Blair’s Even Handedness
From Cox and Forkum:
NAACP mourns: Hispanics, Blacks ruled responsible for their own behavior
NEW YORK--A federal jury yesterday ruled that 45 gun manufacturers and distributors are not responsible for violence in black and Hispanic neighborhoods.This comes as a blow to the NAACP, which filed the lawsuit against gun manufacturers based on its long-standing belief that all blacks and Hispanics are mindless puppets of "big business" incapable of making their own decisions.The NAACP is now expected to begin looking for some other group of large corporations to blame (outside of Hollywood) for various societal ills.Meanwhile, many blacks and Hispanics are still wondering why the NAACP considers itself qualified to speak on their behalf.Economy woes: Declined demand for Klingon translators
PORTLAND--Multnomah County officials announced today that they are no longer looking to employ Klingon interpreters. "Klingon" was removed from the list of 55 languages that incoming patients at the county mental health office might be expected to speak.First the dot-com crash, and now this. Just what is a warp-core engineer to do?
Ka 'Pla!
Byrd Yapping
From Cox and Forkum:
Related: Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd, Ex-Klansman.
UN vs. Freedom, Once Again
Taiwan, unlike communist China, has been forthright about the infections that have arisen within its borders and eager to notify the international community, as well as to receive assistance. For a period in early April, the WHO was actually refusing to accept SARS numbers from the democratic island nation. The communists insisted that Taiwan could submit numbers to their regime, which would pass them on to the WHO--more than a bit cheeky, coming from the very regime whose secrecy is largely to blame for the virus's spread. When the WHO finally relented and accepted Taiwan's numbers--and sent two doctors to the scene--it did so under the designation, "Taiwan, province of China." ... When Taiwan was admitted to the World Trade Organization, it came in, after much wrangling, as the "Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen, and Matsu." Too many countries are ready to kowtow to Beijing's strong-arming when it comes to any move that might confer international legitimacy on Taiwan's morally legitimate claim to sovereignty.... The nations that have opposed Taiwan are taking sides against a free nation facing down a tyranny. [New York Sun, 5/9/03]
The WHO is a UN agency.
Regulation: It’s Force vs. Mind
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. named Donald R. Keough and Thomas S. Murphy to its board of directors to comply with proposed corporate governance rules that the billionaire investor has criticized. ... Mr. Buffett has resisted changes to his board--which includes his wife, son, investing partner for the last four decades, and two executives with business ties to the company--and argued outside directors aren't a requirement for good corporate governance, a cause he's led since 1993. By naming two friends, he may not have hanged that view, some governance experts said.
"It's Berkshire's take on independence," said the senior vice president of Institutional Shareholder Services, Patrick McGurn, which advises investors on board decisions. "They may meet the letter of the law, but they don't meet the spirit of the law." [New York Sun, 5/9/03]
That is because the spirit of that law is statist. (Hat Tip: Paul Blair)