Wal-Mart is trying to sock Amazon with a tax increase instead of competing with them fairly.
Wal-Mart is secretly backing a group that is lobbying to try to get states from California to Illinois to collect sales tax from Amazon on its affiliate sales.
Continue reading… “Group fighting Amazon to pay more taxes backed by Wal-Mart”
WikiLeaks certainly has powerful cyber-supporters.
Just one day after the LulzSec hacking group announced its retirement after a 50-day stint, it appears that hackers with the Anonymous group have picked up from where they left off by attacking the MasterCard website in protest of the WikiLeaks blockade.
Earlier today, Twitter user @ibomhacktivist tweeted a message saying that MasterCard.com was down. The hacker said “that’s what you get when you mess with @wikileaks and @Anon_Central.”
Continue reading… “Anonymous hacktivists take down MasterCard.com again in support of WikiLeaks”
The tragedy of the commons in action.
One of the most perverse tenets of the economic model that most of the globe adheres to is that extracting natural resources or doing damage to ecosystems is “free”. Bottled water companies don’t pay for the water they extract, lumber outfits don’t pay for the trees they chop down, automakers don’t pay for the air pollution they generate, Big Oil doesn’t pay for the oil it extracts, and so on and so forth. This problem, known as the tragedy of the commons, is one that’s been an ugly thorn in capitalism’s side from the get-go. For the most part, we deal with it by imposing restrictions on how much companies can pollute, creating environmental protection agencies to enforce such restrictions, and by designating nature preserves to shield nature from corporate claws. But it’s not working…
Continue reading… “Are We One Step Closer to Pricing Nature?”
Health insurers propose double-digit increases in their rates, citing a need for protection against any sudden uptick in demand once people have more money to spend on their health.
Major health insurers in the U.S. are heading into a third year of record profits. Their earnings have been enriched in recent months by a lingering recessionary mind-set among Americans. Many who are postponing or forgoing medical care.
A group of Russian tax officials is alleged to have helped steal $230m (£140m) from the Russian state in an elaborate tax fraud.
Authorities in Switzerland are reported to have frozen dozens of bank accounts belonging to Russian tax officials. This is part of a criminal investigation into claims that the funds on them are derived from the biggest tax fraud in Russian history. The Swiss authorities began investigating after UK investment fund Hermitage filed a complaint against a group of Russian tax officials it alleged had helped steal $230m (£140m) from the Russian state in an elaborate tax fraud.
Factories making Apple iPhones and iPads forced staff to sign pledges not to commit suicide before they were taken on. At least 14 workers at Apple’s Chinese supplier Foxconn have killed themselves in 16 months.
And more have either survived suicide bids or were stopped from trying at plants in Chengdu and Shenzhen.
Continue reading… “Factory Workers Forced to Pledge Not to Commit Suicide”
Frederick Kaufman’s piece for Foreign Policy examines how the Goldman Sachs Commodity Index (GSCI) is responsible for the increase in food prices.
You know the drill … You open iTunes and there’s a popup that asks you to download a new version. You download the newest version and there’s another popup asking you to agree to Apple’s Terms of Service. But it’s over 55-pages long! You scroll to the bottom and hastily click “Agree,” because what’s the worst that can happen right? Right?
Continue reading… “South Park Scares You Into Reading Apple’s Terms And Conditions”
Bloomberg was first to report today that two iPad/iPhone users have filed a class action lawsuit accusing Apple of invasion of privacy and computer fraud, and of “secretly recording movements of iPhone and iPad users.”
What kind of logic prevails when environmental impact statements
on biotech crops are outsourced to the GMO industry itself?
The U.S. is already cultivating 165 million acres of genetically modified crops, up 7 million acres from just two years ago. Modified seeds and large monocultures in general, are monopolizing our nation’s agriculture system like never before and crop after crop are deemed “safe” by the USDA. We’re headed full speed down a dark, winding road and it seems we’re driving blindfolded. And most recently, according to a story on Grist, the USDA is starting a new program which will outsource environmental impact statements on biotech crops to the GMO industry. Obviously, biotech companies are thrilled with the idea…
Continue reading… “USDA Outsources Biotech Crop Evaluation to the GMO Industry”
Over 44,000 trade mark files have gone missing in India.
Justice Muralidhar of the Delhi High Court on April 7 asked the government to reform the Trade Mark Office. This was after an investigation revealed that the office had lost 44,404 trade mark registrations without even realizing.
Continue reading… “Growing Concerns Over Problems with the Indian Trade Mark Office”
What makes movie popcorn so gosh darned expensive? What’s in that strange yellow liquid they call butter anyhow? And while we’re at it – what are in those popcorns anyhow?
Well, it’s all a secret and theater owners are fighting the FDA to keep it that way…
Continue reading… “What’s In Movie Theater Popcorns?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.