statism watch

Chris Brooke, The Mail Online
September 11, 2008

It’s a street where villagers have parked in their driveways without a problem for more than half a century.

But then someone from the local council discovered the kerbs did not comply with the small print of the 1980 Highways Act.

So the residents were sent a letter ordering them to stop using their drives – or face a fine of up to £1,000.

Before parking on their property again they would have to apply in writing to the council for permission to rebuild the kerb and then pay an approved contractor around £1,200 for the work.

(more…)

Events of this nature have been shown to have an infantilizing effect on the population. Conveniently for those in power, the effect creates a psychological halo around authority figures as the populace struggles to find firm emotional ground, something to cling to to provide emotional security in the midst of chaos. Reality TV, shopping, and the images of war provide just this sort of panacea – the assurance that “something is being done” along with a means to distract oneself from reliving the trauma – a trauma which we are, however, still fascinated by and drawn to in a continuous cycle of reinforcement. On the “day the world changed”, the tragedy of 9/11 presented us with an event of mythic scope, a founding cosmology for a security culture. Two thousand five hundred years ago, just such a drive to manufacture new mass beliefs and ‘noble lies’ was envisioned for the creation of a warrior class in Plato’s famous description of a statist, micromanaged society – The Republic.

CBC News
September 11, 2008

As many as 70,000 people in New York may have developed post-traumatic stress disorder because of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to a report by the city’s health department.

The report, which appears in Wednesday’s Journal of Urban Health, looked at health effects among 71,437 people who registered in the World Trade Center Health Registry and agreed to be tracked for up to 20 years after the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people.

On Sept. 11, two hijacked planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City, one crashed at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., and a fourth went down in a field in Shanksville, Pa.

(more…)

Paul Watson, PrisonPlanet.com
September 11, 2008

MSNBC host slams brand name of 9/11™ that has kept constitutional crooks in office, “sociological pornography” of exploiting 9/11 images during Republican convention

MSNBC host Keith Olbermann perhaps went further than ever before last night in his special comment about the 9/11 anniversary, slamming the Bush administration for their “criminal neglect” in allowing the attacks to occur and identifying the continued exploitation of 9/11 “sociological pornography” as the only reason that Bush hasn’t been impeached.

Olbermann said that the anniversary of the September 11 attacks had been turned into a brand name – “9/11™” and that such propaganda has “sustained a President that long ago should have been dismissed or impeached.”

Olbermann continued, identifying 9/11 has the only thing that has kept “(Bush) and his gang of financial and constitutional crooks in office,” while they escaped blame for the “malfeasance and criminal neglect that allowed the attacks to occur.”

(more…)

BBC News
September 11, 2008

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has pledged full co-operation with the US on anti-terrorism, on the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.

But he said the US should reconsider its ties with “rotten regimes” that “conduct military adventures”, in a reference to Georgia’s government.

Mr Medvedev also said Russia would focus on rearming, following the brief war it fought with Georgia last month.

They clashed over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

After five days of fighting a ceasefire was agreed – but each side has accused the other of breaching the accord.

(more…)

Selling milk? From cows? How dare he!

Megan Ogilvie, Toronto Star
September 11, 2008

‘Cow-share’ owners testify to unique plan for obtaining product

Dairy farmer Michael Schmidt was in a Newmarket court yesterday fighting contempt of court charges for allegedly distributing unpasteurized milk in York Region.

The region maintains Schmidt, who runs an organic farm in the town of Durham, is in contempt because he has failed to obey orders to stop distributing raw milk within its borders.

Dan Kuzmyk, a lawyer for York Region, said in his opening statement yesterday that it has become clear Schmidt will not comply.

“The region intends to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Michael Schmidt has been knowingly, willingly and, quite frankly, defiantly in contempt of that order since the day he was served,” he said.

(more…)