Anarchism

Yahoo…Chinese Agent

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Do you really want to use Yahoo email?

Yahoo has again turned over information to the Chinese government that lead to a user being jailed, a human rights group says, for the third time. What makes this case a little different from earlier cases of Yahoo acceding to the Chinese is that Yahoo turned over a draft email to the authorities, not one that had been sent or received.

Yahoo may not be the only one bowing to government force but they are certainly getting some play.
We really shouldn’t expect these corporations to do any different. They are creatures of governments and in turn expect governments to not only protect them but also to assist them when adequate grease is applied.

If you want to see different behavior then you will need to ensure that governments do not interfere with the voluntary exchange of goods and services between individuals. Government and the corps will fight you just a bit on this one.

Excellence in Government?

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Here is one conference that has clearly failed in its mission:

Excellence in Government 2006 is the premier management conference for those who run our federal government. Each summer the largest assembly of federal officials comes together to develop and discuss best management practices and achieve success through innovative solutions.

Of course, success is relative to the definition of the goal.
Just think: your tax dollars probably pay the expenses for the attendees.

Update: I should have realized when I wrote the title that it was an oxymoron!

Overgrazing the Canadian Commons

This entry was posted in Anarchism Economics Health Care Libertarianism on by

In Canada, and needing surgery? You might be better off to be a dog:

Accepting money from patients for operations they would otherwise receive free of charge in a public hospital is technically prohibited in this country, even in cases where patients would wait months or even years before receiving treatment.
But no one is about to arrest Dr. Brian Day, who is president and medical director of the center, or any of the 120 doctors who work there. Public hospitals are sending him growing numbers of patients they are too busy to treat, and his center is advertising that patients do not have to wait to replace their aching knees.
The country’s publicly financed health insurance system — frequently described as the third rail of its political system and a core value of its national identity — is gradually breaking down. Private clinics are opening around the country by an estimated one a week, and private insurance companies are about to find a gold mine.
Dr. Day, for instance, is planning to open more private hospitals, first in Toronto and Ottawa, then in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton. Ontario provincial officials are already threatening stiff fines. Dr. Day says he is eager to see them in court.
“We’ve taken the position that the law is illegal,” Dr. Day, 59, says. “This is a country in which dogs can get a hip replacement in under a week and in which humans can wait two to three years.”

This is not an unexpected result when the commons is overgrazed and free riders multiply. Heck, this is the expected result of any government program.
Via Hit & Run.

Good Riddance!

This entry was posted in Anarchism Government Law Law Enforcement Libertarianism on by

At least part of this is happening correctly (Reg):

A Florida sheriff ordered the closing of a boot camp for young offenders Wednesday as the investigation into the death of a 14-year-old detainee widened and critics demanded all such facilities in the state be shut down.
In early January, Martin Lee Anderson died after an altercation with guards at the Bay County Sheriff’s Office Boot Camp in Panama City, in the Panhandle. A surveillance camera videotape, made public last week, shows the guards dragging the limp boy around the grounds, kneeing and striking him several times.
Camp officials said Anderson, who had just arrived, was uncooperative when ordered to do push-ups, sit-ups and other exercises. He died the next day in a Pensacola hospital.

But more is needed. As I previously argued that sheriff and everyone else up hill from this thuggery need to be fired and have heavy restitution to pay.

Don’t Give Up Your Fingerprints Lightly

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Would you trust your school with your fingerprints?

The Iowa Senate passed a bill Wednesday that would allow the use of fingerprint scanners in school lunch lines.
Sen. Frank Wood, D-Eldridge, led the support for the bill, arguing that it gives schools useful options for managing their lunch programs. The measure passed 40-9.
Parents would have to approve their children using the scanners, which would replace tickets or cards for participants. The fingerprint record would be required to be erased once a student no longer attends the school.

This is one to which all parents should just say no.
Apparently more traditional methods of payment will be available so just use’m.. There is no justification for the use of what should be very private biometrics to buy a school lunch. these programs have been easily managed with cash, tickets and cards for years.
On the other hand, why the heck does it take legislative approval to approve business practices within a school system. One of the huge problems today is legislative micromanagement in all aspects of our society.

Both are reasons to keep your kids out of public schools or, for that matter, any other schools based on the same herd the cattle model.