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…the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, in interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number, is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others. – “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill January 8th, 2002 | Comments are closed
 Over on Where HipHop and Libertarianism meet, Cal makes a non-trivial observation pertaining to the much derided Cornel West rap album
Yes, that would seem a rather important prerequisite! Still, if an ‘artist’ can win the Turner Prize for Art without producing any art… January 7th, 2002 | Comments are closed
It seems that the US media now have a new bugbear as the source of all teen miscreant behaviour: Osama Bin Laden. When a teenager (a loner, naturally) in Tampa crashed his airplane into the Bank of America building, the US media rushed to blame Bin Laden. No where has it been suggested that the usual suspects, heavy metal bands, were at fault. Marilyn Manson, Slipknot and Rob Zombie are all off the hook. American has a new bugbear and he has a towel-wrapped around his head. Osama bin Laden does share one thing with his musician miscreants co-defendants, they all made really crap and disturbing videos. It seems the media was right one this one, a note was found praising Osama Bin Laden in the wreckage of the airplane, expressing sympathy for him and praising the events of the 9/11. What is more alarming is that the airplane was just trailed and allowed to crash into the skyscraper. It does seem rather daft to watch the airplane crash and do nothing. We are supposed to be re-assured by the fact that the airplane was followed all the way into the building and that there were two F15s scrambled. Surely the whole point of chasing the plane was to shoot it down? No doubt the Al Queda cells left in the world are studying this event closely. Fortunately the boy stole a pathetic little 2 seat airplane. This is proof, not that it is needed, that the Americans still have not grasped the danger of air based terror. NB: It is curious to note that some of the leading hard-core left wing bands in the US have kept very quiet since 9/11. There has been virtually not a hard-left peep from Rage Against the Machine, Zack la Rocha, Eddie Vedder or Chumbawumba. Andrew Ian Dodge “What Sucks? Statism Sucks!“ January 7th, 2002 | Comments are closed
I hope that if evil days should come upon our own country, and the last army which a collapsing Empire could interpose between London and the invader were dissolving in rout and ruin, that there would be some, even in these modern days, who would not care to accustom themselves to a new order of things and tamely survive the disaster – Winston Churchill January 6th, 2002 | Comments are closed
Those wanting to delve into the odd references that sometimes appear on Samizdata might wish to point their browser to Shoggoth.net and The H. P. Lovecraft archives. These sites will provide the curious with many lurid tales that will explain the lure of ‘Old Ones’. It might interest the reader to know there are many tales linking the octopoid Old Ones and the discovery of oil. Could Riyadh merely wish to pump its oil out to free those trapped beneath it? Is this why the Saudi’s are so reluctant to cut back their oil production when OPEC wishes them to? The Saudi desert contains many ancient temples said to be dedicated to gods as old as man itself as well as oil. Is their resistance to outsiders hiding something sinister? Could the Whahabi desire to fund their brand of Islam all over the Arab world been in preparation for the arrival of someone? Many observers say that some in the Saudi Royal family have tentacle-like networks all over the Muslim world. A deliberate hint or merely a blind stumble on the truth. I think it is time for all good scholars of the al Azif*1 to re-examine the accursed tome. Has Mr Bennett stumbled on an 1000 year old scribes’ error? Andrew Ian Dodge *1 = better known as ‘The Necronomicon’ [Editor’s note: as you might have noticed, we Samizdata folks are endlessly amused by references to horror fiction written in the 1920’s and 1930’s] January 5th, 2002 | Comments are closed
Scholar of arcane Anglospheric Cultism, the eminent James C. Bennett of Miskatonic University, has turned up a disturbing fact after translating an ancient text. In a closed session address to Foreign Policy Research Institute, Bennett reported his findings:
Naturally the Saudi ambassador dismissed this as:
Alarming stuff. [Editor’s note: you need to have read H. P . Lovecraft’s horror stories to have the slightest idea what this means] January 4th, 2002 | Comments are closed
When authorities warn you of the sinfulness of sex, there is an important lesson to be learned. Do not have sex with the authorities. -From “Life In Hell” by Matt Groening January 4th, 2002 | Comments are closed
Tom Burroughes makes a great point with his new phrase, “False Market Fundamentalism Syndrome”. However, I think that for reasons of making it simple for the simpleton members of the press we should call it FMFS. It then sounds like a disease and we all know how the press like reporting on diseases, even ones that don’t necessarily exist. If it sounds nasty, press outlets like the BBC in the UK and CBS in the USA just on trying to be cutting edge in convincing the populace that absolutely nothing in life is safe. Further the thoughts on ‘paleos’ of both left and right, it never ceases to amaze me to hear a senior politician make a pronouncement about how ordinary people feel about their freedom. It generally runs along the lines of; “they are too busy to be concerned with theoretical arguments about freedom. They are concerned with the money in their pocket, the state of the roads and public services.” The first time I heard this it amazed me to the core of my being. Of course the general public has a lot to answer for, after all the natural reaction to almost anything is: “the government ought to do something.” It is critical for libertarians to counter this belief that the government is the answer to all problems. This suits statists of course since it is they who have been convincing the populace that the state is the answer to all their problems. Most depressing is that this belief pervades both the traditional left and right. Andrew Ian Dodge “What Sucks? Statism Sucks!“ January 4th, 2002 | Comments are closed
Be at war with your vices; at peace with your neighbors, and let every New Year find you a better man – Benjamin Franklin January 3rd, 2002 | Comments are closed
Hear the joyous cry from the minarets as they announce that the Fastest Burqa in Blogistan is back in business… spread the word around, guess who’s back in town? Yes indeed, Natalie Solent had returned! January 2nd, 2002 | Comments are closed
So we are told the year 2002 is significant because it reads the same beginning to end as end to beginning. We are somehow fortunate, if we are a certain age, to be alive for two of them (1991 being the other one). 2002 is significant for those of us of a libertarian ilk, however numerology has nothing to do with it. We face a world in a flux, no more than usual, but in flux nonetheless. As I sit here writing this missive, Tony Blair is heading off to prevent a war on the Indian sub-Continent, convinced that his “president of the world” trick will prevent a 4th war between the two countries. Is Blair, even while still in office, to become the Jimmy Carter of the new century? Just the mere threat of his being sent to some far off land will make both sides question their motives for war. Blair will be appointed upon his retirement from Downing Street, UN “Meddler in Chief.” No doubt the blind-man of justice, Blunkett is even now thinking of ways to ever erode Britons personal liberties. Is it me or is not odd that the Sheffield socialist now has more in common with a fundamentalist Christian mid-westerner than he does with his former socialist comrades. One wonders if Blunkett and Ashcroft are in constant email contact regarding tactics on how to put their authoritarian plans in place. The only thing that is no mentioned is the punishment that dare not speak its name: the death penalty. We live in a situation in the west, where to question the laws brought into help stop terrorism is to be seen as an appeaser. At the same time the sainted left in the media are allowed to be actual apologists for the terrorists. These people claim that the attacks on the 11th and since then are self-inflicted and deserved. The real apologists are allowed to operate, quite rightly, under the banner of a free press, yet free speech is being curtailed under awash of legislation. 2002 will no doubt see virtual countries coming into their fore, not for financial purpose,s but in order to protect one from prosecution. Data havens will become information havens where those who do not wish to follow the party line will be able to express their opinions freely outside the realms of persecution. Of course Europe and the UK now have the addition of Euro wide “arrest warrants” meaning that one can offend a Greek and be arrested in the UK, and sent there for trial. In case the Greek government wished to re-assure us, they spent the later part of 2001 harassing a bunch of airplane-spotting nerds. These spies would be some of the most incompetent in existence, sticking out like a black man at a Klan rally. If they are spies they could only be CIA, for no other intelligence service is that gormless. It will be interesting to see if the EU uses these laws to start to shut down criticism of their utopian experiment Europe wide. No doubt this is more likely if the Euro has the wings of a turkey. Under the guise of “a threat to the economy of Europe” anti-Euro campaigners will be threatened with being dragged to Brussels for prosecution in Belgium’s notoriously speedy judicial system. But I have gone off message. With all this going round in the world, what is the role of the libertarian activist? Are we to return to our sitting, chat and smoking rooms to ponder more theory? Are we to return to the underground and ponder when next to show our faces in normal political circles? Or do we have a role in attempting to hold back the authoritarian urges of both the traditional right and left? The socialists are seemingly impotent, more concerned with defending the “misunderstood” Islamists than defending their own liberties. In the extreme, Jack Straw has been heard boasting that his son has become a convert to Islam, a religion they both claim to be “inclusive” despite both Koranic verse and recent events. I leave with this thought dear friends. What exactly are we the libertarian activists of the world to do in the coming days and months? What is our role in the post 9/11 world? Of course in my case 9/11 is irrelevant, I carry on hammering on about classical liberalism until I die or Cthulhu rises from his slumber in R’Leth. Andrew Ian Dodge “What Sucks? Statism Sucks!“ January 2nd, 2002 | Comments are closed
Streuth! Take your eyes off Adil Farooq over at muslimpundit for a few days and he goes bananas! There is been a big update of all sorts of good stuff and in particular a lengthy piece regarding ‘Our friends, The Saudis’. Adil administers them a severe public blogging with a cat-o-nine-tails! Check it out. January 2nd, 2002 | Comments are closed
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