Friday, April 19, 2013

This should satisfy everyone! (Warning: Lew Rockwell Fever Swamp Alert!)

Or at least this should satisfy everyone who has been hoping to use the identities of the Boston bombers for their own political ends. The suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing are 1) white males, 2) Americans (more or less), 3) Muslims, 4) Chechens (!), and 5) are denizens of one of the most "progressive" enclaves in the United States. Pick the the ideology or group you hate the most and you're almost guaranteed to be able to construct a "proof" that your preferred bugaboo is responsible. If you can't do it, you're not trying.

Oh, I suppose blaming the NRA might seem a stretch, but no evidence or connection at all is necessary if that's your goal. Note that the brothers Tsarnaev were violent. What more evidence do you need?

Of course, not everyone believes that the Tsarnaevs were responsible. Alex Jones on Info Wars calls them "patsies" and says the whole thing "stinks to high heaven."  I won't bother linking to Jones' stuff; it would only be surprising if he said there wasn't a conspiracy.

But the "libertarians" of LewRockwell.com are having fits as well.  They, like Jones, are absolutely convinced that the government has done this and that the Tsarnaevs are patsies, set up to take the fall.  It's all "false flag," you know.  I reproduce some of their posts here for readers' edification, with my own commentary following each post.  They've really outdone themselves this time.  Study these carefully and you too can learn to be an expert at making anything at all that you observe into "evidence" for your preconceived political fantasies.  Wow!  Enjoy!


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April 18, 2013

Mob Rule in Boston

Posted by Daniel McAdams on April 18, 2013 09:50 PM
Demonstrating that the media is just as incompetent as the authorities, reckless and breathless photos of brown-skinned and Middle Eastern-looking people plastered across the pages of the (thankfully) dying corporate print media are terrorizing innocent teens who are nevertheless pictured as "persons of interest."
It is a mob rule mentality, fanning the flames of the lynch mob. What a horrible time to be living-while-Muslim (or appearing that way to some morons) in the New England area.
As Politico points out, the corporate media no longer even plays lip service to the basics of reporting and fact-checking. It is only about sensationally naming the "suspects" based on rumor and whispers.
Meanwhile, we apparently are not supposed to notice a bunch of incredibly spooky-looking guys, dressed nearly alike and carrying suspicious backpacks at the scene of the crime.

Steele's comment: The New York Post seems to be the only member of the "corporate print media" to have claimed the two high school track runners were suspects.  The Post also claimed that 12 people had been killed in the bombing and all sorts of other nonsense, and was quickly called on it by the rest of the corporate media.  Most of the hysteria over people spotted in various photos seems to have been amateur "sleuths" posting on social media.   However, Alex Jones' Info Wars very quickly ID'd the two high school track stars as the likely culprits.  I hope these kids sue Jones and the Post.  Then Walter Block can come to the defense of Jones and the Post, since he and Lew et al. believe that libel and slander laws are among the worst crimes of statism.  There would be so many delicious ironies in the ensuing circus.

It only adds to the delightfulness of Dan's post that after excoriating the media for sensationally pointing to suspects simply because they supposedly look suspicious, he does exactly the same thing himself.  (Alex Jones also highlighted these guys as suspects.)  Brilliant insight, Dan! Original LRC post here.



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April 19, 2013

A Demonstration in Boston...

Posted by Karen Kwiatkowski on April 19, 2013 07:14 AM
...of the ability of the state at all levels to unify militarily and violate constitutional rights en masse, supported by state media and massive weaponry.   The breathlessness and tenor of the mainstream reporting is particularly agitprop.  A decade of unnecessary war and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan and two decades since the Waco murders were nationally "celebrated" make statist sense now.   Thanks, Anthony, for your great work on this, it's certainly timely today.

Steele's comment: Let's see... there was a bombing at the Boston Marathon that killed or maimed nearly 200 innocent people, and then the apparent culprits begin hijacking citizen vehicles and engaging in running gun and grenade battles with the police. Obviously this is the fruit of Waco, Iraq, and Afghanistan, all of which were designed to lead up to this.  And reporting on it is simply agitprop.  Brilliant insight, Karen!  Original post here.


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April 19, 2013

SWAT Army Occupies Boston

Posted by Lew Rockwell on April 19, 2013 09:16 AM
The empire has invaded the homeland--the chickens have come home to roost, as Malcolm X put it--with more than a million people ordered to cower in their homes. Businesses, schools, universities, public transport are all ordered to close. By what authority? Blankout, as Rand used to say. Army-style police, and a police-style army, combined with various secret police forces from the feds, state, and city, stomp around in total control, loving it. We have enhanced martial law, accompanied by media cheers. It's American fascism on display, with the usual crony capitalism operating behind the scenes. Domestic terrorism so benefits the internationally terroristic government.

Steele's comment: Let's see... there was a bombing at the Boston Marathon that killed or maimed nearly 200 innocent people, and then the apparent culprits begin hijacking citizen vehicles and engaging in running gun and grenade battles with the police.  At least one of these guys remains on the loose, and police urge citizens to stay inside.  Obviously this is "enhanced martial law," done at the behest of the crony capitalists who are giving the orders.  Brilliant insight, Lew!  (Now please explain what "enhanced martial law" is.)  Original post here.

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April 19, 2013

Utterly Incredible, Literally

Posted by Becky Akers on April 19, 2013 09:35 AM
I'm not the only one thinking Boston's spinmeisters need some serious help, perhaps some professional novelists who can come up with a believable story, complete with believable motives -- not, "He's a Chechan" as if that explains everything-- instead of the insulting nonsense they're handing the serfs.
Eli Cryderman writes me, "Oh, and then knock off a 7-11 and do some car-jacking when your pic is plastered on every TV and website?!?!?!?!  LOL!!!  Guess they needed a slurpee but couldn't pay for it?  They have the funding to build bombs but not cornnuts?  They're 'smart' enough to plant bombs and simultaneously detonate them, avoid identification for 4 DAYS and just hang around the area with the largest concentration of police, FBI, ATF, etc.?!?!?! This is getting just ridiculous...that people still believe anythign the FedCoats say....
Eli also wants to know whether Our Rulers will "dump the ['suspects''] bodies at sea in keeping with Muslim (and CIA) tradition."
Steele's comment: Simply brilliant analysis, Becky.  You're the best!  You've managed to suggest in one short post that the feds are supremely competent conspirators (no way these dudes could have planted the bombs and outwitted the feds for four days) and supremely incompetent (no way anyone could believe the idiotic story the feds cobbled together as cover).  That's standard fare for the Lew Rockwell clan; we know from reading LR that you and the other bloggers regularly refer to the feds as "Keystone cops" who can't do anything right and that you also are convinced they are extremely good at pulling off astonishingly complex conspiracies.  But to manage to make both arguments in one short post -- Becky, you are simply the best! (But please learn to spell "Chechen.") Original post here.

Dear readers, if you like this stuff, you'll also enjoy the dissection of the Boston conspiracy theories of Comrade Lew and Commander Alex by Skeptical Libertarian.  They have a very nice analysis of specific arguments, plus an exceptionally clear explanation of how conspiracy theorists can twist anything at all to fit their fantasies.  Highly recommended!

*************************************************************************
Update: (23:58 EDT) Predictably, Lew Rockwell is bitterly upset that Dzhokar Tsarnaev has been caught.  So he's projected his own paranoid fantasies in a made-up "FIB (sic) Press Conference."  It's bizarre stuff, but that's Rockwell... a nasty, dishonest, lunatic.  Just wait. I predict that before this is done Lew will be condemning everyone who rejoiced that the Tsarnaevs were caught, and claiming the Tsarnaevs are the real victims.


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April 19, 2013

FIB Press Conference!

Posted by Lew Rockwell on April 19, 2013 09:19 PM
"We, the secret police and our thousands of militarized auxiliaries, are wonderful. We are the best. We are brave. We are strong. We are smart. We are the many. We are the proud. We are the narcissists. We work 24/7. Just like on TV. Our motto is: Hey You, Protect Us, Serve Us. Let's slap each other's backs! Again! We failed to prevent the bombing, with our vast spending and spying, of course, but at least we accomplished our real objective: weakening the people, empowering the police state.
"With our control of the media and thousands of armored occupiers, we closed down Belmont, Boston, Cambridge, and Watertown. We ordered everyone to stay in their homes. Need food? Medicine? To walk the dog? Tough luck. We closed all businesses, schools, universities. This  is unique in American history, and so we have set the precedent for the future. Civil liberties? Property rights? The people exist to serve the government. Get your priorities straight.
"With our vast display of force, our tanks, our helicopter gunships, our infrared sensors, our night-vision goggles, we captured the final suspect...when a mere citizen tipped us off. We own the night, the ground, the air! And no Miranda warnings, in a public safety exemption. As to the first suspect, we may tell you something, or we may not. That goes for this whole business, and all future activities, for we are the FIB. And don't doubt us. Do not have any competing theories or questions. There's a public safety exemption for that, too."
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// posted by Charles N. Steele @ 11:21
Comments:
I am not going to comment on this in detail but generally speaking allow me one remark. I have been reading plenty of comments in the last week. I find absolutely appalling to read the remarks of some Libertarians vomiting their hatred on anyone wearing a uniform, and claiming that the US is being turned into a totalitarian state. On which planet are they living? This is truly unbearable. NV
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 14:51
 
Thanks for the comment, Nat.

There is something scary about the militarization of policing, the race to build a surveillance state, and the onging attempts to disarm the citizens. But that's quite different from the paranoid luncay spouted by Rockwellites and Alex Jones (I haven't documented this, but Rockwell and Co. are now linking to Info Wars. Their insistence that anyone in uniform is a part of the "NWO conspiracy" is both wrong and vile. I also note they regularly counsel cowardice -- they regularly emphasize the importance of fleeing the U.S.

I wish they would.
# posted by Blogger Charles N. Steele : 11:41
 
The argument of an alleged "militarization of police" is something I do not understand. If you watch closely, it is NOT the case. Armed forces and police are two clearly different entities. They neither have the same arms, nor do their apply the same tactics nor do they operate in the same legal framework. Those are two separate areas. Where I could agree with you is that the nature of threats has changed and so have the strategies of police enforcement. The attempts to disarm the citizens is an argument that is really entirely American, but I do absolutely understand your point and what you mean to say in this context. Ultimately, the generalized paranoia of LR and his allies will turn society into a place you do not want to live in, something like that... I am happy to read your thoughts about the link below. NV : http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2309610/Caught-camera-Moment-man-attacks-U-S-soldier-Wal-Mart-military-service.html
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 05:21
 
Now I don't understand your comment here. The militarization of policing has a fairly obvious meaning. Cato Institute has documented this, for example in this report. This is a serious issue.

To what are you referring when you say "the nature of the threat has changed?" Violent crime, and especially shooting, has declined rather dramatically in the U.S., and while there's debate as to why it isn't because of more aggressive police raids.

Neither this nor my reference to the surveillance state have anything to do with the Rockwellites' conspiracy theory insanity. These are serious problems and it is easy to show these are really happening.

The attack on the Army officer -- I've read about this on half a dozen news sites; it's unclear what motivated the maniac who attacked the officer. He's facing criminal charges, and should.

At any rate, I heard about the capture of murderer D. Tsarnaev while listening to Mark Levine. He was probably the first to announce it (he was repeating what was coming over his police scanner). Levine immediately followed by saying we all should thank the police and firefighters who were responding to the crisis. I agree. They were defending people from terrorists.
# posted by Blogger Charles N. Steele : 17:13
 
What I mean by "the nature of threats has changed" is this: There is not only an ideological, religious dimension to the threats, but also international ramifications. It follows that threat evaluation and prevention has to rely on joint efforts from foreign and domestic intelligence services, co-operation with other foreign and domestic intelligence services, but also civil /military co-operation clusters and law enforcement. To be able to achieve this flawlessly, a country has to have the means to protect itself. Example: Numerous German born converts who became jihadists, have been recruited in Germany first, had a record of training in Waziristan, traveling back and forth between Europe and AFG. They were explicitly targeting the armed forces deployed in AFG. Such cases for instance demand expertise, information sharing and co-operation from all actors I mentioned above. If one of the links in the chain of communication breaks, people die, Charles.
With regard to the equipment of the law enforcement, there has been a change as well. The urban guerilla war tactics used by the terrorists demand that Law enforcement be prepared to face random and massive attacks, bombings in very densely populated and built space etc etc... This explains the armored vehicles and the massive deployment on the ground of highly modern equipment to secure an area "house by house" for instance. Ultimately, no one was sure that the Tsarnaevs were isolated cases. They could have been backed by another cell. No one was sure that the younger Tsarnaev did not have the means to detonate another bomb or was carrying one on his body himself. This is what I mean by nature of the threats has changed. It has vast implications which elude most of the critics of the law enforcement, especially when they judge a situation without knowledge and from abroad. NV
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 08:15
 
There are real problems w/ how too many cities have their own SWAT teams without any real need for them, and how their overuse leads to wrongful killings, but calling it the "Militarization of policing" is exagerrated.

The CATO article uses many of the same scare tactics as the anti-gun crowd. The H&K MP5 fires the 9mm pistol round, hence the "sub" part of "submachinegun." The Colt 1911 .45ACP round is more-lethal, as is the Colt 45 single-action pistol.

Yes, the MP5 is full-auto, but they are rarely used for more than burst fire. They're used by US Military Special Operations forces like the Navy SEALs, but that's because SpecOps teams are often required to use the minimum amount of force; policing also requires using the minimum amount of force, hence the similarity in weapons requirements.

The same goes for AR-15s used by police; the .223 round is preferred because it is accurate, unlikely to over-penetrate, & the AR-15 has low recoil. It was specifically developed to be LESS lethal than its predecessor military cartridges (e.g., the 30-06 or .308), because wounding the enemy incapacitated both the wounded and those caring for the wounded, while killing the enemy merely incapacitated the dead. AR-15s are less-lethal than the Winchester lever-action 30-30 carried by cowboys in the Old West.

Much the same goes for the flash-bang grenades used by police. These are used to disorient, not to kill. While you wouldn't want to let one go off in your hand, they're far less dangerous than the standard anti-personnel grenade carried by US infantrymen.

The rest of the equipment described in such scary terms by the author is entirely defensive in nature, such as armored vehicles, helmets, body armor, etc.

If US police really were being militarized, they'd be carrying SAWs, anti-personnel grenades, driving M1 Abrams tanks, using .50BMG tripod-mounted full-auto machineguns like the Ma Deuce or the 30mm full-auto guns mounted on the Abrams, those choppers would be Apaches armed w/ mini-guns, etc. They wouldn't be using battery rams to open doors, they'd be using tank rounds or explosives to blow their own doors, followed up by anti-personnel grenades tossed into each room they cleared before entry. Nothing of the kind is happening in America today.
# posted by Anonymous Anonymous : 10:35
 
Thanks for the comments, Nat.

First, I have a great deal of respect for your knowledge & experience in these matters, and if I disagree with you on anything, I do so with a fair amount of caution. So I proceed...

Regarding your "changing nature of the threat" 8:15 post -- it's important to note that what I am calling "militarization" certainly predates 9-11. This is not something that was done in response to threats by jihadists.

You refer to "the urban guerilla war tactics used by the terrorists..." Can you give an example of terrorists using these tactics in the U.S.? In Germany, for that matter?

As for "no one was sure that the Tsarnaevs were isolated cases. They could have been backed by another cell," well, no one was sure that any given person in Boston (or elsewhere) was not a mujahid working with the Tsarnaevs. That sort of uncertainty is not even vaguely close to probable cause. The idea that every home in multiple Boston neighborhoods had to be searched, at gunpoint and w/o warrants, seems like a military operation from Viet Nam or Afghanistan, not police work. I have not posted on the police activity is Boston save for this comment, BTW. I will do so at some point. I would welcome a guest post from you as well.

# posted by Blogger Charles N. Steele : 16:11
 
Nat, re your 10:35 post on "militarization." I fully agree with almost all of your weapons analysis, and have been making these very points in posts against gun control. But the SMG is a military weapon; it is full auto, classified under American law as non-civilian (NFA status).

But that's not the point -- no-knock raids, warrantless searches (apparently done en masse in Boston) with armored cars in support -- if that's not called "militarization," then what word would be preferable? Cato called it "paramilitary," but I'm not sure that's more precise.

I don't much care what we call it, though -- it does not look like the rule of civilian law. One doesn't have to be a Rockwellite kook to find it disturbing.
# posted by Blogger Charles N. Steele : 16:19
 
This is cool!
# posted by Anonymous Valeria : 20:06
 
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