Network Archives

Argentina: BMWs Gaining Bitcoin-Like Appeal as Inflation Hedge

"Car sales in Argentina increased by the most in almost two years last month as a ban on buying dollars made Argentines turn to vehicles to protect savings against the fastest inflation in the Western Hemisphere after Venezuela. Luxury models are becoming more attractive because they are imported at the official dollar rate, said Gonzalo Dalmasso, vehicle industry analyst at Buenos Aires research company Abeceb.com. Argentines with savings in dollars are able to purchase cars at half the cost by trading in the unofficial currency market." Continue reading →

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Venezuela running out of toilet paper

"Venezuela’s socialist government is scrambling to find new sources for toilet paper as consumer supplies run out nationwide. Shortages of key supplies like milk, sugar, coffee, butter and cooking oil have grown much worse in just the last month, amid a decade-long trend of rising inflation and increasing consumer prices. Venezuelan Minister of Commerce Alejandro Fleming told state-run AVN News that the government would respond by 'saturating the market' with 50 million rolls of imported toilet paper, in hopes of calming the populace. However, CNN noted that he also said Venezuelans go through about 150 million rolls of toilet paper every month." Continue reading →

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Rich Manhattan moms hire handicapped tour guides to cut lines at Disney World

"Some wealthy Manhattan moms have figured out a way to cut the long lines at Disney World — by hiring disabled people to pose as family members so they and their kids can jump to the front, The Post has learned. The 'black-market Disney guides' run $130 an hour, or $1,040 for an eight-hour day. 'My daughter waited one minute to get on ‘It’s a Small World’ — the other kids had to wait 2 1/2 hours,' crowed one mom, who hired a disabled guide through Dream Tours Florida. Disney allows each guest who needs a wheelchair or motorized scooter to bring up to six guests to a 'more convenient entrance.'" Continue reading →

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Roadside manicure services boom in Nigeria

"A comfortable salon may be the ideal place to have a manicure-pedicure, but in Nigeria’s sprawling economic capital, the curb above a open sewer works just fine. Privately tailored suits delivered to your home or office are a luxury reserved for the wealthy in some cultures, but in Lagos, many in the middle class are also in regular contact with their personal clothier. And, while paying for your toe and fingernails to be soaked, scrubbed, trimmed and moisturised is considered a luxury in some parts of the world, in Lagos, 'it’s for everybody,' said Bashir Haruna, 32, a groom at a polo club who also hauls boxes at an appliance store for extra cash." Continue reading →

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Palestinians can now order Kentucky Fried Chicken via tunnel to Egypt

"Junk-food starved Gazans can now order KFC to go thanks to a new smuggling service which brings takeout from Egypt via a network of underground tunnels. It’s not exactly 'fast' — taking several hours to arrive, with the Palestinian delivery company behind it charging hefty prices to cover the cost of fuel and transport. 'Last chance to order for the Thursday 6:00 pm delivery is Wednesday night,' says the Yamama delivery firm on its Facebook page. Yamama then orders the meals, about 30 on a typical run, from the KFC outlet in the Egyptian city of El-Arish, some 40 kilometres (25 miles) away. There are no international fast food chains in Gaza." Continue reading →

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You can now spend bitcoins at your local mall

"Last week, bitcoin payment processor BitPay announced a deal with Gyft, a seven-month-old Google Ventures-backed software app that lets users buy and upload retail gift cards to Android-based smartphones. The partnership will allow customers to use bitcoins to buy gift cards for stores such as Gap, Lowe's, Sephora, GameStop, Burger King and over 200 other retailers. While those stores won't handle the bitcoin transactions themselves -- that's done by Gyft and BitPay -- it brings the number of locations where customers can effectively pay with bitcoins from around 8,000 nationwide to over 50,000, according to BitPay co-founder and CEO Tony Gallippi." Continue reading →

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Maryland: Another City Forced To Refund Illegal Photo Tickets

"Hagerstown, Maryland announced Wednesday that it would refund 808 illegally issued speed camera tickets. Brekford Corporation mailed the citations between the end of December and January using three automated ticketing machines that failed to meet the certification requirements of state law. A motorist who intended to fight a photo ticket requested the calibration certificate for use at trial in January, but the city responded with a March 5 letter denying the request, despite the law's requiring calibration documents be kept on file." Continue reading →

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Hundreds of inmates released early in Colorado prison sentencing mess

"Colorado Department of Corrections officials are contacting state judges alerting them that an audit of the state’s prison system has revealed errors in the sentencing of more than 8,000 inmates, including hundreds who were released from prison early. According to the Denver Post, judges are currently reviewing the case files in an attempt to determine what individuals need to be returned to jail, and who among the individuals facing imminent release needs to have their sentence extended. The audit is still in its early stages. Some 8,415 people’s sentences need to be reviewed in all with an estimated 2,500 requiring intensive study and revision." Continue reading →

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Prohibition Caused the Greatness of Gatsby

"Gatsby comes from a dirt-poor family and is a big dreamer, as well as a big risk taker. He keeps his past shrouded in a web of lies and half-truths as he sets out to remake himself into a person of wealth and prominence. This is the ideal personality for making it big in black markets. The mysterious Jay Gatsby indeed does become 'filthy' rich by selling illegal booze. During Prohibition doctors could prescribe 'medicinal liquor' for their patients for literally dozens of ailments, including alcoholism. Gatsby sees this as an opportunity and establishes a chain of drugstores with the help of organized crime and corrupt politicians." Continue reading →

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