Imperial Hubris

Bloomberg News Writes About Americans ‘Paying Up’ Wherever They Reside…

"Why not renounce you say? Because, I never had a clue until now (at age 50) that USA even considered me a taxpayer. Why would I? It makes no sense to tax people who DO NOT LIVE in USA, never worked there, never earned income there, and never plan to live there. No other country does this. Since all the publicity surrounding FATCA, I discover I am in big trouble for not filing all these years, even though I have always paid taxes to the Canadian government. USA will not let me renounce unless I can prove 5 years of US tax compliance which requires paying 10′s of thousands in lawyers and accounting fees and risking PENALTIES for previous non-filing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg News Writes About Americans ‘Paying Up’ Wherever They Reside…

EU chief: Brits fighting alongside Syrian rebels pose ‘serious threat’ upon return

"Hundreds of young men from across Europe are fighting with rebel forces in Syria, the European Union’s security chief has warned. Britain has promised to step up its support for the rebels, hinting that it could be ready to send arms. But intelligence agencies have stepped up operations after a rise in the number of Europeans, notably from Britain, France and Ireland, joining fighters. Security bodies are tracking Brits and Belgians while the Netherlands has raised its terror threat to ‘substantial’ in part because of fears about citizens being radicalised in Syria. Mr de Kerchove, the EU’s counter-terrorism coordinator, said: ‘We are concerned, of course.’" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEU chief: Brits fighting alongside Syrian rebels pose ‘serious threat’ upon return

When Homeland Security Theater goes Off-Script

"The FBI, whose chief occupation since 2002 has been the manufacture of ersatz terrorism plots, induced Tounisi into an act described as providing 'material aid' to a foreign terrorist group. If he is convicted, he will be found guilty of carrying out the Obama administration's official policy without official permission. He is not the only American presently facing the prospect of imprisonment on this charge. The administration has filed felony charges against a US Army Veteran from Arizona named Eric Harroun, who traveled to Syria to join the fight against Assad." Continue reading →

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After U.S. Troops Leave, Armed Drones Will Patrol Afghanistan’s Skies

"One of the major elements of Afghanistan’s air war will remain after most U.S. troops have headed home, the U.S. military command confirmed today. Armed drones, operated by the U.S., will remain over Afghanistan after 2014. Western Pakistan, the epicenter of the U.S. drone war from 2009 to 2011, experienced a surge in U.S. drone strikes at the beginning of this year. Those drones are under the control of the CIA, and U.S. military officials believe that’s likely to remain the case even if the Obama administration takes away many of the CIA’s drone operations, since there is no declared U.S. war in Pakistan. Those drones are flown from Afghanistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfter U.S. Troops Leave, Armed Drones Will Patrol Afghanistan’s Skies

Chechnya: “We Will Make You Feel What We Feel”

"When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Chechen demanded independence like the Soviet republics. Instead, Boris Yeltsin’s government invaded Chechnya, killing some 100,000 Chechen civilians through massive carpet bombing and shelling. FSB chief Vladimir Putin was catapulted into power by anti-Chechen hysteria caused by mysterious bombings in 1999. Powerful Russian forces invaded and crushed the life out of Chechen resistance. All moderate Chechen leaders were assassinated, the last in Qatar in 2004, leaving mostly militant Islamists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChechnya: “We Will Make You Feel What We Feel”

Christian Bishops Kidnapped by US-Allied Syria Insurgents

"Today, Syriac Orthodox and Greek Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim and Paul Yazigi, were kidnapped by US-allied Islamic insurgents in the village of Kfar Dael as they were 'carrying out humanitarian work'. The two high-ranking Christian bishops were outspoken in warning about the threats to the religious balance in Syria posed by the Islamist extremists who have received the weapons provided by Saudi Arabia and Qatar with US transport support via Croatia. The US-backed rebels regularly violate the sanctuaries of Christian churches in their pursuit of a Syria ruled by Sharia law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristian Bishops Kidnapped by US-Allied Syria Insurgents

“The Kill Team”

"Americans, anxious to believe that the paramilitary forces going house-to-house in Boston were agents of civilian protection, also refuse to look the ugliness of the 'kill' and 'kick-ass' culture of the U.S. Armed Forces and modern American policing. Anyone who saw footage and photos of the searches in Watertown can see instantly that the average resident was seen by the police to be just as much a 'terrorist' as Dzhokar Tsarnaev. A new documentary, 'The Kill Team,' looks at the lives of young American soldiers who murdered people in Afghanistan literally for sport." Continue reading →

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Discovery Of A 17th Century Spanish Shipwreck Yields Awesome Treasure

"A great superpower, weakened by economic calamity at home and staggering under the debt from years of war in the Middle East, finally collapses. A new political best-seller, or an apocalyptic Hollywood blockbuster? Neither — it's the story told by a 1622 shipwreck whose treasures were desperately needed to shore up the finances of the struggling Spanish Empire. The galleon Buen Jesus y Nuestra Senora del Rosario was one of 28 ships in the Tierra Firme fleet; all were sailing from the New World back to Spain, laden with colonial treasures, when they were struck by a powerful hurricane off the Florida Keys." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiscovery Of A 17th Century Spanish Shipwreck Yields Awesome Treasure

After Boston: Arrest Kerry and the Neo-Cons!

"The perpetrators are said to be radical Chechen Muslim extremists. The same types the US has just announced it is stepping up funding to in Syria, to the tune of $130 million. In fact, the Chechen extremists feel such a strong kinship with the US-allied insurgents in Syria, that many of them have made the trip to Syria to fight alongside their fellow Jihadis. Secretary of State John Kerry, who announced the increasing support for the Syrian rebels, should be indefinitely detained by the US government without charge or trial for 'substantially support(ing)...associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfter Boston: Arrest Kerry and the Neo-Cons!

Syrian opposition leader resigns, castigating global ‘inaction’

"Khatib’s renewed threat to quit, almost a month after he first tendered his resignation amid recriminations over the choice of a perceived Muslim Brotherhood nominee as rebel prime minister, threw the opposition into fresh disarray as debate about the wisdom of arming it intensifies. In Istanbul, the United States pledged to double its aid to the armed opposition, including additional non-lethal military equipment. But it again held back from agreeing to opposition calls to arm the rebels, amid mounting concerns that weapons deliveries might fall into the wrong hands in a conflict in which Al-Qaeda has played a prominent role on the battlefield." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSyrian opposition leader resigns, castigating global ‘inaction’