Yearly Archives: 2013

US tax rules sour life for Americans abroad

"Scott Schmith is a patriot and a US military veteran but he is no longer a US citizen: Sick of complex tax rules making his life in Switzerland miserable he recently handed back his passport. 'It was a pretty big decision and there was a bit of anxiety,' said the 50-year-old photographer who served in the 1990-91 Gulf war and has been living in Switzerland since 1993. But once he received his Swiss passport and handed back his US one last September, 'it was like a load of weight off my shoulders.' A growing number of American expats are opting to give up their citizenship rather than deal with the increasing difficulties imposed on them by US tax authorities." Continue reading →

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Absent Chavez devalues Venezuelan currency to aid gov’t finances

"Venezuela devalued its bolivar currency on Friday by 32 percent in a widely expected move that will shore up government finances after ailing President Hugo Chavez's blowout election-year spending in 2012 but will also spur galloping inflation. The move slashes the official bolivar exchange rate to 6.3 per dollar from 4.3 under currency controls Chavez created in 2003 that require importers and travelers to apply for hard currency through a state agency. Dollars on the illegal black market had for weeks been fetching nearly four times the official exchange, which economists cited as a sign an exchange rate adjustment was imminent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAbsent Chavez devalues Venezuelan currency to aid gov’t finances

DHS Raids Gun Collector – Confiscates Nearly 1,500 Guns – No Charges Filed

"On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security, along with a SWAT team and Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies raided the home of Robert Adams in Albuquerque, New Mexico and, according to a federal search warrant affidavit the raid seized nearly 1,500 firearms from the man’s home and business. While having been watched for years and no charges filed as they seized Adam’s firearms, Federal investigators are saying that they are investigating him for gun smuggling, tax evasion, violating importation laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDHS Raids Gun Collector – Confiscates Nearly 1,500 Guns – No Charges Filed

Obama Administration Demanding All Americans Must Have “Healthy Housing”

"The Strategy for Action unifies, for the first time, federal action to advance healthy housing, demonstrating the connection between housing conditions and residents’ health. It also promotes strategies and methods intended to reduce in-home health hazards in a cost-effective manner. 'Thanks to unprecedented collaboration across the federal family and among our many partners, we now have a specific plan for action to address radon and other preventable hazards found in homes across the country. This is important progress,' said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson." Continue reading →

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FAA Releases New Drone List—Is Your Town on the Map?

"The Federal Aviation Administration has finally released a new drone authorization list. This list, released in response to EFF’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, includes law enforcement agencies and universities across the country, and—for the first time—an Indian tribal agency. In all, the list includes more than 20 new entities over the FAA’s original list, bringing to 81 the total number of public entities that have applied for FAA drone authorizations through October 2012." Continue reading →

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Y Combinator-backed Coinbase now selling over $1M Bitcoin per month

"Coinbase launched last year and aims to be 'the PayPal of Internet-only currency.' It helps merchants and consumers by providing a Bitcoin wallet and platform to make transactions easier, but the vast majority of its revenue comes from letting users buy and sell Bitcoins directly from Coinbase. It charges a one percent fee on top of each transaction. The company claims that it has seen huge growth in the past three months, after it started letting users buy and sell Bitcoin by connecting any U.S. bank account. The decentralized currency is currently trading at $22.66 per Bitcoin on Mt. Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingY Combinator-backed Coinbase now selling over $1M Bitcoin per month

Man trampled as hundreds of desperate Greeks scuffle for food

"A fruit and vegetable handout in Greece led to one man being trampled on Wednesday, calling attention to desperate conditions. Some 55 tons of produce was given away by farmers who were protesting high production costs. The chaos was sparked when food stalls ran out of fruits and vegetables, prompting dozens of people to rush to a nearby truck. It was an 'every man for himself' situation as the Greeks shoved their way to the front of the truck, competing for the food that was left. The 55 tons of food was completely gone in under two hours. A Reuters employee at the scene was hit on the head with cauliflower heads as he attempted to photograph the situation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan trampled as hundreds of desperate Greeks scuffle for food

Argentina Bans All Advertising

"Supermarkets and electronics retailers say Argentina's government has ordered them to stop advertising in the country's top newspapers, in a bid to weaken independent media companies as President Cristina Kirchner turns to increasingly unorthodox policies to prevent inflation from derailing an ailing economy. The order, confirmed by retailers and newspapers but denied by government officials, comes after retail executives say price-control czar Guillermo Moreno pressured them earlier this week to agree to freeze prices for two months. Executives say Moreno then told them to pull all newspaper sales ads in hopes this would somehow curb inflation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Bans All Advertising

Argentina Bans All Advertising

"Supermarkets and electronics retailers say Argentina's government has ordered them to stop advertising in the country's top newspapers, in a bid to weaken independent media companies as President Cristina Kirchner turns to increasingly unorthodox policies to prevent inflation from derailing an ailing economy. The order, confirmed by retailers and newspapers but denied by government officials, comes after retail executives say price-control czar Guillermo Moreno pressured them earlier this week to agree to freeze prices for two months. Executives say Moreno then told them to pull all newspaper sales ads in hopes this would somehow curb inflation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Bans All Advertising

Bereaved son billed $800 for late city ambulance that failed to save his father

"The bill for $780.85 stems from Ford’s call to DC Fire & EMS (DCFEMS) on New Year’s Eve when his father, 71-year-old Durand Ford Sr., began having problems breathing. Records show the younger Ford called 911 at 1:25 a.m. that night. But while the fire department dispatched a vehicle to his house nine minutes later, no ambulances were available. DCFEMS officials called for assistance from Prince George County, more than seven miles away, 22 minutes later. A medical unit from Prince George County arrived at Ford’s home at 1:58 a.m., by which point the elder Ford had died." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBereaved son billed $800 for late city ambulance that failed to save his father