I was fascinated to read about the Sentinelese recently – a tribe of 250-odd hunter-gatherers living on a fairly big tropical island off the coast of India. They are extremely hostile to visitors and appear to have had no more than cursory contact with people from the outside world. This picture is the typical view [...]

Culture, Freedom, Linkage, Non-state actors, Pacific, Photos, Science, World | 2 Comments »

I was amused by this article in the Sydney Morning Herald about iMac problems. Faults reported on forums range from cracked glass, screen flickering, yellow tinged or noisy screens and have been experienced by users around the world as far afield as North America, Europe and Australia. It’s a product sold globally – why on [...]

Education, Quotable, World | No Comments »

I read in the Kapiti Observer this morning about council plans to distribute 34,000 fluorescent lightbulbs free to every household.  This will involve a $74,000 interest-free loan from the EECA.  The report contained estimates that the bulbs will save Kapiti residents $5.8 million – that’s a huge return of $74 per $1 spent over the [...]

Education, Energy, Freedom, New Zealand, Science, Wellington | 3 Comments »

A bizarre blog post on The Stranded contains some extremely odd thinking.  During the debate about Matariki, ACT MP David Garrett asked Chris Finlayson in Parliament: Is the Minister aware that Dr Paul Moon, a professor of history at the Auckland University of Technology and a well-known expert in pre-European history, is of the view [...]

Culture, Free Speech, Labour, New Zealand, Pacific, Science | 11 Comments »

John Key’s official holiday in Niue has so far included dancing, feasts and drinking kava. When Michael Jones described Noni juice as leaving ‘a bad taste, despite being good for you’, Key apparently said this was ‘A bit like raising taxes,’ according to The Dominion Post. Hopefully that was just the kava talking, John. Raising [...]

Freedom, Libertarianz, New Zealand, Pacific, Politics | No Comments »

It’s great to cheer for protestors who are fighting for democracy in Iran (and they appear to be fighting for their lives as well), but the sad truth is that each of the four candidates in Iran’s race are heavily involved in corrupt, often murderous government activities. Wikipedia has this to say about Mousavi: Mousavi’s [...]

Catastrophes, Culture, Middle East, Politics, World | No Comments »

Designer Babies are finally here, thanks to the good folks at The Fertility Institutes. In the latest twist in the march towards designer babies, The Fertility Institutes says they will soon be able to offer couples the ability to screen their embryos for eye color, hair color, and complexion.  The Institute cannot change the DNA [...]

Culture, Freedom, Personal, US | 3 Comments »

I issued two extremely important Libz press releases this afternoon.  They form a two-pronged plan to combat the upcoming recession and ensure that such a dramatic economic downfall can never threaten New Zealand again. You can read them on Scoop: Finally: A Credible Economic Plan Economic Correction Needs Political Correction And on the Libertarianz website: [...]

Catastrophes, Development, Freedom, Libertarianz, New Zealand, Politics, Resilience | No Comments »

The 17 Tuhoe Terrorists ‘Alleged’ Terrorists (well, the seventeen that the police have evidence against) have been committed to trial. They are, as usual, making outlandish claims of their complete innocence. Bailey, as the only individual who had all charges against him thrown out, says his sister and brother are still going to trial. “It’s [...]

Culture, Firearms, Freedom, New Zealand, Non-state actors, Police, Terrorism | No Comments »

This is a cross-post from a thread about heroism at SOLO Passion (Sense of Life Objectivism), an Objectivist forum. I do not identify myself as an Objectivist, merely a libertarian who found Atlas Shrugged inspiring. I think there are at least two kinds of heroes promoted here: Heroes of talent, who have pushed their own [...]

Culture, Libertarianz, Non-state actors, Personal | 1 Comment »