Speaking of government subsidies for Richy-McRichface Hollywood moviemakers , an internal study by the New Zealand government has shown that: subsidies for films such as Avatar and King Kong could not be economically justified. They had likely caused a net economic loss of $36 million.
Excerpt from:
Film Subsidies Don’t Work, Long Live Film Subsidies!
Over at Cato-at-Liberty , David Boaz expresses disappointment if not quite surprise that the Obama administration has not heeded his advice in formulating its shiny new drug policy . Excerpt: It involves more central planning — “the creation of a community-based national prevention system” – more taxpayers’ money — “an expanded array of intervention-oriented treatment programs” — and more nannyism — “a push to screen patients early for signs of substance abuse, even during routine appointments, and the expansion of prescription-drug monitoring programs.” And don’t forget the ever-popular, ever-futile “more international cooperation in disrupting the flow of drugs and money.” As it happens, I had a chance to meet with drug czar Gil Kerlikowske and his top aides last year, as part of a series of outreach meetings as the new team planned its strategy. It doesn’t look like my advice was taken.
See the original post here:
Obama Drug Policy: No Surprises, Lots of Alarms
Leave it to the wretched regime in Caracas to send Venezuela—home of the Orinoco basin, the terrifically incompetent state run oil company PdVSA, and South American’s 6,151st experiment in egalitarianism—into a humiliating energy crisis. As The Guardian ’s Rory Carroll reported last week , “Businesses have reported a collapse in sales and employment, which is expected to aggravate a recession already the deepest in South America, and compound the president’s woes ahead of legislative elections.” So what does a squalid little autocracy do when faced with an increasingly angry opposition, irritated that a country of such massive oil wealth cannot keep the power on or the shelves stocked with meat or sugar ? Well, don’t tell Sean Penn (he’ll get a big head), but the Chavez regime has taken his advice; cracking down on free speech and the pesky, disorganized political opposition.
Read the rest here:
Someone Finally Takes Sean Penn’s Advice
“I don’t like regulations,” says Amy Alkon, a syndicated advice columnist who blogs daily at AdviceGoddess.com .
Here is the original:
Reason.tv: Advice Goddess Amy Alkon Wants to Beat Manners Into Rude People
• The House votes to extend the expiring elements of the PATRIOT Act without adding any privacy protections. • Joe Biden proposes new regulations on retirement savings
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Reason Morning Links: Killer Cops, Incompetent Teachers, Joe Biden, and Other Public Servants
That poverty made Haiti’s recent earthquake devastating is a media truism . But what makes poverty? Haiti’s annual per capita income (purchasing power parity) is $1,300 .
Originally posted here:
Haiti, Poverty and Earthquakes
What do AOL customers, Netflix subscribers, and abortion seekers in Oklahoma have in common?, asks Senior Editor Katherine Mangu-Ward.
View original post here:
New at Reason: Katherine Mangu-Ward on Abortion and Data Privacy
Attended an L.A. City Council meeting today in which it was rumored they would actually vote on a proposed ordinance to finalize a set regulatory structure for a situation that both enemies of medical pot and even many of its friends consider an out-of-control free-for-all of allegedly 800-1,000 medi-pot emporiums in the city. (The phrase “wild west” to apply to L.A.
Go here to see the original:
L.A. Medical Pot Scene: Still the “Wild, Wild West” at Least ‘Til Next Week
Majorities of every demographic except the very old, the very poor, and the very…Hispanic, are hopping online to for health information: These numbers are going to keep going up, too. Two ways to read this: Optimistic, pro-technology approach: When it comes to health care, Americans are more resourceful than they’re given credit for. Some of those 47 million uninsured are getting their health info somewhere other than a doctor’s office.
See original here:
Dear Internet: What Are These Itchy Bumps?
The Washington Post reports that former Bush Justice Department attorney and "torture memo" author John Yoo is waging a high-profile counterattack against his critics: Last month, a federal judge in California refused to dismiss a lawsuit that accuses Yoo of violating a detainee’s constitutional rights. This month, the Justice Department’s inspector general described Yoo’s legal analysis of the Bush surveillance program as "insufficient" and sometimes inaccurate.
Read the rest here:
John Yoo Still Defending His Torture Memo
