FRIDAY MORNING RAMBLE

It’s Friday, so let’s get into it…

First tobacco, then alcohol? No, that would never happen.
No slippery slopes, nothing to see here – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR

Nine things that will disappear in our lifetimes?
Will these last our lifetimes? – HOME PADDOCK

A question many Americans are asking:
Is President Obama's Prostate Gland More Important Than Yours? – Paul Hsieh, FORBES

Difficult even for an honest European politician to do anything, even if one existed.
Eurozone's electorate becoming increasingly polarized – SOBER LOOK

A new quick and comprehensive resource for those interested in the history of inventors and intellectual property or who are personally involved in the creation of patents is. From Samuel F.B. Morse and the telegraph system to James J. Wynne and LASIK Eye surgery, this online tool compares over 450 of the world’s most revolutionary inventors, both living and dead, and their intellectual property.
INVENTORS: FIND THE DATA

We live in an era of technological wonder. Yet we fear every new wonder we produce. Why?
We Have Nothing to Fear but the Fear of Fracking – Alexander Hrin, THE UNDERCURRENT

While other brands trip over themselves to generate the impression they are new-age, planet saving, social-service adjuncts, Apple were busy building a formidable company, creating thousands of jobs and changing the lives of millions of people with kick-ass consumer products. Oh, and telling the U.S. government-backed registration of environmentally friendly electronics to naff off.
Apple Shun Environmental Registration – MOTELLA

You want to a fiscal cliff? Then look what happens when cans are kicked down the road.
The Real Fiscal Cliff – Peter Schiff, BASTIAT INSTITUTE

Repeat after me: World War II did NOT end the Great Depression.
The Keynesian Myth about World War II and Prosperity – ECONOMIC POLICY JOURNAL

Repeat after me: Cheap money DOES inflate the stock market.
Chart of the Year: The Fed Has Doubled the S&P Admits...the Fed – Tyler Durden, ZERO HEDGE

Repeat after me: Capitalism isn’t dog-eat-dog: It’s win-win. It’s the welfare state that’s lose-lose.
The dog-eat-dog welfare state is lose-lose – Don Watkins & Yaron Brook, FORBES

And despite the public’s and politicians’ Alice-in-Wonderland confusion about trade, even unilateral free trade is good. So why do trade negotiations never even acknowledge that?
Mercantilist Myths Persist – CAFE HAYEK

Message to Federal Reserve Bank Chairman Ben Bernanke: A fall in interest rates cannot grow the economy. All that it can produce is a misallocation of real savings. So what’s with Operation Twist Again?
Yet Another "Operation Twist"? – Frank Shostak, MISES DAILY

Good news from the Philippines?
This country is the next economic tiger in Asia –SOVEREIGN MAN

If GDP measures production, then why do GDP figures and figures for industrial production diverge so sharply? The answer is that GDP measures money flow, not production—so when debt is fuelling a consumption-driven bubble, numb nuts who think GDP does measure growth are deluded into thinking things are growing. When instead they’re heading for disaster (as shown in this graph, blue showing US GDP, red showing US Industrial Production):
A question for a bonus point: If the real problem is increasing debt without increasing production, them how does more “quantitative easing” tackle that—isn’t deleveraging the answer, not the problem the central banks are trying to avert?
The Deleveraging Trap – John Aziz, ZERO HEDGE

So what’s wrong with the Labour Theory of Value?

You think things are bad now?
14 First World Problems From The 90s – BUZZFEED

Many parents say they want a successful kid, but what exactly does a successful kid mean?
A Successful Kid – Daniel Wahl, NEARBY PEN

What is a central purpose in life and do you need one?  In this post, John Drake takes another look at how a central purpose can guide and enhance your life.
Central Purpose in Life - Another Look  - TRY REASON

What about parenting as a central purpose in life?
More on Central Purpose – Diana Hsieh, NOODLE FOOD

Pandora Internet Radio and Spotify are now both accessible in New Zealand. If you love music, check them out. You won’t regret it.
Pandora Internet Radio
Spotify

Paul Krugman and friends need to get out into the real world:

Surreal.

You want trumpet? You got it.

The last three minutes of Wagner’s opera Die Walkure (The Valkyrie), with the full five hours coming soon to a New Zealand city near you! 
Great Opera Videos explains the scene: “Just as Snow White and Sleeping Beauty are protected by briar thickets to daunt prospective suitors, Brunnhilde will have a ring of fire, which Wotan lights in this Met performance of the Magic Fire Music from Wagner's Die Walkure.

Click for details.

[Hat tips to Marginal Revolution, Cafe Hayek, State of Innovation, Motella]

Thanks for reading.
Have a great weekend.
PC