The National coalition government banned the wearing of gang patches in public places in November 2024. The legislation states: If a person pleads guilty to, or is convicted of, an offence against subsection (1), the gang insignia concerned— (a) is forfeited to the Crown; and (b) may be destroyed or otherwise disposed of as the court,…
Judge undermines government intent
Judge undermines government intent
28 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - New Zealand
The Most Important Election(s) of 2025
28 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, development economics, economic growth, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, monetary economics, Public Choice, unemployment Tags: Argentina
Javier Milei has generated amazingly good results in just 20 months. But more reform is needed to undo the damage of 80 years of Peronism, which is why I explain that Argentina’s mid-term elections will be very important. Milei wants to turn Argentina into the world’s freest economy. That won’t be possible so long as […]
The Most Important Election(s) of 2025
The greyhound racing ban
27 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of regulation, labour economics, labour supply, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice Tags: animal rights, Animal welfare
Winston Peters announced: Cabinet has formally agreed this week to the closure of the greyhound racing industry in New Zealand. A bill will be drafted to bring this decision into law. The move follows last December’s announcement of the Government’s in-principle decision to end greyhound racing as of 31 July 2026. The decision was made […]
The greyhound racing ban
BBC coverage of the IPC Gaza City famine report – part two
26 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in defence economics, International law, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: Gaza Strip, Israel, media bias, Middle-East politics, regressive left, war against terror
Previously we discussed a BBC News website ‘live page’ devoted to the topic of the latest report from The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). BBC COVERAGE OF THE IPC GAZA CITY FAMINE REPORT – PART ONE Additional BBC News website reporting on that topic published on August 22nd began with the following item: “Famine […]
BBC coverage of the IPC Gaza City famine report – part two
The very dodgy $12.9b figure
24 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of bureaucracy, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, rentseeking
I blogged in early August on how MPs appear to have been scared into supporting a retrospective law change to protect ANZ and ASB Banks form a six year old law suit over their failure to make correct disclosures with some of their loans, on the basis that the banking system could be at risk […]
The very dodgy $12.9b figure
No Pierogi For You: Dershowitz Denied Food in Martha’s Vineyard Over His Political Views
18 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, racial discrimination, regressive left, religious discrimination
Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz appears to be living through a remake of the Seinfeld Soup Nazi episode. However, Dershowitz is facing a new culinary menace in Martha’s Vineyard. Chef Krem Miskevich has barred the famed lawyer from buying pierogis because of his political views . . . and liberals are applauding him for it. Welcome to Pierogi […]
No Pierogi For You: Dershowitz Denied Food in Martha’s Vineyard Over His Political Views
Milei’s Achievements…and Challenges
17 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in development economics, economic growth, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, fiscal policy, growth disasters, income redistribution, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, liberalism, libertarianism, macroeconomics, Marxist economics, monetary economics, property rights, Public Choice, public economics, rentseeking, unemployment Tags: Argentina
I’m back in Argentina, the South American country with the world’s best leader. What Javier Milei has accomplished is amazing. And the economic effects have been wonderful. One of my meetings earlier this week was with Marcelo Elizondo, the head of the International Chamber of Commerce for Argentina. He shared a presentation with me that […]
Milei’s Achievements…and Challenges
Lawrence Krauss interviews Carole Hooven
17 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, economics of education, gender, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: free speech, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
This is one of the twenty-odd interviews that Lawrence Krauss conducted to support the new book he edited, The War on Science, comprising essays about the pollution of academia by ideology. (Nearly all of us indict ideology from the Left, though many of us, including me, admit that the Right is currently a bigger threat to […]
Lawrence Krauss interviews Carole Hooven
The Vegetarian Migrant Dictator
17 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in economics of bureaucracy, International law, law and economics, Public Choice Tags: Nazi Germany
The title of this blog could be from any fictitious novel. A children’s book or even a fairy tale, but it actually describes a bizarre reality which caused so much destruction. The story of Hitler’s naturalization process resembles something of a farce. On April 7 1925 he had given up his Austrian citizenship, it was […]
The Vegetarian Migrant Dictator
For a de minimus threshold for mergers
16 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, economics of bureaucracy, industrial organisation, law and economics, politics - New Zealand, Public Choice Tags: competition law, merger law enforcement
I’ve spent the last couple of days at the Competition Law and Policy Institute’s annual workshop.Webb-Henderson’s Lucy Wright made a good case for a de minimus threshold for merger controls. Small mergers could have a safe harbour, or mergers in markets of insufficient NZ importance.If we need to set a monetary threshold for a market…
For a de minimus threshold for mergers
Fred Hockley-Executed 9 hours after Japanese surrender.
15 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in defence economics, economic history, economics of crime, International law, law and economics, laws of war, war and peace Tags: World War II
Following the Hiroshima bombing on August 6, the Soviet declaration of war and the Nagasaki bombing on August 9, the Emperor’s speech was broadcast at noon Japan Standard Time on August 15, 1945, and did reference the atomic bombs as a reason for the surrender. The broadcast was recorded a day earlier but was broadcast […]
Fred Hockley-Executed 9 hours after Japanese surrender.
FERC Must Seize the Supreme Court’s Energy Opportunity
15 Aug 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, comparative institutional analysis, economics of bureaucracy, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: nuisance suits
The Court has provided the legal framework. FERC must provide the will to use it.
FERC Must Seize the Supreme Court’s Energy Opportunity
Judge Crushes Charleston Climate Case
14 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, law and economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: nuisance suits
EID covers the legal thrashing visited upon Charleston plaintiffs seeking a judgment punishing Big Oil for their role in climate misfortunes. The article is Judge Shuts Down Charleston Climate Case, Warns of “Boundless” Liability. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images. A South Carolina judge has dismissed Charleston’s climate lawsuit, delivering a decisive setback […]
Judge Crushes Charleston Climate Case
“Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics”: Trump Takeover Renews Questions Over D.C. Crime Data
13 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA
Washington, D.C. is a city that has long spun statistics to the point that they become more fable than fact. It reaffirms the famous view that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” The line is the perfect warning to the unwary about politicians citing statistics. The quote itself is widely misrepresented as the work […]
“Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics”: Trump Takeover Renews Questions Over D.C. Crime Data
Tenth Circuit: Parents Do Not Have Right to Override Ban on Gender Transitioning of Minors
12 Aug 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, economics of regulation, gender, health economics, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA, property rights Tags: political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
The Tenth Circuit handed down a notable opinion this week in Poe v. Drummond, upholding Oklahoma’s law prohibiting gender transition procedures for anyone under eighteen. The opinion by Judge Joel Carson (joined by Judges Harris Hartz and Gregory Phillips) concluded that parental rights do not trump a state’s determination of what are safe treatments for […]
Tenth Circuit: Parents Do Not Have Right to Override Ban on Gender Transitioning of Minors
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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