Entrepreneurship

Human breast milk has become a new luxury for China’s rich

"Xinxinyu, a domestic staff agency in the booming city of Shenzhen, which borders Hong Kong, provided wet nurses for newborns, the sick and other adults who pay high prices for the milk’s fine nutrition, the Southern Metropolis Daily said. 'Adult (clients) can drink it directly through breastfeeding, or they can always drink it from a breast pump if they feel embarrassed,' the report quoted company owner Lin Jun as saying. Wet nurses serving adults are paid around 16,000 yuan ($2,600) a month — more than four times the Chinese average — and those who were 'healthy and good looking' could earn even more, the report said." Continue reading →

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Hey, scofflaws! Police union cards available on eBay

"Buying a 'get out of jail free' card is just a mouse click away. Police union cards that cops hand out to friends and family free of charge are selling on eBay for as much as $100 a pop, even though the resale of the coveted plastic is strictly prohibited by the unions. The cards are often used to get out of minor jams like speeding tickets or parking violations — flashing one with your driver’s license is a way of suggesting you’re a member of law enforcement or at least related to someone who is. One eBay seller, 'anonymous1234567,' pointed out that some cards — like the 2013 LBA card he sold to The Post for $100 — work better than others." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHey, scofflaws! Police union cards available on eBay

Kipochi launches first Bitcoin wallet in Africa with M-Pesa integration

"This enables Kenyans to receive money transfers from the diaspora in an easier, faster and cheaper way, compared to using banks and money transferring services such as Western Union and MoneyGram. Kipochi is a light weight easy to use BitCoin Wallet that allows users to receive and send BitCoin all over the world. Even for people using simple low cost feature phones. M-Pesa currently accounts for 31% of Kenya’s GDP. M-Pesa, the leading mobile payment system in Kenya and in the world, more than 70% of Kenya’s adult population uses Mpesa for small transfers, such as cash between family/friends, paying domestic help, utility bills etc." Continue reading →

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In London, the next wave of Bitcoin growth will be led by startups and innovation

"At Bitcoin London this week, it was clear that it would be the next wave of innovative startups that might be able to eventually move Bitcoin from an experimental currency into a more mainstream financial force in London. The event highlighted some of the bigger Bitcoin startups, which have launched exchanges or apps, as well as newer players, like a Bitcoin conversion machine maker, which is looking to install its first box in the Fall. Britons in general seem more keen on Bitcoin and, for those that have heard of the cyber currency, 40 percent of them trust Bitcoin as much as British sterling, according to a recent survey. That’s compared to 16 percent in the U.S." Continue reading →

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Paul Rosenberg: Top 5 Reasons I Stopped Caring About Politics

"When I was young, I felt a need to understand politics, and I spent time studying. But as time progressed, I received diminishing returns on that investment. And in the past few years, I have given it up altogether. These days, my concern with politics is limited to things like these: Who is making war, and where? Where is the crime occurring in my area? Are there laws that will force me to move my businesses offshore? Beyond that, I’m really not interested. I see the headlines, but I seldom read the stories. And I’m very happy saying, 'I haven’t looked into it,' when people ask my opinion on the day’s ‘news.’ Here’s why." Continue reading →

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Want to Defend Your Privacy?

"We all have to accept the cold, hard fact of the matter, which is that this cat-and-mouse game is likely to be with us for a very long time. Those who believe they have the right to spy on us will develop ever more sophisticated ways of doing it. Those who believe we have a Constitutional right to privacy will fight tooth and nail to protect it. It's possible that the one side eventually will develop an unstoppable offense or that the other will come up with a defense that can't be breached. But that's not the way to bet. In the end, technology is completely neutral. It will evolve with no regard to how it is used. Expect those cats and mice to continue chasing each other." Continue reading →

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Tobacco Speakeasy: Prohibition Lite Is Making RYO Cigarettes All the Rage

"A month ago, I was sitting with some college students for lunch. After we ate, two of them took out loose-leaf tobacco and rolling papers, with filters and all. They started rolling cigarettes at the table. In some way, it looked more like poverty than a charming anachronism. Puzzled, I asked why they were doing this. The answer was what I feared: Thanks to taxes, no student can really afford pre-rolled cigarettes anymore. You can avoid those taxes by rolling your own for a fraction of the price. And so it has come to be. Students are equipping dorm rooms with rolling machines. Kids carry pouches and filters. It strikes me as very strange, like a reversal of time." Continue reading →

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Review: Ploom Model Two

"The San Francisco-based company is out to make the Nespresso of vaporizers, complete with a sleek, Made in California aesthetic and proprietary pods filled with all-natural tobacco. If vaporizers are going to get anywhere near the mainstream, they need to dispatch the silly glowing tips, finicky and flawed hardware, and horribly named 'e-juice.' They need class and sophistication, and the Ploom Model Two delivers." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin ATM launched

"A bitcoin ATM was revealed at a London conference today, allowing users to convert bank notes into the digital currency. To use the ATM, you need to have an existing Bitcoin wallet number. First, it scans a QR code of your Bitcoin address. Then, the user has to feed bank notes into the machine, which are converted at the current exchange rate and deposited into their account. While the deposit takes moments, it can take several minutes for an account to be updated. Bitcoin can be purchased via online exchange sites, but the ATM means you don't need to use a credit or bank card, helping to keep the transactions anonymous, the company said." Continue reading →

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Why I Joined Shield Mutual

"Shield Mutual is the first implementation of a modern voluntaryist defense agency. The defense agency is owned and operated by well-known libertarian activist George Donnelly, whose mission is to be your greatest advocate should you be abducted by state, or non-state, affiliated criminals. What Shield Mutual will do is come to your aid in any way it can, such as organizing call floods to the police department responsible, contacting media outlets, fund-raising, hiring a lawyer if desired, posting bail if desired, contacting family, friends, and/or colleagues to inform them of the situation. I purchased a year’s membership for only $50 (paid in Bitcoin)." Continue reading →

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