“They crowd our imagination. They hide under our beds. They lurk within the dark recesses or our primal unconsciousness. You can’t run, you can’t hide – it’s going to get you. The beast, the ravager, the Lusus Natura. What is it, and why do we fear it?” ~Mark Rein Hagen
The best monsters are personifications of real fears, and the monsters that survive the test of time and cinema are those that evolve into psychological metaphors for something human. I want to put forward what may be an uncomfortable premise for some. I believe that the key to the success in the zombie genre lies in their ability to tap into subconscious and unacknowledged fears that democratic government isn’t working.
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013 Submitted by
Davi Barker
David Graeber is an anarchist author who teaches anthropology at Goldsmiths College, University of London. His book, “DEBT: The First 5,000 Years” takes an anthropological approach to the history of debt, not just who owed what to who, but how debt was used and what it meant in various cultures. David gave this talk as part of the Authors@Google program. It’s a long view, but utterly fascinating. I was especially astounded to hear him claim that there is no historical basis for barter economies, and in fact recording debt was the common means of transacting without currency. This video is chalked full of startling information, that was at least new to me. Enjoy!
Exciting news from the world of Bitcoin this Tax Cattle Day. Today is the day, with fear in our heart, we submit to the human farmers who fleece us under threat of violence. But today Fr33 Aid is making the courageous move of declaring their financial independence by willfully and publicly severing their ties with the IRS, forsaking all the banking privileges that entails, and announcing themselves as an entirely bitcoin based organization. As far as I know they are the first charitable organization to do this. I hope you can appreciate how radical this is.
Thursday, April 4th, 2013 Submitted by
Davi Barker
The Anarchast self-describes as “Your home for Anarchy Podcasts on the internet.” In addition to hosting the show from his Galt’s Gulch in Acapulco, Mexico, Jeff Berwick is the Chief Editor of The Dollar Vigilante, a newsletter focused on surviving the inevitable collapse of the US dollar. He had me on to chew the fat about anarchy, Islam, Agorism, Bitcoin and numerous other topics. Enjoy!
So, some elderly sociocrats in black mumus are deliberating over what the official State sanctioned definition of marriage should be. Apparently the document which they are charged with interpreting is silent on the issue, so some people think they should go with some whitewashed fantasy version of ancient Biblical Law by default, rather than just remaining silent on the issue. Rival gangs have polarized on opposite sides of the issue, and like proverbial primates, now they fling rhetorical poop at one another. What really irks me about the “traditional marriage” crowd is how fundamentally insincere they are about their reasons, and what irks me about “marriage equality” crowd is how unprincipled they are if you scratch the surface of their position.
Thursday, March 7th, 2013 Submitted by
Davi Barker
I’m so disturbed, on so many levels I feel like I’m about to crawl out of my skin. I’m as angry as I am sad as I am scared by this story. I am disgusted, not only by the nurse involved, but also by the administrators who wrote this policy, and the media covering the story.
Monday, February 18th, 2013 Submitted by
Davi Barker
It has been over a year in the making, but “Voluntary Islam and Other Essays” is finally set for publication on Tuesday, February 19th. Voluntary Islam is an anthology of my best articles since I started writing for Examiner.com as both the San Francisco Muslim Examiner, and the National Libertarian Examiner, 4 years ago.
Wednesday, January 30th, 2013 Submitted by
Davi Barker
This is intended for a Muslim audience but I will endeavor to make it accessible to a general audience. It is really an appeal to Muslims for a little monetary sanity.
I am in the uncomfortable position of being the only person I know even remotely qualified to answer this question. There’s no pride in that claim, but despair for the lack of interest in this subject in the Muslim community.
Tuesday, December 4th, 2012 Submitted by
Davi Barker
A handful of articles have entered my head this week, and as we speak they are mixing together like volatile chemicals about to explode. I’ve been on the Bitcoin bandwagon for less than a year, but I am constantly blown away by the innovations made possible by what is fundamentally a very simple idea. In the beginning I pretty much only used it to buy baklava. Now I’m buying gold and silver bullion with Bitcoin, and accepting it as payment for the various things that I sell. So, I have a pretty good sense of how the system works and I’m just starting to really get the economic ramifications of a digital peer-to-peer currency. I theoretically understand the impact it could have politically, at least domestically, but I’m just starting to get the first inkling of what the international political ramifications of Bitcoin might be.
This rabbit hole begins with US sanctions against Iran.
Wednesday, November 28th, 2012 Submitted by
Davi Barker
I recently had some custom Voluntaryist lapel pins made. I designed a 1″ black and gold AnCap flag pin, and a 1.5″ Voluntaryist “V” pin, with the Daily Anarchist motto around the rim, “Building a Voluntary Society… Without Permission.” You can get the pins at www.ShinyBadges.com.
Last week I had my first opportunity to wear one to a formal dinner, pinned to the lapel of my coat, similar yet entirely different from the flag pins that the sociocrats wear. The pin generated a lot of questions and a lot of conversations at the dinner and I want to share my experience.
