Friday 30 October 2015

Friday Morning Ramble, 29.10.15

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“The same category, but not the same risk.” Idiots.
Processed meat and cancer risk – KIWIBLOG

“It’s also a reminder to progressives – who advocate for more public-funded media in response to the collapse of the commercial media model – that state-funded media has its own problems.”
Maori TV and the mediapocalypse – DIM POST

Advice. Not just for Nicky Hager.
If You Support The Voluntary Transactions of Capitalism, Avoid NZ Banks – Mark Hubbard, LIFE BEHIND THE IRON DRAPE

A leftie ‘fesses up. “The big criticism of the Trans Pacific Partnership isn't so much that its a shit deal…” I wonder why Jane Kelsey hasn’t yet received her talking points?
DIY democracy on the TPP – NO RIGHT TURN

The satire that started it the fat-food freakout.
Achtung, Fatso (excerpts) – Bernard Darnton, FREE RADICAL

David Seymour has put together a website in support of his End of Life choice bill…
END OF LIFE CHOICE

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EVENT: Technology entrepreneur and head of the Gold Standard Institute, Keith Weiner, is in Auckland next Tuesday to present what he calls a radical and new theory of money, credit, interest, prices, inflation, and the boom-and-bust business cycle, asking and answering: “Where are we now in the cycle?”
REGISTER NOW (Free): ‘The dollar is failing, but not in the way you think’ – Keith Weiner, EVENTBRITE

(NB, Keith is going to talk a lot about something called the Quantity Theory of Money, so here’s a primer …
Mises on the Quantity Theory of Money – NOT PC)

Minimum wages: the seen and the unseen.
Wild Economics – Jon Murphy, A FORCE FOR GOOD

Help for the soon-to-be-afflicted.
The Onion’s Guide To Trick-Or-Treating – THE ONION

True story.
Aussie accent has origins in drunken slurring – RADIO NZ

A gentle reminder…

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(And use a frickin’ warrant.)

Another gentle reminder …

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Cartoon by xkcd

“Who is the enemy in Syria? Damned if I any longer know.”
Putin and American foreign policy – Steve Kates, LAW OF MARKETS

“When people have had no choice but to eat dog-shit-yoghurt for years, it is not a bad thing for the yoghurt seller when they are forced to choose between the two dishes.”
Why the West is looking to more radical candidates – KIWI WIT

One of the most compelling modern historians makes the case for re-evaluating one of the most loathed modern statesmen. (Hitchens, still in his Trotskyite phase, makes the case for the prosecution.)

And these are the highlights! Sheesh. (Mind you, there was this.)

“Back in 2011, a Rasmussen survey taken on August 20 and 21st found that 64 percent of Americans actually believe that the most basic goal of businesses is “to create jobs for the overall economy.”  Only 25 percent of respondents understood that “the primary objective of a business is to create value for the shareholders.” In other words, to make a profit.”
The Business of Businesses is to Create Value – UTOPIA-YOU ARE STANDING IN IT

Mind you … “Good profit can only result from creating value for the consumer. It is the manifestation of the entrepreneur’s respect for what the customer values.”
‘Good Profit': Charles Koch on Cronyism (Part 2) – MASTER RESOURCE

“The World Bank thinks we can end poverty by making energy more expensive.”
Making poverty permanent – BISHOP HILL

““Most people are ethical. If virtuous capitalists and entrepreneurs had higher social standing, there might be more of them, and fewer rent-seekers. In the long run, everyone would benefit.”
Virtuous Capitalism (versus rent-seeking) – Ryan Young, MASTER RESOURCE

“If only capitalism were given a chance, just imagine how much more it could do.”
The Glorious, Untapped Potential of Capitalism – Michael Hurd, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

Why the media often overlooks positive trends, & more.
INTERVIEW: The Human Race Is Doing Pretty Well. Just Look At The Data. – Marian Tupy, HUFFINGTON POST

“Unfortunately, even readers of Austrian economics fall into the trap of believing that the central problem with government money monopolies is that they’re always on the slippery slope to immediate catastrophe.”
There’s More to Money than Hyperinflation – MISES DAILY

"Monetary policy makes people excited to destroy their wealth."
What’s Different about Monetary Policy? – Keith Weiner, SNBCHF.COM

“Critics of this “individualistic” understanding of freedom and its opposite often brand such a perspective as “selfish” or “egotistical.” If to say that an individual should be treated and respected as an end in himself and not the compelled pawn or a tool to serve the ends of another is selfish or egotistical, then the very definition of liberty – if liberty is to mean anything – cannot be separated from the person’s right to be self-oriented.”
Individualism Vs Sacrificial Collectivism – Richard Ebeling, EPIC TIMES

"If we want our concepts and definitions to serve their proper purpose, then we have to define words correctly....”
Why "Sacrifice" Means Loss, Not Gain – Craig Biddle, VERMA POST

“Careful observation of history reveals two dramatically different approaches to life on earth. In one approach, we see Islamic jihadists perpetrating murderous terrorist assaults around the world, virtually daily…”
Aristotle Versus Religion – OBJECTIVE STANDARD

“Success isn’t a result of spontaneous
combustion. You must set yourself on fire.”
 
~ Arnold H Glasgow

“Those with snouts buried deepest in the climate trough are the engines whose faux science, gingered stats and withdrawn papers drive the alarmist publicity machine, but their mischief would be impotent without the support of the ill-read and ardently gullible.”
Warmist Myths and Leg Ends – Peter O’Brien, QUADRANT ONLINE

“’How have we reached this point in a country that claims to be rational?’ they ask… ‘There is not a single fact, figure…[or] observation that leads us to conclude the world’s climate is in any way ‘disturbed’,’ the paper states.”
French Mathematicians Blast UN’s ‘Costly & Pointless Crusade’ Against Global Warming – CNS NEWS

Even the UN doesn’t believe anyone will actually cut CO2 emissions. “Billions of people will not change their lives just because a treaty says so,” admits French diplomat.
National climate plans could face 2018 review under UN deal – CLIMATE CHANGE NEWS

“The more he talked of his honour,
the faster we counted our spoons.” 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

‘Contrary to expectations, the frequency of tropical cyclones has declined over the past 35 years…’
35 Years of Tropical Cyclone Frequency in Japan – CO2 SCIENCE

So it was probably those Antarctic volcanoes after all . The anatomy of another scare story: “I once heard Al Gore say that the purpose of the Montreal Protocol was not to ‘save’ the ozone layer so much as it was to show that the UN could execute a global environmental treaty. So the UN got its treaty and the ozone ‘hole’ went on its merry way.”
Did We Really Save the Ozone Layer? – Steve Goreham, WATTS UP WITH THAT

Don’t touch! Men and women see touching differently. Who knew!
The map that shows where men and women are comfortable (and uncomfortable!) being touched – STUFF

Ethical dilemma a-go-go.
Why Self-Driving Cars Must Be Programmed to Kill – GEEK PRESS 

The news just keeps getting worse.
Phil Collins confirms return to music: 'I'm no longer officially retired' – GUARDIAN

“Government bodies and regulatory agencies are constructed of many individuals, so why accept that these individuals can violate the rights of other individuals like owners of private companies large or small?”
o Place for PC Police in Private Affairs – Alexandra York, NEWSMAX

“Political correctness is tyranny with manners.” 
~ Charlton Heston

“Revealed: how the spy agency used unwitting artists such as Pollock and de Kooning in a cultural Cold War.”
Modern art was CIA 'weapon' – INDEPENDENT (UK)

“Can-do box-office topper ‘The Martian’ depicts a world utterly alien to today’s sobby, whiny, excuse-laden version.”
‘The Martian’ Was Our World Just 50 Years Ago – Kurt Schlicter, THE FEDERALIST

“All in all, weak beer compared to the books, even with all their problems.”
Rated: the best James Bond films – and the ones that die another day – GUARDIAN

Far from a perfect list but, as the man says, a start.
20 Albums To Begin A Journey into Jazz – U-DISCOVER

Jargon.
150 Weird Words That Only Architects Use – ARCH DAILY

Dr Montessori’s epoch-changing answer: he did.
Who Taught Wyatt How to Write? – MARIA MONTESSORI.COM

Perfect in any office. Especially mine.

[Hat tips quips and kudos to Maria Montessori Education Foundation, Junk Science, Betsy Speicher, Taliesin Fellows, Craig Ceely, Louis Armstrong, King Crimson, Frederick Gibson, Phil Oliver, Paul Coveney, Kylie Jones, Todd Martin, Famous-Quote.net, HumanProgress.org, Joel Kotarski, Lamia, Marginal Revolution, Cafe Hayek]

And finally …

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2 comments:

Bernard Darnton said...

I've apologised for Achtung Fatso many times over the last 15 years. It was supposed to be a joke, not an Otago School of Public Health thesis.

Peter Cresswell said...

Who's laughing now, fatso.