the F rant

I knew there was another reason why I didn’t like Jame Hird.

It’s just not his “holier than thou” attitude.

It’s not just his faux intellectualism.

It’s not just his fake “nice guy” media persona.

It’s not just his SERIOUSLY bad attitude, exemplified by his “you f*cking c*nt” outburst to Kevin Sheedy this year.

It’s that he is a WHITLAMITE!!!

Here’s the evidence in an article by Greg Baum: Seen but not Hird

The offending quote: “When Hird was two-and-a-half, he stood with his mother, Margaret on the steps of Parliament House, protesting Gough Whitlam’s sacking”

Firstly, Baum is obviously lovestruck by Hird, “he stood with his mother”, as if to say as a two year old he had a presence of mind to participate in a political protest – which is total garbage. He didn’t say “his mother took him to” or “his mother stopped his crying for long enough to hear Whitlam spurt out his first words as an ex-Prime Minister”. Secondly, that his mother dragged the two year old to the protest is a form of child abuse. Thirdly, he was raised by such people, which must have had a seriously, seriously detrimental effect on his outlook on life.

FOOTY: Sport in general, FREEDOM: Economics, Politics and Business

One of the greatest thinkers, revolutionaries, philosophers, leaders and liberal evangelists this world has known, Milton Friedman, has died at the age of 94.

The winner of the 1976 Nobel Prize in Economics, Friedman was one of the founders of the “Chicago School” of Economics, a group of then “radical” free marketeers and liberals who advocated market solutions to the most pressing economic and social problems of the day. A great departure from the prevailing Keynesian economic paradigm, Friedman’s theories and ideas for small government and greater personal freedom and responsibility have slowly clawed their way back into prominence among academics and policy makers – and the world is a far greater place because of it.

Truly a great humanist and advocate of human freedom through economic freedom, Friedman was a natural heir to the greatest thinker in economic and social philosophy, Adam Smith. He was seen as such a radical in proposing such capitalist and free-market ideas that he was put on the cover of TIME Magazine in 1969 (that summer of radicalism and free love) with the headline, “MAVERICK MESSIAH”.

He was known as the “economics” in “Reagonomics”, long working as an economic adviser to Ronald Reagan. Former British PM, Baroness Margaret Thatcher released a statement upon hearing of Friedman’s passing: “Milton Friedman revived the economics of liberty, when it had been all but forgotten. He was an intellectual freedom fighter”. Former Governor of the US Reserve Bank, Alan Greenspan, said: “My world will not be the same”. Austrian born Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger (himself an Economics graduand), said: “When I was first exposed to [Friedman's] powerful writings about money, free markets and individual freedom, it was like getting hit by a thunderbolt. I wound up giving copies of his books and ‘Free to Choose’ videos to hundreds of my friends and acquaintances.” Gary Becker, 1992 Nobel Prize Winner, said: “He was the single most important force for setting out the argument for why free-market economists do better. Those ideas impact everybody.”

One of Friedman’s best quotes was when confronted by socialists and lefties:

Your objective is the same as mine – greater individual freedom, the difference is that I know how to achieve that objective and you do not.

It is easy to dismiss Friedman’s achievements as a reinforcement of the norm. However, when Friedman was proposing his ideas, it was in an environment of hostility, ignorance and socialist groupthink. Friedman not only broke the mold, but changed the world. His students themselves have won a staggering total of 12 Nobel Prizes.

His official biography

Some tributes:
The Boston Globe
The Financial Times
New York Times
USA Today
Chicago Business News
Fox News – Interview from 2004
A Personal Account from the Von Mises Institute

Friedman’s ideas and leadership have improved the lives of EVERY PERSON on this planet and will continue to do so for years to come. He is a giant in world history and deserves to be treated as such. He will be sorely missed.

DOWNLOAD:
Friedman’s Nobel Presentation

BUY:
Capitalism & Freedom
Free To Choose

POSTSCRIPT: Andrew Norton has an excellent personal obituary to “Uncle Milton” on his blog here.

FREEDOM: Economics, Politics and Business chicago school, milton friedman, nobel prize

Detective Simon Clemence from the Victoria Police mistakenly emailed the site of a tube and rubber manufacturer – utube.com – instead of youtube.com when trying to have C*nt – The Movie pulled from exhibition.

In an excellent display of detective work, Detective Clemence sent this email.

Seemingly, not only does Detective Clemence not know the difference between utube and YouTube but he doens’t even know it’s impolite to type emails in CAPITAL LETTERS. In internet protocol, CAPITAL LETTERS ARE CONSIDERED SHOUTING. Rather rude for a polite first email request, no?

C*nt – The Movie is apparently still available online, and also circulating the globe in tiny tiny packets and available through BitTorrent. There is no single person or organisation that the Victoria Police can email to prevent circulation through BitTorrent – it’s like trying to catch particles of air. What can be done is that anyone who has in fact downloaded the video can have their computer search or seized. Firstly they serve your ISP with an order, which measures particular flows, downloads and other information about your surfing activities.

Then, if they have enough evidence, they politely knock on your door and you’re in a spot of bother! For more info, check here.

FUTURE: Digital Media, Marketing, Insights and Trends