Friday Morning Ramble: 09.09.16

 

Lotsa links …

Regulation again making more people homeless.
Homeless woman kicked out of caravan after complaint – HERALD

“Disaster upon disaster unless the Auckland voters get awoken to the realities on all this nonsense.
    “For one thing, Auckland already lacks street space (outlier low among cities globally) so where are the trams going to go without either making traffic congestion worse still, or needing billions spent in property acquisition and demolition, and/or tunneling?”
Light rail a priority for Auckland mayoral candidate Phil Goff – COMMENT – Phil Hayward, MAKING NEW ZEALAND

The weakness of relying on 'going up' alone, to deliver affordability.
The Myth of Affordable Intensification – Phil Hayward, MAKING NEW ZEALAND

"The obesity experts in favour of a sugar tax are right about one thing: some of the opposition to such a tax is ideological..."
Opposition to sugar tax not just ideology – Jenesa Jeram, STUFF

“Does government ‘certification’ of either schools or teachers ensure quality education? Silly question.
Governments Shouldn’t Even Certify Schools, Much Less Run Them – Corey DeAngelis, FEE

I still remember with delight as a young bloke tuning into the weak and temporary signal at 1404AM of …
Radio B and the secret pirates – Russell Brown, HARD NEWS
BFM - the pirates – AUDIO CULTURE

“Did the Canadian experiment work? It is far too early to tell, and anybody claiming otherwise may be trying to sell you something.”
Vancouver’s foreign-buyer tax: the solution for an overheated Auckland market? – Eric Crampton, THE SPINOFF

 

“Each new generation born is in effect an invasion
of civilisation by little barbarians, who must
be civilised before it is too late.”
~ Thomas Sowell

 

Oh, so that’s what an Aleppo is!
Eva Bartlett photo essay: The villages in Aleppo ravaged by the U.S.’s “moderate” rebels – WINSTON CLOSE

“When asked about what seems to the rest of the world like a stark reversal, Dr. Ben Carson, former rival and now surrogate for the nominee, said the initial positions Trump articulated during the primary are ‘relatively irrelevant’.”
Immigration Won't Make a Difference for Trump – A.B. Stoddard, REAL CLEAR POLITICS

Life gets harder when fewer are buying the only thing you’re selling.
Saudi Arabia planning to cancel $20bn worth of projects – report –ARABIAN BUSINESS.COM

What Virgin did to Corbyn is a lesson for every businesses attacked by a campaigning politician.
Use PR to bite back – Mark Blackham, LINKED IN

“Why was she not asked why she re-used needles on her residents in Nirmal Hriday (it was official policy) when she herself received the finest care in the world's best hospitals?"
Kolkata will take a century to recover from Mother Teresa – Aroup Chatterjee, ECONOMIC TIMES

 

“Beware of altruism. It is based on
self-deception, the root of all evil.”
~ Robert Heinlein

 

“I estimate Donald Trump's immigration plan would slash green cards by 63%.”
Trump Is Against Legal Immigration Too – Alex Nowrasteh, CATO

“It's not the cops that pose a danger to innocent black men, women, and children--it's the thugs.”
The lies told by the Black Lives Matter movement – Andrew Bernstein, FACEBOOK

“And frankly, if we don't boycott the racist rhetoric, that will justly reflect poorly on us.”
Where did Donald Trump get his racialised rhetoric? From libertarians. – WASHINGTON POST

“Daily reminder that Hillary suffered a brain injury so severe she used it as an excuse not to answer FBI questions.”
'Read the reports': Hillary Clinton refuses to explain what she told the FBI about how a concussion impaired her memory – MAIL ONLINE

"Individual rights precede government; they are not given or bestowed by government. They are unalienable, that is, they belong to each and every individual as a human being, and no political power or authority may claim the legitimacy to abridge or abolish them."
John Locke, American Individualism and The Declaration of Independence – Richard Ebeling, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

“It's crucial to establish & maintain governments & societies that respect property rights.”
Why Property Rights Matter – Timothy & Christina Sandefur, LIBERTARIANISM.ORG

 

“There are countless examples of this huge fight back against the Islamists by those deemed to be ‘Muslims’ but these contestations are ignored in the West with only Islamism’s narrative given credence.”
We Need To Stop Conflating ‘Muslims’ With Islamists – Maryan Namazie

 

 

The more I think about it over the years, this may be the single most important economic paper I’ve ever read: “There are two fundamental views of economic life…”
Production versus Consumption – George Reisman, MISES DAILY

“Trump is a Mercantilist? A believer in Medieval mythology, and pseudo-economics that can only hurt the people it purports to help? (And just happens to give more power to the government). Here is a an letter to the editor, by economist George Selgin about Trump’s economics adviser.”
George Selgin on Trump Advisor Peter Navarro – George Selgin, CAFE HAYEK

“Political leaders and pundits sometimes propose import tariffs to offset the supposed price advantages and exert pressure for policy changes abroad. What proponents often fail to realize is that such tariff policies, while certainly hurting their targets, can also be very costly at home.”
Tariffs Do More Harm Than Good at Home – UTOPIA

An excellent way to increase inequality.
Walter Williams explains how occupational licensing hurts the poor and minorities – Walter Williams, INSTITUTE FOR JUSTICE

 

 

“Far from being responsible for improvements in the standard of living of the average worker, labor unions operate in more or less total ignorance of what actually raises the average worker’s standard of living.”
Labour Unions Are Anti-Labour – George Reisman, MISES DAILY

“Although in fields such as statistical physics, ecology and social psychology it is now widely accepted that systems of interacting individuals will not have the sort of behaviour that corresponds to that of one average or typical particle or individual, this has not had much effect on economics.”
    Not, at least, in mainstream economics.
Alan Kirman on Microfoundations – Arnold Kling, ASKBLOG

“The history of economics occupies a precarious position in university curricula: it receives less attention than in the past yet it has never seemed more important to those seeking to understand the place of economics among fields of human knowledge.”
Situations Wanted – David Warsh, ECONOMIC PRINCIPALS

“In this second part, I explain the meaning, nature and components of the logic of human action as understood by the Austrian Economists, and in particular Ludwig von Mises. I discuss what makes the human sciences, including economics, distinctly different in its method and approach from the classic methods of the natural or physical sciences.
    “I explain the meaning of methodological individualism and methodological subjectivism, as analyzed by the Austrians. And I dissect the interrelated elements of what it means to “act” that are and must be present for any and all conscious and intentional human conduct, which are the foundation stones for economic and market analysis.”
An Introduction to Austrian Economics, Part 2 – Richard Ebeling, FFF

“GDP as most commonly used can be a flawed measurement if one tries to infer that the size or growth of economic activity is well correlated to the prosperity of its people… This graph confirms our macroeconomic concerns and helps explain, in part, why so many U.S. citizens feel like they are being left behind.”
GDP – Even less than meets the eye – Michael Lebowitz, 720 GLOBAL

 

“Conventional wisdom is that the more fossil fuels we use, the less livable we make our planet. And we have been using a lot more fossil fuels over the last 30 years — an 80 percent increase since 1980. Fossil fuel use has increased so dramatically that our environment “should be” much worse.
    “But is it?”
9 Graphs That Prove Using Fossil Fuels Hasn’t Harmed The Planet – Alex Epstein, DAILY CALLER

“… these papers indicate that the modern (20th, 21st century) climate is, and has been, remarkably stable, with significantly less extreme variability than in previous centuries and millennia.”
25 New Papers Confirm A Remarkably Stable Modern Climate: Fewer Intense Storms, Hurricanes, Droughts, Floods, Fires… – NO TRICKS ZONE

“Interestingly, in the 1970s it was common for severe weather anomalies (for example, the deadly catastrophic drought plodding throughout the continent of Africa) to be linked to the global cooling occurring at that time.”
Flashback NOAA 1974: ‘Extreme weather events blamed on global cooling’ – CLIMATE DEPOT

“In the past several years, many scientists have become afflicted with a serious case of doubt — doubt in the very institution of science.”
The 7 biggest problems facing science, according to 270 scientists – Julia Belluz, Brad Plumer, Brian Resnick; VOX

“It wasn’t exactly a debate, in part because there was only one presentation by each side, and the other participant was given a chance to see my argument in advance and not vice-versa--but this has an unexpected benefit: I think it illustrates that the big-picture, pro-human framework of The Moral Case is effective even in adverse circumstances because it cements a proper method for which to conduct the discussion.”
Epstein-Negin 'Debate' Exposes Cowardice and Hypocrisy of Fossil Fuels’ Enemies- PRINCIPLED PERSPECTIVES

 

Q: How do you ensure a valuable heritage building (above) isn’t conserved? A: Give it to the Department of Conservation to look after, of course.
Architects aghast at plans to demolish Aniwaniwa visitor centre – RADIO NZ
Wairoa Council urged to save visitor centre – GISBORNE HERALD
Fine building’s demolition shameful – Jeremy Salmond, GISBORNE HERALD
Family members of Maori architect John Scott taken on site for farewell – GISBORNE HERALD

And a reader was talking to me recently about wildlife conservation …

Check out everything the Property & Environment Research Center (PERC) has ever written on turning wildlife into an assett …
Wildflife Conservation: Wildlife in the Marketplace – PERC

“In debates over access, we shouldn’t take for granted the important role property rights play in wildlife conservation.”
Access in the Political Crosshairs – PERC

“Governments have tried a variety of methods of saving endangered species…  Since that time, only two of those original 78 species have recovered and 3 have actually gone extinct.”
Privatise: Governments Have Failed to Preserve Endangered Species – Michael Malin, MISES WIRE

What to do when rhino horns are more valuable than gold? Farm rhino.
Save the rhino by privatising it – Nathan Keeble, NOT PC

“Perhaps if whales were farmed, they wouldn't be so endangered. I've mentioned this point here many times but developing a property right in whales is perhaps the best way to ensure they don't die out.”
Saving those whales with good hard sense – NOT PC

“We eat cows. The Japanese eat whales. The only difference is that cows are privately owned, and whales are much larger. Neither is any more or less barbaric than the other.”
Opening a whole new can of whales – NOT PC

“…controversial proposals for saving endangered wildlife in Australia’s Northern Territory… Graham Webb favours harvesting endangered animals to  help preserve their habitats.”
Eat them, skin them, save them – HERALD

Now this is the way to see Paris …

 

“Under the right conditions, enterprise can be an extreme sport, one that looks thrilling even when it is portrayed as corrupt.”
Five Anti-Capitalist Movies that Backfired – Jeffrey Tucker, FEE

“What made you decide to put together a book about Eno? … He’s amassed quite a reputation as popular music’s resident intellectual, but, aside from one book in the 1990s, his work hadn’t been given the kind of in-depth analysis it deserves. On a more personal level, I’ve been listening to Eno’s solo work for over three decades, and I find it endlessly fascinating. As Eno says, he’s very interested in the idea of music as landscape; and it’s a landscape that I’m quite happy to inhabit. “
Q&A | Brian Eno: Oblique Music – RHYSTRANTER.COM

 

 

“It is the artist’s sense of life that controls and integrates his work, directing the innumerable choices he has to make, from the choice of subject to the subtlest details of style. It is the viewer’s or reader’s sense of life that responds to a work of art by a complex, yet automatic reaction of acceptance and approval, or rejection and condemnation.”
Art and Sense of Life – CAMPUS.AYN RAND

New and fascinating book that’s been 30 years in the writing about a story 200 years in the making.
    “Exhaustively annotated and illustrated, this explosive work of history unearths clues that finally demonstrate the truth about one of the world’s great religions: that it was born out of the conflict between the Romans and messianic Jews who fought a bitter war with each other during the 1st Century. The Romans employed a tactic they routinely used to conquer and absorb other nations: they grafted their imperial rule onto the religion of the conquered.
    “After 30 years of research, authors James S. Valliant and C.W. Fahy present irrefutable archaeological and textual evidence that proves Christianity was created by Roman Caesars in this book that breaks new ground in Christian scholarship and is destined to change the way the world looks at ancient religions forever.”
Creating Christ: How Roman Emperors Invented Christianity – James Valliant & Casey Fahy, AMAZON

“What the hell does the most important verse in the Christian Bible even mean?”
John 3:16—The Big One – ATHEIST REPUBLIC

Work is a crucially important value. It integrates our life.
Celebrating Work: A Crucially Important Value – Jaana Woiceshyn, CAPITALISM MAGAZINE

“Time is a fascinating concept. We’re constantly moving through time, yet it often seems to pass by unnoticed… Unfortunately, it seems that we too often lose sight of just how invaluable time is… To prevent future regrets, ask yourself now how you really want to spend your time.”
It’s All About Time: The Significance of Time in Pursuing a Life of Purpose – Michelle Dunk, A SPARK OF PASSION

“Managers sent to mandatory diversity training sessions often come away resenting the very groups they are being encouraged to accept, according to the study.”
Forced diversity training backfires, claims Harvard study – FOX NEWS

“EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, a book comes along that fundamentally challenges the way we think. Brian Vickers’s The One King Lear is such a book. It constitutes a real challenge to the belief that our system of academic peer reviewing works as it should. Published by one of North America’s most august university presses, it is nonetheless a volume riddled with basic methodological errors, factual blunders, conceptual non-sequiturs, and vituperative ad hominem attacks. It is a book that should never have been printed in its present form."
The Text Is Foolish: Brian Vickers’s “The One King Lear” – L.A. REVIEW OF BOOKS

Just how bad was the world’s worst and most influential philosopher? Read on.
The Splintered Mind: Kant on Killing Bastards, on Masturbation, on Wives and Servants, on Organ Donation, Homosexuality, and Tyrants – Eric Schwitzgebel, SPLINTERED MIND

“The rise of the wankers speaks to a crisis of human intimacy.”
Pamela Anderson is right: there’s too much porn – Brendan O’Neill, SPIKED

If you have 500+ hours to spare, this will get you up to speed on the musical legacy of jazz music’s greatest engineer, Rudy Van Gelder.
Hear 508 Hours of Songs Recorded by Rudy Van Gelder (1924-2016), the Engineer Who Created the Sound of Modern Jazz – OPEN CULTURE

[Hat tips Riko Stevens, Stephen Berry, Original Jazz Classics, Louise Lamontagne, Free Thoughts , Michael Lebowitz , ‏Brian Eno, Farhad Manjoo, Keith Weiner, Famous-Quote.net, Jim Rose, The New Zealand Initiative, James Stevens Valliant, Paul Litterick, Stephen Hicks, Phil Oliver, Lawrence Reed, Stuart Hayashi, Open Group on Objectivism, Marvin Adams, For The New Intellectuals, Community of Maori Atheists and Freethinkers (CMAF)]

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