System D

‘More profitable than cocaine’: Peru is top source of counterfeit US cash

"Peru has in the past two years overtaken Colombia as the No. 1 source of counterfeit U.S. dollars, says the U.S. Secret Service, protector of the world's most widely traded currency. Over the past decade, $103 million in fake U.S. dollars 'made in Peru' have been seized — nearly half since 2010, Peruvian and U.S. officials say. The phony money heads mostly to the United States but is also goes smuggled to nearby countries including Argentina, Venezuela and Ecuador. Counterfeiters earn up to $20,000 in real currency for every $100,000 in false bills they produce after expenses, the investigator said." Continue reading →

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Immovable law collides with unstoppable Bitcoin casinos

"It looks like the immovable law of the land may have finally met its match, up against Bitcoin, the encrypted, nationless, currency that disrupts every industry it touches. And now that Bitcoin casinos have had their first major acquisition, an $11.5 million deal, no industry better embodies the unstoppable nature of Bitcoin than gaming. 'The most interesting thing about Bitcoin is how it almost seems tailor made for Internet gaming,' said Stuart Hoegner, managing director of the Gaming Counsel, a law firm representing gaming interests in both the United States and Canada. Specifically he cited low transaction fees, quick deposit-to-play ability, and the lack of chargebacks." Continue reading →

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Seized shark fins dumped in Marshall Islands ceremony

"The gesture underscored the progress made towards protecting the marine predators since the Marshalls declared a two million square kilometre (770,000 square mile) shark sanctuary in 2011. Villagomez said some commercial tuna fishermen still illegally cut the fins from sharks, even though they earned very little from the practice. 'Fishermen only receive a few dollars (per fin),' he said. 'But once they are processed in China and sold in Hong Kong restaurants, the price can be as high as US$1,500 per kilo.' The fins that were dumped off the capital Majuro were confiscated from a Chinese longline fishing vessel earlier this year that was fined $125,000." Continue reading →

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Spain fights to lose status as drug gateway to Europe

"The make-up of drug rings sending cocaine to Spain has changed as well. The Colombian groups which dominated the trade in the 1980s have given way bit by bit to Mexican cartels. Drug traffickers’ interest in Europe has increased because demand from the continent for cocaine is growing. Over the past decade the number of cocaine consumers in Europe has doubled while demand for the drug has plunged by 33 percent in the United States. In response European nations have reinforced regional cooperation as well as their cooperation with police forces in Latin America to stop the flow of cocaine. Hiding cocaine in banana shipments remains one of the favourite tactics used by traffickers." Continue reading →

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Peru dethrones Colombia as cocaine king

"With Peru already vying with Colombia in 2011 — it actually was growing 400 hectares of coca more than its neighbor then, although it is thought to have produced less drugs — that means this country is now almost certainly the world’s top source of coca for the manufacture of illegal narcotics. Ricardo Soberon, now a trenchant critic of the government’s counter-narcotics policies, is not holding his breath. 'These figures are a clear indication the government is making incorrect decisions,' said Soberon, who was squeezed out of his job, apparently under pressure from Washington, in 2011, for allegedly being sympathetic to the impoverished, small farmers who grow most of Peru’s coca." Continue reading →

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Why bitcoin has a firm foothold in the online gambling world

"What’s interesting in bitcoin-based gambling sites is how many of them are possibly more transparent than traditional casinos or other online sites. That’s because with the block chain being a public ledger, all that an inquisitive gambler would need to do is follow the transactions from a site’s bitcoin address. It’s no wonder, then, that sites like SatoshiDice show the latest plays being transacted on the site and claim to be 'provably trustworthy'. In addition, some sites even publish how they implement their random number generator. BitSaloon, for example, defines itself as a 'provably fair casino' meaning that the site operators cannot modify the outcome of any particular game." Continue reading →

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India Bans All Gold Coin Imports, Increases Capital Controls

"Not satisfied with raising import tariffs on gold and putting in place jarring new FX flow capital controls, it seems the war on a weakening Rupee continues. We previously discussed the unintended consequence of such actions - including the rise of the gold smuggler - but the latest total ban on the importation of gold coins and medallions is edging India closer and closer to the Argentinian edge of Cristina Fernandez totalitarianism (after the initial ban on sales in June). In an effort to 'moderate outflows' of Rupee, the Indian central bank slashed the amount of money families can send out of the country per year to $75k and limited overseas investment to 100% of net worth (from 400%)." Continue reading →

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Should We Celebrate the American Revolution?

"Conservatives who cherish the Fourth of July while cheering today’s wars have a high tolerance for cognitive dissonance. The American Revolution was, at best, a revolt against empire. The taxes at issue were being used to finance Britain’s national security state. The colonial rebels didn’t 'support the troops' – they resented them. And they resented Britain’s status as the hypocritical world power, which closely resembled the modern United States – an empire claiming the mantle of liberty while smashing its colonial subjects. Today’s conservatives would have likely been partisans of King George. Independence would mean Washington, DC, releasing control of its colonies worldwide." Continue reading →

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Afghanistan’s opium cultivation to surge in 2013: UN

"Opium poppy cultivation in Afghanistan is expected to increase for a third straight year, expanding even to poppy-free areas this year, a United Nations report warned. 'The assessment suggests that poppy cultivation is not only expected to expand in areas where it already existed in 2012… but also in new areas or in areas where poppy cultivation was stopped,' the survey said. Cultivation is mostly increasing in southern provinces where the Taliban are more active and thousands of international troops are set to withdraw this year. Poppy farmers are taxed by Taliban militants who use the cash to help fund their insurgency against the government and NATO forces." Continue reading →

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How can you buy illegal drugs online?

"Imagine if there were an Amazon.com for drugs. That, roughly, is what the Silk Road, a mail-order drugs service hidden in the dark parts of the internet, tries to be. Many drug users cannot wait two or three days for delivery of their next hit. But it is all a lot easier than waiting for the man. The police may not agree. Still, there is probably less chance of a drug deal on the Silk Road turning into a murder scene, and customer reviews may be a better guide to quality—and so the risk of overdose and death—than a street-corner salesman’s patter. Buying a line online has never been easier." Continue reading →

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