YouTube Guerilla Tactics

Yesterday I uploaded some videos I had compiled from assorted clips, and what seems to be a common occurrence these days and what's been happening for weeks now is that the video quickly receives a number of 'dislikes.' The person(s) doing this are specifically targeting Zeitgeist members, for the simple reason in that they dislike the information presented by the Zeitgeist Movement. And by the way, 'we' advocate applying the scientific method for social concern. Nothing outlandish really. Yet some people feel so threatened apparently that they have to put a negative spin on everything that is forwarded. I myself am by no means the only person who gets this treatment.

As you can see in the screenshot above there's also something highly unusual going on. My video had in fact only gotten 3 views when I captured that image, but the number of 'dislikes' already reached 13. That's a clear indication someone is using some additional software that creates multiple votes. That's an escalation if you ask me in how far some people are willing to go. People are not just voting a single time but use different accounts to vote multiple times or have downloaded software to that effect. If that doesn't sum up YouTube guerilla tactics I don't know what will. Like I mentioned before, many people who upload material that promotes the Zeitgeist Movement get the same treatment.

What's also fascinating is that some segments of society actually get instructed to vote down certain material. In this video (filmed in secrecy) it becomes readily apparent that young members of the Tea Party at a lecture are advised to vote down anything that's too progressive or otherwise doesn't fit their ideology. Highly unorthodox and outright undemocratic if you ask me. I thought the Tea Party stood for freedom and democracy, maybe they have another interpretation? What I've noticed on YouTube is that a number of critics of the Zeitgeist Movement are also supporters of the Tea Party Movement. Is there a correlation?


What I found out about the YouTube "troll" responsible for all the dislikes is that this person is from Florida. One video of mine that rarely got any views got the same treatment. YouTube allows you to see the data (to some extent) of who's viewing your videos and where they are from. When the dislikes start appearing and the troll is the only one who visited the video you get something like in the picture above. A clear indication of where this person is from.

Another hint is mannerism or behavior. There are only a couple of Zeitgeist critics (that I know) who are from Florida and one person by the YouTube handle of 'MarioBrothaYT' (Mario Rodriguez) fits the bill right on when it comes to sociopathic behavior. He runs a blog here, filled with the most asinine comments a person can come up with. By far the most probable candidate responsible for the YouTube guerilla style warfare. You would almost feel sorry for such a misguided person were it not for the mayhem he creates.

Tea Party Pipe Dreams

Always fascinating to see this particular aspect of American society and also the Tea Party movement in general. I say that with mixed feelings because on one hand I sympathize with what the people are striving for yet on the other hand I'm of the opinion that they are barking up the wrong tree here and are to some degree woefully ignorant of the entire system they support with its causes and effects. "Don't tax me" seems to be at the core of the current grievance with the government, and many signs during protests carry that message one way or another. People are concerned about their own personal wealth and money, and here is where the trick lies, because in case you haven't noticed billionaires and investment bankers do the same thing.

Lets get back to taxation though. Yes, America is going through a rough patch. It has been doing that since the Cold War ended. Military expenditures didn't exactly cut back, although there was a slight dip in the mid 90's it has skyrocketed ever since. You can ask yourself why billions of your taxpayer money are continued to be spend on defense. Public debt has increased to 14 trillion dollars with half of that owed to the Federal Reserve and a quarter of that to foreign countries. The politicians you voted for, no matter if they were Democrat or Republican, are responsible for the situation you are in. Yet even they are bound to the laws of the monetary system.

Where does taxation originate from? This may seem weird to you but it is automatically generated by fiat currency. The dollar in your wallet which is issued by the government basically has no value, it is being given value by what the government can put up in collateral (taxation). In other words the value of your money hinges upon taxation. The two are intimately connected. Fiat currency demands an immediate return in order to give it value, it has to have a backing. That backing is what the government can haul back should it need to. It gets even worse though. Money is basically debt - created out of thin air by banks who loan that money and demand interest on it.

The Federal Reserve creates money out of nothing, loans it to the U.S. treasury which has to be paid back with interest. How do you pay it back? Through taxation of course. That's the whole kicker. Any new money that's being created through the Fed will have a direct effect on the American taxpayer. The Fed itself is also made up of 'members banks,' private commercial banks who own stock and get a guaranteed 6% dividend on their capital. This is the singularity where money becomes debt because with its creation there's an immediate negative balance which can only be repaid through taxation and the creation of new money. This is a monetary law.


Socialism? No, I don't think so. This is pure capitalism. Accusing the Obama administration of socialism is a misnomer. A Republican administration is bound by the same monetary laws although they do have a tendency to tax less and make cutbacks on social programs. In the long run this changes nothing since the current public debt, which the Bush administration was also largely responsible for, still requires heavy taxation. The hole is already there and not going away anytime soon. On the flip side, even socialism is (and was) obligated to meet the demands of the (global) monetary system.

Socialism has a tendency to nationalize, while capitalism has a tendency to privatize. Here's a silly question. Is the U.S.A. a textbook case of nationalisation or privatisation? Of course it's the latter. Most of the healthcare system is privatized, defense hardware is researched and developed by private contractors. Even the point of money creation, the Federal Reserve is privatized. Private commercial banks are authorized to create new money using "fractional reserve banking." I'm sorry, socialism just isn't there. It's all capitalism whether you like it or not.

The credit crisis of 2008 wasn't a feat of socialism, it was unrestricted capitalism which brought many financial institutions on the brink of collapse and where the government felt to need to interfere in order to avoid a domino effect. Tea Party protestors often speak off not wanting to pay (more) taxes but at the same time they are perfectly happy to rake in the dollars themselves through private businesses operating in the free market system. They seem to neglect the fact that what you see today IS the free market system. Another pipe dream is to think that the free market system will provide for everyone in equality. It never has.

The free market system is a competition and as such is a type of economic survival of the fittest. Small businesses will eventually grow into big businesses or they go bankrupt. Don't think that your store or your job will provide economic stability for eternity. The economic jungle, the profit motive and the advent of new technologies will put your way of life in jeopardy sooner or later. Big business interests, just like the Tea Party protestors, will have their own financial (self) interest at heart. Like you - and what I hear often from Republican politicians - they are not about distributing the wealth. You know who's responsible for the current economic turmoil? Since you're supporting a system and seemingly oblivious to its drawbacks, you are responsible as well.

Tea Party Misnomers

Sometimes I watch video's like the one above about American culture and what's going over there in that country. The Tea Party movement is one element and embodies some of the ideals of the conservative right. They started out in recent years to oppose the Obama administration. There are some peculiarities from my perspective. I realize that some things are said in the heat of the moment but some allegations directed towards the President are just plain false. The sad part is that I get the impression that some people truly believe in what they are saying.

First let me explain what my political affiliations are. I'm a moderate left and voted for the Dutch Labour Party for many years. While I suppose that will lead some people to conclude that I'm a hardcore socialist or communist, nothing could be farther from the truth. Because I'm also a democrat and firmly believe in free elections. As such I find socialist countries such as Cuba, North Korea, China and to a lesser extend Venezuela dictatorships. Labour Parties in Europe, once you get into the heart of the matter, aren't as socialist as you might think. True, they stand up for the right of the workers and the lower and middle class but beyond that they are for 'big business' and don't shy away from protecting those interests. European socialist (Labour) parties don't fit in the same category as the countries I mentioned. They are still capitalists.

What I see quite often is that members of Tea Party movement claim that Obama is a socialist or communist. That's quite remarkable since if you would put Obama on the political scale of my own country, he would be more right-wing than our right wing party VVD. Makes you wonder why my country, Holland, hasn't turned into communist state by now. Of course we look at politics through different glasses but pointing out the differences might enable you to examine your own. Obama isn't a socialist or a communist, he's still very much for the free market system and capitalism. He implements some social changes that benefit the lower and middle class and lets be honest about, some (selfish) people who basically don't want to pay taxes or pick up the bill in domestic policies have a problem with that.

The biggest misnomer I've seen is that Obama is somehow a Nazi or national socialist. This suggestion is somehow associated with the mistaken idea that the Nazi's were socialists. In fact, they weren't. It's really remarkable because most Europeans wouldn't dare to make such correlations. Some Americans seem to have less inhibitions. Lets not forget that the Nazi's took it upon themselves to fight the communist Soviet Union. If the Nazi's were that left, why would they fight the (left) communist ideology that fiercely? The truth of the matter is that the Nazi's belonged to the far right in politics. Just read the objective Wikipedia article in order to see what they were all about.

This is going to upset some people but on a political scale the Tea Party movement is closer to national socialism than they might think. By protecting their own interests, liberty - the free market system - paying little to no taxes - protecting their own property and money, you will get leaders who do the same thing. These leaders will protect their own interests as well and that includes their amassed wealth, stock portfolios, billions of dollars and so on. Like you they are not going to share their wealth but continue to expand and protect that. There comes a point where your interests and the interests of your leaders collide because like you, the rich leaders of your country have no inclination to make things better if it means losing their advantage. In a way that's already what you're seeing now in American politics and the Tea Party movement.
My advice is to look at yourself and want you want in politics, very importantly, next try to place yourself in the shoes of a politician and pretend that you're him or her. Than try to discover where you collide with the interest of other people. See what kind of difference there is between you and your leaders. What we need is not political turmoil, what we need is understanding. Understand the system that you are in participating. Understand what you want and how it fits in the bigger picture. That really is the step to make this world a better place, for yourself and for everyone else.

Know thyself.

Anonymous Tea Party

(From PunditKitchen.)
Backstory: Earlier this week, The Oregon Tea Party prints bumper stickers with the slogan of a very infamous internet hate machine known as Anonymous, then backpedals when trolls start descending upon their organization en masse to remind them that they goofed. The tea party issues an apology, shuts down their website, and all is right with the world. Until today…
Apparently, The Oregon Tea Party is back for round two and ready to take on Anonymous. Bad idea…

Hmm. Yep. Tea Party Oregon messed up big time by stealing the slogan of Anonymous. I'm sure they catch on pretty quick what those folks are all about.