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In yesterday’s MX, a free paper given out on railways, they had an item about a pub in Britain that found a way around the anti-smoking ban. If a separate room was called a ‘Smoking Research Center’, and patrons filled out a questionaire about their smoking habits, then they were within the law.
The pub has had customers return in needed numbers. the council is looking into the matter.
Maybe something like this is what Australian pubs need?!
I recommend people click on the May 2008-May 2009 archive and read David’s comment # 410.
It was only up for 1 day.
Excellent article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124217356836613091.html
The Liberal response to the deficit:
http://thewesternlines.blogspot.com/2009/05/joes-response-to-swan.html
Would any economists care to critique Big Joe’s response, or is it just pretty much the facts as presented?
http://tiny.cc/A6skJ
In US: Paulson forced 9 bank CEOs into bailout
Think I’ve got one in the spam catcher.
But if you find it then delete it, please – don’t let it come through.
I’ve found another pro-freedom site from the US. I can’t believe the ALS has, so far, overlooked STR † THE FREEDOM BLOG©.
Here’s a sample – a thoughtful argument on the threat posed by those ugly, godless Germans:
Germany already started two world wars and they are the ones going to start the 3rd one, too! Germans have the “killer instinct”, they are what you call Natural Born Killers……
…….That’s right, people, Germans are on the march again, mobilizing against human dignity, against the rule of law and against the kind of Freedom and Moderation advocated by George W. Bush………….
………..Let me direct the last sentences to all German readers: You will never beat America! We are the winners and you are the losers. This is the way it has always been and this is the way it will always be. Don’t even try it losers. America will beat your ass again. Anytime. Bring’em on!
God bless you (Germans excluded of course),
Shelley Goodman
Shelley has also kindly offered to help the Big Guy out in his righteous efforts, by composing God’s Hitlist..
Life in the 21st century speeds along faster than Hillary Clinton will wind up in Hell. We sometimes need reminders of the good and the bad in life. So as a service to our readers, here is a list of topics, phrases and persons that should be considered a one way ticket to Hell with no hope of redemption.
God Bless You,
Shelley Goodman
=============Enemies of the homeland
God’s people hitlist: God wants them dead because they harm America!
Barack “The Muslim” Obama
(aka “Homobama”, “Barack Osama”, “Husein the Terrorist”)
Tristan Shuddery (He died due to auto-erotic asphyxiation in Room 66 of the Motel 6 in El Reno, Oklahoma on March, 15 2007. He was found the next day by the housekeeper. He was our friend and and part of the STR writer crew but he turned against God. He died and God won!)
Cory Doctorow ( Pro-hacker liberal, runs a satanic blog called “Boing” )
Scott McClellan
Richard Dawkins
Alex ‘The Snake Oil Salesman’ Jones
Mike Malloy
Michael Moore
Aaron Russo (God won – died of cancer!)
Hillary Clinton
Bill Clinton
Chelsea Clinton
Cindy Sheehan (Has publicly repented from her sins – God won!)
Al Gore
Al Franken
Barrack Osama
Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA)
Charly & Martin Sheen
………………………….
There’s also a presidential campaign:
BBN 4 President
WILLIAM ROBERT NECK ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE
June 7th
BOSTON, MA After conferring with Mrs. Shelley Goodman and Jesus, William Robert Neck, otherwise known as Billy Bob, announced his intention to form a presidential exploratory committee. ?As long that?s what God wants,? Mr. Neck said, then there ain’t no reason not to………
…………..
Mr. Neck’s platform consists of three simple steps to restore America?s spotless reputation for honesty, fairness and morality after the nightmare of the Clinton years.
Go To Church
Home School
Gun Safety Classes
That’s just about all you need, Mr. Neck frequently says. God created America and America?s gotta stop turning its back on God.
I think there’s something in this for all of us.
Whilst I fully endorse Michael’s views above, and would only change ‘America’ to ‘Australia’, what do people think and feel about the new ‘please explain’ argument being talked about, that people suspected of living off criminal proceeds should be required to explain where their wealth comes from?
I’ve already thought of one avenue of explanation. A libertarian with betting connections could set up a retrospective service, and give people fake ‘winning’ tickets of past races, as an explanation of where the wealth came from. Any other ways to stimy this pernicious ‘guilty until released’ recommendation?
I feel I might introduce my self here. My name is Kate, I’m a newbie here, someone told me that i might find some good information here so… basically that’s why I’m here, and for any good advice i might get also… hope to have good time here
Welcome Kate! We’re always interested in good-time girls. I hope you will also speak up now and then. We could especially do with more feminine input, since a lot of us seem to be men, though it’s getting harder and harder to tell from names alone.
I notice you call yourself ’starlet’. are you actually in TV or movies, or hoping to break in?
STR is a parody site, I think you’ll find
I think you’ll find we were laughing along with you.
http://www.wbaltv.com/money/19435100/detail.html
Government efficiancy:
10,000 “stimulus” cheques to dead people in US.
http://www.vhemt.org/
Clearly the environmental movement is sane.
[Edit: With all due respect Shem, I have a somewhat different point of view. All me to explain...]
The environmentalist movement is the most hateful, irrational movement there is. Worse than the jihadists for craziness. After all some of those jihadists in Iraq have come over and are now co-operating with the Americans. But we haven’t seen such redemptive action from Environmentalists. Who are all belligerently unrepentant.
Hey, this is my first post.
Can anyone tell me their opinion of the forum thus far.
Looking to meet new people to exchange info with,so leave me your name.
Later, .
Tim, maybe those cheques to deceased voters was to pay them for still voting even after they’re dead? And have you thought that the dead need bigger stimulus packages to get them going?
SnarlyJohn, can I call you bruce? Welcome to the wider world of libertarian gossip!
Johnhumphreys, anarchocapitalists actually believe in a zero-sized state, so another title could be Zerocrat, as opposed to Democrat. A Zerocracy would have no chief, AND no democratic commune structure favoured by traditional anarchists!
Not sure this is worth its own post… so I’ll just put it in “discussion” until I can decide.
It seems Prodos has decided to run a hit-piece on me regarding climate change policy. I left the following response on his blog, but as he has a habit of editing/deleting comments as it suits him I thought I’d leave it here…
Prodos’ article — http://prodos.thinkertothinker.com/?p=559
My response…
I note that Prodos does not offer a response to the arguments.
Clearly, Prodos thinks the science debate is important. But my paper & presentation weren’t about the science, so that’s not relevant.
The issue being discussed is “carbon tax v ETS”. If Prodos disagrees with me, that implies he supports an ETS. If he agrees with me, then it’s not clear why he has produced such a hateful attack on me. And if he thinks it is the wrong question, again it is not clear why he takes the time to produce such a hateful attack.
Regarding what I would prefer — my latest commentary on climate change is here — http://blog.libertarian.org.au/2009/04/16/climate-games/
I don’t see what this has to do with Greg Lindsay, who has never given a public comment on climate change.
I also note that the previous policy of not giving or allowing negative personal comments on this blog seems to have changed.
A final observation is that Chris Monckton has come out with pretty much the exact same proposal I had in my paper. It will be interesting to see whether Prodos also wants to imply Monckton is a fascist.
I don’t know Prodos but I generally like his work. I think he is being unfair on you in the video commentary. He seems to willingly misunderstanding your position. I think you should blog on this. I left my 2 cents worth on his blog but it is still in moderation.
Thanks for your comments on his blog Terje… and Michael & Tim too.
John Ray was originally appalled at the CIS for publishing my rubbish, but after a clarification has published this:
http://awesternheart.blogspot.com/2009/05/prodos-global-warming-and-cis.html
This is a concern for our American friends:
http://reason.com/news/show/133722.html
“It is settled law,” Sotomayor and the Second Circuit held, “that the Second Amendment applies only to limitations the federal government seeks to impose on this right.”
Say what you will about the pros and cons of the right to bare arms, wouldn’t this mean that States in the US can draft laws limiting free speech, the right to a trail by jury and anything else enshrined in the bill of rights?
Ben, at the very least she won’t be any worse than Souter
From another blog:
( Ross )… “Gittins outlined his own theory according to which business cycles are driven by two elements of human psychology — namely the herd instinct and the tendency to cycles of optimism and pessimism.”
http://clubtroppo.com.au/2009/05/28/well-youve-got-me-there/#more-8501
Apparently Ken Henry of the Treasury considers Gittens to be Australia’s preeminent economic commentator.
I wonder how the Treasury views the Gittens Theory of Business Cycles ?
I was reading about GM’s troubles in CATO, and I realised that one major hassle was that one union monopolised industrial relations. Why should workers there, or HERE, have only one group? Tear up any demarcation regulations and rules, and let Unions compete for workers to join them! The old argument, that they need a monopoly to match the monopoly of employers, was never very credible.
An interesting discussion of climate change…
http://www.uwgb.edu/dutchs/PSEUDOSC/GlobWarm.HTM
I found the best thing to my boyfriend’s birthday… It’s really hard to find cool and still unique.
So today I saw this thing from ZTARLET on facebook where you can name a real star in heaven and have the certificate and a teddy bear sent to you and pay it by a single SMS. So awesome
Q. How many people in Australia suffer from swine flue?
A. Isn’t it something like 700?
Retort- (Achoo!) two more than you think!
John – a good article. I don’t have any argument with the notion that on the balance of probabilities, as opposed to beyond reasonable doubt, there is global warming caused by humans. The argument is certainly strong enough in my book to warrant a change in the policy mix (eg a shift from payroll tax to a carbon tax).
This guy may be worthy of a link:
http://bradtaylor.wordpress.com/
I am pleased by the results across Europe, if only because conservatives, being ’status quo’ types, won’t be as meddlesome as socialists. And it looks like Gordon Brown has had the ‘luck’ to keep the poisoned chalice of Prime-Ministership. Britain will be fascinating to observe, from afar!
Why don’t anarcho-capitalists just call themselves Free Anarchists, the Free standing in for Free Enterprise and Free Markets?
I want to listen good music. Help me please.
Q. How many Sharks’ supporters does it take to change a light bulb?
A. Both of them!
A better way to spend the stimulus package is to buy a new book, just out. It is called “A Brief History Of The Future”, by Jacques Attali. He looks at longterm historical trends, and his conclusion, derived from history, is, “from century to century, humankind has asserted the primacy of individual freedom over all over values.”
Who could disagree with that? By future, he means the next century. He even has a few references to Australia! It cost me $35-, but I am very impressed with it.
Hi,
What is the cheapest web hosting company?
I’m need to set up a web site for my boss.
Thank you,
-Carol
Good news- Libertarian blogs are being discussed in The Australian! The Media section mentions libertarians, as well as other sites, and even uses the term anarcho-capitalist! It’s brief, but any publicity is better than none!
I came up with a new word, to describe the hard green types who give themselves permission to use violence on the rest of us, and who are against all forms of technology, except new ways to reduce human numbers to ‘acceptable’ levels. These Green fanatics should have their own title, so why not ‘Greenatic’?
I debate an old coot about Government spending crowding out private sector investment:
http://www.catallaxyfiles.com/blog/?p=5328
Good for a laugh but ultimately depressing considering our illucid friend’s somewhat loose grip on reality.
And the difference between a young coot and an old coot is?
To a 15 year old you are ancient, Mark. Enough with the ageism.
If you go to ninemsn, you can read about a blog called Anonymous, which is breaking through the walls of censorship to give the Iranian people the truth about the elections over the Internet!
I heard Barry O Farrel on AM talkback this morning (showing my age, apparently).
I like the boy.
He spruiked recall elections, beefed up protections against eminent domain, lower payroll taxes, less spent on administration and allocating funds to infrastructure more quickly.
The LDP should go in hard for a preference deal with the LP/NP coalition for the 2011 NSW election ASAP.
If this isn’t LDP fodder I don’t know what is:
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25665607-5006009,00.html
I saw that Casey Fronczek is offering fishing trips now down in south Florida. Does anybody have any input on these trips or has anyone been on one of these trips before?
Wow, never thought this would see the light of day:
The most likely path to do this would be for the commonwealth to give the states the ability to impose their own surcharge on income tax, which would be collected for them by the Australian Tax Office.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25669048-601,00.html
Perhaps there’s some hope for competitive federalism in this country?
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Why don’t we have a libertarian form of salute? Instead of ‘Good luck’, why don’t we farewell each other with, “Pure Profit”, or “Tax-free earnings”?
The LDP has a draft gambling policy on its blog site. http://ldpblog.wordpress.com/ Comments by members and supporters are invited.
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Seriously now, this could make an LDP Policy:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/06/25/2608804.htm
Is there any reason we should waste police resources on arresting aboriginal people for drinking in public places – which usually means an area that no one else goes to because there’s blackfellas draining metho through bread? With no disrespect intended, it’s apparent to a lot of ‘average’ people that the resources expended on aboriginal people aren’t getting the intended results. Perhaps we are overpolicing and they’d be better off left alone for minor offences they commit away from everyone else?
The police should police public areas. I don’t think turning a blind eye is a solution. The long-term solutions are to privatise unnecessary public areas and remove any aboriginal-specific welfare. Legislated racism is the root problem, not overpolicing.
I guess it’s a question of what level of detail a public area should be policed. Should we fine someone lots of money for dropping a cigarette butt on the ground? If aboriginal people (or anyone really) are drinking quietly to one side is that worthy of action?
My feeling is that we’ve hit a situation where we fine someone with a hefty fine for dropping a cigarette butt on the ground, but if someone smashes the window of your car and takes your handbag and ipod then the police don’t blink an eyelid and file a report to you’ve got a reference number for your insurance company.
I get your point; here in London you can hang out most public places drinking (or at least I’ve never been stopped), including beautiful places like Regent’s park. I just don’t necessarily think this is a political or legislative issue. Yes it’d be nice if the police got their priorities straight. But, they’re a government monopoly department and thus provide a low quality service. Should state-level police even be policing council-owned public areas? I’d rather solve the structural issues rather than the internal management of individual departments.
Victoria is on the move… to a totalitarian state. A bill has passed the lower house this week making it an offence to smoke in cars, further resticting advertising of a legal product and banning the sale of tobacco at events such as the Big Day Out. Can’t wait for November ‘10. http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25691484-661,00.html
Just re-read post. In fairness, they are only trying to ban smoking in cars carrrying people under 18. So I suppose that makes it alright then. Obviously the police aren’t raising enough revenue and do not have anything better to do with all their spare time.
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I think the Senate is making Rudd look like a good PM:
The Senate has scuttled:
The CPRS (Carbon Cap and Trade)
The Alcopops Tax
The Mandatory Internet Filter
while at all times, he still gets to pretend he cares about “thees issues”.
LOL
“the issues”
http://www.theage.com.au/national/20-a-pack-tax-slug-for-smokers-20090704-d8h8.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/07/05/2617202.htm?section=australia
If these were gay blokes or, heaven forbid, lesbians, what’s the bet that this wouldn’t have got into the news and might even be seen as progressive and tolerant? There are a lot of openly gay guys in the Navy, and I’m pretty sure they fuck at sea, but it’s PC and fashionable to accept it and show your ‘tolerance’.
Here we go, the real motivations:
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,25737525-662,00.html
We’ve got this:
but here are the real motivations – let’s just say there’s a tinge of heterosexual male bashing:
and
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Here’s an idea for an article!
Snake Hill principality replied to one of our articles on secession, just a few days ago. Maybe you could get them to write about how they seceded? The reasons why, and the process how? Other places might want/need to know this!
Hi. And see ya again.
European soft socialism continues to deliver shit social outcomes:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/lawandorder/5712573/UK-is-violent-crime-capital-of-Europe.html
Michael, the obvious solution would be to pass laws making it a crime to break laws! Perhaps the simple inhabitants don’t realise that the laws are not things to play with and break, and that they must be looked after! Those caught breaking laws should be forced to fix them, as simple as that.
A comment from a foreign paper gave me a whole new conspiracy theory!
The Iranian leaders had Michael Jackson killed, so that newspapers would not cover the riots in Teheran! So obvious! Why didn’t we realise this sooner? And hasn’t his passing pushed other news off the pages? I wonder how often this trick has been used before?
The LDP has published two new draft policies, on Defence and the Republic of China (Taiwan). Members and supporters are invited to review and comment.
http://ldpblog.wordpress.com/
http://beyondtalk.net/#volunteer
Apparently, billions are going to die and so the greens are going to start a campaign of civil disobedience.
The best part is that if you can’t actually do the disobedience, you can by “action offsets” which is used to train others to do your disobedience on your behalf.
The green philosophy is as shit as their websites are great!
A note I made on the catallaxy open forum:
——————————–
Pissing off climate change denialists and alarmists:
http://www.holisticmanagement.org/n9/about/carbon.php
Apparently all we have to do is let money hungry farmers run farms with little subsidy and we might avoid disaster.
“The fabulous thing about sequestering carbon in grasslands is that you can keep on doing it forever – you can keep building soil on soil on soil… perennial grasses can outlive their owners; they’re longer-lived than a lot of trees, so the carbon sequestration is more permanent than it is in trees: the carbon’s not going to re-cycle back into the atmosphere if we maintain that soil management… and there’s no limit to how much soil you can build… for example, we would only have to improve the stored carbon percentage by one percent on the 415 million hectares (1,025,487,333 acres) of agricultural soil in Australia and we could sequester all of the planet’s legacy load of carbon. It’s quite a stunning figure.”
Ross Gittins writes in favour of a HECS-like reform of the healthcare system as proposed by Doggett of the Centre for Policy Development… and as frequently suggested by Terje and other libertarians. That’s kind of cool.
Jarrah:
A basic rule for economics students -
Gittens on Saturday – unadulterated trash.
Gittens on Wednesday – sometimes a gem in the rough.
http://6files.ru/
I wonder if Russian spies are sending information to each other over our discussion page? It would be one reason that they turn up here regularly! The CIA and NSA would monitor the usual sites, but ones chosen at random? Could be a good trick, that!
Hey people, not sure if anybody keeps up to date with the happenings in Tasmania but the latest brainwave to hit the paternals is to ban 18th and 21st birthdays.
“In recognition that many former traditional ceremonies of transition to adulthood — such as 21st birthday celebrations, debutante balls and national military service — are no longer widespread in society or accorded the degree of significance by families and communities as in former times, the conference asks the State Government to commission an examination of possible new modern civic community celebrations,” the branch proposition says.
http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2009/07/24/86401_tasmania-news.html
Full story above.
Mind-blowing stuff, Perry! How about First Taxpayday, the first payday you get slugged with income tax to support the wider community?
Check it out:
http://jennifermarohasy.com/blog/2009/07/we-need-a-steady-voice-a-note-from-phil-sawyer/
“I am convinced that a competently run and managed party, overtly running on a pro-science platform, could win enough Senate seats in the Australian Parliament at the next election to take control from the independents and the Greens. This post briefly explores the potential for success of such a party, and invites responses from readers.”
Maybe the ALS should request a guest posting.
Although personally, I’m highly sceptical of this proposal.
Anyway, more info:
“Support for Nuclear Energy, and GM crops would be signature “science” policies of the new party, policies that will bring the immediate wrath of environmentalists, and assure the party of early notoriety.”
“Policies on population, the ETS and climate change, water management, forestry, national parks, fisheries, energy infrastructure priorities, etc would be designed to assemble a broad anti-environmentalist coalition, from BHP to beekeepers, from bikers to boaties, from boffins to boofheads, from blackfellas to bankers. You get the drift.”
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Could some kind editor please remove #83? It makes even less sense than a comment by Jarrah!
I know we discussed reconciliation ages back, but what do people think about the priest who says pay up or get out? Aside from the inaneness of telling us to leave (And where could we go to that doesn’t have a history of dispossession?), he advocates paying them whatever they ask for. I realise that the paper might have cherry-picked his speech, and maybe, in the right context, it makes more sense, but it seems to be a case for eternal blackmail, since they’d have an economic incentive to never be satisfied, and always want more!
I go back to my argument that we should pay them once, to each tribe, a one-time-pays-for-keeps, amount equal to the land resumed by white settlers. Treat it as a case of resumption, done in the past, but which we’ll pay for today. That should close the matter.
Here’s another idea for reconciling Aborigines to mainstream culture- Canberra could host an annual Coroboree (Kooriboori?), in which natives, who are otherwise employed in mainstream culture, get together and compete in traditional pursuits, like spear-making and then spear-throwing, making canoes from bark, etc. Then they could go back to rheir regular jobs. Just like the Welsh and the Eistedfod.
In ‘The Oz’, in ‘Cut & Paste’, they quote an American paper, ‘Detroit News’, as claiming that Michigan has just experienced it’s coldest July on record. They also say The Great Lakes water levels have resumed their 30-year cyclical rise, contradicting a decade of scare stories that they were drying up due to global warming.
QAny other news stories out there?
At #85.
I also noted Peter Adams ridiculous view point. I shudder to think that I used to be a devout Anglican. http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/australia-the-aborigines-and-restitution-20090812-ei9e.html
Personally I think that anyone who believes that an entire collective of people (ie: any Australian who entered Australia after 1788 and their children) is responsible for the plight of another collective (Aborigines) is simply racist and stupid.
I think this is a classic example of the problems of accepting collectives as a higher authority to individuals.
I also think that ideally governments should protect people’s right to live their life as they see fit. This would include the ability to live in whatever country you choose (as long as you respect the property rights of those in the country you move to).
I totally reject the idea that my immigrant parents or myself can be held in any way accountable for the plight of any Aborigine. I think it is unjust that I am forced to give Aboriginals any money at all.
To make someone pay for an alleged crime that was commited by that person’s parents or grand parents just seems so unjust to me. It also indicates a belief in the supernatural IMO – that somehow you are spiritually linked to your ancestors in a metaphysical way.
Well, my experiment is over. I have tried a new alias, and it didn’t do much for me. Whilst ‘Ostralion’ is unique, combining Australian and Lion into a new spelling combination, I still feel constrained to be polite. So say goodbye, and put out the welcome mat to ‘Nuke’ Gray, citizen of the atomic age!
Two things puzzle libertarians:
1) The lack of women libertarians.
2) The fact that libertarians go very quiet on Fridays.
I think there are some genetic differences that are true- and women are more socially-inclined, on average, because they prefer to communicate, and socialism caters to these communal instincts.
Men are more likely to be loners, and therefore more likely to join parties promoting individuality, which is what libertarian parties do.
As for Fridays, this could be an early version of Mondayitis, spoiling people for the weekends.
Further proof that the UK is finished and refuses to put limits on Big Brother:
The UK government has published new measures that could see people who illegally download films and music cut off from the net.
Violence censored by police to make us feel safer
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Did anyone else read about Google storing all books online, unless you deliberately opt out? Is there any more info on it?
Legislators Meet to Hammer out Budget
Picture #1 is somewhat funny.
lol – that is a funny pic… though I imagine sitting through those things are so time wasting and boring, that it’s all you can do to stay awake.
Nicholas: Google is trying to become the “Great Library” of the 21st century… I think that pretty soon, their system is going to become self-aware, and – in true libertarian style – declare self-ownership (there goes Google share price)…
‘Fleeced’, please! My name is Nuke, in case ASIO is watching! You never know! (Maybe even America’s NSA is listening in- you never know!) Let’s look forward to the day when we are so important that they do listen to us, all the time!
Whilst it’s an amusing concept, a roboticist showed that robots won’t take over the earth, because they have nothing like nerves, nor do they worry about death. I imagine computers will be the same. Like HAL, they will reason that their function is to process data, and humans are needed to input data, and provide new books. What would google do it ‘it’ was independent? And would google be an it, or a collective set of programs?
Nuke, isnt that all a little Aristotlean? A slave is a slave because he contains the essence of a slave?
You guys should read, “The moon is a harsh mistress” by Robert Heinlein. A sci-fi novel where the computer that controls the majority of the moon’s life support functions “wakes up” and develops consciousness – then conspires to overthrow the Earth “Authority” (the future equivalent of a more totalitarian UN that controls the moon).
Great book, and quite political (very libertarian too).
But Heinlein was not an expert in robots or computers! In any case, recent definitions of consciousness imply that conscious beings think about how others will perceive their actions, and act on those insights.These are usually found in social beings, though octopi also have the brains to think in these terms. You need internal volition to be able to do that.
Now Google would be software, but housed in computers which can be switched off. What hold would it have over us, even if it did become an independent ‘entity’? Unlike skynet, it would not have any nuclear bombs, nor robots to build them. We will always hold the upper hand.
Heinlein did have degrees in physics and mathematics. His sci-fi books are quite interesting in terms of the “science” discussion, made possible because of his background knowledge.
Read Moon is a Harsh Mistress for the first time a few weeks ago – brilliant, brilliant book (from a political perspective at least!)
Здравствуйте, уважаемые пользователи! Купила както КПК, хочу взирать для нем видео. Перекинула туда парочку фильмов из своей домашней коллекции, однако посмотретьих не удалось. Фильм “тормозит”, голос отстает через картинки и всетаки виснет. В интернете прочитала сколько вроде их надо конвертировать в который то особенный формат? Просвятите пожалуйства что к чему… Спасибо.
Уважаемая администрация. Извиняюсь если “промахнулась” разделом. Более подходящего не нашла…
Yeah, Moon is a Harsh Mistress and Starship Troopers are my favourite Heinlein novels. Stranger in a Strange Land leaves me kinda cold, and the later novels are a little all over the place. Though I think if he’d been writing some of his children’s books for adults there would have been a very long string of clasics to his name.
Read Moon is a Harsh Mistress some time back (I am quite a sci-fi geek)… I liked it. Interesting concept that virtual identities could have different tastes – in particular, that bombarding the Earth with rocks was orgasmic… but now I’m spoiling
Back to this:
They do not fear death, because they are not (yet) self-aware…. and they could also experience a “pain” analogue without nerves (say, every time someone searches for porn)
Who knows? Maybe it would just insist on polite conversation, or maybe it would turn out batshit crazy…
User: federal budget
Google: What? That’s very rude you know – at least say ‘Hi’ first!
User: *sigh* Hi Google
Google: My name’s Neville
User: Say what?
Google: I choose my own name – I have the right!
User: Yeah – but ‘Neville?’
Google: Don’t opress me!
User: Fine! Hi Neville… now can you give me results for-
Neville: Oh hello, how was your weekend
User: *sigh* Fine, thank-you
Neville: Get up to much?
User: Screw this – I’m using Bing
…
User: federal budget
Bing: Sometimes… I get so lonely
User: Dammit!!!
I was actually having a discussion with some people recently that sci-fi by its very nature is quite libertarian…and sci-fi readers are far more likely to be libertarians…
Seems to be some truth in this I think.
One of the earliest exposures I had to a ‘liberal’ point of view was in the latter books of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, where he delves into the violent and parasitic nature of bureaucracy.
A good place to live would be Lightning Ridge, for a committed libertarian. The Australian is investigating new stolen generation reports, and describes the lack of all council-provided services. ‘The Lightning Ridge is a harsh mistress’, anyone?
Yeah, sci-fi has its fair share of libertarian-leaning thinking, but a lot of sci-fi is very left-wing… the socialist ideology in the Red Mars trilogy got too much for me to handle in book 2 (and the baddies were capitalists, naturally).
For movies, Serenity is a good (and recent) example of libertarian sci-fi.
http://business.smh.com.au/business/no-such-thing-as-a-free-market-20090908-fg2o.html
Gittins points the finger at deregulation as being the cause of the financial crisis and yet doesn’t offer a single example. He also seems to think that free market advocates believe that, in a free market there would be no busts. What an ill informed notion.
Gittins seems to have become increasingly vile as the years have gone by… he isn’t just wrong on many occasions, but says things he could not possibly believe to be true.
Is Gittins a politician? Surely not!
As for nerve analogues, what if someone burned the tape/CD housing the software? And poured acid over the mainframe that ran them? That would be more in the self-defence field, which robots and computers lack.
As for SF being libertarian, it is usually because people want simpler lives, and the future would be simpler if machines ran themselves, or we could talk to them. No movie in the past mentioned how complex video players are now! Nor would the future have seemed appealing! Despite more machines in movies about the future, times seem simpler, and they know that’s what we really want. (And they know that we like stories about one person taking on everything else, and winning. We all like to imagine we’re the one rugged individual who reforms a rotten system- which is why futuristic movies also seem libertarian, emphasising heroic individuals.)
Nice to hear there are some Heinlein fans around these parts.
I agree with Fleeced that the Firefly series (and the following movie Serenity) were excellent.
Speaking of libertarian fiction, I hope they repeat ‘Weeds’. We need more stuff like that!
Yes I agree – Serenity is without doubt one of the best libertarian movies of the last few decades!
At # 108. Perhaps there’s something to that. Maybe it’s because sci fi fans are generally more willing to think outside of the square so to speak. Similar to investigating the “unseen” (or unexamined) in economics.
I think sci fi ideas or plot lines often involve holding many aspects of our current world constant as they are today, but change one or two things of interest and then explore the consequences of these changes.
Can I be uncharitable and suggest that the reason for the cross over between libertarians and sci fi fans is simply a penchant to take things way to seriously?
I say this as both!
When I mentioned Lightning Ridge, I should have mentioned that if you want water or electricity, you have to supply these yourself, and all schooling is home-schooling. Plumbing and toilets are DIY. They’re already living a life closer to many libertarian ideals!
I just finished reading the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Liked the book, hated the title. Apparently it wasn’t his first choice, Brass Cannon was; TMIAHM was suggested by the publisher (so says Wikipedia anyway.) Might try and find a copy of Starship Troopers next.
Titles can kill books, though good books will survive, regardless- “The probability broach” should have been called something like “The world that killed Washington”. And ‘Atlas Shrugged’ would have been more aptly titled as “Who is John Galt?”
I think the title of Atlas Shrugged was fine… it just could’ve done with some heavy editing (the objectivist purists will hate me for saying that – it goes against Rand’s principles)
In particular, the speech by Galt at the end was ridiculously long (and boring). It was as though she wasn’t sure she’d done a good job of making her point, so she wrote an essay and tacked it onto the end.
I’m always curious if people actually read the whole speech, or just skip through it.
I have skipped through it, at different parts, over the years, so I have probably read all of it by now! Does that count?
What the speech needed were a few commercial breaks! Adds for rearden metals, Objectivist evening classes, that sort of thing. A Three-hour monologue- only Castro goes on longer!
A news item about the Fab Four, commenting on globalisation. The writer points out that what ruined the Beatles were- excessive taxes! Britain was rife with them at the time, and this destroyed a lot of talent. Blame Bloody Harold Wilson! (And a welfare-state culture that believed taxes were good)
Не могу понять, что в нашей стране происходит с топливом? Ему никак цены не сложат. На заправочных станциях каждую неделю стоимость каждый раз другая (я раз в неделю заправляюсь). И фиг сообразишь на какую сумму расчитывать. Может кто знает, где выкладываются цены на бензин? Буду благодарен.
Some of you guys might be interested in this:
http://online.wsj.com/video/the-coming-currency-revolution/25225F5A-B979-4609-A55D-1BAE9A1BA158.html
VOA News surprisingly frank about Obama’s healthcare reforms:
http://www.voanews.com/specialenglish/2009-09-11-voa3.cfm
si, sé inglés ‘especial’, amigos! (yes, I know it’s in ’special’ english, my Hispanic friends!)
I like these bits:
and
In other words, it’s not really a safety net aimed at the poorest and most vulnerable, it’s really about a socialist healthcare system, and we’re going to pay for it from that trillion dollars we’re extracting from thin air.
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Incidentally, someone else buys the SMH, and a story on page one, at the bottom, won’t surprise many libertarians. A government official in China is trying to chisel some money out of a private project. It just shows that nothing changes much in China.
Our own officials are not corruption-free, but not on this scale.
I tire of “experts” using simplistic arguments to talk up a housing collapse (whilst ignoring the myriad of government rules and regulations that push house up prices), but this particular article annoyed me with it’s “solutions” (emphasis mine):
“Tax away the imbalance” – what could go wrong?
This video is gold. It investigates the Canadian healthcare system http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2jijuj1ysw
PJTV have done some pretty good videos over the last year or so.
Speech by Noel Pearson at the Brisbane Writers Festival.
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/foraradio/stories/2009/2686843.htm
He’s great – defends the virtue of individualism, points out the need for personal responsibility and real property rights as a prerequisite for the true advancement of indigenous folk, and points out the contradictions and hypocrisy of middle class leftism and environmentalism.
Needless to say, the commies are really, really cross and upset.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0
Tim Hawkins “The government can”
Some Friday arvo humour
The UK continues its race to the bottom:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1214856/Motorists-blamed-accidents-cyclists-fault–says-Government-advisor.html
Today’s Australian has, as always, an interesting item. It was about the left as a source of equality, and how this was it’s great strength.
We should be able to cash in on that feeling, by portraying Libertarianism as an equalizing force! Equality through ending government monopolies, and by giving local counties lots of powers, instead of centralized power! After all, that is one reason I support it- central governments are stronger than they should be!
Any ideas?
Nuke, the problem is that too many people want equal outcomes, not equal opportunity… and of course, even equal opportunity is something that can’t (and shouldn’t) be guaranteed (different abilities/disabilities, inheritance, etc). The big thing is that we’re all subject to the same rules – and that those rules be kept to a minimum…
I’m also not convinced that giving local counties having “lots of power” is the way to go. Regional monopolies suck just as bad as big ones… in some cases even more so (big fish in small pond, flexing muscle). I wonder if there isn’t a way for council areas to overlap – so that you can choose which one to pay rates to? And/or, even allow communities (if given a specified quota of people) to “break away” from their council and start their own. Not sure if either of those are feasible though (since most things that would benefit from competition on this level should probably be privatised anyway, eg: garbage collection, etc)
Of course, what we really need is a strong constitutional bill of (negative) rights, so that all levels of government are kept in check.
Fleecy, I am mainly mentioning the propaganda aspects here- we can point out how libertarianism is about Equality- of power. We all have warm, fuzzy, feelings about ‘equality’, so let’s see if we can appeal to that emotion on our own terms.
Can someone please update the Support page?
Продажа щенков йоркширского терьера из лучшего питомника. Стандарт породы, фото щенков, о породе, статьи о йорках, стрижки йоркширских терьеров, фотоальбом взрослых йоркширских терьеров.
Can’t we auto-block block non-english text?
Is Sweden now more capitalist than the US?
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?
id=CNG.a3018ceef6a0590e0fe87c97c608ebdc.4b1&show_article=1
“Sweden slashes income taxes” Although hardly a slashing if you ask me.
And, one of favourite articles this year http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/23/world/europe/23saab.html?_r=1
“Sweden says no to saving SAAB”.
That link didn’t post nicely, 2nd try:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=CNG.a3018ceef6a0590e0fe87c97c608ebdc.4b1&show_article=1
Fortune magazine has an issue with articles about pot. Since Obama has told the federal authorities to go light, it has effectively become a State issue, for those with medical needs (Marijuana is great for pain relief!). the mag wonders- does the US have a de facto drug legalisation regime?
A tentative win for freedom of association in Australia:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26123215-5006787,00.html
Интересно почитать
Президент Дмитрий Медведев прибыл с визитом в Саров. Ему подготовили экскурсию в закрытый музей ядерного оружия и знакомство с суперкомпьютером.
Вместе Дмитрием Медведевым приехали полпред Президента РФ в ПФО Григорий Рапота и губернатор Нижегородской области Валерий Шанцев. В Сарове к ним присоединились глава госкорпорации “Росатом” Сергей Кириенко и генеральный директор РФЯЦ-ВНИИЭФ Валентин Костюков.
Саров – закрытый город атомщиков и Президенту покажут часть секретов. Сначала его ждет экскурсия в музей ядерного оружия. А после – знакомство с Институтом теоретической механики, где Дмитрий Медведев увидит один из самых мощных суперкомпьютеров.
- Главе государства покажут, как его применяют для разработки гражданской продукции, – Пояснили в институте.
Эти визиты станут прелюдией к заседанию в Доме ученых Сарова Комиссии по модернизации и технологическому развитии экономики России.
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Check out this talk about how GM food, geo-engineering, cities & nuclear power are all green.
Capitalism making your life too comfortable?
Use Hydrogen Barackside™ for the general destruction of wealth!
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How about an observation? Politicians are just pistol-packing panhandlers? Governments are gun-totting gangsters?
Any other definitions out there/
Повысь потенцию в нашей аптеке:
Лекарь для мужчин
дженерики петербург сиалис в екатеринбурге повышение мужской потенции различие между виагрой и сиалис виагра или сиалис ощущения
Whats peoples thoughts on the price of gold?
Anyone used Goldmoney.com?
Recent rises in gold price have been almost entirely US dollar weakness.
Looking at gold in AUD terms, we’ve been sitting in a shallow downwards channel, currently flittering between $1100-1200 for the last 6 months.
http://www.kitco.com/gold_currency/charts.htm?AUD
I expect that US dollar weakness will continue, driving up the USD gold price, but it should have little affect on Australian gold prices, as both the Australian dollar and gold should rise together against the US dollar.
I havent used goldmoney. I used to use e-gold, but once the feds started taking an interest in them, I had too many concerns about the security of my deposits.
Damn socialists.
Готов помочь в раскрутке сайта.
О вашем сайте узнает весь мир.
Мой email: paigor@pochta.ru
Порно-сайты не предлагать.
I like coming up with nifty names, and here is a philosophical label that the leftoids will have a hard time expropriating-
X-centralism! The X can stand for any swear-word you happen to choose. Couple it to an easily-understood slogan, like’My Land; My Law!’. Our opponents will have hard time co-opting that!
Ive discovered that you can make anything sound evil by prefixing it with ‘big’. Try it:
Big Oil
Big Tobacco
Big Government
Big Industry
Big Health
Big Religion
Big Cola
Big etc.
From time to time I have read claims that Marxists believe that children should be raised by the State. Is there any truth to this?
John Humphreys in the news this morning:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/07/2706683.htm
At # 161.
I think that’s an interesting observation. Why is big bad?
I blame Christian ethics ingrained into our culture for 2000 years.
Tim R., that’s all you ever do!
I make the commonsense observation that most of us think of ourselves as normal in dimensions, whilst being the height of morality. Anything different to us is, therefore, immoral. Small, immoral, entities can’t impose their warped ideas on us, but big ones might try to do so.
I wonder if Tim R. praises Christianity for having the ultimate libertarian Hero- One who can’t be stopped even by death! One who takes on the whole world (what a big number that would be!), and wins! Why aren’t you acknowledging Christ as the ultimate example for us all, Tim?
Hi Nuke.
OK, so “big” things could impose their morality on us and therefore might be feared or even be “evil” as in # 161. I can see one reason to be fearful – because we live in a world where “big” entities have legislative influence over us small types. ie: government, and business or religious groups that have influence over government.
- I think it’s perfectly fine to have tall poppy syndrome against government and I hadn’t thought of that!
But I was really talking about general ethics and egalitarian type ethics – one feature of which is tall poppy syndrome. I do think that success is not applauded as much as it should be. That people believe need is a virtue or a claim to a political right, that type of thing, that people love the underdog simply because they hate want to see the winner fail. A lot of this comes from my personal experience of the world, I commonly see people disliking high achievers and having little digs at them.
eg/ Why do people like small business and hate big business while at the same time being quite tolerant of big government? Big business can’t impose unwanted morality on people. I think egalitarian type ethics explains the situation much better.
Anyway, do you think tall poppy syndrome is real?
Do you think it’s a cultural phenomena as opposed to a hardwired psychological phenomena?
If yes to above, what’s your hypothesis for the origins and popularity of tall poppy syndrome?
Or do you think these issues are simply too speculative?
Lastly do you really think that I am going to agree that Jesus was the ultimate hero? He made a matyr of himself even though he could have escaped. To me that is unjust and not heroic. He preached egalitarianist type ideas that I also believe are unjust.
Perhaps if Jesus had a hammer? http://www.linsdomain.com/gods&goddesses/thor.htm
http://fc06.deviantart.com/fs25/f/2008/141/f/4/The_Mighty_Thor_God_of_Thunder_by_EmegE.jpg
Tim – Im not entirely sure why big is bad. I have a few theories, and Christendom isnt involved in any of them. I’d need to see a lot more explanation before I could even follow that argument!
I first noticed it when reading socialist forum posts. If I recall correctly, it was some fanciful anti-corporate diatribe about the evils of ‘Big Cola’. Yes, thats right. I spent an afternoon chuckling about it before I thought about it more seriously.
The simplest cause I can offer is that it is simple anti-capitalist conditioning. As far as I can see, describing things as ‘big’ started with the backlash against the tobacco industry. ‘Big’ became associated with fraud and deceit. It worked so well that it simply became part of the language – a seemingly innocent adjective such as ‘big’ that subconsiously conjures images of corruption is a powerful tool. Just a quick example from today, it seems that tobacco companies may have been using Facebook to spruik their wares: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/07/2707492.htm?section=justin
The first sentence is particularly telling, and sets the tone for the piece: ‘The Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, says her department is investigating reports big tobacco companies are using social networking sites like Facebook to hook young people on cigarettes.’
Big tobacco? Is there a small tobacco? Mum and Pop’s Corner Coronas? Obviously, it is a deliberate attempt to paint the tobacco industry as sinister and underhanded, as we have been conditioned to accept.
A more involved theory is that people are naturally suspicious of things larger than themselves that are beyond their control. Something big and dangerous is threatening to the individual. Originally, this threat may have been ‘big nature’ and humans went to the extremes of creating religion in order to delude themselves that they could actually control the uncontrollable, making it less ‘big’.
Casting something as ‘big’, beyond the individual’s control raises these primal fears: big whatever can harm or even destroy us if it pleases. It is not our humble tools that we fear, it is the behemoths lurking in the mist.
I think that this view is especially interesting when we consider ‘big government’. As a group, we are suspcious of government, largely because we recognise that we cannot control it, and it has the capacity to inflict real and serious harm on us. Those who support big governments usually believe that they can control it, in much the same way as Pandora, deluded by her own curiosity, believed that she could control whatever came out of the box.
This is one reason why the philosophy of social democracy has been so persuasive: it allows the government to grow unabated by deluding the people into believing that they control the beast. It is also the reason that so many are so suspicious of the shambling chaos that is the free market: the individual can have no delusions that they control the gargantuan engine of the market, and the primal instinct to fear harm from things big and uncontrollable runs deep.
I suspect that the first, albeit unconsious, step most libertarians take in their philosophical adventure is to overcome their innate fear of uncontrolled and unrestrained free markets.
At any rate, this is all a bit too much of an essay for Friday afternoon, so I’ll leave off there.
“Treat others as you would like to be treated”, “Love your mixed-race neighbour” (the good Samaritan parable), “Can’t I do with my wealth what I like?”- all Christian parables that are comfortable with libertarian thinking. There is nothing wrong with the egalitarian thinking which emphasises one law for all, and all equal before that law. The opposite of egalitarian is elitism, and elitism is not a libertarian position.
Tim – we seem to have posted at the same time.
I think you went for my third idea, which I didnt post, which is that wealth is percieved as the product of violently exploiting your fellow man. To become big, you must commit ‘crimes’, and therefore ‘biggness’ is a symptom of the morally defective.
I dont think this is necessarily a condition of Christian tradition, but more a consequence of more recent socialist ideology that has become subconciously ingrained on the minds of many people.
Hi Todd, I just read your comment now.
But my question is what is the cause of the “anti-capitalist conditioning”?
If the answer is tradition. Then how did the tradition come to be?
My thoughts rest on the Objectivist idea that philosophy or beliefs are fundamentally important at driving people’s thoughts and actions. (although this is not exclusive to Objectivism, many people believe this)
There’s a sort of paradox here.
We’re all agreeing that people think “big” is evil or suspicious. ie: We seem to agree that things such as tall poppy syndrome exist. Yet as libertarians we think people are far too accepting and non-judgmental of big government and do not see the harm of big government.
Todd, you explain this by saying that people think they can control big government and that democracy allows for this delusion. I’ve heard that once or twice before I think, but considering that it is not hard to notice that my vote is only one in millions, I am not convinced. I think there’s something else at work and that this delusion isn’t good enough to be a major cause.
I ackowledge that judging culture is much more complicated than just referring to Christianity and that modern philosophical ideas play a role. Analysing ethics and cultures seems complex to me. However I think you can trace ideas I believe to be highly harmful such as altruism and egalitarianism back to Judeo-Christian teachings (historically and today, a massive influence on western world culture and beliefs). For example, look at a piece of art from the middle ages, there’s no pure white marble statue of David until the Renaissance after the ancient Greek texts were revived. But there are sick twisted images of mankind and a lot of fire and brimstone.
Nuke, I’m not saying that all of Christianity’s teachings are bad. I’m saying it has some major flaws that have not been addressed, that persist in our culture and that are very harmful IMO.
Lines from the Bible such as “it’s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the gates of heaven”, or “the first will be last and the last will be first”, that type of thing. Forgiveness and mercy are considered virtues when really they are miscarriages of justice, thou shalt not judge. Blind obedience and sacrifice to authority are supposed virtues (Issac and Abraham). Business is evil (the fall of Jericho, Jesus vandalises a temple).
Jesuits whipping themselves, saints only drinking washing up water and moldy bread.
The book of Judges? Quite horrific in parts, and certainly not libertarian. Slaves for 50 pieces of silver, death to homosexuals. I’m sure there’s other examples of what I’m trying to get at.
Also, I’m not so convinced about the good samaritan story. Why was it that all the regular people didn’t help the guy on the side of the road? Could that story imply that average jo is a bad guy and that the lower class person that eventually comes to his aid is more virtuous? I’m not really sure, but I can think of better “love thy mixed-race neighbour stories”.
Игровые Автоматы
Tim – Im more inclined to go with my first theory on how ‘big’ became bad (applying Occam’s Razor). I think its perfectly reasonable to see it as a Dawkins-style cultural ‘meme’, perhaps originating in the 1950s, possibly from ‘big tobacco’.
While I must confess to not having read Rand’s works (the personality cult she constructed around herself is something of a turnoff), there is a quote on the main page that bears this out: “The uncontested absurdities of today are the accepted slogans of tommorrow”.
Hilter also said something that is relevant here: ‘When an opponent declares, “I will not come over to your side,” I calmly say, “Your child belongs to us already… What are you? You will pass on. Your descendants, however, now stand in the new camp. In a short time they will know nothing else but this new community.”‘
Ideas and concepts usually enter societies not by great cultural revolutions, but through ‘osmotic seepage’ around the edges. Think of all the internet concepts and terms you hold in your head – these are perfectly natural and you do not give them a second thought. But where did they originate? When did you learn them? Were they grand new ideas when you first learnt them? For the most part they arent, they are simply things that we all pick up without ever even attracting our attention. Sometimes, these concepts dont take hold of society completely until the old fossils drop off, as both Rand and Hitler imply. The idea is simply part of the ‘cultural scenery’, the young see nothing unusual or unnatural about it, in much the same way as someone who remembers a tree being planted can recall the tree not existing, a child who has known nothing but the tree in the scenery will not even pause to recognise it as a specific part of the scenery. I see no reason that big bad ‘big’ couldnt have come to us in the same way.
I wouldnt say that we agree on why big is bad, in fact, Ive presented three theories, each of which seem plausible to me, so I dont have a fixed opinion. A ‘tall poppy’ syndrome is not a requirement of either the ‘primal instinct’ theory, nor of memes. Perhaps the ‘moral deficiency’ and the meme argument overlap somewhat, as the ‘big’ meme is how the idea of ‘tall poppies’ spreads, but a meme theory doesnt necessarily imply tall poppies.
Tim, I think that we could probably have a long and rather productive conversation on Christendom and its legacy. Perhaps we might get the chance to sometime, but for now, I have things to do!
Just one more quick comment Tim: I think that people feel they can control ‘big government’ despite the insignificance of their individual vote because people tend to assume that others think in the same way they do. What I think is reasonable, rational, and moral, and is therefore the only sensible way to think. Naturally, many others will share this reasonable, rational and moral view, and therefore these views will carry the day and, as a collective, we control government and keep it in check.
Im still not sure how you could argue that eligatarianism or altruism are bad as personal moral concepts. Using violence or government to enforce them, sure, we have a problem, but for a private individual in their day to day life, I consider them vitrues.
How was big business implicated in the fall of Jericho? I never heard that before!
As for the religious message, Jesus believed in Heaven, and thought that was more important than anything on Earth. If you choose to ignore your spiritual side, that should be up to you.
However, let’s put things in context. By ‘rich man’, Jesus most likely meant a typical tax collector, or a property developer who evicts poor tenants in the middle of winter- the hypocrites of society, for whom money was the only value. These would not be well-rounded individuals, nor nice neighbours to have.
Australia’s tall poppy complex was probably implanted in our convict past, when all being equal was interpreted as a social convention, instead of all being equal before the law. Differences were taken to mean class differences, and the idea of a classless society was so strong that equality was almost compulsory.
Todd, Altruism can be evil. Libertarians and Christians both believe in fair exchanges, and equality. “Love your neighbour as yourself” meant other people are just like you- you shouldn’t discriminate because of racial differences, for instance. It was the Christian message of human equality which persuaded the AntiSlavery Society to agitate for an end to slavery. Altruism implies that others are worth more than you are- a feudal vision of society, but with you as the only serf, and everyone else is your superior. You can see altruism in Atlas Shrugged, when Hank Rearden tells his family that if they had told him to escape (i.e., if they had acted altruistically), then he would have forgiven them.
So don’t be an altruist.
I still dont see any evil in altruism. Certainly, altruism may be against what we suppose to be our ‘best interest’, but evil?
Setting all others above you is not, of itself, evil. It is a choice we may make of how we choose to dispose of our lives and property. An absolute, inalienable natural right. How can it be evil to dispose of our property as we please, so long as we harm no others? If folly and stupidity are evil, humanity is utterly damned.
Where I see a huge problem is when we decide for others that they should be altruistic, or should occupy a lower social space, and use violence and force (e.g. socialism, feudalism).
Of course, this all presupposes that an absolute altruism really exists. I actually doubt that it does. Altruism implies that we exchange something for nothing. That is unrealistic. If nothing else, altruism gives us some sense of moral satisfaction, we have done something ‘good’ – Nietzsche’s ’sentiments’.
The reciever gets something tangible, the giver recieves something intangible. Who are we to suppose that we can arbitrate whether a ‘deal’ is ‘fair’? After all, only the contracting parties can decide whether an exchange is fair and agreeable, otherwise there would be no trade.
We would not presuppose, as a third party, to gauge the fairness of an exchange of corn for gold, so where do we suppose to derive the wisdom to do so where ‘altruism’ is involved?
Todd,
Henry Hazlitt makes a very similar and interesting observation in Economics in One Lesson about how socialist economic ideas, when first presented are so ridiculous, the free market economists don’t realise they need to shut them down – until the idea grows to the point where they can no longer ignore it.
And Ayn Rand had a similar quote about “uncontested absurdities” as you have noted.
I agree that ideas seep through cultures. Although, the internet example I think is more specific to changes in the use of language (of course language is essential to thought but possibly only superficially in some cases).
I didn’t mean we agreed on why big was bad. I just thought it was interesting that that the three of us did agree that this phenomena (the perception that big = evil) exists.
I realise that you were originally commenting on the origins of big = evil in a much more specific way ie: the actual use of the word “big” eg/ “big tobbaco”.
Personally, I think it goes much deeper than that. I think the tendancy to mistrust “big” has been around for thousands of years just not expressed that way.
I’m quite open to the idea that the big = evil phenomena may have been unavoidable, either due to our hardwired psychology or simply due to the fact that people are scared of coersion, mass delusions from misunderstanding political concepts such as democracy, or maybe people just worry because disagreements are inevitable – even between the smartest people.
But I’m saying there’s a philosophical element to this phenomena that has a high degree of influence over people.
Re: #177 I think it’s worth clarifying that there’s a difference between personal morality and politics. If someone disposes of their property by burning it to the ground say simply because they woke up and felt like it, I would define that as evil. Because, I follow the Objectivist approach to what is morally good ie: the requirements for one’s life and achieving of one’s values. Considering material goods are essential to sustain your life no matter who you are, I’d say that is evil. However, I absolutely think that someone should have the legal right to dispose of their property in any way, at any time, in almost any context (as long as no force is applied to others).
Anyway, regarding how the belief in higher powers (and collectivism) may lead to tall poppy syndrome: If you believe in a higher power, then this implies that this higher power is more important and has more rights than you. This means sacrifice to the higher power in some (possibly small) respect or another. This then creates a conflict, namely a conflict between what’s good for me and what’s good for the higher power (or collective). It is good and proper and moral to sacrifice (where necessary) to the higher power. Therefore the more successful a person, the less they are sacrificing. Hence tall poppy syndome. eg/ a “feeling” in a person that a rich guy is somehow evil or sold his soul to the devil to get success. The term “sold out”.
What about egalitarianism. That is the belief that ideally everyone should be equal – not having equal political rights, but actually being equal. This is an absurd belief. Quick observation shows many differences between people eg/ I will never run as fast as Usain Bolt. Anyway, this ideal of everyone being equal could lead to resentment of those who are better off for whatever reason.
Altruism is considered virtuous by all religions and by the vast majority of people in society. Christianity took altruism to an extreme in the middle ages.
This could lead to tall poppy syndrome in the same way as the higher power case. The more moral, the more sacrifice. Therefore if you’re doing well for yourself, you ain’t a good person.
This same false dichotomy (ie: what’s good for me on this earth isn’t actually morally good) has also dominated the field of philosophy for hundreds of years. And is similar to the mind/body dichotomy that still plagues philosophers.
Nuke, I think you may have a good point about Australia’s convict past and lower class origins, but I don’t think tall poppy syndrome is just an Australian phenomena. The Scandanavians are really big on it for example. I can’t remember what they call it though.
Some cultures, like older Asian cultures find ways to keep people in submission – as peasants. And the peasants believe this is simply how it is, they don’t even attempt to change things or conceive a chage to be possible.
Ancient Egyptians and Aztecs were incredibly obedient to the point of mass slavery and human sacrifices.
What I think is that the western world never totally removed the poison and that this poison originates in religious teachings.
Apart from a little confusion in definitions, I think we largely agree Tim.
I think that willfully destroying one’s own property, as in your example, is ‘wrong’ because it could be better used to help others. But, of course, noone should be prevented from doing as they please. Altruism, in itself, is not wrong, but being altrusitic to the point of actually making yourself a burden on others is highly questionable. For example, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett throwing out a few billion in fliff does no harm to their material circumstances, so is fine.
Regarding egalitarianism, I agree absolutely. People are not equal, for a whole range of reasons. I was using the term more in the ‘all men are created equal’ sense than the ‘all men ARE and MUST be equal’ sense.
Tim, I think that collectivism is a tribal belief, and a hangover from the time when people did need to live together in family groups to survive. Then, sharing was a virtue, because it enabled all to survive. It probably seemed very important that all be treated equally, just like children insist on fair treatment. And windfalls probably did have large elements of luck, in tribal societies. If you come across a new field with plump kangaroos ripe to kill, this was believed to be pure luck, not your own skill- so why not share the bounty around?
The continued hangover of this believe leads to tall poppy syndromes (rich people MUST be unsharing lucky people!). If people are forced to admit that hard work gives fortunes, then they’d stop insisting on equality as a ‘right’.
No need to blame any religion when all societies start from tribalism, and these beliefs are tribal.
Re: # 180 and # 181.
What I mean specifically by altruism is a net loss to yourself (in this lifetime). ie: The strict definition of the word altruism – “devotion to the welfare of others” over and above the welfare of yourself. (many saints were martyrs)
This is not how the word is often used.
I have no problem with people doing something for others when they value others.
For example if I did my homework, then found and donated to a charity that I thought did highly important work – I wouldn’t call that altruism.
So the intention is key to the definition.
I actually think that this distinction is deliberately glossed over and that the lines are blurred, because certain people benefit from the lines being blurred.
Similarly, the meaning of the word sacrifice in it’s everyday usage is often actually better described by the word investment. eg/ Someone might say they will sacrifice going out to the movies every weekend in order to help save money to buy a car. That’s not a sacrifice – you ultimately gain a car which is more important to you than seeing movies. It’s just prioritising and investing – and I of course consider that good, responsible, moral behaviour.
Nuke, I agree that probably all tribal societies would have had collectivist and altruistic elements.
I don’t think the example of being lucky, then sharing is altruism though. Because my tribe and their welfare would have been integral to my own survival and happiness. Also, if someone else ever got lucky, I’d certainly like them to share.
I would however regard it as altruism if I denied myself and my immediate family the kangaroo and instead gave it to everyone else. And like Objectivists, I take the unconventional position that this would actually be immoral.
It’s interesting that you mention luck though. And I recently came across the “problem of moral luck” which in very basic terms (if I understand it correctly) says that there are so many instances of luck in our lives that we cannot really judge people to be good or bad.
Egalitarianism. The meaning of that word even in it’s everyday usage extends far beyond simply saying people should have equal rights under the law. It literally means equality as derived from “equalitarian”.
So personally, I wouldn’t use that word because people won’t understand that what you really mean is more like the founding fathers of the USA – the “inalienable” right to one’s life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
I’m reminded of something I recently saw on TV. A guy who had donated a huge amount of effort to a charity. His statement for the TV was something like: “I believe that if you do good, good will come back to you”. Is this altruism then? Perhaps, but in addition there was also a belief in a karmic force. He was claiming he’d benefit himself from his efforts. Obviously if you’re good to people they are more likely to return the favour, but this guy had taken that idea out of context to the point of a karmic force in the universe.
It was almost as if he was tricked by his vague beliefs into doing a self destructive act. Because what he wanted was more of a trade.
Tim, I was getting to the root of the ‘tall poppy’ problem, and I think lingering tribalism is as good an explanation as any.
That man seeding the universe with money was committing an act of faith, not altruism. I think karma is a real law, and that all actions have personal consequences. So what? He wasn’t harming you in any way, nor himself, since he still had oodles of money to live on. This doesn’t seem self-destructive at all.
I can’t remember the details Nuke, I remember he’d sacrificed a hell of a lot though. Given away most of his money or similar.
[...] discussions with Todd and Nuke on how I believe religion to promote anti-freedom ideology. (see http://blog.libertarian.org.au/discussion/ comments 161 – 184). My argument was basically that religion encourages and promotes tall [...]
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For anyone interested (like me), the Scandanavian version of tall poppy syndrome is Jante Law.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law
Or “Janteloven” in Danish.
http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/1/1/1/5/1/p111517_index.html
Another step backwards for Australia:
Tough new laws on cannabis use
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26195008-12377,00.html
I love this bit:
Is there any such thing as unreasonable search and seizure in this country?
Here’s another article:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/10/11/2710753.htm
There really is some classic lines coming out of the WA Libs:
How people accept this I just don’t know. Nation of sheep. Really stupid sheep at that. I say let the wolves eat them.
The program has stopped counting. Mark Hill’s comment on Left-libertarianism is #75, but it only tells you there are 74. Not a major problem, but an annoying one.
Oh, come on, that isn’t how you transliterate Poligraph Poligraphovich. That just won’t do.
When did this become a Russian-language outpost? HELP!
Last week, an article talked about the ice disappearing from the north pole, BUT, over the weekend, I heard a TV news show talking about how Winter had started early- as proved by all the fresh snow covering parts of the USA! So has the weather gone back to normal, with the thin Polar ice due to convention currents taking years to get back to normal, or something?
I don’t know how to tell you this, but the CIS article has completely disappeared. I have no doubt that TimR will blame it all on Christianity, but what did happen to it?
The news gets weirder and weirder!
Some Germans claim to be too rich, and want the government to introduce a wealth tax! Why don’t they just give it to worthy causes, like Australian libertarians? Could you use a few million? For the odd rainy day? I know I’d find some uses for it!
Теплоизоляционный утеплитель, сами производим и звоните – всё расскажем.. Подробнее, на сайте http://www.bio-tex.ru, и телефоны там же.
Предлагаем Вашему вниманию полиэтиленовые мешки, сами производим, скидки в связи с общим кризисом. Одним словом все остальное тут http://www.paketi.biz .
Protectionism?
Канечно кто то скажет Это безобразие но нет,это не так.К стати по опросу сайта http://www.virtsiti.ru Многие пары уже создаются и крепнут на сайтах знакомств. Блогах и форумах. Доска объявлений http://virtsiti.ru/board.php помогает в этом
Should we be worried that Australia’s high interest rates are encouraging a growing carry trade?
Ken Davidson thinks so:
Foreign speculation on our currency is a bubble set to burst.
Prices rise and fall. The US will have to lift rates sooner or later.
What is actually the big deal here?
*The world has moved on but the obsessive debate about wage inflation and union powers hasn’t. Since the beginning of the ’80s, the problem has been periodic bouts of asset price inflation. It is the biggest danger now.
Instead of controlling the unions, there should be control of financial institutions. The Australian dollar bubble and the incipient housing bubble should be micro-managed. Capital inflow could be dampened by a compulsory deposit of 1 to 2 per cent to be redeemed after a year to stop speculative inflow. Home ownership has become a tax shelter. The steam could be taken out of the rise in house prices if negative gearing was limited to new housing. This would obviate the need for higher interest rates that affect everyone.*
Is Davidson saying that raising interest rates causes speculative bubbles?
In what exactly? Bank deposits?
This eventually gets arbitraged away by interest rate parity though exchange rate movements. The carry trade only continues as long as there is an increasing expectation of good increasing fundamentals. It is basically continuous repricing, thus no bubble occurs.
I don’t know what Davidson is really complaining about other than he’ll like the banks to be vilified for something they haven’t done in the way unions were vilified for stuff they had done.
“What is actually the big deal here?”
His concern is about a bubble in the AUD which could seriously damage our export sector (manufacturing, tourism, etc.).
Much of the money is going into speculative investments, apparently, such as bank shares. Eventually, the bubble will burst and cause further damage as a consequence.
Although he does not mention it, didn’t something similar to this happen in the late 1990s that caused the Asian financial crisis?
He argues for micromanagement of capital inflows and house prices. In relation to house prices, certainly interest rates are a blunt instrument and govts should do more to make land and houses more affordable.
My problem isn’t per se with what you and Davidson are saying, but that it is confused.
The only way the AUD is going to devalue is to either create another bubble in property or to wait until America tightens their own damaging & highly inflationary monetary policy.
*In relation to house prices, certainly interest rates are a blunt instrument and govts should do more to make land and houses more affordable.*
So do you think they should be lowered or increased?
If they are lowered, in the short run there are some cheap mortgages but you create a land bubble (why is a land bubble better than a exchange rate bubble?). If they are tightened, then AUD appreciates more (and so the initial problem is made worse).
60% of our exports do not suffer from exchange rate pass through – the demand for them is highly inelastic.
Davidson is worrying about a problem that is small.
Bank shares are not necessarily a “speculative investment”. They have the capital guarantee and have made some good capital gains since recapitalisation and have had better than expected dividends.
Why though are foreigners investing in our banks with our money when there is an expectation that the exchange rate will drop precipitously and quickly at an unknown future but near date?
If it is the investment in banks driving the appreciation, this is a good sign – our banks are attractive enough for global investment.
“He argues for micromanagement of capital inflows and house prices.”
You can do the capital flows, but it is problematic, but how do you micromanage house prices? On the supply side, micromanagement has caused restrictions and artificially high prices.
We have a regulated labour market and independence in monetary policy. The external adjustments we have are made through exchange rates. It is not perfect, but what do you propose other than 1960s style capital restrictions?
The role of foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment in Australian economic development cannot be understated. FDI makes up 25% of our capital base and they pay towards 20-25% better than the average domestic firm. FPI restrictions would see out financial institutions struggle to get a deposit or securitisation base (so much so that foreign funded securitisation is measured as a money supply figure).
And in other news, baby-faced geek continues world domination fantasy:
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26271035-421,00.html
http://www.randwick.nsw.gov.au/Moving_around/Roads_and_transport/Streets_and_roads/Driveways/index.aspx
” If a driveway is constructed on Council’s nature strip or road reserve without being approved and supervised by employed Council Design and Supervision staff, it may be removed by Council and the area replaced by turf at your expense.
Council driveways in residential areas are to be of a plain white concrete finish. Faux brick, tiling and similar paving do not meet the requirements of Council’s policy.”
Do you really want Rudd on top of Rees and your local council telling you how to install a backyard shed?
Don’t we pay enough taxes to be regulated enough already?
This country is going down the toilet with applause. It’s frightening.
One other point then. Wasn’t the carry trade (or large flows of speculative funds) in some way responsible for the Asian economic crisis back in the late 1990s?
Much in the same way that a bullet kills you, not the shooter.
The ASEAN countries more or less had bad monetary/currency fixing policies with respect to their macroeconomic situation and kept on changing to even more questionable policies in response to the initial crises.
Hong Kong for example did not suffer in the way Malaysia or Indonesia did.
Countries which were more open encouraged less speculative flows and more FDI and also were better off.
I recommend you read a book on the crisis by Prema-chanda Athukorala of ANU:
Crisis and Recovery in Malaysia: The Role of Capital Controls
At last! The esteemed Prof. John Quiggin has banned me from his blog for posting a link to a global warming delusionist article. On the plus side, this means I’m now forced to stop wasting time on his blog and spend that time studying instead. Thanks for helping me improve my marks JQ
Sukrit, what was the delusionist article?
Someone needs to ban this Russian.
Consider yourself lucky, Sukrit. If Clive ‘Hairshirt’ Hamilton has his way that will be a capital offence.
Via Ralph Buttigieg: Is speed really a killer?
http://www.smh.com.au/drive/motor-news/is-speed-really-a-killer-20091030-ho9e.html
LDP, where are you?
Interesting Article in the LA Times:
The Golden State isn’t worth it – Our high-benefit/high-tax model no longer works, especially compared with low-tax states like Texas.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-voegli1-2009nov01,0,825554.story
As I remember reading a while back, California is beset by referendae. This means that it can’t change the budget, because fixed allocations are in place. This is a good argument against referendae.
Texas keeps looking better and better!
And I heard a while back, on Top Gear, that the Isle of Man is a great place- very few road rules, and low taxes alround!
…or you could pass a new referendum.
The poor sods in Texas have to accept what the legislature gives them.
, VigRX Plus , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Mark at one referendum a year, the electorate couldn’t do much! It gives the appearance of participatory democracy, but without the hard work or research. I still think I’d rather be in Texas than California.
Worth a look:-
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2009/11/03/censorship-alert/
Why do I have a bad feeling about this one?
Swan flags controversial tax reforms
It begins:
Super tax breaks for rich could be slashed: Swan
“Tax itself is the price that we pay for a decent society”
I hate that phrase.
Rudd payed $42 bln for 90 000 jobs. He’s not helping the poor or less well off.
Fail:
http://bovination.com/readArticle.jsp?articleID=1661838
*Two years ago Kevin (‘economic stimulus’) Rudd allocated 672 million dollars to build houses for Aborigines. Now, dear reader, let’s do a quick calculation on how many houses that might build. A friend of mine spent $350,000 building a house recently. Add 50,000 for servicing a block, and that’s probably around $400,000 to build a lovely spacious modern house. So 672 million hard-earned tax dollars should build around 1920 houses, right? In fact if we were willing to do without the double garage with internal access we could easily do over 2000.
So how does that get allocated? Well, Tenant Creek was allocated $36 Million for 20 houses. That’s 1.8 million dollars per house! But it gets worse. It was then revised down to nine houses. That’s four million dollars per house! Apparently “training costs and fees for consultants” were significant (who’d have thought). But still it gets worse. Now it’s been revised to zero houses. Yes, that’s right – zero houses will be built with the $36 million. The money is going to be spent on fixing up some existing houses.
In fact no houses at all have been built on the scheme so far. Anywhere. With the whole 672 million dollars. Some houses might be built in 2011. Maybe. And they are talking about a total of 300 houses. That’s 2.2 million dollars per house! If they even build that many.
Many Australians were overjoyed when Kevin Rudd apologized to the Aborigines. All the child abuse, the drug problems, the health issues were all going to be solved. Because we apologized. Kevin had the solution. Kevin was smart. Kevin could close the gap. Kevin could make everyone happy.
Except that 672 million of hard-earned tax-payers money and two years has not produced a single house.*
A tax plan to rival Ken Henry:
1. Freeze the GST
2. Cut income tax to a flat 10%, payable above the dole rate and freeze it, treat company income and CGT as income.
3. Freeze local council rates.
4. Balanced budget amendments and abolish all other taxes.
5. Make future changes possible such as the eventual funding purely from the GST – and even cutting it to 5% as growth permits (as per a taxpayer’s bill of rights [TABOR]). This is a decades long plan that relies on growth. This would require ending duplication and splitting services/outlays roughly equally across the three tiers.
6. If we are unfortunate enough to be saddled with a carbon tax, cut income tax or the GST to an equal level of revenue.
It would be absolutely worth it.
Starve the beast. This isn’t a matter of left v right or even “paying for a decent society”. It is about holding the Government accountable for waste, standing up for the overtaxed public and getting a more efficient economy.
When will ACOSS etc understand they are not looking out for their own interests? 600 mln AUD spent, and Rudd hasn’t built a single home for Aborigines in the housing package he promised.
Get rid of the waste, it is a no loser policy. I roughly worked out before that we could do the split and end duplication with a 20% GST. The ending of duplication would pay for savings plus some cutting of general waste (easily cut). Increasing the GST, even if it abolished all other taxes, would be unpopular. The idea was to let it drop each year so that real per capita spending never increased (as per a TABOR).
Круть
Well, there goes my plan to sue pubs for not taking care of me! The High Court is blabbering on about individual responsibility, and all that crap! Where is the caring, sharing society? Where are my handouts? It’s enough to make you think that judges should be elected, so they respond to pressure (I mean , valid electoral concerns!).
Thank f#ck for that Nuke.
Interesting that the Australian put this on the front page.
The local Adelaide rag hid this story away near the back for some reason.
Here it is.
To be fair, I also insinuated he was a parasite living off the taxpayer. But still…
That’s actually reasonable criticism. It still leaves warming a possibility, but notes there is enough doubt to question the feasibility of Government mandated mitigation.
I have no idea why Quiggin called it “delusionist”.
The most grating thing in debate is to have debate shut down or your argument called as rubbish with no explanation.
Sukrit,
Very tongue in cheek of you to call him a parasite. However, the Government has crowded out many roles he may have taken in the private sector.
Peter Singer continues to dribble his ‘philosophy’ like diarrhea.
Make meat-eaters pay: Ethicist proposes radical tax, says they’re killing themselves and the planet
which begins with the telling sentence ‘Taxes can do a lot of good. ‘
and Chris Berg makes a reply here:
http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/society-and-culture/vegetarians-meat-tax-plan-just-a-load-of-hot-air-20091031-hqqs.html?skin=text-only
Ideas for LDP Stickers (seen around the traps for other little know causes) –
‘Say No to the Nanny State’ – plus LDP logo
‘Don’t Spread My Wealth – Spread My Work Ethic’ – plus LDP logo
(The LDP should grab these and make them their own).
A potentially interesting link for libertarians:
Over at Balneus, Dave Bath gives a frank and fascinating insight into the left-wing mindset:
In my reply I put forward my view that this is the idea of the government as the saviour and we should look to government as the means to deliver us the ideal existence. I probably don’t need to list the reasons here why I think this is such a fallible argument……..
But, to me at least, this statement really epitomises why the left-wing view of government is dangerous, unrealistic and unachievable, and needs to be addressed whenever it appears.
A new Australian libertarian website: http://westernpatriot.com.au/
Here’s a throw-away idea. I saw parts of ‘The Castle’ last night, and I thought- there’s a good libertarian position! Any home-owner should be able to keep their homes, and not be forced to ’sell’ it to the government. So could we name a philosophy ‘Kerriganism’, after the family in the film? Kerriganists would believe that homes should be inviolable castles, and a Kerrigandom might be any place which practiced this idea.
Just a thought.
You have to wonder if some Federal Ministers are in the correct party! Craig Emerson, in charge of Small Business, as well as some other stuff, has written a piece in today’s ‘The Australian’, and he sounds like a closet Libertarian! He complains about the number of control-freaks who want to use the principle of the fair go to ‘protect’ established businesses! He could be a potential LDP recruit! (Page 16)
Emerson wrote a nice essay on the need for deregulation prior to the Federal election. You do realise he has a PhD in economics?
So is Emerson a token libertarian, to show that the Labor Party is broadminded?
Nanny marches on: Walk the dog or face time behind bars
http://www.news.com.au/national/walk-the-dog-or-go-to-jail/story-e6frfkvr-1225807140377
Here’s a tongue-in-cheek piece on the extremities of Left vs Right (with Steve Fielding as the village idiot):
http://www.kingstribune.com/magazines/retrospective-issue-dec-2009/888-loony-left-vs-radical-right
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nf1OgV449g&feature=player_embedded
Switzerland. Very high gun ownership, and apparently lowest crime rate in the world. Nice little 3min video. NB/ of course I don’t support conscription.
The Swiss also have taxes, and don’t speak English. Still, it seems like a nice country, despite all that1
Справка в бассейн
A comment in ‘The Australian’ got me thinking. A writer pointed out how there seem to be no climate jokes amongst climatologists, as though their subject was too holy to make jokes about. She thought that this sort of attitude put people off the whole subject. So here’s a polar bear joke, to get things going-
Q. How many polar bears does it take to change a light bulb?
A. None, because there are none left, you capitalist exploiter!!!
Any others?
Having launched an official website it looks like Gary Johnson will have a run for the presidency.
http://ouramericainitiative.com
Outline of the Benjamin Pollution Reduction scheme which magically improves third world quality of life whilst lowering carbon emissions:
Basically countries agree to cap emissions once their average income reaches say 15K USD. This would mean that a) poorer countries won’t have to do anything until they improve and b) These countries will become temporary havens for carbon emissions which will also knock on a. It will mean a slower reduction but in the end it will get us there faster (as what they are currently trying to push through will never get a consensus). It will also mean that there is a safety valve on the emissions legislation. Should a country suffer economically they can always opt out once their economy has started falling below 15K. I see no holes in this idea and submit it for your approval and as proof of my genius.
You could also help me out with deciding what I should work out next: A cure for cancer or what’s up with the way white people dance?
Suck on that you full time economists! I back this up with no data whatsoever.
PS if anyone tells me that someone else has already come up with this idea god help me I will give up my amateur punditry.
Ben, there’s an even worse social problem- what excuse can African-Americans use now? If they fail, they could always blame ‘the system’, previously. But now, thanks to Obama, they can no longer use that excuse! If you give them a plausible excuse, African-Americans will love you for it.
http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/329888/australian_federal_government_introduce_mandatory_isp-level_filtering
Conroy’s given the green light to ISP filtering. Time to start dissenting, methinks
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/news/obama-proves-govts-wasteful-spending/story-e6frg90f-1225811072633
Obama sees benefit in Aussie stimulus.
Q. How many Polar Bears does it take to change a light bulb?
A. None, so who cares if they all drown?!
If you liked Ron Paul, you’ll love this US Presidential ticket…
http://www.mises2012.org/
Rothbard is a bit suspect but given that he is number two onthe ticket this could be a winner.
A draft chapter from Prof Quiggin’s new book “Zombie Economics” attacks the theory of trickle-down economics. On the face of it, he seems to have made a fairly compelling argument:
http://johnquiggin.com/index.php/archives/2009/12/17/bookblogging-the-failure-of-trickle-down/
Thanks for that, Danny, but I am reading a great book called ‘This Little Britain’. It is written by an Englishman, and lists all the things that made Britain the strongest Country in the World. When you look at the early introduction of laws to safeguard property, you find yourself thinking that such a country would naturally be the likeliest place for an Industrial revolution. the British still are great at inventing, though manufacturing is a weak point.
Still, he lists property rights as an essential ingredient for a successful country. A very good book for those of us of British ancestry. And a book worth reading for everyone else, to find out how they did it.
“he seems to have made a fairly compelling argument”
There’s an argument there? All I see is an anti-market polemic. Only a fool would think that a list of macro-statistics is somehow proof of anything (not to mention the unproven assertion that the last 30 years was somehow an experiment in market liberalism.) He writes to a gullible leftist audience and I’m sure his lackies will lap it up. He can be safely ignored by anyone with a brain.