Excessive Intellectual Property Rights Have Become An Obstacle To Human Progress

Statement Of The Problem

Intellectual property rights grant an exclusive man-made monopoly for a limited time to the originator. They have become to some extent anachronistic and need to be seriously reviewed. In my opinion the originator has the benefit to make money through other services or products even when their original product is in the public domain or accessible through fair use (see open source software or musicians who publish their music on the Internet). The originator always has the advantage of the first mover and being the original.

Over history IP rights were expanded as if on autopilot for its own sake and as it appears without critical review. In our time, IP rights have become more like sinecures for certain industries or rent seekers.

Like lifetime tenure, unreasonable intellectual property rights are to be seriously reformed or abolished.

Over History The Limited Time Period Became Too Long

Over history, the limited duration of such rights was extended to ridiculous length. As if rent seekers/lobbyists were successfully at work.

The limited duration of copyrights were extended from 28 years from the date of publication in 1710 to lifetime of the author plus 50 years in 1976 to lifetime plus 70 years in 1998. If the creator is a corporation, then the term is now 95 years from publication or 120 years from the date of creation, whichever is shorter. Such a long protection is sheer nonsense.

The first known patent to be granted was in 1421 in Florence for merely three years. In 1623 it became 23 years. In modern times it is somewhere between 16 and 20 years. This is not as extreme as copyrights, but a critical review is overdue.

More And More Products And Services

Were Covered By Intellectual Property Rights

Over time, it was argued that commercially significant changes in technology or new forms of useful arts made it necessary to expand intellectual property rights.

Some Historical Background

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:

- In the beginning e.g. copyrights were granted as royal patents not to protect the author or publisher rights, but to raise government revenues and to give government control over the contents of publications.

The Founder Of The United States 

Would Be Unpleasantly Surprised

The copyright and patent concepts were both included in the U.S. Constitution. Under Article I, Section 8, Clause 8, of the Constitution, "The Congress shall have Power … To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Now almost 250 years later, the Founders would probably be shocked to see what has evolved.

Flawed Thinking

Government established monopolies of any kind are never good for science and useful arts or a free market economy. Reverse engineering allows any competitor to learn about the secrets of a product or service. More competition is the way to go.

Momentous Interventions By Two Roman Wives Less Than A 100 Years Apart

The Wife Of Pontus Pilate

According to Wikipedia, she is a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In Matthews 27:9 (NIV) we read “While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.””. That innocent man, of course, was Jesus. We do not know her name or much about her life.

Calpurnia Pisonis – Julius Cesar’s Third Wife

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia about the famous Ides of March of 44 BC: “According to historical tradition, reflected in some ancient sources, Calpurnia had a premonition of her husband's murder and tried to warn him in vain. She also encouraged Decimus Junius Brutus Albinus to send word to the senate that Caesar was sick on the day of his death, but Caesar refused to lie.” She was not alone. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before, and fearing the worst, went to attempt to dissuade Caesar, but failed.

Epilog

When do you listen to your wife?

These are just two well known examples. If anybody knows more such examples, please leave a comment.

Big Government: European Banking Union

First A Monetary Union – Now A Banking Union

If a monetary union does not work in times of a deep recession, would a banking union fare any better? Just the terminology does not sound reassuring.

A Common Rescue Fund To Bail Out Failing Banks

Without knowing all the details, it appears official proposals for a European banking union include a common rescue fund financed by levies on banks to assist banks in future emergencies.

Media commentators praised this common fund as it would alleviate tax payers from paying for future bail outs.

Such a common fund is a stupid idea:

a) It implies too big to fail continues, whereas it should be abolished

b) It incentivizes banks to be more risky

c) In reality, taxpayers will pay for this fund anyway in form of higher fees etc.

d) Banks are financial intermediaries in the economy. Why would only banks have to contribute to such a fund?

If such funds were a good idea, free markets would have created them voluntarily a long time ago.

Socialism is dead, long live socialism!

Musical Instrument Museum – Phoenix, Arizona – Come Hear And See It

Competing With The Best Of Los Angeles, New York, And Chicago

Yesterday (6/2/12), I visited for the first time this incredible museum. In my opinion, it certainly belongs to the best what the metropolitan area of Phoenix has to offer in terms of art and culture.

Sennheiser Quality

This museum lives up to their slogan “The most extraordinary museum you’ll ever hear” with Sennheiser players to listen in to live recordings of music from around the world. The Sennheiser player and headphone is included with the admission. I found the headphone to be uncomfortable after long time of wearing (I am wearing glasses) and I believe it is not a Sennheiser headphone (the logo is missing).

Too many songs are cut very short (I estimate less than 20 seconds), especially in the rock music section of the museum as if it is perhaps presumed that the visitor is familiar with the songs anyway.

Admission Pricy

The admission price of $15 for adults is a bit stiff and the museum does not seem to offer free admission on certain days like other great museums around the country. Well, it appears to be a privately financed and run museum. Hopefully, tax payers are spared and unwanted government influence is avoided.

Both Thumbs Up On Thumb Piano Exhibit

Their current exhibit of African thumb pianos was quite fascinating. Most of the live video recordings of concerts or solo performances are well chosen. In particular, one video showed an African metal smith using his bellows as a drum. This guy had so much fun doing his hot work in the African heat.

Experience Conservation Live

I also quite liked that the conservation lab has a huge window for passersby to watch in amazement how staff restores old instruments etc. 

Unfortunately, there seems to be no museum floor plan on the website and I have already thrown away the handout given to me with the purchase of the admission ticket.

John Lennon’s Untimely Passing

One thing though, I found peculiar or was it a glaring example of political correctness or Orwellian speak: One exhibit is dedicated to John Lennon, Yoko Ono and their song Imagine. On the panel nearby it reads “… the song gained added poignancy following Lennon’s untimely passing in 1980.” (emphasis added). Hhm, untimely passing. Imagine this was done to protect innocent children, then this was a stupid idea (pardon my French).

If I remember correctly, at the age of 40 John Lennon was shot four times in the back on the street while he and Yoko were returning to their home in the late evening near Central Park, New York City. Of course, there is no need to mention all the gory details, but “untimely passing” is a dangerous revision of history or is it a form of brainwashing.

How Did The US Win World War II?

By providing hundreds if not thousands of original Steinway upright pianos to the front lines for soldiers in combat to enjoy. Just kidding. Here is a picture of such a rugged Steinway piano:

Listen To Religious Rock Music

I was not familiar with guitar virtuoso and vegetarian Steve Vai until I visited this museum. The live concert video is about “I know you are here” (God), which he played on an amazing looking three neck guitar. The long version of the music video can be found on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY8wyKuLY2k

Website Event Calendar Knows Only The Future

In the late afternoon, I attended an interesting lecture on the pioneers of music in Arizona. The lecturer played so many different musical instruments and sang so many songs, it was delectable. Among many other things I was introduced to the Bird Cage Theater in Tombstone. This event was free, but as I found out one day later, the event calendar on the MIM website does not seem to allow you to go back to past events. What a petty, because I forgot the lecturers name presuming I would find his name on MIM’s website again.

Big Government: Third Industrial Revolution

Trigger For This Blog

Today, I read the weekly newsletter put out by the German government called “The Week In Germany”. In the introduction to this newsletter it reads “A Third Industrial Revolution - a concept outlined by the American economist, writer and political advisor Jeremy Rifkin and endorsed in 2007 by the European Parliament - is well underway in Germany”. What is well under way?

The Book By The Same Name

Forgive my ignorance, I have never really heard of this economist Jeremy Rifkin or his book by the title “The Third Industrial Revolution: How Lateral Power Is Transforming Energy, the Economy, and the World” published in 2011. I also freely admit that I have not yet read the book. The table of content is very coarse and not helpful. The index of this book is also peculiar, basically a list of names.

An excerpt from his book’s website:

“[Mr. Rifkin] asks us to imagine hundreds of millions of people producing their own green energy in their homes, offices, and factories, and sharing it with each other in an "energy internet," just like we now create and share information online.

Rifkin describes how the five-pillars of the Third Industrial Revolution will create thousands of businesses and millions of jobs, and usher in a fundamental reordering of human relationships, from hierarchical to cpower, that will impact the way we conduct business, govern society, educate our children, and engage in civic life.” What a wonderful world! How do we get to this stage of Rifkin’s bliss? By government force only, because it is utopian.

Why Third Industrial Revolution? The era we are living in is anything but a continuation of the more than 200 year old Industrial Revolution. The information and communication revolution we are in will even pale Gutenberg’s printing press. The exponential, accelerating growth of human progress in so many areas is unprecedented. Thus, the premises of this book are obviously in question.

According to Wikipedia his The Third Industrial Revolution is based upon 5 Pillars:

1. Shifting to Renewable Energy

2. Converting Buildings into Power Plants

3. Hydrogen and Other Energy Storage Technology

4. Smart Grid Technology

5. Plug in, Electric, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell based Transportation

His 5 Pillars seem to be to be extremely narrow in scope undeserving of such a grandiose label like Industrial Revolution. Yes, the supply of energy is very important, but so are other things. As any good economist knows there are always competing uses of resources etc.

Judging from the table of content of his book titled “Entropy – A New World View” it appears that Mr. Rifkin classifies nuclear fusion as a nonrenewable form of energy. This assertion was new to me.

His single-minded focus on renewable energy is disturbing. Whether highly decentralized production of energy is a panacea as he puts it remains to be seen. Who knows which forms of energy will serve humans and nature best in the years ahead? Only god knows and humans have to find out by trial and error liberated from government control.

About Jeremy Rifkin

An excerpt about him from his foundation’s website (The Foundation On Economic Trends):

“Mr. Rifkin is the principle architect of the European Union's Third Industrial Revolution long-term economic sustainability plan to address the triple challenge of the global economic crisis, energy security, and climate change.   … Jeremy Rifkin has been an advisor to the European Union for the past decade. [he] advised the government of Spain during its presidency of the European Union …. also served as an adviser to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, Prime Minister Jose Socrates of Portugal, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain”. Well with advisors like this one should not be surprised about the malaise of the Euro zone. Or does this reflect more on the quality of European, elected leaders?

By glancing at his Wikipedia entry and the about him on his foundation’s website, I suspect he is what Germans refer to as a Weltverbesserer (to my limited knowledge, there is no equivalent English translation, perhaps starry-eyed idealist, do-gooder) and he is a leftist academic. Like many other leftist academics he seems to be prone to shallow thinking. Beware of Weltverbesserer! Humanity has suffered great losses due to such people.

From his bio, I also gather he is a fervent environmentalist, thus his enmity to economics a la Adam Smith is no surprise.

He is the man of the “European Dream” (another of his books), while the American Dream is languishing. “Europeans, by contrast, emphasize cooperation and consensus over go-it-alone approaches to foreign policy.” Has he overlooked that the EU has disarmed to a point of being a cuddly paper tiger.

His ideology seems to be derived from the first and second law of Thermodynamics, which he interprets in a particular way to suit his purposes. Who wants argue with the laws of nature? Adam Smith, according to him, is passé because Adam did not understand these two laws. To quote from an article by him published in the British The Guardian on November 3, 2011 “The reason most economists just don't get it is that they fail to understand that all economic activity is borrowing against nature's energy and material reserves.” Ah, but a genius like Rifkin gets it! Karl Popper would call him a proponent of historicism.

Socialism is dead, long live Socialism

A play on “Le roi es mort, vive le roi”. Central planning is still alive and kicking. Power and control for those who pretend to know what is best for the rest of us.

Is it not an irony of history that the European Union adopted Rifkin’s Third Industrial Revolution? The fall of the Iron Curtain is only a little more than two decades old. I also bet that Chancellor Merkel is beholden to Rifkin’s ideas. Ms. Merkel grew up and lived in the former GDR, while central planning was applied. She is the daughter of a pastor and a PhD in physical chemistry. However, her political approach is more akin to a politburo member.

Or in Mr. Rifkin’s own words found in an interview with the Huffington Post dated 9/26/2011:

“Question: Other parts of the globe, particularly Europe, appear to grasp the trends and solutions you suggest in your book. Why are Americans lagging in this regard?

Rifkin: One of the reasons an overarching new economic game plan has never been rolled out is not just because we need to cut back public spending and reduce government deficits, but because the administration is missing, to quote former president George W. Bush, the "vision thing." … What Obama is lacking is a narrative. … If President Obama clearly understood the underlying dynamics of the five-pillar infrastructure of the next great industrial revolution and how the parts connect, he might have been able to sell the American public on a comprehensive economic plan for the country’s future.” (my emphasis). If the poor President of the USA only understood the narrative the master planner bemoans.

Climate Change Disinformation & Propaganda on NPR

Climate change advocates are but sophisticated sounding demagogues. 

While driving to work on 4/15/2012, I heard on NPR (National Public Radio, a government financed program) how these demagogues used their siren sophistry to fuse biology/nature and eco-nomics (the hyphen in eco-nomics is no accident). It was too absurd to listen to that. From this mélange these demagogues on NPR distilled some authoritarian prescriptions how to save our planet and to subjugate free individuals. And tax payers are to pay for that!

Big Government: Occupational Licensing Requirements

Land Of Regulated Opportunity

If it is true that “Over the past 50 years, the number of American workers required to have a government license has risen from 5 to 30 percent of the workforce” (Source: Goldwater Institute, Phoenix, AZ), then this is substantial evidence for big government overreach.

Occupational Licensing Is Servitude By Other Means

As a principle, occupational licensing should be optional for most professions. Professional licensing or training can serve individuals to distinguish themselves from their competitors. That’s an individual’s decision in a free market economy. It should not be mandated by government as the typical one size fits all solution. Customers are not that stupid as not to be able to distinguish reputable from shady businesses. Moreover, occupational licensing requirements are too often capricious, excessive, and ridiculous.

Big government and their lobbyists just get out of the way.

Barriers To Entry For Whom?

Government mandated occupational licensing requirements are often nothing but veiled protectionism granted by politicians to influential businesses or labor to degrade competition. Do not governments benefit from the constant flow of licensing fees?

For further reading:

“License to Work: A National Study of Burdens from Occupational Licensing” by the Institute for Justice published in May 2012 (http://ij.org/licensetowork)

The Bonanza Of Green River Crude Oil

Peak (Snake) oil anybody! Bury peak oil nonsense as fast as you can!

On May 10 2012, in testimony before the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, the Director of Natural Resources and Environment at the U.S. Government Accountability Office, said that the “[o]il shale deposits in the Green River Formation [in the western Rocky Mountains] are estimated to contain up to 3 trillion barrels of oil, half of which may be recoverable, which is about equal to the entire world’s proven oil reserves.” Unfortunately, most of this massive oil shale deposit lies beneath federal land, where the Obama administration and its radical environmentalist supporters can keep it locked away.

In case you do not believe me, read following:

http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/hearings/HHRG-112-%20SY20-WState-AMittal-20120510.pdf

Government Failure - Phasing Out Of Edison’s Light Bulbs In Favor Of CFLs

Legislatores Against The Silent Majority

In Europe and the US laws were passed by our ever so clairvoyant and busybody lawmakers to phase out Edison’s light bulb in favor of CFLs (Compact fluorescent lamp).

When Government Prescribes One Technology

What a folly, since new technologies like LED light were already around the corner. What a deception since it was well known that CFLs because of their mercury content are health hazards.

No better recent example of blatant government failure comes so easily to my mind!

Big Government At Work: EU’s Proposed Compulsory Gender Quotas In Corporate Boardrooms

A Tragic Irony

Socialism is still alive and kicking in the European Union. The wall fell and more socialism spread to the Western part of Europe. What an irony of history!

Women Of The World Take Note

If I were a woman, I would be ashamed and upset about such nonsense and patronizing. Any woman who thinks she has what it takes can establish her own business.

A 40% Quota?

Some countries in the EU already have such quotas like Spain, France, and Norway. In Spain and France the quota is 40%. Why not 50%? France has also imposed a 35 hour work week by law. What is next?

The Hubris

EU Commissars and members of EU governments want to impose immediately something that will take decades to develop by itself. The imbalance of women and men in leading positions is a historical fact and it will take time to undo. Women, who want to make a career in business will succeed without any government intervention, but it will not happen overnight or in 12 months.

Why Limited Government?

Were Friedrich Hayek still alive, he would find that the United States of America is still on the Road to Serfdom.

It Is Very Simple

Nobody wants to be told what you can and cannot do or how much of your hard earned money you are coerced to give to another person.

Why would we want to have dim witted, half educated, impatient, activist elected representatives and bureaucrats constantly meddle in every aspect of our lives as they see fit? Elected representatives and bureaucrats succumb to the same fads, vanities, and follies as we do except that they are in power and control.

Democracy Is The Worst Of All Forms Of Government

Except for those forms of government that have been tried before. Well, we have now decades or up to two centuries of experience with various forms of democracy. It is not pretty. We are to be content and ccompare the outcomes of democracy to a sausage factory or with a necessary evil. These notions are too defeatist or fatalist.

The Many Failures And Flaws Of Democracy

The current Great Recession is a prime exhibit of how elected politicians and unelected bureaucrats failed again on a massive scale. Of course, the elected representatives have been looking for others as scapegoats.

Too many majority votes are subject to chance or events and are driven by the wisdom of the day (Tyranny of the Majority).

The outcomes of majority decisions are often one size fits all, but satisfy few, or represent the least common denominator.

Influential minorities constantly game the system at the expense of the silent majority and elected representatives pander to these minorities for votes and money (Tyranny of the Minority).

The upward ratchet of government expenditures. They rarely ratchet down again from high levels once reached.

The upward ratchet of government debt. Rarely do governments pay down debt. They usually only add to it.

The upward ratchet of laws and regulations. E.g. tax laws and regulations are infamous for ever expanding and getting more complex. Rarely are laws or regulations, once on the book, allowed to expire or are being completely abolished, instead they get rededicated at best.

Government attracts power hungry people. People, who like to impose their will on others. Like the rest of us, elected representatives rarely admit mistakes nor correct them in a meaningful way.

Solutions

The powers of government must be narrowly defined and enumerated. The classic liberal basic functions of government must be emphasized again with individual freedom, responsibility, and moral values at its core.

Debt financing of government budgets are to be prohibited.

Total expenditures of all levels or forms of government must be limited to a certain percentage of the size of the economy, e.g. 30%.

Governments must be required to maintain a reasonable rainy day fund for unexpected expenses.

The historic monopoly of government over money needs to be critically reviewed. The fact that in recent times many central banks of major economies have for years kept short term interest rates at artificial and recklessly low levels is a wakeup call.

Voting by money or voluntary taxation. No citizen should be compelled to pay taxes, only donations to government. I have written a separate blog about voluntary taxation titled “The Greatest Tax Reform Of All Times In Honor Of Benjamin Franklin”.

Term limits for all elected representatives. Nobody should be in public service for more than, let’s say, 12 years and then return to the private sector again. Similar rules should apply to bureaucrats.

For the sake of brevity, the judiciary will not be covered here.

A German Highest State Court Pilloried A German Business Leader

Recent Trends In German Jurisprudence

In recent times, I observed several times that high courts in Germany (like the Bundesgerichtshof or Federal High Court of Justice) came out with decisions contravening common sense and are totally opposed to a free market economy.

My theory about those judges is that they are representatives of the so called APO (ausserparlamentarisch Opposition or the 1960/70s student revolts) generation who are now in high ranking positions of German society. They appear to belong to what is referred to in German as Gutmenschen (do gooders or starry-eyed idealists).

Ferdinand Piech Was The Latest Target Of German Judges

 In March 2012, the Highest State Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Justice in Baden-Württemberg (a south-western state of Germany famous for its cars like Mercedes) issued a verdict against one of Germany’s best known automobile business managers, i.e. Ferdinand Piech (he is a member of the Porsche family and part owner of Porsche). The judges of that court found he violated his primary duties as the chairman of the supervisory board (Aufsichtsrat) of Volkswagen AG when he made at one occasion some specific remarks to journalists about the failed attempt by Porsche to acquire Volkswagen. Thereby, he allegedly caused financial damage to Porsche.

This court also saw it necessary to deny appeal to their verdict so that the defendant is forced to file a petition with the highest civil court in Germany to appeal.

I admit readily, I do not know all the details of this case, but one cannot escape to notice from what has been reported in the media that this is a case of judges trying to pillorize a business manager. This verdict may well have a very chilling effect on what leading business managers can and cannot say in public and so on. The verdict appears also to have the character of a Monday morning quarterback or judges who try to second guess like judges who never ran a business in their lifetime.

Some Inconvenient Facts

I can only speculate that these judges may have overlooked or ignored a couple of salient facts in this case:

1) Mr. Piech owns about 10% of Porsche. He also reportedly owns stocks in Volkswagen.
I do not know how much other Porsche family members own. Thus, if Mr. Piech indeed caused financial damage to Porsche, he did it to himself.
2) Mr. Piech was at the relevant time the chairman of the supervisory board of the target company and he also was a member of the supervisory board of Porsche.
Thus, the whole acquisition attempt by Porsche put Mr. Piech in a very odd position. This odd situation appeared not to be material for the civil proceedings.
3) Mr. Piech was not the only member of the supervisory board of Porsche. I do not know whether any other member was sued.

Free Markets Vs Courts Of Justice

There are cases that are better left to the free markets to evaluate and judge. This probably was one of those cases.

Given these above mentioned inconvenient facts and, I suspect, there are more facts like this in this case, it would have been best to let the free markets sort out this instead of some high minded judges.

Why Is Korea Still Not Reunited?

Posted: 3/3/2012  Updated: 4/2/2017, 11/1/2015

Update Of 4/2/2017

Just read this quite compelling article by John R. Bolton about the subject of reunification of the Korean peninsula. He argues after over 20 years of thoroughly failed U.S. foreign diplomacy it is about time to put the goal of reunification on the front burner.

Update Of 11/1/2015

Just read in this article Nordkorea verkauft offenbar tausende Bürger ins Ausland Die Vereinten Nationen werfen Nordkorea staatlich organisierten Menschenhandel vor: Um an Devisen zu kommen, habe Nordkorea 50.000 seiner Bürger zur Zwangsarbeit ins Ausland geschickt. that the United Nations reported that North Korea sells about 50,000 slave workers primarily to Russia and China for hard currency revenues.

""It is believed that the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea earns through that system between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion per year," he wrote, adding that they worked mainly in mining, logging, textile and construction." (Reuters)

As I have speculated below it is primarily Russia and China that still and persistently prevent the unification of Korea now even more than 25 years after the unification of Germany. This is a disgrace on a global scale!

Prologue

The artificial division of Korea is probably the last remaining major relic of the Cold War.

What Is Wrong With Wikileaks?

Why does Wikileaks not leak any Chinese, Russian, or North Korean documents to shed some light on this on this decades old quagmire? Just making fun of Wikileaks. I am sure one day they will publish those documents. ;-)

What Is The Matter With Western Diplomacy?

How much longer will it take until the surviving members of separated Korean families are united again? How much longer will it take until the enslaved, starving, and impoverished North Koreans can enjoy a better life?

Is the Western diplomacy content with their narrowly focused efforts to isolate or contain North Korea or to subject North Korea to nuclear arms inspections regime? Why is the West afraid of openly asking China and Russia what they want? Let the world find out.

What is so intractable that we see no progress? Is there perhaps a hidden agenda why Western countries plus Japan are not succeeding in the reunification of Korea?

If China is opposed, what is China asking for? If Russia is opposed, what is Russia asking for? Are there other parties opposed to the reunification, perhaps Japan or other Asian countries?

What are the West, Japan, and South Korea willing to offer? What price is South Korea willing to pay for reunification?

What If China Opened The Borders To North Korean Refugees?

There is probably little doubt that China holds the key to the reunification on the Korean peninsula.

Currently, China treats North Korean refugees like criminals and repatriates them to North Korea. Another one of China’s human rights violations. China's repatriation policy is a violation of the International Convention on Refugees, to which it is a signatory. The Convention bars returning of refugees to places where their lives would be endangered.

Finally, in early March 2012, South Korea has dared to raise the issue in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Is there a minefield built by the North Korean dictator along the Chinese border to prevent large numbers of people to flee the country?

How long could the North Korean regime survive if China were to decline further support of the regime and if China opened the border to North Korean refugees? My guess is not very long. North Korean soldiers (and with them entire navy ships and air force planes) would be among the first to cross the border and go AWOL. I am sure South Korea and the West would pay for any refugees.

What Is The Role Of Russia?

Is Russia really willing to support the North Korean dictator even if China were to give up support of North Korea? Does Russia have any business interests in North Korea? Is Russia just playing games with the West, South Korea, and Japan?

What Are The Obstacles?

Is it solely the reluctance of the North Korean dictator and its military that prevents the unification? Would the North Koreans start a war or launch its missiles if China and Russia were to withdraw their support of the regime?

Is South Korea averse to reunification fearing perhaps the enormous costs of rebuilding North Korea? Does South Korea have any advantages from the current status quo?

Is China afraid of a bigger economic or military competitor if Korea was reunited? Does the Chinese Gerontocracy still believe in a buffer? Is China holding out to vex the West, South Korea, and Japan? Does China insist that Taiwan has to be part of the solution? Is China afraid that the unification of Korea would threaten its own dictatorship?

If China insists on Taiwan being part of the solution, is Taiwan refusing to consider being a part?

Is Japan the problem? Why?

Whatever the obstacles or hidden agendas why does the general world public not learn more about it? [Sarcastic footnote: Well, Wikileaks and Mr. Assange are too preoccupied to attack the US and greedy Western Banks. Wikileaks and Assange are not really interested in human progress.]

A Possible Scenario

Reunification yes, but unified Korea may have to become neutral like Switzerland. Taiwan agrees to hold a referendum whether it will be reunited with China or not and about the transition period perhaps somewhat along the lines of Hong Kong.

The Precautionary Principle

A Modern Form Of Superstition

The precautionary principle is not much more but medieval superstition cloaked in pseudo rational and scientific language. It exploits human fears whether real or imagined. In many cases it is thinly veiled demagoguery and populism, because the rhetoric of caution appeals to many.

An Unnecessary Deceleration Of Human Progress

To use a hyperbole: If our ancestors had already lived by the precautionary principle, we would still live in caves. In too many cases it is being applied to excessively restrain human progress, economic activity, and individual freedom. Human progress without taking risk is not possible.

A Convenient Tool For Power Hungry Politicians

It gives ever so eager politicians all the leverage to impose their biased worldview onto the rest of us. It is being used by politicians to legitimize all kinds of superfluous and arbitrary government interventions and regulations. It is a big government principle.

An European Obsession

In particular, the ever so sophisticated Europeans are obsessed with it as they have enshrined this pseudo principle, e.g., in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. European community environmental policy “shall be based on the precautionary principle …” (Article 130R(2)).

Snipers In Syria – A Serious Crime Against Humanity

Bring These Snipers And Enablers To Justice

If it is true what has been reported about the Syrian regime’s use of snipers in Syrian streets, then this is a monstrous perversion for which every one of these snipers and the regime must be brought to justice. This is in itself is obviously a serious crime against humanity of the Syrian regime to use snipers to indiscriminately kill unarmed civilians.

Is this one method how the Syrian regime imposes a curfew on the streets?

Who Are These Depraved Snipers

Who are these depraved killers that shoot indiscriminately at everyone (e.g. pregnant women, children etc.)?

How many of these snipers are foreigners (e.g. Iranians, Hezbollah)?

Armed Resistance

I hope that the brave people of Syria are in the meantime receiving weapons through yet undisclosed sources so they can defend themselves since, as happened so often before in history, the laughable International Community is unable to stop the bloodshed.

Lady Godiva – An Early Tax Reformer

Posted: 2/22/2012

One Wishes Tax Reform Was

Sweet As Chocolate Or Appealing As Brazilian Carnival

At the 2011 Brazilian carnival, one of the Samba schools reenacted the famous legend of Lady Godiva. Belgian Godiva Chocolatier founded in the 1920s went global over the past several decades.

A Beautiful Legend

According to the legend, Lady Godiva (1040 – 1080 AD) after many pleas and entreaties made a deal with her husband and ruler of British Coventry to lower the oppressive taxes. Her husband agreed, but she had to ride naked on a horse through town. Lady Godiva in a clever move issued a proclamation that all persons were ordered to stay indoors and shut their windows, while she rode through the town, clothed only in her long hair. One man could not resist it was Peeping Tom, who was punished for his disobedience with blindness. In the end, Godiva's husband kept his word and abolishes the onerous taxes.

Unbeknownst To Most Chocolate Lovers & Economists

Lady Godiva was a tax reformer or better a tax repealer. How many economists know about it? In our times, one wishes many of those politicians who advocate higher taxes were married to a spouse like Lady Godiva. Having finally discovered the sweet story of Lady Godiva my fondness of chocolate has grown.

Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam: Strictly voluntary taxation is the way to go! Nobody should be compelled to pay taxes.

Robots Made By Kids

Children Of The World Develop Robots

It appears that children and teenagers are more and more fascinated with the possibilities afforded by robots of all kinds. This could be a major reawakening of young people to explore technology and engineering.

The Evolution Of Robots Will Accelerate

It would be conceivable that the coming generations of young people will produce armies of robots to help humans with everyday chores etc.

One Man’s Trash, Is Another Man’s Treasure

To Trash Is Human

With the industrial age came large scale landfills. Total avoidance of human waste is nearly impossible given current technologies and for the foreseeable future. Environmentalists hate them. People do not want them in their neighborhood. And so on …

Mining For Trash

Not only future archeologists will be delighted about landfills, but landfills have the potential to become a major resource for future resource mining operations.

A Feast For Microbes Or Robots

It is quite conceivable that in the not so distant future, bioengineered microbes and/or robots will convert anthropogenic trash into something useful.

My Next Pet Could Be A Humanoid Robot

Part Of Our Daily Lifes

With the advances in humanoid robotics accelerating it may be only a few years hence before we can expect to see such robots being part of our daily lifes.

Connected To The Cloud

This robot could be connected to the computing cloud and download any instructions etc. necessary for the task at hand.

How Many Personal Robots?

How many robots would one need or are necessary? How many robots would rich people acquire, an army?

Any Specialization Or Allround?

Home schooling would become possible for everyone. Will my robot be a four star chef serving me the most delicious meals from any cuisine of the world I can imagine? Would my robot be my personal doctor? I could go on and on …

The Ten Commandments And Economics

Fundamental To Economics

The Ten Commandments, which are perhaps as old as 16^th century BC, are fundamental to economics. First of all they are the supreme law reportedly written by the fingers of god. No less important, they allow for the greatest possible individual freedom except for violating the Ten Commandments.

Absence Of Government

Most amazingly, nowhere in the Ten Commandments is government mentioned. Not only that, one can infer that government may not even be necessary. Does God understand that government is evil, but necessary or what is god’s position on government anyway? Or why would god need a government?

The Basics Of Free Markets & Free Enterprise

The basics of free market economics are promulgated: Do not kill, steal, or bear false witness, nor covet thy neighbors’ property. Even toxic/corrosive envy and greed are covered by the Ten Commandments. Thus, e.g. honesty in your daily affairs and freedom of contract is naturally implied.

Taxation Is A Violation Of The Ten Commandments

Was the tithe not originally a voluntary religious duty for the benefit of the poor, pilgrims, and churches before it was made compulsory? Is not taxation a legalized confiscation or dare we say theft of private property? No taxation without representation is tyranny. Taxation with representation is not much better.

No Rest

They also stipulate to be productive six days of the week and to get rest on the seventh day. Even servants and animals are allowed to rest on the seventh day. Thus, the Ten Commandments imply to treat fairly all of god’s creatures even slaves and animals.

Abandoning the US Embassy In Damascus Is A Sign of A Spineless In the White House

Not only is he spineless he also likes to bow to monarchs.

How in the world could a US President decide to completely vacate the US embassy in a country where another, very bloody Arab struggle for more freedom is going on is beyond belief. Obama is another US President who thinks wars can be fought on an expedited withdrawal schedule.

Obama opened the US embassy in Damascus again for his diplomatic approach to the Middle East peace process and he closed it when it is need most as a beacon of hope or as a shelter.

Some things in this world cannot be done by drones, cruise missiles, or special forces alone.

With the current US President the Cuban Missile Crisis would have turned into a hot war, the Berlin Airlift would have never taken off.

Three Globe Sailing Teenage Girls Rewrite Maritime History

Sweet 16

In January of 2012, recently the 16 year old Dutch teenager Laura Dekker finished successfully her 500 plus days sailing trip of 27,000 nautical miles circumnavigating the world. Not long before Laura there, were two other teenage girls who attempted similar feats.

Some Ramifications Of Daring Teenagers

This feat also reminds all humans that teenagers are not children anymore. For too long, in western Societies there was a popular belief that children should enjoy the blessings of childhood for as long as possible, because life as an adult is not desirable or just tough or so the argument went.

Does this not also fly in the face of juvenile crime adjudication in the western world? Adolescent teenagers are believed to be less culpable than adults.

In western societies, the pendulum with respect to teenagers has swung from forced child labor in the opposite direction. Will the pendulum swing back towards the center?

Remember Thor Heyerdahl And The Kon-Tiki Expedition

Heyerdahl is not only remembered for the Kon-Tiki but also for the Ra and Ra II expeditions. With the former one he tried to prove that people from Polynesia long ago could have reached the shores of South America with a raft made from balsa wood and other native materials. With the Ra and Ra II expeditions, Heyerdahl demonstrated that the ancient Egyptians could have used a typical boat made of papyrus to reach North America.

To The Many Unknown Maritime Explorers And Merchants In History

What Laura Dekker and the other girls as well as researchers like Thor Heyerdahl have shown is that there probably were many more explorers and cross ocean contacts between humans on all continents than we know about.

Perhaps one day genetic analysis will tell us more about long distance contacts between people in ancient times.

1907 Tiflis Bank Robbery Leading To A Soviet Union Run By Thugs

The Godfathers Of This Crime

This is my third blog about pre-revolution Russia. In the Summer of 1907 a several high level Bolsheviks (i.e. Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Maxim Litvinov, Leonid Krasin, and Alexander Bogdanov) planned and committed a major, very bloody robbery of a money transport on a central square in the city of Tiflis, Georgia.

Revolutionaries’ Greed For Money

This heinous crime involved bombs and grenades. It left 40 people dead and 50 injured. The perpetrators of this crime got away with the then incredible amount of 341,000 rubles (worth several million US dollars today).

Loot The Looters

These kinds of crimes were justified by Lenin and Stalin as Expropriations of the Expropriators or Loot the Looters. Lenin and Stalin acted secretly and contravening an explicit prohibition of such acts by the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party of which these gentlemen were also members of.

The only convicted criminal (Kamo) of this crime successfully feigned twice insanity in captivity to avoid conviction in Berlin, Germany and back in Russia. He is rumored to have been killed later by Stalin.

There Is More To The Story

There are more details about this particular crime that are interesting, but for sake of brevity, I will stop here.

However, I would be remiss not to mention that it was asserted that Stalin at the time was acting as an informant of the Russian secret police and that he informed his contact about the pending robbery, but without giving away details.

Climate Change/Global Warming – An Outdated Scientific Theory

Deadends Of Science

The list of outdated/superseded scientific theories in the history of science is long (see Wikipedia). In the not so distant future Climate Change/Global Warming will be added to it. This is a very probable outcome. How much did Climate Change/Global Warming contribute to scientific progress? In my opinion it is more an impediment than a promoter.

Superstition Dressed As Science

More probable, Climate Change/Global Warming does not make it into the list of outdated/superseded scientific theories, but in the future will be properly classified as a pseudo science.