Category Archives: quotes
Robbins on Political Ecology as Critique
From Political Ecology, p12-13: As critique, political ecology seeks to expose flaws in dominant approaches to the environment favored by corporate, state, and international authorities, working to demonstrate the undesirable impacts of policies and market conditions , especially from the point of view of local people, marginal groups, and vulnerable populations. It works to “denaturalize” [...]
Castells on Environmentalism and Ecology
From The Power of Identity (The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volume II), pp 112-113: By environmentalism I refer to all forms of collective behavior that, in their discourse and in their practice, aim at correcting destructive forms of relationship between human action and its natural environment, in opposition to the prevailing structural and [...]
Also posted in informationalism, methodology Tagged Castells, ecology, environmentalism, nature Leave a comment
Latour on Political Ecology
From the Politics of Nature, p246: The term does not differentiate between scientific ecology and political ecology; it is built on the model of (but in opposition to) “political economy.” It is thus used to designate, by opposition to the “bad” philosophy of ecology, the understanding of ecological crises that no longer uses nature to [...]
Eight Takes on Play
From John Dewey‘s Democracy and Education, pp 205-206: It is important not to confuse the psychological distinction between play and work with the economic distinction. Psychologically, the defining characteristic of play is not amusement nor aimlessness. It is the fact that the aim is thought of as more activity in the same line, without defining [...]
Securing Cyberspace in 60 Minutes
This past Sunday, 60 Minutes did a segment on cybersecurity titled “Cyberwar: Sabotaging the System.” The segment mostly focused on the “new” national security issues that cyberspace presents, while barely discussing how many of these “new” cybersecurity issues are — at least in part — caused by traditional social engineering. One example being 60 Minutes’ [...]
Also posted in governance, informationalism, security Tagged CENTCOM, CSIS, cyberdominance, cyberwar Leave a comment
FDR on Security
A good deal of my dissertation is concerned with notions of security, and insecurity, in informational environments. While my primary concern is with young people’s experiences and understandings of cyber(in)security, I’ve also taken an interest in contemporary and historical discourses of security (e.g. Seven Takes on Security). So, I was excited to see Michael Moore [...]
“Land: see Snatch.”
Attorney General Hedley Lamarr, a character from Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles, discovers a way to re-route railroad tracks through the town of Rock Ridge: Hedley Lamarr: Wait a minute… there might be legal precedent. Of course! Land-snatching! [grabs a law book] Hedley Lamarr: Land, land… “Land: see Snatch.” [flips back several pages] Hedley Lamarr: Ah, [...]
Grinch Alert: Robert Iger
According to PaidContent.org, Robert Iger (CEO of Walt Disney Co.) recently stated: Our product is extremely valuable … and if we are offering it on another platform or in another location for the consumer to access it, I believe that’s more value we are delivering [to a distributor or consumer] and we should get paid [...]
Also posted in commodification, privacy, property, surveillance Tagged CEM, Grinch, Iger Leave a comment





Hardt and Negri on Property