statism

Thanks shallot! Indian police foil onion heist

"Indian police have foiled a bid by robbers to make off with a truck laden with onions, in an unusual crime apparently motivated by rocketing prices of the staple food. The humble root vegetable, an essential ingredient in Indian cooking, has a surprisingly weighty track record of political influence. In 1980, Indira Gandhi exploited rising onion prices to storm back to power, appearing at campaign rallies waving huge strings of them with the message that a government that can not control onion costs has no right to govern. And in 1998, a six-fold surge in the cost of onions was held partly responsible for the electoral defeat of the ruling Delhi state government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThanks shallot! Indian police foil onion heist

The Source of Systemic Crisis: Risk and Moral Hazard

"No government agency ever projects deep, long-lasting recessions, because such a period of stagnation would upend all the rosy projections that the status quo is eternally sustainable and stable. Where does all this lead us? To this: Programs that backstop banks and social insurance systems like Medicare are not like fire or life insurance because they are effectively open-ended in terms of costs and in exposure to risk. A system which pools risk without distributing it to the participants and eliminates the causal connection between risk and consequence introduces moral hazard on a grand scale." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Source of Systemic Crisis: Risk and Moral Hazard

Show Me the Manual: An Internet Town Hall [2012]

"Recorded live on location at Code for America, this town hall deals with the question of Incorporation by Reference, a legal technique where private standards become federal law, available only for those with sufficient means to be informed citizens. Featuring Jennifer Pahlka, Tim O'Reilly, Carl Malamud, and the 2012 Code for America Fellows, this program was recorded on May 4, 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShow Me the Manual: An Internet Town Hall [2012]

Maryland: Motorist Rights Group Sues Over Camera Data

"The town eventually responded in June 2012, demanding that Ely pay a schedule of fees for the involvement of various town employees, including $200 an hour for the town attorney. The total cost to access the documents was left open-ended. Ely is not seeking obscure or difficult to obtain records. Instead, he wants the calibration certificates and daily setup logs that must be 'kept on file' under the state's speed camera authorization statute. Already, two localities have been caught violating state law in allowing a private company to operate cameras without documenting the calibrations, as required." Continue reading →

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Schoolgirl virginity tests prompt outrage in Indonesia

"The tests would affect students seeking to enter senior high school. The proposal triggered immediate anger, with Education Minister Mohammad Nuh leading the condemnation: 'If you want to protect your children from negative influence, there are others ways. This is not wise.' 'A virginity test is a form of sexual violence against women,' added Masruchah, the deputy head of the national commission on violence against woman, who like many Indonesians goes by one name." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchoolgirl virginity tests prompt outrage in Indonesia

If You Have Nothing to Hide, Be Very Worried

"Surveillance of health made the eugenics movement possible in 30 states. In North Carolina alone, 7,600 individuals were sterilized from 1929-74. Government ID papers have made checkpoints more productive and less costly. Saying that some government activities have to be more costly is the same as saying they should be constrained. There is a second reason why private information must stay private. It is simply that you may well be breaking criminal laws without knowing it. Many people are not convicted felons only because the government does not know which paper crimes they have committed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf You Have Nothing to Hide, Be Very Worried

Bradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison

"Army Private First Class Bradley Manning was sentenced on Wednesday morning to 35 years in prison for leaking classified documents via WikiLeaks, The Guardian reported. Military prosecutors asked Judge Colonel Denise Lind on Monday for a 60-year sentence for Manning, the second reduction from a maximum sentence of 136 years in prison, following Lind paring that to 90 years on August 6. Based on a 35-year sentence, Davis wrote, Manning will 'likely serve about 8 to 8.5 yrs more in confinement and be out by the time he’s 33 or 34.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBradley Manning sentenced to 35 years in prison

This Public Preschool Looks Like a Prison

"The front entrance is card key secured, and a thick metal door attached to a gated metal security tunnel with a metal walkway leads back to a hallway of numbered, metal buildings. Every single window, including the little ones on the thick metal doors inside, have metal gratings bolted on the outside of them. It felt like I was walking through a medium security prison facility. Four-year-olds attend this campus. That means these little ones are spending the majority of their weekdays all day long inside this place." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThis Public Preschool Looks Like a Prison

‘Pothole Robin Hood’ Steals Asphalt, Fixes Potholes, Faces Possible Charges

"A man dubbed the 'pothole Robin Hood' is under police investigation for taking asphalt from the city of Jackson, Miss., and filling in potholes on city streets. Ron Chane admits that he takes the asphalt and repairs potholes, and then signs the filled-in holes with the message 'citizen fixed,' he told ABC News. 'It’s sort of like Robin Hood. Once we saw that people were appreciating what we did, we went out again and made a goal of fixing 100 potholes. We’ve actually filled 101 potholes, so our mission has been completed,' Chane said. The Jackson Police Department is looking into how Chane got the asphalt and has not yet made a decision about pressing charges." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Pothole Robin Hood’ Steals Asphalt, Fixes Potholes, Faces Possible Charges