Global Law/Politics Dump for the Hoi Polloi

In Japan, a Justice Minister is in trouble for joking that his job is not that difficult, especially given that all he says is  "I won't comment on individual cases" and "I'm acting in accordance with the law and the evidence".

Shadow's Reaction? LULZ. Pretty funny shit, and, as it happens, pretty true as well. Who cares the guy fessed up to speaking Bureaucrat-ese? He's not hired to try the damned cases, rather to be an administrator. And, they all speak like that.

Get that paper, lawya'

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In Iowa, the ethanol subsidies are set to expire Dec 31st of this year, all but ensuring the tens and tens of billions of dollars we spend subsidizing ADM and the Corn Belt will become a heated political topic. My take, after spending 6 years in the flyover? We don't need to subsidize large argri-businesses. Family farms are all-but over. Moreover, ethanol is carbon +, and requires more energy to make a gallon of gas than actually is yielded back. Finally, why on god's green earth would we pay tens of billions of dollars to actually raise our food prices (which ethanol subsidies do, by artificially inflating demand)?

Shadow's Reaction? Expand to crops we can use, have actual demand for, and which show the most promise for maintaining the integrity of the family farm. E.g., hemp, wineries, wheat, soy, etc.

Sorry, Great Plains. Time to get another job.

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In Illinois, Outgoing Republican Ingilis (R-Ill) absolutely blasts the tin-foil climate change deniers. And, according to Think Progress 86% of the incoming freshman GOP are full-on Climate Deniers.

Shadow's Reaction? These guys aren't going to listen. They never have; never will. The same 23% of the American population has been fucking it up for the rest of us since 1776. Hopefully, the first famine reaches them and theirs.

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Finally, a moment of sadness please, for all American High-Schoolers who ever dreamed of going to Amsterdam for a tour of the Hash cafes.  Sad, sad story here "The Dutch government said on Wednesday it wanted to ban tourists from buying cannabis in "coffee shops," where hash is on sale legally, as part of a national crackdown on drug use."

Shadow's Reaction? Visit the Deep South or Hawaii, where the stuff is strong, feral, and literally a weed. Smoke your brains out while you're in college, because I guarantee by the time you're 25, reality sets in, responsibility flourishes, and you just don't have a whole day to hit the honey bear, eat Doritos and play XBox.

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

d.s.