Politics and Legislation
Thousands protest Mexico’s president-elect
Published on Jul 7, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish
A week after Mexico’s presidential election, thousands are still protesting against the result.
PRI-party candidate Enrique Pena Nieto won by a margin of nearly seven points.
Many accuse the old-guard PRI party of vote-buying: giving out gift cards in exchange for support.
Al Jazeera’s Rachel Levin reports.
Packing a Punch: Fist fights the norm in Ukraine’s parliament
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by RussiaToday
Read on http://on.rt.com/skw6og
Fights between members of Ukraine’s opposition and the police broke out in Kiev, as several hundred people protested against a bill on minority languages. Tear gas was used, although it’s not clear by which side, and several people were injured.
The parliamentarians themselves could not restrain from fighting. But, as Aleksey Yaroshevsky reports, it seems to be a usual parliamentarian tactics.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
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Economy
Comprehensive List of Tax Hikes in Obamacare
Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives will be voting on an historic repeal of the Obamacare law. While there are many reasons to oppose this flawed government health insurance law, it is important to remember that Obamacare is also one of the largest tax increases in American history. Below is a comprehensive list of the two dozen new or higher taxes that pay for Obamcare’s expansion of government spending and interference between doctors and patients.
Individual Mandate Excise Tax(Jan 2014): Starting in 2014, anyone not buying “qualifying” health insurance must pay an income surtax according to the higher of the following
| 1 Adult | 2 Adults | 3+ Adults | |
| 2014 | 1% AGI/$95 | 1% AGI/$190 | 1% AGI/$285 |
| 2015 | 2% AGI/$325 | 2% AGI/$650 | 2% AGI/$975 |
| 2016 + | 2.5% AGI/$695 | 2.5% AGI/$1390 | 2.5% AGI/$2085 |
Exemptions for religious objectors, undocumented immigrants, prisoners, those earning less than the poverty line, members of Indian tribes, and hardship cases (determined by HHS)
Employer Mandate Tax(Jan 2014): If an employer does not offer health coverage, and at least one employee qualifies for a health tax credit, the employer must pay an additional non-deductible tax of $2000 for all full-time employees. This provision applies to all employers with 50 or more employees. If any employee actually receives coverage through the exchange, the penalty on the employer for that employee rises to $3000. If the employer requires a waiting period to enroll in coverage of 30-60 days, there is a $400 tax per employee ($600 if the period is 60 days or longer).
Combined score of individual and employer mandate tax penalty: $65 billion/10 years
Surtax on Investment Income ($123 billion/Jan. 2013): This increase involves the creation of a new, 3.8 percent surtax on investment income earned in households making at least $250,000 ($200,000 single). This would result in the following top tax rates on investment income
| Capital Gains | Dividends | Other* | |
| 2010-2012 | 15% | 15% | 35% |
| 2013+ (current law) | 23.8% | 43.4% | 43.4% |
| 2013+ (Obama budget) | 23.8% | 23.8% | 43.4% |
Excise Tax on Comprehensive Health Insurance Plans($32 bil/Jan 2018): Starting in 2018, new 40 percent excise tax on “Cadillac” health insurance plans ($10,200 single/$27,500 family). For early retirees and high-risk professions exists a higher threshold ($11,500 single/$29,450 family). CPI +1 percentage point indexed.
Hike in Medicare Payroll Tax($86.8 bil/Jan 2013): Current law and changes:
| First $200,000 ($250,000 Married) Employer/Employee |
All Remaining Wages Employer/Employee |
|
| Current Law | 1.45%/1.45% 2.9% self-employed |
1.45%/1.45% 2.9% self-employed |
| Obamacare Tax Hike | 1.45%/1.45% 2.9% self-employed |
1.45%/2.35% 3.8% self-employed |
Medicine Cabinet Tax($5 bil/Jan 2011): Americans no longer able to use health savings account (HSA), flexible spending account (FSA), or health reimbursement (HRA) pre-tax dollars to purchase non-prescription, over-the-counter medicines (except insulin)
HSA Withdrawal Tax Hike($1.4 bil/Jan 2011): Increases additional tax on non-medical early withdrawals from an HSA from 10 to 20 percent, disadvantaging them relative to IRAs and other tax-advantaged accounts, which remain at 10 percent.
Flexible Spending Account Cap – aka“Special Needs Kids Tax”($13 bil/Jan 2013): Imposes cap of $2500 (Indexed to inflation after 2013) on FSAs (now unlimited). . There is one group of FSA owners for whom this new cap will be particularly cruel and onerous: parents of special needs children. There are thousands of families with special needs children in the United States, and many of them use FSAs to pay for special needs education. Tuition rates at one leading school that teaches special needs children in Washington, D.C. (National Child Research Center) can easily exceed $14,000 per year. Under tax rules, FSA dollars can be used to pay for this type of special needs education.
Tax on Medical Device Manufacturers($20 bil/Jan 2013): Medical device manufacturers employ 360,000 people in 6000 plants across the country. This law imposes a new 2.3% excise tax. Exemptions include items retailing for less than $100.
Raise “Haircut” for Medical Itemized Deduction from 7.5% to 10% of AGI($15.2 bil/Jan 2013): Currently, those facing high medical expenses are allowed a deduction for medical expenses to the extent that those expenses exceed 7.5 percent of adjusted gross income (AGI). The new provision imposes a threshold of 10 percent of AGI; it is waived for 65+ taxpayers in 2013-2016 only.
Tax on Indoor Tanning Services($2.7 billion/July 1, 2010): New 10 percent excise tax on Americans using indoor tanning salons
Elimination of tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D($4.5 bil/Jan 2013)
Blue Cross/Blue Shield Tax Hike($0.4 bil/Jan 2010): The special tax deduction in current law for Blue Cross/Blue Shield companies would only be allowed if 85 percent or more of premium revenues are spent on clinical services
Excise Tax on Charitable Hospitals(Min$/immediate): $50,000 per hospital if they fail to meet new “community health assessment needs,” “financial assistance,” and “billing and collection” rules set by HHS
Tax on Innovator Drug Companies($22.2 bil/Jan 2010): $2.3 billion annual tax on the industry imposed relative to share of sales made that year.
Tax on Health Insurers($60.1 bil/Jan 2014): Annual tax on the industry imposed relative to health insurance premiums collected that year. The stipulation phases in gradually until 2018, and is fully-imposed on firms with $50 million in profits.
$500,000 Annual Executive Compensation Limit for Health Insurance Executives($0.6 bil/Jan 2013)
Employer Reporting of Insurance on W-2(Min$/Jan 2011): Preamble to taxing health benefits on individual tax returns.
Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting($17.1 bil/Jan 2012): Requires businesses to send 1099-MISC information tax forms to corporations (currently limited to individuals), a huge compliance burden for small employers
“Black liquor” tax hike(Tax hike of $23.6 billion). This is a tax increase on a type of bio-fuel.
Codification of the “economic substance doctrine”(Tax hike of $4.5 billion). This provision allows the IRS to disallow completely-legal tax deductions and other legal tax-minimizing plans just because the IRS deems that the action lacks “substance” and is merely intended to reduce taxes owed.
Japan government may run out of money by October
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
Japan’s treasury is emptying. Japan’s Finance Minister Jun Azumi has said the nation could run out of money by the end of October. This would prevent spending on salaries, pensions and other day-to-day expenses. When a country is running out of money, it is usually possible to borrow money by issuing government bonds.
Will The British Bankers’ Association Ban Barclays As It Said It Would?
Source: ZeroHedge
In the ongoing reincarnation of Lie-borgate (because as Jon Weil reminds everyone, this is nothing new under the sun, except for a few e-mails, and a bottle of Bollinger), there is just one missing link right about now. From Bloomberg, April 16, 2008:
“It’s very important to us that we preserve the integrity of the figures,” said Lesley McLeod, a BBA spokeswoman in London. “It’s something we have been looking at. If we find that people have been putting in figures which don’t reflect accurately their financial figures, the ultimate sanction is to throw them out of the pond.”
And just so there is no confusion, from the NYT, June 6, 2008
The British Bankers Association (BBA) — which oversees the daily benchmark setting process — in April announced that it was bringing forward its annual review of the process. It stated that any member found to be deliberately misquoting would be banned.
So: Will the British Bankers’ Association now ban Barclays as it said it would? After all, there is all that “integrity” to be preserved.
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Wars and Rumors of War
Syria destabilization not in West interests
Published on Jul 7, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
Imperial armed terror and aggression by the West using al-Qaeda and its Arab allies against Syria has met a solid brick wall in the form of Russia and China.
Interview with Dr. Kevin Barrett, author and Islamic studies expert, Madison
Russia sticking to Geneva confab results
Published on Jul 7, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov has called Hillary Clinton’s remarks about Russia;s role in Syria “inappropriate, saying her statement contradicts the agreement reached by the major powers in Geneva.
Interview with Vladimir Sotnikov, from the Center for International Security
Israel, Iran already at war?
Nations trading blows under the table, say analysts
by Michael Carl
WND
Though it might seem far from Jerusalem, a border battle in Africa, some analysts warn, is the site of a proxy war being waged between Israel and Iran.
Middle East analyst Joseph Puder explains the boundary area between Sudan and the recently formed South Sudan has become a battleground for Jerusalem and Tehran to quietly exchange blows.
“Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, eager to win over the Sunni-Arab world, has been more than happy to comply and provide Khartoum with arms, ideology and strengthened economic ties, including oil exploration,” Puder writes.
“For Tehran, Bashir’s Sudan is a major Shiite Islam success story,” Puder writes. “Sudan is both an Arab and Sunni-Muslim [nation] previously allied with the West (under President Jafaar Numeiri). Omar Bashir transformed Sudan into an Islamic theocracy allied with Iran and turned it into a base of operations for Tehran in Africa and the Middle East (supplying arms to Hamas in Gaza through Sudan).”
Meanwhile, a former CIA station chief who asked not to be named says Israel is also invested in the region, creating a possible scenario in Sudan that pits Islam versus the West.
“The Muslim countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and Iran are indeed providing financial and military support to Bashir’s regime,” the CIA station chief said. “[And while] the West is essentially doing ‘lip service’ to the newly independent South Sudan, the only nation that is putting action behind its words is Israel.”
The Times of Israel reported earlier this year that South Sudan looks to Israel as a “role model.”
“South Sudan’s fondness for Israel extends to the diplomatic arena,” the Times of Israel report stated, “where the two countries have been building strategic ties in a relationship that long preceded the founding of South Sudan last July.”
“They see in us kind of a role model in how a small nation surrounded by enemies can survive and prosper, and they would like to imitate that,” said incoming Israeli Ambassador to South Sudan Haim Koren, according to the Times.
American Enterprise Institute Middle East analyst Michael Rubin pointed out that Ahmadinehad has a vested interest in pestering Israel wherever possible.
“His interest is to muck things up where he can,” Rubin said. “He does similarly in Senegal and in St. Vincent.”
‘Attack on Iran after Syria falls major goal of the West’
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by RussiaToday
The UN’s special envoy to Syria says international peace efforts have not succeeded, partly as a result of divisions between world powers. This comes a day after US Secretary of State Clinton said Russia and China will pay a price for allegedly supporting Assad. Patrick Henningsen, a Mideast analyst and editor at infowars.com, believes Syria is being used by the US as a proxy to start a war with Iran.
Israel increases violence across Gaza
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
Six Palestinians were killed in series of Israeli strikes on Gaza, all carried out just hours after a deadly ambush along Israel’s southern border with Egypt. The latest strike which killed two 17-year-old youths took place shortly after midnight near Deir al-Balah, but their bodies were only recovered after dawn when an ambulance could get to the scene. The Israeli military also fired on civilians near to Khan Younis, in the South of the Gaza Strip.
Cairo has brokered Gaza truces in the past and an Egyptian official said renewed mediation had secured agreement by Israel and Palestinian factions on Tuesday night. While the Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt urged all parties to exercise restraint and prevent civilian casualties and loss of life. Alistair Burt said: “I am deeply concerned about this week’s escalation of violence in Gaza and southern Israel. I condemn this indiscriminate rocket fire into southern Israel, as I do all acts of terrorism. The UK urges all parties to exercise restraint and prevent civilian casualties and loss of life.”
‘US, UK not in a position to support Bahrain’
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
Saudi-backed Bahraini security forces have attacked anti-regime protesters in south of the capital Manama with teargas canisters and rubber bullets, injuring several protesters.
Interview with Ibrahim Moussawi, political analyst, Beirut.
World mum on Israel threatening peace
Published on Jul 8, 2012 by PressTVGlobalNews
An article by two well-known Israeli writers’ details state-sponsored terrorism by a secret unit of the MOSSAD called ‘The Kidon’ that operates inside of Iran.
Press TV has conducted an interview with Mark Glenn, Crescent and Cross Solidarity Movement, Idaho.
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Articles of Interest
These Companies Got Rich Selling Illegal Weapons To US Adversaries
To keep it manageable we posted only the biggest within the last six years.
Turns out selling weapons and classified equipment to other countries without a permit is very illegal, but extremely lucrative. Hundreds of individuals are banned from doing business with the State Department for risking the practice and getting caught, but there seems little shortage of others to pick up the slack once they’re gone.
A lot like another illegal business, it’s almost impossible to prevent.
ITT Corporation transferred night vision goggles and laser weapon countermeasures to engineers in China
Marsh Aviation sold a bunch of military aircraft engines to Venezuela
Rocky Mountain Instruments Company sold military optics to China, Russia, Turkey, and South Korea
Chitron Electronics sold Electronic Warfare systems to China for a decade
Boeing knowingly sold military-grade gyroscopic sensors to China
Balli Aviation sold the 747 to Iran
Platte River Associates sold vital computer software to Cuba
PPG Industries sold high-performance coating for nuclear reactors to Pakistan
AMAC International’s President tried to sell priceless Rocket Data to China in exchange for a cheap contract
BAE Systems tried to hide bribes used to score jet fighter sales
Atmospheric Glow Technologies gave a bunch of Drone information to China
Super Micro Computer exported controlled motherboards to Iran
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