The Mises Community
An online community for fans of Austrian economics and libertarianism, featuring forums, user blogs, and more.
Forums
 »
Miscellaneous
 »
General
 »
*** December 2011 low content thread ***

Thank you for your participation and interest in the Mises Community. This software platform has seen its day, however, and so is now closed. We are redoing our entire site, so look for some exciting developments by the end of the year. Thank you for your support of Austrian economics, liberty, and peace.

*** December 2011 low content thread ***

rated by 0 users
This post has 293 Replies | 15 Followers

Top 75 Contributor
Posts 1,288
Points 22,350
Reply
Aristippus replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 2:15 AM

Yeah, in the old days they used to always walk around in documentaries - now it seems to be mostly voiceovers and interviews.

The Voluntaryist Reader: http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com/ Libertarian forums that actually work: http://voluntaryism.freeforums.org/index.php
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 3:03 AM

Speaking of old documentaries, I just watched this last night.

Nothing to do with AE but I found it interesting and a bit nostalgia-invoking. I remember watching those tractor-pulls on TV as a little kid. It's impossible to imagine any new entertainment niche emerging outside of Hollywood and without the influence or involvement at one level or another of the Pentagon.

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 35
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 5,118
Points 87,310
ForumsAdministrator
Moderator
SystemAdministrator
Reply
DanielMuff replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 6:37 PM

Ten bucks says that they are paid Chinese across:

To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process.
Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!"
Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 6:52 PM

That's actually a tough call.  You might be surprised what brainwashing can do.  In the film Kimjongilia you hear interviews from North Korean refugees, and they are able to reflect on what they felt and thought before they escaped the country and discovered the world.  One woman admits they didn't even think Kim urinated.

But yes, I don't doubt there is plenty of "going along to get along".  I think this covers it pretty well...

 

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 50
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 7:01 PM

Though I do not agree with all of his points (especially about the last one), he does present an interesting reductio ad absurdum when trying to reconcile the South's desire for both votes and slavery - Because slaves were technically property and the South wanted slaves to count toward representation, then the North should have had the power to ask for tables and chairs to count as well (though I am not sure the North actually used this argument). Heh.

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 7:09 PM

Meh.  That's not hard to reconcile.  Slaves are property that actually can vote.  When you can tell your chair to go cast a vote, and it actually does, then we can talk.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 7:12 PM

But slaves didn't have the vote.

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 7:20 PM

But the point is they have the capacity to vote.  I think that's a pretty easy distinction to make between types of property.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 8:12 PM

For a pretty good look (OK, not that good but the best I've ever seen) inside of North Korea, watch this:

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 35
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 8:28 PM

That was actually another I've seen (multiple times actually...I watched when it aired, and also recently)...they're both on Netflix streaming.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 8:51 PM

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Tue, Dec 20 2011 9:50 PM

When the "demo" in "democracy" have no idea what numbers mean:

$150 billion award for Texas fire victim's family

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 5,118
Points 87,310
ForumsAdministrator
Moderator
SystemAdministrator
Reply
DanielMuff replied on Wed, Dec 21 2011 4:28 PM

John James:

That's actually a tough call.  You might be surprised what brainwashing can do.  In the film Kimjongilia you hear interviews from North Korean refugees, and they are able to reflect on what they felt and thought before they escaped the country and discovered the world.  One woman admits they didn't even think Kim urinated.

But yes, I don't doubt there is plenty of "going along to get along".  I think this covers it pretty well...

I meant it as a joke. See this (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/world-cup-2010/7719050/Chinese-actors-to-cheer-for-North-Korea-during-World-Cup.html).

To paraphrase Marc Faber: We're all doomed, but that doesn't mean that we can't make money in the process.
Rabbi Lapin: "Let's make bricks!"
Stephan Kinsella: "Say you and I both want to make a German chocolate cake."

  • | Post Points: 50
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Wed, Dec 21 2011 4:33 PM

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 25 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,248
Points 70,755
Reply
Smiling Dave replied on Wed, Dec 21 2011 4:35 PM

ESPN does hatchet job on Ron Paul:

http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/39587/chris-paul-v-ru-paul-v-ron-paul-your-definitive-guide

No chance of winning,  surrounded by trash talking bitches, no fresh ideas, less likely than anyone on Earth to be president.

 

My humble blog

It's easy to refute an argument if you first misrepresent it. William Keizer

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Wed, Dec 21 2011 8:42 PM

Daniel Muffinburg:
I meant it as a joke. See this (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/world-cup-2010/7719050/Chinese-actors-to-cheer-for-North-Korea-during-World-Cup.html).

Yeah I remember hearing about that, which is why I figured you were at least halfway serious.

Wheylous, I literally lol'd.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Wed, Dec 21 2011 9:11 PM

Hehe, there's plenty more where that came from:

 

http://www.quickmeme.com/conspiracy-keanu/

 

Such as 

 

 

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 2:05 AM

lol Clueless people make me laugh sometimes...

 

Paul's age gap

By BEN SMITH

Aaron Blake spotted a remarkable figure in some polling out of Iowa today: "Ron Paul wins more than 50 percent of 18-29 and 30-44 year olds, but less than 12% of 45-64 and 65+."

A Republican operative who is not working for Paul emails to make the case that this is why Paul's poll numbers are overstated: Republican primaries and caucuses have never seen young voters show up and pick the winner.

And:

Caucus is people standing up & being seen where they stand...12 percent of over 45 may even be high...no neighbor wants people to know they're with this guy.  Obama had enough mainline/older voter support as well...Paul just doesn't.

This sounds, superficially, like what Clinton aides were saying when they now-notoriously dismissed Obama's crowds of supporters in Iowa in 2008 as "Facebook" -- kids who wouldn't show up. But Obama really was a broad national youth phenomenon; Paul may not be. And the Democratic Party, of course, skews far younger than the GOP.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 2:07 AM

Shweet

 

Ron Paul gets a new super PAC

By Emily Schultheis

From today's POLITICO Influence, Ron Paul gets some help from a new super PAC:

NEW PRO-RON PAUL SUPER PAC FORMS: Calling itself Ron Paul Volunteers PAC, this new Miami-based super PAC has filed paperwork with the FEC to begin raising and spending unlimited sums of money to boost the Republican presidential ambitions of Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas). Super PAC Treasurer Hector Roos tells PI that the committee has begun fundraising in earnest and hopes to spend "into the six-figures" to independently support Paul's fortunes and do so in Florida. The new super PAC will focus its communications efforts on direct mail, Roos said. "We can't wait for Iowa to happen. We're such big fans of him down here and want to support him," Roos said.

Paul's campaign has come out with some pretty strong anti-Gingrich ads so far — and a super PAC on his side could do even more damage to the former speaker (and boost Paul) in advance of Iowa.

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 2:55 AM

Kind of interesting...

 

Herman Cain, still winning

By Dylan Byers

Media Matters, the Fox News-obsessed research center, has sent over its latest tally of candidate appearances on the network. The winner is Herman Cain, who despite suspending his campaign two and a half weeks ago has still put in more hours (11) and more appearances (73) than any other candidate since June 1.

And via Huffington Post's Michael Calderone: The Pew Project for Excellence in Journalism also notes that "Cain will finish 2011 with more national media coverage than any other Republican candidate."

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Reply
John James replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 3:03 AM

Three Wives...

 

 

 

 

The Ultimate Beginner meta-thread
Learn the economics of freedom
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Posts 6,953
Points 118,135
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 3:32 PM

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 9:52 PM

Hehe. Occupy DC doesn't like Adam Kokesh:

  • | Post Points: 20
Not Ranked
Posts 75
Points 1,255
Reply
FascistSoup replied on Thu, Dec 22 2011 10:08 PM

  • | Post Points: 35
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 1:22 AM

@DMCA, SOPA, etc.

Short-term, these bills are going to continue to alter the user-experience of the Internet and push casual users towards the "big-box" Internet experience: Facebook, YouTube, Gmail, etc. Long-term, these bills are actually making things worse for the copyright-hawks. If you think of copying of data through the Internet as an "organism" and copyright as a virus attacking that organism, the organism does not just die, the viral onslaught invokes an immune response. The first salvo in this arms race was Napster. Then we had KaZaa and now the most sophisticated P2P file-sharing system ever, BitTorrent.

The real control comes from the ISP-side and this will continue to increase. The best way forward for the copyright-hawks is to use the regulatory power (not legislative) to push ISPs to profile the content that their customers are streaming by threatening regulatory fines or license revocation for allowing users to "illegally" copy and upload copyrighted material. This system is probably sustainable (as evidence by China, Iran and other countries that are employing similar techniques) for casual users.

However, there are serious, long-term problems for this system. The Establishment wants you to think of the Internet like a "phone system for computers" but this is a major mistake. The difference is that it is simply impossible to keep people from using their computers to perform client-side encryption of data before transmitting and receiving it. This makes ISP-level content-profiling useless. You can't stop a pirated movie if you can't even tell it's a pirated movie.

I foresee several more salvos in the war between copyright hawks and "pirates" (those peacefully copying data at below cartel/monopoly prices). As the controls continue to increase, the next generation BitTorrent protocol will be released that makes browsing the Internet itself an end-to-end encrypted experience (we currently have this capability but it's not a very user-friendly proposition at this point, you have to know about SSH and how to set it up, etc. etc.) Then, regulators are going to try to push the ISPs to simply block encrypted data en masse, using content-profiling but this will instanteously backfire as corporate VPNs (including government VPNs) all rely on end-to-end encryption.

At this point, the copyright-hawks will have finally and fully blown it. People will then have user-friendly access to an end-to-end encrypted Internet experience and everyone - except the idiots who post photos of themselves passed out, vomit-covered and drunk at a party to facebook - can appreciate the idea of an Internet experience that is not vulnerable to nosy-nannying from Comcast or Charter or whoever (let alone NSA).

Now, this brings me back to net neutrality. NN is fairly clever in two ways. First, it attempts to stake out the moral high ground (anti-content-profiling) for the regulators and assert that the evil (free market) ISPs are profiling content to "maximize profits" by squelching bandwidth to competitors and so on. It is my belief that the ISPs are, indeed, content-profiling but not because of evil greed so much as dread fear (of lawsuits from the copyright-hawks). If they think can make a buck squelching bandwidth to competitors, I think it's their property right to do so but it's too easy to detect when they're doing this and I don't think their customers are going to like it. Blogs lighting up like Christmas trees "Comcast cuts bandwidth to YouTube!" is not what Comcast wants happening.

But this moral high ground is qualified. No profiling should be allowed for the purposes of profit, however, profiling for terrorism and to stop piracy, well, that's another matter altogether. So the NN push is very clever.

Second, and even more clever, is the technological implications of NN. The implication is that we need some kind of regulatory protection to prevent content-profiling. The fact is (as I noted above), we do not. If content-profiling becomes a serious problem, the technological solution is fairly straightforward: end-to-end encryption. Then the ISPs are powerless to profile because they simply can't tell what is passing through. Throttling anything that "looks random" or "looks encrypted" is already impossible because of the widespread use of VPNs.

In the long-run, it's checkmate for the copyright hawks. This is like mate-in-4... they can make a few desperate moves to gasp for air on the way to their inevitable demise, but once they've played their last desperate moves, it's game-over.

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 20
Top 50 Contributor
Male
Posts 2,051
Points 36,080
Reply
Bert replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 1:41 AM

Don't forget Soulseek.  Friends and I have been using it for years, and collectively I can't imagine how much music we have from it (there's 80 or so GB's on my computer, this does not include all the slsk downloaded music that's on my iPod from friend's computers).

I had always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way. - Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 150 Contributor
Male
Posts 694
Points 11,400
Reply
Joe replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 2:01 AM

lie zay fare books.  She was puttign me on tilt with that pronunciation.  I liked the way that interview went.  It was all set up for JT to knock the conventional thinking out of the park. I would give him an A-.

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 50 Contributor
Male
Posts 2,541
Points 46,540
Reply
AJ replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 12:44 PM

Clayton:

For a pretty good look (OK, not that good but the best I've ever seen) inside of North Korea, watch this:

 

Interestingly, Youtube says I can't watch this in Japan. First time I've seen that message.

Why anarchy fails 

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 1:51 PM

Oops, wrong thread.

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 50 Contributor
Male
Posts 2,541
Points 46,540
Reply
AJ replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 2:45 PM

On the accuracy of Intrade on elections: http://www.pollingreport.com/lvw_bet.htm

This is interesting from both a strategic standpoint and an Austrian one because of the market price mechanism representing collective knowledge. Excerpt:

Indeed, by 2004 the Intrade market model went stratospheric in predictive accuracy as the market favorite won the electoral votes of every single state in that year's U.S. presidential election. Meanwhile more than one respected pollster and analyst called the race for John Kerry as late as election day itself.

The betting markets saw their best triumph of 2004 in Florida. Even though a number of polls put Kerry ahead in that state, or said the race was too close to call, the betting markets consistently showed Bush would win Florida comfortably.

Indeed, if the Democrats had paid as much attention to the markets as the polls, I am convinced that the election result would have been different. They could have downsized their effort in Florida and focused their efforts more on other swing states where betting sites showed the race was much closer.

Intrade followed up in 2006 when the market favorite won each and every Senate seat up for election. Moreover, in large part the stronger the favorite, the bigger was the margin of victory.

 

Why anarchy fails 

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 150 Contributor
Posts 659
Points 13,305
Reply
Gero replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 11:08 PM

Press Release: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) cannot render an opinion on the 2011 consolidated financial statements of the federal government, because of widespread material internal control weaknesses, significant uncertainties, and other limitations. As was the case in 2010, the main obstacles to a GAO opinion on the accrual- based consolidated financial statements were: (1) serious financial management problems at the Department of Defense (DOD) that made its financial statements unauditable, (2) the federal government’s inability to adequately account for and reconcile intragovernmental activity and balances between federal agencies, and (3) the federal government’s ineffective process for preparing the consolidated financial statements.

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Fri, Dec 23 2011 11:25 PM

@Gero: Wow. How can there be any doubt that this government is an unqualifiedly criminal organization?? Wonder if the GAO ever managed to figure this one out.

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 20
Top 150 Contributor
Posts 659
Points 13,305
Reply
Gero replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 1:26 AM

I am aware of that story, Clayton. The next day was 9/11, so that story was deprioritized into obscurity. This is an excerpt from the Defense Department website by Donald Rumsfeld: According to some estimates, we cannot track $2.3 trillion in transactions. We cannot share information from floor to floor in this building because it's stored on dozens of technological systems that are inaccessible or incompatible. We maintain 20 to 25 percent more base infrastructure than we need to support our forces, at an annual waste to taxpayers of some $3 billion to $4 billion. Fully half of our resources go to infrastructure and overhead, and in addition to draining resources from warfighting, these costly and outdated systems, procedures and programs stifle innovation as well. A new idea must often survive the gauntlet of some 17 levels of bureaucracy to make it from a line officer's to my desk. I have too much respect for a line officer to believe that we need 17 layers between us. Our business processes and regulations seems to be engineered to prevent any mistake, and by so doing, they discourage any risk. But ours is a nation born of ideas and raised on improbability, and risk aversion is not America's ethic, and more important, it must not be ours.

Many people wonder how a military in an anarcho-capitalist society would function seemingly oblivious to the financial black hole that is the Pentagon. What private investors would tolerate a military company that could not even be audited?

I recommend people watch the 1998 dark comedy film The Pentagon Wars based on the experiences of a retired colonel. Watch this excerpt.

A few links:

Strike Three for PolitiFact

Lew Rockwell mentioned this documentary. I found it on Hulu: American: The Bill Hicks Story

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 6,885
Points 121,845
Reply
Clayton replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 1:56 AM

LMAO at the Pentagon Wars excerpt... never heard of that before, I will definitely have to see this.

Edit: Holy crap, it just hit me... that is why they needed to "up-armor" all those Humvees in Iraq/Afghanistan! Duh! They stripped the Bradley down so it could carry all these ridiculous armaments and still move fast but it made the vehicle virtually useless... the Humvee is useful but is essentially un-armored. Amazing.

Clayton -

http://voluntaryistreader.wordpress.com
  • | Post Points: 35
Top 500 Contributor
Male
Posts 286
Points 4,665
Reply
skylien replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 6:13 AM

There is an interesting study from the Erste Group about analyzing equity markets through an Austrian lens. They analyze the money supply and credit growth compared to equity markets. You find it on Zero Hedge.

"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes, qui custodes custodient? Was that right for 'Who watches the watcher who watches the watchmen?' ? Probably not. Still...your move, my lord." Mr Vimes in THUD!
  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 8:16 AM

  • | Post Points: 5
Top 10 Contributor
Male
Posts 4,984
Points 89,720
Reply
Wheylous replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 8:20 AM

Oh, man. CNN cut off the last part of their Paul interview - "I understand how the system works"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=RLonnC_ZWQ0#t=445s

This is sad :(

  • | Post Points: 20
Top 50 Contributor
Male
Posts 2,051
Points 36,080
Reply
Bert replied on Sat, Dec 24 2011 11:22 PM

Happy Yule

I had always been impressed by the fact that there are a surprising number of individuals who never use their minds if they can avoid it, and an equal number who do use their minds, but in an amazingly stupid way. - Carl Jung, Man and His Symbols
  • | Post Points: 20
Page 6 of 8 (294 items) « First ... < Previous 4 5 6 7 8 Next > | RSS

Ludwig von Mises Institute | 518 West Magnolia Avenue | Auburn, Alabama 36832-4528

Phone: 334.321.2100 · Fax: 334.321.2119

contact@Mises.org | webmaster | AOL-IM MainMises

Mises.org sitemap