Quote of the Day: Culture vs Multiculturalism

Today’s quote, an observation on the birth of the Multicultural movement, comes from a 2012 obituary of Australian Roger Sandall, the author of book The Culture Cult.

Roger [Sandall] … was the first scholar to realise the implications of the fundamental difference between American and English notions of culture that had by [merged by the late seventies].
    The English version derived from the poet and essayist Matthew Arnold’s account in Culture and Anarchy(1875), which defined culture as “the best which has been thought and said in the world” and which hoped that by educating people to know what these thoughts and words were, they would lift humanity to a higher, more civilised status. The American version came from the anthropologist Franz Boas, the founder of Columbia University’s school of anthropology, who defined culture as the totality of human behaviour within a social system.
    In place of Arnold’s concept of a cultural hierarchy, Boas substituted a value-neutral, radical egalitarianism: all cultures were prized by the people who inhabited them, no cultural values could be judged better than any other, hence all cultures were different but equal.
    By the 1980s, the triumph of the American anthropological conception of culture over the Arnoldian conception was all but complete…
- Keith Windschuttle, “Vale Roger Sandall”

Friday Morning Ramble: The Cup Hangover Edition

Three unfortunate New Zealand traits were in evidence after yesterday’s loss, almost outweighing the admirable New Zealand traits otherwise so much in evidence over the previous nineteen days in the teams of both boats (let’s not forget, NZers were everywhere): the ability to put together winning teams, the ability to put together winning technology, the passion to pursue excellence, and the ability to win. (Yes, plenty of NZers were on the winning team, in all of the sailing, technology and organisational fronts. Just enjoy that.)
    The first and worst reaction to losing was whinging. Something NZers are getting too good at when losing.
    The second was the tall poppy reaction to Larry Ellison winning, all the whinging about how he had more money to spend than “we” did, and all the conspiracy theories asserting that if their boat was so fast and he is so rich then ipso facto he and his team must have cheated.  Get your hand off it, people.
    And the third was the almost instant leap into print from rent-seekers keen to continue having Team NZ on permanent welfare. Bollocks to that, I say. if people with their own money want to enjoy having a team in the Cup,  then all power to them. Great. Put up your own dosh. If businessmen and women think a Team NZ in the America’s Cup will help their business, then all power to them too. Let them put up their own money to help their business out. And if politicians, like Trevor Mallard, want a place at the international sporting table, then let the bastards go out and get a real job and earn it.

But do not, do not, have the cheek, the temerity, to demand that other NZers put their hands in their pockets to help you out.
    Please. Let’s not go there again.

Ian Taylor says America's Cup is vital for NZ boat industry [AUDIO, 4’33] – RADIO NZ
Of Free Riders and Forced Riders: America's Cup edition – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR 
The good news from the America's Cup – Paul Walker, ANTI DISMAL

Right. I’ve got that off my chest. On with some other things going on out there while you were otherwise engaged…

“Asenati Lole-Taylor MP uses distortion while trying to foment moral panic against vulnerable South Auckland whakawahine, fa'afafine and cisgender street sex workers... and she's not alone.”
Sex Work, Moral Panic and the Manukau Bill – Craig Young, GAY NZ

You might never before have valued the Daily Mail’s accuracy. But their description of John Key might change your mind.
"Perhaps she is having second thoughts about letting this galloping colonial clot through the front door?" – DAILY MAIL

Go on, take a guess. How many years on average?
"Sole parents spend an average 15.8 years on benefit" – LINDSAY MITCHELL

So much for Reserve Bank independence, eh?
That’s it, I’m done: RBNZ takes the path of discretion – Matt Nolan, TVHE

I think he makes a god point about Cunliffe’s Shadow Cabinet.
A signal to the Greens? – NO RIGHT TURN

If society as a whole--a nonsensical construct of course--is concerned about the well-being of low-wage workers why should shareholders in McD's, KFC etc. be the ones footing the bill?
McDonalds and the minimum wage – John Cochrane, THE GRUMPY ECONOMIST

“To paraphrase Hayek, electing one's govt is not the same thing as controlling it.”
- Philip Schuyler

The local #SurveillanceState isn’t going away.
Next step in the fight against a surveillance state – the TICS bill – Steffan Browning, FROG BLOG

Simple advice for filling out the complicated STV voting for.
Don’t vote for people you don’t want – STEPHEN FRANKS

Okay, who has more economic power in the US -- rich business people or politicians?

Daniel Hannan speaks on Magna Carta: the secular miracle of the English-speaking peoples.

In his latest book, The Great Degeneration, historian Niall Ferguson argues that the west is stagnating because of broken "institutions."
'The Great Degeneration' - by Niall Ferguson – PRACTICE GOOD THEORY

Another story from the Law of Unintended Consequences. (This is your future under Bernard Hickey.)
Currency controls invite arbitrage – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR

Don’t trust models funded by taxpayers, either economic or climate models, or on anything else, that are in the perceived self-interest of the political class doling out the funding.
Model Meltdown: Govt Funds the Forecast It is Looking For – Richard Rahn, TO THE POINT NEWS
'Political advocacy by climate scientists has damaged trust in the science' – THE HOCKEY SCHTICK

Oh, and careful of that mathematics.
Mathematical Truths Do Not Make Untrue Assumptions in Economics True – ADAM SMITH’S LOST LEGACY

"If we used today's inflation measure in the 70s, there would've been no inflation."
- Peter Schiff

“The "foreign aid ends poverty" debate is over. Jeff Sachs omits aid from things ending poverty.”
The End of Poverty, Soon – Jeffrey Sachs, NEW YORK TIMES

Growth? Prosperity
Illusion of Prosperity: Deflating the American Dream; No Recovery in "Real" Income – MISH

Are we really any wiser than we were five years ago?
Six Lessons You Should Have Learned From the Financial Crisis – Brett Arends, WALL STREET JOURNAL

“The United States is caught in a stimulus trap from which there is no easy exit. How can the Fed wean the economy from stimulus when stimulus IS the economy?”
The Stimulus Trap – Peter Schiff, March, 2013
The Taper That Wasn't – Peter Schiff, Sept 18, 2013

“Human beings are suckers for a story. The story peddled by mainstream economic commentators goes that the US Federal Reserve and its international cousins have acted boldly to prevent a second Great Depression by stepping in to support the banks (and not coincidentally the government bond markets) by printing trillions of dollars of ex nihilo money which, through the mechanism of quantitative easing, will mysteriously reflate the economy. It’s a story alright, but more akin to a fairy story.”
Taper (where?) party – Tim Price, COBDEN CENTRE 
No tapering, no surprise – Alasdair Mcleod, COBDEN CENTRE

The simple reason Ben Bernanke can’t “taper” …

Yes, Dianne Feinstein, people have.
These 5 people used an AR-15 to defend themselves and it may have saved their lives – THE HUMBLE LIBERTARIAN

Yes, you can both dispense justice and save money.
An Amnesty for Prisoners of the War on Drugs – Ernest Drucker & Mike Trace, HUFFINGTON POST

No, fracking isn’t as dirty as you think.
Is hydraulic fracking for natural gas safe? – Leith Van Onselen, MACROBUSINESS
The new fracking study environmentalists don't want you to see – THE WEEK

Yes, there is good news this week.
HIV infection figures tumbling around the world – NEW SCIENTIST

Yes, Islamist attacks are universal.
Two Muslim Outrages – POWER LINE
All Muslims leave.. we only want non-Muslims – AFRICAN SPOTLIGHT

Yes, even a Marxist Muslim can make sense.

Germany demonstrates the world’s energy future.
Germany's green dream is becoming a nightmare – Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, VANCOUVER SUN

Um, but what happens if do you lose the last decimal?
EU climate chief: “You don’t need to have the last decimal to see that the overall number isn’t  looking good” – Steve Milloy, JUNK SCIENCE

“UN IPCC Report Exposed By Its Own Members as ‘a pure political process”
Why the IPCC Meeting Isn’t Being Televised – NO FRAKKING CONSENSUS

“The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is set to release its Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the physical science of climate change at the conclusion on its editorial meeting in Stockholm scheduled from September 23-26th. A version of its Summary for Policymakers (SPM)—perhaps the most influential portion of the report as it is the widest read—has been “leaked” to generate media interest in the upcoming release. It certainly has, but perhaps not in the manner intended. The leaked SPM has revealed a document so flawed and removed from current science that it has been described as not only being  "obsolete on the day that it is released, but that it will be dead wrong as well."”
More IPCC Misdirection: Its Dodgy Sea Level-Rise Assessment – Patrick Michaels & Paul Knappenberger, CATO AT LIBERTY
Access: The “leaked” IPCC AR5 draft Summary for Policymakers – WATTS UP WITH THAT
EPIC FAIL: Financial Times graph shows IPCC projections fail against observations – JUNK SCIENCE 
Sure the warming is there if only they could find it – ANDREW BOLT

“IPCC Scientists “forced to concede that the models have been giving CO2 too much weight as a climate driver’”
Warming Gets Delayed Again…IPCC Scientist Mojib Latif: Pause “May Stubbornly Remain Until 2020 or 2025″! – P. Gosselin, NO TRICKS ZONE

“Arctic ice was the last remaining surface refuge for the perpetrators of the climate scam, and now they have retreated to the missing heat in the deep oceans – more classically known as climate science hell.”
Hell Freezes Over For Climate Alarmists – Stephen Goddard, REAL SCIENCE

“But there’s a CONSENSUS!” shrieked the bossy environmentalist with the messy blonde hair.  “That, Madame, is intellectual baby-talk,” I replied.
The illogic of climate hysteria – Christopher Monckton, WATTS UP WITH THAT

“If you had the opportunity to ask 5 critical questions for the IPCC, what would you ask?”
Five critical questions for the IPCC – CLIMATE ETC.

The IPCC responds to the five questions sceptics are asking:

Which do you prefer? (Yes, this is scientific research.)
The average women's faces in different countries –MY SCIENCE ACADEMY

Perhaps I should hang out more outside philosophy departments?
The hotness-IQ tradeoff in academia – THE HARDEST SCIENCE

Now, the results of  this I really would be interested in.
Tell Us: Which Way Does Your Desk Face? – APARTMENT THERAPY

“Our fascination with faces exists, to some extent, on the day we’re born.”
How we learn to see faces – 3 QUARKS DAILY

Cool!
The world's first inflatable concert hall arrives in Japan's disaster-hit north eastern coast – ARCHINECT NEWS

Bring on the Kickstarter!
Atlas Shrugged Movie Launches Kickstarter Campaign – Dale Halling, STATE OF INNOVATION

Then, they came for the chess players, and I said nothing …
Brickbat: Checkmate – HIT & RUN

Serial Thomas Jefferson liar won’t go away.
Debunking David Barton's Jefferson Lies – Chris Rodda, HISTORY NEWS NETWORK

 

"The Constitution is not neutral. It was designed to
take the government off the backs of the people."
-Justice William Douglas

“Why don't apes have musical talent, while humans, parrots, small birds, elephants, whales, and bats do?”
Why Humans Are Musical – SCIENCE DAILY

Mies Van Der Rohe’s modernist icon--the world's largest single-room schoolhouse, the Crowne Hall—is being renovated. Not everyone’s happy.
The redesign of the interior of Mies van der Rohe's Crown Hall: Glass Boxes within the Ultimate Glass Box – ARCHITECTURE CHICAGO PLUS

“It's what architects call the useless, non-occupiable additional space in super-tall structures.  In fact, there's even an organization that measures and ranks buildings on the vanity height variable.”
Much of the height in Earth's tallest towers is useless space – io9.COM

The late-twentieth century’s favourite stylist—for a time he was interior design’s Jamie Oliver—lets photographers into his apertment.
A Visit To Terence Conran's Old Apartment – APARTMENT THERAPY

Yes,we have the technology.
Michael Green: Why we should build wooden skyscrapers – ARCHITECHNOPHILIA

Cool!!
10 Live Gems By Louis Armstrong - 1940-1947 – THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF LOUIS ARMSTRONG

Grammar jokes on a mug. What could be better?

And finally, tomorrow is the last Saturday in September. Time for the world’s most libertarian Grand Final!
Complete 2013 AFL grand final guide – THE ROAR
Grand Final preview: Hawks v Dockers – AFL.COM.AU
AFL grand final: five of the most memorable moments – ABC

Thanks for reading.
Have a great weekend!
PC

[Hat tips Anti Dismal, Keeping Stock, Geek Press, Division of Labour, Bishop Hill, Small Dead Animals, Climate Depot, On Liberty Street, Mark Thoma, Mark Thornton, Justin Templer, Peter Schiff, AECR, Virginia Murr, William Easterly, Eric Crampton, The Anti Al Gore, Julia Hartley-Brewer]

Rand and Cruz in the House

During his marathon 21-hour speech on the US Senate floor yesterday, filibustering against the failing ObamaCare plan, Senator Ted Cruz read from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged …

[Hat tip Julian D.]

Peter Schiff was right … again. [updated]

Peter Schiff famously gave warning about the collapse of the American housing bubble .. and was laughed at by others who were less prescient.  [If you haven’t done it before, then Google “Peter Schiff was right.” Go on, do it. Do it now. I’ll wait.]

He did it again with the non-ending of QE…

Over the last few weeks, as the overwhelming majority of economists, reporters, and Wall Street insiders expressed certainty that the Fed would begin to taper its QE program, I did my level best to make the public understand that the Fed would do no such thing. As a result, last week's "surprise" announcement provides us with fresh confirmation that most market pundits remain clueless about the true state of our economy. I knew, as they seemed not to, that the Fed is caught in a stimulus trap that will require them to keep the monetary spigots wide open. For my efforts I was treated to another round of snickers, eye rolls, and outright dismissals. You would have hoped that they would have learned better by now.

Fortunately all their dazzlingly wrong predictions are caught on tape. In retrospect it makes for hilarious viewing. Click below to view.

Unfortunately, they have failed to learn anything from their mistakes. The same pundits that were revered before their colossal miscue are still afforded equal respect. The markets still believe the popular consensus that a Fed taper will arrive in October, or maybe by January at the latest. In contrast, I believe that we are now stuck in a state of permanent QE.   But these views remain in the lunatic fringe. How many more times will the markets have to get it wrong before an alternate reality is considered?   In the end it will not be the Fed that voluntarily tapers by easing up on the monetary gas pedal, but an adverse reaction in the currency and bond markets than forces the Fed to slam on the breaks.

UPDATE: Who doesn’t love it when two of your heroes interact? So check out Yaron Brook, entrepreneur & president of the Ayn Rand Institute, talking to Peter Schiff on the Peter Schiff Radio Show—talking on Ted Cruz's filibuster, why California's latest “living wage” hike could sink the state into the Pacific, and about the new off-Broadway Ayn Rand play, Anthem. [Hat tip Paul Van D.]

‘The Billionaire and the Mechanic’

It’s the story of how the billionaire, Larry Ellison, brought the America’s Cup to San Francisco through his friendship with a car mechanic. “It’s non-fiction that reads like a novel.”

And this is just the story of how he first won the Cup, and that’s almost the material for a film.

As if history’s greatest ever sporting comeback—the dramatic story, that finally ended this morning, of how the Cup was held by the same team—isn’t material enough on its own!

Economics for Real People: ‘How an Economy Grows & Why it Crashes’

Here’s  the note about tonight’s economic discussion from our friends at the Auckland Uni Econ Group:

Hi all,
    This week, we start taking a look at the boom and bust cycle, which is said to be a natural feature of mature economies.
    But before we know how things go wrong, we need to know how they go right.
    So we’ll start by discussing how economies grow, contrasting the growth theory of the classical school, and of Friedrich Hayek with that of the Chicago school economists, of whom Milton Friedman was the best known.
    What does growth look like? What exactly grows? And what’s the difference between growth and progress—and how do the two schools differ on this and other related questions?
    Then we’ll take a look at why economies crash: Why bubbles burst, why booms turn to bust, why growth turns to capital consumption, why QE turns into a “stimulus trap.” 
    And how exactly did Hayek and Keynes differ on what causes and continues downturn.
         Date: Tonight, Thursday, 26 September
         Time: 6-7pm
         Location: Room 215, Level Two, Business School
Don’t miss this discussion, which should help integrate a lot of the material we’ve looked at over recent sessions.

I look forward to seeing you there!

The world’s biggest sporting comeback. Ever.

Granted, I”m not a sporting historian, but if anyone knows a bigger, more spectacular come-from-behind sporting victory than this famous America’s Cup victory by James Spithill’s and Team Oracle, then let us know.

These boys started at minus 2.  They were down on the canvas with a broken arm at 8-1. Yet they got up, focussed, fixed things, and came out to win, eight straight, against the very best Team NZ could try to throw at them.

That right there is the work of deserving champions.

So stop whinging New Zealand, and start recognising greatness when you see it.

And start being thankful our pockets aren’t going to be picked to “rebuild” the Auckland Viaduct in the vision of Len Brown and Stephen Joyce.

Some random impertinent political questions

It’s reported Prime Minister John Key took ill in New York on his way to the United Nations. Was it when he heard the news from Wellington about polling showing David Cunliffe could form a government?

Prime Minister John Key is in New York trying to get New Zealand a seat on the UN Security Council. But why on earth does New Zealand need a seat on the UN Security Council?

Cunliffe’s “team” has gone from being Anyone But Cunliffe to  All Backing Cunliffe … says David Cunliffe. Anyone believe him?

Has Winston Peters really got any proof of Tariana giving away money she shouldn’t be? Has not having proof ever slowed him down?

And doesn’t his deep breathing in phone interviews make him sound like his heavy smoking is catching up with him?

Is there any difference in principle between the cronyism that gives money and favour to Fletchers, Rio Tinto and the shareholders and note holders of Sky City and South Canterbury Finance, and the cronyism that gives money to tribal elites about to clip the Whanau Ora ticket?

With rates, debts and council overspending expanding at a rate of knots (you se what I did there?), every mayoral and council candidate in the country is still out there on the hustings promoting more overspending. Are there more than half a dozen candidates in the country promoting real cuts in spending, and real cuts to rates? And will anyone vote for them? And if folk do vote for candidates promising more spending, have they really got anything to complain about when their rates continue to head sky high.

Does Nick Smith really think all he needs to do to make NZ homes affordable again is to “allow” land owners in specified areas the freedom to build around 5000 Auckland houses, when around 13,000 new homes are needed every year in Auckland alone?  And when credit creation isn’t slowing down?

Nick’s “Special Housing Accord” allows for low-rise greenfield developments within his Special Housing Areas to be consented within six months, as compared to the current average of three years, and three months for brownfield developments, as compared with the current average of one year. Can anyone else remember, not very long ago, when it was possible to get a consent in around two weeks!? Any reason—other than the RMA, the Building Act, and far too many vested interests—we couldn’t have a system like that again?

Answers on a postcard please.

Some random Cup questions

How do you manage to go sideways in one race for the Auld Mug just when you’re catching up, and then put yourself dead in the water at a start in another one—putting your boat right in the way of the other boat—just at the moment it looks like you’ve taken the advantage?

From 8-1 down to 8-7 (or 8-9 if you exclude the court’s penalty against Oracle) are we witnessing the greatest comeback ever in any major sporting contest?

Isn’t that a reason to admire James Spithill and Russell Coutts, instead of denigrating them?

Given that sailors are saying Oracle is a better boat but much harder to sail well, and it took some learning time in those first few races to get it right, isn’t that even more reason to admire their cool heads when losing, and their skill and application now they’re winning?

Is it just me, or is the frustration many New Zealanders feel at being on the receiving end of the amazing comeback turning just a little bit into an entitlement mentality? As if we’re somehow entitled to the world’s oldest sporting trophy? As if the sporting gods should hand over the Auld Mug just for our effort?

And given that Oracle has just crossed the “-2 threshold” initially imposed by the courts, isn’t the contest likely to end up back in the courts if TNZ were to pull out one last win? [UPDATE: Question is null. Larry Ellison confirmed this morning it won’t happen.]

Is there anybody else who isn’t listening to Pete MontCommentary on Radio Sport/NewstalkZB instead of the moronic Martin Tasker on TVNZ?

UPDATE: And finally, can anyone hear the fat lady out back starting to gargle?

Do you have any random rhetorical questions of your own you’d like unanswered … ?

For Google

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Quote of the Day: On the IPCC's new report

Publication of the IPCC AR4 in 2007 was received with international acclaim....Six and a half years later and a week before the release of the IPCC 5thAssessment Report (AR5), substantial criticisms are being made of leaked versions of the Report as well as of the IPCC process itself... What happened?

The IPCC was seriously tarnished by the unauthorized release of emails from the University of East Anglia in November 2009, known as Climategate. These emails revealed the ‘sausage making’ involved in the IPCC’s consensus building process, including denial of data access to individuals who wanted to audit their data processing and scientific results, interference in the peer review process to minimize the influence of skeptical criticisms, and manipulation of the media. Climategate was quickly followed by the identification of an egregious error involving the melting of Himalayan glaciers. These revelations were made much worse by the actual response of the IPCC to these issues. Then came the concerns about the behavior of the IPCC’s Director, Rachendra Pachauri, and investigations of the infiltration of green advocacy groups into the IPCC. All of this was occurring against a background of explicit advocacy and activism by IPCC leaders related to CO2 mitigation policies.

The IPCC does not seem to understand the cumulative impact of these events on the loss of trust in climate scientists and the IPCC process itself... Based upon early drafts of the AR5, the IPCC seemed prepared to dismiss the pause in warming as irrelevant ‘noise’ associated with natural variability. Under pressure, the IPCC now acknowledges the pause and admits that climate models failed to predict it... If the IPCC attributes to the pause to natural internal variability, then this begs the question as to what extent the warming between 1975 and 2000 can also be explained by natural internal variability. Not to mention raising questions about the confidence that we should place in the IPCC’s projections of future climate change.

- Scientist Judith Curry, "The IPCC's Inconvenient Truth"

 

Posted with Blogsy

Are we running out of ideas?

Are we running out of ideas?  It depends on who you mean by “we.”

Says PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel: "We've had incredible progress in areas where there was no regulation and extremely limited progress where there was regulation. It's not that we've run out of ideas. It really is a story of two different economies."

Quote of the Day:

“One thing I’ve learned .. is how obsessed so many of the key thinkers in the green movement are with the notion of ‘overpopulation.’ As one of their favourite think tanks, the Club of Rome, puts it: ‘Earth has a cancer and the cancer is man.’ This belief explains, inter alia, why the ‘science’ behind AGW is so dodgy: because the science didn’t come first. What came first was the notion that mankind was a problem and was doing harm to the planet. The “science” was then simply tortured until it fitted in with this notion.
    I do not share this view.  Indeed … while people like Chris Packham (and Prince Charles; George Monbiot; Al Gore; David Attenborough; Robert Redford; Mikhail Gorbachev; Ted Turner; et al) may believe what they do for the noblest of reasons, their ecological philosophy is fundamentally evil. And I do mean evil. Any philosophy which has, as its core tenet, the belief that mankind is the problem not the solution cannot possibly be one that pertains to good, can it?”
- James Delingpole, “Earth does not have a cancer; the cancer is not man” – TELEGRAPH

Invention of the Day: The 2000-year-old computer

No-one knows who invented it—it might have been Archimedes. But the oldest known computer was not made in the twentieth century, or even the century before that. Its construction has been dated to the early 1st century BC, more than tw0-thousand years ago, and was recovered from sunken wreck off the southern coast of Greece just over a hundred years ago.

A two-thousand-year-old computer!  No bigger than a modern laptop!

Blogger Neil Craig reckons “the Antikythera mechanism is just about the most astonishing historical artefact there is.” It is not a hoax. It is, sadly, not complete.  But Professor Michael Edmunds of Cardiff University, who led a 2006 study of the remains, sums up how astonishing this mechanism is:

"This device is just extraordinary, the only thing of its kind. The design is beautiful, the astronomy is exactly right. The way the mechanics are designed just makes your jaw drop. Whoever has done this has done it extremely carefully ... in terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa."

A 1-hour BBC documentary talks about the mechanism, designed and built to track the movement of stars and plants, presumably to help with seagoing navigation.

[Hat tip A Place to Stand]

The Affordable Auckland Voting Guide

Guest by Stephen Berry and the Affordable Auckland team

Since Auckland Unions issued a voting guide for the Auckland Council elections, recommending the candidates to vote for if you want increased rates, enlarged debt, and a more unproductive port, Affordable Auckland is issuing its own guide on how voters should vote if they want lower rates, less borrowing and affordable housing.

These are the boxes to tick on your ballot:

Mayor
Stephen Berry (Affordable Auckland) – Stephen has laid out a full plan showing genuine cuts in rates and quality spending on core council services, to eliminate borrowing within three years, renewed respect for private property rights and the promotion of affordable housing through zoning flexibility and abolishing the urban limit.

Albany
Brent Robinson (Independent) – Brent’s website conveys a concern about current rates levels and a commitment to focusing spending on core council activities. He was also featured on a Campbell Live story defending a children’s food stall against over-zealous Council food bureaucrats, so he doesn’t look like the type of man who will be increasing the regulatory burden.

Albert-Eden-Roskill
Nigel Turnbull (Communities & Residents) -  There actually too much choice in this ward. Nigel does at least express concern about the high level of rates. We do not recommend Chris Fletcher who has often voted with the left-wing bloc and been a part of the problem, however if you do insist on casting two votes in this ward she would be the least terrible option.

Franklin
Niko Kloeten (Affordable Auckland) – Niko(right)  is one sharp customer who knows his figures. He is absolutely supportive of cutting rates, focusing spending on core services, and eliminating council borrowing. No other candidate appreciates private property rights quite like Niko. He is also the only candidate there favouring increasing land supply through abolition of the urban limit. Niko is also a candidate for the Franklin (Pukekohe subdivision) Local Board.

Howick

Sharon Stewart (Independent) and Dick Quax (Independent), our favoured candidates here have both been re-elected unopposed. Congratulations!

Manukau

Avtar Hans (Independent) - This ward is dominated by hard-left candidates. Avtar however at least has experience running a successful business, so might be expected to understand the impact of over-zealous council regulations better than most. Don’t bother casting a second vote in this ward. Even the least bad option, Arthur Anae, is crowing about his efforts to provide free swimming pools, so clearly quality spending on core services and controlling rates is not a priority for him..

Manurewa-Papakura

If you live here, then here’s our only advice for you: Just. Don’t. Vote. The reason: Your choices are between a couple of Mana hard-left extremists or four nimby busybodies. They’re all in agreement that Council should control what you do with your property, and all are at the forefront of the attack on liquor businesses using entrepreneurship to make an income for their families. If you insist on ticking a box, Calum Penrose has at least managed to obtain rates remissions for elderly ratepayers, so he isn’t the worst option on the table.

Maungakiekie-Tamaki

Denise Krum (Communities & Residents) - Denise expresses concern over the level of rates increases and identifies the issue Auckland has with housing affordability. She looks flaky, but at least a vote for her might help get rid of Richard Northey and his crazy plan to send power prices into the stratosphere by burying existing power pylons.

North Shore
Calum Macpherson (Independent) - Calum’s candidate profile mainly focuses on high rates and the horrible impact it is having on elderly property owners, so we reckon he’s alright.

Joseph Bergin (Fair Deal for Shore) Joseph says he will reduce Council debt and make savings in Council spending. Council needs some fresh, young and energetic representatives. George Wood has had enough time to make an impact and still fails to do so.

Orakei
Cameron Brewer (Independent) -  Cameron has been re-elected unopposed. We think he is one of the best members of the Council which is why Affordable Auckland chose to not stand a candidate against him.

Rodney
Steven Garner (Independent) - Steven identifies greater value for ratepayers and reducing bureaucratic prescriptiveness as priorities. We say this make him a much better prospect than Penny Webster who, despite being a former Act MP, has voted with the left more often than not.

Waitakere
Peter Chan (Affordable Auckland) -  While there are two councillors for the Waitakere ward, we suggest you cast only one vote: for Peter Chan (right). Mr. Chan believes rates should be set at affordable levels and young families should be able to afford to purchase their first home. If you believe in voting for a local to be your representative, you’ll be glad to know Peter is one of only four Waitakere candidates that currently reside in the ward. He is also standing for Henderson-Massey Local Board on the Henderson-Massey Residents Group ticket and we recommend that you vote for him for Henderson-Massey Local Board.

Waitemata & Gulf
Stephen Berry (Affordable Auckland) - Mr. Berry is the only candidate advocating rates cuts. And despite Greg Moyle’s claims to the contrary, Berry is definitely the most business friendly candidate standing in the ward. For a guaranteed rates cut and a less interfering council, your only sure bet is a vote for Stephen Berry. Berry is also a candidate for the Waitemata Local Board.

Whau
A depressing lack of options in this ward. Ross Clow of Labour would be a horrendous big council representative. Noelene Raffills has an unhealthy habit of voting with the left more often than not. Duncan MacDonald’s profile statements don’t make any specific promises though he is head of the Avondale Business Association. That could just mean his special interests are different from the other candidates.
There is one ray of sunshine however, Affordable Auckland’s Heidi Bale (right) is standing for Whau Local Board. We suggest you just vote for her.

Stephen Berry is the Affordable Auckland candidate for Mayor, for the Waitemata & Gulf Ward, and for the Waitemata Local Board. Check out www.facebook.com/berryformayor, and for Affordable candidates in your own area, check out  www.affordable.org.nz, and www.facebook.com/affordablecity.

FRIDAY MORNING RAMBLE: The “many a slip twixt cup and lip” edition

"It is never wrong to be on the side of freedom - never."
-- Victor Davis Hanson

It’s the politician versus the economist versus the philosopher. Greens’s Russel Norman denies taxation is a burden—reckons it is “the price we pay for civilisation.” Economist Eric Crampton reckons “burden” has a specific economic meaning. Philosopher Tibor Machan reckons taxation should simply be recognised as what it is--a most uncivilized way of obtaining funds, given that it boils down to nothing less than extortion.”
Russel Norman thinks tax is not a burden! – KIWIBLOG
Ladies and Gentlemen... the Greens' would-be Finance Minister – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR 
A Note on Taxation – Tibor Machan, TIBOR’S SPACE
What's Wrong with Taxation? – Tibor Machan, MISES DAILY

Just in time…
Cats That Look Like David Cunliffe

The billion-dollar downside of a win.
Waterfront would need upgrades for Cup, says Joyce – NZ HERALD
Of Free Riders and Forced Riders: America's Cup edition – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR 
Cup may be a poisoned chalice – STUFF
Economists versus the cup, 2 – ANTI DISMAL 
If We Host The America’s Cup, Kickstarter Financing Is The Only Responsible Choice – BRENNAN McDONALD

Could this be the only one Peter Dunne has ever had?
Electoral Amendment Bill good idea – HOME PADDOCK

“My gut feeling is the public supports charter schools. That's because they need no persuading  public schools are failing a good percentage of pupils.”
Cunliffe calling it wrong already – LINDSAY MITCHELL

Juts imagine if all he could attend was Ulan Bator High?
The Boy Genius of Ulan Bator – NEW YORK TIMES

It’s too late for New Zealand, but read and learn.
A Brief History of Software Patents (and Why They’re Valid) – Adam Mossoff, CENTER FOR THE PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

So what’s all this about a “living wage”?

Assad has gone from an outlaw butcher who "must go" to now a partner in disarmament. How? By using chemical weapons.
A Very Productive Chemical-Weapons Attack – WALL STREET JOURNAL

It’s surely better than a foreign policy of self-sacrifice.
Jonathan Hoenig and Wayne Rogers: Regarding Syria, Americans Should Be Selfish – OBJECTIVE STANDARD

"I can see Russia from my knees"
The best one-sentence description of Obama’s post-Syria foreign policy position.

“Assad says he can't decommission his chemical weapons quickly because that
would harm the environment. Huggers of trees and dictators nod approvingly.”
- Oren Kessler

Harry Binswanger has news for the 99%.
Give Back? Yes, It's Time For The 99% To Give Back To The 1% – Harry Binswanger, FORBES

America was a shambles in the 70s. Obama is bringing it all back.
Obama Brings Back the Carter Malaise – Doug Reich, THE RATIONAL CAPITALIST

The perils of transparency? Or the inability of too many economists to understand the whole the Fed is really in?
CREDIT SUISSE: The Great Irony Of Ben Bernanke’s ‘Transparency’ – BUSINESS INSIDER

“Wonders if I was the only one whose jaw hit the floor when
Bernanke said he's confident the Fed can stop QE when it
wants to. Does this sound like a drug addict or what?”
- Keith Weiner

It’s not that our currency went up this week; it’s that the US currency was further devalued. It’s a currency war, stupid.
No taper brings back talk of currency war – CNBC

Who wins in a currency war? Not consumers—Japanese consumers, for example, just discovered that devaluing their currency to “make it easier for exporters” just makes everybody poorer.  “Costs of imported fuel, which comprise more than a third of all imports, rose nearly 18 percent in August, despite a slight decline in volume. The value of total imports of food, raw materials and manufactured goods also rose at a double-digit pace from the same month a year earlier, while import volumes of most declined.”
Yes, Virginia, this is what a plughole looks like.
Japan trade deficit swells 25 percent in August – NZ HERALD

“One thing that Japan helps us to grasp is just how resilient
advanced economies are. Japan's edifice of debt should arguably
have toppled already, but it just keeps on ticking. Impressive.
There is a limit, but it's fascinating and instructive to see how
far down the road the can be kicked  ...”
- Scott Powell

Macroeconomist leaves a trail of policy disaster. But don’t blame him. Blame his alleged discipline.
Jeffrey Sachs meets Hayek – Terence Corcoran, FINANCIAL POST

What’s the basis for the Fed’s faith in money-printing? It’s another word starting with ‘m.’
A Money Printing Advocate Offers His Confession of Faith – Bionic Mosquito, ECONOMIC POLICY JOURNAL

If economics is really a science of consumer choice, then where does consumer choice come from? Answer:
Teleological Measurement – M. Northrop Buechner, OBJECTIVE ECONOMICS

Five years ago they were the canary in the global financial crisis coal mine..
Lehman Brothers... Where Are They Now? – ZERO HEDGE

“When Julia implemented her carbon tax forced Australia to bend over,
Google News was all over it. Australia was going to save the planet.
    But now that Australia has broken their chains and is dismantling
their climate mafia at record speed, the story is completely off the radar.”
- Steven Goddard, Real Science

How would you describe the first few items from Australia’s post-election newspapers?
Good – Judith Sloan CATALLAXY FILES

Mind you, the cronies are already their with their buckets out.
Holden first in line with hand out – ANDREW BOLT

“If you would like to understand the new Australian Government’s approach to the economy,” says a hopeful Steve Kates, “it seems to me you cannot do better than this.”
J.R. McCulloch on economic management – Steve Kates, CATALLAXY FILES

“While it may be a good day for the Australian taxpayer, it is far too late now to recoup the billions which have already been wasted…”
Australia shows us all the way by sacking its useless, pointless Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery – James Delingpole, TELEGRAPH

“Everything you need to know about the dilemma the IPCC faces is summed up in one remarkable graph”:

Consensus?
Contrary to reports, global warming studies don’t show 97% of scientists fear global warming – THE HOCKEY SCHTICK

Oops. Again.
Global warming is just HALF what we said: World's top climate scientists admit computers got the effects of greenhouse gases wrong – SUNDAY MAIL

Get the report with integrity, before the UN issues the one that won’t. “The number one antidote to the corrupt alarmist cabal is the Non-Governmental International Panel on Climate Change.”
A realistic view of the climate – POWER LINE

The whole pseudo-scientific scare story amounts to a claim that parts of the world will get submerged in water unless governments force carbon reduction upon us.  “But a look at natural ocean variation shows that official sea level measurements are nonsense.”
Sea level rise: Climate change and an ocean of natural variability – Steve Goreham, WASHINGTON TIMES

“One of the things I’ve learned in the climate research business is that it is really easy to be wrong, and really difficult to be right. There are many competing theories of what causes climate change, and they can’t all be correct.
But recent events are quite exceptional.”
A Turning Point for the IPCC…and Humanity? – Dr Roy Spencer, GLOBAL WARMING

Such sad news for the fellow who failed high school science.
Al Gore’s Incredible Shrinking Climate Change Footprint – BUZZFEED

They are unproven computerised hypotheses with zero predictive power.
New paper finds current climate models are 'unable to reproduce present or future climate accurately' – THE HOCKEY SCHTICK

So … what’s the mainstream’s reasons for the pause in global temperature rise?
Article in Nature offers 3 natural explanations for the halt in global warming – THE HOCKEY SCHTICK

So...what is the cost of reducing global temperatures by a measly one-fourth of one degree?
Those Stubborn Facts: The Gargantuan Cost of Reducing Global Temperature By Measly 0.25°C - C3

“One lesson of the Pentagon Papers and Snowden's
leaks is simple:secrecy corrupts, just as power corrupts.”
- Daniel Ellsberg, WASHINGTON POST

The NSA gives Brazil a reason to practice protectionism. Possibly the only good one.
Brazil data plan aims to keep US spies at bay – BBC

Want your government to listen to you? Yes, these are the hashtags to use.
How the cops watch your tweets in real-time – ARS TECHNICA

Chicago, Murder City? Maybe not.
Our inner cities became the safest places. Let's export urban safety – Doug Saunders, GLOBE & MAIL

“The only man never to be redeemed is the man without passion.”
- Ayn Rand

Perception is reality? Is it bollocks.
Facts Don’t Matter, Or: The Art of BS – JERRY KIRKPATRICK’S BLOG

Come on, admit it. These are a great party trick.
Drawing Personality Tests – VILLANOUS COMPANY

"We are some distance from understanding the jet stream well enough to manage the natural risks associated with structural integrity.” Still, how cool would a tower be that’s 20km high!
The Tall Tower Project aka "pie in the sky" - ARCHINECT

“Looks like it would be an ideal book to encourage the your scientist in your family.”
Helping kids to wonder – OPEN PARACHUTE

How the founders of Dropbox want you to lose your hard drive.
In Sync – WIRED

I agree.
We could all learn a lot from the way tradies live their life – NEWS.COM.AU

A useful productivity aid for your new career: who knew that inexplicably bad property photographs were that simple?
Terrible real estate agent photographs

This is going to bugger up the weekend for a few of you.
"The Feynman Lectures on Physics" are now available online for free.

Speaking of … at some stage, put time aside for Stephen Hicks’s 2.5 hour video lecture on Objectivism, including its relation to Montessori education--Part 12 of his Philosophy of Education course. Other “isms” in the series include Pragmatism, Behaviorism, Idealism,Realism, Existentialism, Marxism, and Postmodernism.
Objectivism and philosophy of education – STEPHEN HICKS

“A new nanostructured material with applications that could include reducing condensation in airplane cabins and enabling certain medical tests without the need for high tech laboratories has been developed by researchers at the University of Sydney.”
Controlling Wettability: 'Sticky Tape' for Water Droplets Mimics Rose Petal – SCIENCE DAILY

To update , or not to update?
iOS 7, thoroughly reviewed – ARS TECHNICA

If Monty Python’s Holy Grail were marketed today…

Stephen Fry: “Wanted posters aren’t just for Wild West outlaws, composers may have a price on their head too”:

For those who missed her in Wellington or Auckland … “Let me make it clear. Amanda Palmer and the Grand Theft Orchestra is the best live act in 2013 by a long way.”
Live Review: Amanda Palmer – Enmore Theatre, Sydney, 14/10/13 – SOMETHING GOLD, SOMETHING NEW
Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra – Kings Arms September 6, 2013 – Catherine Hamilton, THE 13TH FLOOR

Can’t wait!
STAGE DESIGNER ZOE ATKINSON INTERVIEWED (2013): Getting to grips with Wagner's Flying Dutchman – Graham Reid, ELSEWHERE

When Duke Ellington took his band to play Kabul.
When Duke Ellington played Kabul – BBC
How the Middle East became a jazzy place – YOUR MIDDLE EAST

This prank about true friendship from New Zealand has gone global!
Pranksters replace friend’s home plumbing with beer [VIDEO] – DAILY CALLER

But this guy is!
Man’s body brews its own beer, gets him drunk without drinking – PHILLY.COM

The world’s most libertarian Preliminary Finals start tonight. Watch them live on Sommets Sport.  The winners (Cats and Sydney) get to experience this…

[Hat tip Geek Press,  Laissez Faire, Small Dead Animals, Peter Schiff, Oren Kessler, The Anti Al Gore, Ben, SGSN Steve, Phineas Fahrquar, Not Sir Graham Henry, TakingHayekSeriously, Peter G. Klein, Catotheyounger, RESTORE AMERICA, Barry Stocker, Famous-Quote.net]

Thanks for reading, and have a great weekend!
PC
PS: Go Cats, Counties, TNZ …

UN Commission of Inquiry has more news for Gareth Morgan

The head of a UN Commission of Inquiry into the place Gareth Morgan recently described as “just fantastic”—a place whose economic achievements have been “magnificent”—calls North Korea a place harbouring “unspeakable atrocities.” Retired Australian judge Michael Kirby, who has spent recent months gathering evidence in South Korea and Japan from North Korean defectors and other victims,  says "testimony heard thus far points to widespread and serious violations in all areas."

He said the evidence, both sobering and heart-rending, had "given a face and voice to great human suffering."

Five years “stimulus” in one graph

Pic from Not_Jim_Cramer

The Taper That Wasn't

Guest post by Fed-watcher Peter Schiff, who reckons the U.S. Central Bank, whose non-decision yesterday left financial markets in all sorts of confusion, have dug themselves a hole we won’t easily climb out of.

The Fed's failure yesterday to announce some sort of tapering of its QE program, despite the consensus of an overwhelming percentage of economists who expected action, once again reveals the degree to which mainstream analysts have overestimated the strength of the U.S. economy. The Fed understands, as the market seems not to, that the current "recovery" could not survive without continuation of massive monetary stimulus. Mainstream economists have mistaken the symptoms of the Fed's monetary expansion, most notably rising stock and real estate prices, as signs of real and sustainable growth. But the current asset price bubbles have nothing to do with the real economy. To the contrary, they are setting up for a painful correction that will likely be worse than the one we experienced five years ago.

Crash + 5 years of “stimulus” = “2007 all over again, but worse”

It’s like 2007  all over again, says the banker who picked the 2008 global financial storm, only worse. The “irrational exuberance” for debt instruments is the same, based as before on gobs of cheap money, only this time (after all those gobs of failed stimulus spending) debt levels for every over-spending government are even higher than before, and there is nowhere for interest rates on those borrowings to go but up.

Which means the global economy is on the edge of the same cliff as six years ago, only higher up—and it’s ready to jump.

And they’re off … or are they? [updated]

Wait your patience with the classic Irish yachting commentary…

UPDATE: Former blogger Cactus Kate is a Kiwi Ninja.

Cunliffe v Key: Two sides of a Muldoon

In his first day in the House yesterday, in the only chance he will have in four weeks to demonstrate he has what it takes to back up his windy rhetoric about “having John Key’s number” and showing the PM with his pants around his ankles, David Cunliffe did at least choose a real target on his first chance to defenestrate his opponent, which is John Key’s prevalence when “supporting business” to take that line too literally by supporting the shareholders of particular businesses.

Quote of the day, on the Washington Navy Yard killings: “This is gun control”

“Gun control advocates wasted no time in demanding new restrictions on the means of self-defence … But the unhappy truth is that the scene of the crime, the Washington Navy Yard, is subject to many of the restrictions that gun control advocates favour. And the perpetrator …had passed a background check for a security clearance. Unfortunately, laws and databases don't create magic force-fields against criminal intent … That makes military bases much like other ‘gun-free zones.’ They're only as well protected as the willingness of would-be perpetrators to follow rules allows…
    “Background checks are only as good as the information in the database and the people running them. [The killer] passed his background checks, then was issued credentials that allowed him to enter the Navy Yard, bypassing such armed security personnel as guarded the perimeter.
    “After that, he faced unarmed victims, deprived of the means to defend themselves. At this point the choice of weapons … was moot.
    “This is gun control.”
- Jerome Tuccille, “Washington Navy Yard Already Suffered the Restrictions That Gun Control Advocates Favour”