Michael Krieger

My name is Michael Krieger, and I am the creator and editor of Liberty Blitzkrieg. I'm originally from New York City.

As far as my academic and professional background, I attended college at Duke University where I earned a double major in Economics and Spanish. After completing my studies in 2000, I took a job at Lehman Brothers where I worked with the Oil analyst in the Equity Research Department.  In 2005, I joined Sanford C. Bernstein where I served as the Commodities Analyst on the trading floor. About halfway through my time there, I started to branch out and write opinions on bigger picture "macro" topics that no one else at the firm was covering. These opinion pieces were extremely popular throughout the global investment community, and I traveled around providing advice to some of the largest mutual funds, pension funds and hedge funds in the world.

I loved my job, but as time passed I started to educate myself about how the monetary and financial system functions and what I discovered disgusted me. I no longer felt satisfied working within the industry, and I resigned in January 2010.  At that point, I started a family investment office and continued to write macro pieces on economic, social and geopolitical topics. That summer, I drove cross country for six weeks and ultimately decided to leave the crowded streets of Manhattan for the open spaces of Boulder, Colorado, where I currently reside.

In the years that followed, I gradually recognized that my true passion centers upon writing on issues of significant societal importance given the extremely challenging times we live in. This realization culminated with me losing interest in financial markets and eventually launching this website in early 2012.

If you are interested in a more detailed description, replete with colorful anecdotes, of how I ended up making this bizarre professional transition, take the time to watch the video below.

https//www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/DcqMN-FXCIE?rel=0

In Liberty,
Michael Krieger

The Bitcoin Economy Evolves: Bitpay Slashes Fees and is Adding 1,000 Merchants a Month

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Jon Matonis knows more about Bitcoin than pretty much anyone on earth.  He wrote a fantastic article today highlighting the hyper-growth of Bitcoin processing company, Bitpay Inc.  Some of the statistics mentioned absolutely blew my mind, to the point that it’s almost hard to believe the level of growth happening here.  While the news that they are slashing fees for merchants is a big deal in itself for the evolution of the “Bitcoin Economy,” the fact they are adding 1,000 merchants a month on a base of 4,000 is absolutely incredible.  Oh, and the company has also recently integrated its payment platform with Amazon’s fulfillment services.  Great work Jon.  Excerpts below:

Bitcoin payment processor BitPay Inc. today announced its global processing volume for the month of March will exceed $2 million, a milestone for the company.

BitPay is also reducing its fees. The company will now process Bitcoin transactions and support settlement into 11 local currencies at a rate of 0.99% for all merchants. Previously, there were separate conversion fees on top of the 0.99% processing fee, so the company has essentially waived the currency conversion charges.

Accepting the digital Bitcoin currency as a payment method allows merchants to reach customers in over 60 countries not supported by PayPal.  It also allows merchants to reach various countries that are restricted by Visa and MasterCard for high fraud or lack of infrastructure. A consumer transacting in bitcoins needs only a mobile phone application or an Internet connection.

“We chose to celebrate this milestone by rewarding all merchants, large and small, with an across-the-board fee reduction, instead of offering tiered pricing which rewards only the largest merchants,” says BitPay CEO Tony Gallippi, in a press release. “We want our merchants to use this fee reduction to offer discounts and incentives to their customers for paying with Bitcoin.”

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Good News: Bipartisan Anti-Drone Movement Emerges in Congress

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Normally when I hear the word “bipartisan” I shudder with fear, because typically any issue that both Republicans and Democrats agree on is in the absolute worst interests of the American people.  That said, it does appear that we are in the very early stages of a political awakening in the country, one in which citizens play a more active role and place increasing pressure on their “representatives.”  When this happens, good outcomes are possible.  It appears the drone issue may be one of them, as it is becoming increasingly clear that, unlike Mayor Bloomberg, most Americans strongly dislike the idea of drones flying over their heads.  This is good news.  Let’s keep pushing hard.  From CNET:

An unusual bipartisan revolt has erupted against law enforcement plans to fly more drones equipped with high-tech gear that can be used to conduct surveillance of Americans.

A combination of concerns about privacy, air traffic safety, facial recognition, cell phone tracking– and even the possibility that in the future drones could be armed — have suddenly placed police on the defensive.

A public outcry in Seattle last month prompted the mayor to ground the police department’s nascent drone program. Oregon held a hearing this week on curbing drones, following one in Idaho last week. And on Tuesday, Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) introduced a federal bill that would require law enforcement to obtain warrants before conducting drone-based aerial surveillance.

In October 2011, police in Montgomery County, Texas, received delivery of a ShadowHawk unmanned aerial vehicle from Vanguard Defense Industries. The ShadowHawk can be equipped with a TASER weapon system, which delivers a high-voltage electronic shock through what Vanguard calls “multi-shot XREP launching” delivered by a “patented targeting- and firing-system.” Montgomery County has said, however, it’s considering weaponizing its ShadowHawk with rubber bullets and tear gas instead.

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Mayor Bloomberg on Drones: “Oh it’s Big Brother. Get Used to it”

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While hosting his weekly radio show this past Friday, Your Royal Highness Mayor Michael Bloomberg explained to the serfs of NYC that privacy is dead and that you just “can’t keep the tide” of the surveillance state from coming in.  His quotes perfectly demonstrate the attitude he takes toward his subjects and are quite revealing.  For instance:

“Everybody wants their privacy, but I don’t know how you’re going to maintain it.  It’s just we’re going into a different world, uncharted, and, like it or not, what people can do, what governments can do, is different.  And you can to some extent control, but you can’t keep the tides from coming in.”

“The argument against using automation, it’s this craziness– oh, it’s Big Brother. Get used to it.”

As if that isn’t bad enough, it also become 100% crystal clear that this guy wants to fill the skies of NYC with “freedom birds.”  He sees absolutely no problem with it at all.  In his own words:

“But what’s the difference whether the drone is up in the air or on the building? I mean intellectually I have trouble making a distinction. And you know you’re gonna have face recognition software.  People are working on that.”

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Texas Moves to Repatriate its Gold from the Federal Reserve

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This is one of the most interesting stories I have read regarding the precious metals market in quite some time.  It appears that Texas Rep. Giovanni Capriglione has a bill in play that would move the state’s gold from New York (where its under the “safekeeping” of the ultra shady Federal Reserve) to a depository within the state of Texas itself.  The reason this would be such a big deal if it happens, is because a lot of the gold bought and sold globally is very likely not actually owned by those that “buy” it.  From my perspective, pretty much the only countries that actually buy gold and bring it within their borders are China, Russia and Iran.  Most other nations that claim they “bought” gold, most likely hold a certificate that states they have gold in London or New York.  So in other words, they have no gold.  It looks like Texas is wising up.  From the Star-Telegram:

Freshman Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, R-Southlake, is carrying a bill that would establish the Texas Bullion Depository, a secure state-based bank to house $1 billion worth of gold bars owned by the University of Texas Investment Management Co., or UTIMCO, and stored by the Federal Reserve.

“If you think gold is a hedge, or a protection, you always want it as close to the individual and the entity as possible,” Paul told The Texas Tribune on Thursday.” Texas is better served if it knows exactly where the gold is rather than depending on the security of the Federal Reserve.”

You’ve gotta love Ron Paul.  The guy is still raising hell even after he left Congress.

The highly political Governor also appears to be on board…

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Harper’s Magazine: “Obama’s Real Political Program”

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Excellent, short article that exposes the total fraud, joke and oligarch puppet that is Barrack Obama.  From Harper’s: You have to hand it to Barack Obama when it comes to having it both ways: He never stops serving the ruling class, yet the mainstream media, from right to left, continues to pretend that he’s some … Read more

Bitcoin Goes Parabolic: My Updated Thoughts

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Bitcoin is the beginning of something great: a currency without a government, something necessary and imperative.

– Nassim Taleb on Reddit yesterday

So Bitcoin has finally dipped its electronic toe into the fringes of mainstream consciousness. The results have been, to put it mildly, explosive, divisive and highly emotional.  I can see why.

While I had been aware of it prior, I never truly became curious about Bitcoin until I read an excellent six page article about it in the New Yorker on October 10, 2011.  I had no clue how the technology worked, but it intrigued me to such a degree that I sent it to my email list of close contacts.  What really struck me was the rationale for creating Bitcoin by its creator, the anonymous “Satoshi Nakamoto.”  This cryptographer was well aware of the cancerous nature of the world’s monetary system and the key role of Central Banking in that system.  This wasn’t just some technology geek playing games with virtual currency, this was a well thought out monetary revolution.

He had thought this entire thing out like a chess grandmaster.  He knew he had to be anonymous and that Bitcoin had to be decentralized, because he knew the Central Bank overlords would fight to the death to protect their money monopoly.  He created a currency that central planners could not naked short to infinity and manipulate with derivatives as they do with the precious metals markets.  It was this foresight that has led to its tremendous success today.

It wasn’t until I started accepting Bitcoin donations in September of last year (donate here) that I truly started gaining a small understanding of the technology and who the major players in the “Bitcoin Economy” are.  It was at 10 back then, it is 73 as I write this today.

BTC

A chart like the one above is nothing short of parabolic, and parabolic charts beget parabolic emotions.  From my end, I have received some complaints from “gold bugs” who seems annoyed that I am highlighting Bitcoin seemingly in preference to precious metals.  To them I have a few things to say.

First, I spent four years writing about gold and silver non-stop.  Sorry, it just gets repetitive and boring.  Never once have I wavered in my conviction on the need to buy and hold these metals; however, the world is dynamic and when new things enter the picture I will formulate new thoughts.  Some of the complaints against Bitcoin are valid, others are not.  The one I hear the most, which is completely untrue, is that Bitcoin is another “fiat currency.”  I’m often shocked that people make this error, as the definition of fiat is: 1. A formal authorization or proposition; a decree and 2. An arbitrary order.  Synonyms include: decree, diktat, directive, edict, rescript, ruling.  Bitcoin is 100% voluntary.  No one is declaring it the “money of the land,” forcing you to pay taxes in it, or invading the Middle East to protect the pricing of oil in it.  So let’s move on.

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Amazingly…Watch Michael Moore Put Piers Morgan to Bed

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I’ve said before, I’ll say it again.  There is nothing better for anyone’s career than to be interviewed by Piers Morgan.  The guy is such an unimaginative, partisan hack he always creates the perfect setup for TV magic.  While I have been intensely critical of Michael Moore in the past due to his lack of … Read more

James Goodale: “Obama Worse than Nixon” on Press Freedom

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For those of you unaware, James Goodale was chief counsel to the New York Times when they published the Pentagon Papers.  In this excellent interview with the Columbia Journalism Review, he warns all Americans, in particular journalists, about the significance of the U.S. government’s prosecution of Wikileaks.  He notes that what Wikileaks did was no different from what the New York Times did back in the 1970’s.  They broke news that the powerful didn’t want exposed.  That is the heart and soul of journalism, and if that is criminalized, so will be the profession of journalism itself.  It’s a full on attack against free speech.  From the CJR:

James Goodale has a message for journalists: Wake up. In his new book, Fighting for the Press (CUNY Journalism Press, 2013), Goodale, chief counsel to The New York Times when its editors published the Pentagon Papers in 1971, argues that President Obama is worse for press freedom than former President Richard Nixon was.

The Obama administration has prosecuted more alleged leakers of national security information under the 1917 Espionage Act than all previous administrations combined, a course critics say is overly aggressive. Former New York Times executive editor Bill Keller wrote in a March op-ed that the administration “has a particular, chilling intolerance” for those who leak. If the Obama administration indicts WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange for conspiracy to violate the Espionage Act, Goodale argues, the president will have succeeded where Nixon failed by using the act to “end-run” the First Amendment.

Could you talk a bit about President Obama’s approach to classified information and press freedom?

Antediluvian, conservative, backwards. Worse than Nixon. He thinks that anyone who leaks is a spy! I mean, it’s cuckoo.

Well, I think it’s very much the same thing. We have a leak of classified information. And by the way — you’ve got to remember [Bradley] Manning’s the leaker. Everyone says Assange is a leaker. He’s not a leaker. He’s the person who gets the information.

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Congress Moves to DEREGULATE Wall Street

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The best part of this story is that Wall Street is, of course, anything but regulated. Nevertheless, the minuscule rules that do apply to the nation’s financial oligarchs are apparently just too much to bare.  It doesn’t seem to bother Congress that the TBTF banks are actively involved in offshore payday lending schemes with rates well over 500%, or that they destroyed multiple municipalities across the nation selling swaps, including picking away at the carcass of the once strong Detroit.  Nope, all that matters is that Congress’ pockets are lined with Federal Reserve Notes.  As expected, this is a bipartisan effort.  From the Huffington Post:

WASHINGTON — A bipartisan cadre of House lawmakers will move on legislation to deregulate Wall Street derivatives Wednesday, less than a week after Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) released adevastating report on the multibillion-dollar derivatives debacle at JPMorgan Chase.

“It is incredible that less than a week after new JPMorgan Whale hearings detailed how the bank’s London office piled up risk, hid losses, and dodged regulatory oversight, that some House members are again supporting the weakening of derivative safeguards.”

It’s not incredible Carl, it’s called payoffs.

Yet in an era of partisan gridlock in the nation’s capital, Democrats and Republicans have come together to repeal or weaken those rules. Although Obama may not want to sign a standalone package of Wall Street deregulation into law, bipartisan legislation could be inserted into a broader bill that the president might find difficult to reject.

I’m sure it’ll be real difficult for Barry to sign.  About as gut wrenching as signing the NDAA.

At a congressional hearing last week, Wallace Turbeville, a former Goldman Sachs banker and current senior fellow at the public policy group Demos, testified on behalf of Americans for Financial Reform that exempting utilities from the rules would ultimately help Wall Street firms profit at the utilities’ expense.

“I had the uncomfortable opportunity to witness sales calls by derivatives specialists on governmental utilities,” Turbeville said. “I have seen the technique of fostering a sense of trust, encouraging an advisory relationship that can be exploited to sell an immensely profitable derivative when other alternatives could be better.”

The bills to be considered Wednesday also include legislation from Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) — another Goldman alum — that would roll back Dodd-Frank’s ban on taxpayer support for some kinds of derivatives trades. Himes has defended his bill as a way to ensure that more regulators oversee derivatives, though the measure is opposed by the Americans for Financial Reform.

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Providence: An Incredible 5 Minute Film by Laura Poitras

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I first became aware of Laura Poitras when I watched her eye-opening video about NSA whistleblower William Binney.  I was so impressed by her interview that I wrote about it and posted it on my website in the article: The NSA is Completely and Totally Out of Control…Very Important Video.  Well Laura is back, and she absolutely … Read more