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Two Questions on the Pirate Capture of the Saudi Oil Tanker

First question: After looking at the size of this thing, can someone explain how the heck some guys with automatic weapons in speedboats were able to capture it? Couldn’t the crew just lock the doors and say, “Go away, we know it’s not a candy gram!” ? Second question: When the news first broke, do […]

Is There A Simple Connection Between Monetary Aggregates and Prices?

I think we are in store for massive yr/yr price inflation (where 8% < massive < 100%) within the next 6 - 12 months. My reasons are qualitative: (1) Bernanke is terrified of deflation and has allowed the base to grow like crazy, (2) real output is going to tank, and (3) once the panic […]

Ron Paul Shows Ben Bernanke Has No Backup Plan (?!)

In the video below (HT2LRC), Ron Paul asks Fed Chairman Bernanke whether there are any plans to replace the “dead fiat dollar system” with one based on gold. Now I realize a lot of his fans may have seemed silly in their over-the-top enthusiasm during the primary; I understand why habitual smirkers were amused. But […]

Paul Krugman Makes Sure We Understand How Crazy He Is

It is really amazing to see how glib Paul Krugman can be about his insane recommendations. (HT2MR) I can’t take this apart right now; it surely deserves its own Mises.org article. For now, let us just read it and “enjoy”: It’s a curious thing that even now, when we are clearly in a liquidity trap, […]

Robert Nozick Is Overrated; or, Pete Boettke Needs to Get Out More

In a recent blog post, Pete Boettke tells us that Robert Nozick is the smartest man he’s ever met. In the comments, I mention that I have thought Nozick was overrated since the time I saw him give a talk at NYU, and he botched the “Edgeworth Box” (a diagram from economics). Some people were […]

NASA Forced to Revise Temperature Data, But Skeptics Looking Suspicous Now Too

As this UK Telegraph story explains, NASA had to revise its temperature records because it had failed to catch a reporting error from Russian stations. Because the records used September temperature readings for October, it originally seemed that last October was the hottest on record; that has now been changed. However, there’s an interesting twist […]

Zimbabwe Central Banker Blames Lazy Citizens for Inflation

According to this report (HT2LRC), Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono is quoted in The Sunday Mail, a state-owned newspaper, as saying inflation is due to what he calls a “collective failure as a nation” to produce enough, particularly food. He calls on Zimbabweans “to actively play a part in producing for the nation.” Zimbabwe’s inflation […]