing those with just
> hours to live demonstrate one of many of the unintended consequences "of
> the future of free information and information-dissemination" that has
> come to pass. These terrible acts are deliberately orchestrated to be
> media events. They would make little sense for their perpetrators without
> the presence of real-time global dissemination of the images. The fact
> that "Tactical media is one of the ways in which the weak turn the tables
> on the strong" is demonstrated by the sight of both former and current
> "super powers" rendered impotent. These horrors are grass roots media
> activism at their most devastatingly effective.
> 

Don't forget that the images we saw on TV were selected and edited by the
Putin administration.  There is a more subtle media point here that the
strong can also use grass roots media to its own ends.

I would also like to express my deep sadness at the suffering of the
Russian people under this situation, and offer my condolences to them.


-- 

*I am not a blackhat*



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