crony capitalism

Filipino farmers destroy genetically modified ‘Golden Rice’ crops

"A group of activist farmers in the Philippines stormed a government research facility and destroyed an area of genetically modified rice crops the size of 10 football fields. 'The Golden Rice is a poison,' said Willy Marbella. The farmers attacked the fields at the research facility in Pili, Camarines Sur out of concern that their own crops could be pollinated and thereby contaminated by the GMO plants, possibly resulting in a boycott of their products like U.S. farmers of soft white wheat saw when a strain of Monsanto herbicide-resistant wheat abruptly appeared in an Oregon field. South Korea and Japan both halted imports of U.S. wheat." Continue reading →

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Weight Watchers trying to cash in on Obamacare healthy workers initiative

"Called Health Solutions, the division partners with corporations to create incentive programs that range from partially subsidizing Weight Watchers program fees for employees to giving employees a discount on health insurance if they attend a certain amount of meetings. Employees can also attend Weight Watchers meetings in their office, or use online tools customizable to the company. The Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, will raise the incentive level caps to 30 percent to allow employers to reward healthy employees with lower insurance premiums, or penalize unhealthy workers with higher premiums." Continue reading →

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The Technological Evolution of Nonlethal Weaponry

"Over time, the one constant has been to invent a technology that conferred an advantage on the user in battle—or else served as protection against what the other guy had. And the reason for wielding any given weapon has always been to maim or, preferably, kill one's adversary. Before one got one's own self killed, of course. The concept of a weapon that is designed merely to temporarily incapacitate, with little or no lasting injury, is relatively new. In a way, the development of nonlethal weaponry (NLW) can be seen as an inevitable byproduct of the rise of democracy in the world." Continue reading →

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Third Maryland Jurisdiction Forced To Refund Illegal Photo Tickets

"These camera housings are now empty because the State Highway Administration noticed that the automated ticketing machine located on Berry Road had been posted 275 feet before the school zone for Daniel of Saint Thomas Jenifer Elementary School begins. The state agency notified the sheriff who agreed to cancel and around 4000 tickets, refunding any fines that have been paid because ticketing site did not meet legal standards. The photo ticketing setback in Charles County will take a serious chunk out of the $2,013,000 revenue the county expected to generate by allowing the contractor to issue 35,000 tickets." Continue reading →

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SpaceX to launch radar satellite network for Germany

"Privately owned Space Exploration Technologies won a two-flight contract to launch a radar satellite network for Germany, the company announced on Thursday. SpaceX will launch a trio of spacecraft that comprise a radar reconnaissance network for Germany’s defense department. The company’s Falcon 9 rocket so far has flown five times – all successfully – including three missions to launch cargo capsules to the International Space Station for NASA. The privately owned firm, founded and operated by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, also is competing to provide flight services for NASA astronauts to and from the station." Continue reading →

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Short Circuiting The Market

"One of the hallmarks of the Soviet System was top-down central planning – with 'incentives' provided by the government. Natural market mechanisms were crippled. You got what the government decided you needed – at whatever price the government decided was appropriate. The result – back then – was the Trabant and Lada. Today, the result is electric lemons like the Tesla and Chevy Volt and Honda Fit EV. GM just announced it will drop the price of the 2014 Volt by $5,000 – to $34,995. This is before GM’s partner – the government – cuts the price down by another $7,500 via a taxpayer-funded individual subsidy." Continue reading →

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Australian Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets

"On June 30, electronic speed limit signs were used to reduce the speed limit to 80km/h (50 MPH) and then once again to 40km/h (25 MPH) through a construction zone in front of the tunnel. Drivers were tricked into thinking after the end of the highway work zone, the limit would have returned to 80km/h or 100km/h. They may also have been unable to see the electronic speed limit signs, distracted by traffic merging from three lanes to one. 269 vehicle owners received serious penalties that included a license suspension, plus fines of up to $722 (which rises to $1660 for heavy vehicles). Another 718 received fines of up to $289 each." Continue reading →

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Tons of radioactive water pouring out of crippled Fukushima nuclear plant

"Highly radioactive water from Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant is pouring out at a rate of 300 tons a day, officials said on Wednesday, as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ordered the government to step in and help in the clean-up. Tepco only recently admitted water had leaked at all. The leak from the plant 220 km (130 miles) northeast of Tokyo is enough to fill an Olympic swimming pool in a week. The water is spilling into the Pacific Ocean, but it was not immediately clear how much of a threat it poses. As early as January this year, Tepco found fish contaminated with high levels of radiation inside a port at the plant." Continue reading →

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How the CIA Helped Disney Conquer Florida

"Starting in the mid-1960s when Disney set out to establish the Disney World Theme Park, they were determined to get land at below market prices and Disney operatives engaged in a far-ranging conspiracy to make sure sellers had no idea who was buying their Central Florida property. By resorting to such tactics Disney acquired more than 40 square miles of land for less than $200 an acre, but how to maintain control once Disney's empire had been acquired? The solution turned out to be cartoon-simple, thanks to the CIA." Continue reading →

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“Startup Cities,” Honduras, and Experiments in Freedom

"Tom W. Bell, a law professor at Chapman University and a legal consultant to the Honduran 'startup city' project, spoke at Reason's Los Angeles headquarters about why libertarians should be interested in the potential for new forms of governance within the proposed 'zones of economic development' (ZEDEs) being pushed in Honduras. He addressed various legal challenges and setbacks that prior efforts faced, such as Paul Romer's failed RED zones. Bell also discussed other experiments in municipal governance, such as Co-op City in the Bronx and Sandy Springs, GA." Continue reading →

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