February 23, 2015

Thanks for the KYC link. Such rules are generally decried in CTs. We glaze over the facts too much.

Despite my notion of independence because of the end of the British lease on Hong Kong, still being owned by the UK puts them under KYC laws passed in 2007.

The Wikipedia piece shows the law is not in place in several nations. And it's the eternally evil, international banking system, blah, blah, blah. That is exactly what found these fraudsters who are stealing the Commons.

This was corruption by those who considered themselves above the law. Bank and corporate deregulation is part of negative libertarianism. Sounds like the elite's version of the sovereign citizens:

'No government tells me what to do!'

The philosophy described:

How Freedom Became Tyranny

By George Monbiot - December 19, 2011

Freedom: who could object? Yet this word is now used to justify a thousand forms of exploitation. Throughout the rightwing press and blogosphere, among thinktanks and governments, the word excuses every assault on the lives of the poor, every form of inequality and intrusion to which the 1% subject us. How did libertarianism, once a noble impulse, become synonymous with injustice?

In the name of freedom – freedom from regulation – the banks were permitted to wreck the economy. In the name of freedom, taxes for the super-rich are cut. In the name of freedom, companies lobby to drop the minimum wage and raise working hours. In the same cause, US insurers lobby Congress to thwart effective public healthcare; the government rips up our planning laws(1); big business trashes the biosphere. This is the freedom of the powerful to exploit the weak, the rich to exploit the poor.

Right-wing libertarianism recognises few legitimate constraints on the power to act, regardless of the impact on the lives of others. In the UK it is forcefully promoted by groups like the TaxPayers’ Alliance, the Adam Smith Institute, the Institute of Economic Affairs and Policy Exchange(2). Their conception of freedom looks to me like nothing but a justification for greed.

So why have we been been so slow to challenge this concept of liberty? I believe that one of the reasons is as follows. The great political conflict of our age – between neocons and the millionaires and corporations they support on one side and social justice campaigners and environmentalists on the other – has been mischaracterised as a clash between negative and positive freedoms...

Much more at link:

http://www.monbiot.com/2011/12/19/how-freedom-became-tyranny/

Van Jones explained negative libertarianism and how it is leading not to government tyranny, but corporate tyranny. The rightwingers are working for the same goals they say they are against, as they won't look to the end results. I see the same on the far left, sadly, in calling for exiting the public square and in effect, ceding the last of the Commons to the same forces and corporations:

And your link with the 'anti-money laundering software' link means that HSBC had the tools to discern these thefts. As you said, some of them didn't want to act upon that data as mandated.

JMHO...

February 23, 2015

What does HSBC stand for? HSBC stands for Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation. They own it.

I have several questions:

# 1: So this is Chinese money laundering of these illegal activities?

# 2: Are these activities legal in China?

# 3: And avoiding taxes, do they believe in paying them?

# 4: Do they care about drugs in other countries and things we consider illegal in the USA?

# 5: And are these merely digits in databases to them, are they required to know how their clients make the money that was deposited?

# 6: How would they know the harm that the depositors did?

# 7: Is the reason it has been so long coming out, a problem of translation, laws, or ignorance about the reputations of the thousands of people putting money in their hands to manage?

# 8: Is it proper to ask the depositors all of this?

# 9: Does this indict China in any way, and will it hurt relations with China?

#10: Is this China's doing?

I'm certainly not implying the Chinese did wrong, just trying to figure out how it worked.

And I'm not going with the moral argument, there appears to be no morality involved when it's this much money, especially when it crosses borders to countries that see no wrong doing with it.

This seems to be a purely Euro-centric view, for example, money going to Bin Laden may have been Saudi political strategy, same as blood diamonds, child soldiers, etc.

That all sucks in our view, but if it did to them, the perpetrators would not have done these things.

If Western investors truly knew what was going on, and made profit off it, they broke European and American law. Once again this comes from our moral beliefs and not those of other nations.

Just curious of the big view, not making excuses for these guys. I don't know if any of these stories are the gotcha of the century, nor will they stop the criminals that we are really outraged about and not the money.

February 23, 2015

What's been happening in MI has been shocking for years now! But anyway:

http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2015/01/eric-holder-ends-horrible-civil-asset-forfeiture-program

This should end this law enforcement practice. Michigan has become a ruthless Koch Kleptocracy.

February 23, 2015

Uh, this guy...

February 23, 2015

Excellent. This one on the sidebar looks as if it came from my place:

That was my nightly view as there was no light pollution and the air was very dry. Saw two famous comets in the 90s there.

I was on a hill, and the Milky Way was overhead going from one end of the land to the other.

Those kind of sky scenes make one think of one's place in the universe. And it's what the ancients saw.

February 23, 2015

Here's the quote for reference:

Norquist: Romney Will Do As Told

By David Frum - 02.13.12

All we have to do is replace Obama... We are not auditioning for fearless leader. We don't need a president to tell us in what direction to go. We know what direction to go. We want the Ryan budget... We just need a president to sign this stuff. We don't need someone to think it up or design it. The leadership now for the modern conservative movement for the next 20 years will be coming out of the House and the Senate.

Pick a Republican with enough working digits to handle a pen to become president of the United States. This is a change for Republicans: the House and Senate doing the work with the president signing bills. His job is to be captain of the team, to sign the legislation that has already been prepared.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/02/13/grover-norquist-speech-cpac.html

None of the character, facts or words spoken of the new insane clown posse matter. In fact, they want someone who is easily bought and sold to act as a Robosigner.

Obama was definitely not their man, and they want him gone in the worst possible way, but it didn't happen. Everyone of the GOP governors and the GOP state and federal legislators get their orders directly from the Koch brothers at private meetings that are leaked sometimes.

It's no use running against the straw men that the GOP is going to run with. The only thing is stopping the Koch brothers and those who support them.

February 22, 2015

Waiting for that Looney Tunes nomination, myself...

February 22, 2015

Moar Rasist Affacks By The Kenyan Muslin!

Why Does Obama Hate These Folks?



I enjoyed it, I was bored. Must be a 'white thing.' Look at those smiles, I thought they were Democrats. But wouldn't have wanted to live there.

February 22, 2015

True, tavernier. It's shredded those dreams, but yet the man still believes in it. Because...

He's seen the WORST of humanity and this country. And he's seen the BEST, too. And he brings out the BEST. He remains unsullied by the filth and refuses to give in.

February 22, 2015

What happened? This comment deserves a reply! Let's play Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon:

OMG, he was so hot in that movie. *swoons*