Oyez oyez! Read the second edition of the Market Anarchy Blog Carnival at There is No Government Like NO Government.
Also, if you'd like to host a future edition of the Carnival (and who doesn't want more hits?), you may consult the hosting schedule and leave your coordinates on the Carnival Intro post.
Urgh stands happy besides a big circular object made of rock, with a chisel and hammer (primitive, of course) nearby. His friend Arh approaches presently.
Urgh: Look what Urgh did!
Arh: What be?
Urgh: Me invent rolling object! You push, it roll around.
Arh: What for?
Urgh: *shrugs* It be used to transport things maybe, put object in middle and push.
Arh: Urgh not serious!
Urgh: What?
Arh: Urgh rolling thing untested. What if rolling thing rolls over someone asleep? Urgh kill people with rolling thing!
Urgh: Well, Urgh not planning to use around people...
Arh: But can you prove it never happen?
Urgh: Um... no...
Arh: Therefore rolling thing dangerous! Not use!
Urgh: So, because me cannot prove not dangerous, you say dangerous?
Arh: Yes!
Urgh: Arh realize using logical fallacy right? Argument from Ignorance. Arh cannot say something dangerous just because no proof it is not.
Arh: SHUT UP CAPITALIST SWINE! LOGIC NOT INVENTED YET!
Urgh: Um, capitalism not invented yet either.
Arh: SHUT UP OR ME SMASH URGH WITH ROCK! Also, Urgh not made environmental impact study of effect of rock on grass.
Urgh: Well, rolling thing more useful than impact of rock on grass... tradeoff seems pretty good for us...
Arh: Tradeoff? No risk is acceptable! Rolling thing might lead to vegetation death, killing animals, no more food, we all die!
Urgh: But Arh not know that for certain.
Arh: BUT IT POSSIBLE! Therefore Arh assume until you prove otherwise!
Urgh: ... Arh using Argument from Ignorance again...
Arh: LOGIC NOT INVENTED YET!
Urgh: ... and why burden of proof on Urgh? Why not think Arh's method preventing progress and thus putting more lives at risk than the alternative?
Arh: BECAUSE YOU CAPITALIST SWINE! URGH WANT TO MAKE MONEY OFF ROLLING THINGS AGAINST HEALTH OF TRIBE! ARH HATE YOU!
Urgh: ... but money not invented yet.
Arh: SHUT UP URGH!
This was the first ever recorded use of the Precautionary Principle, the liberal's dream of pseudo-scientific, illogical security. In the year 2007 CE, we are still living in caves and scared of rolling things. Hooray for the Precautionary Principle!
To cheer you up after this last post, here is the best video on YouTube.
This does not need any comments. Just let your jaw drop naturally and let it hang at the text you are about to read.
I just paid my taxes, and I have to say, I always take pride when I do so. I don't like having less money to spend, of course, and the complexity of the process is really upsetting. But I am proud to pay for democracy, and I feel when I do send money to the DC Treasurer and the US Treasury that that is what I am doing. The right-wing likes to pretend as if taxes are a burden instead of the price of democracy. And I suppose, if you hate democracy, as the right-wing does, then taxes are the price for paying for something you really don't want. Personally, I find banking fees, high cable and internet charges, health care costs, and credit card hidden charges much more abrasive than taxes, because with those I'm just being ripped off to pay for someone's summer home.
Patriotism is about recognizing that we are all connected in a fundamental moral and physical sense, that the war in Iraq is our war, that poverty in New Orleans is our poverty, that public funding to cure cancer comes from each of us and not just the scientists who have made it theirs. The tax burden we face is a very small price to pay for the privilege of taking responsibility for our own freedom and our own society. And the hatred of taxes on the right comes from a hatred for this responsibility. It's childish and immoral and unAmerican.
The Machinery of Freedom episode 20- Two Arguments for Self-Determination
Wherein I define a few terms, then explain two arguements, the Problem of Collectivist Obligation and Freedom's Imperative, and close by debunking a couple of other myths.
Songs: Paul Simon- How Can You Live in the Northeast, Mylene Farmer- Peut-Etre Toi.
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Here is an explanation of the "Famous Violinist Problem," an argument which, in my opinion, puts the final nail in the coffin of anti-abortion rhetoric.
In her thought experiment we are asked to imagine a famous violinist falling into a coma. The society of music lovers determines from medical records that you and you alone can save the violinist's life by being hooked up to him for nine months. The music lovers break into your home while you are asleep and hook the unconscious (and unknowing, hence innocent) violinist to you. You may want to unhook him, but you are then faced with this argument put forward by the music lovers: The violinist is an innocent person with a right to life. Unhooking him will result in his death. Therefore, unhooking him is morally wrong.
However, the argument does not seem convincing in this case. You would be very generous to remain attached and in bed for nine months, but you are not morally obliged to do so. The parallel with the abortion case is evident. The thought experiment is effective in distinguishing two concepts that had previously been run together: “right to life” and “right to what is needed to sustain life.” The fetus and the violinist may each have the former, but it is not evident that either has the latter. The upshot is that even if the fetus has a right to life (which Thompson does not believe but allows for the sake of the argument), it may still be morally permissible to abort. Theorizing about thought experiments usually turns on the details or the patterns of specific cases.
John Laughland wrote a great article in the The Spectator, in which he points out facts that both 9-11 truthers and 9-11 skeptics, and especially Market Anarchists, should agree on:
British and American foreign policy is itself based on a series of highly improbable conspiracy theories, the biggest of which is that an evil Saudi millionaire genius in a cave in the Hindu Kush controls a secret worldwide network of ‘tens of thousands of terrorists’ ‘in more than 60 countries’ (George Bush)...
By the same token, the US-led invasion of Iraq was based on a fantasy that Saddam Hussein was in, or might one day enter into, a conspiracy with Osama bin Laden...
In contrast to such imaginings, it is perfectly reasonable to raise questions about the power of the secret services and armed forces of the world’s most powerful states, especially those of the USA. These are not ‘theories’ at all; they are based on fact. The Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the Office of Naval Intelligence, the National Reconnaissance Office, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other US secret services spend more than $30,000,000,000 a year on espionage and covert operations. Do opponents of conspiracy theories think that this money is given to the Langley, Virginia Cats’ Home?
The present movement for secession has been gathering steam for a decade and a half. In preparation for Vermont's bicentennial in 1991, public debates -- moderated by then-Lt. Gov. Howard Dean -- were held in seven towns before crowds that averaged 230 citizens. At the end of each, Dean asked all those in favor of Vermont's seceding from the Union to stand and be counted. In town after town, solid majorities stood. The final count: 999 (62 percent) for secession and 608 opposed.
In early 2003, transplanted Southerner and retired Duke University economics professor Thomas Naylor gave a speech at Johnson State College opposing the Iraq war. When he pitched the idea of secession to the crowd, he saw many eyes "light up," he said. Later that year, he and several others started a loosely organized movement (now a think tank) called the Second Vermont Republic, which has an independent quarterly journal, Vermont Commons, and a Web site.
The Machinery of Freedom episode 19- Myths and Illusions part 2
Wherein I debunk other statist myths. On this show: the relative competence of government, the belief in "evil people," the State as saviour, the "benevolent warrior," "we are the government," and social justice.
Songs: Family Guy- Buy me a Rainbow, Phil Collins - Something Happened on the Way to Heaven, Rene and Nathalie Simard- Tourne la Page.
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I have a double-whammy for you: one corporatist victory and one liberal whine-fest. First, the bad guys from the right: "Epson wins preliminary ruling against aftermarket cartridge manufacturers."
Epson is one step closer to closing the books on a case against third-party ink cartridge manufacturers that make and sell products to work with Epson printers. The company has won a preliminary ruling saying that 24 aftermarket print cartridge manufacturers do indeed infringe on Epson's patents, and they face orders that would bar them from selling the infringing products in the US.
...
In a rather high-profile case, Lexmark battled North Carolina-based Static Control Components (SCC) over the manufacture of printing components meant to lock-out third party providers. In that case, Lexmark had tried to use the DMCA to argue that SCC had infringed on Lexmark's intellectual property, but that approach failed.
Epson's approach has focused on patents and patent law, and so far it has been successful. In the federal court case, Epson accused its competitors of patent infringement primarily based on two patents: 7,008,053 and 7,011,397. Both patents cover minor technical innovations in the production of inkjet printer cartridges, and Epson has since piled on additional patents in an attempt to ensnare all of the companies manufacturing ink replacement products for its most recent printers. We suspect that this isn't the last time we'll see this tactic used, given its success.
A similar study from the Cooper Institute in Dallas found that completing daily tasks without automated assistance (like drive-through car washes) increases monthly energy expenditure by as many as 8,800 additional calories -- the equivalent of 2.5 pounds of body fat. During a 2002 meeting at the Mayo Clinic the study's lead author, Steven N. Blair, said, "I think that inactivity is the major public-health problem of this century. Physical activity has been engineered out of daily life."
Defying the mounting research that fingers sedentary lifestyle as the main cause for obesity, organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) claim to address childhood obesity by "encourag[ing] food and beverage companies to offer healthier products and change their marketing practices."
But RWJF's notion of "encouragement" includes funding food police groups like the Center for Science in the Public Interest in order to push invasive measures like food bans, fat taxes, and food zoning. And in a press release today the foundation pledged $500 million to continue this ill-conceived fight.
Here is the Google Trends page for the word "sex":
http://www.google.com/trends?q=sex&date=all&geo=all&ctab=1&sa=N
Note which regions search for the word "sex" the most: Pakistan, Egypt, India, Turkey, Morocco, Viet Nam, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia.
Stone the supermodels and pass the wank materials...
Freedom of religion only applies to the religions people like. Believers in the Flying Spaghetti Monsters are NOT welcome by the State:
Buncombe County Schools says the eye patch was disruptive to classroom instruction. The student’s refusal to take it off after four warnings led to discipline, the district said.
“I feel like my First Amendment was violated,” Killian, 16, said. “Freedom of religion and freedom of expression. That’s what I tried to do, and I got shot down.”
Freedom of religion?
Yes, Killian says, his “pirate regalia” is part of his faith — the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
BRUSSELS, April 3 (RIA Novosti) - The government of Belgium's French-speaking region of Wallonia, which has a population of about 4 million, has approved a tax on barbequing, local media reported.
Experts said that between 50 and 100 grams of CO2, a so-called greenhouse gas, is emitted during barbequing. Beginning June 2007, residents of Wallonia will have to pay 20 euros for a grilling session.
The Machinery of Freedom episode 18- Myths and Illusions part 1
Wherein I rant a bit about the rise of the State, and then begin debunking various statist myths. On this show: the necessity of the State, zero sum games, inflation, "coercive" market relationships, market failure, public goods, monopolies, and "predatory pricing."
Songs: Rush- Anthem, Of Montreal- Wrath Pinned to the Mist
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It's not okay to use free speech if you offend a religion, any religion, says that band of thugs, dictators and criminals called the UN:
The resolution, which was opposed by a number of other non-Muslim countries, "expresses deep concern at attempts to identify Islam with terrorism, violence and human rights violations."
It makes no mention of any other religion besides Islam, but urges countries "to take resolute action to prohibit the dissemination of racist and xenophobic ideas and material aimed at any religion or its followers that constitute incitement and religious hatred, hostility, or violence."
The resolution was adopted by a 24-14 vote with nine abstentions. Canada, Japan and
South Korea joined European countries in opposition, primarily citing its excessive focus on Islam and incompatibility with fundamental rights such as the freedoms of speech and thought.
The results seem to call into question exactly which method the British government is using to determine the relative harmfulness of drugs. According to the authors of the study, "Tobacco and alcohol together account for about 90 percent of all drug-related deaths in the U.K." Yet both of those substances are legal. In the United States, a study published in the journal of the American Medical Association in 2000 shows that 95 percent of drug-related deaths in the United States are from alcohol and tobacco use.
Wherein I explain the nature of individualism and collectivism, as well as horizontal and vertical collectivism, and how they model the political ideologies around us.
Songs: TMBG- Man, it's so Loud in Here, Air - Cherry Blossom Girl
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A "Communist choice" is a choice where only one option is possible or has an effect.
Here is a nice example from a recent and extremely moronic "UK" PR campaign: 
