Are Right-Wing Libertarian Internet Trolls Getting Paid to Dumb Down Online Conversations?

Amplify’d from www.alternet.org

There are daily attempts to control and influence content in the interests of the state and corporations: attempts in which money talks.

They are the online equivalent of enclosure riots: the rick-burning, fence-toppling protests by English peasants losing their rights to the land. When MasterCard, Visa, Paypal and Amazon tried to shut WikiLeaks out of the cyber-commons, an army of hackers responded by trying to smash their way into these great estates and pull down their fences. Read more at www.alternet.org

 

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7 Rock Songs Exploited for Commerce and Conservatism

Amplify’d from www.alternet.org

When political songs are used to hawk goods and right-wing agendas, the song can get ruined by association.

Since the U.S. government doesn’t support artists like most first-world countries, musicians are increasingly filling their duckets with cross-promo deals from companies. While outside-the-mainstream artists and the towers of commerce have historically had a tenuous relationship, in the choked-income era of the mp3–where it’s increasingly difficult for even prominent groups to make a living off recorded music–more and more musicians have been letting marketers use their tunes for a check. Read more at www.alternet.org

 

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5 Ways to Deal With Your Conservative Relatives This Thanksgiving

Amplify’d from www.alternet.org

How does one deal with the conservatives at the family table while avoiding a massive food fight? Stay calm and relaxed, and follow these simple guidelines.

Maybe your brother-in-law works on Wall Street and declares he wants to see the Bush tax cuts extended indefinitely as he scoops himself a generous portion of mashed potatoes. Or perhaps your aunt mentions, while checking on the turkey, that Sarah Palin is her role model and she can’t wait to follow her Rupert Murdoch-sponsored book tour from city to city. Or maybe, over a slice of pumpkin pie and coffee, your grandfather suggests that the Tea Party’s ideas aren’t half bad, and he likes that Rand Paul fella because he’s really getting the government out of people’s Medicare. Read more at www.alternet.org

 

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