Saturday 20 September 2014

Saturday Morning Ramble: No, No, No

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“There are going to be big changes, even with a NO vote.”
What next after the Scotland referendum? – Eamonn Butler, ADAM SMITH INSTITUTE
Scottish referendum: Alone, Scotland will would go back to being a failed state – Niall Ferguson, TELEGRAPH
The masses are far more rational than the unhinged political class – Brendan O’Neill, SPIKED
Celebrities react badly to the referendum result – SPECTATOR
Scottish Leader Quits – VODKA PUNDIT
Scotland and the irrational media – Alberto Mingardi, ECON LOG
Scotland the Brave – James Allan, QUADRANT

Most socialists will tell you that they became socialist out of concern for the poor. So if they learned that 600 million people have ben lifted out of poverty over the last 25 years, wouldn’t they be shouting that revelation, and the reason for it, from the rooftops?
Who Really Wants to Solve the Problem of Poverty?Stephen Hicks, EVERY JOE

An excellent way to brush up on the most colossal and destructive political and economic flop of all time.
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Socialism – Kevin Williamson, AMAZON

“The potential gains from planning liberalisation are clear: lower housing costs, a reduced cost of many goods and services, a better functioning labour market, and higher productivity and wages. The question is whether there is any appetite among our politicians to take on the vested interests opposed to reform.”
Planning liberalisation is the closest thing there is to an economic silver bullet – Richard Wellings, IEA BLOG

The Capitalist’s Guide to the Ideas Behind Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.
GREAT DEAL: Why Businessmen Need Philosophy for Under $6 On Amazon – DOLLARS AND CROSSES

There’s an easy solution you know.
Looming shortage of prime office space in the capital, says Colliers – INTEREST.CO.NZ

The world has one Colbert too many. Possibly more.
Colbert's legacy lingers on – Oliver Hartwich, NBR

Book Launch: “It takes a lot to really wreck either a city or a nation.”
The plan against the rebuild – Eric Crampton, SPEAKER

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“Which countries actually believe in free trade?, understand free trade?”
Why don’t we have more free trade? – Tyler Cowen, MARGINAL REVOLUTION

“The potential gains from planning liberalisation are clear: lower housing costs, a reduced cost of many goods and services, a better functioning labour market, and higher productivity and wages. The question is whether there is any appetite among our politicians to take on the vested interests opposed to reform.”

It’s stimulus season again. They hope.
Weak uptake for new eurozone stimulus program- HERALD
Our obsession with monetary stimulus will end in disaster – DETLEV SCHLICTER 
Keynes was a failure in Japan – No need to embrace him in Europe – DETLEV SCHLICTER 
As Germany loses battle for ECB, QE goes global – DETLEV SCHLICTER

After a sharp slowdown, stimulus is back on the agenda in China

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“The global warming movement is imploding.”
EU Dismantles Its Climate Commission Amid Economic Struggles – Michael Bastach, DAILY CALLER

“Misuse of climate models as false prophets is costly in lives as well as treasure. To condemn the poorest of India’s poor to continuing poverty is to condemn many to an untimely death. India Prime Minister Narendra Modi is right to have no more to do with such murderous nonsense. It is time to put an end to climate summits. Real-world evidence proves they are not needed.”
Stop the Scare! (GIGO climate models vs. human needs) – Willie Soon & Christopher Monckton, MASTER RESOURCE

“So how did we end up mistaking a wicked mess for a tame problem? The main problem has been putting the policy cart in front of the scientific horse.”
The Sound Of Settled Science – Judith Curry, SMALL DEAD ANIMALS

“Yesterday marked a not unimportant court deadline in the upcoming Mann vs Steyn trial of the century…”
The Lonesomest Mann in TownMark Steyn, STEYN ONLINE

“Anytime you hear the green corporate marketing buzzword "sustainable", you know you're likely being had. Sorry to break your hearts, hippies.”
Green energy more hype than benefit – Larry Bell, CLIMATE FACTS

“If a science has an adjective,
it probably isn’t a science.”

- Richard Feynman

“Tens of thousands of protesters will be swarming New York this Sunday to encourage the United Nations to call for drastic cuts for fossil fuels. They think they are doing the moral thing in encouraging the UN to oppose the use of coal, oil, and natural gas. In fact they’re supporting policies that would cut billions of lives short.”
Six Reasons Why the United Nations Should Not Intervene on Fossil Fuel Use (A Response to the Misguided People's Climate March) – Alex Epstein, FORBES

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"...there is a soon-to-be released and incredibly compelling book written by the Center for Industrial Progress’s Alex Epstein titled The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels. Its main premise is that both the short- and long-term benefits of using fossil fuels greatly outweigh the risks of any climate change that may occur as the result of the accompanying carbon dioxide emissions."
Is it “Moral” to Restrict Fossil Fuel Use to Mitigate Future Sea Level Rise? – Patrick Michaels & Chip Knappenberger, CATO AT LIBERTY

It would be a lot better if it really were warming

“It suited Western Leftists, during and after the War, to argue that Hitler had been uniquely evil, certainly wickeder than Stalin. It was thus necessary to forget the enthusiasm with which the two tyrants had collaborated.”
The greatest cultural victory of the Left has been to disregard the Nazi-Soviet Pact – Daniel Hannan, TELEGRAPH

“"If we want to work toward a free society, it is not enough to say that we have 'rights' or that aggression is 'bad' or that free markets are 'good.' Nor is it enough to explain why and how free markets work. If we want to advocate liberty successfully, we must understand and be able to explain where rights come from, why we have them, and how we know it. We must understand and be able to articulate what the concepts 'good' and 'bad' objectively mean—and how we know this. We must engage in philosophy."
Libertarianism vs. Radical Capitalism—Craig Biddle, OBJECTIVE STANDARD

“Multiculturalism is not really about choosing non-Western clothes if you like, or listening to World-beat music, or about rejecting racism. That is individualism. Multiculturalism is an anti-intellectual movement that denies truth to avoid facing facts, and rejects human rights and morality in the name of humanity.”
Multiculturalism Is a Failure: The Islamist's War with the Western Culture – Walter Williams, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

"It is time for Americans to demand of themselves and of their fellow Americans that they first-handedly face the facts before their eyes, reject the dogmas of relativism and religion, realize that our enemies in this war are our enemies because they take religion seriously, and demand that our government demonstrate to our enemies that America the Beautiful is greater than Allah the Nonexistent."
Looking Back at the Post–9/11 Decade – Elan Journo, VOICES FOR REASON

“He declared undistinguishing and exterminating war, as a
part of his religion, against all the rest of mankind. The
essence of his doctrine was violence and lust. To exalt the
brutal over the spiritual part of human nature.”
- John Quincy Adams, 6th president of the United States

So, who’s feeding IS’s maw? [Click the pic for an interactive map.]

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Eugenics in the US: the guy who designed ObamaCare thinks people should die at 75 so they're not a burden to society.
Why I Hope to Die at 75 – Ezekiel Emanuel

“Out into the cool of the cyber dawn stroll the pretenders. NSA can't tell diff between criminal hacking & act of war?”
NSA Director Says Agency Is Still Trying To Figure Out Cyber Operations – SLASHDOT

“There is a troubling phenomenon I call "the anti-originality argument." The argument is that there is no such thing as genius or originality, because every new idea actually borrows from previously-established ideas…”
The "anti-originality" argument – Stuart Hayashi, CAPITALISTS FOR INTELECTUAL PROPERTY

Every man needs a project.

"We typically go through our days without devoting a thought to this this magnificent material (concrete) that helps make modern life possible. The next time you enjoy a modern building, drive down a street, or so much as stroll down a sidewalk, you might think for a moment of Joseph Aspdin (creator of Portland cement) and of the modern producers of concrete.” Unlike every politician you’ve ever met, their thought and work literally support your life.
Concrete: The Foundation of Modern LifeAri Armstrong, OBJECTIVE STANDARD

While you were looking at other things…
CERN closes in on antigravity answer – BBC NEWS

“It’s a wonder so many of us lived through childhood considering how little it seems our parents knew about safety.”
5 Things Our Parents Did That Would Get Them Arrested Today – LIBERTY CRIER

“Will Self's attacks on Orwell only expose his own alienation from and disdain for the public.”
Self, Orwell and the English language – Bruno Waterfield, SPIKED

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“Peter sees a big vagina. ‘That’s a big vagina,’ says Peter. ‘Big vaginas are feminist,’ says Mummy. Peter is scared.”
Peter and Jane Go to the Art Gallery – Miriam Elia IMGUR

“Four books that I learned from and that focus on the postmodern challenge in specific intellectual areas…”
Four recommended books on postmodernism – STEPHEN HICKS

Zapp: Why's it still blurry?!
”Kif: That's all the resolution we have. Making it bigger doesn't make it clearer.
”Zapp: It does on CSI: Miami.”
Then 'Enhance' Button – TV TROPES

The previously untold true story of David Bowie, Brian Eno, and Tony Visconti recording "Warszawa" from Low. Seriously. True story.

And the result…

How to get the most out of your orchestra…

Another method…

“Truly awful.”

[Hat tips Maria Montessori Education Foundation, Stephen Hicks, Bosch Fawstin, Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, Stats Chat]

And finally …

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