Sheldon Richman recently posted a report aboout Israeli funding of Hamas. It contains other lessons for left libertarians.

After 1967, a great part of the success of the Hamas/Muslim Brotherhood was due to their activities among the refugees of the Gaza Strip. The cornerstone of the Islamic movements success was an impressive social, religious, educational and cultural infrastructure, called Da’wah, that worked to ease the hardship of large numbers of Palestinian refugees, confined to camps, and many who were living on the edge.

“Social influence grew into political influence,” first in the Gaza Strip, then on the West Bank, said an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity…

…A further factor of Hamas’ growth was the fact the PLO moved its base of operations to Beirut in the ’80s, leaving the Islamic organization to grow in influence in the Occupied Territories “as the court of last resort,” he said.

The implications for radicals are broad, but not too hard to find. A movement to abolish political power could greatly benefit by providing useful services to people it wants to influence. This idea can be put into a framework of counter-economics or mutual aid. A “court of last resort” sounds suspiciously like those Dispute Resolution Organizations you frequently hear about in market anarchist literature.

Related to this post are Jeremy’s observations of Richmond Food Not Bombs:

The hours spent working with the group seemed to obscure the usual skepticism I hold about the larger anarchist project. The joy with which the group brought food to grateful people, making a political statement without having to spell it out, floored me. Spontaneous organization is not just about abstract social dynamics; it requires the human touch of good will and love to work. Any organization that wants to empower and free people must care about them, appreciate them, and provide a space where they can form that community of equals.

As I have said before,

When desired goods and services are provided in a revolutionary context, the consumers then join entrepreneurs in building revolution. A revolution based on libertarian principles ought to build liberty outside of the system. It is not enough simply to tell people that the free market can do things better. They must be shown that we will make it do things better.

It’s not actually a video, but it’s a good audio intro to left-libertarianism.

“The function of liberty is not to privatize power but to uphold a consistent rejection of arbitrary authority…”

To help you save money in these difficult times, I present two good resources for downloadable targets you can print.

Targetz.com

Glock FAQ Targets

Should you need a target larger than your printer can handle, you can always tape your printed target onto a large piece of paper (even packaging paper).

Happy shooting!

I came across an interesting video about Obama and Emanuel on “civil service.” It carries some right-wing baggage, but is worth the two minutes.

Speaking of Obama, don’t forget that Inauguration Day stickers are still available at The Department of Horrible Stuff

If you, or someone you know, has an anarcho blog of any sort, you might be interested in the new and improved anarchoblogs presented by ALLy Charles Johnson. I plan to add my anarcho-related posts to the aggregator soon.

Brandon Michael Darby, an FBI informant who reported on the anti-RNC activists, released a statement to the public. He essentially says that he feels good about sending people to prison because they wanted to do more than passively express disagreement with the Republican party, and that wouldn’t be noble.

Comments and pictures can be found at Snitch Wire. I suggest avoiding any interactions with this treacherous tool of the state.

I am resuming work on a couple of fiction projects.

Space Trip is a graphic novel about four college guys who travel to a legendary party town on Ganymede for their 2150 summer break. Things naturally don’t go as planned, and rouge CopBots, a malfunctioning SexBot, spacefaring frat guys, and possible alien artifacts will be but a few of the things the bumbling heroes encounter.

Trade Wars is a potent blend of sci-fi, action, and horror into a dystopian novel suited for these times. Illegal weapons trader Kit Jorgson is liberated from his prison cell by a bomb and sniper attack. After finding an old friend, his need for escape brings him deep into the large Ungoverned Zone of western North America. Here he becomes involved in another rebel’s plot for revenge and liberation, which Kit adopts as his own quest to reclaim life from his torturers. From the opening explosion to the final annihilation, Trade Wars takes the reader on a harrowing journey through a future gone wrong and the lives of those who try to fix it.

I hope to complete both works by the end of 2009. I do not know when either will be published.

In addition to the previous assortment of videos, pictures, subversive materials, news items, and occasional commentary, this blog will link to excerpts hopefully once a month.

Since it’s metal Monday, I thought I’d feature Korpiklaani, an awesome folk metal band. Their name means “wilderness clan.” Here is Journey Man.

I’m definitely getting tickets ahead of time for Paganfest USA 2, which I was pleased to hear Korpiklaani is headlining.

Importance is decided by me, ’cause on this site I’m the decider. A new archive page is now on darianworden.com. It presents a pretty good snapshot of my political views.