Bloomberg reports a new form of subprime security: "asset-backed auto debt linked to loans to consumers with credit considered subprime"...
And investors, liking the high yields, are snapping them up.
Posts
Mises the Man
23 hours ago
Showing posts with label Dumbassery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dumbassery. Show all posts
2010/10/07
2010/09/21
The Warm Blooded Murder of Erik Scott
Warm blooded murder?
Yep.
In the Las Vegas desert sun, even the reptilian cops have warm blood.
On July 10, 2010 Erik B. Scott, West Point grad, honorably discharged veteran, Duke MBA grad and medical service rep, was executed by Las Vegas police for the crime of shopping at Costco with his girlfriend. You see, Scott was in possession of a permitted concealed weapon, which permit was issued by the department that killed him.
This is part of a much larger problem in America - the militarization of the police. That militarization isn't helped by the fact that tens of thousands of departments use a version of IQ testing to deliberately hire people who are slightly BELOW average to average. Whether this is an outgrowth of affirmative action or a result of departments simply not wanting smart people looking at them from the inside, this is an intolerable practice. Then there's the fact that power corrupts, and the corollary fact that the police have far too much power these days.
I know this will anger many LEO's and .gov types, but the situation is completely out of hand. Cops have been getting away with executing people for years, aided and abetted by compliant coroners, prosecutors and judges. I would hope people's patriotism will eventually overrule their blind support of law enforcement and bring a halt to these murders.
The majority of police shootings I've studied are tainted, at best. Up till now, it has been all too easy to marginalize those they executed, and get away with the crimes. It's been obvious to anyone watching this that they would eventually screw up and kill a really good guy, and they did just that when they shot Erik Scott. He comes from an intact family. Father William Scott is an Honest to God test pilot and acclaimed aerospace journalist, with years at Aviation Week. This guy has contacts all over. Powerful contacts. He's giving them a chance to fess up to his son's murder, but sooner or later, his patience will run out.
Erik, from his bio, was an exemplary man. To reiterate: West Point grad. Honorable service. Graduate degree (Duke MBA) while working full time. The only blotch on his life was two failed marriages (not at all difficult to understand in a military man's life) and allegations of threats and violence, made during divorce proceedings by an ex, later dropped and subsequently sealed by the judge(!).
Sealed, that is, until the untouchables need to get away with his murder.
Lots of people carry guns. The ones who bother to get a permit are, by definition, the good guys. Costco apparently has a policy against carrying guns in their stores, which they don't post anywhere. (Dang. How many of us have carried into a Costco, not knowing our peril??) The Costco employee who set this mess in motion only saw Erik's gun because his jacket rode up when he bent down. He wasn't waving it around, and he wasn't acting erratically. He was SHOPPING with his girlfriend.
Did the employee ask him to leave? Don't know. We do know that Erik Scott informed the employee that he had a permit, that he was carrying legally, and that he then went back to his shopping. From there, the only thing we know for sure is that the employee called a manager.
Did the manager ask Erik to leave? Don't know. It's essentially a certainty that Scott told the manager he had a permit. We do know the manager called a security guard, who called the police. Now, I belong to Costco (did, anyway. Mine expired two weeks ago, and pending resolution of this case I have not renewed) and I know how they operate. Managers carry radios. That's how they communicate. I was in a Costco office once, too, talking with a manager about a special order. I saw where the security camera monitor sat, and it was not monitored by a live human being. In fact, there was a stack of paperwork on that chair. The security guard, wherever he was, has a radio too. It's pretty likely (obvious, actually) that the security guard who called 911 was at best acting on radio transmitted hearsay, and more likely was engaged in his own speculation (spelled L Y I N G) when he said Erik was acting erratically and that he might be on drugs. That's called false reporting, and when someone dies as a result, Costco is complicit in the death.
Is it possible that Erik Scott was asked to leave and refused? Yes. But we don't know, and Costco likely would have been trumpeting that long before now if it was true, as a CYA/PR measure. I'm guessing he wasn't asked to leave. Erik was a smart guy, and he was with his girlfriend. The only plausible response would have been for him to say "sure - I'll take my business elsewhere, and I'll leave just as soon as you refund my membership fee". That's exactly what I would have done.
Then there's the trigger happy cops. They screwed up big time on this one. They should have shot a Mexican or a black man, preferably one with a long criminal history. (And simmer down. I'm being cynical, not racist.) Anyway, how do you explain shooting a guy like Erik?
The answer is you don't explain it. You CAN'T explain it. You just don't kill West Point grads for shopping at Costco with their girlfriends. And here's where this turns truly disgusting. The cops are trying to smear Erik Scott in order to get away with it. They have managed to unseal the allegations made by his ex, and are trying to make hay of the fact that he was on painkillers, implying addiction, but conveniently ignoring the back injuries he sustained jumping out of military aircraft in service of his country.
A smart crime family, one that has gotten away with murder hundreds of times, takes their lumps when they finally get caught. Cops, though, aren't anywhere near that smart. They're untouchable, so they're smearing an outstanding man instead of fessing up. A man they killed in cold blood, entirely without cause. And, they've had plenty of time to figure out who the father is, and that he's not a man to trifle with. Yet on they go, digging their own grave...
The inquest, long delayed, will supposedly be broadcast live for the next three days on mynews3.com starting at 10 AM PST tomorrow - and it's a kangaroo court if there ever was one. The family and their counsel are not allowed to cross examine anyone, and only evidence deemed acceptable by the County marsupials will be allowed.
This isn't over, and I predict it will blow up big time. (Sure hope so.) Conservatives, who usually rationalize police violence because they support "law and order" will have a tough time swallowing this one. A really tough time. A lot of us are already choking, and the word is still spreading. And conservatives are the support base of law enforcement, at least as far as the public is concerned. Because of who the victim was, and who his father is, this case has the potential to blow the lid off this sordid aspect of police corruption nationwide, and I hope and pray it does. Killings by the police shouldn't be routinely swept under the rug in a free society, no matter what kind of people they kill. It's gone on long enough.
ETA: Eric Scott's father, William Scott, has a blog going about this. Here.
Yep.
In the Las Vegas desert sun, even the reptilian cops have warm blood.
On July 10, 2010 Erik B. Scott, West Point grad, honorably discharged veteran, Duke MBA grad and medical service rep, was executed by Las Vegas police for the crime of shopping at Costco with his girlfriend. You see, Scott was in possession of a permitted concealed weapon, which permit was issued by the department that killed him.
This is part of a much larger problem in America - the militarization of the police. That militarization isn't helped by the fact that tens of thousands of departments use a version of IQ testing to deliberately hire people who are slightly BELOW average to average. Whether this is an outgrowth of affirmative action or a result of departments simply not wanting smart people looking at them from the inside, this is an intolerable practice. Then there's the fact that power corrupts, and the corollary fact that the police have far too much power these days.
I know this will anger many LEO's and .gov types, but the situation is completely out of hand. Cops have been getting away with executing people for years, aided and abetted by compliant coroners, prosecutors and judges. I would hope people's patriotism will eventually overrule their blind support of law enforcement and bring a halt to these murders.
The majority of police shootings I've studied are tainted, at best. Up till now, it has been all too easy to marginalize those they executed, and get away with the crimes. It's been obvious to anyone watching this that they would eventually screw up and kill a really good guy, and they did just that when they shot Erik Scott. He comes from an intact family. Father William Scott is an Honest to God test pilot and acclaimed aerospace journalist, with years at Aviation Week. This guy has contacts all over. Powerful contacts. He's giving them a chance to fess up to his son's murder, but sooner or later, his patience will run out.
Erik, from his bio, was an exemplary man. To reiterate: West Point grad. Honorable service. Graduate degree (Duke MBA) while working full time. The only blotch on his life was two failed marriages (not at all difficult to understand in a military man's life) and allegations of threats and violence, made during divorce proceedings by an ex, later dropped and subsequently sealed by the judge(!).
Sealed, that is, until the untouchables need to get away with his murder.
Lots of people carry guns. The ones who bother to get a permit are, by definition, the good guys. Costco apparently has a policy against carrying guns in their stores, which they don't post anywhere. (Dang. How many of us have carried into a Costco, not knowing our peril??) The Costco employee who set this mess in motion only saw Erik's gun because his jacket rode up when he bent down. He wasn't waving it around, and he wasn't acting erratically. He was SHOPPING with his girlfriend.
Did the employee ask him to leave? Don't know. We do know that Erik Scott informed the employee that he had a permit, that he was carrying legally, and that he then went back to his shopping. From there, the only thing we know for sure is that the employee called a manager.
Did the manager ask Erik to leave? Don't know. It's essentially a certainty that Scott told the manager he had a permit. We do know the manager called a security guard, who called the police. Now, I belong to Costco (did, anyway. Mine expired two weeks ago, and pending resolution of this case I have not renewed) and I know how they operate. Managers carry radios. That's how they communicate. I was in a Costco office once, too, talking with a manager about a special order. I saw where the security camera monitor sat, and it was not monitored by a live human being. In fact, there was a stack of paperwork on that chair. The security guard, wherever he was, has a radio too. It's pretty likely (obvious, actually) that the security guard who called 911 was at best acting on radio transmitted hearsay, and more likely was engaged in his own speculation (spelled L Y I N G) when he said Erik was acting erratically and that he might be on drugs. That's called false reporting, and when someone dies as a result, Costco is complicit in the death.
Is it possible that Erik Scott was asked to leave and refused? Yes. But we don't know, and Costco likely would have been trumpeting that long before now if it was true, as a CYA/PR measure. I'm guessing he wasn't asked to leave. Erik was a smart guy, and he was with his girlfriend. The only plausible response would have been for him to say "sure - I'll take my business elsewhere, and I'll leave just as soon as you refund my membership fee". That's exactly what I would have done.
Then there's the trigger happy cops. They screwed up big time on this one. They should have shot a Mexican or a black man, preferably one with a long criminal history. (And simmer down. I'm being cynical, not racist.) Anyway, how do you explain shooting a guy like Erik?
The answer is you don't explain it. You CAN'T explain it. You just don't kill West Point grads for shopping at Costco with their girlfriends. And here's where this turns truly disgusting. The cops are trying to smear Erik Scott in order to get away with it. They have managed to unseal the allegations made by his ex, and are trying to make hay of the fact that he was on painkillers, implying addiction, but conveniently ignoring the back injuries he sustained jumping out of military aircraft in service of his country.
A smart crime family, one that has gotten away with murder hundreds of times, takes their lumps when they finally get caught. Cops, though, aren't anywhere near that smart. They're untouchable, so they're smearing an outstanding man instead of fessing up. A man they killed in cold blood, entirely without cause. And, they've had plenty of time to figure out who the father is, and that he's not a man to trifle with. Yet on they go, digging their own grave...
The inquest, long delayed, will supposedly be broadcast live for the next three days on mynews3.com starting at 10 AM PST tomorrow - and it's a kangaroo court if there ever was one. The family and their counsel are not allowed to cross examine anyone, and only evidence deemed acceptable by the County marsupials will be allowed.
This isn't over, and I predict it will blow up big time. (Sure hope so.) Conservatives, who usually rationalize police violence because they support "law and order" will have a tough time swallowing this one. A really tough time. A lot of us are already choking, and the word is still spreading. And conservatives are the support base of law enforcement, at least as far as the public is concerned. Because of who the victim was, and who his father is, this case has the potential to blow the lid off this sordid aspect of police corruption nationwide, and I hope and pray it does. Killings by the police shouldn't be routinely swept under the rug in a free society, no matter what kind of people they kill. It's gone on long enough.
ETA: Eric Scott's father, William Scott, has a blog going about this. Here.
2010/09/08
Burning the Koran
No doubt all have heard of the little book burning scheduled for next Saturday, September 11th. Of course, at the heart of this is the pastor of a little church seeking his 15 minutes, which have been granted. One hopes he'll not be killed for his grandstanding.
What interests me most, though, is the reaction of the Islamists, who are hard at work revealing themselves for what they really are. I wish them Godspeed in this endeavor.
What interests me most, though, is the reaction of the Islamists, who are hard at work revealing themselves for what they really are. I wish them Godspeed in this endeavor.
2010/08/22
Thoughts on the "Ground Zero" Mosque
What follows is a comment I attempted to post HERE. I'm not sure it will appear, because it was, in this form, longer than blogger would accept. When I pared it down and resubmitted, I got a strange error message along with the standard notice that it had been saved for moderation. We'll see if it appears, and if not I'll try again. Meanwhile, here you go: "If Islam were merely another religion, there would be little debate over the proposed mosque. Sadly, Islam is far from being just another faith. Religion and government are joint tenants in Islam, and in practice, Islam is a system of government first - a brutal, militaristic, totalitarian system of government - and a religion - a government religion - second. Wherever it goes it insists on observing it's own law, and Islamic law runs contrary to the entire concept of individual liberty - including religious freedom - that we hold dear. Islam is the leading practitioner of slavery in the world today - first and foremost by intellectually enslaving all its followers, second by physically enslaving half its own (women) and third by physically enslaving all the subjugated in conquered lands. It is not just intolerant of all opposing views, it has a track record of brutally lethal violence against those views.
Just call them Dhimmicrats: in an expedience borne of mental illness, the left manifests a bizarre ease with radical Islam. The left's enemy is America, obviously, and the enemy of their enemy is their friend, right? Never mind what Islam has to say and do about leftist sacred cows such as aberrant sexual partnerships or women's rights. No worries there. As with all historical alliances with evil, this arrangement will work fine for them right up until it doesn't. Then, long past the point of no return, what they've known all along will be undeniable: with Islam, you're either at the table or you're on the menu. Of course, there's no room for others at the Islam's table, and Quisling makes a fine entree...
The argument that approximately 60% of Muslims are "lukewarm" is of little comfort, if one bothers with the obvious math: the remaining (approximate) 40% - the acknowledged fanatics and their ardent supporters - number somewhere north of 400 million. Beyond that, 600 million lukewarm followers (consent) are far more dangerous than 600 million standing united against the oppression (dissent). Western civilization cannot, as claimed above, prevail against 400 million enemy fanatics by "leading an exemplary life, as a true follower of Christ." It is at best naive to think that any group of humans can lead an exemplary life anyway. (We had a better chance at this than most, and look what we've done with it.) Then comes the obvious truth that there are times when such passivity is not just inappropriate, but immoral. As His crucifixion drew near, Christ himself admonished his disciples to buy swords, even if it meant selling their clothes. This is just such a time. Turning the other cheek accomplishes nothing beyond exposing the jugular. Christianity is not a suicide pact with evil, regardless of perverse insinuations to the contrary.
The Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact either. It's actually quite the opposite. Only a jackass can claim to be honoring the First Amendment by welcoming practitioners of an enemy doctrine that spawns precisely the oppression it was written to prevent. It is not in any way contrary to the First Amendment to deny an oppressive state religion a foothold in America.
This is the difference between being legalistic, which we see everywhere these days, and being moral, which we hardly see at all. Any nation can write laws (they all do) but very few have ever produced a legitimately moral code. We did, and that's what once set us apart. America was built on that moral code, by the controlled immigration of people who wanted to actively live by that code and enjoy the freedom it produced. Quotas were set, and the importation of our enemies was once recognized for the madness it is. Such people came here, of course, but if they hated the place or couldn't make it, they mostly went back home. If they stayed, it meant they had found some measure of success and had succumbed to societal pressure to become part of things. No more. The notion that immigrants should assimilate has been replaced by a cowardly willingness to let them annihilate. Now we not only import the hostile, we look the other way as millions more sneak in. Once here, we educate them, subsidize them, build them foot baths at our airports and pretend it's OK that they impose themselves and their dark ways at any place and in every place, including ground zero.
It's not OK. Not at all.
Islam is not our greatest threat. Legalistic acceptance of the oppression it represents is what frightens me. I dread what's coming in America. With all the legalistic thinkers among us, embracing one form of oppression or another, we're gonna need real blind luck to avoid ushering in another police state after the current one collapses.
III
FPG"
Just call them Dhimmicrats: in an expedience borne of mental illness, the left manifests a bizarre ease with radical Islam. The left's enemy is America, obviously, and the enemy of their enemy is their friend, right? Never mind what Islam has to say and do about leftist sacred cows such as aberrant sexual partnerships or women's rights. No worries there. As with all historical alliances with evil, this arrangement will work fine for them right up until it doesn't. Then, long past the point of no return, what they've known all along will be undeniable: with Islam, you're either at the table or you're on the menu. Of course, there's no room for others at the Islam's table, and Quisling makes a fine entree...
The argument that approximately 60% of Muslims are "lukewarm" is of little comfort, if one bothers with the obvious math: the remaining (approximate) 40% - the acknowledged fanatics and their ardent supporters - number somewhere north of 400 million. Beyond that, 600 million lukewarm followers (consent) are far more dangerous than 600 million standing united against the oppression (dissent). Western civilization cannot, as claimed above, prevail against 400 million enemy fanatics by "leading an exemplary life, as a true follower of Christ." It is at best naive to think that any group of humans can lead an exemplary life anyway. (We had a better chance at this than most, and look what we've done with it.) Then comes the obvious truth that there are times when such passivity is not just inappropriate, but immoral. As His crucifixion drew near, Christ himself admonished his disciples to buy swords, even if it meant selling their clothes. This is just such a time. Turning the other cheek accomplishes nothing beyond exposing the jugular. Christianity is not a suicide pact with evil, regardless of perverse insinuations to the contrary.
The Bill of Rights is not a suicide pact either. It's actually quite the opposite. Only a jackass can claim to be honoring the First Amendment by welcoming practitioners of an enemy doctrine that spawns precisely the oppression it was written to prevent. It is not in any way contrary to the First Amendment to deny an oppressive state religion a foothold in America.
This is the difference between being legalistic, which we see everywhere these days, and being moral, which we hardly see at all. Any nation can write laws (they all do) but very few have ever produced a legitimately moral code. We did, and that's what once set us apart. America was built on that moral code, by the controlled immigration of people who wanted to actively live by that code and enjoy the freedom it produced. Quotas were set, and the importation of our enemies was once recognized for the madness it is. Such people came here, of course, but if they hated the place or couldn't make it, they mostly went back home. If they stayed, it meant they had found some measure of success and had succumbed to societal pressure to become part of things. No more. The notion that immigrants should assimilate has been replaced by a cowardly willingness to let them annihilate. Now we not only import the hostile, we look the other way as millions more sneak in. Once here, we educate them, subsidize them, build them foot baths at our airports and pretend it's OK that they impose themselves and their dark ways at any place and in every place, including ground zero.
It's not OK. Not at all.
Islam is not our greatest threat. Legalistic acceptance of the oppression it represents is what frightens me. I dread what's coming in America. With all the legalistic thinkers among us, embracing one form of oppression or another, we're gonna need real blind luck to avoid ushering in another police state after the current one collapses.
III
FPG"
2010/03/20
What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Various versions of this are floating around the web:
Let me get this straight......we're trying to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also is exempt from it and hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.
What the hell could possibly go wrong?
(h/t to tacmotusn @ survivalmonkey)
Let me get this straight......we're trying to pass a health care plan written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it, passed by a Congress that hasn't read it but exempts themselves from it, to be signed by a president that also is exempt from it and hasn't read it and who smokes, with funding administered by a treasury chief who didn't pay his taxes, all to be overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and financed by a country that's broke.
What the hell could possibly go wrong?
(h/t to tacmotusn @ survivalmonkey)
2010/03/10
Letter to NASCAR
Sent just now, by e-mail:
To whom it SHOULD concern:
I just watched the replay of the Atlanta race and the Carl Edwards incident on Speed. Based on your "boys, have at it" policy it's likely this is the last NASCAR race I'll ever watch.
If NASCAR is going to descend to an NBA level of thuggery, you should spell it "boyz" just to be honest. Seriously. Perhaps you could change your name to Cirque du NASCAR or (if that's too elitist) simply ASSCAR.
I'm 51 years old, and have been a racing fan since age 9. I have personally raced everything from motorcycles to go-karts to cars. I've also crewed and spent plenty of time in hot pits at levels as high as Champcar. I cannot recall an example of such dangerous behavior that went not just unpunished but was, upon consideration, encouraged with a wink. I've watched and participated in examples of both highly gracious sportsmanship and adrenaline fueled red mist. Bad behavior comes with the territory, but it cannot be encouraged. Ever.
When, not if, a spectator, driver, crewman or NASCAR employee is injured or killed by this sanctioned dumbassery you will be sued. It's your policy to allow behavior that goes beyond dangerous to stupid, which voids any waiver of any kind. You've sanctioned reckless endangerment, and the result is foreseeable. You'll lose in court, and you deserve to. I hope it costs you tens of millions, and no one their life. (Should someone actually die as a result of this quest for viewers, it wouldn't disappoint me to see you charged criminally as well. Sad? Yes. Disappointed? No.)
This is more free legal advice than you deserve. If you don't have an attorney on staff, it's time to hire one. If you DO have an attorney, it's still time to hire one. I'd be fascinated to hear back from Mike Helton on this. Do you have the guts to show him this letter??
In utter disgust,
----
PS - It's never too late to admit a mistake and do the right thing. A lot of folks are watching, and not all of us are stupid...
Edit: A reply! "First and foremost, we want to thank you for your interest in NASCAR. You can be assured that we take your feedback seriously. Everyone at NASCAR understands that the success of our sport depends on the support of the fans.
We read every e-mail we receive from our fans and respond to as many as possible. Thanks again, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the season."
To whom it SHOULD concern:
I just watched the replay of the Atlanta race and the Carl Edwards incident on Speed. Based on your "boys, have at it" policy it's likely this is the last NASCAR race I'll ever watch.
If NASCAR is going to descend to an NBA level of thuggery, you should spell it "boyz" just to be honest. Seriously. Perhaps you could change your name to Cirque du NASCAR or (if that's too elitist) simply ASSCAR.
I'm 51 years old, and have been a racing fan since age 9. I have personally raced everything from motorcycles to go-karts to cars. I've also crewed and spent plenty of time in hot pits at levels as high as Champcar. I cannot recall an example of such dangerous behavior that went not just unpunished but was, upon consideration, encouraged with a wink. I've watched and participated in examples of both highly gracious sportsmanship and adrenaline fueled red mist. Bad behavior comes with the territory, but it cannot be encouraged. Ever.
When, not if, a spectator, driver, crewman or NASCAR employee is injured or killed by this sanctioned dumbassery you will be sued. It's your policy to allow behavior that goes beyond dangerous to stupid, which voids any waiver of any kind. You've sanctioned reckless endangerment, and the result is foreseeable. You'll lose in court, and you deserve to. I hope it costs you tens of millions, and no one their life. (Should someone actually die as a result of this quest for viewers, it wouldn't disappoint me to see you charged criminally as well. Sad? Yes. Disappointed? No.)
This is more free legal advice than you deserve. If you don't have an attorney on staff, it's time to hire one. If you DO have an attorney, it's still time to hire one. I'd be fascinated to hear back from Mike Helton on this. Do you have the guts to show him this letter??
In utter disgust,
----
PS - It's never too late to admit a mistake and do the right thing. A lot of folks are watching, and not all of us are stupid...
Edit: A reply! "First and foremost, we want to thank you for your interest in NASCAR. You can be assured that we take your feedback seriously. Everyone at NASCAR understands that the success of our sport depends on the support of the fans.
We read every e-mail we receive from our fans and respond to as many as possible. Thanks again, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the season."
2010/02/27
Earthquake, V 2.0
I have already commented on the mess in Haiti - now we have a means of comparison between African tribal kleptocrat rule and a more typical western democracy in Chile.
The Chilean earthquake was several hundred times more powerful, yet there are very few fatalities. This is due to 1) a far more honest government's enforcement of building codes appropriate for seismic zones and 2) a functional economy making it possible to construct safe buildings - again courtesy of a more honest government.
Chile's main problem now is fiscal. They won't have to deal with tens of thousands of rotting bodies buried in rubble, or the inevitable epidemics that follow when a third world country has a sanitation disaster of this magnitude. The next problem would be the need to restore power, water and sanitation, but at least they know what those things mean. Also a concern is the fact that the structural integrity of many buildings is compromised beyond repair, and that aftershocks stronger than the main Haiti earthquake are possible. (All in all, though, it's most likely STILL safer to be in a damaged Chilean building that it was to be in a Haitian building during their quake.)
It's important to place the blame where it's due - the tens of thousands of deaths in Haiti are due to a corrupt government that has no respect for human rights. Rights that start with property rights, which are the foundation of gainful work. Gainful work and property rights combine to produce an economy capable of building safe structures in seismic zones.
It's also worth noting that the US government is fully engaged in destroying that equation here at home. Give THAT some thought too!
The Chilean earthquake was several hundred times more powerful, yet there are very few fatalities. This is due to 1) a far more honest government's enforcement of building codes appropriate for seismic zones and 2) a functional economy making it possible to construct safe buildings - again courtesy of a more honest government.
Chile's main problem now is fiscal. They won't have to deal with tens of thousands of rotting bodies buried in rubble, or the inevitable epidemics that follow when a third world country has a sanitation disaster of this magnitude. The next problem would be the need to restore power, water and sanitation, but at least they know what those things mean. Also a concern is the fact that the structural integrity of many buildings is compromised beyond repair, and that aftershocks stronger than the main Haiti earthquake are possible. (All in all, though, it's most likely STILL safer to be in a damaged Chilean building that it was to be in a Haitian building during their quake.)
It's important to place the blame where it's due - the tens of thousands of deaths in Haiti are due to a corrupt government that has no respect for human rights. Rights that start with property rights, which are the foundation of gainful work. Gainful work and property rights combine to produce an economy capable of building safe structures in seismic zones.
It's also worth noting that the US government is fully engaged in destroying that equation here at home. Give THAT some thought too!
2010/02/23
Deck Chairs, Titanic
The Boy King is back, and with a health care plan!
Meet the new plan. Same as the old plan.
Meet the new plan. Same as the old plan.
2010/02/15
Olympics Luge Death
Years ago, I was repulsed by the hypocrisy of the International Olympic Committee in allowing state sponsored athletes from various totalitarian hell holes to compete against the real amateurs. Then there was the biased judging, and the worst was the East German "female" swimmers built like Freightliners.
(Pity the East German men - instead of a marriage license, you needed a CDL. No steroids there, just move along...)
I find the Olympic games even less interesting as the "modern" sports such as snowboarding are added to the games, while original sports are watered down into irrelevance. Globalism is further dimming the intrigue - the EUrocollective are already diminished as countries and as competitors. Soon enough we'll be down to Oceania vs. Eurasia vs. Eastasia, and we'll skip the stadium construction and go straight to a few minutes hate. So, who cares? I haven't watched any portion of the 2010 games except the internet video of the luge fatality.
Close friends know of my passion for auto racing. Over the years, the racing community has lost a lot of drivers in terrible accidents. We've learned with each death and over time have made racing far safer. Track design is a major area of progress in the last two decades.
With this as my background, I was horrified to see the poor luge athlete slam into the post. It is sheer idiocy to design a steep, fast luge course and leave steel posts exposed for people to slam into.
Not just exposed steel posts, but perpendicular to the track.
F**k!
This death is the natural product of a chronologically mature bureaucracy at rest. Damn shame they didn't have a pro driver up to look things over before they killed that kid. (I'm far from a pro, and I would have noticed that hazard the first time I walked by. One wonders what hazards remain?) Any one of a number of simple measures would have made that course safe and turned that accident into something he walked away from, and - one which fades from the news by morning.
It probably would have been simplest to build a wall that prevented an out of control driver's body from going above and behind the course wall. (Duh!) Then, you'd just slide back down onto the course and even if you were really flying you could still be stopped by a net at the bottom of the hill. (Or a meat hook if they merely wanted to hurt you but not kill you. Anything beats a steel I-beam.) If someone's precious view was involved, use lexan for the wall.
But, nobody cared.
As to the jackass who said that death was due to driver error, well... He's lucky I wasn't in the room. Then the IOC tries to censor the video on the web. Then, the hypocritical bastards change the course, thereby acknowledging that it was gross negligence to begin with.
The athletes themselves could take a valuable lesson from racers here, too: We've known for decades that if you arrive at a new track and discover that a shithead designed the place, you stand together and refuse to run there.
Every aspect of this stinks.
I know we don't have China's 1.3 billion people, and on top of that ammo is dear these days. Nonetheless, I believe we could afford to take a few people out and shoot them, and the IOC is clearly the perfect place to start.
(Pity the East German men - instead of a marriage license, you needed a CDL. No steroids there, just move along...)
I find the Olympic games even less interesting as the "modern" sports such as snowboarding are added to the games, while original sports are watered down into irrelevance. Globalism is further dimming the intrigue - the EUrocollective are already diminished as countries and as competitors. Soon enough we'll be down to Oceania vs. Eurasia vs. Eastasia, and we'll skip the stadium construction and go straight to a few minutes hate. So, who cares? I haven't watched any portion of the 2010 games except the internet video of the luge fatality.
Close friends know of my passion for auto racing. Over the years, the racing community has lost a lot of drivers in terrible accidents. We've learned with each death and over time have made racing far safer. Track design is a major area of progress in the last two decades.
With this as my background, I was horrified to see the poor luge athlete slam into the post. It is sheer idiocy to design a steep, fast luge course and leave steel posts exposed for people to slam into.
Not just exposed steel posts, but perpendicular to the track.
F**k!
This death is the natural product of a chronologically mature bureaucracy at rest. Damn shame they didn't have a pro driver up to look things over before they killed that kid. (I'm far from a pro, and I would have noticed that hazard the first time I walked by. One wonders what hazards remain?) Any one of a number of simple measures would have made that course safe and turned that accident into something he walked away from, and - one which fades from the news by morning.
It probably would have been simplest to build a wall that prevented an out of control driver's body from going above and behind the course wall. (Duh!) Then, you'd just slide back down onto the course and even if you were really flying you could still be stopped by a net at the bottom of the hill. (Or a meat hook if they merely wanted to hurt you but not kill you. Anything beats a steel I-beam.) If someone's precious view was involved, use lexan for the wall.
But, nobody cared.
As to the jackass who said that death was due to driver error, well... He's lucky I wasn't in the room. Then the IOC tries to censor the video on the web. Then, the hypocritical bastards change the course, thereby acknowledging that it was gross negligence to begin with.
The athletes themselves could take a valuable lesson from racers here, too: We've known for decades that if you arrive at a new track and discover that a shithead designed the place, you stand together and refuse to run there.
Every aspect of this stinks.
I know we don't have China's 1.3 billion people, and on top of that ammo is dear these days. Nonetheless, I believe we could afford to take a few people out and shoot them, and the IOC is clearly the perfect place to start.
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