Tuesday, February 17

William Muller is the guest editor today.

 

What Is Anarchism?

A talk by Charles Johnson at the January 28, 2009 meeting of the Las Vegas Anarchist Café.  (Audio)

 

Pessimism or Optimism or...?

"The real radicalism, it seems to me, resides in people who are trying to empower individuals (including themselves) e.g. through protecting their rights (to own a gun, to homeschool children, etc.) or by teaching the skills that enable independence. The real radicals are constructing alternatives to working with or in a corrupt system that preys on human dignity and freedom."  Article by Wendy McElroy.

 

The Goal Is Freedom: Keynes Returns

"Keynes is all the rage these days. Our House of Commons and Lords–-sorry, House of Representatives and Senate-–are brimming with Keynesians....For him, government, which at its foundation is nothing but legalized aggressive force, is simply 'society...exercising directive intelligence through some appropriate organ of action.' This organ will centrally control money and credit, determining who does and doesn’t have access to capital."

 

Is Revolution Brewing in America?

"Many predict that there will be rioting in the streets of America too and that may be the reason the U.S. government is building detention camps all over the states and more are expected."

 

A 'Fraud' Bigger Than Madoff

"Before he was killed, Mr Stoffel, an arms dealer and contractor, was granted limited immunity from prosecution after he had provided information that a network of bribery-–linking companies and US officials awarding contracts–-existed within the US-run Green Zone in Baghdad. He said bribes of tens of thousands of dollars were regularly delivered in pizza boxes sent to US contracting officers."

 

Is It a Crime to Take Pictures?

“From today, anyone taking a photograph of a police officer could be deemed to have committed a criminal offence....That means anyone taking a picture of one of those people could face a fine or a prison sentence of up to 10 years, if a link to terrorism is proved."

 

US Foreclosure Image Is 2008 World Press Photo

"A picture of an armed sheriff moving through an American home after an eviction due to a mortgage foreclosure...looks like a classic war photograph....'Now war in its classic sense is coming into people's houses because they can't pay their mortgages,' jury chair MaryAnne Golon said."

 

FEMA and DHS: Mass Graves in Chicago?

"An Indiana county municipal official in the vicinity of Chicago reveals the contents of his meetings with FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security. The initial requests seem reasonable enough... But as the required meetings and calls with FEMA and DHS continue over a two year period their request become more unusual, raising suspicions of county officials."

 

Militarizing Police Departments With Your Bailout Money

“...Arlington is really gearing up for urban warfare. Arlington wants $1.6 million for SWAT toys including more equipment for those deadly but camera-friendly no-knock raids, $56,000 for military grade carbines, $625,000 for unmanned aerial surveillance drones, and $130,000 for 'covert ops.'”

 

Army Recruiters Describe Nightmare of Job

“At the strip mall in Hot Springs where Daren Stewart worked, however, most of the recruiters were on antidepressants or antianxiety medication.  They worked 12- to 14-hour shifts, six or seven days a week, Stewart said. Commanders cursed, humiliated and screamed at soldiers who fell short of monthly quotas, threatening to ruin their careers or withhold time off with loved ones, he said."

 

Gun Company Hires Mother’s Assassin

“'Pound-for-pound, component-for-component, dollar- for-dollar, you will not find a better rifle,' says the new spokesman for H-S Precision in Rapid City. His name is Lon Horiuchi, a government assassin who retired from the FBI in 2006. AFP called to ask him if this was also the weapon he used to blow away the face of Vicki Weaver at the remote area of Ruby Ridge in Idaho in 1992, but he did not return the calls."

 

Pirate Bay Crew Defiant on Eve of Landmark Trial

"One of the accused, libertarian cyber-hippy Gottfrid Svartholm...lived up to his defiant reputation Sunday, calling his prosecutor a 'clown,' and saying he doubted that the prosecutor passed fifth-grade math. Svartholm seemed unconcerned about potential jail time, and financial damages that could wipe out his and his codefendants' economic prospects for life." 

 

Former Astronaut Scoffs at Global Warming

"Scientists who disagree with this scenario 'are being intimidated,' [Harrison] Schmitt said. 'They've seen too many of their colleagues lose grant funding when they haven't gone along with the so-called political consensus that we're in a human-caused global warming.'"

 

Cop Tasers Crying Driver

(video)

 

Montana House Measure Would Change Gun Rules

“The State House voted in favor of House Bill 246 in second reading on Saturday, and the bill could have the effect of releasing Montana gun owners from federal registration requirements.  The measure applies to firearms, firearm accessories and ammunition that are made and sold in the state."

 

Folks Irked by Obama Coins That Are Simply Stickers Placed on 50-Cent Pieces

Delightfully metaphorical. (Video)

 

How Not to Mug Someone

(video)

 

Photos from Northern Norway

A photo blog.