More Swiss Banks Give Eric Holder One-Finger Salute

Townhall.com ^ | September 1, 2014 | John Ransom

[Kaslin]

More Swiss banks are dropping out of the U.S. banking program that the IRS supposedly uses to prevent American citizens from stashing cash overseas to avoid taxes. Known for 100 years as the original tax haven, free from the prying eyes of governments around the world, Swiss banks have provided banking services that guaranteed anonymity to arms dealers, Nazis, and law-abiding Americans alike.

Offshore banks, especially Swiss banks, are not generally used to evade taxes however. The government already has enforcement mechanisms in place to prevent tax evasion by the use of offshore banks by American citizens. No smart rich person, with competent advice, would attempt such a thing. Instead rich people—like the few doctors left who have money-- use offshore banks to protect assets from lawyers and lawsuit seekers who would try to take those assets away. If assets are stashed overseas, they are generally immune from attachment by lawyers. In the asset protection world, this is known as a lawsuit avoidance strategy.

But using as an excuse their hunt for tax cheats-- and the war on terror-- the United States has been pushing overseas banks for access to private banking information from banks with no legal obligation to cooperate with a government that has no jurisdiction over them.

Like banks in Switzerland.

Now, however, some Swiss banks are having second thoughts.

From Reuters:

At least 10 Swiss banks have withdrawn from a U.S. programme aimed at settling a tax dispute between them and the United States, Swiss newspaper NZZ am Sonntag said on Sunday, quoting unnamed sources.

Around 100 Swiss banks came forward at the end of last year to work with U.S. authorities in a programme brokered by the Swiss government to help the banks make amends for aiding tax evasion.

The key here is the phrase “make amends”. There is no mention of illegality here because Swiss banks fall under Swiss laws. But instead we are presented with a “Golly, gee, we sure are sorry that we broke no laws that we are bound to enforce, so have some cash anyway”-type pledge from Swiss banks that make it seem like the U.S. government and Swiss banks are really swell friends who need to make up.

And since U.S. banks are playing the same game with Obama and Eric Holder, I think the Swiss banks ought to be applauded for stopping that type of nonsense. No one should evade taxes, but the heavy hand of the government is prying into areas into which they have no legal right to go.

Like Switzerland. And home mortgages.

Why? Money, that’s why.

Because the program cited in the Swiss banking example is a variation on a scheme that the government is using here at home

There’s a growing need for banking reform in the United States. But it’s not the type of reform that Obama and his pals favor. Instead, using all the coercive powers of the federal government, the administration from “Chicago” has engaged in a greenmail campaign, long ago perfect by liberal special interests.

Growing up in Chicago I was witness to how Jesse Jackson Sr. and Operation PUSH would shake down companies for money in return for not being “hit” by special interests with the tag of being racist by the King of Black people.

It worked, keeping the Reverend Jackson and his various community organized confidence schemes in funds that he still lives off of.

So it’s hardly surprising that the Emperor of Black America, Barack Obama—who is at least Chicago-plated-- would bring this tactic to D.C.

Under Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, the administration has tagged banks as the bad guys—banks that are mostly the creation of the Obama administration genetic experimentation in banking. The government mixed Countrywide with Bank of America, JP Morgan with Bear Stearns, selling off parts of one bank to government-funded banks that were guaranteed by the Obama administration to make profits.

The ruse works like this: The Obama administration in conjunction with various “community organizations” have been chatting up the terrible wrong-doing that banks did in the 2008 financial crisis. These evil banks loaned the banks' capital to people for whom default was more likely, leaving the bank with large losses. The banks did this because if they didn’t they’d be hit with charges of racism by government types, community organizations and the various enforcement arms of various governmental units.

And for a while everything was lovely. The banks made more profits-- with an implied guarantee from the federal government that they wouldn’t lose money-- the government got their hooks deeper into banks, the real power in capitalist America. But when the economy slowed down and home prices stopped making ridiculous gains year after year, the scheme fell apart. That in part is why we had the 2008 financial crisis in the first place.

So after taking control of the banking system by bailing it out, Holder and Obama have now been going around engaging in “settlement” talks with U.S. banks over supposed abuses in regards to risky mortgage loans that banks took loses on. In return for the quid pro quo of not pursuing criminal charges against JP Morgan employees, for example, Holder and Obama have agreed to take a $13 billion settlement from JP Morgan for loans in made in 2005-2007 by a company that Obama made JP Morgan-- Bears Sterns-- buy with government money during the financial crisis.

$9 billion of that settlement goes to the federal government.

But it’s the criminal charges part that is so worrisome.

It’s why the Swiss should be applauded.

There are too many here in this country that would trade their liberty for a $13 billion settlement that means they—or their employees—won’t have to tangle with a greedy government that has the coercive power to put them in jail. And while the Swiss banks don't have anything like that at stake, they do have the one thing that Swiss banks are supposed to care about: Money.

By giving Eric Holder the finger it means they won’t be parting with any.

For me it’s just refreshing for one party, like Swiss banks, to be doing exactly what they should be doing under the law that applies to them.

I remember when that was the rule, not the exception.

Hopefully it spreads here at home.

---

Time to Scrap Labor Day for 9/11 Day

Note: I'll be running this column on Labor Day until I get my way. It's much easier than holding my breath.

For labor unions around the country, this last Labor Day served as a painful reminder that when they decided to go all-in for Obama in 2008, they alienated the rest of us non-government, non-union members- the 99 Percent- who have to go out and earn our keep every day. And that alienation is being expressed in political defeats by unions around the country.

I’m wondering if the unions are starting to regret their investment in Obama.

Unions dumped $450 million into the Obama effort in 2008, according to the New York Times, hoping that they’d buy political clout with Obama that they don’t actually own on Main Street. But besides the auto bailout, and a few years of government stimulus spending, the strategy has been pretty much a disaster.

“This is not about payback,” the A.F.L.-C.I.O.’s director of government affairs told the New York Times. “We’re looking to work with the new administration on a shared set of priorities that focus on lifting workers and improving the economy.”

I think he meant “lifting workers’ wallets.”

Because on the other counts, I think you can call their strategy a failure: No payback for unions and no improving economy.

And just another fine job for liberals, who don’t seems to be able to accomplish even those things that they say they desire.

Instead, the mass of the country has turned on unions, union members, bloated union benefits and even- gasp!- public teachers- who used to be as iconic in America as baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and, um… Chevrolet?

The laundry list of failures for the union agenda is really staggering. They spent the most money ever. They elected the greatest president EVER.

But what did they really get? The union has faced the longest string of defeats since the losing streak that started at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Well, they wanted to be in politics. Congrats, Mr. Union. You are now in politics.

Card check? The union equivalent of forced busing and segregation? Voters completely rebuked unions on that one.

Then there was Madison, WI and the recall rebuke when Scott Walker took on teachers’ unions. What do you call it when voters vote a governor back in by recall with a wider margin than he originally received in the general election? A permission slip to give the unions detention.

How about that union fiasco with the National Labor Relations Board trying to stop Boeing Corporation from opening a $1 billion plant in South Carolina because it wasn’t a union shop? Another union disaster where they had to lower their colors.Then unions were rebuffed on the most sacred ground. In December 2012, Michigan voters embraced right to work laws that are tough on union organizers because it allows workers a choice to have unions take dues from their paychecks or not. Yes, in the stronghold of the United Auto Workers, voters said enough.

I say the same thing today. Enough.

It’s past time to do away with the throwaway holiday of Labor Day. Let the Marxists keep May Day, if they wish.

Instead, perhaps on the first Monday in September we should remember things that matter, like those people who died in the 9/11 tragedy.

Let's restore some solemnity to our country; give people time off to grieve, to reflect.

Let's make it a holy day, not just a holiday.

If you agree, please contact your state legislative representative through this link and forward to them the resolution below:

A Resolution Setting Aside One Hour on Labor Day

In Order to Memorialize the Events of September 11th, 2001

Whereas, the people of the state of ________________________ remember the tragedy that befell our country on the 11^thof September in the Year 2001; a tragedy which was wholly unprovoked by any policy or action of any citizen or government of the United States;

Whereas, eleven years has passed since the murder of our innocent citizens, who were our brothers, our fathers, our sisters, our mothers, our sons and our daughters;

Whereas, U.S. troops remain in harm’s way as a result of the cowardly attack on the 11^thof September, 2001;

Whereas, the people of the state of ________________________ are desirous of memorializing the great sacrifices made by those who gave their lives as a result of the cowardly and unprovoked attack on the 11^thof September, 2001, an attack made on peaceful citizens who were laboring towards peaceful pursuits;

Whereas, the people of the state of ________________________ wish to thank those law enforcement officers, public safety officers, soldiers, sailors and airmen who labored through the crisis of the 11^thof September, 2001 and those who labor to keep us safe today;

Whereas, the people of the state of ________________________ understand that the common experiences that are shared by all Americans make up the dynamic American community and create the historical experience of being American;

Whereas, the United States has seen fit to set aside the first Monday of September, in every year, as a day to celebrate and honor the dignity of labor and it was labor in which our fellow citizens were engaged when they were attacked;

Whereas, we hold that religion has a special place in society in helping sanctify the dignity of labor and the sacrifices of our fellow citizens;

Whereas, therefore, we here assembled do instruct and ask the members of the ________________________ Legislative delegation to introduce a suitable joint resolution in the ________________________ Legislature inviting all ________________________and, in the name of the ________________________ Legislature, to set aside one hour on the day commonly reserved for Labor Day, in the Year 2013, and all subsequent years, to repair to their respective houses of worship and worship their Creator, each in their best understanding of their Creator and give thanks to Him for His help during our hours of trial and to memorialize the dead of the 11^thof September, 2001, and those who subsequently gave their lives that our nation might live;

Whereas, we ask religious organizations to make available to their congregants special services on that day and continue to do so in perpetuity, year after year for as long as it’s deemed necessary to hold the day in remembrance;

Whereas, we call upon our non-religious fellow citizens to only remember in their heart, the whole day, the tragedy of September 11^th, 2001 and to be tolerant of those citizens who wish to memorialize and dignify the deaths of their fellow citizens as their conscience dictates.

Whereas, since it is fitting and proper that we do so, we here assembled do instruct and ask the members of the ________________________ Legislative delegation to contact their colleagues in the legislatures of the several states that make up our national Union and invite them to introduce similar resolutions, so that all Americans may remember together the events and sacrifices consequent to the events of September 11^th, 2001, for as long as it’s deemed necessary to hold the day in remembrance.

Whereas, we submit this resolution to the people of the state of ________________________ and to the judgment of humankind under our Creator;

Be It Resolved by All Here Assembled.

[Diogenesis]

The rewarded-destroyer of the President’s Office at
Columbia has already destroyed Law in the US,
and the reputation of the DO”J”.

[Caipirabob]

The Swiss know when an Eagle has turned chickenhawk...

No one needs to respect American power or fear it except the citizens.

[Kaslin]

Can the damage be repaired? I wonder

[OpusatFR]

FATCA was a huge, massive miscalculation and overreach.

This has everyone running to dislodge transactions in clownbucks. The reserve status won’t be far behind.

I can’t see how the fed stops interest rates from rising as the world abandons the clownbuck. This is a case of the money boys being too smart by half.

And guess who is going to pay for it? The middle class. Again.

[OpusatFR]

“Can the damage be repaired? I wonder”

Oh, heck no. It’s done. The only thing the average person can do is prepare for incoming.

I started studying England’s loss of reserve status a while back. It’s instructive, but for the average person who depends upon a job and the ability to obtain the basics for life at a reasonable cost to take care of himself and his family, there aren’t too many ways to manage the financial ramifications and dislocations of a currency event.

[Liz]

POLS READY TO CASH-IN BIGTIME: Last year, Obama said it’s time to ‘turn the page’ on Fannie and Freddie mortgages
MarketWatch | 7/24/13 | MarketWatch / FR Posted by illiac

Obama's speech on the US economy spelled out the beginning of the end for federally-controlled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “We’ll work with both parties to turn the page on Fannie and Freddie, and build a housing finance system that’s rock-solid for future generations,” Obama said, according to a copy of his prepared remarks

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill on Tuesday that would get rid of the firms in five years, to be replaced by a National Mortgage Market Utility to help securitize mortgages.(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.marketwatch.com

ADDENDUM---what Obama left out of his remarks Wall Street Journal report on page A15---article entitled “Treasury’s Fannie Mae Heist“.

WSJ: The Federal government is seizing the substantial profits of the government-chartered mortgage firms, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taking for itself the property and potential gains of private investors the government induced to help prop up these companies. This conduct is intolerable.” A scathing article follows--a must read.

========================================================

FBI TIPS PAGE--YOU MAY REMAIN ANONYMOUS ---https://tips.fbi.gov

SUBJECT: Collusion, conspiracy, bribery
IN RE: financial irregularities
REFERENCE: fraud, falsified documents, wire transfers, accounting fraud, etc.

NARRATIVE Taxpayers demand to know the scope and dimension of multiple conspiracies by to collude in sub rosa deals to personally profit and/or to facilitate redistribution schemes WRT DOJ-imposed penalties.

OF INTEREST TO LAW ENFORCEMENT The FBI should interrogate individuals for evidence of multiple schemes to falsify official documents to further fraudulent schemes. The FBI should investigate any and all official documents submitted to the courts.

Crimes might include---conspiracy, collusion, falsifying official documents (a felony), money laundering, tax evasion, extortion, theft, misuse of public facilities.

Examine tax returns with a fine-tooth comb.....especially entries for "interest income."

===============================================

Investigators from the FBI, SEC, US Marshall's, state AG's office, the respective areas' Sheriff's Office and the Police Departments should try to unravel how these mortgage/real estate deals were facilitated---appearing to be operating legitimately as problems started surfacing later maybe as part of a long-orchestrated plot or an attempt to deal with a plummeting real estate market.

Allegations might include:

- forged mortgages, deeds and sales of property;

- taking millions of tax dollars for mortgages and land deals without fulfilling the intended purpose;

- fake title company to close land deals;

- taking tax dollars for purposes never built or never finished.

Are any of so-called DOJ-imposed penalties being laundered---then sent to numbered accounts in offshore banks?

[4Liberty]

Bump !!

[petercooper]

bttt

[W.]

Jesse Jackson should be pissed, Eric Holder stole his act and took it worldwide.

In other news, the government and its employees continue to loot the treasury, one of their last acts before the big bug out.

[Mouton]

I thought Countrywide, Bears, Washington Mutual, et al were merged during the Bush administration.

The people involved in these fiascos were Paulson, Bernake, Little Tim Geitner and a host of banksters and their shills.

[rlmorel]

"...The ruse works like this: The Obama administration in conjunction with various “community organizations” have been chatting up the terrible wrong-doing that banks did in the 2008 financial crisis. These evil banks loaned the banks' capital to people for whom default was more likely, leaving the bank with large losses. The banks did this because if they didn’t they’d be hit with charges of racism by government types, community organizations and the various enforcement arms of various governmental units.

And for a while everything was lovely. The banks made more profits-- with an implied guarantee from the federal government that they wouldn’t lose money-- the government got their hooks deeper into banks, the real power in capitalist America. But when the economy slowed down and home prices stopped making ridiculous gains year after year, the scheme fell apart..."

Nice job by the author. In a nutshell.

[skinkinthegrass]

that's alot of information, to digest!💸

[vetvetdoug]

The Swiss recognize that affirmative action and racism is no way to run a bank or country.

[Wildbill22]

I bet the Swiss are discovering that Bitcoin can be used to protect money in the same way they use to, and they don’t want to give up that market.

[MasterGunner01]

A more deserving recipient of the rigid digit, Eric Holder, is appropriate. An even more deserving recipient is his boss, Barack Hussein Obama . . . mmmm, mmmm, mmmm.

[grumpygresh]

As the US loses economic and military influence, other power blocs will compete to fill the void. However, the struggle will be between the globalists that want a one world digital only currency and central bank, and other blocks that want more autonomy (BRICS?).
The US gagsta’ government has been pushing for the one world currency ever since the POS was elected (remember what slipped out of little Timmy Gietner’s mouth about SDRs for a second). In this case, if the US loses its reserve currency status, we must hope that the one world currency fails to take hold and the world goes back to competing national currencies, hopefully backed by PMs. I don’t think that the gangstas will win because we see the Swiss waking up to the extortion racket, the Deutch have realized that their gold in New York is gone, and the world is tired of the NSA reading their e-mails.
One finger salute to the US gangsta’ government- good.

[Liz]

Are any of so-called DOJ-imposed penalties being laundered---then sent to numbered accounts in offshore banks?

STANFORD FUNDS DEMOCRATS BIG-DO Convicted con man R. Allen Stanford used offshore corporate money to buy his way into the Democratic convention in Denver.

A video posted on the firm's web-site shows Stanford, being hugged by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and praised by ex-President Bill Clinton for helping to finance a Democrat convention-related forum and party put on by the National Democratic Institute.

BILL CLINTON: "I would like to thank the Stanford Financial Group for helping to underwrite this," Clinton told the Democratic crowd. (Stanford Financial was listed as the "lead benefactor" for the gathering, and Stanford was permitted to address the audience of several hundred.)

The SEC charged that Stanford was running a fraudulent offshore investment scheme that may have bilked customers out of as much as $8 billion. Over the last decade, Stanford has spent more than $7 million on lobbyists and campaign contributions to Washington politics in both parties, although the vast majority of the money has gone to Democrats.

"We had no reason to believe that a very public company that was also engaged in philanthropic work might be suspect," said a spokesperson for the National Democratic Institute, Amy Dudley. (Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...

Here'$ how the Dummycrat$ roll:

"Hi there, Americans. Obama put me in charge of the trillion dollar stimulus.
My son and brother are gonna help me disperse the money. "

================================

Offshore Fraudster had links to offshore fund run by VP Biden's relatives
Reuters on Yahoo | 2/23/09 | BY Ajay Kamalakaran

(Reuters) – A fund of offshore hedge funds run by two members of VP Joe Biden's family was marketed exclusively by offshore firms controlled by Texas financier Allen Stanford, charged by regulators with an $8 billion fraud, the Wall Street Journal said.

The Bidens $50 million fund was jointly branded between the Bidens' Paradigm Global Advisors LLC and the offshore Stanford Financial Group entity headquartered in Antigua, and was known as the Paradigm Stanford Capital Management Core Alternative Fund, the paper said. Stanford-related offshore companies marketed the Biden fund to investors and also invested about $2.7 million of their own money in the fund, the paper said, citing a lawyer for Paradigm.

Paradigm Global Advisors is owned through a holding company by the vice president Biden's son, Hunter, and Joe Biden's brother, James, according to the WSJ. Paradigm's attorney, Marc LoPresti, who represents Hunter Biden and James Biden, as well as Paradigm, told the paper he did not know which Stanford entity invested the roughly $2.7 million. (Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...

NOTE A lawyer for Hunter Biden and James Biden told reporters the Bidens NEVER met or communicated with Stanford. (/snicker)

=========================================================

ONE MINUTE QUIZ---GUESS WHO OWNS THE BEACHFRONT VI MANSION? ---FREEPER REALTIME REPORT CIRCA 2012---"I just returned from a Caribbean cruise. In St Thomas, US Virgin Islands, the guide pointed out a waterfront mansion and said it belonged to Biden’s (cough) brother. He also said Air Force 2---the VP plane--frequently flies in and out."

[SandRat]

BRAVO!

[SunTzuWu]

Bookmark.