Bankocracy

Germany’s Bitcoin.de and Fidor Bank AG form partnership

"German bitcoin marketplace bitcoin.de and Fidor Bank AG have formed a large-scale partnership, with the online bank agreeing to provide a ‘liability umbrella’ to the marketplace operator Bitcoin Deutschland GmbH. This means the marketplace can prove it is officially following financial market regulations, such as anti-money laundering legislation. bitcoin.de hopes to lead the way as an EU-regulated trading platform with an EU deposit guarantee (up to 100,000 EUR per customer)." Continue reading →

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DEF CON hacker conference tells Feds not to attend

"One of the world’s largest hacker conferences, Def Con, requested that government employees do not attend this year’s annual conference, citing discomfort with federal officials in the wake of National Security Administration revelations. Traditionally, there has been a general acknowledgement that not all federal government employees who attend the Def Con conference do so openly, and a jovial 'Spot the Fed' competition has become commonplace at the Def Con conference. General Keith Alexander, the head of the NSA, spoke at last year’s Def Con conference and denied that the government had vast files of information, calling it 'absolute nonsense.'" Continue reading →

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Rising Lease Rates Show Demand For Physical Gold Remains Strong

"Although the price of gold remains weak, retail investors and industries continue to pay a premium to buy the physical metal now. What appears to be occurring is gold is moving from weak hands, ETF holders and etc, to strong holders, that is physical holders. On Tuesday, one-month lease rates for gold hit a four-year high and rose to 0.3%. The lease rate is important because it in an indication of industry demand. Jewelry stores will borrow gold, which is backed by the future sales of their products. Mining companies will also borrow gold at the lease rate and then pay back the loan with future production." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRising Lease Rates Show Demand For Physical Gold Remains Strong

JP Morgan is Taking Delivery of Silver. Why?

"The commodity futures market allows speculators to bet against each other on where the prices of commodities are headed. Participants make money by out-guessing their competitors. Only about 3% of the contracts ever result in delivery of the physical commodity. The speculators don’t want the commodities. They just want the price action. All of a sudden, without warning, JP Morgan is demanding delivery of silver — not money. This is never done. Well, almost never. Bunker Hunt tried that in 1979, and the COMEX changed the rules. He was trying to squeeze the silver market. The COMEX opted out. Hunt lost billions of dollars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJP Morgan is Taking Delivery of Silver. Why?

If You Are A Baby Boomer, You Will Go Bankrupt—If You Stay In America

"If you could get an 87% discount on your health care, would you take it? Or would you deliberately stand pat, pay 100%—and go broke? The answer is obvious. So if you cannot afford health care in the United States—or realize that, in the not-too-distant future, you won’t be able to afford it—then the smart move if you are living on a fixed income (or will be soon) is to try to look for a place where health care costs are manageable. A place where you can receive your pension or Social Security check or annuity or whatever, and yet not be afraid that you are one medical emergency away from losing your house and all your money." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIf You Are A Baby Boomer, You Will Go Bankrupt—If You Stay In America

Anonymous predicts demise of Corrections Corporation of America

"A final, interesting facet of the report - analyzing a recent development that's been little discussed among advocates - was its dissection and critique of the company's decision to become a 'real estate investment trust' (REIT) as essentially a tax dodge. Find below the jump a substantial excerpt (citations omitted) from the report explaining CCA's REIT strategy and the implications for their business model, shareholders and taxpayers." Continue reading →

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Clapper On Clapper Off

"James Clapper from the National Security Agency (NSA) lied to Congress and the American people when he testified before Congress that the NSA doesn't spy on millions of American citizens. As a result of the actions of whistleblower Ed Snowden, we know now that the NSA does indeed illegally and unconstitutionally spy on millions of American citizens." Continue reading →

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Rights groups challenge widespread Internet spying in France

"Lawyers said the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the Human Rights League would file the ‘complaint against X’ in Paris. Under French law, such complaints allow investigators to pursue a wide-ranging probe that does not target any particular individual or company. Daoud told France Info radio the complaint was aimed at determining whether 'the companies made their servers available to the FBI and NSA' for collection of personal data. If so, he said, the companies could face criminal charges in France of violating data protection and privacy rules." Continue reading →

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U.S. to deliver F-16 fighters to Egypt despite recent upheaval

"The United States is pressing ahead with plans to deliver four F-16 fighters to Egypt despite a military coup against President Mohammed Morsi. 'It’s still the status quo,' the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told AFP. There was no decision to halt the scheduled transfer of the warplanes or to cut off other security assistance to Egypt, the official said, even though the US government has announced a review of all aid to Cairo. The State Department said previously planned assistance would continue to flow to Egypt. 'We’re still paying our bills, of course, and all of the programs are still moving forward,' spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters." Continue reading →

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Phone companies earn big profits as Uncle Sam’s wiretapping merchants

"AT&T and Verizon are the two carriers making the most off this scheme, CBS notes, but others are getting in on the action as well. Verizon is particularly pricey, charging the government $775 to connect a wiretap, and another $500 every month it stays connected. AT&T comes in second with a $325 activation fee, along with a $10-a-day running tab. Smaller carriers like Cricket are said to charge around $250 per connection. Smaller fees were associated with text messages, but emails were largely given away for free." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPhone companies earn big profits as Uncle Sam’s wiretapping merchants