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Kraft and Heinz to Form North America's No. 3 Food Company
John Oliver goes off on a terrible practice that was supposed to be outlawed in the 1830s.
Debtors prisons' — throwing people in jail for owing money — are theoretically illegal. The federal government outlawed them in 1833, and most states followed shortly thereafter. And yet, shady cities and towns across America are bringing them back.
The move to a cashless society won’t happen overnight. Instead, it is being implemented very slowly and systematically in a series of incremental steps.
All over the planet, for security reasons, governments are starting to place restrictions on the use of cash. As citizens, we are being told that this is being done to thwart criminals, terrorists, drug runners, money launderers and tax evaders. Other forms of payment are much easier for governments to track, and so they very much prefer them. But we are rapidly getting to the point where the use of cash is considered to be a “suspicious activity” all by itself.
These days, if you pay a hotel bill with cash or if you pay for several hundred dollars worth of goods at a store with cash you are probably going to get looked at funny. You see, the truth is that we have already been trained to regard the use of large amounts of cash to be unusual. The next step will be to formally ban large cash transactions like France and other countries in Europe are already doing.
Starting in September, cash transactions of more than 1,000 euros will be banned in France. ...
...MORE...
...And with each passing year the restrictions on the use of cash globally will just get tighter and tighter and the role that cash plays in our lives will just become smaller and smaller.
In the end, a transition to an almost entirely cashless society will seem almost natural. Cash is being killed off one slow step at a time, and at this point hardly anyone is objecting.
29 August 2014
Introduction
Today, the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Joint Forward Plan was released. The plan sets the stage for fundamental changes in the way regulatory departments and agencies in both countries work together, making it easier for businesses to operate in both countries.
The Joint Forward Plan, which builds on the RCC Joint Action Plan launched in December 2011 by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama, will deepen Canada-U.S. regulatory cooperation through new bi-national processes and partnerships. This approach will institutionalize joint planning and collaboration between Canadian and U.S. regulatory agencies.
The Joint Forward Plan also includes specific commitments to align 24 areas of regulatory business. Work will continue in areas such as marine safety and security, pharmaceuticals, food safety, plant and animal health, and crop protection products. The RCC Forward Plan also expands work into new areas such as energy efficiency, toy safety, medical devices, chemicals management, and the use of natural gas in transportation.
originally posted by: soficrow
a reply to: mSparks43
Really not sure what you're getting at. All the evidence shows we're being pushed further and further into corporate rule (for corporate profit) - but you seem to be saying no, we're being led to marxist-communism. ....???
...there needs to be a significant group of people left who think they are living "cashless", while they are actually just living as a totally automated proletarian class dominated by those who do live cashless.
The world's first robot hotel is being planned for a theme park in Japan
...the Henn-na Hotel, will be partially staffed by what are termed “actroid" androids – remarkably human-like robots who will be able to greet, carry luggage to rooms, make cups of coffee – and even smile.
Three of the uniformed actroids will serve as reception staff at the Henn-na Hotel, scheduled to open in July. Alongside them will be four service and porter robots, an industrial robot serving as a cloak room attendant and several robots whose primary task will be to clean.
...All this super advanced technology will of course come at a price – a lower price. The minimum room rate at the Henn-na Hotel will be ¥7,000 (about £40), and although guests will find the price increase as people bid for the rooms online, the rate for a night’s stay is likely to be capped well below the rates at the three other hotels at the theme park (which start around ¥20,000 to ¥30,000).
The cheaper rates will be possible because the use of robots and power-saving equipment such as LED lights and renewable energy are all expected to reduce operating costs.
Following the opening of the 72-room Henn-na Hotel, there are plans to open a similar-sized robot-powered facility in 2016.
...More interesting imho is what these developements do to the status quo, because its not entirely clear they get to hold onto the future means of production.