Showdown With the IRS at the Not-OK Corral

"The terror-inducing IRS is in total defensive mode. It’s employees just can’t seem to remember anything. 'I don’t know.' 'I don’t remember.' 'I’m not familiar with that detail.' 'It’s not my precise area.' 'I’m not familiar with that letter.' This is according to Peggy Noonan in a recent Wall Street Journal article. If you say you don’t recall, the government cannot get you for perjury. Of course, taxpayers cannot tell the IRS 'I don’t recall how much income I made.' The IRS just assesses a tax, and you have to prove otherwise. But now the IRS is on the receiving end of an inquisition. The nation cheers. Are they stonewalling? You bet." Continue reading

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“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

"The IRS official who took the fifth this week to avoid talking about her leadership in the scandal has been put on administrative leave. Fully-paid, of course. Oh, the shame of it all! So, the lady gets a paid vacation. She oversaw the scandal, pleaded the fifth amendment, refused to answer questions, and then gets a paid vacation. Justice is swift in Washington! Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi blames Bush. That’s right. Bush did it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Washington is good for amusement. It is expensive amusement, but it is still amusement." Continue reading

Continue Reading“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

"The IRS official who took the fifth this week to avoid talking about her leadership in the scandal has been put on administrative leave. Fully-paid, of course. Oh, the shame of it all! So, the lady gets a paid vacation. She oversaw the scandal, pleaded the fifth amendment, refused to answer questions, and then gets a paid vacation. Justice is swift in Washington! Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi blames Bush. That’s right. Bush did it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Washington is good for amusement. It is expensive amusement, but it is still amusement." Continue reading

Continue Reading“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

Antiwar.com Lost Major Donors After News of FBI Monitoring Broke

"Yesterday the ACLU filed a lawsuit on our behalf against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, demanding the receipt of records in their possession regarding surveillance of Antiwar.com, and key editorial personnel. We know they possess such records because of documents received as a result of a third party Freedom of Information Act request, subsequently published online. A memo from FBI headquarters in Washington speculates Antiwar.com and its principals are possibly 'a threat to national security' engaging in a conspiracy 'on behalf of a foreign power' and recommends a more thorough investigation." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAntiwar.com Lost Major Donors After News of FBI Monitoring Broke

Secrets From The Sexist Pitchbook Of One Of Wall Street’s More Notorious Firms

"BuzzFeed has obtained the 'Golden Pitchbook' used by top brokers at John Thomas Financial. In its pages: How cold-calling brokers pressure prospects to buy stocks from the troubled firm. The aggressive pitch tactics in the book and supporting JTF documents, such as what one scenario described by the source as 'Don’t Pitch The Bitch,' have caught the attention of the FBI, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSecrets From The Sexist Pitchbook Of One Of Wall Street’s More Notorious Firms

Japanese Stocks Plunge 1000 Points; Central Bank Injects 2 Trillion Yen

"Japan’s Topix index fell almost 7 percent, the most since the aftermath of the March 2011 tsunami and nuclear disaster, as financial companies plunged amid rising bond yields. The rout triggered a halt in Nikkei 225 Stock Average futures trading in Osaka." Continue reading

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The Words That Sent the Stock Market Tumbling

"Stocks closed down nearly 1 percent in a volatile session after the minutes from the last Fed policy setting meeting suggested the Fed is divided on when it may start to pull back on its monetary stimulus. The market had moved higher earlier in the session when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke reiterated that tapering bond purchases will depend on an improvement in the economic data. But then during the Q & A, Bernanke said that the Fed could decide to scale back the pace of bond purchases at one of the 'next few meetings' if the economic recovery looked set to maintain forward momentum." Continue reading

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Sealand to adopt bitcoin?

"We’ve seen bitcoin gaining traction among companies ranging from porn merchants through to car dealerships. But this may be the first time we’ve seen a country adopting it as a currency – well, a country of sorts. The Principality of Sealand has expressed an interest in adopting bitcoin. 'Prince Michael' Bates, of the quirky, self-proclaimed independent state, expressed interest in the virtual currency during an interview on the Reddit site. The son of Sealand founder Roy Bates was asked if the state could print its own money. 'Yes, we are looking at ways to do it securely. Also bitcoin sounds really interesting if they stabilise,' Bates said." Continue reading

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Cold fusion reactor independently verified, has 10,000 times the energy density of gas

"Against all probability, a device that purports to use cold fusion to generate vast amounts of power has been verified by a panel of independent scientists. The research paper, which hasn’t yet undergone peer review, seems to confirm both the existence of cold fusion, and its potency: The cold fusion device being tested has roughly 10,000 times the energy density and 1,000 times the power density of gasoline. Even allowing for a massively conservative margin of error, the scientists say that the cold fusion device they tested is 10 times more powerful than gasoline — which is currently the best fuel readily available to mankind." Continue reading

Continue ReadingCold fusion reactor independently verified, has 10,000 times the energy density of gas