December 2008 - Posts

• True News 15 : Statism is Dead - Part 5 - Terrorism

  The word terrorism is notoriously hard to define, for reasons which will become clear in a few minutes. The term "terrorism" comes from Latin terrere, "to frighten." A dictionary definition is: the act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy the demoralization and intimidation produced in this way Terrorism Law Definition "The threat or actual use of violence in order to intimidate or create panic, especially when utilized as a means of attempting to influence political conduct." Chapter 113B of Part I of Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism and lists the crimes associated with terrorism.[24] In Section 2331 of Chapter 113b, terrorism is defined as: "…activities that involve violent… or life-threatening acts… that… appear to be intended... to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;" International Terrorism Edward Peck, former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq under Jimmy Carter: "In 1985, when I was the Deputy Director of the Reagan White House Task Force on Terrorism, they asked us... to come up with a definition of terrorism that could be used throughout the government. We produced about six, and each and every case, they were rejected, because careful reading would indicate that our own country had been involved in some of those activities. […] After the task force concluded its work, Congress got into it, and you can Google into U.S. Code Title 18, Section 2331, and read the US definition of terrorism. And one of them in here says — one of the terms, 'international terrorism,' means 'activities that,' I quote, 'appear to be intended to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.' […] Yes, well, certainly, you can think of a number of countries that have been involved in such activities. Ours is one of them. Israel is another. And so, the terrorist, of course, is in the eye of the beholder." For instance, in 2000 Hans Von Sponeck, the head UNICEF official in Iraq from 1998 to 2000, placed the death toll from the 1990s US-led Iraq sanctions at 1.26 million, including 500,000 children under the age of five. That would be the equivalent of almost 13 million American deaths, including 5 million helpless children. Imagine how hard it would be for Tony Soprano to create universal and objective moral definitions condemning racketeering, blackmail, extortion and intimidation that did not include his own activities... Most skeptics, particularly on the left, are deeply aware of the violence and intimidation that the US government has used throughout its history... The death count for US imperialism has been conservatively estimated at almost 30,000,000 souls. Three times the body count of World War I. 10,000 times 9/11. Imagine a 9/11 attack every single day, somewhere in the US, for over 25 years straight... However, all this almost completely misses the point and true definition of terrorism. the act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy the demoralization and intimidation produced in this way The use or threat of violence against foreigners is only possible and profitable because of the use or threat of violence against domestic citizens. Against – you. Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney -- and all of the war profiteers -- do not pay for the wars they start. If they did, there would be no wars. You pay for these wars. The blood is on their hands. The bill is in yours, and your children's. Why do you pay for the wars? Well, for the same reason that you would pay off Tony Soprano. Because the government "uses force or threats to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate" you. If you do not pay your taxes – your extortion - you will get a letter, and then another letter, and then a court date, and then an extortion notice for back taxes, interest and penalties. If you do not pay off this extortion, armed thugs in costume will come to your house and drag you off to jail. If you resist, you will be brutally subdued – if you raise a gun to defend yourself against this home invasion, you will be slaughtered like livestock in a hail of bullets. In jail, you will be brutalized, tortured, raped, for months and years. You may be released, eventually, like Winston Smith, a broken and shattered soul. This is the reality of human farming. Violence, kidnapping, torture and institutionalized "rape rooms" – these are all threats designed to "demoralize, intimidate and subjugate" for the political goals of regime change. War is an effect of taxation. Taxation is terrorism. And that is only the beginning. Domestic Terrorism It is always hard to truly see the terrorism involved in advancing causes we believe are good. Do you like the idea of giving money to the poor, of reducing addiction to hard drugs, of providing healthcare to the needy sick, and sustenance to the aged? I think that these are all goals that we would accept as good. How are these goals pursued in a statist society? The War on Drugs First, terrorism is used to extract money from the general population. Next, some of that money is used to pay for additional terrorism against people suspected or accused of drug use. Next, more money is used to pay for kidnapping and imprisonment. The torture is shared between the guards and the fellow prisoners. Remember: terrorism is: "The act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy." Every policy the government has is a political policy. The only fundamental weapon any government has is the legal initiation of the use of force. The initiation of violence in order to achieve a political policy is terrorism. The war on drugs is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence. Public school education is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence. The welfare state is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence. Every goal the government pursues is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence. This is why terrorism is so impossible to define. Statism is terrorism. We are educated by terrorists. We are controlled, kidnapped, imprisoned and bribed by terrorists. And when we see it, and feel it, and speak it clearly, it will end.   List of US imperialist deaths: http://tinyurl.com/statism-6 Posted Dec 09 2008, 05:27 PM by Stefan Molyneux with 1 comment(s) Filed under: "freedomain radio" terrorism statism chomsky imperialism libertarian "ron paul"

• Freedom, Reason and Cults - the transcript...

  Friedrich Nietzsche - "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself."   The word "cult" has always been used as an empty ad hominem attack against unsettling truths. Let us take a look at this word "cult," and use it with real precision about existing social institutions. For authoritative British usage, the Compact Oxford English Dictionary of Current English defines "cult" and "sect" as: Cult: 1 a system of religious worship directed towards a particular figure or object. 2 a small religious group regarded as strange or as imposing excessive control over members. Sect: 1 a group of people with different religious beliefs (typically regarded as heretical) from those of a larger group to which they belong. 2 a group with extreme or dangerous philosophical or political ideas.   Studies of religious, political, and other cults have identified a number of key steps in a type of coercive persuasion:[23] 1. People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations; 2. their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized; 3. they receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from the leader; 4. they get a new identity based on the group; 5. they are subject to entrapment and their access to information is severely controlled.[24] Ovid once said: "Treason doth never prosper: what's the reason? Why if it prosper, none dare call it treason." If a man successfully overthrows the King, no one calls him treasonous, because he now has the power to execute others. We could equally say: "Cults never prosper: what's the reason? Why if they prosper, none dare call them cults." Let's look at a few institutions that truly fit the definition of a cult. The Army Funded through violence against citizens, commits murder/genocide. 1. People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations (boot camp, combat) 2. Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized (obey orders) 3. They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from the leader ("You are heroes!") 4. They get a new identity based on the group (uniforms, medals, rank) 5. They are subject to entrapment and their access to information is severely controlled. (Stop-loss, unilateral contract changes, lies about joining up, military censorship) A cult or sect is "A group with extreme or dangerous philosophical or political ideas." "It is heroic and highly moral to rob citizens in order to pay people in costume to murder by the thousands any group you point at..." Would you consider that a dangerous philosophical or political idea?   Religion Prospers by lying to and bullying utterly dependent children, commits emotional and verbal abuse against the helpless - and all too often pedophilia - denies condoms to AIDS-ridden countries, justifies and supports wars and so on. 1. People are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations (hellfire, damnation, social ostracism, circumcision, original sin...) 2. Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized (Obey the priest, give money) 3. They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from the leader ("God loves you!") 4. They get a new identity based on the group ("Muslim! Christian! Jew! Born-again!") 5. They are subject to entrapment and their access to information is severely controlled. (How many people have read the entire Bible? What happens to a family if the father begins to doubt the existence of gods and the virtue of superstition?)   State Schools Funded through threats of violence against parents, denies choice, traps children for years, makes kids slothful, resentful, frightened, bored, aggressive -- and significantly impairs their cognitive development. A truly coercive form of kidnapping. 1. Children are put in physically or emotionally distressing situations (confinement, fear, boredom, rote repetition, mockery, humiliation, punishment...) 2. Their problems are reduced to one simple explanation, which is repeatedly emphasized (obey the teacher, get good marks, the state solves all problems) 3. They receive unconditional love, acceptance, and attention from the leader (praise for obedience and dumb regurgitation, punishment for disobedience and original thinking) 4. They get a new identity based on the group ("Patriotism is a virtue! You are a citizen!") 5. They are subject to entrapment and their access to information is severely controlled. (parents cannot choose state schools, children are not allowed to leave, must complete assigned reading and regurgitate statist propaganda, and their parents will be violently aggressed against if they do not pay for this brutal indoctrination of their children.)   Cults never prosper, you see – because if they do prosper, they become governments, and armies, and religions - they become "culture."   Friedrich Nietzsche "Insanity in individuals is something rare - but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule."   Think of the absurd cultural beliefs that people somehow think are really true... The Military "Hit men who murder for money are stone evil, unless they put on a green costume, and then they become moral heroes..." The Government "The government must use the threat of violence to steal half your income, in order to protect you from violence and theft." Christianity "The belief that a cosmic Jewish Zombie who was his own father can make you live forever if you symbolically eat his flesh and telepathically tell him you accept him as your master, so he can remove an evil force from your soul that is present in humanity because a rib-woman was convinced by a talking snake to eat from a magical tree..."   "Gases expand when heated" – this is not a statement of culture, but of science. Mathematics is not cultural, but rational. Einstein's theory of relativity is not cultural, but factual. Logic and science are not local cultural customs, but objective and rational methodologies. My goal is to move philosophy from culture to truth, by reasoning from first principles, with reference to empirical evidence. Culture is that which is not true, but is believed to be true. Religion, patriotism, militarism, political allegiance, all the supposed virtues of accidental geography. Reasoning from first principles is dangerous to "culture," since culture is always revealed by philosophy as irrational prejudice, indoctrinated through propaganda and the threat of violence. Culture is the opposite of philosophy, and truth, just as superstition is the opposite of science, and proof. Culture is only the first syllable. Cult.   Posted Dec 06 2008, 08:29 PM by Stefan Molyneux with no comments