Free Talk Live

A video response to so called overpopulation. With stick figures.

Most radio stations in Somalia have stopped playing music, on the orders of Islamist Hizbul-Islam militia, who say that songs are un-Islamic.

Some people like to claim that Somalia is an example of libertarian ideals at work in the real world. They have no government, supposedly, but this sounds a helluva lot like government to me.

An amusing story about stupid pirates, with obvious spin at the end.
"Experts" say piracy will continue because Somalia doesn't have a functioning government. Somalia has "lawless" shores. Do laws stop piracy? Seems to me that vessels being allowed to protect themselves would stop piracy. Oh, and what is that Dutch ship doing on the African coast, taking guns away from people?

We’ve all heard the news over the past week; Members of congress and the worlds largest news organizations have been hammering the claim that “if the debt ceiling isn’t raised, the federal government will go into default and our credit rating will drop, resulting in through-the-roof taxes and economic armageddon throughout the world!”. Is this true or a myth? The answer is: it’s a myth. And its obvious right on it’s face.

Many voluntaryists have looked longingly toward Somalia for evidence of our ideas in practice. But it’s a little tough when that real-world example also happens to be the quintessential image of extreme poverty and feuding warlords for most people. Nonetheless, Somalia has improved by virtually every measure of standard of living without a state. Michael van Notten’s book "The Law of the Somalis" describes Somalia’s stateless legal tradition.

"With the U.S. effectively arming both sides of the conflict, the Somalia fighting could go on … well, forever... the Pentagon is mulling an 'off-shore' strategy for future conflicts, where U.S.

"Organizations like the United Nations & the World Bank say the practice...could help feed the growing global population by introducing large-scale commercial farming to places without it. But others condemn the deals as neocolonial land grabs that destroy villages, uproot tens of thousands of farmers and create a volatile mass of landless poor. Making matters worse...much of the food is bound for wealthier nations."

Senate Bill 510, the Food Safety Modernization Act, has been called "the most dangerous bill in the history of the United States of America." It would grant the U.S. government new authority over the public's right to grow, trade and transport any foods. This would give Big brother the power to regulate the tomato plants in your backyard. It would grant them the power to arrest and imprison people selling cucumbers at farmer's markets. It would criminalize the transporting of organic produce if you don't comply with the authoritarian rules of the federal government.

An encouraging story (by the BBC) about Somaliland - twenty years after declaring itself independant from Somalia. It has a "poor" government and the general population has a "pioneer" attitude very resistant to making their government bigger. This podcast describes several encouraging changes brought about largely through voluntary means, such as the building of a hospital using a retired businesswoman's donated funds and donated land (by government but it is implied that it was not actively being used) that was formerly used to imprison and execute.