System D

Scientists: Legalize horn sales to save endangered rhinoceroses

"Attempts to discourage the use of rhino horn have failed, the scientists said, and, without a legal avenue to obtain the ingredient, the black market has stepped in. 'Rhino horn is now worth more than gold,' the scientists noted, saying that a kilogram that cost $4,700 in 1993 would fetch around $65,000 in 2012. Poachers, enticed by the high price tag, have swarmed, and 'poaching in South Africa has, on average, more than doubled each year over the past 5 years.' They liken their proposal to the legal trade in farmed crocodile skins, which has saved the endangered reptiles from over-hunting. A similar proposal for the rhinoceros was rejected 20 years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingScientists: Legalize horn sales to save endangered rhinoceroses

The war on African poaching: is militarization doomed to fail?

"Governments have given game rangers better weapons, engaged intelligence analysts, and put spotter planes, helicopters, and unmanned drones into the air. Some have deployed their national defense forces into national parks. Private wildlife custodians have spent millions on their own armed anti-poaching guards, sniffer dogs, mini-drones, and informants. The continental-scale slaughter of rhinos and elephants continues to intensify, despite rising arrests and killings of poachers and increasing interdiction of illegal shipments of rhino horn and ivory. Some drug policy experts liken the uphill battle against African poaching to the war on drugs, an extraordinarily expensive, bloody failure." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe war on African poaching: is militarization doomed to fail?

Wildlife trafficker kills 5 crocodiles, 90 rare birds as police descend on his compound

"Five dead crocodiles, 14 critically endangered turtles and a cache of other rare species have been found in the home of a suspected wildlife trader in one of the Philippines’ biggest slums, the government said Friday. The juvenile saltwater crocodiles, as well as 90 birds, were killed by the trader or his aides shortly before police and environment officials raided the place Wednesday, Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said. He denounced the unnamed suspects’ 'cruelty'. 'What’s particularly alarming about this poaching incident is that there were reports that most of these endangered animals were intentionally killed to avoid detection by authorities,' Paje said in a statement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWildlife trafficker kills 5 crocodiles, 90 rare birds as police descend on his compound

Firm says online gambling accounts for almost half of all Bitcoin transactions

"It's no secret that online gambling has been lucrative for a few pioneering companies. Even though it's been illegal in the US since 2006, companies have made relatively large sums serving customers who are either placing bets outside the US, through a VPN, or by simply sending a Bitcoin amount to a fixed address corresponding to a “game” which will return a player's money with various probabilities. One of the biggest Bitcoin gambling sites, SatoshiDice, stays on the up-and-up with US regulators by blocking IP addresses coming to its site from the US, but in January 2013 it reported ฿33,310 in profits in 2012, which at the time reflected $596,231 (although today it would reflect much more)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFirm says online gambling accounts for almost half of all Bitcoin transactions

Thanks shallot! Indian police foil onion heist

"Indian police have foiled a bid by robbers to make off with a truck laden with onions, in an unusual crime apparently motivated by rocketing prices of the staple food. The humble root vegetable, an essential ingredient in Indian cooking, has a surprisingly weighty track record of political influence. In 1980, Indira Gandhi exploited rising onion prices to storm back to power, appearing at campaign rallies waving huge strings of them with the message that a government that can not control onion costs has no right to govern. And in 1998, a six-fold surge in the cost of onions was held partly responsible for the electoral defeat of the ruling Delhi state government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThanks shallot! Indian police foil onion heist

NYPD: Largest-ever gun seizure by an undercover cop was thanks to ‘stop and frisk’

"The Commissioner was also quick to claim that, despite the undercover officers’ involvement and all other apparent evidence to the contrary, the seizure points to success of the 'stop and frisk' policy. Kelly’s claim rests on a wiretap of one of the accused, Eddie Campbell, who is heard to say that he prefers not to come to New York because of the stop-and-frisk policy: 'I’m in Brownsville,' Kelly quoted Campbell as saying. 'We got like, umm, uh, whatchamacallit, stop and frisk.' Campbell is accused of selling 90 guns during 24 meetings with the unnamed detective. Another alleged dealer, Walter Walker, is said to have sold him another 116 guns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD: Largest-ever gun seizure by an undercover cop was thanks to ‘stop and frisk’

Man finds 300 pounds of marijuana stashed in gun safe he bought on the Internet

"The 1,000-pound steel safe, ordered from Champion Safe Co. of Provo, Utah, was made in Nogales, Mexico, and shipped by truck from Mexico to Champion’s warehouse near Mansfield, Ohio, Shelby County Sheriff John Lenhart said. The safe was delivered on June 19 to the customer in western Ohio by an independent driver working for Champion, Lenhart said. The marijuana, tightly wrapped in 10, 28-pound packages, has an estimated street value of $420,000, according to Lenhart. He said the truck’s shipment contained 25 to 30 safes, and that all the others were free of drugs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan finds 300 pounds of marijuana stashed in gun safe he bought on the Internet

Jeffrey Tucker: How Bitcoin is Reinventing The Monetary System

"'We're talking about reinventing the world's monetary system...from the ground up,' says Jeffrey Tucker, executive editor of Laissez Faire Books, and an enthusiastic proponent of the open source peer-to-peer currency system Bitcoin. After participating in a panel discussion on Bitcoin at Freedom Fest, Tucker sat down with Reason Magazine's Matt Welch to explain why he believes Bitcoin is an example of a new enterprise that can help create 'a new world of liberty, despite the existence of the leviathan state.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJeffrey Tucker: How Bitcoin is Reinventing The Monetary System

Gold Smuggling to Climb in India on Tax Increase, Festivals

"The third increase in import taxes on gold this year by India, the world’s biggest user, is set to boost smuggling ahead of the festival and wedding seasons as official imports halt on central bank curbs, a trade group said. Poor Indian laborers working in the Middle East are acting as couriers for organized gangs in return for a ticket home and a few thousand rupees, according to Rishi Yadav, assistant commissioner at the Mumbai customs department’s Air Intelligence Unit. The gangs seek to benefit by selling that smuggled bullion to traders and mom-and-pop jewelry stores, who benefit from cheaper supplies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Smuggling to Climb in India on Tax Increase, Festivals

Diamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

"In January, jeweler Vihari Sheth was publicizing a ritzy new line of diamond-encrusted designs. Last week, she was arrested at Mumbai airport with nearly $400,000 of gold jewelry in her underwear and on her person. The 27-year-old has a store in Singapore and is married to a director of Mumbai-based Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd (SIYA), a suit maker that is a household name in the country. Her arrest offers a glimpse into how even the wealthy may be joining small jewelers and organized gangs to skirt new government taxes on bullion imports that have made gold about 9 percent more expensive in Indian stores." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise