JOBS AND GLOBALIZATION

Economist Alan Reynolds points out that loss of factory jobs is occurring worldwide as processes become more efficient and that losses in the USA are actually SMALLER than the loss of factory jobs in China, South Korea, Germany and Japan.

The brainless Leftist idea of how to protect American jobs: "The trouble with protectionism, aside from its costs to the consumer, is that other nations retaliate: If America forbids the import of their goods and services into America, they will not permit export of American products to their countries. That would be costly because one factory job in five in America depends on international trade."

"186 million children, between the ages of 5 and 14, perform illegal child labor. 111 million of these jobs involve hazardous work. Kaushik Basu offers his analysis and observations in the latest issue of Scientific American. Obviously wealth is the best cure for hazardous and oppressive child labor. By the latter part of the 19th century, child labor was declining in the richer nations. Basu notes that many anti-child labor campaigns backfire. A 1990s boycott of Nepalese carpets, made with child labor, led many of those children to become reemployed as prostitutes".

Some economists ask: "Does increased international trade promote child labor? ... We find that countries that trade more have less child labor."

"Massachusetts ... has lost a higher percentage of jobs the past three years (6 percent) than any other state, according to data released this month by the Labor Department." Funny that! Nothing to do with firms moving elsewhere to escape tax and regulation burdens, of course.

The war against slavery isn't over, and globalisation is helping to eliminate it in India.

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THE EDUCATION MESS

"Oxford University is moving to reintroduce entrance tests for history and English in the latest assault on the credibility of the A-level system as a means of identifying bright pupils. The move comes just nine years after the university scrapped its entrance examinations amid concern that they favoured independent school pupils.

Teachers hate free speech: "The Michigan Court of Appeals today threw out a lawsuit filed by the Michigan Education Association that attempted to punish the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank that accurately quoted the union's president in a fundraising letter. The Court stated that discussion on matters of public interest, such as school choice, should enjoy broad protection under the First Amendment ..."

Janet Albrechtsen argues against special scholarsips to entice males into teaching: "In promoting special privileges for male teachers, the Government has made exactly the same mistake as the unionists and the feminists - extrapolating the wrong conclusion from raw numbers without looking behind the numbers" Albrechtsen is not entirely fair, however. All Australia's conservative Federal government proposed was to REMOVE certain legal restrictions on what private bodies can do.

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ELSEWHERE

Cronkite attacks Kerry: "Dear Senator Kerry: In the interests of your campaign and your party's desire to unseat George W. Bush, you have some explaining to do. During the primary campaign, your Democratic opponents accused you of flip-flopping on several important issues, such as your vote in favor of the Iraq War resolution. ... Shades of gray don't do well in political campaigns, where primary colors are the rule. And your long and distinguished service in the Senate has no doubt led to genuine changes in some positions. But the denial that you are a liberal is almost impossible to reconcile. ... A candidate who lacks the courage of his convictions cannot win a nation, Mr. Kerry."

Guess who supports John Kerry? Malaysia's famously antisemitic Muslim ex-Prime Minister, Dr. Mahathir Mohammad!

From Conservative Truth: "You don't believe Kerry is al Qaeda's choice? America certainly does. In a national survey, Americans were asked, "Who do you believe the terrorists want to win in November?" 65% answered "Kerry". Only 17% thought Bush would be their choice."

Some interesting statistics: Assassinating Palestinian terrorist leaders saves both Palestinian and Israeli lives.

A couple of readers have asked why I was not more critical of the article in the Christian Science Monitor that quoted my work. I take the view that ANY mention of Hitler's Leftism in the mainstream media is a breakthrough. See here for the full story.

I like Keith Burgess-Jackson's idea of hurling epitaphs at people. Should be more of it!

Writing on his "other" site, China Hand reviews the changes of the last 20 years or so in both China and Australia and notes the progress towards economic rationality in both -- with an accompanying rise in living and other standards.

The wicked one has a story about the Australian approach to salesmanship.

My recipe for today is a quick way to make good spaghetti bolognaise. See here. I am pleased to say that a lady in Melbourne emailed me yesterday after trying my recipe for Korean meatballs. She said they were "a big hit with all the family".

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The Left have always wanted more spent on welfare and made "Fascism" a swear-word. President Bush deposed a brutal Fascist dictator and sponsored a big expansion of welfare. But instead of being admired by the Left, he is hated with a passion. What does that tell you about the Left? It tells you that they have no principles at all: That everything they have ever claimed to stand for is fake.

Three more examples of Leftist dishonesty: They blame the 9/11 attacks on "poverty" in the Islamic world. Yet most of the attackers were Saudis and Saudi Arabia is one of the world's richest countries! They also say that they oppose racism yet support "affirmative action" -- which judges people by the colour of their skin! They say that they care about "the poor" but how often do you hear them calling for the one thing that would bring about a worldwide economic boom in poor countries -- the USA and the EU abandoning their agricultural protectionism? Leftists obviously care more about conservative farmers than they do about the poor!

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