Search Results for “https:” – Page 839

The Case of the Missing $700 Billion

“1. Banks took $700 billion in bailout money and paid off their high-interest debt. That included FDIC-insured CDs, which they called in, leaving seniors and savers without many viable alternatives for safe investing. 2. Banks stopped lending to the public because they found a better deal. If you could take billions of dollars from the government and lend it back to them by buying US bonds, wouldn’t you do the same thing? 3. Banks turned a big profit and paid out handsome bonuses to their higher-ups. 4. By reducing interest rates in the public sector, the Treasury reduced the cost of its own massive debt.[…]” Continue reading →

Kremlin turns back to typewriters to avoid security leaks

“The throwback to the paper-strewn days of Soviet bureaucracy has reportedly been prompted by the publication of secret documents by anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks and the revelations leaked by former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. The Federal Guard Service, which is also in charge of protecting President Vladimir Putin, is looking to spend just over 486,000 rubles ($14,800) to buy a number of electric typewriters. Pro-Kremlin newspaper Izvestia said the state service was looking to purchase 20 typerwriters because using computers to prepare top-secret documents may no longer be safe.” Continue reading →

Latin America demands answers from U.S. on spying

“Governments voiced a mix of outrage and concern after the Brazilian daily O Globo, citing documents leaked by fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, said several nations were targets of US electronic surveillance. The snooping included lifting data on leftist Venezuela’s oil and military purchases and Mexico’s drug war and energy sector as well as mapping the movements of a Marxist guerrilla group in Colombia, the newspaper said. The Mexican daily Excelsior reported Wednesday that Pena Nieto’s predecessor had allowed the United States to install a system to intercept phone calls and Internet chatter.” Continue reading →

Yahoo wants to make its NSA PRISM fight against U.S. FISA court public

“Yahoo has called on Fisa, the secretive US surveillance court, to let it publish its legal argument against a case that gave the government ‘powerful leverage’ in persuading tech companies to co-operate with a controversial data-gathering program. In a court filing first reported by San Jose Mercury News the company argues the release would demonstrate that Yahoo ‘objected strenuously’ in a key 2008 case after the National Security Agency (NSA) demanded Yahoo customers’ information. Yahoo’s move comes as its rivals have also pushed for the government to provide more public clarity on their surveillance of people’s online lives.” Continue reading →

Venezuelan minister: Facebook users unwittingly work as CIA informants

“A government minister in Venezuela, which has offered fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden asylum, is urging her countrymen to cancel their Facebook accounts lest they be targeted by US snooping. ‘Fellow Venezuelans: cancel your Facebook accounts, since you unwittingly have worked as CIA informants! Look at the Snowden case!’ prisons minister Maria Iris Varela said in a Twitter posting. Varela also said victims of ‘gringo espionage’ should file lawsuits to demand ‘fair compensation’ and bankrupt the US government.” Continue reading →

IRS Reporting Rules for Cash Transactions and Precious Metals

“As you can tell by the title this commentary is our third revision at understanding what the government had in mind when IRS reporting rules for cash transactions came up on the radar screen more than 30 years ago. This subject has to be one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented in the trade today so I can’t figure out why you don’t see more about these rules? The reason might be that these mystical directions while holding sway over dealers are a poorly written mess which should have been avoided or at least provided with updating options. With mistrust of government reaching new highs these famous reporting rules become more important.” Continue reading →

Internationalizing in Chile

“In Chile, there are incredible opportunities for those in the know. Opportunities for a guy like me, and maybe for you if you’re really serious about planting a flag in a South American country where things actually work – and work quite well. I’ve been living in Chile for about 6 months of the last two years, fulfilling my residency requirements. So, while I’m not an expert in all things Chile, my intent is to share some up-front impressions and on-the-ground experiences in the hope that this information will be helpful should you decide to plant one of your flags in what I believe is a wonderful country. So, with that in mind, let’s get started.” Continue reading →

New! No Medicaid Expansion Campaign Launched

“Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.‘ Declaration of Independence — 1776 This morning I send out a press release about the launch of a NO Medicaid Expansion yard sign campaign and web site, No Michigan Expansion.com. As spokesperson I say, ” “I was contacted by the …