Land Of The Flea

“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

"The Geneva-based international group says that the 2009 OVDP in particular was 'extremely prejudicial to Americans living overseas who sought to become compliant with their taxes due to errors or omissions under the OVDP. Believing they could come back into the system by simply filing the appropriate paperwork and paying any outstanding tax burden, these individuals were later told they would be hit with a standard penalty of 20% of the highest value of their bank accounts over a five-year period.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Entrapment” by the IRS resulted in “ruinous penalties” for ordinary Americans

It’s official – Renouncing US citizenship saved our home

"I wasn’t sure if I was making the best decision. Some people advised against renouncing US citizenship while others recommended it. Yet, after unsuccessfully warning American politicians, I elected mission safety and handed in the blue passport. Now, it is official. I could hardly believe it when I read it, but it is true. Renouncing US citizenship saved the mortgage for our primary residence. To the left is a picture of my buddies and myself on the right, loading a ship to bring us to Somalia. To the right is a picture of my grandfather who fought for America during WWII." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s official – Renouncing US citizenship saved our home

Wrongful conviction lawsuit alleges top New York prosecutor ‘rewarded misconduct’

"Prosecutor Michael Vecchione has denied each and every one of Rudin’s claims, and lawyers for the city have continued to insist that Collins is guilty. Vecchione was scheduled to be deposed by Rudin on Friday. However, Vecchione, who has been a principal character in CBS’ current series 'Brooklyn DA,' had asked to have the deposition postponed because he was busy on a case. Judge Levy, however, ordered that Vecchione be deposed no later than June 24." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWrongful conviction lawsuit alleges top New York prosecutor ‘rewarded misconduct’

Tyranny is Infinitely More Obscene than Naughty Words

"Barboza wasn’t happy about the ticket. When he mailed his payment to the Sullivan County Court, the 22-year-old included a vulgar message expressing contempt for the town, to which he referred as 'Tyranny' rather than 'Liberty,' New York. The court rejected his payment and ordered Barboza to make a two-hour trip to attend court. At the October 2012 hearing, a judge upbraided Barboza for his language, and police handcuffed and arrested him for violating the state’s “aggravated harassment” statute. Barboza was booked, fingerprinted, handcuffed to a bench, and forced to pay $200 bail. He has filed a lawsuit against the police officers who arrested him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTyranny is Infinitely More Obscene than Naughty Words

Fake 911 caller: ‘I don’t feel guilty about anything’ after cops shoot and kill innocent kid

"A California man will spend three months in jail and could be deported after pleading guilty to lying to a 911 dispatcher, leading police into a fatal encounter with a 19-year-old man. Carrillo has also been named in a lawsuit filed by the family of Kendrec McDade, who was shot and killed by local police in March 2012. Officers mistakenly believed McDade, suspected of stealing Carrillo’s backpack at the time, to be armed after Carrillo told 911 dispatchers he was robbed at gunpoint. Carrillo later admitted to lying about the gun in order to generate a faster police response. The two officers who shot McDade were cleared of any wrongdoing in December 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFake 911 caller: ‘I don’t feel guilty about anything’ after cops shoot and kill innocent kid

Joseph Weekley: Self-Pitying Stormtrooper

“It was my gun that shot and killed a 7-year-old girl,” insists Detroit resident Joseph Weekley, who took part in a fatal home invasion on May 17, 2010. Embedded with Weekley and his comrades on that evening was a camera crew from a cable TV program called 'The First 48' – which meant that PR, rather than public safety, was the defining priority of the mission. Weekley is a museum-quality specimen of the self-pitying Stormtrooper – and the jurors who were willing to let him escape mortal accountability for his crime would likely have done the same for Weekley’s German antecedents in the 1930s." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJoseph Weekley: Self-Pitying Stormtrooper

Glenn Greenwald: The NSA’s mass and indiscriminate spying on Brazilians

"The NSA has, for years, systematically tapped into the Brazilian telecommunication network and indiscriminately intercepted, collected and stored the email and telephone records of millions of Brazilians. All of this bulk, indiscriminate surveillance aimed at populations of friendly foreign nations is part of the NSA's 'FAIRVIEW' program. Under that program, the NSA partners with a large US telecommunications company, and that US company then partners with telecoms in the foreign countries. Those partnerships allow the US company access to those countries' telecommunications systems, and that access is then exploited to direct traffic to the NSA's repositories." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: The NSA’s mass and indiscriminate spying on Brazilians