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Truck Driver Nearly Beaten to Death By Police For Not Signing Traffic Ticket

"Two officers, one of them a trained fist-boxer, beat Kozacenko on the side of the highway nearly to death. He suffered a crushed left orbital eye socket, multiple facial fractures, a broken left arm, broken ribs, a concussion, loss of consciousness, and possible neurological damage. His injuries caused a deprivation of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. Officers Andrew P. Murrill and Jim Sherman maintained that the force was not excessive. Both are still on the job a full 2 years after the incident. Olegs Kozacenko suffers long-term physical and emotional injuries and is no longer able to work." Continue reading →

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A Real Life Thelma and Louise: the US and the EU

"To be sure, there have been many warning signs along the road to indicate that to exit the car might have been a good idea, but, for whatever reasons, they did not. Now, it is becoming increasingly apparent to a larger number of people that the joy ride is soon to end, and end rather badly. As such, it would be understandable if we were to see the passengers in the back of the car request that they be let out. As Europe has some 740,000,000 inhabitants and the US has a further 310,000,000, even if only one percent chose to make an exit at some time in the next few years, this would mean an exodus which would be unprecedented in world history." Continue reading →

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It’s Not Pretty: The EuroZone Economies

"The EuroZone is in the down phase of the business cycle and government regulations make it difficult for startups in most EZ countries to launch, regulations in most EZ countries also make it risky for established firms to hire. Further, unemployment packages make it attractive for most to stay unemployed once they are laid off. Thus you have economies that look like this. Unlike the European Central Bank, which has been doing only very modest money printing, the Fed has been flooding the markets, which has caused, yet another manipulated boom in the housing sector and stock market, that will, soon enough, experience another bust." Continue reading →

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The Top 3 Things I Learned at the Bitcoin Conference

"This past weekend I attended the Bitcoin 2013 conference in San Jose, where over one thousand enthusiasts, developers, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and, yes, lawyers gathered to chart the future of the virtual currency. Bitcoin to date has been the domain of geeks, gold bugs, and cypherpunks, but sensing its disruptive (and profitable) potential, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists are pouring into the space. This transition from ideological enclave to professionalized financial network was on display at the conference’s exhibit hall." Continue reading →

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Canadian regulators welcome US Bitcoin refugees with open arms

"The Register has seen a letter from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) which was sent to several prominent Bitcoin exchanges in the country, explaining they are exempt from strict money-laundering laws. US police used similar laws to freeze the accounts of Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, last week after claiming it was operating as an 'unlicensed money service business.' But in a letter to the Canadian exchanges, FINTRAC confirmed the exchanges were not actually money service businesses and were therefore exempt from laws governing this type of firm." Continue reading →

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In Argentina, there’s a gorgeous apartment for sale and it only costs 409 Bitcoins

"Argentina is dangerously nearing another economic collapse, and few have forgotten the country’s crippling default in 2001 that prompted a flash devaluation of the Argentine peso, which effectively halved the country’s wealth. If Argentina defaults on its debt again, which could happen very soon, no one wants to be caught off-guard. So, Argentines are scrambling to store their wealth in anything but the volatile Argentine peso. That’s where Bitcoin comes in." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Comes To SWIFT

"The dichotomy between EU and U.S. approaches to e-money becomes even more apparent when one looks at the uniformity of the EU e-Money and Payment Services Directives versus the almost hostile FinCEN guidance on virtual currencies and the incomprehensible patchwork of state money transmitter laws. Because of this, I estimate that the EU currently enjoys at least a five-year head start over its U.S. brethren in accommodating evolving payments efforts. The U.S seems content to extinguish innovations like e-Gold in an effort to maintain complete control over money businesses and to project dollar hegemony within its borders." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties

"'What do you expect when you target the President?' This is what an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent allegedly said to the head of a conservative organization that was being audited after calling for the impeachment of then-President Clinton. Recent revelations that IRS agents gave 'special scrutiny' to organizations opposed to the current administration's policies suggest that many in the IRS still believe harassing the president's opponents is part of their job. As troubling as these recent reports are, it would be a grave mistake to think that IRS harassment of opponents of the incumbent president is a modern, or a partisan, phenomenon." Continue reading →

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Dutch tourist cannabis cafe ban leads to surge in dealing in the south

"The decision to ban foreigners not resident in the Netherlands from the country’s cannabis cafes has led to an ‘explosion’ in drugs-related crime in the south of the country, the AD reports on Saturday. The government’s decision to turn the cafes into members’ only clubs in the southern provinces last May led to a sharp rise in street dealing, the paper says. It bases its claim on police and city council figures. In Maastricht, at the forefront of efforts to reduce drugs tourism, the number of drugs crimes has doubled over the past year while in Roermond they are up three-fold with at least 60 active street dealers, the AD says." Continue reading →

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Synthetic Marijuana Turns People Into Zombies, Says Govt. Anti-Drug Propaganda

"The District of Columbia’s Department of Health seems to have a taken a page directly from Reefer Madness for its new advertising campaign, suggesting a synthetic form of marijuana known as 'K2' or 'Spice' will turn people who use it into 'zombies.' The ads recently made their debut on the DC Metro, and are wacky enough to look like a parody. Teenagers – presumably under the influence and grotesquely made up to look like 'Walking Dead' extras – pose in various stages of decay with captions like 'No One Wants to Take a Zombie to the Prom.' Seriously?" Continue reading →

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