Friday Morning Ramble: Bank That, and Walk Away

Well, they always said ACT was a party with convictions. Boom, boom!

So what about about a political party with three convicted criminals? Three strikes and they’re out? Boom boom.

I freely confess to never having any respect for the Minister for Rhyming Slang, so I’m not really going to start talking about him now. So what else of more importance has been happening around the place? Here’s some things I spotted around the traps of more importance. Like remembering Tiananmen, 25 years on…

“Twenty-five years ago in Tiananmen Square, China’s Communist regime massacred student protesters who sought some measure of greater freedom. Since then, although China’s economy has opened up, the regime continues to muzzle dissidents and labours studiously to make people forget.”
Remembering Tiananmen, 25 years later – Elan Journo, VOICES FOR REASON

“25 years ago [this week]. Nothing to
celebrate except one man's courage.”
- Per-Olof Samuelsson

And remembering the beginning of the liberation of Europe seventy years ago today… (maybe watch the single-best film of the
D-Day Historian Craig Symonds Talks About History’s Most Amazing Invasion – DAILY BEAST
Scenes From D-Day, Then and Now – THE ATLANTIC
D-Day and the battle for Europe – NZ HISTORY ONLINE
The 70th anniversary of D-Day – UK MoD
D-Day And The Allied Liberation Of Europe In British Pathé News Clips – RADIO FREE EUROPE
'Any blame is mine alone' - General Eisenhower's chilling speech if D-Day had FAILED – DAILY EXPRESS

History’s most famous weather forecast:

Why not take time over the weekend to watch the single best movie about the largest military invasion in history:

And more…

“"If alcohol were a communicable disease, a national emergency would be declared." Get stuffed, wowsers.
Prohibitionist Electioneering – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR

Tony Abbott is helping New Zealand’s exports.
New entrants to the Uni market – Sinclair Davidson,CATALLAXY FILES

Over to you, Jamie Whyte.
Internet Party leader wants cannabis decriminalised – NEWSTALK ZB

"Sustainability" is Immoral and Anti-Progress…

“A list of accomplishments of Hillary Clinton, from her supporters.”
What a bunch of dummies! – RIO NORTE LINE

“The failed war on drugs. As cocaine and heroin wane, consumption of synthetic drugs rises.”
Press down, pop up: Cracking down on illicit drugs means they surface in another form – ECONOMIST

“"It is no small achievement that we re-enabled the formation of the Afghan state and rescued its citizens from the sole ownership of a barbaric regime.”
How Long Should Afghanisation Matter? - Prakhar Sharma, FOREIGN POLICY

And now, a message from Hayek…

“The more people read ‘scientists say’ the world is about to end, the less they believe them.”
The EPA’s Political Futility – Patrick Michaels, CATO

Why a leading climatologist changed her mind about the science.
Chatting With ‘A Climate Heretic’ – QUADRANT

“This may come as a shocker to some, but scientists are not always right — especially when under intense public pressure for answers.
 Scientists Admit Polar Bear Numbers Were Made Up To ‘Satisfy Public Demand’ – DAILY CALLER

“Sea level rise increase 1/2 thickness of human fingernail crates media “sea level rise alert” panic.”
Antarctica climate alarmism frenzy revisited – ill-informed, exaggerated and erroneous media claims galore  - WATTS UP WITH THAT

Not about saving the planet. All about guilt.
Recycling: eco-penance for wasteful humans – SPIKED

So carbon dioxide is not a poison. But just look what it does to temperatures…
Global Temperature Update: Still no global warming for 17 years 9 months – CLIMATE DEPOT

Fabulous in theory, but oh! those engineering difficulties.
Why The Solar Roadway Is A Terrible Idea – JALOPNIK

“Economics departments are dominated by Marxism, which
is taken straight or on the rocks, in the form of Keynesianism.”
- Ayn Rand

So, how do you?
Educating for Entrepreneurship — working paper – STEPHEN HICKS

Oh, it doesn’t?
Surprise! Fairtrade Doesn't Benefit The Poor Peasants – Tim Worstall, FORBES

“There isn’t a central bank in the world that wants to go back to a gold standard. But that’s not the point. The point is whether they will have to.”
Your Personal Gold Standard – James Rickards, LAISSEZ FAIRE

“Even mainstream empirical data shows that the Phillips Curve is wrong and that inflation does not cure unemployment. More importantly, Austrian economics has long shown that, regardless of how you slice and dice the historical data, inflation causes malinvestment, booms, and busts, thus increasing unemployment.”
There is No Tradeoff Between Inflation and Unemployment – Chris Casey, MISES DAILY 

“If you want to see the mental corruption that is the legacy of Keynesian economics, read the letter Trickle-down economics is a ruse by Charlie Hagel.”
Money vs. Wealth: Which is the Cart, and Which is the Horse? Ask Gilligan – PRINCIPLED PERSPECTIVES

But there’s no inflation … ?

“The governments and central banks of the world are engaged in a futile effort to stimulate economic recovery through an expansion of fiat money credit. They will fail due to their ignorance or purposeful blindness to Say’s Law that tells us that money is the agent for exchanging goods that must already exist. New fiat money cannot conjure goods out of thin air, the way central banks conjure money out of thin air.”
Why Central Bank Stimulus Cannot Bring Economic Recovery – Patrick Barron, MISES DAILY

"[The Fed's] vastly misguided monetary policies are now setting the stage for a new economic and social catastrophe — one that could rival the financial crisis and horrors of the 1930s,” he wrote in his new book co-authored by Elizabeth Ames.
Steve Forbes: Link dollar to gold or face Great Depression II – WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Why is the left obsessed with raising the minimum wage?”
The Minimum Wage vs. Reality – Yaron Brook, VOICES FOR REASON

And now, a message from Edward Snowden…

Time to #ResetTheNet and take your privacy back
Year of the whistleblower: 10 things we didn’t know before #Snowden – NO 2 NSA

You might need this.
The Only Email System The NSA Can't Access – Hollie Slade, FORBES

Donald Sterling, the LA Clippers, and the Orwellian attack on private speech.
Policing private speech: the new inquisition – Brendan O’Neill, SPIKED

"I may have lost my ability to travel, but I have gained
the ability to go sleep at night and know I did the right thing."
- #Snowden:

Another dividend of religion.
Galway historian reveals truth behind 800 orphans in mass grave – IRISH CENTRAL

“"This is an all-important lesson that humanity must learn: Religion is hazardous to your health." —Andrew Bernstein
Religion Versus Morality – Andrew Berstein, OBJECTIVE STANDARD

“That bastion of western liberty, the United Kingdom - Her Majesty's Government - is now holding secret trials”
Britain's first secret trial: this way lies trouble – Owen Jones, GUARDIAN

“The “patent troll” debate, like many debates about capitalism and innovation, is nothing new. All the more reason to be happy that smart people like Adam Mossoff are on the case.”
Adam Mossoff on Patent Trolls in Slate – VOICES FOR REASON
Thomas Edison Was a “Patent Troll”: Patent litigation isn’t nearly as new as people think it is – SLATE

I”m sure you’ve all wondered.
What Does a Concertmaster Do? Glenn Dicterow, New York Philharmonic Concertmaster, Explains – VULTURE

I’m certain you’ve wondered
But Who Gets to Keep the Nudes? – Jason Stotts, EROSOPHIA 

“If you want something from reality, don't live in fantasy."
- Leonard Peikoff

“Unwanted communication is as inevitable as it is persistent.”
Spam, the Neverending Story – THE ATLANTIC

“Physiology and neuroscience combine to explain Bruce Lee’s master move.”
The Science of the One-Inch Punch – POPULAR MECHANICS

“There's nothing like a riot to bring out the amateur psychologist in all of us.”
Forget What You Think You Know About Crowd Behaviour – Jesse Walker, HIT & RUN

“My colleagues and I have been very successful in sending off numerous of our graduating economics majors to graduate school, to get a PhD in economics. Here is some advice I offer them, which might be helpful to others as well…”
Advice for Grad Students – Walter Block, CIRCLE BASTIAT

Any stubborn people in your life?
Steve Jobs Taught This Man How To Win Arguments With Really Stubborn People – BUSINESS INSIDER

Our sensitive moment of the day: The moment @lukelowden told his mum he'd be making his AFL debut. Really cool.
"Mum, I'm playing" – HAWKS TV

23 Photos Of People From All Over The World Next To How Much Food They Eat Per Day…

What it looks like when you stabilise a Star Trek scene.

And now, a message from kids who know more than you do…

[Hat tips Geek Press, Alex Epstein, Carbon Dioxide,  Yaron Brook, Vinay Kolhatkar, James Jenkins, Diana Hsieh, Mark Tammett, Fran O'Sullivan, Rudolf E. Havenstein, TakingHayekSeriously, Free Snowden, Jonathan Hoenig, Akl Phil Orchestra, Snowden Is Our Hero, Glenn Greenwald, Craig Hutchison, Glenn Schwartz]

Thanks for reading … and commenting.
Cheers
PC