Yearly Archives: 2013

3D printing: the new, bottom-up industrial revolution

"The new technology will be the first real challenge to the traditional top-down economics of mass production for manufactured goods. This has already happened in the services sector and the digital world, with the rise of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, and the ability for self-publishing authors and music artists to sell directly to the public; now this decentralisation of power will also happen in manufacturing. Big will no longer necessarily be beautiful when it comes to making things, undoing centuries of lessons learnt from the Industrial Revolution and the rise of Taylorist production processes." Continue reading →

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Nigel Farage: Nigel Lawson calls time on the three-pint Eurosceptic heroes

"When a group of unknown political players set up Ukip in 1993, the idea that the UK might someday re-establish its independence and leave the European Union was at best a minority pursuit. Now, no less a man than Lord Lawson advocates the idea, and validates Ukip’s arguments. Clearly nobody now doubts that it is a valid position. The reaction to Lord Lawson’s view has been to ask what damage it will do internally, to David Cameron’s embattled Conservative Party, and there has been speculation about the timing of the statement. Rarely has such a chasm opened up in British political history. The Europe divide has echoes of earlier times; it is Big Politics, writ in a digital age." Continue reading →

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Stodgy Netherlands is nation that’ll blow up euro

"Consumer debt in the Netherlands has hit 250% of available income, one of the highest levels in the world. In Spain, by comparison, it has never gone above 125%. The Netherlands has turned into one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world. It has slumped into recession and shows very little sign of coming out of it. The euro crisis has been dragging on for three years now but so far has only infected the peripheral nations within the single currency. But the Netherlands is a core member of both the euro and the European Union. If it can’t survive in the euro zone, then the game really will be up." Continue reading →

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Federal Europe will be ‘a reality in a few years’, says commission president

"The president of the European Commission has fanned the flames of British debate over EU membership by insisting that fiscal union in the eurozone will lead to 'intensified political union' for all 27 member states. 'This is about the economic and monetary union but for the EU as a whole,' he said. 'The commission will, therefore, set out its views and explicit ideas for treaty change in order for them to be debated before the European elections.' 'We want to put all the elements on the table, in a clear and consistent way, even if some of them may sound like political science fiction today. They will be reality in a few years' time.'" Continue reading →

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European Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government

"A new law proposed by the European Commission would make it illegal to 'grow, reproduce or trade' any vegetable seeds that have not been 'tested, approved and accepted' by a new EU bureaucracy named the 'EU Plant Variety Agency.' It's called the Plant Reproductive Material Law, and it attempts to put the government in charge of virtually all plants and seeds. Home gardeners who grow their own plants from non-regulated seeds would be considered criminals under this law. Gardeners must also pay fees to the EU bureaucracy for the registration of their seeds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuropean Commission to criminalize nearly all seeds and plants not registered with government

“Butt Out,” 60% of 18 to 34-Year Olds Tell Federal Government

"Despite a horrendous unemployment rate of 45% for this age group — almost as bad as Spain’s and Greece’s — about 60% of America’s young adults believe that the government should get out of their lives. Even more amazing, half believe that the government is not helping the economy. Two-thirds are favorable to entrepreneurship. These opinions were made clear in a recent poll sponsored by the Young America Foundation. Unfortunately, only 44% think that free markets are positive." Continue reading →

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FDA May Have Age Restrictions On Cups Of Coffee

"If you are a teenager, soon you may not be able to order a cup of Joe. Or a can of Red Bull. The Food and Drug Administration is considering putting an age limit on products containing caffeine, ranging from energy drinks to a simple cup of coffee. FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor said enforcing age restrictions would be challenging, the more fundamental questions is whether 'we should place limits on the amount of caffeine in certain products.' According to the government, a person should have a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day." Continue reading →

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Idaho Seizes Medical Marijuana Activists’ Kids

"There have been sporadic local marijuana legalization efforts in past years, and this year, medical marijuana supporters are in the midst of signature-gathering campaign to put an initiative on the ballot. That campaign is led by Compassionate Idaho, some of whose most stalwart and publicly visible members are Lindsey and Josh Rinehart and Sarah Caldwell. But with an incident that began while Caldwell and the Rineharts were away on a retreat, the trio are learning a harsh lesson in hardball pot politics. When they got back home, their kids were gone, and the police and child social services had them." Continue reading →

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Lead bullets for artists in Buenos Aires

"Since January this year, the building has been militarized by the city government, with numerous metropolitan police officers and unidentified security personnel circulating its facilities and with all the activities suspended. This is how those in charge of 'culture' in the city of Buenos Aires chose to solve a long-standing conflict. At night on Wednesday, an operation by the Metropolitan Police seriously escalated the level of violence of the conflict trying to evict forcefully the protesters who were carrying out a cultural camp at the square adjacent to the complex, causing at least three gunshot wounds." Continue reading →

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Shocking video: Rio police heli opens fire in slum during drug baron car chase

"A shocking video of Rio de Janeiro police in a helicopter firing on a moving car in a populous slum has sparked a probe. Footage emerged of the high-octane chase a year after it happened, raising concerns over the excessive use of police force." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShocking video: Rio police heli opens fire in slum during drug baron car chase