Category Archives: Regulations and regulators

Who’s Responsible? How the “Independent Contractor” Dodge Guts Employment Protections

On establishing legal responsibility for employment in the fissured workplace.

‘Internet of Things’ Could Be an Unseen Threat to Elections

How more IoT = more messed up elections

Right to Repair: Will the European Commission Have the Guts to Stand Up to Apple et al? Details on Wednesday…

European Commission to decide Wednesday whether to adopt a right to repair for smartphones as part of its Circular Economy Action Plan, to match what already exists for household appliances.

Brexit: Pawing and Snorting

In theory, Brexit negotiations are moving forward, but they sure don’t look like it.

US Successfully Planned for the ‘Endless Frontier’ of Science Research in 1945 – Now It’s Time to Plan the Next 75 Years

Influence of Vannevar Bush and the Endless Frontier in Postwar science planning – US science for the next 75 years.

Why Is Trump Trying to Kill a Small Agency with a Big Impact on Public Safety?

Quelle surprise! Trump is out to terminate an independent agency that has stepped into the EPA’s void.

Plastic Watch: Sack the Sachet, Campaign to Ban More Low-Hanging Fruit in UK and EU; NY Plastic Bag Ban Begins 1 March

A Plastic Planet seeks to include sachets in UK and EU single-use plastic bans; meanwhile, NY plastic shopping bag ban begins 1 March.

The Race to Slash ‘Red Tape’ in Post-Brexit Britain Has Begun. How Can It Be Resisted?

Brexit is being used to accelerate the neoliberal race to the bottom.

To Many’s Dismay, Permian Produces More Gas and Condensate Instead of Oil and Profits

Justin Mikula continues to document fracking follies; this installment focuses on the challenges stymieing profitability in the top US oil field, the Permian shale.

Plastic Watch: Congress Considers Bill to Impose Extended Producer Responsibility, AKA ‘You Break It, You Buy It’

The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act would impose extended producer responsibility.

A Full Scale Attack on Medical Debt

An integrated proposal for ending medical debt.

Ship the Airplane: The Cultural, Organizational and Technical Reasons Why Boeing Cannot Recover

Devastating takedown of what went wrong at Boeing with the 737 Max – presented in straightforward terms non-engineers can understand.

The Paris Agreement Set an Unrealistic Target for Global Warming. Now What?

Is the 2 degree global warming target unrealistic? What now follows?

Right to Repair Roundup: One Step Forward, One to the Side

A modest civilian advance in the battle over the right to repair – and a brief snippet on how the US military manages creatively to waste resources in the same realm.