CEI Daily Update
Issues in the News
1. TECHNOLOGY
Police blame a video game for inspiring a string of thefts and arsons by teenagers.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Technology Policy Analyst Cord Blomquist on Hillary Clinton’s hostility to video game makers:
“Over the past two years, Clinton has become a sort of ‘cultural warrior’ against video games she deems too violent. While barely saying a critical word about the politically powerful sectors of movies, television and music, she has blamed violence in video games for a host of society’s ills and supported legislation cracking down on video game makers and retailers.”
2. ENVIRONMENT
The government of China bans retailers from giving away free plastic bags with purchases.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Director of Risk & Environmental Policy Angela Logomasini on China’s attempt to “go green”:
“The Chinese have allegedly decided to ‘clean up their act’ environmentally speaking. Their solution: ban plastic bags at supermarkets and make shopping less convenient. You can get away with such silly regulation in a communist country … or places like San Francisco, which banned the bags in 2007. Ironically, while such bans might sound like no-brainer green policies, the environmental benefits are questionable. A study conducted well over a decade past clearly demonstrated that plastic bags have lots of virtues, such as being far more energy efficient than paper. They take up less space in a landfill and are much easier to carry!”
3. HEALTH
New evidence suggests that a substance banned from childhood vaccines was, if fact, harmless.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Adjunct Analyst Steve Milloy on the alleged link between Thimerosal and autism:
“The vaccine preservative Thimerosal is not linked with autism, a new study reports. The data also suggest that the dilettante ‘scientist’ Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. should perhaps go back to practicing law and stop exploiting parental fear and suffering for his own political agenda.”
Blog feature: For more news and analysis, updated throughout the day, visit CEI’s blog, Open Market.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
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