Author: The Freedom Watch Staff

This author has written 11091 articles

India seizure of smuggled gold zooms 365% in Q1

"After a two-decade lull, gold smugglers seem to be back in business in India, thanks to recent hikes in import duty on gold — from about one per cent to eight per cent in 18 months. In the April-June quarter of this financial year, seizure of smuggled gold hit Rs 59.82 crore — an increase of 365 per cent over Rs 12.86 crore in the same period a year ago. In volume terms, the increase would be even higher, because the average gold price in the quarter came down 6.6 per cent from that in the same quarter last year. According to rough estimates, only 5-10 per cent of smuggled gold is caught by authorities, while the rest manages to get into the country unnoticed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia seizure of smuggled gold zooms 365% in Q1

Paul Rosenberg: The Beauty and Dignity of the Productive Class

"If you are a member of the productive class, you should re-arrange your mind and stop responding to the demands of hierarchy and status. Instead, pay attention to things that really improve human life in the world. Creating things, improving things, or making it possible for other people to create… these are noble, beautiful, and important things. We should gain a deep and enduring satisfaction from doing them. And, indeed, when we put our minds and efforts to it, that’s exactly what we will gain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Rosenberg: The Beauty and Dignity of the Productive Class

Chris Martenson: Bankers Own the World – And are ultimately destroying it

"It wasn't that many decades ago that a list of the top companies with the most wealth and influence would have been dominated by companies that produced real, tangible products – that is, those that created wealth by adding value to goods by transforming resources into products. Companies like GE, GM, IBM, Exxon, and other industrial giants would have been the wealthiest, because, well, they create actual wealth. Today the top fifty companies in the 'super-entity' list of 147 from the above study is concerning. Out of the fifty, 17 are banks, 31 are an assortment of investment, insurance, and financial services companies, and only 2 are non-financial companies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChris Martenson: Bankers Own the World – And are ultimately destroying it

Fremont prison offers ‘quieter’ prison stay — for cash

"Perhaps money can’t buy you love. But in one Alameda County jail, it can buy you a comfier stay. The Fremont police department now offers a 'pay-to-stay' option for inmates who wish to stay in its facilities to avoid the rowdier county jails of Oakland or Dublin. For $155 a day, inmates ordered to short jail stints can opt to stay in the 'smaller, quieter' Fremont facility away from the county jail population, said Lt. Mark Devine, who oversees the program. Include the one-time fee of $45, and the cost is similar to that of a three-star hotel. The $10.6 million facility features an open community space with a large flat-screen HDTV and recreational tables with board games." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFremont prison offers ‘quieter’ prison stay — for cash

Banks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine

"UBS will pay $885 million in a settlement with a U.S. regulator over allegations the Swiss bank misrepresented mortgage-backed bonds during the housing bubble, paving the way for billions more to be paid by other banks. European and U.S. lenders such as Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank have set aside money to cover the cost of any losses arising from the dispute with the Federal Housing Finance Agency but estimates vary widely. The Swiss bank is the third to settle, after Citigroup and General Electric did so for undisclosed sums." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBanks shiver as UBS swallows $885 million U.S. fine

Iceland proposal to write off debt triggers S&P outlook downgrade

"Standard & Poor’s yesterday added its voice to a chorus of warnings against a pledge by Iceland’s new government to write off as much as 20 per cent of all its citizens’ mortgage debt. The promise of debt relief was the main campaign pledge of the Progressive party and the Independence party. They focused on inflation-linked loans, payments on which soared following the country’s deep financial crisis owing to a 36 per cent depreciation of the currency. Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson said before the April election he would pay for the mortgage write-off through funds raised from imposing a haircut on foreign creditors of Iceland’s failed banks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIceland proposal to write off debt triggers S&P outlook downgrade

US blows out $16.7 trillion debt limit

"The US Treasury has already exceeded the federal legal borrowing limit of $16.7 trillion in May. That signals the main structural problems remain unresolved putting at risk the fragile recovery. The country’s outstanding public debt is already $38.82 million above the statuary debt ceiling and now at $16,738,220,000,000.00, according to Treasury data. In the debt ceiling debate two years ago, lawmakers and the White House battled for months before Obama signed an increase into law on Aug. 2, 2011, the day the Treasury Department warned that US borrowing authority would expire, Reuters reports." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS blows out $16.7 trillion debt limit

Obama, Republicans gear up for bruising U.S. budget fight

"Another dramatic showdown between Republicans and the White House over federal spending looks inevitable this fall, with scary talk of government shutdowns and default on government debt. While Capitol Hill analysts are not predicting catastrophe, they have several reasons to worry that the conflict just weeks away could be even worse than usual. Obama and Congress face two fiscal deadlines in quick succession. They must agree by October 1 on a stop-gap measure to keep the government funded or face a shutdown. And in early November, Congress must raise the legal limit on the country's borrowing authority or risk an unprecedented default." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama, Republicans gear up for bruising U.S. budget fight

A New Batch of One-Liners Provides more Evidence of Jay Leno’s Inner Libertarianism

"I’ve already speculated that Jay Leno is a closet libertarian. If nothing else, the latest batch of jokes, courtesy of News-max, shows that he’s willing to go after Obama. Which is more than can be said for some of his competitors. As you can imagine, the joke about Obamacare and the deficit resonated with me. And the joke about taxing marijuana reminds me of what I wrote about the downside to legalization." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA New Batch of One-Liners Provides more Evidence of Jay Leno’s Inner Libertarianism

Jay Leno’s at the Top of his Game, so Why Is NBC Replacing Him?

"The irony is that Leno has never been more dominant: the Nielsen ratings for the second week in July have him beating CBS’s David Letterman by a 43 percent margin in the all-important 'viewers 18 to 49' category (on which advertising rates are set) and ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel by 75 percent. So why sack him now? 'I don’t get it,' says Ohlmeyer, who as president of NBC’s West Coast operations in the mid-1990s helped guide Leno to victory over Letterman. 'It’s like nobody understands history. Here they take him off the air four years ago, and naturally he loses his impetus, and now he’s come back, and he’s kicking ass again—so let’s take him off.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJay Leno’s at the Top of his Game, so Why Is NBC Replacing Him?