Publisher's Notes

• EDITORS' ACTIVITIES

Senior editor Tibor Machan was the focus of commentary in, of all places, Pravda (Dec. 10, 1976). The comment, on what passes for the newspaper's Op-Ed page, attacked and distorted Machan's Human Rights and Human Liberties (Nelson-Hall, 1975) for presenting a defense of property rights which, says Pravda, is but a cover for the vested interests of rich capitalists. Machan, who is not what one could call wealthy, finds this a predictable bit of Marxist "argumentation." Why did Pravda single out Machan's book for attack? Perhaps some clever Russian wanted the readers to know about some of the better ideas circulating outside the U.S.S.R.

Book review editor Marty Zupan and senior editor Machan have both been published in the most recent issue of The Occasional Review. Zupan's piece discusses Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, presenting a critique Kuhn's disciples need to come to terms with. Machan's essay reviews Nozick's Anarchy, State and Utopia, showing both the brilliant construction and serious structural flaws of the now-famous volume. Machan's critique also focuses on Nozick's flawed defense of limited government, noting that Nozick's is not the only defense around.

Managing editor Mark Frazier recently had his third article accepted by Reader's Digest—this one on the numerous cost-cutting innovations introduced to local government by Scottsdale, AZ. Frazier is hard at work editing and producing a manual and materials kit for officials of newly incorporating communities. The materials, to be made available by the Local Government Center, will help those communities take maximum advantage of such techniques as private contracting right from the start, to minimize the need for taxes and bureaucracy. Frazier is also the editor in chief of a new magazine, Santa Barbara Tomorrow, aimed at fostering an appreciation of economic realities at the local level.

Editor Robert Poole, Jr., recently signed a contract with New York publisher Free Life Editions to produce a new hardcover book dealing with tax-saving methods in local government. The book will be published in 1978. Poole has received a grant from the Cato Institute to research free market alternatives to the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA study is intended as one chapter of Poole's projected book on alternatives to the major federal regulatory agencies. Poole continues to speak before various groups, in September addressing the Libertarian Social Club of the District of Columbia. In October he delivered a paper on "Hidden Perils in Government Support of Space Activities" at the 23rd annual meeting of the American Astronautical Society, devoted to The Industrialization of Space.

• RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES

Graduate students seeking research projects involving transportation may wish to check out a new program offered by the National Industrial Traffic League (NITL). The nation's largest shippers' trade group has assembled a pool of transportation problems which need studying. In some cases NITL will provide assistance in conducting the research. NITL has taken positions favorable to regulatory reform of both the CAB and the ICC. Contact project leader William L. Seidel at [phone] for further information.

• LIBERTARIAN BROADCASTS

A Honolulu group of students of Objectivism has launched a radio program called Forum for Objective Expression. Under an agreement with Audio Forum, the program will broadcast tapes featuring talks by such figures as John Hospers, Murray Rothbard, and Nathaniel Branden. The program appears the last Sunday of every month at 11 P.M. on KLEI-AM. Discussions are also underway with the University of Hawaii's KTUH. Groups in other cities may be able to make similar arrangements with Audio Forum and with broadcasters seeking public affairs programming.