"George Soros made an assertion aimed at the heart of the euro crisis: Germany should either agree to introduce 'Eurobonds' – which would mutualize the public debts of all of the euro zone member states – or step out of the way and leave the euro, so that the remaining member states could move forward with debt mutualization." Continue reading →
"More than 8,000 French households' tax bills topped 100 percent of their income last year, the business newspaper Les Echos reported on Saturday, citing Finance Ministry data. The newspaper said that the exceptionally high level of taxation was due to a one-off levy last year on 2011 incomes for households with assets of more than 1.3 million euros ($1.67 million). President Francois Hollande's Socialist government imposed the tax surcharge last year, shortly after taking office. The government has been forced to redraft a proposed bill to levy a temporary 75 percent tax on earnings over 1 million euros, which had been one of Hollande's campaign pledges." Continue reading →
"The EuroZone is in the down phase of the business cycle and government regulations make it difficult for startups in most EZ countries to launch, regulations in most EZ countries also make it risky for established firms to hire. Further, unemployment packages make it attractive for most to stay unemployed once they are laid off. Thus you have economies that look like this. Unlike the European Central Bank, which has been doing only very modest money printing, the Fed has been flooding the markets, which has caused, yet another manipulated boom in the housing sector and stock market, that will, soon enough, experience another bust." Continue reading →
"Argentina is dangerously nearing another economic collapse, and few have forgotten the country’s crippling default in 2001 that prompted a flash devaluation of the Argentine peso, which effectively halved the country’s wealth. If Argentina defaults on its debt again, which could happen very soon, no one wants to be caught off-guard. So, Argentines are scrambling to store their wealth in anything but the volatile Argentine peso. That’s where Bitcoin comes in." Continue reading →
"In Meridian, Idaho, Mayor Tammy de Weerd has taken it upon herself to use tax dollars to spread Reefer Madness to her constituents. By Executive Order, Tammy established the Mayor’s Anti-Drug Coalition (MADC), which received $625,000 from a Drug-Free Community Grant through the federal government. Now a Meridian resident notes that the town has been distributing these anti-marijuana leaflets inserted in the water bill! The flyer is full of discredited nonsense, exaggeration, and misdirection. Remember, this is a city government, most likely using federal grant money, to send false information about a political issue in official communications to their citizens." Continue reading →
"Defense Against the Psychopath is a documentary excerpted from chapter one of my book; The Art of Urban Survival. Teaches people how to recognize and defend against our society's most dangerous predators, psychopaths. Free Download of the PDF booklet, Defense Against the Psychopath here: http://www.chinastrategies.com/" Continue reading →
"A new book is out that claims current German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while living in the 1980's in then East Germany, was a physicist and also member of the communist youth organisation 'Freie Deutsche Jugend' at the Academy of Sciences in Eastern Berlin and was in charge of 'agitation and propaganda', the journalists Ralf Georg Reuth and Günther Lachmann claim in their book. 'I never concealed anything', she said at a Berlin cinema on Sunday night. Ms Merkel admitted that she was not only a member of the FDJ but also of the workers’ union and the German-Soviet friendship society, both organisations with strong ties to the ruling Communist party." Continue reading →
"Why is Uncle Sam wasting $400,000-plus on ugly and clunky underwear? The excuse for this boondoggle is that it will help monitor whether people smoke. I fail to see how this would promote smoking cessation. I assume 99.99 percent of smokers are aware that they smoke. Or are we going to have some sort of nanny-state program with the government forcing people to wear the underwear so the snoops in DC can monitor our private lives. But even if that type of intrusive system would work, why is smoking any business of the federal government? It’s certainly not one of the enumerated powers in Article I, Section VIII." Continue reading →
"The Oklahoma ABLE Commission cracked down on a south Tulsa brewery Tuesday afternoon. Agents say Pi Pizzeria and Craft Beer House is only licensed to make and sell low-point beer, but some customers complained it's too strong. 'Through the sampling process, we sent those samples to the lab and did determine they were making an alcoholic beverage, not low-point beer,' said Erik Smoot, ABLE Commission agent. The agents seized everything Pi used to make and brew its product. They say the manager is being charged with making and selling strong beer without a license." Continue reading →
"President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner wants tax evaders hiding about $160 billion in dollars to help finance Argentina’s oil-producing ambitions. Her offer: Buy a 4 percent bond or face the prospect of jail time. The tax authority announced the plan May 7, highlighting its information-sharing agreements with 40 nations and warning Argentines who don’t use the three-month amnesty window that they risk fines or arrest. Evaders have two options for their cash and the only one paying interest will be a dollar bond due in 2016 to finance YPF SA (YPF), the state oil company." Continue reading →