Republicans and Democrats Will Never Deliver Peace Reply

by • Anti-Imperialism/Foreign Policy

Nothing like stating the obvious.

By Jo Jorgensen, The American Conservative

The 2016 Republican presidential primary debates revealed a sea change. From 2008 to 2012, then-congressman Ron Paul was routinely booed for his criticism of America’s foreign policy. It was even common to hear Republican office holders, commentators, and activists say they “agreed with Ron Paul on everything but foreign policy.” Yet in 2016, candidate Donald Trump was cheered for calling the Iraq war the biggest blunder in American history.

One would have thought Trump’s victory would have resulted in a major reduction of America’s military presence in the Middle East and Afghanistan. However, three years and 10 months after President Trump was sworn into office, at least 3,000 troops will remain in Iraq at the end of the year if Trump’s troop reductions go into effect. How many troops will remain in Afghanistan depends on how successful the military-industrial complex, and their allies on Capitol Hill and in the media, are at undermining Trump.

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The Coming Biden-Harris Law and Order Regime Reply

by • Uncategorized
Prediction:
A Biden/Harris regime will crack down harder on BLM, Antifa, left-wing protestors, and their right-wing counterparts than a Trump-Pence-Barr regime. The “Biden administration” will merely be a euphemism for a ruling class unity regime without the distraction of the Orange Man daily freak show. A certain amount of disorder is in Trump’s interests, so he can promote himself as a law and order man as opposed to the incompetent Democrats who allegedly coddle rioters and criminals.
The Democrats want the protestors to vote for them. But a change of administrations will be a whole new ballgame. The new administration will be trying to demonstrate its competence when compared to its predecessor and will want to brag about how it allegedly restored order, curbed civil unrest, reduced crime, reformed the police, and cracked down on hate groups, along with left-wing wing extremists.

Is Trump the Second Coming? Reply

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies

An anarchist fellow on social media has a pretty good assessment of the evangelical/pro-life Trump-worshipers.

“Pro-Life Republicans – stop crowing about that Barret woman. She is NEVER going to overturn Roe v. Wade. None of the GOP will EVER do that, because none of them actually care about Fetuses. They don’t care about most living breathing people and they definitely don’t care about possible people still in the womb. Abortion is infinitely more useful to them as a means to rally their base of hooting morons than as a win.

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The Neocon-Maoist Axis Reply

by • Uncategorized

From a social media post. This may be the first time Trotskyists and Maoists have ever manage to get along.

“The coalition behind Biden is ridiculous – Lincoln Project “Never Trumper” Republicans and most of the leadership of the Democratic Socialists of America, Silicon Valley tech giants and Black Lives Matter, Wall Street megadonors and the remnants of Occupy Wall Street, etc., even the inappropriately-named Revolutionary Communist Party (Refuse Fascism). It is a totally phony ideological configuration.”

21st Century Authoritarianism Reply

by • Science and Technology

By John Robb, Global Guerrillas

Here’s a question you should be asking yourself:

What does 21st Century authoritarianism look like?

Given what we’ve seen so far, it isn’t likely that we’re going to see a return to the 20th Century model, with its absolute dictators, industrial scale bureaucracies, paramilitaries, ideologies, ubiquitous/vicious secret police, relentless propaganda, etc…

That model died when globalization and the Internet hollowed out the nation-state.

The new model of authoritarianism. The model that is sweeping the world is very different.

It’s networked.

These networks aren’t formal constructs. They don’t rely on rigid ideologies or hierarchies. They don’t even use the left/right spectrum.

Instead, they are open, amorphous, and participatory. Networks that are in constant motion… nominally led by political showmen with little real power.

These networks don’t rely on government bureaucracies to coerce people. They coerce bureaucracies.

Moreover, they are more effective than bureaucracies in the elements of power that matter.

They are capable of spying on more people than the East German secret police and they can stifle free speech without recourse to a gulag.

They don’t have any need for state produced propaganda or the media to control the narrative. They can produce a blinding blizzard of spin that can overwhelm official narratives.

In short, 21st Century authoritarianism is very different. It’s not what the experts and the media pundits are warning against and that’s why it will sneak up on us.

Sincerely,

John Robb

Anarchy & Morality Reply

by • Anarchism/Anti-State, Religion and Philosophy

Anarchist News

Heroes go above and beyond the call of duty, acting boldly in the face of fear, defying it. Cowards fail to do what they’re expected, giving in to fear, shying away from action. Is your anarchism duty-free, or duty-bound? What are the countless duties imposed by society? Waging war, working, and providing care, all activities that ensure its reproduction and maintenance. Is your anarchism warlike, is it like a work in progress? Is it caring or careless, careful or carefree?

Who does society venerate as heroes? Those who excel in their line of duty; frontliners: like soldiers, cops, firefighters, medical professionals; and those come to the rescue, rising to the occasion due to circumstance, rather than trade. Isn’t the hero always the good guy? Who does society vilify as cowards? Those who refuse to attack as ordered; like draft-dodgers and deserters. As well as those who sneakily attack it; like violent protestors who hide behind masks and incite property destruction, or terrorists with their dastardly plots. It can also deem suicides as cowards. Suicide bombers doubly so.

What is it to be heroic or cowardly in anarchy? Can there even be such a thing as anarchic duties? Self-sacrifice for fear of being called a coward is conformism. Maybe heroism and cowardice are merely the carrot and the stick of Duty coercing you into doing as you’re told, or as you’re expected to act. Rewarding you for good behavior, punishing you for bad behavior, enforcing obedience according to the dictates of Morality. How is anarchy distinct from Christian morality and society’s dominant values? Can we imagine anarchy beyond good & evil? Where do you draw the line?
Does your anarchy consider terrorism, but not massacre?

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Freedom to All Beings Reply

by • Anarchism/Anti-State

By Mark Petrakis

No photo description available.

A fairly long one, in response to some of the regular harangues and criticisms that I receive…
Have I ever said that you or anyone should vote for Trump? Have I? Of course, I haven’t. You just ASSUME, that because I am so critical of Biden, that I must be advocating for Trump. Why don’t I give equal time to criticizing Trump then, you say? The answer to that is simple; because all the media that so many of you watch has been doing that very job 24/7 – 365 days a year for four years straight! If the orange motherfucker raises an eyebrow, somebody will soon say it was Russian-controlled. You don’t need me to criticize Trump… which I could EASILY do… because that’s already packed into your head tighter than a fucking kielbasa.

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Coleman Hughes – Race & Identity Politics Reply

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Race and Ethnicity

Whenever I examine the laundry list of ism-archy-phobia issues (racism, patriarchy, homophobia, etc.), I try to look at these from the perspective of what the social science/economic/political science data actually shows in a way that is devoid of ideological or moral value judgments. What Coleman Hughes talks about is fairly consistent with what the evidence indicates (at least concerning black issues, obviously every ethnic/cultural group(s) is different).  A problem with the left-wing analysis of these kinds of topics is that it’s often 50 years behind the times and ignores cultural, generational, demographic, economic, social class, technological, political, and legal changes that have happened over the last half-century, and often cherry-picks data in ways that ignore context. I don’t think Hughes’ analysis necessarily legitimates any ideological viewpoint. You could hold his views on race (at least concerning black issues) and be anywhere on the political spectrum.

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When Facts Are Not Enough | Climate Change Reply

by • Environment

This is a pretty good overview of the problems with the eco-cultists and their opponents. The only viable alternative to fossil fuels is either a reduction in the use of technology, and a return to early 19th century levels of technological development (and the resulting consequences for living standards, health, and life expectancy) or a switch to nuclear power (and the related risks). There is no evidence that it is possible to maintain modern industrial civilization with wind, solar, water, and biomass energy. Some evidence exists that geothermal power might be viable at some point in the future but that’s still a ways off.

Tipper Gore’s Revenge? Reply

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Political Correctness/Totalitarian Humanism, Science and Technology

What do Trumpists, Alt-Rightists, Jacobin magazine, and Brett Weinstein all have in common? They’re all considered to be enemies of the techno-oligarch/new clerisy rising ruling class, and they’ve all been banned by certain powers that be. Jacobin is pro the “pink tide” movements in Latin America so that gets them on the enemies list.

The end of democracy? To many Americans, the future looks dark if the other side wins. Reply

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Electoralism/Democratism
Some people are taking the WWE Smackdown a little too seriously. First, what we have going on now is not “democracy,” but an oligarchy, and a rather deeply entrenched one. Second, to call what we do “elections” is to stretch the definition of elections. What we have are theatrical productions staged every few years to make the ruling class look legitimate. Third, the current “contest” is between a de facto moderate Republican (Biden) and a de facto Blue Dog Democrat (Trump). So regardless of who “wins,” the oligarchy wins.

By Marc Fisher, Washington Post

A psychiatrist examining what has happened to America’s soul chooses for his book cover an iconic image from “Planet of the Apes” — a charred, half-buried wreck of the Statue of Liberty.

A minister who believes the United States is God’s chosen nation decides that a Joe Biden presidential victory would mean doom, a crushing of the nation’s essence.

And a filmmaker whose work has celebrated the raucous mess of U.S. politics concludes that the reelection of President Trump would be “the end of democracy.”

One week before Americans choose their path forward, the quadrennial crossroads reeks of despair. In almost every generation, politicians pose certain elections as the most important of their time. But the 2020 vote is taking place with the country in a historically dark mood — low on hope, running on spiritual empty, convinced that the wrong outcome will bring disaster.

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Between Electoral Politics and Civil War Reply

by • Anarchism/Anti-State, Electoralism/Democratism, Fourth Generation Warfare

Crimethinc

As Election Day approaches in a context of anxiety about the prospect of Donald Trump attempting to hold onto power by force or cunning, the revolutionary potential that was palpable in early June has receded almost beyond the horizon. Anarchism, abolitionism, and direct action tactics have gained traction throughout the Trump era; thanks to the fearmongering of the administration, anarchists have as much visibility as we have experienced in a century. Yet once again, we are watching the election crowd out any other subject or strategy. Many anarchists, despite decades of rejecting representative democracy, are focused on hoping for a Biden victory—or trying to figure out how to block a Trump coup, lest democracy give way to autocracy. Others are echoing the far right in anticipating a civil war.

This is an old story, in which the twin threats of tyranny and civil war serve to discipline rebels back into supporting representative democracy, foreclosing the possibility of revolutionary change. But what if we want none of these—neither tyranny, nor civil war, nor to perpetually settle for being ruled by the lesser of two evils?

It’s not surprising that anarchists are concerned about the outcome of the election. Which administration comes to power—whether by electoral victory or by other means—will determine what kind of challenges we confront as we continue fighting to abolish police, prisons, borders, and other forms of oppression.

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Covid-19 could kill more people through hunger than the virus itself, warns Oxfam Reply

by • Economics/Class Relations, Health and Medicine

By Harriet Barber, Telegraph

More people will die of hunger caused by the pandemic than of coronavirus this year, according to a report from Oxfam.

An estimated 122 million of the world’s poorest people could be plunged deeper into hunger and poverty, equating to 12,000 extra deaths a day, the charity said. The global mortality rate for Covid-19 reached a peak at 10,000 deaths per day in April.

It comes as the after effects of the pandemic and lockdowns have led to mass unemployment, plummeting incomes, disruption to food production and declining humanitarian aid.

Last year, 821 million people suffered from food insecurity of which 149 million faced crisis level hunger or worse. But now the dramatic slowdown of the economy and severe restrictions on movement has led to mass unemployment.

The report revealed the world’s 10 worst hunger ‘hotspots’, including Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen and South Sudan. Middle-income countries such as India, South Africa and Brazil are also experiencing rapidly rising levels of hunger with millions being tipped over the edge.

Sana, a single mother of four children and owner of a hair salon in Yemen, told the charity: “I barely get a customer to visit my salon since the past few months, I am falling short to pay expenses and rent for over two months, and buying food on credit. I don’t know what to do.”

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The WASP Roots of the Social Justice Movement Reply

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Political Correctness/Totalitarian Humanism

I am skeptical as to whether “social justice” fundamentalism could have developed outside of the context of WASP culture. And “totalitarian humanism” generally seems to be the most heavily entrenched in historically Protestant countries (the Anglosphere, Germany, the “Lowlands,” and Scandinavia). It seems to be a substitute for or a descendent of Protestant pietism.

“If America had an intellectual class, it would spend a lot more time wondering why Catholic-origin countries like Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, and Croatia are not witnessing a takeover of woke philosophy, but the same cannot be said about the Anglosphere cultures now running on the fumes of the Protestant ethic.”

By B. Duncan Moench, Tablet

The rise of identity politics authoritarianism has led to scenes that look like something out of a pulp horror flick like Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Lobotomized hordes now control a staggering number of key American institutions: the legacy media, most of higher education, Hollywood, most wealthy coastal cities, and last—but not least—the human resources departments of nearly every major corporation in America. These HR managers demand all employees attend reprogramming sessions dubbed “sensitivity” and “implicit bias” training. Acting out the ethos of the HR managers, wealthy college students demand segregated housing—in the name of racial justice. Aging liberal politicians don kente cloth scarves, kneel, and genuflect to the new idol of “justice.” And in the background of the frame, cities burn while CNN declares the riots are “fiery but mostly peaceful protests.”

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More Scary Movies for Anarchists to Watch in the Dark Reply

By Nicky Reid aka Comrade Hermit

Exile in Happy Valley

It has been one supremely horrific year since I wrote the virgin instillation of this list last October, what with apocalyptic plagues, dystopian police death squads, and collapsing empires. In many ways life has come to resemble many of the movies on it. Some might argue that horror movies are gratuitous at this point, I mean, haven’t we had enough? No, dearest motherfuckers, not by a longshot. The fact that everyday life has come to resemble a George Romero flick is just proof of his unsung brilliance. No genre in cinema gets dumped on like horror movies. Yet no genre of cinema is more stunningly prophetic. That’s because horror movies, good horror movies anyway, are perfect vehicles for social commentary. They seek to illuminate that which makes us uncomfortable and force us to actually fucking deal with it. And that is what 2020 needs now more than ever. We realize that we’re living in a goddamn zombie apocalypse, but how do we deal with it? That is the ultimate question that anarchists wrestle with. How do we create a new society amidst the collapse of the old? And that’s also what great horror movies strive to figure out.

So I made another goddamn list. A dozen more scary movies for anarchists to watch in the dark, and it’s as eccentric and idiosyncratic as the last. I have a love for both foreign arthouse shockers and overlooked grindhouse pulp. They both take the necessary measures to punish the audience into thinking about shit that scares them. Like last time, many movies on the list are not horror movies in the traditional sense, but they are all movies that seek to terrify their audience into challenging authoritarian institutions. Spoiler alerts abound. Read at your own risk.

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Feds say far-right group coordinated attack on Minneapolis police precinct during protest 6

by • Culture Wars/Current Controversies, Fourth Generation Warfare, Law/Justice, Left and Right

By Celine Castronuovo, The Hill

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota on Friday announced that the FBI brought charges against a member of the far-right “Boogaloo Bois” group for organizing and participating in an effort to “incite a riot” outside a Minneapolis police precinct in May amid protests against the police killing of George Floyd.

According to the legal complaint filed Monday, Ivan Harrison Hunter, a 26-year-old from Boerne, Texas, who claims to be a member of the Boogaloo Bois, communicated with fellow members in late May ahead of a planned trip to Minneapolis as police had already started clashing with protesters in the city.

The documents claim that federal agents obtained a video from the evening of May 28 showing an individual walking up to the door of the Third Precinct in Minneapolis and firing 13 rounds from “what appears to be an AK-47 style semiautomatic rifle.”

Federal officials said the shooter can be seen in the footage walking up to the camera and high-fiving other individuals before shouting “Justice for Floyd!”

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Episode 35: Bonus episode with Keith Preston by listener request Reply

by • Uncategorized

Listen here.

Mr. Preston joined us again per a listener request to cover the subject of right wing anarchism, with many famous names coming up in the discussion such as Proudhon, Kropotkin, Tucker, Stirner, Rothbard and Junger. Keith also per listener request discussed what Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideas have contributed to anarchism, and finally we discussed what the kind of
anarchist would we see that has been influenced by Nietzsche, Stirner, Mencken & Junger. Topics that were brought up were the origins of the term “socialist” along with aristocratic radicalism, national syndicalism and much more.

Episode 35: Bonus episode with Keith Preston by listener request

Federal Judge Allows 21 Businesses to Sue Seattle Over Harms Caused by CHOP Reply

by • Law/Justice
One thing that really annoyed me was the CHOPophobia of many on the “cold dead fingers” right-wing, including many who had been pushing secession for years. So there were a few murders and other crimes in CHOP? Big fucking deal. Like that never happens in state-controlled territory?
One of the core ideas behind secession, localism, decentralism, anarchism, etc. is that many people in many places will be doing things you don’t like or wouldn’t want to participate in. Unfortunately, many libertarians revealed themselves to be bourgeois supremacists during the CHOP episode. Ironically, there were actual right-wing fascists, and I mean real ones, who got it right.

By Daniel Villarreal, Time

On Friday, a federal district court judge allowed a lawsuit brought by 21 businesses against the city of Seattle to proceed, despite the city’s attempt to have it dismissed.

The lawsuit accuses the city of harming local business owners by allowing the existence of Capitol Hill Organized Protest (CHOP), a self-declared autonomous zone that was established and occupied by racial justice protestors from June 8 to July 1.

The occupied zone blocked all car traffic, reducing the businesses’ access to customers, vendors and revenue, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit further alleges that city police largely neglected the zone, allowing protesters and others to damage business property and threaten business owners without punishment.

Lastly, the lawsuit states that the city provided concrete barriers, medical supplies, washing and sanitation facilities, portable toilets, lighting and other material support, including the use of Cal Anderson Park to CHOP occupiers, and told police to adopt a “no response” policy wherein officers wouldn’t arrive unless a 9-1-1 caller reported “significant life safety issues.”

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