######################################################################## ######################################################################## FREEDOM NETWORK NEWS Dec 94 / Jan 95 ######################################################################## ######################################################################## Editor: Vincent H. Miller Assistant Editors: James R. Elwood, Tim Starr ======================================================================= The International Society for Individual Liberty is an association of individuals and organizations dedicated to building a free and peaceful world, respect for individual rights and liberties, and an open and competitive economic system based on voluntary exchange and free trade. Members and affiliated organizations pursue this goal through independent action, using their freely chosen strategies. The association exists to promote the exchange of information and ideas, to study diverse strategies and to foster fellowship. ======================================================================== CONTENTS ======== NEWS FROM ACROSS THE USA US ELECTION REPORT.......................by Jim Elwood SOUNDING BOARD ON DEVOLUTION THE MILITIA MOVEMENT ....................by Joseph Miranda ENCRYPTION/PROTECTING PRIVACY ...........by Michael Ketcher CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING INTERNATIONAL REPORT ==================== REFORM PARTY REPORT .....................by Vince Miller QUEBEC BLOC REPORT ......................by Vince Miller %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% LIBERTARIANS ESTABLISH BEACHHEAD IN THE YUCATAN %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ISIL's 1994 world conference in the Yucatan - our first venture into this part of the world - was marked by satisfying levels of success in spreading libertarian ideas. Held in Merida, the picturesque capital of the Yucatan, at the luxury Los Aluxes Hotel, it drew a crowd of 100 attendees from the United States, Canada, Europe, South Africa, South America and even Somalia. Organizing this year's event proved to be a trial for ISIL Director Bruce Evoy, the Merida coordinator. Getting visas approved through Mexican Embassys in Mexico, Moscow, and Belgrade for our contingents from Lithuania and Yugoslavia was a nightmare. It was only after Alicia Garcia Clark sought the assistance of her close friend former Yucatan Governor, Sr. Victor Manzanilla were we able to clear the visas. Mr. Manzanilla was very gracious and helpful in helping cut through the red tape. Our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Manzanilla as well as to Alicia Clark whose enthusiastic participation and high-level contacts added greatly to the success of the conference. We are happy to report that the meeting, and its collection of high-powered international libertarians, drew considerable attention from the local community. The first day, Hector Victoria Maldonada, Secretary General for the Yucatan, met with ISIL president Vince Miller and Bruce Evoy to see what ISIL was about. When we explained libertarianism, our decentralist philosophy with our emphasis on local sovereignty, we noted a definite increase in interest levels from Sr. Maldonada as well as with virtually all of the locals we met. The Yucatan, we observed, has about the same love of the bureaucracies in Mexico City as Americans do for those in Washington, DC. As a matter of fact the Yucatan has tried to secede on two occasions in the past 100 years. The next day at our press room, following a keynote speech by Dr. John Hospers, we were visited by no less than 6 journalists from most of the Mexican newspapers. At the press conference room overlooking the swimming pool, a group of libertarians took questions from the press corps: Leon Louw (South Africa), Dr. Martin Krause (ISIL Rep. Argentina), Jaime Cornejo Yoffre (Argentina), Ed & Alicia Clark, Bruce Evoy (Canada), Dr. John Hospers, and ISIL Advisory Board member Michael van Notten (now living in Somalia). Initially, all questions (through translators Clark and Yofre) were directed to Vince Miller as president of ISIL but he eventually managed to redirect questions to others in the group, who he explained were in many cases better informed on issues pertinent to their countries. The questions asked were intelligent, interesting. One journalist remarked: "The last election was the first honest election we have had in 70 years. We have democracy now. I don't notice much d ifference." Dr. John Hospers quickly explained that democracy is not enough. You need to recognize and enshrine the rights of the individual, or democracy will become the tyranny of the majority. Some thought that they should emulate United States economic policies in order to have a prosperous economy. We warned them that the U.S. is in an advanced state of economic collapse and not worthy of emulation. One journalist asked Miller what our libertarian position was on Mexican immigrant s to the USA. He exp ained that libertarians have no objections to anyone coming to the USA so long as they support themselves and do not become a burden on the taxpayers. They nodded in agreement and replied that that seemed a very reasonable position. The next day we were covered in virtually all the newspapers - and the coverage was extensive, accurate, positive. They got everything exactly right - a shock and welcome relief to those of us who have grown used to being maliciously misquoted and slighted in the U.S. national media. It made me think of Ralph Ortolano in the last Freedom Network News and his remarks that Hispanics may prove to be a strong constituency for libertarians. WE MEET THE STATE GOVERNOR ========================== The following evening a group including Alicia Clark, Bruce Evoy, Frances Kendall, Leon Louw, Michael van Notten, Hubert Jongen and ISIL pres. Vince Miller were invited to the Governor's mansion for an audience with Federico Granja Ricalde, the governor of the Yucatan, who chatted amiably with our group for some time. He subsequently arranged for the famous Ballet Folklorico to perform at our closing banquet as a friendly gesture toward our group. LITERATURE TRANSLATED ===================== Because of the interest generated in Merida, Glenn Cripe of San Francisco took it upon himself to organize translations of numerous of the ISIL pamphlets into Spanish. The first one was done by our lovely and gracious host, Patricia Jacobo, the Los Aluxes Hotel sales manager, and three others were done by ISIL stalwart Jaime Jose Cornejo Yofre of Argentina. So we now have Jarret Wollstein's "In Pursuit of Liberty," Don Ernsberger's critique of Marx's "The Labor Theory of Value," and Mary Ruwart's The Pollution Solution in Spanish. Alicia Clark did some polishing on the general Libertarianismo pamphlet. Desktop publishing was done on Jim Turney's Macintosh laptop and we printed up a batch of several hundred at a local shop. Not bad work on such a short timetable. These will be available to ISIL members in the New Year. SPEAKER LINEUP ============== The speakers were many: Dr. John Hospers gave a sombre, ominous keynote speech on the fall of America to Soviet-ism; Dr. Martin Krause, ISIL Rep for Argentina, warned about false privatization in his country - "the old gang is still in control" he remarked dryly. ISIL Swiss Rep Dr. Alphonse Crespo spoke on the subject of private-practice medicine under siege - an historic perspective tracing fundamental assaults on liberty. ISIL Director Ken Schoolland spoke on the Hawaiian native secession movement and showed an excellent video on the subject. John McClaughry spoke of early Vermont as being one of the best examples of classical republican government in history (a system worthy of emulation). ISIL Advisory Board Member Michael van Notten, how living in Somalia, praised the Somalian system of social organization (tribal law, consensus on all matters and extended families). He also surprised us by breaking the news that a large archipelago off Somalia is open for development/ purchase by libertar ians - with the blessings of his wife's tribe who own the land. ISIL Advisory Board member Frances Kendall spoke of her incredible experiences in the South African elections ("Lessons from the Frontlines") as leader of the new Federal Party. Leon Louw spoke on devolution of power and of a new theory he calls the "Rustle in the Grass Hypothesis". The latter idea, which we will discuss in later FNNs, proposes that people naturally respond (even over-react) to extreme, apocolyp tic scenarios as a Darwinian survival mechanism. Louw remarked that we need to be aware of this tendency. Others included Gary Dusseljee on the Fully Informed Jury Amendment (FIJA); Jarret Wollstein on "Clinton's Global War on Liberty"; Mike Ketcher on protecting your privacy and assets; Bruce Evoy reported on the Canadian Reform Party; Mary Ruwart on her book "Healing Our World" and changing personal attitudes; Chuck Olson ("Who is the Lorax") on free-market environmentalism and Linda Abrams entertained with dramatic readings from the heroic poems of Berton Braley. ISIL Euro coordinator Hubert Jongen chaired a panel of European libertarians: Henrik Bejke (Sweden), Valentina Buxar (Romania), Ivo Cerckel (ISIL Rep Belgium), and Dr. Kai Stensrod (Norway) who reported on various developments in Europe. GALA BANQUET ============ At our gala closing banquet we were entertained by the Ballet Folklorico of the Yucatan, and Mr. Arturo Lopez Alonzo, Secretary of Industrial Development for the Yucatan spoke on the problems facing his country. He touched on the problems of balky central bureaucracies and the legal system which seems open to the highest bidder according to some critics. He favored increased privatizations and hurled scorn on public ownership - businesses owned by 'the people': "When everyone owns it, no one owns it" he said, to the loud applause of our group. Also at the banquet was the awards ceremony in which ISIL's Freedom Torch Gold Medal was awarded to Leonard Liggio, who unfortunately, was not able to attend this conference. (see formal announcement in this newsletter). SOCIAL EVENTS ============= This year many of our group had the opportunity to mingle with our international friends at the ruins at Uxmal and Chichen Itza as well as in Cancun after the conference. Everyone thoroughly enjoys this aspect of ISIL's conferences. Next year we will be meeting in Athens, Greece. Hope to see you there. A MERIDA STATEMENT ================== Submitted by J. Krim Bohren, San Diego, California Republic, United States of America I.. When, in the course of world crises, where sovereign nations set upon sovereign nations, bearing unlawful demands for a forced, involuntary jurisdiction; and further observing that poverty, pestilence and tyranny reign where the Citizens are denied inalienable, inherent Rights to individual liberties, and as possibilities of those resolutions for these heinous atrocities upon THE PEOPLE are unlikely to occur naturally - absent a direct express intervention by Ambassadors of Reason; we THE PEOPLE of the Free World have gathered together in this International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL) meeting to seek an expeditious remedy; and II. Whereas the global insurgencies multiply monthly; the death and maiming of Citizens continues universally unabated; and that neither Life nor property, land nor Liberty, and peace nor Pursuit of Happiness, is observed; and further III. Whereas lawful governmental Constitutions have been usurped to place men in positions of power; wherein Justice, Freedom and fairness have been exchanged for license, permission and slavery; and this to an extent where no man is free to work, to travel, or to conduct his private affairs without the state's approval; and because IV. Every international body politic of Free Peoples requires adherence by these rogue governments to limits upon their forces, by non-compliance to those governmental edicts impressed without the will of those governed; it MUST follow that V. We, the members of the International Society for Individual Liberty, at M‚rida, Yucatan, Mexico assembled on October 5, 1994, DECLARE an immediate need for the call of an international forum, of the body of the whole, THE PEOPLE, to come together to assert their influences over the offending governments of the world to restore the Liberty that all free individual Citizens have a Right to expect, and receive, and also that this meeting, to include many superior international minds, to resolve these political dilemmas FORTHWITH, at the next International Society for Individual Liberty meeting within twelve month's time at Athens, Greece. Presented by J. Krim Bohren at the International Society for Individual Liberty meetin at M‚rida, Yucatan, Mexico, October 2-5, 1994 %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% NEWS FROM ACROSS THE U.S. "All the news the establishment media won't print" %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% TARGETING THE MILITARY ====================== We've learned that the U.S. Naval Investigative Service, acting on a tip from a U.S. government civil servant, is investigating whether an active-duty Air Force major from the counterintelligence field was a key speaker recently to one of the country's growing citizens' militia movements. According to an NIS investigative operations report we obtained, another source with a military background was approached and given a flier by a certain militia group. The flyer was entitled "A Call To Serve" and reminded American veterans they took an oath of office to "defend our Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic." Names on an "enemies" list included President Clinton, former President Bush; Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV, West Virginia Democrat; former Secretary of State George Schultz; and Secretary of State Warren Christopher. Washington Times news report by James McCaslin Florida ======= LIBERTARIANS WIN WORKING MAJORITY ON LOCAL BOARD ================================================ TALLAHASSEE - Eric Rittberg, a self-described "free-market environmentalist," was elected to the Ochlochonee Soil and Water Conservation District Board with 55.1% (25,107 votes). Rittberg won in a non-partisan race in the heavily Democratic state capital of Tallahassee. Earlier this year, local Libertarian Party activists Dan Walker and Dick Bjornseth won seats on the five-member board in uncontested races. Rittberg, a Republican, plans to work with the two Libertarian Party members, joining in a coalition. The other two Board members are Democrats. The Board has considerable influence over the management of natural resources in a region that has been plagued by flooding. "With a free-market majority on this board, we can help solve natural resource problems guided by the principles of private property rights and an understanding of market processes," said Rittberg the day after the election. "We can also do away with unnecessary land-use regulations which strangle smaller farmers, developers, and property owners, empowering them to make their own decisions." Rittberg, Bjornseth, and Walker now look forward to working with free-market think tanks around the nation on land management and environmental issues. Republican Liberty Caucus, 1717 Apalachee Parkway, Suite 434, Tallahassee, FL 32301 Illinois AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT SUPPORTS DRUG DECRIMINALIZATION ================================================================== Last year, the American Bar Association elected George Bushnell, Jr. to be its new president. Shortly after his election, Bushnell touched off a publicity bombshell by declaring: "I personally favor decriminalization of all drugs," Bushnell told "USA Today" on June 28. One reason, Bushnell added, is that "it takes the profit out of it, which in turn reduces the attractiveness of the drug activity among kids." He explained that he was expressing his own personal opinion, since the ABA currently takes no position on drug policy reform. Bushnell, 70, grew up during alcohol prohibition, which helped to make up his mind on the subject. In a Rolling Stone question-and-answer session, he recalled it was Prohibition that fueled black market-related crime. "Once alcohol was again legalized, that kind of crime went out the window," he said. Did his public remarks stir up any controversy for him? No one wrote the ABA to protest, which meant two things to Bushnell: "One is that the question of the decriminalization of drugs is not as controversial as conventional wisdom would deem it to be. Second, that decriminalization is recognized as an issue that really ought to be debated." To contact the ABA, write to: 750 North Lake Shore Drive, Chicago, Il. 60611, or call (312) 988-5000. The Drug Policy Letter, Fall 1994, page 26 Seen on Libernet Digest Michigan ======== MICHIGAN LEGISLATOR LEADS ATTACK ON UNITED NATIONS ================================================== A theory gaining popularity among some United Nations critics is that the United States and the U.N. are conspiring to form a global government as part of what George Bush called the "New World Order." For example, some U.N. foes say the recent rash of federal and State anti-gun laws is designed to prevent U.S. citizens from defending themselves against government troops. "It's an awakening," said one Michigan activist involved in the state's militia movement. "People have been seeing the U.N. thrown in their face with these so-called peacekeeping troops. A lot of people want to maintain their sovereignty - they don't want to turn over U.S. troops to the U.N. as part of this `new world order' George Bush was so fond of." While much of the network remains underground, connected by fax machines and computer bulletin boards, the United Nations also has its public foes. In Michigan, an anti-UN rally is being organized by Republican State Rep. Deborah Whyman, who recently introduced a bill calling for a halt to sending U.S. funding and troops to the United Nations. Texas ===== PATRIOT GAMES TURN DEADLY: US MILITIAS FORM TO FIGHT FEDERAL TYRANNY ==================================================================== The Texas Constitutional Militia was formed on April 19th this year, holding its first muster at the Alamo. Since then it has grown at truly phenomenal rate with 32 counties now under arms and new county militias jumping on board at the rate of one or two a week. As with other militias across the country, the TCM sees the federal government as the enemy. They are all alarmed about government attacks on Americans' 2nd Amendment Rights to keep and bear arms. According to one militia member "The whole point of the Second Amendment was to ensure that the American people should never be outgunned by their rulers." Others are concerned about a growing United Nations presence in the US and a series of ominous reports of large movements of UN troops and materiel in the US. The suspicious fear that the US government will employ UN forces, now on maneuvers in the US, to suppress uprisings or crush secessionist movements. A major source of anger was the Waco assault, in which 17 children and 64 adults were either shot, gassed or incinerated at the Branch Davidian compound last year. Nobody has been brought to account for this egregious abuse of power. "We were sleep-walking through life. It was the massacre that woke us all up," said John Turner, a small businessman who commands the northern region of Texas. "When the history of this age is written, that'll be the shot that rang out around the world and changed everything." These units are typically well-armed - with AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifles or inexpensive Chinese or Russian SKS military rifles - although many use revolvers and shotguns. They are also superbly trained. Many are Vietnam veterans and many have special forces experience. It was reported that training is currently being done by a team of former Green Berets and Navy Seals. A large number of police officers, sheriffs and reserve guardsmen are also members of the militia, although their participation is kept secret for obvious reasons. The Texas Constitutional Militia, despite its ferocious appearance - is not going to go on the offensive according to Turner. "We are not going to blow up bridges or shoot judges," he remarked calmly. He claims that their goal is deterrence. "Every time the federal government oversteps its authority, he said, it will be faced with the possibility of a having a minor war on their hands." One of the most serious Texas militias is Big Star One, a division-sized network in north Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico which includes serving officers of the U.S. military (who could be court martialed if found out). Some units train in airborne parachuting and night ambush operations and in the handling of high explosives. Others are training in guerrilla warfare. "We learned a lot from the Vietcong," remarked one volunteer. An unnamed officer stated that weaponry has been leaking like a sieve from U.S. armories and that militias and some regular officers are now working together. Clandestine divisions in west Texas are using mortars and grenade launchers. "There'll be no Waco in this area," said one source. "If the shit hits the fan, they'll find that the regular army and the Militia are in cahoots." In response to the movement, the heavily government-controlled media of late has been cranking up its propaganda machinery to smear and marginalize the Militia members as malcontents - skinheads, neo-nazis, child-molesters, vile anti-semites, whatever. The Anti-Defamation League, an influential Jewish organization in New York, has published a report on the militias around the U.S. entitled "Armed and Dangerous." It argues that most militias are filled with fringe malcontents from the Aryan Nation an white supremacist or neo-nazi organizations with an anti-Semitic bias. "I'm Jewish and I take offence to that," blurted Mark Bowers, a former artillery officer who commands the Montgomery County Militia near Houston. "There's nobody of that ilk in our unit. We're trying to recruit blacks, Latinos, Jews, women, anybody who wants to join." Actually, by national standards the Texas groups are restrained. Across the Midwest, however, the militias are spoiling for a fight. "I don't care what the President and her husband want to do, we're not going to give up our guns," says Joe Holland, an organizer in the Indiana Militia. "We're looking at a full-scale civil war here. The people of this country are sick and tired of being raped and pillaged by the bunch of thieves that run the federal government." Nobody knows the strength of the militias across the country. The American press has been caught off-guard, seriously misjudging the dynamism and scale of the movement. In effect, the militias are the shock troops and enforcement arm of the 1994 American Revolution. If the Republicans betray their promises and fail to restore "constitutional" government, these people could take matters into their own hands. Excerpted from an article by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard The Sunday Telegraph, London, 4th December 94. Posted to Libernet by Sean Gabb Libertarian Alliance Virginia ======= PROF. WALTER WILLIAMS BLASTS CONGRESS AS A BUNCH OF CRIMINALS ============================================================= In a nationally-syndicated column Professor Walter Williams, in a wake-up call to Americans, warned that the US constitution has been under total siege by a criminal Congress and abetted by a derelict Supreme Court. He went on to say that the 10th Amendment to the Constitution is clear about the relationship between the federal government and the States. The 10th Amendment says, `The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.' Despite that clear, unambiguous statement, the federal government has been trampling the rights of the citizenry into the dust and driving otherwise fiscally-prudent states, cities and localities into bankruptcy with their mandates. He went on to say that if the sovereign-ty resolutions now being drafted or introduced in 19 States are not heeded by Washington, it may well be time for the states to call out the National Guard and for private citizens to organize militia to serve eviction notices to federal agencies in their States. Williams was not optimistic about the response of a Congress that he considers to be totally out of touch with reality. "I'd say that most congressmen are beyond reason, but more importantly, we'd better consider acting before Congress completes its agenda to disarm us through weakening our 2nd Amendment protections." Original article seen in Dallas Morning News Washington State ================ BLOOD IN THE HILLS ================== The Clinton administration intends to grab 11.4-million acres of Washington state's North Cascades land area and turn it over to the United Nations. In doing so, feds will round up hundreds of persons living in several Washington counties, confiscate their property, and move them into more populated areas. A Republican Party precinct officer made this claim in a well-documented report to state and federal legislators Nov. 16. Lands in question depict an enormous triangular-shaped bite out of Washington's midriff. The wide part of the bite is at the Canadian border to the north. Under cover of an international treaty, the feds would confiscate the land, then turn it over to the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). After U.S. citizens were ousted, UNESCO then would manage the "North Cascades International Ecosystem Park". The park would extend well into Canada. Jean Hutchinson, Yakima, indicated many persons living in Whatcom, Skagit, King, Okanogan, Douglas and Chelan Counties will be forced from their homes if the feds get their way. "This is unconstitutional, hence illegal," Hutchinson said. She urged state and federal legislators to study what the U.S. executive branch is doing, and nip it in the bud. Hutchinson maintains feds are making land grabs by fiat "through the use of international treaties, executive orders, and resulting agency regulations." "Environmentalists are being used, under the guise of preserving wilderness, to facilitate the biggest land grab in history. The ratification of the Biodiversity Treaty and formation of this ecosystem reserve are just the first steps to United Nations control over all our federal lands and the unlawful confiscation of private lands," she told legislators. Hutchinson suspects the feds are doing all this to pay off federal debts. The land in question is rich in timber, water, wildlife, and a variety of minerals, including gold. "Because of our overwhelming national debt...a swap..is being set up that will extinguish our right to private land ownership and impoverish every U.S. citizen by executive order," Hutchinson said. This will happen "If state legislatures and Congress don't stop this treasonous conspiracy to steal our nation's resources," she added. She indicated the conspiracy nests within the Biodiversity Treaty, now up for U.S. Senate approval. Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC), asked "How much money will the Senate be committing the U.S. to pay by ratifying this treaty? I see it as a kind of international cash cow to be milked by transferring, with no strings attached, wealth and technology from developed nations to promote economic growth in developing nations," Helms said. Washington State citizens would make a whopping contribution to this milk bucket if the treaty is okayed by Senators. Several small towns would disappear. Hutchinson noted more than 4-million Americans in 293 groups have urged the Senate to refuse ratification of the treaty. "We must prevent the ratification of the Biodiversity Treaty. Unprincipled men, who hate our Constitution and the rights it confers upon common men, are using it to 'reinvent' our government. Please do all within your power to prevent this international land grab," Hutchinson told legislators. Seen on Libernet . .Posted by Larry Ashby EMMY AWARD WINNING ACTOR FIGHTS CENSORSHIP ========================================== A wire-service article in the Tri-City Herald, in Kennewick, Washington, recently reported that Emmy Award-winning actor Michael Moriarty had declared himself an independent candidate for U.S. president during NBC's Talk Live show. Moriarty has been very vocal and very detailed in his description of what happened between him, his producers and the Attorney General, in last September's issue of the LP News as well as his recent interview in Playboy. Essentially, he claims Reno terrorized his producers into changing program content under the threat of a Justice Department censorship program. Moriarty claims his producer and other NBC executives were so cowed that they nodded their heads in agreement. He was so angry he decided to quit his starring role on the acclaimed series Law & Order (for which he had won an Emmy award), and dedicate himself to fighting censorship of the arts. Seen on Libernet. . . . Forwarded from the LIBERTY echo via dehnbase YET ANOTHER LIBERTARIAN PARTY?? =============================== We just learned that Paul Tsongas, who ran as a fiscally conservative Democrat, is proposing a new third party somehow associated with Colin Powell, the retired Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They will be, according to Tsongas, "a combination of social liberalism and fiscal conservatism." Posted to Libernet by Imad-ad Dean Ahmad %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% LEONARD LIGGIO AWARDED ISIL'S FREEDOM TORCH GOLD MEDAL %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% At the ISIL World conference in Merida, Yucatan, in October, it was announced that the winner of ISIL's Freedom Torch Gold Medal for 1994 is Leonard Liggio. This award recognizes outstanding contributions to the cause of individual liberty in the international sphere. Leonard Liggio has spoken at many of ISIL's world conferences - in Brussels, London, Oslo - and over the years has been an inspiration to many budding libertarians around the world. Leonard was a vice-president of the Cato Institute (Washington DC) in the 1970s before joining the Institute for Humane Studies (Fairfax, Virginia) where he served as editor of Literature of Liberty, vice-president for academic programs, executive vice-president, president, and since 1989, distinguished senior scholar. He is also a research professor for George Mason University's Department of History and Law. He was recently appointed executive vice-president of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation. According to Atlas president Alejandro Chaufuen, "Leonard's hard work and generosity have made him one of the most respected figures in the international movement for liberty in this century." %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% U.S. ELECTIONS: SLEEPING VOTERS BEGIN TO STIR by Jim Elwood, Vice Pres. ISIL %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% The wave of voter discontent with the status quo that has led to recent electoral turnovers in such countries as Canada, Italy and Japan reached the United States on November 8th. The dominant Democratic Party suffered a bloodbath at the polls. The Republican Party captured control of both houses of the U.S. Congress - for the first time in 40 years for the lower House of Representatives. They also won a majority of the state governorships for the first time since 1970, and also scored big gains in many state legislatures. In California, the lower Assembly is now Republican-controlled for the first time since 1956. The remarkable fact in this election is that, despite mainstream media assertions, the discontent with the status quo was not aimed at all incumbents. Not a single Republican incumbent senator, congressman, or governor was defeated. Voters directed their anger at the Democrats due to a failing economy, and the enormous unpopularity of President Bill Clinton. Despite media reassurances and government statistics saying that the economy has been in a recovery, the iron indicator of political fortunes - household disposable income - was down an average of $300 just this year! (In one of his last columns in January, 1992, the late Warren Brookes showed that this statistic affected every single election this century, and thus predicted the defeat of President Bush for the same reason). The typical voter might not have known the specifics, but the government and media have been hiding the true rise in unemployment by simply no longer counting people unemployed for more than one year as unemployed (because they are supposedly no longer in the job market!) Government cost-of-living statistics routinely do not count taxes in their data, hiding the tremendous tax increases of recent decades and the resulting squeeze in the budgets of the middle class. The overall impact of the government in the economy can be measured in one big way by the fact that real wages for average Americans have been falling since 1973. Jim Davidson, in his analysis in Strategic Investment newsletter, viewed the Republican victory as symbolic of the greater changes occurring in the world, specifically those caused by the transformation of our civilization from the industrial-based society with its centralized large-scale institutions, to the new information-based society with its decentralization and re-emergence of the view of the individual as the primary decision-maker. He pointed out that the Democrats are tightly wed to the old institutions of big government, big labor, big industrial corporations - and the nation-state. Their program of more government, exemplified by the Clinton health plan, is clashing with the new realities. All of the old institutions are in an advanced state of crisis, which can only get worse. Many Republicans did call for less government, to a greater or lesser extent. E.J Dionne published an article in the Washington Post describing the rise of libertarianism among younger Republicans. The Davidson article also lambasted the media. He pointed out that the major media are essentially conservative - in the worst sense of the word. They are an integral part of the political and corporate establishment that is strongly biased in favor of big government and the welfare state. They slant coverage of the issues, almost always calling for more government programs to solve social problems or expansion of existing programs. They invariably run stories showing potential victims of government budgets, without showing how these individuals are already victims of government. They of course don't show any of the unseen victims - like taxpayers. Davidson describes the media as being high priests expounding the old civic myths of big government as the great provider, noting that the media myth-making in behalf of Democrats has become more blatant in the last few years. This year, Democrats were either promoted by the media or at least subjected to little scrutiny, while Republicans were raked over the coals for the slightest controversy. To quote him directly: "Big government is a kind of idol of wish fulfillment for industrial society. People who worship the old religion will be defended by the myth-makers, not those who say that the idols are false". It is clear that this was an anti-Democrat, anti-government election, and that Republicans were the primary beneficiaries. What are they likely to do with the Congress? Opinions vary widely. My guess is that they will tinker around the edges of the system, but that there will be little substantive change. Interestingly, post-election polls of Republican voters indicated that 60% of them expected politics as usual from the Republicans! A few good things may happen. Tax changes favoring investment will pass. There will likely be a push for welfare reform, probably in the direction of "workfare". Medisave accounts are likely to pass in some form. Federal regulators may be reined in a little. Some reforms in the congressional legislative process will be made. But some really bad things are likely to happen. The Republicans are fashioning a "Take Back Our Streets" anti-crime bill that will be devastating to the Bill of Rights. In 1990, the new Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, introduced the "National Crime and Drug Emergency Act" (HR 4079) which called for suspending the Bill of Rights for five years to "finish the War on Drugs". The bill would have allowed detention of individuals without filing of criminal charges; it removed restrictions on submission of illegally-seized evidence, and called for reopening World War II Japanese-American concentration camps for drug prisoners. Amazingly, that bill had 52 co-sponsors, including Dick Armey, the new House Majority Leader, and shockingly, Dana Rohrabacher - former libertarian-anarchist activist. The bill was killed in committee, but that mentality is now in charge. Many provisions of the 1990 bill are being inco rporated into the "Take Back Our Streets Act". The Republicans are talking about promoting a constitutional amendment to allow organized prayer in public schools, and of restricting womens' rights to abortions. There will be increased censorship. There will likely be a push for a national workers' identity card (read "internal passport") to combat illegal immigration, and likely further restrictions on legal immigration. They are even talking about increasing military spending! In general, expect extensive exercise of what many would call a "mean-spirited enforcement mentality". It must be remembered that the Republicans are as committed to big government as the Democrats, differing only in the order of priorities of what that big government should do. The implications for libertarian political activism are interesting. As noted, libertarian-type anti-government sentiment seems to be on the rise. Voters are increasingly voting in a libertarian manner on economic issues, such as rejecting tax and bond measures or rejecting government-run health care. Unfortunately, populist sentiment - fed by fear and frustration - seems to be on the rise as well, as witnessed by the overwhelming victories of authoritarian ballot measures with anti-crime labeling, plus the strong tendency to restrict immigration and trade. Voters still seem to be trapped in the two-party syndrome, voting for the "lesser of two evils", in spite of rising disgust with both old parties. This is a frustrating situation for Libertarian Party candidates. LP vote totals stayed close to previous levels - but there were some bright spots. The LP came out of the election with ballot status assured for 1996 in 22 states - a record. Illinois may make that 23 states, pending a lawsuit. Scott Grainger set a record for a statewide LP candidate, getting 7% for U.S. Senate in Arizona. Jon Coon got 4.5% for U.S. Senate (and ballot status) in Michigan, despite being openly attacked as a "wasted vote" in pro-Republican TV ads financed by the National Rifle Association. In Pennsylvania, Don Ernsberger (an ISIL director) got 1.7% in a tough 4-way race, but also impressed TV viewers in the debates. As in the past, the best LP results were in non-partisan local races . At least 10 new Libertarians were elected in such races this y ear, and others won re-election. The worst news was that the Libertarian presence in the New Hampshire state house was reduced from 4 to 2. The Republican Liberty Caucus reported some good gains. The highest-profile victory was the election of self-described "Goldwaterite" Fred Thompson to the U.S. Senate from Tennessee. Four RLC members were newly elected to Congress, with others being re-elected. Others won in state legislatures. The top priority for RLC is to establish formal "Liberty Caucuses" in these legislative bodies. The near future presents tremendous challenges and opportunities for libertarians. The disintegration of the old centralized institutions is being increasingly recognized by everyday people. The political situation is likely to become increasingly volatile and fragmented, with both libertarianism and populism continuing to rise as representative of the paradigm shift towards more clearly-defined individualist vs. authoritarian battle-lines. Libertarians have done a good job of influencing the debate on economic issues, and have presented the most coherent institutional alternatives. I think that we can continue to push the free-market agenda, and will have fun holding the Republicans' feet to the fire while we are at it. But I personally think that the greatest opportunities for new growth in libertarian influence (and votes) will come from switching to promoting the personal freedom issues with emphasis on the social issues. One might describe the strategy as "hold with the right hand, reach with the left". I think that libertarian political activists should lead with the issue of repealing drug prohibition. It combines the compassion issue ( the government is hurting people), the moral issue (government can only enforce its prohibitions by committing crimes), the law and order issue (prohibition breeds crime and general disrespect for the law), the practicality issue (high cost - yet hasn't stopped drug use), and the cherished libertarian issue of economics (the costs to crime victims, cost of prisons, foregone economic benefits of a legalized hemp industry). Most importantly, in respect to the Libertarian Party, it is the biggest sing le freedom issue that differentiates it clearly from the Republicans an d Democrats. That's my two cents worth. All in all, I'm having more fun watching events unfold (and peoples' reactions to them) these days than I have in my nearly 15 years as an active libertarian. And it's getting more interesting all the time! %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% SOUNDING BOARD ON DEVOLUTION %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% LEON LOUW ON DEVOLUTION ======================= Great idea for ISIL to issue a statement at Merida. The essence of it ought to be, I think, a simple restatement of the libertarian principle is that no one should be coerced (sans consent). The philosophical connection with devolution is that it is the political science way of saying the same thing. The right of everyone to secede would amount to government by consent for all those who decide not to do so. The saleable dilution of the right of individual secession is the right of "enough" people in a "big enough" area to secede. How many, how big? It depends. On all kinds of things. The more there are, the larger the area, the greater the consensus amongst them, and the more likely the world and the host country are to accept it begrudgingly - given that the natural impulse of rulers is to rule as many as ruthlessly as they can get away with. If 90% of France wants to secede, no one will stop them. But if the Bretons want to, they'll have a problem. Not as much as you would were you alone trying to secede from the USA, but nonetheless a problem - as we know. Libertarians still have many other secession problems to resolve, like what one does about minorities who do not want to secede (especially if they are land owners), and whether secession should be a geographic or a de jure concept. Ancient law allowed for people in the same area being under different governments/kings. A limited version of this idea applies in South Africa and other countries into traditional law (say, matrimonial law). Anyhow, in the real western world of 1994, the case for the right to secede has to be so formulated as to seduce statists. Predictably they will look for whatever excuse they can to avert secession. They will pretend for instance, that the issue is whether the area would be a "viable" country, and object to the "balkanization" of countries. All this - and more - gets me a formulation of the kind we had in our book "The Solution". The problem with this is that, by not specifying a minimum-size area or number of people, we made "The Solution" an anarchist proposal. Here's a more sophisticated version. It allows for degrees of devolution. In practice, most communities are more likely to go for something short of full independence. We should argue for self-defined areas to take over powers they decide they are ready to handle. At what point this would be called secession is more a matter of psychology than jurisprudence. All self-defined parts (regions, states, provinces, cantons, republics, districts et al) of countries should have the basic right to secede, or to take over whatever legislative, judicial and executive powers and functions they choose. Correspondingly, all countries should have the basic right to subdivide themselves into, or to create, sovereign or autonomous areas; and to devolve whatever legislative, judicial and executive powers and functions they choose. The governed, and not those who govern, should have the final say over their own destinies. Accordingly decisions on the destiny of countries and parts of countries should be made by the people concerned themselves. Ideally, no person's will should be imposed on a non-consenting person - but where collective decisions are to be taken they must be consensual, failing which by way of a majority vote in a free and fair referendum, failing which by some other unambiguously democratic means. People living in any part of a country should have the absolute right to initiate referendums in pursuit of their sovereignty or greater autonomy, and to overrule all decisions made by governments on their behalf. The presence of mineral wealth or other natural resources should never be a basis for curtailing the basic right of sovereignty or autonomy. It is recognized as between existing countries that natural endowments ought to belong to or be subject to the dominion of the country where they occur. Correspondingly, citizens of part of a country should have dominion over its resources. If the government of a country from which part secedes or gains increased autonomy does not recognize this right, it should be no impediment to the basic right of people to govern themselves, and only the question of joint or several control and ownership of natural resources concerned should be put to vote of the citizens of the entire country. To ensure that questions in referendums are fair they should: - offer voters a choice amongst all reasonable alternatives - be formulated so as to be readily comprehensible - follow on a reasonable period of free and open public debate. Should the democratic nature of any aspect of the processes whereby decisions are to be taken be disputed by anyone reasonably believed to be representative of a significant body of opinion or interest group, the matter should be resolved by mutually-agreed arbitrators. The cost of determining the will of the people or of the change contemplated should not be a basis for withholding the exercise by the people of their basic rights of self-rule and full democracy. In particular voters could cover the cost of voting by paying the effective cost thereof as a precondition for voting. Leon Louw -- Johannesburg, South Africa NOTES ON SECESSION AND THE NEW CONFEDERACY ========================================== Secession of states from the extant United States is an excellent idea - but one which needs to be pursued in a well-planned and rational manner with considerable thought about the nature of governance that will prevail in the independent state or new confederation (remember "Something of Value"). 1. A clearly explicated rationale must be developed. 2. More than one state - the more the better - should be involved. 3. Arrangements for self-defense should be in place - any government capable of undertaking an operation like Waco is not going to be concerned about the sensitivities or lives of rebels. 4. Governance should be modeled after the U.S. Constitution with its faults corrected: a) Clarify the general welfare clause to eliminate the impression that the law is designed to provide welfare rather than just putting in place the condition (freedom) under which individuals can pursue their welfare. b) Clarify the nature of "rights" so that they are seen to be all in essence the single right to be left alone - make this more explicit than provided for by the Ninth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Constitutionalize the notions of personal "sovereignty" and "privacy." c) In the case of a new confederacy, eliminate central control of interstate commerce. The Commerce Clause in the U.S. Constitution is one of the main sources of government expansion, underlying most of the anti-trust, environmental, drug, and so-called civil rights laws. However, states should agree to open borders. d) Make it explicit that all government officials shall be subject to the laws they pass. e) More explicitly limit governmental functions to governance and defense rather than to the promotion of health, education, welfare, ecology, etc. Privatize education, roads, post office, etc. f) Avoid making treaties equivalent to fundamental principles of the new constitution. g) Make it explicit that "involuntary servitude" includes (i) forced redistribution of wealth through taxation and (ii) compulsory military, or any other kind of civil, service. h) Specify term limits for elected representatives. i) Make explicit the role of the supreme court, if any, in determining constitutional questions. This came to be an usurped function of the existing court, not specifically mandated. How shall ultimate questions be resolved without reinstating the extant tyranny of the judges? j) Make explicit the right of law by citizen initiative at all level of governance. k) Prohibit the taking of private property by eminent domain. 5. Eliminate all taxes but sales taxes. Income taxes require a bureaucracy to track income, invading privacy. All taxes should be collected and used at the lowest reasonable (county?) level and distributed upward on the basis of local surplus. 6. Pre-prepare legal defenses against treason and sedition, based, perhaps, on the notion that the original U.S. Constitution no longer effectively exists and so cannot be violated. Charles S. Rebert. . . . Redwood City, California %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% THE MILITIA by Joseph Miranda %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Joseph Miranda is the editor of a military history magazine. He has served in the U.S. armed forces. He has also written extensively on modern revolutionary warfare. PART 1 . . . ANALYSIS ===================== A recent phenomenon has been the rise of the militia movement in the United States. Militias have been reported in Florida, Montana, and Michigan, among other states. The rise of these militias is part of a general trend in which American citizens are trying to take back control of their rights from the encroachments of the government - especially the federal government. The rise of the militia movement represents the first signs of widescale dissatisfaction by the American middle class with their government. In past crises, the American government could always rely upon the middle class to back its domestic and foreign programs. Even at the highpoint of the crisis of the late 1960s, with an endless war in Vietnam and widescale domestic violence, the middle class held solidly behind the government. But today, that support is evaporating. And in this, the government will be faced with a real dilemma. For the government to take action against the militia would risk destroying its very legitimacy. The militia issue raises important Constitutional issues. Various laws prohibit organized and armed citizen groups. Yet if the government is going to insist that the right to bear arms is a collective right, based on the militia clause of the 2nd Amendment, then the militias could, conceivably, claim they are protected under this interpretation. The carrying of weapons openly does represent the crossing of an important line. Weapons are a symbol of self-reliance. They remove feelings of helplessness. They also give rogue government agencies second thoughts about carrying out illegal actions. Moreover, once people become self-reliant for their own protection, they will cease to need the level of government that currently exists, especially in the form of intrusive police procedures. These latter have included sweeps of public housing without warrant or probable cause, roadblocks and checkpoints, use of advanced sensor and surveillance systems, and so forth. Much of the government's justification for increased powers, especially in the law enforcement arena, has been the alleged threat from criminal violence. But once people become responsible for their own protection, the excuse for increased government oppression will diminish. Just as significantly, a militia movement has great potential for giving people a sense of solidarity. Military-style units, if well led, create a sense of cohesion among the members. This can then be used for political purposes. Moreover, the military chain of command system is useful for mobilizing people for peaceful political purposes. It may be just as important to mobilize militia members for a town meeting as it is to conduct rifle practice. There have been movements of armed resistance in the United States in the past. But these have been drawn primarily from marginal groups in American society: the Black Panthers and the neo-Nazis, for example. The government could effectively destroy these groups because the middle class perceived them as a threat to their way of life. Moreover, these extremist groups undermined their own credibility by drawing on criminal elements for their membership. But the militia movement is from the middle class. Should the government attempt to attack it, then the government will be alienating its own power base. This dilemma is somewhat recognized by the government as it currently seems to be unable to put together an effective anti-militia strategy. No doubt, it will use its allies in the media to attempt to discredit the militias, following up with the usual panoply of tough laws, agentes provacateurs, and arrests. The question, then is how can the militia avoid destruction? All this is tied in to the militia's objectives. A common trend is a general sense of unease over increased encroachments of the federal government. But does the militia movement plan armed confrontations? What would happen if, as in April of 1775, the government were to send a military or police force to seize militia weapons? Would the militia resist? Right now both sides seem to be feeling each other out to determine each other's limits. The most important thing is that the militia have a clear political program - a program based on what the majority of American people want. The militia must determine what the grievances are of mainstream Americans and then promote effective solutions. A major mistake of the militia movement has been the obsession with outlandish conspiracies. The problem facing America is not Russian tanks being transported on rail cars, FEMA decrees, or black-painted helicopters. The problem is the government's nonstop violations of the Constitution. These violations include blatant attempts to shut down opposition media, the confiscation of firearms and private property, the unfunded federal mandates on the states, the documented cases of police brutality and murder of innocent citizens, and so forth. There is no need to look for some hidden conspiracy, because the government's oppressive policies are all out in the open. The government makes no secret of its intent to censor television, to ban certain categories of weapons, or to prohibit drugs. And, as Waco demonstrates, the government is more than willing to televise its assaults on the citizenry. The militia must, accordingly, deal with real threats and not disperse its energies on phantoms. The problem is getting people to understand what is being done to them. The militia must open itself to all groups. A narrow populist focus will only serve, again, to marginalize the militia and allow the government to attack it without fear of repercussions. There are currently numerous groups working to fight against the government. What is needed is a united national front of all such groups. The cybernetic-computer freedom advocacy groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, can be an important ally. These are well-organized, have a generally libertarian agenda, and have important contacts. The cybernetic-computer groups are currently engaging in the battle for cyberspace against the government. A unified effort between the militia and these groups would be able to gain control of the Internet. This would give freedom fighters the ability to control communications and to engage in propaganda across the nation. The militia movement can also form links with the tax revolt. Like the militia, the tax revolt is populist, middle class, and Constitutionalist in orientation. This is also sure to bring in much of the middle class. Much can be learned from the drug legalization movement. Despite well over a decade of "war on drugs", there is a thriving underground network of drug advocacy groups. The militia must understand that the war on drugs is another face of the war on guns, and that only by working together will all have their freedom assured. Indeed, the rationale for the war on drugs is the same as for anti-gun laws: in both cases, inanimate objects are used as scapegoats for social problems, and then used as a justification for extra-Constitutional government powers. The militia should also reexamine perceptions of the underclass. It is time to take minority complaints of police brutality seriously, and to forge a common cause with those groups in the inner cities which are fighting for citizens' rights. One problem with populist movements in the past has been their distrust of groups drawn from the intellectual elite. The militia can make a common cause with civil liberties groups. The militia would gain their legal expertise, and could carry on their struggle through the courts. Finally, even the police themselves can not be ignored. There are many in law enforcement who do not like the laws they are being forced to enforce, especially those which solidify federal control over local police departments. Some local law enforcement leaders, such as Sheriff Richard Mack of Graham County, Arizona, have openly defied federal firearms control laws. A very important question is the strength of the militia's popular base. The popular base includes all those people who actively or passively support the militia movement but do not carry arms. Past experience has demonstrated that unless a government can voluntarily win over the support of the people, it is doomed. Attacks on the armed militia will simply radicalize more people in the community, causing more people to take up arms. Conversely, unless the militia has an organized popular base, it will not be effective. Without support in the community, it will disintegrate for lack of recruits, communications, supplies, and political legitimacy. Therefore, for the militia to function effectively, it will have to build an organized political movement. A third and final component of a militia movement would have be an activist cadre. This would give leadership to the movement, and expand both the militia and its supporting political organization. Invaluable to the militia movement's leadership is the computer-based Internet, which has allowed organization and communications across the continent. Other questions may be raised about the militia's tactics. If media reports can be trusted, the militia appears to be primarily an armed movement. But armed resistance may not be the most effective way to counter government abuses. The history of modern political struggle demonstrates that non-violent means are often very effective. Civil disobedience, mass protest demonstrations, propaganda campaigns, all of these can win without firing a shot. The propaganda battle is the most important, because it is only through spreading the message of the militia that the militia can hope to rally the majority of American people behind them. There is a certain amount of political judo which can be applied here: the more repressive the government gets, the more people it alienates. People who have been arrested for consensual crimes, who have had their property confiscated, who have seen friends and relatives victimized by government brutality, all are potential recruits. In a sense, militia weapons are propaganda instruments. They are a statement that something is wrong in America, and that people have been pushed beyond a tolerable limit. The government needs to recognize this, and work to end the oppression. One solution is to have a Constitutional amendment allowing citizens to bring charges against any government official who has violated the Constitution. The doctrine of sovereign immunity would have to be scrapped. Government officials who have violated the Bill of Rights, for example, would be individually accountable, and could be prosecuted under criminal law. This measure would provide a mechanism through which citizens could redress grievances. Militia propaganda would have to be based on the Constitution of the United States and Declaration of Independence. This will give the militia unifying political objectives. Moreover, it throws the onus for any conflict back onto the government itself -- the cause of the conflict is government violations of the Constitution. The message which must be hammered home is that it is the militia movement which is acting legally; it is the government which is acting illegally. And this gives a reasonable way to end any conflict. Once the government resumes operations within the scope of the Constitution, the militia will stand down - but not disband. Long-term roles for a militia movement must be considered. It is obvious that millions of Americans have lost faith in the ability of the police to protect them. Indeed, to many Americans, the police are the enemy, because the police are carrying out operations which violate the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness - as when the police enforce censorship, gun control, or drug-prohibition laws, or when the police violate the Bills of Rights. The founding fathers of the United States had a distrust for standing armies. This might apply to standing police forces as well. One role for the militia might be in protecting the community from illegal actions by both criminals and the government. Victory for the militia movement will turn on the Constitutional issue. For the militia to succeed, it must show that it represents the Constitution, and that the opposition is acting lawlessly. Consequently, the militia may never engage in acts of censorship, religious discrimination or suppression of dissent; nor may it confiscate firearms or private property, quarter itself on private households, or violate the persons, effects, or property of individuals. It is the government which today acts in a criminal manner. The militia is simply upholding the Constitution, and with it, those American values which are so frequently trumpeted in the media. Part 2: Historical Background ============================= Historically, the United States 2nd Amendment specifies that a "well regulated militia" is necessary to the security of the free state, thereby guaranteeing the right to bear arms among the citizenry. But what is a "militia"? What are its objectives? How is it organized? Historically, the American militia has its roots going back to the medieval Anglo-Saxon fyrd (general levy of warriors). The idea was that every able-bodied man had the duty and right to defend the community. In the American colonial era, prior to the Revolution, every colony had its own military force made up of citizen-soldiers who would come to arms in the event of emergency. The colonial militia existed for several reasons. One was economic. It was cheaper for the British crown to let the colonists defend themselves than pay the expenses of stationing thousands of regulars overseas. But the militia was there because of the fear of standing armies. Standing armies were considered injurious to the peoples' liberties as they could be used by the government to oppress the people. Tied in with all these factors was the growing belief in individual rights and liberties; the individual had to be armed to defend himself against illegal acts by the state. It is important to realize that the colonial militias were organized bodies of men, with at least a minimum of training and commanded by officers who frequently had experience in frontier warfare. They were not ad hoc bodies. They would provide the foundation for American military victory in the War of Independence. While the militia were generally unable to stand up in open combat against the the British (the notable exception being at Bunker Hill), they nonetheless had several important functions. The militia were quite capable of conducting guerrilla warfare, tying down large numbers of British troops. During the Saratoga campaign of 1777, for example, American militia ambushed British detachments, defended strongpoints, and provided intelligence to the American Continental regulars. They limited British movement and made it impossible for them to operate freely. But more importantly, the militia had tremendous political significance. It empowered individuals by allowing them to defend themselves from aggression. This encouraged large segments of the populace to resist. The importance of the militia was recognized by America's founding fathers, and in their writings they frequently allude to an armed citizenry being the basis for the nation's freedom. This is why they wrote the right to bear arms into the Bill of Rights. In the 19th century, there was considerable criticism of the militia, largely from grounds of efficiency. The militia was frequently badly-trained and ill-led. Several American disasters in the War in 1812 were the direct result of militia inefficiency. Pressure developed to form a relatively large (for America) regular army which could better fight the nation's wars. A parallel development was the rise of professional police forces. As America's cities grew, it became apparent that a full-time force was needed to keep order. The traditional American militia was eventually outlawed by various acts of Congress. Today, the militia's place has been taken by the National Guard. While the National Guard was originally conceived of as a highly-organized state militia, it has today become a de facto reserve branch of the federal armed forces. The National Guard is under federal control for training and equipment. More to the point, the Pentagon has integrated National Guard units with regular formations for purposes of war mobilization. Part 3: Militia Organization ============================ What would be required for an effective militia? The history of insurgency in the Cold War era indicates that irregular- type forces have the capability to fight better-armed regular forces to a standstill - and to even seize victory - if certain principals are followed. Insurgent guerrilla forces have been, for the most part, militia-type organizations. They have been characterized by being part-time forces, drawn from the general citizenry. They use unconventional tactics. What lessons can be learned? 1. The foundation for any militia is a political program. The political program provides the central guidance for all operations, and mobilize the people. Quite fortunately, such a political program exists today. It is called the Constitution of the United States. The importance of the Constitution has been recognized, as a number of states have passed 10th Amendment Resolutions, calling upon the federal government to cease and desist its usurpation of powers properly belonging to the states. Related to the Constitution is the United States Declaration of Independence, especially those parts demonstrating that governments are instituted to secure the rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness - all of which have been violated by the current federal government. The point must be hammered home - the militia is fighting for liberty! 2. Widescale public support is vital. From the general public the militia receives recruits, supplies, medical assistance, sanctuary, and intelligence information. Consequently, the militia must at all times act to gain the support of the people. Abuses of the civilian populace must be avoided and, if they occur, be swiftly punished. One of the biggest source of recruits is from people who have been victimized by oppressive government actions. People whose friends and relatives have been unjustly jailed, or whose property has been confiscated, are prime targets for recruiting. The more oppressive the state becomes, the more potential recruits there will be. At the same time, the militia must work to isolate the opposition by depriving them of their support in the community. 3. There are several echelons of militia units. These can be divided into two general categories. The first is local self-defense forces which can be mobilized to defend communities at short notice. The second is mobile main forces, maintained on a full-time basis. These units operate as a reserve and strike force. 4. There must be a parallel front organization. Aside from the people with the guns, there must also be a support organization to provide intelligence, supplies, and medical assistance and to conduct propaganda. It is vital that everyone who is interested be given some useful job. There are many people who are not capable of bearing arms who are, nonetheless, useful. The struggle must be shown to be a struggle of all the people. Consequently, front groups of students, ranchers, workers, political prisoners, etc. must also be created. 5. Training and leadership are vital. These can be provided through open and legal sources, such as military veterans, former police officers, and by purchase of various training manuals. The latter are available in many survivalist bookstores, from the US Government Printing Office, or in libraries. 6. The militia must act legally. Citizens have every legal and moral right to resist illegal acts by government officials, and to defend themselves against such assaults. Each militia unit should have a legal section which will conduct lawsuits against agencies which violate civil rights. The legal section should also be there to defend militia members who are arrested. The militia should also conduct a parallel struggle through elections, the courts, and so forth in order to gain its objectives. 7. Propaganda a crucial weapon. Propaganda is the use of media to disseminate political messages. Propaganda must be based on the truth. You can let the other side lie and thereby discredit themselves. Every media possible must be used: leaflets, posters, newspapers, videos, computer bulletin boards, town meetings, television, radio talk shows, etc. The most important type of propaganda is for every member of the militia to understand the political objectives and to be able to communicate them to the general public. Militia members must win over friends, relatives, local media, politicians, clergy, etc. There are also major actions such as rallies, protests, boycotts and guerrilla theater. All these are useful in attracting media attention. And once major media interest has been generated, the militia must exploit it to get the message across to the general public. Civil disobedience is a major weapon. Civil disobedience forces the opposition to become the aggressor and, in so doing, discredits him. Major confrontations can be staged which become demonstrations of solidarity. STRATEGY ======== The rise of the militia movement represents the first signs of widescale dissatisfaction by the American middle class with their government. Any strategy must be long term in nature. Victory can not be achieved overnight. Generally, strategy goes through three stages. 1. Organization. This means building up an organization which has the support of a sizable portion of the public. It is foolish to start largescale operations at this point because the militia will be defeated piecemeal. 2. Equilibrium. It is here that the militia gets out in the open and confronts the forces of oppression. The main objectives are to wear down the opposition's morale and gain general public support. 3. Consolidation. When the balance of politics turns in favor of the militia, it can finally consolidate, enacting in full its political program. The militia must demonstrate that it can deliver on its promises. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% ENCRYPTION The Best Way to Protect your Privacy in the Information Age by Michael Ketcher %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% What is encryption, and how does it protect your privacy? ========================================================= Encryption is a privacy-enhancing technology that is taking the computer world by storm. Encryption means changing what is called plaintext, which is what your are reading, into ciphertext, which would look something like this %qpxc4+$9u. In other words, you are translating something that is easily read into gobbledygook. But that's only the beginning. The art has reached such a high level that you can create a code on your personal computer that is completely unbreakable, given current and foreseeable computing capabilities. Even the IRS, FBI, CIA and NSA (National Security Agency - responsible for making and breaking codes), with their massive mainframes and Cray supercomputers, can not break your code. For the first time in modern history, it is possible for you to create military-grade encryption using your home computer. As you'll see, this has earthshaking implications for your financial privacy, including totally-anonymous banking. Already, several groups of entrepreneurs are using sophisticated encryption to develop an electronic bank that will give you totally anonymous accounts. Even your banker won't know who you are or be able to trace any transaction to you. within the near future, expect to see a fully operational, completely anonymous electronic bank that you'' be able to use for anonymous money order purchases, credit or debit card purchases, and cash transfers. Completely private communication. When encryption is applied to telephones, fax machines, electronic mail, and other communications technologies, you will be able to communicate with others without any fear that your messages will be intercepted, monitored, or listened to by others. You'll be able to get messages from your foreign bank, without worrying that some IRS bureaucrat will be recording the information from your envelope (this has happened in the past) and then auditing you. Some elements of the federal bureaucracy are absolutely terrified by the prospect that ordinary citizens can get military-grade encryption - so terrified that for years they have been trying to outlaw it. They are so scared of it, they have actually classified it as a "munition" so that it cannot be exported. More and more often, computers are seized by government agents. Everyone who owns a computer should become familiar with encryption, and learn how to use it. This is especially true for those who are involved in anti-govern-ment, pro-freedom activities. One couple I know, very active in the Libertarian Party, came home one evening to find the door to their apartment smashed down and their home completely trashed. The vandals who looted their place took only one thing - their two computers. These vandals were not your run-of-the-mill burglars - they were police officers. What they did was completely legal. They claimed to have received a tip from an anonymous informant that this couple was selling marijuana. They even claimed they found marijuana in the house. However, this raid occurred well over a year ago, the deadline for filing charges have passed, and indeed no charges have ever been filed. One of the computers was returned; one wasn't. Meanwhile, the police have had almost a whole year to examine everything on the hard drive and floppies. Anything that might have been on there - business correspondence, investment and tax records, a personal diary - all were open to inspection. This also might have included information about the couple's political activities. All the police needed to justify this search and seizure was the statement by a confidential informant, that the couple had no right to confront, who said that they were involved with drugs. Another example of an outrageous - most likely politically-inspired seizure: a group fighting against tax collection abuses by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service had their offices raided one day. As federal agents busted in and conducted the raid, one of the group's employees worked feverishly to erase confidential data on the group's computer. However, she soon found herself looking down the business end of a government gun, as the agent ordered her to cease her erasing of the files. If those files had been encrypted, they wouldn't have had anything to worry about. Federal agents would have been locked out of the group's computers. Even if they had seized those computers, if the group had the information backed up, and stored secretly in another location, they could have been up and running again in no time - despite the government's best efforts to silence and harass them. Although the courts have ruled that a warrant is needed to search computer records, and that this warrant must be very specific about the categories of documents it requests, once the police have seized all of your computer equipment, there's nothing you can do to prevent them from searching it illegally. Industrial spies and hi-tech criminals also want to see your computer records If you use your computer for business, the police aren't your only worry. Your electronic mail and computer records are vulnerable to snooping from co-workers, competitors, private investigators, high-tech criminals hell-bent on robbing you or creating whatever havoc they can on your system, and even teenage "crackers," who usually break in just for the fun of it. You are also vulnerable to industrial espionage - even if you're in an occupation where you wouldn't think anyone would want to spy on you. For example, white-collar workers at ad agencies, law firms, newspapers, and investment firms sometimes hire teenage hackers to break into co-workers' files and steal ideas, clients, marketing strategies, performance evaluations and gossip. And of course, if you're in a high-tech industry, you're very vulnerable. It's very common for Japanese, German, and French firms to spy on U.S. companies. Encryption can also protect your personal information from busybodies. One friend of mine, who was in the midst of a divorce, discovered that her soon-to-be ex-husband had read her diary. Why most software sold today is worthless against all but the most amateurish attacks ============================================================== A businessman I know recently told me that an employee had found out some confidential information from a computer file that another employee was about to be fired. He could not understand how this employee had gotten the information, because he had protected the file using a password. Passwords are a common method of protecting the security of computer files. You protect a file using a password, and in theory, no one will be able to get into that file, unless they know the password. Unfortunately the manuals for these programs rarely tell you how vulnerable these passwords are to attack. For example, many programs will give you a password of up to eight letters. Many people use their name address, dog's name, or some other easily-guessed word. One of the most commonly used passwords is "password." Not very original. The businessman mentioned above used the password encryption provided by WordPerfect, a very popular word-pro-cessing software. What he didn't know was this: There is a program available for free that will crack files encrypted by WordPerfect. It's called WPCRACKI1.0 WordPerfect 5.x Password Finder. The program can be downloaded for free from many computer bulletin boards. There are other programs available that will defeat other password security systems. AccessData, an Orem, Utah firm, sells a program for only $185 that cracks the encryption mechanisms used by several popular programs - WordPerfect, Lotus 1-2-3, MS Excel, Symphony, Quottro Pro, Paradox, and MS Word 2.0. What kind of sleazy, low-life sneaks would buy this product? I don't know, but law-enforcement agents are among the company's best customers. A friend of mine, an attorney, talked to a cryptoanalyst (professional code breaker) for police departments. He said that most commercial encryption is so easy to break he does it in one to two seconds. He has jiggered his code-breaking programs to take longer, so that he can justify the high fee he charges the cops. How you can get truly unbreakable encryption software ===================================================== The best for E-mail encryption ------------------------------ If you want to encrypt your electronic mail, the best program to use is PGP (Pretty Good Privacy). It was developed by Phil Zimmerman, a computer software engineer in Boulder, Colorado. He was concerned about the federal government's outlawing of sophisticated encryption programs, and wanted to make sure that such legislation would be useless if passed. He decided to give PGP away for free, so that it would get the widest possible distribution and stop the pending legislation cold. PGP uses public key encryption. With public key encryption there are two keys. These keys are a series of numbers or symbols that, through a mathematical operation convert your message to ciphertext. One key, called the private key, is used to encode a message, and the other, your public key, to decode it. Mathematically, there is no way to derive one of the keys from the other. The public key can be given to anyone, who can use it to encrypt a message that only you can read. You use your private key to decrypt messages encrypted by your public key. PGP also has a private key (i.e. a single key) encryption scheme that you can use to encrypt files. PGP will generate key pairs on your home or office computer which you can use to encrypt messages or files. These keys can be over 300 digits long, depending on the level of encryption you desire (casual, commercial, or military grades). Even longer keys could be created if you desire even more security. Your private key is protected with a pass phrase (known only to you). If you encrypt a file using PGP, no one could access it without knowing the passphrase. The best for file encryption SecureDrive Version 1.3 allows you to automatically encrypt the files on your diskettes, an entire diskette, or portions of your hard drive. Secure drive is better for protecting the security of your home computer from thieves, snoops, and government confiscation squads. A word of warning: Any encryption program can be broken if you use a simple pass phrase like a well-known line from Shakespeare, the Bible or a popular song. The long and less obvious your pass phrase, the harder it will be to break. Both PGP and Secure Drive, unlike most programs which just give you eight letters, allow you to have long and unusual pass phrases. If you use symbols, numbers, and non-standard spelling and punctuation, your passphrase will be nearly impossible to break. Could the IRS or some other government agency have put a secret back-door into these encryption programs? This is not a far-out possibility. In a major scandal that broke a few years ago, the Inslaw Affair, a CIA computer consultant charged that the CIA had engaged in a massive conspiracy to put an intelligence backdoor into computer software that was sold by a U.S. firm to 88 foreign governments. As far as I know, the allegations were never proven. But if true they would have allowed U.S. spies access to confidential data from all of these governments. Given the U.S. government's current anti-encryption hysteria, it's entirely possible that they would try to slip a backdoor into some widely distributed encryption software. Indeed some cryptographers suspect that they have already done it, with some of the commercial encryption software sold. So how secure are PGP and SecureDrive? Both SecureDrive and PGP use a cipher called the International Data Encryption Algorithm (IDEA). Here's what Bruce Schneier, a computer scientist from Oak Park, IL, says about IDEA: "IDEA looks very secure. However, time and time again secure-looking algorithms have fallen to new forms of cryptoanalysis. There are several academic and military groups currently cryptanalyzing IDEA. None of them has succeeded yet (and is willing to go public about it), but one might someday." In addition to IDEA, PGP has also been available for several years now, and it has been widely used and examined in great detail by programmers, cryptanalysts, cryptographers, and computer scientists. Many of them use PGP themselves, and Phil Zimmerman, its inventor, has become something of a folk hero among them. As one leading cryptographer said, "PGP is well designed, nicely coded, and in the public domain. It's the closest you're likely to get to military grade encryption." SecureDrive hasn't been available for as long as PGP, so it hasn't been scrutinized as closely. Nevertheless, it is widely believed to be unbreakable, like PGP. According to the computer experts I've talked to, it's highly unlikely that there are any backdoors in these programs. The reason is that in both programs the source code has been published. The source code is a computer program in its original "plain English" form. In this form, the program can be analyzed. Any backdoors would show up in the source code. How to get these powerful Dencryption programs for free! ======================================================== PGP is widely available on the Internet and through computer bulletin boards. Some of the commercial on-line services may even carry it. It's available for both DOS and Macintosh. The latest version is 2.6. One computer bulletin board you can try is Colorado Catacombs (303) 938-9654. For those who are Internet savvy, try the following anonymous FTP sites: ftp.funet.fi (in the directory pub/unix/security/crypt); ftp.dsi.unimi.it (in the directory pub/security/crypt/PGP); or ftp.demon.co.uk (in the directory pub/ibmpc/pgp). To get SecureDrive, version 1.3 (the latest version) send E-Mail to server@star.hou.tx.us with body text that looks like this: get/files/public/secdr13d.zip. SecureDrive is only available for DOS machines. If none of this makes any sense to you, then get some computer savvy friend, co-worker, or teenager to download these programs for you. As a last resort, you can buy the commercial version of PGP, called ViaCrypt, for $100, $150 depending on what type of system you have. Call or write ViaCrypt, 2104 West Peoria Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85029. Phone (800) 536-2664 or (602) 944-0773. Two great books on encryption ============================= If you're gong to use encryption just casually, you'll find plenty of good information in the documentation for PGP and SecureDrive. However, if you're as fascinated by this subject as I am, you'll want to learn more. Two excellent books have come out recently, and both of them are worth getting: Applied Crypography: Protocals, Algorithms, and Source Code in C by Bruce Schneier, is an excellent book, despite its imposing title. In fact, it is fast becoming the bible of modern cryptography. While portions of the book will only be understood by those with a background in computer science or advanced mathematics, it is quite readable and much of it is easy for the laymen to understand. The book is especially useful if you plan 5to use encryption in your business. It discusses quite a few of the programs available. It also discusses key management. It isn't always wise to have only one person hold the key. You many want to distribute the keys, or parts of the keys, to different individuals. And you need to do that without compromising the security of your system. You can do it with effective key management techniques which are discussed in the book. Applied Cryptography is available from Counterpane Systems, 730 Fair Oaks Ave., Oak Park, IL. The price is $45 plus $5 postage and handling, plus Illinois sales tax is you are having it delivered to an Illinois address. Digital Privacy: A Complete Guide to Computer Security by M.L. Shannon is geared more to the layman. You won't find any long equations or source code in it. But it does review some of the popular encryption software available, including PGP. Phil Zimmerman has contributed several sections to the book, however the book was published in 1993, and the discussion of the legal status of PGP is now out-of-date. Digital Privacy is available from Lysias Press, P.O. 192171, San Francisco, CA 94119. The price is $20, plus $4 postage and handling. If you use DOS, you may want the version of PGP called PGPShell, which is especially for DOS. It is archived as pgpshe30.zip at many Internet sites, including garbo.uwasa.fi:/ps/cryp or oak.oakland.edu:/pub/msdos/security. If you run Windows, there are a couple of versions of PGP to use. One is called WinFront. Most versions of PGP are available from the Colorado Catacombs bulletin board. If none of this makes sense to you, or you have problems, you can order both of these programs on a floppy disk. The cost is only $10, postpaid. Send cash, check or money order to Lawrence Sanderson, 332 Bloocker St., Suite J-23, New York, NY 10014. Tell him what kind of computer you have (PC or Macintosh) and what size disk you would like. If you're interested in PGPShell or a Windows version of PGP, let him know that as well. There is another version of PGP, a commercially-sold version called ViaCrypt, that you can buy for $100. There are no substantial differences between the two. Why would you pay $100 for something you can get for free? The main difference is that questions have been raised about the legality of PGP. In the free version, Mr. Zimmerman used an algorithm patented by RSA Data Security, the world's leading provider of cryptographic software, but he failed to get the company's permission. RSA has suggested that anyone who used PGP might be violating export and patent law. However, since PGP's release on June 5, 1991, no one has been sued and no one has been formally charged with any crime regarding PGP, including Mr. Zimmermann. Thousands of people have used PGP, without having suffered, or even been threatened with any legal repercussions. I now that quite a few attorneys use PGP. But you should at least be aware that the illegal status of PGP is in question. For information on the legal version of PGP, call of write ViaCrypt 2104 West Peoria Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85029. Phone (800) 536-2664 or (602) 944-0733. Imporant Warning: All of these encryption programs are so powerful, the U.S. government has outlawed their export. If you send them or take them out of the country, you may be violating the law. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% A WOMAN'S CHOICE - There are 6.2 million more women in the United States than men. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that our chances of finding a good husband for life isn't very good. I would like to encourage an idea - plural marriage - two women married to one responsible man. Plural marriage is not an open, group, or multi-lateral "marriage". With plural marriage the husband's relationship is traditional with each woman. It's not for those who rate sex as their number one value in marriage. It's for those interested in family. There is no other principle of marriage that offers as much security, freedom, choice, commitment, and stability as plural marriage. Plural marriage is true woman's liberation. For sure, plural marriage isn't for everyone. But I for one have decided that plural marriage is the preferable alternative to a life alone or being attached to a left-over who is single. If you wou ld like free information about plural marriage send a SASE to: It's A Woman's Choice, POB 1854, Minden, NV 89423. ABAPA FREER: 1993 sampler describes 20 areas (most in/near Oregon, Montana, New Hampshire) having fewer taxes & restrictions, more tolerance, various cultures & climates & many libertarians. Plus practical tips for living freer most anywhere; and unedited discussions. 48 pages (most shrunk). $1, cash preferred. 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ALF, Box 20252-S, London Terrace PO, New York, NY 10011 ATTENTION FINANCIAL PROFESSIONALS: Excellent legal protection plan. Offer pre-paid legal coverage to your clients. Inexpensive individual and group plans - premiums only $16-$25/month. Widely used as part of employee-benefit programs for businesses, banks and government agencies. Plan makes services available through national network of independent attorneys. Excellent commissions; publicly-owned company. For more information contact Nancy Wertheimer, Box 65130, Baltimore, MD 21209; (410) 466-4984; fax (410) 466-9326. BALLOT ACCESS NEWS, newsletter of the struggle to end official USA government discrimination against political parties other than the Democratic and Republican Parties. Subscribe for only $7 per year ($12 overseas, airmail) for 13 issues. P.O. Box 470296, San Francisco, CA 94123. Phone (415) 922-9779 BUSINESS ADDRESS Available in Canada's largest financial center, Toronto, for only $50 per month (min. 3 months). Other services such as mail forwarding, available upon request. Write R. Baron, Worvest Corporation, 1094 Dupont St., Toronto, Ontario Canada M6H 1Z6 or phone 1 (416) 532-3315 CAPITAL & LIBERTY, a new publication with the expressed purpose of opposing statism. Philosophical ammunition against state-controlled ethics, gun control, and the "New World Order", and in favor of strong personal ethics, private-property rights, and laissez-faire capitalism. For a FREE copy send a stamp to; Seymour Enterprises, Box 694, Wayne, MI 48184. CASH FOR YOUR OPINIONS! Join DATA BANK now and enjoy earnings from completing questionnaires at home. FREE color brochure. Members in over 30 countries. Great libertarian income. Write: R. MacNeill, 174 Rutledge St., Ste. 212, Bedford, Nova Scotia, Canada B4A 1Y6, or: David Morgan, 17-C, P.O. Box 2996, Riyadh 11461, Saudi Arabia. Tel/Fax 966-1-241-1961, ext. 2173. CLAUSTROPHOBIA, a philosophical libertarian journal. Published monthly. $10/year ($20/overseas), $1 sample. 400 N. High St. #137, Columbus, OH 43215. For sample copy, send 29-cent stamp. Also looking for contributors. DATA ENCRYPTION IS AVAILABLE NOW. The Privacy Disk is a package offering basic information on encryption, including cop-ies of several different computer programs for IBM-compatible computers is available for $49.95 from Noble Software, 51 MacDougal Street, Suite 192, New York, New York 10012. (A 3.5" diskette will be sent unless you specify a 5.25" diskette.) With the Clinton administration making proposals to outlaw the sale of encryption programs, this is something you might want to buy now and put away even if you have no immediate use for it. DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF DUAL NATIONALITY and obtain ultimate privacy for yourself and your assets. Learn how to avoid taxes, wars, currency controls and red tape. Also hundreds of other explosive facts and insights are revealed to make you richer and more powerful. 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EXTROPY:The Journal of Transhumanist Thought is a high-IQ publication with deep thoughts on futurist topics: Transhumanist philosophy, physical immortality, intelligence augmentation, artificial life intelligence/persons, nanotechnology, spontaneous order, cryptoanarchy, free communities, human-computer integration, self-transformation, ultimate limits of physics, Hans Moravec, articles, reviews. $4.50 for sample of #14; $13.50 for 3 issues sub. ($15 Canada; $22 overseas) from Extropy Institute, P.O. Box 57306, Los Angeles, CA 90057-0306. 213-484-6383; more@usc.edu. FED UP WITH BEING A GOVERNMENT SERIAL NUMBER? Clinton wants to stick you with an ID card! Your right to drive - to vote! - in jeopardy. We can and must fight back. The Anumeralist, published bimonthly, $5/year. Sample $1.00. Box 2084, Norristown, Pennsylvania 19404. CASH ONLY. Banks demand SS numbers. Free Article on theories of rights. Don't talk about rights unless you can prove that you have them. And libertarians, the non-aggression principle is meaningless unless you can first show who owns what, and that requires a theory of rights. Spooner Press, P.O. Box 1165, Grand Island, NY 14072 FREE PAMPHLET-CATALOG: "The Elegant New Age Of Romanticism". Send 3 stamps: Integrity Imprints, POB 61, Felton, PA 17322. "I SWEAR BY MY LIFE and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.'' Help us create a real-life Galt's Gulch, based on the principles of Randian Objectivism. Write: Galt's Gulch, P.O. Box 73203, Fairbanks, AK 99707. INDEPENDENT THINKING REVIEW. "Impressive new journal" - Andrea Rich, Laissez-Faire Books. "Valuable resource" - Peter Breggin, M.D. Articles, book reviews, other resources for independent and critical thinking. Topics include authority, the media, religion, psychology. Writers include Robert Anton Wilson, Joan Kennedy Taylor, Sharon Presley. Subscription, $18/year (quarterly). Free sample. Resources for Independent Thinking, 4067 Hardwick, #129(s), Lakewood, CA 90712. LEARN HOW DIFFERENT YOU ARE! The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator proves we libertarians are different! How do others perceive and mis-perceive you? What can you do about it? Complete indicator and personality feedback session only $150. Full no-questions-asked money-back guarantee. Doug Thorburn, (818) 360-0985 or P.O. Box 7301, Van Nuys, CA 91409 LIBERTARIAN ATTORNEY, male 35, married, interested in correspondence with Czechs concerning the development of free societies. I am also interested in firearms, Aikido and epiphyllum cactus cultivation. I am considering international migration for my self and family. Please write to: Blake Ashley, 7818 Stewart & Gray Rd., Apt 209, Downey, California, USA 90241. LIBERTARIAN REPUBLICANS. Subscribe to Republican Liberty! Covers campaigns, elections, elected libertarians, Weld, Zimmer, duPont, & Pinkerton. $10.00 a year - Trial Subscription. Five issues (8-12 pages) plus bulletins. Write RLC, 1717 Apalachee Pkwy. #434, Tallahassee, FL 32301 LIBERTARIANS WANTED TO LIVE IN FORT COLLINS, Colorado. For information send $1.00 and SASE to: Mary Margaret Glennie, FREEDOM NOW, 1317 Lakewood Dr., Fort Collins, Colorado 80521 USA. LITHUANIAN FREE MARKET FOUNDATION is a recently-established organization promoting the ideas of liberty and capitalism in Lithuania. Being genuine libertarians, we do not ask for your help and support. Just loan a sum of money to us - the interest rate per annum is 20-30 per cent. For more details call us: Tel/Fax: (370-2) 624218. LIVING FREE NEWSLETTER promotes self-liberation, practical methods to increase personal freedom, and has provided a forum for freedom-seekers, libertarians, survivalists, anarchists, outlaws, since 1979. Lively, unique. $8.00 for 6 issues, $12.00 overseas, sample $1.00, overseas $2.00, USA funds only. Jim Stumm, Box 29F, Hiler Branch, Buffalo, New York 14223. MALE LIBERTARIAN, 25 years old, MSc degree in Business Administration, studying for my CMA degree, currently employed as a planner at an information systems department, wants to start a living in Texas. Sick of living in a collectivist society such as Holland. Who is willing to employ me? Open to any arrangement. Available August 1994. Adrian Struijk, Lijsterbesplein 8, 2563 KZ, Den Haag, Netherlands. MY BODY HAS ABANDONED ME but my brain has not. Seeking thinking libertarians for light, friendly mental sparring (use it or lose it). Some subjects are boring but none are taboo. Mathematics and professional sports make good sleep aids. Philosophy, skepticism, the sciences and history are candy for the soul. All letters will be answered. Alice Jukes, 107 Morning Glory Drive, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624 USA NOW UNREDUCED PRINT in The (Libertarian) Connection, open-forum magazine since 1968. Subscribers may insert two pages/issue free, unedited. Lots of stimulating conversation. 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Checks to LeGrand E. Day, Editor, Panarchy Dialectic, Box 353F, Reseda, California 91333, USA. POLITICALLY INCORRECT? Then you'll love our books! Write or call: National Vanguard Books, P.O. Box 330, Hillsboro, WV 24946 (304) 653-4600 Privacy books for the 90's! Over 300 unique books explore all aspects of privacy, financial independence, credit repair & cash income opportunities. Also how to be working in 48 hours. College degrees by mail. Legal name change. How to find missing persons. Self protection. Independent business opportunities. Financial privacy. Asset protection. Offshore banking. Legal foreign passports & more! Eden Press, Box 8410, Fountain Valley, CA 92728 PROFIT FROM FREEDOM TECHNOLOGY! Protect your assets, lower taxes, help fight government waste and oppression. How often do you read the paper and say, "Enough is enough!" Here's your chance to actually do something about it. Send L.S.A.S.E.: Tim Boyens, 4865-201 NW 36th St., Miami, FL 33166. 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SAVE MONEY ON INTERNATIONAL PHONE CALLS if you live or work outside the U.S. Take advantage of lower U.S. phone rates and circumvent state-run phone monopolies. Call from anywhere to anywhere in the world while using U.S. phone companies high technology and paying by credit card. Send $4.00 for information to: John T. Erb c/o P.O. Box 4702 Lancaster, Pennsylvania PZ17604 Non-Domestic, U.S.A. Save on your favorite magazines and make money showing others how they can save and earn. Over 400 publications available. No fees or monthly sales requirements! For free information send SASE to RDC Network, Dept. 9050, P.O. Box 166, Champlin, MN 55316 SELL AMERICAN. $100,000+ per year possible helping "Bring Our Money Home Again!" Learn insider secrets of earning huge profits in your own home-based exporting business from a self-made millionaire with over 30 years experience. Write for free Sell American report from Phlander Company, Dept. 70197, P.O. Box 5385, Cleveland, TN 37320-5385 SLIPPERY WHEN WET. Limericks, limerence, & lusty literature; photos, feminism & frivolity; cartoons & crusty commentary: A quarterly magazine of sex and fun for folks of all orientations. Whole Earth Review says:... new breed of sex zine, appealing to almost anyone who is curious or open ... fiction ranges from hot to hilarious ... Factsheet Five says: You cannot be disappointed with [Slippery When Wet]! $19.50 for four issues or $7 for one issue; statement of legal age required. P.O. Box 3101, Berkeley, CA 94703. SONDHEIM WANTS YOU! A magazine with nothing to do with libertarianism but is the creation of long-time libertarian Ray Birks: The Sondheim Review is dedicated to the works of Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim: Reviews and photos of new shows; articles about past works; national, international reports; book, record reviews. Subscription rates: $19.95 for 4 issues. (Canada: $24.95 USD, Overseas $29.95 USD) Don't want to subscribe but willing to help? Send us addresses & phones of theater-based music stores, book stores, or theatre columnists/critics, especially outside the USA. Thanks! - The Sondheim Review, Dept. IL9411, P.O. Box 11213, Chicago, IL 60611-0213 USA. Questions? 1 (800) 584-1020 STANCZYK has been published since 1986. It is the oldest Polish journal edited by Polish defenders of laissez-faire capitalism. We have been looking for people, organizations, foundations, ready to give us any help in publishing our journal. The contact with the editorial board is: STANCZYK, ul. St. Pietaka 9, 51-140, Wroclaw, Poland. TAX HAVENS are one of the most important subjects for an international entrepreneur or investor, yet few understand and use them properly. One group discounts them as hiding holes for dirty money, which is not a legitimate use for tax havens. Others think they are only for banking money after you have made it. Not true either. Tax havens are a very complex subject, but the hours you spend studying their use will probably pay you more per hour than the hours you spend directly earning an income - an unfortunate commentary on the confiscatory taxation policies of most governments. For the best detailed information on tax havens, order The Tax Haven Report by Adam Starchild, from Scope International Ltd., 62 Murray Road, Waterlooville, Hants., PO8 9JL, United Kingdom. The price is $125, including airmail postage worldwide, ($100 if you want it by slower surface mail) and they accept Visa or MasterCard. Just stop and t hink for a moment how much faster your money can grow if you are not payi ng out an average of 40% to a taxing government somewhere. TERRA LIBRA! Freedom-boggling break through! Free and enrich yourself with Freedom Technology. Personal Power beats bureaucrats. Free Details. ZENO Press, Box 170-I, Sedalia, CO 80135 THE VOLUNTARYIST, edited and published by Carl Watner since 1982. The only pure free-market newsletter to eschew electoral politics and violent revolution. $18 for 6 issues/yearly (add $5 overseas). For Table of Contents and sample copy send $5 or $1 per sample issue. Box 1275, Gramling SC 29348 WEST COAST LIBERTARIAN: Canada's premier Libertarian publication. Read the News from the North. 6 issues (1 year): $15; U.S. send $15US; Overseas l$20 or 25 IRC's (International Reply Coupons). Sample: $2 or 3 IRC's. Greater Vancouver Libertarian Association, 922 Cloverley St., North Vancouver, British Columbia, V7L 1N3 Canada. THE PHILOSOPHY OF FIREARMS: Reality and the Right to Arms ? Philosophical foundation of the right to arms. Liberal and conservative movements incompatible with the right to arms. Right to bear nukes? Rebellion? Civil disobedience? Gun Control Mentality. Irrationality of Gun Control. Why pro-gun organizations are powerless. Why the right to arms will be lost and what is required to win it back. Extensive bibliography, index, 190+pp. 30-day money back guarantee! Send $17.95 + $2.00 S & H to: Broad Reach Publishing, P.O. Box 145, Dept ISIL, Evanston, WY 82931. WANTED: PUBLISHER FOR BOOK. I have written a book, 708 pages in length, encyclopaedic in form, which covers many subjects, and punctures many "sacred cows," including the notion that the "government" is usually correct, the belief that one has no control over one's own financial status, the idea that the "majority" is always right, that organized religion knows all about "god," and many others. If you are a publisher who might be interested in this book, or if you know a publisher who might be, please write to: Donald P. Reddick, 441 Ellis Street, Apt 413, San Francisco, CA 94102 What Happened to the slavery clause in the original Declaration of Independence? WHO wrote the first draft? Provocative new book, A Personal Declaration of Independence, explains this and more. $10 postpaid/moneyback. Free personal declaration with/without order. ZENO Press, Box 170-I, Sedalia, CO 80135. WRITING THE BOOK that'll make converts out of critics! Both an excellent defense of libertarianism and refutation of welfare status quo. Unfortunately, I'm unemployed and broke. Nonetheless, I've never taken any welfare or unemployment checks. Really, whatever you can spare. Thank you. Barry Loberfeld, 12 Wichard Blvd., Commack, NY 11725 YOU CAN HAVE FINANCIAL FREEDOM but you have to earn it! Let us show you how to earn $500,000 or more with on-going residuals by sharing with others the Terra Libra Total Freedom Portfolio. Request the free Terra Libra marketing information package from DKS Publishing, Dept. D261-7, Box 465, Fellsmere, FL 32948. PEN PAL SECTION =============== There is no charge for Pen Pal Ads for ISIL members. Be sure to inform us when you would like your ad removed or changed. Boy (16) pupil of Mathematic grammar school interested in computers, basketball and music would like to correspond with boys and girls of his age. Please send answer to the address: Radmilo Racic, Ozrenska 13,11000, Belgrade, Serbia An 18-year-old boy from Estonia is waiting for all kinds of letter from all over the world. Interested in libertarianism, computers, business, politics, and many other things. Address: Yri Kaljundi, P.O. Box 68, Tallinn, EE0900, Estonia. College libertarians seeking contact with other students interested in joining our new Student Individualist Network (SIN) and writing for and/or distributing our monthly classical liberal/libertarian/anarchist/ objectivist paper. All correspondence should be sent to: Brian Taylor & Justin Weinberg, Editors: Guillotine, EMO, Binghamton University, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902 or E-mail c/o Mike Darcey BB09769BingSuns.ccBinghamton.edu. I would like to correspond with libertarians in Hungary, Poland, Russia, Peru and Argentina. Write: Robert A. Markley, 2515 E. Thomas Rd., Ste 16-742, Phoenix, Arizona 85016 USA. I am a man, 29 years old and single. I am interested in free markets and free societies. I like travelling, meeting people of all races, religions and political understanding. I also like keeping artifacts. I would like to make contact with any libertarians in any part of the United States of America. Nkadi Azuh, 111 Road, Block 5, Flat 2, Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria. A Young Adult. Business oriented. Would love to hear from sociable open-minded persons from the U.S.A. and all around the world. I promise to reply to all correspondents. Shina Oluyemi, P.O. Box 4975, Shomolu, Lagos, Nigeria. I am 31. I am married and have two children. I am an economist dealing with marketing but I am also interested in free markets and societies. My hobbies are: psychology, astronomy, home computers (Especially Titan) and I also keep some exotic species of fish. Boguslaw B. Kolata, UL. Trzech Diamentow 36/27, 43-300 Bielsko-Biata, Poland. I love writing and music. I'm interested in science, particularly biology; and art, especially speculative fiction. Animated films and stand-up comedians rock my world. All letters will get some kind of reply. Altairn Edwards, 8155 Jamacha Rd., San Diego, CA 92114. Libertarian Male, 33, interested in Free Market and Environmental Economics wishes to exchange ideas with other independent minds, preferably single, free-thinking female libertarians. Europeans please write. Scott, P.O. Box 41, Oakton, Virginia 22124, USA. Libertarians in Netherlands, especially Amsterdam, wanted for correspondence and friendship. Please write: Raymond Kiely, 4981 Springhill Dr., Pensacola, FL 32503, USA ============================================================================= ISIL Classified ads are a great way to reach the world liberty community. Rates are only 10› per word. Minimum ad $5.00. There is no charge for ads in the "Pen Pall Section". For display ad rates write ISIL for rate sheet at: 1800 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA Fax (415) 864-7506 ============================================================================== ############################################################################## ############################################################################## ISIL INTERNATIONAL REPORT ############################################################################## ############################################################################## Bolivia ====== BOLIVIAN PRESIDENT FAVORS LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS =============================================== According to a November Voice of America report, Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada expressed concern that South American drug traffickers are seeking to "Colombianize" his country. He remarked that he personally believes that drugs should be legalized because prohibition of substances for which there is high demand has never worked. But he said that as President of Bolivia, he cannot afford to defend that position because the decision on whether to legalize drugs must be made in the consuming countries. Seen in news release from NORML Estonia ====== THE WORLD'S GREATEST GOVERNMENT A Commentary on Estonia's Pro-Freedom Government by Yuri N. Maltsev Post-communist history has been a chronicle of economic failures, ethnic wars, and political upheavals. But in the midst of all this gloom, one success story has been completely overlooked. Its name is Estonia, which could be called "the little country that could." Estonia has made an incredible transition from Soviet slavery to economic liberty, and it serves as proof that free markets are the only sure way out of communist serfdom. During the period while it was ruled by the Soviet Union (1940-91), Estonia's 1.5 million people faced unthinkable economic coercion and political brutality. The central government attempted to suffocate national and religious identify, and independent political thought. In short order, Kremlin planners destroyed one of the most prosperous countries on earth. And they did not do it without the blessing of the U.S. government, then headed by Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was FDR who suggested to Stalin that he solve the "problem" of Baltic political resistance by forcibly moving the populations of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to Sweden. This "ethnic cleansing" would have wiped away three nations with rich cultural heritages, solely to please the mass murderer in the Kremlin. Interestingly, this deal was rejected by Stalin, who did not want to have millions of discontented Balts on the Soviet border. His alternative was to transport tens of thousands of leading Estonians to gruesome death in the Gulag. More than one hundred thousand Balts perished in Siberia. After all this, Estonia regained its independence on August 20, 1991, after the failure of the hard-line communist coup in Moscow. Since then, the country has been at the forefront of political and economic reforms in Eastern Europe. It set out to reverse completely the errors of the past. Estonia moved quickly to rebuild Western principles of the rule of law. It privatized state land and industry at an unprecedented pace. It repealed all price controls. It legalized all forms of market production and exchange which had flourished only in underground markets. It attracted foreign investments by adopting low taxes and protecting property and other human rights. It did all this against the advice of international planning agencies. As a result, Estonia has not been a favored recipient of foreign aid. The president of Estonia says that is just fine. No country dependent on foreign aid has become prosperous. And today, this small nation can boast the highest rates of economic growth in Europe (more than 5%) and very low unemployment. The high Soviet inflation rate was reigned in by a hard currency and sound monetary policies. In June 1992, Estonia replaced the Russian ruble with the Estonian kroon, a hard currency tied to the deutschmark. The kroon is pegged at an exchange rate of 8-1 to the D-mark, as well as to Estonia's gold reserves, which back no less than 25% of the money supply. Today Estonia has the strongest and most stable monetary regime of any of the 15 former Soviet republics. The average level of inflation is down to a monthly rate of less than 1%, compared with 30% in Russia. The government is committed to a hard-money regime, not only because it provides economic stability, but also because it works as a restraint on government growth. Estonia maintains a liberal trade regime with practically no tariffs. Companies operating in Eastern Europe point to Estonia as being five years ahead of other East European countries, and investment advisors consider it the emerging Hong Kong of Europe. Foreign investment is growing annually by some $250 million. The new class of Estonian leaders, in the private sector and the government, is comprised of young people, who are well educated in free-market economics. The present government was formed by the conservative-libertarian Pro Patria (For the Fatherland) Party. Other factions in Parliament are the Royalists, Moderates, and Centrists (There is no Socialist or Communist Party). All parties are committed to continuing reforms and to further privatiization. "We don't want to copy welfare monsters like Sweden and our other Northern neighbors," Prime Minister Mart Laar told me. Laar is 33 years old, a University of Tartu professor well-acquainted with the works of Ludwig von Mises, F. A. Hayek, and the other Austrian School economists. Recently he was turned away by a security guard in Brussels. "I don't believe you could be a prime minister anywhere," said the guard in reference to his youth. The unofficial slogan of the governing party is: "Property rights are the key to economic success, cultural revival, and political freedom." The Foreign Office spokeswoman says "It is a privilege to be working with people who want to be to Estonia what Thomas Jefferson and George Mason were to America." She believes government should be strong enough to protect liberty and property, but not one bit more. She points out that privatization and property-rights enforcement has already created a strong middle class. Estonia fills me with hope that this small, courageous nation could show the world what the ideas of liberty can do, as America did more than 200 years ago. From THE FREE MARKET, Volume 12, Number 11, November 1994 with permission from the Ludwig Von Mises Institute, Thatch Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849 Germany ======== GERMAN MINISTER CALLS FOR LEGALIZATION OF DRUGS =============================================== Heidi Moser, social Minister of the northern state of Schleswig- Holstein, on November 18th was quoted as saying: "f Germany is serious about fighting drug dealers, it should take a leaf out of Holland's book and make soft drugs like hashish freely available in cafes."He went on to say that a distinction should be made between hard drugs and cannabis, which she said is "Pot as dangerous as previously assumed." Mosler concluded that "what was most dangerous of all is criminalizing it [cannabis use]." Seen in Press release from NORML Poland ====== POLITICS AS USUAL IN POLAND =========================== I wanted to comment on the political situation here just in case any of ISIL's members were taking the news reports about the return of communism seriously. Whatever is happening it is definitely not the return of communism. As a matter of fact, I have serious doubts as to what "socialism" means to these people anymore. The post-communists who swept back into power have actually passed a somewhat more austere budget than had been demanded, and have promised to speed up privatization. What people want here is not a return to the old system, but a welfare state. The problem is of course that they can't have it. Rich semi-capitalists can afford to loot their productive sector to buy votes, but these economies just aren't in that good a shape. The weird thing is that the "reformed" Communists seem to realize this, to some degree at least. They have to let a market economy arise and are encouraging foreign investment. This suggests to me that the governments of Central Europe are being moved along by the logic of their position, not ideology. Now I may be crazy, but I think that these developments may have some positive effects over the next few years. After their triumph the old Solidarity opposition fragmented, with the elements representing the new middle class and business-oriented interests going into parties like Unia Demokratlycne and Kongress Liberalno Demokratycne. A purer Libertarian/Classical Liberal viewpoint was represented by the Unia Polityki Realnej but they lost their representation in the Sejm last election. Solidarnosc lost heavily in the past two elections and is a shell of its former self - perhaps doomed to extinction. Ironically it has become a reactionary force, as its remaining constituency is mostly the workers in the state-owned dinosaur industries that they are having trouble unloading. UPR was negotiating with KLD with an idea of forming an alliance that could command enough voter share for a place in the Sejm, but broke off. UPR represents a libertarian viewpoint, but I have to say that it seems to be hampered by the personality of its leader and most visible spokesman, who just rubs people the wrong way, as if a libertarian set of positions wasn't enough already. He is known, or at least thought to have extremely reactionary views about the place of women, of the Kirsch Kursch Kinder kind. I have some contacts with this group which I will try to increase in the future. Now however, the opposition UD and KLD parties have agreed to merge into a new party called Unia Wolsnoscii: the Freedom Union. These people are not libertarians, but they do seem to be of an older European-style Liberalism. They are described as young, professional and business oriented. This might be the best we could hope for in the present. Having UPR on the outside as a libertarian gadfly might not be such a bad thing either. UPR holds positions on things like legal gun ownership that are at present extremely alien and frightening to the Polish society at large. As a caucus of a larger party they would never get such a position adopted into a platform. There seems to be no way around it, not only do you have to have principles, but you have to know how to do politics. Libertarians, including myself, in the past have trumpeted our distaste for politics with its sordid wheeling and dealing and day-to-day grind. If we wish to see an eventual triumph of our ideals, or even just a respectful hearing, we've got to get into the trenches. Stephen Browne ISIL Correspondent, Warsaw, Poland Taiwan ====== POLITICAL PARTY LAUNCHES PIRATE TV STATION ========================================== The major opposition party in the Republic of China on Taiwan is launching an unlicensed television station. The Kuo Min Tang (KMT) has controlled Republic of China politics since the nationalists fled to the island from the mainland in 1949 after losing a civil war with the communists. Under a state of martial law until 1987, the KMT was the only political party in Taiwan. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is now the major voice of opposition against the still mostly KMT government. Now the opposition party has a new weapon in its battle against the KMT. The DPP's own pirate TV station will begin broadcasting in the capital, and with the imminent addition of two more transmitters, will soon be able to broadcast across Taiwan. Illegal radio stations are already common across the island and most of them broadcast DPP political views. However, this marks the first broadcast from a pirate TV station. Much of the preparation for the station was conducted in secret, including the importation of TV transmitters and other equipment. The government's information office, which controls broadcasting on the island, three months ago cracked down on illegal radio stations and says it is considering a crackdown on the TV station. But the radio crackdown was met with a severe backlash in public opinion. Ian Geldard, The Libertarian Alliance (UK) Yugoslavia ========== YUGOSLAVS EMBRACE GOLD STANDARD =============================== In the October issue of Coin World it was reported that to fight 2000% a month inflation, Yugoslavia is issuing 1/15oz. gold coins to stabilize the paper currency. Over 500,000 coins have been issued. According to the paper, inflation one month after the start of issue was 0% a month. Stores are stocked again only after two months of issue, and people are willing to trade with each other again. At one point farmers would not sell grain for government notes as the notes would lose 1/2 of their value in less than an hour. It seems that more and more "third world nations are turning to gold as a standard for trade." Seen on Libernet Digest Posted by John Logajan, Minnesota, USA %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% CANADA'S REFORM PARTY Libertarians in Sheep's Clothing? by Scott Reid - Ottawa %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% It is now over a year since the federal election in which over fifty members of the Reform Party were elected to Canada's House of Commons. This is long enough that it is now possible for Canadians to assess whether or not it has fulfilled its promise as a genuine individualist alternative to the collectivist status quo. For the most part, the news is good. The party has consistently favored radical decentralization, a balanced budget, and a ceiling on taxes. In late November, the party announced a "Zero in Three" plan to cut Canada's federal deficit to zero in three years without any increases in tax revenue. Party policy requires that once the budget is balanced, government revenues should be frozen permanently in real terms, so that government's share of the total wealth in the economy will gradually shrink as the economy grows. A snapshot of a typical day in Parliament confirms Reform's libertarian credentials. In Canada's Westminster-style parliament, the Prime Minister and Cabinet are required to spend an hour each day answering questions (usually highly rhetorical!) posed by MPs from the opposition parties. Typically, Reformers have enough time to ask six questions a day. On November 30, for example, one Reform MP used his question to attack gun controls, a second used hers to condemn state-subsidized multiculturalism, and a third condemned the federal government's interest in the "Clipper Chip." The Canadian media are shockingly ill-informed about the libertarian philosophy, so it tends out of sheer ignorance to pigeonhole the Reform Party as a movement that is socially conservative - with the inevitable implication that this means Reform is socially intolerant. This image of Reform simply is not valid. There are certainly many social conservatives in the party, but their influence has so far produced only a very small number of policies that are not in practice at least moderately libertarian. This is partly the result of the party policy mandating binding referendums on moral issues. This means that most of the social issues that separate conservatives and libertarians would be decided democratically. But the continued strength of libertarianism within the party is also partly the result of the fact that Reformers do not remotely fit the milquetoast conformist stereotype of the Canadian character. This was shown dramatically at the party's policy convention, which took place in Ottawa in mid-October. A resolution was placed before the assembly to amend the party's constitution so that the following would be adopted as the party's first principle: "We believe that the fundamental principles of justice demand that all Canadians be recognized as equals before the law, and that the best and only guarantee of such equality that the government can offer is the explicit recognition that each Canadian is free to engage in whatever activity he or she chooses, while accepting the responsibility not to infringe on the equal liberty of others." This is, of course the fundamental principle of the libertarian political philosophy. When put to a vote, 50.1% of the assembled delegates voted in favor of its adoption and 49.9% against. This is a taste, we hope, of more good things to come! Scott Reid, an ISIL member, is the Reform Party's senior researcher and the author of two books on Canadian Politics. EDITOR'S NOTE: During my visit to Ottawa, I had the opportunity to visit with Scott Reid at Reform Party headquarters and to chat over lunch on the future of Canada. Having sat in on a Q & A session at the House of Commons, I can confirm Scott's observation that the Reformers are doing a spectacularly good job. It was a pleasure to see such eloquent and principled spokes-men and women beating up on the addle-brained Liberals. Incidentally, another excellent resolu-tion, one of many presented at the October Reform convention, which I'm not sure passed, read: "Resolved that the Reform Party believes that non-convertible paper money (created by the Federal Government printer, and sale of notes of the Central Bank) is the `engine' of excessive spending, and the concen-tration of power and abuse at the Federal Level. Therefore it supports a transition to `real' money: (1) with abolition of all legal- tender laws; (2) where any money can be used (issued by any country or firm), and (3) all paper money and coins is sued by the Canadian government are convertible to gold on demand, and are denominated in grams of gold . . ." Vince Miller, Pres. ISIL %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% IS A BREAKUP OF CANADA INEVITABLE? A Visit to Bloc Quebecois Headquarters By Vincent H. Miller, Pres. ISIL %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Considerable world attention has beenfocused on Canada in the past few years - particularly as the vote totals in the last Canadian federal elections divided the country up along clearly-defined geographical and regional party lines. Mounting hostility of Canadians toward an arrogant and distant Federal Government resulted a crushing defeat for the ruling Progressive Conservative Party. They were virtually wiped out, reduced to only two seats in the House of Commons - down from a former 162 seats! The new libertarian-leaning Reform Party swept Alberta and British Columbia in the West and the Bloc Quebecois took the highly populous and resource-rich province of Quebec. As a result of the above, long-smouldering fires of separatist sentiment have again flared up across the country. But the hottest spot is now clearly in Quebec with the Bloc Quebecois, now the Official Opposition in Parliament, declaring that its sole purpose is to split from Canada and form an independent country. The seriousness of this has been underscored by the recent electoral victory of the provincial Parti Quebecois in the province of Quebec. As a result, it is now certain that there will be a referendum on separation in Quebec in 1995 and if there is a majority vote in this referendum, Quebec will go its own way. So who are the people involved in this movement? I received a hint, and a pleasant surprise earlier this year when I was visited at ISIL's offices in San Francisco by Eric Duhaime, a Parliamentary Assistant to Bloc Quebecois Member of Parliament Maud Debien of Laval East Federal Riding. Duhaime, to my surprise and delight had been attending a libertarian IHS (Institute for Humane Studies) seminar on "Liberty and Community" in Belmont, California, near San Francisco. He also holds a Masters Degree in Public Choice Theory and calls himself a libertarian. Needless to say this definitely piqued my interest in the Bloc - enough for me to arrange a flight to the Canadian capital in Ottawa, Ontario immediately upon my return from the Yucatan to meet with Eric and other members of the Bloc. Upon arriving in Ottawa, I asked Eric at his office in the Confederation Building whether he as a libertarian was representative of Bloc Qu‚b‚cois people. "Is this a trend?" I asked hopefully. "No," he explained. "The Bloc is a 'rainbow'. It represents a cross-section of the political spectrum." He went on to explain that the bloc has only one raison d'etre, separation of Quebec from Canada and that they purposefully avoid embracing issues that might muddy the waters or detract or divert energy from their primary goal. "Once separation is achieved, the Bloc self-destructs and the Provincial parties will then hold elections to determine who will govern," he said. It was encouraging, however, to see that there is a budding libertarian influence in this group. While browsing through the bookshelves at the Office of the Official Opposition I noticed a good selection of free-market public policy books, catalogs and newsletters from various organizations: ISIL, the libertarian-leaning Fraser Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia - there were also copies of the Free Market newsletter of the Ludwig von Mises Institute. Eric drew my attention specifically to two articles by Llewellyn Rockwell Jr. ("Secede?") in the June 1992 issue and another by Jeffrey Tucker ("The Rise of Neo-Secessionism") in the April 1994 issue. Later in the evening I was invited to dine at the Parliamentary dining room with Eric and Michel Leduc, a Senior Researcher at the office of Bloc Leader Lucien Bouchard. During a most pleasant dinner we had the opportunity to discuss where Quebec was headed. I was interested to hear that there seems to be a strong consensus in the bloc in favor of free trade and open immigration. We discussed some of the problems associated with separation of Quebec from Canada - particularly the problem of how to deal with ethnic enclaves like, for example, the English in Westmount (Montreal) and native peoples like the Inuit. I suggested that a meeting with ISIL member Scott Reid, author of Canada Remapped might be fruitful as he has addressed such problems in his book. Reid, ironically, is Research Coordinator for the Reform Party - which is not in favor of separation. However, his book Canada Remapped does deal with some of the problems that the country might conceivably face - if and when separation should occur. Also discussed was the change in attitudes and a general shift to the right from leftist-dominated thinking in Quebec that was prevalent in earlier years. Property rights, long viewed with suspicion during long periods of English dominance of business - and eliminated from the 1982 Canadian Constitution - are being given more than a second look. Even more interesting is that Mario Dumont, 24, a friend of Eric's, who is also a libertarian, has formed a new provincial political party called "L'Action democratique du Quebec" to challenge the provincial Parti Quebecois. At this point Dumont has been elected to the Quebec national assembly for the riding of RiviŠre du-Loup. In the last provincial election "L'Action Democratique" received 6.5% of the votes at large and 10% of the ridings where they ran. One can only conjecture as to what the future of Canada may be in the next few years, but Bloc leader Lucien Buchard, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC in March 1994, seemed confident: "During the federal campaign, The Globe and Mail, which prides itself on being 'Canada's national newspaper', ran a rather striking editorial. I will quote from it: 'As the Bloc appears to consolidate its position in Quebec, and Reform gains momentum in Alberta and British Columbia, an exhilarating sense of the possible emerges in many streets. Why should Canada be less exposed to sharp and unpredictable shifts in its political arrangements than Europe, the Middle East, Japan or the rest of the world? The era of 'post-modern' politics is defined by such sudden leaps from the status quo to new ground. Looking back, we can see their logic, built up over time under a cloak of conventional wisdom and linear thought.' "I myself could not have said it any better."