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16
General / OccupyOakland: A Gallery of Rebels
« on: October 29, 2011, 04:19:42 AM »
I have precious little time before I get back out there, so I’m going to let images do the talking for me. After the pre-dawn raid of OccupyOakland yesterday the displaced Occupants performed an impromptu march through downtown Oakland and eventually returning to the Plaza where they faced off with officers from between 12 and 17 different departments. I have the good fortune to know Faeza Moghul and Tom Vee, both exceptional independent photographers and videographers in Oakland. Much of what follows was captured by them. I will try to approximate chronological order.
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17
General / OccupyOakland: Riot Police Destroy Occupy Encampment and Tear Gas Media
« on: October 29, 2011, 04:15:26 AM »
Chris Rock once said, “That tiger didn’t go crazy. That tiger went tiger!” Well the Oakland Police department went State. 500 paid thugs (i.e. officers and sheriff’s deputies) from over 12 agencies assisted the OPD in a pre-dawn raid of OccupyOakland, evicting campers from the newly named Oscar Grant Plaza in front of Oakland city hall. Riot police clad in gas masks used rubber bullets, bean bag rounds, flash grenades, tear gas canisters and an LRAD sonic cannon against non-violent peaceful protesters. Mass Arrests are being reported, and although the police reported that there were no injuries, live-twitter accounts disagree. City Officials have advised downtown business to remain closed until further notice.
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18
General / OccupySF: Locke vs. Marx
« on: October 29, 2011, 04:08:57 AM »
It didn’t take more than a few nights at OccupySF to realize that the core group of Occupiers were deeply committed young socialists, communists and social anarchsts, even more so at Occupy Oakland. In fact the magazine that started this whole Occupy Movement, AdBusters, is arguably an anarcho-communist rag. Now, I have a lot of love for that crowd because to some degree this is my background and I understand that they are coming from a well meaning place. Dyed hair, dreadlocks, facial piercings and tattoos are all common. We used to call it “gutter punk.” I’m not sure if that’s a pejorative term now. If so I apologize. I certainly don’t mean it that way. They are homeless young adults who are voluntarily unemployed as an act of rebellion against capitalism.
One night I stayed up until dawn talking with a young Marxist. We distilled all our political and economic disagreements down to one philosophical split that we couldn’t resolve. I believe in property and he doesn’t.
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One night I stayed up until dawn talking with a young Marxist. We distilled all our political and economic disagreements down to one philosophical split that we couldn’t resolve. I believe in property and he doesn’t.
Read More
19
General / Re: More Police Brutality at OccupySF
« on: October 18, 2011, 11:37:27 AM »
I don't think most of them are homeless.
20
General / More Police Brutality at OccupySF
« on: October 18, 2011, 03:20:44 AM »
The Occupation was moved from the Federal Reserve to Justin Herman Plaza, which I believe was a request by the police, but I missed that General Assembly. The confrontation began when police demanded that the Occupiers disassemble their canapes. Some Occupiers responded by duct-taping themselves to the canapes, which didn’t cause the police a moment’s hesitation in tearing them down. Again the strategy of the activists was to form a human barricade when the Department of Public Works came to steal their supplies. Police responded in the typical way.
Article with videos
Vote it up on FTL
Article with videos
Vote it up on FTL
21
General / OccupySF: Civil Disobedience and Police Brutality (VIDEO)
« on: October 10, 2011, 10:03:43 AM »
Wednesday night OccupySF consisted of approximately 200 protesters who built a tent city on the grounds of the Federal Reserve Building. The encampment included a working kitchen with propane powered stove, a communications center with power generator, and an infirmary. Although they had previously been told the tents would be permitted, SFPD said that they would need to be taken down. The campers complied with these orders.
At 2:00 am Thursday morning 80 officers in riot gear raided the encampment anyway. Police formed a perimeter separating the protesters from their supplies as the Department of Public Works seized nine truckloads of tents, communications equipment, medical supplies, food and other donations.
Protesters responded by forming a human chain to impede them from stealing their supplies. Police responded by cracking skulls, which protesters say was excessive force. You be the judge. The first blow from the police occurs one minute in.
Video Here
Vote for FTL show prep here
At 2:00 am Thursday morning 80 officers in riot gear raided the encampment anyway. Police formed a perimeter separating the protesters from their supplies as the Department of Public Works seized nine truckloads of tents, communications equipment, medical supplies, food and other donations.
Protesters responded by forming a human chain to impede them from stealing their supplies. Police responded by cracking skulls, which protesters say was excessive force. You be the judge. The first blow from the police occurs one minute in.
Video Here
Vote for FTL show prep here
22
General / Re: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Coming soon to Anytown, USA
« on: October 06, 2011, 02:26:59 AM »How the fuck do they detect dissent? Mind beams?
I don't get it either... but here's what Wired.com's Danger Room said
Quote
The Pentagon isn’t content to simply watch the enemies it knows it has, however. The Army also wants to identify potentially hostile behavior and intent, in order to uncover clandestine foes.
Charles River Analytics is using its Army cash to build a so-called “Adversary Behavior Acquisition, Collection, Understanding, and Summarization (ABACUS)” tool. The system would integrate data from informants’ tips, drone footage, and captured phone calls. Then it would apply “a human behavior modeling and simulation engine” that would spit out “intent-based threat assessments of individuals and groups.” In other words: This software could potentially find out which people are most likely to harbor ill will toward the U.S. military or its objectives.
“The enemy goes to great lengths to hide his activities,” explains Modus Operandi, Inc., which won an Army contract to assemble “probabilistic algorithms th[at] determine the likelihood of adversarial intent.” The company calls its system “Clear Heart.” As in, the contents of your heart are now open for the Pentagon to see. It may be the most unnerving detail in this whole unnerving story.
23
General / Re: Solidarity: Can the Tea Party and Occupy Wall St find common cause?
« on: October 05, 2011, 11:43:20 AM »
Eek! fixed the link.
Ending the Fed and ending the wars seems like the easiest cause to rally the vast majority of Americans behind, but at every rally I've ever been to that message is drowning in chanting about domestic economic policy which always turns the stomach of the other side and prevents cooperation.
Anthony Gregory said it best, "As a libertarian I'll tolerate the welfare system in the name of peace, but too many progressives it seems will tolerate war in the name of the welfare system."
Ending the Fed and ending the wars seems like the easiest cause to rally the vast majority of Americans behind, but at every rally I've ever been to that message is drowning in chanting about domestic economic policy which always turns the stomach of the other side and prevents cooperation.
Anthony Gregory said it best, "As a libertarian I'll tolerate the welfare system in the name of peace, but too many progressives it seems will tolerate war in the name of the welfare system."
24
General / Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Coming soon to Anytown, USA
« on: October 05, 2011, 11:37:23 AM »Quote
bring all the pieces together.
1) Drone strikes against US citizens branded “terrorists” are ok.
2) Collateral Damage of US citizens during Drone strikes is ok.
3) The definition of “combatant” has drifted to include inciteful speech.
4) The definition of “terrorist” has drifted to include crimes of dissent.
5) Drones are being programed to detect dissent.
6) Domestic police will soon be using unmanned aerial vehicles.
7) Military technology trickles down to local law enforcement.
Are you seeing the pattern yet?
Here's the full article Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Coming soon to Anytown, USA
Or vote it up on the FTL front page here
25
General / To Astaiwah: Somalia 2030 - The Dark Hour
« on: October 04, 2011, 02:16:29 AM »
It was impossibly quiet. Away from city lights, on moonless nights, the stars appear more brilliant than most people have ever seen. But to the ancients the night sky was a tapestry of signs.
"The dark hour" a voice pierced the cool air.
"What is the dark hour?" asked another, and then the night returned to reverent silence.
A pause.
"It is the darkest part of the night. Before dawn is when it happens. Soon the false dawn will appear."
Another silence.
"What is the false dawn?"
“Pay attention.”
The two looked into the darkness.
In the East a vertical beam of white light extended upward from the horizon across the arc of the sky. As it grew it was followed by a cold milky haze.
“The false dawn is brightest near the autumn equinox. But there’s no rosy hue like the true dawn, just a pale grey. There is a special blessing in the hours before the true dawn. A tranquility in the air. A spiritual traveler should always wake before the sun, when our minds and bodies are refreshed. It is a time of reflection and rumination before the business of the day clouds our minds.”
“So what should we be reflecting on?”
"Sit child, I will tell you the story of The Herdsman and the Lion.”
----------------------------------------------
A long long time ago our clan convened an assembly of our elders to appoint a sultan who was granted executive powers. And so they chose a man named Assad the Lion who was both a ferocious warrior and a wise jurist. He was known for his courage, and wit. But he quickly abandoned the Law and began legislating new decrees our ancestors had never seen.
Sultan Assad ordered that for every meal he would eat only the bone marrow of young goats, which is the creamiest most delicious part of the animal. He said that the rich protein would keep him strong, both in body and mind, and was sure that the clan would recognize the value of his strong leadership. But after feeding the Sultan this way for several days the clansmen began to worry. To satisfy the Sultan’s appetite they had to slaughter ten goats every day, and their herds were rapidly dwindling.
One day a herdsman came to the Sultan to plead with him that if he didn’t change the rate of his consumption they will have slaughtered every goat in every herd within three months. Assad the Lion called him forward and in an act of cold calculation he cut out the herdsman’s tongue who screamed as blood poured from his mouth, but no one dared to come to his aid. That night the Sultan ate the tongue with his evening meal.
But it was too late. The people had heard the warning of the herdsman and knew the direness of their situation. The clan elders convened a second assembly, this time in secret, to discuss their predicament.
The elders thought a coup was in order, and that it was time to plot the murder of the Sultan. They argued that if they all joined together they could over power Assad the Lion. But the herdsman objected, in writing of course. He argued that if they overthrew the Sultan by violent means the result would only be the rise of another tyrant. So, he devised a different plan.
Bone marrow is very fatty. So, for one month they would gradually increase the Sultan’s portions. Meanwhile, the rest of the clan would perform the fast of King David, only eating every other day, to discipline their appetites. After a month Assad had become accustomed to meals nearly twice as large, and had gained considerable weight, while the rest of the clan had become lean and efficient, accustomed to hunger.
Then one day the herdsman returned to the Sultan, but since he could not speak he brought a written declaration. It was a manifesto of reform which he presented to Assad. It described the discontentment of his clansmen, and served him an ultimatum. The declaration was signed by every herdsman, every farmer and every baker in the clan pledging to slaughter not one beast, harvest not one crop and bake not one loaf until he peacefully and voluntarily relinquished his appointment. There would be no more bone marrow.
Enraged, the Sultan tore the document to shreds declaring that the clan could not survive without him. He drew a billao dagger and lunged at the herdsman, but he was made clumsy by his obesity and the herdsman easily dodged. The Sultan fell flat on his belly and the assembled crowd laughed, humiliating him in his own court.
The next day the Sultan went barging into people’s homes looking for food, but he found none. On the second day he went to the orchards to steal fruit but he found people ready to defend their property, and himself in no condition to fight. On the third day he marched out into the grazing pastures to slaughter a goat himself, but he was so fat from marrow and weak from hunger that he couldn't catch one. The chase left him exhausted, wheezing in the dirt.
The herdsman approached him in the field, but the Sultan was too weak to get up. He laid on the ground gasping for air as the herdsman stood over him without speaking. Once he caught his breath Assad the Lion cried out, “I submit. I submit. I submit!” and began weeping. The herdsman bent forward and took Assad’s head in his hands. With one hand he pet his hair and with the other he fed him a fist full of raw oats, as he did to sooth a frightened animal.
Assad became known from then on as Assad the Lamb, and lived out his life in humiliated obscurity. He was never trusted to serve as a jurist for the clan ever again. His only role was to be a servant to the herdsman in restitution for the injury. The herdsman became one of our clan’s wisest and most celebrated jurists, and Assad was charged with reading his written statements. And the elders resolved to never appoint another sultan.
-------------------------------------------------------
There was a green flash and then twilight. The sky turned gray and then blue. The stars faded. Like a wave, a roar swept over the valley. Birds began to sing. The grass and trees came to life with a soft rustle. And there was no more silence.
Faces became discernible again. Young Hakim and his grandfather Jilani, the elder jurist of their clan, sat around the coals and ashes of last night’s fire. Paying attention.
The child looked puzzled. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t they just overpower Assad at the beginning? They wouldn’t have lost all those goats.”
Jilani stroked his beard. “It is part of the natural Law that the ends will always contain their means. What made Assad a tyrant was that he deviated from the natural way, or most precisely the elders did by appointing him. You cannot return to the natural way by unnatural means. If they had resolved to murder him their result would contain more violence. Without addressing the original deviation the elders would have only replaced him with a new sultan, likely whoever lead the party that killed him. And there’s no telling how many lives would have been lost, or how many goats a new tyrant would demand. Not to mention, if they had killed Assad he would not have been alive to offer restitution.”
“I think I understand. But how do you know what the natural way is?”
“That’s a question for another night. I have affairs to attend to.” Jilani stood up, using a piece of spiraled drift wood as a cane. “Stay here as long as you like. Think a lot. The sunrise will be soon. It will be beautiful. The next time we meet we will discuss the Law.”
Jilani began walking down the the mountain, leaving Hakim alone with his thoughts.
"The dark hour" a voice pierced the cool air.
"What is the dark hour?" asked another, and then the night returned to reverent silence.
A pause.
"It is the darkest part of the night. Before dawn is when it happens. Soon the false dawn will appear."
Another silence.
"What is the false dawn?"
“Pay attention.”
The two looked into the darkness.
In the East a vertical beam of white light extended upward from the horizon across the arc of the sky. As it grew it was followed by a cold milky haze.
“The false dawn is brightest near the autumn equinox. But there’s no rosy hue like the true dawn, just a pale grey. There is a special blessing in the hours before the true dawn. A tranquility in the air. A spiritual traveler should always wake before the sun, when our minds and bodies are refreshed. It is a time of reflection and rumination before the business of the day clouds our minds.”
“So what should we be reflecting on?”
"Sit child, I will tell you the story of The Herdsman and the Lion.”
----------------------------------------------
A long long time ago our clan convened an assembly of our elders to appoint a sultan who was granted executive powers. And so they chose a man named Assad the Lion who was both a ferocious warrior and a wise jurist. He was known for his courage, and wit. But he quickly abandoned the Law and began legislating new decrees our ancestors had never seen.
Sultan Assad ordered that for every meal he would eat only the bone marrow of young goats, which is the creamiest most delicious part of the animal. He said that the rich protein would keep him strong, both in body and mind, and was sure that the clan would recognize the value of his strong leadership. But after feeding the Sultan this way for several days the clansmen began to worry. To satisfy the Sultan’s appetite they had to slaughter ten goats every day, and their herds were rapidly dwindling.
One day a herdsman came to the Sultan to plead with him that if he didn’t change the rate of his consumption they will have slaughtered every goat in every herd within three months. Assad the Lion called him forward and in an act of cold calculation he cut out the herdsman’s tongue who screamed as blood poured from his mouth, but no one dared to come to his aid. That night the Sultan ate the tongue with his evening meal.
But it was too late. The people had heard the warning of the herdsman and knew the direness of their situation. The clan elders convened a second assembly, this time in secret, to discuss their predicament.
The elders thought a coup was in order, and that it was time to plot the murder of the Sultan. They argued that if they all joined together they could over power Assad the Lion. But the herdsman objected, in writing of course. He argued that if they overthrew the Sultan by violent means the result would only be the rise of another tyrant. So, he devised a different plan.
Bone marrow is very fatty. So, for one month they would gradually increase the Sultan’s portions. Meanwhile, the rest of the clan would perform the fast of King David, only eating every other day, to discipline their appetites. After a month Assad had become accustomed to meals nearly twice as large, and had gained considerable weight, while the rest of the clan had become lean and efficient, accustomed to hunger.
Then one day the herdsman returned to the Sultan, but since he could not speak he brought a written declaration. It was a manifesto of reform which he presented to Assad. It described the discontentment of his clansmen, and served him an ultimatum. The declaration was signed by every herdsman, every farmer and every baker in the clan pledging to slaughter not one beast, harvest not one crop and bake not one loaf until he peacefully and voluntarily relinquished his appointment. There would be no more bone marrow.
Enraged, the Sultan tore the document to shreds declaring that the clan could not survive without him. He drew a billao dagger and lunged at the herdsman, but he was made clumsy by his obesity and the herdsman easily dodged. The Sultan fell flat on his belly and the assembled crowd laughed, humiliating him in his own court.
The next day the Sultan went barging into people’s homes looking for food, but he found none. On the second day he went to the orchards to steal fruit but he found people ready to defend their property, and himself in no condition to fight. On the third day he marched out into the grazing pastures to slaughter a goat himself, but he was so fat from marrow and weak from hunger that he couldn't catch one. The chase left him exhausted, wheezing in the dirt.
The herdsman approached him in the field, but the Sultan was too weak to get up. He laid on the ground gasping for air as the herdsman stood over him without speaking. Once he caught his breath Assad the Lion cried out, “I submit. I submit. I submit!” and began weeping. The herdsman bent forward and took Assad’s head in his hands. With one hand he pet his hair and with the other he fed him a fist full of raw oats, as he did to sooth a frightened animal.
Assad became known from then on as Assad the Lamb, and lived out his life in humiliated obscurity. He was never trusted to serve as a jurist for the clan ever again. His only role was to be a servant to the herdsman in restitution for the injury. The herdsman became one of our clan’s wisest and most celebrated jurists, and Assad was charged with reading his written statements. And the elders resolved to never appoint another sultan.
-------------------------------------------------------
There was a green flash and then twilight. The sky turned gray and then blue. The stars faded. Like a wave, a roar swept over the valley. Birds began to sing. The grass and trees came to life with a soft rustle. And there was no more silence.
Faces became discernible again. Young Hakim and his grandfather Jilani, the elder jurist of their clan, sat around the coals and ashes of last night’s fire. Paying attention.
The child looked puzzled. “I don’t understand. Why didn’t they just overpower Assad at the beginning? They wouldn’t have lost all those goats.”
Jilani stroked his beard. “It is part of the natural Law that the ends will always contain their means. What made Assad a tyrant was that he deviated from the natural way, or most precisely the elders did by appointing him. You cannot return to the natural way by unnatural means. If they had resolved to murder him their result would contain more violence. Without addressing the original deviation the elders would have only replaced him with a new sultan, likely whoever lead the party that killed him. And there’s no telling how many lives would have been lost, or how many goats a new tyrant would demand. Not to mention, if they had killed Assad he would not have been alive to offer restitution.”
“I think I understand. But how do you know what the natural way is?”
“That’s a question for another night. I have affairs to attend to.” Jilani stood up, using a piece of spiraled drift wood as a cane. “Stay here as long as you like. Think a lot. The sunrise will be soon. It will be beautiful. The next time we meet we will discuss the Law.”
Jilani began walking down the the mountain, leaving Hakim alone with his thoughts.
26
General / Solidarity: Can the Tea Party and Occupy Wall St find common cause?
« on: October 04, 2011, 02:15:21 AM »
Many libertarians will point out that the definition of “liberal” has changed. What used to be a philosophy of small government and economic freedom is now the hallmark busy-body regulations and central economic planning. To elucidate this distinction many call themselves, “classical liberals.” What’s less often discussed is the history of “Solidarity.” Today “Solidarity” is often used to mean unity among international socialists and communist organizations. Although at rallies they espouse massages of peace, diversity and freedom, which I stand behind, their literature usually preaches a kind of class war, and big government solution.
The history of “Solidarity” is quite different however. The term comes from the Polish “Solidarność” which was a non-governmental trade union, or more accurately a black market resistance movement operating within the Soviet-bloc in the 1980s. Solidarity was a non-violent, anti-communist movement that was instrumental to the fall of the Soviet Union, and it could easily be described as a “classical liberal” movement. In 1986 free market economist Murray Rothbard visited Poland with warm reception from Solidarity, and the movement was flush with translations of Mises and Hayek, which were contraband.
One lesson to be learned from this is the folly of Utopianism. Prior to the Solidarity movement many anti-Soviet groups held the belief that an activist must hold a Utopian ideal to keep them motivated. The result was infighting between groups who shared the same goal. In short, Utopianism made them easy to divide and conquer. Solidarity proposed a different strategy whereby the emphasis was not on what activists favored, but instead a broad agreement on what they opposed. This was equally motivating, but without the divisiveness.
Read More
The history of “Solidarity” is quite different however. The term comes from the Polish “Solidarność” which was a non-governmental trade union, or more accurately a black market resistance movement operating within the Soviet-bloc in the 1980s. Solidarity was a non-violent, anti-communist movement that was instrumental to the fall of the Soviet Union, and it could easily be described as a “classical liberal” movement. In 1986 free market economist Murray Rothbard visited Poland with warm reception from Solidarity, and the movement was flush with translations of Mises and Hayek, which were contraband.
One lesson to be learned from this is the folly of Utopianism. Prior to the Solidarity movement many anti-Soviet groups held the belief that an activist must hold a Utopian ideal to keep them motivated. The result was infighting between groups who shared the same goal. In short, Utopianism made them easy to divide and conquer. Solidarity proposed a different strategy whereby the emphasis was not on what activists favored, but instead a broad agreement on what they opposed. This was equally motivating, but without the divisiveness.
Read More
27
General / Re: Dear Federal Reserve Bureaucrat,
« on: October 04, 2011, 02:13:46 AM »Good to have you back man.
Hey. Didn't realize I was missed. It seemed like the place slowed down after the new show prep engine.
28
General / Dear Federal Reserve Bureaucrat,
« on: September 30, 2011, 01:40:15 AM »
Dear Federal Reserve Bureaucrat,
If you’re reading this you were probably recently hired as part of the Federal Reserve’s new social media monitoring program. Chances are you’re a recent high school drop out, or part of some make-work federal job placement program. You probably don’t completely understand who it is that you’re working for, and what it is that you’re doing. So, I can’t really hold it against you. I’d like to welcome you to our little corner of the Internet, and offer you some sincere advice.
You’re a bureaucrat now, so it’s important that you learn ways to avoid doing work. Otherwise you’re going to raise the bar for all your new bureaucrat friends, and they won’t like you anymore. I mean let’s face it, you’ve got a pretty sweet gig. Wouldn’t want to mess that up. So, let’s take a look at this recent “request for proposal” your bosses sent out for the creation of a “social listening platform” and see if we can’t find some corners you can cut.
You’re looking for a social media monitoring company to design a program for you that can, “gather data from various social media outlets and news sources” to “guide the organization’s public relations group.” I was wondering if you’d ever heard of a website called, “Google.” It’s pretty useful for that, and it’s got a lot of interesting tools that might make your job a lot easier, if not completely obsolete. Stop me if I’m going too fast. I know how you bureaucrats are easily confused, and some of this may seem a little newfangled.
You’ve asked that the program “be able to gather data from the primary social media platforms – Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Forums and YouTube.” and that it should also be able to, “aggregate data from various media outlets such as: CNN, WSJ, Factiva etc.” Boy are you going to be excited! If you go over to Google there’s this thing called a “Search Engine.” It does all of that! There’s even a navigation bar at the top that lets you limit your searches to news, or video, or blogs. You can even search in the shopping section and see who’s selling anti-Fed merchandise. Just don’t bother with the “I’m Feeling Lucky” button. It’s totally useless.
Read More
29
General / Does anyone remember Liberty Frames?
« on: May 09, 2011, 09:06:51 PM »
It was ages ago. They advertised on the show. Libertarian/Agorist custom framing. Does anyone remember?
I just saw this photo of Jason Talley with the Shire Society Declaration in front of a stack of frames, so I figured that person must still be around.
I'm doing an art show opening June 3rd and could use the frames.
Here's my recent art project if anyone's interested.
I just saw this photo of Jason Talley with the Shire Society Declaration in front of a stack of frames, so I figured that person must still be around.
I'm doing an art show opening June 3rd and could use the frames.
Here's my recent art project if anyone's interested.
