The Null Device

The Civil Disobedience Olympics have gotten off to a modest start. No running street battles, tear gas or water cannon, and neither the Nike store nor any McDonalds has been razed to the ground yet (though give them time), but the casino hasn't been doing a roaring trade, and various delegates have had trouble getting in. Meanwhile, in an Onionesque piece of doublespeak, a Sun executive says that protestors are afraid of losing jobs, and that there is nothing to worry about, as in future there will be more work and technology will connect people to their jobs at all times. Though wouldn't that be even more frightening; a feudalised society as high-tech panopticon, with contracted serfs constantly on call, working Frankie Teardrop hours just to survive? Already in the US, real wages have dropped so that many workers cannot subsist on one full-time job, whilst CEOs' wages and profits have gone up disproportionately.

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