Alternative News

Non-American spouse of American abroad narrowly avoids becoming a U.S. person

"In February 2013, an IRS examiner combing over the couple’s return wanted to know whether the wife’s act of submitting a 'married filing jointly' Form 1040 had accidentally turned the husband into a U.S. person, even if they had not explicitly made a § 6013(g) election for a nonresident alien spouse to be treated as a resident alien for tax purposes. Such treatment would saddle him with an obligation to file Form 3520 on what the IRS hilariously calls 'foreign trusts' and what the husband probably thinks of as 'my local & fully-tax-compliant retirement account' — and since the would-be joint return apparently didn’t include any 3520s for him, the couple would have been subject to penalties." Continue reading →

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Rentalutions enables US residents to pay rent in bitcoins

"A company in the US is now enabling tenants to pay their rent in bitcoins, which has the potential to significantly increase the currency’s use. Rentalutions was co-founded in Chicago by Ryan Coon as an online property management platform to help landlords vet potential tenants and look after their properties, plus enable tenants to pay their rent and request maintenance work. Landlords signed up with the company have to pay between $5 and $150 per month depending on the level of services they want to receive. Currently, there is no option for landlords to pay these monthly fees in bitcoins, but Coon said he hopes to set this feature up in the near future." Continue reading →

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Dec. 20, 1983: Rumsfeld shakes hands with Saddam Hussein

"15 months after the massacre in Du'jail for which Saddam was eventually hanged in 2006, Reagan's Special Envoy to the Middle East, Donald Rumsfeld is in Iraq is shaking Saddam Hussein's hand and pledging our support in his war against Iran." Continue reading →

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And the Winner of Bush’s Iraq War Is . . . Iran!

"Why did they vote for the resolution in 2003? 'They had weapons of mass destruction.' Well, no, they didn’t. Then why continue to vote to fund it? 'Support our troops!' Right. Get them killed. Get their limbs shot off. Once a President sucks in Congress on backing an invasion — which is 100% of the time — Congress keeps funding the carnage until the next President quietly pulls them out. Always. Support our troops! Today, the USA has zero influence in Iraq. Iran runs the show from the shadows." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnd the Winner of Bush’s Iraq War Is . . . Iran!

Iraq post-war life overshadowed by crumbling infrastructure, corruption, poverty

"Despite Iraq being rich in natural resources and the US pouring money into its economy for over a decade, Iraqi infrastructure is constantly failing and the people are forced to beg. In spite of billions of dollars spent on reconstruction following the decade-long conflict, many neighborhoods lack sewerage systems and trash collection services. In some settlements, there are barely any streets. Water is also a big problem, locals pointed out. In the latest scandal, the country’s Electricity Ministry was involved in a $1.7 billion fraud case. In the Al Tajiat landfill, on the outskirts of Baghdad, people are actually forced to live – without any proper living conditions." Continue reading →

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Who Built the Syrian Electronic Army?

"A hacking group calling itself the Syrian Electronic Army (SEA) has been getting an unusual amount of press lately, most recently after hijacking the Web sites of The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. But surprisingly little light has been shed on the individuals behind these headline-grabbing attacks. Beginning today, I’ll be taking a closer look at this organization, starting with one of the group’s core architects." Continue reading →

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Obama Pushes Nations Into World War 3

"The situation in Syria has always been a proxy war between the United States and Russia. But that all changed when Israel directly attacked a Russian missile depot, launching what amounts to a direct attack on the Russian forces. Russia ultimately called upon a ‘combat readiness’ drill following this attack. More than 160,000 Russian troops from across the nation met with naval ships, aerial bombers and fighters, and other assorted military wings in order to attain ‘immediate combat readiness’. And it was back during his appearance on the Jay Leno show, the part which was entirely ignored in the US, where Obama and Jay directly compared Putin to Hitler. That’s right, Hitler." Continue reading →

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George Galloway British Parliament Debate On Syria Military Action

"George Galloway speaks as The British House of Commons holds an urgent debate on possible military action against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Prime Minister David Cameron recalled parliament following reports of a chemical weapons attack against Syrian citizens." Continue reading →

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Global Cities of the Super-Rich

"The report also ranks the global cities that matter the most to these high-net-worth individuals, based on four categories: economic activity, political power, quality of life, and knowledge and influence. Overall, New York and London top this list as well, followed by Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Sydney, Washington, D.C., Toronto, and Zurich. This list is similar to my own ranking of the world's most economically powerful cities. The cities are also ranked on each category individually, and the table below (from the report) charts the leaders in each of the four categories." Continue reading →

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