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FAA Slow to Alert Military of Wayward Plane - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News - FOXNews.com: "The Federal Aviation Administration violated its own rules by taking more than 40 minutes to alert the military after losing communication with a Northwest Airlines flight last week, according to officials familiar with internal reviews under way at several federal agencies."
It's a good thing that we have the government keep us safe. It just goes to show that the government isn't designed to be good at everything and shouldn't try to tackle everything.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Clinton Faces Pakistani Anger at Drone Attacks - FOXNews.com
Clinton Faces Pakistani Anger at Drone Attacks - FOXNews.com: "one member of the audience said the Predator attacks amount to 'executions without trial' for those killed.
Another asked Clinton how she would define terrorism.
'Is it the killing of people in drone attacks?' she asked. That woman then asked if Clinton considers drone attacks and bombings like the one that killed more than 100 civilians in the city of Peshawar earlier this week to both be acts of terrorism."
'The same man told Clinton that the Obama administration should rely more on wisdom and less on firepower to achieve its aims in Pakistan.
"Your presence in the region is not good for peace," he said, referring to the U.S. military, "because it gives rise to frustration and irritation among the people of this region." At another point he told Clinton, "Please forgive me, but I would like to say we've been fighting your war."
A similar point was made by Sana Bucha of Geo TV during the live broadcast interview.
"It is not our war," she told Clinton. "It is your war." She drew a burst of applause when she added, "You had one 9/11. We are having daily 9/11s in Pakistan."'
Another asked Clinton how she would define terrorism.
'Is it the killing of people in drone attacks?' she asked. That woman then asked if Clinton considers drone attacks and bombings like the one that killed more than 100 civilians in the city of Peshawar earlier this week to both be acts of terrorism."
'The same man told Clinton that the Obama administration should rely more on wisdom and less on firepower to achieve its aims in Pakistan.
"Your presence in the region is not good for peace," he said, referring to the U.S. military, "because it gives rise to frustration and irritation among the people of this region." At another point he told Clinton, "Please forgive me, but I would like to say we've been fighting your war."
A similar point was made by Sana Bucha of Geo TV during the live broadcast interview.
"It is not our war," she told Clinton. "It is your war." She drew a burst of applause when she added, "You had one 9/11. We are having daily 9/11s in Pakistan."'
Physicist Howard Hayden's one-letter disproof of global warming claims - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Economics Blog
Physicist Howard Hayden's one-letter disproof of global warming claims - Stephan Kinsella - Mises Economics Blog: "It has been often said that the 'science is settled' on the issue of CO2 and climate. Let me put this claim to rest with a simple one-letter proof that it is false.
The letter is s, the one that changes model into models. If the science were settled, there would be precisely one model, and it would be in agreement with measurements.
Alternatively, one may ask which one of the twenty-some models settled the science so that all the rest could be discarded along with the research funds that have kept those models alive.
We can take this further. Not a single climate model predicted the current cooling phase. If the science were settled, the model (singular) would have predicted it."
"The earth, it seems, has seen times when the CO2 concentration was up to 8,000 ppm, and that did not lead to a tipping point. If it did, we would not be here talking about it. In fact, seen on the long scale, the CO2 concentration in the present cycle of glacials (ca. 200 ppm) and interglacials (ca. 300-400 ppm) is lower than it has been for the last 300 million years."
"But what would we have to fear if CO2 and temperature actually increased?
A warmer world is a better world. Look at weather-related death rates in winter and in summer, and the case is overwhelming that warmer is better.
The higher the CO2 levels, the more vibrant is the biosphere, as numerous experiments in greenhouses have shown. But a quick trip to the museum can make that case in spades. Those huge dinosaurs could not exist anywhere on the earth today because the land is not productive enough. CO2 is plant food, pure and simple.
CO2 is not pollution by any reasonable definition.
A warmer world begets more precipitation.
All computer models predict a smaller temperature gradient between the poles and the equator. Necessarily, this would mean fewer and less violent storms.
The melting point of ice is 0 ºC in Antarctica, just as it is everywhere else. The highest recorded temperature at the South Pole is -14 ºC, and the lowest is -117 ºC. How, pray, will a putative few degrees of warming melt all the ice and inundate Florida, as is claimed by the warming alarmists?"
The letter is s, the one that changes model into models. If the science were settled, there would be precisely one model, and it would be in agreement with measurements.
Alternatively, one may ask which one of the twenty-some models settled the science so that all the rest could be discarded along with the research funds that have kept those models alive.
We can take this further. Not a single climate model predicted the current cooling phase. If the science were settled, the model (singular) would have predicted it."
"The earth, it seems, has seen times when the CO2 concentration was up to 8,000 ppm, and that did not lead to a tipping point. If it did, we would not be here talking about it. In fact, seen on the long scale, the CO2 concentration in the present cycle of glacials (ca. 200 ppm) and interglacials (ca. 300-400 ppm) is lower than it has been for the last 300 million years."
"But what would we have to fear if CO2 and temperature actually increased?
A warmer world is a better world. Look at weather-related death rates in winter and in summer, and the case is overwhelming that warmer is better.
The higher the CO2 levels, the more vibrant is the biosphere, as numerous experiments in greenhouses have shown. But a quick trip to the museum can make that case in spades. Those huge dinosaurs could not exist anywhere on the earth today because the land is not productive enough. CO2 is plant food, pure and simple.
CO2 is not pollution by any reasonable definition.
A warmer world begets more precipitation.
All computer models predict a smaller temperature gradient between the poles and the equator. Necessarily, this would mean fewer and less violent storms.
The melting point of ice is 0 ºC in Antarctica, just as it is everywhere else. The highest recorded temperature at the South Pole is -14 ºC, and the lowest is -117 ºC. How, pray, will a putative few degrees of warming melt all the ice and inundate Florida, as is claimed by the warming alarmists?"
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Money in War-Ravaged Iraq - Edward Gonzalez - Mises Institute
Money in War-Ravaged Iraq - Edward Gonzalez - Mises Institute: "In the villages, houses and boats needed to be repaired or rebuilt, roads needed attention, and parents wanted to get their children back in school. In order to do all these wonderful things, a medium of exchange was needed. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending onhow you look at it, the villagers did not put much faith in the paper money printed by the government in Baghdad.
As this was an agrarian society the villagers turned to a time-tested medium of exchange: livestock"
"With these three free market currencies, I watched village markets grow, farmers increase productivity, fisherman save capital in order to improve or build new boats, and young couples commission houses to be built with borrowed money. All this progress was made possible through the real savings of valuable commodities.
So, for those who are deeply worried about a currency crisis in the United States, I bear a positive message. When a currency fails, as long as there is no outside coercion implemented, individuals will act and find sound money in what is around them. Gold and silver will certainly be prime candidates, but even in small towns with limited access to these precious metals, there is an infinite supply of sound money available."
As this was an agrarian society the villagers turned to a time-tested medium of exchange: livestock"
"With these three free market currencies, I watched village markets grow, farmers increase productivity, fisherman save capital in order to improve or build new boats, and young couples commission houses to be built with borrowed money. All this progress was made possible through the real savings of valuable commodities.
So, for those who are deeply worried about a currency crisis in the United States, I bear a positive message. When a currency fails, as long as there is no outside coercion implemented, individuals will act and find sound money in what is around them. Gold and silver will certainly be prime candidates, but even in small towns with limited access to these precious metals, there is an infinite supply of sound money available."
Now That Ireland Has Caved | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary
Now That Ireland Has Caved | Doug Bandow | Cato Institute: Commentary: "How dare the Irish thwart the will of 500 million Europeans, not that any of the other 495 million had been allowed to express that will at the polls? Declan Ganley, head of the group Libertas, wrote: 'we Irish behaved badly, and were therefore required as a matter of course to vote again. Nearly every EU leader agrees with this. Their own people must not vote, but the Irish must vote twice.'"
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Free the Clogged-Nose 25! - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute
Free the Clogged-Nose 25! - Jeffrey A. Tucker - Mises Institute: "Let's get back to our friends who were snagged in this sting operation. I'm looking through their names and the charges. In every case, the charge is 'unlawful possession of a precursor.' The 'precursor' here is Sudafed.
Can you believe it? What was lawful only a few years ago now gets you written up in the papers as a drug dealer. It ruins your life. You now have a record."
Can you believe it? What was lawful only a few years ago now gets you written up in the papers as a drug dealer. It ruins your life. You now have a record."
Stimulus Scam | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary
Stimulus Scam | Richard W. Rahn | Cato Institute: Commentary: "There are several ways to see if it is working as advertised. First, what did the proponents say would happen when they were pushing the plan versus what has happened? Second, how has the United States fared compared to other nations that had smaller or no stimulus programs? Third, how have the results to date compared to what pro-stimulus, Keynesian-school economic theorists advocated versus what other theorists (principally Austrian-school) who largely opposed the stimulus plans said?"
"President Obama's economic advisers said in the beginning of this year that the unemployment rate would rise to 9 percent with no stimulus package and would only rise to a maximum of 7.9 percent with the stimulus bill, peaking during this past summer. Stimulus proponents clearly have failed the first test (despite Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s revisionist statements) and there is zero evidence for their claims that more jobs would have been lost without the stimulus package."
"The three countries with the smallest deficits (the least stimulus) — Brazil, China and Germany — have all turned the corner rather quickly and are growing."
"President Obama's economic advisers said in the beginning of this year that the unemployment rate would rise to 9 percent with no stimulus package and would only rise to a maximum of 7.9 percent with the stimulus bill, peaking during this past summer. Stimulus proponents clearly have failed the first test (despite Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s revisionist statements) and there is zero evidence for their claims that more jobs would have been lost without the stimulus package."
"The three countries with the smallest deficits (the least stimulus) — Brazil, China and Germany — have all turned the corner rather quickly and are growing."
Obama Cuts Sour Deal on Sugar | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary
Obama Cuts Sour Deal on Sugar | Daniel Griswold | Cato Institute: Commentary: "A system of price supports and import quotas virtually guarantees domestic beet and cane growers an 80 percent market share. At times, this has forced American families and sugar-consuming industries to pay prices two or three times the spot world price."
"As a consequence, 'Many U.S. (sugar-containing product) manufacturers have closed or relocated to Canada where sugar prices average less than half of U.S. prices and Mexico where sugar prices average about two-thirds of U.S. prices.'"
"In all, 6,400 workers in the sugar-processing industry have lost their jobs because of their own government's deliberate policy to drive up the cost of their major input. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the sugar program "saves" only 2,200 jobs in the sugar growing and harvesting industry. So our sugar policy eliminates three jobs for every one it saves."
"As a consequence, 'Many U.S. (sugar-containing product) manufacturers have closed or relocated to Canada where sugar prices average less than half of U.S. prices and Mexico where sugar prices average about two-thirds of U.S. prices.'"
"In all, 6,400 workers in the sugar-processing industry have lost their jobs because of their own government's deliberate policy to drive up the cost of their major input. According to the U.S. International Trade Commission, the sugar program "saves" only 2,200 jobs in the sugar growing and harvesting industry. So our sugar policy eliminates three jobs for every one it saves."
More Is Not the Answer | Malou Innocent | Cato Institute: Commentary
More Is Not the Answer | Malou Innocent | Cato Institute: Commentary: "But present policy would require more troops than America could ever send — as many as 650,000 troops for the next 12 to 14 years, according to the US Army and Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual metrics. This commitment of time and resources cannot be accomplished at a cost acceptable to Americans."
The Virtue of Hoarding - George F. Smith - Mises Institute
The Virtue of Hoarding - George F. Smith - Mises Institute: "As people increase their demand for cash balances, prices will tend to fall, and the purchasing power of the money unit will rise. The production structure of the economy remains intact — hoarding as such does not wipe out goods on store shelves, or machines in factories. If anything, it makes them cheaper."
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