French Police sell off confiscated items

ha, they get away with anything in just about every country!

I know this happens with confisicated goods here in the UK, there's the auction place just down the road.

Excellent blog entry, comrade.

Join the Police - become a looting, profiteering, thieving bastard.

What's wrong with this? Is it that people should get their stuff back?

To follow up my comment.... My cousin works for the council and got my nan a free pair of fake ug boots through this sort of thing. That was pretty good.

So, you profit from those thieving bastards?

I probably should have tried to get more and given pairs to all my friends.

Get free stuff whenever you can, good idea to get cheap stuff from police auctions as well.

@ Kronstadt_Kid

Why not go the whole hog, and join the scum police. Then you will be in an excellent position to thieve off the poor yeah.

I don't particularly care when police seize property from big time criminals. Those people basically run capitalist organisations, just illegal ones. However, juding from the sums raised per month, the stuff getting sold off was not sufficiently valuable to represent succesful asset seizures on big time criminals, but instead represent asset seizures on people who aren't well off. I'd like to know more though, especially about whether the cops were just lining their pockets, which wouldn't surprise me one bit.

Vaga

So, you profit from those thieving bastards?

er, that's not what "profit" is.

"Ethical" consumerism is a joke, it doesn't matter where you buy stuff

Steven.

Vaga

So, you profit from those thieving bastards?

er, that's not what "profit" is.

"Ethical" consumerism is a joke, it doesn't matter where you buy stuff

You have money. You want to exchange your money for a product of your choice. Your choice, the consideration of where and how to get that desired product, is based on the idea that you want to invest your money in the most efficient way. By buying the cheapest stuff, by making the best investments with your money, is it not the profit in monetary terms what you are looking for?
The money gained in business?

Obviously, there is no ethics. There is only homo economicus, a capitalist, consumerist bastard of a human being.

Vaga

You have money. You want to exchange your money for a product of your choice. Your choice, the consideration of where and how to get that desired product, is based on the idea that you want to invest your money in the most efficient way. By buying the cheapest stuff, by making the best investments with your money, is it not the profit in monetary terms what you are looking for?
The money gained in business?

Obviously, there is no ethics. There is only homo economicus, a capitalist, consumerist bastard of a human being.

a consumer buying a product doesn't make profit. She's just buying the product.

Profits are made by businesses, and in essence are the sum of their incomings minus the sum of their outgoings. Nothing to do with any individuals' consumption choices.

Steven.

a consumer buying a product doesn't make profit. She's just buying the product.

Profits are made by businesses, and in essence are the sum of their incomings minus the sum of their outgoings. Nothing to do with any individuals' consumption choices.

sidenote: is a consumer always a she? (sounds a bit sexist)

So, profits are in essence the sum of the incomings minus the sum of their outgoings, and occur when the outcome is positive, no? What is money, if not the means to run a business? Isn't a business an ongoing interaction with the market?
Aren't your incomings the monetary value that you have created by selling your work to the market?
Aren't your outgoings the investments that you make in order to maintain your business?
Aren't you running your own business with your money?

I'm not going to engage in this discussion any further, as those are completely irrelevant questions and entirely off topic with respect to the article.

Sorry,
just couldn't resist commenting on the ethics of consumption, as I think that it does matter. I didn't mean to lead off-topic though, so there is no need to continue that discussion.

With respect to the article, it is a personal choice, whether you get your new bicycle from the trade of confiscated items, or a self-organized bicycle workshop.
The trade of confiscated items is of course nothing compared to other dirty businesses, that have blood on their price-tags (diamonds, oil,...). It is the combination of state authority and businessman in one that pisses me off. It's lacking moral in a double-sense of way. The uniform that binds to the law and does not permit personal ethics. The businessman, the homo economicus, whose only moral principle is the profit.

Thieving bastards.

Vaga

With respect to the article, it is a personal choice, whether you get your new bicycle from the trade of confiscated items, or a self-organized bicycle workshop.

what self organised bicycle work shop? and if you can find one is it the same price?

I was referring to those sort of community workshops that are put up by enthusiastic bike-loving activists in order to provide a space for the neighbourhood in which they can repair their bike or put together their new bike with the help of the collective. Normally, the "price" is that of the material only, but that depends on the collective.
It is a pity that this sort of thing is not more widespread, as it is a nice do-it-yourself approach.

For example, something like this DIY bike workshop in Brighton.

But we are getting off-topic again...

Vaga

I was referring to those sort of community workshops that are put up by enthusiastic bike-loving activists in order to provide a space for the neighbourhood in which they can repair their bike or put together their new bike with the help of the collective. Normally, the "price" is that of the material only, but that depends on the collective.
It is a pity that this sort of thing is not more widespread, as it is a nice do-it-yourself approach.

For example, something like this DIY bike workshop in Brighton.

But we are getting off-topic again...

your assuming that there is one near where people live, other wise they don't have that choice

as I said, it is a pity that this sort of thing is not more widespread. your choice can nevertheless be to initiate one yourself and find people to help you. this way you would get your bike at low cost sooner or later, opposed to the possibility of getting it directly from the market. of course, you have many more alternatives, and that always depends on the individual conditions, so no need to get more concrete with that, as it always comes back to the point: it is a personal choice.
if you want go on with that discussion, we could open a new thread: D-I-Y vs market, or something like that?

Vaga

as I said, it is a pity that this sort of thing is not more widespread. your choice can nevertheless be to initiate one yourself and find people to help you. this way you would get your bike at low cost sooner or later, opposed to the possibility of getting it directly from the market. of course, you have many more alternatives, and that always depends on the individual conditions, so no need to get more concrete with that, as it always comes back to the point: it is a personal choice.
if you want go on with that discussion, we could open a new thread: D-I-Y vs market, or something like that?

its my choice to buy a bike or to set up a bike making coop and do with out until they make one? are you serious? that sounds like the same crap supporters of capitalism go on about saying we have a choice to start our own business if we don't like working for anyone else.

radicalgraffiti

its my choice to buy a bike or to set up a bike making coop and do with out until they make one? are you serious? that sounds like the same crap supporters of capitalism go on about saying we have a choice to start our own business if we don't like working for anyone else.

hold on, I really didn't want to sound like that and I will try to make me clear.
the difference I am referring to, is not one of quantity or of duration, it is rather a qualitative decision:
in another example: do you choose the stairway or the elevator to reach the upper floor? the outcome is the same: you are at the upper floor (you have your bike).
the elevator may seem more comfortable, as little physical effort is required.
with the stairway you certainly have a different experience in the process: it takes more time than the elevator, but in the elevator you would have missed the interesting library that is found at the stairway, or any other thing that can be considered a benefit to your personal well-being.

it still depends on your needs. you need the bike now? well, buy one from the market (or steal it).
if not, you can make the process to finally "get" your bike more fun. in the end you have not only built yourself the thing you wanted, but you have made friends with other bike-loving people, set up a workshop with tools to use for the community for free so that bikes can be repaired, and have learned how a bike can be constructed.

as I said, thread about D-I-Y? The Do-it-Yourself approach is anti-capitalist, and has nothing to do with starting your own business.