Category: Politics

Dummies Guide to GDPR

Below is the 12 steps companies are required to take if they collect personal data.

There is a lot of stupidity that comes from the EU. This one might take the cake.
Very few people read the fine print on anything. Especially when it comes to signing up for something online. We live in a time where individuals post every meal they have online. People post their entire personal life, step by step, on social media. Why would any one care about personal data being sold or used by a third party? Most people understand what they put on the internet is subject to the world. Someone who was truly seeking privacy would not have an iPhone, not use the internet and not have Alexa in their home. Individuals sacrifice privacy for convenience when they buy an iPhone, Alexa, etc.
Large companies are required to hire a DPO (Data Protection Officer). The word “Large” is not defined, interestingly enough.  According to the new regulation a DPO is the following:

A DPO is a designated person within an organization who is responsible for ensuring data protection compliance after the introduction of the GDPR. This person is appointed and will be the primary contact within the organization for data protection compliance.

Companies like Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. will hire a DPO. Role out a few new policies and update privacy agreements. If their is a disagreement between the company and regulators, the company polices will be updated and the company will probably pay a fine. These companies are the low hanging fruit for governments.
Medium size companies will probably update their privacy agreements and give some low level worker the added role of DPO just to say they are in compliance.
Small size companies fly under the radar. They will probably ignore the regulation all together or adopt the medium size company strategy. In their privacy agreement, they might even say some nice words about GDPR to keep busy bodies off their back.
Companies will generate more paper work to show compliance. Bureaucrats love paperwork. When the EU audits these large companies, bureaucrats will sniff through thousands of pages which show why the company is in compliance. For these large companies, this cost pennies in relation to their revenues. However, the EU must have bureaucrats to sort through it all. Less time to harass other citizens.
Just like the CFR here in the US, governments will target big companies which will yield them the best monetary reward.
Big Brother is dead. They are in information overload. This regulation shows how desperate they are to remain relevant.

When Everyone Agrees…

…become skeptical.

Almost exactly a year ago, we were told Assad used sarin gas on civilians. Almost every report in the media kept repeating that Assad used sarin gas. Until a brilliant MIT professor pointed out that it could not have been sarin gas. If it had been sarin gas, all the first respondents would have died. Sarin gas is a nerve agent absorbed through the skin. The first respondents were not wearing any gloves. The professor stated it was most likely phosgene based gas. They could not even get the story straight on the type of gas used.

War in Syria and the Market

On Friday, earnings started to roll in and as I expected they beat market expectations. However, toward the end of the day the market began to slide. This indicated that the market has either priced in good earnings already OR their was going to be a Syria strike by the western world. When the “fear” trades began to rise, this indicated that a Syria attack was more likely. Big players who are ‘in the know’ began to position themselves for the weekend.
US and its allies launched an attack on the Assad regime in response to a suppose gas attack by Assad on Douma. All the articles that I have read have failed to answer the “why” question. This is part of journalism 101 to answer the following questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How. It makes no sense that Assad would do this. First, Assad is winning the war. Second, he knows the international community would respond to such an attack. Of all the world leaders I follow, Putin is the most level headed. Here is his full statement:

On April 14, the United States, supported by its allies, launched an airstrike against military and civilian targets in the Syrian Arab Republic. An act of aggression against a sovereign state that is on the frontline in the fight against terrorism was committed without a mandate from the UN Security Council and in violation of the UN Charter and norms and principles of international law.
Just as one year ago, when the Shayrat Airbase in Syria came under attack, the US used as a pretext a staged chemical attack against civilians, this time in Douma, a Damascus suburb. Having visited the site of the would-be chemical attack, Russian military experts did not find any traces of chlorine or any other toxic agent. Not a single local resident was able to confirm that a chemical attack had actually taken place.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons dispatched its experts to Syria in order to investigate all the circumstances. However, in a sign of cynical disdain, a group of Western countries decided to take military action without waiting for the results of the investigation.
Russia condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack against Syria, where Russian military personnel are assisting the legitimate government in its counterterrorism efforts.
Through its actions, the US makes the already catastrophic humanitarian situation in Syria even worse and brings suffering to civilians. In fact, the US panders to the terrorists who have been tormenting the Syrian people for seven years, leading to a wave of refugees fleeing this country and the region.
The current escalation around Syria is destructive for the entire system of international relations. History will set things right, and Washington already bears the heavy responsibility for the bloody outrage in Yugoslavia, Iraq and Libya.
Russia will convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss the aggressive actions by the US and its allies.

Russia is a super power with nuclear capability. Russian leaders drew a line in the sand. The western powers, lead by the US, have crossed it. Syria is in Russia’s backyard. It has nothing to do with the US.
It was a limited strike against Assad. Have any of the leaders of the west thought about the next move? What was the point of doing such a limited attack?

We opened a position in oil on Friday. Although Syria is not a major oil producer, oil tends to push higher due to uncertainty in the region. I am tempted to open a gold position Sunday night. Although it has not broken resistance and this would violate my trading plan, I have a strong view that it will gap up and bust through the 1360-1380 resistance. I will watch gold closely Sunday night when the market resumes trading to see how it acts.

From Rhetoric to War

There is a lot of chatter between US government officials and Russian government officials over Syria. I would like to think both sides are smart enough to understand that World War III would not benefit anyone. However, we should not underestimate the stupidity of government officials and their ego’s. The US media has played a very important role in stirring up this hate against Russia. Reading all the articles on this issue, not one has stated why Syria is a national security threat to US civilians. Trump rightfully lashed out at Obama for getting involved in Syria. Now Trump is considering whether to attack Syria based on a supposed gas attack by Assad. This is the problem with the Trump administration- He has surrounded himself by generals and military men. When you are a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

John Bolton Steps into the Circle

John Bolton is now national security adviser. There is not a country on the planet he doesn’t think the US should be at war with. The probability of the US getting into another war has increase significantly with this guy whispering in Trump’s ear. He believes Iran and North Korea are the greatest threats to the US. He has believed this for decades. The amount of US civilians the North Korean and Iranian government have killed on American soil is 0. After decades of being wrong you think he would retire into private life.
I was glad to see someone challenge him on his views.

 

Breakdown of US Voters


The largest voting blocks are older people in retirement (65+) or just about to retire (45-64). This is why no one dares mention the funding crisis with entitlements. When western world governments run into a financial wall, the last item they will default on will be medicare, social security, etc.

The North Korean “Threat”

Trump wants a sit down with Kim Jong Un. This sent the neocons into hyper drive. They never met a war they didn’t like. They figure since the other US wars are going so great, we should add another one.
The idea that North Korea is a threat is absurd. Yet it has been catching headlines for over a decade. It is reminiscent about the Soviet Union “threat”. The Soviet Union was a basket case. Their economy was a disaster. Yet the US government thought the Soviet Union was an economic power house until the day before it dissolved.
If you pay close attention to South and North Korea government officials from non-US media outlets you will realize that North Korea is not a threat. The idea that North Korea will attack South Korea or the US is silly. The South Korean government actually sent humanitarian aid to North Korea when the United Nations put sanctions on North Korea.
Predication: Before this century is over North and South Korea will unite into one country.

The Russians are Coming

Since the FBI dropped the ball on investigating a psycho who killed 17 people, one would think they would have delayed the release of the Russian collusion indictment. How much time and resources were wasted on this Russian case that could have been spent trying to prevent the high school shooting tragedy?
After reading the indictment I came to the following conclusion:
The crack pot team at the FBI spent over 5 million dollars investigating paid trolls.
From the indictment we read the following:
“…on or about May 29, 2016, Defendants and their co-conspirators, through an organization-controlled social media account, arranged for a real US. person to stand in front of the White House in the District of Columbia under false pretenses to hold a sign that read “Happy 55th Birthday Dear Boss.”
This is what the FBI gives you for a multi million dollar investigation.
Far more disturbing, is the idea that it is illegal to be a paid troll or a foreigner that organizes political movements. Where does this end? Should we arrest the dreamers? How many newspapers are owned by foreigners? What about foreigners who own stock in media outlets? Couldn’t these people be said to affecting elections by using information warfare?
You would be hard pressed to find a country existing now that wasn’t influenced by US government meddling.

Conclusion
The left thinks this proves they were correct all along. The right thinks this proves Trump is innocent. I think this proves we should abolish the FBI.