Monthly Archives: August 2013

Is Bitcoin Too Big for Government to Ignore?

"Forty-eight states require businesses to register as money service transmitters, which Brito said can be an onerous and expensive process. Bitcoin startup BTC Global estimates that $10 million or more is required for a business to reach total legal compliance in all 50 states. The Wall Street Journal reported in June that Texas and New York are among the states taking a hard look at regulations for virtual currencies as well as money transmission rules.The Journal said state regulations can be expensive, citing Texas’ policy requiring companies seeking a license to provide a surety bond of as much as $2 million." Continue reading →

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Turkish prime minister joins trial run through rail tunnel under Bosphorus

"Turkey has successfully completed a trial run of a rail tunnel connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides, the first of several planned mega-projects in the country's largest city. The 13.6km (8.5-mile) tunnel, including a 1.4km immersed tube – the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 metres – passes under the Bosphorus strait, the busy shipping channel linking the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea. A Japanese-Turkish consortium began constructing the tunnel in 2004, with funding coming from the Japan Bank for International Co-operation and the European Investment Bank." Continue reading →

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Rail Fails, Pipelines Prevail

"It costs approximately $15 per barrel to send oil by rail — compared with $1 a barrel by pipeline and $2 a barrel by ship. However, the steep premium for Brent made up for the huge shipping costs. Bakken oil sent by train was still cheaper than Brent oil carried by ship. Unfortunately for trains, though, prices are now shifting. The price advantage Bakken enjoys over Brent has fallen to only about $10–12 a barrel. Suddenly, spending $15 a barrel to ship Bakken by train doesn’t make sense. Instead, refiners are finding buying Brent is a better and safer deal. But all this talk about ships versus trains leaves out the best solution for crude oil transport." Continue reading →

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Obama’s False History of Public ‘Infrastructure’ Investment

"The makers of autos, tires and headlights began building roads privately long before any state or the federal government got involved. The Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway for cars, pieced together from new and existing roads in 1913, was conceived and partly built by entrepreneurs. Railroads are another example of the infrastructure-follows-entrepreneurship rule. Before the 1860s, almost all railroads were privately financed and built. Airplanes became a major industry and started carrying passengers by the early 1920s. During that period, nearly all airports were privately funded." Continue reading →

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Golden trail: Dubai to Chennai via Delhi

"Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) sleuths on the trail of 16kg gold boarded the Delhi-Chennai Rajdhani Express when it neared the outskirts of the city and followed the smugglers all the way to city before seizing the contraband and arresting four people, including two Sri Lankans, on Friday. Investigators intercepted the train when it reached Gummidipoondi railway station and boarded it. They identified the smugglers and tailed them to a house at Kodambakkam where they delivered the consignment. This is the second major seizure since March when DRI caught a senior diplomat from the UAE for allegedly smuggling 37kg gold jewellery." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin is crucial for the future of free speech, say experts

"First Amendment rights to free speech would make it a tough legal battle to prosecute WikiLeaks legally. However, government officials were able to target financial organizations such as Visa and PayPal, getting them to stop processing donations for the site. Timm also highlighted the importance that technologies like Bitmessage – the anonymous, encrypted messaging service built on the Bitcoin protocol – have in maintaining a free press. It eliminates the need for a third-party arbitrator when sending messages, enabling a zero-trust messaging system. It also hides the metadata surrounding such conversations, he added." Continue reading →

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Send Micro-Transactions With Zero Fees via Coinbase

"We launched an exciting feature today: off blockchain micro-transactions between Coinbase accounts! Here is a bitcoin transaction I just sent myself for 1 satoshi (that is 0.00000001 Bitcoin). The transaction arrived instantly, confirmed instantly, and cost zero in fees. This was possible because it did not touch the 'blockchain' (the public ledger of all bitcoin transactions), and instead was sent directly between two Coinbase accounts." Continue reading →

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New Silver Liberty Dollar QR Coin Obtains Live Bitcoin Prices

"Vaughn Perling had the courage to issue The New Liberty Dollar with a strikingly similar appearance to that of the NORFED Liberty Dollar while von NotHaus was awaiting sentencing on counterfeiting and fraud charges. However, Vaughn Perling added a disclaimer to his website that the purchaser acknowledges that The New Liberty Dollar is a 'silver piece medallion, and not any government issued coin.' The new QR engraved medallions enable a user of the coin to obtain real-time 'manufacturer’s suggested trade value' which is based on the silver spot market price. The price will be in Bitcoin as well as other crypto and national currencies." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: What does money represent?

"Higher wages do not get you anywhere if prices rise too. What you really need is higher productivity. How do you get that? You need to save money (rather than spend it) and invest in things that produce more...thus providing the profits necessary to pay more to the people who produce it. Really. Is that so difficult to understand? For the last 42 years, the feds have encouraged Americans to spend their money, rather than save it. And they've encouraged people to buy things made by foreigners, rather than make things themselves. This was the consequence (perhaps unintended) of Richard Nixon's pure paper money system." Continue reading →

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Estate auction set for $6.5 million gold coin fortune amassed by Nevada recluse

"The final treasures of a quiet man who collected a fortune in gold coins will be auctioned off Tuesday in Nevada. The body of Walter Samaszko Jr. was found in his Carson City home in June 2012. A cleaning crew hired to tidy his modest, ranch style home where he had lived for four decades came upon a stunning discovery — boxes and boxes full of gold coins and bullion collected over an unassuming lifetime. It was enough to fill two wheelbarrows. The fortune, after taxes, will go to Samaszko's only surviving cousin, Arlene Magdanz of San Rafael, Calif. A substitute teacher, Magdanz has shunned media attention and not spoken publicly about her new-found riches." Continue reading →

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