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Today I learned that the Flying Spaghetti Monster was a humorous protest against the government's decision to permit the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school...
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Advert for 'reliable workers' banned as discrimination by Jobcentre Plus
The boss of a recruitment firm said she was told she could not place an advert for "reliable workers" because it discrimina...
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In light of the claim that Osama bin Laden has now been killed, we thought it might be a good idea to remind everyone of George Orwell's famous character in the novel 1984: Emmanuel Goldstein....
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The so-called rule of law in the US is a big joke. You really need more proof? Dick Cheney, former vice president to George Bush, went on TV on Feb 14 to assert he is "a big supporter of waterboardin...
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Democracy and the 10 commandments: "Thou shalt not steal, except by majority vote."
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 29, 2010 at http://www.braincrave.com/viewbl...
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Put on your tinfoil hats for this one. We recently saw that a country's government can easily and quickly shut down the internet. In a classic rope-a-dope, as Hillary Clinton babbles propaganda about...
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It appears that the US concept of "justice" is spilling over to Canada. Place knowingly innocent men and victims in jail for life and let murderers go free. Put aside for a moment how this story just...
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From the "you can't make this shit up" files... Through one of her villains, Ayn Rand wrote in Atlas Shrugged: "Did you really think that we want those laws to be observed? ...We want them broken......
editorial posted by
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What a completely ridiculous statement, right? Calling Ron Paul a progressive? So why are some prominent progressives suggesting that Ron Paul is more progressive than Obama?
Liberals and progress...
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in braincrave
A fellow Braincraver wants to alert us, and we should take heed of his warning. He lives in Florida on the coast. Over this past month, his health has been deteriorating significantly. He's getting h...
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Meanwhile, as Bradley Manning (aka "unappreciated hero #1") languishes in jail and is tortured by Obama's administration... There's an adage that goes "give to a good man all the powers he requests t...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
On this Father's Day, perhaps it's proper to be reminded of all of the good fathers who are not allowed to see their children just because they got divorced. This occurs all across the world. Putting...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
To paraphrase Pastor Martin Niemöller, "They came first for Wikileaks. But I didn't speak up because I hated politics. Then they came for pornography. But I didn't speak up because I didn't look at...
editorial posted by
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Nowadays, you have to take on massive amounts of debt to go to college, only to graduate and find that there aren't any jobs available. So you leave college, go back to living with your parents, and...
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in braincrave
In 1991, John Taylor Gatto, New York City Teacher of the Year (1989, 1990, and 1991), New York State Teacher of the Year (1991), and author of The Underground History of American Education, wrote the...
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in braincrave
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin which revolutionized the cotton industry. But he had a hard time profiting from his invention because he tried to charge farmers a huge price (2/5 of their profits...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How we do love eye-candy. And, after all, "since when is a woman dressing sexy in public a bad thing?"
By now, you've probably heard about the various "slut walks" that are happening all over the...
editorial posted by
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Jesse Ventura did his latest conspiracy theory show on 9/11, something that's been a passion of his since the event. I've followed his interviews over the years and know he knows substantially more t...
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braincrave
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A Guantanamo Bay sergeant is blowing the whistle on US government torture and murder and the US Department of Justice is blatantly covering it up. This amazing Harper's article is a chilling account...
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Get out your barf bags for this one. FTA: "This points to a massive conspiracy to deprive innocent people of their rights by the U.S. on a scale not seen since the U.S. interned its own Japanese-Amer...
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If you have children in school, or if you are a teacher, you MUST watch this video. Pass it on to anyone who has children. It is THAT important. Why are so many children not learning in America's sch...
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A week ago, we discussed a court ignoring the proven innocence of a convicted man because he missed a filing deadline. Here we have a case where a victim attempts to protect himself and his property....
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Former NSA employee Thomas Drake has a wife and 5 sons, one of whom has significant health problems. But, understanding the risks to him and his family, he couldn't remain silent and be complicit in...
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You can call a fish a duck, but that doesn't make it so. Does anyone else find it funny that people claiming to be anarchists - which is, by definition, being against government - are rioting in su...
editorial posted by
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Governments love to pander equality and anti-discrimination laws (well, granted - they were for discrimination before they were against it). Their latest villain? The Internet Service Providers (ISP)...
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This animation drawing alone is enough reason to watch this video, even if you have no interest in the topic. It's amazing...
FTV: "As long as the task involved used only mechanical skill... the h...
editorial posted by
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Libertarians and others who don't like government (e.g., anarchists) are always talking about limiting and shutting down government programs. Yet they continue to use the benefits of these programs....
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
It's now official: subversives who think government is corrupt and should be controlled by the people face 10 years in prison and a $25,000 dollar fine if they fail to register with authorities in So...
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in braincrave
"No taxation without representation" was a popular slogan that summarized a major grievance the British colonists had with England. The idea is simple enough to understand: if I don't get any substan...
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When it comes to politics, it's difficult to say "liberals believe this" or "conservatives believe that." After all, within each political ideology, there are many views; sometimes even views that se...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
First, let me make this perfectly clear: I am an anarchist (or, more specifically, an anarcho-capitalist). I do not support any kind of government, including a president. The last election I voted in...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
Granted, not everyone values freedom and wants to be free. But why do so many people think that prosperity is greater the larger/more powerful government is? Given how terrible the economy is, and gi...
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Written in 350 BCE. 'nuff said.
FTA: "Democracy, for example, arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects; because men are equally free, they claim t...
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(Meanwhile, as the Italian cabinet approves a tough austerity plan, and as Nero feasts while Rome burns...)
According to the AP, "France, Italy, Spain and Belgium are banning short-selling on sele...
editorial posted by
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In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times. They destroyed the government's credibility in the Vietnam War by revealing that the US government had intentionally misled...
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It's interesting to trace the history of controversial subjects. Take political correctness for example. Political correctness, "used to describe language, ideas, policies, or behavior seen as seekin...
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in braincrave
Regardless or whether you agree or disagree with specific social programs, we can generally agree that government wastes much money as it tries to engineer social outcomes (50% by some estimates). Th...
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In NY state, the exam to determine whether kids get to move to the next grade has been dumbed down by giving partial credit for very wrong answers. Go figure (pun intended).
FTA: "A kid who answer...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The latest weapon of mass destruction: starvation.
The situation is dire. It's the worst drought in Africa in 60 years. The UN is airlifting food to Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. It's estimated th...
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I went to a high school in this district many years ago.
FTA: "Make sure you notice 'Codell, Neil C.' who is 4th from the top of the list. Career pension of $26,661,604. That's almost $27 million...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Unloaded open carry is legal in California.
http://www.californiaopencarry.org/faq.html
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Feb 14, 2010 at http://www.braincrave.com...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
People always complain that freedom, self-rule, and/or anarchy are unworkable and too extreme. Why are any of those more radical or extreme than going into $14 trillion of debt, being in a permanent...
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braincrave
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When buying and selling are controlled by legislation, the first thing to be bought and sold are legislators. - P.J. O'Rourke
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 4,...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Considered the third, best-selling poet of all time, Khalil Gibran once said "Desire is half of life; indifference is half of death." Apathy is defined as having a lack of emotion, interest, or conce...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Faced with a system that makes their practice unprofitable, doctors are getting out of the business of taking Medicare patients. After stupid laws that ignore economics have finished destroying the h...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Libertarians are often talking about freedom and liberty. Thomas Jefferson claimed in his magnum opus the Declaration of Independence that we all have a right to liberty. But freedom and liberty aren...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Pastor Martin Niemöller criticized German intellectuals because they did nothing as the Nazis rose to power and eliminated anti-government groups. Please, learn from history. Please, don't ignore th...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
US soldier holds flag protest sign: "There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people." Well put. Controversial?
US Soldier Holds American Flag Protest Sign
DISCUSS!...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Porn is like bacon: some won't eat it for religious reasons, some consider it filthy, some feel guilty after eating it, but everyone else (which is most of the population) loves it. Funny enough, sci...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
I was reading an article from a Libertarian today that suggested that people will never change their mindset (i.e., of supporting the government) by talking to them about principles and the philosoph...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
When people argue against capitalism (aka the free market), almost never do they argue from an efficiency perspective. Instead, the arguments typically claim capitalism exploits the working class by...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
All economic goods must be produced by someone. They aren't gifts of nature or something that can be conjured up by waiving a magic wand. Somehow, people have gotten the false idea that it is governm...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
Sometimes you have to wonder if the sole reason that the law requires children go to school is because very few would go if not forced. If schools are intended to give children training as to the wor...
editorial posted by
braincrave
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History repeats itself. Men have constantly fought and died in the war for equality throughout the centuries. However, not all of them had in mind the same idea of equality when they gave their lives...
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Capitalism gets a bad rap, often claimed to be the destroyer of everything good. One argument made is that capitalism creates class warfare - the rich against the poor. So-called "social crusaders,"...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
In the movie Braveheart, William Wallace says, "Every man dies, not every man really lives." For thousands of years, people have thought about the values to live for. Aristotle suggest we should live...
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braincrave
in braincrave
In Mel Brooks's very funny History of the World Part I, King Louis XVI is told by his advisor that the people are revolting. The king replies "You said it. They stink on ice."
As the UK government...
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I won't repeat the statistics, as there are too many. Bring a strong stomach when you read these. Politicians are not your friends. Unless you are in the top 1%, government is hurting you and your ch...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Noam Chomsky said Ayn Rand was "... one of the most evil figures of modern intellectual history." Yet I find Atlas Shrugged an amazing book (and so do many others, like the man who recently drove aro...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
A few days ago, the US celebrated a holiday dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. A prominent leader of the civil rights movement, he was a huge proponent of civil disobedience. As the "did they kill...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Ayn Rand wrote "Modern collectivists... see society as a super-organism, as some supernatural entity apart from and superior to the sum of its individual members." Those who support freedom are often...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How can laws be legally binding on me if I haven't explicitly and voluntarily agreed to them? Why is it automatically assumed that I agree to them even though I didn't sign anything agreeing to them?...
editorial posted by
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FTA: "...14 privacy groups filed a unfair-trade complaint with the FTC against Facebook on Wednesday... Facebook thinks that your notions of privacy - meaning your ability to control information abou...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
Government - they are experts at manipulating people. They even have a scary-sounding name for it: "psy-ops." What happens when they turn against their own? The psychological thriller The Manchurian...
editorial posted by
braincrave
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"Meet the fast-growing "patriot" group that's recruiting soldiers to resist the Obama administration."
"But beyond the predictable stereotypes, "the reality is a lot of them are fairly intelligent...
editorial posted by
braincrave
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Putting aside the debates as to whether or not social psychology is less rigorous because it is a soft science, or whether or not it is really science at all, how closely do our political choices mir...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
H.L. Mencken is regarded as one of the most influential American writers and prose stylists of the first half of the 20th century. Among other interesting facts, he was against World War II and democ...
editorial posted by
braincrave
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From the only honest person in American politics - Ron Paul... FTA: "Lately many have characterized this administration as socialist, or having strong socialist leanings. I differ with this character...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
So we had a great discussion earlier today about scientific theories vs. laws, physics, astronomy, and geometry. Science is so amazing! And then I read something like this and it makes me sick.
Hi...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
France is well-known for its protests, one of its most famous being the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille. There was violence. There was bloodshed. The king was executed. The French...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Remember the guy who talked about change? Where'd he go?
In 2006, Obama said this:
The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a...
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When it comes to non-violent, ideological leaders, Mahatma Gandhi has got to be toward the very top of the list. His resistance to British tyranny through mass civil disobedience is famous. Needless...
editorial posted by
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Is it time for those who don't want to physically force their will upon others to part with those who prefer otherwise? If people attempt to secede and are physically prevented from doing so, would t...
editorial posted by
braincrave
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Technology is so grand. With the research from this experiment, we might finally be able to replace the lowest form of humans - politicians - with robots. After all, if you can teach robots to lie, t...
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braincrave
in braincrave
An embryo has no rights. Rights do not pertain to a potential, only to an actual being. A child cannot acquire any rights until it is born. The living take precedence over the not-yet-living (or the...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
London councils sue themselves for parking offences. Critics say the practise "illustrates everything that is wrong with unaccountable parking enforcement in the UK."
London councils sue themselve...
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braincrave
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The US government consists of a bunch of hypocrites. I know, tell you something you don't know, right?
Recently, Hillary Clinton and her lackeys at the US State Department released the Country Re...
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Today, a man committed suicide by flying his plane into an IRS office. I think this is only the beginning of more to come. The IRS has been terrorizing people illegally for decades. The courts and mi...
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The folks at the Venus Project and the larger Zeitgeist movement think society has many problems, and they are concerned. Hard to disagree. When a doctor is trying to cure what ails you, he'll typica...
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Government spending now accounts for 52% of UK's economy. FTA: "A public sector that swallows more than half of GDP is doing more than wrecking our economy: it is devouring our national character and...
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braincrave
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Atlas Shrugged was not intended to be an instruction manual. Ayn Rand talked through Francisco d'Anconia about what it took to kill the motor of the world: "He stepped to the window and pointed to th...
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"Well, when the President does it, that means that it is not illegal." So said President Richard Nixon in his 1977 interview discussing presidential authority.
Fast-forward 30 years. "I was a cons...
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Ron Paul just came out with a plan to cut $1 trillion from the US's federal budget and severely curtail entitlement programs. According to the "Plan to Restore America," it cuts $1 trillion in spendi...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
The cover-up of the Iraq war is significant. Whereas many of us suspected it, WikiLeaks has provided the facts to support the truth. And the truth is - the US government has been lying to everyone (a...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
As Murray Rothbard put it in his marvelous article The Anatomy of the State, "Some theorists venerate the State as the apotheosis of society; others regard it as an amiable, though often inefficient,...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How do you make economics more fun so that people better understand basic concepts and, just as important, what the ramifications are from making poor economic choices?
FTA: "Who is better informe...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
The government knows better than you when it comes to most things, right? For example, they know what's best for your health, correct (putting aside for a moment their militaries and police that dest...
editorial posted by
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Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander. - Holocaust Museum
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 21, 20...
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Last night in group chat, we had a bunch of conversations (sometimes very heated) about what the Constitution does and does not allow. As part of it, we got into the US Great Depression, FDR, court ...
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The great political theorist and economist Frédéric Bastiat wrote in The State: "The oppressor no longer acts directly by his own force on the oppressed. No, our conscience has become too fastidiou...
editorial posted by
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Is there any circumstance in which the government should be a gate-keeper of information? What are the benefits of holding back information vs. letting information flow freely?
FTA: "In a recent c...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
They say that history repeats itself. Maybe that's the reason I'm never able to watch Schindler's List without bawling my eyes out. You don't have to be prescient to see the similarities already and...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
How many of you learned about the Hitler Youth (aka HJ), the paramilitary group of the Nazis? Is the government building one for Obama? In Hitler's time, the stormtroopers were referred to as "brown...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
Irony: Politicians make thousands of laws to protect us from all of the irrational, destructive, and harmful decisions that we make as individuals. Then we go to the voting booths…
Should there...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Einstein once wrote that "our conscious acts spring from our desires and our fears." Many agree. For example, David Hume suggested in A Treatise of Human Nature that humans are prone to letting emoti...
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, make violent revolution inevitable. - John F. Kennedy
DISCUSS!
Original posting by Braincrave Second Life staff on Mar 8, 2010 at http://www.brain...
editorial posted by
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in braincrave
Some people have problems understanding new ideas with which they are unfamiliar and so unintentionally misrepresent or summarize those ideas. Perhaps these are innocent errors. However, there are ot...
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
Some claim that the reason music piracy is so prevalent is because the cost of music is so high (especially when the actual CD production costs are so low - a cursory look suggests it's less than $0....
editorial posted by
braincrave
in braincrave
School used student laptop webcams to spy on them at school and home
School-sanctioned privacy intrusion? "Schools are only interested in a child's best interests" claim those who ignore knowledge...