"Several times in Japanese history, the new ruler sought to ensure his position by calling a Sword hunt (刀狩 katanagari). Armies would scour the entire country, confiscating the weapons of the enemies of the new regime. In this manner, the new ruler sought to ensure that no one could take the country by force as he had just done. The most famous sword hunt was ordered by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in 1588." Continue reading →
"Stefan Molyneux, host of Freedomain Radio, discusses the background, evidence and reality of the George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin situation." Continue reading →
"There is a disparity of hysteria because in the Treyvon Martin case the outrage is horizontal, toward a citizen, but in the Ibragim Todashev case the outrage must be vertical, toward the State. Ibragim is ignored for the same reason that infants and children killed by US drone strikes are ignored, and the same reason the death of Abdulrahman Al Awlaki is ignored. Because the heartstrings of irrational mobs are loyal instruments in the hands of the media, and the media knows slaves may only criticize other slaves. They must not criticize masters." Continue reading →
"A group that advocates on behalf of medical marijuana patients has asked the nation’s highest court to decide whether marijuana is a dangerous drug with no medical value. Americans for Safe Access on Monday appealed a District of Columbia Circuit Court decision that upheld marijuana’s federal Schedule I status. In their appeal, ASA contends the D.C. Circuit Court was wrong to equate 'currently accepted medical use' with only FDA-approved studies. The D.C. Circuit Court also 'simply ignored that marijuana has an extremely low abuse potential relative to other controlled substances, despite having been presented voluminous evidence,' according to the appeal." Continue reading →
"The social credit crackpottery of the 1930s has returned, wrapped in the robes of Neo-Nazi statism. Those boosting it wrap their rhetoric in anti-banker sentiments, but make no mistake: A meme of this magnitude is a Tavistock-like promotion. These people use the rhetoric of libertarianism to arrive at terrifyingly statist conclusions. The state wiped out some 150 million people in the 20th century, and we would actually think it's a lot more. The upshot of social credit is a fascist society in which only the biggest corporations survive, in league with the government itself. And these ideas are gaining traction." Continue reading →
"Yes, as Krugman says, interest rates are probably an important factor. But I’m not so sure they’re the most important factor — for a few reasons. For starters, a lot of the demand for U.S. currency is coming from abroad. If you’re in another country with high inflation or severe instability, one of your main concerns is going to be preserving your purchasing power. About 70 percent of U.S. currency today – in the form of $100 bills – is abroad, compared to about 50 percent two decades ago. And while the total level of $100 bills outstanding in the United States has a little more than doubled over 20 years, the growth in $100 bills abroad has increased by far more." Continue reading →
"We think the safest portfolio allocation under present circumstances would be 50% gold, 50% cash. But preserving wealth is not our only goal here at Casey Research. For many of us, readers and colleagues alike, it's not even our top priority: we want to make money—lots of money. And it is our view that the recent market volatility is evidence that our projections of more economic trouble ahead were and are correct. That means our overall strategy is correct and remains intact, which in turn implies that the current selloff is a buying opportunity. Hence, we still recommend our basic allocation model of 33% cash, 33% gold, and 33% equities that should do well in times of crisis." Continue reading →
"So, it turns out buying electronic cyberbeer is practically indistinguishable from everyday pint purchasing. The only difference was that instead of handing over a tenner or your VISA card, you have to stop sexting or Instagramming the crisps or whatever, and scan a QR code using the Bitcoin wallet app on your smartphone. Yup, not only has Stephen Early found a good use for Bitcoin, he has also managed to do the same for QR codes — formerly a technology with literally no practical applications whatsoever. I can’t be bothered googling who is in charge of the UK’s digital infrastructure but whoever it is, they need to snap this guy up and give him the keys." Continue reading →
"'There are few things scarier than the threat of the government turning off your [portfolio] business and that possibility 100 percent exists with bitcoin,' said Matthew Witheiler, principal at Flybridge Capital Partners, and one of the four investor panelists at the pitch event. 'The bitcoin companies that win will be the ones that play by the rules.' Andrew Chang, a partner at Liberty City Ventures, a VC firm that has created a dedicated bitcoin startup fund, said he is looking for startups that approach their business 'not necessarily as tech startups would approach it, but as financial institutions would.'" Continue reading →
"The US Supreme Court issued a ruling Monday confirming federal privacy protections for the personal information stored by state motor vehicle departments. The justices considered the issue in a case where one group of lawyers found a way to file a $200 million class action lawsuit against another group of lawyers that also files class action lawsuits. Ordinarily, the federal Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) prohibits the disclosure of personal information from motor vehicle records, unless it is for law enforcement or public safety purposes. The law does have an additional exemption for 'investigation in anticipation of litigation.'" Continue reading →