Tuesday, September 24, 2002

The Great Power-Shortage Myth. Once we see the question in this light, the claims made in the press about the cause of the California blackouts appear truly astounding. What we are being told is that the power producers were in a position to do extra business--they allegedly had all the necessary generating capacity--but simply refused to do it. We are being told a story which, if applied to restaurants or coffee shops, say, would claim that additional normal-type, well-behaved customers were coming through their doors, ready to order from their menus, and that even though these food-service establishments had the all the necessary means of filling the additional customers' orders, they simply refused to do so--indeed, they refused to do so out of reasons of greed! [Ludwig von Mises Institute] An excellent article on the absurdity of efforts by media and politicians in California to shift the blame for the power shortages to the power companies. Unfortunately, these efforts are likely to be successful, since if the majority of Californians had any sense at all they wouldn't have supported those politicians and media outlets in the first place. The article addresses power companies, but in the Los Angeles Times this morning there was an article making the same "deliberate shortage" claims against suppliers of natural gas (which is used to produce much of the electricity in California). The points made in the article apply just as well to that industry. comment () trackback ()  11:51:24 AM     Boston Globe.  The impact of Schroeder's crass anti-american campaign tactic in the German elections continues to backfire.  Like the US, Germany should be focusing on fixing its economy.  With 10% unemployment (2x the US), and nearly 0% growth (vs. a slow 1% in the US), indulging in US bashing and tales of woe about the fate of Iraq (a country most Germans, like most Americans, probably couldn't place on a map) during a crucial election, is disheartening. [John Robb's Radio Weblog] Here's a quote from the article that illustrates nicely where the anti-American votes in Germany are coming from: In West Berlin's Shoneberg neighborhood, a liberal stronghold, Marie Brinckmann, 21, wore a black beret and held a red rose she had just received from a Red party campaign worker. She was asked about the anti-American tone of the election. ''It is cool to be anti-American,'' she said flatly. comment () trackback ()  10:29:56 AM     BBC: "Some critics have been less than impressed with Google's news service." [Scripting News] I wonder how many of those critic work for competing news services--like the BBC, for instance? comment () trackback ()  10:21:10 AM     The War on Art Historians. Robert Tracinski at Capitalism Magazine - The War on Art Historians - a photographer of realist art is forbidden to photograph a sculpture in NYC because it is near the Triborough Bridge. Sheesh. [trt-ny] [End the War on Freedom] I remember hearing when I was a kid about the restrictions on photography that visitors to Iron Curtain countries encountered. At the time I thought it was just an example of the silly things that paranoid oppresive dictatorships do. Now tourists can take all the photographs they like in what used to be the Soviet Empire--but not in New York City. I still think it's an example of a silly thing done by a paranoid oppresive dictatorship, though. comment () trackback ()  10:13:57 AM     407,791 voices cry freedom. Stephen Robinson at The Telegraph - 407,791 voices cry freedom - one English paper's report on the march. Includes a link to "the day in pictures". [End the War on Freedom] Another report on the countryside march. This one is clearly supportive of the marchers. comment () trackback ()  10:07:08 AM

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