"Cypriot Finance Minister Michael Sarris denied reports on Tuesday that he had resigned, as lawmakers in the troubled euro zone member debated a divisive tax on bank deposits to secure an international bailout. Sarris, who was in Moscow on Tuesday, told Reuters by text message there was 'no truth' to the reports, which had further rattled nerves with lawmakers poised to reject the tax." Continue reading →
"My sympathies for Cypriot depositors is somewhat limited. If you are a depositor in a Cypriot bank, whether of deposits of more or less than €100,000, who did you think was guaranteeing your deposit? The Blue Fairy? Did you really think that in such a small place with such a bizarrely bloated banking system – one that for years and, by now, very publicly had been investing in Greek government bonds! – your government had the resources to protect all depositors? The bailout of Cyprus’ two largest banks will cost the equivalent of 60% of GDP! And after what happened in Greece, did you really think that the Germans were willing to cover the whole bill?" Continue reading →
"German politicians and many of their European colleagues suspect Cyprus to be a tax haven and a money-laundering site for Russian oligarchs. Of the 68 billion euros stored in Cypriot bank accounts, around 20 billion ($26 billion) belong to Russian account holders. A report compiled last year by the German secret service, the Bundesnachrichtendienst, claims to have found evidence that Cypriot banks or Russian bank branches based in Cyprus are used to launder illegal money. Germany’s ruling coalition of conservatives and liberals is facing general elections in September, and politicians fear accusations they are sacrificing German tax money to bail out Russian billionaires." Continue reading →
"Russian energy giant Gazprom has offered the Republic of Cyprus a plan in which the company will undertake the restructuring of the country’s banks in exchange for exploration rights for natural gas in Cyprus’’ exclusive economic zone, Cypriot TV Station Sigma reported. Representatives of the Russian company submitted the proposal to the office of Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades on Sunday evening. The proposal states that Gazprom will fund the restructuring of the country’s crippled financial institutions in exchange for substantial control over the country’s gas resources while Cyprus won’t need to take the harsh bailout package offered by the EU." Continue reading →
"Curiously, the imposition of a tax on money deposited in Cyprus banks will hurt many Russian tax evaders, as the Wikileaks released cable below highlights, the amount of money placed in Cyprus by Russians attempting to evade Russian taxes is significant relative to the overall Cyprus banking system. The imposition of the tax is surely going to cause a flight of these funds out of Cyprus to a more stable tax haven--which is likely to destabilize the Cypriot banking sector even more." Continue reading →
"Leaked audio recording of Bradley Manning describing his response to the July 12, 2007 Baghdad Apache airstrike video that documented the killing of two Reuters journalists." Continue reading →
"Reading from a prepared statement, Manning said he was not pressured by WikiLeaks to release the information and that he wanted to give the documents to The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters, but they did not want what he had to offer. He also said the leaked information had 'upset' or 'disturbed' him, but did not contain anything he thought would harm the United States if it became public. Regarding the Collateral Murder video, Manning said the 'most alarming part to me was the seemingly delightful blood-lust' and that those in the video 'seemed to not value human life by referring to them as ‘dead bastards.’'" Continue reading →
"Bills being shopped in six states by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) would make it a crime to film animal abuse at factory farms or lie on job applications, in hopes of shutting down animal rights activists who infiltrate slaughterhouses to expose ghastly conditions. The proposals mandate that evidence of animal abuse be turned over to law enforcement within 48 hours, or face a financial penalty. Several of the bills also make it a crime to lie on slaughterhouse job applications, which activists commonly do in order to get footage like the content of a video published by the HSUS, embedded below." Continue reading →
"The internet will be targeted for the first time as the 'chilling' Royal Charter attempts to curb free speech on the majority of websites and blogs, experts warned today. The draft version of the document suggests that foreign-based or owned websites such as Twitter, Huffington Post, Facebook, Holy Moly, the Guido Fawkes political site and even The New York Times will be subject to the stifling controls if their articles are aimed at 'an audience in the UK'. But as confusion mounted about exactly who would be covered, the government said it would leave it entirely up to the new regulator to decide whether major foreign sites should be made to sign up." Continue reading →
Greg Steussel WeTexans.com Archives originally https://web.archive.org/web/20131116034941/http://wetexans.com:80/shooting-blanks/ ======================================= House Bill 553 by Rep. John Otto has all the trimmings of a great state sovereignty bill. It purports to forbid federal gun regulations from being executed in this state. It has tough language, strong penalties and everything a states’ rights advocate could ask for…until you read the entire bill. On the second to last page you will find the following: (4) It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection (b) that the person … Continue reading →