The London Olympics Opening Ceremony: A Grotesque and Sinister Pantomime (2012), by Sean Gabb | Sean Gabb

 

The London Olympics Opening Ceremony:
A Grotesque and Sinister Pantomime
By Sean Gabb
(First Published in VDare, 29th August 2012)

I am glad I made the effort to watch the opening of the London Olympics. It was a most interesting summary of what England has become.

The general purpose of the opening was to legitimise the current ruling class. English history was portrayed as a shameful nightmare. We had Victorian capitalists polluting the countryside and oppressing the working class. We had sexism and racism and war. From this, we were shown the gradual emergence of our caring, sharing, soft and loving new order of things. There was a long celebration of the National Health Service, with eight hundred dancing doctors and nurses, and dancing invalid children. There were joyous messages read out by the great and good. There was more dancing and music and comedy. At the culmination of all this, we saw a corner of the Olympic Flag carried by Doreen Lawrence – the mother of a black youth whose alleged murder in 1993 was made the opportunity to sweep away outmoded institutions like equality before the law and the protection against double jeopardy. Long before the Olympic Flame was lit, the world was supposed to believe that England was a country blessed with genius in every calling and essentially at peace with itself.

The London Olympics Opening Ceremony: A Grotesque and Sinister Pantomime (2012), by Sean Gabb | Sean Gabb

Comment on the Opening Ceremony

by Pierre Tanner

Is it just me or did the Olympic opening ceremony seem a little leftist and one sided? Whilst the commentary was totally lacking and some of the scenes made no sense at all it would seem we went from Britain went from tending fields with a few geese and horses to an industrial revolution with nothing in between. What’s worse we went from the industrial revolution to the internet to pop music and nothing else. Oh and we are good at war!

These Olympics are very boring

Too much sport, in my opinion. The Greeks varied the activities at their Olympic Games. There was, for example, the contribution made by Peregrinus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrinus_Proteus

I nominate David Cameron for the honour of following this notable example, and promise to donate one bottle of lighter fuel if only he will accept.

Luton Airport in The New World Robotic Dictatorship

Luton Airport in The New World Robotic Disordered Dictatorship
By Joe Scanlan – Sovereign Independent UK -

If you were ever in doubt about the custom-built scientific tyranny in store for us all read on.

It was my job to simply pick up a colleague from Luton Airport. Unexpectedly, I found that there was now a £1.00 “drop-off pick-up airport charge” which allowed me 15 minutes to collect my passenger. My 15 minute time-ration allowed me to spend 10 minutes looking for a space on a gravel-patch that was chock-a-block with cars parked like sardines in a can.

A Grotesque and Sinister Pantomime

I have been bullied by my women into sitting through the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Since it would pain me too greatly to make detailed observations on this grotesque and sinister pantomime, I will confine myself to announcing that, for permitting it to go ahead, I have placed David Cameron ahead of Tony Blair in my Great Bill of Attainder.

Rothbard: As Ever, the Voice of Reason

A Miracle Caught on Film

Apparently, this man has just been signing on for his disability benefit, but is then cured of his ailment by a car. If true, this is a most edifying film clip.

Victim Disarmament: The Plain Truth

Voices We Should Safely Ignore

by Dick Puddlecote
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DickPuddlecote/~3/cRT0yM7NG50/voices-we-should-safely-ignore.html

I’ve counted to ten so many times with this guy recently. Lord knows I’ve tried but, Jamie Oliver, please stop with this stuff already.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has criticised sports stars David Beckham and Gary Lineker for promoting junk food.

The television presenter, who forced the Government to introduce nutrition rules in schools after highlighting the unhealthy meals served to pupils, has added his name to a letter which condemns the use of athletes in commercials.

Look, guys and gals, “television presenter” are the operative words here. Say it was “London Black Cab driver”, what would be your reaction? Shut your trap? Couldn’t agree with you more.

Especially since the country won’t even listen to them on the subject of transport in London, yes. Perish the thought, eh?

So why is anyone listening to someone who has such a loose link with his subject matter, and seriously believes that the young will die before their parents because of a few cans of coke or a Big Mac here and there. The man is quite insane, or at the very least a bit of an easily-conned dick.

The London Olympics: Capitalism in Action

by Kevin Carson
http://c4ss.org/content/11309

In a recent article for Reason, Ira Stoll praised the 2012 Olympics — not only in the body but the title itself — as a “Triumph of Capitalism” (July 23, 2012). He’s entirely correct — but not for the reason he thinks.

Proud Of Yourselves, Tobacco Control Industry?

by Dick Puddlecote
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/DickPuddlecote/~3/iuF-vusGUm0/proud-of-yourselves-tobacco-control.html

I bring you incredible news, so brace yourself!

A report from The Wirral appears to suggest that anti-smoking lunatics might not have the best interests of the public at heart after all!

New Book by Jan Lester – Escape from Leviathan

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Escape-Leviathan-Libertarianism-without-Justificationism/dp/1908684089/ref=zg_bs_275908_40

Book Description

Publication Date: 26 April 2012

The most relevant and plausible conceptions of economic rationality, interpersonal liberty, human welfare, and private-property anarchy do not conflict in theory or practice. Using philosophy and social science, Escape from Leviathan defends this bold, non-normative, thesis from contrary positions in the scholarly literature. Writers considered include David Friedman, John Gray, R. M. Hare, Robert Nozick, Karl Popper, John Rawls, Murray Rothbard, Alan Ryan, Amartya Sen, and Bernard Williams. The rationality assumptions of neoclassical and Austrian School economics are reconciled and related to liberty and welfare. A new pre-propertarian theory of interpersonal liberty as the absence of (initiated or proactively) imposed cost is argued to be libertarian. Human welfare is defended as the satisfaction of unimposed wants. Practical anarchy is simply unconstrained private property. Related topics include free will, weakness of will, the nature of moralizing, intellectual property, and restitution and retribution. Critical-rationalist epistemology (theories can only be criticized and tested, not justified or supported) is applied throughout. This is a ground-breaking work that is also an excellent introduction to libertarianism and social thought.

Should the British State should do more to regulate drinking?

http://www.libertarian.co.uk/multimedia/2012-07-19-drink-sig.mp3

Sean Gabb on BBC Radio Bristol, on Thursday the 19th July 2012, to discuss whether the British State should do more to regulate drinking.

Sean says no for these reasons:

• The ruling class and its mainstream media specialise in fabricating “problems” which always require a bigger and more empowered state to solve them. We have seen this with the global warming scam and the campaign against “passive smoking.” There is no reason to believe any of the statistics put out over “alcohol abuse.”
• Even assuming there is a problem, this is an effect of earlier state intervention. When public drinking in England was in small, local pubs, the generations would drink together. This allowed the young to absorb the cultural restraints of their elders. If there was disorder, it was on a small scale. Now, measures like the smoking ban, which has closed thousands of small pubs across England, and the systematic privilege given to big chains have transformed public drinking. Thousands of young men come together in big, anonymous drinking barns in city centres. The licensing laws mean they are relased all at the same time onto the streets. It is not suprising there is trouble.
• So far as one exists, this is a problem caused by the State. The best response is for the State to stand back and let individuals and voluntary collectives of individuals sort it out.

 

New Historical Novel by Libertarian (not Richard Blake!)

Very Pleased Indeed!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1R05CMKELT2GU/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=034095115X&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

Terror of Constantinople

There are some great reviews on these pages that provide enough insight to the
historical settings and general plot of the book, so I will restrict myself to
more particular observations.

First and foremost for me was the hugely entertaining narrative that Blake presents. The book is written in the first person so we hear all of the events through the commentaries of the acerbic, witty & cynical Aelric. He has a refreshingly blunt view of life and describes his circumstances and adventures accordingly. For the most part his comments and conversations are pricelessly funny. I do wish though that the author had been a little more careful to keep his descriptions in 7th. Century speak. His references to pregnancy as “putting her up the duff”, going to sleep as “crashing out” and, perhaps most heinous to me, Aelric asks his attendants on a couple of occasions to “bring a takeaway”. Hope it wasn’t Pizza Hutt!

Mr Blake is Currently Feeling Pleased with Himself!

http://www.amazon.com/review/R1JQ4FNDE9YQT7/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B006CDEUAU&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

You are there in Rome in the early 600′s. Stop in for dinner at the genteel poverty of inbred Senator so and so, the stinky sewer outside is blocked up from decades of neglect, the bread is stamped with the logo of Pope Boniface, the founder of this feast. Rome’s few thousand residents mostly depend on this bread dole. Across town the Panthion is being converted into a church. Incense is coming to town for this consecration.

And here’s a Review of One of Mr Blake’s Early Works

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RO18AR57435VH/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=0340951133&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

This, I think, is one of those not-very-wonderful books that still manages to be rather entertaining. It is in dire need of a thorough edit (there are opaque sentences, repetitious/inelegant phrases and typos to contend with) and, furthermore, the author has a slightly odd command of swearing. It is as if he is unaccustomed to using profanity and employs naughty words in this text with the coy clumsiness of a blushing adolescent. The book is also crucially deficient in sex! Sexual scenes are alluded to, but there is a disappointing lack of detail! This jars when you consider the personality of the main character. And really, in a lightweight historical romp (if I can use the r-word!), occasional steaminess is kind of a requirement!

A Fine Review of Mr Blake’s Last but One

http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/RZXIASR0UV8PL/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=1444709682&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=

Aelric comes up trumps once more in this fascinating series which combines a boys own joy of adventure and smut, with some pretty decent historical narative and analysis.

An Austrian Defence of the Euro

Note: I agree with this analysis. I oppose British membership of the Eurozone only because it would be another entanglement for a British government of national restoration. In purely economic terms, the Euro is much better than Sterling. It locks politicians out of the money printing works, and forces some degree of economic rationality on governments. I predict that the Eurozone economies will recover sooner and more dramatically than Britain will.

This does not mean I’d like to replace Sterling with the Euro. As said, it would make for a harder break from the New World Order. However, the smart sneering about how the Euro is crucifying its member states is a product of wishful thinking and economic illiteracy. SIG

Corneliu Codreanu and the Warrior Ethos

by Keith Preston
http://www.alternativeright.com/main/the-magazine/corneliu-codreanu-and-the-warrior-ethos/

Note: This is an impressive piece of writing, though also alarming. The more I learn about certain nationalist movements of the 20th century, the less alien I find the orthodox Marxists. They killed more people because they were more successful, but they never believed the sort of nonsense these Rumanians did. Later this year, I’ll be speaking at a conference of the British Right. My argument will be for a tighter grouping round what Paul Gottfried calls bourgeois civilisation. There is a nobility in tall hats and black coats, and judges’ wigs, and afternoon tea, and polite children in blazers and peaked caps, and the rules of English grammar, that I just don’t see in sweaty, wild-eyed men beating each other up in the street. SIG