The Internet is the new Afghanistan. And it’s more. It’s an environment, an ecosystem, a state of being as well as a means of communicating. It’s developing in ways its progenitors couldn’t possibly have foreseen. Chaotic and yet controlled, bounded yet limitless, it offers contradictions and possibilities beyond all our imaginings.

Yes, yes, yes, it’s a market and a mall and we’re all getting used to that. It’s an incredible resource for research. And it really is indescribable. The search engine is both saviour and nemesis. You can have too much information as well as too little.
The Internet also facilitates the secretive, the salacious and the mysterious. Porn is a major aspect of all web sales. And the world of chat rooms and special interests is as dark as it is light.
Just how dark was revealed in the German town of Kassel at the trial of Armin Meiwes. He was found guilty of manslaughter, but escaped a conviction for murder after he confessed to killing and eating a man three years ago. He was sentenced to 8 years.
The victim was Bernd Brandes. They met on the Internet. Meiwes placed an ad looking for ‘well-built young men for slaughter’ and his victim replied. He wanted to be eaten.
Meiwes made a video of the killing. The word grisly hardly does this justice. It appears that Meiwes killed without pleasure for the sexual gratification of eating human flesh. And Brandes was obsessed with being dismembered.
Yes, we’ll download and burn our favourite tracks and in time we’ll do likewise with movies. But other things may be downloaded as well. Enjoy your turkey and ham, heh-heh-heh…