Author: The Freedom Watch Staff

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Japan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places

"First it was gas prices, then it was food prices, and now it is the turn of basic utilities to see costs surge by double digits. 'Japanese utilities, forced to idle their nuclear power plants over the past two years and facing higher fuel costs due to a weak yen, are now looking to push through double-digit rate hikes for their commercial customers.' This means less disposable income, less corporate profits, less monetary velocity, less growth and ultimately less 'inflation' in other things such as the much desired stock market, which was supposed to be the wealth effect offset to all staples price increases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan To Hike Utility Prices By 14-19% As Inflation Surges In All The Wrong Places

Japan PM: Hyperinflation ‘Unthinkable’ Even With Bold Easing

"Hyperinflation is 'unthinkable,' Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Monday, citing the Bank of Japan's ability to make adjustments after enacting bold monetary easing. 'If the rate of inflation exceeds the 2% target, the BOJ would naturally proceed with a policy to keep it within 2%,' he told reporters. At the same time, Abe noted that the government 'must keep a keen eye on trends in prices and long-term interest rates.' The prime minister stressed the need to improve the country's finances, indicating a stance of limiting monetary policy side effects with an eye on government bond prices." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan PM: Hyperinflation ‘Unthinkable’ Even With Bold Easing

South Dakota College Tests Fingerprint Purchasing Technology

"On a recent Friday, mechanical engineering major Bernard Keeler handed a Red Bull to a cashier in the Miner's Shack campus shop, typed his birthdate into a pay pad and swiped his finger. Within seconds, the machine had identified his print and checked that blood was pulsing beneath it, allowing him to make the buy. Afterward, Keeler proudly showed off the receipt he was sent via email on his smartphone. It's the extra layer of protection — that deeper check to ensure the finger has a pulse — that researchers say sets this technology apart from already-existing digital fingerprint scans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth Dakota College Tests Fingerprint Purchasing Technology

Rep. Walter Jones: Dick Cheney is going to hell for the Iraq war

"Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina said Saturday that former Vice President Dick Cheney would likely end up in hell because of his role in the Iraq war. At a Young Americans for Liberty conference, Jones said it was impossible under current law to prosecute a president for intentionally manipulating intelligence reports to make the case for war. He co-authored a bill to change the law, but the legislation was killed in committee by Lamar Smith of Texas. The conservative Christian turned against the war after witnessing American causalities and once it became clear Iraq was not building any weapons of mass destruction." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRep. Walter Jones: Dick Cheney is going to hell for the Iraq war

Congress awards POW medals to US aviators interned in Switzerland

"Switzerland was the only neutral country during the Second World War to fully enforce the 1907 Hague Convention requiring the internment of foreign soldiers until the end of the conflict, according to Mears. Unlike Sweden, Portugal or Turkey, the Swiss neither handed over internees to Germany, nor did they take attempts to escape lightly. Nearly 70 years after being interned in a Swiss disciplinary camp and, for many, punished for trying to escape, a group of 157 American Second World War pilots and crew members have been awarded the Prisoner Of War Medal by the US Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress awards POW medals to US aviators interned in Switzerland

German pilot in WWII and American B-17 pilot he spared reunite 40 years later

"People love to hear war stories about great generals or crack troops such as Seal Team 6, the Navy unit that killed Osama bin Laden. But there is another side of war that's seldom explored: Why do some soldiers risk their lives to save their enemies and, in some cases, develop a deep bond with them that outlives war? And are such acts of chivalry obsolete in an age of drone strikes and terrorism?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGerman pilot in WWII and American B-17 pilot he spared reunite 40 years later

Iraq’s pain has only intensified since 2003

"Ten years on from the shock and awe of the 2003 Bush and Blair war – which followed 13 years of murderous sanctions, and 35 years of Saddamist dictatorship – my tormented land, once a cradle of civilisation, is staring into the abyss. Wanton imperialist intervention and dictatorial rule have together been responsible for the deaths of more than a million people since 1991. And yet, according to both Tony Blair and the former US secretary of state Madeleine Albright, the 'price is worth it'. The Iraqi people are fully aware that Saddam committed all his major crimes while an ally of western powers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq’s pain has only intensified since 2003

Former CEO reveals Blackwater worked as ‘virtual extension of the CIA’

"The mercenary group formerly known as Blackwater worked as a 'virtual extension of the CIA,' the company’s former CEO revealed to Daily Beast reporter Eli Lake. It has long been known that Blackwater, now called Academi, worked with the CIA, and there were even some pretty straightforward clues that former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince was an agency asset. That relationship is strongly clarified by the company’s own legal defense in a three-year prosecution that collapsed in February, wrapping up with a guilty plea from two men punishable by probation, house arrest and a $5,000 fine." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFormer CEO reveals Blackwater worked as ‘virtual extension of the CIA’

Private surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

"The Expo began on Tuesday and concludes today. About 185 companies are showcasing everything from gates to guns, drones to portable toilets. A stall offering self-heating meals was next to a table of firearms. Two themes emerged from a day at the Expo: equipment and technology used by the US military is increasingly becoming available to domestic entities. And software is now easy to use and more powerful. Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) software potentially gives officials huge surveillance powers whether in a desert or a metropolis." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivate surveillance companies flock to Arizona’s annual Border Security Expo

88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight

"Three appeal court judges have ruled that police violated the human rights of an 88-year-old peaceful campaigner when they secretly labelled him a 'domestic extremist' and recorded his political activities. John Catt, who has no criminal record, was shocked when he discovered police had clandestinely kept a detailed note of his presence on more than 55 demonstrations over a four-year period. On Thursday, he won his legal action to have the records deleted from a secret database of so-called domestic extremists. Details of the surveillance were revealed by the Guardian in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue Reading88-year-old peaceful activist wins surveillance database fight