| Nazi-minded Jewish settlers continued to rampage throughout the West Bank, terrorizing unprotected Palestinian citizens and vandalizing their property. Settler leaders, mostly rabbis erudite in Jewish law or Halacha, had ruled that it was permissible to attack Palestinians and their property in order to protest token government decisions to freeze Jewish settlement expansion in some parts of the occupied territories. In the West Bank villages of Jourtel Shama’a and Um Salmouna near Bethlehem Jewish settlers carrying automatic rifles on Sunday cut off and then set on fire as many as 50 grown olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers. The farmers, including owners of the destroyed trees, charged that the Israeli occupation army did nothing to stop the settlers. “The settlers and the occupation army soldiers are the same. The settlers do their dirty work, and the soldiers look on, that is all” said one farmer. “Those who tell you that the settlers are committing their crimes in spite of the army are liars. There is a total tacit coordination between the two sides.” Religious settlers indoctrinated in Jewish supremacy believe that Palestine was given to them by God and are convinced that non-Jews have no right to live in the land unless they convert to Judaism or accept a drastically inferior status as water carriers and wood hewers in the service of Jews. The settlers, who act on religious edicts issued by settlement rabbis, routinely destroy Palestinian olive trees, especially in the vicinity of illegal colonies established on occupied Palestinian land in violation of international law. The settlers hope that the elimination of Palestinian olive groves would force many Palestinians to relocate or even emigrate for good, which would enable the settlers to take over Palestinian land. Many Palestinian families rely on olive oil for their livelihood and economic survival. In the village of Aynabus in the northern West Bank , Jewish settlers on Sunday attacked and vandalized two Arab-owned stores and agricultural machinery. The settlers said they were protesting an earlier decision by the government of Benyamin Netanyahu to freeze the expansion of Jewish-only settlements for ten months. The decision doesn’t cover East Jerusalem nor the vast bulk of settlements and is widely viewed as a public relations maneuver aimed at placating the American administration. Indeed, less than 24 hours after the decision was taken, the Israeli occupation authorities decided to build dozens of settler units and “public buildings” in the West Bank. Some Israeli journalists and columnists have described the decision to freeze settlement expansion as a mere “show” that is being acted out in coordination between the settlers on the one side and the Israeli government and occupation army on the other. The Netanyahu government used the “important step” for Hasbara (propaganda) purposes, arguing that the proverbial ball was now in the Palestinian court and that the Palestinian Authority (PA) had no excuse not to return to the negotiating table. Similarly, Jewish settlers in the heart of al-Khalil hurled stones on Arab worshipers frequenting the Ibrahimi Mosque. Wakf official Zayd Jabari accused the Israeli occupation army of acting as “enabler and protector of Jewish terror against our people.” “The Israeli occupation army tells the world that it is maintaining a presence in this city in order to protect Jews and maintain law and order. But what the army is doing in reality is to enable the settlers to attack Palestinian civilians and sabotage their businesses and property. Another Arab citizen described the settlers as the “head of the snake” and the army as “its tail.” On Saturday, the Israeli occupation army allowed dozens of fanatical settlers to walk through the Jabari neighborhood in what local residents described as a provocative march. In 1994, a Jewish terrorist who had immigrated from the US murdered at least 29 Palestinian worshipers as they were praying at the Ibrahimi Mosque. The settlers openly demand the ethnic cleansing of all non-Jews from occupied Palestine . Observers in occupied Palestine contend Israeli government and army flaccidity have emboldened settlers, encouraging them to carry out more daring attacks on Palestinians. More to the point, the Israeli justice system’s soft-glove approach toward the settlers is also communicating a clear message, namely that the settlers could attack the Palestinians and destroy their property without having to worry about consequences. Palestinian sources have warned that continued attacks and acts of vandalism by Jewish settlers against Palestinian citizens and their property might draw violent reactions. |
I often find myself in discussions with people. People who insist that the state is their best friend. People who believe that waging mass murder on the rest of the world is keeping us safe. People who believe that being a serviceman/woman does still serve the good of the world. People who believe that our support for the state is necessary for our well being and that of the world at large. Some people cannot be broken out of this infinitely flawed view. Some of these are the same people who can’t see that capitalism is not the culprit of the current economic crisis or that the same issues that caused alcohol prohibition to fail will be the same causes that make the “War on Drugs” fail.
Oddly, these same people are the ones who’ve never heard of the torture that we carry out at Guantanamo and other “black sights” around the world. They’ve never heard of the illegal detention and kidnapping of people around the world who were tortured, in some cases, and never had the chance to file for grievances with their captors. The daily killings of civilians in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan somehow escape their world view. What do these things have in common? The killing, detentions, torture, economic crises, and their continuation are made possible by you and I. Our tax money has not only turned life into a living HELL for other foreign people but it has also enabled the state to use our money to crack down on us. Taser’s, tanks, pistols, missiles, jets, and aircraft carriers are all bought and built with our money.
The money coerced out of me and you not only has resounding macro effects but it also has micro effects like the police state here in the US. Woman, children, and the disabled are being assaulted by cops who are paid by the very people they violate. How else can this occur other than in a state run system. Imagine a company who routinely violates it’s customers. This could not occur in a purely Free Market society because the victimized customers would quickly switch to the competitor and the aforementioned company would suffer great loses and possibly go out of business. Instead we are stuck with a system where the state has a monopoly on security which means that they can treat us any way they want without the risk of losing income. Other municipal systems operate this way too. Instead of water systems finding ways to maximize their water output or conserve they simply cut off water to their customers because they can. Of course in a free market one would be able to switch water companies or other technologies would be created to acquire water in other ways to keep water providers afloat.
So, as I’ve shown above taxes not only fuel wars, torture, monopoly’s, police states, and the war machine, but there are also many indirect consequences. For example the unlawful detention and torture of civilians in other countries creates resentment and hatred for the occupying power. When people are killed then you have others who want revenge against the occupying power (or invader) who committed the atrocity. As a result more enemies are created against the state (who took it’s people’s money (taxes) and used it to create war and mass murder in the foreign land). Some foreigners will want to take revenge on the people who enabled the occupying or invading state to carry out the attacks that killed their loved ones. The attacks that these people carry out in the homeland of the occupying/invading force will in turn be used by that occupying/invading force to justify it’s interventions in foreign countries and might be used to expand these operations. As a result more and more people are hostile toward the occupying/invading country. As a result the occupying/invading state is forced to crackdown more and more on it’s people to stem any attacks that might be carried out by it’s foreign enemies. Thus, the people who enabled their state to take their money for “security” are eventually the ones who the state has to keep itself safe from.
However, this is just one facet of the enslavement that taxes enable. The other facet is one that undermines private property. Certain things like your labor or property (that is acquired from another party) have nothing to do with the state yet they find it appropriate to come in and tax these things. The state has never owned or contributed to 100% of the property in it’s borders so how can it claim to be owed a taxes for 100% it’s use? Likewise, how can the state claim to have a stake in the income you receive from your job? Your labor never belonged to the state so how can they tax you when you trade it for private income (at your job)? The fact that you are taxed in these two ways means that the state feels that it owns us. You can never truly own private property because you must always pay taxes on it or the state will take it. Likewise, if you do not pay income taxes, even though they never owned the money or your labor, they will either take some of your money (a fine) or your time and labor (prison time). Does this sound like an entity “that’s for and by the people”? NO!
In-other-words the state makes freedom impossible for others and it’s own people. The state claims the right to wage mass murder in it’s people’s name while simultaneously taking it’s people’s rights. It creates monopoly’s in certain markets and undermines capitalism. It claims to provide security while being the biggest threat to it. It takes people’s money and converts it into death and destruction on foreign countries. It claims to own everything. It claims to be accountable to nobody.
Peace…
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