Sakuraba's Final Chapter

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=13257

Sakuraba took a brutal beating at the hands of Manhoef at the last Dream event - and an unnecessary one. Despite my complaints about early stoppages in the Wedum-Vera, Kimbo-Thompson and Carano-Young fights, I think this fight should have been stopped much sooner.

Sakuraba is a living legend, no doubt. He may well be the best pound for pound fighter in MMA history, and his prime was truly awesome to behold. But that day is long past, and Sakuraba is a shade of his former self. Most of his fights see him take a terrific and unwarranted beating that simply dims his legacy in the eyes of ordinary fans. I hope he will at last retire of his own accord before someone retires him, or sends him to the graveyard.

Demographics vs. Ideology

http://theeprovocateur.blogspot.com/2008/05/democrats-and-republicans-and-race-and.html

This article explains in a more articulate way than I can the fundamental structural difference between Democratic and Republican base-building. The Republican base is structured around people who share an ideological program, whereas the Democrats are often still grasping for a consistent program, and instead tend to offer different identity political groups (often masquerading as sociological categories) their own share of the spoils in the event of a Democratic victory.

Oil Reinvestment

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121253600160243157.html?mod=todays_columnists

Recently, there have been a spate of articles, of which this one is representative, which argue that the current high price of crude oil is reflective more of a speculative bubble or conditions of temporarily high consumption, and that the price will diminish in the near future.

I do not wish to speculate about the near future, but I doubt that the price of oil (and by implication, gasoline, plastic, and the other derivative products of oil) will continue to rise much higher. If it surpasses and remains above $140 per barrel for long, many solar powered electric alternatives will become price-competitive. If it continues to rise past there (perhaps propelled by a speculative bubble), more exotic technology, like the glitch-prone wave power technology and its ilk will begin to come on the table.

Now, oil prices do not have to remain high for a transition towards these technologies to take place. Quite aside from any entirely premature "peak oil" speculation, oil companies (with the exception of SaudiARAMCO and Exxon) are investing heavily in renewable energy sources and alternative technologies - research that is funded by oil profits and will be implemented by hard headed and experienced energy companies, rather than some bureaucrat or hippie. They do so not out of concern for the environment, nor out of sense of obligation to the crackpots that have been heaping scorn on them for providing the energy they use to broadcast their messages of ignorance and hate, but rather out of the fundamental profit motive: there is a genuine opportunity to make money by providing energy, in whatever form, and if green energy is or at some time in the future will be cost competitive with the older products, then energy companies want a cut of that action. They, unlike all "dreamer" organizations, have the infrastructure and the institutional know how to implement such technologies when they become available. Only they have such assets.

In the coming years, there should be a natural transition towards more renewable energy sources, powered not by environmentalists but by market forces. We will see it in the oil market, yes, but also in the electricity market, which is not so heavily reliant on oil as many believe.

In the meantime, we could encourage the government to stop meddling in the gasoline market, and allow the natural transition to take place. Rather than being a jarring process, this can be a steady and largely painless transition - if the government would allow us to drill for oil in our own country and sooth the demand for oil.

Latest Fedor Interview

This was an excellent interview; Fedor usually does not seem to answer questions so thoroughly. Fedor remains the #1 fighter in the world by almost any criteria, and I look forward to his victory over Sylvia.

First Amendment Rights

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/12/us/12hate.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=4b649355873aa689&ex=1213502400

Rare among the nations of the world, the United States legally allows all speech, no matter how controversial or unpopular. European nations limit speech to only those areas that the government has decided are debatable. Likewise, Canada severely limits the abilities of its citizens to question or criticize not only government policy, but their fellow citizens as well.

If offensive speech is removed from first amendment protection, then the amendment is worthless. Speech that is popular, uncontroversial and generally agreeable does not need an amendment to protect it. It is only the advancement of unpopular, controversial, or disagreeable ideas that politicians or bureaucrats seek to limit.

Now, this is not to say that there can be absolutely no limits on speech whatsoever. The "Fire in a crowded theater" standard is a reasonable one, and fraud, slander and libel are legitimate, thought greatly overused, reasons to penalize speech that is provably inaccurate and deliberately harmful to the reputation of another. Personally, I would like to see the public figure/private figure dichotomy obliterated and apply the less stringent public figure rules to all slander and libel cases.

Nor is it to say that wartime should not have its own unique requirements. Just as the constitution allows habeas corpus to be suspended in times of "insurrection," I would like to see an acknowledgment that during times of war a temporarily expanded ability to limit certain speech that undermines the war effort is legitimate. Typically, however, this set of expanded powers should not even be invoked.

Rather than having the government censor the speech of individuals, it is better to ask them, as fellow private citizens, to exercise their right to free speech in a responsible manner. If our fellow citizens do not, we have the right to respond with speech of our own - this is not censorship but the essence of debate. Criticizing opinions with which you disagree is not the same as government censorship. Nor is the refusal of reputable people to associate with disreputable speakers a form of censorship - it is a natural consequence of strong disagreement, albeit not an ideal one.

Free Speech in Canada Under Assault

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/show_trial.html

Apparently Voltaire did not make it to Canada.

I do not recall having ever read any of the works of Mark Steyn, but their contents are irrelevant; censorship (the suppression of ideas by the government) is categorically unacceptable, no matter what those ideas may happen to be. The free exchange of ideas is one of the most critical contributions of western modernity. That Europe and Canada are now turning away from and abandoning this heritage is a great blow to the western world.

That is is done outside the rule of law is all the more worrying; the decisions are handed down not by a court, no matter how embarrassingly biased, but rather by a panel of political activists with no particular qualification or basis to either evaluate or challenge such cases. This means, in practice, that who is or is not penalized is largely a factor of popularity of the person or her or his ideas before the tribunal members, rather than any settled law. In fact, there is no controlling precedent, no case law and little statutory guidance to restrict the rulings of the tribunal members.

Affliction MMA and Donald Trump

http://mmayou.com/news-and-exclusive-interviews-with-mmayou/42-news-reports/198-affliction-to-announce-partnership-with-donald-trump-on-thursday

Affliction MMA (the people putting on the July 19th card that will be perhaps the best in the sport's history) has now officially partnered with Donald Trump. This should be good for the sport overall, as Trump's known prowess at promotion should help the brand and keep Affliction MMA going.