Extortion, Private and Public: The Case of Chiquita Banana

Lefties have protested against Chiquita Banana for so long that most activists probably forget why they are supposed to hate the company. The company does have a spotty history, especially when it was United Fruit. For decades after the turn of the 20th century, US military interventions in Latin America were inspired by the goal of protecting United Fruit’s investments in Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Mexico.

My Nobel Prize

Howard Gold should be appointed a one-man Nobel-prize committee.

I’m not calling for him to win the prize, just for him to have the job of bestowing the title.

I base this on very little substance: I know nothing of the man. I have never met him. I’ve never seen his picture. However, I have read exactly one article that Mr. Gold has written, and on the strength of that article, I officially offer my support.

Meanwhile, in the Land of the Golden Gopher…

The Minnesota state government has been shut down, and the consequences are potentially devastating to the average Minnesotan who (according to this article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune) can no longer check a state web site to verify whether his barber has a valid license to practice.

The horror!

Of course, the primary focus in the media coverage is on the inconvenience and uncertainty a government shutdown foists upon public-sector workers:

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