statism

Bitcoin is crucial for the future of free speech, say experts

"First Amendment rights to free speech would make it a tough legal battle to prosecute WikiLeaks legally. However, government officials were able to target financial organizations such as Visa and PayPal, getting them to stop processing donations for the site. Timm also highlighted the importance that technologies like Bitmessage – the anonymous, encrypted messaging service built on the Bitcoin protocol – have in maintaining a free press. It eliminates the need for a third-party arbitrator when sending messages, enabling a zero-trust messaging system. It also hides the metadata surrounding such conversations, he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin is crucial for the future of free speech, say experts

IMF sees no end to French jobless crisis this decade

"The IMF said the jobless rate will rise yet further to 11.6pc in 2014 and will not drop below 10.6pc within Mr Hollande’s five-year term. If this grim scenario unfolds, it will be a political hammer blow for Mr Hollande. He asked the nation to judge him on his record in 'bending the unemployment curve'. The Fund said efforts to bring down the budget deficit should focus on spending cuts rather than fresh taxes, 'which are among the highest by international standards and have a negative effect on investment and job creation'. Two-thirds of Mr Hollande’s fiscal squeeze has come from taxes, to the fury of the business lobby Medef." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIMF sees no end to French jobless crisis this decade

40% Of US Workers Now Earn Less Than 1968 CPI-Adjusted Minimum Wage

"40.28% of all workers make less than $20,000 a year in America today. So that means that more than 40 percent of all U.S. workers actually make less than what a full-time minimum wage worker made back in 1968. That is how far we have fallen. Good paying full-time jobs are disappearing, and they are being replaced by low paying part-time jobs. So far this year, 76.7 percent of the jobs that have been 'created' in the U.S. economy have been part-time jobs. That would be depressing enough, but what makes it worse is that wages for many of these low paying jobs have actually been declining over the past decade even as the cost of living keeps going up." Continue reading →

Continue Reading40% Of US Workers Now Earn Less Than 1968 CPI-Adjusted Minimum Wage

This Could Shake Muni Bonds to the Core

"Detroit went bankrupt, but so what? Its own decades-long gross political mismanagement, corruption and incompetence pushed the city over the cliff into bankruptcy. Why should we care? The largest Chapter 9 filing in U.S. history will reverberate well beyond this once- bustling city and its creditors. What's most threatening to muni bond investors, and in fact all investors, is whether the city's general obligation bonds are secured or unsecured issues. General obligation bonds, backed by a city's ability to levy taxes to pay interest and principal, are thought to be the safest of all munis. Detroit is putting this to the test." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThis Could Shake Muni Bonds to the Core

NEW Spying Scandal — Is This One the Last Straw?

"The DEA unit responsible for this program is a secret organization. It cannot be investigated by defense attorneys or called into court. Even the location of the Special Operations Division is classified. Now Your so-called 'representatives' promised you that the NSA only spies on those associated with foreign terrorists. They’ve insisted that there is no domestic aspect to this spying. You now know this to be untrue. It’s just one more lie. So let me ask you ... When will enough be enough ? At what point does our so-called government cease to be legitimate? At what point do we declare it to be a criminal entity?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNEW Spying Scandal — Is This One the Last Straw?

Bad Day for Beltway Liberalism: August 5, 2013

"The reporters who work for the Post are in the wrong profession. Their peers in Boston could do nothing. They sat their until most were fired, one by one. They will suffer the same fate. The industry is a buggy whip. The industry was liberalism’s trifecta: newspapers, television networks, and the school system. Two are bleeding red ink. The third soon will be, as online education enables students to live at home, take courses online, graduate with accredited degrees, and pay $15,000 in tuition, total. A widely accepted estimate is that half of all American universities will go under over the next five decades." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBad Day for Beltway Liberalism: August 5, 2013

China Is Ending Its “One-Child Policy” – Here Are The Implications

"The one-child-policy is very unpopular. [..] Currently, a second child is permitted if both parents are singletons. Rural families can have a second child if the first-born is a girl. Some provinces have even looser policies for rural families. There are also other exceptions for a second child, and minority ethnic groups are allowed to have two or even more children. Families which have more children than the policy allows are subject to fines under the name of social maintenance fees. The fee amount varies across the nation, but usually is at least 2-6 times of the higher of annual family income and average local household disposable income." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Is Ending Its “One-Child Policy” – Here Are The Implications

Is America Going to Hell in a Handbasket?

"While there is very little chance that an Islamic terrorist will ever have any effect on your life, there is a much greater chance that your life will be abused, molested, robbed, assaulted, terrorized or murdered by an American government official. And you 'progressives' out there are just as responsible for turning America into the current police state as are the conservatives and neocons, by the way. But the truth is still difficult for many people to handle. So, as America has reached Hell in a handbasket, people still would rather believe the myth that government is a 'necessary evil,' or that when it gets very, very bad, it can be 'reformed.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIs America Going to Hell in a Handbasket?

Taken: The Use And Abuse Of Civil Forfeiture

"Hundreds of state and federal laws authorize forfeiture for cockfighting, drag racing, basement gambling, endangered-fish poaching, securities fraud, and countless other misdeeds. In general, you needn’t be found guilty to have your assets claimed by law enforcement; in some states, suspicion on a par with 'probable cause' is sufficient. Nor must you be charged with a crime, or even be accused of one. Unlike criminal forfeiture, which requires that a person be convicted of an offense before his or her property is confiscated, civil forfeiture amounts to a lawsuit filed directly against a possession, regardless of its owner’s guilt or innocence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaken: The Use And Abuse Of Civil Forfeiture

Senate edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page to change description from ‘dissident’ to ‘traitor’

"In a move sure to grind the gears of conspiracy theorists everywhere, a member of the US Senate recently edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page from describing him as a ‘dissident’ to a traitor, according to the entry’s changelog. The user’s IP address was quickly traced back to the US Senate. It is not clear if the person is an active Senator, a staffer or an intern, but the change certainly came from the Senate. The attempted edit, made August 2, was rejected by a moderator on the grounds it ‘seemed less than neutral,’ according to the posted rejection, which also listed the IP address and showed it was registered to the US Senate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page to change description from ‘dissident’ to ‘traitor’