We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.
Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. - a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR [Russ.,= self-publishing house]
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Samizdata slogan of the day Woe to those who enact evil statutes, and to those who constantly record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and to rob the poor of my people of their rights, in order that widows may be their spoil, and that they may plunder the orphans.
– Isaiah 10: 1-2
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Who Are We? The Samizdata people are a bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world with the values of personal liberty and several property. Amongst our many crimes is a sense of humour and the intermittent use of British spelling.
We are also a varied group made up of social individualists, classical liberals, whigs, libertarians, extropians, futurists, ‘Porcupines’, Karl Popper fetishists, recovering neo-conservatives, crazed Ayn Rand worshipers, over-caffeinated Virginia Postrel devotees, witty Frédéric Bastiat wannabes, cypherpunks, minarchists, kritarchists and wild-eyed anarcho-capitalists from Britain, North America, Australia and Europe.
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But it’s precisely this sort of ancient scriptural hooey that the regulators use to justify themselves. Aren’t they the ones who stand up for justice, and the needy, and the rights of the poor, and of widows and orphans? That’s not cheap, you know! Why should the bereaved family of the rich have more than the bereaved families of the poor, when they’re working so hard to take care of all of us equally?
Dear me. Intrusive Lefty governments are the Word made flesh.
Spot on, Weasel.
The socialist can cite scripture for his purposes.
Oh boy. So presumably a ruling political class taking the wealth of those unable to defend their property politically is a bad thing, eh? The rights of widows and orphans in question is NOT to be robbed by the law makers (i.e. the state). Someone writes words to the effect “passing laws to appropriate the assets of others is a sin”…and you think that is a bad thing to say?
Why is it ok to allow the statists (and not just the socialist ones) to claim the Bible as their justification when it can in fact be used to hit them over the head just as easily? You guys seem incapable on fighting battles on any ground other than that of the enemy’s choosing.
Iran is the latest Muslim country to be put under the threat of sanctions as the international community puts pressure upon it to open its borders to inspectors and foreign advisors in the hunt for weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has given Iran a deadline of 31st October to disprove claims of secretly trying to make nuclear weapons and disclose all its nuclear activities.
The response of the Iranian regime has been confusing and has reflected a view, still held by some, that Muslim countries should openly comply with the wishes of the international community in the belief that their requests are harmless and have no hidden motives. For example, President Khatami has stated that Iran is against the development of WMD and nuclear weapons and that Iran only seeks technology for non-military purposes. Others within the administration have called upon full transparency and openness in allowing international observers to monitor the country’s industrial development. In reality, these views are a naïve and an incorrect understanding of the situation. The real aim behind such pressure on Muslim countries by the international community is to prevent the Islamic world from acquiring military technology and to dispossess the Muslim Ummah of her existing military weaponry and strength.
In recent months the IAEA has gained access to many of Iran’s nuclear facilities. It has been able to do this because Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty (NPT) and therefore subject to international checks and balances. The Iranians had actually gone beyond their obligations under the NPT in permitting inspections of sites not formally covered by the NPT. Far from being rewarded for this openness and being left alone, the IAEA and western powers have sought more intrusive investigations and inspections within Iran. This can only confirm the view that once the international community and its agencies have a foothold within a country, they become emboldened in looking for more excuses and pretexts to stay and destroy all significant military infrastructure and WMD.
The IAEA has stipulated that Iran cease all development of uranium even if it has no intention of developing enriched uranium suitable for nuclear weapons. This was after earlier IAEA inspections detected a minute amount of highly enriched weapons grade uranium in one of Iran’s nuclear plants. The Iranians have denied that this discovery constitutes a nuclear weapons programme and have insisted that their nuclear power is purely for civilian and domestic usage. Scientists have also given reasons as to how contaminated equipment from abroad could explain the apparent findings of enriched uranium.
The current impasse with Iran has been used by the western powers to pressurise the IAEA to declare Iran’s nuclear sites as a hot bed of WMD.
George W Bush said:
“ I’ve always expressed my concerns that the Iranians are developing a nuclear program”
And he further stated:
“ It is in our national interests to make sure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon”
Similarly, Britain’s Minister for Europe said:
“ We want Iran to co-operate fully with the international inspection agencies”
The European Union has threatened Iran with economic and trade sanctions if it does not fully declare its nuclear programme by the end of the month.
As a result of such pressure, the IAEA has further demanded that Iran sign an additional protocol to the NPT that would allow inspectors even more intrusive rights, unrestricted access to any of its nuclear sites, and the right to conduct unannounced spot checks on any place within the country.
Clearly, the duplicity and double standards of the IAEA approach have not been missed by anyone in the Islamic world. Just recently Brazil declared its plans to begin enriching uranium, not only for domestic use but also for export to other countries. It has also mentioned that it has not ruled out acquiring and using the scientific knowledge involved in developing a nuclear bomb. Brazil has had the capacity to enrich uranium for the past 20 years and sits on some of the world’s largest natural reserves of uranium. If there was a genuine concern within the international community over the proliferation of nuclear technology then Brazil should have been monitored and inspected years ago. Yet even with the Brazilian government’s recent comments on nuclear weapons, there has been no international outcry or protests at its nuclear programme.
Furthermore, many other nations such as India and Israel are active pursuers of nuclear technology on the world arena and have been allowed to acquire and develop WMD with impunity. They are not even signatories of the NPT. By contrast, Iran even as a member of the NPT is being asked to further succeed its military and industrial sovereignty to foreign inspectors and advisors. It appears that arms and weapons controls only apply to certain countries, whilst western powers are left free to develop the largest stockpiles of conventional, chemical and nuclear weapons in the world.
Similar pressure and threats of force were put on Iraq throughout the 1990’s by the international community with a view to disarm its weapons capability. Alongside the brutal sanctions regime, UN inspectors were authorised to systematically destroy Iraq’s military and hardware infrastructure save a minimal standing army with a few, mostly obsolete, short range weapons. As a result of the UN inspections about 90% of Iraq’s previous military capability was removed or destroyed. Even after Iraq had permitted UN inspectors to monitor its military and weapons capability this was not enough to satisfy the international community. Western states have resorted to physical occupation of Iraq to further dismantle any remaining weapons capability it had and to completely eliminate any future potential it may possess.
Moreover, it has been well documented how throughout the many years of UN inspections these ‘inspectors’ were no more than western spies. During this time the inspectors collected information on Iraq’s industrial and technical abilities in the chemical, biological and nuclear fields, and lists of Iraqi weapons experts and scientists. Since the occupation of Iraq these very same people have been interrogated by western forces, and bribed to leave Iraq for the West. The purpose behind targeting the scientists and experts is to deny any future capability of Iraq ever resuming its military or industrial development so that it continues to remain a weak and pliant country.
Pakistan is also currently being pressurised into allowing weapons inspectors into the country so that Pakistan’s nuclear and military arsenal can be monitored and eventually disabled by the international community. Under the pretext of the ‘War on Terror’ sanctions have been placed upon research laboratories and eminent scientists have been detained and questioned by the FBI to elicit as much information from them as possible.
While the western nations force the Muslim nations to disclose and dismantle their military ambitions, they also seek to limit the potential for development and self-sufficiency by strictly controlling arms sales, military components and technology transfer to the Muslim world. Of course, with non-Muslim nations, the opposite has been true. Israel and India have actively been encouraged to purchase the latest arms and technology from western states and both countries have concluded huge deals and agreements with the USA.
What these events have shown is that the principle desire of the international community is to deprive and prevent any Muslim nation from gaining a semblance of military or nuclear strength, or presence on the world stage. This is because the international agencies such as the UN, IMF and IAEA are easily manipulated by the major western powers. As Capitalist states they want to preserve their superpower status over the world through the economic, political and military domination of all other nations. Therefore, the Capitalist mindset seeks to restrict military and nuclear technology and weapons to the preserve of a few, and disallows any other nation from possessing the very same capability lest this state were able to use its military strength to challenge the hegemony of the West. In this way, western states maintain their military superiority in WMD and also use it as a means of interference in other nation’s affairs.
The Islamic view on this subject would be centred on the vital necessity of the Islamic world in acquiring and developing WMD. This would be to prevent being bullied and pushed around by the western states. It is precisely because the Muslim Ummah at present does not possess the military strength in terms of WMD, that allows our countries and resources to be looted and plundered at will. The emergence of a sincere Islamic leadership, the Khilafah, coupled with a nuclear and military strength is what the West fears for it would signal an end to their unjust domination of the Muslim world.
As a priority, the Khilafah State would seek independence and self-sufficiency from any other nation by producing and manufacturing its own weapons and armaments. It would do this by investing in the development of heavy industry that would provide dual benefits in domestic and military sectors. Islam not only encourages this, but makes it a mandatory duty, as the non-Muslims must not be in a position to dominate the Muslims
“…the non-Muslims must not be in a position to dominate the Muslims”
Yeah, Abdul, that’s been working really well, since about 1800.
It is precisely because the Muslim Ummah at present does not possess the military strength in terms of WMD, that allows our countries and resources to be looted and plundered at will.
Funny, I thought it was their kleptocratic governments that were behind the plundering. I suspect that a kleptocratic regime with WMD will keep on a-plundering (or collaborating with evil Western multinationals, or whatever the conspiracy du jour is). Just who, exactly, is plundering Saudi Arabia and Iran? Is there anything in Pakistan and Afghanistan to plunder?
I agree 100% with Perry. For example, if the governor of Alabama had read this scripture before stating that, as Christians, taxes should be raised to help the poor (however defined), perhaps he would have had second thoughts before opening his mouth.
I still can’t find the Bible passage that says, “Give generously, and force your brother to do likewise.”