statism watch

Somini Sengupta, New York Times
December 6, 2008

MUMBAI, India — Last Wednesday, an extraordinary public interest lawsuit was filed in this city’s highest court. It charged that the government had lagged in its constitutional duty to protect its citizens’ right to life, and it pressed the state to modernize and upgrade its security forces.

The lawsuit was striking mainly for the people behind it: investment bankers, corporate lawyers and representatives of some of India’s largest companies, which have their headquarters here in the country’s financial capital, also known as Bombay. The Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the city’s largest business association, joined as a petitioner. It was the first time it had lent its name to litigation in the public interest.

The three-day siege of Mumbai, which ended a week ago, was a watershed for India’s prosperous classes. It prompted many of those who live in their own private Indias, largely insulated from the country’s dysfunction, to demand a vital public service: safety.

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Because real value is actually measured by liquid, inflation-proof, wear-resistant commodities. In absence of this realization, we may be trading wooden nickels before too long.

Associated Press
December 6, 2008

Does it feel like your money is shrinking nowadays? In some countries around the world, it really is getting smaller.

Mexico, following the lead of several other countries, has proposed making coins smaller and using cheaper metals to keep costs low amid the financial crisis and volatile metal costs.

The Mexican Senate on Thursday approved President Felipe Calderon’s bill to modify the country’s coinage. The plan awaits approval from the lower house of Congress, which will vote in February.

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Nick Pron, Globe and Mail
December 6, 2008

After nearly four years, constables heading to court on 20 charges

BARRIE — Three Toronto police officers were ordered yesterday to stand trial on 20 criminal charges ranging from breach of trust to obstructing justice over allegations of wrongdoing involving bars in the downtown entertainment district. [Ed. Note: Allegations including fraud, breach of trust, obstruction of justice, influence peddling and accepting benefits in relation to the enforcement of bars in Toronto’s entertainment district.]

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