Alternative News

Unwise Deepening of an Unnecessary Crisis

"It is difficult to avoid the conclusion we have made in past articles that much of what passes for solutions in the EU are actually being implemented to aggravate what is already injured. The idea perhaps is that a lingering crisis gives Brussels's Eurocrats the ability to further implement a 'deeper' political union. Are you an investor? Are you betting on the euro – or even the EU? In the era of the Internet, when people increasingly understand how the 'great game' is played, the deliberate (evolutionary) deepening of a crisis is perhaps unwise." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUnwise Deepening of an Unnecessary Crisis

NJ Police Lieutenant: Meeting Ticket Quotas A Daily Exercise In “Creative Writing”

"'Creative writing,' is how one East Orange police lieutenant described a typical day on the job. In order to tally a high number of tickets he might break up a fight just over the Newark border and report it occurred in East Orange, issue jaywalking tickets or cite a parent who has double-parked outside an elementary school to run in to pick up her child. Seven members of the East Orange Police Department said during in-person interviews that in the past two years, and most aggressively in recent months, the chief has instituted a quota system, demanding more summonses, arrests, pedestrian and motorist stops with little justification." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNJ Police Lieutenant: Meeting Ticket Quotas A Daily Exercise In “Creative Writing”

Mike Bloomberg: “I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom”

"'I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom,' Mr. Bloomberg said, during an appearance on NBC. He made the statement during discussion of his soda ban — just shot down by the courts — and insistence that his fight to control sugary drink portion sizes in the city would go forth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMike Bloomberg: “I do think there are certain times we should infringe on your freedom”

Swiss expats unhappy with FATCA deal

"Swiss citizens who live abroad have made their displeasure with their home country known regarding its planned implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The U.S. law has been agreed to by Switzerland and is set to go into effect in 2014. Some 76,000 Swiss citizens who currently reside in the U.S. are being told they cannot hold Swiss bank accounts, or are now being charged higher fees, according to the OSA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSwiss expats unhappy with FATCA deal

The Top 4 Lessons of the Cyprus Debacle You Shouldn’t Have to Re-learn

"Lesson #1 - Do Not Trust Politicians. Lesson #2 - Ditch the 'This Can’t Happen Here' Mentality. Lesson #3 - Recognize the Pattern (Bank Holiday, Wealth Confiscation, Capital Controls). Lesson #4 - Take Action Before it is Too Late. You must take precautionary action and internationalize before it is too late to act. Unless you are part of the political elite, you won’t know exactly when the window of opportunity will slam shut. For Cypriots that moment came on the morning of Saturday, March 16 , 2013. It is better to be a year early than a minute late." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Top 4 Lessons of the Cyprus Debacle You Shouldn’t Have to Re-learn

Europe’s Bailout Rebound Lasts Three Hours. Reverses Despite Panicked EU Minister Tweet.

"The faceless bureaucrat who heads the faceless, unnamed EuroGroup admitted the truth: the rescue of Cyprus would serve as a model for the next round of bailouts. That sent a clear message: anyone with a lot of money deposited in a bank of Italy or Spain or Portugal is at risk. He may wind up like all those rich Russians who thought their money was safe in Cyprus. Down went bank shares. Down went the stock markets. Down went the euro. Wait! Wait! He then reversed himself again. He tweeted a message that Cyprus was a one-time event after all. Too late. The truth was out. The damage was done. The stock markets did not reverse again. Neither did the euro." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope’s Bailout Rebound Lasts Three Hours. Reverses Despite Panicked EU Minister Tweet.

Nigel Farage: Major European Bank Runs Now Taking Place

"The Germans are going to have a vote on it in their Parliament, but the Cypriots are being told that they shouldn’t have a vote on it. If that’s not moving into a German dominated Europe, I don’t know what is. If you happen to be a financial officer for a company, it would be criminally negligent of you to now leave your money or a company’s money in a Spanish or an Italian bank. I think what they’ve done today is to spark a major run on those banks. I see that some of the banks stocks have fallen 6% this afternoon, and I think in their desperation to keep the eurozone propped-up, I really believe that long-term they have made an absolutely fatal error." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNigel Farage: Major European Bank Runs Now Taking Place

Fox News analyst: ‘Very high probability’ Iraq hid WMDs in Syria

"A Fox News military analyst who has previously justified the U.S. invasion in Iraq by asserting that Russia conspired to hide Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) now says that there is a 'very high probability' that those WMDs are in Syria. 'That’s conjecture, but we do know prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, there was a lot of vehicles crossing the border into Syria. And there was a great deal of conjecture. A Iraqi major general swore by it. He said he delivered it. And so I think that it would be a very high probability if we could get into those bunkers that they would have Iraqi signatures on them.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFox News analyst: ‘Very high probability’ Iraq hid WMDs in Syria

Syrian Insurgent Provocations: Going For Endgame?

"After creating the chaos in Syria through his policy of arming and training the insurgents, President Obama said last week in the Middle East that he is 'very concerned about Syria becoming an enclave for extremism because extremists thrive in chaos, they thrive in failed states, they thrive in power vacuums.' The US created the very instability by empowering radicals that it now seeks to mitigate, first by the CIA fool's errand of supporting 'moderates,' when it is clear that only the radicals are capable of actually fighting. It would be interesting to see the criteria for determining who is eligible for CIA assistance. Beards are, after all, quite easy to shave..." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian Insurgent Provocations: Going For Endgame?

Europe Deploys Next Generation Speed Cameras

"Struggling European economies are investing big money in stealth speed camera technology designed to mail tickets to motorists who have no way of knowing they are being watched. Eurozone economies have been shrinking, with both France and Spain under heightened scrutiny for failure to meet deficit reduction targets set by the European Union. Ratings agency Standard and Poor's called the situation in Spain and France 'socially explosive' in a statement to Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung. Both countries are now deploying the next generation of speed cameras." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEurope Deploys Next Generation Speed Cameras