CLibertyC

E-commerce in China: The Alibaba phenomenon

"On its way to becoming the world’s biggest economy, China is passing another landmark. Its e-commerce market is overtaking America’s. And one giant firm dominates the market: Alibaba, by some measures already the world’s largest e-commerce company. Last year two of Alibaba’s portals together handled 1.1 trillion yuan ($170 billion) in sales, more than eBay and Amazon combined. Yet despite such extraordinary success, many people outside China have barely noticed the rise of this privately held behemoth. That is about to change. Soon, the firm is expected to announce details of its initial public offering (IPO)." Continue reading →

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Aereo could bring down broadcast TV

"Could it really turn out that a company with a seemingly loopy business model -- capturing over-the-air TV signals and streaming them to subscribers over the Internet -- will be the thing that finally brings down the American broadcasting industry? Quite possibly. Chase Carey, News Corp.'s (NWSA) chief operating officer, said Monday that if the company in question, Aereo, is allowed to continue, his company's Fox Broadcasting, and all its affiliate stations, will stop broadcasting over the air and go all-cable. Those other networks, though, along with PBS and Fox, are fighting hard to put Aereo out of business. But so far, they're losing their legal argument." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin ATMs coming soon

"42-year-old media entrepreneur Jeff Berwick hopes to bring Bitcoin ATMs to a city near you soon. Berwick expects to put the first two ATMs in Los Angeles and Cyprus in the next two weeks and is choosing between several different retail locations in both areas. He added that orders are coming in by the hundreds from 30 different countries. Berwick will charge roughly $10,000 to ATM operators to maintain the machines and then split fees with those operators. So far, Berwick has used his personal savings to develop the software and build out the first prototype. He is currently hoping to raise between $1 million and $3 million in outside capital." Continue reading →

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Sen. Chambliss: ‘We can’t just leave event security to communities’

"Chambliss did say that security around the country would have to change for large public events, including greater involvement by the federal government. 'This was a soft target. It was not a target that was able to be totally protected,' he said. 'This particular incident is going to cause the administration and Congress to evaluate our overall security programs around the country, particularly for major events. We can't leave it just to the communities that host these events to provide the security.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSen. Chambliss: ‘We can’t just leave event security to communities’

Israeli police head to US to aid in Boston Marathon bombing investigation

"The investigation into Monday’s deadly bombing at the Boston Marathon has officially gone international: law enforcement officials from Israel have been sent to the United States to assist in the probe. Israel Police Chief Yohanan Danino says he has dispatched officials to Boston, Massachusetts, where they will meet with Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and other authorities, the Times of Israel Reports." Continue reading →

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Boston Marathon Bomb Coverage Reveals Media Hypocrisy and Double Standards

"In the last decade, the U.S. has occupied Afghanistan and Iraq while bombing Yemen, Pakistan, Libya, and Somalia, imposed blockades and sanctions that prevent the poor and elderly in foreign countries from acquiring food and medicine, and yet one can spend a great deal of time searching in vain for any faces, names, or accounts of the victims from the American press. Apparently these acts aren't terrorism or mass murder, just 'foreign policy.' Why has the media covered this bombing with a fine-toothed comb, including bloody and grisly photos, yet it completely ignores the unspeakable violence when initiated by the state?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBoston Marathon Bomb Coverage Reveals Media Hypocrisy and Double Standards

Rogue Cop Assaults Elementary School Student

"When Officer David Bailey grabbed a 10-year-old student by the back of his head and slammed it into the school cafeteria table, it is safe to say that student was not free to leave. On that afternoon, Bailey decided that his routine beat on the streets of Southeast D.C. extended into the hallways of Moten Elementary School. Although Bailey was not a trained school resource officer contracted from the Metropolitan Police Department nor one of the three contract officers assigned to Moten at the time, his presence raised no red flags. Regular visits from the police in D.C. Public Schools had become ubiquitous." Continue reading →

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The Role Disability Insurance is Playing in Discouraging Young Adults from Working

"Of the nearly nine million former workers receiving federal disability payments, more than 2.5 million are in their 20s, 30s and 40s. 'It is difficult to overstate the role that the SSDI program plays in discouraging' employment among these young people, Messrs. Autor and Duggan said in one of their research papers, urging reform." Continue reading →

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Terrible Costs of a ‘Modern Economy’

"When large democracies create state mandates they will inevitably be exploited. Now it appears that nearly a million in Britain were taking advantage of sickness-related benefits that they were not eligible for. This figure is arrived at via reports that 878,300 'decided not to have an official assessment of whether they were fit for work.' The Telegraph informs us this was more than a third of the total number of people claiming sickness-related benefits. 'As well as the 878,300 who chose to drop their claims, another 837,000 who did take the a medical test were found to be fit to work immediately, while a further 367,300 were judged able to some level of work.'" Continue reading →

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Community Charge (UK) – 1990 Opposition

"As the amount of the Community Charge began to rise and the inefficiency of local councils in collection of the tax became apparent, large numbers of people refused to pay. Local councils tried to respond with enforcement measures, but these were largely ineffective against such huge numbers of non-payers - up to 30% of former ratepayers in some areas refused to pay. In November 1990, South Yorkshire police said they were planning to refuse to arrest Community Charge defaulters even when instructed to by the courts because it would be 'physically impossible for the police because of the large number of defaulters.'" Continue reading →

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