http://www.graemeklass.com A blog on Libertarianism, technology, fatherhood and rockets. Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:23:20 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Joe Hockey, shadow treasurer of Australia and Member of Parliament, delivered an excellent speech at the Grattan Institute, on liberty, personal responsibility and a call for limited government. Below are snippets of his speech: On Individual Worth and Liberty: I believe that we are equal in our worth, if not necessarily in ... http://www.graemeklass.com/libertarianism/joe-hockey-on-liberty/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=joe-hockey-on-liberty No related posts. http://www.graemeklass.com/libertarianism/the-government-can/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-government-can Globalisation requires startups to be global from day one. This does not mean that you need to have sales offices, distribution networks and advertising to all corners of the earth. It means that your startup's culture must pursue a global market, which means that your startup must continually think about ... http://www.graemeklass.com/entrepreneurship/go-global-from-day-one/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=go-global-from-day-one When I did my economics unit at University I learnt that if you tax goods at a rate higher than other goods, you will discourage consumption of that good. This is the basis of all "Sin" taxes on alcohol and cigarettes. A corollary is that investment in producing that good ... http://www.graemeklass.com/economics/taxing-the-golden-goose/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=taxing-the-golden-goose On Saturday, I swam (along with 4,300 participants) the Lorne Pier to Pub 2010, a 1.2km open water swim that I have been training for the last few months. My goal was 22 minutes and my result: 20 min 49 secs. So I was pretty happy with my effort. [caption id="attachment_240" ... http://www.graemeklass.com/fitness/pier-to-pub-2010-completed/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pier-to-pub-2010-completed [caption id="attachment_236" align="alignleft" width="173" caption="Helen Lovejoy approves of the Internet filter"][/caption] I never thought my country would resort to this. Under the guise of "won't someone think of the children" the Australian Government, led by Communications Minister Stephen Conroy, have green-lighted the use of Internet filters: The Federal Government will introduce compulsory ... http://www.graemeklass.com/politics/australian-government-to-censor-the-internet/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=australian-government-to-censor-the-internet Much of our political discourse focuses on the left/right divide in a simple one dimensional domain. If you're not left, you're right. If you're not right, you're left. There is a third way: Libertarian. As a way to describe where libertarianism fit I have created this two-dimensional chart to help ... http://www.graemeklass.com/libertarianism/libertarianism-vs-right-vs-left/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=libertarianism-vs-right-vs-left Have a look at the opening film of Copenhagen Climate Summit: All the elements for a good old fashioned scare mongerin': Poverty. Check. Scared Children. Check. Polar bears threatened. Check. Floods. Check. Drought. Check. Earthquake. Check. Storms. Check. Tornadoes. Check. "Expert" Testimony*. Check. These people have no shame. * Includes the renowned scientists, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and UN Chief Ban Ki Moon. No ... http://www.graemeklass.com/climate/copenhagen-opening-film-all-thats-missing-is-the-plague/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=copenhagen-opening-film-all-thats-missing-is-the-plague I am participating in the 2010 Pier to Pub at Lorne on January 9, 2010. It is a 1.2 km open water course. I heard that the rule of thumb is that for every 1km of open water swimming is the equivalent of 2kms in the swimming pool. Thus my ... http://www.graemeklass.com/fitness/pier-to-pub-swimming-training/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=pier-to-pub-swimming-training I love Easter Eggs. Type in "mario" in the ThinkGeek search form and... No related posts. http://www.graemeklass.com/easter-eggs/thinkgeek-mario-easter-egg/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thinkgeek-mario-easter-egg