Question of the Day:
How close are cults such as Crimethink to the cults of the 1960s such as that headed by Jim Jones? The question may seem very rhetorical as they don't have a single charismatic leader but depend upon much more subtle and collective forms of interpersonal manipulation to maintain conformity. But leaders, and VERY stern leaders, they have none the less. These manipulators gain all the benefits that single charismatics leaders such as Jones did with considerably less responsibility. The word responsibility is key. When cult leaders (outside of the Crimethink cult but sympathetic to it) are the victims, or know the victims of, criminal acts they do their best to redress their own personal situation, or that of their immediate friends. But do they change their constant propaganda in favour of criminal behavior which, as most of these people are middle aged they know will expose young people to being victims ? Of course not. The ideology will be set aside for them but not for those who they know will become victims. When Jason McQuinn was conned by a drug addict to turn the finances of Anarchy Magazine over to said crook did Jason even consider for a moment that his glorification of criminal behavior was wrong ? Of course not ! He tried to limit the damage to himself and his close associates while trying to suppress the story as best as he was able. Has Anarchy Magazine become enlightened by this little affair ? Of course not !
When Chuck Munson's friend was mugged by thugs after leaving the classic lefty gathering did Chucky-poo reconsider his sympathy for criminals ? Of course not ! The blame that Chucky placed in his blog was NOT on the thugs but rather on the people who didn't give the victim a ride home. Considering Chucky's long standing desire to control all things in his field of vision I can see him as commissar of rides.
It is a cosmic understatement that I am infinitely glad that people such as McQuinn and Munson have such a limited ambition in that they want to make their living by selling false identities to the gullible. Both are actually quite intelligent and in other places and other times they would NOT be 'living off a movement" but rather plotting real political organizations that could challenge the powers that be in order to replace it with a very severe dictatorship. Thank God they are merely businessmen who don't want to work at a real service business. Too bad for their victims, but at least they are only small numbers.
The ideological beliefs of the Crimethink cult are bizarre on their very surface without any "deep analysis". They keep themselves going by living in a restricted world where they believe that they have a vision of reality that gives them the illusion of superiority over the "masses" that they demonize. This, of course, is pure illusion, but it can keep a cult going. It is, however, not politics but rather religion of a very sick variety. Its followers will always be susceptible to the rise of a charismatic leader within their ranks because they have NO external references in either logic, emotion, morality or simple common sense because they think that they are beyond such things.
I wait to see what rough beast slouching towards Jerusalem waiting to be born that such cultists will produce in the future. Their present actions cultivate victims and predators on a small scale. May it remain as tiny as it is.

Workin' For The Man
Seems like Infoshop is trying to set up its only little central clearing house for the travelling anarchist rent a riot. The "admin" of Infoshop has proposed a "new e-mail list for planning protests and actions". What will be posted there will OF COURSE be heavily censored by Infoshop as is made VERY plain in the proposal that is supposed (sic) to be an alternative to Leninist controlled groups such as 'ANSWER'. If anything deserves the term front it is this latest brainstorm from Chucky-Poo. Never mind having the hands on the "on-switch" at all times; Infoshop has brazenly declared that the "off-switch" will remain in the hands of ONE person, and this switch will be thrown instantaneously at will.
A few other things are made abundantly plain in this missive. One is that "diversity of tactics" ie DON'T YOU DARE CRITICIZE THE MOST VIOLENT WING OF ANARCHISM NO MATTER HOW MUCH IT BRINGS TROUBLE TO OTHER PEOPLE AND SERVES THE INTEREST OF THE POLICE is sacred. This is stated as plainly as an ideologue can state anything where it is said that "People who subscribe to this list should agree with the "diversity of tactics" philosophy" . "Philosophy" ??????????? Aren't we being a little pretentious here ? If you set this to music would it be Gregorian Chant or Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries ? This point is DOUBLY repeated in the guidelines where Uncle Chuck/Joe makes it plain that this is democratic centralism without the democratic part and NO dissent will be tolerated on this point.
There is also the obligatory childish playacting about "security culture" (sic), once more doubly repeated in the guidelines as if little magic tricks such as a "generic or anonymous email account" could delay a serious intelligence program by a nanosecond. To say that the 5 year old games of "cops and robbers" that some "anarchists" like to play at are totally out to lunch when the actual REAL police are looking for them is a great understatement. Besides the fact that you are hiding in a forest that consists of one leafless twig there is the OBVIOUS fact that a clearing house for clownishness and pretense makes things MUCH easier for the police who have more important things to do than watch the antics of deluded self important sectarians in infinite detail. I suspect that those who think that anarchist inspired riots are an harbinger of an immediate revolution would be disappointed to the point of tears if they were ever to see exactly HOW unimportant they are, not just in the view of the police-who have EVERY incentive to inflate the importance so as to get more budget money BUT WITHIN REASON- but in the perception of the public. YES...that great grey mass that too many leftists and ALL "post-leftist anarchists" like to look down on.
Seems that so-called post leftists have jettisoned the best parts of the left and treasured the worst.