Alternative News

100 Outgunned Mexican Women Join Self-Defense League

"More than 100 women in the southern Mexican town of Xaltianguis have taken up arms to protect their community from organized crime groups, a local self-defense force official said Monday. The women signed up over the past four days with the Union of Peoples and Organizations of Guerrero State, or UPOEG, Xaltianguis community self-defense force commander Miguel Angel Jimenez told reporters. 'We have an average of nine groups' of community police, with each one made up of 12 women who will work in the daytime in the neighborhoods of Xaltianguis, located about 50 kilometers (31 miles) from the resort city of Acapulco, Jimenez said." Continue reading →

Continue Reading100 Outgunned Mexican Women Join Self-Defense League

Christian school defies Arkansas attorney general, arms teachers & posts sign

"Two weeks after the attorney general of Arkansas, Dustin McDaniel, forbid the state’s school districts from taking advantage of an obscure law that would have allowed armed teachers to serve as de facto security guards, a private school in Bryant has decided to arm its staff. Pastor Black previously placed armed security guards outside his Sunday services, and claims that anywhere from one to seven staff members or teachers will be armed on a given day. Legislation explicitly allowing concealed weapons in schools operated by churches was passed in February of this year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristian school defies Arkansas attorney general, arms teachers & posts sign

Dream Chaser is nearly ready to fly

"Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC’s) Dream Chaser spacecraft performed a 'captive carry' flight at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. During the two-hour test, the Dream Chaser engineering test article (ETA)—a full-sized version of the spacecraft, built for atmospheric tests—flew suspended under a helicopter at altitudes of up to 3,780 meters (12,400 feet). Last August, it received one of three Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) awards from NASA, but its award was a 'half-sized' award, valued at $212.5 million. The other two awardees, Boeing and SpaceX, received larger awards: $450 million and $440 million, respectively." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDream Chaser is nearly ready to fly

Mark Thornton on Skyscrapers in ‘Le Monde’

"In a feature from the business section entitled 'Les villes chinoises veulent toutes leurs gratte-ciel géants,' Le Monde takes note of the phenomenon that is the skyscraper-dense Chinese city, and specifically, the completion of Shanghai Tower, now one of the tallest buildings in Asia. Mark Thornton, economist at the Mises Institute in Auburn (United States), and author of research on the correlation between the race skyward and the advent of large crises, warns: 'The construction of skyscrapers is a precursor to economic disorders'…'The skyscrapers are just one symptom of the government’s extravagant economic policies.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMark Thornton on Skyscrapers in ‘Le Monde’

Paris Pickpockets Are Profiling Chinese Tourists

"Chinese visitors are descending on Paris in record numbers and their lavish spending on luxury brands has made them an irresistible target for thieves. Petty crime between January and the end of June in one of the world’s most-visited cities jumped 7.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2012 – but it was up by more than 24 per cent when it came to Chinese tourists. Jean-Francois Zhou, a tour operator based on the Champs-Elyseés, says that thieves see the hordes of Chinese as prime targets because they carry far more cash than visitors from other countries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParis Pickpockets Are Profiling Chinese Tourists

Detroit’s Anarcho-Progressive Homesteaded Community

"They live off the grid for the most part, with only minimal services. They homestead abandoned buildings, applying their love and labor to make the structures functional and livable. They do accept donations to help them rebuild the abandoned structures. They also run a neighborhood bicycle collective and use vacant lots for urban farming. They appear to communicate that there has been no bureaucratic resistance to their homesteaded community. That is what makes Detroit so special right now – a lack of political officialdom in these areas of blight, allowing a spontaneous order to root and thrive." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDetroit’s Anarcho-Progressive Homesteaded Community

As Long As You Don’t Eat, Price Inflation Is Under Control

"USDA reports: Food prices have also been rising faster than in earlier years, and food price inflation has easily outpaced price inflation for many other types of goods. Among major consumer spending categories, only prices for transportation, which include a number of energy price measures, and medical care have risen faster than food prices[...] Since 2006, when commodity prices began their rollercoaster ride, the all-items CPI has risen 14 percent while the all-food CPI is up close to 20 percent. Here's the real concern: Americans are having to spend a larger portion of their disposable income on food; something that is a reversal of decades long trend." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Long As You Don’t Eat, Price Inflation Is Under Control

Henry Hazlitt at The New York Times

"Hazlitt was the top man in economics at the most influential newspaper in the world during the most important period of revolution in the history of the United States. This is not a story that the American Left is aware of. Hazlitt was the most prominent disciple of Ludwig von Mises in the United States during these years. He was by far the most effective voice of liberty in the country, both in his ability to write and the influence of his position. The American Right forgets this. In an era of neoconservative dominance, Hazlitt’s libertarianism is not part of an intellectual legacy that the leadership of the conservative political movement chooses to highlight." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHenry Hazlitt at The New York Times

IMF’s Lagarde Pleads: Fed Tapering Will Be ‘Arduous’ on Global Economy

"The head of the International Monetary Fund cautioned the world's major central banks Friday not to withdraw their unconventional support for weak economies too soon, according to numerous wire service reports. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said stimulative policies are still needed in key regions, especially Europe and Japan, which have struggled with prolonged weakness. 'Even if managed well,' Lagarde said of a central bank’s exit from easy-money policies, that could still present an 'arduous obstacle course' for other countries. Lagarde said what’s needed is greater policy coordination and cooperation for the sake of the entire globe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIMF’s Lagarde Pleads: Fed Tapering Will Be ‘Arduous’ on Global Economy

Argentina Just Lost Huge To A Bunch Of Hedge Fund Creditors

"For years the country has been trying to avoid paying a bunch of 'vulture' hedge fund managers that refused to take a 70% haircut on Argentine bonds like every other investor. This has resulted in some wacky news items — Paul Singer getting the government of Ghana to impound an Argentine naval ship last October, President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner flying commercial to see the Pope so her jet isn't taken — you get the idea. Now it's (almost) come to a head. A New York Judge fully rejected Argentina's appeal of a decision made last year — a decision that would've had it pay Singer and company in full." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Just Lost Huge To A Bunch Of Hedge Fund Creditors