Monthly Archives: September 2009

Congressman Rangel (D – NY), chairman of tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, also ducks taxes

This is scarcely worth posting. It seem very clear that taxes are for us little people, and not our leaders who feast off them.

“Earlier this month the Chairman of the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee ‘amended’ his 2007 financial disclosure form—to the tune of more than a half-million dollars in previously unreported assets and income. That number may be as high as $780,000, because Congress’s ethics rules only require the Members to report their finances within broad ranges. This voyage of personal financial discovery brings Mr. Rangel’s net worth for 2007 to somewhere between $1.028 million and $2.495 million, while his previous statement came in at $516,015 and $1.316 million.

When you’re a powerful Congressman and working diligently to increase tax rates to pay for President Obama’s health-care plan, we suppose it’s easy to lose track of one of your checking accounts.” (online.wsj.com)

Rabbis Considering Ban on Selling Houses to Arabs

“Hareidi and national-religious rabbis will meet Monday in Jerusalem to discuss ways of dealing with the Arab influx into Jewish neighborhoods in northern Jerusalem, as well as the purchasing of agricultural land in the Galilee by wealthy foreign Arabs.

The rabbis are expected to call for an end to the phenomenon of sale of land and houses by Jews to Arabs. The organizer, Aryeh King, who heads the Israel Lands Fund, told Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew service that he is hoping to see the rabbis issue a pronouncement that sale of land and houses to Arabs is forbidden. . . .

According to King, the economic downturn is causing many Jews in the Galilee as well as in the ‘socially weaker’ parts of Jerusalem to sell their homes to Arabs.” (Read more from israelnationalnews.com)

Top Jundallah Figure Says US Ordered Attacks

“In a high profile press conference in the city of Zahedan, Iran, international media gathered to hear a statement from Abdolhamid Rigi, a high ranking member of the Balochi separatist movement Jundallah who is awaiting execution by the Iranian government for his role in a series of murders.

. . . .

In particular, Rigi confirmed that Jundallah previously had ties with al-Qaeda for operations in Pakistan, and that the groups split in 2003 over differences of opinion about strategy in Iran. Not long after severing its ties with al-Qaeda, the group started a relationship with the United States government.

That fact has never been disputed, indeed US officials have repeatedly confirmed that the government has secretly encouraged and advised Jundallah as it fights the Iranian government. But Rigi insisted the US ties went well beyond encouragement.

Rigi insisted that five years ago when the relationship began the US government gave the group $100,000 and promised to provide it with ‘everything we needed.’ He also claimed that the US was directing the group’s attacks, saying ‘they told us whom to shoot and whom not to. All orders came from them.’

Previously US officials had insisted the government was deliberately avoiding direct funding to avoid Congressional oversight, but the Bush Administration did funnel considerable money into ‘covert’ operations against the Iranian government.” (Read more from antiwar.com)

John Stossel – a Libertarian in Manhattan (and on television!)

“I don’t agree with the conservatives who want government to play the role of morals policemen, and I don’t agree with the nanny state liberals. I’m a libertarian.

If you live and work in Manhattan like I do, it can be tough to be a libertarian. It means I’m surrounded by people who vehemently disagree with me – especially in the mainstream media. My kids went to school with Senator Al Franken’s. I went on his radio show thinking I could have a decent argument with him about economics, but no. He wouldn’t entertain a fair debate. He just yelled at me and called me a liar.

Georgetown University Professor John Hasnas has this take on what it feels like to be a libertarian these days:

It feels bad. Being a libertarian means living with an almost unendurable level of frustration. It means being subject to unending scorn and derision despite being inevitably proven correct by events.

Imagine spending two decades warning that government policy is leading to a major economic collapse, and then, when the collapse comes, watching the world conclude that markets do not work.

Imagine continually explaining that markets function because they have a built in corrective mechanism; that periodic contractions are necessary to weed out unproductive ventures; that continually loosening credit to avoid such corrections just puts off the day of reckoning and inevitably leads to a larger recession; that this is precisely what the government did during the 1920’s that led to the great depression; and then, when the recession hits, seeing it offered as proof of the failure of laissez-faire capitalism.

Yup. It often feels bad. But so what? It’s our job to fight for freedom.” (Read more from blogs.abcnews.com)

Mexico decriminalizes “personal use” amounts of drugs

“MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico enacted a controversial law on Thursday decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana, cocaine, heroin and other drugs while encouraging government-financed treatment for drug dependency free of charge.

The law sets out maximum ‘personal use’ amounts for drugs, also including LSD and methamphetamine. People detained with those quantities will no longer face criminal prosecution; the law goes into effect on Friday.

Anyone caught with drug amounts under the personal-use limit will be encouraged to seek treatment, and for those caught a third time treatment is mandatory — although no penalties for noncompliance are specified.” (Read more from belowthebeltway.com)

Stricter Tax Codes Causing Wealthiest Americans to Renounce Citizenship

“As offshore havens comply with transparency demands, a growing number of ultra-wealthy Americans are handing back their passports

Private client lawyers and relocation specialists are reporting a surge in wealthy Americans living abroad who are prepared to give up their citizenship to avoid the scrutiny of US tax authorities.

Although such a move means they have to pay an exit tax, lawyers say this is a price people have become more willing to pay this year, now the fall in asset values has reduced the size of the imposition.

Jay Krause, a partner at private-client specialist law firm Withers, said: ‘The number of inquiries from US citizens wanting to expatriate from their citizenship has increased rapidly in the last year.’

The level of interest is set to increase following the tax disclosure deal between the US Government and UBS of Switzerland, involving the names of 5,000 alleged US tax evaders being handed over to the authorities. The UK concluded a tax deal with Liechtenstein last week.

Because of this, many ultra-wealthy individuals who have chosen to become stateless now cruise outside coastal waters in their mega-yachts in the belief that if they stay on the move, tax authorities will not be able to catch up with them. One analyst who did not want to be named, has estimated the number of stateless tax evaders amounted to a few thousand.

This implies the quantity of money outside the grasp of global tax authorities could be trillions of dollars.

Under US tax laws, the worldwide income of any US citizen or resident is subject to tax. The US is the only country in the world that requires its citizens to stump up, no matter where they live. . . .” (Read more from wealth-bulletin.com)

Barney Frank now talking compromise on Fed Audit

Well that didn’t take long. Just days ago, I posted this video in which Barney Frank, questioned by a constituent, expressed support for Ron Paul’s audit of the Fed. He’s now talking about a compromise:

“WASHINGTON (Reuters, Sat Aug 29, 8:23 pm ET) – Rep. Barney Frank, the chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee, hopes to craft a compromise bill with lawmakers who want to open Federal Reserve monetary policy decisions to audits, a spokesman for Frank said on Saturday.

A bill sponsored by Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul that would allow the Government Accountability Office, a federal watchdog agency, to audit Fed interest-rate decisions has won the co-sponsorship of more than half of the House.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned the bill would compromise the U.S. central bank’s policy-making independence and could undermine financial markets and the economy.

The Financial Times reported on Saturday that Frank hoped to bring forward compromise legislation that would safeguard the Fed’s independence, while enhancing transparency and creating checks and balances for the central bank’s use of emergency lending powers.

Steven Adamske, a spokesman for Frank, told Reuters the congressman would work with Paul on a compromise bill. He said compromise language had not yet been written and provided no further details. A spokesman for Paul could not be reached….” (Read more from dailypaul.com)

If it doesn’t reveal an answer to this question, then the compromise bill is bullshit: WHO GOT THE FUCKING MONEY???

(independence my ass)

Fraud Claims Soar as Karzai Moves Closer to Vote Win

“Afghanistan’s Independent Election Commission (IEC) issued a new set of vote results today, showing President Hamid Karzai inching further ahead of his chief rival Abdullah Abdullah with about 35% of the votes counted, and nearing the majority of votes needed to avert a run-off vote.

Karzai’s presumptive victory has been considerably tainted, however, by thousands of accusations of voter fraud, and officials now say that nearly 700 of the complaints it has received so far are ‘Category A’ allegations of fraud or intimidation, meaning that any of them is large enough to have potentially had an impact on the outcome of the vote.

Not only that, but officials say that the number is expected to rise even further as the votes continue to come in from the nation’s more remote regions. Between the low voter turnout and the enormous number of allegations of fraud, the credibility of the final results, which were initially expected on September 17 and are now expected to be delayed even further, is very much in doubt.” (Read more from myantiwar.org)