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Germans Hide Cash in Diapers as Swiss Secrecy Crumbles

“With Swiss banks the target of an international crackdown against tax evasion, Germans who avoided taxes by keeping money in Switzerland are bringing wads of cash home and hiding it in odd places. The customs districts bordering Switzerland turned up 20 million euros of undeclared cash last year. In the Bavarian border town of Lindau, where officers once caught a man with 25,000 euros stuffed inside a gingerbread house, 2 million euros of undeclared bills were discovered last year. German border agents also hunt for stacks of papers that point to secret accounts. ‘To hold a binder with lots of bank statements, that’s quite a good feeling,’ said Georg Kruegers, a German customs officer.” Continue reading →

USA Is #5 in World Economic Competition

“The World Economic Council in Davos, Switzerland has released its list of nations’ ranking in terms of competitiveness. As always, Switzerland is on top. That’s what peace can do for a nation. Also limited central government, respect for property rights, and low crime. Here are the top nations. At the bottom, also as always, are mostly African tribal units that are euphemistically called nations.” Continue reading →

Syria and Second Passports

“You won’t be any worse off by moving some of your savings into multiple friendly jurisdictions and into things that are hard to confiscate, such as physical precious metals and foreign real estate. Obtaining a second passport is also an important ingredient in the mix. The Syrian government, for example, previously refused to renew the passports of Syrians abroad it suspected of being associated with the opposition. This is not surprising and should have been completely predictable. Any government has the ability to revoke the citizenship and/or passport of its citizens at a moment’s notice under any pretext that it finds convenient. Look at how the US cancelled Edward Snowden’s passport by fiat.” Continue reading →

Gorbachev urges US-Russia deal on Syria

“Gorbachev, 82, said the international community must be level-headed. ‘I think that we’ve seen situations in the past that were more dangerous and where we were nevertheless able to find a solution and to find a way out,’ he said. ‘A lot will depend on the permanent members of the UN Security Council. They need to show the Cold War is over, that they are able to work together,’ he said. Gorbachev took a jab at France, a vocal supporter of intervention in Syria. ‘I was surprised that France, instead of supporting an international conference, is taking its current position on Syria,’ he said. ‘I think that France will have to change its position.'” Continue reading →

Syria says it will never give up ‘even if there is World War III’

“Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad also insisted that Russia had not wavered in its support, despite comments by President Vladimir Putin suggesting a more conciliatory tone towards the West. ‘Syria has taken every measure to retaliate against… an aggression,’ he said, although he refused to provide any clue as to what that might mean. ‘The Syrian government will not change position even if there is World War III. No Syrian can sacrifice the independence of his country,’ he added. US President Barack Obama is busy trying to convince Congress to approve a strike against the Assad regime in retaliation for a suspected deadly poison gas attack on August 21.” Continue reading →

Assad ally said to defect, Putin chides U.S. on Syria

“President Bashar al-Assad’s former defense minister has fled Syria, opposition figures said on Wednesday, noting that General Ali Habib was the most senior of Assad’s Alawite sect to defect. Habib had been under house arrest since resigning in protest at Assad’s crackdown on demonstrators in 2011 but had managed to reach the Turkish border late on Tuesday with Western help, Kamal al-Labwani of the Syrian National Coalition told Reuters. Putin again questioned Western evidence. And he accused U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry outright of ‘lying’ when, in urging Congress to approve strikes on Syria, Kerry played down the role of al Qaeda in the rebel forces.” Continue reading →

Human shield formed to protect Syria from military action

“Syrians from all walks of life have joined a human shield campaign to help protect the country from potential foreign military action. A group of people, including artists and athletes, participated in the campaign dubbed ‘Over our Dead Bodies’ on Monday. The participants are shielding key facilities in the capital, Damascus, pledging to stand their ground until the military threats are stopped or they are killed. The organizers of the campaign said that they have received calls from all over the world asking for permission to join the movement. The campaign comes as amid threats of foreign military intervention in Syria.” Continue reading →

AIPAC comes out for strike on Syria, mentions Iran more often than Syria

“As NJ Senator Robert Menendez said at the Kerry hearing today in the Senate, Syria is about Iran. And it is for AIPAC too. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee broke its silence today, urging a vote for the Syrian strike. AIPAC was lying low. That was what everyone said. So: Who called AIPAC? And: why does Obama need AIPAC? Could it be because AIPAC can get 70 Senators’ signatures on a napkin in 24 hours? Also, if the Tea Party is so ‘isolationist,’ as the media keep insisting, then why is Marco Rubio gungho on a Syria attack? Does it have anything to do with presidential ambitions?” Continue reading →