crony capitalism

Southern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras

"Embattled red light camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems has lost another contract. The Escondido, California city council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the Australian company's right to issue near $500 tickets expire on December 12, and ticketing will cease even sooner. Councilmen were swayed by the $89,000 cost per intersection to run cameras compared to $2400 to coordinate signal timing and $5000 per year to add protected left-hand turns. Escondido loses $177,000 a year on the program while Redflex and the county and state governments profit from it. That turned out to be too high a financial cost for other city officials who otherwise support photo ticketing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouthern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras

Taxpayer Dollars Are Helping Monsanto Sell Seeds Abroad

"The US State Department has been essentially acting as a de facto global-marketing arm of the ag-biotech industry, complete with figures as high-ranking as former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mouthing industry talking points as if they were gospel. The FWW report is based on an analysis of diplomatic cables, written between 2005 and 2009 and released in the big Wikileaks document dump of 2010. FWW sums it up: 'a concerted strategy to promote agricultural biotechnology overseas, compel countries to import biotech crops and foods that they do not want, and lobby foreign governments—especially in the developing world—to adopt policies to pave the way to cultivate biotech crops.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaxpayer Dollars Are Helping Monsanto Sell Seeds Abroad

5 GMO Myths Busted

"Every year, a greater and greater percentage of our food supply sources back to genetically modified ingredients. Monsanto, Dow, Bayer, DuPont and the other biotech giants have made GMOs into a multi-billion dollar industry and unsurprisingly have launched one of the largest pr campaigns in the history of the food industry to convince the public that their products are safe, healthy and beneficial. Let's examine five of the main claims of this PR campaign and see how they stack up to reality." Continue reading →

Continue Reading5 GMO Myths Busted

St. Louis Is Burning

"West Lake Landfill is an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site that's home to some of the oldest radioactive wastes in the world. A six-foot chain-link fence surrounds the perimeter, plastered with bright yellow hazard signs that warn of the dangers within. On one corner stands a rusty gas pump. About 1,200 feet south of the radioactive EPA site, the fire at Bridgeton Landfill spreads out like hot barbeque coals. No one knows for sure what happens when an underground inferno meets a pool of atomic waste, but residents aren't eager to find out." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSt. Louis Is Burning

Life in a Toxic Country

"I recently found myself hauling a bag filled with 12 boxes of milk powder and a cardboard container with two sets of air filters through San Francisco International Airport. I was heading to my home in Beijing at the end of a work trip, bringing back what have become two of the most sought-after items among parents here, and which were desperately needed in my own household. China is the world’s second largest economy, but the enormous costs of its growth are becoming apparent. Residents of its boom cities and a growing number of rural regions question the safety of the air they breathe, the water they drink and the food they eat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLife in a Toxic Country

Copenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

"For the next generation of bike-sharing innovations, take a look at Copenhagen and smile. Trains and a bike-sharing program working as one travel option now offer a GPS built into the bike. Not only do you know where to pick up your next connection – you have a schedule of all local train times between your front bars. The Europeans and Copenhageners (again) increase a bike lover’s convenience in transit with this new innovation. With an Android tablet offering a built-in GPS, real-time train departures and ticket integration, and real-time info on available bikes and docks in the area, one glides easily from destination to destination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCopenhagen Bike-Sharing Program To Be Most High-Tech Yet

Dream Chaser is nearly ready to fly

"Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC’s) Dream Chaser spacecraft performed a 'captive carry' flight at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. During the two-hour test, the Dream Chaser engineering test article (ETA)—a full-sized version of the spacecraft, built for atmospheric tests—flew suspended under a helicopter at altitudes of up to 3,780 meters (12,400 feet). Last August, it received one of three Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) awards from NASA, but its award was a 'half-sized' award, valued at $212.5 million. The other two awardees, Boeing and SpaceX, received larger awards: $450 million and $440 million, respectively." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDream Chaser is nearly ready to fly

Internet Giants Got Millions From Taxpayers to Cover PRISM Spying Costs

"Internet giants like Google and Yahoo received millions of dollars from the NSA to cover their surveillance under the PRISM program. These payments occurred after a federal court ruled that surveillance requests the companies handled under the PRISM program were unconstitutional. The document also shows the NSA was anxious to get certifications from the FISA Court to authorize surveillance beyond the possible expiration of the law that authorized that surveillance. The law was set to expire on December 31, 2012, but the NSA received authorizations under that law to continue its surveillance until September 23, 2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet Giants Got Millions From Taxpayers to Cover PRISM Spying Costs

A View Down The Road

"The latest versions of these GPS systems have 'real time' functionality. They can adjust route guidance to take account of accidents along your planned route, for instance. This is handy. But the same functionality can be put to other uses, too. For instance, there is no technological reason why the new Lincoln MKZ’s ability to keep abreast of the speed limit wherever you happen to be driving could not also be used to limit the speed you drive – or at least, record your failure to abide by the speed limit and perhaps report your noncompliance to the authorities. Or more likely, your insurance company. Perhaps both." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA View Down The Road

Elon Musk condemns the ‘perversion of democracy’ in Texas

"Tesla sells its cars directly to consumers, but state law currently prohibits Tesla from operating its own a dealership. Car makers are not allowed to sell vehicles directly to the public in Texas, they must sell through independently-owned franchises. 'This happens all the time,' said Bill Wolters, the president of the Texas Automobile Dealers Association, which lobbied against the bill. 'Someone wants an exception to the franchise laws. If we made an exception for everybody that showed up in the legislature, before long the integrity of the entire franchise system is in peril.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingElon Musk condemns the ‘perversion of democracy’ in Texas