Montreal Killings As Pseudo-rebellion

One aspect overlooked in the commentaries about the recent Montreal shooting is the marketing of pseudo-rebellion. Many disaffected young people, rather than becoming genuine rebels and trying to change the system, identify with groups that project an image of rebellion but are reactionary in outlook. Think of metalers, gangstas, Goths, Emo's and whatever similar cult that comes along. All these groups are anti-social, narcissistic and cynical. It is the same message over and over, “Society sucks, nothing can be done about it.” There is a fascination for violence or death. And in the same way that the marketed pseudo-freedom of owning a hot car and driving fast results in unnecessary mayhem, the end result of anti-social youth sub-cultures is also death.

Prior to the pseudo-rebels, there were (and still are, I should add) youth cultures with a genuine rebel content. Think of the hippies, Yippies and punk movement. Even though considered anti-social by the media, they were not. Rather, they attempted to create alternate societies as a means to change society as a whole. These same counter-culturalists were (and are) at the forefront of the peace, environmental and anti-globalist movements. Is the marketing of pseudo-rebellion at a time of growing opposition to the corporate order merely a coincidence?

The State Socialism of the Rich

The state is the only institution in the world that can bring a corporation to life. It alone grants corporations their essential rights, such as legal person hood and limited liability, and it compels them always to put profits first. It raises police forces and armies and builds courthouses and prisons (all compulsorily paid for by citizens) to enforce corporate property rights – rights themselves created by the state. And only the state, in conjunction with other states, can enter into international trade deals and create global institutions, such as the World Trade Organization, that, in turn, limit its ability to regulate the corporations and property rights it has created.

Without the state, the corporation is nothing, Literally nothing.

It is therefore a mistake to believe that because corporations are now strong, the state has become weak. Economic globalization and deregulation have diminished the state's capacity to protect the public interest... Overall, however, the state's power has not been reduced. It has been redistributed, more tightly connected to the needs and interests of the corporations...

From “The Corporation” by Joel Bakan Viking 2004

Must Be Something In The Water!

Teen girl charged with posting nude photos on Internet

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A 15-year-old girl has been arrested for taking nude photographs of her self and posting them on the Internet, police said.

The girl, whose identity was withheld, was accused of sending out photographs of herself in various states of undress and performing a variety of sexual acts. She sent them to people she met in chat rooms on the Internet, police said.

Police seized her computer and found dozens of photographs stored on the hard drive. Authorities did not say how police learned about the girl.

She has been charged with sexual abuse of children, possession of child pornography and dissemination of child pornography. From USA TODAY http://www.usatoday.com/tech/webguide/internetlife/2004-03-29-child-self-porn_x.htm

Is it me, or is there not something really weird about these charges? For sure we don't want minors posting nude pics of themselves on the Net and helping to encourage pedos. But how, I ask, in the name of Bakunin can a person be charged with having kiddie porn when they are her own pics, that she took herself? How also can she be charged with sexual abuse when she did these things to herself? Does this mean that if a 15 year old spanks the monkey, he or she is guilty of sexual abuse. Doesn't this give the old Victorian notion of “self-abuse” a new and even more perverse twist? For me, this is just further evidence that the USA is run by complete and total lunatics.

Profile of a Psychopath

This article came from a posting on http://thetyee.ca/ > The Tyee and was written by “A Saskatchewan Farmer.” I think it a really good summation of the nature of the psychopath and the relation between this illness and authoritarianism. (Posted with permission from the author.)

Profile of a Psychopath.

- controlling (always, its is controlling the free will of others, usually through force or intimidation)
- shallow, self centered (its always me, I, mine, with a narrow perception created by a complete disconnect with the needs and wants of anyone else (mainly because of a belief structure that states "it will get in the way of my own needs and wants". Its "me first" at all costs regardless of the environmental, emotional, mental, physical and life damage and destruction. And don't they sing the this first and that first to get their way first? Its military first, Canada first, Ontario first, BC first, unions first, America first, Republicans first, Jesus first, minorities first, women and children first, can't anyone get it right? Try all life in the universe first!)
- vengeful and spiteful to those who will not let them get their way, or challenge their self appointed authority.
- authoritarian
- driven by their own self getting mechanisms and ego driven goals, regardless of who or what has to pay or in other words, "to succeed at everyone else's expense".
- Predatorial (all else is considered prey or conquest)
- Highly opportunistic (again, at everyone and anyone else's expense.)

The psychopath is quite prevalent in civilizations around the world, exhibiting bizarre, cold behavior for anything that gets in the way of their lust for power. Approximately 1 to 3% of the population is considered to have psychopathic tendencies or traits, depending on the severity of their destructive behavior. The sad truth is that their pursuit of power is often accompanied by those who believe the psychopath has "excellent leadership qualities" due to their drive for power and the bottom line. Whatever the goal is, be it money, sex, social prestige, political and or corporate power or otherwise, it is an ego run amuck and there are far more psychopaths out there than anyone would like to admit. Truly.

We have in this world, CEO's and politicians that are killing the life on this planet through the destruction of the environment from war, waste, and control freaked disregard for all life, never mind human and a good number of us are lauding them as heroes because they are merely wealthy and powerful. In the end, in the final summation, the positions of power are beacons of light to the "psychopath". And until the average Joe realizes the true profile of a psychopath, how to spot and recognize one, and finally, how to "heal" them through reconnecting them with the wants and needs of all other life, we will never be safe regardless of how many bombs and guns we own. Its just how it is In the end, we will know the truth behind this statement. "In order to lead, one must follow." And this next one. "In order to follow, one must lead." And in case this confuses some of you, then try to wear other hats and shoes besides your own. Try other perspectives, not just from the the psychopaths point of view of role playing solely to define weaknesses and strengths to rule and plunder what a psychopath considers as enemy, ally or pawn... But from the perspective that is at all levels, emotional, logical and yes, spiritual for without this last connection, there is no connection to the universal needs of the whole and without it, the big picture is never seen.

Some notable psychopaths of this present day according to such profiles are, GWB junior, Steven Harper, drunkard Campbell, Ehmud Ohbert, various cult leaders, serial killers, sexual predators, Satanists, and a large host of CEO's, namely in chemicals, oil, defense, HMO's, financial institutions and so on.

No one will ever be truly safe until the psychological profile of a psychopath is truly revealed for all that it is and heavily screened from childhood on up, with major scrutiny given in leadership roles. And this is also next to impossible to stop, it seems, for the vast majority of all psychological profiles, psychopaths being but one of them, have one thing in common. They've been abused. Part of an ongoing wheel of perpetual abuse, from one generation to the next. Combine this with the lies and fallacies that one swallows as real even though it might be absent of personally experienced abuse, and... like I say. We can serve the truth hot, or cold. Take your pick. But in the end, peace will not come until the truth is truly served with love.

We Don't Need The Ig

The Globe And Mail Article on Micheal Ignatieff reveals two things about his character which shows why it would not be good to have him as a PM. A one-time socialist, he sided with Thatcher during the Coal Miner's Strike. His reasoning? Coal mining was on its way out and the miners were on the wrong side of history. Such an attitude is indicative of moral weakness. Let's see, we sacrifice thousands of people for the sake of History. Where have we seen that before? Then in 2003 he supported the neocon attack on Iraq. This, in spite of the fact that everyone who knew anything about the Middle East opposed it. This in spite of the fact that the war was built upon obvious lies. Such willingness to dismiss the people who know something about a subject indicates incredible arrogance. His willingness to go along with a lie indicates moral weakness once more. We do not need the Ig. We already have an amoral individual in the PM”s chair.

Thanks to Hope And Onions blog for the GandM article

http://hopeandonions.blogspot.com/2006/08/mens-toilets-liberal-leadership-race.html

The Education System Can't Educate

It can't educate because that's not what it was set up to do. This applies both 120 years ago and today. The original concern was creating a disciplined work force with enough basic education to follow written instructions and add a column of figures. The working class was not to be interested in the world of culture or learning, or as U.S. Commissioner of Education, William T.
Harris, 1889 stated in 1889, "Our schools have been scientifically designed to prevent over-education from happening. The average American (should be) content with their humble role in life, because they're not tempted to think about any other role." (1) This was echoed by Woodrow Wilson, “We want one class to have a liberal education. We want another class, a very much larger class of necessity, to forgo the privilege of a liberal education and fit themselves to perform specific difficult manual tasks.” (2)

Enough was handed to workers to make them respect “their cultural heritage” as an aspect of nationalism and at the same time feel inferior to the “geniuses” who created this culture. This world, however, was disconnected from them and deliberately so. As far as history and philosophy went, none whatsoever for the latter, and imperial propaganda for the former. Philosophy teaches you to think and reason and that would be fatal for the system if everyone started doing that. (3)

This situation was fine up until the 1960's. Then came the rising consciousness of heretofore oppressed peoples. The crude racist and classist propaganda of the past – combined with ignoring women and minorities, would no longer work. Back-handedly dismiss Native People in a school history text and they protest. Ignore women's role in history and women teachers are up in arms.

This leaves the education system in a bind. No more ham-handedness, but on the other hand, they cannot tell the truth either. The plain fact about the Boer War is that it was blatant imperialism, so too, the suppression of the Metis People in the Riel Rebellion. The First world War was a human disaster that gave rise to the Second World War. Teach the facts and young people are liable to think critically, and perhaps apply what they have learned to the present conflicts. Not a good thing for those who profit from war and empire.

As for literature and poetry, go into any depth into writer's lives, let alone their writings, and you a common factor. Virtually all the great writers, poets (and artists and composers as well) were non-conformists, many of them deeply at odds with the system they lived under. One is supposed to identify with “the greats” , but what is the message of their lives? People you admire, creative people, are non-conformists. Therefore non-conformism must be a good thing, and the system that ignored them, ridiculed them, persecuted them is loathsome. When a youth sees a singer, artist or writer condemned in the media for being a troublemaker, what must he or she think?

One way out of the dilemma is to stop teaching history and culture, and I think this is largely what has been happening.

1. http://www.thememoryhole.org/edu/school-mission.htm

2. ibid.

3. Take a course in basic logic or read a book like “Straight Thinking Crooked Thinking” by Robert Thouless and you can sit and pick out the logical fallacies in editorialist's and politician's arguments. End result, you think these people are either liars or ignoramuses.

The Conservative Nanny State

The Conservative Nanny State by US economist Dean Baker shows how the state develops and encourages corporate capitalism and how the rich generally suck the statist tit. The book is free as a download, see: http://www.conservativenannystate.org/

Thanks to London Freedom for this information – www.freedompress.org.uk