Solari North American Video Server“Are we witnessing the end of globalization? I don’t think so. It is the end of the ‘global elite,’ those who see the world only from financial centers or a website.” ~ Jeff Immelt, CEO, General Electric
By Catherine Austin Fitts
Franklin Sanders will join me next week for the precious metals market report. Franklin will walk us through what has happened in the gold and silver markets since the election. We will discuss the current correction and how gold and silver prices may be impacted by the Fed decision this coming week as well as by the political changes sweeping through the United States and Europe.
Franklin and I will also address the steps we can take to enforce our US Constitution. These steps include removing legal obstacles to the circulation of gold and silver as money. Enforcing our constitution is what we need most. What do not need is the current effort to call for a constitutional convention that is working its way through the states. Indeed, we need to aggressively lobby our state legislators to stop it.
In Let’s Go to the Movies, I will review Citizen Architect: Samuel Mockabee and the Spirit of the Rural Studio. The documentary tells the story of Samuel “Sambo” Mockabee, the remarkable American architect who co-founded the Auburn University Rural Studio.
Related reading: http://samuelmockbee.net
I will have plenty to talk about in Money & Markets, so post or e-mail your questions for Ask Catherine.
Talk to you Thursday!
Hey Catherine,
I’m Sarah Wiesner, 29, I help run the Bitcoin Embassy in Tel-Aviv, wrote to you about OneCoin and am learning about markets and economics. I get a huge amount of value out of your site.
Here’s the correction (don’t worry, I’ll be as matter of fact, none mad-bull-bitcoin and informative as possible!):
1)Bitcoin’s are not to be stored in an exchange. that is considered very bad practice.
Bitcoin exchanges are not insured and are the target of all the hackers on the planets.
do not confuse bitcoin on an exchange (the exchange holds your bitcoins for you as you trade, or use it as a purse (very bad practice!)) with the Bitcoin Network which is (to many extent’s at least) a decentralized network.
Bitcoin’s – or more technically – the Bitcoin personal Private Key (a string that looks like this:5HpHagT65TZzG1PH3CSu63k8DbpvD8s5ip4nEB3kEsreAnchuDf ) controls your Bitcoin’s and should be in the owners hands.
A private key in the context of Bitcoin is a secret number that allows bitcoins to be spent. Every Bitcoin wallet contains one or more private keys, which are saved in the wallet file. The private keys are mathematically related to all Bitcoin addresses generated for the wallet.
the private key IS your bitcoins, should be created off-line and stored off-line for maximum safety.
Personally, my bitcoin’s are as “safe” as my lap-top running linux (zero integrity systems as always) at the time of the creation of the key and as ECDSA encryption (that can be cracked by a quantum computer)
If I had more bitcoin’s I would create the key on an offline or specialized small computer, to make sure the spying agencies have much less of a chance to get hold of my Private Key.
the key can also be calculated by hand with no connection to the internet.
Yes, understood.
The danger of properly stored Bitcoin theft is decentralized, and is on an individual basis.
2)I would like to emphasize that bitcoin is a decentralized network, , no one can freeze a Bitcoin account: it would be like stopping the Torrent network or the Internet (pretty damn hard).
Bitcoin and it’s keen have quite a few dangers and problems, and will be used to make centralized electronic cash sound all hip, but it is not a prototype for it.
Bitcoin has a decentralized, censor resistant design which has value for black market activity:
bitcoin is pirate-electronic-cash, and thus is used on the Dark Net for many things BECAUSE Government can’t stop it & because you don’t need to register anywhere to use it. You can just exchange it to cash if you find a”dealer”
Other than speculation, Bitcoin is mostly used on big markets of the “Dark Net” for buying illicit drugs online (think E-Bay for drugs: People browse the site, read reviews, send Bitcoin and get the drugs in the mail, you can’t do that with a Credit Card!) It’s also popular for other small-time illegal trade (I like to answer to people that for money laundering there’s big banks, you don’t need Bitcoin. Bitcoin is liquid enough only for small time laundering.)
Screen shot from one of these markets:
Inline image 2
Another big demand for Bitcoin is created by Ransomware – it was estimated that last year 1 Billion $ was paid in Bitcoin in ransom last year.
I like to joke that Ransomware is Bitcoin’s “killer app”.
Ransmoware is a slandered computer virus which was born due to Bitcoin, people usually get one from downloading a suspicious file from a malicious email, but can be planted in various ways,when a hacker is targeting a specific system.
The Ransoware encrypts the files on your computer or dose other hacking damage, and demands a specified number of Bitcoin’s to free your files or system.
So it’s to good back up everything important on a external hard-rive and beware suspicious files or links coming off the internet.
One of the famous cases last years was this hotel’s electronic door being hit, and the hotel now “upgraded” to good old physical keys!
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/austria-hotel-ransomware-true-doors-lock-hackers
In Tel-Aviv I got to see in the same month of heavy attacks, a theater, a major football team, a factory and a bank get hit by Randomware, they came to the Bitcoin Embassy to buy Bitcoin to pay ransom for their computer systems (people are usually embarrassed about being hit and ask us to keep it quiet, so the magnitude of the attacks is unclear )
Also gambling and buying into online-scams is a popular use for Bitcoin.
I’ve been following these aspects online but also see live proof from manning the bitcoin embassy and talking to people coming to the bitcoin ATM.
Blessing and thank you, the last few months Solari has been on fire.
All the best,
Sarah Wiesner , Tel-Aviv
Hi Catherine:
I agree with Sarah… Solari has been on fire the last few months (other shows were good also). I’m getting ready to join the fray with my state government. The first area is the currency. Have you heard of the Sound Money Defense League? Do you know of groups who are effective in changing the laws to make gold and silver legal tender?
Thank you for allowing us to give the show information to our state representatives.
Thank you.
Julia
PS. I am well on my way to being local (coming clean). Thanks for the tip on securing a food source. I now purchase most of my vegetables and fruit at the local Health Food Store. I have had some of the best oranges in the last week that I have had in a long time. I already purchase my meat and eggs there.
Awesome!
Hi Catherine:
I agree with Sarah… Solari has been on fire the last few months (other shows were good also). I’m getting ready to join the fray with my state government. The first area is the currency. Have you heard of the Sound Money Defense League? Do you know of groups who are effective in changing the laws to make gold and silver legal tender?
Thank you for allowing us to give the show information to our state representatives.
Thank you.
Julia
PS. I am well on my way to being local (coming clean). Thanks for the tip on securing a food source. I now purchase most of my vegetables and fruit at the local Health Food Store. I have had some of the best oranges in the last week that I have had in a long time. I already purchase my meat and eggs there.
Awesome!
Love it Have wanted to do for some time
Love it Have wanted to do for some time
Catherine, can you suggest reputable gold or silve companies to invest in? I am buying silver periodically but I want to invest my IRA in something with potential.
Thank you.
Catherine, can you suggest reputable gold or silve companies to invest in? I am buying silver periodically but I want to invest my IRA in something with potential.
Thank you.