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Marc Faber: In the Age of Cyber-Terrorism, Every Investor Must Own Gold
Take it from “Dr. Doom”: own some physical gold and keep it out of the banking system.
Dr. Marc Faber, a legendary investor and the editor/publisher of the Gloom, Boom & Doom Report, is well known for his contrarian investing style.
In a recent Metal Masters interview with the Hard Assets Alliance, he noted that the biggest geopolitical risk for Americans today is not a conventional war but rather cyber-attacks that could take down the US power grid.
In such a scenario, gold would become an irreplaceable medium of exchange. But it’s not the only reason to own gold today.
Diversified Assets Outside the Banking System
Faber grew up in Switzerland right after World War II, a tough time that caused his family to distrust paper money and taught him the importance of precious metals as a safety net.
Faber remembers how his father talked about rich people as millionaires. “That, in the ‘50s and ‘60s and ‘70s, was a lot of money. Today, a million is nothing at all—small change. Unfortunately. When people talk about, ‘Oh, there is no inflation in the system,’ this is nonsense. Compared to assets, money has lost a tremendous amount of purchasing power.”
After working on Wall Street for over two decades, Faber’s assets consisted mainly of bonds, equities, and real estate. He says it was in the 1990s when he realized that “it’s good to have a diversified asset outside the banking system and not financially related” and began to purchase some physical gold every month.
The Fed largely ignores gold as an asset, he says, because “gold is an embarrassment to central banks.”
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Russia Threatens Retaliation If Washington Engages In “State Cyberterrorism”
Russia Threatens Retaliation If Washington Engages In “State Cyberterrorism”
In the latest startling revelation that the US and Russia are ever closer to a state of, if not “kinetic”, then certainly cyberwar, overnight NBC reported that U.S. military hackers had penetrated Russia’s electric grid, telecommunications networks and the Kremlin’s command systems, making them vulnerable to attack by secret American cyber weapons should the U.S. deem it necessary. As noted earlier, American officials have long accused Russia, China and other nations of probed probing and leaving hidden malware on parts of U.S critical infrastructure, “preparing the battlefield,” in military parlance, for cyber attacks that could turn out the lights or turn off the internet across major cities.
What has been less noted is that the US has done exactly the same thing and as NBC wrote, “it’s been widely assumed that the U.S. has done the same thing to its adversaries. The documents reviewed by NBC News — along with remarks by a senior U.S. intelligence official — confirm that, in the case of Russia.”
But it’s not just infrastructure that is threatened: the story coming out just three days before the election was hardly a coincidence as NBC said that U.S. officials again expressed concern that Russia will use its cyber capabilities to try to disrupt next week’s presidential election, even though all such allegations of Russian mingling in the U.S. political cycle have so far remained unconfirmed.
In any case, Russia responded to the report, and said that it expects Washington to provide an explanation if it is indeed true that Pentagon hackers have penetrated Russia’s power grids, telecommunications networks, and the Kremlin’s command systems for a possible sabotage.
Regarding the recent media reports that US military hackers have penetrated Russian’s telecommunications networks and electric grid, as well as “the Kremlin’s command systems”, we expect a response from the US authorities, including the White House and the Department of State with a legal assessment of the reports.
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The Wolf Is Guarding the Hen House: The Government’s War on Cyberterrorism
The Wolf Is Guarding the Hen House: The Government’s War on Cyberterrorism
“The game is rigged, the network is bugged, the government talks double-speak, the courts are complicit and there’s nothing you can do about it.”—David Kravets, reporting for Wired
Nothing you write, say, text, tweet or share via phone or computer is private anymore. As constitutional law professor Garrett Epps points out, “Big Brother is watching…. Big Brother may be watching you right now, and you may never know. Since 9/11, our national life has changed forever. Surveillance is the new normal.”
This is the reality of the internet-dependent, plugged-in life of most Americans today.
A process which started shortly after 9/11 with programs such as Total Information Awareness (the predecessor to the government’s present surveillance programs) has grown into a full-fledged campaign of warrantless surveillance, electronic tracking and data mining, thanks to federal agents who have been given carte blanche access to the vast majority of electronic communications in America. Their methods completely undermine constitution safeguards, and yet no federal agency, president, court or legislature has stepped up to halt this assault on our rights.
For the most part, surveillance, data mining, etc., is a technological, jargon-laden swamp through which the average American would prefer not to wander. Consequently, most Americans remain relatively oblivious to the government’s ever-expanding surveillance powers, appear unconcerned about the fact that the government is spying on them, and seem untroubled that there is no way of opting out of this system. This state of delirium lasts only until those same individuals find themselves arrested or detained for something they did, said or bought that runs afoul of the government’s lowering threshold for what constitutes criminal activity.
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Nuclear Power Plant In South Korea Hacked | Zero Hedge
Nuclear Power Plant In South Korea Hacked | Zero Hedge.
The marketing stunt involving what would otherwise have been a straight to DVD flop, a pudgy North Korean dictator, an FBI desperate to create a fabricated YouTube clip of North Korean hackers scheming maliciously in their mother’s basement, an American president demanding retaliation because a 80286-equipped hacking army poses a threat to the American way of life and other surreal, B-grade movie elements may be about to end with the “shocking” re-release of The Interview on Christmas day, but that doesn’t mean that the push to implement an internet kill switch is over. Which really is what the relentless “hacking on the front pages” media scramble is all about.
And since the ultimate scare tactic appears likely to be a controlled take down of the energy grid to demonstrate just how scary “hackers” may be, here comes the “other” Korea with an appetizer of what is to come to the US on short notice. According to RT, a South Korean nuclear plant operator’ computer system was hacked and the perpetrator has leaked blueprints and manuals, says if his demands for three reactors’ closure aren’t met, those living near the facilities should “stay away” from home.
The Shin Kori No. 1 reactor (R) and No. 2 reactor of state-run utility
Korea Electric Power Corp (KEPCO) are seen in Ulsan.
The hacker has been releasing the internal data of Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co (KHNP) in stages, with the latest piece being posted online on Sunday. It came together with a warning of a major leak still ahead.
Obama says Sony hack not an act of war | Reuters
Obama says Sony hack not an act of war | Reuters.
(Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama moved to prevent U.S. anger at North Korea from spiraling out of control on Sunday by saying the massive hacking of Sony Pictures was not an act of war but instead was cyber-vandalism.
Washington’s longstanding dispute with North Korea, which for years has centered on its nuclear weapons program, has entered new territory with the accusation that Pyongyang carried out an assault on a major Hollywood entertainment company.
Obama and his advisers are weighing how to punish North Koreaafter the FBI concluded on Friday that Pyongyang was responsible. North Korea has denied it was to blame.
