Today’s Links: June 8, 2012

OPINION

ANDREW NAPOLITANO -“Where Is the Outrage Over the Domestic Use of Drones?”
“What Jeffersonians are among us today? When drones take pictures of us on our private property and in our homes, and the government uses the photos as it wishes, what will we do about it? Jefferson understood that when the government assaults our privacy and dignity, it is the moral equivalent of violence against us. The folks who hear about this, who either laugh or groan, cannot find it humorous or boring that their every move will be monitored and photographed by the government.”

JULIAN MORRIS: “How the U.S. Can Escape the Pending Economic Black Hole”
“It has been remarked that bond yields have recently priced in a “Lehman type” event, yet no such event has occurred. But that is to misconstrue both what happened in 2008 and what is going on now. The reality is that the world faces a potential vortex in the coming months, and markets are beginning to price that in. While it is nearly impossible for Greece, Spain, Portugal and Italy to avoid their fate, policies in other countries could reduce the chances of this vortex materializing.”

JAGADEESH GOKHALE: “Time for a Debt Ceiling Stare-Down”
“Political analysts are already wringing their hands raw over the prospect of another debt ceiling faceoff between Democrats and Republicans. But we should have one — the more contentious, the better. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that Congress should avoid another such debate because of “drama and the pain and the damage that they caused the country.” He’s correct about the drama — but it was beneficial.”

NEWS

CHINA – China Forbids International Tourism to Tibet Indefinitely
“In a matter of days, the number of expected foreign visitors to Tibet has gone from millions to zero. Chinese authorities alerted foreign travel agencies Tuesday that they would no longer be issuing entry permits to Tibet, the latest in a series of regulations being put on travelers to Tibet. The announcement follows the self-immolation of two Tibetans last week.”

ENERGY – China-U.S. Trade Tensions Rise as Renewable Energy Sags
“When solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC collapsed in September after winning a $535 million U.S. loan guarantee, President Barack Obama’s administration blamed China’s even bigger aid for its renewable-energy industry. ”

TECH – In the Kickstarter Future, Hardware Is the New Software
“Karpfinger is one of a growing number of hardware startups leveraging crowdfunding, better tools and proliferating expertise to get to market faster and more cheaply than their predecessors. Between Kickstarter, amenable contract manufacturers, and fast-growing platforms like Apple’s iOS, hardware ventures are finally, really starting to sprout like software ventures.”