Mainstream News

Santa Ana Police Officer Shot, Killed Unarmed Homeless Man

"Santa Ana police confirmed Wednesday that an officer shot and killed an unarmed 22-year-old homeless man after a short foot pursuit at a shopping center 24 hours ago. Hans Kevin Arellano was shot once in the chest when he got into a confrontation with a female 13-year veteran officer in a juice shop parking lot near South Harbor Boulevard and McFadden Avenue, according to Santa Ana interim Police Chief Carlos Rojas. The officer involved in the shooting is currently on paid leave. She could be back to work in a few days after she’s cleared by a department psychologist." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSanta Ana Police Officer Shot, Killed Unarmed Homeless Man

It is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most

"Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist, travelled to Egypt to investigate the causes of the Arab Spring. His team of researchers found that Bouazizi had inspired 60 similar cases of self-immolation, including five in Egypt, almost all of which had been overlooked by the press. The narrative of a 1989-style revolution in hope of regime change seemed so compelling to foreigners that there was little appetite for further explanation. But de Soto’s team tracked down those who survived their suicide attempts, and the bereaved families. Time and again, they found the same story: this was a protest for the basic freedom to own and acquire ras el mel, or capital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most

Population trends cloud Europe’s post-recession outlook

"Slowly but unsurely, Europe is facing up to population trends that will sap long-run economic growth. Some countries are getting an early taste of difficulties that await Europe as the continent's baby boomers retire and, because of flagging fertility rates, the average age of those left in the labour force rises. Spain, Portugal and Ireland all lost about 2 percent of their working-age adults between 2010 and the first quarter of 2013, raising the question of who pays for pensions and age-related health care costs in countries that are educating their youngsters only to see many of them emigrate and pay taxes elsewhere." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPopulation trends cloud Europe’s post-recession outlook

Doubt Grows in Reforms of Rajoy Government in Spain

"The reorganization of Spain's financial sector is seen as the most important part of the reforms introduced by conservative Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to overcome his country's economic and debt crises. But whether the plan will succeed remains uncertain, as real estate prices continue to slide amid continued concerns over the country's financial institutions. A corruption scandal surrounding Luis Bárcenas, the former treasurer of the governing People's Party party, is a reminder to Spaniards of how a group of political and economic elites has taken the country to the brink of ruin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoubt Grows in Reforms of Rajoy Government in Spain

Spain Weighs Home Demolitions as Wrecking Crews on Alert

"Demolition man Daniel Anka had a staff of 450 in Spain preparing for new developments before the property crash. With about a 10th of that workforce left, he’s now waiting for a call from the country’s bad bank so his trimmed-down crew can start knocking down half-built homes that aren’t worth completing. Anka may not have long to wait as Sareb, the unit holding soured real estate assets from Spain’s nationalized banks, orders work to stop on about 160 of the 650 partially-completed building projects on its books and decides which ones are worth completing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpain Weighs Home Demolitions as Wrecking Crews on Alert

How Venezuelan Used ‘Scrape’ to Make Six Times Her Salary

"Venezuela’s currency controls are turning trips abroad into profitable junkets. A 27-year-old trade analyst from Caracas said she earned six times her monthly salary by traveling in April to Lima, where a business swiped her credit card and gave her $1,600 cash, charged at the official exchange rate of 6.3 bolivars per dollar. When the analyst, who requested anonymity because what she did is illegal, returned to Venezuela, she sold the dollars at the street rate of 29-to-1, enough to pocket 25,000 bolivars after paying off her credit card and travel expenses. The scheme, known as 'raspao' or 'big scrape,' is booming in Venezuela." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow Venezuelan Used ‘Scrape’ to Make Six Times Her Salary

Virtual Currency Gains Ground in Actual World

"Depending on whom you ask, bitcoins are a goofy geek invention with as much long-term value as Monopoly money — or a technology development that could transform currency the way e-mail and texting have transformed correspondence. A type of digital cash, bitcoins were invented in 2009 and can be sent directly to anyone, anywhere in the world. You don’t have to go through a financial institution, which means no fees and no one tracking your spending habits. With a current market capitalization of $1 billion, bitcoins are beginning to be more widely accepted. You can use them to pay for a pizza or [finance] your child’s college education." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirtual Currency Gains Ground in Actual World

Bitcoin and the Rise of a Digital Counterculture

"Several hundred entrepreneurs, dreamers, technophiles, and the simply curious gathered Tuesday in midtown Manhattan for 'Inside Bitcoins,' a one-day conference promoting and exploring the mushrooming world of digital currencies. There was a lot of talk about regulatory hurdles, and freedom of speech, replacing an archaic financial system, and of course fiat currencies, which are almost treated like a dirty word among the faithful. What emerged from the conference, to our eyes at least, is something more singular: The rise of a digital counterculture that in its anti-authoritarian, Utopian idealism resembles the counterculture of the 1960s." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin and the Rise of a Digital Counterculture

Britain set to ban Google Glass for drivers

"Google Glass is the highest profile product in a wave of new wearable technologies, promising to display everything from restaurant reviews to directions and allow automated video and photos wherever we go. But a spokesman for the department told Stuff, a gadget magazine, that the device could distract drivers while they are behind the wheel, defining Glass as a similar distraction to a mobile phone. Since a ban on using mobile phones while driving was introduced in 2003, more than one million drivers have been convicted – typically issued with a £60 fixed penalty notice and three points on their driver’s licence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain set to ban Google Glass for drivers