Monthly Archives: July 2013

British MPs urged to reject contentious tax pact with the US

"FATCA critics argue that it is expensive and burdensome for foreign financial institutions to implement, that it is a form of US imperialism, that it could damage delicate international relations and trade agreements, that it is in direct conflict with many foreign laws, and, crucially, that it would compromise America’s economy as it would dramatically reduce foreign investment in the US, threatening American jobs. In addition, FATCA, its opponents insist, would do little if anything to catch tax evaders, which is purportedly its primary objective." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish MPs urged to reject contentious tax pact with the US

US, EU kick off Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks despite Snowden revelations

"The main goal is to agree on removing bureaucratic, regulatory and protectionist barriers to more open trade and investment to create what would be the world’s largest free-trade area, involving 820 million people. Key focuses of the talks ahead include agricultural trade, cross-border investment, intellectual property rights and regulatory harmonization. To avoid stalling the talks, separate US-EU discussions on the NSA activities were held quietly this week at the Department of Justice. Washington will push Europe to open up to US biotechnology products like genetically modified foods, which many European consumers consider dangerous." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS, EU kick off Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks despite Snowden revelations

Germany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

"Six containers of whale meat are on their way back to Iceland after German authorities removed the controversial cargo from a ship bound for Japan, Icelandic media reported on Friday. The batch was first stopped by German customs in Hamburg, where the containers were unloaded and then sent back via Rotterdam in the Netherlands. 'Transportation of products between Iceland and Japan is in accordance with international law,' Foreign Minister Gunnar Bragi Sveinsson told RUV. Iceland 'will now consider how to react to the transport of whale products being stopped and will stand firmly on Icelandic interests in this matter,' he added." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany stops Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan in environmentalist victory

Iceland’s EU bid is over, commission told

"Iceland's bid to join the EU is over, the country's foreign minister told the European Commission on Thursday (13 June). Speaking during a frosty press conference with reporters on Thursday (13 June), Stefan Fule, the Czech commissioner responsible for EU membership bids, admitted that Iceland's decision was a personal blow. The April election, which was won decisively by the centre-right Independence party and the Progressive party, was viewed as a vote against EU membership. Opinion polls indicate that only 25 percent of Icelanders support EU membership." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIceland’s EU bid is over, commission told

Paul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

"Our marginally capitalist, partly-free market systems are approaching a massive collapse. Not because of what capitalism is, mind you, but because the powers that be have bastardized it. Capitalism can bear many distortions and abuses, but it is not indestructible. And, make no mistake, the ‘capitalist’ system we have today has been massively corrupted, so much so that it’s sagging under the load… and will continue to do so until the proverbial straw breaks its back." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

Illinois’ failing economic model: more food stamps, fewer jobs

"Between February 2012 and February 2013, Illinois added nearly 200,000 new enrollees to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP. In contrast, Illinois added only 68,400 non-farm payroll jobs during that same time period. This disappointing news comes on top of the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics labor release that reported Illinois has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation. Over the past decade, the numbers look even worse. The state added nearly 1 million residents to food stamp programs, while suffering a net loss of more than 200,000 payroll jobs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois’ failing economic model: more food stamps, fewer jobs

Renewed fear of global recession as companies rein in spending plans

"Growth in spending on machinery and investment by the world’s 2,000 biggest companies has begun to contract for the first time since the Lehman crisis, led by sharp falls in China and a near collapse in Latin America. Company spending plans are watched as an early warning gauge for the economy. The drastic falls in large parts of the world doom hopes for strong recovery later this year, and even point to a recession risk.The International Monetary Fund has cut its global forecast for this year to 3.1pc, sharply downgrading Russia, Brazil, South Africa, India and Mexico, as well as Italy and Germany." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRenewed fear of global recession as companies rein in spending plans

Constitutional crisis pushes Portugal closer to the brink

"Yields on 10-year Portuguese bonds jumped to 7.85pc in a day of turmoil, kicked off by a government request to delay the next review of the country’s EU-IMF Troika bail-out until August. President Anibal Cavaco Silva set off a constitutional crisis when he vetoed a reshuffle by the two conservative coalition parties, insisting on a red-blue national unity government with greater legitimacy to see through austerity cuts until mid-2014. Socialist leader Antonio José Seguro has so far refused to take part, demanding fresh elections to clear the air. Some Socialist leaders have threatened debt repudiation as a way of fighting back at Germany and the creditor powers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConstitutional crisis pushes Portugal closer to the brink

College Girls, Bottled Water and the Emerging American Police State

"Public outcry has gone viral over an incident in which a college student was targeted and terrorized by Alcohol Beverage Control agents (ABC) after she purchased sparkling water at a grocery store. The girl and her friends were eventually jailed for daring to evade their accosters, who failed to identify themselves or approach the young women in a non-threatening manner. What makes this particular incident significant is the degree to which it embodies all that is wrong with law enforcement today, both as it relates to the citizenry and the ongoing undermining of our rule of law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCollege Girls, Bottled Water and the Emerging American Police State

What Bothered Me Most About the Zimmerman Trial

"Toward the end of the state’s summation, it was said that if a person wanted to do what George Zimmerman did 'you’d better have one of these' (whereupon a photo of a policeman’s badge was projected onto the screen). What the state was implicitly acknowledging – whether such was its intent or not – was the real-world dual standard that operates on the streets of virtually every city in every state: a police officer will almost never be held to account, criminally, for wrongs committed against innocent victims. Take the identical facts in the Zimmerman case and change just one: have George Zimmerman be a city-appointed police officer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Bothered Me Most About the Zimmerman Trial