Libertarian Minute 1 - What Does it Mean to be a Libertarian?

Happy New Year 2017!

Dear fellow libertarians, wishing you a happy, free, and prosperous New Year 2017! May this year be filled with even more friendship and cooperation with each others (both online & offline), and may our quest of turning collectivists into freedom lovers and bringing them into our fold be more successful than ever.

For liberty, onwards!

A Personal Confession of Practicing Self-censorship Due to Fear of Being Labeled a 'Russophile'

The other day on Facebook I saw this very cool and unmalicious video clip from Russia, but had no courage to share it even with my closest friends, let alone as a public post, for fear that I might be labelled a Russophile. Concerned about the possible adverse consequences, I chickened out. :) Even though I really had a great desire to share it. What kind of libertarian am I? Shame on me!

Facebook link: This Is How You Keep Kids Healthy Siberian Style!

YouTube equivalent:

However, when a friend later shared that same clip with me, I decided to write this short instant confession of my own shameful act of compliance with public wisdom as prescribed by social engineers. In this specific example, the prescribed wisdom necessitated my refraining from sharing this interesting video from Russia, because since its content doesn't degrade this eternal enemy of the West, it automatically means that there is a danger that my act will be perceived as sympathizing and glorifying the enemy. Thus the label Russophile! Therefore, it was far smarter, with an act of self-censorship, ie. ignoring the content in question, to contribute to the precious harmony in society, in which the West undoubtedly represents the and Russia is explicitly evil.

This kind of self-regimented mental state of the average individual is a result of incredible effectiveness of an experiment of social engineering - shaping of public opinion by the power centers of concentrated private special interests.

As to the subject of Russia, public opinion formed on individual's behalf is that Russia is a permanent pariah, towards which the rest of the world should continue to practice the Cold War mentality indefinitely, in order to deny Russia from acquisition of any positive light in the eyes of the rest of the world. All that is positive or - as in the example above - is interesting in potentially positive sense about Russia is to be ignored, and all that is negative about Russia is to be swiftly and thunderously brought to attention of the public.  In cases of absence of any obvious dark intentions of Russia on the international scene, it is desirable to fabricate lies and invent sinister plots in order to discredit her. In doing so, there is no need to worry about producing credible evidence because, as described by Zbigniew Brzezinski, one need only to refer to the infamous Soviet history of Russia to achieve the desired effect of its evil intentions even today, over two and half decades after the end of Cold War.

Although we love to gloat over at the wretched state of the Russian economy, all Russia's liberalizing reforms and economic progress in recent times is something we absolutely abhor, because that doesn't only pull them out of economic hardship, but also frees them from control of the West. All of Russia's military investments, innovation, military activities, and its foreign policy must be understood solely as reflections of the aspirations to revive the Soviet empire, nothing less evil than that. Whoever doesn't believe in that, they only need to be reminded of the evils of the Soviet Union. And God forbid any kind of cultural exchange with Russians, it could bring us the backwards unwanted fluency in Russian language. Because after all, we are a subtle Europeans.

Plato's Allegory of a Cave as a Window Into the Reality of Media Puppeteers Indoctrinating the Public at Large

Regardless of a shocking disappointment, grief, and subsequent week-long rampage of a large number of Hillary Clinton supporters, it is optimistically realistic that the sheer number of dirty tricks that went on in the attempt of the mainstream media to secure the Clinton victory is now coming to bite the media industrial complex.  Just like the release of a slave in Plato's Allegory of a Cave led to his realization of deception he was subjected to together with his fellow slaves, which then led to his turning away from the wisdom of the cave, in a similar way have the Wikileaks revelations in combination with mainstream media's plain arrogance during the recent US presidential elections created a trend of an abandonment of the mainstream media puppeteers by an ever growing segment of the public.

Those who in these 2016 US presidential elections were unable to see the obvious and shameless bias by all of the US and international mainstream media will hardly have a better opportunity to witness it at similar scale again until the next elections four years later.  Ignoring to report on the leaked Wikileaks publications of relevant information about immoral and criminal acts of individual candidates, open discrimination against presidential candidates out of favor (Trump, Johnson, Stein,. ..) production of biased expert opinions, manipulation of public through bogus opinion polls, complicity in rigging the debates by informing preferred candidates of debate questions in advance, and finally by Hollywood-style acting of being shocked and surprised of Trump victory, which - they claimed - no one predicted.

But the fact is that, despite the media war in favor of the US Democratic Party, Hillary Clinton, and the corporate machinery that stood behind them, Trump victory is an indicator that a good part of the American public has for some time turned their back on propaganda manipulators. This is supported by another cheerful fact that year on year the mainstream media is seriously losing its audience, where the public is increasingly canceling their cable TV subscriptions and are turning to alternative media for news. Thanks to Internet and social media, today, a small but growing segment of society - in the most accessible way possible - is consuming and comparing an array of online media sources, in order to have enough quantity and quality information to make up their own conclusions about what the truth is. Shocked by information which they are coming across, double shocked by realization of the scale of fraudulent mainstream media reporting and manipulation of information, an increasing number of citizens is engaging in time-consuming information gathering and debating within their own circles. Among them is also an even smaller but growing number of those who - because of being so deeply immersed and eventually becoming experts in exposing the media - decide to become part of the alternative media themselves. All this is an encouraging trend that we fans of individual freedom can celebrate, because it can never be stopped and it will only grow even faster.

To arrive with the answer as to why the mainstream media isn't doing their duty as is expected of them, it is necessary to re-examine our beliefs about what the real purpose and responsibility of the media is. That their sacred function perhaps isn't to be "unbiased" recorders of man's deeds and virtues, but that their purpose is the production of news and reporting content that will bring them profit. Which simply highlights the fact that the media can be and often are bought and paid for to promote agendas that conceal and distort reality, in favor of those who buy their propaganda services.

Although Plato wrote his Allegory of the Cave with the intention of explaining his (although wrong) mystical vision of reality and imagination, it far better reflects today's real - and shocking - role in and success of the media manipulation in society. Maybe this truly ironic animation of Plato's parable will help even more people draw parallels with the present state of the media in their lives, and prompt them to stop being victims of propaganda and encourage them to seek truth elsewhere in diverse media in the information marketplace. Without truth, it is impossible to make reasonable and moral decisions, the truth is essential if we want to live in a world with fewer wars and destruction and more peace, justice, cooperation, friendship and prosperity.

It's Time to Trash Political Correctness and Defend Values of the West From Jihadist Extremism

A teenage refugee from Afghanistan wielding an axe and yelling the words "Allah akbar" attacked and wounded passengers on a train in Germany, BBC has reported. And now you are going to tell me that this young man has committed a crime? If you think so, you are obviously either innocently ignorant or have your head stuck up in your ass and don't want to face up to the truth. And the truth is that this 'honorable' young man has only conducted a noble deed of propagating what his religion commands him: 'kill kafirs on sight'. And you kafir, do you have the guts to at least face up to the truth, or will you just continue satisfying yourself with exercising the 'virtues' of political correctness? Heavens forbid anyone criticizing the 'Religion of Peace' in defense of Western values, such islamophobes should be ostracized accordingly.

It is time that we trash the political correctness and start having a serious discussion about a compatibility of the values of the West and the values of the political Islam, especially the jihadist extremism. To be able to do so, we first need to start paying attention and doing some research. The following link is a great starting resource about the subject of Political Islam: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Uu4XnRS1hiz3JCpNFIuUg/videos

Terror attack in Nice - another blowback from military interventionism and political correctness

Terrorists have struck France again, this time it was a truck running over crowds of people celebrating the Bastille Day, July 14th, 2016.  And what does the French government say?  It was an act of horrible atrocity that will never break the will of the French nation in fighting terrorism.  So yet again, no honest self-reflection as to the causes.  Media around the world obediently parrots the usual government mantra and political correctness.

But I'll tell you why there's terrorism in Europe today, and why the world will never be the same again.  Here's a clue from a quote by Bashar al-Assad: "Terrorism is not a card you play and return to your pocket.  Like scorpion, it stings you any time."

In other words, in its supposed valiant effort in fighting terrorism, French government never looks into the mirror to face up its hypocrisy of enticing radical Muslims to commit acts of terrorism, first in their own countries in the Middle East, and then in Europe.  Who spread lies about supposed Gaddafi's murderous regime and bombed Libya out of existence with Rafale jets?  Who financed the false media campaign against Assad government and arming of moderate beheaders in Syria?  Well, you are not supposed to know that any of that even took place, and the mainstream media has done its job in making sure you never will.  Just keep watching CNN and BBC, sheeple!

Nation building foreign policy of the West, combined with jihadist nature of the true fundamentalist Islam, is the cause of misery for both the West and the Middle East today.  So long as the people of Europe are kept in dark about militaristic adventures and nation building by their governments in the Middle East, Europe will keep experiencing terrorist blowbacks.  Bringing our criminal governments to account will never cross our minds.  By arming and bombing Islamic countries, we entice them to jihad.  By practicing political correctness through refusing to criticize jihad and openly discuss virtues of that supposed 'religion of peace,' we inoculate ourselves from making any honest judgment about the politics of Islam for the fear of insulting muslims.

So here we have it: France financing moderate beheaders from the start, causing migratory waves of war refugees from Syria and elsewhere in Middle East to Europe, making it easy for jihadists to come to Europe and drive lorries into crowds of peaceful people out in streets celebrating freedom.  European public with zero clues about what is actually happening to them and politicians keeping their steady course unabated, complete madness!

Economic self-regulation is always better than supranational regulation - even when it is less pro-market

The following is my comment to a blog posting on European Students for Liberty website titled The Myth of EU-induced Regulation, written by Daniil Gorbatenko.  The author claimed that the fact that most EU member countries set their economic regulations higher than what the EU mandates at minimum is the solid indicator that EU economic interventionism is minimal.  The author perhaps also intended it as a soft argument for why libertarians should prefer for EU countries to stay in the EU rather than leave, because as members they are more pro-free market than they would otherwise be.

In my comment, I pointed out that freedom of a country to make its own economic decisions is more important than being mandated to follow certain rules set by the supranational entity, even if the super-state happens to command more economic freedom at a given point in time than what its members would want.  See below:

You obviously don't get it, do you?  It is not about what country sets what regulations within the EU rules, but it is the fact that that they should be able to set regulations themselves independently of the EU that matters.  With EU giving itself the power to set any standards, no matter how minuscule as compared to those of individual countries, such regulatory creeping in with minimal footprint sets a precedent that it does gain the power to set regulations and fiddle with numbers. And later on, like all benevolent governments, it surely will tweak those numbers that will cause people to start to 'Feel the Bern' in their pockets.

Remember the US Federal Reserve upon its establishment?  Not a big deal in 1913, right!  And now?  Too late, my friend!  Pay your taxes or put hour hands behind your back and rot in prison like a criminal.  For wanting to keep the fruits of your own labor for yourself!

What if some EU country all of a sudden decided that VAT at 20% is detrimental to its economy and even cutting it down to the EU mandated minimum of 15% is not low enough for them and wants lower it down to 5% or even eliminate it altogether?  Got freedom?

The EU should not be entitled to setting any of the rules mentioned in the article, just like with the minimum wage.  But just wait a couple of years and see if things remain that way.  Let's see, it will be introduced at super low 2 EUR an hour.  Not a biggie, right?  And what will a member country that 10 years down the road, with EU minimum wage rate of 5 EUR an hour, all of a sudden realizes that minimum wage law hurts most exactly those whom it intends to help, and now wants to get rid of the minimum wage altogether?  Sorry, can't do!

Freedom of a nation to determine its own laws and compete in the market is better, even if chooses to be more anti-free market than the EU itself, because it has freedom to make changes, for better or worse.