statism

Chinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

"At the farthest end of the Great Wall, Yang Yongfu limps along the section he arduously restored, in effect 'privatising' it and putting himself on a collision course with the authorities. The farmer spent five million yuan ($800,000) and years of backbreaking work renovating several hundred metres of the national symbol deep in northwestern China, turning it into a tourist site. He set up an entrance area for tourists, complete with a car park and fishpond, and his wife Tao Huiping collects the 25 yuan admittance fee at the ticket booth — a table in the open air. A 2006 law gave the government the exclusive right to manage national relics — making Yang’s project illegal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

Chinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

"At the farthest end of the Great Wall, Yang Yongfu limps along the section he arduously restored, in effect 'privatising' it and putting himself on a collision course with the authorities. The farmer spent five million yuan ($800,000) and years of backbreaking work renovating several hundred metres of the national symbol deep in northwestern China, turning it into a tourist site. He set up an entrance area for tourists, complete with a car park and fishpond, and his wife Tao Huiping collects the 25 yuan admittance fee at the ticket booth — a table in the open air. A 2006 law gave the government the exclusive right to manage national relics — making Yang’s project illegal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese farmer ‘privatizes’ part of Great Wall to develop new tourist attraction

Yippee! More Bank Runs in Our Future

"The recent financial crisis was not initiated by bank depositors scrambling to withdraw their funds. Rather it was precipitated by a 'run' among short-term lenders who had purchased banks’ commercial paper or lent money to banks through 'repos' (repurchase agreements). When these lenders suddenly tried to liquidate these assets by selling them or not renewing the loans, their actions deprived banks of the short-term funds that the banks had been using to finance their long-term lending and investments. In other words, federal deposit insurance no longer works to discourage or mitigate bank runs, because it does not cover short-term lenders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYippee! More Bank Runs in Our Future

NY Senate passes bill making ‘annoying’ police a crime

"The New York State Senate passed a controversial bill on Wednesday that aims to classify ‘aggravated harassment of a police officer’ as a crime. 'Our system of laws is established to protect the foundations of our society,' Senator Griffo said. 'Police officers who risk their lives every day in our cities and on our highways deserve every possible protection, and those who treat them with disrespect, harass them and create situations that can lead to injuries deserve to pay a price for their actions.' Griffo said that New York police require extra safeguards because 'too many people in our society have lost the respect they need to have for a police officer….'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNY Senate passes bill making ‘annoying’ police a crime

“Justice” in Amerika: Two Years for Rape, Ten Years for Hacking

"Last March, following a national outcry, two high school football stars from Steubenville, Ohio were convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl. A few weeks later, an FBI SWAT team raided the Steubenville home of 26-year-old corporate cybersecurity consultant Deric Lostutter, who obtained data in which members of the football team had joked about the rape and mocked the victim. Lostutter faces up to ten years in prison – as compared to the one and two-year sentences handed out to the Steubenville rapists. The Regime threatening to send this hacker to prison is currently conducting wholesale warrantless surveillance of telephone and internet communications." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Justice” in Amerika: Two Years for Rape, Ten Years for Hacking

Tyranny is Infinitely More Obscene than Naughty Words

"Barboza wasn’t happy about the ticket. When he mailed his payment to the Sullivan County Court, the 22-year-old included a vulgar message expressing contempt for the town, to which he referred as 'Tyranny' rather than 'Liberty,' New York. The court rejected his payment and ordered Barboza to make a two-hour trip to attend court. At the October 2012 hearing, a judge upbraided Barboza for his language, and police handcuffed and arrested him for violating the state’s “aggravated harassment” statute. Barboza was booked, fingerprinted, handcuffed to a bench, and forced to pay $200 bail. He has filed a lawsuit against the police officers who arrested him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTyranny is Infinitely More Obscene than Naughty Words

Joseph Weekley: Self-Pitying Stormtrooper

“It was my gun that shot and killed a 7-year-old girl,” insists Detroit resident Joseph Weekley, who took part in a fatal home invasion on May 17, 2010. Embedded with Weekley and his comrades on that evening was a camera crew from a cable TV program called 'The First 48' – which meant that PR, rather than public safety, was the defining priority of the mission. Weekley is a museum-quality specimen of the self-pitying Stormtrooper – and the jurors who were willing to let him escape mortal accountability for his crime would likely have done the same for Weekley’s German antecedents in the 1930s." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJoseph Weekley: Self-Pitying Stormtrooper

The Real Story of the Cyprus Debt Crisis (Part 1)

"In July 1974, in the face of an airborne invasion backed by the armour of NATO member Turkey, 200,000 Greek Cypriot citizens ran from their homes with only the clothes on their backs. The Greek Cypriot armour and infantry were no match for the second largest standing army in NATO, equal in size to the British and French forces combined. The Greek Cypriots were easily routed. The victors conducted summary executions of thousands of their prisoners and threw some of the bodies down wells to hide their crimes. Yet so began the housing boom in Cyprus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Real Story of the Cyprus Debt Crisis (Part 1)

Argentina: Give Us Your Real Dollars for Our Fake Dollars

"President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner’s wish of being able to print dollars is coming true as the central bank begins issuing dollar-denominated certificates today that trade in pesos. Argentina is issuing the certificates, known as Cedines, as part of a tax amnesty plan to attract undeclared cash back into the economy. The Cedin 'is an ideal medium for the payment of U.S. dollar obligations,' and can be used for buying products from house appliances to construction materials, according to the law approved by congress May 29, Argentines with undeclared foreign-currency savings have until Sept. 30 to trade their dollars for a certificate of deposit for investment, or Cedin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina: Give Us Your Real Dollars for Our Fake Dollars

NSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. Citizens

"Seymour had decided to request his NSA file after coming across a recent post of mine instructing Americans on how to properly request such files from the FBI and NSA. A Navy vet and two-time Obama voter who supported the President’s platform of greater governmental transparency, Seymour was shocked by the letter he received. The letter, which first acknowledges the media coverage surrounding its surveillance systems, quickly moves to justify why none of that data can be obtained by an American citizen in a standard FOIA request. Dozens of citizens have emailed me to say they’ve received a similar, if not identical, letter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Rejecting Every FOIA Request Made by U.S. Citizens