Resistance

Liberty Is Making the World Richer. You’re Included.

"In China and India, the pain has been minimal. That is because the economic effects of the earlier systems created such devastation. Think of the phrase, 'I've been down so long, it looks like up to me.' Think of China today and China in 1973 under Mao. The positive change has been greater than any seen in recorded history, and on a scale that was inconceivable in 1980. Every month, urban living space sufficient to house the population of Philadelphia gets built: 1.5 million people. When we are talking China and India, we are talking something in the range of 35% of the world's population moving out of either Communism or Fabian Socialism." Continue reading →

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China’s Smaller Cities Are Home to Growing Middle Class

"51 per cent of China's population, or 691 million people, are currently living in urban areas. Research suggests that by 2020, some 824 million people will be living in cities, an increase of 188 million. That's one and a half million new urban residents every month for the rest of this decade. By 2030, according to our analysis, there will be around 270 million more new urban residents in China. By our calculations, a company had to be in 60 cities to reach 80 percent of the country's middle class in 2005. Today, they have to be in 340 of them. And by 2020, they will need to be in 550 urban locations to reach that same percentage of the middle class population." Continue reading →

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The Incredible Shrinking Computer

"It just might be that manufacturers of these microdevices are sowing the seeds for the next crop of young hackers (who will increasingly come from the developing world, as all of its nascent talents are released). Traditional PCs may soon be regarded like the mainframes of old, and vast networks of tiny, interconnected devices like this could be the next big leap forward. Super-cheap chips, ubiquitous wireless, small form factors, open sourcing, and a large and creative community all are coming together to support the ongoing computer revolution, which never stands still." Continue reading →

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Tools of Modern Gunmaking: Plastic and a 3-D Printer

"Inexpensive 3-D printers have grown in popularity in part because they are easy to use. It is not even necessary to know how to create the design files that instruct the device to print bit after bit of plastic to build the object, as there are files for tens of thousands of objects available on the Internet, created by other users and freely shared. A lower receiver is the only part of an AR-15 that, when bought, requires the filing of federal paperwork. But it is legal to make an AR-15 for personal use as long as there is no intent to sell them. And if the lower receiver is homemade, no paperwork is required." Continue reading →

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Honduras police seize $50,000 gold-plated AK-47 rifle

"The authorities in Honduras have seized a gold-plated, jewel-encrusted AK-47 assault rifle, complete with two silver magazines. The gun, estimated to be worth more than $50,000 (£30,000), is believed to belong to drug traffickers. Following a tip-off, police also found a number of weapons, along with other military equipment and passports." Continue reading →

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Gold nugget weighing 5.5 kg discovered in Australia

"A prospector who found a gold nugget weighing 5.5kg (12lb) in the Australian town of Ballarat is said to be 'very happy'. The find, which is 22cm long (8.7in), was handed to gold shop owner Cordell Kent to sell to the highest bidder. He estimates the gold is worth more than 280,000 Australian dollars ($290,000; £180,000). The man has decided to stay anonymous, but that has not stopped local residents from speculating on his identity." Continue reading →

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81 gold coins found during pub work

"Builders carrying out stabilisation work on an old pub building have unearthed one of the most significant finds of gold coins ever recorded in Ireland. Eighty-one coins, mostly guineas and half guineas dating back to the 17th century, were dug up from clay underneath floorboards in a fire-damaged premises on Main Street, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary." Continue reading →

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1794 Silver Dollar sets 10 Million + World Record at Stacks Bowers Auction in NY

"The highlight of the evening was the $10,016,875 sale of the coveted 1794 Flowing Hair silver dollar, a superb Gem Specimen example, the finest known to exist. This set a new world-record price for any coin. Attended by hundreds of enthusiasts, collectors, investors and dealers, and resulting in nearly $27 million in rare coins crossing the block, the auction of The Cardinal Collection and other important consignments took place as part of the Stack’s Bowers Galleries New York Americana Sale." Continue reading →

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Euromoney Endorses Bank of Israel Governor for Fed Chairman

"Euromoney, which chose outgoing Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer as 'Central Bank Governor of the Year in 2010,' calls for him to be appointed the next Chairman of the US Federal Reserve. EPJ was first to suggest that Fischer may be considered for the Fed post, when Bernanke's term ends in January 2014. Euromoney explains how inflationist Fischer was as Bank of Israel's top man. Under Fischer's watch in Israel, inflation has been comparatively very strong. Indeed, in 2011, it was as high as 4.3%, more than twice the Fed's current target rate." Continue reading →

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Israel Airstrike on Syria: Strange Bedfellows?

"Today Israel, without provocation or legal justification, bombed Syrian territory. As usual, the US government covers for Israeli military aggression in the region, however press reports that the US was scrambling for intelligence regarding the Israeli attack on Syria suggests that there was no forewarning by our 'ally' of a potentially enormously destabilizing escalation. What is most interesting is that Israel is targeting for military attack the same Syrian Army that the Islamist Free Syrian Army and the al-Qaeda linked al-Nusra Front are fighting to overthrow. Why would Israel prefer foaming at the mouth Islamic decapitation experts to rule Syria?" Continue reading →

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