Saturday, January 21, 2012
No War, No Sanctions, No Intervention, No Assassinations
No War on Iran: National Day of Action: Saturday, February 4
The Rejection of Palestinian Self-Determination
Jeremy Hammond has written an excellent brief book on the origin of the strife in Palestine. This is the book (available for the Kindle) to read or recommend for anyone who wants to know what’s going on in Palestine but who isn’t prepared to spend her life reading about the matter.
Thank you, Jeremy Hammond!
Obama and the GOP
Republicans hate Obama. But, then, it's said that one most hates those like oneself.
No Bain, No Pain?
I submit that judging Bain Capital through the fog of corporate statism is not easy. But a general suspicion is probably in order.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Wise Beyond His Years
[T]he term “Israeli/Palestinian Conflict” [is] no more accurate than calling the Civil Rights Movement the “Caucasian/ African-American Conflict.” In both cases, the expression was a blatant euphemism: it gave the impression that this was a dispute among equals and that both held an equal share of the blame. However, in both, there was clearly an oppressor and an oppressed, and I felt horrified at the realization that I was by nature on the side of the oppressors.
--Jesse Lieberfeld, 11th -grader in Pennysylvania
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
What Israel Really Fears about Iran
From the Washington Post:
A nuclear Iran could make it tougher for Israel to act against enemies closer to home, a senior Israeli military official said Tuesday, suggesting that regional fallout would be broad should Tehran achieve bomb making capabilities.
Military planning division chief Maj. Gen. Amir Eshel said if Tehran attains atomic weapons, that could constrain Israel from striking Iranian-backed Islamist groups in Lebanon and Gaza, Hezbollah and Hamas.
In other words, Israeli leaders don’t fear an attack. (Others have already said this, and American neocons agree.) Rather they fear that a nuclear Iran could deter Israel from asserting its will in the region. Hezbollah is a “threat” only if Israel again invades Lebanon. Hamas would cease being a threat if the Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank (and Israel itself) were treated justly.
All of this presumes Iran is working toward acquiring a nuclear weapon (Israel has about 200), but to – to repeat—there is no evidence of this.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
This Is a Libertarian Argument?
Some libertarian minarchists reject libertarian anarchism on the grounds that a few people would get away with crimes or with not paying their debts. I don’t think this is true. The minarchists underrate the power of entrepreneurship and mutual aid to solve important problems. (And it’s not as if people don’t routinely get away with crimes, torts, and contract violations under any political system.)
But even if the minarchists were right, what kind of argument is that for a libertarian to deliver? It says that to make sure no escapes justice we should accept a monopoly law-enforcer sustained by aggressive force. I thought libertarians didn’t believe that good ends justify aggression. ("The principle that the end justifies the means is in individualist ethics regarded as the denial of all morals. In collectivist ethics it becomes necessarily the supreme rule." -- F. A. Hayek)
Odd, indeed.
But even if the minarchists were right, what kind of argument is that for a libertarian to deliver? It says that to make sure no escapes justice we should accept a monopoly law-enforcer sustained by aggressive force. I thought libertarians didn’t believe that good ends justify aggression. ("The principle that the end justifies the means is in individualist ethics regarded as the denial of all morals. In collectivist ethics it becomes necessarily the supreme rule." -- F. A. Hayek)
Odd, indeed.
Private Equity and Creative Destruction
The private-equity controversy raging around Mitt Romney is complicated in part because of corporatist interventions. But it misses the point to say, as some have, that Bain Capital wasn't trying to create jobs; rather it was trying to make money for its investors. For that just raises the question: How does one make money for investors? Theoretically the answer is: ultimately by creating value for consumers. That could require reducing the use of labor and resources in one line of production in order to free them for another line in which consumers have a more intense demand. We live in a world of scarcity.
Of course, I’ve only scratched the surface.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Urination Bad, Torture Okay
You might get punished for urinating on corpses, but if you order or commit torture on live prisoners, have no fear. There will be no legal consequences.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
The Israeli General’s Son
Miko Peled, son of the late Israeli Defense Force General and subsequent peace activist Mattiyahu Peled, has written a hard-hitting essay on the long-standing relationship between Israel and the Palestinians, “Ethnic cleansing is what drives Israel’s policy towards Palestinians.” I strongly recommend it.
Miko Peled’s book, The General’s Son, is about to be published.
Sunday, January 08, 2012
Thursday, January 05, 2012
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