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dollardoctrinaire

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Posts posted by dollardoctrinaire

  1. Do the following rights exist? Or are they needs misunderstood as rights?

    1. the right to anonymity.

    2. the right to "not being recognized/identified without consent".

    3. the right to privacy.

    Recently German government banned Facebook's use of face recognition for auto tagging. They & others cited the above rights as justification.

    I am wondering whether what the German government did is moral.

    These are immoral irrationla "rights" which are created by the government to interfere with the free market. The government has no business interfering with the rights of facebook to serve their customer. The best protector of anonymity and privacy is the free market.

  2. Harper says 'Islamicism' biggest threat to Canada

    In an exclusive interview with CBC News, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the biggest security threat to Canada a decade after 9/11 is Islamic terrorism.

    In a wide-ranging interview with CBC chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge that will air in its entirety on The National Thursday night, Harper says Canada is safer than it was on Sept. 11, 2001, when al-Qaeda attacked the U.S., but that "the major threat is still Islamicism."

    Harper cautioned that terrorist threats can "come out of the blue" from a different source, such as the recent Norway attacks, where a lone gunman who hated Muslims killed 77 people."There are other threats out there, but that is the one that I can tell you occupies the security apparatus most regularly in terms of actual terrorist threats," Harper said.

    But Harper said terrorism by Islamic radicals is still the top threat, though a "diffuse" one.

    The prime minister said home-grown Islamic radicals in Canada are "also something that we keep an eye on.""When people think of Islamic terrorism, they think of Afghanistan, or maybe they think of some place in the Middle East, but the truth is that threat exists all over the world," he said, citing domestic terrorism in Nigeria.

    Tories to resurrect controversial anti-terrorism laws

    Harper said his government will bring back anti-terrorism clauses that were brought in in 2001 but were sunset in 2007 amid heated political debate.

    There were two clauses at the heart of the debate:

    • One allowed police to arrest suspects without a warrant and detain them for three days without charges if police believed a terrorist act may have been committed.
    • The other allowed a judge to compel a witness to testify in secret about past associations or perhaps pending acts under penalty of going to jail if the witness didn't comply.

    In October 2006, a parliamentary committee recommended extending the two provisions.Neither clause was used by police or prosecutors in the five years before they expired.

    The Conservatives put forward a proposal to keep the measures in place for three more years, but the three opposition parties united to defeat the proposal in February 2007 by a 159-124 vote.

    The rest of the legislation remained in force.

    "We think those measures are necessary. We think they've been useful," he said. "And as you know … they're applied rarely, but there are times where they're needed."When asked by Mansbridge if he would try to bring those laws back, Harper replied: "That is our plan."

  3. Iranian Pastor Sentenced to Death

    Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, who is facing the death penalty, again refused to convert to Islam to save his life.

    Nadarkhani was arrested in 2009 for the crime of apostasy because he allegedly abandoned Islam for Christianity. As a pastor, Iranian clerics believe that Nadarkhani was preaching in order to convert Muslims.

    Before his last hearing Wednesday, Nadarkhani had been given three previous chances to repent, and all three times he has refused. After his final refusal Wednesday, no verdict has been announced, but many expect that he could be put to death as soon as Friday.

    The case has slowly garnered international attention, and there are a number of Christian rights groups advocating for his release.

    U.S. House Speaker John Boehner also has spoken out against Iran. "While Iran's government claims to promote tolerance, it continues to imprison many of its people because of their faith. This goes beyond the law to an issue of fundamental respect for human dignity. I urge Iran's leaders to abandon this dark path, spare [Nadarkhani's] life, and grant him a full and unconditional release," said Boehner.1px.gif

    There were rumors on Wednesday night that Nadarkhani's execution sentence was to be waived after the final trial, but contradicting reports indicate that the news was incorrect.

    "We've had some reports that there has been a verbal announcement from the court in Iran that the sentence is annulled but we urge caution," said Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a religious group campaigning for Nadarkhani's release.

    "It's been known that verbal announcements have been directly contradicted by later written statements. We are still calling for international pressure to be kept up."

    The American Center for Law and Justice said in a message titled "Troubling News" that the rumors were spread by the Iranian secret service in an attempt to get the media to stop reporting the story. ACLJ said Nadarkhani's lawyer Mohammad Ali Dadkhah called the center Wednesday to say the death sentence hasn't been overturned.

    Even if the sentence were commuted, Nadarkhani could still face life in prison. And even if he were released, there would still be danger.

    "In Iran about 18 years ago, they had released a pastor, but then came and assassinated him and his bishop later. We cannot stop the pressure," Pastor Firouz Sadegh-Khandjani, a Member of the Council of Elders for the Church of Iran, told the ACLJ.

    Between June 2010 and January 2011, more than 200 people in Iran were arrested for their religious beliefs, according to Elam Ministries, a United Kingdom-based church with ties to Iran.

    In August, a pastor named Haghnejad was arrested for the third time, according to Christian Solidarity. Police also confiscated 6,500 bibles, which Iran's social issues committee deemed were being used to deceive youths.

    While no one has been hanged for the crime of apostasy in Iran for more than 20 years, the country has the second highest execution rate of any nation in the world. So far in 2011, there have been about 400 executions, a quarter of which occurred in September.

  4. Miss Rand was not affected much by her experience in Russia. Anyone with the extraordinary amount of brilliance and intelligence like her would have seen the world the way she did. Human beings have this curious thing called free will. One has to use free will and have rational values which have been prevalent exclusively in the west in order to arrive at Miss Band's philosophy.

  5. Most parasites and moochers consider the producers and achievers of this world to be stubborn bastards. The reason is the mystical worship of force and a lack of self esteem among parasitical second handlers. Just as Roark was seen to be stubborn, most liberals see entrepreneurs and those who advocate freedom in the same way. Miss rand was the first to recognize this singular charactersic of certain individuals which appears as the standard oeuvre of fare in an atmosphere of force worshipping liberalism.

  6. What does this mean for following Miss Rand as an idol?

    Ayn Rand took government assistance while decrying others who did the same

    Noted speed freak, serial-killer fangirl, and Tea Party hero Ayn Rand was also a kleptoparasite, sneakily gobbling up taxpayer funds under an assumed name to pay for her medical treatments after she got lung cancer.

    tea-party-john-galt.jpg

    An interview with Evva Pryror, a social worker and consultant to Miss Rand's law firm of Ernst, Cane, Gitlin and Winick verified that on Miss Rand's behalf she secured Rand's Social Security and Medicare payments which Ayn received under the name of Ann O'Connor (husband Frank O'Connor). As Pryor said, "Doctors cost a lot more money than books earn and she could be totally wiped out" without the aid of these two government programs. Ayn took the bail out even though Ayn "despised government interference and felt that people should and could live independently... She didn't feel that an individual should take help."

    But alas she did and said it was wrong for everyone else to do so.

    Ayn Rand and the VIP-DIPers

  7. Would you call yourself a free market proponent?

    Absolutely. I have mixed attitudes towards capitalism, but I love markets. Having lived and worked in many countries, I can see the tremendous vibrancy in, say, the Malaysian telecom sector compared to U.S. sector. In the U.S. everything is vertically integrated and sewn up, so you don’t have a free market. In Malaysia, you have a broad spectrum of players, and you can see the benefits for all as a result.

    You’ve developed a reputation as anti-establishment and anti-institution.

    Not at all. Creating a well-run establishment is a difficult thing to do, and I’ve been in countries where institutions are in a state of collapse, so I understand the difficulty of running a company. Institutions don’t come from nowhere.

    It’s not correct to put me in any one philosophical or economic camp, because I’ve learned from many. But one is American libertarianism, market libertarianism. So as far as markets are concerned I’m a libertarian, but I have enough expertise in politics and history to understand that a free market ends up as monopoly unless you force them to be free.

    WikiLeaks is designed to make capitalism more free and ethical.

    Link

    I did not expect this.

  8. Locals Protest Mosque That's Actually a Church

    By Max Fisher | November 16, 2010 12:08pm

    2546_25758422_480X284.jpg

    Some vigilant citizens in Phoenix, Arizona are up in arms over a domed church that they wrongly believe to be a mosque. The large building, still under construction along a busy interstate, is actually a nondenominational church. The backlash has been severe enough that the church's leaders have hung a giant banner over the dome: "IF YOU THINK DIFFERENT YOU ARE WRONG -- WE ARE BUILDING A CHRISTIAN HOUSE OF WORSHIP." The incident suggests that the widespread backlash against Muslim-American centers, which began this summer in reaction to the planned Cordoba House in New York, may still not have fully receded.

    Phoenix's CBS affiliate KPHO reports, "People behind a new church in Phoenix are trying to stay ahead of any potential controversy or hate that accompanied the announcement of a proposed mosque near Ground Zero in New York City."

    Source

  9. Not sure if this is in the correct forum, but today is Bosses day. I think this is one of the few meaningful public holidays in this country when we celebrate the true great minds that run our civilization.

    More info about Bosses day:

    Patricia Haroski, a secretary from Deerfield, Illinois, originated National Boss Day in 1958 in honor of her white-collar father, who helped all of his children with good advice throughout their careers.

    In honor of the elder Haroski's birthday - October 16 - daughter Patricia registered the day with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

    Four years later, National Boss Day was backed by Illinois Governor Otto Kerner who officially proclaimed the day in 1962. The idea quickly gained favor across the country and is now even observed in England, Australia and South Africa.

    Today, National Boss Day (or Bosses Day) always falls on October 16 and is traditionally celebrated with greeting cards, e-cards, flowers,

    gifts
    , and a few extra smiles in honor of the big Boss Man or Lady.

    Since October 16 falls on a weekend this year, watch for celebrations taking place on the Friday prior to, or on the Monday following, Bosses Day 2010 ....

    Link

  10. TBH I think Hollywood has long become a festering den of collectivists and mystics. I would be really really surprised if this movie will accurately represent the message of Miss Rand's work, but I would be glad anyway since moviegoers would be able to hear the names of John Galt and Dagny Taggart :pimp:

  11. To be honest, I have been trying to model my thinking and behavior upon Howard Roark the last few years after I read Miss Rand's magnum opus. However, in the last few weeks, I sometimes secretly think what it would be to be a Ellsworth Toohey just for the fun of it, once in a while. What do you think? Do you think it is wise to step out of character once in a while to become the Tooheys and Mouches of this world?

  12. The Buzz: Candidate for governor angry about misspelled name

    Gubernatorial candidate Mohammad Arif of the Peace and Freedom Party is hopping mad that his name is misspelled on the state's official voter information guide for the June 8 primary election.

    "I'm very much upset, because I'm working hard on my election," Arif said Friday. "This is no joke, you know."

    California's voter guide misspells Arif's first name by one letter – "Mohammed" instead of "Mohammad" – and voters who search the Internet under that name won't be directed to his campaign website, he said.

    Arif, Kern County chairman of the Peace and Freedom Party, faces two gubernatorial opponents in the primary.

    Shannan Velayas, spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office, said the error has been corrected online but nothing can be done about the nearly 10 million paper guides that have already been distributed.

    Velayas said neither Arif nor anyone else reported the error during the three-week period the voter guide was available for public review – Feb. 23 to March 15 – before it was printed. Arif's name will be spelled correctly on the ballot itself, she said.

    Arif discovered the voter guide error Thursday.

    "Of course it will hurt me," he said of the mistake's impact at the polls. "Definitely it will hurt me. … How could they overlook this?"

    – Jim Sanders

    Link

  13. So sorry I forgot about this topic. I agree that Islam qua Islam is not the problem in the US, per se, but it is the biggest evil after communism out there today. I do think Islam, communism and socialism should be totally eradicated from the world if Americans are to enjoy peace and freedom. Islam also is the biggest threat to our freedom today. As far as Christians are concerned, they're mostly good people, only misguided by mysticism. I'd say many, if not most, Christians in America are firm believers in free market economics, but for the wrong reasons. :rolleyes:

    Still, I firmly believe that America is the best and only hope for freedom in the world today and I don't see the socialists or Muslims winning any day soon.

    Unfortunately, under the current mixed economic system many of those making large sums benefit from favors and deals being passed out by politicians. That is the inevitable result of combining economics with politics.
    I couldn't agree more with you. The only reason why we see the state of our economy today as it is today is because of government siding with the collective interests, instead of siding with the capitalist interests. But I think still that the only thing that stops "the average Joe" from becoming a billionaire today is just plain stupidity and lack of virtue. America is much freeer after the Reagan revolution, although there are many criticisms that can be made of him.
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