Essays

How Bitcoin solved my startup’s international banking problem

"I spent literally months and hundreds of dollars trying to open a bank account in Europe. I called every bank I could find. Most of them were not willing to open an account for a US citizen due to recently tightened money laundering laws and the few banks that would allow me to open an account required that I travel to their country to submit my application in person. Some of the banks that wanted me to travel to the UK to open an account actually had a branch in the city I live in within the US. I decided to add the ability for users to buy & sell items using Bitcoins on my site in order to attract a niche audience. However, I had also solved my banking problem without even realizing it." Continue reading →

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Have We Reached Peak Government?

"How can government expand 300+% while the underlying economy that supports it expanded by 75%? Answer: borrowing money, i.e. debt--lots of it. Federal debt has skyrocketed by 600% since 1990. This is simply part of a vast, unprecedented expansion of debt in both public and private sectors since 1990. So the question of Peak Government is ultimately a question of Peak Debt: how much money can the government borrow to sustain its current spending? Can public and private debt expand at rates four or five times that of the underlying economy? If so, for how long? If we are not yet at Peak Debt, we are getting close, and that means we are also getting close to Peak Government." Continue reading →

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It Won’t Stay in Vegas: The Metro PD’s Homeland Security Theater

"Las Vegas, like every other city, does face a lethal threat from people who consider themselves emancipated from the law and entitled to kill without accountability. Like the Sovereigns, those people speak in a specialized language that supposedly legitimizes their lawlessness, and that makes no obvious sense to rational people who don’t belong to their clique. The Las Vegas branch of this domestic terrorist movement maintains a fraudulent 'court' where criminal actions, up to and including murder, are ratified. However, the crimes committed by that state-sanctioned terrorist syndicate are neither hypothetical, nor uncommon." Continue reading →

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Who Wants Marijuana To Remain Illegal?

"Police unions, private prison corporations, alcohol and beer companies, pharmaceutical companies, and prison guard unions are said to be in the top five in terms of lobbying and paying lawmakers to keep marijuana illegal. Hey, this is DEMOCRACY at work. This is the best system on earth, right? This is the system the U.S. government tells us it wants for Libya, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc. If some foreign government through its politics forbids women from walking around without burkas on, that is a sign of its tyranny, U.S. officials tell us. But if the existing U.S. system forbids someone from using marijuana or some other drug, this is not infringing rights and it’s not oppressive." Continue reading →

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Poor Training Of Narcotics Officers Contributes To Culture Of Ignorance

"Examples of training courses advertised by the CNOA include inflammatory titles such as 'The Eradication of Medical Marijuana Dispensaries in Los Angeles' or 'Initial Contacts with Persons Claiming Protections Under California’s Medical Marijuana Laws and Statues.' Through the author’s own words, his article shows the institutional bias of the CNOA as an entity, and the author as an individual. It is this language that points to the perception that the narcotics officers are more interested in deliberately undermining the intent of the Compassionate Use Act by lumping all use as criminal in nature. This leads to subverting the law instead of fairly enforcing it." Continue reading →

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Eric Margolis: Why I Keep A Swiss Bayonet On My Desk

"'Most armed; most free.' So the renowned Italian thinker and strategist Niccolo Machiavelli described the Swiss five centuries ago. Switzerland has long stayed behind its borders and observed armed neutrality, avoiding both world wars. But on voting days in the Alps, burly farmers come down from the mountains carrying their rifles, axes, and swords – reminders that Swiss independence was won and remains thanks to her people’s force of arms. Switzerland is the world’s oldest democracy, dating from 1291. Citizens vote directly in all major questions. The 26 Swiss cantons manage their own financial, judicial, and administrative affairs." Continue reading →

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Making the Victim Pay for the Bullet

"A few months after being assaulted by police in an entirely unjustified raid, Mrs. Injeyan filed a $290,000 damage claim with the City of Laguna Beach – an impressively modest amount, given the expenses incurred to the victim as a result of grotesque police overkill. After that claim was rejected, Marilyn filed a federal lawsuit. The City responded with a motion for summary judgment on the basis of the spurious and all-sufficient doctrine of 'qualified immunity.' Judge O’Connell added another layer of vindictive privilege to this familiar ritual by ordering the elderly, impoverished victim of police abuse to pay the legal costs incurred by the government whose agent had assaulted her." Continue reading →

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Stefan Molyneux: The Truth About Bitcoin

"Stefan Molyneux looks at the rise of Bitcoin and discusses it's history, mining, fees, altcoins, regulatory hypocrisy, worldwide awareness, comparisons to gold, anonymous transactions, possible government attacks and what the future holds for the decentralized cryptocurrency." Continue reading →

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James Altucher: How To Break All The Rules And Get Everything You Want

"The key is that we were simply nice to everyone and didn't argue and were very thankful at everything we got to do. Don't break the laws. Don't kill people. Don't steal. But most other rules can be bent. If you act like the river, you ultimately flow past all the rocks along the way." Continue reading →

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A Tale of Two Giants: The Elephant and the Dragon

"China and India are developing countries with vast growth potential. However, amid a liquidity boom, they over-marketed their potential, and nurtured and enjoyed a bubble ride. Their governments felt lucky and hoped that they could grow out of all their problems. Of course, bubbles cover up problems for a time and make them bigger after. As the global liquidity boom unwinds, investors need a better story to stay in emerging markets. Too much money around was good enough before. Now China and India need to convince investors that they can revive growth without a global liquidity boom." Continue reading →

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