statism

State Department Demands Takedown Of 3D-Printable Gun Files For Export Control Violations

"On Thursday, Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson received a letter from the State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance demanding that he take down the online blueprints for the 3D-printable 'Liberator' handgun that his group released Monday, along with nine other 3D-printable firearms components hosted on the group’s website Defcad.org. Wilson compares his new legal troubles to the widely-followed case in the mid-1990s of Philip Zimmermann, the inventor of the cryptography software PGP who was threatened with indictment under ITAR for putting his military-grade encryption software online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department Demands Takedown Of 3D-Printable Gun Files For Export Control Violations

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 →

Continue Reading3D printing: the new, bottom-up industrial revolution

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 →

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

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

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 →

Continue ReadingFDA May Have Age Restrictions On Cups Of Coffee

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 →

Continue ReadingIdaho Seizes Medical Marijuana Activists’ Kids

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 →

Continue ReadingLead bullets for artists in Buenos Aires

Detroit Threatens To Remove Community-Provided Bus Stop Benches

"Some people from the Detroit Enterprise Academy think that bus patrons - especially older folks - shouldn't have to stand and wait at the city's bus stops, so they put together a voluntary force to do something about it. They build benches from reclaimed wood, fancy them up a bit, and place them at bus stops where resting spots are much needed. The benches built by the crew seat six people, and they also have bookcases in the bottom, filled with books. DDOT (Detroit Department of Transportation) officials have said the placement of benches has not followed protocol, and therefore the benches are not approved and must be removed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetroit Threatens To Remove Community-Provided Bus Stop Benches

2 Virginia Boys Suspended For Using Pencils As Guns

"Two Suffolk second graders have been suspended for making shooting noises while pointing pencils at each other. Media outlets report the 7-year-old boys were suspended for two days for a violation of the Suffolk school system’s zero-tolerance policy on weapons. They were playing with one another in class Friday at Driver Elementary. 'When I asked him about it, he said, ‘Well I was being a Marine and the other guy was being a bad guy,’' said Paul Marshall, one of the boys’ fathers. Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said a pencil is considered a weapon when it’s pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made." Continue reading →

Continue Reading2 Virginia Boys Suspended For Using Pencils As Guns

In Argentina, More Official Lying About Basic Economic Facts

"How much inflation is there? Who can buy dollars legally? Who really runs the economy? Last Friday these questions tripped up Angel Toninelli, one of the directors general of the Administración Federal de Ingresos Públicos, the national tax agency. Toninelli admitted that he did not really understand the inner workings of the approval process for obtaining foreign currency to travel abroad. 'It is a formula that changes periodically,' he said in answer to a question. 'It contains ingredients that come from the central bank, the A.F.I.P., and others that come from God,” he explained, adding, 'It isn’t the Coca-Cola formula, but it’s very similar.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn Argentina, More Official Lying About Basic Economic Facts