History Repeating

The Economics Behind the U.S. Government’s Unwinnable War on Drugs

"The U.S. government's policy of drug prohibition, like alcohol prohibition before it, is a failure. The economic analysis of fighting a supply-side drug war predicts that the war will enhance drug suppliers' revenues, enabling them to continuously ratchet up their efforts to supply drugs in response to greater enforcement. The result is a drug war that escalates in cost and violence. The drug war causes drugs to be more potent and their quality less predictable than if drugs were legal, leaving the remaining users at greater risk and, in the face of higher prices, more likely to commit crimes to support their habit." Continue reading →

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France’s triumphant ‘Joan of Arc’ vows to bring back franc and destroy euro

"'We cannot be seduced,' she said, brimming with confidence after her party secured 46pc of the vote a week ago. Her candidate trounced the ruling Socialists in their own bastion of Villeneuve-sur-Lot. 'The euro ceases to exist the moment that France leaves, and that is our incredible strength. What are they going to do, send in tanks?' 'Europe is just a great bluff. One side there is the immense power of sovereign peoples, and on the other side are a few technocrats,' she said. It is her defence of the French welfare model and her critique of capitalism that gives her a Leftist hue -- some call it 1930s national socialism -- so far in outlook from Britain's UKIP." Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff: The Golden Cycle

"This analysis provides a good representation of the current conventional wisdom. The only twist here is that the article from which this summary is derived appeared in the August 29, 1976 edition of The New York Times. When the gold price approached $100 per ounce, a nearly 50% decline, the obituaries came fast and furious. Everyone assumed that the gold mania would never return. Although the writer of The Times piece did not yet know it, the bottom for gold had been established four days before his article was published. Few realized at the time that the real economic pain of the 1970's had (to paraphrase The Carpenters 1970's hit) 'Only Just Begun'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The Golden Cycle

Egyptian president rejects army’s ultimatum to meet demands of protesting crowds

"Egypt’s presidency on Tuesday rejected an army ultimatum threatening to intervene if Islamist President Mohamed Morsi did not meet the demands of the people, raising the stakes in the country’s political crisis. The army statement, read out on television Monday, had given Morsi 48 hours to comply with its call. 'If the demands of the people are not met in this period… (the armed forces) will announce a future roadmap and measures to oversee its implementation,' it said. But in a statement issued overnight, the presidency insisted it would continue on its own path towards national reconciliation." Continue reading →

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To those who say ‘trust the government’: Remember J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI?

"Hundreds of these sorts of companies have come about in the last few years, operating in close partnerships with the state, yet existing beyond the view of Congress, the media and 'public eyes'. Even in the unlikely instance when their activities come to light, potentially illegal behavior goes unpunished; even calls by congressmen to investigate the sordid Themis conspiracy were ignored by the Department of Justice. This, then, is the environment in which public officials and Beltway insiders like Friedman are asking us to trust the intelligence community and its private partner firms with increasing power over information." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTo those who say ‘trust the government’: Remember J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI?

Intersecting Currents of Change

"Our era is characterized by two considerably overlapping contradictions or fracture points. First, we’re in the early stages of historic transition from a social organization dominated by large, centralized, hierarchical institutions like corporations and nation-states, to a world of small, self-governing units connected together horizontally through networks. Things get interesting when the first contradiction (between the old hierarchies and the self-organized networks which are supplanting them) is reinforced by the contradiction between the World Hegemon and dissident states or rival coalitions of states." Continue reading →

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The United States v. Aaron Burr

"Defenders of unconstitutional and intrusive mass surveillance of American citizens by the National Security State have deemed him a traitor, while opponents of such malignant and reprehensible police state practices have proclaimed him a hero. The crucial issues surrounding Snowden call to mind one of the most profound legal cases ever tried, that of The United States v. Aaron Burr. Burr was one of the most intriguing and mysterious persons in the early years of the Republic. Vilified and portrayed as a traitor, there are other dimensions to his character not always presented or portrayed in accounts by court historians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe United States v. Aaron Burr

The United States v. Aaron Burr

"Defenders of unconstitutional and intrusive mass surveillance of American citizens by the National Security State have deemed him a traitor, while opponents of such malignant and reprehensible police state practices have proclaimed him a hero. The crucial issues surrounding Snowden call to mind one of the most profound legal cases ever tried, that of The United States v. Aaron Burr. Burr was one of the most intriguing and mysterious persons in the early years of the Republic. Vilified and portrayed as a traitor, there are other dimensions to his character not always presented or portrayed in accounts by court historians." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe United States v. Aaron Burr

How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

"The program was codenamed SHAMROCK and known to only a few people within the government. Every day, a courier went up to New York on the train and returned to Fort Meade with large reels of magnetic tape, which were copies of the international telegrams sent from New York the preceding day using the facilities of three telegraph companies. The tapes would then be electronically processed for items of foreign intelligence interest, typically telegrams sent by foreign establishments in the United States or telegrams that appeared to be encrypted. Telegrams sent by US citizens to foreign destinations were also present in the tapes NSA received." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

How a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975

"The program was codenamed SHAMROCK and known to only a few people within the government. Every day, a courier went up to New York on the train and returned to Fort Meade with large reels of magnetic tape, which were copies of the international telegrams sent from New York the preceding day using the facilities of three telegraph companies. The tapes would then be electronically processed for items of foreign intelligence interest, typically telegrams sent by foreign establishments in the United States or telegrams that appeared to be encrypted. Telegrams sent by US citizens to foreign destinations were also present in the tapes NSA received." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow a 30-year-old lawyer exposed NSA mass surveillance of Americans—in 1975