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Want Economic Stimulus? Don’t Build a Sports Stadium! - Big Government (W.T. Huston)
"For one thing, [Andrew ] Zimbalist says, the money that will be spent on the events held at the new sports arena or stadium is money spent by local residents. This is not new money but money that would simply have been spent on other entertainment in the metropolitan area if the stadium didn’t exist. Secondly, the big money that goes to players, owners and investors does not stay in the area but is invested elsewhere. Third, the city or state is often chipping in up to a third of the continuing costs and this is tax money wasted, not revenue made."

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"The materialistic and selfish quality of contemporary life is not inherent in the human condition. Much of what appears 'natural' today dates from the 1980s: the obsession with wealth creation, the cult of privatization and the private sector, the growing disparities of rich and poor." - NY Review of Books (Tony Judt)

Congress outlaws all Caller ID spoofing - Ars Technica
The MPAA and RIAA have submitted their master plan for enforcing copyright to the new Office of Intellectual Property Enforcement - EFF
Federal agents working on Hollywood's clock? That's the plan folks.

Volcanic ash closes airports across northern Europe - LA Times

California politics: Pot Legalization More Popular Than Governor Candidates - LA Weekly

USMC making plans to garrison space colonies or something - Popular Mechanics

Sheep on Meth Are Shocked With Tasers - io9

If they build it, you will pay: the lies politicians tell when pimping sports stadiums - Wall Street Journal