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Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category
Whither Crypto? No One Knows. But Repeal Legal Tender Laws & Allow Competition In Currencies
Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2023
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Competition, crypto, Currencies, Legal Tender | Leave a Comment »
The Democrats Have Lost the Plot
Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2023
Reclaiming some time, from a House hearing on free speech
It was a bizarre collective display of a whole group of politicians not understanding some pretty basic things about how not to act around journalists.
Testifying with Michael Shellenberger before a House Subcommittee was one of the more surreal experiences of my life. I expected serious attacks and spent a nervous night before preparing for them. Then the hearing began, and an episode of Black Adder: Congress broke out. The attacks happened, but it was more farcical horror and a parade of self-owns that made me more sad than upset.
The Democrats made it clear they were not interested in talking about free speech except as it pertains to Chrissy Teigen, seemed to suggest a journalist should not make a living, and finally made the incredible claim that Michael and I represented a “direct threat to people who oppose them.” Of all that transpired yesterday, this was the most ominous development — perhaps not for me but for reporters generally, given our government’s recent history of dealing with people deemed “threats.”
Beyond that, much of the hubbub yesterday involved the many “When did Elon Musk start beating your wife?” questions, and the line about me being a “so-called journalist.”
Regarding the former, both ranking member Stacey Plaskett and Texas Democrat Sylvia Garcia repeatedly asked questions about when I first got Twitter Files information, and from whom. It was a bizarre collective display of a whole group of politicians not understanding some pretty basic things about how not to act around journalists.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Democrats, Michael Shellenberger, Stacey Plaskett, Sylvia Garcia | Leave a Comment »
The Disappearing of Julian Assange: Death To A Story
Posted by M. C. on March 11, 2023
If successful, the case against Julian Assange will set a legal precedent that enables the US to snatch and imprison anyone, from anywhere in the world, who writes or publishes facts that embarrass the US.
It will be interesting to see how the government handles (or not) the fact that the NYT published much of Julian’s info.
This is the second video in my ongoing art series The Disappearing of Julian Assange, about the way Assange’s image is being deliberately erased from the public’s consciousness:
Transcript:
Like a stretched-out loop of VHS tape, if you do a Google Image search for Julian Assange today, you will only get pages and pages of stale, outdated pictures, repeating over and over.
That’s because there have been no official images of him since May 1, 2019 when the paparazzi snapped a bunch of pics of Assange through the window of the prison van including this iconic pic of him, staring right down the barrel of the camera, holding up a defiant fist.
But that was nearly four years ago. In a culture hungry for novelty, this is death to a story.
Because if you work for a media outlet and you go to a professional image library like Getty or AP or Reuters and you can’t find anything new to run your story with, that story is going to get buried.
More than ever before the internet demands new, fresh images all the time and inhibiting the press’ access to them is a small, but significant act of sabotage.
If successful, the case against Julian Assange will set a legal precedent that enables the US to snatch and imprison anyone, from anywhere in the world, who writes or publishes facts that embarrass the US.
The ramifications are enormous for pretty much everyone on planet earth, but especially foreign journalists who might want to write about what the US war machine is doing to their country.
But with only this worn-out tape of increasingly vintage images to present them with, the stories defending Assange and warning of what this precedent means often go unseen.
Is this deliberate? I don’t know. But for the US war machine, it’s certainly very convenient.
In case you missed it, here’s In My Wallet, the first video in my The Disappearing Of Julian Assange series:
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Julian Assange, NYT | Leave a Comment »
Imperialist Nonsense: The US Takeover of the Philippines | Mises Wire
Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2023
In spite of all this, many Filipinos wanted independence. America thus had an interest in blocking Philippine independence, and since the independence movement was fighting for just that, in suppressing that movement by force. Although the use of force was regrettable and the use of torture wrong, Kagan argues, the American occupation of the islands brought many benefits to the Filipinos and was on the whole justified.
It set the stage for one of the worst US failures of WW II – Bataan
https://mises.org/wire/imperialist-nonsense-us-takeover-philippines
Robert Kagan is a well-known neoconservative historian who believes that America ought to exercise a “benevolent hegemony” over the rest of the world. In his just-published book, The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900–1941 (Knopf, 2023), he presents an odd argument for America’s takeover of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War.
When United States armed forces arrived in the islands, many Filipinos hoped for American support in setting up an independent state. The American forces instead suppressed the independence movement and tortured and killed a great many people in the course of fighting a long guerilla war. The US government then established a protectorate over the Philippines, which was not granted independence until after World War II. Kagan doesn’t defend the atrocities, but he argues that American policy was on the whole justified. In this week’s article, I’ll examine his argument.
In essence, Kagan’s argument is this: because of the brutal Spanish colonial policy in Cuba, America was justified in freeing Cuba from Spanish rule. Since the Spanish wouldn’t give up control of Cuba voluntarily, America was required go to war with Spain. This in turn required that America strike at the Spanish Pacific fleet, which was stationed at Manila. Once the fleet was destroyed, the Philippines were open to a takeover by stronger imperialist powers, such as Germany. Such a takeover would have been contrary to America’s interests, and the Philippine people were incapable of resisting colonization by a European imperialist power.
In spite of all this, many Filipinos wanted independence. America thus had an interest in blocking Philippine independence, and since the independence movement was fighting for just that, in suppressing that movement by force. Although the use of force was regrettable and the use of torture wrong, Kagan argues, the American occupation of the islands brought many benefits to the Filipinos and was on the whole justified. In my view, each step of this argument is mistaken.
First, it is without doubt true that Spain’s attempt to maintain control of Cuba led to a great loss of life, but it does not follow that America was justified in going to war with Spain to free Cuba. Spanish control of Cuba posed no threat to American independence, and from a Rothbardian perspective, there was inadequate cause for war. (See Murray Rothbard’s article “Just War.”)
Many people accept war for “humanitarian” reasons, contrary to Rothbard, but the argument for American colonization of the Philippines does not meet that standard either. Kagan writes that the destruction of the Spanish fleet would have opened the Philippines to German control and that this was not in America’s interests:
The only great power eager for some or all of the Philippines was Germany, but this was not an attractive option. . . . To Americans, it seemed that Germany had its eyes on “every beachhead in Latin America and every atoll in the South Pacific.” These concerns only grew when, just after [Admiral George] Dewey’s victory, a potent German naval force arrived in the waters of Manila Bay, commanded by the same officer who had taken [the Chinese port of] Kiaochow. . . . Even in the unlikely event a stable government could be established, . . . . [i]t would only be a matter of time before either Germany intervened or the competing powers began struggling for control. (pp. 46–47)
Suppose Germany had colonized the Philippines and that Germany would have been much harder to dislodge than Spain had been. Why would this have been against America’s interests? Kagan offers no evidence that Germany posed a military threat to America, and he offers no other characterization of “interests” by which we can assess the claim that Germany threatened American interests.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Bataan, imperialist, Philippines | Leave a Comment »
Doug Casey on the Rise of “Climate Brats” and Other Useful Idiots
Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2023
It’s easy for the “elite’—who are actually parasites—to influence those that they refer to as “the masses.” That’s partly because the average person has no grip on either science or history.
In fact, just last week, the Aspen Institute, one of the world’s best-known think tanks, sponsored a climate change conference featuring Kamala Harris and Gloria Estefan as the twin keynote speakers.
It’s a pathetic comedy. A couple of useful idiots are talking to an audience of useful idiots about something that none of them know absolutely anything about.
International Man: Webster’s Dictionary defines a useful idiot as a “naive or credulous person who can be manipulated or exploited to advance a cause or political agenda.”
Lenin is thought to have originated the phrase when referring to communist sympathizers in the West.
What is your take on this term? Is it still applicable today?
Doug Casey: Today’s make-believe democracies are overflowing with useful idiots. They latch on to one lame-brained notion after another, perhaps to give meaning to their confused and pointless lives. They’re a bit like cats chasing the red dot from their master’s laser pointer. The Ukraine, Covid, sex perversions, Trump, racism, climate change—it’s one thing after another.
Climate change is one of the central scams being promoted by the World Economic Forum as part of their Great Reset. It seems everything that comes out of the WEF—I can’t think of any exceptions — is antithetical to the traditional values of Western Civilization, prominently including free markets and personal liberty.
We’ve discussed the COVID hysteria and what looks like World War III starting in the Ukraine. But the biggest thing, with the longest legs, is climate change. Full disclosure: I believe in climate change. The climate has been changing constantly since the world came together about four and a half billion years ago. And it’ll continue to change.
The problem, however, isn’t climate change itself but the process of indoctrinating the public, especially young people, with the belief that humanity is destroying Mother Earth.
They’re given snippets of science, like the fact that the world has been generally warming since the mid-19th century. Well, sure, it has because the planet went through what’s known as the Little Ice Age from the 16th through the 19th centuries. It has cyclically been warming for the last 150 years. As a matter of fact, the world has been warming since the end of the last Great Ice Age, about 12,000 years ago.
The “global warming” people have found a great excuse for changing not just the economy but the way literally everything works. My view is that they’re basically anti-human—they actually hate and fear people. It’s why Yuval Noah Harari, the mincing court intellectual of the WEF, often refers to them as “useless eaters.” He may be right. But what’s insane is that someone like him could gain the power to make serious decisions. People like him applaud massive population reduction.
Especially, it would appear, of what Hillary called “deplorables” in the Western world. They see people as the enemy. Some idiots among them are useful, but they’re all expendable.
It’s easy for the “elite’—who are actually parasites—to influence those that they refer to as “the masses.” That’s partly because the average person has no grip on either science or history. Any episode of Jay Leno’s Jay Walking, or Mark Dice’s current equivalent on Youtube, offers plenty of anecdotal proof. They’ll ask what seem like average, reasonably intelligent people the simplest of questions. They can’t answer any of them. A typical response to the question “Who won the American Civil War” might be “The Germans?”. The only questions they can answer correctly are about pop and sports stars.
It’s absolutely true: The world is full of useful idiots. They’re useful to the ruling classes who want to change everything. In fact, just last week, the Aspen Institute, one of the world’s best-known think tanks, sponsored a climate change conference featuring Kamala Harris and Gloria Estefan as the twin keynote speakers.
It’s a pathetic comedy. A couple of useful idiots are talking to an audience of useful idiots about something that none of them know absolutely anything about.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Climate Brats, Climate Change, deplorables, parasites, useful idiots | Leave a Comment »
US IQ SCORES FALL FIRST TIME IN DECADES | Burst Updates
Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2023
US academic standing in the world has been dropping for decades. Instead of increasing the department of education’s budget like Hunter’s old man wants, it should be eliminated.
Oddly, the US was the doing quite well before the DOE.
https://burstupdates.wordpress.com/2023/03/09/us-iq-scores-fall-first-time-in-decades/
NY Post: “IQ scores have decreased in the US for the first time in decades, new research from scientists at Northwestern University and the University of Oregon suggests.”
The dems have pushed aside better qualified students applying to colleges replacing them with minorities who were incapable academically. Athletic scholarships are being awarded to students competing against their opposite sex. Intellectually gifted grade school and high school students are being forced to advance at the rate of the learning disabled. A respected college, Washington University is being labeled as racist for providing students with an opportunity for a professional career.
Colleges are waving SAT and ACT requirements.
NYP: IQ scores in the US have fallen for the first time in decades, study suggests
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Dailywire Article-More Taxes And More Spending: Here’s What You Need To Know About President Biden’s Newest Budget
Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2023
Businesses would likewise see a number of tax hikes, including an increase in the corporate tax to 28%-Say goodbye to someone’s job. We could save a bunch by saying goodbye to (endless) war.
By Ben Zeisloft
Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
President Joe Biden unveiled record spending and several new tax increases on Thursday in his budget proposal for fiscal year 2024.
The suggested $6.9 trillion for the federal government’s operations between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, would mark a $1.1 trillion increase from the $5.8 trillion proposed by the commander-in-chief for the previous fiscal year. House Republicans are expected to reject the proposal and counter with a budget of their own.
“This year’s budget cuts the deficit by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade by asking the wealthy and big corporations to begin to pay their fair share,” Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young said in a statement. “It does this in part by reforming our tax code to reward work, not wealth, including by ensuring that no billionaire pays a lower tax rate than a teacher or a firefighter, and by quadrupling the tax on corporate stock buybacks.”
The budget proposal is indeed marked by a number of tax hikes on affluent households, including a 25% minimum tax on those with more than $100 million in wealth that the budget calls a “billionaire minimum tax.” The top marginal tax rate would also be increased to 39.6% from the current 37%, which would represent a return to levels seen before the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the hallmark legislative accomplishment of former President Donald Trump.
The budget would also increase the investment income tax used to fund Medicare from 3.8% to 5% for individuals earning more than $400,000 per year, a move that the White House claims would extend the solvency of the Medicare Hospital Insurance Trust Fund for at least 25 years.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: and they ought to be able to re-arrange their spending so as to fit their own personal budgets and desires. But the oligarchs and bureaucrats don’t like that sort of thing, capital gains taxes, Spending | Leave a Comment »
My Statement to Congress
Posted by M. C. on March 10, 2023
In testimony to the House Judiciary Committee about the Twitter Files, a few words about why state-funded “anti-disinformation” and free speech can’t coexist
https://open.substack.com/pub/taibbi/p/my-statement-to-congress?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android
Editor’s note: at around 10 a.m. EST this morning, Michael Shellenberger and I will be testifying at the “Hearing on the Weaponization of the Federal Government on the Twitter Files” for the House Judiciary Committee, in the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. Just before, around 9:00 a.m., we’ll also be releasing a TwitterFiles “Statement to Congress” thread, which will be submitted to the record. It contains some surprises. My opening:
Chairman Jordan, ranking member Plaskett, members of the Select Committee,
My name is Matt Taibbi. I’ve been a reporter for over 30 years, and an advocate for the First Amendment. Much of that time was spent at Rolling Stone magazine. Over my career, I’ve had the good fortune to be recognized for the work I love. I’ve won the National Magazine Award, the I.F. Stone Award for independent journalism, and written ten books, including four New York Times bestsellers. I’m now the editor of the online magazine Racket, on the independent platform Substack.
I’m here today because of a series of events that began late last year, when I received a note from a source online.
It read: “Are you interested in doing a deep dive into what censorship and manipulation… was going on at Twitter?”
A week later, the first of what became known as the “Twitter Files” reports came out. To say these attracted intense public interest would be an understatement. My computer looked like a slot machine as just the first tweet about the blockage of the Hunter Biden laptop story registered 143 million impressions and 30 million engagements.
But it wasn’t until a week after the first report, after Michael Shellenberger, Bari Weiss, and other researchers joined the search of the “Files,” that we started to grasp the significance of this story.
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: anti-disinformation, First Amendment, free speech, Twitter Files | Leave a Comment »
The Global Movement For Freedom of Expression That Julian Assange Has Inspired
Posted by M. C. on March 9, 2023
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Julian Assange | Leave a Comment »
MY FIFTY YEARS WITH DAN ELLSBERG
Posted by M. C. on March 9, 2023
The man who changed America
Dan was showing me an insider’s love, just as he and Patricia radiated love and acceptance to all their many friends and admirers who, like me, will never forget the lessons he taught us and what we learned.
I think it best that I begin with the end. On March 1, I and dozens of Dan’s friends and fellow activists received a two-page notice that he had been diagnosed with incurable pancreatic cancer and was refusing chemotherapy because the prognosis, even with chemo, was dire. He will be ninety-two in April.
Last November, over a Thanksgiving holiday spent with family in Berkeley, I drove a few miles to visit Dan at the home in neighboring Kensington he has shared for decades with his wife Patricia. My intent was to yack with him for a few hours about our mutual obsession, Vietnam. More than fifty years later, he was still pondering the war as a whole, and I was still trying to understand the My Lai massacre. I arrived at 10 am and we spoke without a break—no water, no coffee, no cookies—until my wife came to fetch me, and to say hello and visit with Dan and Patricia. She left, and I stayed a few more minutes with Dan, who wanted to show me his library of documents that could have gotten him a long prison term. Sometime around 6 pm—it was getting dark—Dan walked me to my car, and we continued to chat about the war and what he knew—oh, the things he knew—until I said I had to go and started the car. He then said, as he always did, “You know I love you, Sy.”
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Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: DAN ELLSBERG, My Lai massacre | Leave a Comment »
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