“The House Intelligence Committee’s dueling partisan memos about FBI surveillance of a Trump campaign adviser will result in federal agents keeping secrets to themselves because they no longer trust Congress, experts warn.”
“Even though the U.S. has revoked freedoms during wartime (and for some groups in peacetime), for most of its history the people have not been under the yoke of an all-powerful sovereign. However, since 9/11 leaders of both political parties in the United States have sought to consolidate power by leaning not just on the danger of a terrorist attack, but on the fact that the possible perpetrators are frightening individuals who are not like us. Last year President Obama brought the enemy closer to home, arguing that ‘we face a real threat from radicalized individuals here in the U.S.‘ — radicalized individuals who were ‘deranged or alienated individuals — often U.S. citizens or legal residents.'”
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/fifty-states-of-fear/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
“Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed Chairman’s every word. Yet the average person knows very little about the most powerful – and least understood – financial institution on earth. Money For Nothing is the first film to take viewers inside the Fed and reveal the impact of Fed policies – past, present, and future – on our lives. Join current and former Fed officials as they debate the critics, and each other, about the decisions that helped lead the global financial system to the brink of collapse in 2008. And why we might be headed there again.”
“It’s hard not to look at that and conclude that obviously Bitcoin is a bubble that will go to zero. But there is at least the possibility that what we’re seeing is network effects pricing themselves in real time, and acting like any other Internet protocol (or company) whose value grows like crazy the more people who are using it. If you were able to put a ‘value’ on Napsterin its early days as more and more people put their files on it, the chart might have looked similar. Does that mean Napster was a speculative bubble? No (although eventually it crashed for other reasons).”
http://www.businessinsider.com/im-changing-my-mind-about-bitcoin-2013-12
“Gold, which was at $1,244.80 an ounce on the Comex at 8:51 a.m. in New York, will drop $1,050 at the end of next year, Goldman said in the report, restating an earlier forecast. Currie said last month that gold is a ‘slam dunk’ sell for next year as the U.S. economy extends its recovery. Bullion is headed for the first drop since 2000 this year as investors cut holdings. Futures lost as much as 2.6 percent yesterday after the Fed signaled that tapering may start in the months ahead, according to minutes from its October meeting. Lower gold prices would alleviate concern about inflation and current account deficits in emerging markets such as Turkey and India, it said.”
“It would have been foolish for an observer in 1990 to dismiss the Internet as too nerdy for mainstream use. Over time, entrepreneurs took the basic infrastructure of the Internet and built innovative and user-friendly online services such as Google, Facebook and YouTube. Bitcoin boosters are betting that the same will happen with Bitcoin. The ‘raw’ bitcoin network isn’t very accessible, but startups like Coinbase and Bitpay are slowly fixing that. Some day soon, someone may develop Bitcoin’s ‘killer app,’ a program that provides a financial service that has clear advantages over conventional banking. That might something that no one has thought of before.”
“‘Overview’ is a short film that explores this phenomenon through interviews with five astronauts who have experienced the Overview Effect. The film also features insights from commentators and thinkers on the wider implications and importance of this understanding for society, and our relationship to the environment.”
“Some economists say more inflation is just what the American economy needs to escape from a half-decade of sluggish growth and high unemployment. Economists, including Janet Yellen, President Obama’s nominee to lead the Fed starting next year, have long argued that a little inflation is particularly valuable when the economy is weak. The school board in Anchorage, Alaska, for example, is counting on inflation to keep a lid on teachers’ wages. Retailers including Costco and Walmart are hoping for higher inflation to increase profits. The federal government expects inflation to ease the burden of its debts. Yet by one measure, inflation rose at an annual pace of 1.2 percent in August.”
“WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange believes ‘The Fifth Estate,’ the forthcoming film in which he is portrayed, is based on ‘toxic’ and ‘discredited’ books and will offer a ‘falsified’ version of him and his organization. In a letter to the actor Benedict Cumberbatch, dated January 15 and published to the WikiLeaks site on Wednesday, Assange accused Dreamworks, the film’s producer, of basing the entire production ‘on the two most discredited books on the market.'”
http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/10/julian-assange-pans-the-fifth-estate-174685.html
“Noting that the individuals in question may be extremely mentally disturbed or suffering from a serious psychological illness, the nation’s psychiatrists announced Wednesday that they are deeply concerned for the estimated 5 percent of Americans who were found in nationwide polls this week to approve of the U.S. Congress.”
http://www.theonion.com/articles/psychiatrists-deeply-concerned-for-5-of-americans,34163/