Author Archives: Freedomwat.ch Staff

Owner of kite-surfing island for Silicon Valley executives faces $4.6 million fine

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“A state water agency has proposed one of its largest fines ever — $4.6 million — against a Bay Area man for allegedly damaging an island by transforming it into a luxury sporting enclave for Silicon Valley executives.  After purchasing the island in 2011, Sweeney sought to revive a decades-old duck hunting club at the island. He launched a kite-surfing outfit with marketing materials that tout its seclusion and convenience for Silicon Valley and Bay Area executives. The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission issued a cease-and-desist order on April 22, concluding that Sweeney and the club violated two state laws.”

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-bay-area-island-fine-20160518-snap-story.html

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Nasdaq rejects pot startup MassRoots

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“MassRoots, a social networking platform for cannabis users, said Tuesday that Nasdaq has rejected its request to trade shares on the exchange.  The Denver-based startup had hoped to become the first cannabis company to be listed on Nasdaq.  Nasdaq determined that listing the company could have been seen as aiding the distribution of an illegal substance, MassRoots said.  Isaac Dietrich, a co-founder of MassRoots, said the decision sets a ‘dangerous precedent’ that will prevent other legal marijuana companies from getting listed on national stock exchanges.”

http://money.cnn.com/2016/05/24/smallbusiness/massroots-nasdaq/

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John Hussman: The Coming Fed-Induced Pension Bust

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“What’s quite unfortunate, in my view, is that the strong realized past returns of the past 25 years are now actually being taken as a justification of current, unrealistically high pension return assumptions. This, in turn, encourages continued underfunding. This inclination appears to be wholly encouraged by Federal Reserve policies, and threatens to amplify an inevitable pension crisis in the coming years. The realized past returns of this period have been strong precisely because they have robbed from future expected returns. The tide will turn, as it always has in complete market cycles across history, and as investors discovered during the market collapses of 2000-2002 and 2007-2009.”

http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc160523.htm

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Billionaire Soros Cuts U.S. Stocks by 37%, Buys Gold Miner Barrick

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“The firm disclosed owning bearish options contracts on 2.1 million shares of the SPDR 500 ETF Trust, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, with a face value of $431 million as of March 31.  Soros also bought bullish options contracts on 1.05 million shares in the SPDR Gold Trust, which tracks the price of bullion. What’s more, the fund took a stake in the world’s biggest producer of the metal, Barrick Gold Corp., worth $264 million at the end of March, the filing showed. Soros acquired 1.7 percent of Barrick, making it the fund’s biggest U.S.-listed holding.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-05-16/billionaire-soros-cuts-u-s-stocks-by-37-buys-gold-producer

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Brazil’s latest WhatsApp ban pushes users to other encrypted messaging apps

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“Even during the short time that Brazil’s ban on the Facebook-owned app was in effect, people still found other ways to access the type of encrypted messaging features that triggered the block in the first place.   Several rival apps that offer encrypted messaging services reported a surge in Brazilian sign-ups, which highlights how the growing ubiquity of private messaging apps makes it hard to stop people from using them.  U.S. legislation introduced by senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) last month would require companies to help to unscramble encrypted communications for the government if passed.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2016/05/03/brazils-latest-whatsapp-ban-is-pushing-users-to-other-encrypted-messaging-apps/

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Homeland Security to subpoena Techdirt over an article comment

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“This week, Techdirt’s Tim Cushing published a story about the Hancock County, IN Sheriff’s Department officers who stole $240,000 under color of asset forfeiture.  Digger, a Techdirt commenter, remarked, ‘The only ‘bonus’ these criminals [the Sheriff’s Department officers] are likely to see could be a bullet to their apparently empty skulls.’  This prompted the Department of Homeland Security to contact Techdirt and ask whom they should send a subpoena to in order to get at the identity of Digger. Masnick is worried that the subpoena, when and if it arrives, could come with a gag order, so he’s publishing now.”

http://boingboing.net/2016/05/06/homeland-security-want-to-subp.html

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Bruce Schneier: Economist Detained for Doing Math on an Airplane

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“Economics professor Guido Menzio (yes, he’s Italian) was taken off the plane, questioned, cleared, and allowed to board with the rest of his passengers two hours later.  This is a result of our stupid ‘see something, say something’ culture. As I repeatedly say: ‘If you ask amateurs to act as front-line security personnel, you shouldn’t be surprised when you get amateur security.’  On the other hand, ‘Algebra, of course, does have Arabic origins plus math is used to make bombs.'”

https://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2016/05/economist_detai.html

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Don’t become a casualty of the War on Cash

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“The 21st century has seen the emergence of a war unlike any other. On one side of the battlefield are governments, banks, credit card companies, central banks and other financial institutions. On the other side . . . cash and anybody who uses it.  While proponents of a cashless society would have you believe that terrorists, drug lords and criminals are the only people who would ever use cash, there are more people than you would imagine on what seems to be the losing side of the war.”

http://nomadcapitalist.com/2016/04/27/the-war-on-cash/

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A century bond? Just think what can happen in 100 years

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“Who would you lend money to for 100 years? Your children? Your best friend? Perhaps. But the Irish government? Or the Belgian or French government? They all seem to think they are worth a loan for this kind of duration.  Ireland last month launched the first 100-year bond, raising €100m. If you hang around to 2116, you will earn 2.35pc on your cash. Last August, Belgium blazed that trail, with its own century-long debt issue. Mexico has also issued one. The Spanish and the Italians have both gone above 45 years, and will probably join the century club as soon as they think they can get away with it. Even the UK has already dipped its toe in the water.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/04/15/a-century-bond-just-think-what-can-happen-in-100-years/

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National Security Letters are now constitutional, judge rules

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“A judge who in 2013 declared that National Security Letters (NSLs) were unconstitutional has now changed her mind in an unsealed ruling made public Thursday.  Federal investigators issue tens of thousands of NSLs each year to banks, ISPs, car dealers, insurance companies, doctors, and others. The letters, which demand personal information, don’t need a judge’s signature and come with a gag to the recipient that forbids the disclosure of the NSL to the public or the target. Information sought in one case included a target’s complete Web browsing history, the IP addresses of everyone a person has corresponded with, and records of all online purchases.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/04/in-a-reversal-judge-now-says-national-security-letters-are-constitutional/

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