Old Blog

Personal weblog, thoughts on politics, football and drug law reform.

[criminalwisdom]

[axmm]

criminalwisdom:

In a new interview, linguist and activist Noam Chomsky discusses the drug cartels of Mexico, the government’s error-proned response to the “War on Drugs,” and what the U.S. education system could learn from Mexico.

[mehreenkasana]

[fuckyeahanarchistbanners]

combat—wombat:

starmichael:

lol

Is there a fuckyeahliberalbanners?

If there ever is, we’ll troll that fucker into the ground.

[axmm]

Anarchists should be reported, advises Westminster anti-terror police

UK moves to criminalise Anarchists.

Robert Booth in the Guardian.

What should you do if you discover an anarchist living next door? Dust off your old Sex Pistols albums and hang out a black and red flag to make them feel at home? Invite them round to debate the merits of Peter Kropotkin's anarchist communism versus the individualist anarchism of Emile Armand? No – the answer, according to an official counter-terrorism notice circulated in London last week, is that you must report them to police immediately.

This was the surprising injunction from the Metropolitan Police issued to businesses and members of the public in Westminster last week. There was no warning about other political groups, but next to an image of the anarchist emblem, the City of Westminster police's "counter terrorist focus desk" called for anti-anarchist whistleblowers stating: "Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy. Any information relating to anarchists should be reported to your local police."

The move angered some anarchists who complained that being an anarchist should not > imply criminal behaviour. They said they feel unfairly criminalised for holding a set of political beliefs.

The feeling of disproportion was compounded by the briefing note author making a similar request about Islamist terrorists a few lines further down. Under an image of flag with a gold dot beneath some Arabic script it added: "Often seen used by al-Qaida in Iraq. Any sightings of these images should be reported to your local police."

"It unfairly implies that anyone involved in anarchism should be known to the police and is involved in an dangerous activity," said Jason Sands, an anarchist from South London. "There is nothing inherently criminal about political philosophy whatever it is. The police work under the convention on human rights which disallows discrimination against people because of their political beliefs and even the request for information would seem to be in breach of that. It also seems to be a bit useless as a way of gathering intelligence. It isn't focused on anything specific and they are just asking for general information. Imagine calling up and saying 'there's an anarchist in my building. What should I do?' It doesn't make sense."

The note was issued from Belgravia Police Station as part of Project Griffin which aims > to "advise and familiarise managers, security officers and employees of large public and private sector organisations across the capital on security, counter-terrorism and crime prevention issues".

Sean Smith, external relations officer for Solfed, the British section of the anarcho- syndicalist International Workers' Association, said of the call for whistleblowers: "It's pretty absurd, but not surprising, when the state seeks to criminalise ideas it deems to be dangerous to its own survival".

"We are a revolutionary union initiative," he explained. "Members of our organisation believe in bringing about radical social change through workplace and community organising, not acts of terrorism. We have made extensive information about our ideas and strategy freely available online."

Small groups of anarchists masked and dressed in black did cause some damage to shop windows in central London during anti-cuts demonstrations in the Spring, but there has been little activity of late. The next big anarchist event in London appears hardly likely to concern the police. It is a book fair in October with "all-day cabaret starring assorted ranters, poets, singers and comics; all-day film showings and two kids' spaces".

[axmm]

More good work from the [FSF](http://www.fsf.org.uk).

[axmm]

[maguimpalor-deactivated20141030]

Harry Potter by Ayn Rand

Harry decided not to save anyone, because it was against his rational self interest.

Voldemort won, and rightly so, as his ethical egoism allowed him to value his life above all else.

[axmm]

The Press Council’s Guideline (No 288) notes that the descriptor “illegal(s)” is very often inaccurate and, because it typically connotes criminality, it is unfair.

Press Council upholds complaints about articles | The Australian

[axmm]

[axmm]

Portugal’s holistic approach had also led to a “spectacular” reduction in the number of infections among intravenous users and a significant drop in drug-related crimes, he added.

[axmm]

Placing stiff restrictions on movement and commerce, in an embargo policy affecting one and a half million Palestinians, does not contribute anything. It only perpetuates the conflict and the hatred, and casts light on Israel as a cruel, occupying power.

[axmm]

The closer ordinary people come to building a consensus that rewarding the rich for their recklessness is not just unwise, but morally wrong, the more vested interests will declare them liars and fantasists, dangerous troublemakers, madmen and fools.

Laurie Penny - How can we change the consensus? Carry on

[axmm]

> **What can a non-teaching education Worker, student, or parent do?** > ========================================== > Firstly, if you work in a school, don’t cross picket lines! If you’re a student, talk to staff > and ask them how to help out. For parents and students alike, kind words of support > make such a difference, but it’s even better if you come down to the picket line. > Get creative! Make signs or a banner and give school managers who cross picket lines > a piece of your mind. Call or email the school or council stating your support for the > strike. Even better, start a strike support group! [Sol Fed](http://www.solfed.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/strike_june30_a5_0.pdf)

[axmm]

“The evidence is clear that it hasn’t worked,” she said, citing various studies that estimate that 20 to 90 percent of CDM projects do not result in lower emissions overall.

[theeconomist]

Daily chart: the cost of cocaine. The street price of cocaine in Europe has dropped relentlessly over the past two decades, which may explain why Europe is now almost as big a market for cocaine producers as America.

[axmm]

Perplexingly, the cocaine economist graph leaves out Australia. Whats more, is that it would most likely top the list. The UN [reported](http://www.unodc.org/pdf/WDR_2006/wdr2006_volume2.pdf) that street prices in 2004 was near $210 USD per gram, though from the wholesale prices quoted by [Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement](http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/le_ctte/aviation_maritime/report/report.pdf) and from anecdotal evidence I would estimate street prices are now at $265 USD - $320 USD per gram. Australia, the most expensive and most profitable illegal drug market in the world... Surprised the [Milton Friedman](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman) and [Hayek](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Hayek) fan boys at the economist left this out.

[axmm]

> The attack yesterday morning was no stain on the honour of France, and certainly no > disgrace to the fighting men of this nation. But this Court Martial is such a stain, and > such a disgrace. The case made against these men is a mockery of all human justice. > Gentlemen of the court, to find these men guilty would be a crime, to haunt each of you > till the day you die. I can't believe that ****the noblest impulse for man - his compassion for > another**** - can be completely dead here. Therefore, I humbly beg you... show mercy to > these men. [Paths of Glory](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050825/) From [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paths_of_Glory) > David Simon, creator of critically acclaimed series The Wire, has said that Paths Of > Glory was a key influence on the HBO crime drama.[11] The influence of the film comes > in its depiction of the tribulations of "middle management," in the form of Dax's > unsuccessful attempt to protect his troops against the inhumane ambitions of his > superiors, which in turn influenced The Wire's depiction of various institutions acting > against individuals.

[axmm]

Spain is finally re-embracing its radical past, its popular movements, its anarcho-syndicalist traditions and its republican dreams. Crushed by Generalissimo Francisco Franco seventy years ago, it seemed that Spanish popular culture would never recover from the void left by a rightwing dictatorship, which exterminated anyone with a dissenting voice; but the 15th of May 2011, is the reminder to those in power that Spanish direct democracy is still alive and has finally awaken.

[axmm]

How is the Government getting away with this idea that a public- sector pension is a “luxury”? Is it something that suave bachelors could show off, saying: “Once I’ve taken you for a spin in my Aston Martin, how about I show you the mid-range forecast for my teacher’s pension over a bottle of Veuve Cliquot.”