CLibertyC

State Battles vs. Private Battles

"The most prominent battles are taking place in Syria & Egypt; but they're mainly just rhymes of every similar episode that has occurred throughout mankind's history. What's it all for? To control The State...the great weapon that one group of people can use against its neighbors and enemies; that legal use of force to get you (and your friends) what you want the easy way, instead of the voluntary and moral way. So powerful is this lust to control The State that, in Syria alone, 100,000+ have died in just the last several years. Imagine if the rest of life's battles were conducted in the same manner...." Continue reading →

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Reforms of Domestic Government Surveillance

"Proposals to reform the court have included publishing declassified summaries of all its rulings and the creation of a public advocate to argue against the government’s filings with the court and to appeal FISA court rulings (now only the government can appeal). These proposals to increase the court’s transparency would be an improvement on the current Orwellian situation, but a better solution would be to get rid of the Orwellian situation. There is no place in a constitutional republic for a secret, parallel system of justice with lower standards. Thus, both the FISA Court and the Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act (actually the entire PATRIOT Act) need to be neutered." Continue reading →

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New Beer Lawsuit Could Spell Trouble For Keystone XL Pipeline

"In a statement issued on July 2, Larry Bell, President of Bell’s Brewery, explained: 'As Michigan’s oldest and largest brewery, Bell’s has a longstanding commitment to quality. While Bell’s uses water from the municipal water system to brew our beer, the pristine cleanliness of the water and air around our brewery and neighbors is of the utmost importance to us.' Evidently Bell’s concerns were not addressed, because last week the company filed a lawsuit against Enbridge and CCP, the developer of the site where the pollution facility is being located, at Comstock Commerce Park." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin activists propose hard fork to keep it anonymous and regulation-free

"The authors are particularly concerned about the Bitcoin Payment Messages system scheduled for release along with version 0.9 of the cryptocurrency. That mechanism would allow merchants to request payment from customers, rather than simply providing them with an address to send payments to. Payments would be completed using digital certificates owned by the merchants, and would contain customer and merchant metadata linked to specific transactions. [The paper] worries that Bitcoin Payment Messages will make it possible – and therefore mandatory – to issue receipts, playing further into the hands of the regulators." Continue reading →

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Taiwanese gang caught smuggling $3m worth of gold into South Korea

"South Korean custom officials caught Wednesday nine Taiwanese nationals who were allegedly smuggling 134 pounds (60.75 kilograms) worth of gold, hidden in their rectal cavities. According to China Post, the suspects are accused of transforming US$3 million worth of gold bars into small beads and smuggling them into South Korea 11 times since May last year. The group allegedly entered the country through Gimpo International Airport in western Seoul as Korea’s main gateway, the Incheon International Airport, has recently tighten controls." Continue reading →

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A (Photovoltaic) Silver Bull in China

"Early this month, big news came out of China. It may have gone unnoticed by some investors—and there's really no reason why it would have been covered extensively by mainstream media—but it's important if you're a silver investor. China raised its target for solar generating capacity to more than 35 gigawatts (GW) by 2015, a stunning increase of 67% above the previous target. In addition to China, India plans to increase its solar output to 20 GW by 2020, starting essentially from the scratch. On a worldwide basis, solar power generating capacity is projected to be 20 to 40 times the amount of current capacity by 2020." Continue reading →

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The Soviet Setup is Now the China Setup

"The most lucrative trade of 90's Soviet period was obtaining a bank loan (there were only state banks). Which was easy as long as you paid bank manager 20% straight in the pocket. It was up to you what you did with the 80%. Fast forward to today's China. Special investment financing vehicle and state bank loan architecture has been in place for a long time and not just since 2008. As you can imagine such vehicles are predominantly used to skim a little bit off the top. Operator gets rich, lender gets rich, party official gets rich. 2008-2009 RMB 4trn stimulus is the payday system the operators were waiting for, a once in a lifetime chance." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: Goodbye, Motor City

"Motor City has been flattened. Now it’s being scrapped. The largest municipal bankruptcy in history. Detroit was once one of the richest…and most dynamic…cities in the world. And it was the centre of America’s most profitable industry: automobiles. German and Japanese automakers had the good fortune to be bombed out in World War II. But Detroit grew bigger…more prosperous…and full of zombies. Yes, dear reader, Detroit is a zombie story. Since 1971, almost all big stories have a zombie angle. Because the credit-based monetary system that Richard Nixon put us in is a perfect habitat for zombies." Continue reading →

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In cash-strapped Detroit, few critics question new sports arena funding

"The Tigers’ home stadium Comerica Park, which opened in 2000, was built at a cost of $300 million, 38 percent of which was publicly financed. Ford Field, the Lions’ domed stadium, was built next door to Comerica and opened in 2002 at a cost of $430 million, 36 percent of which was publicly financed. A state board recently approved issuing bonds to help pay for a new arena for the Red Wings at the heart of a proposed 45-block entertainment district just north of downtown. The total project is slated to cost $650 million. About 44 percent of the project would be financed through public sources." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn cash-strapped Detroit, few critics question new sports arena funding