Thursday, October 30, 2014
Update
This is not an easy semester. Little time for blogging, but here's a quick note...
1. Jean Tirole was awarded the Nobel in Economics. I mostly know Tirole from the masterful Game Theory he co-authored with Drew Fudenberg, the primary text I used in preparing for my field exam in game theory during my Ph.D. program at NYU. I've read a little of his other work, but not much. Just a good technical economist, in my view. I'm unsurprised Kirzner didn't receive the award, but just having him identified as a frontrunner is a great thing.
2. Sweden recognized the State of Palestine. In my opinion, it's time for Israel to bite the bullet and recognize a Palestinian state as well... and then give it 24 hours to start rooting out the terrorist groups in its territory, starting with Hamas, or face a declaration of all out war. As far as I can tell, all of the main Palestinian political players, including Mahmoud Abbas and his PA, are exterminationists, willing to perpetrate a final solution should they get a chance. I also think we're entering a world where this is becoming increasingly politically correct. This morning I heard a BBC interviewer challenge an Israeli official who was talking about the the attempted assassination of Rabbi Yehuda Glick, saying "but isn't it the case that Israelis have been giving serious provocation" and then explaining that the "serious provocation" is suggesting that Jews should should be able to go to Temple Mount. Cynical as I am, even I was shocked -- the BBC World News bunch is as PC as they come. The freedom of any other racial, religious, or ethnic group to move about would never be challenged, I think. But it appears Jews -- especially Israeli Jews -- are becoming international pariahs, at least in Europe and parts of the United States (e.g. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue). No wonder Caroline Glick thinks it's time for Israel to say to hell with it and bomb Iran. I don't know if she's right militarily, but it makes a kind of sense. By appeasing Palestinian exterminationists and getting tough with Israel, Europe and Obama make war increasingly likely, not peace.
3. I think one must be insane to think that unrestricted travel from countries undergoing ebola epidemics is acceptable. I cannot find it now, but the dean of a medical school in Pennsylvania recently had an op-ed in WaPo pointing out that anyone in West Africa who has been exposed to ebola ought to be doing all they can to get to the United States, where the disease is not a nearly-certain death sentence, and that for this reason we ought to be limiting travel. But no. President-who-would-be-king Obama assures us that completely unrestricted travel is necessary to fight the disease, and that health care workers who return to the U.S. after treating ebola patients need not be treated differently than anyone else... just before his Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, announced quarantine for all U.S. troops who have been sent to sent Ebola. I'm particularly irked by nurse Kaci Hickox, who courageously went to Sierra Leone to treat ebola patients, and now -- having exposed herself to the deadly disease -- self-righteously thinks she ought to be able to possibly expose everyone else. To hell with her. The stupid bastard Craig Spencer M.D. did the same thing and now people who had contact with him are being monitored and at least one business closed as a result. Spencer ought to be prosecuted for what he's done, not hailed as a hero.
But these are what Heinlein called "the Crazy Years." You can even find libertarians suggesting there's no real problem in having people with ebola travel freely and mingle with the general public, but mandatory quarantine, that's utterly unthinkable and unacceptable and is no different from establishing internment camps. Good grief. (Note my three responses in the comments, and that so far while Tucker has responded he refuses to deal with any serious questions at all.)
Sigh.
I will have both a Le Grizz report and part two of my nuclear weapon piece up... soon, I hope.
1. Jean Tirole was awarded the Nobel in Economics. I mostly know Tirole from the masterful Game Theory he co-authored with Drew Fudenberg, the primary text I used in preparing for my field exam in game theory during my Ph.D. program at NYU. I've read a little of his other work, but not much. Just a good technical economist, in my view. I'm unsurprised Kirzner didn't receive the award, but just having him identified as a frontrunner is a great thing.
2. Sweden recognized the State of Palestine. In my opinion, it's time for Israel to bite the bullet and recognize a Palestinian state as well... and then give it 24 hours to start rooting out the terrorist groups in its territory, starting with Hamas, or face a declaration of all out war. As far as I can tell, all of the main Palestinian political players, including Mahmoud Abbas and his PA, are exterminationists, willing to perpetrate a final solution should they get a chance. I also think we're entering a world where this is becoming increasingly politically correct. This morning I heard a BBC interviewer challenge an Israeli official who was talking about the the attempted assassination of Rabbi Yehuda Glick, saying "but isn't it the case that Israelis have been giving serious provocation" and then explaining that the "serious provocation" is suggesting that Jews should should be able to go to Temple Mount. Cynical as I am, even I was shocked -- the BBC World News bunch is as PC as they come. The freedom of any other racial, religious, or ethnic group to move about would never be challenged, I think. But it appears Jews -- especially Israeli Jews -- are becoming international pariahs, at least in Europe and parts of the United States (e.g. 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue). No wonder Caroline Glick thinks it's time for Israel to say to hell with it and bomb Iran. I don't know if she's right militarily, but it makes a kind of sense. By appeasing Palestinian exterminationists and getting tough with Israel, Europe and Obama make war increasingly likely, not peace.
3. I think one must be insane to think that unrestricted travel from countries undergoing ebola epidemics is acceptable. I cannot find it now, but the dean of a medical school in Pennsylvania recently had an op-ed in WaPo pointing out that anyone in West Africa who has been exposed to ebola ought to be doing all they can to get to the United States, where the disease is not a nearly-certain death sentence, and that for this reason we ought to be limiting travel. But no. President-who-would-be-king Obama assures us that completely unrestricted travel is necessary to fight the disease, and that health care workers who return to the U.S. after treating ebola patients need not be treated differently than anyone else... just before his Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hagel, announced quarantine for all U.S. troops who have been sent to sent Ebola. I'm particularly irked by nurse Kaci Hickox, who courageously went to Sierra Leone to treat ebola patients, and now -- having exposed herself to the deadly disease -- self-righteously thinks she ought to be able to possibly expose everyone else. To hell with her. The stupid bastard Craig Spencer M.D. did the same thing and now people who had contact with him are being monitored and at least one business closed as a result. Spencer ought to be prosecuted for what he's done, not hailed as a hero.
But these are what Heinlein called "the Crazy Years." You can even find libertarians suggesting there's no real problem in having people with ebola travel freely and mingle with the general public, but mandatory quarantine, that's utterly unthinkable and unacceptable and is no different from establishing internment camps. Good grief. (Note my three responses in the comments, and that so far while Tucker has responded he refuses to deal with any serious questions at all.)
Sigh.
I will have both a Le Grizz report and part two of my nuclear weapon piece up... soon, I hope.
