NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of runners in New York and across the world are showing their solidarity with the victims of the Boston Marathon bombings.More than 6,000 runners finished Sunday’s Run for the Parks, a four-mile run in Central Park that was planned before Monday’s attacks.Organizers sold “I Run for Boston” T-shirts with proceeds going to the One Fund Boston, the official fund for bombing victims.Other “Run for Boston” events have taken place worldwide, with many runners wearing blue and yellow, the official Boston Marathon colors.More than 500 runners gathered Saturday in St. Louis for a Unity Run. In San Francisco, about 400 people ran Friday along the Embarcadero. A run christened “Boston Strong San Diego” is planned for Monday.Continue Reading… … Read More
Is Silver a good hedge for a Bitcoin position?
A print of $148 was recorded this morning followed by a reaction to the mid $120′s.Many bitcoin’ers are now sitting on massive gains. But because it is such a fresh concept and a brand new take on both currency and economics, finding a suitable hedge for Bitcoin is a topic completely undiscussed until now. I think silver provides a great place for some Bitcoin profits to go to give investors (and miners) a way to preserve wealth without reinvesting proceeds right back into the corrupt banking system. Remember, BTC was created, in part, as a reaction to the incredible wave of corruption and fraud we’ve see committed by central banks and ‘banksters’ on Wall St. and in the City of London. So recycling gains back into the system whose corruption spawned the need for Bitcoin in the fist place is counterproductive.Additionally, according to my analysis, as Bitcoin’s market cap continues to approach the market cap of silver, approximately $29bn. (implying a medium term target price for BTC of $2700), more capital will trade back and forth between these two asset classes as the enemies (or should I say victims) of the US dollar continue to operate outside the ‘terror zone’ of America’s Federal Reserve Bank. This is a positive for currencies: silver and Bitcoin.For new positions, consider pairing Bitcoins with silver. Any money leaving the clutches of the financial terrorists on Wall St. and Washington gets us one step closer to a freer world, free trade and freer currencies. … Read More
Nevada Legislators Look at Burning Man: If It Burns, Tax It!
Burning Man, ;the annual experimental temporary city of
over 50,000 attendees dedicated to art and community, already kicks
over $4 million a year of its ticket price to various local, state,
and federal governing authorities in Nevada, where the event is
held.
But Nevada politcians gaze on its lucrative splendors and
wonder: why can’t we get more?
The
Las Vegas Sun reports:
Some Democratic legislative leaders are looking at the ticket
proceeds and wondering why the state doesn’t get a cut.
“It’s how many people and they pay how much?” Senate Majority
Leader Mo Denis, D-Las Vegas, said. “I definitely think we ought to
look at that.”
That’s the spirit of government, right there: someone is making
money somewhere, and we need to look into how we get some. There
should be statues to Rep. Denis in every legislature in the land,
speaking that truth so bluntly and strongly.
Denis wants to try to impose the state’s standard 5 percent live
entertainment tax on the event, though it doesn’t really qualify as
paid entertainment (for the most part, the attendees are
responsible for entertaining themselves) and even though the law as
currently written does not apply to outdoor events.
I wrote the first narrative history of Burning Man,
This is Burning Man, back in 2004. I wrote about the
event’s relationship with the government in a Reason
cover story in 2000. … Read More
Toothless Asset Forfeiture Bill Draws Fire From Georgia Sheriffs
The Georgia Sheriff’s Association is
worried that a bill purporting to reform the state’s asset
forfeiture laws would cripple law enforcement’s ability—nay,
will—to fight crime.
From the
Newton Citizen:
“I can categorically say that the provisions of this bill will
only benefit criminals and the lawyers who represent them,” wrote
[Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills, president of the Sheriffs'
Association]. … “If it is passed, it will literally demoralize
the law enforcement community to a point where we will see little
public benefit in enforcing the law when it comes to drug dealers
and other criminal entrepreneurs.”
Speaking of the law, Sheriff Sills’ department has not released
the annual forfeiture reports that Georgia law requires—despite
hauling in $1 million-plus over the course of his tenure. Sadly,
that’s all too common. Only 58 of the 628 law enforcement agencies
in the state filed a report for 2011 according to a recent
study by the Institute for Justice,* a libertarian public
interest law firm.
But back to HB 1,
the bill in question, which would so demoralize police. The
sheriffs interpret it to mean the profits from forfeited property
would go to municipalities—earmarked for law enforcement
purposes—instead of going directly to the agency that seized the
property. By my reading, however, the sheriffs are just wrong.
Instead, the bill seems to leave the present arrangement—virtually
all proceeds go to law enforcement—mostly intact but for a proviso
allowing, but not requiring, municipalities to take control of
seized houses and land.
The bill does not fix any of the main problems with asset
forfeiture in Georgia: the government can take property without
convicting anyone of a crime, law enforcement can keep what it
seizes, and reporting requirements are vague and frequently
ignored.
The bill does increase the government’s burden of proof (from
preponderance of the evidence to clear and convincing). But that
only helps property owners once their case reaches court—most
don’t. Often the forfeited property is worth less than the cost of
a lawyer.
According to IJ’s study, the average value of seized property
reported by law enforcement agencies is $1,300. The median value of
the same is a mere $647.
This innocent owner spent $12,000 on a lawyer, though a minimal
amount of actual investigation would have revealed the confiscated
property was earned legally.
*I am a former employee of the Institute for
Justice. … Read More
UK poor families vulnerable to social housing
http://www.youtube.com/v/-0H62bkreSs?version=3&f=videos&app=youtube_gdata Excerpt from: UK poor families vulnerable to social housing
Cory Booker Is Melting Guns And Turning Them Into Bracelets
The Newark mayor is promoting a jewelry line made with melted metal from guns seized by the Newark Police Department. “The Caliber Collection.”
Newark Mayor Cory Booker promoted his jewelry line, “The Caliber Collection,” Thursday night on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show. The bracelets are made from metal “from 250 guns and bullet casings seized by the Newark Police Department” as part of the city's gun buy-back program, according to the line's website.
Booker told Maddow that “a large percentage of the proceeds go to more gun buy-backs in Newark.”
Each bracelet has the serial number of a seized gun, as well as the word “NEWARK,” etched on its side. The jewelry line program, Booker said on Maddow, transforms weapons into “an instrument of peace.”
The most expensive product in the line is the “brass bangle with diamond,” which includes a diamond described as “strong, precious and rare…like human life.”
“The pieces are handmade, no two are exactly alike,” according to the Caliber Collection website.
