Imperial Hubris

How to Lose Friends, Citizens and Influence

"Imagine this: You were born in California, moved to New York for education or work, fell in love, married and had children. Even though you have faithfully paid taxes in New York and haven't lived in California for 25 years, suppose California law required that you also file your taxes there because you were born there. Though you may never have held a bank account in California, you must report all of your financial holdings to the State of California. Are you a signatory on your spouse's account? Then you must declare his bank accounts too. Your children must file their taxes in both California and New York and report any bank accounts they or their spouses may have." Continue reading →

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India to settle oil trade dues with Iran in rupees

"India will settle all oil trade including USD 1.53 billion in dues with Iran entirely in rupees after the US-engineered illegal sanctions against Tehran blocked all other payment routes. In June, India along with China, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, and Taiwan won a 180-day waiver from the US sanctions against Iran's energy sector. Indian Ambassador to Iran D. P. Srivastava said on Wednesday that New Delhi is determined to continue cooperation with Tehran despite the illegal US-engineered sanctions against the Islamic Republic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia to settle oil trade dues with Iran in rupees

A Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

"'Bedoun,' literally 'without,' are stateless people, without citizenship and without the right to education, health care and other civil rights held by Kuwaiti citizens. There are more than 100,000 of these stateless people living a life without rights in Kuwait, most of them because they or their relatives didn't bother to get the necessary documents when the State of Kuwait was established in 1961. After all, they likely reasoned, things had gone just fine for centuries without such documentation. The Bedoun, the non-citizens, were the first in Kuwait to take to the streets demanding equality and dignity, concurrent with the Arab Spring." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Citizens Protest Movement Builds in Kuwait

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

"Fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has applied for temporary asylum in Russia, a pro-Kremlin lawyer said Tuesday, after President Vladimir Putin accused Washington of 'trapping' him in the country. Snowden, wanted by the United States for revealing sensational details of its vast spying operations, is now spending a fourth week in the transit lounge at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport without crossing the Russian border. Washington has reacted sharply to the possibility that Moscow might offer Snowden a safe haven and accused it of providing him with a 'propaganda platform.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA whistleblower Edward Snowden applies for temporary asylum in Russia

Justin Raimondo: The Prisoner

"All this subterfuge about America being the land of the free and an international exemplar of liberal democracy is thrown overboard very quickly, and suddenly it becomes a felony to reveal the decision of a duly constituted court. It becomes a felony to reveal that you’ve received a National Security Letter, or to discuss its contents. And the highest treason of all is trying to escape. I wondered whether I had stumbled on a heretofore unknown episode of The Prisoner, the cult classic 1960s television series written by and starring Patrick McGoohan, in which a former British intelligence agent who has committed some unknown treason finds himself imprisoned in The Village." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Raimondo: The Prisoner

Justin Raimondo: The Prisoner

"All this subterfuge about America being the land of the free and an international exemplar of liberal democracy is thrown overboard very quickly, and suddenly it becomes a felony to reveal the decision of a duly constituted court. It becomes a felony to reveal that you’ve received a National Security Letter, or to discuss its contents. And the highest treason of all is trying to escape. I wondered whether I had stumbled on a heretofore unknown episode of The Prisoner, the cult classic 1960s television series written by and starring Patrick McGoohan, in which a former British intelligence agent who has committed some unknown treason finds himself imprisoned in The Village." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustin Raimondo: The Prisoner

Seven killed, 261 wounded in Cairo clashes over military coup

"The clashes in the heart of Cairo and in adjacent Giza were the first to rock the Egyptian capital since dozens of Morsi supporters were shot dead outside an elite army barracks early last week. They came just hours after Under Secretary of State Bill Burns — the most senior US official to visit since the army toppled the elected Islamist president on July 3 — appealed for an end to the violence rocking the Arab world’s most populous nation. Thousands of Morsi supporters had poured onto the streets after the iftar meal with which Muslims break their daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan, to demand the reinstatement of the ousted president." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeven killed, 261 wounded in Cairo clashes over military coup

Seven killed, 261 wounded in Cairo clashes over military coup

"The clashes in the heart of Cairo and in adjacent Giza were the first to rock the Egyptian capital since dozens of Morsi supporters were shot dead outside an elite army barracks early last week. They came just hours after Under Secretary of State Bill Burns — the most senior US official to visit since the army toppled the elected Islamist president on July 3 — appealed for an end to the violence rocking the Arab world’s most populous nation. Thousands of Morsi supporters had poured onto the streets after the iftar meal with which Muslims break their daytime fast during the holy month of Ramadan, to demand the reinstatement of the ousted president." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSeven killed, 261 wounded in Cairo clashes over military coup

Congress OKs General Atomics deal to sell Reaper drones to France

"The NATO-led air war in Libya in 2011 and the French military intervention in Mali this year have underscored France’s shortage of surveillance drones, which have transformed warfare in the past decade since being introduced on a large-scale in the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In justifying the sale, the agency said it is 'vital to the US national interest to assist France to develop and maintain a strong and ready self-defense capability' and that the drones would bolster the intelligence and surveillance capability of France while also ensuring American and French forces can operate jointly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCongress OKs General Atomics deal to sell Reaper drones to France

British MPs urged to reject contentious tax pact with the US

"FATCA critics argue that it is expensive and burdensome for foreign financial institutions to implement, that it is a form of US imperialism, that it could damage delicate international relations and trade agreements, that it is in direct conflict with many foreign laws, and, crucially, that it would compromise America’s economy as it would dramatically reduce foreign investment in the US, threatening American jobs. In addition, FATCA, its opponents insist, would do little if anything to catch tax evaders, which is purportedly its primary objective." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish MPs urged to reject contentious tax pact with the US