News Commentary

TSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

"Compared to NSA’s confiscation of U.S. citizens’ phone records, however, Americans can take some comfort that TSA’s PreCheck program is voluntary—at least for now. Yet in the past, government experimentation has oft become permanent policy, which, in this case, would then require every American to undergo fingerprinting and a background check to be eligible to fly commercially. In other words, as government’s thirst for security mounts, its 'no-fly' list, which includes names of suspected terrorists, could eventually be replaced by an 'OK to fly' list. Do you think this scenario is outlandish and would never happen?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

What Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

"What do Angola, Cambodia, Chad, Haiti, Laos, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Zimbabwe have in common? They all receive U.S. foreign aid and, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, boast some of the most corrupt governments in the world—strong-arm governments in most cases. If money can’t buy the United States influence, it’s also not buying America a lot love. According to a recent Pew poll, in Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan only 16, 14 and 11 percent of their respective populations have a favorable view of the United States. Egypt is a clarion call to stop throwing good money after bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

Mainstream Media Rule: Never Question the Warren Commission

"Does USA Today writer Jervis show any curiosity over the fact that Dr. Jones’ recollection of the condition of the back of JFK’s head was shattered contradicts the official U.S. military autopsy photograph that shows the back of JFK’s head to be intact? If he does, you certainly can’t tell it by reading the article. After citing Jones’ recollection that the back of Kennedy’s head had been shattered by a bullet, the article just blithely proceeds onward, with nary a mention of the problem. Unfortunately that’s pretty much standard procedure for reporters and commentators in the mainstream media who address the Kennedy assassination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMainstream Media Rule: Never Question the Warren Commission

Andrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

"How is it that the government can charge Edward Snowden with espionage for telling a journalist that the feds have been spying on all Americans and many of our allies, but the NSA itself can reveal secrets and do so with impunity? All of this happened in the dark, with the permission of President Obama, with the knowledge and consent of fewer than 20 members of Congress who were forbidden from doing anything about it by the laws they themselves had written, and based on secret legal arguments accepted by a secret court that keeps its records secret even from the judges who sit on the court." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAndrew Napolitano: Domestic Spying Is Dangerous to Freedom

American Cops Don’t Belong in Canada

"The United States protects, obsessively, their sovereignty. But here in Canada, armed American police officers will now be able to stop Canadians, in Canada, inspecting, checking and asking questions. Again, the Conservatives will tell us that an armed American cop in Canada is all about trade, jobs and security, not sovereignty. If this is true, then can we not expect to see Mounties stopping Americans on the Buffalo side? Harper did promise though that when he's done, we won't recognize Canada. Perhaps we can all reminiscence about that when stopped and questioned by an American police officer, in our own country." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican Cops Don’t Belong in Canada

Tax jurisdiction: Is space the final frontier?

"The United Nations is boldly going where no international body has gone before. At a meeting of its Economic and Social Council last week one of the items on the agenda was 'whether a satellite in geostationary orbit could constitute a permanent establishment' for tax purposes. The hydra-headed attempt to crackdown on tax havens risks failing because it could simply create a whole new patchwork of rules which can be just as easily gamed as the current lot. Alternatively, complexities for firms created by new rules could bring about the most unexpected of unintended consequences……… off-globe finance. In space, no-one can hear you tax plan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTax jurisdiction: Is space the final frontier?

Bill Bonner: What if Mr. Summers weren’t so brilliant, after all?

"We read Mr. Summers' commentaries regularly, in the Financial Times. We don't recall a single insight worth repeating or a single proposal that merits further discussion. Like Tom Friedman, he sees problems everywhere and finds solutions for them readily. And every solution he comes up with would be neat, logical, and disastrous. Unintended consequences? Has he ever heard of the concept? For him, reason has no limits...intervention has no risks...and the world has no black swans. Seeing no danger to further monetary stimulus, he will put the pedal to the metal and run at full speed...right into a brick wall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill Bonner: What if Mr. Summers weren’t so brilliant, after all?

NSA spying illegal, even under the unconstitutional Patriot Act

"Last week, Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., introduced an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill that would have limited the NSA’s blanket collection of metadata to those 'relevant to a national security investigation.' The Patriot Act is unconstitutional, according to any reasonable interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. The NSA’s activities do not even meet the lower standards set by the Patriot Act; they are illegal even under an unconstitutional law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA spying illegal, even under the unconstitutional Patriot Act

Paul Craig Roberts: Washington Thinks You Are Stupid

"As soon as the American population, Congress, and Washington’s puppet allies, such as Germany, made an issue over the NSA’s clearly unconstitutional and totally illegal universal spying, the Obama regime pushed the Fear Button and hyped a new terror plot in order to shut up critics and bring Congress and Germany back in line. Washington proclaimed that a 'threat' was discovered that al Qaeda–an organization that Washington is using to overthrow the Assad government in Syria and one that is enriched by US military contracts to affiliated groups in Afghanistan–was going to blow up US embassies in the Middle East and North Africa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Washington Thinks You Are Stupid

Obama Denies Domestic Spying But He’s Wrong

"Obama on the Jay Leno show said 'We don’t have a domestic spying program.' He said 'What we do have are some mechanisms where we can track a phone number or an e-mail address that we know is connected to some sort of terrorist threat.' Obama is incorrect. The XKeyscore program of the NSA spies on everyone. 'A top secret National Security Agency program allows analysts to search with no prior authorization through vast databases containing emails, online chats and the browsing histories of millions of individuals, according to documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.' It’s not the only program of the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Denies Domestic Spying But He’s Wrong