Alternative News

How Obama murdered the gun culture

"If you’re one of those gun owners who hasn’t done any major shooting in the last couple of years, or who hasn’t needed to purchase ammo in bulk, there is some bad news you’ve got to hear: You won’t be buying ammunition in bulk. At all. Time will tell if we must append the words 'ever again' to that statement, but in a few months, behind enemy lines here in New York state, there’s another stipulation all New Yorkers will have to add. You’ll have to pass a background check just to buy ammunition. It adds cost to the process, and there is no doubt that these costs will be passed on to the customer. This is governmental hostility to gun ownership in action." Continue reading →

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With Detroit’s Bankruptcy, Anarchists Have Begun Project “Free Detroit”

"With much of the city in disarray and literally moving away, the cost of living has gone down dramatically with housing prices in some cases reaching only a single dollar. Michigan market-anarchists from the 'Michigan Peace and Liberty Coalition' are coming together to put 'theory into reality' when it comes to free markets. In their plans, coalition members believe they’ll be purchasing an estimated five blocks of property. Free Detroit members hope to provide food production, security, water collection, education, construction, communications, child services and many others – through agorism, without any government intervention." Continue reading →

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How to Retire Gracefully in Your Own Community, Not Sun City

"Twelve years ago, a handful of older residents living in a tiny section in Boston gathered to figure out a way they could 'age in place' in the neighborhood they so dearly loved. They launched the Beacon Hill Village, a nonprofit membership organization that provides free or low-cost services to seniors who have chosen to live in their own homes. The services include social clubs, weekly exercise classes and lectures, transportation to doctors’ offices and grocery stores and access to reduced-fee home medical care and home repair services. Beacon Hill Village now boasts 400 members and the concept has spread to other communities across the country." Continue reading →

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Small Businesses Are Trapped by ObamaCare

"Small businesses hoping to avoid the high costs of ObamaCare by switching to part-time employees got some unwelcome news last Thursday, as Paul Bedard at the Washington Examiner reported that the Small Business Administration launched a website to explain to employers that the federal government will add up the number of part-time staff employed to determine if enough hours have been worked to meet the 'full-time equivalent' criterion." Continue reading →

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Lavabit chief predicts ‘long fight’ with feds (Q&A)

"Ladar Levison can't talk for legal reasons about the specifics of why he shut down Lavabit, his encrypted Web e-mail company, but he was hardly tight-lipped about the subject. Levison, a San Francisco native and an enthusiastic beach-and-sand volleyball player who moved to Texas to go to college, currently resides in Dallas. In an phone interview about the decision to shutter Lavabit, Levison spoke about the connection between Lavabit and the Patriot Act, how he thinks the laws regarding privacy ought to change, and how the American government is failing to uphold the U.S. Constitution." Continue reading →

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In Switzerland, Marijuana Use Helps Keep Prisons Calm and Safe

"A recent study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy estimates that 50 to 80 percent of inmates in Swiss prisons use marijuana. Prison staff told researchers they found marijuana to be a relatively safe drug and that cracking down on consumption would have more negative effects than positive ones. Surveys of detainees and guards revealed similar opinions on marijuana use, with both groups describing the effects of marijuana as analgesic, calming and a way to decrease the traumatic prison experience." Continue reading →

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Janet Yellen: “A Wise and Humane Policy Is Occasionally to Let Inflation Rise”

"Yellen comes out of the economic school of thought that holds the view that printing money can somehow boost the economy. In essence, she holds the thought that the economy can somehow at times get stuck, that prices at such time don't adjust to supply and demand and that thus money needs to be printed by the Fed via Wall Street cronies to distort prices via monetary and price inflation and fool the public into doing transactions they wouldn't do without the distortions. This is what is held these days as 'utterly unquestioned credentials.'" Continue reading →

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Real Personal Income Points to Recession

"If real (that is, adjusted for loss of purchasing power a.k.a. inflation) income is declining, households have less income to spend and less income to leverage more debt. There are two noteworthy points in this chart. One is that real personal income has been negative for the past five years, with one tax-related spike in late 2012 as those who could do so reported income in 2012 rather than 2013 to take advantage of the lower tax rates that expired in 2012. The second point is that every time the black line (the 6-month annualized rate of change) of real personal income fell below 0% (that is, went negative), a recession occurred." Continue reading →

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‘Eminent Domain for the People’ Leaves Wall Street Furious

"Richmond became the first California city last week to move forward on a plan that has been floated by other California municipalities to ask big bank lenders to sell underwater mortgage loans at a discount to the city (if the owner consents), and seize those homes through eminent domain if the banks refuse. The city has committed to refinancing these homes for owners at their current value, not what is owed. City officials launched this process by sending letters in late July to 32 banks and other mortgage owners offering to buy 624 underwater mortgages at the price the homes are worth, not what the owners owe." Continue reading →

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HBO says Game of Thrones ‘piracy’ is better than an Emmy

"According to Time Warner CEO Alan Bewkes the 'piracy' buzz around Game of Thrones is a good thing, so good that it's better than an entertainment industry award. The firm was talking about its latest financial results when it was asked about the so-called 'piracy' problem. 'I have to admit it, I think you're right. The much discussed fantasy series is HBO's most popular TV show, and if you go to people who are watching it without subs, it's a tremendous word of mouth thing,' he said, according to the Game of Thrones website White Harbour. In April, HBO programming chief Michael Lombardo said that 'piracy' should be taken as a compliment." Continue reading →

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