Med COIN-Bloggen kommenteres løbende på dagsaktuelle emner. Vi vil søge at præge debatten, sådan at de skjulte konsekvenser ved nye former for indgreb, afgifter, skatter, forbud bliver gjort mere synlige.
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Israel is a beacon of Western values, Capitalism, and success - smack in the middle of the Middle East. Surrounded by 'neighbours' for whom freedom is a foreign tongue, by poverty ridden dictatorships who view Israel's prosperity with a mixture of paranoid suspicion, hate, and envy. Israel does not allow itself to forget that "Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty" (Wendell Phillips) They have paid a high price for it - and they should be proud of what they have created and defended.
Listen:
http://www.prodos.com/archive046IsraelSoMuchToBeProudOf.html
While the intelligentsia of what we call the free world – the West – Australia … the USA … Europe .. Canada and so on – tell us that dictators like Castro are “freedom fighters” and that social systems like Capitalism are the root of all evil .. and seek to slander great men like Thomas Jefferson … in the heart of one of the world’s most brutal and fanatical regions – a region that mass produces terrorists the way Henry Ford first mass produced the Model T ... within the axis of evil itself … … there are individuals who are upholding the American Founding Fathers and believe that free trade is a basic human right.
They believe in: capitalism, private property rights, secular government, free speech. They are pro-American and LOVE George W Bush (referred to be many Iranians as "the messiah of freedom") and what he's done in Afghanistan and Iraq.
LISTEN:
http://www.prodos.com/archive063iranianstudentuprising1.html
Journalist Derryn Hinch : I’ve been coming round to this opinion for some time. The thought that just maybe, perhaps, no dammit! I’ll say it: The Emperor has no clothes. I’m talking about global warming and carbon footprints and the emission trading scheme. And I have joined the Andrew Bolt [en anden australsk journalist] school of sceptics. Læs mere i Human Headline Headbutts Chicken Little
Flere australske øko-historier her.
DK, COIN: - Under EU-papiret [om politisk opstillede mål for globale klimaforandringer] har Thor Pedersen i håndskrift samtidig tilføjet {"Kejserens nye klæder" - i.a. H.C. Andersens 200 års fødselsdag.} I lyset af ikke mindst den aktuelle debat om dansk energipolitik, men i kraft af de fra miljøministeren gentagede påstande om ”konsensus”, afslører brevet dermed intern uenighed - om ikke blot klimapolitikken, men som en konsekvens heraf også energipolitikken. Læs mere her. Direkte link til Thor Pedersens email her (pdf)
And more:
http://www.youtube.com/user/orinoco7
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
22:38:44, Kategorier: Kyoto, Økologisme, Australien, Prodos, John Stossel, Der er omkring 21 millioner indbyggere i Australien, men kun 13.645.073 af dem lod sig registrere for at stemme i det nyligt afholdte parlamentsvalg. Resultatet af parlamentsvalget kan ses på http://vtr.aec.gov.au/
Alt tyder på en sejr for det socialdemokratiske "Australian Labor Party". Valgsejren betyder sandsynligvis også, at Australien vil tilslutte sig Kyoto-protokollen.
Læs om de grønne i Australien i: Archive for the 'Green Poppycock' Category.
John Stossel: Al Gore Global Warming Debate (set i arkivet).
I am the greatest. I am the best. No other show even comes close. Many thousands of listeners log on to PRODOS.COM every day. - It's impossible to keep up with my fan mail from all over the world: India, Norway, France, Japan, the UK, Israel, lots from the USA, everywhere, everybody loves PRODOS! - Why? Because PRODOS is positive, constructive, creative. Because PRODOS loves people. PRODOS gives hope. PRODOS is passionate. PRODOS enjoys life and it comes across. - PRODOS.COM is the biggest, brainiest, blockbuster show on the planet. I guarantee to bring you MORE new ideas, MORE fresh viewpoints per minute than any other programme on earth. There has never been a show like this before. It is unique, it is extraordinary. Hey, and it's free! :-) Read more in Proudly Prodos.
And visit australian radio host Prodos on PRODOS.COM.
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
16:13:10, Kategorier: Uddannelse, Ejendomsret, Økonomi, Ludwig von Mises, Ytringsfrihed, Australien, Religion, U.S.A., Islam, Logik, Prodos, Atlas Economic Research Foundation, Copenhagen Institute er ligesom CEPOS og Libertas medlem af The Atlas Economic Research Foundation i USA. Men det betyder selvsagt ikke, at det er alt, hvad sidstnævnte forening og dens ansatte foretager sig, som man vil være enig i.
Hos The Atlas Economic Research Foundation afholder man således noget, man kalder the Ibn-Khaldoun Essay Contest. Om konkurrencen kan man læse at:
[It] is named after Ibn-Khaldoun to honor the schorly work of this prominent Islamic historian, economist, and sociologist of the 14th century. His writings continue to inspire free-market scholars to this day, promoting the necessity of responsible government to promote economic prosperity and civilized nations.
Dette lyder jo i sig selv udemærket og tilforladeligt.
Men man kan endvidere læse at:
The 2007 Ibn-Khaldoun Essay Contest invites young people to write essays that reflect their views about the relationship between economics and freedom within the Islamic context. Students are invited to write about historical or modern-day economic policy or policies in enhancing or diminishing freedom and prosperity in their country or region. They may propose policy recommendations, emphasizing the principles of property rights, free trade, globalization, etc. within the context of Islamic economic thinking. [egen fremhævelse].
- Det vil sige, konkurrencen opstiller et kriterie for deltagelse og for forslag vedrørende ejendomsret, frihandel, globalisering mv. indenfor en kontekst, der handler om "islamisk økonomisk tænkning" (hvad det så end er).
Men hvad så med økonomiske og politiske forslag uden for den islamiske kontekst? Må man ikke sende sådanne ind? Er der nu lige pludselig indsat religiøse begrænsninger og adgangskrav for en essay-konkurrence om økonomisk politik fra en tænketank, der har base i USA?
Og hvad er "Islamic economic thinking" i grunden for en størrelse? Man gætter således på, at adgangskravet simpelthen er, at deltagerne som mindstemål skal have læst koranen for at kunne deltage, og vinde de økonomiske priser. Ud fra hvad der står skrevet i invitationen, er det vanskeligt at konkludere anderledes.
Læseren skal som en modvægt til de indledende påstande foroven derfor opfordres til at høre interviewet Does Islam REALLY have a Free Market heritage? med den australske radiovært Prodos.
Man kan også læse kommentaren Logik versus "polylogik" , der netop gør op med sådanne påstande om særlige former for konkurrerende logikker og tankegange.
Brev sendt fra undertegnede til radioværten Prodos:
With relevance for your latest interview, I just found a Free market essay contest, where submissions have to be "within the context of Islamic economic thinking". - Could you ask Atlas Foundation, what that is all about?
It made me think of the misean critique of "polylogic".
If Ibn-Khaldoun introduced Aristotle then it seems strange that his heritage should be about competing "kinds of thinking", where some kinds of thinking demands readings of the Koran and adherence to non-reason (religion), before you are allowed to try and win money prices.
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
14:41:08, Kategorier: Ansvar og Muligheder, Konkurrence og Regulering, Innovation og Vækst, Ejendomsret, Andrew Bernstein, Købekraft, Profit, Entreprenør (iværksætter), Multinationale selskaber, Herman Melville, Prodos, Starbucks, Der er tidligere skrevet om Walmart og McDonalds, så for variationens skyld er det på tide at hylde endnu en multinational virksomhed, af de mange (herunder danske Dynelarsen), der har forbedret frie menneskers købekraft - i dette tilfælde Starbucks:
The coffee house isn't a new idea. It grew during the 18th century, as a philosophic spirit took root in Enlightenment civilization. In Paris, London, and Amsterdam, the cafe served much the same purpose as it does today. To quote The Economist, "the coffee-houses that began to appear in European cities...were adorned with bookshelves, mirrors, gilt-framed pictures and good furniture, in contrast to the rowdiness, gloom and squalor of taverns." The Enlightenment middle class explicitly viewed coffee as a brain-stimulating alternative to liquor's dulling effects. Merchants frequented coffee houses for news of their trade, authors read and discussed their work with coffeehouse critics, revolutionaries traded pamphlets and scientists demonstrated experiments to onlookers. Whatever your area of concern, if you were interested in the exchange of ideas, the coffee house was your social center.
So it is today--Americanized. Starbucks and its competitors have taken the European coffee shop model and brought it to middle America. Starbucks' brilliant new retailing concept has taken the life of the mind and marketed it to the average American consumer. The forest-green mermaid has recognized that coffee fulfills a particular human need--the need to stay fully aware. She has developed a marketing scheme that consistently serves that need, through more than just the product it sells, and has created an entire coffee-culture that implicitly glorifies the mind. Scores of independent coffee shops have picked up the trend. It's a pleasing spectacle, a great place to study, and the perfect first date.
- Det skriver Rebecca Knapp i Coffee Culture: How to Celebrate the Human Mind i Internetmagasinet the Undercurrent.
Navnet Starbuck er taget fra Herman Melvilles roman Moby Dick:
Starbuck contrasts with Ahab [skibets Kaptajn] in his spirit and manner. Where Ahab is bombastic, outrageous, and monomaniac, Starbuck is prudent, calm, and reasonable. But he lacks Ahab’s power. The chief mate argues that the ship’s mission, as prescribed by the owners, is to harvest as much whale oil as possible and return home safely, showing a profit. He feels it is “blasphemous” to be enraged by a dumb object of nature such as a whale, and he realizes that the lives of all aboard are at serious risk. Fra Cliffnotes.
Mere om Starbucks og Howard Schultz.
Se også the Boston Tea Party.
Et væld af entreprører, opfindere og/eller driftige forretningsfolk findes i øvrigt i:
Interview: Andrew Bernstein discusses his book: The Capitalist Manifesto
Et kortere manifest: The Bernstein Declaration. (dansk tekst).
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
11:52:46, Kategorier: Generelt, Ansvar og Muligheder, Velfærdspsykose, Bureaukrati, Determinisme, Bistand, Prodos, Christian Bjørnskov, Folkekirken, Der er jo ingen grund til at opvarme den offentlige varmestue på skatteydernes lomme, hvis præsten decideret oplever ekkoet i kirkerummet som stressende.
- Det skriver Marie Østerbye i Urbanavis.
Anledningen til ovenstående bemærkning er følgende også ifølge Østerbye:
[I] den gode sags tjeneste indleder Viborg Stift nu en undersøgelse af, hvorledes stress påvirker de ansatte i folkekirken: Præster, organister, kirkesangere og gravere.
De besætter nemlig det, man kalder ‘singlearbejdspladser’, hvilket vil sige, at de er alene på arbejde. Og det skaber ensomhed, og ensomhed udløser (også) stress.
Og det bør naturligvis og med statsstøtte kortlægges, i hvor høj grad disse mennesker går omkring i kirkeskibe og på kirkegårde og ikke har nogen at snakke med.
For et stykke tid siden ansøgte flere præster ellers om at få fri om søndagen, fordi weekendarbejde og besøgende gæster ligeledes kan virke stressende, men det stresser tilsyneladende også, når der IKKE er nogen i kirken...
Debatten om Folkekirken, besøgstallet og kedsomheden er imidlertid hverken ny. Og det burde samtidig ikke være overraskende, at den bliver ved med at komme op til overfladen.
For hvis man vil have en levende kirke, så må man sikre forudsætningerne for liv. Og det er ikke det samme som at sikre sig kronisk beskyttelse via en tilknytning til staten.
Kirkens forhold til staten er således blot endnu et eksempel blandt utallige på, at penge fra staten ikke fører til dynamik og fremdrift, jævnfør også gårdagens kommentar af Christian Bjørnskov om ulandsbistanden.
- Man bliver således ikke kapitalist eller produktiv fordi man får en pose penge, men fordi man har et incitament, og (i kraft af et retssamfund med respekt for ejendomsretten) samtidig mulighed, og forudsætninger for at tjene dem selv!
Der er derfor ikke et dilemma, hvad angår kirkens forhold til staten: - Det er kun et valg at træffe hvis man vil have publikum tilbage; - og det er at løsrive sig, og derefter tage opgøret med den tiltagende bureaukratisering og de mange statsligt påvirkede rutiner.
Hør også interviewet - Why is Statism So UNBEARABLY boring? om hvordan statens dominans ift. civilsamfundet påvirker vores måde at tænke på.
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
16:33:53, Kategorier: Konkurrence og Regulering, Sikkerhed og Integritet, Ejendomsret, Andrew Bernstein, Danmarks Radio, Profit, Prodos, But in early 19th century America, men believed in their inalienable rights as free U.S. citizens, and did not bow compliantly to arbitrary government authority. In 1817, a New Jersey businessman hired 23 year old Cornelius Vanderbilt to ferry passengers between New Jersey and New York City in a direct challenge to the monopoly’s power. For the next six years, a cat-and-mouse game ensued between the monopoly and its challenger, with the young Vanderbilt at the epicenter of the struggle.
Vanderbilt hoisted a flag on the masthead of his boat, the Bellona, reading: “New Jersey must be free!” and for sixty consecutive days eluded capture by authorities who sought to arrest him and confiscate his vessel. To the delight of the passengers who loved his lower-priced service, he used every possible trick or subterfuge to avoid capture. He hid near the gangplank, then scurried off when police officers boarded so their papers could not be served. He constructed a secret closet in which to hide, so when law officers boarded him in the bay they found only a young woman steering the boat, whom they questioned to the taunts and derision of the other passengers.
The upshot was that in 1824, the Supreme Court – in the famous case of Gibbons vs. Ogden – declared the Fulton monopoly illegal, ruling that the states did not have the authority to regulate interstate commerce.
The breakup of the state-franchised monopoly led to a burst of technological innovations in the steamboat industry. With the market open and profit possible, entrepreneurs rushed in with new ideas, including tubular boilers rather than expensive copper ones and a cheaper fuel – coal – to replace cordwood. As costs dropped, steamboat companies were able to lower their fares.
- Det skriver Andrew Bernstein i Global Capitalism: The Solution to World Oppression and Poverty.
Læseren skal i den forbindelse opfordres til at trække nogle mentale forbindelses-tråde mellem Danmarks Radio, Arbejdsformidlingen, DSB, Postdanmark, Folkeskolen samt Det Offentlige Sundhedsvæsen med dertil hørende debatter om skinneansvar, postbudssituationen relateret til gratisaviser, uvildighedsdebatterne forbundet med statsradiofoniens uomtvistelige ideologiske bias - samt myndighedernes diskussioner - med dem selv, om, hvorvidt hofteoperationer er et mere eller mindre vigtigt område at "satse" på fra deres side - vel at mærke med borgernes penge.
- Fortsæt selv. Når det gælder statsmonopolisme, der er fællesnævneren, er absurditeterne som bekendt uden ende.
Radio Mercur blev derimod lukket ned i 1962..., kun 17 år efter Danmarks befrielse...
Til gengæld kan man høre Andrew Bernstein i radioen her - dog ikke fra et farvand i nærheden af Danmark, men takket være den australske radiovært PRODOS:
Andrew Bernstein discusses his book: The Capitalist Manifesto
Af Kategori: ProdosSimon Espersen,
20:36:09, Kategorier: Sundhed, Ansvar og Muligheder, Uddannelse, Skat, Ayn Rand, George Reisman, Ludwig von Mises, Motivation, Murray Rothbard, Ludwig von Mises Institute, Prodos, Det skriver John Little om bodybuilderen Mike Mentzer, der døde i 2001. Et interview med Mentzer om - blandt meget andet - motivation findes her (kræver Realplayer).
Læs også Meningen med livet. Svaret på det, der ofte fremsættes som et spørgsmål kunne være: At handle ud fra egne værdier. (Det ville i så fald være et svar, man ikke har behov for statstilskud til at forfølge.) Under alle omstændigheder må man bruge sin fornuft til at tage stilling til, hvad der er meningsfuldt. - Det kræver motivation.
Lyt eventuelt til et par yderst motiverende foredrag med henholdvis Margit von Mises - om Ludwig von Mises - og George Reisman - om Mises, Rand, Rothbard m.fl. (mp3).
