Land Of The Flea

States join battle over drone flights

"The nascent drone industry is coming under threat from lawmakers on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures who are weighing restrictions on their use in the United States. Manufacturers of unmanned aerial systems say there is vast potential for police departments and law enforcement officials to use drones in their work. But eighteen states have considered bills that would limit the use of unmanned aerial systems, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and more are likely to follow suit. Several court cases have upheld law enforcement agencies’ rights to aerially surveil citizens, but privacy advocates say drone flights will reopen the debate." Continue reading →

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TSA Detains 3 Year Old In Wheelchair Who Suffers from Spina Bifida

"Lucy, who suffers from Spina bifida and is confined to a wheelchair was on her way to Disney World when she was stopped after going through security at her home airport. She, along with her parents and siblings made it through the security checkpoint without a problem until the TSA stopped them on their way to their gate. TSA promptly took away Lucy's favorite toy which led her to weep uncontrollably. TSA demanded that her parents stop recording. Lucy's father, a lawyer, told them that he was legally allowed to record them and her mother said repeatedly 'you're not touching my daughter' without a camera documenting their actions." Continue reading →

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Allegheny Airlines Has the Last Laugh. “Thanks, Uncle Sam!”

"Older Americans recall the jokes made at the expense of Allegheny Airlines in the 1960s and 1970s. Then it became U.S. Airways in 1979. It went bankrupt in 2002. It was able to stiff its 6,000 pilots by canceling its pension obligations in 2003. American taxpayers became responsible through ERISA. It filed bankruptcy again in 2005. This week, it may absorb American Airlines, which is in bankruptcy. The government will probably allow the merger. What does this teach us? This: if you can get out of your corporate pension liabilities through bankruptcy, you can live long and prosper. This strategy will work for municipal governments, too." Continue reading →

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Tech Industry Sets Its Sights on Gambling

"Two states, Nevada and Delaware, are already laying the groundwork for virtual gambling. Within months they will most likely be joined by New Jersey. Bills have also been introduced in Mississippi, Iowa, California and other states, driven by the realization that online gambling could bring in streams of tax revenue. In Iowa alone, online gambling proponents estimated that 150,000 residents were playing poker illegally. Overseas, online betting is generating an estimated $32 billion in annual revenue — nearly the size of the U.S. casino market. Juniper Research estimates that betting on mobile devices alone will be a $100 billion worldwide industry by 2017." Continue reading →

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Prescription Drug Overdoses Killed 23,000 Americans in 2010; Cannabis – 0

"Drug overdose deaths rose for the eleventh straight year in America, fueled by legal prescriptions for OxyContin and Valium. Medical cannabis, meanwhile, continued its 10,000 year-long streak of not killing anyone by overdose. There is no physical way to overdose on smoked or ingested cannabis, making it one of the safest, most non-toxic painkillers, sleeping aids, and stress relievers on the planet. It’s also a Schedule One narcotic that the U.S. government says has no medical use and a high potential for abuse. Drugs that the U.S. government considers safer caused about 60 percent of the 38,329 drug overdose deaths nationwide in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrescription Drug Overdoses Killed 23,000 Americans in 2010; Cannabis – 0

Police Chief Wants Citizens As ‘Reserve Force’ To Defend Against Feds

"Law enforcement officers at the local level are making their stand and they want you to be a part of that. While I’ve written on various sheriffs that have made their own stance to protect their citizens from anyone attempting to confiscate guns, I recently ran across Police Chief Mark Kessler of the Gilberton Borough Police Department in Pennsylvania. He wants citizens to join with his police department in building a 'reserve force' that will aid his police force should the need arise to resist Federal authorities when it comes to the Second Amendment." Continue reading →

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PBS Runs an Article on Government Default

"Should the U.S. government default? Wrong question. The right question: Can the U.S. government avoid defaulting? The answer is clear: no. It will default. It is $222 trillion in the hole. That’s the present value of its future obligations. Of course it’s going to default. Would that be bad? Not for taxpayers. Would it be bad for the Powers That Be who run this country? Yes. Devastating. It’s coming. The mainstream media have ignored this statistically inevitable problem. The problem threatens the Establishment as no other. So, the media pretend it does not exist. But the blackout may at long last be cracking. We read this on PBS." Continue reading →

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Foreign asset reporting before FBAR and FATCA: “loyalty questionnaires” for World War II Japanese American internees

"Most of us are familiar only with modern-day attempts to get Americans to report non-US accounts and investments: the controlled foreign corporation laws of the 1960s, followed by the Bank Secrecy Act of 1970, and today’s FATCA. But three decades before TD F 90-22.1 and seven decades before Form 8938, there was WRA 126, 'Application for Leave Clearance', which had to be filed by any Japanese American seeking to leave a War Relocation Authority internment camp." Continue reading →

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UK Government and Isle of Man in deal to stop offshore tax evasion

"Under the agreement, a wide range of financial information on UK taxpayers with accounts in the Isle of Man will be passed automatically to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). A disclosure facility will allow account-holders to come forward and settle their past affairs before the details are automatically passed on to HMRC. The Treasury said the deal with the Manx authorities closely followed an agreement struck with the United States to improve international tax compliance." Continue reading →

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Cisco Won’t Buy Any US Companies Or Hire Any US Workers Until The Tax Code Is Changed

"Cisco has $46 billion in cash, but CEO John Chambers says he is no longer willing to use it to acquire U.S. companies. That's because 80 percent of that cash is stored in overseas accounts and if Cisco spends it in the U.S., the company will have to fork over 35 percent in taxes. For years, he has been trying to get the U.S. to change that tax rule. He's said before that this prevents him from hiring more U.S. workers. But now he's said he's also stopped shopping for acquisition targets in the U.S., too. Microsoft keeps about 87 percent of its $66.6 billion stored outside the U.S.; Oracle, 80 percent of its $31.6 billion; and Apple about 68 percent of its $121.3 billion." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCisco Won’t Buy Any US Companies Or Hire Any US Workers Until The Tax Code Is Changed