Monthly Archives: August 2013

Mongolian Stock Exchange reforms unlock potential of 45 billion USD

"The Mongolian Revised Securities Market Law will come into effect on January 1, 2014 and legal organizations are currently working to reform related laws and regulations before its arrival. The law’s initiators stress that the Mongolian stock exchange market, valued at 1.4 trillion MNT as of July 2, will be able to grow, as well as its convertibility, by introducing reformed and revised regulations in Mongolia’s securities market. Representative of the Mongolian Stock Exchange thus stressed that Mongolia’s stock market range, which tripled in the last four years, will be able to expand up to 30 times." Continue reading →

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1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia – Wikipedia

"The 1990 Democratic Revolution in Mongolia was a democratic revolution that started with demonstrations and hunger strikes to overthrow the Mongolian People's Republic and eventually moved towards the democratic present day Mongolia and the writing of the new constitution. It was spearheaded by mostly younger people demonstrating on Sükhbaatar Square in the capital Ulaanbaatar. It ended with the authoritarian government resigning without bloodshed. The Democratic Party stemming from the pro-democracy activists has been on the power of Mongolia's presidency, parliament and government since 2012." Continue reading →

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How Fortunes Are Made In Frontier Markets: Interview With Harris Kupperman Part II

"Getting your boots muddy in a frontier market can be immensely profitable. That is, if you get to a boomtown before boom times, there’s plenty of money to be made. As we learned yesterday, there’s huge profit potential in Mongolia — home to the recently started, world-class Oyu Tolgoi copper mine. 'The way I’m thinking of playing this resource boom' says Harris Kupperman, CEO of Mongolia Growth Group (MNGGF) 'is through the consumer, and the best way to access the consumer is retail space on the main streets'. Today we’ll continue our talk with Harris. He’ll explain how his group could make 9-18 times their money in Mongolian real estate." Continue reading →

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Mining the Gobi: The Battle for Mongolia’s Resources

"The country, whose economy has been growing faster than almost any other, is almost entirely dependent on the export of raw materials. Mongolia has things everyone wants -- coal, copper, gold, uranium, rare earth minerals -- and that potential wealth is reflected in the high-ranking visitors it draws. Donald Rumsfeld has been to Ulan Bator, as have Angela Merkel and several Japanese prime ministers. Beijing especially is making an effort to reach out to its northern neighbor. This July the first flat-bed trucks set out from Oyu Tolgoi to China, each bearing 36 tons of a brown, cement-like powder, from which copper and gold would be extracted." Continue reading →

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Disability Rights are Human Rights

"Imagine if you had to fight in a court of law in order to be permitted to move in with friends, go to work, and make basic decisions about your daily life. Jenny Hatch doesn’t have to imagine, because she just fought and won that battle for her basic liberties. Hatch has volunteered for political campaigns, held down a job at a thrift shop, and shown a capacity to live independently. But because she has Down’s syndrome and an IQ of 52, her parents argued that she should be forced to continue living in a group home. Under the law, she could not leave. It was a form of imprisonment enacted not as punishment but under the paternalistic auspices of 'care.'" Continue reading →

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17-year-old tased to death by Miami cops after spray-painting abandoned McDonald’s

"Miami Beach Police Chief Ray Martinez told The Miami Herald that Israel Hernandez-Llach — who was known as 'Reefa' in the local graffiti and skateboarding scene — began running when officers confronted him about 'tagging' an abandoned McDonald’s. 'The officers were forced to use the Taser to avoid a physical incident,' Martinez explained. Hernandez-Llach collapsed after being hit once in the chest. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and later died. One witness told WFOR that police were 'congratulating' each other and 'making fun' of Hernandez-Llach after he was shocked by the Taser." Continue reading →

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Marine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

"Sergeant Robert Richards was the last of eight Marines to be punished in connection with the incident, which took place on July 27, 2011, during a counterinsurgency operation in Helmand Province in Afghanistan. The videotape showed four Marines wearing camouflage combat uniforms urinating on three corpses as one of the Marines joked, 'Have a nice day buddy.' The video became public in early 2012 and was one of a series of offensive incidents at the time that roused Afghan ire and led to heightened tensions between Washington and Kabul." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarine who urinated on dead Taliban fighters in 2011 receives reduced rank as punishment

TSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

"Compared to NSA’s confiscation of U.S. citizens’ phone records, however, Americans can take some comfort that TSA’s PreCheck program is voluntary—at least for now. Yet in the past, government experimentation has oft become permanent policy, which, in this case, would then require every American to undergo fingerprinting and a background check to be eligible to fly commercially. In other words, as government’s thirst for security mounts, its 'no-fly' list, which includes names of suspected terrorists, could eventually be replaced by an 'OK to fly' list. Do you think this scenario is outlandish and would never happen?" Continue reading →

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Fox News host demands escalation of nuclear hostilities with Russia over Snowden

"Fox News host Gregg Jarrett on Thursday suggested that President Barack Obama should pull out of nuclear treaties and send missiles to Europe after Russian President Vladimir Putin granted asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. Earlier this year, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel announced that the U.S. was cancelling plans to put long-range missile defense interceptors in Poland. Moscow had refused to move forward with additional nuclear arms cuts unless the system was scrapped. Three other phases, including short-range missiles in Poland, were expected to be rolled out as planned." Continue reading →

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What Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

"What do Angola, Cambodia, Chad, Haiti, Laos, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Zimbabwe have in common? They all receive U.S. foreign aid and, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, boast some of the most corrupt governments in the world—strong-arm governments in most cases. If money can’t buy the United States influence, it’s also not buying America a lot love. According to a recent Pew poll, in Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan only 16, 14 and 11 percent of their respective populations have a favorable view of the United States. Egypt is a clarion call to stop throwing good money after bad." Continue reading →

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