“By freely distributing plans for medical devices and pharmaceuticals, a loose collective of anarchists and hackers is threatening to pull the rug out from under one of the most regulated and profitable industries in the world. And they’re just getting started.”
“Trump officials have vowed to prosecute Assange and destroy WikiLeaks. The central oddity of Assange’s case — that he has been effectively imprisoned for eight years despite never having been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crime — is virtually certain to be prolonged once Ecuador hands him over to the U.K.”
“At the intersection of programming, economics, cryptography, distributed systems, information theory, and math, you will find Vitalik Buterin, who has managed to synthesize insights across those fields into successful, real-world applications like Ethereum, which aims to decentralize the Internet.”
“From DIY guns to designer drugs, classic-car parts, and human livers, 3D printing promises a dynamic and uncontrollable world.”
Read more: https://reason.com/archives/2018/06/12/you-can-soon-manufacture-anything/print
“They’re leapfrogging pharmaceutical companies’ incentive structures, funding and organizing their own research in search of a cure. And they’re trying many of the same approaches that Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have used for decades.”
Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/a-familys-race-to-cure-a-daughters-genetic-disease/
“Lyn Ulbricht is Ross Ulbricht’s mother. Ross was the creator of the Silk Road website, which had a very important role in the history of bitcoin. Currently, Ross is serving a double life sentence without parole for all non-violent charges. Lyn has worked to bring awareness to the case and raise funds for Ross’s defense through www.FreeRoss.org. She has had many media interviews and public appearances and has helped bring awareness to the public of the case and Ross’s appeals. Her efforts have shined light into the darkness of the justice system, proving it to be a darker place than anywhere found on the dark web.”
“Other services, like FlipKey, which weren’t a party to the settlement, will face fines of up to $1,000 a day per listing and criminal penalties if they help arrange bookings of unregistered listings.”
Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Airbnb-loses-thousands-of-hosts-in-SF-as-12496624.php
“The Affordable Care Act slowed ambulance response times by almost 20 percent. According to a new working paper by David J. G. Slusky of the University of Kansas and Leon S. Moskatel of Scripps Mercy Hospital, some people are foregoing ambulances and opting for ride-hailing services instead.”
Read more: https://fee.org/articles/move-over-ambulances-uber-s-coming/
“Two years ago, ridesharing at the Atlanta airport was perfect. It was being widely used. It was cheap and convenient. Customers were king. Drivers were making money. Poor people without jobs suddenly had a job. Suddenly, the airport authorities had a problem. They had previously constructed vast parking lots for people coming and going from the airport. They had been a huge source of revenue. That revenue gradually began to fall. Then it fell some more. What had previously been a system of benign neglect began to turn.”
Read more: https://fee.org/articles/this-airport-abuses-uber-and-lyft-drivers-and-their-customers/
“In addition to selling a computer-numerically-controlled (CNC) mill which can complete unfinished lower receivers for AR-15 semi-auto rifles, Defense Distributed will now sell unfinished receivers for Glocks and single-stack M1911s. Using Defense Distributed’s mill, known as the Ghost Gunner, anyone with $1,600 and some basic milling knowledge can create the lower receiver of an AR-15 rifle.”