In the following scene, Doctor Who had just saved planet earth from the Atraxi threat to destroy the earth. Now, he calls them back and asks them three questions. The Atraxi answer the questions as follows: (1) earth poses no threat to them; (2) earth has not broken any Atraxi laws; (3) earth is protected, by none other than the Doctor, the last remaining Timelord, in his eleven iterations. Once the Atraxi have fully reviewed the threat to them, the Doctor says to them one word, “Run!”
HOUSE Election Results vs. Roster of Americans Abroad Caucus Members
I cross-checked the list of Americans Abroad Caucus Members (http://americansabroad.org/issues/representation/americans-abroad-caucus/members/) against the ongoing results between 2 and 3 AM EST and came up with the following:
I had to check them manually by state using http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/election-map-2012/house/ as of about 2AM EST. I suspect that the results may continue to change for some races. I am considering the results final if there is more than 70% for a candidate and at least 90% of precincts reporting, and also final if 98% or more of precincts have reported. (UPDATED 0400 AM EST with info from Shadow Raider and http://www.votecnmi.gov.mp/2012-election-results-mp.php, http://www.vivote.gov/generalresults/2012/default.h)
Please let me know right away if I you find that made any mistakes here and I will correct.
Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Co-Chair http://maloney.house.gov
WON (80.8%) 92.8% of precincts reporting
No, journalists, Dick Harvey is not a neutral source
US-based financial journalist Emmanuel Olaoye (@emmanuelolaoye) recently wrote a blog post for Reuters entitled “Firms subject to U.S. FATCA advised to press on with preparing despite rule delay”. This is mostly an unremarkable pastiche of quotes from Tax-Industrial Complex FATCA cheerleaders of the type with whom we’re all familiar. But in the middle, it features this howler:
The extended dates will allow firms more time to implement systems for checking hundreds of thousands of customer accounts when FATCA becomes effective, said J. Richard Harvey, a former senior advisor to IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman and now a professor at the Villanova University School of Law.
I can hardly think of a less neutral person to quote on the topic of how firms should make use of the time given to them by the latest FATCA delay, besides perhaps Carl Levin. Yet the editors over at Reuters are apparently happy with this anodyne description of Harvey which offers no hint to the reader of his conflict of interest. Continue reading
FATCA: The U.S. Flexes Its Waning Economic Muscle Abroad
This article was written by Giles Gibson in Hong Kong. The article is not bad, better than most and certainly the best I’ve seen at huffingtonpost, but he seems to think that FATCA is only a concern for wealthy American citizens abroad (a typical Huff problem). I used to think so too, until I personally learned otherwise. The article could use some additional commentary about the types of people FATCA is having an impact upon and the innocent being harmed by “IRS’s relentless pursuit of U.S. tax evaders abroad, whatever the cost”. The concept of “whatever the cost” could be used to justify crimes against humanity and FATCA is certainly a case of national origin discrimination (which is a federal crime in the US).
FATCA: The U.S. Flexes Its Waning Economic Muscle Abroad
11/06/2012 11:36 amThe Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Typical of the taxman’s inimitable use of the English language worldwide, the title doesn’t exactly sound particularly menacing. However, the shockwaves from this recent piece of legislation from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are being felt around the financial world.
FATCA is aimed at targeting tax avoidance by U.S. citizens and entities abroad. Unlike most countries, American expatriates are still expected to pay tax at home on their income earned abroad. The IRS feels that many Americans are not taking this responsibility seriously enough. Their plan is simple: bring in tough new legislation to force foreign financial institutions to give up details about their U.S. citizen clients, leaving potential tax evaders with nowhere to hide….
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/giles-gibson/fatca-foreign-accounts_b_2081118.html
Election Day: Get revenge, Vote
I am living, for now, in exile from my land of birth. In a new article at iexpats.com, George Prior explains my situation, “FATCA Critic Fears Arrest by US Authorities“. When George Prior contacted me, I had no idea he would write an article about me nor that he would focus on my fear of returning to the United States. This article appears on Election Day=Revenge Day.
Update on George Mason University Event with James Jatras and Jesse Eggert et all
http://www.georgemasonjicl.org/fall-2012-symposium/
No videos but interesting picture summary. The guests were not at each others throats at least from appearances as I might have expected. Jatras and Eggert even appeared together at the end to have picture taken with the just the two of them.
http://www.georgemasonjicl.org/fall-2012-symposium-pictures/
Also a link to the presentations:
http://www.georgemasonjicl.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/CLE-Materials-Final.pdf
I am considering doing my own PowerPoint presentation on this issue for anyone who has to speak at these conferences against FATCA because I think I can do one ten times as better as any of the pro-FATCA people can. I have to say just from reading the presentations of the second group of panelists who were mainly compliance “consultants” I cannot say I was overly impressed. I think in general a lot of issues I discuss frequently were never really brought up.
I also took with interest one of the presentations by the second panel that expected the final rules to be release by October 31st. Clearly this has not been the case. In fact none other than Jesse Eggert announced at least from what I understood at other conference just two days later that the final rules were not being released until the end of the year. I am curious whether there was any mention of this at the GMU conference.
Daily Kos welcome to the IBS Hall of Shame
Its official. Daily Kos has a thread on FATCA started by poster “War on Error.” I have always hated Daily Kos so I am quite thrilled I can now go after them on FATCA. I think “War on Error” seems pretty set in his pro-FATCA ways so my suggestion is to give “War on Error” a John Baird/Peter Van Loan tire iron sandwich. Others I suspect Just Me for example will be advocating more of a “compromise” position. In general even if “War on Error” doesn’t generate a lot of hits the more we comment the higher it will climb on the Daily Kos most commented posts section.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/11/05/1156301/-FATCA-One-Big-Reason-Why-Mitt-Hopes-He-Wins
Switzerland, threatened by isolation, lifting veil on secret bank accounts
Washington Post By Michael Birnbaum, Published: November 4
In ZURICH — For decades, Switzerland was the place where money went to hide. Cash sent to its mountain aeries was protected by some of the strictest secrecy laws in the world.
But with the euro crisis forcing Switzerland’s revenue-starved neighbors to search out new sources of money, the Alpine country’s bank vaults are suddenly looking irresistible. In recent months, the nation’s strict banking secrecy has been under assault from countries such as Germany and Britain as never before. Experts say the last veils may soon be dropped altogether, bringing the hush-hush tradition to an end.
What are your rights as a US citizen?
For a long time I have listened to the message from the State Department that if you relinquish/renounce your US citizenship you are giving up a large number of precious “rights”. I would be interested in some perceptions of what exactly those “rights” are.
Yesterday I looked at the current passport application which asks for information they say will be shared with the IRS. The US is moving in the direction where the issuance of a passport may be conditional on tax compliance. As you know under US law, US citizens are required to both enter and leave the US on a US passport. What this tells me is that US citizens do NOT in fact have the right to either leave or enter the US. In fact, there is no constitutional right to leave the country regardless.
Again, my question is: what is your understanding of the precious rights that US citizenship implies?
Voting from Abroad
As you know, the clowns of the demorepublican dictatorship didn’t mention the estimated 6 million Americans living abroad in their political campaign not one single time. Some even personally expressed to me that they neither had the time nor interest to campaign to those Americans living abroad that they are supposed to represent.
“Mexico, a country facing 100,000 deaths, neighbor to the United States, didn’t deserve one single mention tonight. A disgrace.”1
In the debates, the demorepublican candidates expressed, 34 times, their unconditional support for their beloved Israel with its apartheid practice in the nation of Palestine 2, but they didn’t once mention the approx. 2 million Americans living in Mexico and Canada in spite of their serious banking concerns and despite the historic violence playing out in Mexico, much of it along the 2,000-mile border that the US shares, which has already cost 60’000 lives.1