resolve TODOs, remove SVGs, various updates

content/posts/nophones/index.md

@@ -65,31 +65,31 @@ They still make MP3 players! For a way cheaper price, you can play music and pod
 # Appendix: Against the Smartphone
 *From [Fernweh (#24)](https://fernweh.noblogs.org/texte/24-ausgabe/gegen-das-smartphone/)* 
 
-It's ubiquitous, it's always on, no matter where we are or what we're doing. It informs us about everything and everyone: what our friends are doing, when the next subway leaves and what the weather will be tomorrow. It cares about us, wakes us up in the morning, reminds us of important appointments and listens to us all the time. It knows everything about us, when we go to bed, where and when we stop, who we communicate with, who our best friends are, what music we listen to and what our favorite pastimes are. And all it needs is a little electricity from time to time? 
+It's always with us, it's always on, no matter where we are or what we're doing. It informs us about everything and everyone: what our friends are doing, when the next subway leaves and what the weather will be like tomorrow. It takes cares of us, wakes us up in the morning, reminds us of important appointments and always listens to us. It knows everything about us, when we go to bed, where we are and when, who we communicate with, who our best friends are, what music we listen to and what our hobbies are. And all it asks for is a little electricity now and then? 
 
-When I stroll through the neighborhood or take the subway, I observe almost everyone and no one lasts more than a few seconds without putting their hand in their pocket with a sudden gesture: quickly the cell phone is out, a message is sent, an email is checked, a photo is liked. It is put away again, a short break, and here we go again, skimming over the news of the day and looking at what all the friends are doing...
+When I stroll through an area or take the subway, I see it with almost everyone and no one can last more than a few seconds without frantically reaching for their pocket: the cellphone whipped out, a message sent, an email checked, a photo liked. It is put away again, a short break, and here we go again, skimming over today's news and looking at what all the friends are doing...
 
-It's our companion when we're on the toilet, at work or at school, and it apparently helps against boredom while we're waiting or working, etc. Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the success of all these technological devices that surround us, that real life is so damn boring and monotonous that a screen of a few square centimeters is almost always more exciting than the world and the people around us. Is it like an addiction (at least there are people who have withdrawal syndromes...) or is it even already part of our bodies, without it not knowing how to orientate ourselves, and feeling that we are missing something? It has even become more than an aid or a toy but a part of us that also exerts a certain control over us, to which we adapt, for example through the fact that we leave our home only once after having fully charged the battery? The smartphone as a first step to blur the differences between human and robot? When we see what technocrats of all kinds are prophesying to us (Google Glasses, implanted chips, etc.), it seems that we are almost on the way to becoming Cyborgs, people with implanted smartphones that we control by our thoughts (until our thoughts are eventually controlled themselves one day). That the spokesmen of domination, the media, only show us the positive aspects of this development is not surprising, but it is shocking that hardly anyone questions this view, not even on principle. This is probably the most exciting dream for all domination: to be able to surveil everyone's thoughts and actions all the time and to intervene immediately at any disturbance. To allow the good workers to have a little (virtual) fun as a reward while a few fill their pockets. 
+It's our companion when we're on the toilet, at work or at school, and it apparently helps to fight boredom while we're waiting or working, etc. Is this perhaps one of the reasons for the success of all these technological devices, that real life is so damn boring and monotonous that a screen of a few square centimeters is almost always more exciting than the world and the people around us? Is it like an addiction (people definitely have withdrawal symptoms...) or has it even become part of our bodies? Without it we no longer know how to orientate ourselves, and feel that something is missing? So it no longer just an aid or a toy but a part of us that also exerts a certain control over us, to which we adapt, for example by not leaving the house until the battery is fully charged? The smartphone as a first step in blurring the line between human and robot? 
 
-Social control and surveillance has also reached a whole new level with the huge amounts of data that are so easily available to everyone and everything at any time of day. This now goes far beyond tapping cell phones or sifting through messages (like during the 2011 London riots). By having access to an incredible amount of information, intelligence agencies are able to define a status that is "normal." They can tell which places we stay are "normal," which contacts are "normal," etc. In short, they can establish immediately and in almost real time whether people are deviating from their "normal" way of acting. This gives enormous power to some people, which will be used whenever there is an opportunity to take advantage of this power (i.e. to surveil people). Technology is part of power, it results from it and needs it. It requires a world where people have a lot of power in order to make it possible to produce something like the smartphone. All technology is a product of the current oppressive world, is part of it and will reinforce it.
+When we see what technocrats of all kinds are prophesying (Google Glasses, implanted chips, etc.), it almost seems as if we are heading towards becoming Cyborgs, people with implanted smartphones that we control through our thoughts (until our thoughts themselves are eventually controlled). It is not surpising that the spokesmen of domination, the media, only show us the positive aspects of this development, but it is shocking that virtually no one questions this view. This is probably the wildest dream of any ruler: to be able to monitor everyone's thoughts and actions at all times and to be able to intervene immediately in the event of any disturbance. Completely controlled and monitored worker bees, who are allowed to have a little (virtual) fun as a reward while a few profit. 
 
-Nothing is neutral in today's world, everything that is or has been developed so far serves both to extend control and to make money. Many of the innovations of the last decades (like GPS, nuclear power or the internet) even come directly from the military. 
+With the vast amounts of data now so readily available from anyone and everyone at any time of day, social control and surveillance has also reached a whole new level. This now goes far beyond tapping cell phones or sifting through messages (like during the 2011 UK riots). By having access to an incredible amount of information, intelligence agencies are able to define a status that is "normal." They can tell which locations are "normal" for us, which contacts are "normal," etc. In short, they can establish immediately and in almost real time whether people are deviating from their "normal" behaviour. This gives enormous power to some people, which will be used whenever there is an opportunity to take advantage of this power (i.e. to surveil people). Technology is part of power, it emerges from it and needs it. It takes a world where people have extreme power in order to enable the production of something like the smartphone in the first place. All technology is a product of the current oppressive world, is part of it and will reinforce it.
 
-Most of the time, these two aspects go hand in hand, but the "welfare of humanity" is surely not a reason to develop anything, and especially not when it is developed by the military. 
+Nothing is neutral in today's world. To date, everything that has been or is being developed serves both to extend control and to make money. Many of the innovations of the last decades (like GPS, nuclear power or the internet) even come directly from the military. Most of the time, these two aspects go hand in hand, but the "welfare of humanity" is surely not a motivation, and especially not if it is developed by the military. 
 
-It is possible that by taking the example of architecture this better illustrates something as complex as technology: let's take an empty and disused prison, what should be done with this building, if not demolish it? Its architecture alone, its walls, its watchtowers and its cells already contain the purpose of this building: to lock people up and destroy them psychologically. To live there would be impossible for me, simply because the building already carries the oppression in it. 
+It is possible that by taking the example of architecture this better illustrates something as complex as technology: let's take an empty and disused prison, what should be done with this structure except tear it down? Its architecture alone, its walls, its watchtowers and its cells already contain the purpose of this building: to lock people up and destroy them psychologically. It would be impossible for me to live there, simply because the building already carries oppression within it. 
 
-It is the same with all technologies, which are presented to us as progress and something that makes life easier. They have been developed with the intention of making money and controlling us and will always carry that. No matter how many supposed benefits your smartphone brings you, those who get rich by collecting your data and monitoring you will always benefit more than you. 
+It is the same with all technologies today which are presented to us as progress and something that makes life easier. They have been developed with the intention of making money and controlling us and will always carry that. No matter how many supposed benefits your smartphone brings you, those who get rich by collecting your data and monitoring you will always benefit more than you. 
 
-If in the past it was said "knowledge is power", today it should be said "information is power". The more the rulers know about their sheep, the more they can dominate them - in this sense, technology as a whole is a powerful instrument of control to predict and indeed prevent people from finding each other and attacking what oppresses them.
+If in the past it was said "knowledge is power", today it should be said "information is power". The more the rulers know about their flocks, the better they can dominate them - in this sense, technology as a whole is a powerful instrument of control to predict and thereby prevent people from coming together to attack what oppresses them.
 
-These smartphones seem after all to require a little more than just a little electricity... In our generation, which at least knew the world without smartphones, there are maybe still some people who understand what I'm talking about, who still know what it's like to hold a discussion without looking at your cell phone every thirty seconds, to get lost while walking around and thus discover new places or to debate about something without being immediately given the answer by Google. But I don't want to go back to the past, even if it wouldn't be possible anyway, but the more technology interferes in our lives, the harder it will be to destroy it. What if we were one of the last generations still able to stop this evolution of human beings becoming completely controlled robots? 
+These smartphones seem to require a bit more than just a little electricity... In our generation, which at least still knew a world without smartphones, there are maybe still some people who understand what I'm talking about, who still know what it's like to hold a discussion without looking at their cellphone every thirty seconds, to get lost and thus discover new places or to debate about something without immediately asking Google for the answer. But I don't want to go back to the past, even if it wouldn't be possible anyway, but the more technology penetrates our lives, the harder it becomes to destroy it. What if we are one of the last generations still able to stop this evolution of human beings becoming completely controlled robots? 
 
-And what if, sooner or later, we could no longer reverse this evolution? In view of history, humanity has reached a new stage with technology. A stage where it is able to annihilate all human life (atomic energy) or to modify it (genetic manipulation). This fact underlines once again the need to act today to destroy this society. To do this, we need to encounter other people and communicate our ideas. 
+And what if at some point we could no longer reverse this development? Humanity has reached a historically new stage with technology. A stage where it is able to annihilate all human life (nuclear energy) or to modify it (genetic manipulation). This fact underlines once again the need to act today to destroy this society. To do this, we need to encounter other people and communicate our ideas. 
 
-However, it should be obvious that it will have long term effects if, instead of talking to each other, we communicate in messages of five sentences maximum. This is apparently not the case. First of all, our thinking influences our speaking. And the reverse is also true: just as our way of speaking and communicating influences our way of thinking. If we are only able to exchange the shortest and most concise messages possible, how can we talk about a totally different world? And if we can't even talk about a different world anymore, how can we reach for it?
+Isn't it obvious that it will have a long term impact if, instead of talking to each other, we only communicate in messages of no more than five sentences. Apparently not. First of all, our way of thinking influences our way of speaking, and the reverse is also true - our way of speaking and communicating influences our way of thinking. If we are only able to exchange the shortest and most concise messages possible, how can we talk about a totally different world? And if we can't even talk about a different world anymore, how can we reach for it?
 
-Direct communication between autonomous individuals is the basis of any common rebellion, it is the starting point of shared dreams and common struggles. Without unmediated communication, a struggle against this world and for freedom is impossible.
+Direct communication between autonomous individuals is the basis of any shared rebellion, it is the starting point of shared dreams and common struggles. Without unmediated communication, a struggle against this world and for freedom is impossible.
 
 Therefore, let's get rid of the smartphones and meet face to face in an insurgency against this world! Let's become uncontrollable!