[H/t: Hunter]
Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Atlas Shrugged, the movie - a plot rewrite
Peter Foster’s review of Atlas Shrugged (Part 1), the movie, criticizes its implausible plot lines and suggests a re-write:
... its slightly off-kilter, futuristic, film noir look does capture - at least to some degree - the wonderful weirdness of the book on which it is based.
... The movie is set in today's not-too-distant future, but has kept Dagny in railroads and Hank in metals by positing a massive oil crisis due to the implosion of the Middle East. The Dow at 4,000 we can believe, but oil at $37.50 a gallon? At that price, a Chevy Volt might actually not be such a bad deal. Domestic oil is once again king (despite being utterly unaffordable) but is being carried by train. Whatever happened to pipelines?
None of this makes much sense. ... it should have been thoroughly reformulated to reflect statism's new threats.
... How's this for a rewrite? Dagny now runs a pipeline company trying to build a huge new system for a form of oil previously uneconomic but now made available by wonderful advances in capitalist technology. Let's say this oil is located in Alberta and her line is to go to the U.S. refineries of the Gulf Coast, to replace imports from dictatorships.
... Hank is still in the steel industry but his new wonder metal is now to be used to build a cheaper, stronger and safer type of pipe. However, he is opposed not by other steel or pipe makers, but by [new villains:] ... a pack of meretricious, politically savvy environmental NGOs ... fronted by naive chanting muddle-heads, who have no idea where their rich lifestyles originate, and backed by capitalist foundations (the irony!) that have been hijacked by socialists, and by CEOs either too cowardly or stupid to say no (or by those who seek to take advantage of government handouts to produce throwback technologies). These NGOs claim that the oil is "dirty" and destroying the climate and that Hank Rearden's new and better steel in unsafe, and threatens aquifers and environmentally sensitive areas. Their hysterical claims are eagerly swallowed by gullible liberal media. Meanwhile politicians, despite high unemployment, are prepared to sacrifice tens of thousands of jobs because they, too, are cowed by the ENGOs, and in any case attracted by the unparalleled power prospects of aspiring to control the weather.
... I know this is all a bit farfetched, but we are talking a movie plot here. ... [:-)]Works for me!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Kill the Canadian dairy cartel
The wheat monopoly is as good as gone. Now the dairy cartel needs to be put down.
William Watson responds to a column by Wally Smith, head of the Dairy Farmers of Canada:
William Watson responds to a column by Wally Smith, head of the Dairy Farmers of Canada:
... [US vs Cdn prices per 4 liters] Three and two-thirds bucks compared to more than six bucks. Anybody feeling milked? If not hosed?
... Why we pay more for dairy products couldn’t be simpler: Our dairy cartel artificially restricts supply.
... To make the legalized price gouging work, of course, it’s necessary to keep cheaper alternatives out of the market. Which is why, in addition to police protection against excessive production in Canada, we have enforcement at the border via outrageously high tariffs: 241% to 295.5%, including 277% for ice cream. Imagine! A country that puts punitive taxes on ice cream!
... Mr. Smith’s main justification for output restriction is that before it came along, dairy prices would fluctuate. ... (Note that one of OPEC’s official aims is “the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with a view to eliminating harmful and unnecessary fluctuations.” All cartels believe devoutly in “stabilization".)The dairy cartel should go the way of the Wheat Board. But it'll be a tougher nut to crack given that it's a shared federal/provincial jurisdiction.
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