Although Belize has made some progress on its Index of Economic Freedom score in the past few years, recent actions by the government of Prime Minister Dean Barrow and the supermajority his United Democratic Party enjoys in Parliament may have put that progress at risk. Belize is increasingly wracked by violent crime, while its high debt burden is a strain on public finance. The illegal drug trade and money laundering are entrenched problems. The Barrow government took office in February 2008 and has close relations with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, …
As censorship in Iran continues to increase, more journalists are being detained, tortured, and sentenced to long prison terms and in some potential cases, execution. According to a report released by the Committee to Protect Journalists, Iran has hit a new high in the detainment of journalists. There are now 52 journalists in jail, making Iran the top jailer of press in the world. China comes in second place with imprisoning 24 journalists and Cuba follows closely behind with 22. In response to this crackdown on free press, at least …
Bidding has begun on Comcast’s acquisition of a majority stake in NBC Universal. No, not the bidding between GE and Comcast over the terms of the sale. That was the comparatively easy part. The real bidding is over at the FCC, as various interests work to get concessions and pledges from Comcast as a condition of FCC approval of the deal. The jostling may put post-Thanksgiving Black Friday sales to shame. Everything from more kid’s shows to broadband open access mandates are potentially on the table. And that’s if the …
Since the Federal Communications Commission’s ‘net neutrality’ order last month there have been an avalanche of lawsuits including four last week alone.Responding to the suits, Ben Scott of Free Press, the energizer rabbit of pro-regulation media groups, said: The Internet is too important to let Comcast tie it up in legal limbo. Congress should act now to pass Net Neutrality laws that clear up any uncertainty once and for all. Huh? On what planet, exactly, is Free Press based? Put aside for the moment the question of whether Comcast is …
