Honduras “private cites”, “model cities”, “REDS”, “Charter Cities”!!! How many names can they be given? One thing is for sure, they are at the risk of dying before they get started. Especially since Paul Romer, the architect behind the project engineered to attract foreign investments, has withdrawn due to what he claims is a lack of transparency. But then again, the investment group “MKG”, (or is it really “MGK” now that they actually had to scramble and change their name after being wrongly associated with fraud, due to a case of mistaken identity?) also dropped the ball.

The constitutional chamber of Honduras' Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that privately run cities in the Central American country would be unconstitutional, threatening a project to build "model cities" with their own police, laws, government and tax systems. The five-judge panel voted 4-to-1 in a ruling that goes against the Honduran government and the country's elite. Because the decision was not unanimous, the case now goes to the full 15-member Supreme Court, which is expected to take it up within 10 days.

Cuba has no shortage of fertile farmland, but the country spends $1.5 billion a year importing about 70 percent of its food. The communist government's chronic struggle to get farmers to produce more is forcing authorities to grudgingly accept a greater role for market principles and the profit motive. Now authorities seem willing to go another step further, tolerating the rise of what might be described as Cuba's "free-est" market.

This week, Blueseed, the planned startup community on a ship, received seed funding from leading venture capitalists. Backers include Floodgate Fund, Correlation Ventures, and Xu Xiaoping and Wang Qiang of Chinese investment fund ZhenFund.

A new car service called YourMechanic is taking aim at the old school repair shop. Its strategy is a disruptive peer-to-peer model, which lets drivers research and book appointments with mechanics online without having to go through shop owners. Rather than fill out a form and wait for help, car owners simply tell YourMechanic what's wrong, describe the year, make, and model of their car, and then provide their contact info.

"The Judge" agrees with Lysander Spooner in his wonderful speech at the Mises Supporters Summit. More at MisesMediaChannel on YouTube.