Current Events

Kokesh plans loaded open carry rally in DC, where it's illegal

Wheylous — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:00:18 GMT

http://www.salon.com/2013/05/03/a_march_on_washington_with_loaded_rifles/

Come ON Kokesh. Really? That's not the message we need to be sending.

IRS Employees Outraged over Budget Cuts, Threaten Fewer Audits

The Firewall — Wed, 08 May 2013 21:34:37 GMT

The National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), which represents workers for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), organized nationwide protests Tuesday arguing that the sequestration would eliminate approximately $600 million from the IRS budget this year. Due to the reduction in the rate of spending increases, 100,000 employees will be furloughed starting May 24.

According to protest organizers, the IRS garners 93 percent of the revenue used to fund the federal government. Demonstrators said each $1 invested in the tax collection agency brings in a $7 return, which they say will mean diminished revenues and a heightened deficit because operations will not reach maximum capacity for five days between May 24 and Aug. 30 – an additional two days are being discussed for sometime in August or September.

One of the protests took place in downtown Manhattan, where IRS workers yelled out chants and held neon-colored placards. Some of the talking points included taxpayers experiencing the impacts due to longer wait times for assistance and fewer audits. Workers say they will also take a financial hit because they will miss a week’s worth of pay.

via IRS workers protest over sequestration, agency claims furloughs will hurt taxpayers | Economic Collapse News.

Scottish Independence

Ben — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:06:40 GMT

In 2014, people in Scotland age 16 or over will be able to vote to decide whether or not Scotland should remain part of the UK or become an independent country. On the face of it, secession seems like it would be a good idea (smaller country, more decentralization); however, all of Scotland's major parties are social democratic or centre left, taxes would be raised and we would likely join the Euro. But it's not like the UK is freedom-orientated at all either, and taxes are likely also going to be raised. Although, EU independence is becoming more popular in the rest of the UK and this is a good thing. It should also be noted that Scotland becoming independent may help secession movements around the world, which seems like a good thing to me. And of course there's the third option of not voting at all.

What do you guys think?

Controversial Ethics: Chiquita Brand Security and Other Grey Areas

Aristophanes — Sun, 05 May 2013 19:03:39 GMT

So, apparently Chiquita is still under investigation for paying "guerilla groups" about 120 million dollars for "extortion" and "security."

They are being accused of paying terrorists for farm security in Colombia although there is some confusion (on my part or theirs; i can't tell) as to whether they were being extorted. Both the US and Colombian governments appear to be trying to prosecute them (The US gave up already).

is it okay for a private corporation to pay guerillas, who may also be drug smugglers, for security if the government says that they are terrorists? Seems to me that if the guerillas were protecting the farms from bandits that it should be okay, but it does mean that they were funding drug traffickers.

Individualist anarchist periodical Liberty

atin — Thu, 02 May 2013 10:32:21 GMT

I just finished reading the first issue of the transcribed and re-published journal Liberty (1881-1908) http://www.readliberty.org/

Originaly published by Benjamin Tucker. Among the many conributors I will mention at least Lysander Spooner and Auberon Herbert. Published fortnightly on Wednesday.

Molyneux diagnosed with cancer

Wheylous — Thu, 02 May 2013 21:47:34 GMT

Didn't find another thread on this, and I thought it deserved its own:

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NYC soda ban could another blow for drink makers

the5thresistance — Thu, 31 May 2012 22:01:23 GMT

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57444945/nyc-soda-ban-could-another-blow-for-drink-makers/

The Police Brutality/Aggression Thread

gotlucky — Sat, 30 Jun 2012 15:31:35 GMT

I thought I'd make this thread to post stories of police aggression. I thought it would be nice to have news stories and other sources relating to the subject in one thread. Feel free to discuss as well!

Time to start it off:

Online threat — but SWAT team raids wrong house

Police: 'Threat matrix' dictated SWAT team response at Powell Avenue home

What kind of music do Austrians listen to?

LibertarianCowboy — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 03:57:42 GMT

Not really capitalist but one of my favorites. MC5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QgzYGFVPi4&feature=related

stratfor turns its bully pulpit towards ANARCHEEE1!1!1!111

Malachi — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 20:53:20 GMT

http://www.stratfor.com/weekly/anarchy-and-hegemony?utm_source=freelist-f&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=20130425&utm_term=Kweekly&utm_content=readmore&elq=5c62e959b15246a8b7fa23beef27794a

The Fed at Jekyll Island: 100 Years Later, They're Baaack!

hugolp — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 12:36:33 GMT

http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2010/11/fed-at-jekyll-island-theyre-baaack.html

Well isn't this cute?

Just days after the Federal Reserve will announce it has launched QE2, the Fed will hold a major conference at Jekyll Island, celebrating the secret meeting held 100 years ago that resulted in the creation of the Fed.

The island is off the coast of the U.S. state of Georgia.

In November 1910, Senator Nelson W. Aldrich and Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Department A.P. Andrews, and other top financiers,arrived at the Jekyll Island Club to discuss monetary policy and the banking system. The secret meetings led to the creation of the Federal Reserve.

Forbes magazine founder Bertie Charles Forbes wrote several years later:

...........

The Anons Around Us

Neodoxy — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:05:41 GMT

Well, because I finally saw someone (Dave) bring it up, I'm curious as to what people think about the absurd number of supposed "guests" this forum gets on a regular basis. Currently the forum says that we have 4K guests online... For some reason I don't think that this is the case. Does anyone know what this forum considers a "view" or how long it lasts for? Or maybe we are just the most hoppin forum on the internet and we don't even know it...

all of Boston forced to shut down except Dunkin Donuts

Malachi — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 22:20:52 GMT

http://christopherfountain.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/whod-have-predicted-this/

Help crowdfund the liberty movement in Bulgaria!

Wheylous — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:06:42 GMT

This summer I'll be working on an internship with the Bulgarian Libertarian Society to lay the foundations for a growing and self-perpetuating liberty movement on high school and college campuses, and to help build online websites and media for easy access to libertarian principles in Bulgarian.

At the BLS we've drawn up an inquiry letter for you guys to tell you what we're about:

http://www.thelibertyhq.org/SFLInquiry.pdf

The gist of it is as follows:

Campus outreach – partnering with on-the-ground activists spreading the ideas of liberty on their campuses. This includes providing them with further education in economics and philosophy, as well as working with them to organize seminars, events, and discussion groups. Since knowledge is local, we seek to mirror the structure of Students for Liberty, which provides support for activists while allowing them wide berth in deciding what activities are most suited to their campuses.
Easy online access to libertarian ideas – there has been much scholarship done in the tradition of classical liberalism in the world. Unfortunately, many of the critical essays and conclusions have not made their way into Bulgarian form; even when they exist, they are not accessible to the general public and to students specifically. We seek to create an online portal for libertarian ideas in Bulgarian to make the principles of liberty clear, concise, and publicly available.

I'll be running this fundraiser on libertarian forums for a few days. Our overall goal is $3000-$4000, but for now I've set the goal target to $1200 so that we don't end up falling short of the amount and not getting any of the money.

What I ask is that you find it in your heart to give up a few beers and donate to the cause. We'd love donations around $10-$20 (or more!), but it would be wonderful even if you can donate just $5.

Here is the link to donate:

https://givethegiftofliberty.org/student-needs/view/135

Donations are made through the Students For Liberty organization and are tax-deductible. Your info is safe with SFL.

We're looking into setting up a Bitcoin wallet if you guys prefer using that (though, for practical purposes, the BLS prefers the fiat donation at this time).

If you've ever found any posts of mine useful or if you've used LibertyHQ (http://thelibertyhq.org/thelibertyhq.org/learn/index.php?listID=5), I'd appreciate a donation!! :D

At the end of the project, we will be writing a report up for you guys on our progress.

What is happening to silver?

DanielMuff — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 05:34:22 GMT

I am thinking of diving into it. Any thoughts?

Chechnyan rebel terrorists, not a government conspiracy...

Aristophanes — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:32:47 GMT

Summary

Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

Timothy Alben (C) of the Massachusetts State Police and Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis (Center R) in Watertown, Mass., on April 19

The identities of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing -- Chechen brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26 -- appear tentatively to confirm several of Stratfor's suspicions. From this profile, the simple nature of the attack, their efforts to rob a convenience store and their lack of an escape plan, we can at least say at this point in time that they were what we refer to as grassroots militants. Despite being amateurs, such militants clearly still pose a significant threat.

Analysis

Just after 10 p.m. on April 18, the Tsarnaev brothers were identified after having robbed a convenience store in Cambridge, Mass., just three miles from Boston, hours earlier. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer, who responded to the robbery, was shot and killed and found in his car by fellow responding officers. The two suspects later hijacked an SUV at gunpoint, releasing the driver unharmed. Authorities later caught up to the suspects, and a car chase ensued.

Just after midnight, the car chase ended with a gunfight in Watertown, Mass. The suspects reportedly threw explosive devices at police, though it is not yet confirmed what types of explosives allegedly were used. During the firefight, Tamerlan Tsarnaev was wounded, taken into custody and later reported dead. Some press reports suggest he may have been wearing some sort of suicide belt or vest. Dzhokhar escaped by driving the stolen SUV through the police barricade and remains at large. According to media reports, a third accomplice was detained earlier this morning by authorities and is being questioned.

According to The New York Times, the two men are from Chechnya. Their family also reportedly lived briefly in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, before moving to the United States in 2002. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's profile on VKontakte, a Russian social media website, said he attended school at the School No. 1 of Makhachkala, spoke English, Russian and Chechen and listed his worldview as Islam. A school administrator from the School No. 1 said the two suspects and their family had previously lived in Kyrgyzstan before moving to Dagestan.

VIDEO: History of the North Caucasus' Instability

Given that they are grassroots actors, there is likely only a small chance that the authorities will discover a formal link between the suspects and a state sponsor or a professional terrorist group such as al Qaeda or one of its franchise groups. Any link will likely be ideological rather than operational, although it is possible that the two have attended some type of basic militant training abroad. Given what we have learned about the suspects and the nature of the improvised explosive devices they constructed, it is very likely that the authorities will find that the brothers had read and studied al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula's Inspire Magazine.

This case also highlights our analysis that the jihadist threat now predominantly stems from grassroots operatives who live in the West rather than teams of highly trained operatives sent to the United States from overseas, like the team that executed the 9/11 attacks. This demonstrates how the jihadist threat has diminished in severity but broadened in scope in recent years -- a trend we expect to continue.

There will always be plenty of soft targets in a free society, and it is incredibly easy to kill people, even for untrained operatives. In this case, the brothers conducted an attack that was within their capabilities rather than attempting something more grandiose that would require outside assistance -- and which could therefore have put them in jeopardy of running into a government informant as they sought help. It is thus important for citizens to practice good situational awareness and to serve as grassroots defenders against the grassroots threat.

Bitcoin Is Tanking, right now!!

zg7666 — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 19:18:00 GMT

http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-plunges-2013-4

108$ now

...federal law enforcement officials are invoking the public safety exception to the Miranda rights, so that Tsarnaev will be questioned immediately without having Miranda rights issued to him.

shackleford — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:29:37 GMT

Government!

http://abcnews.go.com/US/boston-bomb-suspect-captured-alive-backyard-boat/story?id=18994511&#.UXH8wUqwWSr

A senior Justice Department official told ABC News that federal law enforcement officials are invoking the public safety exception to the Miranda rights, so that Tsarnaev will be questioned immediately without having Miranda rights issued to him.

The federal government's high value detainee interrogation group will be responsible for questioning him.

The Miranda exemption exists to protect the public safety from another attack, according to the official.

What is the libertarian explanation for the drop in gold prices?

Al_Gore the Idiot — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:48:09 GMT

What are your thoughts. Deflation threat? Evil banker smackdown? Cyprus situation resolved?

chat is bumpin

Malachi — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 03:48:45 GMT

some idiot is in there whining about how the government made him helpless and he is a war hero and shit. its hilarious. theres like 10 people in there, including Kelvin who is up way past his bedtime. I am done for the night.

Send Amanda Billyrock some love

John James — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:23:09 GMT

Girl's in a little funk phase right now, having a bit of a time adjusting, and finding a philosophical purpose.

You can tell she's in need of some good old fashioned camaraderie and companionship. Send her a nice comment, a PM, or better yet, a kickass response video...

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we are glad to have you back, John James

Malachi — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 23:38:15 GMT

thats all.

Guns Want You DEAD

Willy Truth — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 22:58:53 GMT

Welp, another massacre. This one, as you all know, is of a particularly heinous nature because the children are involved. Horrible, horrible stuff.

I think it's puzzling that so many people on my social networks are advocating "really doing something to make a difference this time" and attempting to whip up the masses in a frenzy to contact their congressmen to "make a real difference".

I got into a bit of an online tiff. Someone said that their coworker was able to obtain a gun in 15 minutes. I commented, asking "how many people he has killed?" He was incredulous, and insisted that I didn't understand. He said that 15 minutes simply isn't enough; we need a weeks or months long process. We need psychological evaluations.

I replied that it did not matter how long it took; it's not as if the state has some expert team of demigods to predict whether or not the person will ever commit a violent crime. The reality is that the government is inept in the most basic operations and the idea that a lengthier background check will prevent bad people from getting weapons is asinine.

Killers will get weapons. The only thing we can do is enable people to defend themselves.

I know this is very elementary but I wanted to talk about it with some like minded folks. What would be some good reading on the subject?

Also, do you think Obama cried for these children too?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/pakistan/8695679/168-children-killed-in-drone-strikes-in-Pakistan-since-start-of-campaign.html

Ben Swann leaving Fox19: Tell him what he should do next....

John James — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:33:14 GMT

Reporter Ben Swann is leaving Fox19 Cincinnati and his famous Reality Check segment to move on to new endeavors. He wants your input...

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Bitcoin drops 23% in one day.

Smiling Dave — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:05:39 GMT

Bitcoin drops 23% in one day:

http://arstechnica.com/business/2013/03/major-glitch-in-bitcoin-network-sparks-sell-off-price-temporarily-falls-23/

Just like it did in the past, when it dropped from $33 to a dime in a few hours.

But why? What happened to all its marvelous features? Isn't it supposed to be a sure thing? Isn't it the wave of the future?

Surely there must be something about it that will prevent it ever dropping in price. I don't understand.