Llewellyn H. Rockwell Jr.'s Blog, page 2236

The NSA Continues To Abuse Americans

One of the few positive things in the ill-named USA FREEDOM Act, enacted in 2015 after the Snowden revelations on NSA domestic spying, is that it required the Director of National Intelligence to regularly report on its domestic surveillance activities. On Friday, the latest report was released on just how much our own government is spying on us. The news is not good at all if you value freedom over tyranny.

According to the annual report, named the Statistical Transparency Report Regarding U...

Before Welfare Handouts

Before the massive growth of our welfare state, private charity was the sole option for an individual or family facing insurmountable financial difficulties or other challenges. How do we know that? There is no history of Americans dying on the streets because they could not find food or basic medical assistance. Respecting the biblical commandment to honor thy father and mother, children took care of their elderly or infirm parents. Family members and the local church also helped those who h...

Carmageddon

Like the disintegration of the formerly charmed stock market, the return of Carmageddon is right on schedule. I had stated early last year that one of the first cracks in our economy to become evident would be the crash of the car industry.

That crack materialized as promised, but then Hurricanes Harvey and Irma showed up to flood a million automobiles. Before any statistics materialized to show the economic impacts of those storms, I wrote the following revision for the dates of Carmageddon:...

Do Americans Want To Die?

Only a few days remain before Trump announces whether he is pulling the US out of the multi-nation agreement with Iran. Iran has kept the agreement.

Even Washington’s vassals—UK, France, Germany—have announced that they are sticking with the agreement.

So where is the pressure on Trump coming from to destroy the carefully negotiated agreement in which Iran agreed to forgo development of nuclear weapons?

It comes from Israel and Israel’s American Fifth Column—the neoconservatives.

Israel is th...

Firearms for Home Defense

U.S.A. – Larry Vickers, retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran, and firearms community advisor for CCW Safe, talks about his thoughts on firearms for home defense.

There are three different firearms he talks about, with one being split into two subsets.

Shotguns

Handguns

Carbine- rifle caliber carbine and pistol caliber carbine

Shotguns are easy to operate, and have a high lethal impact, but they are not as maneuverable as a pistol, and they have limited rounds. It is unrealistic to...

Russian ‘Troll Farm’ Calls Mueller’s Bluff

Lawyers for the company accused of funding Russia’s election interference trolls are demanding that special counsel Robert Mueller turn over reams of information, including the identities of informants, details of any electronic surveillance, and a list of “each and every instance” since 1945 in which the U.S. “engaged in operations to interfere with elections and political processes in any foreign country.”

The ambitious demand for legal discovery surfaced Friday in Mueller’s criminal case a...

Tokyo Dreaming

We landed in darkness. The last time I was in Narita was 18 years earlier. With a six-hour layover, I inexplicably didn’t leave the airport. “Can I possibly die without at least a glimpse of Japan?” I’d ask myself, cringing.

Finally, I was there. My first impressions were the generous legroom on the train to Tokyo, sterile apartment buildings somewhat reminiscent of Singapore, subway cars packed with standing, black-suited salarymen then, at Nippori Station, a commanding middle-aged executive...

Independence Now!

Thousands of people have hit the streets of Glasgow to march in pro-independence rallies. It comes as Scotland, which opted to remain part of the UK in a 2014 referendum, sees the movement re-emerge in the wake of Brexit.

Participants of the All Under One Banner (AUOB) march gathered in Kelvingrove Park in Glasgow before walking in the direction of George Square. The event is open to “everyone who desires an independent nation,” according to organizers.

“Glasgow city center will be brought to...

Which Hunt?

It was refreshing to read the response of Federal Judge T. S. Ellis III to a squad of prosecutors from Robert Mueller’s office who came into his Alexandria, Virginia, court to open the case against Paul Manafort, erstwhile Trump campaign manager, for money-laundering shenanigans dating as far back as 2005. Said response by the judge being: “You don’t really care about Mr. Manafort’s bank fraud. You really care about getting information that Mr. Manafort can give you that would reflect on Mr....

Pimps in Our Midst

I have seen them in restaurants eating their lunch. They are well-dressed. Some of them are women. They have nice offices in shopping centers.

I’m talking about pimps, but not the sleazy, flashy, abusive kind who solicit those willing to hire themselves out to perform illicit acts for paying customers. Worse. The ones who look and act respectable while they solicit those willing to hire themselves out to perform illicit acts for paying customers.

The customers in this case being the United St...