A comparison came to mind. The Shambhala Sun is a magazine about a belief sytem, a branch of Buddhism centered in Halifax, NS, my favorite of my hometowns. While I don't care much for conversions and if I were to consider my understanding of Buddhism I would find I do object to some of the basic principles about self-denial - just as I object, for example, to the weight of hierarchical structure in my own faith of birth, Christianity. What I like about the magazine, however, is that it is apparently coherent and about belief. It knows what it is and the message it is sending. Were I to know more about Buddhism I trust I might appreciate this on more levels.

The June issue of Wired, however, is desparately unawake. It is blind to itself and exposes a despiration that I have not seen in other issues I have read. It reminded me of a right-wing Adbusters, flash and shallow, rather than the timely statement of new ideas I had picked up before. For example:

• in one piece called "New Islands", the new "havens" which "evade the long reach of government instrusion" are mapped. What is being mapped, though, are examples of both the abandonment of human dignity (electronic waste, stem cell cloning, euthanasia, shipbreaking, tax avoidance) and its promotion (abortion rights, same sex relationships). I don't know what is common except they are hot items on the right-wing agenda - the freedom of commerce, the suppression of challenging private freedoms. In fact, same sex rights is not a matter of deregulation but inclusion in law. See for example this ruling of the Ontario Court of Appeal dated 10 June 2003 [News report here];
• In another article called "Copy Protection is a Crime", David Weinberger makes possibly the most naive stand on any legal issue I have ever read. It seems to be based on the principle theft of the interests of another are not theft when the thief really, really benefits from the theft. Such the web and copyright issues are tough to swallow and difficult to resolve but the responsive invocation of the mantra of the right "it's mine if I can get to it" is simply dumb;
• In "There's something about Rummy" the world's favorite miscalulator of project requirements is praised and praised and praised for understanding the "new" economy reality which can be summed up by the statements: "The '90s prosperity bubble was a phantom. The terror bubble is the new, bitter reality." This is pure meaninglessness. There is no "terror bubble" - there is real terror. There was a 90's bubble starring IT as answer and management as hero as the two false idols. As both Rumsfeld's output [other than the poetic] and the rest of this article proves, the eloquent can still be stunned especially on a well funded libertarian agenda; and
• In "So Much for Economic Principle" a theory of the one-note economic principle of get big and devour like Microsoft is - surprise - found to have an exception in Apple. Wow that's news.

I really don't mind the libertarian right-wingers as long as they don't try to speak up too much as it just gets embarrassing. Think David Frum's faith in the one idea and the belief system of the Chicago school of economics: human life is market, market, market. [Don't point out the "miracle" of the 80's Regan/Thatcher/Mulroney state "debt-wealth" and the 90's private sector bubble.] No, no, push an idea long enough and people say there must be something to it... if only to get them to shut up.

But who for whose benefit is this stuff published now by Wired? Neo-cons in federal procurement...the last buyers? The unemployed residents of Silicon Valley who can't come to terms with the fact that they are today as relevant as the 1950's Bulgarian leadership? Whole lotta dreamin' goin' on. Market will provide, Valley folk. Time for Wired to join the long dead Martha Stewart Living as crappy '90's memorabilia.