Archive for January, 2011

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Still Think an Internet Kill Switch is a Good Idea? Look at Egypt

Friday, January 28th, 2011

by Nan Swift
Freedom Works

Boing Boing has a great article today on the dangers of the proposed internet “Kill Switch.”

On Thursday Jan 27th at 22:34 UTC the Egyptian Government effectively removed Egypt from the internet. Nearly all inbound and outbound connections to the web were shut down. The internet intelligence authority Renesys explains it here and confirms that “virtually all of Egypt’s Internet addresses are now unreachable, worldwide.” This has never happened before in the entire history of the internet, with a nation of this size. A block of this scale is completely unheard of, and Senator Joe Lieberman wants to be able to do the same thing in the US.

Sponsors of the infamous legislation argue that the kill switch is necessary for security reasons – but in Egypt we hiave a very clear example of the unintended consequences (or perhaps intended) these kinds of regulations have. Just as it is in Egypt, the kill switch could be used to suppress the speech and freedom of assembly of the very people the Kill Switch legislation supposedly protects.

Continue reading here.

Posted in Technology

Will There Be a Chocolate Drought?

Friday, January 28th, 2011

By Simon Watkins And Jo Thornhill
Mail Online

No-go: Fairtrade training schemes for farmers have ground to a halt because of political unrest in Africa.

The world faces a chocolate ‘drought’ over the next few years, an expert warned yesterday.

Political unrest in the Ivory Coast, where 40 per cent of the world’s cocoa beans are grown, has ‘significantly’ depleted the number of certified fair trade cocoa farmers.

Many have fled the West ­African country, while fair trade training programmes have also come to a halt.

Fairtrade training programmes have ground to a halt because of the danger farmers face in rural areas.

The situation is already affecting chocolate manufacturers, who are facing the highest cocoa prices for over 30 years.

Prices jumped by 10 per cent this month alone. Analysts are predicting they could soon hit $3,720 per metric tonne – a level last seen in January 1979.

It follows a curb on international cocoa exports initiated earlier this week by the country’s new president, Alassane Ouattara.

Angus Kennedy, the editor of Kennedy’s Confection and a leading British chocolatier, said chocolate producers are facing ‘one of the biggest challenges to hit the industry in recent history’.

Continue reading here.

Posted in World News

Unconstitutional Tax Scheme Back on the Table in California

Friday, January 28th, 2011

by Capitol Confidential

Last week, California Democratic Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner announced the introduction of fresh legislation to force out-of-state, online retailers to collect California sales tax– legislation that critics charge amounts to an effort to introduce a new tax in what is arguably already the most heavily-taxed state in the nation.

The move replicates others pursued in years past by Democratic colleagues of Skinner– but notably avoided by Gov. Jerry Brown in his recently announced budget– and by all accounts seems to ignore the overwhelming likelihood that such a scheme would prove unconstitutional if challenged in court (by virtue of the the Quill v. North Dakota decision).

However, Skinner’s legislation is also being challenged on the basis that it would not, contrary to backers’ assertions, help put a substantial dent in the state budget deficit or eliminate or minimize the need for deep budget cuts in order to close it. In fact, using Skinner’s own numbers, it appears that the institution of a so-called “Amazon tax” would strip away a mere 1.1 percent of California’s budget deficit:

(Image: Americans For Tax Reform)

Continue reading here.

Posted in Economy

Report of Armed Man Leads to Lockdown at Wal-Mart

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Kirksville Daily Express

Kirksville Police filled the lanes of the Wal-Mart parking lot after responding to a report of an armed individual Wednesday afternoon. (NEMO Photography)

Kirksville, Mo. — A report of an armed man acting erratically in the Wal-Mart parking lot Wednesday led to the store being temporarily locked down before Kirksville Police responded to and diffused the situation with no injuries.

According to Kirksville Police Chief Jim Hughes, a passerby stopped a Kirksville Police officer and said they had seen an individual acting erratically in a truck in the Wal-Mart parking lot shortly before 2:30 p.m. The passerby believed the individual had a gun to his head.

“We don’t take these things lightly,” Hughes said, “especially nowadays.”

KPD responded to control the scene and ordered a lockdown of the store both to keep shoppers in and prevent the individual from entering the store.

After identifying the vehicle and person in question, Hughes said a decision was made on the scene for police to attempt contact. They were able to communicate with him and he voluntarily exited the vehicle. No weapon was found and the individual was taken into custody without incident less than 20 minutes after police arrived on scene.

Continue reading here.

Posted in Big Government

Hopes Rise For US Economic Recovery

Friday, January 28th, 2011

Julia Kollewe
The Guardian (UK)

Shoppers walk up Fifth Avenue in front of the Cartier building. (Photograph: Chip East/REUTERS)

The US economy regained momentum in the fourth quarter of last year, boosted by buoyant exports and the strongest consumer spending in more than four years.

GDP figures released today raised hopes that a sustainable recovery is under way, which will enable businesses to start hiring again.

The world’s largest economy grew at an annualised rate of 3.2% between October and December, according to the US Commerce Department, faster than the third quarter’s 2.6% rate. Economists had expected growth of 3.5%.

This rounded off the US economy’s best year for five years – it expanded by 2.9% in 2010 as a whole, following a 2.6% contraction in 2009. The pick-up in US growth contrasts with the British economy shrinking by 0.5% in the last three months, which is a 2% decline in annualised terms.

Continue reading here.

Posted in Economy

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