Ludovic is back

pour de bon: http://www.ludovicmonnerat.com/ UPDATE (24.03.2008, 10:23): On dirait que ça re-coince.

Dodge Challenger 2008

This is probably what I'd buy if I had some $ 50'000 left to spend. The 2008 Dodge Challenger, almost as cool as his elder brother, Kowalski's 1970 Challenger. Should you like muscle cars, car chases, the desert and, above all, Freedom, and should you not know Vanishing Point yet, I'd vividly recommend you go and buy that movie and take care of that deficit.

Pascal Salin à Lugano

Nous avons été à Lugano pour assister à une conférence du professeur libéral français Pascal Salin, auteur notamment de Libéralisme. Cela a aussi été l'occasion de retrouver / faire la connaissance de Pan, Turion, Lorenzo et Pinocchio. Merci à Pinocchio et à l’Associazione liberisti ticinesi pour l'organisation de la conférence et pour la Cena exquise!

Sisyphos on Air: mein erster Podcast

Kürzlich hatte ich die Ehre, über Skype meine Meinung zur Unternehmenssteuerreform II in einem Interview mit dem Ordnungspolitischen Blog abzugeben. Ich war ja aus liberalen Gründen gegen diese Reform, weil sie zum einen ungerecht (sie geht zu wenig weit, indem sie Steuererleichterungen nur willkürlich gewährt) und zum anderen strategisch unklug (Steuererleichterungen müssen primär auf Stufe der Unternehmen abgewickelt werden) ist: Hier klicken um Sisyphos on Air zu hören! Man macht das ja nicht alle Tage, so ein Interview zu geben. Nun, als Anfang bin ich ganz zufrieden mit dem mp3-Resultat, auch wenn es durchaus noch Verbesserungspotenzial gibt... Danke jedenfalls dem Ordnungspolitischen Blog für den Webspace und die Sendezeit! ;-)

Israel's ambassador before the UN

As Palestinian terrorism is back at its murderous best, it is worth to study the speech which Israel's ambassador delivered today at the UN: Statement by Ambassador Itzhak Levanon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, Geneva 7th Regular Session - Human Rights Council Response to Resolution A/HRC/7/1 6 March 2008 Mr. President, I cannot compete with the exaggerations, distortions and inaccuracies I haveheard here today. I must admit that I don't have such a fertile imagination, and am unable to point a rhetorical picture which doesn't reflect reality. What, yes, I can do is to tell you and the council the truth, the simple truth. The truth is, that the Hamas terrorists took over the Gaza Strip by force, and established an irredentist entity. That, they have smuggled lethal weapons into this territory with the sole purpose to kill Israelis. That, since the beginning of this year, in only two months, they have fired 671 missiles at civilians, women and children. That, they received these missiles from countries in the Middle East, such as the Iranian-made 122mm Grad missile. That, Hamas is committing war crimes and collectively punishing a population of a quarter of a million citizens living in Ashkelon, Sderot, the Negev and Netivot. That, they call for the physical destruction of my country and translate these words with deeds. That, they brought Al-Qaeda to the Gaza Strip, a fact confirmed by the President of the Palestinian Authority. Mahmoud Abbas, in the London El Hayat newspaper on 27 February 2008. The truth is that 50% of the population of Sderot suffers from anxiety and stress. That, more than half of the juvenile population endures sleeping disorders. That, the children of southern Israel are screaming "I want to live." That, Israel has left no stone unturned in our attempts to alert the international community that the situation is untenable. That, we have knocked on the door of every embassy and every chancellery. And the world remained silent. The truth is, that in the 12 resolutions regarding the Palestinian-Israeli situation that have been passed by this Council, not one has made even passing mention of the relentless aggression against Israel. Not only of them has called explicitly to halt the deluge of Kassam rockets and Grad missiles. Not one of them attempted to recognize that Palestinians do not have a monopoly on suffering; not one of them acknowledged that the children of Israel have the same right to safety as Palestinian children. Not one of them attempted to empathize with the cries of an Israeli mother protecting her children, or the fear and trauma experienced while running to a bomb shelter, know that only 30 seconds separates you from death. Mr. President, Israel will not be intimated by critical words of one-sided resolutions. We have the fundamental right to live and the essential right to self-defense. It is our obligation to protect our citizens and we will do so. The passage of yet another resolution will not waive the problem, and will not bring stability to the region. The solution, Mr. President, is deceptively simple: Hamas aggression must stop immediately. The firing of missiles must terminate completely. When the Palestinian permanent observer takes the floor, I wonder on behalf of whom is he acting? Is it on behalf of his President Abbas, who seeks peace and stability with Israel? Or does he defend the Hamas terrorists who spread suffering and desolation? Mr. President, Another routine resolution does not show temerity. A country making patronizing statements at the High Level Segment does not demonstrate strong moral fiber. A true show of courage would be displayed if the members of this Council would look with objective eyes, would think in a non-selective way, and would decide impartially. Yet, because of the self-serving members of the OIC and Arab Group who hold a majority can block any courageous steps, that is unlikely to happen here. For those who constantly ask why we do not engage with the Council more often, it is precisely because of circumstances such as this. This is also a good opportunity to pay tribute to Ariel Sharon, who has turned 80 a few days ago. Thanks to Gabrielle for the text of the above statement.

Sozialistische Mystik

Die Sozialisten glauben noch immer an ihre alte mystische Welt, in welcher die menschliche Natur wegreguliert und reale wirtschaftliche Zusammenhänge weggeglaubt werden können: Der abtretende SP-Präsident Hans-Jürg Fehr hat am Samstag am ausserordentlichen Parteitag in Basel für Nähe der Partei zu den Gewerkschaften plädiert. (...) Weiter plädierte Fehr dafür, dass die Überwindung des Kapitalismus eine Vision der SP bleiben müsse. Dabei dürfe die Partei es aber nicht mehr so machen wie beim letzten Parteiprogramm im Jahr 1982: Der blossen Formel müsse neu Substanz hinzugefügt werden. Was nachher kommen solle, müsse aufgezeigt werden. Fehr schwebt eine «Wirtschaftsdemokratie» mit mehr Mitspracherechten für die Arbeiter vor. Es gebe keine bessere Herrschaftsform als die Demokratie, sagte Fehr. «Warum sollen wir sie der Wirschaft vorenthalten?», fragte er. Unter Beifall gab Fehr seiner Partei mit auf den Weg, dass sie die sozialen Errungenschaften des 20. Jahrhunderts verteidigen solle, auch wenn dies von anderen als «konservativ» oder «strukturerhaltend» etikettiert werde. Ich halte es da eher mit Robert Nef in einem kürzlichen Leserbrief in der NZZ, der die Sozialdemokratie als Faschismus mit menschlichem Antlitz definierte. Denn Sozialismus führt immer zur von staatlichem Zwang gewalttätig unterdrückten menschlichen Freiheit.