Your Toaster is Watching You

Your Toaster is Watching You Dear Sovereign Investor, Since the defeat of chess world champion Garry Kasparov in 1997 by IBM's Deep Blue, we've been enthralled by the promise of faster, more powerful computers and the convenience they can bring to our lives. More recently, IBM has turned Watson loose on enormous collections of de-identified consumer health records in hopes of unlocking cures to many of the life-threatening illnesses that have plagued mankind for centuries. But what are we potentially sacrificing as we all seek shelter under the umbrella of convenience? We now have apps on our smartphones that let us lock the house, turn off the lights, turn off the faucet, set the security alarm. There are apps that can diagnose a variety of ailments with a simple reading of your pulse. Retailers can now create a more in-depth analysis of our spending habits at stores so they can better target our future needs — or what their data tells them we'll need. All your smart devices, right down to your smart toaster, are logging and reporting your every decision. The collection of all the data on every small, meaningless (to us) decision we make each day is helping companies form a template that is looking increasingly like a blueprint of our lives. Big Data firms are going through an explosive growth phase and are selling their services to our cable, phone, Internet, bank and, some fear, health care providers, on a quest to map out our lives so that more products can be sold to us. And there's a company in California that is making a killing in the Big Data arena — Palantir Technologies. Palantir grew with funding from the CIA. Not surprisingly, one of the company's earliest customers was the FBI. Palantir's work has been credited with being used to predict terrorist attacks and analyze debris from roadside bombs. The company has now set its sights on the private sector, bringing in new customers, including banking and media giants. Palantir's vast computing resources are crawling through mountains of personal data, analyzing what we're reading, searching for, what we're buying, how we're using our money. Again, it's the creation of the template of a citizen's life that drives Palantir and many other companies into this lucrative business. Run by a self-professed deviant, Palantir may boast about safeguarding our civil liberties, but is it not infringing on them by "watching" us through its data gathering and analysis? Have you ever felt a shiver up your neck and turned to find someone staring at you? You cannot be natural and unaffected if you are being watched and if you can't be … you are not free. The price we pay for convenience needs to be reconsidered as companies like CIA-financed Palantir seek to "analyze" us and sell that analysis to the highest bidder. Sure, there's an app for that, but what's the price to your privacy? Regards, Jocelynn Smith Online Associate Managing Editor, The Sovereign Investor Daily P.S. If you've missed some of last week's Sovereign ideas, please see our commentaries below: This One Sector Will Outperform the S&P To this date, the Fed is still subsidizing banks by keeping interest rates low. And, for banks, the situation got a little better in the last six months. Banks make more money when the yield curve is steep. And the Fed is promising to keep short-term rates close to zero for a long time. Evaldo Albuquerque reveals a trade on a fund that's set to get an assist from Fed policy. Click here to read more. Legally Stash Your Cash A former U.S. congressman has made critical updates to one of the most controversial books we've ever seen. Inside, he reveals the secrets to getting a second passport and establishing a part-time or full-time offshore residency in one of over 80 beautiful, get-away countries ... starting in 30 days or less. To claim your copy of this 878-page guide to international living and travel before we sell out, click here. Finding an Edge in Trading Currencies Fundamental analysis is great at evaluating a company from a balance-sheet perspective to understand if it's rock solid or weak-kneed. So fundamentals are great at telling you what to buy. The weakness of the pure fundamental model is that they don't tell you when to buy. We've got a cure for that. Click here to read more of Currency Cross Trader's Thomas Fischer and how to get the right price on your trade. Announcing The Sovereign Society's Most Exclusive (and Opportune) Gathering for 2014 We're seeking a handful of "fed up" sovereign-minded Americans who want to escape escalating taxes, grow their money in booming farmland opportunities, and store their finances in safe income investments with rates 19-times higher than CDs — in banks that are closed off from the IRS or NSA, I might add. In 2014, we're jetting in to experience firsthand the freest (and safest) country on earth — one with an abundance of personal liberties and untapped wealth — and the exciting part is ... we're bringing some of our readers along for the ride. For full details, and to reserve your spot now, click here. 1914 Could Happen Again Bob Bauman sees parallels to 1914 in today's political economy tensions. Just like 1914, there are two superpowers, one in decline and one ascendant, contending for economic and political dominance — the U.S. and China. There is once again widespread dissatisfaction with the institutions and arrangements governing global affairs, paradoxically and perhaps "delusionally," combined with a belief that "it can't happen here." Click here to read more. A 3,000-Year-Old Currency With the Power to Unseat the U.S. Dollar It's one of the world's oldest currencies — one that is almost older than gold, even older than God … and it has the power to unseat the U.S. dollar. To view the disturbing video that reveals the economy-rattling story that surrounds the relaunch of this ancient currency, click here … A Golden Opportunity to Insure Your Lifestyle Regardless of its price today or investor sentiment toward the metal, gold remains an insurance policy against the insanity on Capitol Hill. Owning it — in physical form and through select gold-mining stocks — allows me to protect my family's lifestyle. The way I see it, the price of gold might very well drift lower as the economy bounces back, but that just means I'm able to add to my insurance policy — increase my coverage, effectively — at cheaper rates. Click here for more. BECOME A SUBSCRIBER When the next economic crisis hits – will you be prepared? As a subscriber to Jeff Opdyke's The Sovereign Investor, we will arm you with the tools and strategies needed to prepare and prosper in the months ahead. SUBSCRIBE NOW STAY INFORMED Whitelist Us Follow Us on Twitter Like Us on Facebook Privacy Policy The Sovereign Investor Daily 55 NE 5th Avenue, Suite 200 Delray Beach, FL 33483 The mailbox associated with this email address is not monitored, so please do not reply. Your feedback is very important to us so if you would like to contact us with a question or comment, please click here: http://thesovereigninvestor.com/ Legal Notice: This work is based on what we've learned as financial journalists. It may contain errors and should not be considered personalized investment advice. Therefore, you should not base investment decisions solely on what you read here. It's your money and your responsibility. Certain investments such as futures, options, and currency trading carry large potential rewards but also large potential risk. Don't trade in these markets with money you can't afford to lose. CFTC Rule 4.41 - These results are based on simulated or hypothetical performance results that have certain inherent limitations. Unlike the results shown in an actual performance record, these results do not represent actual trading and may have under-or over-compensated for the impact, if any, of certain market factors, such as lack of liquidity. Simulated or hypothetical trading programs in general are also subject to the fact that they are designed with the benefit of hindsight. Past results of any individual or trading strategy published by the Sovereign Society are not indicative of future returns by that individual or strategy, and are not indicative of future returns which could be realized by you. The Sovereign Society receives a marketing fee based on our relationship with EverBank. (c) 2014 Sovereign Offshore Services LLC expressly forbids its writers from having a financial interest in their own securities or commodities recommendations to readers. Such recommendations may be traded, however, by other editors, Sovereign Offshore Services LLC, its affiliated entities, employees, and agents, but only after waiting 24 hours after an internet broad cast or 72 hours after a publication only circulated through the mail. To unsubscribe from The Sovereign Investor and any associated external offers, click here.