Buzz from the Beehive A statement from Children’s Minister Karen Chhour – yet to be posted on the Government’s official website – arrived in Point of Order’s email in-tray last night. It welcomes the High Court ruling on whether the Waitangi Tribunal can demand she appear before it. It does not spell out what the […]
Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Waitangi Tribunal’s summons
Maori Party (with “disgust”) draws attention to Chhour’s race after the High Court rules on Waitangi Tribunal’s summons
25 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
A weak Three Strikes law
24 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: crime and punishment, criminal deterrence, law and order
Nicole McKee announced: The Government is delivering on its commitment to bring back the Three Strikes legislation, Associate Justice Minister Nicole McKee announced today. The return is welcome in principle, but what is being proposed is actually pretty weak and even ineffective. Cover the same 40 serious violent and sexual offences as the former legislation, […]
A weak Three Strikes law
Hamas rejects cease-fires
21 Apr 2024 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Ninth Circuit Rules Against Seattle in Using “Heckler’s Veto” in Arrest of Pro-Life Protester
21 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: abortion law reform, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
We have often discussed how cities and universities will use the threat of protests to block or shutdown free speech, particularly of conservative speakers or groups. We now have a major decision out of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that could prove an important precedent in resisting the growing anti-free […]
Ninth Circuit Rules Against Seattle in Using “Heckler’s Veto” in Arrest of Pro-Life Protester
Berkeley Prosecutors Cut Probation Deal for Scientist Who Tried to Kill Colleague
19 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, law and order
I have been a criminal defense attorney for my entire career, but there is a case out of Berkeley, California that is a real head scratcher. David Xu was the chief metallurgist for a company called Berkeley Engineering and Research (BEAR) and was caught on tape trying to poison a colleague. His actions are blamed […]
Berkeley Prosecutors Cut Probation Deal for Scientist Who Tried to Kill Colleague
Agent-principal conflicts
18 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, economics of information, economics of media and culture, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, managerial economics, organisational economics, personnel economics Tags: agency costs, asymmetric information, moral hazard, screening
Expensive grub and fags
13 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics Tags: crime and punishment, economics of corruption, law and order
Buchenwald Liberated.
12 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, liberalism, war and peace Tags: Nazi Germany, The Holocaust, World War II
Buchenwald was one of the largest concentration camps established by the Nazis, located near Weimar, Germany. It was operational from 1937 until its liberation on April 11, 1945, by American forces. When the American soldiers arrived at Buchenwald, they were shocked by the appalling conditions they encountered. The camp was overcrowded, with thousands of emaciated […]
Buchenwald Liberated.
Democrats Cry Foul as Anti-Free Speech Allies Turn Against Them
11 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: Age of Enlightenment, free speech, political correctness, regressive left
Below is my column in The Hill on the recent disruptions of events featuring leading Democrats from President Joe Biden to Rep. Jamie Raskin. After years of supporting the censoring and blacklisting of others, these politicians are now being targeted by the very anti-free speech movement that they once fostered. Hillary Clinton last week became […]
Democrats Cry Foul as Anti-Free Speech Allies Turn Against Them
Pro-terrorism campaign in Christchurch
09 Apr 2024 6 Comments
in defence economics, economics of crime, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
The Canterbury Socialist Society are launching a campaign to justify the slaughter, rapes and torture of Jewish men, women and children on 7 October. They claim it is resistance, not terrorism. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine is a Palestinian revolutionary Marxist group. It has been designated a terrorist organisation by the EU, […]
Pro-terrorism campaign in Christchurch
The SFO overcharged
08 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights
The Serious Fraud Office said: The SFO welcomes the Court of Appeal’s decision today which corrected the High Court findings in its New Zealand First Foundation (NZFF) case and reinforced the importance of transparency around political donations in a democratic system. Following the NZFF trial in 2022 the High Court found “if the money is […]
The SFO overcharged
CITIZEN SCIENCE: Govt continues to be captured by trans ideology
07 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of crime, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free speech, law and order, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
As the rest of the world wakes up from the trans fever dream, our media and political class continue to trundle along with their fingers in their ears and their eyes firmly shut. Radio New Zealand has avoided the topic for a while, but a couple of weeks ago treated us to a pantomime story…
CITIZEN SCIENCE: Govt continues to be captured by trans ideology
Extinction Rebellion Attacks an Electric Vehicle at the New York Auto Show
06 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: climate activists
There is no path to appeasement – nothing is ever green enough for climate fanatics.
Extinction Rebellion Attacks an Electric Vehicle at the New York Auto Show
Cuba Libre
05 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, constitutional political economy, development economics, economic history, economics of bureaucracy, economics of crime, growth disasters, history of economic thought, human capital, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking Tags: Cuba
Martin Gurri has a very good, deep-dive on the current situation in Cuba. The wreckage of the Cuban economy really can’t be exaggerated. The perpetual blackouts are an apt symbol of a country that is headed for the dark ages. For the first time since the revolution, Cuba is begging the United Nations for food aid. Nearly […]
Cuba Libre
J’Accuse . . . ! : The University of Chicago is not a “free speech university”
04 Apr 2024 1 Comment
in defence economics, economics of crime, economics of education, law and economics, laws of war, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, war and peace Tags: free speech, Gaza Strip, Israel, Middle-East politics, political correctness, regressive left, war against terror
This is a story about how the University of Chicago, famed as the #1 Free Speech School of America, is now allowing the suppression of speech, either not punishing those who engage in suppression or giving them ridiculously light punishments. The result is that there is no palpable deterrent to students who want to silence […]
J’Accuse . . . ! : The University of Chicago is not a “free speech university”
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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