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      "body": "Congratulations @sammel! You received a personal award!\n\n<table><tr><td>https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@sammel/birthday3.png</td><td>Happy Birthday! - You are on the Steem blockchain for 3 years!</td></tr></table>\n\n<sub>_You can view [your badges on your Steem Board](https://steemitboard.com/@sammel) and compare to others on the [Steem Ranking](https://steemitboard.com/ranking/index.php?name=sammel)_</sub>\n\n\n###### [Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness](https://v2.steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=steemitboard&approve=1) to get one more award and increased upvotes!",
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      "body": "Congratulations @sammel! You have received a personal award!\n\n[![](https://steemitimages.com/70x70/http://steemitboard.com/@sammel/birthday1.png)](http://steemitboard.com/@sammel)  Happy Birthday - 1 Year on Steemit Happy Birthday - 1 Year on Steemit\nClick on the badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.\n\nFor more information about this award, click [here](https://steemit.com/steemitboard/@steemitboard/steemitboard-update-8-happy-birthday)\n> By upvoting this notification, you can help all Steemit users. Learn how [here](https://steemit.com/steemitboard/@steemitboard/http-i-cubeupload-com-7ciqeo-png)!",
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      "parent_permlink": "bitcoin",
      "author": "sammel",
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      "title": "Bitcoin: Should I invest?",
      "body": "The obvious elephant in the room, “Should I invest in Bitcoin?”. Should you? Well, as the saying goes, the information is free and the decision is yours. Most human value is invested in Money, and Bitcoin is Money. It is the perfect combination of both commodity & currency and is a phenomenal breakthrough in FinTech (financial technology) innovation. Money serves three basic functions in an economy, though not all “Monies” are created equal. Contrary to statist critics’ claims, Bitcoin fulfills the three basic properties of money:\n\n \n\n    A medium of exchange\n    A unit of account\n    A store of value\n\n \n\nMoney\n\nMoney is the actualization of a protocol governing the communication of financial transactions between individuals. It is merely an invention of early man to enable him to store his value (Labour) in an inanimate portable in-perishable divisible fungible unit of account that originates in the free market and is sought after by other individuals due to its scarcity, so that he may be able to exchange it at a later time for something of his needs or wants. Precious metals, namely gold and silver, along with tally sticks and cowry shells were all used to denote money in the early days. Interestingly enough, gold & silver are still established as sound money till this very day.\n\nHowever, the only setback was that both gold & silver are heavy and troublesome to carry around and trade in/with therefore man, being a creature of convenience, innovated and thus began the migration to the paper money system that we are a little more used to in modern times. These paper notes (currency) were initially issued in lieu of gold or silver as a redeemable promise (IOU’s) by private individuals (bankers) who vaulted the metals allowing for ease of travel and trade by other individuals (depositors). And thus, one of the pillars of modern banking was born.\n\nEventually, with the progression of Statism, national governments coercively monopolized the issuance and distribution process, thereby de-linking paper notes from gold/silver; as it was and still is much easier to merely print than to go look for gold or silver. This was the beginning of the national fiat currency system that we use today; the more common ones being the USD and the EUR. It is important to note that these fiat currencies are not money, they are merely “tokens” imposed upon the masses (individual) by the use of legal tender laws (decree). They do not fulfill the properties of money.\n\nWith the coming of the digital information age, fiat currency then continued its natural journey to become virtual currencies on computers – these days more and more people in the developed world access their funds online via a banks’ website or an app and all we see are a bunch of numbers (bits) on a screen that is stored on a central server (the banks’ private ledger) that denotes the value (mans’ Labour) stored in them. This natural progression has entered into the next phase, the phase in which money has yet again emerged from the free market in the form of Bitcoin; adhering to both Menger’s explanation of the origin of money and the regression theorem.\n\nBitcoin is accepted as payment for goods and services, is traded for various currencies/monies and treated as a fungible unit of account globally. It is also the most appreciating asset class in 2013. Bitcoin is gaining significant traction worldwide, is one of the most competitive forms of money, network based, economically liberating and open to anyone and everyone who wishes to partake in it.\n\n \n\nVirtual Money\n\nVirtual currencies have existed for a long time (iBanking, Paypal, e-Gold etc), as a means of payment in the form of digital units of value. They are usually intended for use in payments within specific virtual communities online (internet), such as in e-commerce payment settlements (Amazon, e-Bay etc), MMOGs (Massively Multiplayer Games) like World of Warcraft or the Xbox Live network to name a few.\n\nThese ecosystems and user communities use specialized software to manage their virtual currencies, to execute payments and trade. This is comparable to simple agreements using specific items as a mode of payment. In the non-virtual world, these may be commodities like gold, silver or cigarettes.\n\nVirtual currencies are all digital in nature and operate under three different schemes, according to the European Central Bank. These schemes function in different ways and come in three categories:\n\n \n\nClosed virtual currency schemes:\n\nUsually intended for buying virtual goods and services within an actual virtual community, users obtain currency through some form of activity. Some of these are earned and used in on-line games, such as World-of-Warcraft Gold. Other closed virtual currency schemes are linked to the real world economy and common examples are the bonus systems that airlines (air-miles) or some credit cards offer.\n\n \n\nVirtual currency schemes with unidirectional flow:\n\nUnder this scheme, virtual currency is purchased for fiat currency but cannot be converted back. Exchange rates are determined by the system owner. One example is Amazon Coins, which Kindle users can purchase and use to buy applications. Another example is the discontinued Facebook Credits, which were formerly used to buy virtual goods and services within Facebook itself.\n\n \n\nVirtual currency schemes with bidirectional flow:\n\nUnder this scheme,virtual currencies may be purchased and converted back into the original currency at special exchange websites and/or directly from the issuer. These rates may be both market-based exchange rates and/or predetermined fixed exchange rates. Examples of currency schemes with bidirectional flows include Bitcoin, Paypal and Linden Dollar.\n\n \n\nCommodity Money\n\nBitcoin is a virtual currency with a bi-directional flow, meaning that fiat currency (USD,EUR,JPY etc) can be traded for Bitcoin and back on exchange sites, using the free market-based exchange rates.\n\nIt is best defined as commodity money. Commodity money is that which has intrinsic value, due to its application and perceived value. Gold is an ideal analog comparison to Bitcoin’s digital nature, having intrinsic value because of its industrial, technological and cosmetic applications, combined with its scarcity due to finite supply.\n\nCommodity-backed money is a variant of commodity money. Commodity money uses the commodity itself as direct currency, while commodity-backed money can be exchanged on demand for specific amounts of different commodities (e.g. precious metals). The gold standard exemplified commodity-backed money, under the Bretton-Woods accord. Under it, currency holders could trade their currencies for fixed amounts of gold, but was terminated by the US in August 1971 because it’s much easier to print without “backing”.\n\nFiat currency has no intrinsic value except by legal decree. Legislation enforced by coercive governments with monopolies on violence & law allows fiat money to somewhat “work”, as it satisfies some functions of money, combined with the fact that a critical mass of people in society acknowledge its validity as currency and trust in the perception of its value.\n\nThis situation resembles how Bitcoin is perceived to be valuable by a critical mass of people – globally – as valid money. For all intents and purposes, Bitcoin is a digital commodity traded and transacted within the free market.\n\n \n\nInvestment\n\nWhat makes Bitcoin a potential investment vehicle? It shares the advantages associated with most digital currency platforms/digital commodities: ease of use, speed of transaction, cutting edge security and use in global transactions. Fiat currencies, on the other hand, which are subject to fraud and used extensively in criminal activities and illicit transactions (e.g. extensive use of USD in narcotics black market) are an alternative investment, if preferred.\n\n \n\nBitcoin does have clear benefits. Björn Segendorf of Sveriges Riksbank commented in his report that:\n\n“It can contribute to meeting new payment needs and to making payments cheaper and more secure. Those who choose to use a particular payment service can be expected to do so because it gives them an added value in relation to other payment services. This also applies to virtual currencies, which can, for instance, make some cross-border payments simpler, faster and cheaper. Another advantage is if the payer does not need to share sensitive information, such as card number or bank account number, with the payee”.\n\n \n\nBitcoins’ finite supply, with a hard limit of 21 million bitcoins (note the “small” b – that represents the units of account), replicates essentially the same supply situation as gold: finite, scarce and valuable. There is a finite supply available for circulation at any point in time, with production void beyond a specific threshold.\n\nBitcoin supply is predictable, grows at a stable rate and is resistant to the manipulation by political pressure and inflationary monetary policies (Keynesian) that fiat currencies face, due to their centralized control. Bitcoin’s value is deflationary in nature, increasing as time progresses and market capitalization increases.\n\nIn essence, people can buy more goods with the same amount of bitcoins over time. Unlike investments in fiat currency in banks (yes investments NOT “savings”), it maintains value. However, this is without the same “government surety” that fiat currency enjoys from crony monopolies on laws and/or other institutions – albeit temporarily.\n\nBitcoin is fundamentally resistant to manipulation by any centralized authority, meaning it is driven purely by market mechanics and the consensus engine of its user base. While still in its infant stages pertaining to investment infrastructure as opposed to fiat money investments, at the very least it’s not vulnerable to the inflationary government monetary policies, which makes it a perfect hedge against inflation.\n\nBitcoin is, in the end, a long-term and high-risk investment. It is not perfect, and in fact does need to be improved in certain aspects (the “ease of use” aspect mainly, which will be addressed by the amazing engineers working on the thousands of projects worldwide). For now, it is best suited for sophisticated investors or investors who can afford the risk, and who adopt a horizon of at least 5 years when considering ROI.\n\nIt remains to be seen whether it will grow with time, be supplanted by something better or consigned to history as a failure. However, given it’s record of surviving multiple market and regulatory shocks in a short time frame, its resilience as money is proven, with a use case that grows year-on-year.This is why i invested.",
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      "body": "Great post!",
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      "title": "Flesch Kincaid Grade Level",
      "body": "Hi! This post has a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests\">Flesch-Kincaid</a> grade level of 12.5 and reading ease of 41%. This puts the writing level on par with academic journals.",
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      "author": "sammel",
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      "title": "Back to the basics: What is Bitcoin?",
      "body": "The basics of Bitcoin\nMost people have heard the term Bitcoin being mentioned frequently in the media, from clueless news anchors calling it “drug- money” to perplexed politicians advocating banning it to irascible central banks irresponsibly attempting to outlaw it. In short, Bitcoin is arguably one of the most widely misunderstood innovations to emerge in the new millennium. So what is Bitcoin? This complex question shall be answered in two parts. The first is a simplified overview and the second a slightly more in-depth outlook, albeit merely an outlook.\n\nBitcoin is a protocol, a system of rules defining pre-approved conduct and procedures to be followed in any given situation. However, before proceeding onwards, we need to understand what money is, given it’s connection to Bitcoin. Money is the actualization of a protocol governing the communication of financial transactions. That’s all money is – nothing more, nothing less. Bitcoin and money are both protocols. If we accept that, then that implies that ‘Bitcoin = money’.\n\nHowever Bitcoin is not only money. Bitcoin is a protocol for much more than merely financial communications. It’s a framework encompassing several modules that may be harnessed for different purposes. Money, or more aptly currency, is merely one of the many possible applications; and this is the hyper-inflated aspect of Bitcoin that has garnered a lot of attention from the media primarily because the modular units in this framework (dubbed satoshis) are neither issued by central banks nor governed by the whims and fancies of politicians or their loving sponsors. Instead, it’s generated and distributed by an algorithm and governed by the incorruptible laws of mathematics.\n\nLooking closer, an outlook: The Blockchain\nBitcoin is an open-source encrypted triple-entry public ledger that exists on a distributed consensus network that facilitates P2P financial transactions. This public ledger is called the ‘Blockchain’.\n\nEssentially, Bitcoin is a breakthrough in info-comm technology and praxeological economics. This advent in time has birthed what is known as the Blockchain along with ‘proof-of-work’ concepts, which have finally come together to solve the Byzantine Generals’ Problem, also known as the double spend issue in computer science; a common issue with decentralized digital currencies, prior to Bitcoin.\n\nTo fully understand Bitcoin, six diverse aspects pertaining to it have to be covered individually:\n\n    Open Source Design\n\n    Cryptography (Encryption)\n\n    Triple Entry Public Ledger\n\n    Distributed Consensus Networks\n\n    P2P Operations\n\n    Financial Transactions\n\nOpen source design\nIn production and development of software systems, open source as a development model promotes universal access via free license to a products’ design or blueprint, and universal redistribution of that design or blueprint. This includes subsequent improvements to it by anyone via patches or forks.\n\nAn open-source code enables a self-enhancing diversity of production models, communication pathways and interactive communities that constantly contribute and evolve.\n\nTo put that in perspective, there are two basic models for development, using operating systems as an example:\n\n    Proprietary or Closed source examples are Microsofts’ Windows or Apples’ Macintosh systems. No source code is available for public audit and users have to trust there is no back door in the code. Forks or patches have to come from a select community with inside access to source code. This system is a non-transparent system by design and trust is required.\n\n    Open source examples are Linux or OpenBSD, with thousands of distributions within – such as Ubuntu, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, BTr3 and Kali, to name a few. Source code is publicly available for anyone to fork or patch. Independent audits are possible by anyone in the community. This system is fully transparent by design and trust is not required.\n\nThis implies that Bitcoin as an open source system, by design, is inherently completely transparent; it is very different from contemporary monetary systems which are highly opaque. Everyone has access in an open system. In contrast, only a privileged few have access in closed systems. The superiority of open-source trust-less systems by design, in terms of integrity of the system, are pretty apparent.\n\nCryptography (Encryption)\nCryptography or encryption is the process of encoding messages or information in such a way that only authorised parties can decipher it. There are several cryptographic technologies encompassing the essence of Bitcoin.\n\nBoth ‘blockchaining’ and the hashcash cost-function use SHA-256 as the underlying cryptographic hash function. Additionally, on top of that, Bitcoin uses public key cryptography – where each “coin” is associated with its current owner’s public ECDSA key; and AES-256-CBC is used to encrypt the private keys that are held in a digital wallet. Bitcoin, as such, encompasses a framework of encryption technologies, translating to security by diversity.\n\nIn essence, the protocol consists of the same encryption technologies that governments and the military use to hide their secrets. Is it secure? Yes it is, very.\n\nTriple entry public ledger\nA ledger is a principal book or a digital representation for recording and totaling monetary transactions into accounts, with a beginning balance and ending balance for each account. It is a permanent summary of all amounts entered into it, listing individual transactions by date/time and other properties. It’s a time-stamped entry into a book or file that denotes a financial transaction which has existed in some point in time.\n\nModern accounting is based on a double entry system – to put it simply, double entry bookkeeping allows for the maintaining of records that reflect what one owns and owes and also what one has earned and spent over any given period of time. The setbacks of double entry bookkeeping becomes apparent when entities are expected to reveal their records to an independent third part. The independent public auditor, whose role was (and is) to serve as an independent guarantor of financial information is the trusted third party in this equation. However, with the Blockchain, the trusted third party is no longer required.\n\nTriple entry bookkeeping is an upgrade from the inferior double entry system in which all entries involving transacting parties are simultaneously cryptographically secured and published for the world to witness. This is where the Blockchain shines – rather than these entries be entered separately into independent sets of books, they occur in the form of a transfer between two blocks on the Blockchain, creating an interlocking chain of mutually exclusive & incorruptible records. Since these entries are stored on distributed networks and cryptographically secured, manipulation, falsification or destruction of said records is practically impossible.\n\nDistributed consensus network\nIn networking there are three types of network architecture:\n\n    Centralised Networks\n\n    De-centralised Networks\n\n    Distributed Networks\n\nCentralised is when there is a single “Boss” node presiding over the “Worker” nodes on a network.The weakness of this design is simple: take the boss node out and the network fails (i.e. internal company networks).\n\nDecentralised is when there are a few “Boss” nodes presiding over the other “Worker” nodes. This design is harder to disrupt, as attacking one “Boss” node does not necessarily mean the network fails. However, attack all the “Boss” nodes simultaneously and it probably will. It is superior to a centralised network but the flaws are still obvious (i.e. The Internet).\n\nDistributed networks are a little different – they are “Distributed” when the computer programs and the data to be worked on are spread out over multiple computers. Usually, this is implemented throughout a network. There is neither a “Boss” nor a “Worker” node. There is no critical point of failure. Every node added is an exponential increase of strength to the network. Any node attacked and rendered useless does not necessarily mean the network is destabilised. This model, by design, is more resilient to external attacks and has been proven to resist direct take-down attempts via censorship – even by the State (i.e. BitTorrent).\n\nSo a distributed consensus network is simply a distributed network, with no apparent vulnerabilities or single failure point, being used to solicit consensus from voluntary participants. A potential application for this type of model is voting, at least for those that believe in the concept of Statism.\n\nP2P\nPeer-to-peer (P2P) refers to systems that work like organised collectives by allowing each individual to interact directly with others. In the case of Bitcoin, the network is structured so that each user broadcasts the transactions of other users without a central authority (i.e. banks or financial institutes) acting in fiduciary capacity as a “trusted” third party. It essentially means a person may send transactions directly to another person without interference, censorship or blockade.\n\nFinancial transactions\nFinancial transactions are communications taking place between a “Buyer” and a “Seller” in order to exchange asset(s) for payment to represent a transfer in value. It usually involves a change in the status of the finances of the entities involved.\n\nIn Conclusion\nSo what is Bitcoin? Simple, it’s an open-source encrypted triple-entry public ledger that exists on a distributed consensus network that facilitates P2P financial transactions. I sincerely hope this statement makes a little more sense now.\n\nClarke’s Laws are apt descriptors for the future potential of Bitcoin. Clarke’s 2nd Law states: “The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible” & Clarke’s 3rd law states that, “Any sufficiently advanced technology is in-distinguishable from magic”.\n\nBitcoin, in many ways, brings changes that seem almost magical. With the magic happening right before our eyes and the coming of the inevitable, all we can do is to sit back, relax and let ourselves be entertained!",
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      "title": "Flesch Kincaid Grade Level",
      "body": "Hi! This post has a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests\">Flesch-Kincaid</a> grade level of 9.7 and reading ease of 63%. This puts the writing level on par with Michael Crichton and Mitt Romney.",
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      "parent_permlink": "law",
      "author": "sammel",
      "permlink": "un-seen-monopolies-law-violence-knowledge-and-money-chapter-2-violence",
      "title": "Un-Seen Monopolies: Law, Violence, Knowledge & Money (Chapter 2: Violence)",
      "body": "Chapter 2: Violence (Rights VS Monopoly)\n\n \n\nIt is relatively easy to get worked up by reading or watching the news (the perspective of the Nation State) and to find yourself siding with politicians publicly seeking endorsement of popular policies, perhaps a little more attention should be paid to the seen and un-seen implications of these policies. I resonate with the passion from within which these emotions arise, and I am aware that we all want the same outcome (Peace); therefore I’m going to take the time to put in writing, the proof, that the best possible way to organize ourselves would be through the medium of reason and for this very reason today I shall address an un-seen monopoly, the monopoly on violence.\n\n \n\nLay down your arms!\n\n \n\nIt is a pretty common statement; we have all heard it, now let us analyze it. When one calls out ‘lay your arms down’, what exactly is being inferred? Is the caller referring to all of humanity or just the slave class (Citizen/Slave: One who does not have the right of ownership to his/her product of labor) of a specific nation state not including the ruling class (Politician/Legislator/Master/Ruler: One who not only has the right of ownership to his/her labor but also that of his/her slave/citizen)?\n\n \n\nIf the call is just (Justice: agreeable to ALL individuals because it is inherently fair to all parties involved), it has to apply to all humans; how then will the one who writes this legislation enforce it upon those who disobey? The only possible way to enforce such a rule is by keeping his/her gun and using it for enforcement, as those who disobey will obviously be armed. Therefore, logic dictates, that the one who legislates (the ruling class/slave master) has to keep his/her arm for enforcement purposes or risk being ignored into irrelevance. The Slave Owner (Government) can’t simply walk up to an armed human and claim authority over him/her. This will, more than likely, result in someone getting shot.\n\n \n\nIf ‘lay your arms down’ refers to one group of individuals being granted “special rights” to be armed even if it is solely to “protect” other individuals, then the call is not for a just disarmament of the human populace as claimed, it is simply endorsing an unjust arms monopoly directly responsible for the monopoly on violence.\n\n \n\nHowever, if instead the call is for a complete disarmament of all humans in a Nation State (America, EU, USSR, China etc.), what happens when a foreign nation state agent walks over with a gun? How would a disarmed local (Ruler or Slave) defend himself/herself against a threat of armed violence? Call a third party with a gun? The whole nation has no guns!\n\n \n\nProperty Right (Collective & Individual)\n\n \n\nAs is obvious, the fundamentals of the above statement are deeply flawed so why don’t we start with an axiom and take it from there. The statement, ‘lay your arms down’, might appear valid but the logic is flawed. Allow me to prove it.\n\n \n\nI will start by defining clearly these popular methods to organize a human collective:\n\n \n\n    Statism: Centralized Authority\n\n \n\nCentral authoritative collective of Ownership and distribution of resources by Political means usually by way of force due to self granted monopoly privilege. This method creates a clear class separation of humans, the superior (ruler) and the inferior (slave). The one who writes the law, and the one who has to obey it (usually the one who writes the law is not subject to it as it only applies to the slave class of humans).\n\nie. Socialism, Communism, Fascism, Democracy, Socialist Democracy, Republic, Libertarian Republic, Liberal Republic, USA, EU, SINGAPORE, INDIA, CHINA, PAKISTAN, LIBYA, ISIS, Church, Mosque, Temple, any political organization that claims to be “the law“.\n\n \n\n    Anarchism: An (No) Archy (Ruler)\n\n \n\nNo Ruler. No Slave Master. No politician to “protect” or rob you. No ruler does not imply no rules, au contraire; it implies that the rule is one for all individuals without exception.\n\n \n\nIe. no one is above the law, not even the law maker and/or his enforcers\n\n \n\n    Capitalism: Voluntary Association\n\n \n\nOwnership of Person and Property acquired by Economic means NOT Political means. There are only two ways to acquire property, the economic means and the diametrically opposed political means.\n\nie. Trade (economics) or plunder (politics).\n\n \n\n    Economics: Human Interaction\n\nPraxeology, the study of human action; with reference to Natural Law.\n\nie. Voluntary trade\n\n \n\nAfterall, there are but two means to any end. Trade it or take it by force and when one understands that “the law” is nothing more than the just use of force, things become much clearer. Unjust acts carried out under the pretext of “the law” do not magically make them just. No number of rituals (voting/political process/due process) changes that logic, unless words on a paper written by an “elected leader” somehow has more rights than your words on paper in which case you admit to being an inferior human in comparison to the one who is able to legislate. That is the myth of Statism, the myth of authority. And this myth is the root cause for the monopoly on violence.\n\n \n\nYou may either agree or disagree, but logic dictates that only Statist systems can be implemented. Voluntary systems can’t be implemented, they are adopted.\n\n \n\nIf this seems a rigid binary approach to “complex” subject matters, bear in mind what appears complex to you may not necessarily appear complex to another, especially to one who is able to perceive duality in all. These terms are not complex; they are made to appear so by socialist material. Most of the misunderstanding lies in the definition of the word ‘Law’. Define it in one sentence and you will see it clearly.\n\n \n\nWhat is the law, if not the just use of force? Think about it, there is no other logical definition. Law is force, the just use of it. And force, in this context, becomes relevant only when it is applied to person or property. So when can force be used on a person or property? Anytime a Statist ruler (Government) claims it is just to do so? Anytime a person with a state issued magic badge pulls out a gun and stops you on the highway for driving 2 km/ph over the “speed limit”? Anytime the statist ruler feels offended by someone pointing out his/her idiocy? When then can force be used in a just manner? For that to be understood we have to first understand ‘person & property’.\n\n \n\nHuman Right (Individual)\n\n \n\nAs Rothbard so clearly penned it, much is heard these days of the distinction between human rights and property rights, and many who claim to champion the one turn with scorn upon any defender of the other. They fail to see that property rights, far from being in conflict, are in fact the most basic of all human rights.\n\n \n\nThe human right of every man to his own life implies the right to find and transform resources: to produce that which sustains and advances life. That product is a man’s property. That is why property rights are foremost among human rights and why any loss of one endangers the others.\n\n \n\nFor example, how can the human right of freedom of the press be preserved if the government owns all the newsprint and has the power to decide who may use it and how much? The human right of a free press depends on the human right of private property in newsprint and in the other essentials for newspaper production. In short, there is no conflict of rights here because property rights are themselves human rights. What is more, human rights are also property rights! The self is your first property!\n\n \n\nThere are several aspects of this important truth. In the first place, each individual, according to our understanding of the natural order of things, is the owner of himself, the ruler of his own person (body). Preservation of this self-ownership is essential for the proper development and well-being of man. The human rights of the person are, in effect, recognition of each man’s inalienable property right over his own being; and from this property right stems his right to the material goods that he has produced. A man’s right to personal freedom, then, is his property right in himself.\n\n \n\nBut there is another sense in which human rights are really property rights, a sense which is much obscured in our time. Take, for example, the human right of freedom of assembly. Suppose that a certain group wants to demonstrate for a particular idea or bill in a street meeting. This is an expression of the right of assembly.\n\n \n\nOn the other hand, suppose that the police break up the meeting on the ground that traffic is being disrupted. Now, it is not sufficient simply to say that the right of assembly has been abridged by the police for political reasons. Possibly, this was the case. But there is a real problem here, for maybe traffic was disrupted. In that case, how is one to decide between the human right of free assembly and the “public policy” or “public good” of clear and unobstructed traffic?\n\n \n\nIn the face of this apparent conflict, many people conclude that rights must be relative rather than absolute and have to be curbed sometimes for the common good.\n\n \n\nA Question of Ownership\n\n \n\nBut the real problem here is that the government owns the streets, which means that they are in a virtual state of no-ownership. This causes not only traffic jams, but also confusion and conflict over who should use the streets at any given time. The taxpayers? In the last analysis, we are all taxpayers. Should the taxpayers who want to demonstrate be allowed to use the street for that purpose at the time they choose, or should it be reserved for use by other groups of taxpayers as motorists or pedestrians? Who is to decide? Only government can decide; and whatever it does, its decision is bound to be a wholly arbitrary one that can only aggravate, and never resolve, the conflict between the opposed forces.\n\n \n\nConsider, however, a situation where the streets are owned by private individuals. In this case, we see clearly that the whole question is one of property rights. If Jones owns a street and the ‘Citizens United’ want to use it for a demonstration, they may offer to hire the street for that purpose. Then it is up to Jones to decide whether he will rent it out and at what price he will agree to the deal. We see that this is not really a question of the human right of the ‘Citizens United’ to freedom of assembly; what is involved is their property right to use their money to offer to hire the street for the demonstration.\n\n \n\nBut, in a free society, they cannot force Jones to agree; the ultimate decision is Jones’, in accordance with his property right to dispose of the street as he sees fit. Thus, we see how government ownership obscures the real issue—how it creates vague and spurious “human rights” that seemingly conflict with each other and with the “public good.”\n\n \n\nIn situations where all the factors involved are owned privately, it is clear that there is no problem or conflict of human rights; on the contrary, only property rights are involved, and there is no vagueness or conflict in deciding who owns what or what is permissible in any particular case.\n\n \n\nProperty right is Human Right\n\n \n\nIn short, there are no human rights that are separable from property rights. The human right of free speech is only the property right to hire an assembly hall from the owners, to speak to those who are willing to listen, to buy materials and then print leaflets or books and sell them to those who are willing to buy. There is no extra right of free speech beyond the property rights that we can enumerate in any given case. In all seeming cases of human rights, then, the proper course is to find and identify the property rights involved. And this procedure will resolve any apparent conflicts of rights; for property rights are always precise and legally recognizable.\n\n \n\nConsider the classic case where “freedom of speech” is supposed to be curbed in “the public interest”: Justice Holmes’ famous dictum that there is no right to cry “fire” in a crowded theatre. Holmes and his followers have used this illustration over and over to proclaim the supposed necessity for rights to be relative and tentative rather than absolute and eternal.\n\n \n\nBut let us further analyze this problem. The fellow who brings on a riot by falsely shouting “fire” in a crowded theatre is, necessarily, either the owner of the theatre or a paying patron. If he is the owner, then he has committed fraud on his customers. He has taken their money in exchange for a promise to put on a movie; and now, instead, he disrupts the movie by falsely shouting “fire” and breaking up the performance. He has thus welshed on this contractual obligation, in violation of the property rights of his patrons.\n\n \n\nSuppose, on the other hand, that the shouter is a patron and not the owner. In that case, he is violating the owner’s property right. As a guest, he has access to the property on certain terms, including an obligation not to violate the owner’s property or disrupt the performance that the owner is putting on for his guests. His malicious act, therefore, violates the property rights of the theatre owner and of all other patrons. If we consider the problem in terms of property rights instead of the vague and woolly human right of free speech, we see that there is no conflict and no necessity of limiting or abridging rights in any way.\n\n \n\nThe rights of the individual are still eternal and absolute; but they are property rights. The fellow who maliciously cries “fire” in a crowded theatre is a criminal, not because his so-called right of free speech must be pragmatically restricted on behalf of the “public good”; he is a criminal because he has clearly and obviously violated the property right of another person – a victim. For a crime to have been committed there has to be a victim who has suffered damage to person and/or property.\n\n \n\nThe axiom is the individual, you. The self is where it all begins and ends. Everything starts and ends with you. The same logic applies to me, and any other individual. If anyone claims otherwise, they’re either lying intentionally to maintain the existing status quo of monopolies or their Stockholm syndrome is kicking in due to constant and repeated exposure to known brainwashing techniques (20 years of public schooling – the monopoly on education/information). It isn’t all that complex, it’s basic economics.\n\n \n\nIf it is intentional, how do the rulers maintain the status quo? Again apply economic laws. The axiom is the free market (the people). The state lies within the free market, it may have fooled you into believing that it is omnipresent and that the market lies within the state (it does not) but in a free market the producer (company) should be answerable and regulated only to the consumer (market) this is not the case now with the Statist crony markets due to the violent interference of the parasitic monopoly privilege issuing organization known as the State (Government). Even if their violence is solicited, it is nothing more than interference.\n\n \n\nIn the crony Statist “markets”, the producer bypasses the actual market (lousy product quality, sub par services and sky high prices are proof enough as the business would not last long in the free market, free market competition will put them out of business) and instead bribes the Statist ruler (Government) calling it donations, lobbying etc. The Statist ruler (Government), who has authority (giveth not to thee but thyself by thyself) grants special privileges to the producer thus ensuring a monopoly. The Statist Ruler (Government) uses force on those who disobey (take intellectual property for example. It should rightly be called intellectual monopoly as property and monopoly are diametrically opposed), and calls it “the law“.\n\n \n\nSo how do we solve this? Vote in more Statist masters (Government) and grant them more non-existent rights over you? The next candidate is more compassionate perhaps? Even that is flawed logic. If neither you nor me have the right to legislate and dominate other humans, and if neither you nor me have the right to delegate a right we don’t have – how the hell did the Statist ruler (Government) obtain these rights?\n\n \n\nThe claim that some humans have more rights than others, specifically the right to rule with violence, and that this claim is legitimate is preposterous. I disagree, and I already proved that any entity and/or organization that claims to be “the law” is nothing more than a monopoly on violence; given that law is merely the just use of force.",
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      "title": "Flesch Kincaid Grade Level",
      "body": "Hi! This post has a <a href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flesch%E2%80%93Kincaid_readability_tests\">Flesch-Kincaid</a> grade level of 10.3 and reading ease of 62%. This puts the writing level on par with Michael Crichton and Mitt Romney.",
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      "title": "Un-Seen Monopolies: Law, Violence, Knowledge & Money",
      "body": "Chapter 1: Law (Social Contracts VS State Legislation)\n\nFor as long as I can remember, I have been keen to write about the un-seen monopolies that facilitate the grinding of the machines of the system that rules over us. I shall explore into the epistemology (belief, truth & justification) of each of these and shine light on the inefficiencies caused by the coercive monopolization of these services by the State. My busy schedule however has prevented me from achieving this goal, up till now.\n\nI got inspired to pen this first part after an interesting, but short lived, dialogue with a close friend of mine, a lawyer by profession, on the concepts of natural law (social contracts) versus perverted law (State legislation) and the impact of coercive monopolization of legislative and judicial services on the societal standards of humanity itself.\n\n\nThe Conversation That Started It All\n\nIt all began after a short conversation on how my prior weeks were completely filled up by one of the many bureaucratic processes involving the State. Way too many back and forths’ to even count.\n\nI claimed it was a lot of un-necessary work while she assured me otherwise claiming that these protocols are essential and indeed standard and are to be perceived as “part of my job”. I agreed that it is to be perceived as “part of my job” only because of the threat of violence for non-compliance, but still surely they served no real purpose except to be completely useless regulatory protocols, conjured up by exceptionally worthless bureaucrats, that do nothing more than to waste the time of actually productive individuals with real value that may benefit humanity if used otherwise.\n\n \n\nThe discussion\n\nThe initial conversation was loosely based around the concept of anti money laundering audits and it started with her proclaiming, “but if we don’t have these systems in place the chances of sham and fraud increases! Of course the State has to ensure that proper checks are in place!”.\n\nThis has absolutely nothing to do with sham or fraud, these are anti money laundering regulations – to ensure that the State gets its extortioners’ fee by means of plunder, nothing more I retort. Companies have their own fraud protection protocols and polices in place and that that has absolutely nothing at all to do with the anti money laundering regulations – two very separate issues. I also pointed out that fraud and consumer protection is usually ensured upon the consumers by the self-regulating industry itself usually based on the concepts of game theory –  NOT the State.\n\n“What do you mean by extortioners’ fee by means of plunder?” asks the naive lawyer, “Audits are standard procedure and are important!”.\n\nI explain, “By extortioners’ fee I mean taxes, and by plunder robbery at gun point!”. She laughs.\n\n“Slavery was also considered standard procedure,” I continued, “it doesn’t mean that it was moral or righteous. And it wasn’t too long ago either! You do know it was legal and approved and even encouraged by the State – yes?”\n\nShe declares, “but that was in Country X, not mine. You mean to say because it is not specifically made illegal it is implied to be legal? Concepts evolve over time and people get more sophisticated, the law has to ensure it keeps up as well. Whilst law and injustice may not be synonymous in other countries (though I won’t be able to comment on that) in my country that is not the case – we have legal aid for people who cannot afford a lawyer so they can get access to the justice system. There are plenty of lawyers who gladly give their time to help in such cases when honestly we don’t really have to”.\n\nI interpose, “the imaginary lines drawn on paper by the political class of occupiers indicating separation matter not. The systems in place are based on the same concepts. I’m implying that the monopolized “legal” system is a waste of time and it merely serves the political class to further their Statist agenda. The problem you point out with the affordability is the very effect of that monopoly! If it were a free market there would be competing services and prices will drop based on the supply/demand balance. In such a system, lawyers wouldn’t have to grant pro bono services. The coercive monopoly of this service is the very cause of this problem, it reduces the options available for the defendant, representation wise and price wise, and forces you to exchange your time for free and not be able to get compensated for it – a lose/lose situation”\n\n“Slavery was legal, in fact it was illegal to hide or assist a slave who was pursuing liberty. The same, for the Jews, during the Nazi era (who by the way were democratically elected – says a lot about the “freedoms” that the democratic political system promises). Both acts of liberty based on morality were considered illegal. Point being, legal is not equal to lawful, two very different words usually and unfortunately, confused by many”, I continue.\n\nShe cuts in, “I don’t understand what you are saying, how does the legal system serve only the political class? And the terms lawful and legal – explain the difference if you will please”.\n\nMy explanation to her was simple: The judiciary (i.e. The Courts) and the executive legislature (i.e. Parliament) are nothing more than services forcefully monopolized by the State under threat of violence. The problem is the monopoly itself – the State. Natural law and justice are synonymous but perverted law (legislation) and justice, are not.\n\n \n\nNatural Law & Perverted Law\n\nAs Lysander Spooner coined it, Natural Law – or the “Science of Justice” – wherein acts of initiatory coercion against individuals and their property were considered “illegal” but the so-called criminal acts that violated only man-made State legislation were not. The original concept of natural law in society is to prevent injustice and the only acceptable use of force to be in self-defense to prevent injustice – a far cry from what we have today.\n\nA natural law society is basically individuals entering into voluntary social contracts with each other. Perverted law, or coercively monopolized legal societies (what we have presently), is when there is an legislation shoved upon you by the State to abide by regardless of whether you engaged in a voluntary contract or not.\n\nAs Frédéric Bastiat so eloquently put it, “It is the collective organization of the individual right to lawful defense”. Legislation has been perverted to serve only the State and its agenda while punishing individuals for no crime whatsoever. Worse still, even lawyers are not aware of this difference between natural law and perverted law. Natural law is always uniform to all bodies (Ie. The law of Thermodynamics)\n\nEveryone is subjected to it, from kingmakers & kings to politicians & law enforcement. May we say that of the perverted law we have today? To put things in perspective I shall quote Johann Kaspar Schmidt, more famously known as Max Stirner:\n\n \n\n‘The state calls its own violence “law”, but that of individuals crime. This double standard is the perversion of natural law.’\n\n \n\nShe defends her point by saying, “It has always been my belief that if you don’t want to get in trouble, don’t break the law. It is really that simple. We must have checks and balances in place for everything or else people can do as they please! I think raising checks and balances on the State is a very good thing and I welcome it”\n\nShe continues, “As for your point on the courts being monopolized – I agree. Whilst the judiciary is a function of the state – in the sense that their role is to enforce it as it is stated – the judiciary is also separate from the executive in the sense that the decisions are independent of any extrinsic influence. We take pride in the legal system here in Country X on this very basis. At the end though every department must work hand in hand”\n\nShe noted that at the end of the day it’s easy to sit back and criticize the system but it is harder to be the one introducing and implementing measures for the country. Rather than criticizing, people should step up and do more to help shape the system.\n\n \n\nWHAT, THEN, IS LAW?\n\n“If you don’t want to get in trouble then stop breaking the law” – the question then is: What is the law and what is getting in trouble? Is challenging the monopoly getting in trouble? When discussing concepts, lets not limit the ideas to one specific State, lets look at the system as a whole.\n\nWhat exactly is so wrong with individuals doing as they please? Why is that perceived as such a bad thing? The purpose of the law is to prevent individuals from being as we would like to be? My friend was way off on the assumption that the “one who introduces and implements the measures” is the one who bring about changes. On the contrary, it is the thinkers and the writers who do. The “regulators” read, the ignorant don’t – they vote.\n\nContrary to her belief, the judiciary mediation process is not a function of the State, it’s a fundamental societal service that is crucial to keep injustice at bay. Monopolizing that service has been one of the great achievements of the leviathan State . And yes, Statism itself is a fairly new concept – we neither always had governments nor will we always have them. What is the actual reason for its existence? What purpose does it serve? It is merely a service that is forced upon individuals by its sword of force & shield of law, and not that of natural but of perverted law that is.\n\nThe judiciary (also known as the judicial system or court system) is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make law (that is, in a plenary fashion, which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case. This branch of the state is often tasked with ensuring equal justice under law. It usually consists of a court of final appeal (called the “Supreme court” or “Constitutional court”), together with lower courts – lifted straight from Wiki. The judiciary appears to be there to protect the State, not to uphold natural law.\n\nIn Rothbards’ model of a non-hierarchic (anarchic) society, a system of enforcement agencies compete in a free market and are voluntarily supported by consumers who choose to use their protective and judicial services. Capitalism would mean the end of the State monopoly on law.\n\nIn the words of Mahatma Gandhi,\n\n“the State evil is not the cause but the effect of social evil, just as the sea-waves are the effect not the cause of the storm. The only way of curing the disease is by removing the cause itself. The way to achieve such a state of total nonviolence (ahimsa) is to start by changing the people’s minds rather than changing the State which governs people. Self-governance (swaraj) is the principle behind his theory of satyagraha. This swaraj starts from the individual, then moves outward to the village level, and then to the national level; the basic principle is the moral autonomy of the individual is above all other considerations”.\n\nIgnorance of The Law is no excuse, ‘The Law’ by Frédéric Bastiat.",
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