posted April 01, 2003 01:39 AM              

The Explanation:
Watching the Detectives
If the Information Awareness Office didn't exist, paranoid conspiracy theorists would have had to invent it. The office, a division of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, is not only building the Orwellian-sounding Total Information Awareness system, a vast database of the employment records, ISP accounts, medical histories, and credit-card information of average Americans, but it is also headed up by Iran/Contra bogeyman John Poindexter and features perhaps the creepiest government logo ever. The logo has recently been pulled from the agency's website, with the only explanation from DARPA being that the site's content is in flux. But could it be that the agency realized the logo was just too spooky, even for an office of spooks? We checked our theory with some notable designers. -- Andi Zeisler

And the Commentary:
Roger Black
Chairman, Danilo Black Design Consultancy "This combines inhibition of liberties with thumpingly bad design. I was thinking the Rosicrucians might be upset because darpa stole their image. But the Rosicrucians' website is beautiful. If the goal of this is to frighten the public, it succeeds."

Art Chantry
Graphic Artist "It's a terrible design. The layout, the balance -- it's schlock. But from a cultural standpoint, it's fantastic. If someone actually sat down and tried to make a parody of a design for a surveillance agency, they couldn't have done any better. They might as well have put a swastika in there."

Shepard Fairey
Graphic Artist "That the government would be so blatant about the idea of seeing all and knowing all is disturbing, but at least they're honest. Graphically, it's the equivalent of something like Spinal Tap, where you can't believe something is as bad as the jokes about it."

posted April 01, 2003 06:10 AM            

Today I saw Portland Indymedia's Videos from the Resistance and it gave me hope.
It was footage from a dozen independant videographers of some of the recent protests in Portland. It was the stuff that they don't show you on the 6'0clock news, that's for sure. It starkly exibited what the mayor, Katz called "restrained" action by the police but in reality included stuff like police shooting a man with a rubber bullet when he was already writhing on the ground from being saturated in pepperspray. You've got cops in robo-cop body armor with bats and guns and chemical weapons charging into a crowd of prostesters doing nothing more than chanting and holding signs and standing where they aren't supposed to ...and blowing bubbles....excercising their first amendment rights to voice their anger at violence being done in their name that they don't support..violence ordered by a man who didn't even win the popular vote..
It was also frightening because it showed just how easily this could deteriorate into a police state.. People don't even realize.. Okay..I'm maybe rambling a bit here..it's been a long day..muuch activity..some exhilarating, some infuriating..some refreshing..some inspiring..
I feel that if the American public at large could have watched those videos many would have very different view of things..
Now I'm probably going to get some flack about that comment....
I was willing to play the devil's advocate abit thinking that in places like Italy and Argentina the police kill protesters sometimes..
But still..much of our freedom is an illusion here..if you are being 'disorderly' at the wrong time in the wrong place..even if you are not inflicting violence on anyone or anything..the police can spray you in the face with chemical weapons from 2 feet away and then club you in the head..even if you are a 14 year old girl! Seriously..
And then the mayor commends the police for their 'restraint'.

Fortunetly the numbers in the street are always growing.. and their oppressive tactics are only getting more blatant..

One of the speakers said..

They may have armor and tanks and guns but we have the real power..
Creativity,
Love,
and the TRUTH.

posted April 02, 2003 01:09 AM              

yeah, the police can sometimes misuse their power. I know, they did it to me!

posted April 02, 2003 12:08 PM              

Thanks for the link Proxieme ...about the seal, I'll keep my comments to myself

Love
Jakie