Liberty & Power: Group Blog
Entries by Mark Brady
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ralph Milliband Must Be Turning in His Grave
Not for the first time. Milliband was a leading Marxist intellectual, editor of Socialist Register, friend of C. Wright Mills, and passionate opponent of the American war in Vietnam. Now his son seeks to deflect allegations that MI5 has been colluding in the torture of British citizens.
In the Service of the State
That is to say, the British state.
What's with Iran?
What can the opposition win?. Worth reading, not least for the links.
UPDATE: Mick Hume asks here whether protesters in Tehran will win real change - or be used as a stage army for conservative opposition leaders who only want another palace coup? "One thing for sure is that the people of Iran will have to decide their own destiny, and if they want real change, make their own revolution."
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Sounds Good to Me
"Huge job cuts" for the British public sector.
Mind you, I'll believe it when I see it.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
We've Been Here Before
The Thick of It--Spinners and Losers.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Spontaneous Orders?
John Vidal on the revival of crop circles.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
West Still Miscasts 1989 Protestors
James Kynge has written an insightful article on the Tiananmen anniversary in today's Financial Times.
"The truth is that the students in the square had only the haziest understanding of western-style democracy. To the extent that the protests were directed at abuses of an existing system by an emerging elite, they were motivated more by outrage at the betrayal of socialist ideals than by aspirations for a new system. The mood in the square was at least as much conservative as it was activist."
I encourage you to read the entire article here. It's well worth the effort.
UPDATE: Brendan O'Neill explains here how both China and the West have distorted the truth about the Tiananmen Square protests and the massacre that followed.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
What Obama Doesn't Want You to See
Here are sixteen graphic photographs of alleged prisoner abuse, thought to be among up to 2,000 images Barack Obama is trying to prevent from being released.
Warning: this slideshow contains graphic and disturbing images to anyone who loves liberty.
Torture and the American Conscience
Today at Counterpunch Paul Craig Roberts praises Ron Paul and George Hunsinger, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, for calling their fellow Americans to account over the federal government's use of torture.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Where Did It All Go Wrong?
Stephen Berry of the Libertarian Alliance provides an informed and insightful review of Pat Buchanan's recent book.
Berry explains how as the twentieth century unfolded successive British administrations embarked upon unwise policies that led to disastrous consequences for Britain and the West. He explains how they ignored Lord Salisbury's dictum that "Isolation is much less dangerous than the danger of being dragged into wars which do not concern us." And how, after the First World War, much of the British elite was (1) "obsessed, then as now, by the 'special relationship' with their American cousins," and (2) enthralled with Wilsonian internationalism.
Berry concludes: "Great play is still made of the UK resisting Germany and Continental Europe alone in 1940. This book explains how Britain had come to such a position and Buchanan makes it clear that the German military victories of 1940 were only part of the story. Pursuing a League of Nations agenda, antagonising Japan and Italy, keeping the Soviet Union at arms length were all a prelude to the disaster of 1940. Against a more astute German leader than Hitler these policies would certainly have led to the loss of the war. As it was, they merely led to the loss of the British Empire. Pat Buchanan has done a tremendous service by pointing all this out in his frank and well written book."
You can read the review in pdf format here.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
JFK Scores Again
Michael Munn's memoir of David Niven continues in today's Sunday Times (London).
Niven's second wife Hjördis explains how "Jack Kennedy wanted a quickie, and I gave him a quickie. He gave me a disease. Chlamydia." I guess this disease was an occupational hazard of being intimate with this particular president. The sorry affair happened, apparently, when the Nivens went to the White House for President Kennedy’s 46th birthday celebrations in May 1963. Then six months later Lee Harvey Oswald's (or was it someone else's?) prophylactic put paid to this particular epidemic at its source.
The story of the Nivens' marriage is in fact very sad, as you would learn if you read Munn's account.
Craigslist
I guess most readers are aware Craigslist have dropped their erotic services section. In fact, that's not quite true. They haven't dropped this section from the London (UK) list. All is explained here. Readers may remember that the Puritans left England for Massachusetts. Of course, some stayed behind.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
"Abolish the Monarchy!"
226 years after the Treaty of Paris which formally ended the American Revolutionary War, it seems that a heckle of "Abolish the Monarchy!" still upsets the British establishment. I guess that's why Parliament has yet to repeal the Treason Felony Act 1848.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Doing Well by Doing Good
In a manner of speaking. Meet The Climate Change Lobby.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Alexander Cockburn Slams Morris Dees
Alexander Cockburn on the King of the Hate Business and his outfit the Southern Poverty Law Center that runs programs like Teaching Tolerance.
"Dees and his hate-seekers scour the landscape for hate like the arms manufacturers inventing new threats and for the same reason: it's their staple."
Cockburn recommends his readers send their checks to the Southern Center for Human Rights that "is basically dedicated to two things: prison litigation and the death penalty. [President and senior counsel Stephen Bright] fights the system, case by case. Not the phony targets mostly tilted at by Dees but the effective, bipartisan, functional system of oppression, far more deadly and determined than the SPLC's tin-pot hate groups."
Liberty & Power readers will appreciate Frederick Douglass' justly celebrated quotation that is prominently displayed on the home page of the website of Bright's organization.
"Those who profess to favor freedom and yet depreciate agitation are people who want crops without plowing the ground; they want rain without thunder and lightning; they want the ocean without the roar of its many waters. The struggle may be a moral one or it may be a physical one, or it may be both. But it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand; it never has and it never will."
David Niven Bursts His Own Balloon
Michael Munn's David Niven: The Man Behind the Balloon is published next month by JR Books.
The most interesting part for me was how Niven's experiences during World War II haunted him for the rest of his life.
"There was a policy of keeping famous film star soldiers away from the action. In August 1942, Niven's unit fought in the disastrous allied attack on the French port of Dieppe. It has always been assumed he didn't take part, but he told me he disobeyed orders and went, risking court martial. 'Yes, I was there,' he'. I can't bear to remember Dieppe. The loss of life was unpardonable.'
"Of 6,000 men taking part, 1,027 were killed and 2,340 captured. David had to write letters to the wives and girlfriends of the men lost in his unit. He told me: 'The mental scars of war stay with you. My mental scars are more than I can handle. I leave them alone when I can. The horror of actual battle is more than I can stand.'"
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Israel Wipes Palestine off the Map!
Check this out. It's par for the course.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Where Has the Spirit of Watergate Gone?
Roy Greenslade asks why does the Washington Post refuse to label waterboarding as torture.
That said, the Washington Post has always been rather selective in its reporting of the news.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
A Different Narrative
Last year, as the financial crisis gathered pace, free market commentators, both conservative and libertarian, would emphasize how federal law and federal agencies had pressured banks and other mortgage lenders into making loans to subprime borrowers who then defaulted as house prices collapsed so causing many banks to go bankrupt.
Today's Financial Times reports here and here that an investigation has shown "[t]he top 25 US originators of subprime mortgages - the risky assets that sparked the global financial crisis - spent almost $370m in Washington over the past decade on lobbying and campaign donations as they tried to ward off tighter regulation of their industry." If true, this doesn't surprise me nor, I suspect, will it astonish many of our readers who are well aware of how big business is usually, perhaps always, in bed with the state and is rarely, if ever, simply the victim of government intervention.
Of course, the two stories are by no means mutually exclusive. Nonetheless, if today's study by the Center for Public Integrity is accurate, it suggests that the narrative free market commentators like to tell fails to provide a full explanation of the subprime mess.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Free John Walker Lindh!
Remember John Walker Lindh, the young American captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan in the fall of 2001? Dave Lindorff explains why it's time for the government to release him from prison.
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Spokesman for Managed Money
Last Thursday Jagadeesh Gokhale, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute, had a letter published in the Financial Times under the headline "Higher inflation may be essential for pulling the economy out of recession."
Readers should pay particular attention to his concluding paragraph that read as follows:
"Recent massive injections of bank reserves by the Fed are probably intended to reverse expectations of price declines. Under current conditions, slightly higher inflation and inflationary expectations could be the very balm essential for pulling the economy out of recession. Of course, it remains true that the Fed must later ensure that demand-driven inflation does not spin out of control. But that's a balancing act for the future, the need for which would not arise unless the economy recovers. Currently, price increase expectations appear to be a precondition rather than a hindrance to achieving an economic recovery."
I guess some of the folks over at the Mises Institute were apoplectic when they read this letter. Indeed, for my part I'm more than a little perturbed by this policy recommendation. And although it's not as awful as the prescriptions of a Paul Krugman or a Brad DeLong, it's a disturbing reminder of how so many self-identified free market economists have long advocated managed money.
No Honor among Pirates
At least, that's what Christopher Caldwell claims in his review of Peter T. Leeson's The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates (Princeton University Press, 2009).
Although Caldwell believes that piracy both as a form of larceny and as a form of war will always endure, "piracy as a form of governance ... is something that exists only in brief moments of government indifference, and soon ends in Davy Jones's locker." In other words, he's claiming that the historical record doesn't support the sort of conclusions that Leeson and others seek to draw.
Would anyone who has read The Invisible Hook wish to comment on Caldwell's review? Indeed, would Pete himself care to respond?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Simon Jenkins on the War on Terror
Simon Jenkins, a former editor of The Times who now writes for the Guardian, is not a libertarian but he does have a strong libertarian streak on many important issues. Today he explains why the apologists of the War on Terror are far more dangerous than deranged fanatics who commit atrocities.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
The Slippery Slope to Freedom in Iran
Jessica Mudditt reports from Iran’s little-known skiing resorts, where young Iranians escape the petty restrictions of the Islamic theocracy.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bombing Civilians: An American Tradition
You can read an extract from Yuki Tanaka and Marilyn B. Young's new book here on HNN.
I wish libertarians were both more cognizant of, and more interested in, these events. However, so often I find libertarians exhibit ignorance of, and apathy towards, these aspects of American history. In the past, libertarians didn't leave these matters to Freda Kirchwey and her ilk. Now, sadly, it seems people of every persuasion are as likely to support aerial bombing as oppose it.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Criminally Stupid War on Drugs
Clive Crook of the Financial Times asks "How much misery can a policy cause before it is acknowledged as a failure and reversed?" and cites a 2004 study by Jeffrey Miron for the Independent Institute and a new study by Glenn Greenwald for the Cato Institute.
Monday, April 13, 2009
The Age of Might Is Over
"There are few more startling illustrations of this impotence of might than the pirates, or the country they come from. A hundred years ago, any one of half a dozen imperial powers could have conquered Somalia in a matter of weeks with a couple of gunboats and a few battalions.
"Today Somalia has been a collapsed state for nearly 20 years, in lawless confusion that no outside power can or will subdue. It harbours bands of men in light craft armed with rifles who can seize 50,000-tonne tankers flying the flags of western states. And there is almost nothing anyone can do, despite Sunday's escapade."
Geoffrey Wheatcroft explains why the Age of Might is over.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thought for the Day
Atheist Brendan O'Neill explains why he "would far rather go back to the little church in north London this weekend and listen to the priest talk about 'love' and 'redemption' than watch or read or listen to any more shrill New Atheist propaganda."
Two Cheers for the Somali Pirates?
Johann Hari's You Are Being Lied to About Pirates provides a salutary corrective to government propaganda on this subject.
Major Farran's Hat
The British empire has pretty much vanished from the face of the earth but the bitter legacy of British rule continues to this day, not least in Palestine and Kashmir.
David Cesarani's Major Farran's Hat: Murder, Scandal and Britain's War Against Jewish Terrorism, 1945-1948 (William Heinemann) has already generated considerable interest in the British press. You can read reviews here, here, here, and here, and watch Joshua Rozenberg's extensive interview with the author here.
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tap-dancing Nazis Ready to Take Berlin by Storm
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Another Chapter in the "Good War"
The liberation of Paris.
Meanwhile, some of the "Greatest Generation" were enjoying the spoils of war.
Transform Makes the Case for Drug Policy Reform
Today Transform Drug Policy Foundation in the UK publishes Tools for the Debate, a 76-page guide to making the case for the legalization and regulation of all drugs.
Although its authors seek to distance themselves from what they call a "libertarian" solution, the report makes for interesting reading.
The Guardian carries a summary here and Danny Kushlick, who works for Transform, explains more here.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Anatole Kaletsky on Austrian Economics
This is noteworthy, not for its insights (it has none) but for the simple fact that the Editor-at-large of The Times newspaper of London deigns to dismiss the "liquidationist" Austrian theory of the business cycle while taking a swipe at Murray Rothbard and "the libertarian market fundamentalism" of Ayn Rand.
As Gandhi is reported to have said, "First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win." I guess Austrians have now made it as far as ridicule.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
A Life in Armor
Henry the Eighth, I am, I am. Dressed to Kill, an exhibition of close-fitting combat dress at the Tower of London shows Henry VIII's ballooning figure. And David Starkey, author of Henry, Virtuous Prince, curates Henry VIII: Man and Monarch at the British Library. All this and more to mark the five hundredth anniversary of Henry's accession to the English throne. More power and less liberty. Sounds familiar?
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Taking Themselves Far Too Seriously
Here is an account of the extraordinarily expensive backup for just one of the circus acts appearing at the G20 "summit" in London. This guy doesn't hold a candle to the bozos pictured here.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Common Sense
Not one but two articles in today's Sunday Times (London) exude common sense.
Kenan Malik explains how an obsession with race harms those it is meant to help.
And India Knight explains that a drunken romp isn't rape.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Metropolitan France Is About to Grow
In Sunday's referendum Mayotte, a tiny Indian ocean island off the east coast of Africa, is expected to vote to become the 101st department of France.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
The Case for Legalizing Brothels
"We get so pissed off when politicians portray us as victims," says Anna Read of the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective.
Read here how legalizing brothels in 2003 worked out.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Welcome Aboard a Brand New Country
That's the title of a story in today's Sunday Times (London) about the Seasteading Institute, the project of Patri Friedman, who will be speaking in London at the Adam Smith Institute.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Simon Jenkins: This Thatcher Mythology
There is a widespread belief among libertarians in particular and advocates of the free market in general that Margaret Thatcher may be adequately described as a classical liberal, if not a libertarian. She was not. She implemented some reforms that took Britain in a classically liberal direction and other reforms that took Britain in a decidedly non-libertarian direction.
Simon Jenkins provides an insightful analysis of Mrs. Thatcher's time in office.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
What Would It Take for Obama to Quit Afghanistan?
Obama Ponders Outreach to Elements of the Taliban.
"Asked if the United States was winning in Afghanistan, a war he effectively adopted as his own last month by ordering an additional 17,000 troops sent there, Mr. Obama replied flatly, 'No.'"
Monday, March 2, 2009
That's [Expletive Deleted] Telling Them!
Lazy Iraqi police get motivational speech.
Is this what they call "winning hearts and minds"?
And under the command of President Obama.
Friday, February 27, 2009
An Atlas Shrugged Moment?
A boom in sales of Ayn Rand's novel.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Without Comment
Merrill Lynch understates losses by $500m.
"The first and most effective line of defence against fraud and insolvency is counterparties' surveillance. For example, JPMorgan thoroughly scrutinises the balance sheet of Merrill Lynch before it lends. It does not look to the Securities and Exchange Commission to verify Merrill's solvency." -- Alan Greenspan, The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World (New York: Penguin Press, 2007).
Now read John Kay on how Greenspan could have found a cure at the pharmacy.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
More on Bankers' Bonuses
Jamie Whyte explains why it is wrong to target bankers' bonuses.
"The financial crisis was caused not by bankers' incentive plans but by a systematic failure to price risk correctly. Without accurately priced risk, there is no way of giving bankers the right incentives, however long the period over which their performance is measured. And with accurately priced risk, there is no incentive problem to be solved."
Friday, February 20, 2009
Out and About in London
Warning! These photos may be useful to terrorists.
Meanwhile Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, the counter-intelligence agency, warns that the fear of terrorism is being exploited by the British government to erode civil liberties and risks creating a police state. A migrant community in Mexico is offering one of the country's quirkiest tourist attractions: for $15, anyone can get a taste of what it's like to sneak into the United States by simulating the experience in a weekend adventure. Which one is the starter, which one is the desert?. It seems to have worked. According to reports, Sir Richard Branson telephoned the author of the letter and had thanked him for his "constructive if tongue-in-cheek" email. Richard Seymour, author of The Liberal Defence of Murder (Verso, 2008), explains how Barack Obama is the most recent exponent of a long and dishonorable tradition. "Wiped off the map." Watch Jonathan Miller's report. I was completely unaware there are at least 15,000 Koreans living in New Malden in south-west London until I read this fascinating article about a middle-class invasion of a middle-class London suburb. I found the story all the more interesting because for five years, back in the 1970s, I lived in Surbiton, just two stations south of New Malden, at a time when there were no Koreans there at all. It's not just about whips and leather. Peter Gowan, Professor of International Relations at London Metropolitan University, provides a fascinating perspective on the financial and economic crisis here and here (pdf). If you’re interested in these issues, I think you’ll find his essay interesting and well written. His approach is informed by some Marxist insights, but don’t let that put you off reading it. Like Niall Ferguson, Simon Schama, and David Starkey, David Reynolds, Professor of International History and a Fellow of Christ’s College at the University of Cambridge, has made a reputation -- and good money -- for himself in broadcasting. I've long thought of Prince Harry as a spoilt brat. After watching the video embedded here, he's more of a regular guy than I thought. Let's suppose you run a business that trades with firms in Israel that do business with the state of Israel. And let's suppose you are outraged by Israel's actions in Gaza and wish to express your concern by severing your links with those firms. Go here to learn the full consequences of your decision. Historian Correlli Barnett explains that "Israel imagined it could defeat Hamas though aerial bombardment. It shows it hasn't learnt the lessons of history." In arguably his silliest article to date, economic journalist Anatole Kaletsky recommends that the state should "[p]unish savers and make them spend money." Clean, on time and empty. IDF strike levels US-style Gaza school. Goodnight, sweet prince: Shakespearean farewell to Pinter. President of the Czech Republic and Mont Pelerin Society celebrity Vaclav Klaus has used his Christmas message to attack Sarkozy as his state assumes the presidency of the European Union. Popeye the Sailor copyright free 70 years after Elzie Segar's death. Read this story about food and the "underclass" in today's Britain. Are the people's lives it describes the consequence of a dependency culture funded by state handouts? Are they a function of poor education? Of dysfunctional families? Of a lack of money? Do libertarians have insights to offer that thoughtful individuals in the wider world would welcome but which are consistent with the paradigm of individual liberty, private property, and free markets? Last year José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, prime minister of Spain and leader of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, pushed through parliament a liberalizing measure that will greatly enhance some Cubans' and many others' freedom to travel. Over at Volokh.com Randy Barnett links to two bloggers cheering on the IDF's assault on Gaza. Here at Liberty & Power I prefer to link to an understandably Angry Arab for a somewhat different take on events. Nice post, David. Eartha Kitt was a fine lady, a great actress, and a wonderful singer. And neither should we forget Harold Pinter, who came in for a fair bit of criticism at least some of it undeserved by folks who call themselves libertarian. It's worth remembering his principled stand against the U.S. invasion of Iraq. According to Reason, that is. Steve Chapman attempts to explain why rising prices will help the economy. "Stampede for 'Bush shoe' creates 100 new jobs." Okay, so it's Turkey and not the U.S. Still, it's all part of the global economy. "Russian riot police have forcibly broken up a rally being held in the eastern city of Vladivostok. No. 2 of an occasional series. Cockburn's is in fine form as he explores the fallout from Madoff's gigantic swindle and how he sailed through the charges that were made against him over the years. And don't miss Laura's closing remarks. Financial crisis? A failure of the free market that calls for more and better regulation. Bernie Madoff swindles investors out of $50 billion! A failure of regulation that calls for . . . more and better regulation. It would seem that everyone who identifies as a libertarian is agreed that the proposed bailout of the Big Three is a bad idea. Given what has happened over the past eight years -- terrorism and rumors of terrorism, wars and rumors of wars, a major financial crisis and proposed and actual bailouts -- those who call themselves libertarian have taken one or other of pretty much every possible position on each of these issues. Is it noteworthy that libertarians finally face a question on which everyone is agreed on what government should / should not do. Or do they? And the role of Winston Churchill in the creation of the postwar Greek state. Brendan O'Neill has the scoop. "But there really are economies of scale in political lobbying. The cost of presenting your case is independent of the size of the benefit you seek. The larger the business, the more likely that legislators will see constituency interest or political advantage in being helpful. Big companies have government affairs departments but for small groups the cost of access is prohibitive. Only large companies have access to the sharpest shooters." Ignore the whining of realtors and mortgage brokers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investment bankers and carmakers. Here is a story of success to gladden the hearts of all who celebrate commerce and its benign role in raising living standards. Poundland is booming. A kinder, gentler imperialism. Waldemar Januszczak reviews a current exhibition on war photography at the Barbican Art Gallery in London. "The US government rode to the rescue of Citigroup late Sunday, entering an agreement to backstop up to $306bn in problematic assets and injecting $20bn in capital to restore confidence in a bank that defines the term 'too big to fail.' "That big players in global energy should be in cahoots with environmentalists and climate change alarmists came as something of a shock to Horner. 'Though I was a fully grown man, I had yet to understand the concept of "rent seeking" or even these "baptist and bootlegger" coalitions.' Just as prohibitionists and drink smugglers had a common interest in maintaining a ban on alcohol, so big companies that want massive subsidies for renewable energy schemes and the right to sell emissions permits – the nearest thing yet to selling thin air – can find common ground with those who want us all to reduce our 'carbon footprints'." Tim Black explains that the present reticence transcends the dictates of etiquette about America's first black president. Tara McCormack, explains how the myth of a plucky republic being "ethnically cleansed" by an evil Russian regime was just that: a myth. Off with the old, on with the new. Chris Floyd offers a prism for the new paradigm. Hart's Location, New Hampshire, votes. Ron Paul two, Barack Obama 17, and John McCain 10. If repeated across the United States, this would mean . . . This is one of the most interesting and insightful articles on the present financial turmoil that I have read. Lest anyone might think the election of Obama would jeopardize the interests of the national security state and the unfolding of its manifest destiny, Arno Mayer assures his readers the U.S. empire will survive Bush. Two parties, one imperial mission. Perhaps in the spring of next year? Every cloud has a silver lining. The economy may be in recession but Tony's earnings jump over £12m, more than six times his previous lifetime income. Donald MacKenzie on the importance of Libor. Simon Jenkins makes his farewell plea to British MPs. A foreign policy for Obama. I pretty much agree. This week a new German movie opens in Berlin. It is based on the diary of the journalist Marta Hillers, who began writing on Friday, April 20, 1945, as the Red Army advanced on Berlin. The movie reminds us of events that Germans have chosen to forget for more than sixty years. Whatever else they may have experienced at that time, American and British women were spared that fate. Michael Hudson explains the ABCs of Paulson's bailout and provides an interesting comparison with how European governments have bailed out their banks. "This is the worst column I've written since 1929. According to Clive Crook, who is no fan of McCain, McCain is failing to make his case on taxation. It sometimes seems it's a full-time job keeping up with the economic/financial crisis. Here are a few articles that readers would likely miss but which I found interesting and/or insightful for whatever reason. You’re welcome to comment but please don’t expect me to find time to justify my selection. Frank Ward glimpses a better world in the mirror of a wine glass and provides a very informative history of how the Swedish state sought to control the consumption of alcohol. The Times (of London) has a list. No. 10 is Ron Paul. These days I don't much care for Timothy Garton Ash but this is worth reading. Today he presents the case for freedom of historical debate and links to a French website, Liberty for History. John Cleese on Sarah Palin. What more is there to say? In more ways than one. Read the obituary of Boris Yefimov (1900-2008), the celebrated Soviet cartoonist who outlived his patron Stalin and the Soviet Union itself to die at 108. An interesting life story. President George W. Bush's remarks as he signed the American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003. "Fed under pressure to do more on credit crunch." So says Hugh Hendry, co-founder of London hedge fund Eclectica. This and a great deal more in a very informative article on short selling in Monday's Financial Times. "London Banker" explains Paulson's plan. Employment opportunities in today's economy. Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.) wraps himself in the flag and votes for the bill. The ruling class can sleep comfortably tonight, knowing that its efforts were not in vain. The U.S. embassy in London plans to move to a former industrial site south of the Thames. If, like me, you missed the "debate," or even if you didn't, check out Oliver Burkeman's blog here. He's very funny and quite perceptive. "Isn't it time for fundamental change to our debt-based monetary system so we can free ourselves from the manipulation of the Federal Reserve and the banks? Is this the US Congress or the Board of Directors of Goldman Sachs?" This past weekend I recommended Glenn Greenwald's superb article against the Paulson plan. Luigi Zingales, Robert C. Mc Cormack Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at the Graduate School of Business in the University of Chicago, explains why Paulson is wrong even on the assumption that some sort of Federal government action is desirable. Glenn Greenwald is spot on. The complete (though ever-changing) elite consensus over the financial collapse. Christopher Caldwell, who writes a weekly column for the Financial Times, has a characteristically insightful article this weekend. He is no libertarian but I think he understands the significance of what is going on better than most commentators. Winners like Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs and losers like the American taxpayer. Have the short-sellers correctly called that Goldman Sachs is bankrupt? Is this why the Financial Services Authority has clamped down on short-selling in publicly listed financial companies until January 16, 2009? Did Goldman Sachs have a word with the British Treasury? Isn't crony capitalism wonderful? Pleeeze! This is priceless. You probably won't care for his conclusion but his analysis of the bailout of AIG is spot on. Go here and scroll down to the find out how much market capitalization the banks have lost...so far. If you're confused by what's going on, or you just enjoy new words, go here. John Gray, of whom at one time some libertarians had a high opinion and even higher hopes, but with whom in recent years some of those same, and other, libertarians have become progressively disillusioned, has written an interesting article about Putin's Russia in the Guardian. With the obvious caveat that I'm not endorsing all that he says, it strikes me as containing a large dose of common sense that deserves wide circulation. Welcome to The PalinDrome. It's really quite funny. And don't miss the wedding registry for Bristol and Levi. Ben Goldacre is a British physician and journalist, and the author of the The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column. He describes himself as "a junior doctor in London and a shameless geek". You can read past columns here at his website. His first book, Bad Science, is published today in the UK (London: Fourth Estate). Melissa Checker, assistant professor of Urban Studies at Queens College, The City University of New York, makes a strong case against carbon offsets. "Commentators' glee at the closure of 700 coffee shops, and the loss of more than 12,000 jobs, exposes the inhumanity of anti-globalisation." Marxist Brendan O'Neill has had quite enough of contemporary anti-capitalist sentiment. Well, that's a relief! Finally, a presumptive presidential candidate has played it or, at least, McCain is accusing Obama of playing it. No election would be the same without it! Professor Johnston does the math. Rob Lyons has written an excellent article here. "All drugs should be decriminalised and people should be free to choose what they ingest." If I had written the article, I should have chosen to call for the legalization of all drugs. That said, it seems to me that that is what Lyons advocates. Geoffrey Wheatcroft provides the historical context to the British reputation for drunkenness. He concludes with the celebrated words of William Connor Magee, Bishop of Peterborough and, for four months before his death, Archbishop of York, that he would rather see England free than England sober, and suggests that today Magee might think again. Yet Magee's actual words were, "It would be better that England should be free than that England should be compulsorily sober." An admirable and impeccably liberal sentiment. Here's a seriously interesting story from Thailand: Thai school offers transsexual toilet. Although some of you may be aware of Jesse Larner's recent essay about F. A. Hayek's The Road to Serfdom, I was unaware of his article until this morning when a friend sent me the link. Today’s news headlines announce that Radovan Karadzic has been arrested in Serbia and will stand trial at the UN Tribunal in The Hague on fifteen counts of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and other atrocities, most notably for organizing the siege of Sarajevo and for his role in the massacre of Muslims at Srebrenica (1995). Joshua Rosner has written a fine defense of free capital markets here. An informative and insightful analysis. Speaking before a backdrop of two huge American flags and invoking the names of Harry S Truman and George Marshall, presidential hopeful Barack Obama yesterday explained his foreign policy. He called for "America -- once again -- to lead", to be "ready to engage the world", "to lead the world anew." Recently I read a favorable review of Kate Summerscale's new book. Now it has won the Samuel Johnson prize for nonfiction. Her book is the story of a real-life murder that inspired the birth of modern detective fiction. Think Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone (1868). Well worth reading. Michael Hudson explains how the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will reward the bubble's enablers. It's too bad commentators like Gerald O'Driscoll, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok see fit to accept (albeit reluctantly) the bailout and leave sound class analysis (predators versus producers) to Professor Hudson, who was Dennis Kucinich's economic guru. Max Deveson reports on Bob Barr and the Nader effect. At least 69 flights were cancelled and 40,000 passengers had their travel plans disrupted. And that's all because George Bush flew into and out of Heathrow airport on his recent visit. The presidential entourage included two Boeing 747 jets and four helicopters! You can read the full story here. USA Today carries a story about Randall S. Kroszner, who finds it hard to shed his reputation as a free market economist. "Kroszner hasn't assuaged Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., who has refused to schedule a vote on his nomination to a full 14-year Fed term. Kroszner, initially approved to fill out a partial term that expired Jan. 31, can remain at the Fed until a successor is named." Ten thousand people protest the ban on drinking alcohol on London's buses and tubes. In yesterday’s Republican primary in Idaho Ron Paul won 24% of the vote and six delegates. There’s an historical context for this, of course. The noted anti-interventionist Senator Borah represented Idaho from 1907 until his death in 1940. Although his economics were far removed from those of Ron Paul and he supported FDR’s confiscation of privately-held gold by executive order in 1933, he favored a low tariff and was opposed to much New Deal legislation. To this day Borah remains the longest-serving member of the United States Congress in Idaho history. Pakistani Muslim American Wajahat Ali interviews Ron Paul here. "Paris during Nazi occupation was 'one big romp'". Patrick Buisson's new book 1940-1945 Années érotiques: Vichy ou les infortunes de la vertu (Paris: Albin Michel, 2008) and a recent photographic exhibition challenge the conventional wisdom about occupied Paris. This is from Las Vegas! This is the Associated Press report posted at the New York Times website. The market has delivered in months what the Treasury failed to force on us, a better husbanding of scarce resources. Can you claim expenses like these? I doubt it somehow. "Sacking a person who is doing a good job because you disapprove of what he does in the privacy of his own dungeon is the first step on the road to serfdom." Brendan O'Neill explains why the new Conservative mayor's ban on drinking alcohol anywhere on London public transport suggests we can expect more loss of liberty under his regime. Amateur Photographer, which bills itself as "The world's number one weekly photography magazine," is not necessarily where you would expect to find disturbing stories about state surveillance. On second thoughts, perhaps you would. Matthew Syed raises some questions for Christians. Dramatic, not slow, remedies are the best way, says Jamie Whyte, former lecturer of philosophy at Cambridge University and author of Bad Thoughts: A Guide to Clear Thinking (London: Corvo Books, 2003) / Crimes Against LogicWednesday, January 28, 2009
The Mexican Answer to Disneyland
How to Complain
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Obama the Imperialist
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Report from Gaza
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Koreans in London
"The resentment created when poor migrants take over traditional working-class areas is well documented right across western Europe. This is a bourgeois invasion. Korea and Britain could hardly be more remote and different from each other. Yet these two groups, the Home Counties British and the Korean newcomers, are astonishingly similar: self-contained, reticent, desperate to avoid offence and very bad at making connections, partly because they are both hopeless at foreign languages."
Matthew Engel concludes his article with the words of a local, presumably English, resident, "If you're going to have an ethnic group in your community, I recommend the Koreans."Friday, January 16, 2009
Growing Outrage at the Killings in Gaza
The Cutting Edge of Personal Freedom?
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Crisis in the Heartland
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A British Academic Explains American History
From September 2008 through July 2009, Reynolds is presenting his perspective on American history -- America, Empire of Liberty -- on BBC Radio 4. Reynolds charts the development of the United States, exploring three key themes -- Empire, Liberty, and Faith. Later this month, on January 19, Allen Lane publish the book that accompanies the series (available from Amazon.co.uk for £15=00, i.e., half price). And on October 6, Basic Books publish this book in the U.S. Edward Luce’s favorable review in this weekend’s Financial Times will no doubt be the first of many discussions of Reynolds’ arguments.
My Opinion of Prince Harry Has Just Gone Up a Notch
And do scroll down to the comments from young British Muslims.
Of course, he's still a warmonger but what else do you expect of the British royals?Friday, January 9, 2009
No Right to Boycott Israel
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Victory Through Air Attack? It's Pie in the Sky
"The history clearly shows that air power alone cannot win wars. It only works as an extra dimension to land or sea warfare."
No End to the Idiocy
"Near-zero interest rates and even a tax on bank deposits are necessary to force those with cash to use it productively."Wednesday, January 7, 2009
The Ghost Bus and the Parliamentary Train
The "ghost bus" has an interesting historical precedent that is mentioned in Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado:
"The idiot who, in railway carriages,
Scribbles on window-panes,
We only suffer
To ride on a buffer
On Parliamentary trains"Sunday, January 4, 2009
But Don't They Know Israel Has a Right to Exist?
"Army explains rockets had been fired from one of Gaza's most distinguished schools; chairman of its board says, 'I can't swear no rocket was fired, but if there was, you don't destroy a whole school.'"
Amira Hass: How we like our leaders.
"This isn't the time to speak of ethics, but of precise intelligence. Whoever gave the instructions to send 100 of our planes, piloted by the best of our boys, to bomb and strafe enemy targets in Gaza is familiar with the many schools adjacent to those targets - especially police stations. He also knew that at exactly 11:30 A.M. on Saturday, during the surprise assault on the enemy, all the children of the Strip would be in the streets - half just having finished the morning shift at school, the others en route to the afternoon shift."Thursday, January 1, 2009
A Very English Departure
This Sounds Like a Fun Six Months!
UPDATE: Meanwhile Slovakia, the other half of what was Czechoslovakia, becomes the first post-Soviet bloc country to adopt the euro.Monday, December 29, 2008
An Interesting Case Study in Intellectual Property Law Is About to Unfold
"From January 1, the iconic sailor falls into the public domain in Britain under an EU law that restricts the rights of authors to 70 years after their death. Elzie Segar, the Illinois artist who created Popeye, his love interest Olive Oyl and nemesis Bluto, died in 1938."
"While the copyright is about to expire inside the EU, the character is protected in the US until 2024. US law protects a work for 95 years after its initial copyright.
"The Popeye trademark, a separate entity to Segar's authorial copyright, is owned by King Features, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation — the US entertainment giant — which is expected to protect its brand aggressively."
What Should Be Done?
Undoubtedly a Good Thing
"The new law, which comes into effect today, gives the chance of Spanish nationality to descendants of those who fled the country during the civil war between 1936 and 1939. It also gives a right of application to those whose grandparents fled the dictatorship of General Franco, which lasted from 1939 until 1975."
It is ironic that a self-styled socialist government is doing more to bring freedom to Cubans than successive U.S. administrations with their self-defeating sanctions.Sunday, December 28, 2008
Two Perspectives
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Harold Pinter RIP
"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law."
"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand?"
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Are You Up for It?
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
The Growing Case for Inflation
This article is quite simply dreadful as the comments make abundantly clear.
P.S. A friend pointed out to me that this is a syndicated column and not a commissioned article. However, that really doesn't excuse Reason posting Chapman's extraordinarily bad economics.Sunday, December 21, 2008
Recession? What Recession? (Third in an Occasional Series)
Russian Riot Police Crush Free Trade Rally!
"About 500 people had gathered in the city's central square to demonstrate against a new tax on imported cars.
"Witnesses said police officers kicked protesters, damaged journalists' equipment and made dozens of arrests.
"Vladivostok, one of several cities holding protests, depends heavily on car imports from Japan and critics say the tax could push prices up by 50%.
"The tax is intended to help prop up Russia's domestic car industry and prevent people buying cheaper, imported products."Saturday, December 20, 2008
Words of Wisdom
Recession? What Recession? (Continued)
As Woolworths goes under, Poundland rises to record profits.
Boom in sales of board games and cuddly toys as parents scrabble to make savings.
There's money to be made every day. You just need to know where to look for it.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Alexander Cockburn on Bernie Madoff
"First, he posed as a regulator and due diligence watchdog himself. The SEC thought he was one of their own. Then again, he had heavy duty social and financial connections and heavy duty political protection. Here’s where there should be a lot more investigation. Madoff poured money into the Democratic Senatorial Campaign war chest ($100,000 between 2005 and 2008)and made large contributions to important Democrats on the Finance Committees, like Rep Henry Waxman and Senator Charles Schumer. Waxman and Schumer have hastily announced they’re donating this money to charity."
Yet, as Cockburn recognizes, he isn't in the same league as the government:
"Uncle Sam is the biggest Ponzi operator of all, with the added magical power denied Madoff (unless forgery was among his talents) of being able to print money at will."Thursday, December 18, 2008
Season's Greetings from the President!
You'd think it has to be a spoof but you'd be wrong.
You know it's genuine government issue -- there's no mention of Christmas!
More and Better Regulation!
As John Gapper reminds his readers, if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.Thursday, December 11, 2008
Are All Libertarians Agreed That Bailing Out the Big Three Would Be a Bad Idea?
Understanding Greek Politics
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Some Companies Are Too Powerful to Fail
Read John Kay's excellent article here.Saturday, December 6, 2008
Recession? What Recession?
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Now Less Than Two Months Away
Monday, November 24, 2008
Truth Is the First Casualty
So Did You Really Expect They'd Do Anything Else?
"The 11th-hour transaction, announced just before midnite Sunday, calls for Citi to absorb the first $29bn in losses it sustains from problematic assets, and for the federal government to stand behind as much as $277bn more.
"The arrangement also provides for the injection of $20bn in new capital to Citi, in return for which the bank will issue preferred shares to the government, paying dividends at a rate of 8 percent annually."Friday, November 21, 2008
"There's a Lot of Rich People Backing This Cause"
"'[Global warming] allows [politicians] the option of cheap virtue – cheap to them, expensive to us – of satisfying constituencies for something that's never solved. They get to emote and spend; there's something in it for everyone.'"
Rob Lyons reviews Christopher C. Horner's Red Hot Lies: How Global Warming Alarmists Use Threats, Fraud and Deception to Keep You Misinformed (Regnery, 2008).Monday, November 17, 2008
So, When Will It Be OK to Mock Obama?
The Truth about Georgia
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Time for a Change
Thursday, November 6, 2008
What If Bush Did It?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Ron Paul in the News
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Frank Furedi on Capitalism after the "Credit Crunch"
Frank Furedi, professor of sociology at the University of Kent in the UK, asks what capitalism is good for.
Furedi writes for spiked, an online resource edited by the self-identified libertarian Marxist Brendan O'Neill. I guess Furedi would also accept this tag. Often the articles they write are more libertarian in content than those written by self-proclaimed defenders of private property and free markets. Readers of Liberty & Power are unlikely to agree with everything Furedi writes in this article but they may be surprised with just how much they do agree with him.Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Barack Hussein Obama: A Safe Pair of Hands
When Will Obama's Bubble Burst?
Simon Jenkins suggests his supporters should lower their expectations.
"His desire to disengage from Iraq is not appreciably different from that of the Bush administration and the Iraqi government. On the other hand, his clearly expressed wish to beef up the war in Afghanistan is reckless."
Keeping Track of Tony Blair
Monday, October 27, 2008
What's in a Number?
A fascinating account of the British Bankers' Association's London Interbank Offered Rate, arguably the most important interest rate in the world.Sunday, October 26, 2008
Defend Bonfire Night!
Defend Liberty!
"In all my years of writing this column, from which I am standing down, I have been amazed at the spinelessness of Britain's elected representatives in defending liberty and protesting against state arrogance. They appear as parties to the conspiracy of power. There have been outspoken judges, outspoken peers, even outspoken journalists. There have been few outspoken MPs. Those supposedly defending freedom are whipped into obedience. I find this ominous."
Here's What Obama Should Do
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
A Woman in Berlin
"The German soldiers came back from the war and did not want to know about the humiliation of their wives, daughters, even mothers. There was a double silence: the men about what they did on the front; the women about their suffering," explains Nina Hoss, who plays the lead role in the film.Monday, October 20, 2008
A Licensed Kleptocracy?
How to Save a Column from Armageddon
"In scenes not seen in living memory, last Thursday in a late night session, I hammered out the fiendishly complicated details of this article in a last-ditch effort to inject some sense into the system. At 8.05pm, the lights were on in my first floor study and, anticipating a long and tense night ahead, I put in an order to the local curry house for a balti. When the foil wrappers had been cleared and with the clock ticking, I started feverishly drafting sentences about the changed landscape that we are in, the most toxic since the Great Depression. Ashen-faced and reeling, at 1.40am I rose. How would the package go down with shell-shocked readers? Would they roar their approval? Or would their confidence plummet in the worst collapse since the 1930s? Only time would tell."
Read the rest here.
Another very funny column from Lucy Kellaway, management columnist of the Financial Times.Sunday, October 19, 2008
Clive Crook: McCain Is No Salesman on Tax Proposals
"Here is a fact you might not have noticed. It certainly seems to have slipped by most Americans. The typical US household would get a bigger tax cut under Mr McCain’s proposals than under Mr Obama’s. I know a few politicians who could do something with that."
"The fact remains, he is offering middle-income families – not just the rich – a bigger tax cut than Mr Obama, and they don’t appear to know it."
You can read the entire article here.
Worth a Look
Self-identified Marxist libertarian Brendan O’Neill explains why he won’t be drooling over the alleged demise of capitalism.
I always enjoy reading John Lanchester in the London Review of Books. His thoughtful account of the present crisis is no exception.
Oxford historian Ross McKibbin asks what David Cameron the Conservative Party leader can do in Britain.
Robert Wade, Professor of Political Economy and Development at the London School of Economics asks if there will be financial regime change. The pdf of his essay is here.
And Anna Jacobson Schwartz, who co-authored (with Milton Friedman) A Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960 (1963), says that Ben Bernanke is fighting the last war.Saturday, October 18, 2008
In Praise of Wine
I have just one (minor) caveat. He makes a brief reference to Victorian England: "All of this produced a neurosis about alcohol [in Sweden] comparable to attitudes to sex in Victorian England." It's too bad he didn't read Michael Mason's The Making of Victorian Sexuality (OUP, 1994) and The Making of Victorian Sexual Attitudes (OUP, 1994). If he had, he likely wouldn't subscribe to one of the most enduring myths of our age.
Ten People Who Predicted the Financial Meltdown
"Back in September 2003, Mr Paul told a House Financial Services Committee that: 'Ironically, by transferring the risk of a widespread mortgage default, the government increases the likelihood of a painful crash in the housing market. This is because the special privileges granted to Fannie and Freddie have distorted the housing market by allowing them to attract capital they could not attract under pure market conditions.'
"Of course, if we are going to give Mr Paul credit, than we should also highlight the efforts of Peter Schiff, his economic advisor and long-time economic hawk."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Free Speech for Historians
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
And Now for Something Completely Different
Monday, October 13, 2008
Survivor
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Without Comment
Sunday, October 5, 2008
So What Did You Expect?
"New law extends legal mandate for intervention."
"Germany guarantees savings to avert panic."
"Funds dry up in Golden State."
"Iceland in emergency talks to prevent bank meltdown."
"Short Selling Is the Pursuit of Truth"
Friday, October 3, 2008
Worth a Look
"America is now a centrally planned economy where the Treasury will determine which firms survive and prosper through allocation of scarce capital to an undercapitalised financial sector."
"This bill is about engineering survivor bias to friends of the Bush administration so that they profit disproportionately from the collapse of these markets using the funds provided by the taxpayer via the unreviewable and unconditional authority of the Secretary of the Treasury."
"Fight the survivor bias. It’s not your survival they’re engineering."
Looking for Work? Look No Further!
One Vote Tells a Story
"Monday, I cast a blue-collar vote for the American people. Today I am going to cast a red, white and blue-collar vote with my hand over my heart for this country, because things are really bad and we don't have any choice".
And Wamp is a member of the Liberty Caucus!
Plutocracy Triumphs!
The U. S. Will Do Anything to Avoid the Congestion Charge
Thursday, October 2, 2008
The Biden-Palin "Debate"
UPDATE: Over at LRC, our very own Anthony Gregory provides a libertarian perspective that readers will enjoy.Monday, September 29, 2008
Who Said This?
Ron Paul? No, Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio).
"The normal legislative process that should accompany a monumental proposal to bail out Wall Street has been shelved. Yes, shelved! Only a few insiders are doing the dealing. These criminals have so much power they can shut down the normal legislative process of the highest lawmaking body in this land. All the committees that should be scanning every word that is being negotiated have been benched. And that means the American people have been benched. We are constitutionally sworn to protect this country against all enemies foreign and domestic, and yes, my friends, there are enemies....The people who are pushing this bill are the very same ones who are responsible for the implosion on Wall Street. They were fraudulent then; and they are fraudulent now. We should say No to this deal".
Chuck Baldwin? No, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio).Tuesday, September 23, 2008
More from Glenn Greenwald
Greenwald is always worth reading, not least for his wry observations on the growing right-wing opposition to this proposal. He welcomes their new-found resistance to unconstrained executive authority but points to their amazing hypocrisy on this matter.Sunday, September 21, 2008
Luigi Zingales on Why Paulson Is Wrong
"The decisions that will be made this weekend matter not just to the prospects of the U.S. economy in the year to come; they will shape the type of capitalism we will live in for the next fifty years. Do we want to live in a system where profits are private, but losses are socialized? Where taxpayer money is used to prop up failed firms? Or do we want to live in a system where people are held responsible for their decisions, where imprudent behavior is penalized and prudent behavior rewarded? For somebody like me who believes strongly in the free market system, the most serious risk of the current situation is that the interest of few financiers will undermine the fundamental workings of the capitalist system. The time has come to save capitalism from the capitalists."
Where's My Pitchfork?
"One doesn't have to be an economics expert in order for several facts to be crystal clear:
"First, the fact that Democrats are on board with this scheme means absolutely nothing. When it comes to things the Bush administration wants, Congressional Democrats don't say "no" to anything. They say "yes" to everything. That's what they're for."
"Second, whatever else is true, the events of the last week are the most momentous events of the Bush era in terms of defining what kind of country we are and how we function -- and before this week, the last eight years have been quite momentous, so that is saying a lot. Again, regardless of whether this nationalization/bailout scheme is "necessary" or makes utilitarian sense, it is a crime of the highest order -- not a "crime" in the legal sense but in a more meaningful sense."
"Third, what's probably most amazing of all is the contrast between how gargantuan all of this is and the complete absence of debate or disagreement over what's taking place."
"[W]hat I do know is that an injustice so grave and extreme that it defies words is taking place; that the greatest beneficiaries are those who are most culpable; and that the same hopelessly broken and deeply rotted institutions and elite class that gave rise to all of this (and so much more) are the very ones that are -- yet again -- being blindly entrusted to solve this."
There's No Free Lunch and No Free Economy
"President George W. Bush, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and treasury secretary Hank Paulson all declare their preference for free-market solutions and a desire to minimise moral hazard. But they sound like François Mitterrand in mid-1983 when he abandoned his socialist 'programme commun' in the face of capital flight and a collapsing franc, all the while proclaiming his devotion to socialism."
"By the time the situation calms and memories fade, there is unlikely to be enough capital in the economy to fund a restoration. Right now, the oldest baby boomers are 63. The ratio of earners to dependents has been at an all-time high. A vast earner generation is about to begin its transformation into a dependent generation. Probably a more dependent one than anticipated."Saturday, September 20, 2008
Winners and losers
"An extraordinary week in Wall Street history drew to a close with one of the biggest two-day rallies on record.
"Financials, whose violent movements have consistently led the wider market over the week, gained the most from the prospect of a vast government intervention attempting to ease anxiety over near unprecedented turmoil in the financial system."Thursday, September 18, 2008
Is Goldman Sachs Bankrupt?
After Lehman Brothers: Desperate City Wives
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
John Gapper Is Mad As Hell
"But AIG takes the biscuit. Here was a huge multinational insurance group with a reputation for solid underwriting and risk management that decided to diversify from insuring risks it knew well – car crashes and fires – to covering derivatives it did not understand.
"Of course, it thought it understood them. In presentations to investors this year, it emphasised how thoroughly its AIG Financial Products arm assessed the risks of insuring CDOs. It ran all the data and decided that, in the worst case, it risked losing $2.4bn on the portfolio.
"Well, $24bn of write-downs later – a mere 10 times its maximum estimate – the company has burned through its equity, spread financial chaos to all corners of the earth and humiliated the US Treasury. The job of insurance companies is to guard others against catastrophes, not cause them.
"The word 'irresponsible' does not begin to describe AIG's behaviour. Like Bear, Lehman and others, it saw a way to get in on the growing action in mortgage-backed derivatives. Its bankers were soon earning huge fees for themselves and AIG by piling up unimaginable risks."
Read the entire article here.
The Incredible Shrinking Banks
The Layman's Finance Crisis Glossary
Monday, September 8, 2008
Dan Klein, Are You Reading This? John Gray Talks Sense
"The current panic about Russia is a curious phenomenon. By any objective standard Russians are freer in the authoritarian state established by Putin than at any time in the Soviet Union. Many are also materially better off. Russia has abandoned global expansionism, and is now a diminished version of what it has been throughout most of its history - a Eurasian empire whose chief concern is protection from external threats. Yet western attitudes are more hostile than they were during much of the cold war, when many on the left viewed the Soviet Union, which was responsible for tens of millions of deaths, as an essentially benign regime."
Read the rest here.Thursday, September 4, 2008
Sarah Palin's Blog
Monday, September 1, 2008
Ben Goldacre: Bad Science
Don't miss today's column which discusses the medicalization of everyday life. Although Goldacre doesn't mention the topic of intellectual property, at least not here, it seems to me that pharmaceutical patents have played a crucial role in this process. In any event, read the article and don't miss his account of how the golden age of medicine has creaked to a halt (see below).Thursday, August 28, 2008
A Global Warming Advocate Makes the Case Against Carbon Offsets
"Between 2005 and 2007 the market for carbon offsets grew 175%, reaching $110 million (Faris 2007). But just as buying indulgences in the Middle Ages never really erased your sins, carbon offsets rarely counteract your carbon use. Moreover, in some cases, carbon offset projects actually hurt local people. Many experts now believe that well-intentioned consumers are not just wasting their money on offsets, but that purchasing them actually does more harm than good."
Read her essay here.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Starbucks and the Socialism of Fools
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Playing the Race Card
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
What Are the Odds That We're Baking the Planet?
"Decriminalise All Drugs Now, but Don't Celebrate Them"
It Was Ever Thus
Reading this prompted me to read the entry on Magee in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (behind subscription). There I read that "[a]lthough his religious views were always of an evangelical tone, they broadened considerably in later years ... In a sermon of December 1885 Magee accepted evolution ... All fanatical excesses in religion were abhorrent to him. He had little sympathy with the eccentricities of teetotal fanatics and other social reformers, and some remarks in his later speeches that he would rather see England free than sober, and that under certain circumstances betting was not wholly sinful, led to much misconception, but were fully consistent with his hatred of exaggeration and misapplied enthusiasm." Evidently he was a pretty sound fellow with whom I could enjoy a drink or two.
UPDATE (August 1): Today the Financial Times has seen fit to publish my letter about Bishop Magee together with a picture of the prelate himself.Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Transgender or Gay?
"The headteacher, Sitisak Sumontha, estimates that in any year between 10% and 20% of his boys consider themselves to be transgender - boys who would rather be girls."
"A ratio of 10% to 20% of boys calling themselves transsexual in a provincial high school does seem very high, but Mr Sitisak assured me that in his experience it was not unusual."
"[The headmaster] said that, in his 35 years of working in the Thai education system, he had come across many boys like this, and they never changed. Many go on as adults to have sex-change surgery, while others will live as gay men, he said."
So how many of the boys are transgenders (either transexuals or transvestites) and how many are gay or bisexual? There's a huge difference, of course. And how many are intersexuals? This is not a possibility discussed in this article. And what about the girls? Inquiring minds want to know. Seriously.Tuesday, July 22, 2008
An Insightful Essay on Hayek's Road to Serfdom
Larner may be characterized as some sort of democratic/libertarian socialist and has written an informed and insightful essay about Hayek's political philosophy as revealed in The Road to Serfdom. (Yes, of course, there's tensions and contradictions between these three concepts -- democracy, liberty, and socialism -- but clearly many writers identify with and defend some combination of these ideas, from which some offer thoughtful criticisms of classical liberal/libertarian arguments.)
Larner's article may be read with advantage by (at least) two groups of people. First, those on the left who likely have not read Hayek but are nonetheless apt to dismiss Hayek as a conservative reactionary who wrote nothing worth reading. And, second, admirers of Hayek whose understanding of his ideas would benefit from thoughtful criticism of their hero from whatever perspective, not least in order to participate seriously in the debate about Hayek's ideas.
Srebrenica: The Story Behind a Name
If you read The Times, the Srebrenica massacre involved "more than 8,000 Muslim men and boys."
If you read the Guardian, the massacre involved "nearly 8,000 Muslim men and boys." Elsewhere the Guardian reminds us, "That the Serbian forces under Karadzic's command committed genocide against the Muslims of Srebrenica in July 1995 is an established legal fact."
If you read the Independent, the massacre involved "more than 7,500 Muslim men and boys."
And if you read the Telegraph, "Some 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys were executed in and around the town of Srebrenica in 1995."
Would it surprise you, dear reader, if I suggested that these accounts are far removed from what likely happened? According to Diana Johnstone's detailed inquiry into the Srebrenica massacre, some 3,000 persons were killed and the massacre did not constitute genocide as defined in international law. She also explains why the U.S. and the European Union have been keen to promote their own very dubious version of this event and thus how the name of a town—Srebrenica—has become a powerful propaganda symbol—"Srebrenica"—of the New World Order.Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Goodbye Capitalism
As he reminds his readers, every equity or debt offering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac explicitly states that these "are not guaranteed by the US and do not constitute an obligation of the US or any agency or instrumentality thereof other than" of the two entities.
Rosner is the managing director of the research firm Graham Fisher.
Niall Ferguson on China Today
American Arrogance
Does it ever occur to the Columbia-and-Harvard-educated Barack Obama that perhaps the world does not want to be "led" by the United States?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher
A (Henry) Georgist Perspective on the Crisis and Bailout
BBC Coverage of Barr and Nader
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
The Day George Bush Visited the Queen
Thursday, June 5, 2008
The Very Model of a Modern Central Banker
Kroszner is the chairman of the Fed's internal committee on consumer affairs. For some time he has been busy designing new regulations for mortgage lenders and credit card issuers. "Kroszner, who earned a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics-economics at Brown and a doctorate at Harvard, says he's doing what he always has: analyzing facts to make the best decision." He defends his inductive methodology thus, "Being a very much empirically oriented economist,...I'm really trying to get into the data and see what the data say. That's how I come to my approach and how I've always come to my conclusions."
Larry White, professor of economic history at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and noted scholar of free banking, comments drily: "I would have expected [Kroszner] to be helping to repeal some of the regulations that were passed in a hurry during the New Deal....I guess that hasn't happened."Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Raising a Glass to Freedom of Choice
This was the plan. If only all this energy were directed against state repression in other aspects of life!Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Islamofascists?
Ron Paul and Senator Borah
For a bare-bones account of his life, go here. For a left-of-center appreciation of him, go here. And for a fine defense of Borah against G. W. Bush’s recent slander, go here.
The Libertarian Dark Horse Still Rides
Counterpunch.org reprints the interview as today's lead article with the title The Libertarian Dark Horse Is Still Kicking.
Life Was Less Fun If You Were Jewish
The artistic elite partyed like there would be no tomorrow. "It was only in the course of those nights that I discovered the true meaning of the word party," was how Simone de Beauvoir put it. Jean-Paul Sartre was no less enthusiastic: "Never were we as free as under the German occupation."
For another take on the book go here. You can read more about the book here. And to read about the author go here.
Which reminds me to recommend John Lukacs' The Last European War: September 1939-December 1941 (1976; reprint, Yale University Press, 2001) to anyone interested in reading about a time when most Europeans thought Hitler had won and adjusted their lives accordingly.Monday, May 26, 2008
So Much Love for Wayne Allen Root
Bob Barr Wins LP Nomination for President
What impact will Bob Barr and his VP candidate, Wayne Allen Root, have on the elections in November? What are the implications for getting libertarian ideas discussed more widely? And what impact will the Barr-Root ticket have for the Libertarian Party? What do our readers think?Sunday, May 25, 2008
Oil Costs Up, House Prices Down--Good News
Although libertarians wouldn't agree with everything Simon Jenkins writes here, he presents his crucial argument about the role of the price mechanism in allocating scarce resources rather well.Friday, May 23, 2008
Can You Claim Expenses Like These?
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The First Step on the Road to Serfdom?
Thus concludes Matthew Syed on the Mosley affair.
For those who don't follow the world of motor-racing or, for that matter, the recent adventures of Max Mosley, understand that he is the younger son of the late Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Union of Fascists, and his second wife, Lady Diana Mosley, one of the Mitford sisters. Doubly embarrassing, therefore, when it was claimed that Max liked to act out sadomasochistic fantasies on a Nazi theme.
Rod Liddle defends his right to privacy here. "Those complaining most loudly about his alleged behaviour ought to worry that one day the bedroom door might be opened on their private passions."Wednesday, May 14, 2008
London's Illiberal, Intolerant New Rulers
I guess it may surprise our American readers that drinking booze on buses and tube trains in London is legal. But if the thought disturbs you, cheer up because from Sunday, June 1, it is PROHIBITED. Just another nail in the coffin of individual liberties historically enjoyed by Londoners.Monday, May 12, 2008
If You're Not Doing Anything Wrong, You Have Nothing to Fear. Don't Count on It.
If you do a search for police harrassment, you'll find stories like this, this, and this, and ninety-one other stories.Sunday, May 11, 2008
Questions for Christians
Jamie Whyte on How to Make Progress
Mounting U.S. casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq
Real Clear Numbers: 101,000 U.S. Casualties a Year.
"Here's how the figures add up, just for Americans. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have thus far produced 300,000 psychological casualties, 320,000 brain injury casualties, plus 35,000 (probably understated) officially reported "normal" casualties. This adds up to 655,000 US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, an average of just under 101,000 Americans killed or wounded every year since the wars began. If the idea of 101,000 casualties for every extra year in Iraq and Afghanistan gets out and infects the voting public, imagine the effect on the currently torpid national debate over leaving in five years versus fifteen years!"
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Atomic Tragedy
Atomic Tragedy: Henry L. Stimson and the Decision to Use the Bomb against Japan (Cornell University Press, 2008) is a new book by Sean L. Malloy, a young scholar at the University of California, Merced, that has received praise from many quarters, including Tsuyoshi Hasegawa, author of the much acclaimed Racing the Enemy: Stalin, Truman, and the Surrender of Japan (Harvard University Press, 2005), and Lloyd C. Gardner. Gardner is author of many books including Economic Aspects of New Deal Diplomacy (1964), Architects of Illusion: Men and Ideas in American Foreign Policy, 1941-1949 (1970), and The Long Road to Baghdad: A History of U.S. Foreign Policy from the 1970s to the Present, to be published this fall by The New Press.
To view ten never-before-published photographs illustrating the immediate aftermath of the Hiroshima bombing that dramatically convey the human as well as material destruction unleashed by the atomic bomb, go here. Hat tip to Manuel Lora at LewRockwell.com.
For an important earlier book on the atomic bombing of Japan, read Gar Alperovitz's Atomic diplomacy: Hiroshima and Potsdam: The Use of the Atomic Bomb and the American Confrontation with Soviet Power (1965/1985/1994). And if you want to follow the controversy, you may care to read Robert James Maddox’s essay here on History News Network. Regrettably, but not surprisingly, Maddox fails to raise, let alone discuss, the question of whether the U.S. decision to demand the unconditional surrender of Japan was either wise or moral.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
The Worst of Its Kind
I'm always reading horror stories like this one, but this particular state atrocity is the worst of its kind that I've come across in recent months. Hat tip to Mike Tennant over at the LewRockwell blog.
"But there was really nothing any of them could do, they all said. They were just adhering to protocol, following orders." Now where have I heard that before?
In the UK it was, and I think still is, legal to supply an alcoholic drink to your seven-year-old. I seem to remember my father, a secondary school principal, would allow me a glass of (alcoholic) cider some weekends when I was a kid. I understand the tradition continues today throughout Old Europe.
UPDATE: Lew Rockwell has an excellent article here on the state versus the family.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Then and Now
Then. The Fat Owl of the Remove. Follow the links, and don't miss this one.
According to Guinness World Records, Charles Hamilton (1876-1961), who wrote the Greyfriars stories under the nom de plume of Frank Richards, is the most prolific author of all time with a lifetime output calculated at 72-75 million words.
Now. Pupils shun Jamie Oliver's healthy diet for junk food runs.
And here is the money quote: "One young smuggling mastermind, when finally caught, said to his school's headmaster unapologetically: 'But we were only doing what you taught us in business studies, Sir.'"
Saturday, April 26, 2008
An English Gentleman
Melvyn Bragg on Humphrey Lyttelton (1921-2008), the jazz musician.
Here is the late George Melly's (updated) obituary.
And here is Bob Cryer's appreciation.
The Rosa Parks of 2008?
Last August Pennyslvania state troopers kidnapped Mennonite dairy farmer Mark Nolt and confiscated many thousands of dollars of his property.
Now they've raided his farm again.
Friend and fellow-farmer Jonas Stoltzfus compared the state to the Gestapo and drew a parallel between Nolt's right to sell raw milk products directly to his customers with Rosa Parks' right to sit wherever she wanted on the bus. Linn Cohen-Cole who quotes Stoltzfus writes about the war on raw milk products here (but conflates the two raids).
Read the FDA's threatening letter to Mark Nolt here and the state of New York's undercover activities against Meadowsweet Dairy here.
Friday, April 25, 2008
Rethinking the Second World War
Peter Wilby has an interesting article in today's Guardian. "Seeing the second world war as a pure struggle to defeat an evil dictator has led us into foreign policy traps ever since."
Wilby believes the war should have been fought but departs from the conventional wisdom when he acknowledges that "the war was not fought for humanitarian or democratic ends. Britain fought Germany for the same reason it had always fought wars in Europe: to maintain the balance of power and prevent a single state dominating the continent. America fought Japan to stop the growth of a powerful rival in the Pacific."
That, of course, was understood in 1939/1941. But it has been largely forgotten in recent years. Recognizing that fact again may help us question the wisdom of those fateful decisions that culminated in the declaration of war in 1939/41.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Citizen Gives Cop a Parking Ticket
Here's the story. The citizen was an attorney. Follow the discussion here at the Volokh Conspiracy.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Ron Paul's Strategy Vindicated?
Despite the pleas of Eric Garris and Liberty & Power's own Anthony Gregory, and a great many other libertarians, Ron Paul has declined to quit the Republican primaries and run as an Independent/Libertarian. At least so far.
Tonight Fox News reports that, with 88% of precincts reporting, Ron Paul has won almost 16% of the vote in the Republican primary in Pennsylvania. This beats Mike Huckabee (less than 12%) although, it ought to be added, Huckabee conceded to McCain some weeks ago. Today McCain received just over 72% of the vote. This means that Paul has won more than a fifth as many votes as McCain. Certainly there are a good many Republicans who are unhappy with McCain and his policies of high spending, inflation and war. Ron Paul's decision to stay in the race demonstrates this very clearly and sets down a marker for future Republican contests. And his impressive vote total raises some interesting questions. What will be the impact on the race for the Libertarian Party nomination? And how will those Ron Paul supporters vote, if they vote at all, this November?
In the Harry Truman Tradition
This morning on ABC's Good Morning America Hillary Clinton was asked how she would respond if Iran launched a nuclear attack on Israel.
"I want the Iranians to know that if I'm the president, we will attack Iran. That's what we will do. There is no safe haven."
"Whatever stage of development they might be in their nuclear weapons program in the next ten years during which they may foolishly consider launching an attack on Israel, we would be able to totally obliterate them," Clinton said.
A New Low Blow to Freedom of Speech in Britain
Brendan O'Neill explains how the rantings of Trevor Brooks, er, Abu Izzadeen, got him four years in prison, and why we should care.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Legacy of Empire
Perry Anderson explains all you need to know about Cyprus.
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Pipe Dream
Another episode in the invention of tradition.
Read the news story. And, if you'd care to read similar stories, get the book.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Last Night's Democratic Debate
"The first 45 minutes were Barack Obama's toughest time in any debate. He came under withering assault from the moderators (and Hillary Clinton) on a whole host of issues from the comments of the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's former pastor, to his decision not to wear a flag lapel to his connections with a one-time member of the Weather Underground. Time and again, Obama dismissed the questions as part of the politics of the past, something that he was running to change." (Chris Cillizza writing in today's Washington Post)
I'd have more respect for Obama if he would defend the Reverend Wright, his decision not to wear a flag lapel, and his connections with a one-time member of the Weather Underground. Or is it too much to hope that he would break with "the politics of the past"?
Sunday, April 13, 2008
George H. Smith: Thinking About War
Liberty has now published George Smith's essay on just war theory, in which he discusses what (1) Murray Rothbard and (2) Objectivists Yaron Brook and Alex Epstein have written about the subject.
A few thoughts. His essay is a well-informed discussion that is grounded in a considerable knowledge of the history of political thought. That said, I note that more than once he elides the distinction between country and nation-state. And I am struck by how much Smith (sometimes by default), Walzer, and Brook and Epstein assume particular historical accounts as true. Consider the following examples, viz., "Islamic terrorism," the origins of the Six-Day War, Sherman's March through Georgia, and the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki:
Saturday, April 12, 2008
The Long and the Short of It
Matthew Engel discusses the origins of English surnames (and thus many American names) in a nice tribute to Constance Mary (Molly) Matthews (1908-2008) and her celebrated book English Surnames (1966/1967).
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Then and Now
"And with this goes something that is always written off by European observers as 'decadence' or hypocrisy, the English hatred of war and militarism. It is rooted deep in history, and it is strong in the lower-middle class as well as the working class. Successive wars have shaken it but not destroyed it. Well within living memory it was common for 'the redcoats' to be booed at in the street and for the landlords of respectable public-houses to refuse to allow soldiers on the premises."
"What English people of nearly all classes loathe from the bottom of their hearts is the swaggering officer type, the jingle of spurs and the crash of boots. Decades before Hitler was ever heard of, the word 'Prussian' had much the same significance in England as 'Nazi' has today. So deep does this feeling go that for a hundred years past the officers of the British Army, in peace-time, have always worn civilian clothes when off duty."
-- George Orwell, England Your England, in The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius (London: Secker & Warburg, 1941).
"Plans for comprehensive school pupils to sign up for military drills and weapons training backed by PM."
"The report also unequivocally recommends that soldiers should be encouraged to wear their uniform off-duty, a policy that has been relaxed since British military personnel ceased to be targets of the IRA."
-- The Observer, London, April 6, 2008.
Ferdinand Mount on Working for Mrs Thatcher
If you're interested in the character of Margaret Thatcher and how she ran her Cabinet, you'll enjoy reading this extract from Ferdinand Mount's memoirs, Cold Cream: My Early Life and Other Mistakes (London: Bloomsbury, 2008).
Friday, April 4, 2008
Pauper Chic: How Commerce Made Workers Better Off
Do read Ferdinand Mount's fascinating review of John Styles' recent and abundantly illustrated The Dress of the People: Everyday Fashion in Eighteenth-Century England (Yale University Press, 2008). You won't regret that you did.
The author's findings rebut the condescending conclusion of Marxist historian E. P. Thompson in his classic study The Making of the English Working Class (1966) that the share of the average working man in "the benefits of economic progress" was paltry, consisting of "more potatoes, a few articles of cotton clothing for his family, soap and candles, some tea and sugar, and a great many articles in the Economic History Review."
As the review explains, "John Styles, formerly a costume scholar at the Victoria and Albert Museum, has squirrelled together a remarkable, and often poignant, heap of evidence of what the poor actually wore...Styles never underplays the piercing poverty that the worst off endured. Nor is he claiming that eighteenth-century England was a fully fledged consumer society. But what he does show conclusively is that while the poor did not have a huge choice at the best of times, they did have some, and what they had they grasped with both hands...[W]hat strikes one throughout is the variousness of working-class experience and the determination of people to be agents rather than patients whenever they had a chance."
That said, please don't take my summary as an adequate subsitute for reading the entire review, one that will surely encourage you to read or even buy the book itself. The Dress of the People sounds like an essential addition to a shelf of books on British history that might include John Styles and Amanda Vickery's edited volume Gender, Taste, and Material Culture in Britain and North America, 1700-1830 (Yale, 2006) and would certainly hold Jonathan Rose's acclaimed The Intellectual Life of the British Working Classes (Yale, 2001/2003). This award-winning book tracks the rise and decline of the British autodidact from the pre-industrial era to the twentieth century.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Where Are the Libertarians?
An article in today's Financial Times entitled "Homeowner bail-out hits resistance" caught my eye, and it's every bit as fascinating as the title suggests.
Above the story is a picture of protesters outside Bear Stearns and three paragraphs down readers are told, "Opposition to government aid to homeowners also has a broad base - pitting renters against homeowners, the young against the old and prudent savers against ambitious housing entrepreneurs."
"A poll last week found that 53 per cent of Americans reckoned the government should not help out homeowners who borrowed more than they could afford, with only 29 per cent in disagreement and 17 per cent unsure. Opposition to government help for banks that made bad loans was even stronger, with naysayers outnumbering proponents four to one, the Rasmussen Reports survey reckoned."
"Patrick Killelea, 42, a computer programmer and part-time blogger in Silicon Valley, is unconvinced [by the proposed homeowner bail-out].
"He has never voted Republican but said he might vote for John McCain, the Arizona Republican, in the November presidential election purely because of his cautious opposition to the bail-out issue."
Should libertarians (and Libertarian Party activists) be reaching out to this popular majority against the bail-out? And if so, what's the best way we (and they) might do this?
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
The Most Celebrated Hoaxers in British History
Today being April Fool's Day, the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography presents the lives of the most famous and infamous hoaxers in British history.
So What Are Their Kids Up To Now?
Learn about the lives of the children of some leading Nazis and Nazi sympathizers here.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Perhaps British Airways Should Be Privatized
BA brings in hundreds of volunteers to tackle baggage mountain
· Airline struggles to return 15,000 bags to passengers
· Terminal 5 cancellations to continue through week
Yes, I do know British Airways was privatized back in February 1987 but perhaps it's now time for a takeover bid from, say, Singapore Airlines. I say "Bring it on!"
"Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be"
That's the title of a successful musical by Lionel Bart that was notable for encouraging the use of authentic Cockney accents on the London stage.
And here's a thoughtful review of three new books about London's East End. As Neil O'Sullivan explains, "the good old days" were not as good as some people like to remember them.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Entirely without Irony
"The development of the atomic bomb during World War II, which relied heavily on European (and often Jewish) scientists who fled Hitler, is one illustration of the value of ethnic and cultural tolerance."
Thus writes Eugene Volokh, Gary T. Schwartz Professor of Law at UCLA Law School, on "Multiculturalism as a source of valuable citizens."
"They Couldn't Organize a Piss-Up in a Brewery"
That's what the Brits say about the total incompetents among us. And here is a fine example of such incompetence.
A Nice Appreciation of Ron Paul
Geoffrey Wheatcroft, arguably my favorite newspaper columnist and a very well read man, declares that "to write off Ron Paul as a loopy reactionary ignores his courageous stand on Iraq and Israel."
And there's a bonus for those who know their British history. Not many journalists have even heard of Francis Wrigley Hirst or Sir Ernest Benn, let alone know anything about these great British liberal individualists. Wheatcroft places Ron Paul in the tradition of these two men.
I encourage you all to read Wheatcroft's tribute to the man whom he calls "Washington's good doctor."
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Mike Gravel Joins the LP
For those who haven't heard the news. Perhaps there's a more serious account out there that does justice to Mike Gravel's long-time opposition to the warrior state.
UPDATE: And now he announces he'll seek the LP nomination for president.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
No Surprise Here
Jamie Kirchick endorses John McCain. "This gay writer would be more than comfortable with John McCain in the Oval Office." I don't doubt it. But anyone who values human life and individual rights should not.
The Reverend Sydney Smith
A nice appreciation of my favorite Anglican cleric.
The Reverend Jeremiah Wright
Our readers may be interested to read a more complete account of the Reverend Wright's sermon on "Confusing God and Government." I guess it was pretty much what I expected. He's good on government lies. And he's good on the war question, Pearl Harbor, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Afghanistan, Iraq. Yes, he does need to read Mises on the market economy. But, overall, he's arguably better than Barack Obama. And certainly better than some who call themselves libertarian!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Identity Politics in a Nutshell
Who said "We prefer Bridget and Dinah at the ballot box to Patrick and Sambo"?
For the answer go here.
Who said "The only position for women in the SNCC [Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee] is prone"?
For the answer go here.
I was reminded of these two quotations by Gary Younge's thoughtful essay in Monday's Guardian.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
How Not to Make the Revisionist Case on the Second World War
Mark Kurlansky, author of Nonviolence: Twenty-Five Lessons From the History of a Dangerous Idea (Modern Library, 2006), reviews Nicholson Baker's new book Human Smoke:The Beginnings of World War II, The End of Civilization (Simon & Schuster, 2008). You can read a recent profile of Baker here. (Hat tip to Anthony Gregory here.)
The book is published this Tuesday in the U.S. and on May 6 in the UK. I await further reviews with some interest and I'm sure there'll be many. That said, having read Kurlansky’s review and David Pryce-Jones' review entitled "Immoral Equivalence" in the March issue of Commentary, I’m satisfied that Human Smoke is NOT the book that needs to be written and, indeed, will likely discredit revisionism. Reading between the lines of the two reviews, it strikes me that the quotations Nicholson Baker has dug up are neither as unknown as he believes nor are his interpretations as obvious as he implies. For example, historians of the period are well aware of what Churchill said about the Jews, Mussolini and Hitler in the 1920s and 1930s. Consequently, Baker doesn't make a convincing case, even from a pacifist perspective, let alone from any other viewpoint. Pryce-Jones, of course, roots for Churchill and FDR and he faces a pretty easy job of debunking the book.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Free Speech, Lack Thereof
Two stories, one from Britain, the other from Israel.
To place the first story in context, read this interview. "It was at that stage that I knew I couldn't carry on. I was very angry, and still am, at the way the politicians in this country and America have lied to the British public about the war. But most importantly, I didn't join the British Army to conduct American foreign policy."
To place the second story in context, read this summary of Israeli law. "THERE IS no Basic Law guaranteeing freedom of the press in Israel. There is, however, Section 9 of the Law and Administration Ordinance of 1948, which gives the government the power to enact the draconian WWII-era British regulations when a state of emergency is declared. And that's exactly what the Ben-Gurion government did in May 1948, giving rise to, among other illiberal institutions, the IDF censor. Fifty-five years later, with the War of Independence long over, the country is still under an official state of "emergency.""
War is indeed the health of the state.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
A Modest Proposal
John Whitbeck asks, If Kosovo, Why Not Palestine?
"If [the Palestinian] leadership truly believes, despite all evidence to the contrary, that a decent 'two-state solution' is still possible, now is an ideal moment to reaffirm the legal existence (albeit under continuing belligerent occupation) of the State of Palestine, explicitly in the entire 22% of Mandatory Palestine which was not conquered and occupied by the State of Israel until 1967, and to call on all those countries which did not extend diplomatic recognition to the State of Palestine in 1988 -- and particularly the U.S. and the EU states -- to do so now.
"The Kosovar Albanian leadership has promised protection for Kosovo's Serb minority, which is now expected to flee in fear. The Palestinian leadership could promise to accord a generous period of time for the Israeli colonists living illegally in the State of Palestine and the Israeli occupation forces to withdraw, as well as to consider an economic union with Israel, open borders and permanent resident status for those illegal colonists willing to live in peace under Palestinian rule."
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Pot Calling the Kettle Black
"Ironically, the United States refuses to join the more-than-75 nations that have recognized the independence of Western Sahara, originally declared back in 1976. Indeed, the Bush administration is on record supporting Morocco's call for international recognition of its unilateral annexation of Western Sahara as an 'autonomous region' of that kingdom. This double standard is particularly glaring in light of the fact that Kosovo had been legally recognized as part of Serbia whereas Western Sahara is legally recognized as a non-self-governing territory under belligerent military occupation, a status confirmed by the UN Security Council and the International Court of Justice.
"The United States has rejected proposals that would allow Serbia to annex a small strip of land in the northern part of Kosovo with a predominantly ethnic Serbian population and several sites that the Serbs consider to have important historical significance. At the same time, however, the United States is on record supporting Israeli proposals to annex strips of Palestinian land on the West Bank populated by Israeli Jews and other areas considered by Israelis to be of important historical significance. Ironically, the Kosovar Serbs have mostly lived on their land for centuries while the Israelis in the West Bank are virtually all colonists occupying illegal settlements built recently and in direct defiance of international law and a series of UN Security Council resolutions."
As Stephen Zunes explains, "Such double standards help expose the fallacy of U.S. claims that its recognition of Kosovo is based upon any moral or legal basis."
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
None Too Soon
Jonathan Freedland suggests that for Palestinians the power of mass non-violence would be undeniable.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
A Well-Argued Case against Intervention Abroad
Contrary to the British Foreign Secretary's claim, the UK has neither the authority nor the ability to promote democracy around the world. The truth is that global democracy is not for Britain (or the United States) to command.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Latte Liberals versus Dunkin Donut Democrats
Sunday, February 3, 2008
The President of Bling Gets Married
President Nicolas Sarkozy and model Carla Bruni married yesterday.
"Reports that Sarkozy had given Bruni a pink heart-shaped diamond Dior engagement ring, while she gave him a Swiss-made Patek Philippe watch, a total of £63,000 of exchanged precious metal and stone, have fuelled headlines about 'the president of bling'."
At least it spares the Queen's blushes: "The news will come as a mild relief to Buckingham Palace, where the Queen was said to have faced having to decide whether 'speedy Sarko' and his girlfriend should be offered separate rooms in Windsor Castle on a state visit to Britain next month."
Isn't It Time the U.S. Quit?
Police bugged Muslim MP Sadiq Khan. Could the U.S. have had a role in this?
The larger question goes like this. It's sixty-three years after the Second World War, and seventeen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, yet the U.S. still maintains a network of bases in the UK. Isn't it time they quit?
Yes, I know the British government should quit as well. But let's leave that up to the residents of the UK.
U.S. policy reminds me of Brezhnev's advice to Dubcek in 1968: "Your frontiers are our frontiers." Enough said.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
An Alternative History of Technology
Top 10 useless inventions.
My two favorites are Patent no. 863087, issued 1887, Balloon propelled by eagles or vultures, and Patent no. 748284, issued 1903, Method of preserving the dead.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
John McCain: War Hero or War Criminal?
Over at the Volokh conspiracy, two of the regular bloggers are now supporting John McCain's campaign. A few hours after Orin Kerr announces his support, Dale Carpenter seconds that motion. My guess is we'll likely see other Volokh posters root for McCain, the candidate who thinks it "fine" if the U.S. keeps troops in Iraq for another hundred years or more.
My thoughts. McCain is a war criminal. Of course, he's not by any means the first war criminal to run for president. And neither is he the most egregious example of that infamous category of person, some notorious members of which were elected president after the commission of their crimes. But as the Rational Radical explains, "When he was shot down, McCain's bombing mission was to destroy a power plant in the center of Hanoi. What a perfect illustration of the essentially terrorist, war criminal-like nature of McCain's actions. Torture is absolutely wrong, and to the extent McCain was tortured, his captors should be absolutely condemned. And to the extent McCain bravely withstood his torture, he exhibited qualities of physical bravery. But that only makes him a brave war criminal, not a war hero." Amen.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Evolution by Natural Selection Defended
"If you want to understand the evolutionary history of man and other animals, and read no other account this year, read this splendid monograph. And if you subscribe to 'creationist' tendencies, read it also and repent your sorry ways."
So begins Alan Cane's enthusiastic review of Neil Shubin's Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body (New York: Pantheon; London: Allen Lane, 2008).
"Shubin's book is packed with the evidence to support his contention that everything innovative or apparently unique in the history of life 'is really just old stuff that has been recycled, recombined, repurposed or otherwise modified for new uses'. It's not a new notion, but rarely has it been expressed so clearly and with such good humour."
Are All Libertarians Mentally Ill?
According to this criterion, it looks as if they might be.
That statement, of course, rests on the assumption that the concept of mental illness is intelligible. But even if you do think it makes sense, it doesn't follow that what passes for Oppositional Defiant Disorder is a form of mental illness.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Outraged? Then Please Read This
In the spirit of some recent remarks by Less Antman, Brian Doherty shares his thoughts about the recent unpleasantness here.
Police Manhandle and Beat Up Protesters
Moscow? Damascus? Tehran? No, London.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
No Free Trade Here!
A friend just sent me this link. I wonder when exactly some sort of wall was first erected.
John Singer Sargent at War
It is solidarity with comrades, much more than loyalty to an abstract idea of nation or obedience to their superiors, that keeps men at war.
Read Camillo Mac Bica who explains that "[u]ltimately, warriors fight, kill, and accept injury and death, neither for god nor for country, but from a personal code of honor, loyalty, commitment, and accountability to one's comrades."
You can view the paintings of John Singer Sargent here and many of his wartime paintings here. And you can find out more about him here and here.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Once More, Right on the Money
"Ron Paul has to decide. If Hillary wins the Democratic nomination, whoever the Republican, there will be no straightforward, uncompromising anti-war candidate in the race. Ron Paul thus far has won such support as he got in Iowa and New Hampshire thanks to the fact that they are both open states that allowed independents to vote for a Democratic or Republican. Most future primaries don't allow this option. He has about $20 million raised from the most enthusiastic supporters yet visible in Election 2008, antiwar, pro-Bill of Rights. He should immediately run as an Independent candidate or on the Libertarian ticket, the latter being the easier option for him."
"Message to the young supporters of Obama. Politics is not one quick dash. You have to stay and work. The Clintons have been at the game for 30 years. They don't give up. They've come back from the dead many, many times."
Read the entire article and this one as well. Don't forget that Ron Paul won more votes in New Hampshire than the other antiwar candidates, Richardson, Kucinich and Gravel got, combined. And don't let a Giuliani supporter determine the parameters of the debate.
Monday, January 7, 2008
Ron Paul's Run
Ron Jacobs considers the issue and decides that being against the war isn't enough.
That said, he observes, "What the support for Ron Paul among potentially progressive voters signifies to me is the failure of today's left to enunciate an anti-imperialist position better than that put forth by the libertarian right."
Jacobs concludes, "In fact, a vote for Ron Paul is certainly a better use of the franchise than a vote for almost any of the other candidates currently running. For better or worse."
I read his analysis with interest. I suggest that libertarians might usefully consider his reasons for not supporting Ron Paul (and libertarian ideas) and how they would respond to his arguments.
Worth Reading
Writing in this morning's Guardian, Gary Younger explains why an Obama victory would symbolise a great deal and change very little.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
I'm Puzzled
Why should OUP publish this book if they want to sell the rest of their stock?
The Advocate Looks at Ron Paul
Friday, January 4, 2008
Ron Paul's Revolution
I encourage you to read Stan Goff's eloquent plea on behalf of Ron Paul.
He asks "what are his likely courses of action... in the unlikely event he wins?
"Well, he is the Commander-in-Chief, so he can bring the troops home immediately, as well as order the military-industrial complex to radically scale back. In case anyone on the left has missed the implications of this, this would be a profoundly anti-imperial development that would take the US boot off the necks of hundreds of millions of people around the world.
"He is a libertarian who dislikes corporate subsidies, so he would veto the mega-billion dollar subisidies for Big Agra, Big Pharma, nuclear power company insurance policies, Weapons-R-Us, the ADM/Cargill Great Ethanol Scam,et al. He could veto the federal highway spending that is promoting sprawl. He has also stated that he opposed so-called free trade agreements.
"Ron Paul is a Gold Bug. For the uninitiated, that means he believes dollar-value should be pegged to a gold-standard. The implications of a return to the gold standard by the Fed are grim... for Wall Street and the military, both of which depend on massive foreign loans convered by runaway printing presses. Putting a stop to this is a Good Thing. What is the net effect?"
"The malignant growth of the American Gulag has been fueled -- more than by any other cause -- by the ever-more-punative criminalization of drug use and drug addiction, and the ability fo the criminal justice system to apply this criminalization with special force against African America and Hispano-Latinas. Here's the thing. Paul opposes the criminalization of drugs. What is the net effect?"
"President Paul would close Guantanamo, halt CIA kidnappings, and gut the enforcement capacity for the PATRIOT Act.
"Nominee Paul would give 2008 voters a choice between a real anti-war candidate and a phony Democratic equivocator. The intensity of anti-war sentiment in the country already forced ex-war-hawk Edwards to adopt an out-in-nine-months position to left flank his Democratic opponents."
"Wanna throw a monkey wrench into a fixed electoral system? Here's a chance."
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Two Leftists Write in Support of Ron Paul
Jeff Taylor writes a Letter to a Liberal Friend: The Left and Ron Paul.
Caleb Friz explains how Ron Paul [is] a Means to an End.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
This Just In!
George Smith (sort of) endorses Ron Paul
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Why the U.S. Is Unlikely to Attack Iran Soon
Immanuel Wallerstein discusses the significance of the NIE Report on Iran.
Heroic
Today's Financial Times leads on an inspiring story from China: "In two highly unusual public challenges to core tenets of Communist rule in China, an academic has announced the launch of a democratic opposition party and farmers in four provinces have claimed ownership of land seized by local authorities."
Another story in the same issue explains how "[b]old activists hold Beijing to account."
"For an authoritarian Communist party to paint itself as a promoter of democracy and individual property rights was always going to be a political strategy with some risks.
"Less than three months after a much-heralded congress of China’s ruling communists at which party leaders restated their commitment to 'democratic' values and private property, they are being called to account on those very issues by some unusually bold critics."
Fugitive Politician Facing Corruption Charges in Several Countries Meets Her End
Benazir Bhutto assassinated.
For a welcome relief from the fawning obituaries, go here and here.
UPDATE: Lew Rockwell points to the unhappy consequence for U.S. hegemony: "The horrific assassination of Benazir Bhutto is a massive blow to the empire, since she was the handpicked US replacement for the hated Pervez Musharraf. The US had installed Musharraf as military dictator after kicking out his elected predecessor, Nawaz Sharif (ah yes, global democracy), who was considered insufficiently obedient. The US has spent many billions on Musharraf and his military, but it has only earned the contempt of Pakistanis who don't like being a US colony (and no, one does not have to be pro-terrorist to be opposed to foreign control)."
FURTHER UPDATE: And, as Mario Rizzo reminds us, "The U.S. government should not use this an excuse to intervene in Pakistan for the simple reason that it is incapable of improving the situation."
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Let Us Hope They Will Not Be Bombed
Christmas in Iran.
Children of Iran.
Women of Iran.
Jews of Iran.
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (10)
Who wrote these words?
"It was Christmas Day in the workhouse."
I hope it isn't for you. I'll post all the answers very soon. Meanwhile I wish all our readers a Merry Christmas!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (9)
Why in July 1945 did the British government temporarily declare suite 212 of Claridge's Hotel in London Yugoslav territory?
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Alexander Cockburn on Mike Huckabee and Ron Paul
Alexander Cockburn is in fine form here where he examines Mike Huckabee's rise.
He concludes with an insightful remark about Ron Paul's candidature:
"Huckabee's single rival as a genuinely interesting candidate is another Republican, Ron Paul, who set a record a few days ago, by raising $6 million in a single day. Unlike Huckabee, Paul's core issues are opposition to the war and to George Bush's abuse of civil liberties inscribed in the U.S. Constitution. His appeal, far more than Huckabee, is to the redneck rebel strain in American political life the populist beast that the US two-party system is designed to suppress. On Monday night Paul was asked on Fox News about Huckabee's Christmas ad, which shows the governor backed by a shining cross. Actually it's the mullions of the window behind him, but the illusion is perfect. Paul said the ad reminded him of Sinclair Lewis's line, that 'when fascism comes to this country it will be wrapped in a flag and bearing a cross.' In the unlikely event they had read Lewis, no other candidate would dare quote that line."
This Is the Kind of Soldier I Support!
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (8)
Who said this?
"Though the people support the government, the government should not support the people."
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (7)
Who wrote these words?
"The world will always be governed by self-interest. We should not try to stop this, we should try to make the self-interest of cads a little more coincident with that of decent people."
Friday, December 21, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (6)
Who wrote that a judge is a law student who marks his own papers?
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (5)
Who wrote these words?
"Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient."
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Mike Whitney at Counterpunch quotes Mises and slams Greenspan
Even if neocons and neoliberals won't listen to radical critiques of the Fed, it looks as if one person who regularly posts at Counterpunch is listening.
Mike Whitney looks into the abyss and sees The coming collapse of the modern day banking system.
"The economist Ludwig von Mises is more succinct in his analysis:
"There is no means of avoiding the final collapse of a boom brought on by credit expansion. The question is only whether the crisis should come sooner as a result of a voluntary abandonment of further credit expansion, or later as a final and total catastrophe of the currency system involved."
Then having quoted Mises in support, Whitney cites Milton Friedman on (price) inflation:
"This admission proves Greenspan's culpability. If he knew that stock prices had doubled their value in just 3 years, then he also knew that equities had not risen due to increases in productivity or demand (market forces). The only reasonable explanation for the asset inflation, therefore, was monetary policy. As his own mentor, Milton Friedman famously stated, 'Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon'. Any capable economist would have known that the explosion in housing and equities prices was a sign of uneven inflation. Now that the bubble has popped, inflation is spreading like mad through the entire economy."
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (4)
Who said this? And here's a hint: The author is not thought of as an economist, but more as a man of letters.
"The protectionists are fond of flashing to the public eye the glittering delusion of great money-results from manufacturing, mines, artificial exports...But the really important point of all is, into whose pockets does this plunder really go?"
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (3)
Who wrote these words?
"Free trade, one of the greatest blessings which a government can confer on a people, is in almost every country unpopular."
Monday, December 17, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (2)
Whose words are these?
"It is not a question of Mahometanism simply, but of Mahometanism compounded with the peculiar character of a race…They were, upon the whole, from the black day when they first entered Europe, the one great anti-human specimen of humanity. Where ever they went, a broad line of blood marked the track behind them; and, as far as their dominion reached, civilisation disappeared from view. They represented everywhere government by force, as opposed to government by law."
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Countdown to Christmas Quiz (1)
Which famous nineteenth-century public intellectual was godfather to the philosopher Bertrand Russell? Post your answers as Comments below.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
A Marxist Who Defends Capitalism
Brendan O'Neill is excited about the benefits of global capitalism.
Nice Work If You Can Get It
"Tony Blair is making between £500,000 and £1m a month from public speaking engagements, matching the earning power of President Bill Clinton.
"Sources close to Blair, who left Downing Street last June, say he is delivering up to five speeches a month, with a typical fee of between £100,000 and £200,000."
"If he manages to maintain his high profile, the Blairs should easily be able to service and pay off the mortgages of almost £4m on their properties in Connaught Square, in London, Bristol and Sedgefield, Co Durham."
Neither did I enjoy reading this:
"The running costs of Blair’s peace mission [in the Middle East] are considerable. Accommodation at the Colony exceeds $1m a year, and the travel budget adds a similar amount. He has a UN fleet of vast silver SUVs and three Mercedes. Locals resent his road convoys, which are blamed for traffic snarl-ups."
But this brought a smile to my face:
"Blair’s attempt to embrace the social networking phenomenon has been poorly received. Nearly two months after its launch, his channel on YouTube had attracted little more than 300 viewers and 16 subscribers."
Now how many minutes does it take for Ron Paul's website to receive 300 hits?
Episcopal Minister: Let's Take Christ out of Christmas
Howard Zinn: Bomb After Bomb
This is one of the best essays I've read by Howard Zinn.
Muslim Saves Jews from "Christian" Thugs
Muslim hero breaks up train beating.
Hate-crime talk is "ridiculous," says one of accused Chanukah Q train attackers.
Jirovec, who is white, admitted to beating two black men but insists the attack was not racially motivated because he is a member of the predominantly black Bloods gang. He denies the subway attack was anti-Semitic because his mother was half-Jewish.
I suggest the perpetrators of "hate crimes" should not receive additional penalties, but you can be sure that under libertarian justice, these thugs would be busy paying restitution to their victims for quite some time. Or, if they want to clear their debts fast, how about kidney transplants to raise money?
Kosovan Independence—Real or Imaginary?
"European leaders yesterday agreed to send up to 1,800 police, judges, and administrators to Kosovo in its biggest foreign policy gamble, aimed at nurturing the breakaway Balkan province towards full statehood."
"Balkan experts at the US state department are drafting Kosovo's declaration of independence, to be proclaimed by the ethnic Albanian leaders of Kosovo in early February after Serbia elects a new president, the sources said."
I seem to remember the Declaration of Independence was written by American patriots on their own in 1776. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.
"Many EU states want to entice Serbia into a deal by signing an agreement on preliminary EU membership talks with Belgrade on January 28. That would fall between two rounds of presidential elections in Serbia and would be designed to boost the chances of the pro-western president, Boris Tadic, defeating Tomislav Nikolic, an extreme nationalist."
You can imagine the outcry were Putin to attempt to influence the Serbian elections.
These three paragraphs are taken from a news story in Saturday's Guardian entitled EU summit gambles on huge Kosovo mission.
For some sensible thinking about these issues, I strongly recommend Phil Cunliffe's Kosovo: Plaything of the Great Powers and Diana Johnstone's The Next Kosovo War.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The Helicopters Start to Drop Money
"The central bank helicopters are planning a co-ordinated drop of liquidity on troubled market waters. The money to be dropped now is not that large. But if this does not work, more will surely follow. The helicopters will fly again and again and again."
These are not the words of Ron Paul or some other advocate of the gold standard. They are the words with which Martin Wolf, associate editor and chief economics commentator at the Financial Times, begins his article describing the concerted action by the Fed, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the central banks of Canada and Switzerland to extend loans to banks, a move that was announced Wednesday.
Wolf concludes: "So does the action by the central banks give us good reason to stop worrying? Only if you like huge rescue operations of incompetent bankers, would be my answer. They may well get the markets back into order. They may, in this way, rescue economies from the threat of recessions. But that is not the end of the story. The bigger the rescue has to be today, the more stringent regulation of financial institutons will have to be in future."
Is Federal Reserve Governor Randall S. Kroszner listening?
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Gun Culture or Gun-Control Culture?
"European Union legislators recently took another step towards transforming the entire continent into a low-security prison when they voted overwhelmingly for tough new gun-control legislation."
So writes Kevin Yuill in a new essay against gun control and gun-control culture.
"Historically, gun controls have been aimed at any group considered a threat to elite rule. The 1968 Gun Control Act was very much helped in its passage by fears of the Black Panther Party, the members of which exercised their constitutional right to form a militia. If there is any symbolic meaning to guns, it is as a symbol of power because an armed citizenry has a strong association with democracy, freedom, and equality. It is the literal meaning of 'empowerment', that term so meaninglessly repeated in a thousand European quangos. It is the medium through which the powerless become the equal to the powerful throughout history. As the American proverb went: 'God made men. Sam Colt made them equal.'"
Thursday, December 6, 2007
What Does He Know That We Don't Know?
Vice President Cheney today predicted Iraq will be a self-governing democracy by the time he leaves office, calling the current U.S. surge strategy "a remarkable success story" that will be studied for years to come.
Sounds absurd? But then maybe it depends on how long he expects to stay in office...
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
No Wonder They Like Putin
Norman Stone explains why the West should stop its finger-wagging. "The Russian people know what they want and their message is clear."
Friday, November 30, 2007
Free the NatWest Three!
Martin Wolf on judicial torture and the perversion of the rule of law.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Paint It White
Björn Lomborg explains how amid all the talk of cutting carbon emissions, we never hear about the simple solutions that can make a vast difference to temperatures.
Laissez Faire Books Lives On!
Laissez Faire Books is not closing but is continuing operations under a new owner, the International Society for Individual Liberty (ISIL).
ISIL has released the following statement:
"The International Society for Individual Liberty is pleased to be the new sponsors of Laissez Faire Books. For three decades LFB has been a prime source for libertarian educational material. And we intended to continue, and expand, that tradition.
"Your purchase from LFB does more than you may realize. Proceeds from sales allow us to sponsor new books that would never see the light of day otherwise through our Cobden Press publishing arm. In addition, we will sponsor books for libraries, schools, students and non-profit organizations around the world. And you can donate to such causes through ISIL which is a registered non-profit educational organization.
"The acquisition of LFB was unexpected so we are still getting a grasp on things. There will be a period of transition. But we will deal with your orders as quickly and efficiently as possible. It may take some time to have the new web site fully functional. But you will receive a regular newsletter from us in PDF format that you should be able to open and enjoy."
The first issue of this newsletter is now available. If you wish to receive this virtual publication now and in the future, email your request to laissezfairebooks[at]gmail.com. The website is http://www.lfb.org/.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Margaret Atwood revisits Brave New World
"Everybody is happy now"
So how does Aldous Huxley's vision of a totalitarian future stand up 75 years after his book was first published?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
A Perceptive Take on the Duke Lacrosse Scandal
Friday, November 2, 2007
Not Even Cheap Oil
Geoffrey Wheatcroft sums up the debacle that is the Iraq War. "We knew the war was built on lies - but to have increased petrol prices as well as terror will surely seal history's verdict."
Wheatcroft concludes:
"Finally there is what has sometimes been dismissed as a conspiracy theory: that it was really a war for oil. This idea looks a little less cranky now that Alan Greenspan, the former head of the Federal Reserve Board, has acknowledged 'what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil'. But here again, there was no need to await his verdict. After all, the most powerful man in British politics had told us the same thing even before the war began. 'The greatest thing to come out of this for the world economy,' said Rupert Murdoch, 'would be $20 a barrel for oil.'
"And so, on top of the whole list of false predictions and collapsed justifications, we have this final absurdity. As both Greenspan and Murdoch have very likely noticed, the price of oil hit a record $96 a barrel yesterday, and is still going up.
"In April 2003, our previous prime minister confidently pronounced that 'just as we had a strategy for war, so we have a strategy for peace'. It is not pre-empting the judgment of history to say with even greater confidence that no good whatever has come out of this war, that no single good reason for it can any longer be adduced - and that 'we' had never had any plan at all, not to say the faintest idea what 'we' were doing."
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Good News for Red Wine Tipplers
When he consulted a cardiologist about his angina, Malcolm Smith was told to drink three glasses of red wine daily.
If you enjoy other sorts of tipple, try cider, but only the cloudy, unfiltered kind as filtration removes all the polyphenols. And if you are not a drinker, other sources of polyphenols include dark chocolate, walnuts and cranberries. Sounds good to me.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
Whatever Happened to Guy Fawkes Night?
Kathryn Hughes explains how Halloween has largely replaced Bonfire Night in Britain.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Haven't You Got Anything Smaller?
An international counterfeiting gang tried to con the Bank of England out of £28 billion with "special issue" £500,000 notes that they had invented, a court was told yesterday.
"They wanted the Bank to pay them the face value for thousands of forged notes, also including £1,000 notes - a denomination that had not been legal tender for more than 60 years. Southwark Crown Court was told that only 63 of the notes remain unaccounted for by the Bank of England."
. . .
"But their plan was undone by a number of errors: there never was a £500,000 note, they referred to the bank in documents as the 'England Bank' and they did not correctly forge the signature of Sir Jasper Quintus Hollom, the chief cashier of the Bank of England, the court was told. He always used his first two initials when signing his name rather than just the second that the gang used.
"The money they claimed to possess represented more than two thirds of all sterling in circulation, Martin Evans, for the prosecution, told the court."
Sunday, October 21, 2007
More Skepticism on Anthropogenic Global Warming
David Bellamy of the Conservation Foundation explains why he would rather be called a heretic on global warming.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
The Politically Incorrect James Watson
In 1962 James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins won the Nobel prize "for their discoveries concerning the molecular structure of nucleic acids and its significance for information transfer in living material". Now James Watson spills the beans on old colleagues and rivals.
Look Who's Talking!
Geoffrey Wheatcroft examines the world of diplomacy.
Don't Say You Weren't Warned!
Mark McCrum advises on the top ten faux pas to avoid when travelling abroad.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Police Chief Calls for the Legalization of All Drugs
"One of Britain's most senior police officers is to call for all drugs – including heroin and cocaine – to be legalised and urges the Government to declare an end to the 'failed' war on illegal narcotics.
"Richard Brunstrom, the Chief Constable of North Wales, advocates an end to UK drug policy based on 'prohibition'. His comments come as the Home Office this week ends the process of gathering expert advice looking at the next 10 years of strategy.
"In his radical analysis, which he will present to the North Wales Police Authority today, Mr Brunstrom points out that illegal drugs are now cheaper and more plentiful than ever before.
"The number of users has soared while drug-related crime is rising with narcotics now supporting a worldwide business empire second only in value to oil. 'If policy on drugs is in future to be pragmatic not moralistic, driven by ethics not dogma, then the current prohibitionist stance will have to be swept away as both unworkable and immoral, to be replaced with an evidence-based unified system (specifically including tobacco and alcohol) aimed at minimisation of harms to society,' he will say."
Read further and you'll find, not surprisingly, that he wants to make all drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, subject to a new regulatory regime.
UPDATE: After posting this story, I found that my co-blogger Keith Halderman had just posted on this topic. Evidently great minds think alike, eh, Keith?
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Is It All about Oil?
Jim Holt considers the reasons why the U.S. invaded and occupied Iraq and has no intention of leaving anytime soon.
"Iraq is 'unwinnable', a 'quagmire', a 'fiasco': so goes the received opinion. But there is good reason to think that, from the Bush-Cheney perspective, it is none of these things. Indeed, the US may be 'stuck' precisely where Bush et al want it to be, which is why there is no 'exit strategy'."
"The costs – a few billion dollars a month plus a few dozen American fatalities (a figure which will probably diminish, and which is in any case comparable to the number of US motorcyclists killed because of repealed helmet laws) – are negligible compared to $30 trillion in oil wealth, assured American geopolitical supremacy and cheap gas for voters. In terms of realpolitik, the invasion of Iraq is not a fiasco; it is a resounding success.
"Still, there is reason to be sceptical of the picture I have drawn: it implies that a secret and highly ambitious plan turned out just the way its devisers foresaw, and that almost never happens."
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Liberty and Repression in Italy
"A row has broken out in Italy over the wearing of the burka after the prefect of a city in the north-east announced he was permitting it, despite legislation outlawing any clothing that stops the wearer being recognised."
"The burka covers the body from head to foot, with the exception of a small mesh at eye level.
"The announcement by the prefect - the local representative of the interior ministry - also appeared to clear the way for the use of the equally controversial and more widely worn niqab, which leaves only the eyes visible."
I didn't know (and I guess most of you didn't either) that an Italian law of 1975 bans the wearing of masks in public.
Score one for the United States where, as far as I know, masks are not yet prohibited in public. Indeed, today I rode the bus next to a woman who wore a niqab. That's the second time I've seen her. More power to her, I say.
May We All Agree This Is Theft?
Israeli army orders confiscation of Palestinian land in West Bank.
"The Israeli army has ordered the seizure of Palestinian land surrounding four West Bank villages apparently in order to hugely expand settlements around Jerusalem, it emerged yesterday.
"The confiscation happened as Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met to prepare the ground for a meeting hosted by President George Bush in the United States aimed at reviving a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
"However, critics said the confiscation of land suggested that Israel was imposing its own solution on the Palestinians through building roads, barriers and settlements that would render a Palestinian state unviable."
Monday, October 8, 2007
The Writings of F. William Engdahl
I've just read F. William Engdahl's Confessions of an "ex" Peak Oil Believer. This fascinating essay describes two very different explanations for oil deposits and explains the significance of these rival theories for the political economy of oil today.
Engdahl is author of A Century Of War: Anglo-American Oil Politics and the New World Order, revised edition (Pluto Press, 2004).
His website takes you to much more, including three historical essays:
American Exceptionalism – Serious Distortions of the New Economic Era: Montagu Norman and Benjamin Strong in the 20s looks at the workings of the gold standard in the 1920s.
The second essay, Some Unconventional Reflections on the Great Depression and the New Deal, looks at FDR and the left-wing intellectuals who influenced him. Although he is no advocate of laissez-faire, Engdahl is very critical of FDR.
The final essay, Halford Mackinder's Necessary War, is about British strategy during the Second World War.
Sunday, October 7, 2007
Interview with Bjorn Lomborg
Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the Real State of the World (Cambridge University Press, 2001), talks about himself and his new book, Cool It: The Skeptical Environmentalist’s Guide to Global Warming (Knopf, 2007), here.
Lomborg believes global warming is happening and humans are causing it. He just doesn't think it's that serious. Moreover, he thinks technology is the answer.
Stubble Trouble
Shaving is a tedious daily chore. But to a dedicated team of obsessive dermatologists, biometricists and neurologists, creating the perfect razor is the holy grail of grooming. Simon Garfield takes a wry look at the virbrating, rubberized, five-blade world of cutting edge technology.
Saturday, October 6, 2007
Archbishop Attacks Neocons Over Threat to Bomb Iran
Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has criticised the neoconservatives of the Bush administration and accused them of "potentially murderous folly" for suggesting military action against Syria and Iran.
Dr Williams has just returned from Syria where he met Iraqi Christian refugees. He warned of a problem of almost unprecedented scale as up to 1.5 million Iraqis have fled to neighbouring countries.
Speaking to the BBC, the archbishop, who opposed the invasion of Iraq from the outset, said: "When people talk about further destabilisation of the region - and you read some American political advisers speaking of action against Syria and Iran - I can only say that I regard that as criminal, ignorant and potentially murderous folly.
"We do hear talk from some quarters of action against Syria and Iran. I can't understand what planet such persons are living on, when you see the conditions that are already there."
Monday, October 1, 2007
Senior Pentagon Official: "I Hate All Iranians"
British MPs visiting the Pentagon to discuss America's stance on Iran and Iraq were shocked to be told by one of President Bush's senior women officials: "I hate all Iranians."
And what's that around her neck? An Iron Cross?
The Vagaries of Electoral Systems
A general election for the Ukranian parliament was held on Sunday. This is the story so far. Exit polls suggested that prime minister Viktor Yanukovych’s party took 35.5% of the vote, with Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc second on 31.5%, and Viktor Yushchenko, the president, third with just 13.5%. It seems that Tymoshenko and Yushchenko together are likely to secure a wafer-thin majority in the 450-seat parliament but Yanukovych has refused to yield ground. Mr Yanukovych could attempt to form a coalition with his allies in the Communist Party of Ukraine, which won 5.1% of votes, and with ex-parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn's party, which won 3.7%, according to exit polls.
It struck me that these numbers were really rather similar to the distribution of votes at the most recent British general election in 2005. The Labour party under Tony Blair received 35.3% of the vote, the Conservatives received 32.3% of the vote, the Liberal Democrats got 22.1% of the vote, and all others 10.3%. The outcome, however, was quite different. The British system of first-past-the-post (the winning candidate in any constituency, or district, has to win merely a plurality of the vote) meant that Labour won an absolute majority of 66 in Parliament and formed the next government.
Will Tymoshenko and Yushchenko form the next government? Certainly it seems so under the Ukrainian electoral system. But under the British system, it is quite possible that Yanukovych would have won. Such are the vagaries of electoral systems.
Sunday, September 30, 2007
For the Brits and Anglophiles Who Read This Blog
Q. How many of 100 Britons passed the citizenship exam? A. Not one.
The minimum score to pass is 18 (out of 24). I, a native-born citizen of the UK, who lived the first thirty years of my life there (and later four more years) and follows British news on the Internet, scored 17. Readers, Brits and anyone else, are invited to take the test and record their scores in Comments.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Strippers with Altitude
Nepal wants to ban nudity on Everest. The irony is that this is where trouserless-peaking started with George Mallory, claims regular naked climber Hank Wangford.
It seems to me to be a case of Liberty against Power.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Should We Be Surprised?
"Northern Rock stands accused of 'reckless' lending after it emerged this weekend that the beleaguered bank is still offering mortgages of six times salary to potential borrowers."
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Is This the Right Way to Counter a "Bad" Book?
Last month Pluto Press of London and the University of Michigan Press - their U.S. distributor - came under attack by Stand With Us (a Zionist lobby group) who objected to the publication of Overcoming Zionism by Joel Kovel. This resulted in the book being withdrawn in the U.S.
Since then the executive board of the university has considered the matter and issued a public statement. Overcoming Zionism has now been reinstated but the University of Michigan Press plans to review its ongoing relationship with Pluto Press in October.
I haven't seen a copy, let alone read Overcoming Zionism. I'm therefore not prepared to accept the characterization of this book that is offered by Stand With Us. But even if it were every bit as awful as they say, and somehow I doubt it, and their other accusations were true, I suggest that pressuring the U.S. distributor to drop this title is not the way to counter what they regard as the baleful influence of this book.
"The Majority Are Not Bad People"
So spake General Sir Richard Dannatt, Chief of the General Staff, UK, yesterday at the Military Leaders' Forum organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.
"So, because as an Army we are enemy focussed, some words on our adversaries in southern Iraq. The militants (and I use the word deliberately because not all are insurgents, or terrorists, or criminals; they are a mixture of them all) are well armed – certainly with outside help, and probably from Iran. By motivation, essentially, and with the exception of the Al Qaeda in Iraq element who have endeavoured to exploit the situation for their own ends, our opponents are Iraqi Nationalists, and are most concerned with their own needs – jobs, money, security – and the majority are not bad people."
You can watch his presentation here and read a transcript of his speech here by scrolling down to General Dannatt speech (MS Word file).
Jennifer Burns' Godless Capitalism: Ayn Rand and the Conservative Movement
It was only today that I came across Modern Intellectual History, which has been published three times a year since 2004 by Cambridge University Press. It's a treasure trove of goodies. Many academic libraries subscribe to Cambridge journals online so if you teach in a college or university, there's a good chance you can peruse this journal from your desk.
Readers of Liberty & Power may be especially interested in Jennifer Burns' Godless Capitalism: Ayn Rand and the Conservative Movement, Modern Intellectual History, vol. 1, no. 3 (November 2004): 359-385. To date this journal has published two articles discussing Herbert Spencer and many other essays on topics of interest to classical liberal scholars.
The New British Empire?
The UK plans to annex part of the South Atlantic.
And read the background briefing here.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
A Question for Our Readers
Is there anyone out there who still thinks that "independent" central banks are independent?
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Lew Rockwell: None Dare Call It Genocide
This is quite simply one of the finest articles about the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq that I have read this year.
A Plea for Freedom of Movement for All
Tomorrow the Gatwick No Border Camp begins a six-day protest near Gatwick international airport south of London to campaign for "the freedom of movement for all and an end to all migration controls." Nathalie Rothschild explains what they're about and does a great job presenting the case for free international migration.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Health Care in Cuba
Rory Carroll investigates.
"Cuban healthcare is no utopia. At times it is ragged and harsh. But the virtues are no myth. People live as long as they do because the system, overall, works. To be poor and sick in Cuba is tough, but it is not to be forgotten."
Certainly I'd rather be poor and sick in Cuba than in most of the Third World. That said, the question that remains is how a Third World country can transform itself into a more prosperous society to the benefit of all its citizens. And that, I suggest, is where the Cuban government is failing the Cuban people.
Of course, the situation isn't helped any by the obnoxious U.S. embargo that works against the Cuban people in two ways. Not only does it cause direct impoverishment by prohibiting mutually beneficial trade between Cubans and Americans but it also helps the Cuban state reinforce its control over the Cuban economy and society leading to further immiseration of the Cuban people.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Interesting Poll of Iraqi Opinion
I'm well aware of the limitations of opinion polls, and I'm sure that polls taken at the present time in Iraq should be evaluated particularly carefully. That said, the latest of four opinion polls commissioned by the BBC, ABC News, and NHK of Japan, in which some 2,112 Iraqis were questioned in more than 450 neighbourhoods across all the eighteen provinces of Iraq between August 17 and August 24, 2007, strikes me as a useful gauge of Iraqi opinion. Here are some of the key findings:
* Nearly half of Iraqis want an immediate withdrawal of U.S. and other coalition forces, and most of the rest want security restored first. (But is this even possible?)
* 57 percent (93 percent of Sunni Arabs, 50 percent of Shia Arabs, and 5 percent of Kurds) support attacks on coalition troops.
* Over 60 percent of Iraqis support a unified Iraq, with only Kurds supporting a federal or partitioned structure.
*Conditions of life are quite bad or very bad for most Iraqis in all areas and on all fronts.
Monday, September 10, 2007
An Amazing Web Page
A Compendium of Beautiful Libraries. And, when you've scrolled through the pictures, follow the links provided in the text and comments at the end.
Thanks once again to Bill Stepp for the link.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Are Young American Jews Turning Their Backs on Israel?
"Young U.S. non-Orthodox Jews are becoming increasingly lukewarm if not alienated in their support for Israel in a trend that is not likely to be reversed, according to a study released on Thursday.
"Blending into U.S. society, including marriage to non-Jews and a tendency to look on Judaism more in religious terms than ethnic ones, is part of what's happening, the study found.
"'For our parent's generation, the question that mattered was, how do we regard Israel? For Generation Y (born after 1976) the question is indeed, why should we regard Israel?' said Roger Bennett, a vice president of The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, which sponsored the study."
Read the full report here.
If the survey is accurate, it seems to me to be a welcome change in opinion.
And let's not forget that significant sections of orthodox Jewry have always been anti-Zionist.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Why Don’t the Terrorists Attack Us More?
Matthew Parris wonders why.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Should Corporations Have Rights?
Robert Reich, Bill Clinton's Secretary of Labor, has written a new book, Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy and Everyday Life (Knopf, 2007). There he argues corporate social responsibility is a diversion and an illusion, the corporate income tax is inefficient and inequitable, and corporate criminal liability is based on an anthropomorphic fallacy that hurts a lot of innocent people.
But with Reich, it's a package deal. While he would eliminate corporate criminal liability and get rid of the corporate income tax, he would also strip corporations of their constitutional rights.
"Corporations should have no more legal right to free speech, due process, or political representation in a democracy than do any other pieces of paper on which contracts are written," he writes. "Legislators or judges who grant corporations such rights are not being intellectually honest, or they are unaware of the effects of supercapitalism. Only people should possess such rights."
Russell Mokhiber discusses the book here.
What do readers think of this proposal? I invite you to post below.
UPDATE: Here is an interview with Robert Reich in Business Week. And thank you, Bill Stepp, for the link.
Preparing the Ground for the Bombing of Iran?
This unpleasant cartoon reminds me of another drawing, this one by Theodor Seuss Geisel.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
A Question for Ron Paul
Has anyone asked Ron Paul whether he would support the impeachment of Bush and/or Cheney? And if so, what was his reply? If anyone were to ask him, I guess he would say "No" but it's surely a fair question since he argues that Bush and Cheney have acted unconstitutionally.
That said, I'm inclined to agree with Alexander Cockburn who writes thus:
"The left is as easily distracted, currently by the phantasm of impeachment. Why all this clamor to launch a proceeding surely destined to fail, aimed at a duo who will be out of the White House in sixteen months anyway? Pursue them for war crimes after they’ve stepped down.
"Mount an international campaign of the sort that has Henry Kissinger worrying at airports that there might be a lawyer with a writ standing next to the man with the limo sign. Right now the impeachment campaign is a distraction from the war and the paramount importance of ending it."
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Intellectuals and the "War on Terror"
David Keen, Professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics, explains how the "war on terror" has an intellectual arm, and many of the most significant contributors are "liberals". I've perused a good many articles on international relations, and this is one of the best that I've read so far this year.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
Freedom's Watch
On August 22 Freedom's Watch announced a $15 million advertising and grass-roots campaign in twenty states to maintain Republican support for President Bush's policies towards Iraq.
You can read more about Freedom's Watch here. It turns out that John Templeton Jr. is a donor to Freedom's Watch. John M. Templeton, Jr., M.D. is chairman and president of the John Templeton Foundation, which is a major contributor to free market policy institutes and intelligent design advocacy. To read more about Dr. Templeton, go here.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Let's Do the Time Warp Again
There's still time to fly to Britain and attend the Goodwood Revival, the world’s most authentic historic motor race meeting - and the most popular.
The Goodwood Revival takes place at Goodwood House, West Sussex, from Friday, August 31, to Sunday, September 2. Warm and sunny weather is forecast.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
A Dazzling Triumph for Agricultural Intervention
"The vast increase in opium poppy farming in Afghanistan is indicative of an inability to grasp a basic law of economics."
Simon Jenkins explains all.
Spoils of War: How T-Force Abducted Germany's Best Brains for Britain
"Their methods had echoes of the Gestapo: kidnapping at night by state officials who offered no evidence of identity. Recently declassified secret documents reveal how at the end of the second world war an elite British unit abducted hundreds of German scientists and technicians and put them to work at government ministries and private firms in the UK.
"The programme was designed to loot the defeated country's intellectual assets, impeding its ability to compete while giving a boost to British business.
"In a related programme, German businessmen are alleged to have been forced to travel to post-war Britain to be questioned by their commercial rivals, and were interned if they refused to reveal trade secrets."
Read the rest of the story here.
Friday, August 24, 2007
1857 Revisited
2007 is the sesquicentenary of the Indian Revolt, known to some as the first war of Indian independence and to others as the Indian or Sepoy Mutiny. Among several new books published on this topic is Amaresh Misra’s War of Civilisations: India, AD 1857 (New Delhi: Rupa & Co.), in which the author argues that British reprisals involved the killing of ten million persons, spread over ten years.
According to Misra, Britain came perilously close to losing its most prized possession: India. He claims that although conventional histories have counted only 100,000 Indian soldiers who were slaughtered in savage reprisals, none have tallied the number of rebels and civilians killed by British forces desperate to impose order.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Why Your Vote Will Never Matter
James Rothenberg explains why you should stop voting if you want to change the country.
The Power of the State
From the Times Literary Supplement for August 10, 2007:
"The power of official bodies to influence the sales of books should not be underestimated. At the beginning of July, Tintin in the Congo was selling an average of seventy copies a week throughout the land. Then the Commission for Racial Equality stepped in, with a hideously worded statement which branded the comic strip "racist claptrap" and called for its removal from shops to prevent damage to young minds. The result, according to the August 3 issue of the Bookseller, is that Tintin in the Congo is now the fastest selling Tintin title. Last week, an estimated 1,300 copies were sold--one-tenth of the total since the book's republication in 2005."
I visited the website of Egmont Books, the publisher of Hergé's book, to find they have included this caveat:
"First published in book form in 1931, Tintin in the Congo reflects the colonial attitudes of that period in its depiction of African people. Hergé himself admitted that he was influenced by the bourgeois, paternalistic stereotypes of the period."
You can't be too careful with the Commission for Racial Equality breathing down your neck.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Whatever Happened to the Anti-War Movement?
Alexander Cockburn investigates.
Terence Kealey on the New Science of Neuroeconomics
Terence Kealey is Vice Chancellor of the University of Buckingham, Britain's one and only university that does not receive direct subsidy from the state. He also writes on science for The Times (London). Go here for his latest column on recent findings in neuroeconomics. Be advised that "public schools" in Britain are private, which will help you make more sense of the penultimate paragraph.
Terence Kealey is known for his book The Economic Laws of Scientific Research (Macmillan Press, 1995; St. Martin's Press, 1996) and his journalism and scholarship where he has been an articulate and outspoken opponent of government funding of science and higher education. His new book Sex, Science and Profits will be published by Heinemann (UK) in January 2008.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Race and IQ
In today's issue of The Times (London) Matthew Syed suggests that we not cower from the hard truth about race and IQ.
"The debate over racial differences in IQ represents perhaps the greatest scientific controversy of the past half-century. The facts are not in serious dispute: blacks score, on average, significantly lower than whites in IQ tests in the United States, Britain and beyond.
"Some argue that the only plausible response is to accept that blacks are naturally less intelligent than whites, a view that causes outrage among equal rights campaigners. But is there an alternative explanation for these puzzling statistics and what would it mean if there were not?"
Read the rest here.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Raul Hilberg (1926-2007)
Michael Neumann writes a nice appreciation of the historian Raul Hilberg.
John Biffen (1930-2007)
Unless you're a Brit, you've probably never heard of this Conservative Party MP and Leader of the House of Commons under Margaret Thatcher. As you might expect, I usually don't care for politicians but I liked John Biffen. Read Edward Pearce's obituary and perhaps you'll see why.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
With Capitalists Like Jim Cramer, Who Needs Socialists?
Watch Jim Cramer here.
Or as Martin Wolf explains in his most recent column in tomorrow's Financial Times:
"When William Poole, chairman of the St Louis Federal Reserve, said that "the Fed should respond to market upsets only when it has become clear that they threaten to undermine achievement of fundamental objectives of price stability and high employment or when financial market developments threaten market processes themselves", I gave a cheer.
"Not so Jim Cramer, hedge fund manager and television pundit, who declared last Friday that chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, "is being an academic!...My people have been in this game for 25 years. And they are losing their jobs and these firms are going to go out of business, and he’s nuts! They're nuts! They know nothing!...The Fed is asleep."
"So capitalism is for poor people and socialism is for capitalists. This view is not just offensive. It is catastrophic."
Wolf's column is behind a subscription wall but you can take out a free 15-day trial subscription to the Financial Times.
Friday, August 10, 2007
The Rebirth of Danish Imperialism?
"Danish researchers plan to set sail for the North Pole on Sunday to collect geological data, on a mission similar to Russia's one last week.
"The month-long Danish expedition will study the Lomonosov Ridge. Russia believes the underwater feature is linked to its territory.
"Denmark will investigate the ridge to see if it is geologically connected to Greenland, a Danish territory."
About the last time Denmark featured in the annals of imperialism was 1917 when the U.S. bought the Danish West Indies for $25 million and promptly enforced strict racial segregation in what had now become the American Virgin Islands. The African slaves had been emancipated in 1848. Somehow I doubt if all this was explained in your high school history class. A good source is Julius William Pratt's America’s Colonial Experiment: How the United States Gained, Governed, and in Part Gave Away a Colonial Empire (1950/1964). Pratt (1888-1983) taught at Cornell and was a distinguished historian of American diplomacy.
The same news story informs us that "Canada and the US are also engaged in a dispute over the future of the Northwest Passage, the partially frozen waterway that links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans." Casus belli, anyone?
Monster Munch--and It May Be Because of Global Warming!
Britain is in the grip of a moth epidemic, with anti-pest call-outs up 25 per cent: they eat clothes and their larvae cause skin rashes and breathing problems. The Times correspondent and infestation victim investigates.
"There is some pretty weird stuff going on in the moth world. Although in general their numbers are declining, some species are thriving. ... And a report earlier this summer from Helsinki claimed that global warming was responsible for the arrival of vampire moths that gorge on human blood.
"But the creature that is laying waste to Britain’s wardrobes is the common clothes moth."
...
"The run of warm, humid summers has also provided ideal conditions for eggs to hatch successfully. 'It may well be the result of global warming, although this hasn’t yet been thoroughly researched,' says Sawas Othon, technical director for Rentokil.
""Moths like heat and humidity, so in theory an increase in temperature, such as the one we’ve seen globally, will have encouraged a faster life cycle. The humidity caused by the wet summer we’ve seen this year will also have encouraged them.'"
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
In Today's FT
Today's Financial Times carries Willem Buiter's call for the legalization of all illegal drugs. He then proceeds to argue that the U.S. and its allies in Afghanistan should buy up the entire poppy harvest in order to undermine further the financial strength of the Taliban and al-Qaeda. "If a sufficient premium over the prevailing market price were offered, the Taliban/al-Qaeda middle-man could be cut out altogether, and thus would lose his tax base. Winning the hearts and minds of poppy growers and coca growers is a lot easier when you are not seen as intent on destroying their livelihood." Buiter is professor of European political economy at the London School of Economics' European Institute. Read and contribute to the online discussion here.
Today's issue also carries Benjamin Powell's letter explaining that, contrary to what Matt Miller had asserted in Monday's issue, many economists like Powell support completely open immigration and free markets in labour. Until this summer Ben was a colleague of mine at San Jose State. This fall he begins work at Suffolk University, Boston. Immigration has long been one of his research interests.
How Does 40/1 for Ron Paul Sound?
Those are the odds Ladbrokes is offering on Ron Paul being elected president. (Click on the Specials link at the top and then on the US Presidential Election on the left.)
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Man with a Plan: Herbert Spencer's Theory of Everything
Readers will enjoy Steven Shapin's informed appreciation of Herbert Spencer.
"For Spencer, the importance of being earnest could not be underestimated; the truth was all that mattered. Science, and a scientific approach to all the problems of social life, was another mode of sincerity, and the more science there was, the more moral people would be."
The occasion for Shapin's essay is the publication of Mark Francis' Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life (Cornell University Press, 2007). Scroll down for the reviews. This is the first full-scale intellectual biography of Spencer since J. D. Y. Peel's Herbert Spencer: The Evolution of a Sociologist (Heinemann Educational and Basic Books, 1971).
UPDATE: Carl Rollyson writes an appreciative review here.
"Aside from the value of Mr. Francis's study as a fresh view of how Spencer's ideas developed, his book also represents an attack on the way academics have specialized knowledge, thus a disservice to someone as protean as Spencer. 'Writing about Herbert Spencer had made me aware of the narrowness of academic disciplines,' he notes in his preface. Without knowledge of Spencer's 'authorial intentions,' of the way he 'lived his philosophy,' his ideas, in themselves, seem 'uninspired and disconnected.'
"Intellectual biography can be problematic because it makes for an awkward conflation of narrative and textual analysis, but in Mr. Francis's hands it becomes a rewarding re-creation of his subject and of the world from which he emerged."
A Kinder, Gentler Fuhrer?
It would seem that although Adolf Hitler, champion of Richard Wagner and German music, banished Jewish and Russian musicians from the concert halls of the Third Reich, he listened secretly to their work.
Looking for Somewhere to Live?
If you have £70m to spend, you might consider Updown Court in Surrey, designed by John Scholz, bigger than Hampton Court or Buckingham Palace, conveniently close to Heathrow airport, and the most expensive house in Britain. Be advised it needs "millions more decorating and fitting out what, in many respects, is still a glorified shell." Personally, I find it all rather over-the-top. I think I'll settle for "Park Place, a 30,000 sq ft pile near Henley-on-Thames, which changed hands last month for a mere £42m." That's more my style, if not within my budget.
Alas Alastair
Many of you will be familiar with Geoffrey Wheatcroft, one of Britain's most eloquent commentators. Here he takes Alastair Campbell, Blair's former spin doctor and author of The Blair Years to task.
Monday, August 6, 2007
What Exactly Is Going On in Iran?
Rostam Pourzal recommends we not trivialize discrimination in Iran.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
In Praise of the Book
Alan Wall has written a splendid essay defending the book (and explaining the limitations of Power Point presentations).
"Two examples might point up the absurdity of the 'access rather than internalizing' school of modern learning. Imagine a surgeon who had not memorized his skills, since that was no longer required, but was nevertheless adept at accessing and downloading the necessary information, as and when. One would have to assume that the queue for his operating theatre would soon be dwindling. Imagine a musician, a pianist say, who did not internalize musical skills but once again knew where they could be digitally located and retrieved. How much enthusiasm would there be, I wonder, for his version of the Hammerklavier Sonata?"
"The book represents one of the greatest technological innovations in history, and its fitness for its task, its versatility, its convenience, mean that it will surely continue well into the future. It is also a remarkably democratic technology, in educational terms. If a teacher is giving a power-point presentation, as we teachers are now being exhorted to do, at every available opportunity, then that teacher dictates what is available in the form of knowledge to everyone in the room. She or he presses the keys on the laptop that change whatever text or image is up there on the screen. She decides what I can see and when. But if I am a student and I have a book in front of me, then I can answer back. I can turn my own pages in my own good time, and remind myself of my own marginalia. 'Excuse me, but I don’t agree. What you said about Dorothea in Chapter Five might well be true, but if you’d care to turn to Chapter Nine, I think you might find…'"
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Behind the Wall
"The literature of architecture is largely self-serving, depoliticised and superficial. In Hollow Land Weizman has achieved a rare amalgam of politics, aesthetics, sociology, history and theory. He has produced a book which should be compulsory reading for anyone who thinks architecture has reduced its cultural role to the building of iconic galleries and silly skyscrapers. Rather, as Weizman shows, it remains the most politicised and potentially dangerous of all the arts."
Edwin Heathcote, who writes on architecture for the Financial Times, reviews Eyal Weizman's Hollow Land: Israel's Architecture of Occupation (Verso, 2007).
Eyal Weizman is also co-editor (with Rafi Segal) of A Civilian Occupation: The Politics of Israeli Architecture (Verso, 2003). Anne Karpf, writing in the Jewish Chronicle, described this book as an "incriminating piece of work that shows how deeply implicated Israeli architects have been in the state’s expansionism."
Friday, August 3, 2007
The Worldwide Market for British Newspapers
Rhys Blakely provides some interesting statistics.
So Black Runners Are Naturally Faster? Wrong
Matthew Syed argues against a widely held view.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Mario Rizzo on Libertarians and War
Go here to read Professor Rizzo's original letter to the Wall Street Journal and the abridged version they chose to publish in Tuesday's issue. Good job, Mario, who joins Sheldon Richman on my rollcall of honor.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Brits Behaving Badly Abroad
Go here to read about the drunken antics of British tourists abroad.
Of course, the British sometimes behaved worse when Britain ruled the waves and a large chunk of the planet, except they spoke with more refined accents and asserted themselves more forcefully.
Monday, July 30, 2007
Not for the Faint-hearted or Prudish!
But nonetheless an interesting read about the consequences of legalizing gay sex.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Happy Birthday, George Bradshaw!
Best known as a compiler of railway guides, George Bradshaw (1801-1853) was also an activist for peace. I invite readers to celebrate the anniversary of his birthday today. "When he was a young man Bradshaw joined the Society of Friends, and was active with Richard Cobden and other Quakers and radicals in holding peace conferences, in the attempts to establish an ocean penny postage, and in other philanthropic labours. He was largely responsible for organizing 'Friends of Peace' congresses in Brussels (1848), Paris (1849), and Frankfurt (1850). Part of his time he devoted to the establishment of schools for the poor." And while you are on the website of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, visit the reading room and browse many entries and other essays for free.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Good Job, Sheldon!
Our colleague Sheldon Richman does a fine job exposing what he aptly calls Randy Barnett's "bogus libertarian defense of war" in a column that should help disabuse leftists that libertarians advocate war.
And Sheldon writes a nice appreciation of that notable anti-imperialist classical liberal William Graham Sumner here.
Sheldon, you're one of the best writers we have. More power (metaphorically speaking) to you!
Monday, July 23, 2007
Syllogism #2 (Revised)
Randy Barnett identifies as a libertarian.
Randy Barnett supports the war.
Ergo, there are people who identify as libertarian who support the war.
Perhaps we can all agree on this revision of Syllogism #2.
"Why Do They Hate Us?"
Mohsin Hamid provides an eloquent answer to the perennial question "Why do they hate us?"
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Guess Who's Giving Money to Sam Brownback?
Check out his and her donations here. I guess it's all to do with Sam Brownback being a senator from Kansas and not his penchant for warmongering. At least I very much hope so!
Monday, July 9, 2007
Bush Going Down
To learn the correct way to affix the new Priority Mail stamp, go here.
Friday, July 6, 2007
Correction Please!
Reading this web page, you would likely conclude that Ron Paul believes the government should (a) maintain the current level of regulation of the sex industry, (b) maintain welfare programs at current levels, and (c) maintain minimum wage and labor regulations at current levels. And there's no mention of his stance against the Iraq War and the federal government's attack on civil liberties. Would someone at Politopia please check out his record and amend his responses to the quiz accordingly? And address the issues of war and civil liberties?
Monday, July 2, 2007
Congratulations, Anthony Gregory!
It seems like there's always at least one post worth reading each day at Counterpunch and today is no exception. Liberty & Power blogger Anthony Gregory has written a fine essay on how killer cops walk and the rule of law is trashed in the good ol' U.S. of A. Nice job, Anthony.
It's good to see another libertarian publishing at Counterpunch. I write "another" because Jesse Walker, managing editor of Reason magazine, has also published there.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Support from the left for Ron Paul on the Fed
Leftist Mike Whitney has written an interesting article here on the Fed's role in the Bear Stearns meltdown. He concludes his essay by quoting Ron Paul who "summed it up best when he said":
"From the Great Depression, to the stagflation of the seventies, to the burst of the dot.com bubble; every economic downturn suffered by the country over the last 80 years can be traced to Federal Reserve policy. The Fed has followed a consistent policy of flooding the economy with easy money, leading to a misallocation of resources and artificial 'boom' followed by recession or depression when the Fed-created bubble bursts."
It's too bad some "free market" economists have no understanding of what's happening. Perhaps they should read Counterpunch and learn something.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Tony and Cherie’s Ascent in the London Property Market
However history may judge Tony Blair’s premiership, there is no doubt that he and his wife Cherie have prospered over the years through some happy investments in London real estate.
1980: Mapledene Road, Hackney, bought £40,000, sold 1986 £80,000
1983: Myrobella, Trimdon village, nr Sedgefield, bought £30,000
1986: Stavordale Road, Islington, bought £120,000, sold 1993 £200,000
1993: Richmond Crescent, Islington, bought £375,000, sold 1997 £615,000
1997: 11 Downing Street - rent free flat next door to prime minister's traditional residence
2002: Clifton, Bristol, two flats bought for £525,000 in total
2004: Connaught Square, Bayswater, bought £3.6m
2007: Bayswater. Two bed house behind Connaught square property, bought £800,000. Blairs plan to join buildings together to create extra space.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Ron Paul, Jeffersonian
Support for Ron Paul is turning up all over the place. Here Jeff Taylor, a left-wing Democrat, has some encouraging words to say about Paul's candidacy.
"Another option for those of us who like popular sovereignty, justice, and nonviolence is Ron Paul. He is the only GOP presidential contender who opposes the Iraq War, the U.N. Security Council, and the Patriot Act. It's true that some liberal Democrats cannot swallow his opposition to abortion—which comes from a consistent life ethic that also includes opposition to war and capital punishment—and some New Deal nostalgiasts object to his libertarian belief in small, constitutional government, but Ron Paul is far more Jeffersonian in the best sense of the word than is Obama or Clinton."
Read the entire essay for an excellent critique of Barack Obama who "provides no alternative to Hillary Clinton, in terms of imperial-minded foreign policy. This is doubly regrettable since Clinton herself provides no substantive alternative to the neoconservative philosophy of the Bush administration."
Taylor, who teaches political science at the community college in Rochester, Minnesota, is author of Where Did the Party Go?: William Jennings Bryan, Hubert Humphrey, and the Jeffersonian Legacy (University of Missouri Press, 2006).
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Criminalizing the Classroom—Courtesy of Mayor Giuliani
"Since the September 1998 takeov