It’s Good To Be The King

Turkey’s Garanti Bank losing customers in anti-government protest

"Tens of thousands of people have staged protests in cities across Turkey and many have complained that domestic broadcasters and newspapers are not adequately covering their action out of fear of government reprisals. Dogus Holding, which owns a major stake in Garanti, also controls the NTV television station, which has angered the protesters with its coverage. 'Some customers have cancelled their cards and accounts, but it has been limited,' Chief Executive Ergun Ozen told Reuters. He said 35-40 million lira in funds had been withdrawn in the past week, from total accounts of 95 billion, while around 1,500 of Garanti's 8.5 million credit cards had been cancelled." Continue reading →

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Did Senator McCain Violate NDAA by Hanging Out with Syrian Rebels?

"In fact, the same day President Obama announced our recognition of the opposition, rebel groups across Syria signed a petition pledging allegiance to the Jihad and asking America by name not to intervene. It’s hard to imagine that twelve years after 9/11, Senator McCain would be calling for US foreign and military aid be given to 'the Jihad.' Interestingly enough, this is the same Senator McCain who championed NDAA 2012, which gives our government the right to indefinitely detain Americans for doing exactly what he did: supporting elements aligned with al-Qaeda." Continue reading →

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Bill Bonner: How Government ‘Works’

"A theory should explain something without reference to something else. That is, a metaphor doesn't work. It's just a description. If you say that government is a kind of 'social contract,' you are merely describing how it seems to you...or what you think it might be comparable to. Let's try a simpler insight: government is a natural phenomenon, an expression of power relationships, in which some people seek to dominate others by force. These dominators gather 'insiders' together so that they can take money, power and status away from other people, the 'outsiders.'" Continue reading →

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IRS Official Lois Lerner Refuses To Resign – Gets Paid Leave Of $3,557.69 A Week

"First she refused to testify. Now Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the tax agency scandal, is refusing to resign, according to a top Republican senator. Sources confirmed to Fox News earlier Thursday that Lerner, the head of the IRS division that oversaw the unit targeting conservative groups, had been placed on administrative leave, with pay. But Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, claimed she was only put in that status after refusing to step down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Official Lois Lerner Refuses To Resign – Gets Paid Leave Of $3,557.69 A Week

“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

"The IRS official who took the fifth this week to avoid talking about her leadership in the scandal has been put on administrative leave. Fully-paid, of course. Oh, the shame of it all! So, the lady gets a paid vacation. She oversaw the scandal, pleaded the fifth amendment, refused to answer questions, and then gets a paid vacation. Justice is swift in Washington! Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi blames Bush. That’s right. Bush did it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Washington is good for amusement. It is expensive amusement, but it is still amusement." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

"The IRS official who took the fifth this week to avoid talking about her leadership in the scandal has been put on administrative leave. Fully-paid, of course. Oh, the shame of it all! So, the lady gets a paid vacation. She oversaw the scandal, pleaded the fifth amendment, refused to answer questions, and then gets a paid vacation. Justice is swift in Washington! Meanwhile, Nancy Pelosi blames Bush. That’s right. Bush did it. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Washington is good for amusement. It is expensive amusement, but it is still amusement." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“I Plead the Fifth” IRS Lady Has Been Given a Paid Vacation. Oh, Woe!

FBI Monitors G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Facebook Accounts

"If you store your emails for over 180 days, the FBI says it can legally monitor them without a warrant. It took a Freedom of Information Act inquiry to find this out. This defies a ruling made in 2010 by a federal appeals court. An FBI 'Operations Guide' makes exemptions for any email that stored by a service provider for more than 180 days. G-mail is a third party. Outlook isn’t. The FBI has to get a warrant to look at Outlook emails. I use Outlook. I don’t use G-mail. I never have. Why not? Because of exactly this reason. I did not want a third party to store my emails. In a statement, the FBI insisted its methods are constitutional." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI Monitors G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Facebook Accounts

FBI Monitors G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Facebook Accounts

"If you store your emails for over 180 days, the FBI says it can legally monitor them without a warrant. It took a Freedom of Information Act inquiry to find this out. This defies a ruling made in 2010 by a federal appeals court. An FBI 'Operations Guide' makes exemptions for any email that stored by a service provider for more than 180 days. G-mail is a third party. Outlook isn’t. The FBI has to get a warrant to look at Outlook emails. I use Outlook. I don’t use G-mail. I never have. Why not? Because of exactly this reason. I did not want a third party to store my emails. In a statement, the FBI insisted its methods are constitutional." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFBI Monitors G-Mail, Yahoo, Hotmail, and Facebook Accounts

Mao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

"Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine. Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting 'Red Culture' after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US. The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

How Congress Puts Itself Above the Law

"Some apparently have faith in the high moral character of their elected officials and argue that we shouldn't have to enact a constitutional amendment to make sure Congress follows the same laws all Americans do. Yet history shows that is definitely not the case. Over the decades, Congress has passed innumerable statutes that regulate every aspect of life in the American workplace, then quickly exempted themselves. Critics advance the rather sensible and straightforward proposition that U.S. lawmakers should live by the same laws they impose on private employers and state and local elected officials." Continue reading →

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