NYC video 'portal' to Ireland paused after 'global interconnectedness' turns sour



A globalist art initiative attempting to bridge peoples and cultures with 24/7 real-time public video installations has come up against the obstacle that usually trips up utopians: human nature.

Lithuanian artist Benediktas Gylys' latest Portals installation connected passersby in Manhattan's Flatiron District with Dublin's O'Connell Street some 3,000 miles away. It went live last week and was supposed to run until fall 2024.

'Portals are an invitation to meet fellow humans above borders and prejudices and to experience our home – planet Earth – as it really is: united and one.'

The Portals project was, however, paused just over a week into its intended multi-month run because of nasty behavior on both sides of the screen.

Who thought this portal from NYC to Dublin was a good idea
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The dream

Gylys, the founder of Portals, claims on his website that the inspiration for this project was a "mystical experience" in 2016.

"Finally surrendering and sincerely admitting that I do not know anything about reality led me to a mystical experience where I felt oneness with all life on Earth for two weeks," he wrote. "After this experience I started seeing our world with different eyes and the default worldview which kept forcing me to see our planet through a lens full of narratives and filters became unbearable. I felt a deep need to counter polarising ideas and to communicate that the only way for us to continue our journey on this beautiful spaceship called Earth is together."

Gylys worked with a team from Vilnius Gediminas Technical University to realize his apparent dream of real-time teleconferencing, which has been around in New York City since at least 1927. Together, they built the first two glorified Skype screens in Lithuania, which went live in May 2021, connecting Vilnius with the Polish city of Lublin.

According to the website, "Portals are an invitation to meet fellow humans above borders and prejudices and to experience our home – planet Earth – as it really is: united and one."

The promise

Gylys managed to convince New York City and Dublin to take part in his globalist art project.

'Embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness.'

The NYC Portal, presented by the Flatiron NoMad Partnership in collaboration with the Simons Foundation and the NYC Department of Transportation Art Program, was installed at Broadway, Fifth Avenue, and 23rd Street beside the Flatiron Building.

Dublin City Council unveiled its circular teleconference screen near the city's Spire structure as part of Dublin's designation as the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2024.

When they went live on May 8, James Mettham, president of the Flatiron NoMad Partnership, said in a press release, "This real-time connection between two iconic public spaces in global cities on either side of the Atlantic will bring people together, both physically and digitally, becoming a captivating attraction for New Yorkers and visitors alike."

"It is a delight to celebrate the opening of this captivating installation and see two vibrant global cities connected in real time," said NYC Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez.

Gylys suggested, "The livestream provides a window between distant locations, allowing people to meet outside of their social circles and cultures, transcend geographical boundaries, and embrace the beauty of global interconnectedness."

Dublin Mayor Daithi de Roiste stated, "The Portals project embodies this, bringing together technology, engineering, and art to bring communities from across the world closer together and to allow people to meet and connect outside of their social circles and cultures."

The result

While most people gawked at fellow pedestrians staring back thousands of miles away, less savory characters seized upon the opportunity to hold up phones playing pornography, share offensive memes, and make rude gestures.

The New York Post reported that some troublemakers in Dublin recently flashed swastikas as well as a photo of the Twin Towers engulfed in flame on Sept. 11, 2001.

Hateful images were not the only things being flashed.

An OnlyFans pornographer exposed her breasts to Dubliners Sunday, prompting Portal organizers on both sides of the Atlantic to take action and temporarily shut down the exhibit.

Whereas the pornographer claimed on Instagram that she was responsible for the sudden end to "global interconnectedness," the Portals Organization reportedly blamed the interruption on a "technical glitch."

The Portals Organization said in a statement obtained by the Irish Independent, "Our technical team is looking into the cause to improve the stability of the livestream moving forward."

"The nature of the project, providing a 24/7 livestream, is such that sometimes interruptions will occur due to technical glitches, maintenance or simple software updates," continued the statement. "Our teams (portals.org and AVSPL) are doing their best to ensure smooth and consistent operations in order to come as close as possible to a 24/7 active livestream."

The Dublin City Council indicated Monday that the exhibit will undergo a number of changes on account of multiple incidents of "inappropriate behavior" from the Irish side.

"Unfortunately, we have also been witnessing a very small minority of people engaged in inappropriate behaviour, which has been amplified through social media," stated the council. "While we cannot control all of these actions, we are implementing some technical solutions to address this and these will go live in the next 24 hours."

The screens were reportedly streaming again Tuesday during the day, but shut off at night, reported the Associated Press.

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HBO quietly rolls out debauched British dating show where nude and faceless contestants are critiqued on their body parts​



American audiences are about to get an eyeful of British degeneracy.

HBO Max has quietly added several uncensored seasons of "Naked Attraction" to its U.S.-facing catalogue. This U.K. export is unique in its efforts to reduce inspirited and emotional beings to faceless meat.

The program, which originally appeared on Britain's publicly owned Channel 4, presents a lustful albeit clothed single individual with six potential dates. Rather than have the suitors make romantic or intellectual appeals, their naked bodies are meant to do all the talking.

Over the course of an episode, the "chooser" critiques the six bodies, genitalia and all. Gradually, screens obscuring the upper portions of the potential dates' bodies rise, eventually exposing their faces.

Finally, after the chooser has eliminated four potential dates, the chooser must take off his or her own clothing, providing the remaining two prospects an opportunity to judge his or her body. In the event that the chosen nudist can stomach the sight of the chooser, the two go out on a clothed date.

The show includes non-straight matchups, and the new season reportedly features a transvestite who got a sex-change surgery.

The Telegraph noted in a damning review around the time of the show's debut in 2016 that "in spite of some entertaining moments, Naked Attraction essentially reduced human attraction to a kind of game show meat market. ... Naked Attraction is in the schedules because Channel 4 wanted a quick and easy ratings boost. And that really is the bottom line."

The Hollywood Reporter indicated that this byproduct of an ongoing cultural standardization by a low standard is not wholly unlike the dating app Tinder where users swipe through potential partners as if shopping for fashion apparel.

Unsurprisingly, the show's dehumanizing setup results in "jaw-droppingly brutal" remarks such as "his member is too small" or "I don't like her feet," according to the Reporter.

The conservative watchdog group Parents Television and Media Council issued a statement Monday, calling on HBO to remove the series from Max.

"Naked Attraction should not exist on the Max streaming platform, and HBO should immediately remove this exploitative, pornographic program. Our research has found that Max has mediocre parental controls, enabling children to access some of the most explicit streaming content on the market," said Melissa Henson, vice president of the Parents Television and Media Council.

"There is no doubt children will be able to easily access Naked Attraction, the purpose of which is to shock and titillate the audience with uncensored and explicit nudity," continued Henson. "And in a new low for HBO, the show fully exploits its own participants, somehow convincing them that their exploitation for the purpose of dating is right and good."

"The fact that HBO quietly added Naked Attractiontells us everything we need to know: HBO is duplicitous. It gives the appearance of a trusted family brand by hosting Harry Potter and Sesame Street, but HBO has now lifted its own veil, revealing that it is and always was a pornography channel," added Henson.

Whereas the PTC denounced "Naked Attraction" as exploitative, the host of Disney's ABC show "The View" gushed over the series.

After her co-host Sara Haines pretended to be a male sexual organ, Hostin bragged about binge-watching the show with her husband, noting there had been "some pretty penises on that show."

Naked Attraction | Trailer | HBO GOyoutu.be

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