“Federal law generally requires that regulations, both major and minor, be opened for public comment, allowing interested parties to read the rules and remark on them, potentially enacting changes to the proposed rules. The GAO report notes that the majority of the regulations published without a notice-and-comment period were done so because the government claimed to have ‘good cause’ to do so. The federal government invokes ‘good cause’ when it believes a comment period or comments are contrary to the public interest or if public notice may be deemed unnecessary or impractical.”
Monthly Archives: February 2013
The Unsung, But Massive Obamacare Sales Tax Increase That Is On the Way
“In 2014, Obamacare will take effect, with many of the changes set to roll out over the next six months. There are a number of new taxes that the ACA will bring- twenty one to be exact- but the sales tax on the purchase of health insurance is by far the largest. The tax increases that remain on the books will cost taxpayers more than $675 billion over the next ten years. Chief among these will be the sales tax on the purchase of health insurance, totaling $101.7 billion, and making it larger than all the other industry-specific taxes combined.”
Manny Pacquiao prefers to fight in China because of high U.S. taxes

“Manny Pacquiao’s chief adviser insisted Monday that the Filipino superstar’s preference is for his next bout – a fifth fight against Juan Manuel Marquez – to take place away from Las Vegas, with the off-shore Chinese gambling resort of Macau emerging as the ‘favorite.’ Michael Koncz told Yahoo! Sports that the 39.6
percent tax rate Pacquiao would face if he were to fight again in the U.S. makes a fall bout in Las Vegas ‘a no go.’ Promoter Bob Arum Arum said Pacquiao would not have to pay taxes if the fight takes place in casinos in either Singapore or Macau.”
Major Disinformation Campaign about America’s Gold Begins
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“An audit of the gold held at the New York Federal Reserve has been completed and the disinformation campaign has started. The problem is that the gold held at the New York Federal Reserve is not ‘The U.S. government’s gold.’ It is gold held, for the most part, by the Federal Reserve for foreign countries. Why wasn’t an independent auditing firm brought in? And since the gold is held for countries like Germany, why didn’t Germany and others who have gold on account get to pick the auditor? Of course, the full truth is this gold has never been audited and unlike the NY Fed, which provides tours, there are no tours of the Fort Knox gold.”
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2013/02/get-ready-for-some-major-disinformation.html
Obama to receive Israel’s presidential medal of honor

“Barack Obama will become the first serving US president to receive Israel’s presidential medal, from his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres on a visit to the Jewish state next month, Peres’s office said on Monday. ‘President Obama has made a unique and meaningful contribution to strengthening the state of Israel and the security of its people,’ it said in a statement. ‘Barack Obama is a true friend of the state of Israel and has been since the beginning of his public life. As president of the United States he has stood beside Israel in times of crisis,’ it added.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/18/obama-to-receive-israels-presidential-medal-of-honor/
Iraq demands U.S. energy giant ExxonMobil end deal with Kurdistan

“Nuri al-Maliki also appeared to once again rule out production-sharing deals that Exxon has signed with Kurdistan, arguing that Iraq’s substantial oil reserves ‘belong to all Iraqis,’ an oft-cited phrase in Iraq’s constitution that central government officials see as justifying per-barrel service fees. The meeting was the first between Maliki and Exxon chief Rex Tillerson since the firm signed an agreement in October 2011 for oil exploration with Kurdistan, angering the central government in Baghdad, which regards deals signed without the expressed approval of the federal oil ministry as illegal.”
Iraq finds extra billion barrels of oil

“Iraq said on Sunday it has discovered deposits of crude equivalent to one billion barrels of oil after the first exploration work by state-owned firms in almost 30 years. The deposits were found after exploration in Maysan province, in southern Iraq near the border with Iran, and could potentially make a significant addition to Baghdad’s already substantial reserves. Iraq, which is highly dependent on oil sales for government revenue, has sought in recent years to dramatically ramp up production and exploration in order to help rebuild its conflict-battered economy and infrastructure.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/01/20/iraq-finds-extra-billion-barrels-of-oil-ministry/
Iraq back at the brink
“It was Britain that triggered Iraq’s modern tragedy, starting with its seizure of Baghdad in 1917 and the haphazard reshaping of a country to fit the colonial needs and economic interests of London. One could argue that the early and unequalled mess created by the British invaders continued to wreak havoc, manifesting itself in various ways until this very day. But of course, the US now deserves most of the credit of reversing whatever has been achieved by the Iraqi people. It was US secretary of state James Baker who reportedly threatened Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz in a Geneva meeting in 1991 by saying that the US would destroy Iraq and ‘bring it back to the stone age’.”
Britain pushing to provide weapons to Syrian rebels

“Britain, apparently backed by a handful of European Union allies, is fighting to lift an EU arms embargo barring the supply of weapons to the Syrian rebel coalition battling President Bashar al-Assad. Britain and France had seen the March 1 deadline as an opportunity to respond to requests for weaponry by the opposition. But France appears to have cooled, leaving Britain facing opposition from Germany, Sweden and even the EU’s foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton, a British baroness who represents London on the European Commission.”
Ecuadorean Tribal Leaders Fight Government, Gold-Hungry Chinese

“The most famous case of Shuar ‘insolence’ occurred in 1599, when the Spanish governor of Maca demanded a gold tax from local Indians to fund a celebration of the coronation of Philip III. The night before the tax was due, Shuar armies slaughtered every adult male in the Spanish hamlets and surrounded the governor’s home. They tied the governor to his bed and used a bone to push freshly melted gold down his throat, laughing and demanding to know if he had finally sated his thirst. For the next 250 years, the Spanish mostly stayed away. Occasional attempts by Jesuit missionaries to reestablish contact were met with a welcome basket of skulls.”
