Topic: Economic Totalitarianism - page 75. (Read 345738 times)
Btw on the Bitcoin killer. We're moving faster now...
As I previously mentioned Singapore as a potential safe haven i have copied the interesting parts.
Asia is on the upside of the prosperity mountain and can share the love:
http://technology.inquirer.net/43924/singaporeans-kind-act-towards-foreign-workers-goes-viral
http://technology.inquirer.net/43331/a-kinder-gentler-social-media-in-singapore
The West is head over the top and down the waterfall backside of the mountain into selfishness, anger, and dysfunctional chaos.
Note China appears to have trouble, as notice most people don't even rush to help:
http://abcnews.go.com/International/sinkhole-swallows-commuters-bus-stop-china-video-shows/story?id=33336633
They built is lot of shoddy infrastructure (e.g. putting straw as filler in concrete). I've had experience with Chinese cheapskate construction (something as simple as the toilet not functioning or a pipe or concrete extrusion right at the level where you bang your head or gouge your eye) in the Philippines. Stay away! You could be the unlucky one. And they simply don't care. Don't even try to voice your dissatisfaction with poor service. Chinese attitude (same in Hong Kong) is take it or leave it. And you are not welcome in their clubs, gyms, etc.. I tried to work out in a gym in Hong Kong and couldn't find one that would accept me.
Perhaps the Chinese in Taiwan and Singapore are different. I don't have experience with them.
I love TPTB_need_war and Risto, but when they start quoting a book...
Did I quote the Bible in this recent discussion?
Maybe you can more carefully review the posts where I have quoted the Bible and try to figure out what my stance really is. It is not the one you assume above. It is also not your stance. My spirituality is personal and I am not required to tell any one.
You could for example see my past post suggesting to OROBTC not to move from one addiction to next one (religion).
Jesus was arguably against religion (see Matthew 6:5).
Perhaps you will see my past post wherein I showed how Christianity was a continuation of the sun god.
My post about China is the people are becoming disillusioned with communism and need a new religious delusion, and that means the Communist Party is wrecked.
everything is possible when YOU decide it actually IS! 
In 4 hours I'll have completed 7 days of water only fasting, or 8 days if include the 2 egg yokes I ate after the first day.
The easiest thing to do is to sleep. Everything else is exhausting, but I do seem to get several hours a day where I can produce mental work.
The one thing I can say for sure is that I don't get the correlation of M.S. effects with eating. Obviously because I am not eating. Normally every time I eat, I get an elevation of M.S. effects immediately after. And I am getting virtually no pain in the stomach which was really becoming frequent before the fasting.
It subjectively appears to me that the M.S. effects in my head are so much reduced. But I am so fatigued, it may be subjective, but sure seems like I don't get itchy head, welts on back of head, etc..
I am actually getting more M.S. effects in terms of minor uncontrolled muscle spasms (mostly in the legs and feet). But this was something that happened more in 2010 and 2011. Before the fasting it had progressed more to stomach and head. So my subjecture wild ass interpretation is that maybe this indicates an unwinding back to earlier stage of the disease. Btw, I can still vertical leap 24" in this weakened state (age 50 and been unable to do athletics regularly).
Also I just today I started to get sensations down in my lower digestion system like pushing out material accompanied by farts. (Don't you just love reading these gory details, lol)
Bottom line for me is I am getting more FUNDAMENTAL changes from this than anything else I had tried in recent memory.
My operating theory is that the vitamin D3 et al, wasn't going to work because I was making a fundamental error. I was thinking it was only carbos that were bad. In fact, it appears that any protein and fat (and glucose!) are also bad, except for medium-chain fatty acids which can be converted to ketones while all others can't. So far, it is only coconut oil (less glucose than the meat) and coconut meat that I've found are medium-chain only fatty acids.
I don't have a scale around, but sure looks like I've lost 3 - 5 kilos in weight already. My waist is down from 34" to 32".
Thus my plan for diet when stopping the fasting is EXCLUSIVELY(!):
* raw leafy greens
* water
* coconut
* Kombucha tea (ordered this yesterday) to repopulate intestinal flora
This has been a multiple year battle. I am so tired of this M.S. (suicidal thoughts enter sometimes, but my work keeps me motivated). I sure hope I can see some hope and light at the end of the tunnel.
PS: He still smokes. 
When I was 5 years old, my father promised me the equivalent of 2,500 EUR when I am 18, if I don't smoke by 30. I collected the money (with interest, it was about 5,000 EUR) and lost it in the Nasdaq bubble. I did not start smoking until I was 33.
Now I have been not smoking for 28 days, to show my wife that it is possible. After 3 days I will start again though. But I only smoke cigars, and only hand-made.
I had it quit 15y ago. Occasionally, I light up a cigar once every few months (up to years). Usually with a good glass of brandy or wine, whichever comes handy. It wasn't an easy task if you ask me, I was a heavy smoker too (up to 3 packs of Camels per day). I agree though, everything is possible when YOU decide it actually IS!
PS: He still smokes.
When I was 5 years old, my father promised me the equivalent of 2,500 EUR when I am 18, if I don't smoke by 30. I collected the money (with interest, it was about 5,000 EUR) and lost it in the Nasdaq bubble. I did not start smoking until I was 33.
Now I have been not smoking for 28 days, to show my wife that it is possible. After 3 days I will start again though. But I only smoke cigars, and only hand-made.
Here's a story I've witnessed all these years I've been messing around with some lab work. I once met a 70y old guy, he was diagnosed with throat cancer and his voice was barely audible. He was a heavy smoker alas the root of his problem. I was at the lab looking at his file with a friend who said "I don't recommend to go this guy for a chemo - he's lost anyway, besides he's already 75y old". The patient knew that he had it; and he agreed not to go for measures that will "give him a bad death", but he'd rather live his remaining days on his own way.
After 30-40 days it was the Orthodox Easter here. We had arranged to see his new examination file right after that to see how he goes. He showed up with his latest biochemical & MRI and the tumor was not there! We asked him what meds was on the 1.5 month and he said "my faith to God". He said to us that during the Easter time he drank nothing but water while the holy Friday he got to the church and prayed for his health. We were stunned. The colleague of mine told me that he had no scientific proof for such a tumor retreat within such a short time period.
I'm a known a-religionist, so I won't go for a religious explanation here - I don't have any. I do have some evidence that his 1 month fasting diet could have helped; but I can't say for sure this was the case. He still, FAITHFULLY believes, that God saved him; and who am I to oppose to his faith...
PS: He still smokes.
After 30-40 days it was the Orthodox Easter here. We had arranged to see his new examination file right after that to see how he goes. He showed up with his latest biochemical & MRI and the tumor was not there! We asked him what meds was on the 1.5 month and he said "my faith to God". He said to us that during the Easter time he drank nothing but water while the holy Friday he got to the church and prayed for his health. We were stunned. The colleague of mine told me that he had no scientific proof for such a tumor retreat within such a short time period.
I'm a known a-religionist, so I won't go for a religious explanation here - I don't have any. I do have some evidence that his 1 month fasting diet could have helped; but I can't say for sure this was the case. He still, FAITHFULLY believes, that God saved him; and who am I to oppose to his faith...
PS: He still smokes.
Quote
Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
It seems that we cannot know the date in advance, but we can witness in the power of the Holy Spirit unto all the earth, and this is what I am doing.
That's your thing. I'm keeping as much personal liberty as possible (religions are cages for your mind in my view--spirituality is another matter and doesn't ask much outside of a willingness and discipline to expand your consciousness), but I believe we are on the same team when it comes to freedom from domineering governments--as i think Christians and Buddhists are on the same side when it comes to government aggression.
Quote
Acts 1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
It seems that we cannot know the date in advance, but we can witness in the power of the Holy Spirit unto all the earth, and this is what I am doing.
You do know that the messiah cults started with jews who thought the apoclypse+messiah would come and smote the Romans--who later became the Christians. Irony.
I have no problem with spirituality or politics, but when they get mashed together and put through the futurism blender, it gets real weird, real quick. There's no way you'd buy a bond on the info you're giving me on the Apocolypse, so sorry if I don't plan accordingly.
Some Dude, "Wanna buy a bond that will change your life?"
Me, "When does it expire?"
Some Dude, "When the Seventh Seal is opened."
Me, " When does that happen?"
Some Dude, " Only the issuer knows that."
Me, "Who's the issuer."
Some Dude, "No one knows for sure, so we gave him the pseudonym God."
Me, "So you don't know when the bond expires and no one has any real details on the issuer? Do you at least have some collateral?"
Some Dude, "No. But he expects 2+ hours of your weekend, a meditation in his honor throughout the day, your wife and kids acceptance of his omnipotence, your servitude, influence over your political and social views, a suggested 10% of your income to his causes, and for that small price you get a big payout,"
Me, "Think I'll pass without more facts."
Some Dude, "Then you'll burn for eternity while we rejoice in Heaven."
Me, "Hope no one you love forgets to sign up or you might have a hard time enjoying yourself while they're suffering eternally, but good luck and have a nice day."
I have no problem with spirituality or politics, but when they get mashed together and put through the futurism blender, it gets real weird, real quick. There's no way you'd buy a bond on the info you're giving me on the Apocolypse, so sorry if I don't plan accordingly.
Some Dude, "Wanna buy a bond that will change your life?"
Me, "When does it expire?"
Some Dude, "When the Seventh Seal is opened."
Me, " When does that happen?"
Some Dude, " Only the issuer knows that."
Me, "Who's the issuer."
Some Dude, "No one knows for sure, so we gave him the pseudonym God."
Me, "So you don't know when the bond expires and no one has any real details on the issuer? Do you at least have some collateral?"
Some Dude, "No. But he expects 2+ hours of your weekend, a meditation in his honor throughout the day, your wife and kids acceptance of his omnipotence, your servitude, influence over your political and social views, a suggested 10% of your income to his causes, and for that small price you get a big payout,"
Me, "Think I'll pass without more facts."
Some Dude, "Then you'll burn for eternity while we rejoice in Heaven."
Me, "Hope no one you love forgets to sign up or you might have a hard time enjoying yourself while they're suffering eternally, but good luck and have a nice day."
Quote from: God
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.The number of seats in the table of martyrs is limited, and when it fills up, things start rolling...
immediately afterwards
Quote from: God
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
...and it begins to get uncomfortable for the people who associated themselves with the system, rich and poor alike. The rich and poor have equal chance of exit, and the exit door is open now.
A tyranny is not fought by petitioning it.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
Quote from: God
Rev. 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
Clap, clap, clap.
+ eternity
Revelation is a hard book for me to understand. I have needed a lot of time for an even less than minimal understanding.
But, yes, the context of your quotation is most gratefully received (while on vacation no less).
If you want to understand Revelations, grab a mutating inkblot and ask a paranoid schizophrenic what they see. I love TPTB_need_war and Risto, but when they start quoting a book written by dudes claiming divine inspiration by a magical spaceman, I'm out. Though both Jung's and Nietzsche's interpretations of Revelations are both entertaining.
A rather uninteresting article came out on Singapore in this weeks edition of the Economist. What was interesting, however, was one of the comments that was much more informative than the actual article. As I previously mentioned Singapore as a potential safe haven i have copied the interesting parts.
Quote from: Tony's View
Tonys View
Singapore has held elections every 4.3 years on average (the PAP has won 13 straight general elections in the 52 years between 1959 and 2011). Indeed, one election every four years is also the most common interval between elections (it happened 7 out of 12 times).
In the 2011 elections, the PAP won 60.1% of the popular vote on a 93.2% voter turnout. The PAP had similar numbers in the 1991 elections (61%) and 1997 elections (65%) -- but this improved in the 2001 elections to over 75%. Most political leaders can only dream of such voter endorsement.
The last time a British political party managed to win 60% of the vote was almost 150 years ago -- in 1868, by Gladstone’s Liberals! In 2015, Cameron’s Conservatives won only 36.9% of the vote on 66.1% voter turnout – in other words, Britain is being ruled by a party voted in by only 24% of eligible voters. Singapore is being led by a party voted in by 56% of eligible voters (who also happen to be among the best educated, smartest and most successful citizens in the world).
Singapore's election results are not surprising since polls indicate that four out of five Singaporeans have confidence in Singapore’s government, leaders, elections, judicial system and police. Google “Singapore Challenges the Idea That Democracy Is the Best Form of Governance” and see Table 5: 2014 polling data on satisfaction with government.
E.g., in response to the Gallup World Poll question “do you have confidence in your national government”, 84% of Singapore citizens polled answered affirmatively. This is the most positive perception in the entire developed world -- compared to 47% for British, 35% for Americans, 17% for Japanese, 42% for Germans, 44% for French, 23% for Koreans, 42% for Australians, 52% for Canadians, 40% for OECD average.
When asked about the Singapore government’s performance since the 2011 general election, 87% of the respondents surveyed by Blackbox indicated they were satisfied (64% said it was “good” or “very good”; and 23% felt it was “okay”). Only 10% said it was “not so good or poor”.
Singapore has held elections every 4.3 years on average (the PAP has won 13 straight general elections in the 52 years between 1959 and 2011). Indeed, one election every four years is also the most common interval between elections (it happened 7 out of 12 times).
In the 2011 elections, the PAP won 60.1% of the popular vote on a 93.2% voter turnout. The PAP had similar numbers in the 1991 elections (61%) and 1997 elections (65%) -- but this improved in the 2001 elections to over 75%. Most political leaders can only dream of such voter endorsement.
The last time a British political party managed to win 60% of the vote was almost 150 years ago -- in 1868, by Gladstone’s Liberals! In 2015, Cameron’s Conservatives won only 36.9% of the vote on 66.1% voter turnout – in other words, Britain is being ruled by a party voted in by only 24% of eligible voters. Singapore is being led by a party voted in by 56% of eligible voters (who also happen to be among the best educated, smartest and most successful citizens in the world).
Singapore's election results are not surprising since polls indicate that four out of five Singaporeans have confidence in Singapore’s government, leaders, elections, judicial system and police. Google “Singapore Challenges the Idea That Democracy Is the Best Form of Governance” and see Table 5: 2014 polling data on satisfaction with government.
E.g., in response to the Gallup World Poll question “do you have confidence in your national government”, 84% of Singapore citizens polled answered affirmatively. This is the most positive perception in the entire developed world -- compared to 47% for British, 35% for Americans, 17% for Japanese, 42% for Germans, 44% for French, 23% for Koreans, 42% for Australians, 52% for Canadians, 40% for OECD average.
When asked about the Singapore government’s performance since the 2011 general election, 87% of the respondents surveyed by Blackbox indicated they were satisfied (64% said it was “good” or “very good”; and 23% felt it was “okay”). Only 10% said it was “not so good or poor”.
A tyranny is not fought by petitioning it.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
Quote from: God
Rev. 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
Clap, clap, clap.
+ eternity
Revelation is a hard book for me to understand. I have needed a lot of time for an even less than minimal understanding.
But, yes, the context of your quotation is most gratefully received (while on vacation no less).
rpietila have you seen that Christianity is taking over China?
The Communist Party is wrecked. The taipans don't want to give up their State owned enterprises monopolies which is what is holding back China.
We are nearing another Berlin wall collapse. Armstrong's computer model says Asia will bottom by 2020.
Anonymous currency and internet will be non-violent tools the people can employ to assert their sovereignty so they can ruled by only one King (for atheists that is a different King than for Christians).
The Communist Party is wrecked. The taipans don't want to give up their State owned enterprises monopolies which is what is holding back China.
We are nearing another Berlin wall collapse. Armstrong's computer model says Asia will bottom by 2020.
Anonymous currency and internet will be non-violent tools the people can employ to assert their sovereignty so they can ruled by only one King (for atheists that is a different King than for Christians).
A tyranny is not fought by petitioning it.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
You have to be ready to take the moral high ground you claim to have, and ignore the tyranny to their demise.
There is no guaranteed, visible victory in your lifetime, but they dread to take your life, because it shortens their own rule:
Quote from: God
Rev. 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were , should be fulfilled.
So actually your victory is not dependent whether you live or die, it depends whether you associate with the tyranny or not.
http://www.nestmann.com/are-you-fit-to-be-boiled
Quote
Are You Fit to be Boiled?
By Mark Nestmann • August 25, 2015
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a lobster boiled alive. It was at a family gathering when I was very young, perhaps five or six years old. One of my aunts calmly picked up a happily wriggling lobster out of an ice chest and dropped it in a pot of boiling water. The lobster flailed a bit and then stopped moving.
That incident made a strong impression on me. I think of it whenever I read of a law, court decision, or administrative decision that, while not notable by itself, represents the end – the death – of something very important. But just like the lobster, most people don’t realize anything’s wrong. They continue “happily wriggling.”
Such was my thought process when I learned of a court decision last month that US persons have no right to withhold information about their foreign investments from the government, even if that information could be used to criminally prosecute them.
The Fifth Amendment appears to contain an outright prohibition of court decisions like this. The relevant section reads:
No person… shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself...
It’s pretty simple. If the government wants to punish us – the essence of a “criminal case” – it can’t force us to incriminate ourselves.
Like so many other rights the Constitution enshrines, the right against self-incrimination originated in England. By the 1600s, English law granted its citizens the right not to incriminate themselves. The Founding Fathers of the US made sure this concept found its way into the Bill of Rights.
For nearly 200 years after the Bill of Rights came into effect, the courts interpreted the self-incrimination clause broadly. An 1886 Supreme Court decision held that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments create a "zone of privacy" that protects an individual and his personal records from compelled production. And the famous Miranda case of 1966 made it clear that arrested suspects had the right to refuse to answer questions from police.
Things started going downhill from there, but it happened too slowly for most people to notice.
In 1974 and again in 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment doesn’t extend to personal records that may incriminate you, if a third party (such as a financial institution) holds them. Prosecutors can issue broad summonses compelling custodians of personal and financial records to retrieve data that matches whatever criteria the government stipulates. Such “John Doe summonses” are now routinely used in tax investigations.
So it came as no surprise that in 1984, the Supreme Court concluded that, “The Fifth Amendment provides absolutely no protection for the contents of private papers of any kind.”
The 2013 Salinas Supreme Court decision opened the door for further incursions, by confirming that a jury can draw a negative inference from someone who refuses to answer a question.
With this track record, I wasn’t surprised to learn that last month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that citizens may not claim Fifth Amendment protection for their bank records. A couple named Chabot lost their argument that their offshore bank records could incriminate them in district court, and they lost again on appeal.
This is how we lose the rights won through blood, sweat, and tears more than 300 years ago. The events and decisions that matter are so seemingly innocuous and occur over such an extended time period that almost no one pays attention. Piece by piece. Year by year. Even century by century.
It’s such a slow process that it’s easy to miss. Not unlike a lobster obliviously on the way to his doom.
Are you like a lobster ready to be thrown into the pot? Or do you have a Plan B?
By Mark Nestmann • August 25, 2015
I’ll never forget the first time I saw a lobster boiled alive. It was at a family gathering when I was very young, perhaps five or six years old. One of my aunts calmly picked up a happily wriggling lobster out of an ice chest and dropped it in a pot of boiling water. The lobster flailed a bit and then stopped moving.
That incident made a strong impression on me. I think of it whenever I read of a law, court decision, or administrative decision that, while not notable by itself, represents the end – the death – of something very important. But just like the lobster, most people don’t realize anything’s wrong. They continue “happily wriggling.”
Such was my thought process when I learned of a court decision last month that US persons have no right to withhold information about their foreign investments from the government, even if that information could be used to criminally prosecute them.
The Fifth Amendment appears to contain an outright prohibition of court decisions like this. The relevant section reads:
No person… shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself...
It’s pretty simple. If the government wants to punish us – the essence of a “criminal case” – it can’t force us to incriminate ourselves.
Like so many other rights the Constitution enshrines, the right against self-incrimination originated in England. By the 1600s, English law granted its citizens the right not to incriminate themselves. The Founding Fathers of the US made sure this concept found its way into the Bill of Rights.
For nearly 200 years after the Bill of Rights came into effect, the courts interpreted the self-incrimination clause broadly. An 1886 Supreme Court decision held that the Fourth and Fifth Amendments create a "zone of privacy" that protects an individual and his personal records from compelled production. And the famous Miranda case of 1966 made it clear that arrested suspects had the right to refuse to answer questions from police.
Things started going downhill from there, but it happened too slowly for most people to notice.
In 1974 and again in 1976, the Supreme Court ruled that the Fifth Amendment doesn’t extend to personal records that may incriminate you, if a third party (such as a financial institution) holds them. Prosecutors can issue broad summonses compelling custodians of personal and financial records to retrieve data that matches whatever criteria the government stipulates. Such “John Doe summonses” are now routinely used in tax investigations.
So it came as no surprise that in 1984, the Supreme Court concluded that, “The Fifth Amendment provides absolutely no protection for the contents of private papers of any kind.”
The 2013 Salinas Supreme Court decision opened the door for further incursions, by confirming that a jury can draw a negative inference from someone who refuses to answer a question.
With this track record, I wasn’t surprised to learn that last month, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that citizens may not claim Fifth Amendment protection for their bank records. A couple named Chabot lost their argument that their offshore bank records could incriminate them in district court, and they lost again on appeal.
This is how we lose the rights won through blood, sweat, and tears more than 300 years ago. The events and decisions that matter are so seemingly innocuous and occur over such an extended time period that almost no one pays attention. Piece by piece. Year by year. Even century by century.
It’s such a slow process that it’s easy to miss. Not unlike a lobster obliviously on the way to his doom.
Are you like a lobster ready to be thrown into the pot? Or do you have a Plan B?
Looks like the overlords at the forum are getting back into censorship again (or maybe they are just cleaning house to make threads less noisy). They deleted this very old post of mine. Unfortunately the deletion notification doesn't say which thread it was deleted from. Anyone remember?
Any way the content of that post is certainly not off-topic to this thread. Let's see if they censor it from an applicable thread.
Any way the content of that post is certainly not off-topic to this thread. Let's see if they censor it from an applicable thread.
Quote from: Bitcoin Forum
A reply of yours, quoted below, was deleted by a Bitcoin Forum moderator. Posts are most frequently deleted because they are off-topic, though they can also be deleted for other reasons. In the future, please avoid posting things that need to be deleted.
Quote
UK to Ban WhatsApp Messaging Service
 | The UK is ready to ban WhatsApp thanks to the Investigatory Powers Bill, also known as “Snoopers Charter”. This new act will allow the government to ban instant messaging apps that refuse to remove end-to-end encryption. The British want to peek at what everyone is doing for taxes. They already have signs all over stating they are hunting tax evaders. |
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