Friday Morning Ramble: Now on Saturday

A ramble around some great posts around the interweb, where the death of a terrorist is still making headlines. [PS: Sorry for the delay, Blogspot has been down for the last twenty-four hours.]

• “Last week, SEAL Team Six shot Osama Bin Laden and fed him to sharks… This beautiful mission was expertly executed by some of the most able and admirable men on the planet, and [we all] deserve to celebrate.
  ”But we must also realize that killing Bin Laden is merely a fraction of what needs to be done—and done right…”
  One Islamist Fed to Sharks, a Few Islamist Regimes to Go – O B J E C T I V E   S T A N D A R D
• Although the Navy SEALs pulled off their mission with great precision and competence, the Obama administration proceeded to make a perfect ass of itself following the assassination of Bin Laden.
  The Keystone-Cops Administration – O B J E C T I V E   S T A N D A R D
• The chattering-class consensus that it was illegal for America to bump off bin Laden is not as radical as some people think.
  This pity for bin Laden is just pacifist-nihilism – Brendan O’Neill,  S P I K E D
• The Paradox of Terrorists: they are happy for other peoples kids to become martyrs but not their own...latest example, Osama's final will. [hat tip Stan B.]
  I'm Sorry for Neglecting You: Osama's Final Message to His 24 Children 
  – S Y D N E Y   M O R N I N G   H E R A L D
• “We maintain that arbitrary killing is not a solution to political problems,” said the family of dead terrorist Osama Bin Laden.
  Their father held a somewhat different position however. In fact, a position diametrically opposite. That was why he was killed.
  In further news, the sons said bin Laden’s burial at sea “demeaned and humiliated” his family. I sure hope so.
  Sons lash out at bin Laden’s ‘arbitrary killing’ – K H A L E E J  T I M E S
• Anyone who thinks Bin Laden was a "freedom fighter" has no clue.
  The witless on the pitiless - Russell Brown, H A R D   N E W S
• The Left, for all for all its professions of solidarity and concern, has little time for ordinary people. The victims of Bin Laden are of no interest to the likes of Ranginui Walker or Hone Harawira.
  Ordinary People - Paul Litterick, F U N D Y  P O S T
• And now from the “I bet you think this song is about you” department. Ever the egotist, all Martyn ‘Bombastic’ Bradbury can see from those last two excellent posts is an attack on him. Poor lamb.
  Being defamed by Russell Brown and Mr Smug – T U M E K E
  

Whereas the Obama administration’s repeated blunders made them
look like Keystone Cops, the Navy SEALs’ awe-inspiring assassination
of Bin Laden shows that they come about as close as anyone can to
being gods. Unlike the false gods of religious scripture, however,
the SEALs are admirable because they earn their power and glory,
defend freedom and civilization, and aim to kill only bad guys
- Craig Biddle, ‘Navy SEALs: Gods among Men,’ Objective Standard

• And now, in local news—but in Britain—Smile and Wave finally faces a more challenging interviewer than the dumbed-down local variety who are allowed on mainstream television here in Enzed … and is shown up for the airheaded lightweight he really is.
  [Sorry about the poor sound and picture quality.]

• Don Brash's Letter To PM John Key Goes Viral (Includes letter & Scoop analysis of Budget& ACT's response)
  Don Brash's Letter To PM John Key Goes Viral – S C O O P
• The unsustainable taxpayer subsidy for KiwiSaver faces a long-overdue cut. But not, you might note, the inequitable taxpayer subsidy for the Parliamentary Superannuation Scheme. They’ll still get a $2.50 taxpayer subsidy for every dollar of “theirs” (i.e., yours) that they put in.
  KiwiSaver cuts ignore MPs' super – S T U F F
• Tattooed, preserved, shrunken Maori heads—mostly the heads of former slaves—are being repatriated to New Zealand from European museums. Like Lindsay Mitchell, “I struggle to understand why anyone wants a reminder of this brutal, exploitive practice.” Respect for human remains? “Ironic as they weren't respected in life.”
  Returned heads reminders of a brutal past  - L I N D S A Y   M I T C H E L L
• There’s been a lot of photo galleries showing the tragic destruction of what was once NZ’s second-biggest city, but none showing it anywhere near this well. Or this thoroughly.
  Into the Red Zone – Ross Becker, P I C A S A
  
  
• As the Australian housing bubble starts deflating, and as the air continues to go out of NZ’s housing bubble, it might be a good time to read (or re-read) Hugh Pavletich’s insightful piece on housing bubbles and their aftermath—what causes them; why planners and “trained economists” can’t pick them but untrained vegetable pickers with common sense can; and what this means for central banks, central planners and you.
   Housing Bubbles And Market Sense 
  - Hugh Pavletich, P E R F O R M A N C E   U R B A N   P L A N N I N G
• By the way, remember when Prime Minister Smile and Wave told the Wall Street Journal “You cannot spend your way out of a crisis.” Time he starts doing what he said he’d be doing, eh.
  "You cannot spend your way out of a crisis" – W A L L   S T R E E T  J O U R N A L
• Don Brash’s resignation letter to John Boy says what many thinking New Zealanders would like to say to him about his premiership: For how much longer do you intend to ignore reality.
  Don Brash's Dear John Letter to the PM – Don Brash

“I place economy among the first and most important virtues, and public debt
as the greatest of dangers to be feared . . . To preserve our independence,
we must not let our rulers load us with public debt . . . we must make
our choice between economy and liberty or confusion and servitude . . . If
we run into such debts, we must be taxed in our meat and drink, in
our necessities and comforts, in our labor and in our amusements . . . If
we can prevent the government from wasting the labor of the people, under
the pretense of caring for them, they will be happy.”
- Thomas Jefferson

• Every western government is struggling with ballooning deficits. Every western government is struggling with ballooning deficits because every western nation has had a decades-long experiment with unsustainable welfarism, and a system of central banking to pay for it.
  And now the debt for that experiment is being called in.
  Monetary Policy, the Federal Reserve, and the National Debt Problem 
  - Richard Ebeling, N O R T H W O O D   U N I V E R S I T Y
• You might not have noticed it, but The Next Great Inflation has already started.
  “I can’t eat an iPad.’ This could go down in history as the line that launched the great inflation of the 2010s.
  ”The reason the CPI [doesn’t credibly measure price inflation] is that, as economist John Williams tirelessly points out, it’s a bogus index. The way inflation is calculated by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has been “improved” 24 times since 1978. If the old methods were still used, the CPI would actually be 10 percent. Yes, folks, double-digit inflation is back. Pretty soon you’ll be able to figure out the real inflation rate just by moving the decimal point in the core CPI one place to the right…
  The Great Inflation of the 2010s – Niall Ferguson,  N E W S W E E K
• A largely overlooked phenomenon in the market for gold futures is the “canary in the coal mine” for the coming crack-up boom. That canary is now dying.
  Permanent Gold Backwardation: The Crack Up Boom
  – Keith Weiner, D A I L Y   C A P I T A L I S T
• What comes next after the crack-up boom? Well …
  Steve Forbes predicts Gold Standard within 5 years – H U M A N  E V E N T S
• Ron Paul and Steve Forbes discuss why a gold standard would begin stability, and put an end to the Federal Reserve.
  Dr. Ron Paul's Gold Standard – F O R B E S
• Just for the record, “Alan Greenspan, I knew Ayn Rand, and you're no Objectivist.” Nor are you any kind of free marketeer. But you might be the man who destroyed America.
  Alan Greenspan vs. Ayn Rand and Freedom
  – Harry Binswanger, C A P I T A L I S M   M A G A Z I N E
  Alan Greenspan Betrayed Ayn Rand and Ruined the Economy, Says Ayn Rand Institute President
  - Yaron Brook,   Y A H O O  F I N A N C E
  
• You know how cool it is when your heroes are also your heroes’ heroes. Here’s a fan letter sent to Ayn Rand by Ludwig Von Mises after he’d just put down Atlas Shrugged for the first time.
  Dear Mrs Rand… -  L U D W I G   V O N   M I S E S
• You’ve seen the Hayek v Keynes rap anthems here and here. Now read what they were all about.
  The Hayek-Keynes Debate, 1931-1971 
  – Sudha Shenoy, M I S E S   E C O N O M I C S   B L O G
• And find out how Hayek differed to Milton Friedman.
  Hayek & Friedman: Head to Head – Roger Garrison
• And here’s a cornucopia of Hayek on the Tube:
  First, Bernard Levin (who first coined the term ‘Nanny State’) interviewing the great man back in the 70s.

• Jamie Whyte analyses Hayek’s analysis of boom and bust, and how it applies to the latest bust—and asks “Was the crash itself caused by problems already manifest in the boom?”

• There are many good things to be said about PJ O’Rourke.  But his understanding of Ayn Rand is not one of them.
  P.J. O’Rourke doesn’t get Ayn Rand – Don Watkins, V O I C E S   O F   R E A S O N
• Here’s the perfect thing to take into your next meeting with your thieving lawyer. (Apologies for the tautology.)
  L A W Y E R   C L O C K
• “When people are driven by profits and protected by property rights, environmentally friendly products will develop naturally."
  Governments vs. Markets: Julian Morris on Environmental Protection – R E A S O N
• When it comes to discussions about ethics, flatulent subjectivist blowhards will talk about something called the “is-ought” gap and use it as their excuse for claiming anything goes. Hit them over the head with this.
  The Is–Ought Gap: Subjectivism’s Technical Retreat 
  – Craig Biddle, O B J E C T I V E   S T A N D A R D
• Science is slowly confirming what artists and aestheticians—those that are worth a damn—knew all along: That beautiful works of art give the same mind rush as being in love!
  Brain scans reveal the power of art – T E L E G R A P H
  Scientists Confirm: Beautiful Art = Mind Rush Love – Michael Newberry, S O L O
• Just another reason to dislike Apple. Their ads (even when they’re real) are so smug.
  
  
• How did the homeopath, the politician, the engineer and the lobbyist upgrade the bridge? Answers at Darwin Eats Cake.
  Civil Engineering Exam Question on the Reinforcement of Existing Bridge 
  – D A R W I N  E A T S  C A K E
• U.S. troops in Afghanistan are using “green” ammo. Better for armour penetration, but (despite the headline) not as effective in killing bad guys as lead.
   New Army Ammo Puts Mean in ‘Green’ – M I L I T A R Y . C O M
• I don’t know about you, but instead of Grand Designs I’ll be watching this new TV series with interest when it starts on Maori TV on Sunday night: “a fascinating new 13 part documentary series dedicated to exploring the unique architectural history of our Māori ancestors. Architect Rau Hoskins will guide viewers on a journey around the country, exploring the rich history of Māori architecture, both historical buildings as well as contemporary work.”  (Keep an eye out for architect and Libz candidate Fred Stevens in Episode 12.)
  Whare Maori with architect Rau Hoskins – M A O R I   T E L E V I S I O N
  
• And here’s another I’d like to see on local television—a documentary providing an astonishing journey through the innovative, futuristic, utopian and sometimes bizarre “visionary architecture” of the twentieth century.
  Great Expectations – S O L A R I S    F I L M S
  
• Bugger ‘Vienna.’ There was a time (back before John Foxx left the band) when Ultravox were hot. Damned hot. (Never mind the shitty live video, this stuff is the dog’s bollocks.)

• Speaking of hot.

• How’s this for love, from the sacred all the way to the profane. Only jazz can do this.

• And finally, Jimmy Lunceford’s lead trumpeter Snooky Young died yesterday at the age of 92. Listen for his cameo on this beauty. [And see and read more about him here at Jazz on the Tube.]

Thanks for being so patient.
Enjoy your weekend.
PC