Libertarian Commentary on the News, 30 April to 6 May, 2006 -- Page 2

Stupid People Tricks
A lot of this week's stupid people tricks could, I suppose, go into stupid government tricks or even the 2006 campaign, but there are a few goodies this week. Remember, as long as you encourage them...

NY: Pol files frivolous suit v. Google
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
"A Long Island politician sued Google Inc. on Thursday claiming the search engine leader is profiting from illegal child pornography. Jeffrey Toback, a member of the Nassau County Legislature, said Google has paid links to Web sites containing pornography involving minors. ... A Google spokesman denied the allegations and said the Mountain View, Calif.-based company takes numerous steps to prevent access to child pornography. ... Toback said he filed suit because oversight over Google was far beyond the purview of county legislators. 'This is a proactive step to keep children safe,' Toback said in a telephone interview. 'We had to go the judicial route.'" [RRND editor's note: In English, Toback's statement would be rendered "I'm thinking about running for higher office and want to get my name in the paper" - TLK] (05/04/06)

However corrosive child porn might be, this attitude of a politico in a "legislature" that itself sounds like a satire is corrosive on the entire fabric of society: the idea that someone "elected" by a plurality of a fraction of the voting-age population of a single county in a single state can claim any standing whatsoever to sue ANY business over a vague interpretation of a vague law.

AR: Woman puts end to indecent exposure
Texarkana Gazette
"It is not a good idea as a rule for a person to take the law into her own hands, but a Hot Springs, Ark., woman appears to have deterred some crime in her neighborhood with a flash from a gun. Problem is, she may have run afoul of the law herself. Last weekend, a 37-year-old man turned up in the woman's yard, exposing himself. The woman, 30, after repeated calls to police, fired a warning shot at the flasher. He jumped and fled, hitching up his drawers as he ran off. He came back Sunday evening, this time dropping his pants, chunking stones at her windows and howling like a dog. This time his victim took aim -- well, maybe not perfect aim -- and shot him in the leg. That brought an end to his expose. He took himself to a local hospital for treatment. He told law enforcement officials that he did not want to pursue charges against the shooter because he was in her yard and shouldn't have been there. Police, though, are required to forward the case to the local prosecutor for a determination on charges." (05/01/06)

The stupidity of the man is exceeded only by that of his attacker. This sort of "crime" is NOT, repeat NOT, the kind of thing which requires or allows for a response using deadly force.

Mama's Note: AMEN!! A camera would have been a better choice, followed by a stream of cold water from a hose.

Million+ immigrants skip work for demonstration
Las Vegas Review-Journal
"More than 1 million mostly Hispanic immigrants and their supporters skipped work and took to the streets Monday, flexing their economic muscle in a nationwide boycott that succeeded in slowing or shutting many farms, factories, markets and restaurants. From Los Angeles to Chicago, Houston to Miami, the 'Day Without Immigrants' attracted widespread participation despite divisions among activists over whether a boycott would send the right message to Washington lawmakers considering sweeping immigration reform." (05/01/06)

While this clearly effected a lot of individual businesses, and made commutes more pleasant for people in several large urban areas, it seems to have not even been a blip on economic charts for the nation as a whole, just as most boycotts in recent years have failed to even be measurable. However, it did succeed in angering a good many more people about immigrants and immigration.

NE: On coast, some try to keep Wal-Mart at bay
Boston Globe
"The sea-scented streets of downtown Waldoboro look more like a theme-park rendition of old-time New England than a battleground. There's a general store behind an awning, a small pharmacy beneath a neon sign, and a generations-old lumberyard down the way. But these family businesses are not tourist-tailored relics in mid-coast Maine. They're rallying symbols for a passionate movement that is fighting to preserve the community fabric and the state's traditional ambiance, and keep Wal-Mart out of one of New England's most distinctive regions. It is an escalating fight that has scored recent victories for big-box foes in three towns between Bath and Rockland, and activists are battling to add five more communities to their goal of a 'box-free' coastal zone. Damariscotta, Newcastle, and Nobleboro have voted since March to ban or place a moratorium on new retail stores greater than 35,000 square feet. Thomaston, Edgecomb, and Waldoboro have votes scheduled on size caps within the next several weeks." (05/01/06)

Why 35,000? Why not 20,000 SF, or even 10,000 SF? Virtually all "traditional" New England village stores are less than 5,000 SF - with no more than five or six employees, not the dozens or hundred-plus of even moderately-sized supermarkets? And while they are at it, why not outlaw absentee landlords for stores, and corporate ownership of businesses? And perhaps they could also get rid of banks? Local tyranny - why God let us be smart enough to invent guns.

DC: Kennedy blames accident on medications
Statesboro Herald
"Rep. Patrick Kennedy crashed his car near the Capitol early Thursday, and a police official said he appeared intoxicated. Kennedy said he had taken sleep medication and a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. Kennedy, D-R.I., addressed the issue after a spate of news reports. His initial statement said, 'I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident.' Later, however, he issued a longer statement saying the attending physician for Congress had prescribed Phenergan on Tuesday to treat Kennedy's gastroenteritis, an inflammation of the stomach and intestines." (05/05/06)

The cops on scene were stopped from administering ANY sobriety tests. There are those who lament that the Kennedy family has fallen so low from the standards and behavior of their illustrious relatives of the 1960s. But I think it is time that people woke up to the fact that the data shows this sort of irresponsible behavior is far more the norm for the last three or four generations of Kennedys than the stage-managed events of "Camelot" or the 1968 election campaign.

Mama's Note: Something really fishy here. Phenergan is NOT an appropriate medication for gastroenteritis at all, and would not likely be used outside of a hospital anyway. A sleeping pill AND Phenergan would be a potent combination, and any reasonable person would not try to operate a car. Arrogance and lies abound. Kennedy has the money to hire a driver, and should have done so if he couldn't stay home where he belonged with this chemical stew in him.

TX: Tables turned on man who tried to rob his friends
KRTK News
"The tables turned on a north Houston man who tried to rob his own friends. Authorities say early Thursday morning the man found a gun inside his friend's apartment on Greens Parkway and held him and his guests at gunpoint. Two of the victims handed over their belongings, but the suspect dropped the gun. The resident of the apartment then grabbed the gun and shot the suspect in the leg. The resident's girlfriend says it all started over a video game." (05/04/06)

"Friends" - acquaintances, maybe, but friends don't steal from friends. As a friend of mine told me about a drug addict who he will sometimes hire for odd jobs, the man once told him, "M, you'd be the last person I'd ever steal from to buy drugs with." M told him wryly, "I'd feel better if you told me you'd never steal from me."

UK: 63 year old mother-to-be defends decision
Independent [UK]
"A 63-year-old child psychiatrist who is pregnant after fertility treatment has said the decision to become Britain's oldest mother required 'courage and a great deal of thought.' Dr. Patricia Rashbrook paid a reported £50,000 for treatment with the controversial Italian fertility expert Dr. Severino Antinori and the baby is due in two months' time. Anti-abortion groups expressed outrage at the case, but Dr. Rashbrook and her husband, John Farrant, 61, said they had thought about the consequences of becoming parents at pension age. ... Most British clinics refuse to treat women over 45, although some doctors, such as Professor Ian Craft, have treated women in their fifties. In January last year, Adriana Iliescu, a 67-year-old Romanian, became the oldest woman in the world known to have given birth." (05/04/06)

People are - well, strange, aren't they?

Mama's Note: Of course, the question nobody really answers is: why? Honestly! I'd guess the real answer is pure ego, and a large dose of insanity must be present to even consider doing such a thing. Sadly, unless they are using a donor egg, the infant is very likely to have serious birth defects, if it lives at all. How sad, and stupid indeed.

Google goes evil on Microsoft
Norman Transcript
"Google Inc. is hoping to pressure Microsoft Corp. into changing a new Internet Explorer browser feature that could direct more people to Microsoft's online search engine instead of Google's far more popular offering. Google has informally complained to U.S. and European antitrust regulators about what it says are biased settings on Microsoft's latest Web browser, marking the latest spat between two companies whose business models are increasingly bumping up against one another." (05/02/06)

Competition is good, and should be supported - this is NOT competition, though, to go whine and tattle, as Google seems to be doing. Are there no honest software providers left anymore?

Mama's Note: The answer is obvious. I don't use a MS browser and I wouldn't use Google's search anyway, so it's a moot point for a lot of Mozilla browser users. Open source software (and hardware eventually), like Linux, is the next generation. We'll see if they remain honest.

Bill Gates wishes he wasn't richest in world
Reuters
"Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates said on Wednesday he wished he were not the world's richest man. 'I wish I wasn't. There is nothing good that comes out of that,' said Gates, whose personal fortune has sunk by billions since last week when the software giant disappointed investors by saying new investments would crimp earnings. The corporate leader who made Microsoft into the world's largest software maker -- and who is also one of the biggest philanthropists -- is seen as a man who does not like publicity. He explained that he did not like the attention of being the world's richest. 'You get more visibility as a result of it,' he said during an interview conducted by CNBC reporter Donny Deutsch in front of a crowd of people attending a Microsoft advertising event." (05/04/06)

What a hypocrite! If he doesn't like the status, he could, of course, just give it away. He wouldn't even have to give it ALL away - a couple of billion should suffice for the rest of his life.

Mama's Note: Boo hoo, poor baby! Such rot. He's a socialist at heart anyway. He could give 90% of it away and never miss it. So, why doesn't he? Hypocrite, indeed!

Tech and Medical Issues
Unlike the stupid people tricks from people in the tech industry (the two preceding articles), these have to do with real technology issues. Same thing for medical issues above.

Water now runs uphill (sometimes)
BBC News
Physicists have made water run uphill quite literally under its own steam. The droplets propel themselves over metal sheets scored with a carefully designed array of grooves. The US scientists did the experiment to demonstrate how the random motion of water molecules in hot steam could be channeled into a directed force. But the team, writing in Physical Review Letters, believes the effect may be useful in driving coolants through overheating computer microchips.

Quite cute, actually. No doubt politicians will soon follow through with legislation either MANDATING all water flow uphill, or perhaps, outlawing this little system as being "unnatural."

Mama's Note: I don't understand. Steam always rises. But I can easily make even cold water run uphill, any time I want. It's called a siphon, and it's been in use for a very long time...

Pentagon unveils urban robo-race
MSNBC
"Just months after awarding $2 million for a sport utility vehicle that drove itself over more than 100 miles of open road, the Pentagon on Monday unveiled a bigger, richer challenge for self-driving vehicles that can negotiate city traffic. Veterans of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's earlier 'Grand Challenges' said the technologies developed for the next contest will clearly benefit the U.S. military, which has set the goal of automating a third of its ground vehicles by 2015. But they said the innovations could have an even bigger impact on driving in America." (05/01/06)

Sounds like an interesting challenge. Imagine, in the future the now-erroneous headlines that say "SUV kills children in accident" could actually be true!

Mama's Note: Again, my favorite question is, "why?" There are certainly enough people around to drive all the vehicles. Why would we want them to drive themselves? Nuts! And we don't want anything like a "sentient computer" to drive them. Have you seen "The Matrix" yet? Brrrrrr..... terrifying thought.

Health fears as hi-tech science hits the shops
The Scotsman
HUNDREDS of nanotechnology products about to hit shop shelves have not been properly tested for their safety, one of the UK's leading environmental health experts has warned. In one of the more alarmist scares, the Prince of Wales backed claims in 2003 that nanotechnology could lead to the world disappearing into a "gray goo" of out-of-control, self-replicating nano-scale robots.

Another example of environist paranoia - imagine if the kind of "proper testing" we have today had existed when penicillin, the smallpox vaccine, or the first aircraft were invented/discovered. The real world is NOT an episode in Stargate SG-1, and the gray goo has clearly replaced the "little gray cells" in the head of HRH TPOW. The article, however, is a good one- balanced writing AND a list of nanotech products at the end (which are highly unlikely to turn us into industrial goo).

Mama's Note: After seeing "The Matrix" I'm not too keen on self replicating robots of any size.

UK: More chickens culled in Norfolk
Guardian [UK]
"The chickens at two more poultry farms affected by bird flu have all been slaughtered, officials have said. The free-range flocks at Norwich Road Farm and Mowles Manor Poultry Unit at North Tuddenham, Norfolk, were killed after tests showed they had been affected by the H7N3 strain of the virus. Workers moved in on Sunday morning and began the cull of around 15,000 birds as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified. The news came as a 1,000 square mile quarantine zone to combat an outbreak of bird flu was lifted in Scotland. ... On Saturday night workers completed a cull of 35,000 chickens at nearby Witford Lodge Farm at Hockering, where an outbreak of the H7 strain of bird flu was confirmed on Friday." (05/01/06)

The panic in the emergency management community here in the US is growing stronger, as measures like this in the UK are publicized. Sadly, many government employees in the States have no understanding whatsoever of the disease or the effective measures, and are unable to cope for themselves, much less for the duties that they have.

Mama's Note: What I don't understand is why there is a domestic bird anywhere that hasn't been inoculated by this time? This is a preventable disease. Why aren't the chicks being vaccinated (can be done via their water) so they can't get sick? And, being "infected" isn't the same thing as being sick. Infected birds who don't get sick are a repository for good, strong antibodies and healthy future birds. This is nuts.

The World Front (World Wars)
News from around the world this week should again make us glad that most of us live in the US - it could be worse!

Bolivia Steals Resources
BBC News
Brazil and Spain have reacted sharply to a decree from Bolivia's President Evo Morales which asserts state control over the country's energy industry. Under the May Day decree, private energy companies will have to sell a controlling stake to the Bolivian government and renegotiate contracts. At the largest gas fields, royalty payments will increase from 50% to 82%. Mr. Morales said the gas fields were "just the beginning, because tomorrow it will be the mines, the forest resources and the land".

Coming on top of the three-way agreement with Venezuela and Cuba, this places Morales and Bolivia clearly on the path to a massive resurgence of communism in Latin America.

US, Japan agree on military deal
CNN
"Japan and the United States on Monday approved details of a sweeping plan to realign U.S. forces in Japan by 2014 while giving Japan's military greater responsibility for security in the Asia-Pacific. 'We have no better friend than Japan,' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters after a meeting between the two countries' top defense and foreign ministers. 'We share, most of all, values. But increasingly we share global responsibilities as well.'" (05/01/06)

This could be the greatest change in the Pacific Theatre since the US withdrew from Clark AFB and other installations in the Philippines, and could help mend fences between the US and Japan. With fewer and fewer people remembering that the US bought Okinawa with hundreds of thousands of gallons of blood in 1945, Japanese residents of the island have gotten tired of being occupied.

China's factories hit an unlikely shortage: labor
Christian Science Monitor
"One of the defining myths of modern China -- that it has a bottomless well of unskilled, low-wage laborers -- is coming apart at the seams. And hardest hit are the southern coastal cities that produce much of America's consumer bounty. What began two years ago as a temporary blip in the steady supply of migrants to China's export hub, where low wages and long hours are the norm, has become a constant problem for factory bosses. Some are responding with perks to attract job applicants as 'Help Wanted' ads go unanswered. Others are subcontracting work to inland cities, chasing the young, single workers that once came knocking on their factory gates but are now in shorter supply." (05/01/06)

Which may explain some of the cruel, tyrannical actions in rural areas - perhaps they are a conscious effort to force farmers off the farms. And perhaps China's "one-child" policy is starting to have an effect.

Mama's Note: Wonderful!! The real market forces cannot be denied any more than can the law of gravity. We've "exploited" them right into prosperity!! The "slaves" don't seem to be quite as numerous as they were.

Extremism Fears Prompt Proposal for Citizenship Test
(CNSNews.com)
At a time of keen debate surrounding immigration in the U.S., the government of Australia may introduce a compulsory test for prospective migrants that would require both a grasp of English and an understanding of commonly held "Australian values."

Again, as I said, things could be worse here in the US. Obviously people think they are Down Under.

US faces UN questioning on torture
CBS News
"The U.N. Committee Against Torture, the global body's watchdog for a 22-year-old treaty forbidding prisoner abuse, will quiz U.S. officials on a series of issues ranging from Washington's interpretation of the absolute ban on torture to its interrogation methods in prisons such as Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay. The United States, like the 140 other nations that have signed the Convention Against Torture, must submit reports to the committee to show it is applying the rules. ... The U.S. mission to the U.N.'s European headquarters in Geneva said it has sent a written reply to the committee's questions, but that it would refrain from commenting ahead of its sessions with the committee on Friday and Monday. Its 25-member team for the hearings will be headed by State Department legal adviser John B. Bellinger III, and includes officials from the Defense, Justice and Homeland Security departments." (05/05/06)

Pleased as I am that the USG is answering such challenges properly, the idea that there is ANYTHING that the UN can or will do to stop ANY actions by virtually any nation is hideously unfunny.

Sudan, rebel group to sign peace accord
Chicago Sun-Times
"Sudan's government and the largest Darfur rebel group agreed Friday to sign a peace plan, a top U.S. envoy said, marking major progress in an internationally backed effort to end the death and destruction in western Sudan. Two smaller rebel groups were still resisting, but U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick said acceptance by faction leader Minni Minnawi was key." (05/05/06)

"Major progress" - really? As long as the current Sudanese government exists, the death and destruction in Darfur and elsewhere will not end, just be less noticeable, more hidden.

Oil prices sink below $70 a barrel
USA Today
"Oil prices sank more than $2 a barrel for the second straight day on Thursday, falling below $70 on momentum that started after U.S. government data showed gasoline supplies growing last week, reversing two months of declines. 'It has largely been a technical sell-off,' said ABN Amro broker Lee Fader. 'Some of the air is coming out of the bubble.' Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell $2.83 to $69.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices had plunged $2.33 Wednesday after the Energy Department released its weekly report showing a supply rise as refineries boost output and demand flattens." (05/04/06)

Of course, a fresh outburst by the Iranian madman-in-chief caused it to bounce back on Friday, showing once more that markets are irrational even if there no better way of doing it. However, gasoline prices show no sign of dipping, in part because the current $3/gallon is based on more than just crude oil prices. For instance, at the beginning of the week, crude oil in Wyoming was selling at only $50/barrel, $20 below world prices, because too many regional refineries (mostly in Colorado) were shut down by recent accidents or for changeover, and there was almost a glut on the oil market, while growing fuel demand keeps pump prices high. (Prices for gas in WY were as much as 60 cents lower than prices in neighboring Colorado.)

Mama's Note: Gas remains at $2.69 here in Newcastle, WY. I was shocked at how much higher it was in Rapid City, SD on my last trip over there. There is indeed more to the picture than the price of oil.

Cheney's sharp criticism miffs Russia
Detroit Free Press
"Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday accused Russia of cracking down on religious and political rights and using its energy reserves as 'tools of intimidation or blackmail.' It was a hard slap at Vladimir Putin as the United States seeks Russia's cooperation in punishing Iran. Cheney's criticism -- some of the administration's toughest language about Russia -- came just two months before President Bush joins Putin in St. Petersburg for a summit of major industrial powers." (05/04/06)

Rather than being a "cowboy" act of Cheney's, I suspect this is very carefully thought out to win Russia's public support for dealing with thugs like Iran - a way of shaming them into action. Haven't the foggiest if it will work, though.

Mama's Note: Really? What was the plan behind the idiotic visit of the Chinese president? Hard to tell when they're being cunning or just plain stupid.

Ex-VP aide, FBI analyst admits spying
CNN
"A former vice presidential military aide and FBI analyst pleaded guilty Thursday to supplying documents to unnamed individuals in the Philippines on how to orchestrate a coup attempt against Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In a federal court hearing in Newark, New Jersey, Leandro Aragoncillo entered into a plea agreement that would keep the death penalty off the table for him." (05/04/06)

Really? Supposedly (according to its opponents) the military's "School of the Americas" always taught its students how to overthrow their civilian governments. Either doing it freelance is a no-no, or the Philippines isn't an acceptable target?

Mexico: Fox to sign bill legalizing drugs
USA Today
"Mexican President Vicente Fox will sign into law a measure that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs for personal use, his spokesman said Tuesday. Spokesman Ruben Aguilar defended the law, which was approved Friday by Mexico's Senate, despite criticism in the United States that it could increase casual drug use. 'The president is going to sign this law,' said Aguilar, who called the legislation 'a better tool ... that allows better action and better coordination in the fight against drug dealing.' 'The government believes that this law represents progress, because it established the minimum quantities that a citizen can carry for personal use,' Aguilar said." (05/02/06)

While some libertarians and anti-War-on-Some-Drug types (and a lot of American Drug-Warriors) thought this was the dawning of a brave and glorious day, it really appears to be formally setting levels at which prosecution isn't worthwhile anyway, and clearing the way for more attacks on supply and distribution channels without the right connections (or not paying the proper squeeze). Fox's Mexico isn't turning into the semi-libertarian paradise that one eager e-mailer tried to explain to me, by any means.

Islamic Bloc: We Respect Press Freedom But...
CNSNews.com
A bloc of Islamic nations, marking World Press Freedom Day on Wednesday, called for urgent action to establish international law or a code of conduct aimed at preventing media from defaming religion...

Hypocrisy again, eh? These people make me sick, almost as sick as westerners who support them and their ideas.