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[Baron]

I got a gift card for Borders to the tune of $40, and started ordering some books. The two books now on the way include:

Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal
by Ayn Rand
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451147952/qid=1104967489/sr=8-6/ref=pd_csp_6/002-1241595-1091253?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
by Hernando de Soto
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0465016154/qid=1104967594/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-1241595-1091253

The Mystery of Capital should be interesting. Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian expatriate who has returned to his native country, has gone a long way in answering the question of why capitalism fails in areas like Latin America. He has a sort of laissez-faire philosophy in his approach to economics. He's been praised by politicians, both Democrat and Republican, and Bill Clinton has called him the world's most important living economist. He's definately a big figure in the field of development economics. He also founded the Institute for Liberty and Democracy, which can be found here: www.ild.org.pe/

I'll be back with more later...gotta run now!

[Brf]

Baron wrote: The Mystery of Capital: Why Capitalism Triumphs in the West and Fails Everywhere Else
by Hernando de Soto...

has gone a long way in answering the question of why capitalism fails in areas like Latin America.


Hmmm.... I always thought Latin America, like the rest of the Americas, was considered "West".

[JuntaJoe]

Baron, welcome to the site.

At some point we need to teach you how to make a nice link.


I'm going to show you how here by switching the "[" for "{" as to show the code without activating it.

Now most people just paste the link.

But there is the URL tool on the post page.

The code looks like this: {url}addy{/url}

Remember that I switched brackets for show here.

But you can move that addy into the code itself and use a marker word to substitute for the addy.

The code would look like:

{url=addy}marker word{/url}

All I did was add that "=" and the addy inside the bracket.

Then whatever word was inside the bracket would be the visible link word.

Try it sometime. It makes your posts much more coherent and attractive.

[Baron]

I have to turn in about 1000 pages of reading in book reports for my English class. I have read 1000 pages in private, but it's all been non-fiction this semester. So I'm rushing to read a whole lot in the next two weeks...I started Dune about three days ago, and I'm half way through now.

Now, let's practice the URL's. I highly recommend that you all visit and read the website of the Institute of Liberty and Democracy.

[Brf]

The URL looks nice.... You can't do a book report on Non-Fiction? :D

[JuntaJoe]

Great looking link. An expert on the first try. :wink:

Had to pick Dune did you?

Good book, but a slower read with all that metaphysical thought stuff.

[Baron]

Do you have any reading to recommend? I'd be interested in a bit of fiction at this time.

Or, if anyone can recommend some good non-fiction, preferably on business or economics, please do. My FBLA advisor just registered all the FBLA members for the Regionals Conference, and I'm signed up to take tests on Economics, Banking & Financial Systems, and Future Business Leader.

Future Business Leader is possibly the biggest competition in the FBLA, obviously. First, at regionals, you take a 100-question test on a variety of areas, including communication, 'FBLA Principles & Procedures', business concepts, parliamentary procedures, etc...Then, I submit a resume and letter of application. If I do well enough at regionals, I can go back and do the same thing again at state. However, at state, there is also an interview.

If I can take on of the top two spots in any of my competitions at state, I qualify for the Nationals in Orlando, Florida.

[Maus]

Quote: Had to pick Dune did you?

Instead of Dune, you should report on Doon, the National Lampoon parody. Follow the adventures of the young prophet Paul "Mauve Bib" Agamemnides as he battles the vile minions of House Hardchargin', maintaining his calm by reciting the Litany Against Fun:

"I must not have fun. Fun is the time-killer. Fun is for children, customers, and the help. I will forget fun. I will take a pass on it. And while it is going, I will turn a blind eye toward it. When fun is gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain -- I, and my will to win. Damn, I'm good."
8)

[JuntaJoe]

Baron wrote: Do you have any reading to recommend? I'd be interested in a bit of fiction at this time.

I copied this from a discussion in the debate board:



Another terrific Sci-Fi romp is that by Michael Z. Williamson.

All it about a Libertarian utopia world that runs afoul of a totally socialist Earth.

War ensues and the whole book is outstanding.

Great action, characters, and background.

He totally fleshes out how a libertarian world would work. Really devotes hundreds of pages to it.

Printed in 2004, Freehold should be easy to find or order.

ISBN: 0-7434-7179-2

[Baron]

Oh, woohoo!

I got my books today. :cry: <--Tears of Happiness


I finallized what my FBLA competitions will be. By slow degrees, the school's Parlimentary Procedures team fell apart, so I won't be doing that. I'll be competing in Economics, Banking & Financial Systems, and Future Business Leader (FBLA's most prestigious competition). If anyone can give any advice on an education in Economics, please do so.

[JuntaJoe]

No matter how convoluted the economics gets, remember that the law of supply and demand never leaves the foundation.

It gets easy to forget that basic wisdom as they pile on the theory.

[Baron]

I've finished Capitalism, except for the last two essays which are really, really boring. Otherwise, except for those two...I highly recommend the book. Ayn Rand refers to the book as "...a nonfiction footnote to Atlas Shrugged".

Also, I checked out Brave New Worlds and read it. Interesting book.