Sudden Outbreak of Common Sense

Jeffrey Tucker: Top Alternatives to Paper Money

"I’ve just left the Liberty Forum in New Hampshire as the proud owner of three types of nonpaper, nongovernmental monies. They operate in competition with the government’s dollar. Yes, these include Bitcoin, the mind-blowing digital currency that has techno-geeks, edgy global traders, and even the World Bank buzzing about its potential to finally separate money from the state. Why are people working on alternative forms of money? It’s all about escaping a 100-year-old trend. Depression, war, and deliberate debasement have left us with a dollar that is a mere shadow of its former self." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: Top Alternatives to Paper Money

Nervous Brussels urges Italy to stick to austerity

"The European Commission has urged any future government in Italy to keep on implementing deficit-cutting measures, despite the fact that over half the electorate voted for anti-austerity parties. 'Last Friday the Italians were speaking quite clearly about debt-reduction commitments as well as a series of other commitments. These Italian commitments remain in force and the commission expects compliance,' commission spokesperson Olivier Bailly said. His comments come after elections in Italy put former comedian Beppe Grillo, who ran on an anti-austerity ticket and has called for a referendum on euro membership, in kingmaker position." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNervous Brussels urges Italy to stick to austerity

Italy’s anti-austerity ‘rebellion’ promises to spread

"Any doubts that Italians were fed up with tax hikes and economic reform vanished in an election that awarded more than half of the votes to anti-austerity parties. As Italian voters supported the anti-austerity parties, they also punished the centrist, pro-austerity alliance led by Mario Monti, the technocrat prime minister who replaced Mr. Berlusconi at the height of the Italian financial crisis in late 2011. Mr. Monti rolled out a series of tax hikes, including a hated property tax that Mr. Berlusconi vowed to kill, and attempted economic reforms that met with partial success. For that, his alliance got 10 per cent or less of the votes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingItaly’s anti-austerity ‘rebellion’ promises to spread

ECB bailout plan in jeopardy as Italy’s voters reject conditions

"'The result touches us all,' said Spain’s foreign minister, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo. 'It is a jump into the void that bodes well for nobody, neither for Italy, nor for the rest of Europe.' Almost 57pc of the Italian vote went to parties that have vowed to tear up the EU austerity script. Together they control a majority of senate seats. The Five Star movement of comedian Beppe Grillo, which won 25pc of the vote, has called for a euro referendum and has a return to the lira as one of its manifesto pledges, while ex-premier Silvio Berlusconi has threatened to pull Italy out of the currency bloc unless the EU switches to a reflation strategy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingECB bailout plan in jeopardy as Italy’s voters reject conditions

Raul Castro promises end of an era in Cuba as he steps down as country’s president

"Cuban President Raul Castro made the strongest statement yet that the island nation is preparing for a post-Castro era in announcing yesterday that he will step down in five years with plans to institute term limits. He also replaced his No. 2 with a younger Cuban who would be poised to rule if something were to befell Mr. Castro before his second term ends in five years – the first time the nation would be led by someone who did not directly fight in the 1959 Cuban revolution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRaul Castro promises end of an era in Cuba as he steps down as country’s president

Cuba part three, Cuban-U.S. relations: end the embargo now

"Although the Castro brothers have not renounced their communist ideals, the reality is that Cuba is shedding many collectivist policies. The economy is being freed up, from small business, to lifting of travel restrictions, to free market agricultural co-ops, etc. In other words, while the spirit of the Revolution is virtually everywhere, the reality is that the Cuban government is shedding the easiest depredations of collectivism. Cuba has no income tax, no sales tax, and very few, if any, real estate taxes. No doubt, Cuba’s civil liberties record should and must be improved. And it will. More interaction with freedom loving Americans will ensure that." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCuba part three, Cuban-U.S. relations: end the embargo now

Dissident blogger allowed to leave Cuba on tour

"Cuban dissident blogger Yoani Sanchez, who has been denied permission to travel abroad for many years, was allowed on Sunday to embark on a three-month trip to Latin America and Europe. Sanchez, 37, who often criticizes the Cuban government in her 'Generation Y' blog, had a visa to visit Brazil last year but was unable to make the trip because the government refused to issue her a passport. But Cuba recently made an about-face, issuing a reform allowing its citizens to travel abroad for the first time without a reviled and costly exit visa, and also giving Sanchez her long sought-for permission to travel." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDissident blogger allowed to leave Cuba on tour

Texas bans shooting immigrants from helicopters

"Officials in Texas announced on Thursday that State Troopers would no longer be allowed to open fire on suspects from helicopters after the recent killing of two immigrants. While announcing the new policy, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw insisted that the ban on aerial shootings had nothing to do with the October 2012 death of two Guatemalan immigrants, who were gunned down by troopers in helicopter while they were hiding in the back of a speeding pickup truck near La Joya." Continue reading →

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Texas Proposal Would Make Local Police Enforcement Of Federal Gun Laws A Crime

"Police officers could be charged with a crime for enforcing new federal gun control laws in Texas under a proposal by a lawmaker who acknowledges the measure likely would end up in the U.S. Supreme Court. Rep. Steve Toth, a newly elected Republican from the Woodlands, said his proposal would prevent officers from carrying out any future federal orders to confiscate assault rifles and ammunition magazines." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas Proposal Would Make Local Police Enforcement Of Federal Gun Laws A Crime

Washington state bill would forgive all minor marijuana convictions

"Washington state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D) has a novel idea: now that marijuana is legal in the state, he wants people convicted of minor, state-level marijuana offenses to get a clean slate. Fitzgibbon introduced H.B. 1661 on Feb. 5, a bill that he told Raw Story was inspired by Washington prosecutors who dropped all of their pending misdemeanor marijuana cases in December following legalization’s passage at the ballot box. Many times a marijuana conviction can disqualify one for numerous jobs, public housing opportunities and educational financing: harms Fitzgibbon hopes to undo by allowing prior offenders to petition for their charges to be vacated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington state bill would forgive all minor marijuana convictions