Free Republic

no, no, it's the brits who don't have the boots.

that would be... Apu Nahasameemipetilon Mignon to you.

Why do you hate anti-war protestors? And why are you offended by the efforts of France, Germany, and Russia to block the actions of the US which may lead to war against Iraq? Who is the real culprit here? Let's see: What country has been, and remains, the main source of money for Islamic terrorists? Saudi Arabia. What citizenship was held by the majority of Islamic Terrorists? Saudi Arabia. Where was Osama bin Laden born? Saudi Arabia. Where are the business interests of Osama bin Laden, businesses which nourish him financially? Saudi Arabia. Which country only one week ago made a direct threat of war to the US? Not Iraq, but North Korea. North Korea represents a much bigger threat than Iraq, but all of your naval ships are now in the Red Sea, not in the Yellow Sea. Why are you picking only on Iraq? Why can't Americans and George W. Bush think about the consequences (to the Iraqi people) of this escalation? Will a war against Iraq be fruitful in any way? Will a coup de grace against Sadam Hussein magically reduce the threat of terrorism to nil? (Even if we remove Sadam Hussein from power, we will still face about the same level of terrorist threat from other sources, so why pursue him?)

Oh yeah,

7. Bring some of that medicine for body lice (scabies) cause you're going to catch it sooner or later. You'll most likely catch it in some hotel or "western style" home.

8. The cleanest, freshest, coolest place to stay in is someone's fale. These native houses take full consideration of the environment into their planning design- unlike western brick houses which are stuffy, hot, and insect filled. Take a mosquito net- they sell them at Ikea.

I've lived there. It's not quite what you expect. Imagine a country totally dependent upon handouts from the American Government to survive. Whenever a new governor or Speaker of the Fono takes over, he appoints all of his friends and relatives to all the Government Positions. Of course, all of the relatives of the former Speaker are all still there, so you have several people doing the work of one. A lot of patronage- of the governmental and the commercial variety. But still, a wonderful place where the people can be quite friendly and loving too. Here's a list of To Dos:

1. Buy the Lonely Planet Guide to Samoa, published by your folks down under. The best guide. Read the section on manners and protocol. Contrary to popular opinion, there is a lot of protocol and strict behavior codes in Samoa.

2. DOnt expect the people to laugh at anything more sophisticated than slapstick humor.

3. If you're an atheist, for heaven's sake don't tell anyone. Even agnostics will get pressured till they break down and express a preference for a single religion, at which time everyone will breathe a sigh of relief.

4. Never throw a party featuring a food buffet or a no host bar. The first 3 people down the line will pull out plastic bags, throw all the food in the bag, and then happily go home.

5. Never let someone live with you "for a short time until they get on their feet." You'll be supporting them until you go home.

6. Overlook pilfering. Its going to happen, and its considered not dishonest, but "sharing."

I'll write more when I have time.

If y'all can bear another long harangue,

GBA: ... the socialist state... does not seem to be innovative at solving problems or creating new technologies or products, and the industries that surround them.

Socialist states can be quite innovative in areas where they have an incentive to innovate, such as weapons and warmaking, the space race, doping drugs used by intl athletes. Where they are less innovative are consumer goods markets, because the state doesn't have an incentive to innovate here.

TQ: The Soviet Russia has almost entirely eliminated illiteracy within the span of one generation.

THere are 3 things that Communism did for the Soviet Union. 1. Near-universal literacy, 2. True labor mobility in the work force (for women, minorities, etc.), 3. Industrial development from feudal society to space technology in 70 years. Maybe the citizens there consider these imporvements worth the cost of life.

TQ: During WWII, the Soviets purposefully moved almost all surviving industry beyond the Ural mountains, to Siberia. I am not aware of any precedent for a similar move

The conditions for such a move probably dont exist anywhere else, so this move is probably not due to the superiority of the system, but rather the unique conditions: An industrializing nation with a large tract of unpopulated land to move to, and a mobile work force, with a guaranteed and captive food supply.

TQ: The Russian MiGs are very good

I agree, and Mikoyan (the "Mi" in MiG) worked for Boeing in the US for several years before going back to the USSR and starting the MiG aeronautical company.

TQ: There are two criteria for any action, not one: efficiency and effectiveness.

Dictatorial states are quite effective as long as leaders can stay in power. Even when it looks to us like they are being inefficient, they may be acting quite efficiently. If Stalin was willing to squander the lives of 20 million Ukrainians to feed Russians and to encourage Russian industry, he was spending what he considered a cheap and freely available resource to create the scarce resource gotten via industrial development.

TQ: Democracy is very well known to be extremely inefficient in its decision-making precisely because the long-run effectiveness is pursued.

Probably not. Democracies are extremely inefficient decision-makers (due to multiple veto-gates) which makes them extraordinarily stable, and allows them to enter into contracts with other states and even private parties. It is these contractual partners who can move technology in democratic countries.

TQ: When launching a war, a dictator is much more effective than a democracy, as we painfully witness at the present time

But, as you are wont to mention, this is not the only goal of a system of govt. Eg, when negotiating (peace treaties or econ treaties), a president (agent) who has little personal power is much more effective. ("I'd like to accommodate you, but the congress will never go for this.")

GBA: I disagree that individuals are not forward looking.

I also agree. And they are just as "Forward looking" in socialist societies. They just have to respond to different incentives. Witness the (perhaps apocryphal) nail factory in the Soviet Union who responded to their 5-year quota of nails by manufacturing tiny pins that were of no use to anyone, but met their numerical goals. When the state finally wized up and changed their quotas to pounds of nails rather than numbers of nails, the factory responded with a 2-ton gigantic nail the size of a missile.

GBA: Socialism is built on a false doctrine of egalitarianism

That depends on whether you are referring to inputs or outputs. Here in the US we like equality of opportunity; in the old SovUn, they had "labor output" equality where everyone who worked an 8-hour shift was paid equally by the state, whether you were a doctor or a janitor.

TQ: Re your efficiency-equity dilemma: Ken Arrow would agree.

Anna Nicole Smith is a train wreck. You cannot look away. I've liked her better ever since reading that published report that calls her "addled."

thanks for the laugh. hee hee.

...In unrelated news, Kermit the Frog was seen ordering 2,000 pairs of tiny red leather trousers...

Re: Your trip to Sian: Was it an auspicious aucasian?

Yeah, it was funny. Have we degenerated to a society where everyone chooses to be offended and nobody can poke fun of anyone? Let me be the first to tell you that I think your son is a fine upstanding citizen and probably a darn good pilot. Shall we move on to outlawing lawyer jokes now?

Productivity higher in France and Germany? Hah!

okay, they're all funny. But yours made me laugh out loud.

Chris Burlingame of Spintech Magazine writes:

Personally, I think Eminem is a Republican, or would be. He is a white guy that doesn't like gays, carries firearms, is at times misogynistic, and, being super-rich, probably wouldn't mind a tax cut. That doesn't sound like any liberal I know.

I just can't bring myself to get excited about anyone who thumbs his nose at the liberal music establishment the way Eminem does. Plus, he's really funny.

I think we should just explain that we cannot help the problem because there's a hole in the bucket. And everyone knows that to fix the hole in the bucket, we'll need to patch it. With a plug of wood, for which we'll have to chop down a tree, with an axe, which we'll have to sharpen, with a honing stone, which we'll have to wet, with some water, which we'll have to fetch, with a bucket... but we can't cause there's a hole in the....

I'm no fan of BG, MS, etc etc blah blah blah, but I think I'll actually address this specific issue rather than use it as a stump to rave on about my normal pet peeves about Bill.

I like this gift very much-- it's smart, pragmatic, and most of all, it employs leverage, leverage, leverage. The Gates Foundation identified a specific problem (Hep B) with a specific cause (needle reuse) and no complicating factors to interfere with a specific solution (unlike druggies who reuse needles because they act out of their addiction). They start their foundation with some money, and get matching funds from various governments. They they make the Chinese government match their vaccine gift, and bring in a fairly strong international body (UN) to monitor the usage. I especially like that they took the time to research a self-enforcing solution (Docs use the vaccination needles only once, whether they want to reuse them or not). There is no part of this gift that can be resold, redistributed, or otherwise siphoned off for personal gain or general corruption. If doctors dont want to use the individually packaged vaccines for sick patients, there is no possible other use for them.

This is the perfect market solution to a general health problem. All (or almost all) of the incentives for misallocation of resources have been removed from the distribution chain.

I've seen too many NGOs or Foundations simply throw money at a problem, only to see 90% of it line the pockets of tinpot dictators or local warlords. And then, confronted with the loss of resources, their answer is to haul in more international monitors, to try and watch. All this does is introduce more pockets to be lined. In this instance, Bill's foundation identified the problem and attacked it using a smart, savvy solution.

transatlantic bump

wow! Drew Carey's real first name is Kalishnikov? I didn't know that. How unusual!

fireworks pfffpt. try starting a leaf fire in your back yard. cant be done.

MCAIN: (Laughing nervously) That's wonderful.

I think all McCain laughter is nervous. He's got that eerie high pitched, nasal, snorting-thru-the-nose thing going.