Where is Bill Gates when you need him ?

[MSimon]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180033807075069.html

Jews around Europe are increasingly under attack since Israel decided two weeks ago to defend itself after years of rocket fire at its civilian population. There have been arson attempts on synagogues in Britain, Belgium and Germany. Police last week arrested Muslim protesters who wanted to enter the Jewish quarter in Antwerp. Several Danish schools with large Muslim student bodies say they won't enroll Jewish kids because they can't guarantee the children's safety. In France, a group of teenagers attacked a 14-year-old girl last week, calling her "dirty Jew" while kicking her.

At rallies in Germany and the Netherlands over the past two weeks, protesters shouted, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas." In Amsterdam, Socialist lawmaker Harry van Bommel and Greta Duisenberg, widow of the first European Central Bank president, marched at the front of one such "peace" demonstration. They didn't join in the background chorus calling for another Holocaust. Instead, they chanted, "Intifada, Intifada, Free Palestine." Mr. Van Bommel later insisted this wasn't a call for Jewish blood but for "civil disobedience" -- a laughable defense given that terrorists during the last intifada murdered more than 1,000 Israelis.

What you need to watch for is the reverse psychology disinformation campaign. Get one false report big play to discredit true reports.

BTW Greta Duisenberg was at it in 2006 too so that has some credibility.

[MSimon]

So who really pays Glen Jenvey's bills?

[alexjrgreen]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123180033807075069.html

Jews around Europe are increasingly under attack since Israel decided two weeks ago to defend itself after years of rocket fire at its civilian population. There have been arson attempts on synagogues in Britain, Belgium and Germany. Police last week arrested Muslim protesters who wanted to enter the Jewish quarter in Antwerp. Several Danish schools with large Muslim student bodies say they won't enroll Jewish kids because they can't guarantee the children's safety. In France, a group of teenagers attacked a 14-year-old girl last week, calling her "dirty Jew" while kicking her.

At rallies in Germany and the Netherlands over the past two weeks, protesters shouted, "Hamas, Hamas, Jews to the Gas." In Amsterdam, Socialist lawmaker Harry van Bommel and Greta Duisenberg, widow of the first European Central Bank president, marched at the front of one such "peace" demonstration. They didn't join in the background chorus calling for another Holocaust. Instead, they chanted, "Intifada, Intifada, Free Palestine." Mr. Van Bommel later insisted this wasn't a call for Jewish blood but for "civil disobedience" -- a laughable defense given that terrorists during the last intifada murdered more than 1,000 Israelis.

Anti-semitism is alive and well in Europe and sadly never went away. It comes though, from a tiny minority. This report massively over-spins it.

The last statement in the quote is simply wrong. Intifada casualty numbers can be found here http://www.btselem.org/english/statisti ... alties.asp

The situation in Gaza has caused great concern in the UK, for example http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/ja ... itish-jews

[jabowery]

The key to understanding the importance of frontiers is that at some point one's acceptance of 'the way things are' gives way to the Gordian Knot being severed by the equivalent of an unemployed Navy SEAL vet plunging his 10 inch blade into one of your so-called "alpha males".

Game over.

[MSimon]

The key to understanding the importance of frontiers is that at some point one's acceptance of 'the way things are' gives way to the Gordian Knot being severed by the equivalent of an unemployed Navy SEAL vet plunging his 10 inch blade into one of your so-called "alpha males".

Game over.

And then the Navy Seal is the new alpha male. Same game. New players.

[ravingdave]

The key to understanding the importance of frontiers is that at some point one's acceptance of 'the way things are' gives way to the Gordian Knot being severed by the equivalent of an unemployed Navy SEAL vet plunging his 10 inch blade into one of your so-called "alpha males".

Game over.

And then the Navy Seal is the new alpha male. Same game. New players.

Alpha Males are only Alpha Males so long as they are "Alpha" Males.





David

[jabowery]

The key to understanding the importance of frontiers is that at some point one's acceptance of 'the way things are' gives way to the Gordian Knot being severed by the equivalent of an unemployed Navy SEAL vet plunging his 10 inch blade into one of your so-called "alpha males".

Game over.

And then the Navy Seal is the new alpha male. Same game. New players.

Actually, New Game: Theaters of war are a bit different from cineplexes.

[MSimon]

The key to understanding the importance of frontiers is that at some point one's acceptance of 'the way things are' gives way to the Gordian Knot being severed by the equivalent of an unemployed Navy SEAL vet plunging his 10 inch blade into one of your so-called "alpha males".

Game over.

And then the Navy Seal is the new alpha male. Same game. New players.

Actually, New Game: Theaters of war are a bit different from cineplexes.

Actually to change the game you need to change human nature. Not going to happen for a couple of weeks.

[TDPerk]

In the discussion that I can recall seeing: If Steve Jobs hadn't made some 100% stoopid decisions, Apple would have handed Bill Gates his a$$ with a new orifice.

Talk of network effects has its place and relevance, but Bill Gates made many very smart decisions, while his competition screwed the pooch.

None of which was a "network effect..."

...or rent seeking.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

[jabowery]

Actually to change the game you need to change human nature. Not going to happen for a couple of weeks.

Actually, to change the rules you need to change the tools.

Happening all the time -- but most particularly during the 20th century first with mass media and then again with the transistor aka the new Guttenberg Revolution aka the Internet. Human nature is only one ingredient.

[ravingdave]

In the discussion that I can recall seeing: If Steve Jobs hadn't made some 100% stoopid decisions, Apple would have handed Bill Gates his a$$ with a new orifice.

Talk of network effects has its place and relevance, but Bill Gates made many very smart decisions, while his competition screwed the pooch.

None of which was a "network effect..."

...or rent seeking.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

The biggest mistake Apple made was hiring Microsoft, which effectively stole Apple's Mac operating system code.

What smart decision did Bill Gates make ? Stealing the code ? Yeah, it was smart, but unethical.


David

[jabowery]

Talk of network effects has its place and relevance, but ...Bill Gates made many very smart decisions, while his competition screwed the pooch.

None of which was a "network effect..."

...or rent seeking.

What smart decision did Bill Gates make ? Stealing the code ? Yeah, it was smart, but unethical.

Well, we can argue like theocrats till Doomsday, because the fundamental problem is that uncontrolled experiments in social engineering are being run on people without their consent. This is no more inherent in human nature than was the absence of controlled experimentation prior to the Enlightenment -- it is simply the way some people like it since it hides things in a haze of words.

[TDPerk]

which effectively stole Apple's Mac operating system code.

Show me the copied code.

Then show me how Apple wasn't poaching GUI concepts from Palo Alto (I think it was Palo Alto -- it's been about ten years since I engaged in this silly debate).

Number one thing besides open standards Apple screwed up -- its mouse had one button.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

[TDPerk]

Well, we can argue like theocrats till Doomsday, because the fundamental problem is that uncontrolled experiments in social engineering are being run on people without their consent.

My problem with it is that in this country it isn't being done according to Hoyle, aka, the constitution. I suspect you wouldn't be happy with what might be done even if it were constitutional.

I suspect we part ways there.

None of which has much to do with Bill Gates or Microsoft--MS is perfectly constitutional.

Also, rent seeking pisses off the rent payers. Absent the connivance of government, there is no mechanism by which barriers to entry can be maintained--no monopoly exists indefinitely unless it is sensible, absent government. Similarly, unions do not exist where management is competent--absent government action.

Yours, TDP, ml, msl, & pfpp

[jabowery]

Well, we can argue like theocrats till Doomsday, because the fundamental problem is that uncontrolled experiments in social engineering are being run on people without their consent.

My problem with it is that in this country it isn't being done according to Hoyle, aka, the constitution. I suspect you wouldn't be happy with what might be done even if it were constitutional.

Perhaps, but if so it is mainly because scientist statesmen like Jefferson, Franklin, etc. did not anticipate the closing of the frontier and the consequent closing of options for citizens to create new human ecologies on lands relatively free of rent-seekers in either the public or private sectors.

Understand that when I speak of "rent-seeking" I'm using a technical term of political economy that is only incidentally related to "rent" as it is normally used. I've given a technical definition of "economic rent" that is at odds with the original posited by Riccardo through George, but which I believe necessary due to the historic over-emphasis on agricultural economics.