The Inside Scoop on Gaming

Cyberpunk isn't the hot genre that it was in the 1980's. What seemed futuristic now seems dated. We all have access to the internet, or at least those of us who can afford computers (who in the eyes of the media are the only ones who really matter) do. Dark and gritty seem played out. The cold war backdrop is no more. Gibson and the others who predicted that massive corporations would come to dominate our existence didn't bother to predict that they would be friendly with smiles.

The World Trade Organization Third Miniserial Conference proved that there is still outrage. It isn't exactly like the "movement" writers envisioned, but then again, the mass media of today doesn't seem to get it either. This isn't a retread of the sixties hippyism. Perhaps a retread of 1968 French protest, but of a different stripe than the culture of love-ins and MLK. There is not a charismatic leader to pin blame on or defame this time. Much as the Santa Clara decision of 1886 gave corporations the full rights of "natural persons" depite the fact that they are legal fictions created to eliminate accountability, today's protesters have networks instead of leaders with no one person being accountable for the actions taken. There is no way to hack at the roots because the dissident organization cannot be likened to a tree growing up from a solid base. It is a fungus with each part of it desperately trying to spead its spores.

Faced with something like this the police have to respond on all fronts. Vandals and street performers trying to get media exposure for the cause cannot be easily differentiated by outsider police. APVs affectionately called "peacekeepers" bring armored peace officers to try to instill some semblance of order. They are caught up in a battle where the stakes are measured in public relations. As such they are outsiders forced into a war that is not their own. Their job was to protect the interests of the state meaning to make sure that the conference could take place in a nice fashion. They could not actively stop the protest while keeping the image of WTO conference being good for everyone intact.

In the end spin doctors such as Time's John Leo provided op-ed articles dismissing the protesters as fools who didn't realize that the sixties was over and Newsweek released an opinion piece, as it often does, as one of its news articles relating to the story. Jay Leno and other television comedians appearing on corporate owned networks makke jokes about police attacks on "human rights protesters" without making metion of the content of the protest beyond the fact that there were "vegetarians" and "union leaders" getting beaten together.

Condemnation of corporate practices in modern media can best be seen in the movie "The Insider" which is being distrbuted by a media cartel which is in direct competitiion with the cigarette companies portrayed.

Throw that into your Shadowrun games chummer. After all, Seattle is the default setting.

Style: 4 (Classy and well done)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Battle in Seattle
Author: dozens of multinationals and hundreds of anarchists Category: world event Company/Publisher: Greed and Outrage Line: n/a Cost: immeasurable Page count: n/a Capsule Review by Bailey Watts on 12/10/99. Genre tags: Modern_day Conspiracy Diceless Live-action	Cyberpunk isn't the hot genre that it was in the 1980's. What seemed futuristic now seems dated. We all have access to the internet, or at least those of us who can afford computers (who in the eyes of the media are the only ones who really matter) do. Dark and gritty seem played out. The cold war backdrop is no more. Gibson and the others who predicted that massive corporations would come to dominate our existence didn't bother to predict that they would be friendly with smiles. The World Trade Organization Third Miniserial Conference proved that there is still outrage. It isn't exactly like the "movement" writers envisioned, but then again, the mass media of today doesn't seem to get it either. This isn't a retread of the sixties hippyism. Perhaps a retread of 1968 French protest, but of a different stripe than the culture of love-ins and MLK. There is not a charismatic leader to pin blame on or defame this time. Much as the Santa Clara decision of 1886 gave corporations the full rights of "natural persons" depite the fact that they are legal fictions created to eliminate accountability, today's protesters have networks instead of leaders with no one person being accountable for the actions taken. There is no way to hack at the roots because the dissident organization cannot be likened to a tree growing up from a solid base. It is a fungus with each part of it desperately trying to spead its spores. Faced with something like this the police have to respond on all fronts. Vandals and street performers trying to get media exposure for the cause cannot be easily differentiated by outsider police. APVs affectionately called "peacekeepers" bring armored peace officers to try to instill some semblance of order. They are caught up in a battle where the stakes are measured in public relations. As such they are outsiders forced into a war that is not their own. Their job was to protect the interests of the state meaning to make sure that the conference could take place in a nice fashion. They could not actively stop the protest while keeping the image of WTO conference being good for everyone intact. In the end spin doctors such as Time's John Leo provided op-ed articles dismissing the protesters as fools who didn't realize that the sixties was over and Newsweek released an opinion piece, as it often does, as one of its news articles relating to the story. Jay Leno and other television comedians appearing on corporate owned networks makke jokes about police attacks on "human rights protesters" without making metion of the content of the protest beyond the fact that there were "vegetarians" and "union leaders" getting beaten together. Condemnation of corporate practices in modern media can best be seen in the movie "The Insider" which is being distrbuted by a media cartel which is in direct competitiion with the cigarette companies portrayed. Throw that into your Shadowrun games chummer. After all, Seattle is the default setting. Style: 4 (Classy and well done) Substance: 5 (Excellent!)

Battle in Seattle