The Freedom Watch

US International Capital Flows

"The US Treasury released data last Thursday tracking international capital flows for the US through June. The outflows out of US securities was shocking. Especially troubling was the amount of US Treasuries sold by foreigners. Their outflows exceeded those from US bond funds. The data suggest that foreign investors may have been more spooked by the Fed’s tapering talk in May and June than domestic investors. As the US federal deficits have swelled, the US government has become more dependent on the kindness of strangers. Apparently, they are losing their interest in helping us out with our debts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS International Capital Flows

Demography is Destiny, Hold On To Your Wallet

"Already, the media drumbeat about 'America’s retirement crisis' — laying further groundwork for a mandatory savings plan — is becoming deafening. Into this void the academics and fund managers have stepped with what you might call 'the Australian Solution.' Fair warning: The politicians won’t be far behind. We won’t let our guard down on the 401(k) confiscation issue, but all the same, we find the Australian Solution comforting in its own awful way. Mandatory retirement savings are a terrible idea. But all else being equal, it’s a better idea than forcing you to convert some of your existing 401(k) account into U.S. Treasury debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemography is Destiny, Hold On To Your Wallet

Demography is Destiny, Hold On To Your Wallet

"Already, the media drumbeat about 'America’s retirement crisis' — laying further groundwork for a mandatory savings plan — is becoming deafening. Into this void the academics and fund managers have stepped with what you might call 'the Australian Solution.' Fair warning: The politicians won’t be far behind. We won’t let our guard down on the 401(k) confiscation issue, but all the same, we find the Australian Solution comforting in its own awful way. Mandatory retirement savings are a terrible idea. But all else being equal, it’s a better idea than forcing you to convert some of your existing 401(k) account into U.S. Treasury debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemography is Destiny, Hold On To Your Wallet

Michigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

"Michigan’s Finance Authority is offering an interest rate almost 14 times higher than that on top-rated bonds to sell $92 million of one-year notes for Detroit’s public schools. Today’s deal is the first tied to the Motor City since it sought bankruptcy protection July 18. The bonds are backed by state aid payments. The securities maturing in August 2014 are being offered with a preliminary yield of 4.375 percent, down from 4.5 percent earlier in the sale, according to three people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the pricing wasn’t final. That compares with a 0.32 percent interest rate on benchmark AAA munis due in one year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

Michigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

"Michigan’s Finance Authority is offering an interest rate almost 14 times higher than that on top-rated bonds to sell $92 million of one-year notes for Detroit’s public schools. Today’s deal is the first tied to the Motor City since it sought bankruptcy protection July 18. The bonds are backed by state aid payments. The securities maturing in August 2014 are being offered with a preliminary yield of 4.375 percent, down from 4.5 percent earlier in the sale, according to three people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the pricing wasn’t final. That compares with a 0.32 percent interest rate on benchmark AAA munis due in one year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

Decline and Fall: The Second Stage is Anger

"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." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDecline and Fall: The Second Stage is Anger

Second British man jailed for selling fake bomb detectors to governments

"The boxes cost less than £5 ($7.85, 5.85 euros) to make, but Gary Bolton claimed they could detect explosives, narcotics, tobacco, ivory and even cash. They were sold for between £2,500 and £10,000 in bulk or up to £15,000 if bought individually. The court heard Bolton’s company, Global Technology, had a turnover of almost £3 million. In May, British businessman James McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in jail for selling fake bomb detectors to the Iraqi government and other countries. McCormick, 57, made an estimated £50 million from selling the devices, which prosecutors said were based on a novelty golf ball finder." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecond British man jailed for selling fake bomb detectors to governments

‘Guardian’ editor: Destroying hard drives allowed us to continue NSA coverage

"Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian editor-in-chief, has said that the destruction of computer hard drives containing information provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden allowed the paper to continue reporting on the revelations instead of surrendering the material to UK courts. Rusbridger told BBC Radio 4′s The World at One on Tuesday that he agreed to the 'slightly pointless' task of destroying the devices – which was overseen by two GCHQ officials at the Guardian’s headquarters in London – because the newspaper is in possession of digital copies outside Britain." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Guardian’ editor: Destroying hard drives allowed us to continue NSA coverage

What NSA Transparency Looks Like

"That is the publicly released version of a semiannual report from the administration to Congress describing NSA violations of rules surrounding the FISA Amendments Act. The act is one of the key laws governing NSA surveillance, including now-famous programs like Prism. As an oversight measure, the law requires the attorney general to submit semiannual reports to the congressional intelligence and judiciary committees. The section with the redactions above is titled 'Statistical Data Relating to Compliance Incidents.' The document, dated May 2010, was released after the ACLU filed a freedom of information lawsuit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat NSA Transparency Looks Like

Schedule 7 and the detention of David Miranda

"One of the most troubling aspects of Section 7 is that the UK government is using it to seize computers and mobile phones of travellers without cause, and retain the data indefinitely. The UK justifies its actions as a natural extension of its powers to examine a traveller's paper documents. But mobile electronic devices carry so much more intimate information about us than we would have previously hauled around in our luggage. Everything from a list of contacts, to photos of loved ones, to financial and medical documents, to trade secrets might be contained on a traveller's computer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchedule 7 and the detention of David Miranda