Essays

Think Twice Before Accepting Bank Transfers For Online Payment

If you're a seller on Ebay or any number of other peer-to-peer commerce sites, chances are you've run into a buyer who either maliciously charges-back the transaction despite having received the product, or a buyer who is operating using someone else's stolen credit card or other financial account. The accepted wisdom is that a bank transfer is the safest payment option to accept, on the basis that it cannot be reversed once it is credited to the recipient's account. Unfortunately, that is not true in the case of ever-increasing online fraud. Continue reading →

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Are You A Good Candidate For Expatriation?

"I’ve discovered the motivations for our expatriation clients to take this step are more nuanced than mere tax avoidance. A case in point is the overwhelming compliance burden U.S. taxpayers living overseas face. The information reporting regime they face is complex, overlapping, and constantly evolving. Even minor violations are subject to draconian penalties. What’s more, U.S. laws force foreign banks and other financial institutions to enforce U.S. tax and reporting rules with respect to their U.S. clients. In many cases, it’s easier for foreign banks to 'fire' U.S. clients than deal with this risk." Continue reading →

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Internationalization and the Libertarian Principle

"A quiet exodus has begun. Increasingly, citizens of the troubled First World are investigating the possibility of expatriating to more favourable destinations. At present, a 'flood' has not occurred into any jurisdiction; however, the numbers are unquestionably on the rise in quite a few countries. Many of these people come from those countries that, until recently, were considered to be the best places to be. Of greater interest than the actual percentages, however, is the description of those expatriating." Continue reading →

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Chris Hedges: The Day That TV News Died

"Phil Donahue and Bill Moyers, the last honest men on national television, were the only two major TV news personalities who presented the viewpoints of those of us who challenged the rush to war in Iraq. General Electric and Microsoft—MSNBC’s founders and defense contractors that went on to make tremendous profits from the war—were not about to tolerate a dissenting voice. Donahue was fired, and at PBS Moyers was subjected to tremendous pressure. A leaked MSNBC memo stated that Donahue was hurting the image of the network. He would be a 'difficult public face for NBC in a time of war,' the memo read. Donahue never returned to the airwaves." Continue reading →

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The Iraq War: 10 Years Later – Anthony Gregory

"Operation Iraqi Freedom unleashed terrorism, draconian Shariah law, and the systematic persecution of women and religious minorities. Bush’s gang established martial law, deadly checkpoints, and torture chambers; used white phosphorous, flooded the country with sewage and disease, destroyed infrastructure that twelve previous years of U.S. war and sanctions had yet left standing, confiscated Iraqis’ guns, and implemented central taxation and economic planning. Wilson’s WWI bungling helped lead to communism, Nazism, and WWII; Bush’s bungling has exacerbated jihadism and will reverberate for decades. One good resulted: Global disrespect for American empire." Continue reading →

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Psychopathic Kyriarchy – Our Rulers Really Are Unempathic Predators

"Psychopaths are drawn to and uniquely capable within politics. They are charismatic, show no remorse, crave power and rise to the top. Leading psychologists have built the literature on the corporate form, but statist psychopathy bears investigation. It requires a certain mindset to want to rule others. This person believes they are qualified to and morally justified in making life-changing decisions for millions at the point of a gun (state law). Desire to rule is one thing, but the qualities that enable one to rise in the political hierarchy are perhaps rarer and more pernicious. Psychopaths are manipulative, charming, narcissistic and excellent liars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPsychopathic Kyriarchy – Our Rulers Really Are Unempathic Predators

Psychopathic Kyriarchy – Our Rulers Really Are Unempathic Predators

"Psychopaths are drawn to and uniquely capable within politics. They are charismatic, show no remorse, crave power and rise to the top. Leading psychologists have built the literature on the corporate form, but statist psychopathy bears investigation. It requires a certain mindset to want to rule others. This person believes they are qualified to and morally justified in making life-changing decisions for millions at the point of a gun (state law). Desire to rule is one thing, but the qualities that enable one to rise in the political hierarchy are perhaps rarer and more pernicious. Psychopaths are manipulative, charming, narcissistic and excellent liars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPsychopathic Kyriarchy – Our Rulers Really Are Unempathic Predators

Ron Paul: Neo-Con War Addiction Threatens Our Future

"The neo-con ideology promotes endless war, but neo-cons fight their battles with the blood of others. From the comfortable, subsidized offices of magazines like the Weekly Standard, the neo-conservatives urge endless war – to be fought by the victims of the 'poverty draft' from states where there are few jobs. Ironically, these young people cannot find more productive work because the Federal Reserve’s endless money printing to keep the war machine turning has destroyed our economy. The six trillion dollars that will be spent on the Iraq war are merely pieces of printed paper that further erode the dollar’s purchasing power now and well into the future." Continue reading →

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Resistance is Dangerous; Submission is Frequently Fatal

"In other words: If a cop seeks to abduct you without legal justification, you should submit in the serene confidence that your deprivation of liberty will be temporary and trivial. I have referred to this as the 'Rapist Doctrine,' since rapists and police officers are the only assailants whose victims are encouraged to submit. One hundred years after the New Mexico State Supreme Court published that ruling, the case of New Mexico resident Stephen Slevin demonstrates that this assurance is a cynical lie." Continue reading →

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I Hate Government Street Sweepers

"Years ago, before the militarization on the police state and the installment of omnipotent confiscatory governments in America's cities, these things were 'make work' for the government employees and unions. In the era of No Freedom, they have become revenue centers for municipalities. Cities where parking is scarce, like Long Beach, conduct scheming ticket sweeps because people have no where else to park, and the city adds $9M per year to the city coffers by pulling off this extortion tactic. Long Beach's Dictatorial Staff even went so far to suggest the use of 'automated license plate recognition technology' on its convoy of street sweepers." Continue reading →

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