Source: Tim Stevens on February 11, 2010 · Kings of War
. . . Those familiar with James Der Derian will see the MIME-NET at work. All the key sectors of the ‘military-industrial-media-entertainment network’ are represented here. Players include former members of the NSA, DHS, Attorney General, State, White House, DNI, NEC and Defense. The event is sponsored by a combination of industry (General Dynamics, Paypal) and academia (Georgetown University). The whole thing is packaged as entertainment (infotainment?) and disseminated by various media (including this blog now, of course).
Baudrillard would be cackling at the layers of simulation. Wargaming disturbed him enough. A virtual war being simulated is grist enough to his particular mill. Running one ‘live’ on television adds a whole new complexity. The fact that it will undoubtedly be edited for public consumption (citing ‘national security concerns’ for added frisson, I bet) makes the boundaries between simulation and dissimulation all the more difficult to discern. Semioticians, run riot! . .
You can see a video trailer to Der Derian’s Virtuous War 2.0: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLUI6sM8nQ (not ZNN at the USC’s ICT)
You can see a video trailer to Der Derian’s Virtuous War 2.0: Mapping the Military-Industrial-Media-Entertainment Network here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XLUI6sM8nQ (note ZNN at the USC’s ICT, and Virilio’s take on Cyberwar in 1995)