Monthly Archives: April 2013

Average Wealth of Members of Congress: House $6.5 Million, Senate $13.9 Million

"By law, members of Congress are only required to report their wealth and liabilities in broad ranges. It's therefore impossible to precisely determine how much value their assets are worth, or have gained or lost. from year to year. The Center for Responsive Politics determines the minimum and maximum possible asset values for each member of Congress to calculate a member's average estimated wealth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAverage Wealth of Members of Congress: House $6.5 Million, Senate $13.9 Million

Mexico: Border schools adjust to influx of English-speaking students

"Thousands of school children have arrived in Mexican schools from the US in the past several years amid a record number of deportations and a foundering US economy. New migration patterns are returning Mexican nationals to their homeland years after they settled in the US, married there, and had children. Teachers read from textbooks that touch on the reasons for the reverse migration currently taking place, and oftentimes, Zatarain told the teachers, parents are deported while their children are in school and the experience can traumatize youngsters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexico: Border schools adjust to influx of English-speaking students

Congress proposes adding $4.5 billion to historic highs spent on border security

"Federal spending on border security is at an all-time high -- and it would get even higher under the Gang of Eight’s new plan. The Senate immigration proposal, released last week, would allocate $4.5 billion in the next five years to tighten control of U.S. borders. The U.S. spent nearly $18 billion dollars on immigration enforcement agencies last fiscal year, more than all other law enforcement agencies combined. The bill requires buying as many drones as needed to have 24/7 surveillance of the Southwest border. The U.S. has already purchased 10 border drones, which cost $18 million a piece and roughly $3,000 an hour to operate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress proposes adding $4.5 billion to historic highs spent on border security

Congress repeals law barring members’ insider trading

"Congress passed the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act in 2012 in response to the public outcry over members' self-serving insider trading scandal last year. As with most laws, what is a crime for citizens was not illegal or unethical for members of Congress and their staffs. It was a fleeting moment of transparency and accountability. Like a cowardly thief in the night, members of Congress quietly colluded to repeal the reporting requirements of the STOCK Act this year by unanimous consent: The shameful ordeal took all of 10 seconds in the Senate and 14 seconds in the House." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress repeals law barring members’ insider trading

Lawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption

"Congressional leaders in both parties are engaged in high-level, confidential talks about exempting lawmakers and Capitol Hill aides from the insurance exchanges they are mandated to join as part of President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul, sources in both parties said. Yet if Capitol Hill leaders move forward with the plan, they risk being dubbed hypocrites by their political rivals and the American public. By removing themselves from a key Obamacare component, lawmakers and aides would be held to a different standard than the people who put them in office." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers, aides may get Obamacare exemption

Bitcoin Dealers Are Running Into Problems In Canada

"Two Canadian businessmen recently got some bad news from their banks. James Grant, owner of Canadian Bitcoins, got a letter. Melvin Ng, proprietor of CADBitcoin, got a phone call. Both men run online exchanges where you can purchase Bitcoins for Canadian dollars. And both were informed their businesses’ accounts frozen by Canada’s largest banks. 'It’s a weird situation,' Ng told us by phone recently. 'We’re a normal Canadian business, we’re registered with the government, and a Canadian bank can just block it off.' Grant was more blunt: 'They just don’t like Bitcoins.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Dealers Are Running Into Problems In Canada

Better “Safe Haven” – Switzerland or Canada?

"Not only is Switzerland a nation with an impossible terrain for armies, it has an army (mainly reserves) of over a million soldiers ready for action at any time in a well-trained state of readiness. Its complex of bridges and tunnels, which link it with all the different parts of Europe and allow its own people to travel through the nation, is mined with explosives that will make it impassable should it be invaded. As a result its refuge for capital is 300 years old and its banking industry 5 times the size of its own GDP stretching all over the world. It has been tried and tested in war and in peace like no other nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBetter “Safe Haven” – Switzerland or Canada?

Swiss banking chief tries to quell clamor about gold

"Swiss National Bank President Thomas Jordan won't exclude increasing the central bank's gold holdings at some point and said most of its reserves are held domestically. More than 70 percent of the SNB's 1,040 tons of gold are held in Switzerland, with about 20 percent at the Bank of England and 10 percent at the Bank of Canada, he said, for the first time disclosing where the physical assets were stored. The SNB's gold holdings are the target of a popular initiative, which 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." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss banking chief tries to quell clamor about gold

EU against austerity: Protesters clash with police amid unrest in Spain, Portugal

"Police detained at least 15 in Madrid, including one minor, as they used force to quell an angry mob of protesters near the Spanish parliament, united under a 'Besiege Congress' slogan calling for the government to quit. The riots come as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy is set to announce a raft of measures on Friday aimed at tackling the country's recession. An estimated 1,400 policemen were deployed around the chamber as politicians cancelled the session for the day. Protesters held signs that read '6.2 million reasons' in a reference to the latest jobless figures and when police charged them they chanted 'You have jobs, we do not.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU against austerity: Protesters clash with police amid unrest in Spain, Portugal