Month: May 2019

TIMOTHY SNYDER ~ ON TYRANNY ~ 2017

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~ T:TUOPBASIOG-O-TCOLBRFTOB ~ Tyranny: The Usurpation Of Power By A Single Individual Or Group – Or – The Circumvention Of Law By Rulers For Their Own Benefit

~ DNOIA-MOTPOAIFG ~ Do Not Obey In Advance – Most Of The Power Of Authoritarianism Is Freely Given

~ DI-IIITHUTPD-IDNPT ~ Defend Institutions – It Is Institutions That Help Us To Preserve Decency – Institutions Do Not Protect Themselves

~ TMITATRWCTPTICCODTVI-EWTIEWTHATTWD ~ The Mistake Is To Assume That Rulers Who Came To Power Through Institutions Cannot Change Or Destroy Those Very Institutions – Even When That Is Exactly What They Have Announced That They Will Do

~ BOTO-PS-STM-PSADTRODE-VILASEWYC-CRFO ~ Beware The One-Party State – Support The Multi-Party System And Defend The Rules Of Democratic Elections – Vote In Local And State Elections While You Can – Consider Running For Office

~ PB-CBTWR-A-CABR ~ Paper Ballots – Cannot Be Tampered With Remotely – And – Can Always Be Recounted

~ TRFTFOTW-TSOTETROT ~ Take Responsibility For The Face Of The World – The Symbols Of Today Enable The Reality Of Tomorrow

~ RPE-WPLSANE-PCT-JP-BMI ~ Remember Professional Ethics – When Political Leaders Set A Negative Example – Professional Commitments To – Just Practice – Become More Important

~ ANOCS-A-CCDSBIICL ~ Authoritarians Need Obedient Civil Servants – And – Concentration Camp Directors Seek Businessmen Interested In Cheap Labor

~ PE-MGUPWWATT-TSIE-TTINSTA-‘JFO’~ Professional Ethics – Must Guide Us Precisely When We Are Told That – The Situation Is Exceptional – Then There Is No Such Thing As – “Just Following Orders”

~ BWOP ~ Be Wary Of Paramilitaries

~ I-OTGCLUF-ATUICBL-T-TFOPTWTFGBP ~ If – Only The Government Can Legitimately Use Force – And – This Use Is Constrained By Law – Then – The Forms Of Politics That We Take For Granted Become Possible

~ BRIYMBA ~ Be Reflective If You Must Be Armed

~ SO-SHT ~ Stand Out – Someone Has To

~ BKTOL-APTPEED-TUYOWOS ~ Be Kind To Our Language – Avoid Pronouncing The Phrases Everyone Else Does – Think Up Your Own Way Of Speaking

~ MAETSYFTI ~ Make An Effort To Separate Yourself From The Internet

~ RB ~ Read Books

~ PIOTFTCTT-WETWWTDRT ~ Politicians In Our Times Feed Their Cliches To Television – Where Even Those Who Wish To Disagree Repeat Them

~ BIT-TAFITAF-INIT-TNOCCP-BTINBUWTDS-INIT-TAIS-TBWPFTBBL ~ Believe In Truth – To Abandon Facts Is To Abandon Freedom – If Nothing Is True – Then No One Can Criticize Power – Because There Is No Basis Upon Which To Do So – If Nothing Is True – Then All Is Spectacle – The Biggest Wallet Pays For The Most Blinding Lights

~ PT-P-F ~ Post-Truth Is Pre-Fascism

~ I-RTSOWIOTIITTHY-TRFWYCWO ~ Investigate – Realize That Some Of What Is On The Internet Is There To Harm You – Take Responsibility For What You Communicate With Others

~ IIYATDFTMYAI-A-OCTICKTMUAS ~ It Is Your Ability To Discern Facts That Makes You An Individual – And – Our Collective Trust In Common Knowledge That Makes Us A Society

~ WTT-DW-NCHA-IBTLOD-TWDW-BTM ~ Within The Two-Dimensional Internet World – New Collectivities Have Arisen – Invisible By The Light Of Day – Tribes With Distinct Worldviews – Beholden To Manipulations

~ AY-TIACTYCFO-IITOTKYO-LFC ~ And Yes – There Is A Conspiracy That You Can Find Online – It Is The One To Keep You Online – Looking For Conspiracies

~ BYDT-‘MM’-NTIINL-TM-IIDTIMAE-A-AJTIEAD ~ Before You Deride The – “Mainstream Media” – Note That It Is No Longer – The Mainstream – It Is Derision That Is Mainstream And Easy – And – Actual Journalism That Is Edgy And Difficult

~ MECAST-AWTSITWOS-BDSB-A-UWYSASNT ~ Make Eye Contact And Small Talk – A Way To Stay In Touch With Our Surroundings – Break Down Social Barriers – And – Understand Whom You Should And Should Not Trust

~ ITMDOT-TWEAS-GKPWTCT ~ In The Most Dangerous Of Times – Those Who Escape And Survive – Generally Know People Whom They Can Trust

~ PCP-ITFNCFTAITT-DW-NWC ~ Practice Corporeal Politics – If Tyrants Feel No Consequences For Their Actions In The Three-Dimensional World – Nothing Will Change

~ EAPL-TS-TH-OWTHY-TNTHH ~ Establish A Private Life – Tyrants Seek – The Hook – On Which To Hang You – Try Not To Have Hooks

~ WWTAAIIMODRAMTACBTAS-WPITDOOOPO ~ When We Take An Active Interest In Matters Of Doubtful Relevance At Moments That Are Chosen By Tyrants And Spooks – We Participate In The Demolition Of Our Own Political Order

~ CTGC-TYWHMAFCTSCSAHOTDG ~ Contribute To Good Causes – Then You Will Have Made A Free Choice That Supports Civil Society And Helps Others To Do Good

~ LFPIOC ~ Learn From Peers In Other Countries

~ LFDW-BATTUOTW-E-A-T-BATFNO-EAE-BAA-TTUOPV ~ Listen For Dangerous Words – Be Alert To The Use Of The Words – Extremism – And – Terrorism – Be Alive To Fatal Notions Of – Emergency And Exception – Be Angry About – The Treacherous Use Of Patriotic Vocabulary

~ BCWTUA-TSTR-TEOCAB-TRTAFT-ASO-ITOT-DNFFI ~ Be Calm When The Unthinkable Arrives – The Sudden Disaster That Requires – The End Of Checks And Balances – The Right To A Fair Trial – And So On – Is The Oldest Trick – Do Not Fall For It

~ BAP-SAGE-FGTC-TWNI ~ Be A Patriot – Set A Good Example – For Generations To Come – They Will Need It

~ BACAYC-INOUIPT-DFF-T-AOUW-DUT ~ Be As Courageous As You Can – If None Of Us Is Prepared To – Die For Freedom – Then – All Of Us Will – Die Under Tyranny

~ T-POI-IA-S-IIC ~ The – Politics Of Inevitability – Is A – Self-Induced Intellectual Coma

TIMOTHY SNYDER ~ TWENTY LESSONS FROM THE TWENTIETH CENTURY ~ ON TYRANNY ~ 2017

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~ DNOIA ~ Do Not Obey In Advance

~ DI ~ Defend Institutions

~ BTO-PS ~ Beware The One-Party State

~ TRFTFOTW ~ Take Responsibility For The Face Of The World

~ RPE ~ Remember Professional Ethics

~ BWOP ~ Be Wary Of Paramilitaries

~ BRIYMBA ~ Be Reflective If You Must Be Armed

~ SO ~ Stand Out

~ BKTOL ~ Be Kind To Our Language

~ BIT ~ Believe In Truth

~ I ~ Investigate

~ MECAST ~ Make Eye Contact And Small Talk

~ PCP ~ Practice Corporeal Politics

~ EAPL ~ Establish A Private Life

~ CTGC ~ Contribute To Good Causes

~ LFPIOC ~ Learn From Peers In Other Countries

~ LFDW ~ Listen For Dangerous Words

~ BCWTUA ~ Be Calm When The Unthinkable Arrives

~ BAP ~ Be A Patriot

~ BACAYC ~ Be As Courageous As You Can

MARIA KONNIKOVA ~ THE CONFIDENCE GAME ~ 2016

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~ TCG-TC-IAEI-SS-T/S/P ~ The Confidence Game – The Con – Is An Exercise In – Soft Skills – Trust / Sympathy / Persuasion

~ GTRC-WWTGAWJAA-A-POCISAA ~ Given The Right Cues – We’re Willing To Go Along With Just About Anything – And – Put Our Confidence In Just About Anyone

~ TRCGFO-TDFM-EOETFAETIM-EASMM-ALA-TDFM-FARTISGTOEE-R-TCFWT ~ The Real Confidence Game Feeds On – The Desire For Magic – Exploiting Our Endless Taste For An Existence That Is More – Extraordinary And Somehow More Meaningful – As Long As – The Desire For Magic – For A Reality That Is Somehow Greater Than Our Everyday Existence – Remains – The Confidence Game Will Thrive

~ TWAOTHANAOTG-CTITOTAFC-WNTAHAOWOLATWNLS-TWTTD-R-W-A-PU ~ The Whirlwind Advance Of Technology Heralds A New Age Of The Grift – Cons Thrive In Times Of Transition And Fast Change – When New Things Are Happening And Old Ways Of Looking At The World No Longer Suffice – That’s Why They Thrive During – Revolutions – Wars – And – Political Upheavals

~ T-ITCGGA-B-TBU-WTSTNWODBITWOTF? ~ Transition – Is The Confidence Game’s Great Ally – Because – Transition Breeds Uncertainty – Who’s To Say This New Way Of Doing Business Isn’t The Wave Of The Future?

~ WAUCI?-TCAWFTT-WYBIU-A-WBOTFTSCTWAY-B-YWBSCITSPTYWENWH ~ What Are You Confident In? – The Con Artist Will Find Those Things – Where Your Belief Is Unshakable – And – Will Build On That Foundation To Subtly Change The World Around You – But – You Will Be So Confident In The Starting Point That You Won’t Even Notice What’s Happened

~ TGATM ~ The Grifter And The Mark

~ TPO-M-O-P-O-N-NMMSAA-G-T-TPO-CON-GAMWPAOM ~ The Presence Of – Machiavellianism – Or – Psychopathy – Or – Narcissism – No More Marks Someone As A – Grifter – Than – The Presence Of – Charisma Or Nonchalance – Grifters Are Made When Predisposition And Opportunity Meet

~ TBN-OA-C-O-S-HIIAIATA-MB-CCAU-WTA-IBTEFTOTCOFTTTNS ~ The Behavioral Norms – Of A – Company – Culture – Or – Setting – How It Is And Isn’t Acceptable To Act – Must Be – Communicated Clearly And Unequivocally – When They Aren’t – It Becomes Too Easy For Those On The Cusp Of Fraud To Take The Next Step

~ WCHWP-A-IWTTMPWFUOA-WBLLTCTN ~ We Care How We’re Perceived – And – If We Think That Most People Will Frown Upon Our Actions – We Become Less Likely To Contravene The Norm

~ TNSTAA-ICOTEC-A-OYDIO-A-SAT-TTTDIA-DIM-DID-G-RTA-CC-IB-ATIYA ~ There’s No Such Thing As An – Innocent Cutting Of The Ethical Corner – And – Once You Do It Once – And – Successfully At That – The Temptation To Do It Again – Do It More – Do It Differently – Grows – Rather Than A – Cut Corner – It Becomes – Another Tool In Your Arsenal

~ TN-‘PN’-OATTALFTTIHDFC-IBT-TFACFAKOUETS-B-TBLAADMFETBT-S ~ There’s No – “Pinocchio’s Nose” – Our Ability To Tell A Lie From The Truth Is Hardly Different From Chance – Instantaneous Behavioral Tells – Too Fleeting And Complex For Any Kind Of Untrained Expert To Spot – But – The Best Liars Are A Difficult Match For Even The Best Truth-Seers

~ TSTITMPAOTGY-WASBASD-B-IBFUTBMT ~ The Simple Truth Is That Most People Aren’t Out To Get You – We Are So Bad At Spotting Deception – Because – It’s Better For Us To Be More Trusting

~ TGMING-NMTAE-TA-S-H ~ The Grifter’s Mark Is Not Greedy – No More Than Anyone Else – They Are – Simply – Human

~ A-S-POT-MG-PTTLPI ~ A – Shill – Part Of The – Monte Gang – Planted There To Lure People In

~ IYF-IOL-ITOYPV-LIYGT-JL-D-SI-O-OMLC-DIPF-D ~ If You’re Feeling – Isolate Or Lonely – It Turns Out You’re Particularly Vulnerable – Likewise If You’re Going Through – Job Loss – Divorce – Serious Injury – Or – Other Major Life Change – Downturn In Personal Finances – Debt

~ A-V-IN-FOG-AVI-SMEVATEMTCAA ~ A – Victim – Isn’t Necessarily – Foolish Or Greedy – A Victim Is – Simply More Emotionally Vulnerable At The Exact Moment The Confidence Artist Approaches

~ CATTBSC-A-TCIOTU-CAAOTBM-BTTTI ~ Con Artists Tend To Be Supremely Confident – And – That Confidence Is Often Their Undoing – Con Artists Are Often The Best Marks – Because They Think Themselves Immune

~ SS-CAEOGL-B-B-SAF-CBF ~ Surface Similarities – Create An Effect Of Greater Liking – But – Both – Similarity And Familiarity – Can Be Faked

~ TSTUSUR-CEBM-EITST-AAGCAN ~ The Signs That Usually Serve Us Reliably – Can Easily Be Massaged – Especially In The Short Term – All A Good Con Artist Needs

~ SASA-RON-CIT-ACA-F-PNG-T-SWL-AE-A-CSWWTH ~ Something As Simple As – Remembering Our Name – Can Instantly Turn – A Confidence Artist – From – Persona Non Grata – To – Someone We Like – Admire Even – And – Certainly Someone We’re Willing To Help

~ RSVW-A-TCIYFTT ~ Read Someone’s Vulnerabilities Well – And – Their Confidence Is Yours For The Taking

~ SITOFOETI-SBUT-TPWTAS-APTOD-WWIIAS-WLDOG ~ Storytelling Is The Oldest Form Of Entertainment There Is – Stories Bring Us Together – That’s Precisely Why They Are Such – A Powerful Tool Of Deception – When We’re Immersed In A Story – We Let Down Our Guard

~ TMSTCITSATU-TMLWATRTT ~ The More Similar The Characters In The Story Are To Us – The More Likely We Are To Relate To Them

~ OOTBSOTC:TATTAGS ~ One Of The Basic Skills Of The Con: The Ability To Tell A Good Story

~ C-LAS-B-TO-I-T-MA-WHNTTR ~ Cons – Long And Short – Both – Thrive On – In-The-Moment Arousal – We Have No Time To Repent

~ OSDYATCBPAAF-TPBMLTKDEMOYB ~ Once Someone Does You Anything That Can Be Perceived As A Favor – That Person Becomes More Likely To Keep Doing Even More On Your Behalf

~ LE-ARFATA-IYWAS-YAFAL ~ Legitimization Effect – A Request For A Tiny Amount – If You Were A Swindler – You’d Ask For A Lot

~ TLE-TFF-TOOGTM-TM-OS-PSAUOR-A-TWLUWTUTBN ~ The Limited Edition – The Forbidden Fruit – The Offer Only Good Till Midnight – The Members-Only Sale – Pose Something As Unique Or Rare – And – Takers Will Line Up Where There Used To Be None

~ O-SOSA-FITN ~ One – Seal Of Seeming Approval – Feeds Into The Next

~ WAMLTGAWSIIH-TSOAO-AGWT-O-PUEIAGWLTBT ~ We Are More Likely To Go Along With Something If It Has – The Stamp Of Approval Of – A Group We Trust – Or – Promises Us Entry In A Group We’d Like To Belong To

~ IMC-OCABOS-IP-I-TACAAGMBACOSF ~ In Many Cases – Our Choices Aren’t Based On Some – Innate Preference – Instead – They Are Constructed At Any Given Moment By A Combination Of Situational Factors

~ IP-MSIP-AT-WYEOIL-EIIAFDL-ISTMMC ~ Information Priming – Mention Something In Passing – And Then – When You Elaborate On It Later – Especially If It’s A Few Days Later – It Seems That Much More Convincing

~ CWSW-B-IAS-WWTT-WWTBTT-A-WWTBTTA-TGTBT-MTA ~ Cons Work So Widely – Because – In A Sense – We Want Them To – We Want To Believe The Tale – And – We Want To Believe Things That Are – Too Good To Be True – More Than Anything

~ A-PS-OC-W-UTD ~ All – Ponzi Schemes – Of Course – Work – Until They Don’t

~ IWESTW-WSEFIW-EIAC ~ If We’re Expecting Something To Work – We Will See Evidence For Its Working – Even In Ambiguous Circumstances

~ OODNAPM ~ One Opinion Does Not A Provenance Make

~ OWHIHIS-WNLSIC-NMTC ~ Once We Have Invested Heavily In Something – We No Longer See It Clearly – No Matter The Costs

~ OW-ITG-IETFTPOLR ~ Once We’re – In The Game – It’s Easiest – To Follow The Path Of Least Resistance

~ NJAC-PJSTWGTM ~ Nobody Joins A Cult – People Join Something That Will Give Them Meaning

~ U-WACASIH ~ Ultimately – What A Confidence Artist Sells Is Hope

MARIA KONNIKOVA ~ THE PLAY ~ CONFIDENCE GAME ~ 2016

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~ TP-U ~ The Put-Up – Picked – Out Of The Crowd With Care

~ TP-E-AB-EWAES ~ The Play – Established – A Bond – Emotional Wrangling And Expert Storytelling

~ TR-PP ~ The Rope – Persuasive Pitch

~ TT-HWWPB-ROOBIOE ~ The Tale – How We Will Personally Benefit – Relying On Our Belief In Our Exceptionalism

~ TC-LUW ~ The Convincer – Lets Us Win

~ TB-WSTL-DWN-O-WDWD-?~ The Breakdown – We Start To Lose – Do We Notice – Or – Do We Double Down – ?

~ TS-TVIR ~ The Send – The Victim Is Recommitted

~ TT-TCFCTIF-A-TM-I-C-I-F ~ The Touch – The Con Finally Comes To Its Fruition – And – The Mark – Is – Completely – Irrevocably – Fleeced

~ TBO-TGSD ~ The Blow-Off – The Grifter’s Smooth Disappearance

~ TF-WAGPOTIOLETP-M-F-MTCO ~ The Fix – When A Grifter Puts Off The Involvement Of Law Enforcement To Prevent – Marks – From Making Their Complaints Official

MICHELE BORBA ~ EMPATHETIC CHILDREN ~ UNSELFIE ~ 2016

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~ CRF ~ Can Recognize Feelings

~ HAMI ~ Have A Moral Identity

~ UTNOO ~ Understand The Needs Of Others

~ HAMI ~ Have A Moral Imagination

~ CKTC ~ Can Keep Their Cool

~ PK ~ Practice Kindness

~ T-‘U’-N-‘T’ ~ Think – “Us” – Not – “Them”

~ STNO ~ Stick Their Necks Out

~ WTMAD ~ Want To Make A Difference

CASS SUNSTEIN ~ CONSPIRACY THEORIES AND OTHER DANGEROUS IDEAS ~ 2014

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~ A-CT-IAETESEOPBRT-TSMOPPWHAMTCTR ~ A – Conspiracy Theory – Is An Effort To Explain Some Event Or Practice By Referring To – The Secret Machinations Of Powerful People Who Have Also Managed To Conceal Their Role

~ CTGATCAEP:TP-TC-TMS-ASF-TWBTTAPSP-AEUTGRAT-D-W-ITE-M-AA-B-AODOTRFTCITFP ~ Conspiracy Theories Generally Attribute To Certain Agents Extraordinary Power: To Plan – To Control – To Maintain Secrets – And So Forth – Those Who Believe That Those Agents Possess Such Powers – Are Especially Unlikely To Give Respectful Attention To – Debunkers – Who – In Their Eyes – May – After All – Be – Agents Or Dupes Of Those Responsible For The Conspiracy In The First Place

~ CT-TOTCAD-O-OAB-WAATBCODACO-SSP-DAETI-OS-GADNURSFVL ~ Conspiracy Theorists – Typically Overestimate The Competence And Discretion – Of – Officials And Bureaucracies – Which Are Assumed To Be Capable Of Devising And Carrying Out – Sophisticated Secret Plans – Despite Abundant Evidence That In – Open Societies – Government Action Does Not Usually Remain Secret For Very Long

~ IACS-SAFETK-A-DOOAMAGDOS-ISS-CTABMLTBTAHTDILOAI ~ In A Closed Society – Secrets Are Far Easier To Keep – And – Distrust Of Official Accounts Makes A Great Deal Of Sense – In Such Societies – Conspiracy Theories Are Both More Likely To Be True And Harder To Disprove In Light Of Available Information

~ TIAPHTTTTEACBIA-EBTWSTB-‘CB?’-A-FTR-CTHCBUA-OTPTTOAFE-SO-O-RF ~ There Is A Pervasive Human Tendency To Think That Effects Are Caused By Intentional Action – Especially By Those Who Stand To Benefit – “Cui Bono?” – And – For This Reason – Conspiracy Theories Have Considerable But Unwarranted Appeal – Overlooking The Possibility That The Outcome Arises From Either – Spontaneous Order – Or – Random Forces

~ MPDNLTBTSEW-CB-B-O-G-L-A-MPNCS ~ Most People Do Not Like To Believe That Significant Events Were – Caused By – Bad – Or – Good – Luck – And – Much Prefer Nonarbitrary Causal Stories

~ POWM(U)CTUITTWBTMAHAKOSDOAK-PI-AAWTMIDFTTBAAA ~ Part Of What Makes (unjustified) Conspiracy Theories Unjustified Is That Those Who Believe Them Must Also Have A Kind Of Spreading Distrust Of All Knowledge-Producing Institutions – In A Way That Makes It Difficult For Them To Believe Anything At All

~ HMOT-M-NBB-IWA-NTB-S-A-B-SMDA? How Many Other Things – Must – Not Be Believed – If We Are – Not To Believe – Something – Accepted – By – So Many Diverse Actors?

~ CE-P-DOI-F-PTPT ~ Conspiracy Entrepreneurs – Profit – Directly Or Indirectly – From – Propagating Their Preferred Theories

~ TEPO-A-WPAO-TAATMLTSCTJTES-A-ATATETIA ~ Terrible Events Produce Outrage – And – When People Are Outraged – They Are All The More Likely To Seek Causes That Justify Their Emotional States – And – Also To Attribute Those Events To Intentional Action

~ SPPBIACT-O-ALSTD-B-TSTCF-O-TAD ~ Sometimes People Profess Belief In A Conspiracy Theory – Or – At Least Suppress Their Doubts – Because – They Seek To Curry Favor – Or – To Avoid Disfavor

~ FCTAGDB-PCAI-FMTB-PO-TF-LRTCTITMAFAOS ~ False Conspiracy Theories Are Generally Debunked By – Private Citizens And Institution – Far More Than By – Public Officials – The First-Line Response To Conspiracy Theories Is To Maintain A Free And Open Society

~ IOR? ~ Ignore Or Rebut?

~ ISNCBABGFCT ~ Isolated Social Networks Can Be A Breeding Ground For Conspiracy Theories

LAWRENCE LESSIG ~ FREE CULTURE ~ 2004

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~ ABBAAC ~ A Balance Between Anarchy And Control

~ FTFTIOT-TOWIWICASCFWTROTROTL-WHETDIICAVAOCACTINRB-TCITWALALA-FC-MAMA-PC ~ For The First Time In Our Tradition – The Ordinary Ways In Which Individuals Create And Share Culture Fall Within The Reach Of The Regulation Of The Law – Which Has Expanded To Draw Within Its Control A Vast Amount Of Culture And Creativity That It Never Reached Before – The Consequence Is That We Are Less And Less A – Free Culture – More And More A – Permission Culture

~ TINA-PTPA-IIIA-PTPCFOB ~ This Is Not A – Protectionism To Protect Artists – It Is Instead A – Protectionism To Protect Certain Forms Of Business

~ MOUTFGTEPCTTOO-‘IP’-NA ~ Most Of Us Take For Granted The Extraordinarily Powerful Claims That The Owners Of – “Intellectual Property” – Now Assert

~ R-M-A-B-TIAKOC-IACTWS-RAC-TASWWSTTINCETK ~ Rip – Mix – And – Burn – This Is A Kind Of Creativity – It’s A Creativity That We Should – Remember And Celebrate – There Are Some Who Would Say That There Is No Creativity Except This Kind

~ ATEOACT-AWPIT-PD-NPITNTDUOUTW-NP-A-H-NL-T-PD-IA-‘L-FZ’ ~ At The End Of A Copyright Term – A Work Passes Into The – Public Domain – No Permission Is Then Needed To Draw Upon Or Use That Work – No Permission – And – Hence – No Lawyers – The – Public Domain – Is A – “Lawyer-Free Zone”

~ A-L-D-S-CSWP;A-L-D-A-M-S-CFWIP-B-TIPOVOTT-‘P’-DC ~ A – Large – Diverse – Society – Cannot Survive Without Property; A – Large – Diverse – And – Modern – Society – Cannot Flourish Without Intellectual Property – But – There Is Plenty Of Value Out There That – “Property” – Doesn’t Capture

~ CHAEAAAAATBUTCTWBATSTN-TBIAAEALPDWPAWCTOC-ESHLACBOICFFTT-FSMFTU-P-B-ASTSD ~ Creators Here And Everywhere Are Always And At All Times Building Upon The Creativity That Went Before And That Surrounds Them Now – That Building Is Always And Everywhere At Least Partially Done Without Permission And Without Compensating The Original Creator – Every Society Has Left A Certain Bit Of Its Culture Free For The Taking – Free Societies More Fully Than Unfree – Perhaps – But – All Societies To Some Degree

~ ‘HFITC?’-‘HM-A-HB-ITCFFOTTABU?’ ~ “How Free Is This Culture?” – “How Much – And – How Broadly – Is The Culture Free For Others To Take And Build Upon?”

~ B-TAATMIFOUPDTWH ~ Blogs – They Are Arguably The Most Important Form Of Unchoreographed Public Discourse That We Have

~ WITMIALLT?-WITVIS? ~ Where Is The Morality In A Lawsuit Like This? – What Is The Virtue In Scapegoatism?

~ THOTCHIAHO-P-F-R-R-CTV-BOAKOPSD-TCSIHLGPJTGCC-UN-I-‘P’-MUVFSECPWPFTC ~ The History Of The Content Industry Is A History Of – Piracy – Film – Records – Radio – Cable TV – Born Of A Kind Of Piracy So Defined – The Consistent Story Is How Last Generation’s Pirates Join This Generation’s Country Club – Until Now – If – “Piracy” – Means Using Value From Someone Else’s Creative Property Without Permission From That Creator

~ TPOPOTIADFTPOPOTT ~ The Physics Of Piracy Of The Intangible Are Different From The Physics Of Piracy Of The Tangible

~ MKO-‘P’-AUAP-TPENCONWODB ~ Many Kinds Of – “Piracy” – Are Useful And Productive – To Produce Either New Content Or New Ways Of Doing Business

~ TQIOOB-ZHHNBOH-IHNPTCITWKT ~ The Question Is One Of Balance – Zero Tolerance Has Not Been Our History – It Has Not Produced The Content Industry That We Know Today

~ HMCINMJBTCOCTRASH? ~ How Much Creativity Is Never Made Just Because The Costs Of Clearing The Rights Are So High?

~ TVO-‘FU’-YEPALTDYFUROPALTTDPSYDHTRUFUR-EW-TCPIAPOPY-AAP-OPAC-RFTF ~ The Vagueness Of – “Fair Use” – You Either Pay A Lawyer To Defend Your Fair Use Rights Or Pay A Lawyer To Track Down Permissions So You Don’t Have To Rely Upon Fair Use Rights – Either Way – The Creative Process Is A Process Of Paying Lawyers – Again A Privilege – Or Perhaps A Curse – Reserved For The Few

~ AWIWCWNIMFNOTMBATGIAWIWCWNIWNS-IIAWOSAICS ~ A World In Which Competitors With New Ideas Must Fight Not Only The Market But Also The Government Is A World In Which Competitors With New Ideas Will Not Succeed – It Is A World Of Stasis And Increasingly Concentrated Stagnation

~ WWBTSAWO-UA-NBTMINP-OBTSIC-B-BTVAOCTAILF ~ We Will Begin To See A World Of – Underground Art – Not Because The Message Is Necessarily Political – Or Because The Subject Is Controversial – But – Because The Very Act Of Creating The Art Is Legally Fraught

~ TIA-HR-M-M-I-CI

~ There Is A – Highly Regulated – Monopolized – Market – In – Cultural Icons

~ ORSC-ISI-IGDAVOTF ~ OverRegulation Stifles Creativity – It Smothers Innovation – It Gives Dinosaurs A Veto Over The Future

~ ORCCAWTROL-A-WOP-AWE-WOP-IITATBOAVLNOC-TROLDUPOTL-TMO-A-MR-WACEVTL-TLWRTL ~ OverRegulation Corrupts Citizens And Weakens The Rule Of Law – A – War Of Prohibition – As With Every – War Of Prohibition – It Is Targeted Against The Behavior Of A Very Large Number Of Citizens – The Rule Of Law Depends Upon People Obeying The Law – The More Often – And – More Repeatedly – We As Citizens Experience Violating The Law – The Less We Respect The Law

~ WASRTAJ-A-WANTTCAA-TIOAIUIR ~ With A Simple Request To A Judge – And – Without Any Notice To The Customer At All – The Identity Of An Internet User Is Revealed

~ RCWIIDNEBAATSOK ~ Remove Copyright Where It Is Doing Nothing Except Blocking Access And The Spread Of Knowledge

~ TLSAHWO-FIM-TINRCLCAW ~ The Law Should Always Have Ways Of – Forgiving Innocent Mistakes – There Is No Reason Copyright Law Couldn’t As Well

~ WNIAWTSS-ITM-N-‘ARR’-N-‘NRR’-B-‘SRR’-AT-AWTRCBECTFCATSF ~ What’s Needed Is A Way To Say Something – In The Middle – Neither – “All Rights Reserved” – Nor – “No Rights Reserved” – But – “Some Rights Reserved” – And Thus – A Way To Respect Copyrights But Enable Creators To Free Content As They See Fit

~ WNAWTRASOFTWCJTFGB ~ We Need A Way To Restore A Set Of Freedoms That We Could Just Take For Granted Before

~ RFPP ~ Rebuilding Freedoms Previously Presumed

~ T-TINSWTK-WOW-O-WWOMD-IOTUOBUTCWOO-TANR-TINSTT-TINSWTKHTGP-WSRF:MCW-RC-A-RTCTC-TOOFITMTC-IWBSTIWCIPF-STIWCTRFAPKOC ~ Today – There Is No Simple Way To Know – Who Owns What – Or – With Whom One Must Deal – In Order To Use Or Build Upon The Creative Work Of Others – There Are No Records – There Is No System To Trace – There Is No Simple Way To Know How To Get Permission – We Should Require Formalities: Marking Copyrighted Work – Registering Copyrights – And – Renewing The Claim To Copyright – The Objective Of Formalities Is To Make Things Clear – It Would Be Simple To Identify What Content Is Presumptively Free – Simply To Identify Who Controls The Rights For A Particular Kind Of Content

~ NMWWDT-WWNI-TNOAWWI1923 ~ No Matter What We Do Today – We Will Not Increase – The Number Of Authors Who Wrote In 1923

~ STMEFYTFASF ~ Spend Ten Minutes Every Fifty Years To File A Single Form

~ NDT-E-WCTI-‘R’ ~ No Doubt The – Extremists – Will Call These Ideas – “Radical”

~ TQISB-HTATAGP-DTTB-T-CMFDB-A-T-FCT ~ The Question Instead Should Be – How To Assure That Artists Get Paid – During This Transition Between – Twentieth-Century Models For Doing Business – And – Twenty-First Century Technologies

~ WSA-‘W?’-SMWYROCIN-SNHIDG-A-UYCSMB-KYLA ~ We Should Ask – “Why?” – Show Me Why Your Regulation Of Culture Is Needed – Show Me How It Does Good – And – Until You Can Show Me Both – Keep Your Lawyers Away

GEORGE TYLER ~ BILLIONAIRE DEMOCRACY ~ 2018

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~ P-T-P ~ Pay-To-Play

~ A-AOTMA-TTGODCBBM-BTEOIEBTL ~ Aristole – Argued Over Two Millennia Ago – That The Quality Of Democracy Can Best Be Measured – By The Extent Of Influence Enjoyed By The Landless – Aristole – Also Observed – That Oligarchs Are Naturally Displeased By Democracy

~ DEIEOTLM-EAVFRBIBI1430-HBASMB-R-R-A-D-A-KAERBC ~ Democracy’s Evolution In Europe Over The Last Millennium – Especially After Voting For Representatives Began In Britain In 1430 – Has Been A Struggle Marked By – Revolution – Regicide – And – Debate – As – Kings And Elites Resisted Being Corralled

~ D-LA-H-QD-HHBATC-IIUCTF-PAA-A-IS-HWAHTS ~ Democracy – Let Alone – High-Quality Democracy – Has Historically Been A Tenuous Condition – It Is Under Continuous Threat From – Plutocrats And Authoritarians – And – Is Thus – Hard Won And Hard To Sustain

~ IB-ASWPPOREPRTBHP ~ Income Bias – A Society Where Public Policy Outcomes Reflect Elite Preferences Rather Than Broadly Held Preferences

~ PDDWRTFOC-H-QDSTFB ~ Political Decisions Determine Who Receives The Fruits Of Capitalism – High-Quality Democracies Spread Those Fruits Broadly

~ FN-ICMWT-FN ~ Fake News – Is Circulated More Widely Than – Factual News

~ FN-IWB ~ Fake News – Is Widely Believed

~ CT-‘HF’ ~ Closing The – “Hate Factories”

~ VS-RF ~ Voluntary Self-Regulation Failed

DAVID BOLLIER ~ THINK LIKE A COMMONER ~ 2014

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~ C-PAG-B-ADGOPDTODSPABOKFMAR-ECIS-BEHEIRTAS-R-L-LH-A-SOT ~ Commons – Persist And Grow – Because – A Defined Group Of People Develop Their Own Distinctive Social Practices And Bodies Of Knowledge For Managing A Resource – Each Commons Is Special – Because Each Has Evolved In Relationship To A Specific – Resource – Landscape – Local History – And – Set Of Traditions

~ TIN-SF-O-B-FCAC-NITCSPOU ~ There Is No – Standard Formula – Or – Blueprint – For Creating A Commons – Nor Is The Commons Some Panacea Or Utopia

~ TC-IA-PP-F-S-G-RM-A-‘LW’ ~ The Commons – Is A – Practical Paradigm – For – Self-Governance – Resource Management – And – “Living Well”

~ ACCITTOSPT’D’FACAAUPSTWOBE-TCLTPPFACR-O-W-AC-F-F-A-TDTR-TIKAA-‘CAP’ ~ A Constant Challenge Is The Tendency Of Some People To “Defect” From A Common Agreement And Undermine Potential Schemes That Would Otherwise Benefit Everyone – This Can Lead To Private Profiteering From A Collective Resource – Or – Worse – A Chaotic – Free-For-All – That Destroys The Resource – This Is Known As A – “Collective Action Problem”

~ ACI:AR+AC+ASOSP ~ A Commons Is: A Resource + A Community + A Set Of Social Protocols

~ WCIIA?-A-WA-TF-ME-MFPI? ~ Whose Commons Is It Anyway? – And – What Are – The Fairest – Most Effective – Means For Protecting It?

~ T-‘DWU’-PTCEIWMTCPSVAP-A-SCTCEAP ~ The – “Diversity Within Unity” – Principle That Commons Embody Is What Makes The Commons Paradigm So Versatile And Powerful – And – So Confusing To Conventional Economists And Policymakers

~ TC-INOASR;IMATSPAVTWDTMT ~ The Commons – Is Not Only About Shared Resources; It’s Mostly About The Social Practices And Values That We Devise To Manage Them

~ WPCT-STSEAP-A-AABOPKAT-ASOPSCE ~ When People Come Together – Share The Same Experiences And Practices – And – Accumulate A Body Of Practical Knowledge And Traditions – A Set Of Productive Social Circuits Emerges

~ ACH-B-R-SN-A-SAF-R ~ A Commons Has – Boundaries – Rules – Social Norms – And – Sanctions Against Free Riders

~ ACRTTBACWTAAACSOAR ~ A Commons Requires That There Be A Community Willing To Act As A Conscientious Steward Of A Resource

~ ‘CPR’ ~ “Common Pool Resources”

~ WDA-CMHEAT-CRM ~ When Disputes Arise – Commoners Must Have Easy Access To – Conflict-Resolution Mechanisms

~ TGINTMMGAAM-B-TMSTOFHE-TC-PU-IATPAEOS ~ The Goal Is Not To Maximize Market Gains And Amass Money – But – To Make Sure That One’s Family Has Enough – The Commons – Properly Understood – Is About The Practice And Ethic Of Sufficiency

~ TFOMEACARIDADC;TDLTC ~ The Forces Of Market Enclosure Are Cruel And Relentless In Deconstructing And Destroying Commons; They Don’t Like The Competition

~ GGPTMRTSSSOC-TT-C-ATBA-TI-IAU-EITASOCRTP ~ Governments Generally Prefer To Manage Resources Through Strict Standardized Systems Of Control – To Them – Commoning – Appears To Be Altogether – Too Informal – Irregular And Unreliable – Even If The Actual Successes Of Commons Refute That Prejudice

~ ABUOTCMITAOTDAMOE ~ Any Basic Understanding Of The Commons Must Inevitably Take Account Of The Dynamics And Meaning Of Enclosure

~ E-ASFOTTALN-IPB-GOPAKRILT-BIAC-RT-B-TAOU-O-TDC-ABTI-C-OPAFWD ~ Enclosures – A Special Form Of Theft That Attracts Little Notice – In Part Because – Governments Often Play A Key Role In Legitimizing Them – But In All Cases – Resources That – Belong – To All Of Us – Or – To Distinct Communities – Are Being Transformed Into – Corporate-Owned Properties And Free Waste Dumps

~ NS-E-TTIWTAOPT-S-OACTOG-MTON-A-PTCAWOL ~ Not Surprisingly – Enclosures – Tend To Interfere With The Ability Of People To – Self-Organize And Control Their Own Governance – Meet Their Own Needs – And – Protect Their Culture And Way Of Life

~ VPO-A-A-LA-ACRFAFILG-CRHFPD-TSOEOCLIM-A-SITDOC-OTLAS-CCNL-GAHTOF-DW-O-HWG-EASTCAC ~ Vast Portions Of – Africa – Asia – And – Latin America – Are Currently Reeling From A Fierce International Land Grab – Commoners Rarely Have Formal Property Deeds – The Scale Of Enclosure Of Customary Lands Is Massive – And – So Is The Displacement Of Commoners – Once Their Lands Are Seized – Commoners Can No Longer – Grow And Harvest Their Own Food – Draw Water – Or – Hunt Wild Game – Enclosures Are Shattering Their Communities And Cultures

~ WCBMLTTPSOTPEAABP? ~ What Could Be More Lucrative Than The Private Sale Of The Public’s Equity Assets At Bargain Prices?

~ GB-IAEFO-E-‘I’ ~ Genetic Biodiversity – Is An Important Form Of – Ecological – “Insurance”

~ P-P-S-AIIE-D ~ Public – Physical – Spaces – Are Important In Enacting – Democracy

~ ITIK-OAATA-CHGTTI-CAIITM-TI-MBTMSPOINE ~ Infrastructure That Is Kept – Open And Accessible To All – Can Help Guarantee That There Is – Competition And Innovation In The Marketplace – The Internet – May Be The Most Significant Piece Of Infrastructure Now Endangered

~ FTI-HBHFSTCWEO-CHABAI-E-A-T-ECW ~ From Time Immemorial – Human Beings Have Freely Shared Their Creativity With Each Other – Culture Has Always Been About Imitation – Extending – And – Transforming – Earlier Creative Works

~ A-HABA-C-I-AOB ~ Art – Has Always Been A – Communal – Intergenerational Act Of Borrowing

~ CCTWACOSC ~ Culture Cannot Thrive Without A Commons Of Shared Creativity

~ IAS-CGOOTM-V-DC-IB-ANKOCTM-BC ~ In A Sense – Creativity Generated Outside Of The Marketplace – Via – Digital Commons – Is Becoming – A Robust New Kind Of Competition To Market-Based Culture

~ IIEPF-MAC-T-‘PNT’ ~ It Is Entirely Possible For – Markets And Commons – To – “Play Nicely Together”

~ B-ITMSPIDTF-MTTSNBGAP-PATBRTEN-EHCR-EAD-CADOVR ~ But – If The Market System Presses Its Demands Too Far – Monetizing Things That Should Not Be Given A Price – Privatizing Access To Basic Resources That Everyone Needs – Enormous Harm Can Result – Ecosystems Are Damaged – Commoners Are Dispossessed Of Vital Resources

~ CTTBNWOSOPAIR-A-T-ANWI-TIOADCTBTLOTCATIOIHE-TIWMCTIT-IOP-I-‘PZ’-T-O-O-BPARFI ~ Commons Tend To Be Nested Within Other Systems Of Power And Institutional Relationships – And – Therefore – Are Not Wholly Independent – There Is Often A Deep Creative Tension Between The Logic Of The Commons And The Imperatives Of Its Host Environment – This Is Why Many Commons Thrive In The – Interstices Of Power – In – “Protect Zones” – Tolerated – Or – Overlooked – By Power Accidentally Remote From It

~ HRACGBM ~ Human Reciprocity And Cooperation Go Back Millennia

~ ETWLTC-‘I’-A-‘C’-A-O-ITCTTTBAIICW-TTANME-BR-DY-A-YC ~ Even Though We Like To Contrast – “Individualism” – And – “Collectivism” – As – Opposites – In The Commons They Tend To Blur And Intermingle In Complicated Ways – The Two Are Not Mutually Exclusive – But Rather – Dynamic Yin-And-Yang Complements

~ H-C-R-A-N-RB-AJASFA-‘CR’-A-‘UM’ ~ Human – Cooperation – Reciprocity – And – Non-Rational Behavior – Are Just As Significant Forces As – “Competitive Rationality” – And – “Utility Maximization”

~ IS-RSE-LATHO-H-I-C-A-C ~ In Short – Reciprocal Social Exchange – Lies At The Heart Of – Human – Identity – Community – And – Culture

~ L-INJ-FW-AI;I-IA-I-A-S ~ Law – Is Not Just – Formal – Written – And Institutional; It – Is Also – Informal – Oral – And – Social

~ CRVIAABATAOFLBIROOTFWTFLCBMATTP ~ Commoning Remains Vitally Important As A Bulwark Against The Abuses Of Formal Law Because It Represents One Of The Few Ways That Formal Law Can Be Made Accountable To The People

~ CAM-BSSWTC? ~ Can A Market-Based Society Survive Without The Commons?

~ TROTDC ~ The Rise Of The Digital Commons

~ TCS ~ The Commons Sector

~ TOAR ~ The Open Access Revolution

~ SC ~ Subsistence Commons

~ VACAHTDISMUTSOTM ~ Virtually All Commons Are Hybrids That Depend In Some Measure Upon The State Or The Market

~ STC ~ State Trustee Commons

~ TPOACCFTASPTAI ~ The Power Of A Commons Comes From The Actual Social Practices That Animate It

~ WSS-A-S-S-B-O-EF-AP-W-LEAE-RT-MBM-T-R-A-P? ~ Why Should Some – Abstract – Self-Serving – Bureaucratic – Or – Economic Framework – Automatically Prevail – When – Local Expertise And Experience-Rich Traditions – May Be More – Trustworthy – Responsive – And – Practical?

~ TS-SORT-S-OCCPCFME-T-T-S-O-M-A-WGP-L-F-A-P ~ The State – Should Openly Recognize That – Self-Organized Commons Can Perform Certain Functions More Effectively – Than – The – State – Or – Market – And – With Greater Perceived – Legitimacy – Fairness – And – Participation