How are States and Criminal Organizations Alike?

Without prejudice to the outcome of the investigations that will be conducted, I would be prepared to wager a substantial bet that Mr. Litvenenko was eliminated either by a certain state through its agents or by a nefarious criminal organization. It has now been confirmed that Mr. Litvenenko was poisoned by the extremely toxic Pollonium 210 isotope. It is highly unlikely that such a lethal and highly toxic element would be in the safe possession of any individual or group bereft of a high degree of organization and planning capability. Secondly, given the acceptance that the administration of this toxic agent required careful handling and storage, the individual who ultimately administered it must have been prepared to take great risks on behalf of the organization to ensure the elimination of the victim.

Bearing in mind that organized criminal groups do routinely eliminate victims through poisoning, I do not think that many of these would have the ability to procure, store, transport and place an agent to administer Pollonium 210 to the chosen victim. Certain nations and governments though have not only the capacity for all four, but are also known to have particular contempt for civil treatment of critics living outside the jurisdiction of those countries. States have behaved in a manner akin to organized criminal groups before but in the poisoning with Pollonium 210, one of them is the principal suspect.

Wonders of the World

Scholars and interested people may debate what truly deserves to be included in the list of human achievements considered as the Wonders of the World. Most of these however have to do with elaborate constructions that involved a high degree of engineering expertise in the medieval or middle ages. For all the achievements, how come the last century did not lead to a spectacular construction or achievement that led to a true debate about the displacement of the list of the Wonders of the World (WOWs).

Part of that answer must have something to do with two features that a good number of the Wonders of the World (WOWs) possessed. The first is that the these constructions were built in a world that was not unlike that of the twentieth century where ideas of freedom were very highly developed and expensively defended, with the result that indentured labour was largely unavailable. The second point is that the world assumed a more libertarian stance that would not allow for the construction of white elephants that most of the WOWS were. In essence, we are unlikely to see another construction matching the exquisite design and unabashed opulence of either the Taj Mahal or the Great pyramid of Giza because of the virtual abolition of indentured labour and the rise of representative democracy. This blogger will explore this hypothesis further by enumerating reasons for the claim.

Markets for Diamonds and bottled Tap Water

To my mind, one of the most fascinating ideas is why there are markets for some products and services in the first instance. Leaving aside the rhetorical bit of this question, I often wonder why markets exist for products that rational people perhaps would not buy at all or in the quantities and prices that are more common. For instance, many people purchase pure tap water that is bottled in plastic under the guise of mineral water at a premium. In many instances, the cost of the good is far above what the equivalent quantities of petroleum would be. Ornamental diamonds too are quite expensive, considering that it's all an isotope of carbon. It is to be granted that there are products that have real utility but are enhanced with specific branding and therefore carry a discernible premium derived from that brand.

However, why wouldn’t one take the time to find out exactly what real mineral water is in order to distinguish it from tap water sold in cheap plastic bottles? I assume that it is not elitist to state that this is the cost of failure to fully search for and base economic decisions on information. Sticking to the formation of markets that fail to pass my arbitrary test of rationality, the above items are some that I find completely puzzling and those that perhaps would cease to exist or seriously reduced if only the purchasers knew better. I will be adding to the list as I try to understand how these markets form.

Tribute to Milton Friedman

Speaking to the University of Chicago Magazine for November-December 2006 issue, Prof. Kevin Murphy states, “A really smart person will come up with what you would come up with,” Murphy answered, “only faster. A genius will come up with something that you would never come up with, no matter how long you worked on it.”

Without doubt, Milton Friedman is one in that category. Not only were his ideas very influential in the field of economics but his particular approach aided in giving it the respectability that it has as a scientific endeavor. Added to this is the fact that he was part of the intellectual establishment now recognized as the Department of Economics of the University of Chicago. That establishment has been assigned it own label and mark, known as Chicago approach to economics.

That he received the Nobel prize for economic sciences is not a surprise. Farewell Milton Friedman,but the discipline of economics lives.

Saddam is Convicted: So What?

"But there is no event so plain and clear that a determined human being can't find ambiguity in it". Lev Grossman (Time Magazine September 11 2006)

As the week began yesterday, the press was filled with news about the conviction of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. Judging from the limited access that this blogger saw of the press coverage of the trial, it would take a naive person to be surprised that the conviction came. Still, the very eloquent pronouncement of the death penalty jolted some and I am among them.

I am unsure of what its immediate and long term political consequnces will be in Iraq or elsewhere. However, the gleeful sentiments expressed by certain Iraqi leaders and joined by Presdent Bush suggest to me that there's been so much gloom about prospects for peace in Iraq that the pronouncement of the death penalty over a pitiable old man should be cause for celebration. The timing of the judgement was especially convenient in respect to the mid-term elections in the US but it could all be the result of very random and mutually exclusive events.