THE PROJECTS - CNTD'
Security Chaos
Private security firms in many eastern countries are filled with ex-military or in the hands of criminals. In addition, many such firms have political connections and are being used for criminal purposes. However, all this "expertise" came from somewhere; it came from the government. When communism collapsed it left jobless a great deal of people related to "state security", military and para-military organizations. Is then a surprise that these people join criminal organizations out of hunger and desperation? Of course not. And who employed and trained all these people to begin with? Governments. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
Document Dilemma
An expose of fake documents and travel "documentation assistance". According to the OCCRP, in many eastern countries all kinds of documents (legitimate and fake) can be obtained for a price. Apparently, this is somehow bad. It is to be noted that until WWI any person in the planet could just enter any country without the need of any kind of documentation and nothing happened. Countries did not collapse and the world did not come to an end. Travel documents are a recent invention of politicians to strengthen their control over people. Travel documents are artificial impositions of governments and as such they create this market. And again, the problem is caused by the existence of governments, not despite them. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
The Big Bet
Gambling in Eastern Europe is lightly licenced, unregulated and protected through political contacts and this is apparently bad. Again, gambling is a personal choice same as drugs. The government should have no saying in it, yet according to the OCCRP it should be tightly regulated (and probably taxed). Why? What right does a government have to decide what a person may or may not do with their money? Interference with gambling is simply freedom curtailing, plain and simple. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
Battered Justice
There is a large failing rate of prosecution involving corruption of public officers and organized crime. However, public officers are usually being corrupted to provide something that should not be prohibited in the first place or to steal from the government. In either case, this is only possible because governments exist. Remove the governments and all these problems go away. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
Game of Control
Brokers are skimming Soccer player transfer fees and avoiding taxes. And the point being? They are simply businessmen trying to make a living and avoiding being robbed by the government through taxation. Again, this is a problem only because governments say so, but who are the governments to say so? Nobody. They have no right to other peoples' money. None whatsoever. Again, remove the governments and this problem goes away. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
Tobacco Underground
There is a booming cigarette smuggling and counterfeiting operation going on in Eastern Europe. So what? These operations are providing a product at the lowest price despite the illegitimate will of governments to tax them. The problem is not with these operations but with government taxes. Remove the governments and this problem goes away. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
The Power Brokers
Savvy business people are getting rich by transacting in electricity in countries with obsolete infrastructure and power generation factories. As a consequence of this, the poorest people are left without electricity or the means to pay for it. However, we need to ask who controlled these countries for the last 60+ years? Communist governments. Should these government never existed, the supply of electricity would be normal and accessible in those countries. The blame rests squarely on governments who created the problem in the first place and not on traders. Yet, somehow, the OCCRP missed this critical point.
THE STATISTICS
As such the OCCRP grossly missed the point of their investigations in 1, possibly 2 "projects" out of 17. This is a failure rate of 88%. So much for accurate journalism. But then again, fully understanding that the OCCRP is of overwhelming socialist mind, is this a surprise? Certainly not.
WHY BOTHER
Why do we bother with this? Because the OCCRP is gathering steam. More and more deluded people are flocking to their site and believing that the way forward is more socialism in the disguise of "civil" democracy. Bull Shit! There is no such thing as "uncivilized" versus "civilized" democracy. It is all democracy. It is all corrupted. It is all beyond the reach of regular people. Let's be clear. Democracy has failed and it has to go. There is no other solution. People such as the so-called reporters of the OCCRP are simply clinging to a deprecated political belief, the belief that politicians can improve our lives through the stealing of our property. Socialism in action.
We can see this principle in action through their Projects, where they are fixated with:
- Drugs
- Tax evasion
- Money laundering
Once we remove these elements all that's left (mostly) is corrupt government officials. All these problems have one very simple solution: get rid of all governments. Yet the OCCRP can't even fathom this reality because they are so embedded in socialistic principles.
It is important to point out the failure of such so-called journalists because they are at the forefront of a new battle, the battle to legitimize governments through the illusion of ideal socialism. Let's be clear. Socialism has failed. Governments have failed. The solution is not more governments, more rules, more politicians; the solution is to get rid of the entire system.
CRIME AND CORRUPTION
Do we support crime and corruption? Most certainly not, at least not what is commonly understood as such. Our point of view was clearly stated in the article Justice In The Austro Libertarian System ). However, it is clear that among the people that the OCCRP has targeted there are few that damaged other peoples' properties very likely to a large degree. This cannot be condoned nor disregarded. However, the vast majority of their targets are people that have simply executed free market transactions which happen to be forbidden by governments only because governments say so. In these cases (which seem to be the vast majority) we cannot condone nor disregard the actions of governments and the OCCRP. Particularly the latter since they call themselves "journalists" and as such they should investigate subjects to the full extent before publishing their stories. As such their most basic mistake is this: knowing that most problems they are describing originate in governments, how exactly do they propose that governments deal with them? Well… that's an excellent question that the people from OCCRP don't answer.
CONCLUSION
The OCCRP is a misguided organization staffed by people with romantic notions of democracy and socialism. This could not be otherwise since most of its people are from former communist countries and have no real experience with real democracy. All they have are democracies in formality only. These are still highly hierarchical organizations resembling communist systems…simply because many of them are staffed by former communists. Is then a surprise that they fight so hard for something they believe to be better? Of course not. It is not their fault; it is that they have not yet evolved politically. And this is the saddest part of it all. They are dragging people in the wrong direction. They are slowing down evolution and they don't even know it.
But then again, this may not be your opinion. You may wish for a reign of justice the democratic way. Just one word of advice: be careful what you wish for.
Note: please see the Glossary if you are unfamiliar with certain words.