Bandit Gang Writ Large

Welcome to the Malware-Industrial Complex

"Freshly discovered weakness in a popular piece of software, known in the trade as a 'zero-day' vulnerability because the software makers have had no time to develop a fix, can command prices in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from defense contractors, security agencies and governments. This trade in zero-day exploits is poorly documented, but it is perhaps the most visible part of a new industry that in the years to come is likely to swallow growing portions of the U.S. national defense budget, reshape international relations, and perhaps make the Web less safe for everyone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelcome to the Malware-Industrial Complex

Central Bank Snuffs Out Vietnam’s Thriving Gold Market

"There is such a demand to hold gold in Vietnam that the public is now holding some 300 to 500 tons of gold, totaling U.S $30 billion. Recently, however, the Vietnamese central bank disallowed loans in gold. Now, it is preventing banks from paying interest to customers on their gold. Instead, it is forcing banks to charge customer to store their gold, and requiring banks to regularly report on their transactions with account holders. What’s happening is that the government wants to prevent citizens from using alternatives to its own quickly devaluing currency. This, way, the government can continue to steal purchasing power from its citizens through inflation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Bank Snuffs Out Vietnam’s Thriving Gold Market

FATCA: Do I have to report my offshore gold?

"Imagine what would happen if the Chinese government passed a law requiring US banks to share customer information with Beijing. People would go nuts. But in the Land of the Free, it’s normal. Crazy. It gets worse. FATCA was a mere 18 pages of poorly worded legislation that failed to define critical terms. How many pages of regulations did the IRS issue? The answer is a mind numbing 544 pages. After an initial read, though, the language of the regulation does suggest that custodial gold institutions (like GoldMoney, etc.) should be reported. Offshore safety deposit boxes (like Das Safe) do not." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFATCA: Do I have to report my offshore gold?

The Communist Romania Exit Tax

"In order to receive a visa for permanent non-citizen residence in the U.S., I had to pay a tax for all the government benefits I had received in my first twenty years of life, schooling, medical care, subsidized concrete block housing, pot-holed road use, constant police surveillance, and other 'services' I was not even aware existed or received. I was worried since I had no penny to my name and I knew I would not be able to leave without paying. The final figure was provided to me after months of deliberation and computation by the communist party apparatchiks – my freedom was worth exactly $160 U.S. dollars. I owned a Japanese boom box which I sold quickly for $160." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Communist Romania Exit Tax

Ohio governor wants to tax funerals, concerts, parking garages

"Under Republican Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposed sales-tax expansion plan, Ohioans may soon be paying sales tax on music downloads, parking garages and even funerals. 'Essentially, the tax would be assessed on all but about 40 of types of economic activity,' the Dispatch reported. The scope of the new sales tax proposal, however, is broad. It will include charges on bank services, bowling allies, hunting and fishing guilds, and amusement parks, concerts and sporting events that are not deemed educational." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio governor wants to tax funerals, concerts, parking garages

Greek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

"Greece's finance minister was sent a bullet and a death threat from a group protesting home foreclosures, police officials said on Monday, in the latest incident to raise fears of growing political violence. The package was sent by a little-known group called 'Cretan Revolution', which warned the minister against any efforts to seize homes and evict homeowners, police sources said. The group sent similar letters to tax offices in Crete last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek Finance Minister Gets Bullet In The Mail

Minnesota’s Snowbird Tax

"Income earned in the state is already taxed regardless of residence status, but many retirees or vacationers own a home in the state and live there only for the summer. The new tax would hit income not earned in Minnesota by those who don't currently spend the requisite six months and a day in the state to qualify as a taxable resident. So, for example, if you returned to the land of 10,000 taxes only for July and August, you'd suddenly have to pay the taxman in St. Paul on dividend checks sent to your main residence in St. Pete. The state Revenue Department predicts the tax would raise $30 million over two years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMinnesota’s Snowbird Tax

Post Office Refuses To Pay Traffic Camera Tickets

"The mailman who delivers traffic camera tickets does not have to pay them, according to the US Postal Service (USPS). Postal officials refuse to pay the citations it received in the mail from American Traffic Solutions (ATS), a for-profit company based in Arizona. USPS Senior Litigation Counsel Jennifer S. Breslin was defiant in a January 22 letter to ATS, citing the establishment of post offices in the Constitution and the principle that the independent government agency works within local laws and regulations 'when feasible.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPost Office Refuses To Pay Traffic Camera Tickets

City workers tow car after painting ‘handicapped parking’ markings around it

"In video posted to Facebook on Monday night, several workers are seen painting white lines around Hila Ben Baruch’s car and then adding a the universal symbol of a wheelchair behind the car to denote a disabled parking spot. Later in the video, a tow truck arrives to lift the car from its space and carries it away. 'While my car was parked in a [legal] blue-and-white spot, two municipal workers came by and signposted it as handicapped parking!' she wrote. 'In a heartbeat they repainted the curb, from blue and white to gray. That’s it. Simple.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCity workers tow car after painting ‘handicapped parking’ markings around it

Majority Says the Federal Government Threatens Their Personal Rights

"As Barack Obama begins his second term in office, trust in the federal government remains mired near a historic low, while frustration with government remains high. And for the first time, a majority of the public says that the federal government threatens their personal rights and freedoms. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Jan. 9-13 among 1,502 adults, finds that 53% think that the federal government threatens their own personal rights and freedoms while 43% disagree." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMajority Says the Federal Government Threatens Their Personal Rights