Tag Archives: Ash Heap Of History

Decline and Fall: The Second Stage is Anger

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“Not too long ago, I predicted that if I live to the average American male lifespan of 76 — I’m 46 now — I’ll have outlived the United States as we know it. At the time, I feared I was being over-optimistic, but lately I’m leaning the other way and thinking that my timetable may have been unduly timid. The recent temper tantrums of the American political class and its toadies abroad bring to mind an old saying (incorrectly attributed to Gandhi) — ‘first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win’ — and the Kubler-Ross model of grief. Our would-be masters appear to have moved forward from ‘denial’ to ‘anger’ in a big way.”

http://c4ss.org/content/20941

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TV’s Unnatural Monopolies

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“The big loser in the battle between Time Warner Cable  and CBS  is not the cable company, the network or the viewers who lost access to their favorite shows. The big loser is Washington, whose efforts to regulate what used to be called television grow more futile with every new video technology.  The absurdity of the current laws is clear: A regulatory system designed to keep local broadcasts available to viewers is causing disputes between cable companies and broadcasters, leading to the very blackouts the regulations were supposed to prevent. It’s past time to deregulate video distribution.”

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324139404579016850166003972.html

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Subpoenaed CEO: You’ll use Bitcoin without even knowing it

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“The founder of Coinsetter, one of the 22 companies subpoenaed on Monday as part of an effort to regulate Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, isn’t concerned about the future of his industry. Not in the least bit. ‘In the future, most people will use Bitcoin without even knowing it,’ Jaron Lukasiewicz, cofounder and CEO of Coinsetter, a foreign exchange trading platform for Bitcoin, wrote in an email to me. ‘Bank transfers will take place over the Bitcoin network, making transfers quick and inexpensive for both banks and consumers.’  The New York City-based Coinsetter raised $500,000 from Tribeca Vebture Partners this April.”

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/money/loot/2013/08/16/subpoenaed-coinsetter-ceo-on-bitcoin.html

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Mellow mood at first Seattle Hempfest since pot legalization

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“In the mid-1990s, McPeak recalled, police at Hempfest conducted undercover buy-and-bust operations, periodically slapping handcuffs on vendors of pot brownies and removing them from the premises.  But this year, instead of writing tickets for public pot smoking — which remains forbidden in the state — police were handing out about 1,000 bags of Doritos tortilla chips bearing information on the state’s pot laws. ‘It feels great that instead of issuing citations for public smoking, the police are issuing Dorito bags,’ McPeak said. ‘That seems like a big deal.'”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/17/mellow-mood-at-first-seattle-hempfest-since-pot-legalization/

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Thanks, IPhone: Demise of the Desk Phone Means No End to the Workday

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“Silicon Valley companies big and small are pulling the plug on desk phones in favor of mobile devices. While consumers have been cutting the cord for years, businesses are joining the trend at an accelerating rate thanks to the increasing capabilities of mobile devices, which make it easier for workers to be productive and stay connected from any location at all hours.  Demand for business land lines is plunging, cutting into revenue at phone-equipment makers. It also steps up pressure on service providers such as AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. to get more revenue from wireless sales and lessen their reliance on operations that are dwindling.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-05-14/thanks-iphone-demise-of-the-desk-phone-means-no-end-to-the-workday.html

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As haze clears, are American opinions on marijuana reaching tipping point?

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“When Washington and Colorado legalized pot — with strict controls by established state agencies and a coherent tax structure — opponents weren’t able to raise the money to fight the initiatives. John Kane, a federal judge in Colorado, said in December he sees marijuana following the same path as alcohol in the 1930s. Toward the end of Prohibition, Kane explained, judges routinely dismissed violations or levied fines so trivial that prosecutors quit filing cases. ‘The law is simply going to die before it’s repealed. It will just go into disuse,’ Kane said. ‘It’s a cultural force, and you simply cannot legislate against a cultural force.'”

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/14/us/marijuana-legalization-tipping-point/index.html

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Craigslist has cost U.S. newspapers $5 billion

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“The study, to be published in the journal Management Science covering the period 2000 to 2007, found Craigslist has had a huge impact on local US newspapers, which have in the past relied heavily on classifieds. Over that period the researchers noted a 20.7 percent drop in classified ad rates, a 3.3 percent increase in subscription prices and a 4.4 percent decrease in circulation, according to a summary of the research released this week by New York University. ‘We ascribe this impact to Craigslist,’ Seamans told AFP. ‘When Craigslist enters a market, the effect on a newspaper’s classified ads is almost immediate,’ he added.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/14/craigslist-has-cost-u-s-newspapers-5-billion/

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After destroying newspapers, the Internet is now poised to disrupt television

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“Having turned print media upside down, the Internet now is disrupting television, forcing broadcasters to adapt to tablets and video-on-demand to hold onto views and advertisers. ‘The gap between what consumers want and the way the industry is delivering it has grown so big that the industry now has to start to make some moves,’ Forrester Research analyst Jim Nail told AFP.  For the first time this year, American adults are spending more time with the Internet than in front of television sets — about five hours a day compared to 4.5, according to a study in eMarketer this month.  Internet giant Google has joined the party with Chromecast.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/08/14/after-destroying-newspapers-the-internet-is-now-poised-to-disrupt-television/

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Bitcoin Comes Under Full Scale Attack by Regulators

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“Cryptocurrencies are threatening because no central entity can fully control them and they also represent a nearly free and anonymous payment application.  It’s an algorithm that has the potential to make central banks, commercial banks, private banks, and the tax collectors obsolete.  In other words, cryptocoins may be epoch changing for society.  In the same way the Internet killed publishing or how VoIP killed long distance telephone carriers, cryptocoins may in fact kill debt-based money and brick-and-mortar banking. The banking cartel along with the government are scrambling to protect their territory and regulate Bitcoin.”

http://www.activistpost.com/2013/08/bitcoin-comes-under-full-scale-attack.html

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Bezos Paid a ‘Friendship Premium’ for the Washington Post

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“The founder of Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) plunked down $250 million for the Post newspaper division, about 17 times adjusted profit, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That multiple implies a valuation for the New York Times of about $4 billion — more than double its current market value. The value of newspapers has been cratering since Rupert Murdoch paid $5.2 billion for Wall Street Journal parent Dow Jones & Co. six years ago. The New York Times, the last major U.S. family-owned newspaper, has seen its market value fall 50 percent to $1.8 billion as print advertising dropped and readers migrated to the Internet for news.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-06/bezos-post-price-suggests-dream-like-nyt-value-real-m-a.html

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