Mad Statists

Argentina Bans All Advertising

"Supermarkets and electronics retailers say Argentina's government has ordered them to stop advertising in the country's top newspapers, in a bid to weaken independent media companies as President Cristina Kirchner turns to increasingly unorthodox policies to prevent inflation from derailing an ailing economy. The order, confirmed by retailers and newspapers but denied by government officials, comes after retail executives say price-control czar Guillermo Moreno pressured them earlier this week to agree to freeze prices for two months. Executives say Moreno then told them to pull all newspaper sales ads in hopes this would somehow curb inflation." Continue reading →

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Maryland county school board to own all students’ work with copyright policy

"A county school board in Maryland has proposed a copyright policy that would allow it to take ownership of all work produced by students and faculty — even work created off campus during personal time. A Prince George’s County Board of Education proposal obtained by WTOP says that 'any works' created by students or employees 'are properties of the Board of Education even if created on the employee’s or student’s time and with the use of their materials.'" Continue reading →

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Hollande warns on euro strength, denounces markets for currencies

"Francois Hollande has issued a clear warning that the current strength of the euro could damage the fragile economic recovery in Europe, calling for international action to stem currency distortions. 'The euro should not fluctuate according to the mood of the markets,' the French president told the European parliament in Strasbourg. 'A monetary zone must have an exchange rate policy. If not, it will be subjected to an exchange rate that does not reflect the real state of the economy.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHollande warns on euro strength, denounces markets for currencies

Fed Has Bought More U.S. Gov’t Debt This Year Than Treasury Has Issued

"So far this calendar year, the Federal Reserve has bought up more U.S. government debt than the U.S. Treasury has issued. By the close of business on Wednesday, Feb. 6, according to the U.S. Treasury, the total federal debt had climbed to $16.4799 trillion—an increase of $47.2 billon for the calendar year. At the close of business on Jan. 2, the Federal Reserve had owned $1.661 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities. By the close of business on Feb. 6, it owned $1.7172 trillion—an increase of $51.1 billion for the calendar year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFed Has Bought More U.S. Gov’t Debt This Year Than Treasury Has Issued

Women delivering newspapers in Torrance shot in manhunt for ex-cop

"Two women who were shot by Los Angeles police in Torrance early Thursday during a massive manhunt for an ex-LAPD officer were delivering newspapers, sources said. The women, shot in the 19500 block of Redbeam Avenue, were taken to area hospitals, Torrance police Lt. Devin Chase said. They were not identified. One was shot in the hand and the other in the back, according to Jesse Escochea, who captured video of the victims being treated. It was not immediately known what newspapers the women were delivering. After the shooting, the blue pickup was riddled with bullet holes and what appeared to be newspapers lay in the street alongside." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWomen delivering newspapers in Torrance shot in manhunt for ex-cop

Food Freedom vs. Regulatory Busybodies

"Cottage food laws, state laws permitting people to sell some foods prepared in the home, are one such development. In California, the state’s new cottage food law (which I wrote about previously here) appears to be a huge hit just a month into its existence. The law has already helped formerly illicit sellers to enter the legal food market. State laws permitting cottage foods are quickly catching up with the demand for looser regulations. Nearly three-dozen states now have cottage food laws in place. And advocates in other states—including Minnesota and Alabama—are pushing to add their states to the growing list." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security Sec. Janet Napolitano Considering Run For President

"WaPo says she's thinking about it: 'So, what happens if Hillary Clinton doesn’t run in 2016? It is hard to imagine the presidential field without a woman contender, and here’s one to keep your eye on: Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Napolitano is quietly making it known that she is considering the race, and there is reason to take her seriously.'" Continue reading →

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The USS Liberty, Israel & President Johnson’s Order to Destroy the USS Liberty

"The USS Liberty encompasses far more than a murderous psychopathic American president resorting to hideously evil deeds to get re-elected. In addition to ordering the total destruction of the USS Liberty and sending 294 Americans to a watery grave in the Mediterranean Sea, LBJ also ordered the nuclear bombing of Cairo, an event specifically designed to create a nuclear war by blaming the entire USS Liberty affair on Russia or Egypt. US planes were on emergency standby orders as pilots waited on the runways in their planes armed with nuclear weapons. The nuclear bombing of Cairo was called off only 3 minutes before the nuclear bomb drops." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe USS Liberty, Israel & President Johnson’s Order to Destroy the USS Liberty

India Warns Kashmiris to Prepare for Nuclear War

"Indian officials are advising residents of strife-tornKashmir to prepare for a possible nuclear war by building bombproof basements and stockpiling food and water, adding to tensions between India and Pakistan, both nuclear powers, after deadly cross-border skirmishes in recent weeks. India, heavily Hindu, controls the bulk of the predominantly Muslim region of Kashmir, which has been at the heart of disputes between the two nations since they won independence from Britain in 1947. The land along the cease-fire Line of Control is one of the most heavily militarized areas in the world." Continue reading →

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Hey Australia, How’s That Gun Ban Working?

"Young men are arming themselves with illegal guns to fight petty disputes in a trend that is alarming police and has placed Sydney in the midst of another spike in public shootings. The acting Police Commissioner, Nick Kaldas, has pleaded with young men to ''think about your family and loved ones and what this means'' after a spate of fatal and drive-by shootings already this year. Three men have been shot in Sydney since Sunday afternoon, including a 24-year-old father, Joshua George, who died from a single wound to the chest after a disagreement at a party the night before." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHey Australia, How’s That Gun Ban Working?