Yearly Archives: 2013

The “Zero Hour” Scenario

"The 'emperor' here consists of central banks, commercial and investment banks and the commodities exchanges. The day everyone recognizes them as being buck naked — or in this case, stripped of the gold they claim to hold — will be 'zero hour.' It’s the day you’ll be happy you held on, even as gold sank from $1,900 in September 2011 to less than $1,500 as we go to press. Caution: What we are projecting here is nearly the ultimate in fat-tail events. But make no mistake: Zero hour — in the form of a precious metals default on the Comex, or maybe the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) — is coming sooner or later." Continue reading →

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Sneak peek: US Mint’s gold & silver coins production facility

"The appetite for US American Eagle gold and silver bullion coins is still at unprecedentedly high levels almost two months after a historic sell-off in gold unleashed years of pent-up demand from retail investors. We take a look at Mint, one of the world's top producers of gold and silver coins' production facility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSneak peek: US Mint’s gold & silver coins production facility

A Frontrunner for the 2013 Bureaucrat-of-the-Year Award?

"A former official of the Bay Area Rapid Transit raked in more than $333,000 last year without working a single day after she resigned under pressure in May 2011. Dorothy Dugger, the BART’s former general manager, quietly stayed on the payroll, burning off nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits for more than 19 months after she agreed to quit more than two years ago, San Jose Mercury News reported. The months of extra pay were in addition to the $920,000 Ms. Dugger was paid to leave after the BART’s board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws, San Jose Mercury News reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Frontrunner for the 2013 Bureaucrat-of-the-Year Award?

DOE Green Energy Loans: $11.45 million per job and a rounding error’s worth of averted carbon emissions.

"Green energy jobs and DOE loans are tallied under programs 1703 and 1705 on this list. Permanent jobs created: 2,298; Taxpayer financed loan guarantees: $26.33 billion. 19 of the projects cost more than $10 million per permanent job. Even if you use the Obama maldaministration’s accounting methods and include temporary employment, the totally idiotic 'jobs created/saved' category and include the 33,000 Ford Motor Company jobs 'saved', you get ~60,000 jobs at a cost of $34.5 billion –> $580,000 per job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDOE Green Energy Loans: $11.45 million per job and a rounding error’s worth of averted carbon emissions.

Documentary producers sue music company over copyright to ‘Happy Birthday To You’

"'Happy Birthday to You' is the subject of a fresh US legal dispute, with a production firm claiming the tune’s copyright owner has no exclusive right to the most popular song in the English language. Good Morning to You Productions (GMTY) has filed suit in a federal court in New York against Warner/Chappell Music demanding that the government declare invalid its copyright over the song, saying it belongs in the public domain. The lawsuit also demands the return of 'millions of dollars of unlawful licensing fees collected by defendant Warner/Chappell pursuant to its wrongful assertion of copyright ownership of the song,' the 26-page suit says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDocumentary producers sue music company over copyright to ‘Happy Birthday To You’

The Endgame of State/Local Government Pensions

"During the past 30 years of financialized abundance, the benefits and pensions promised to public employees were increased substantially. Public unions are a powerful political force in many states, and in eras of rising tax revenues, it's an easy political decision to increase public employee benefits and pension payouts. The rising stock and bond markets generated huge profits for the public-employee pension funds, enabling them to grow without taxpayer contributions. The effortlessness and persistence of this growth encouraged the mindset that pensions would be paid for via the magic of ever-rising markets." Continue reading →

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Ohio Appeals Court: Turn Signal Not Needed If Driving Straight

"Motorists driving in a straight line do not need to use their turn signal. That's the conclusion Ohio's second highest court reached on June 7 while reviewing the opinion of the Erie County Municipal Court. Paseka had been heading west on Lima Sandusky Road (State Route 6) in Erie County where the road forks. Those wishing to continue on Lima Sandusky Road must veer to the left, otherwise continuing straight ahead places the driver on Wahl Road. Paseka continued straight onto Wahl Road, and for that he saw the flashing lights of a police officer behind him. He was pulled over for failure to use a turn signal." Continue reading →

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Poland Traffic Cameras Battered, Government Seeks Insurer

"Attacks on speed cameras in Poland have become so common that the country's transportation department is looking for companies to insure the 185 speed cameras and red light cameras that will be in place by September. The policy would cover 30 million zloty (US $9 million) worth of equipment against losses that have included the destruction of 31 cameras last year, or about one out of four devices in operation Interia.pl reported." Continue reading →

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Indiana Supreme Court Upholds Drug Stop For Legally Tinted Windows

"Photographs of of the vehicle taken by police show the car's steering wheel and windshield wiper could be seen through the rear window. Officer Minch confirmed at trial that this matched what he saw but that it was 'kind of gloomy' that day and he was unable to verify Sanders' age, sex and ethnicity through the back window. Sanders is black. Officer Minch did not try to identify the driver through the front or driver's and passenger side windows, which were untinted. An expert's measurement determined the tint was well within the standard, allowing 38 percent of light to pass through. That was not enough to allow Sanders to walk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndiana Supreme Court Upholds Drug Stop For Legally Tinted Windows

Evangelization vs. Copyright

"Brandon Vogt really liked the new papal encyclical but noted that the Vatican only made it available in HTML. So he worked to convert it to PDF, epub, Mobi, and more, and then he gave away these formats on his website. Whoops. Both the Vatican and the USCCB wrote to demand a takedown. Clearly, Vogt was 'stealing from the Pope' (really? I don't think making other formats available causes the text to be mystically removed from the Vatican website). Also, he was accused of 'violating the civil law.' Multinational copyright enforcement is a legal invention of the late 19th century. It serves to block the light of truth. This is a great example of that." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEvangelization vs. Copyright