Dutch Comedian: "Free Speech Has Been Lost"

US comedian Bill Maher and Dutch standup Hans Teeuwen are some of the few Western artists left to defend free speech. They understand that the right to criticize ideas is central to the values of the Enlightenment. A right is the inherent freedom to act. There is no right not to be offended. 

Muslims interrogating comedian Hans Teeuwen about insulting Islam. No one can be offended without his consent. 

In a recent newspaper interview (source) Teeuwen has admitted that free speech has already been forfeited. "Like film producers in dictatorships we're working around the censor in trying to find ways to say what we want to say without getting murdered". Teeuwen is admitting that since Theo van Gogh was slaughtered by a Muslim Jihadist, he is exercising self restraint. Even before then Salman Rushdie had to go into hiding. It's not a new phenomenon. But the feeling has grown over the years. "An artist poring pig's blood over a Koran has a huge problem". Teeuwen thinks it is important to point this out. "There are those who are trying to diminish the importance of free speech. That's even worse. That means that terrorism has an influence over how we think". He says that the risk of "accidents" has become too great. In your face jokes of the past are no longer possible today. We have to recognize that free speech has been lost. It's become really difficult to create a song or a sketch that isn't offensive to Muslims. There are none on his new CD. 

VIRGINIA SHOOTING: crackpot attacks on language are killing us!

A double murder in cold blood and recorded on camera is what can be expected in a culture that removes personal morality and cultivates race baiting and agitation. Liberal politicians are quick to attack the Second Amendment, distracting from the real issues. 

Aug 26, 2015 Alex Jones breaks down the Virginia News shooting. (Source)

UPDATE: The words are a part of everyday conversation — “swinging” by an address and going out in the “field.” But in the twisted mind of Virginia gunman Vester Lee Flanagan II, they were pure racism — and saying them became a death sentence for Alison Parker. (...) “Alison made racist comments,” Flanagan posted while he was on the run from cops. “They hired her after that??” he wrote. But colleagues said that it was all in Flanagan’s head and that Parker was as far from racist as they come. “That’s how that guy’s mind worked. Just crazy, left-field assumptions like that,” Ryan Fuqua, a video editor at WDBJ, told The Post. (...) Trevor Fair, a 33-year-old cameraman at WDBJ for six years, said that the words Parker used are commonplace but that they would routinely set Flanagan off. “We would say stuff like, ‘The reporter’s out in the field.’ And he would look at us and say, ‘What are you saying, cotton fields? That’s racist,’ ” Fair recounted. “We’d be like, ‘What?’ We all know what that means, but he took it as cotton fields, and therefore we’re all racists.” “This guy was a nightmare,” Fair said. “Management’s worst nightmare.” Flanagan assumed everything was a jab at his race, even when a manager brought in watermelon for all employees. “Of course, he thought that was racist. He was like, ‘You’re doing that because of me.’ No, the general manager brought in watermelon for the entire news team. He’s like, ‘Nope, this is out for me. You guys are calling me out because I’m black.’ ”Flanagan even declared that ­7-Eleven was racist because it sold watermelon-flavored Slurpees. “It’s not a coincidence, they’re racist,” he allegedly told Fair. (Source)

Varoufakis Goes Pan European

Varoufakis fans and haters get ready! Instead of running for the upcoming elections, the former Greek FinMin shall be launching a Pan European movement for pro Euro Keynesian economics that will eventually lay the groundwork for a political party. 

Yanis Varoufakis: The Greek election campaign will be 'sad and fruitless', he tells Late Night Live of Australian ABC National Radio. Player.

Varoufakis described the elections campaign as “sad and fruitless” and said that he will not be running for Greek parliament in the September elections, as he no longer believes in what Syriza and its leader, Tsipras, are doing. ‘The party that I served and the leader that I served has decided to change course completely and to espouse an economic policy that makes absolutely no sense, which was imposed upon us. I don’t believe that we should have signed up to it, simply because within a few months the ship is going to hit the rocks again. And we don’t have the right to stand in front of our courageous people who voted no against this program, and propose to them that we implement it, given that we know that it cannot be implemented.” 

4 Steps In the Fallacy of Income Equality

The truth and morality of 'equality of outcome' economics as narrated by Piketty and his shills in politics and media is a good example of gaslighting. It is fueled by 'truth by concensus'

Margaret Thatcher's last House of Commons Speech on November 22, 1990.

UPDATE: An article on the site on the Ayn Rand Institute is explaining the Piketty type fallacy:

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders complaining about economic inequality in America: 

There is something profoundly wrong when in recent years we have seen a proliferation of millionaires and billionaires yet the average American is working longer hours for lower wages and we have shamefully the highest rate of child poverty of any major country on earth. 

A question for the socialist senator from Vermont: would he prefer that that there was no proliferation of millionaires and billionaires, and that all Americans were equally mired in poverty? If not, then let’s stop talking about poverty as if it were an inequality problem. 

Sanders is employing one of the most popular gimmicks inequality alarmists use to get Americans fired up about income disparities: he is conflating hardship and comparative differences. Here’s how it works: 

Step 1: Point to people facing a genuine hardship, like poverty. 

Step 2: Point to people who are enjoying above-average success. 

Step 3: Imply that the problem is the gap between the two, not the hardship itself. (Bonus points if you can suggest that the one group’s success is the cause of the other group’s hardship.) 

Step 4: Advocate closing the gap by bringing down the high fliers. 

Whenever you see this sort of argument, you can be sure that the goal of the speaker is not to end the hardship, but to smash the successful. An analogy might help. Imagine two people are thrown into a lake: a kid who can’t swim and Michael Phelps. What would you make of someone who said, “There is something profoundly wrong when we’ve seen a child drown while an Olympic gold medalist easily swims to the shore”? Take Phelps out of the picture, and the kid is still drowning. The only reason to mention Phelps is if your goal is not to help the kid, but to smear the athlete. So it is for the inequality alarmists. They don’t want to guide everyone to dry land. They want to drown the best swimmers. (source)

Destabilization of the Middle East Began With Arab Spring

Libya, the country led by the eccentric leader Ghadaffi, which was 'liberated' by a Western coalition, is now officially a failed state. Egypt has started raids on the country after terrorists of the Islamic State beheaded 21 Coptic Christians. The West is refusing to intervene. 



Sep 15, 2011 European leaders are given a hero's welcome by Libyan rebels.

UPDATE: Let's remind ourselves of the state of mind of Western leaders just a few years ago, a.k.a. the Arab Spring. With that foreign policy went a doctrine that supported the Muslim Brotherhood as the "democratic, secular and peaceful" alternative to radicals like Al Qaeda. The result are the failed states of Libya and Syria and the most genocidal, evil terror group since Genghis Khan: the Islamic State. But that's no problem, because according to postmodern philosophy morality is group subjective. According to multiculturalism every culture is equally valid, therefore the Caliphate has a right to its own state. It's the biggest foreign policy blunder since the Second World War. We now know Obama knowingly armed Syrian rebels against Assad (from Libyan weapons caches in Benghazi), who later turned on Iraq, the Kurds and basically anyone who isn't a Sunni Wahhabi. Obama is justifying this by the notion that it is possible to separate radicals from moderates. But moderates consist of various factions close to the Muslim Brotherhood. (FSA file) The people who fought wars to prevent the genocide of Muslims, have abandoned Christians and Yezidis to their fate, because Christian is choice while Muslim is race. Read the following logs on the file of the Caliphate Conspiracy. It's all but forgotten, but these leaders have a lot to answer for.

• "A New Middle East With Space For the Caliphate"
• "Endgame in Syria: Iran Versus Turkey"
• "Obama Armed Rebels, Aware of the Dangers for Iraq"

Banksy's Dismaland Hate Fest Against Humanity

Banksy’s new show, Dismaland, which opened on Thursday on the Weston-super-Mare seafront is described as a "family theme park unsuitable for small children", and with the Grim Reaper whooping it up on the dodgems and Cinderella horribly mangled in a pumpkin carriage crash, it is easy to see why.

Bansky’s Disneyland is a very un-magical kingdom: Welcome to Dismaland (open thru late Sept) ➤ http://t.co/MD9UBulqUK pic.twitter.com/xvYZuph6Qu

— Jeff Faria (@PatriotsOfMars) August 21, 2015

Most people get there is something particular nasty and destructive about the Banksy attack on theme parks. But the philosophical root is deeply buried in our culture. Superfically activists with a bee in their cap against "plastic and artificiality" seem to have a point. But on examination the contrary is true. Fantasy, styling and exaggeration of cuteness and beauty are not about fake, but about stressing values. It is artistic testimony that man can be anything he wishes to be if he has the integrity to stay true to his values. Heroes are such figures, that defend virtues against all odds. (Why We Need Heroes) Therefore the nasty attacks by Nihilists such as Banksy are no surprise at all. They hate free will, reason, liberty and everything that comes with it. They want to see man as a slave to other man and will not rest until they cut the arms and the legs of every man that holds anything of value. Nihilists rather see everyone equally stripped to the bone, than to accept the "unfairness" of moral choices. A quote from a great piece by Brendan O'Neill says it brilliantly:

Reformation of Islam: Stagnation Is Not Inevitable

After the escalation of terror by IS and the attacks in the heart of Europe, momentum is growing to break new ground in reforming Islam. Muslims, their Leftist appeasers and enablers, and even most critics are part of the problem. Nevertheless, there are some bright, shining lights in unexpected places.



Aug 29, 2012 In the 14th century a Muslim historian named Ibn Khaldun wrote about the pattern of history.

UPDATE: Backwardness isn't in the soil of the Middle East, or in the DNA of its people. Men aren't cattle. What we produce is the result of the ideas in the minds of the people. Sir Winston Churchill called Islam the most regressive force on earth. Why this is so, is rooted in the nature of Islam. History proves it. The Middle East has been the cradle of a number of great civilizations before the onset of Islam. Stagnation is not inevitable, because it is man-made. For the complete picture, here's the History of Islam. (Source) H/t @Mahmou6

(BBC DOCU) KURDISH WOMEN FIGHTERS AVENGE IS RAPE VICTIMS

Kobane is in ruins, but the battles in the area against the terrorists of the Islamic State continue. Kurdish forces are advancing on the "capital" of the Caliphate in Raqqa. Erdogan of Turkey is launching airstrikes against the PKK, a resistance group he considers "the same" as the terrorists of ISIS.



Aug 19, 2015 The BBC's Jiyar Gol has gained exclusive access to a PKK women's unit.

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UPDATE: The ongoing war against IS in the Middle East is rarely out of the headlines. Less familiar however is the story of Yazidi women soldiers who have joined the banned Kurdistan Workers Party - or PKK - and its affiliates to take up arms against their persecutors. The BBC's Jiyar Gol has gained exclusive access to one of them to show us how the PKK women learn to fight.  

Fine Art Inspired by Ayn Rand's Apollo Vs Dionysos

The Objective Standard (TOS), the preeminent source for commentary from an Objectivist perspective has recently printed Bryan Larsen's work entitled "The Unknown Awaits" on its front cover. Cordair Fine Art Gallery, specializing in Romantic Realism, has a special offer for aficionados. 

"The Unknown Awaits" by Bryan Larsen inspired by Ayn Rand's essay Apollo Versus Dionysos.

Quent Cordair Fine Art Gallery has posted a very special announcement on their Facebook page. Due to the the overwhelmingly positive response to "The Unknown Awaits" by Bryan Larsen on the cover of The Objective Standard, Cordair Fine Art Gallery offer a pre-sale promotion on prints of the painting. The prints measure 24" x 40" and the introductory price for the first 25 prints under a 50% deposit will sell for only... drum roll

$695

Call the gallery at +1-707-255-2242 to reserve a signed and numbered, limited-edition today.

SPECIAL: CAN THE MIDDLE EAST BE SAVED?

Mehdi Hasan talks to retired Lt. General Michael T. Flynn, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency, on how to deal with ISIS and Iran, and about the long term future of the Middle East. According to Flynn too much is invested in conflict and not enough in development. Flynn is a registered Democrat and a progressive. 

Aug 4, 2015 Head to Head with retired Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn.

In the video Al Jazeera's Mehdi Hasan challenges retired Lieutenant General Michael T. Flynn, former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), on the rise of ISIS, the War on Terror, and how to deal with Iran. Flynn is the former head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and a commander of J-SOC, the covert ops squad that hunted Al Qaeda in Iraq and Afghanistan all the way to Osama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan.