economic Trends

California Entrepreneurs And Angels Socked With Absurd Retroactive Tax

"For many years, California entrepreneurs and investors have taken advantage of the deduction. But now the state has apparently decided that it no longer needs to encourage entrepreneurs to start and keep their companies in California. So it is eliminating the tax deduction. Far more startling, the state is eliminating the deduction retroactively--going all the back to 2008. In other words, anyone who sold their California company in the past 5 years and took advantage of the tax deduction is now going to have to pay the tax. With interest!" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia Entrepreneurs And Angels Socked With Absurd Retroactive Tax

New tax to fund Obamacare could leave American expats in Canada owing Uncle Sam

"Americans will be subject to a new 3.8 per cent tax on investment income that kicks in this year to help pay for the government's new healthcare program, known as Obamacare. Lawyer Kevyn Nightingale, a Toronto-based U.S. tax expert, estimated tens of thousands of Americans living in Canada could be affected by the new tax and find themselves owing money for the first time. The problem, the Globe said, is that unlike rules that allow expats to claim credits for taxes they've paid in the countries where they live, they can't offset this new tax." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew tax to fund Obamacare could leave American expats in Canada owing Uncle Sam

Rich Taiwanese give up U.S. passports over FATCA

"A number of Taiwan residents with dual nationalities have chosen to renounce their American citizenship to avoid taxes under FATCA, formally known as Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, according to local media reports. Ruling Kuomintang Legislator Lai Shyh-bao was quoted as saying that scores of owners of small- and medium-sized enterprises and management executives have begun proceedings to relinquish their U.S. citizenship." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRich Taiwanese give up U.S. passports over FATCA

An Ally Out of Control

"The U.S. previously had correctly warned that Western attacks on the Islamist enclave in Mali could inflame Islamic militants worldwide and lead to blowback terrorist attacks in the West. Yet now, in a replay of the war in Libya, with France forcing its hand, the U.S. has been forced to back its ally’s aggressive action and even provide help. Northern Mali was taken over by battle-hardened Islamists, who brought in heavy weapons from Gaddafi’s formidable stockpiles in Libya after the West’s overthrow of him. The U.S. foolishly had trained Malian units led by generals who were Tuareg, an ethnic group that been rebelling against the Malian government for a half century." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn Ally Out of Control

French military seeks ‘total reconquest of Mali’

"French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday the end goal of France’s military action in Mali was to retake control of the whole country from Islamist militants who have seized the north. 'The goal is the total reconquest of Mali. We will not leave any pockets' of resistance, Le Drian said on France 5 television. Le Drian also said Malian forces had not yet been able to retake the town of Diabaly, seized nearly a week ago by Islamists and then heavily bombed by French planes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench military seeks ‘total reconquest of Mali’

France Formally Requests US Military Aid for Mali Invasion

"According to Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey, the French government has formally asked the United States for military aid for its invasion of Mali, saying that the aid will conclude planning, logistics and air support, but not combat troops. France invaded on Saturday, and initially said they believed they would turn Mali into a 'terror-free' democracy within a matter of weeks. Since then they have expressed surprise at the strength of rebel fighters, however." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance Formally Requests US Military Aid for Mali Invasion

Glenn Greenwald: MLK’s vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever

"Obama's policies are a manifestation of exactly the militaristic mindset which King so eloquently denounced. Obama has always been fond of invoking King's phrase 'fierce urgency of now', yet ironically, that is lifted from this anti-war speech, one that stands as a stinging repudiation of the continuous killing and violence Obama has spent the last four years unleashing on many countries around the world (Max Blumenthal suggested that Obama's second inaugural speech be entitled 'I have a drone')." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: MLK’s vehement condemnations of US militarism are more relevant than ever

Gun Rights Helped Blacks During Civil Rights Movement

"It's unfortunate that 68% of American blacks support stronger gun control regulation. Gun rights were extremely beneficial to the African-American community throughout the Civil Rights Movement, which we celebrate today. In fact, if it weren’t for gun rights, more civil rights leaders would likely have been killed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun Rights Helped Blacks During Civil Rights Movement

British man who ‘vanished’ after being stripped of citizenship says he was tortured, forced to sign a confession by the CIA

"Mahdi Hashi, who vanished last summer in Somalia, has described for the first time his 'horrific' ordeal at the hands of the secret police in the neighbouring state of Djibouti, who he claims worked closely with US interrogators. The 23-year-old, who lived in London, alleges that he was stripped and repeatedly slapped before being threatened with electrocution and sexual abuse by officers who were attached to Djibouti's intelligence service. Speaking from a top security prison in New York, where his family tracked him down just before Christmas, Mr Hashi claims he was so frightened by the threats of torture that he signed the confession demanded by his American interrogators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish man who ‘vanished’ after being stripped of citizenship says he was tortured, forced to sign a confession by the CIA

Torture of prisoners persists in Afghanistan: UN

"The UN issued a follow-up to a report on torture a year ago, as Kabul seeks full control over prisons and prisoners from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force despite the misgivings of the US-led ISAF. Other forms of torture included hanging suspects by the wrists from chains for long periods and threatening them with sexual violence, the UN mission in Afghanistan said in its 139-page analysis released late Sunday. Many of those tortured to extract confessions were children under the age of 18, it said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTorture of prisoners persists in Afghanistan: UN