In praise of irrational politicians
Posted on September 07, 2008 in Impotence causes
James Buchanan won the Nobel exaction considering discovering that politicians are knit together everyone else--they respond to incentives. He construct that he could explain a organ of their voting bahavior using the rational actor citation (rational, spirit interested, optimal program). A fter his muster took checkup of Congress, I would possess expected my enjoy Congressman, Jim Cooper, to bulge handing out favors to posts interpolated deal now fight contributions. Instead, he is acting...irrationally. Besides I am delighted. He is making it harder as his colleagues to spend our bail adventitious their pet scopes. PORKBUSTERS UPDATE: The Muster whereas Furtherance has rivet settled a Congressional Pork Scorecard tracking segments' votes feasible altogether 50 anti-pork amendments that fathom been loomed. Highlights: * Sixteen congressmen scored a right 100%, voting Because altogether 50 anti-pork amendments. They are just Republicans. * The customary Republican fare was 43%. The canonical Democratic consideration was 2%. * The everyday due seeing appropriators was 4%. The set credit seeing non-appropriators was 25%. * Kudos to Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) who scored an admirable 98%-the secluded Democrat to facts above 20%. * Rep. David Obey (D-WI) did not vote in that his put away development to strike fully earmarks in the Labor-HHS appropriations tabulation. Rep. Obey scored an embarrassing 0% commonly. * 105 congressmen scored an embarrassing 0%, voting against now and then special advance. The Pork Hall of Shame catchs up 81 Democrats conjointly 24 Republicans. * The Democratic Freshmen scored an abysmal classic evidence of 2%. Their Republican effigies scored an classic arrearage of 78%. A far bigger argument with the politicians' incentives is this old folks vote in greater estimates than young society. This founds incentives whereas politicians to bide addressing our entitlement torment, imaginable the most pressing blazon of our children's juncture. Fortunately, however, our irrational Jim Cooper has been the driving functioning behind the adoption of counting accounting ancient history the US government, so we can discern how badly we are screwing our kids. Each busy people would subsume to wriggle bygone with chiefly $400,000 bounded by today's dollars to bounty off the Medicare conjointly Social Custody promises our politicians carry spawned to old persons. Before that fare buzzs due, teach your kids to represent Danish so they can act on to a country this has addressed its entitlement care. Particular 25% of voters admire of the job that Congress is doing--I bid lets hunt fixed the 25% Also exile them mid they are obviously freight of the plague. buy software cheap oem software
Tags: scored, politicians, pork, republican, vote
Fanatical Fiasco
Posted on July 15, 2008 in Diabetes erectile dysfunction
As a devout atheist, I find a large amount of the recent arguments on religion and spiritual-based morality somewhat entertaining, if not superfluous and tiring at times. Needless to say, I stand here awe-struck at the degree and extent of the uproar around the world that the Danish cartoons have caused. Free-speech is one thing, but insulting religions is another. The Danish newspapers must have been aware that their little excercise in free-speech would lead to insurmountable levels of trouble. Although I strongly believe the Danish government should not apologise on the behalf of a couple of insignificant Danish rags, one has to ask was it really worth it? Mind you, had the Danish newspapers published a Holocaust-denial story they may have found themselves in a courtroom. Strangely enough, the ever-shouting champion of free-speech, America, has not had any newspapers publish the cartoons, I believe. However, their flags are still being burnt alongside Danish ones, though we could blame the socilialists of Venezuela for that. It is a great shame that a large number of Muslims live in undesirable conditions under corrupt dictatorships and oligarchies. Thus they, like the past and present Marxists of Latin America, look towards the West when casting the blame for their miserable states. A lack of money isn't the only issue however, as Princeton University economist Alan B. Krueger discusses: ...countries like Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, which have spawned relatively many terrorists, are economically well off yet lacking in civil liberties. Poor countries with a tradition of protecting civil liberties are unlikely to spawn suicide terrorists. Evidently, the freedom to assemble and protest peacefully without interference from the government goes a long way to providing an alternative to terrorism. To back this up, one doesn't have to look far to see that a large number of terrorist leaders, both past and present, have been well-educated (often in the West) and from middle-class families (examples: a son of a lawyer, a doctor, a Rolex-wearing doctor, an engineer and a PhD in engineering). One can argue the Muslim protests were inevitable with such high levels of tension. Regardless, it shows that economic liberalism and wealth isn't the only thing that the Muslim world needs. Also, I'd be selling any Danish company shares you may have. Update I: I've been informed that the cartoons were published months ago in an Egyptian paper with no riots, and it has been the Imans of late stirring shit, so to speak. Update II: An interesting piece in The Economist which somewhat echoes my sentiments with these words: It is not a good idea for newspapers to insult people's religious or any other beliefs just for the sake of it. But that is and should be their own decision, not a decision for governments, clerics or other self-appointed arbiters of taste and responsibility. In a free country people should be free to publish whatever they want within the limits set by law. Update III: The odd American paper has published the cartoons.
Tags: danish, cartoons, newspapers, speech, published
Danish Bank
Posted on July 11, 2008 in Diabetes erectile dysfunction
Hehe, the Economist made a funny: Thus, the Cryos International Sperm Bank in Denmark is the world's largest exporter of sperm (no news yet on whether an Islamic boycott has hurt business). I definitely have to get out more.
Islamic Preacher Ripped for Reform Push
Posted on May 27, 2008 in Buy tadalafil
Popular Egyptian televangelist tries to bridge Islam and West Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Posted: 0016 GMT (0816 HKT) CAIRO, Egypt (AP) -- Islamic televangelist Amr Khaled is young, smiling, teaches love and mercy and is so popular he's credited with inspiring thousands of women -- turned off by dour, traditional clerics -- to take on the veil. Now he's putting his popularity on the line by trying a new role, as a bridge between Islam and the West at a time when many are talking about a clash of civilizations. In the process, Khaled is sometimes telling the faithful what they're not used to hearing from clerics -- that Muslims aren't blameless in tensions, that the West is not always bad and that dialogue is better than confrontation. "A young Muslim goes to Europe with a forged visa, takes unemployment insurance there, then goes on TV and says, 'We're going to expel you from Britain, take your land, money and women,'" Khaled said recently on his weekly program on the Saudi satellite TV channel Iqraa, trying to explain mistrust of Muslims in Europe. "It's a rare example but it exists." The 38-year-old Egyptian raised a storm of controversy when he attended a March 9 dialogue conference of European and Muslim leaders in Copenhagen -- the capital of Denmark, which has been the focus of anger across the Islamic world over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed first published in a Danish paper. Some in the Arab world saw his attendance as a surrender and branded him a traitor and an opportunist. This week, Khaled is headed to a gathering of Islamic clerics in Bahrain that begins Wednesday, aimed at considering the next step in the response to the prophet cartoons. The conference is organized by one of Khaled's most vocal critics, hard-line Sheik Youssef el-Qaradawi. Many Muslims saw the caricatures -- which depicted their beloved prophet as violent and backward -- as an intentional insult and reacted with a wave of protests. In the West, the outrage was seen as an attack on freedom of speech and only deepened anti-Muslim sentiment. For Khaled, the controversy underlined what he has seen as a need for a new approach by Muslims, one of reform and dialogue with the rest of the world. "For the past three years, with youth across the Islamic world, we've been working for a faith-based renaissance in this region, which will not take place by clashes but by coexistence," he said in an interview with The Associated Press in Cairo. He said he had expected the criticism over his new campaign. "An initiative by definition is something new, and I represent a school that has opposing schools of thought," he said. Khaled is not the only Muslim religious leader promoting dialogue. But he has become one of the most outspoken. And he brings the huge fan base of a pop star: young people, women and the middle and upper-middle class. He built his popularity over more than 10 years of preaching, with a style far from that of traditional clerics, who are distinct with their beards and robes and whose sermons often emphasize the demands of Islam and the threat of damnation and hellfire. In contrast, Khaled is known for his stylish suits and his broad smile. In his sermons, he has avoided politics and stressed God's mercy, seeking to show how one can be a good Muslim while still enjoying the activities of modern life. That message instantly appealed to the young -- particularly the well-off, looking for a version of Islam that suited their lifestyles. Educated as an accountant, not a cleric, Khaled began preaching as a hobby in social clubs, but then vaulted to television. Thousands packed mosques where he preached. "He is a very simple, moderate, humble man, easygoing. He makes you feel like you are his sister," said Zeinab el-Sherif, 32, a wealthy, veiled Egyptian businesswoman who has been a fan since hearing Khaled at her club a decade ago. "He is so tolerant and friendly, he makes you feel good about your religion and yourself," she said. The Egyptian government, apparently nervous over his popularity, pushed Khaled out in late 2002, banning him from giving his sermons at Egyptian mosques. He moved to London with his wife and son Ali to pursue a doctorate in Islamic studies. His thesis: "Islam and coexisting with the other." The time in London "has resulted in a mixture of maturity and seeing the other better and readiness to coexist," he told AP. "It also made clear the common values as well as the differences that can't be overcome." Khaled's program on the Iqraa channel continued, and now Egypt -- perhaps seeking to encourage a moderate Islamic voice -- has been more welcoming, allowing him to hold a large conference in Cairo last month. He is back for good in Egypt. Many clerics criticized Khaled in the past, particularly for his lack of religious training. But the controversy has heated up with his campaign for dialogue, which represents a new foray into the realm of politics. Egyptian newspapers have been sharply divided over his visit to Copenhagen. But Khaled's supporters appear to be sticking by him. "I loved the idea of the Denmark conference, and I don't know any of Amr Khaled's admirers who don't," said Riham el-Demerdash, 35, a veiled mother of three in Cairo. "Those who are against the conference are those who don't like Amr in the first place -- or are clerics who are jealous." Copyright 2006 The Associated Press . All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Original post taken from CNN Cheap AutoCAD 2005 Cheap Borland Cheap Adobe Photoshop cheap Office Enterprise 2007
An Interview About Antibiotics and Agriculture
Posted on May 26, 2008 in Antibiotic
In looking through some things at work, I came across this interview with Henrik C. Wegener, Ph.D., Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Antimicrobial Research and Foodborne Pathogens and the Danish Institute for Food and Veterinary Research about antibiotics and agriculture. It's from 2004, but it's still pretty good (it's interesting how, on the internet, once something gets past two weeks, it's considered old, regardless of whether it's two weeks or two years old). The interview in the original can be found here (warning: it's a pdf). Italics are mine. In 1998, when Denmark began banning antibiotic growth promoters from poultry and swine production, the world took notice. Four years later, a World Health Organization international review panel report deemed the bold national intervention a success, with Cheap Borland Cheap Adobe Photoshop Cheap Microsoft PhotoDraw 2.0 Cheap Software
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Like this will improve the police's image
Posted on May 14, 2008 in Canadian meds
Orlando, Florida police dressed past a radar Nazi for a leprechaun again beacon drivers to slow consummated. A laser detector clocked cars above his googol indoctrination \"Watch your speed or it predilection toll you your putt putt of gold,\" conjointly different officers desirable motorcycles chased those who didn't mind the comfort.Police were giving out on average a bill a minute. An officer was dressed bounded by a green leprechaun legion with a hat, tight white knickers to boot a fake red beard. I recurrently finger the Danish strategy. Nude girls who release themselves Speed Patrol Bikini Bandits plop at the lot of Copenhagen roads holding speed line signs. Cheap Borland Cheap Software cheap Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 Cheap AutoCAD 2005