Friday 4 March 2016

Friday Morning Ramble, 04.03.16

 

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[Pic from The 12th Man]

“The annual cost of each gang member works out to $8,948 annually (3,627) - less than a superannuitant.”
The real cost of gangs – LINDSAY MITCHELL

“If New Zealand were serious about wanting to do away with gangs, the government would be looking at alternatives to drug prohibition rather than adding up dubious stats on the fiscal costs of gang members to justify crackdowns on gangs.”
Ganging up on gangs – Eric Crampton, THE SANDPIT
Don’t like gangs? Then legalise cannabis. – NOT PC

“The Minister of Police is knocking back an ACT party call for a debate around the prohibition of drugs. ACT's Leader David Seymour said prohibition is helping generate drug revenue for gangs and if the market was stopped, gangs would be de-funded…
“David Seymour said the Minister's reverted to hyperbole and has misrepresented what he's said. ‘I just think it's disappointing that a prominent politician like Judith Collins, who's fashioned her reputation on being willing to take on hard issues, is not prepared to be open-minded about this one and look around the world at what's happening.’”
ACT's call for drug prohibition debate rejected – NEWSTALK ZB

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“We were told that lowering the alcohol drink-drive limit would save lives. Logic suggested this was rubbish and would only criminalise people who would have been fine under the old limit. Turns out the sceptics were right.”
Hate to be on the same side as Moroney, but she's right this time – WHALE OIL

“The Sydney bar lock-out laws were only part of a wider war … It's a salvo in a wider boomer assault on the young.”
Locked-out – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR

“A recent article … raised an issue most of us dance daily: navigating privacy amid the inevitability of neighbours, in this case the occupants of single-family houses in [new subdivisions]. We all want both: the sanctuary of privacy with enough community to not feel vulnerable. In other words, how does one design for civitas?
    “As I read the article, I began to look for something I didn’t find: curiously, the piece turned out to be blind to the fact that this quest for equilibrium is a classic architectural problem, one passionately discussed and endlessly investigated as a delicious challenge. What could have been a discussion on what architectural strategies actually work on behalf of privacy was actually a one-note issue, embodied by its title. “Close-Together Houses Spur Lots of Gripes” …
“Close-Together Houses Spur Lots of Gripes” - But They Shouldn't – Barbara Lamprecht, LAMPRECHT ARCHITEXTURAL

Last week in Insights, the NZ Initiative wrote about Sir Bob Jones' "presumably tongue-in-cheek" proposal to erect a 5km-high statue of Gareth Morgan. “Sir Bob emailed us to inform that his proposal was not, in fact, tongue in cheek at all. Read his letter to us here.”
Apology to Bob Jones – INSIGHTS

As you can see (below), the late Graham Brazier’s friend Kelly Addis is going all out to get Graham’s last record finished - there is nothing he won't do to make this a success. Pre-order the album (and make completion possible) at http://igg.me/at/grahambrazier

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“Climate Alarmist Michael Mann forced to eat humble pie.”
No global warming since 1988 confirmed by 'Hockey Stick' Mann – JO HOLMES BLOG

““That doesn’t seem to be the real world. As long as we can’t do everything, I would argue let’s do the smartest things first.”
Why Zika and Ebola are not the world’s biggest problems right now – Bjorn Lomborg, SAUDI GAZETTE

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[Hat tip Monty Python]

“Choosing a Presidential candidate is not the same as choosing which contestant will go through to the next round of a celebrity cooking show, the world has reminded the US.”
This Is Not A Fucking Game Show, Rest Of World Reminds America – THE SHOVEL

“The movement has won over Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. But what if its claims are fiction?”
The Myths of Black Lives Matter – WALL STREET JOURNAL

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“By calling a majority (so far) of Republican voters who voted for Trump “suckers,” doesn’t this say something about that same majority who nominated Romney himself 4 years ago?
    “...If Mitt Romney believes Donald Trump is a catastrophe heralding the end of the Republican Party, he ought to consider his own role in creating that catastrophe.”
It Takes One to Know One, Mitt Romney – Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER
Mitt Romney Is The Real Super-Fraud: Here’s The Proof, Chapter And Verse –David Stockman, CONTRA CORNER

…” ‘a distillation of economic ignorance into pure form.’  Indeed.  It’s much like Trump himself: the very image of economic ignorance.”
A Shipload of Ignorance – CAFE HAYEK

“Yes, Trump would be a terrible, terrible President. But he'll be as institutionally constrained as the others.”
How I learned to stop worrying and love the Trump – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR

“Everyone complains about government, and real estate magnate Donald Trump is promising to fix it and make America great again. But no one can help the economy by encouraging the government to take people’s property. The Soviet Union, Cuba, and Venezuela have tried it without success.”
Confiscating Private Property Won’t Make America Great – Diana Furchgoot-Roth, MANHATTAN INSTITUTE

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A great man, too little known -- credited when he is rememebered as one of the intellectual fathers of the "German Miracle" after the Second World War.
Wilhelm Röpke: The Economist Who Stood Up To Hitler – Richard Ebeling, EPIC TIMES

“For regular people living in Venezuela, the situation is bleak. As the Economist reports, food queues start at 3 am, with the real possibility there won't be anything for those at the end of the line. And the queues are growing longer and violent.”
Venezuela Is Facing Runaway Financial Catastrophe – Emily Skarbek, FEE.ORG

“In addition to being criminally complicit in committing widespread fraud that fueled the housing bubble ten years ago, Moody’s takes advantage of every opportunity to show the world that they don’t have a clue when it comes to economic forecasts. “
“No signs of recession” says agency that always fails to predict recession – Simon Black, SOVEREIGN MAN

“You can be anti-Islam AND also anti-bigotry.”
~ Maryam Namazie ‏

CcggcaJWAAA3Z70“Addictions to drugs, alcohol or whatever have been falsely classified as “diseases,” thus giving the addict (and those around him or her) an excuse to continue the behaviour.”
Why Biological and Mental 'Illness' Are Not the Same – Dr Michael Hurd, LIVING RESOURCES CENTER

“The to and fro between our brain and environmental stimuli shapes and influences every aspect of who we are.”
Neuroscience and Architecture – Araceli Carmargo, HUFFINGTON POST

The decline of a once-great magazine reflects how far cultural knowledge has fallen. “Contemporary tendencies—from know-nothing reportage to grade inflation—can be corrected. But the blackboard is large, and the erasers grow fewer by the year.”
An Ignorant Time – Stefan Kanfer, CITY JOURNAL

Creativity and routine.
Daily routines of famous creative people – UTOPIA

Exciting that fragments like this can still turn up. I am always hopeful that we might one day see 20 new lines - or more! - turn up from Aristotle!
20 New Lines from The Epic of Gilgamesh Discovered in Iraq, Adding New Details to the Story – OPEN CULTURE

“…it raises interesting questions, not normally covered by regular music theory texts.”
Dancing with the Muses: A Historical Approach to Basic Concepts of Music, by M. Zachary Johnson, AMAZON

Take a video tour of ‪Frank Lloyd Wright‬’s Sturges Home in LA that still didn’t sell at it’s auction this week.
This Unusual Frank Lloyd Wright House Is Up For Auction in LA – FORTUNE

[Hat tips Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Everett, Barbara Lamprecht, Rust Watkins, The Academy of Neuroscience for Architecture, Louise Lamontagne, Nelson Brackin, Marsha Enright]

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