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Meet the new boss, same as the old boss… (Read the complete essay at Histories of Social Media)

Your government is worried. The world is “going dark.” Once upon a time, telephones were the only way to talk to someone far away, and the authorities could wiretap any phone they wanted. Nowadays, though, suspects might be communicating via Facebook, Google Hangouts, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Skype, Viber. And so, inevitably: “Today, if you’re a tech company that’s created a new and popular way to communicate, it’s only a matter of time before the FBI shows up with a court order to read or hear some conversation.” But some of those providers have no interest in spying on their users. The FBI is not amused. “A government task force is preparing legislation that would pressure companies such as Face­book and Google to enable law enforcement officials to intercept online communications as they occur,” according to the Washington Post, by fining them increasing sums until they build government-accessible back doors into their systems. Which invites the titular question of this post. The FBI may be looking back with dewy-eyed nostalgia on the phone wiretaps of yore, but I think we can all agree that those would have been ridiculously ineffective if anyone with anything to hide had been able to easily acquire and attach tiny devices that made wiretapping impossible. That’s exactly the case today: anyone even remotely au fait with technology can securely encrypt their digital communications themselves, via eg RedPhone. So the FBI would only be able to wiretap suspects who are either too dumb to use encryption — in which case they ought to be easy enough to catch without wiretaps — or who think they have nothing to hide. Meanwhile, they’d be setting a terrible precedent for other, more draconian governments. Critics say “We’ll look a lot more like China than America after this” … but the Obama administration, which not coincidentally appears to hate whistleblowers above all else, still seems poised to support this initiative. But wait, it gets worse. In order to claim this empty chalice, the powers that be will require a surveillance system that could be abused by the very kind of people it’s supposed to be used against. Could, and almost certainly would: if you build a tool that can be used malevolently, then inevitably it one day will be. Consider how Google was hacked in 2010 by adversaries who used the intercept facilities built into GMail – at the FBI’s insistence – to access the private email of Chinese dissidents, and: Google had a database with "years" worth of FISA surveillance orders it received.The Chinese hacked it. washingtonpost.com/world/national…— Christopher Soghoian (@csoghoian) May 20, 2013 Put another way: Basically, FBI is proposing massive fines for companies that design their systems to be secure. Insanely bad idea. j.mp/Y9hiL3— Julian Sanchez (@normative) April 29, 2013 Is the FBI actually too stupid to realize that this is a terrible, horrible, very bad, no good idea? Or — get your tinfoil hats on — is the pretext of hunting criminals and terrorists merely a smokescreen for requiring what in effect will be a gargantuan cross-platform surveillance system that will let them spy on anyone’s conversation at any time for their own ulterior motives? Probably not. (At least, he said paranoiacally, not yet.) But that is exactly what’s happening in other countries. Witness this post by legendary security guru Moxie Marlinspike, the creator of RedPhone among other tools, who was approached by the Saudi Arabian government to help monitor and block tools like Twitter, Viber, Line and WhatsApp. When he declined, they suggested: If you are not interested than maybe you are on indirectly helping those who curb the freedom with their brutal activities. That’s right, folks: if you’re not helping the government of Saudi Arabia secretly spy on all of its residents, then you’re on the side of the terro

Stocks finally digested some of the stellar gains seen year-to-date after the latest FOMC minutes rattled investor confidence. During Chairman Bernanke’s testimony to Congress last week, it became clear that the Fed is discussing potential exit strategies, which inevitability sent a wave of worry across Wall Street as stimulus hopes faded away. U.S. equities took a dive in the second-half of the week, although bargain buyers helped to recover some lost ground on Friday after durable goods orders data came in better-than-expected [see also The Cheapest ETF For Every Investment Objective]. ETF Insider Recommendations Our Asia Pacific pick took a turn for the worst as selling pressures in Japan spilled over into the Aussie equity market, which also prompted us to take profits in our XLU position ahead of the prolonged holiday weekend. Last Week’s Actionable ETF Ideas Ticker Position Week Performance EWA Long -1.5% XLU Long +8.8% Closed Trade: Long EWA: [...]Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.Related Posts:How To Use A Pairs Trading Strategy With ETFsDaily ETF Roundup: DXJ Tumbles After Nikkei Freefall, XLU SlumpsETF Insider: Asia Pacific Country Fund Looks Ripe For Rebound, Gold Offers A HedgeETF Insider: Bull Run Continues, Short Trade Gets Stopped Out Daily ETF Roundup: YCS Pops On Weaker Yen, XLU Slides Alongside Utilities

In June 2011, I invested my money equally in a selection of 10 high-yield dividend stocks. With a year of success behind me, in July 2012, I added even more money to the portfolio. Those names offer triple the yield of the average S&P 500 stock. You can read all the details here. Now let's check out the results so far. Company Cost Basis Shares Yield Total Value Return Southern $39.71 25.0818 4.4% $1,141.72 14.6% Exelon $41.36 28.818 3.6% $1,000.56 (16%) National Grid $48.90 20.3693 4.9% $1,274.30 27.9% Philip Morris International $68.49 14.5429 3.6% $1,371.54 37.7% Ryman Hospitality $44.93 24.7 4.8% $1,010.23 (9%) Plum Creek Timber $38.42 26 3.3% $1,359.54 36.1% Brookfield Infrastructure Partners $26.12 38.2825 4.4% $1,460.86 46.1% Vodafone $26.75 56.7566 5.3% $1,666.37 9.8% Seaspan $15.24 95 5.9% $2,122.30 46.6% AT&T $35.20 28.4 4.9% $1,043.42 4.4% Retail Opportunity Investments $12.20 81.95 3.9% $1,244.00 24.4% Annaly Preferred D $25.98 38.9 7.2% $1,016.85 2.5% Cash       $330.37   Dividends Receivable       $62.79   Original Investment       $12,983.97   Total Portfolio       $16,104.86 24% Investment in SPY (Including Dividends)         26.9% Relative Performance (Percentage Points)         (2.9) Source: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's. There has been quite the switch in portfolio performance in the past couple of weeks, and it looks like investors were switching out of dividend stocks. Since then our portfolio is down 1.4 percentage points, but the S&P gained 2 percentage points. That swing leaves us 2.9 points down on the index. That's a marked shift in a short period. The blended yield remains at 4.7%, and we have more than $300 in cash in the portfolio, with $60 more on the way in just a few weeks. In the next week or two (as Fool's rules permit), I'm going to add $1,000 to each of two new stocks. In addition, I'm going to sell a pair of stocks. Here are the details. I'm going to add Gramercy Property Trust to the portfolio. It doesn't yet pay a dividend, but it will soon, and it should be substantial. Under new CEO Gordon DuGan, Gramercy has shed its ugly legacy business of collateralized debt obligations and is deploying its hoard of capital into cash-flowing properties. DuGan and his team are finding long-term leases at cap rates greater than 8%. They're getting cheap financing, and the CEO purchased a significant stake when he came on board mid-2012, so he has skin in the game. I think Gramercy's upside could be 50% over the next year or so. Before the dividend starts on the common stock, though, the company has to become current on its preferred dividend, so I don't expect the common dividend for perhaps a year. But sometimes you have to skate to where a dividend will be rather than where it is. The dividend reinstatement should drive the stock much higher. In addition, I'll be buying shares of Sprott Resource. This spawn of the Sprott family is a private-equity company led by CEO Kevin Bambrough. It invests in commodities business across the spectrum, including gold, cattle, oil and natural gas, and farmland. It has suffered of late because of its association with gold, which has been hammered in the past couple of months. But gold comprises less than one-fourth of its portfolio. A key value creator at Sprott Resource is bringing companies public, exploiting private-public arbitrage, where public assets are valued more highly than equivalent private assets. The company aims to pay out 10% of its book value annually. Its dividend is paid monthly and currently comes to $0.035 per share. Bambrough instituted the dividend late last year to move shares higher, and he has been an aggressive buyer of shares at below book value, a move that should create value for shareholders. Now tr

Obamacare is one of the most controversial laws ever passed. But dealing with potential health-care issues in your financial plan is extremely challenging, and with more provisions of the Affordable Care Act slated to take effect soon, you need to understand the impact of health-care reform on your personal finances. In the following video, Fool contributor and personal-finance expert Dan Caplinger looks at Obamacare from three perspectives: the health-care consumer, the taxpayer, and the investor. Dan explains what Obamacare requires on the insurance front and then goes through the tax increases that have taken effect at the beginning of 2013 that will in part go toward funding it and other government spending. Finally, Dan closes with a look at the winners and losers on the investing front. One thing is certain: Obamacare will undoubtedly have far-reaching effects. The Motley Fool's new free report "Everything You Need to Know About Obamacare" goes into more detail on how your health insurance, your taxes, and your portfolio will be affected. Click here to read more.

As well as the Dow Jones Industrials and S&P 500 have done recently, setting successive all-time records on multiple occasions throughout the past couple of months, they're not the only stocks that have soared. One often-overlooked part of the stock market has done even better than the Dow and S&P recently. In the following video, Fool contributor Dan Caplinger takes a look at this promising area of the market, which marked a new milestone earlier this week and has nearly tripled since the 2009 lows. Dan examines why these stocks have done so well and answers whether it makes sense to invest in this promising sector now. To learn more about a few ETFs that have great promise for delivering profits to shareholders, check out The Motley Fool's special free report "3 ETFs Set to Soar." Just click here to access it now.

Hydro is headed into stormy waters, according to a new report that links deforestation to reduced power output for a proposed dam in Brazil. While Amazonian rain forests might seem miles away from your portfolio profits, there are direct impacts and sector-wide implications from these new findings. Here's what you need to know. All dried upThe Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences released a report (link opens a PDF) last week turning power preconceptions upside down. Before this week, commonsense thinking proposed that if forests around a river were chopped down, more water would hit dam reservoirs, increasing capacity and maximizing electricity generation. In reality, although trees do take their fair share of groundwater out of river flow, they play a vital (and relatively larger) role in cloud and rainfall creation. The study focuses its findings on Brazil's 11,200 MW Belo Monte Dam, currently under construction. According to the report, 40% deforestation in key forested areas could drop capacities by as much as 75% during dry months. Dividend droughtWhile the second-largest hydroelectric dam in the world  is collectively owned by the Brazilian government and local energy corporations, this study is hardly good news for Duke Energy's own Brazil operations. The North Carolina-based utility owns eight hydro facilities in Brazil with a total generation capacity of 2,300 MW. In its latest earnings report, CEO Jim Rogers noted that low reservoir levels helped knock 5% off the company's adjusted EPS. Rogers assured investors that Duke "will continue to monitor the reservoir levels." Unfortunately, monitoring is all that the company is capable of. Seasonally unstable salesRain forests aside, this new report is also a reminder that hydroelectric power is hardly a steady source. Belo Monte is expected to hit 85% of its 11,000 MW capacity every April, but plummets to 5% in September. According to the study, the dam's annual generation could average out to just 35% (3,850 MW) of total capacity. NextEra Energy sold off its last hydro assets in March to "further optimize [our] generation portfolio and concentrate [our] resources." NextEra is the largest renewables energy producer in the United States, and has been adding on heavily to other alternative energies. Just last week, it announced an order for 59 of General Electric's new 1.7 MW wind turbines, the largest and most efficient turbines to date. FirstEnergy is following NextEra's lead, and plans to sell its 1,240 MW of hydro assets by 2014. The sale will improve FirstEnergy's debt dilemma, but should also help the utility concentrate resources on more stable energy sources. Is hydro's heyday over?Hydroelectric power was once espoused as the cleanest, greenest renewable energy around. However, over the decades, its expected efficiency has dropped as environmentalists and economists alike shattered investors' dreams. Investing in the energy sector is a moving target, and wise investors will keep track of the latest news to make sure that their energy investments' energy portfolios will continue to pump profits for their own portfolios.Hydro may not hold up, but there's another clean energy source that's making a comeback. As the nation moves increasingly toward environmentally friendly energy, Exelon is perfectly positioned to capitalize on having the largest nuclear fleet in North America. This strength, combined with an increased focus on balance sheet health and its recent merger with Constellation, places Exelon and its resized dividend on a short list of the top utilities. To determine if Exelon is a good long-term fit for your portfolio, you're invited to check out The Motley Fool's premium research report on the company. Simply click here now for instant access.

Cash. We could all use more of it. That's why many investors turn to dividend stocks. The case for good dividend stocks is simple: Investors don't need to rely solely on unrealized gains to get a return on their investment -- they get to look forward to a cash deposit every quarter. But how do you find the top dividend stocks? You'll need to muster up some contrarianism and look where others aren't. If you want abnormal returns, you'll need to act abnormally. Where to searchLet's begin by looking at some megacap tech-leaders. In doing so, you've already (a) identified an undervalued sector many investors have abandoned and (b) narrowed your search down to the leaders in their respective industries. Particularly, let's look at Apple and Intel , two excellent businesses that have been battered and bruised over the past year. AAPL data by YCharts Enduring Top dividend stocks need more than just a good dividend yield -- they need to be enduring businesses. A dividend yield won't get you anywhere if your principal takes a nosedive. Most enduring businesses have two things in common: market leadership and consistently high returns on invested capital to prove it. Apple's market leadership is as clear as day. If there's a definite duopoly in any industry, it's in handsets. Apple and Samsung, together, captured 100% of the industry's worldwide profits in the first quarter of 2013, according to Canaccord Genuity. Apple took the lead with 57% of profits, and Samsung followed behind with 43%. But Apple's share of profits is quite surprising, given that it captured only 8% of the global handset market share. Intel's leadership comes from its economies of scale. As the world's largest semiconductor company by far, it has far more money to spend on research and development and also has cutting-edge manufacturing capabilities. To add some perspective to just how significant Intel's economies of scale really are, compare its market capitalization of $118.4 billion with that of its closest competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, at just $2.9 billion. Furthermore, Apple and Intel have had above-average returns on invested capital in the trailing 10-year, five-year, and three-year periods. Today, Apple stands at a whopping 33.3% return on invested capital and Intel at a nice 17.2%. This is clear evidence that both companies benefit from competitive advantages -- namely, brand recognition and economies of scale. Reasonably pricedTop dividend stocks should be reasonably priced, to lower the risk on your principle and let you focus on the prospective income. Apple and Intel are as cheap as market leaders come in today's frothy stock market. Apple and Intel's stock prices have dropped, but measured by free cash flow yield, their ability to generate the cold, hard cash that builds shareholder value is still intact. Furthermore, measured by this metric, these two market leaders are comparatively cheap compared with other dividend-paying market leaders. AAPL Free Cash Flow Yield data by YCharts Meaningful dividendsObviously, top dividend stocks should have nice dividends yields. Apple and Intel undoubtedly deliver, with dividend yields of 2.7% and 3.8%, respectively. These are considerable yields, given that analysts, on average, expect Apple and Intel's EPS to increase by 20.88% and 11% per annum for the next five years, respectively. Well-rounded Like Apple and Intel, top dividend stocks must be well-rounded, meeting all of the criteria I've laid out; the business must be enduring, the stock should be reasonably priced, and the dividends should crush the return you could get in your savings account. If you're looking for the top dividend stocks to invest in today, give Apple and Intel some serious consideration. What do you think? Are Apple and Intel great dividend stocks? What dividend stocks are you betting on? Apple has a history of cranking out revolutionary products ... and then creatively destroying them with something better. Read about the fu

The all-new Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra represent General Motors' most important new-product launches in years. GM has made it clear that it's pulling out all the stops on this one, and that means a big ad blitz is coming to a TV near you. In this video, Fool contributor John Rosevear looks at the latest news on GM's big launch -- and at some hints as to the shape of the massive marketing campaign that's about to be set loose on America. Few companies lead to such strong feelings as General Motors. The Motley Fool's premium GM research service can help you sort feelings from facts, by giving you the full scoop on the big changes that are remaking General Motors -- and the full scoop on how you can profit. Just click here to get started now.

It is no secret that oil and natural gas are finite resources on which the whole world is becoming increasingly more dependent. As more and more uses are developed for natural gas, it is inevitable that production will increase in order to meet expanding demand. While I may never live to see the day when either resource runs completely dry, I do believe that I will still be a going concern when their extraction reaches the point of diminishing returns. Because of this obvious dilemma, renewable resources are continually gaining traction both in labs and within investors' portfolios. Which renewable source emerges the victor has yet to be seen. In my case, I have chosen to place my first bet on the effect that geothermal energy could have on the world. Here is an energy bestowed upon us from the belly of Mother Earth that can be harnessed in the form of steam after drilling several miles below the surface. What makes this more unique than solar or wind? Well for one, the consistency in which power can be generated from a geothermal plant ranks leaps and bounds ahead of the other two which are largely dependent on the time of day, weather, etc. Therefore, geothermal power can be relied upon as a base-load source much like nuclear and coal plants are now. Add in the fact that it has a comparable levelized cost to that of natural gas facilities while beating out all other renewable sources other than wind, and geothermal appears to be an ideal choice to build the energy infrastructure of the future around. Based on this favorable outlook, I will be adding Ormat Technologies to my real-money portfolio in order to gain exposure to the geothermal industry. Ormat Technologies specializes in binary cycle plants which have the ability to operate in areas where temperatures don't quite reach those necessary to generate power from traditional dry steam or flash steam plants. Because binary cycle plants "simply" cycle the geothermal fluid through a heat exchanger -- where its heat is transferred to the low-boiling-point fluid which powers the turbine -- and then returns the cooled geothermal fluid to the reservoir, it protects the sustainability of the reservoir. Environmentalists can also rest at ease because the only emission that typically escapes from these plants is water vapor. On top of returning the fluid to the reservoir and keeping our air breathable, binary cycle plants can be placed in areas of geothermal activity where temperatures don't reach those necessary to operate dry or flash steam plants. This increases the marketplace for Ormat's equipment and services well beyond what was traditionally thought of prior to their design. While the cost of bringing a binary cycle plant on line might be a bet burdensome, I forecast that costs will fall as geothermal becomes more en vogue. With companies such as Halliburton and Schlumberger handling the bulk of drilling activity, technological advances can't be too far off. From a financial standpoint, Ormat has been able to deliver cash flow from operations on a consistent basis for at least the past 10 years, where it has grown at a compound annual growth rate of 22.7% since 2003. I do have some reservations regarding its debt level, but if it continues generating cash like it has been, then I don't foresee any problems meeting its current obligations. As my portfolio expands, this early base of new school versus old school energy is a nice near- to mid-term hedge after which I believe the new school regime will officially take over. I look forward to watching this technology leader grow along with its promising industry in the coming years.For other portfolio picks that could benefit from geothermal growth consider...Domestic oil and gas service companies have taken a hit in the recent past due to a slowdown in the natural gas drilling boom of the last couple of years. As this market looks to rebound, investors would be wise to consider Halliburton, one of the top companies in the