Tag Archives: Switzerland

How Hackers Will Help Build a Libertarian 21st Century

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“The internet itself is a formidable product of individual unilateral free human action. This is very important to remember. Twenty years ago we imagined flying cars, we didn’t imagine the internet as it happens to exist today.  So what is the internet today? I’ve tried to do this, but before I give you my wording and conclusion, try to think of the internet this way:  It is a medium, by which people with a very low barrier of entry——it is very easy to connect to the internet, it is very low cost to use the internet, it is very easy technically also to contribute to the internet——so it is a medium of exchange that allows the exchanged good to flow freely.”

http://isil.org/how-hackers-will-help-build-a-libertarian-21st-century/

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Switzerland’s Earth Houses resemble real-life Hobbit Holes

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“The Swiss version of the Shire is the Earth House Estate Lättenstrasse located in Dietikon, Switzerland, which is where all of the exterior images in the article gallery are from. The company, Vetsch Architektur, has built dozens more similar homes across the country, which is where the interior images are sourced from. The Earth Houses are so called because they’re designed to reside within their environment, blending into the natural contours of the land rather than merely set down on top of it. They’re also covered with clumps of earth, which makes a lot of sense in terms of insulation, though such a design will clearly not fit in with everybody’s aesthetic sensibilities.”

http://www.gizmag.com/earth-houses-hobbit-holes/24534/

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The room with 260 million surfaces: 3D printed architecture is here

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“Thinking big is apparently no challenge for architects Michael Hansmeyer and Benjamin Dillenburger. They’ve created a 3D printed room using algorithms to design its intricate cathedral-like interior. Assembled from 64 massive separate sandstone parts printed out with a huge 3D printer, the room contains 260 million surfaces printed at a resolution of a tenth of a millimeter. The 11-ton room took a month to print but only a day to assemble. The fabrication methods the duo used to print the room will, they believe, open the door to printing architecture, freeing architects to create new unimaginable buildings and also restore old ones.”

http://www.gizmag.com/swiss-architects-3dprint-a-room/29299/

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SNB Sees $10 Billion Loss for 2013 as Gold Price Plummets

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“Switzerland’s central bank will scrap its annual payment to the government for 2013 after a gold-price decline caused a loss of 9 billion francs ($10 billion).  Switzerland’s 26 cantons are the central bank’s biggest shareholders. Together with the government, they receive an annual payment of 1 billion francs if the distribution reserve isn’t negative after appropriation of profit.  The SNB’s gold holdings are the target of a popular initiative that demands that at least 20 percent of the central bank’s assets be in the form of gold. The measure would also block the sale of such holdings and require all SNB gold to be located in Switzerland.  The SNB is listed on the Zurich stock exchange.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-06/snb-sees-10-billion-loss-for-2013-as-gold-price-plummets.html

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Switzerland reported just 20 cases of Internet wiretapping in 2012

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“There are two primary elements that appear to buttress the argument that storing data in Switzerland is a great idea: firstly, the Swiss Criminal Procedure Code puts strict limits on what type of digital surveillance may or may not be used. Swiss law enforcement is not allowed to use a given technique unless it is specifically authorized and regulated under the law. By comparison, American law enforcement tends to take the attitude that it will use whatever tools are at its disposal until that tool is reined in.  Further, it’s a crime for corporate representatives or law enforcement agents to access data on an unauthorized basis, punishable by a fine of up to 10,000 Swiss francs or three months in prison.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/12/switzerland-wont-save-you-either-why-e-mail-might-still-be-safer-in-us/

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Directed History of the Swiss Tax Settlement

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“The Swiss Banks are making a desperate effort to fulfill US mandates when it comes to cooperating with US taxing authorities. But the vast effort being made shows clearly how difficult those demands actually are.  Probably hundreds of thousands of accountants, lawyers and bankers have been mobilized to install the tracking measures the US Justice Department and tax tracking authorities want implemented.  What is going on in Switzerland is unprecedented and doubtless the Anglosphere behind this operation wants to spread it around the world.  Just reading this article gives one a slight impression of the way an entire culture has been upended in a short period of time.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/34861/Directed-History-of-the-Swiss-Tax-Settlement/

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Swiss banks urge U.S. tax dodgers to come clean to beat deadline

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“Swiss banks are quietly warning wealthy U.S. clients with secret accounts to come clean with the tax man in the next two weeks — or risk jail time, according to several letters obtained by POLITICO.  The letters come ahead of a New Year’s Eve deadline the U.S. government set for about 300 Swiss banks to take deals protecting them from prosecution. In exchange for confessing and shelling out mountains of Americans’ account information, they’ll get immunity. It is a new twist to the traditional bank-client relationship.  Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin & Co., went belly up because of the Justice investigation.”

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=9CC01C4E-8F67-4637-8EC7-DBE79D2F6803

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OECD seeks inspiration from FATCA model

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“A new standard of exchanging information on tax is expected to be introduced in countries belonging to the OECD.  The new system will probably by based on US anti-tax evasion legislation known as FATCA, according to Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.  Saint-Amans spoke to swissinfo.ch about the plans to introduce automatic exchange of tax information which the OECD intends to present for scrutiny next February.  This future international standard is considered to be much more exacting than the current model and incompatible with the present system in Switzerland.”

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/OECD_seeks_inspiration_from_FATCA_model.html?cid=37494258

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Swiss Government to Write Report on Dangers of Bitcoin

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“The Federal Council of the Swiss government is to write a report on the dangers of bitcoin, examining the effects it could have on Switzerland’s financial system and society in general.  Jean Christophe Schwaab of the Swiss Socialist Party submitted the request for the report in a postulate back in September.  At the time, he said he had submitted the request because he was concerned about the potential of bitcoin and other virtual currencies.  Luzius Meisser, president of Bitcoin Association Switzerland, said Schwaab’s postulate takes a wholly negative perspective, focusing on the risks of bitcoin and ignoring the opportunities.”

http://www.coindesk.com/swiss-federal-council-agrees-write-report-dangers-bitcoin/

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Real Reason for the US’s Global Tax Levy

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“This amped-up regulatory regime is not about taxes. It’s about control … not just of Swiss banking facilities but ultimately of banks around the world, large and small. In fact, the top elites already run central banks around the world, so this merely adds another layer of control. And when it comes to running banks, the place where banks supposedly had the most freedom was Switzerland, so that region was attacked first – just to provide an object lesson.  The elites do not care how many banks they ‘kill’ – especially smaller banks that can often prove troublesome. The modern State is more comfortable with a few large and concentrated facilities than myriad small ones.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/34818/Real-Reason-for-the-USs-Global-Tax-Levy/

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