Monthly Archives: July 2014

Germany will resume spying on U.S. for first time since 1945

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“Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is planning to scrap a no-spy agreement Germany has held with Britain and the United States since 1945 in response to an embarrassing US-German intelligence service scandal which has deeply soured relations between Berlin and Washington. The intelligence services of the Allied victors were exempted from surveillance by the BND.  But Mr de Maizière told Bild that he was now not ruling out permanent German counter-espionage surveillance of US, British and French intelligence operations.  A domestic security spokesman for Ms Merkel’s ruling Christian Democrats said: ‘We must focus more strongly on our so-called allies.'”

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/germany-to-spy-on-us-for-first-time-since-1945-after-double-agentscandal-9590645.html

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CIA Was Involved In U.S. Spying On Germany

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“The Central Intelligence Agency was involved in a spying operation against Germany that led to the alleged recruitment of a German intelligence official and has prompted renewed outrage in Berlin, two U.S. officials familiar with the matter said on Monday.
CIA Director John Brennan has asked to brief key members of the U.S. Congress on the matter, which threatens a new rupture between Washington and a close European ally, one of the officials said.  It was unclear if and when Brennan’s briefing to U.S. lawmakers would take place. The CIA declined any comment on the matter.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/07/cia-spying-germany_n_5564599.html

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Tax Collectors Grow More Aggressive; Payers Caught in the Middle

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“Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs doesn’t have enough power, or so the British Parliament is told. HMRC wants to be both judge and jury when it comes to recalcitrant taxpayers. It wants to the ability to ‘raid bank accounts’ and to do so without a court warrant. What comes across clearly in both the IRS stance and in the requests by the HRMC is a certain level of arrogance that is magnified by modern communication facilities.  The pushback against intrusive tax collection is growing, even as agency demands for more power and revenue are expanding as well.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/35464/As-Tax-Collectors-Grow-More-Aggressive-Payers-Are-Caught-in-the-Middle/

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Why Congress Wants to Revoke Your Passport

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“The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates this measure will raise $388 million in tax revenues over the next decade. That’s enough to pay for about 0.1% – one tenth of one percent – of estimated highway expenditures during that period.  In other words, the passport revocation measure has nothing to do with actually raising revenue. It has a lot more to do with showing US citizens ‘who’s the boss.’ And the boss is not you.  The Wyden bill includes a provision that would result in passport revocation or denial if you refuse to disclose your Social Security number when you apply for or renew your passport.”

http://www.nestmann.com/why-congress-wants-to-revoke-your-passport

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The Silence of American Hawks About Kiev’s Atrocities

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“For weeks, the US-backed regime in Kiev has been committing atrocities against its own citizens in southeastern Ukraine, regions heavily populated by Russian-speaking Ukrainians and ethnic Russians. While victimizing a growing number of innocent people, including children, and degrading America’s reputation, these military assaults on cities, captured on video, are generating pressure in Russia on President Vladimir Putin to ‘save our compatriots.’  The reaction of the Obama administration—as well as the new cold-war hawks in Congress and in the establishment media—has been twofold: silence interrupted only by occasional statements excusing and thus encouraging more atrocities by Kiev.”

http://www.thenation.com/article/180466/silence-american-hawks-about-kievs-atrocities?page=full

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More Jawboning from Australia’s Central Bank

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“RBA Governor Glenn Stevens proceeded from characterizing the level of the exchange rate as ‘uncomfortably high’ to noting ‘that foreign-exchange intervention can, judiciously used in the right circumstances, be effective and useful.’  That latter observation was particularly noteworthy because, according to The Wall Street Journal, a currency intervention has essentially been verboten in the decades since Australia shifted to a floating exchange rate in 1983. He closed his remarks on this particular topic with an even more overt statement: ‘Nonetheless, we think that investors are under-estimating the likelihood of a significant fall in the Australian dollar at some point.'”

http://www.investingdaily.com/20682/more-jawboning-from-australias-central-bank-2/

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The Federal Reserve: Asleep at the Switch

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“Yellen conceded that higher interest rates in 2003 and 2006 might have slowed the rate of home price growth that created the housing bubble.  But, she added, such increases wouldn’t have done much to quell the rapid rise in housing prices but would have ‘weakened households’ ability to repay previous debts.’ The net effect would have been to improve ‘household balance sheets only modestly.’  What’s most disturbing about her comments is that her central bank colleagues in other countries deeply disagree with this position. They argue that low rates caused by central bank stimulus programs may be sowing the seeds for the next financial crisis.”

http://www.investingdaily.com/20677/the-federal-reserve-asleep-at-the-switch-2/

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Finance Goes From Foe to Friend in Hollande Government

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“During his election campaign in 2011, President Francois Hollande famously called finance his ‘greatest adversary.’ In a speech today, French Finance Minister Michel Sapin called finance ‘a friend,” quickly specifying that he was talking about ‘good finance.’  The new stance comes as the president’s popularity is at a record low and his economic policies have drawn the ire of members of his own Socialist Party and of allied groups. Recovery remains anemic and joblessness is at a record high.  Global finance, however, has stuck with Hollande. Investors have piled into French bonds, giving Hollande’s government borrowing costs that are close to the lowest on record.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-06/finance-goes-from-foe-to-friend-in-hollande-government.html

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At Walgreen, Renouncing Corporate Citizenship

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“The chief executive is now considering moving the company’s headquarters to Switzerland as part of a merger with Alliance Boots, a European drugstore chain.  Why? To lower Walgreen’s tax bill even further.  The company’s tax rate would be cut to 20 percent as part of Alliance Boots from about 31 percent now. Interestingly, Alliance Boots, which was originally based in Britain, moved to Switzerland in 2008 in large part to lower its tax rate.  Dozens of large United States companies are contemplating the increasingly popular tax-skirting tactic known as an inversion. Under the strategy, companies merge with foreign rivals in countries with lower tax rates and then reincorporate there.”

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/06/30/renouncing-corporate-citizenship/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

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The Real Reason Pot Is Still Illegal

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“Given that CADCA is dedicated to protecting society from dangerous drugs, the event that day had a curious sponsor: Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of Oxy-Contin, the highly addictive painkiller that nearly ruined Kennedy’s congressional career and has been linked to thousands of overdose deaths nationwide.  Prescription opioids, a line of pain-relieving medications derived from the opium poppy or produced synthetically, are the most dangerous drugs abused in America, with more than 16,000 deaths annually linked to opioid addiction and overdose. The CDC reports that more Americans now die from painkillers than from heroin and cocaine combined.”

http://www.thenation.com/article/180493/anti-pot-lobbys-big-bankroll?page=full

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