Doings Elsewhere

Not because I suddenly have something new and insightful to add, but just because this so-called news headline pushed me to it.

I’ve been keeping an eye out for news from Belarus in the wake of the bombing. As is typical of our media, now that the bleeding is over, their eyes have mostly turned elsewhere. Having Belarusian friends provides more of an insider’s view—as does the experience of Lobo and the snolfs, freshly returned from a visit to that part of the world. The contrasts between the situations—and people—of that country and this are rich in irony.

That would be me.

This piece over at LRC is making the rounds. So far I have seen it at Claire Wolfe's and at The Picket Line. Plus a couple of people have emailed me the link asking my opinion.

It is mostly an OK piece, but for the most part it treats Latin America as a monolith, which it is not, and it neglects to mention several "Elephants in the room".

One of my dearest dojo friends has launched a project that is simple and brilliant. One of the reasons I like it so much is that it’s based on her recognition that the marketplace is about relationships—and I for one am increasingly weary of how many of those relationships are with corporate entities that don’t seem to give a shit about much beyond profits and stockholder satisfaction.

What with all the military madness this country maintains, I’m rather surprised it took the winter Olympics to bring one of my favorite Rush songs out of the recesses of my memory:

As I have noted before Costa Rica is not a Libertarian paradise. Despite that I felt it was pretty good place for those who want a great deal of effective freedom. I am no longer sure about this position.

My friend Mike Gogulski apparently learned that lesson back in September, although he just published information about his unfortunate encounter with some Slovak policemen. As happens here in the USSA with disturbing frequency, Mike called them for help, and instead they turned on him.

I’m not sure what Mike intends to do from here, but he has requested support and I am giving it, by helping to publicize his story and archiving a copy of the report in case his web site is yanked. I can’t at present upload it here for sharing, but will happily email the PDF to those who request it. For now, it and other formats are available in Mike’s blog post I linked earlier; my dear friend Tom Ender has also archived Mike’s report.

If anyone wonders whether Mike is worth supporting, in addition to his fine blog I recommend reading my interview of him. Mike walks the walk, and surely is an inspiration to many.

A Cryptohippie friend brought to my attention their recent report on the electronic police state. Quite intriguing, it is.

Not just any ol’ month, though. As I mentioned yesterday, we had a farewell feast last night. For the past month we’ve had a Belarusian houseguest. He works with Lobo at Casey Research, and was here primarily to get a lot of hands-on training. That was accomplished; and of course, we tried to give him as rich a sampler of American life and Pacific Northwest beauty as we could. Naturally, woven through our interactions were many threads relating to freedom. He may have provided me as much food for thought as we did him.

It does seem to be a popular question these days, no doubt encouraged by Wendy McElroy’s essay Leave the Police State That Is America, which has been followed up with an excellent series of So ... You Are Staying in the States posts. Part V is the most recent installment, and includes links to its predecessors.

She offers good information, but I’d like to back up and consider Wendy’s advice to leave the USSA. As one who has done so, and returned (after much deep thought regarding that choice), I offer some of my perspective, based on our experiences.

The latest, and last in the current format, issue of Sunni's Salon is now available.

If you find any errors please contact "the Endervidual" (or post a comment here) and I will attempt to correct them.

Please enjoy.

From the little I’ve been able to read hastily, it appears you may be offline for a bit ... but once you’re back, I sure would appreciate a quick note—here or an email if you prefer. And if there’s anything I can do to help you, say the word.

(Yes, the snake is worried. It does happen.)

It was twelve years ago—not this date, exactly, but this day, if you follow the distinction I’m drawing—that the Liberty Round Table was born.

Yeah, yeah ... I know what I said about that phrase nigh on a year ago. Today I’m addressing that phrase again from a rather different context. And, I also admit with more than a little embarrassment, I thought I’d written on this a long time ago, as I had promised to upon my return from my adventure teaching at a couple of Liberty English Camps in ‘07 ...