It appears that the same honorable commitee that tried to reinforce (unsucessfully, I regret) the Constitutional need for a popular vote to approve treaties in Switzerland has raised a triple referendum against treaties with Germany, UK and Austria.  http://fr.referendum.ch/index.php  (http://www.asin.ch/index.php)

La façon de procéder précipitée, prétendument au service  de l’économie suisse et de sa place  [fiancière, le] Conseil fédéral n’est qu’un harcèlement des citoyens  suisses. Sur le plan international, ces accords sont uniques. Aucun pays  n’encaisse les impôts pour des gouvernements étrangers.

By proceeding in a precipitated manner, pretending to be in service of the Swiss economy and its financial sector, the Federal Council is nothing but a harrassment of Swiss Citizens.  On an international scale, these conventions are unique.  No nation collects taxes for foreign governments. 

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The following article appears here with permission.

IRS says FBAR penalties not collectible under Canada-US Treaty?

Sounds like a cool thing to do.  One can meet the most powerful man and woman in the world in person, free of charge!  This is a great benefit of being an American citizen, of paying US taxes, of contributing to a presidential campaign!

Meet the President in person and be a guest of the First Lady at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. Airfare and hotel included!
– BarackObama.com

Yet, there is a little catch, hidden away in the fine print.  If you are an American working overseas, go away.  This does not apply to you.  You are excluded, rejected, unwanted.  America is not for you!

PROMOTION OPEN ONLY TO INDIVIDUAL UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL PERMANENT U.S. RESIDENTS WHO ARE LEGAL RESIDENTS OF THE FIFTY (50) UNITED STATES, THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND PUERTO RICO, AND OVER THE AGE OF 18 (OR THE AGE OF MAJORITY UNDER APPLICABLE LAW).
– BarackObama.com

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Asian banks review US ties,  August 21, 2012

Cost will rise when tough new rules on derivatives come into force

SINGAPORE: Asian banks are reviewing relationships with their US counterparts to avoid being caught by tough new American rules on derivatives trading that are about to come into force.

From the start of next year, non-US banks that annually deal in at least US$8bil worth of products such as interest rate swaps with American counterparties are expected to be subject to new derivatives rules in the Dodd-Frank Act.

In practice that means they will need to register as swap dealers with US regulators and abide by their rules on capital requirements and risk management, all of which adds to costs.

“If I have the choice, I just don’t want to deal with a US person’,” said a treasury manager at a regional Asian bank.

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With a weak economy, massive debt and high unemployment, are accusations against a small minority of being financially greedy the best means of improving the economy or even increasing political power?  The latest propaganda from the US government seems to lean in that direction:

“I’m a Romney girl, in a Romney world. Life is taxless. It’s fantastic,” sings the fictitious Miss Swiss
The Globe and Mail

Such talk may very well appeal to masses of poor people who are struggling to meet their daily needs in a weak economy.  They certainly have much more serious things to worry about than to question the propaganda being fed to them by their government.  Thus, they may not realize that “Miss Swiss” isn’t even Swiss, or that the video clip “I’m a Romney Girl” is not real.

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