Friday Morning Ramble, 16.10.15

Sorry Wellington.
Where is the world's windiest city? Spoiler alert: it's not Chicago – GUARDIAN

Because genitals.
If the Greens end up in a coalition government, they want half their cabinet ministers to be women – TV3

Yes, the Prime Minister wees in the shower.
Only in NZ – KIWIBLOG

“We’re a country of stoners, so why are we getting so precious?”
Prohibiting medicinal cannabis is a risk in itself – Janesa Jeram, THE SAND PIT

“Okay, God, this is your chance. Don’t you dare screw this up for me like you did in 2007.”
An open letter to God about the All Blacks – Scott Yorke, IMPERATOR FISH

They deal with taggers imaginatively in Hamilton …

“If we should not assume a woman would be an inferior president — merely because she’s a woman — then on what logical basis may we assume a  woman would be a superior president, just because she’s a woman?”
Do Hillary Clinton’s Genitals Qualify Her More? – Michael Hurd, DR HURD.COM

“We can thank President Obama for essentially introducing an America hating brand of democratic communism into the mainstream. Of course, he did not call it communism or America hating. Bernie Sanders takes the next step. Same communism, just bolder and out in the open.”
The Debate Lesson: America Now Has an Openly Socialist Party – Jim Geraghty, N.R.O.

“Irrespective of presidential candidates’ singing interminable paeans to “our democracy,” America is thankfully not one and never has been.”
"The Golden Calf of Democracy" – Larry Reed, F.E.E.

“Bernie Sanders says the system is rigged so we need to fight economic inequality. Well the system is becoming rigged, but that’s because of political inequality. Fighting economic inequality will only make things worse.
Turning the Tables on the Inequality Alarmists – Don Watkins & Yaron Brook, MEDIUM.COM

"Since the golden age of Greece, there has been only one era of reason
in twenty-three centuries of Western philosophy. During the final decades
of that era, the United States of America was created as an independent
nation. This is the key to the country—to its nature, its development, and
its uniqueness: the United States is the nation of the Enlightenment."
~ Leonard Peikoff

One university president demonstrates how you should oppose galloping campus censorship.
An Intellectual Breath of Fresh Air Blows Through Cornell – Michael Hurd, DR HURD.COM
The modern censors – NOT PC

“When the ‘precautionary principle’ kills.”
At Fukushima, Fear Was More Deadly than Radiation – Dan Bier, ANYTHING PEACEFUL

“People who rarely see an immigrant can easily scapegoat them for everything wrong in the world.”
Americans in States with More Immigrants Are More Pro-Immigration – Bryan Caplan, ANYTHING PEACEFUL

“The gun-controllers do not see any major distinction between criminals and non-criminals. To them, the two relevant categories are simply the armed and the disarmed. Why? Because, as is typical of those on the left, they believe that our social environment determines the decisions we make—if we’re born into poverty in America, we will turn to crime; if we lack job opportunities in the Muslim world, we will become jihadists. So they maintain that if allowed access to guns, we all become capable of murder. A gun is the stimulus, crime the inevitable response. The weapon, not the perpetrator, is their principal villain. . . ."
A Rational Case for Gun Ownership – Peter Schwartz, REAL CLEAR POLITICS

Inconvenient things, facts
US Gun Homicide Rate Down 49% Since 1993 Peak; Public Unaware – PEW SOCIAL TRENDS

“All they know is ‘Print more paper money and keep the banking system afloat.’
This has ‘kicked the can down the road’ and kept the CRASH at bay for the last 7 years.
All it has achieved is a bigger crash when it happens …”
WARNING – People Need To Be Prepared For Some Shockingly Negative News – Richard Russell, KING WORLD NEWS

“In a nutshell, the entire business model is uneconomic and thus the only reason a lot more drillers aren’t bankrupt is because capital markets are still wide open.”
How The Shale Drillers Did It——They Struck A Gusher On Wall Street – CONTRA CORNER

“Thanks to capitalist producers, household work hours per week (average) declined from around 60 to 20…”
The most disruptive technology of the last century is in your house – WASHINGTON POST

“Every system of ethics that preached sacrifice grew into a world power and ruled millions of men.”
Ayn Rand and Altruism, Part 3 – George H. Smith, LIBERTARIANISM.ORG

But democratic socialism creates economic security for the peepulz …
Venezuela: Land of No Milk and No Honey – THE CANAL
Venezuela becoming the capital of organized crime, amid raging scarcity – FOX NEWS, LATINO

Truly, the best news in a millennia …

 

“I am happy to report that my new book, "Monetary Central Planning and the State," has now been published by the Future of Freedom Foundation, and is available for purchase at Amazon in an eBook format at the reasonable price of $2.99
    “I offer a clear and readable comparison and contrast of the “Austrian” theory of money and the business cycle, especially as developed by Ludwig von Mises and F.A. Hayek, with Keynes and Keynesian Economics and the Chicago School-Monetarist approach of Milton Friedman.
    “This is done, partly, in the context of their respective theories for the causes and cures for the Great Depression of the 1930s. And why the “Austrian” analysis offers a richer and more realistic explanation for this historical event, as well as the recent booms and busts of the twenty-first century.
    “The second part of the book presents a critical analysis of the political and economic weaknesses inherent in any form of central banking, including the U.S. Federal Reserve, and why, in essence, it is just another form of central planning with all the impossibilities that come with government control of what should be market-based processes.”
Monetary Central Planning and the State – Richard Ebeling, AMAZON

In "The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True" author Dr. Richard Dawkins says in chapter one "I want to show you that the real world, as understood scientifically, has magic of its own -- the kind I call poetic magic: an inspiring beauty which is all the more magical because it is real and because we understand how it works. Next to the true beauty and magic of the real world, supernatural spells and stage tricks seem cheap and tawdry by comparison. The magic of reality is neither supernatural nor a trick, but -- quite simply -- wonderful. Wonderful, and real. Wonderful because real."
Not only does he have a correct metaphysics -- a sacred but secular view of reality, he has a correct epistemology. Unlike most intellectuals throughout history, he explicitly supports the evidence of the senses…”
The Magic of Reality: How We Know What's Really True – AMAZON

"Dr. Sowell’s new book tosses a monkey wrench into most of the things said about income by politicians, intellectuals and assorted hustlers, plus it’s a fun read."
Thomas Sowell's Latest Book: Wealth Poverty and Politics – Walter Williams, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE
Wealth, Poverty and Politics: An International Perspective – AMAZON

“Based on newly-discovered, secret documents from German archives, diaries and newspapers of the time, Gun Control in the Third Reich presents the definitive, yet hidden history of how the Nazi regime made use of gun control to disarm and repress its enemies and consolidate power. The countless books on the Third Reich and the Holocaust fail even to mention the laws restricting firearms ownership, which rendered political opponents and Jews defenceless. A sceptic could surmise that a better-armed populace might have made no difference, but the National Socialist regime certainly did not think so—it ruthlessly suppressed firearm ownership by disfavoured groups.”
Order Your Copy of Gun Control in the Third Reich TODAY! – INDEPENDENT INSTITUTE

“This essay by George Reisman on Thomas Piketty is an absolute crackerjack. It was issued last year, but bears repeating.”
Piketty’s Capital: Wrong Theory/Destructive Program – GEORGE REISMAN’S BLOG

“Should we celebrate CO2?” Why, yes we should, says Greenpeace co-founder.
Greenpeace founder delivers powerful annual lecture, praises carbon dioxide – full text – Patrick Moore, WATTS UP WITH THAT
Indur Goklany writes about the benefits of carbon dioxide to the human race and the planet – JUNK SCIENCE

Cow farts produce methane. NZ’s cow farts are supposed to produce “dangerous” levels of methane. Good news: “Anyone who is worried about methane, good news. You can stop worrying.”
Scientific Urban Legends – Willis Eschenbach, CLIMATISM

“As climateers turn their gaze toward Paris, what the warmist media won't be reporting is just how poorly qualified and error-prone many of them are. That's no mere sceptic's complaint, by the way, but the honest verdict of their fellow scientists.”
The IPCC’s Legion of Hacks and Dunces – Tony Thomas, QUADRANT

“Antarctic ice has been continuously and more importantly in an extraordinarily regular fashion for well nigh on 1,000,000 years.” But this will change dramatically, says a dramatic new report. Out, magically, just in time for Paris.
Manufactured PANIC: projected Antarctic ice shelf melting “may surpass intensities associated with ice shelf collapse” – WATTS UP WITH THAT

“A study into who gets the most violations and who gets away with violating: The government is more likely to break environmental laws than the private sector.”
Guess who’s more likely to violate environmental regulations than the private sector – PERSONAL LIBERTY

“Kudos to UCLA's @PKareiva for risking his career in the interest of sanity.”
Back to School: Unlearning Nine Environmental Myths – Peter Karelva, UCLA

“NOAA reports almost two degrees warming in the US, almost all of which is fake, and is derived from fake data.”
All US Warming, And Almost Half Of The Data, Is Fake – Steven Goddard, REAL SCIENCE

“Because nothing says your ‘science’ is solid more than asking for anyone who disagrees to be jailed.”
Judges plan to outlaw climate change 'denial’ – Christopher Booker, TELEGRAPH

"How novel and revolutionary it was to discover principles by experiment
combined with mathematical analysis, to set scientific laws in the context of
experience, and to test the validity of knowledge by making an experimental
test. Traditionally, knowledge had been based on faith and insight, on
reason [detached from observation] and revelation. The new science
discarded all of these as ways of understanding nature and set up experience—
experiment and critical observation—as the foundation and ultimate test of knowledge."
~ I. B. Cohen, ‘The Role of Religion in the Scientific Revolution’

“…happiness, not pain or mindless self-indulgence, is the proof of your moral integrity…”
Happiness is the Reward of Virtue (Ayn Rand) – DR HURD.COM

“UCLA neuroscience researcher Alex Korb has some insights that can create an upward spiral of happiness in your life.”
A neuroscience researcher reveals 4 rituals that will make you happier – Eric Barker, BUSINESS INSIDER

“Consider the following, from “How Islam Creates Sociopaths” an interesting study done by Danish psychologist Nicolai Sennels: ‘Nobody is born a mass murderer, a rapist or a violent criminal. So what is it in the Muslim culture that influences their children in a way that makes so relatively many Muslims harm other people?’”
New Research: How Islam is Psychologically Toxic – DR HURD.COM

Here's what you and I can learn from the people who really have answers:

“The result, however, is disastrous. Suddenly we are in the land of bumper-sticker postmodernism, where truths are perspectival and no one can be objectively wrong. Like the unity of all religions, the validity of all religions is a lovely sentiment (Coexist!), but it is dangerous, disrespectful, and untrue. Dangerous, because it means people will be less likely to fight against injustices and falsehoods that are underwritten by religion. Disrespectful, because authentic respect involves caring when others’ beliefs go wrong, not just letting them believe whatever they want. And untrue, because basic logic tells us that ‘God condones slavery’ and ‘God forbids slavery’ cannot be equally valid claims."
The Problem With Religious Tolerance – Alan Levinovitz, RICHARD DAWKINS.NET

“They are usually flawed, biased and contradicted by later research.”
This is why you shouldn’t believe that exciting new medical study – Julia Belluz, VOX

Infantile genre-isation is killing movies. “Back To The Future’ director Robert Zemeckis told Yahoo that the classic film, which is 30 years old this year, would not get made in Hollywood today and that current audiences wouldn’t be interested in seeing the film “.…it defies categorisation and isn’t easy to market. I think that what’s happened is that films have fallen into slots or categories.”
Zemeckis: Back To The Future Would Not Get Greenlit Today – ORLANDO PARFITT

"As it turns out, Sorkin is quite proud of his disregard for facts. “What is the big deal about accuracy purely for accuracy’s sake?” he told New York magazine around the time The Social Network came out.”
Aaron Sorkin’s ‘Steve Jobs’ Con – Joe Nocera, NEW YORK TIMES

“You might think holiday traffic over here might be bad, but imagine sitting amidst a sea of cars spread across no less than 50 lanes of congestion brought to a standstill for hours on end as hundreds of millions of revellers headed home at the end of Golden Week, which celebrates the founding of the People’s Republic of China… And this is not even close to being either the world’s worst highway congestion.”
The World's Worst Traffic Jams, Ever – FORBES

They’re reading about our real beer over there.
Kiwi Craft Beer: Possibly the most vibrant craft beer scene in the world. – Norman Miller, FOODTRIPPER (UK)

Is this the modern Italian roadster of your dreams? If not, you possibly don’t have any.

Not sure I approve of the premise here …
Normalizing Dopamine Levels in the Brain Can Reduce Alcohol Cravings, Study Shows – WSJ

Chinese multiplication …

WARNING: Play this more than twice, and it’s stuck there forever …

 

Play this once, and you’ll want it to play forever.

Play this when you realise you’re not going to live forever.

[Hat tips The Questionist, Screwed by State, Steve Milloy, David Stockman, Mitch Horowitz, Venezuela Travel Tip, Pedro Correa, TakingHayekSeriously, Guardian US, Seymour Sludgeworth, End of Life Choice NZ., Anoop Verma, Phil Oliver, Kaila Geary Halling, Jim Rose, Scott DeSalvo, Andy Clarkson, The Objective Standard, Tom Burroughes, Mark Tammett, Monica Beth, The Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science (Official)', Phil Oliver, Curt Holmes, Phil Scott, Carbon Dioxide, Allan Brian Woolf', Sheila Bazleh, Bosch Fawstin, Utopia-You Are Standing In It, Climate Debate Daily]

Thanks for reading
Have a great weekend!
PC