Henry Hazlitt at The New York Times

"Hazlitt was the top man in economics at the most influential newspaper in the world during the most important period of revolution in the history of the United States. This is not a story that the American Left is aware of. Hazlitt was the most prominent disciple of Ludwig von Mises in the United States during these years. He was by far the most effective voice of liberty in the country, both in his ability to write and the influence of his position. The American Right forgets this. In an era of neoconservative dominance, Hazlitt’s libertarianism is not part of an intellectual legacy that the leadership of the conservative political movement chooses to highlight." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHenry Hazlitt at The New York Times

IMF’s Lagarde Pleads: Fed Tapering Will Be ‘Arduous’ on Global Economy

"The head of the International Monetary Fund cautioned the world's major central banks Friday not to withdraw their unconventional support for weak economies too soon, according to numerous wire service reports. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said stimulative policies are still needed in key regions, especially Europe and Japan, which have struggled with prolonged weakness. 'Even if managed well,' Lagarde said of a central bank’s exit from easy-money policies, that could still present an 'arduous obstacle course' for other countries. Lagarde said what’s needed is greater policy coordination and cooperation for the sake of the entire globe." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIMF’s Lagarde Pleads: Fed Tapering Will Be ‘Arduous’ on Global Economy

Court: Britain can look at Greenwald partner’s seized electronic documents

"British authorities can sift through electronic documents seized from journalist Glenn Greenwald’s Brazilian partner, in the interests of 'national security', a court ruled on Thursday. The 'highly sensitive' material could risk lives, said UK police. Two judges gave authorities until Aug. 30 to analyze 'thousands' of documents, according to a police lawyer. 'he home office and police now have seven days to prove that there is a genuine threat to national security, rather than make mere assertions as they have done today,' stated lawyer Gwendolen Morgan after the ruling was passed." Continue reading

Continue ReadingCourt: Britain can look at Greenwald partner’s seized electronic documents

Paul Craig Roberts: Gangster State US/UK

"If the Obama and Cameron governments were in the dock at Nuremberg, the entirety of both governments would be convicted. Are there sufficient brainwashed people in both countries to sustain the US/UK myth that 'freedom and democracy' are attained via war crimes? There is no shortage of brainwashed Americans who love to be told that they are 'indispensable' and ' exceptional,' and therefore entitled to work their will on the world. It is difficult to discern in these clueless Americans much hope for the revival of liberty. But there is some indication that the British, who did not inherit liberty but had to fight for it for five centuries, might be more determined." Continue reading

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Gangster State US/UK

White House: ‘Difficult to imagine’ authorities demanding destruction of hard drives

"Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian editor, said that two GCHQ security experts oversaw the destruction of hard drives on 20 July in what he described as a 'peculiarly pointless piece of symbolism'. Rusbridger had told the authorities that the action would not prevent the Guardian reporting on the leaked US documents because Glenn Greenwald, the reporter who first broke the story, had a copy in Brazil, and a further copy was held in the US. White House spokesman, Josh Earnest, said: 'That’s very difficult to imagine a scenario in which that would be appropriate.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingWhite House: ‘Difficult to imagine’ authorities demanding destruction of hard drives

New Zealand passes law allowing domestic surveillance

"New Zealand passed legislation Wednesday allowing its main intelligence agency to spy on residents and citizens. The bill to expand the power of the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) passed by 61 votes to 59. 'This is not, and never will be, about wholesale spying on New Zealanders,' Prime Minister John Key told parliament. 'There are threats our government needs to protect New Zealanders from, those threats are real and ever-present and we underestimate them at our peril.' The push to change the law came after it emerged last year that the GCSB illegally spied on Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom." Continue reading

Continue ReadingNew Zealand passes law allowing domestic surveillance

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

David Miranda: I was treated like a threat to the United Kingdom

"David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian journalist who broke stories of mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency, has accused Britain of a 'total abuse of power' for interrogating him for almost nine hours at Heathrow under the Terrorism Act. In his first interview since returning to his home in Rio de Janeiro early on Monday, Miranda said the authorities in the UK had pandered to the US in trying to intimidate him and force him to reveal the passwords to his computer and mobile phone. During that time, he said, he was not allowed to call his partner, who is a qualified lawyer in the US, nor was he given an interpreter." Continue reading

Continue ReadingDavid Miranda: I was treated like a threat to the United Kingdom