Blue Chip Café, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Related: My post, VIRTUAL SMOKE BREAK.
Sunday, June 25, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
PHILOSOPHY SOCCER
Greece will not play against Germany this year, but in an old Monty Python sketch, the Greek team won an important match, philosophically speaking. [Via The Secular Foxhole.] The problem in today's culture is that you could see ominous parallels in many areas. Read Burgess Laughlin's column, THE NEXT 10 OR 20 YEARS?, from 2004.
Monty Python - International Philosophy
Technorati: Popular YourTube.com Movies.
Monty Python - International Philosophy
Technorati: Popular YourTube.com Movies.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
AROUND THE WEB ON 6-22-06
Cross-Posted from Gus Van Horn
50-50 Odds on a Roundup Next Week
If excusing oneself for a spell of light blogging is a membership requirement, then I'm about to join the club with Andy and Mike. Over the next week, I will be working on a major project and travelling, so the odds of my posting anything here are slim to none until late Monday. After that, we'll see. In any event, I am excusing myself now from the next mid-week linkfest in case I need the time.
But I shall return, unlike Alex, who has joined a group blog. Or, perhaps, Myrhaf (HT: Blair), who claims to have beaten his addiction to writing, but recently posted an update. Only to "quit" again. No. Not quite. He is "not blogging regularly again", you see.
That blog was one of my favorites and I must confess that I wouldn't mind seeing Myrhaf "not blog regularly" on a more frequent, if not regular basis! What? Did he really expect to post without hearing some smack outta me? On a more serious note, I am glad things are going well for him!
Close, but no Cigar....
Houston, compared to most other American cities, is a capitalist paradise. But one will occasionally get a reminder in the news that it still has a long way to go. In the latest such story, we learn that Harris County had considered privatizing its impressive, 83-mile-long toll road system. Unfortunately, Commissioner's Court has decided to rest on its meager laurels of having opened the nation's first all-electronic tollway that was designed as such.
I would have loved to be able to brag about our city being almost completely encircled by a private superhighway!
Islamocapitalism?
Articles like this one at TCS Daily really annoy me. The article reminds me more than anything else of the kind of rationalistic "arguments" I saw throughout my Catholic education. Namely: Someone wants to show that the Faith supports some position he likes and so goes into all kinds of theological and historical minutiae in "support" of his point. The big problem with this approach -- aside from the fact that one can find an authority to support almost anything one likes -- is that it fails to see the forest for the trees.
But for some items that the reader may find to be of historical interest, this essay is a complete waste of time. So what if Moslem societies have had quasi-market economies in the past? So have communist countries, and so must any society of more than a dozen or so to the extent that it can survive at all. One can not run a large economy by central planning, heavy regulation, or confiscatory taxation.
And so what if one can, say, bend the religion's famous prohibition against interest (which is just payment to the lender for his willingness to assume risk) into a prohibition against "unreasonable" interest? Is the market or Islam to determine what is reasonable? And is such reasoning heretical or not? How would we go about proving this, and is proof more important than blind faith?
This is a religion whose followers constantly issue threats against their coreligionists for not obeying its dicta to their satisfaction, and against non-Moslems who refuse to convert. How the hell is that "compatible" with a system premised on allowing men to act freely on their own best judgement so long as they do not violate the rights of others?
It is not.
How Kelo can you go?
Another TCS Daily article discusses an even worse law in Britain, and points to a list of abuses that have occurred in the United States iu the year since that odious Supreme Court decision.
For example: "In Hercules, CA, the city council on May 23, 2006, unanimously voted to seize property acquired by Wal-Mart, in order to prevent the retail giant from opening a store in town."
Robert Tracinski at RealClear Politics
Yesterday, Robert Tracinski reported via TIA Daily that he has become a regular (biweekly) contributor to the popular political web site RealClear Politics. In his first regular appearance, he discusses altruism as the morality behind the desolation in "Palestine".
Help the Tsunami Victims!
Diana Hsieh tells of a way to get double the bang for your buck if you donate to the Colorado Books Project, which will bring Ayn Rand's revolutionary ideas into more high school classrooms. Academia remains devastated by an intellectual tsunami that struck in the18th century.
North Korea
I haven't covered North Korea in much detail lately, but that's okay. Amit Ghate points to a good threat summary.
ABC...
... hits a new low in "science" reporting.
Literatrix Punts on a Book!
"And here we have a first for my blog: a book so awful I have given up on trying to finish it."
Hmmm. That reminds me: I never was able to force myself to finish wading through Shut up and Sing! (But then I did foresee that very possibility!)
Toiler can't write mad.
I have the opposite "problem": Some of my best and fastest writing happens when I'm good and crocked off. The level of concentration is trance-like. The writing is superb. And I achieve catharsis.
But it is vitally important for me to fact-check after I've calmed down a bit as I can miss important details! (That one I learned the hard way.)
WMD Roundup
Eric writes about the predictable leftist reaction to recently-reported findings of WMDs in Iraq so I don't have to.
We're in big trouble ...
... when we're having to import foreigners to remind us of the merits of our own countries.
Oh shit! I'm Hitler!
(HT: Abe Lincoln)
-- CAV
50-50 Odds on a Roundup Next Week
If excusing oneself for a spell of light blogging is a membership requirement, then I'm about to join the club with Andy and Mike. Over the next week, I will be working on a major project and travelling, so the odds of my posting anything here are slim to none until late Monday. After that, we'll see. In any event, I am excusing myself now from the next mid-week linkfest in case I need the time.
But I shall return, unlike Alex, who has joined a group blog. Or, perhaps, Myrhaf (HT: Blair), who claims to have beaten his addiction to writing, but recently posted an update. Only to "quit" again. No. Not quite. He is "not blogging regularly again", you see.
That blog was one of my favorites and I must confess that I wouldn't mind seeing Myrhaf "not blog regularly" on a more frequent, if not regular basis! What? Did he really expect to post without hearing some smack outta me? On a more serious note, I am glad things are going well for him!
Close, but no Cigar....
Houston, compared to most other American cities, is a capitalist paradise. But one will occasionally get a reminder in the news that it still has a long way to go. In the latest such story, we learn that Harris County had considered privatizing its impressive, 83-mile-long toll road system. Unfortunately, Commissioner's Court has decided to rest on its meager laurels of having opened the nation's first all-electronic tollway that was designed as such.
I would have loved to be able to brag about our city being almost completely encircled by a private superhighway!
Islamocapitalism?
Articles like this one at TCS Daily really annoy me. The article reminds me more than anything else of the kind of rationalistic "arguments" I saw throughout my Catholic education. Namely: Someone wants to show that the Faith supports some position he likes and so goes into all kinds of theological and historical minutiae in "support" of his point. The big problem with this approach -- aside from the fact that one can find an authority to support almost anything one likes -- is that it fails to see the forest for the trees.
But for some items that the reader may find to be of historical interest, this essay is a complete waste of time. So what if Moslem societies have had quasi-market economies in the past? So have communist countries, and so must any society of more than a dozen or so to the extent that it can survive at all. One can not run a large economy by central planning, heavy regulation, or confiscatory taxation.
And so what if one can, say, bend the religion's famous prohibition against interest (which is just payment to the lender for his willingness to assume risk) into a prohibition against "unreasonable" interest? Is the market or Islam to determine what is reasonable? And is such reasoning heretical or not? How would we go about proving this, and is proof more important than blind faith?
This is a religion whose followers constantly issue threats against their coreligionists for not obeying its dicta to their satisfaction, and against non-Moslems who refuse to convert. How the hell is that "compatible" with a system premised on allowing men to act freely on their own best judgement so long as they do not violate the rights of others?
It is not.
How Kelo can you go?
Another TCS Daily article discusses an even worse law in Britain, and points to a list of abuses that have occurred in the United States iu the year since that odious Supreme Court decision.
For example: "In Hercules, CA, the city council on May 23, 2006, unanimously voted to seize property acquired by Wal-Mart, in order to prevent the retail giant from opening a store in town."
Robert Tracinski at RealClear Politics
Yesterday, Robert Tracinski reported via TIA Daily that he has become a regular (biweekly) contributor to the popular political web site RealClear Politics. In his first regular appearance, he discusses altruism as the morality behind the desolation in "Palestine".
Only one prominent intellectual in the last century -- Ayn Rand, the great intellectual defender of individualism -- has been brave enough to name the moral lesson. Rejecting the morality of sacrifice, she declared that "The purpose of morality is to teach you, not to suffer and die, but to enjoy yourself and live," while in her classic novel The Fountainhead, her hero laments that "The world is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing." Ayn Rand remains a controversial figure, scoffed at by both left and right. But this phrase, "perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing" -- could there be a better description of the Palestinians' suicide bomb society?Read it all. Cox and Forkum have more on the subject, specifically on the weak-kneed Western "embargo" on war funding -- I mean, "humanitarian aid" -- for Hamas.
Look at the horrific plight the Palestinians have chosen, and you can observe the real meaning of a culture of self-sacrifice. Look at America, by comparison, and you can see the life-affirming benevolence of a culture of rational self-interest. [bold added]
Help the Tsunami Victims!
Diana Hsieh tells of a way to get double the bang for your buck if you donate to the Colorado Books Project, which will bring Ayn Rand's revolutionary ideas into more high school classrooms. Academia remains devastated by an intellectual tsunami that struck in the18th century.
North Korea
I haven't covered North Korea in much detail lately, but that's okay. Amit Ghate points to a good threat summary.
ABC...
... hits a new low in "science" reporting.
Literatrix Punts on a Book!
"And here we have a first for my blog: a book so awful I have given up on trying to finish it."
Hmmm. That reminds me: I never was able to force myself to finish wading through Shut up and Sing! (But then I did foresee that very possibility!)
Toiler can't write mad.
I have the opposite "problem": Some of my best and fastest writing happens when I'm good and crocked off. The level of concentration is trance-like. The writing is superb. And I achieve catharsis.
But it is vitally important for me to fact-check after I've calmed down a bit as I can miss important details! (That one I learned the hard way.)
WMD Roundup
Eric writes about the predictable leftist reaction to recently-reported findings of WMDs in Iraq so I don't have to.
Frankly, if incontrovertibly clear evidence of WMDs were discovered ..., I think there'd be a huge outcry questioning the timing -- and a huge chorus along the lines of WHY NOW? Either Bush planted the evidence (BUSH KNEW, PART II?), or he knew all along but Karl Rove advised him to wait for election purposes, and if these arguments failed to gain sway, there'd always be the accusation of incompetence. (The WMDs were there all along, but because of Bush's bungling leadership and poor military strategy, they weren't found when they should have been.)He also has plenty of links if you like that sort of thing.
We're in big trouble ...
... when we're having to import foreigners to remind us of the merits of our own countries.
Oh shit! I'm Hitler!
(HT: Abe Lincoln)
-- CAV
Saturday, June 17, 2006
ASK ABOUT SEARCH ENGINES
The Economist has an interesting article on different search engines. [Via InstaPundit.]
SOCCER FANS AGAINST THE MULLAHS
In the news: Iran out of the Cup but still very much in - Indian Express. Read Stefania Lapenna's post, Iran-Portugal: The Protesting Fans, Again.
ASSOCIATION FOOTBALL AKA SOCCER
Do you follow the world tournament of a sport called association football, a.k.a soccer? [Editor's note to FIFA and the Olympic Committe: We will NOT serve pizza or a "World Cup of Tea" at Blue Chip Café...]
Did you watch the game between USA and Italy? [Editor's comment: I wonder if Ferrero SpA will send a Kinder Surprise chocolate toy egg to the Italian team.] I look forward to read the commentary by Gus Van Horn and Bruno of The Simplest Thing...
Did you watch the game between USA and Italy? [Editor's comment: I wonder if Ferrero SpA will send a Kinder Surprise chocolate toy egg to the Italian team.] I look forward to read the commentary by Gus Van Horn and Bruno of The Simplest Thing...
IS THE MOB RULING CHICAGO?
Here is an excerpt from Jonathan Hoenig's article, Chicago's Mob Rule.
How is the situation in your city?
Related: My post, LIST OF CITIES.
Although Al Capone is long dead, it's apparent that Chicago is once again becoming a city of mob rule. Once a city famous for its scrappy support for capitalism and individual rights, the slow creep of socialism is transforming it into a highly regulated paternalist state where what you eat, where you shop, and how you drive are all up for grabs. In Chicago, providing you can get enough votes in the city council, anything goes. (Smartmoney.com, 05/01/06.)
How is the situation in your city?
Related: My post, LIST OF CITIES.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
AROUND THE WEB ON 6-15-06
Cross-Posted from Gus Van Horn
Not Even Wrong
Paul Hsieh reports the publication of a book that offers a blistering critique of string theory in modern physics, and comments on its title, Not Even Wrong, which is taken from the worst of Wolfgang Pauli's three levels of insults for colleagues talking nonsense. (The other two were, "Wrong" and "Completely Wrong".)
Clueless in Vienna (and Berlin, and Madrid, and Moscow, and Jakarta ...)
Amit Ghate at Thrutch on a world poll showing that "America in Iraq" is regarded as a bigger danger than Iran: "If that doesn't show how futile and ridiculous it is to look for permission from some 'global consensus' before we act in our own self-defense, I don't know what would ...."
Is the opposite of hair-splitting ...
... tearing your hair out?
Mike's Eyes See the Real Villain
I don't recall ever having heard anyone make this particular point about the high dudgeon feigned by liberals over rising oil and gas prices.
Italy's Outrage Against the Truth
Andy cites a passage from an article on Oriana Fallaci's trial for "'outrage' to religion" in Italy.
Toiler explains something that was bugging me about that movie: "I know we're not dealing with high drama here, but even the most base drama should get this right: the physical situations don't ultimately determine the man-made in a story; it's the other way around."
An Ayn Rand Favorite
Robert Tracy posts the Rudyard Kipling poem, "When Earth's Last Picture is Painted", which Ayn Rand especially loved.
Sistani's Escape Clause
I have heard much made of Iraqi cleric Ali al-Sistani's recent fatwa to the effect that Moslems should obey Canadian laws. However, Jihad Watch reports that news stories written in English have failed to mention one little detail.
A reader there translates from a French news story about the fatwa: "The Ayatollah Al-Sistani orders Muslims of Canada to respect the laws of their host country, 'insofar as religious values are not ridiculed.'"
Well. At least Sistani was honest about Sistani's intentions....
Hmmmm.
So now Republican Congressmen support a minimum wage hike and a California court made a ruling friendly to gun owners? Tell me again why should I vote Republican. This would be the Democrats' answer. If only the Republicans could be half as convincing....
As it is, sitting out the next election seems the best "choice".
Diesel Boat Gumbo?
Apparently, I'm not the only blogging ex-submariner who posts gumbo recipes on the Internet....
Tweaking a Classic
Here is a new ending to an old commercial that I saw a lot of during the last World Cup! (And LL's post title would be an apt description for what the U.S. national team will have to play in order to keep from packing its bags early!)
-- CAV
Not Even Wrong
Paul Hsieh reports the publication of a book that offers a blistering critique of string theory in modern physics, and comments on its title, Not Even Wrong, which is taken from the worst of Wolfgang Pauli's three levels of insults for colleagues talking nonsense. (The other two were, "Wrong" and "Completely Wrong".)
Pauli's "Not even wrong" is the closest I've ever seen in mainstream science to the Objectivist concept of the "arbitrary".Is this a positive sign for the culture? It would be if this phrase "crossed over" into the popular vernacular -- with its actual meaning intact, of course!
Clueless in Vienna (and Berlin, and Madrid, and Moscow, and Jakarta ...)
Amit Ghate at Thrutch on a world poll showing that "America in Iraq" is regarded as a bigger danger than Iran: "If that doesn't show how futile and ridiculous it is to look for permission from some 'global consensus' before we act in our own self-defense, I don't know what would ...."
Is the opposite of hair-splitting ...
... tearing your hair out?
Mike's Eyes See the Real Villain
I don't recall ever having heard anyone make this particular point about the high dudgeon feigned by liberals over rising oil and gas prices.
The price of gas is determined by the price of crude oil, which is being bid upon daily by nations all around the globe. Most of these bidders are governments not private oil companies. The OPEC cartel controls most of the oil out of the Mideast. Most South-American oil companies are state owned and Russia recently nationalized their oil industry. Yet the Levins and Ms. Stabenow want you to believe it's all the fault of evil, greedy private enterprise, and that governments are faultless, especially ours. [bold added]The rest of his post is worth reading, as well.
Italy's Outrage Against the Truth
Andy cites a passage from an article on Oriana Fallaci's trial for "'outrage' to religion" in Italy.
[The] judge [who] ordered Fallaci to stand trial on charges of violating an Italian law that prohibits "outrage" to religion ... cited a passage that reads: "To be under the illusion that there is a good Islam and a bad Islam or not to understand that Islam is only one ... is against reason."X-Men III Plot Crimes
Toiler explains something that was bugging me about that movie: "I know we're not dealing with high drama here, but even the most base drama should get this right: the physical situations don't ultimately determine the man-made in a story; it's the other way around."
An Ayn Rand Favorite
Robert Tracy posts the Rudyard Kipling poem, "When Earth's Last Picture is Painted", which Ayn Rand especially loved.
Sistani's Escape Clause
I have heard much made of Iraqi cleric Ali al-Sistani's recent fatwa to the effect that Moslems should obey Canadian laws. However, Jihad Watch reports that news stories written in English have failed to mention one little detail.
A reader there translates from a French news story about the fatwa: "The Ayatollah Al-Sistani orders Muslims of Canada to respect the laws of their host country, 'insofar as religious values are not ridiculed.'"
Well. At least Sistani was honest about Sistani's intentions....
Hmmmm.
So now Republican Congressmen support a minimum wage hike and a California court made a ruling friendly to gun owners? Tell me again why should I vote Republican. This would be the Democrats' answer. If only the Republicans could be half as convincing....
As it is, sitting out the next election seems the best "choice".
Diesel Boat Gumbo?
Apparently, I'm not the only blogging ex-submariner who posts gumbo recipes on the Internet....
Tweaking a Classic
Here is a new ending to an old commercial that I saw a lot of during the last World Cup! (And LL's post title would be an apt description for what the U.S. national team will have to play in order to keep from packing its bags early!)
-- CAV
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
COLLEGE OF RATIONAL EDUCATION
In the news: N.C. in the running for college based on teachings of Ayn Rand - The Boston Globe / AP. For more information, go to The Charlotte Capitalist.
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