IT'S STARTED...

>>> The first countries to ban Islam: See how the world is
>> acting fast on the threat posed by Islam.
>>>
>>> Cuba rejects plans for
>> first mosque.
>>>
>>> The African nation of Angola has officially become
>> the first country to ban Islam.
>>>
>>> Record number of Muslims
>> deported from Norway at last as a way of fighting crime.
>>>
>>> Japan is
>> the only nation that does not give citizenship to Muslims.
>>>
>>> In
>> Germany alone in the last year there were 81 attacks targeting
>> mosques.
>>>
>>> Austrian police arrested 13 men targeting suspected
>> jihad recruiters.
>>>
>>> A Chinese court sends 22 Muslim Imams to jail
>> for 5 to 16 years for Spreading hatred.
>>> China has executed eight
>> Jihadists; China campaigns against Separatism (ie disallowing
>> islamists to have their own separate state). Muslim prayers banned in
>> government buildings and schools in Xinjiang (Western China).
>>
>>> British
>> Home Secretary prepares to introduce 'Anti-social Behavior Order' for
>> extremists and strip dual nationals of their
>>> Citizenship.
>>>
>> Czech Republic doesn't want Islam in their country.
>>>
>>> Alabama - A
>> new controversial amendment that will ban the recognition of "foreign
>> laws which would include sharia law".
>>>
>>> The Polish Defense League
>> issues a warning to Muslims. 16 States Have All Introduced
>> Legislation to Ban Shariah Law.
>>>
>>> Some Muslims in Northern Ireland
>> have announced plans to leave the Country to avoid anti-Islamic
>> violence.The announcement comes after an attack on Muslims in the
>> city of Belfast, when crazed rioters were provoked.
>>>
>>> North
>> Carolina Bans Islamic "Sharia Law" in the State.
>>>
>>> Dutch MP calls
>> for removal of all mosques in Netherlands.Member of Dutch Parliament:
>> "We want to clean Netherlands of Islam".
>>> Dutch MP Machiel De Graaf
>> spoke on behalf of the Party for Freedom when he said, "All mosques
>> in the Netherlands should be shut down. Without Islam, The Netherlands
>> would be a wonderful country."
>>>
>>> Please share this e-mail if
>> you think it is worth it.
>>>
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>>>Checked by AVG - www.avg.com>Version: 2015.0.6037 / Virus Database:
>> 4365/10162 - Release Date: 07/04/15
>>>

BANKS IN TROUBLE !!!

July 1, 2015
Singapore

Yesterday over coffee, a friend of mine leaked the news that JP Morgan’s private banking division here in Singapore is going to start charging negative interest rates.

I almost fell out of my chair.


He’s a successful hedge fund manager and one of their best customers. So when he received the notice, he rang up his private banker and demanded to know why.

Between ridiculously low interest rates (banks are closing loans here for 0.9% or lower) and the increasing costs of compliance, “we can’t make money anymore...” was the response.


It certainly paints a clear picture of how screwed up the entire financial system is.

Compliance is a major component in this. Bankers around the world are buried up to their eyeballs in paperwork and regulations now.


They can’t make a move or approve a single transaction without first doing anti-money laundering, terrorist financing, and tax evasion due diligence.


Imagine it like this: your banker rings you up tomorrow and says, “The government of China requires us to have all of our depositors fill out this paperwork. So I need you to send this form back to me ASAP…”


You’d probably think it was a joke.



Or at a minimum think, “Wait, what? I’m not Chinese. You’re not a Chinese bank. Who cares about some stupid Chinese regulation?”



And you’d be right.



Except that’s precisely what the United States is doing right now.



All over the world, bankers are contacting their customers and forcing them to fill out paperwork to comply with idiotic US government regulations. Even when there’s no connection to the US.


Here in Singapore, the bankers are completely miserable about it.



They’re so angry for having to call customers and say, “Yes I know you’re in India, and I know we’re in Singapore, and I know you’ve been a customer for 10 years. But you still have to fill out this US government form or else we’ll close your account.”



It’s ridiculous-- all of this because the US government is bankrupt.



A few years ago they passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)-- a major part of their crusade to stamp out tax evasion and bring in more tax revenue.

FATCA is now in full force. Banks all over the world have been forced to enter into information sharing agreements with the IRS, meaning that they have to report on all of their customers and force them to fill out meaningless forms.



Needless to say, this costs a lot of money.



If you own a business, you can just imagine how frustrating and expensive it would be to have your employees toil away on senseless paperwork instead of... you know, doing real business.



The US government tells us that all of these disclosure programs have brought in about $6.5 billion in tax revenue.



Yet the costs of compliance are estimated to cost at least $8 billion, with some estimates over 10x higher.



Now that’s a neat trick. Uncle Sam gets the money and passes off the costs to everyone else.



And those who don’t comply with America’s rules are destroyed.



The most blatant example of this was last year, when a French bank was fined $9 billion for doing business with countries that Uncle Sam didn’t like.



Bear in mind, this was a French bank, not an American bank.



They violated no French laws. Yet they had to pay the US government $9 billion for doing business with places like Cuba.



(Ironically, Cuba is now BFFs with the United States, but it’s not like the bank is going to get a refund.)



More recently, the US government destroyed an Andorran bank that was accused of weak anti-money laundering controls.



And a few years ago they took down the oldest private bank in Switzerland.

Every bank in the world has seen these incidents, and they’re scared. They could be next.



And that’s why you can’t get a single financial transaction done anymore without first submitting a mountain of paperwork to prove that you’re not a terrorist. Or financing terrorists. Or laundering money. Or doing business with the Axis of Evil.



Even outside of banking it has become utterly ridiculous.



A friend of mine here runs one of the largest bullion depositories in Singapore; he wanted to buy some raw gold and have it made into bars, so he contacted a refiner.



The refiner said, “Sure no problem. I just need you to send us some compliance documentation before we get started.”



Then he sent a list of no fewer than 22 items that he needed to submit-- copies of licenses, passports, certificates, etc.



22 items. Just to have a refiner make some gold bars. Ridiculous.



So obviously they’re not going to waste their time. Which means there’s some business that could have been done, but won’t, simply because of the compliance costs.



The US government has really screwed the world on this. Paperwork is the priority. Not business.



And all because America is bankrupt.



This trip to Singapore has been very eye-opening for me as I’m just now starting to understand how much people within the financial system despise the US government.



They feel like they’re being forced at gunpoint to be volunteer spies and tax collectors, simply because US politicians have been financially irresponsible.



And to me, it’s the biggest sign yet that America’s financial dominance is coming to an end. They’ve essentially engineered it themselves by alienating the whole world.



The transition isn’t going to be smooth. And it won’t happen overnight. But there will come a time, and likely soon, when the United States gets displaced.



And the rest of the world can hardly wait.

Until tomorrow, 

 

Simon Black 

Founder, SovereignMan.com

 
 
"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made 
and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings."

                                                                                             - Nelson Mandela 

 

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GREAT TRUTHS

1. In my many years I have come to a
   conclusion that one useless man
    is a shame, two is a law firm,
    and three or more is a congress.
    -- John Adams
 
2. If you don't read the newspaper
    you are uninformed, if you do
    read the newspaper you are
    misinformed. -- Mark Twain
 
3. Suppose you were an idiot. And
    suppose you were a member of
    Congress. But then I repeat
    myself. -- Mark Twain
 
4. I contend that for a nation to try to
    tax itself into prosperity is like a
    man standing in a bucket and
    trying to lift himself up by the
    handle. --Winston Churchill
 
5. A government which robs Peter to
    pay Paul can always depend on
    the support of Paul. -- George
    Bernard Shaw
 
6. A liberal is someone who feels a
    great debt to his fellow man,
    which debt he proposes to pay off
    with your money. -- G. Gordon
    Liddy
 
7. Democracy must be something
    more than two wolves and a sheep
    voting on what to have for
    dinner. --James Bovard, Civil
    Libertarian (1994)
 
8. Foreign aid might be defined as a
    transfer of money from poor
    people in rich countries to rich
    people in poor countries.
    -- Douglas Case,
    Classmate of Bill Clinton at Georgetown University.
 
9. Giving money and power to
    government is like giving whiskey
    and car keys to teenage boys.
    -- P.J. O'Rourke, Civil Libertarian
 
10. Government is the great fiction,
      through which everybody
      endeavors to live at the expense
      of everybody else. -- Frederic
      Bastiat , French economist(1801-1850)
 
11. Government's view of the
      economy could be summed up
      in a few short phrases: If it
      moves, tax it.  If it keeps
      moving, regulate it. And if it
      stops moving, subsidize it.
      --Ronald Reagan (1986)
 
12. I don't make jokes. I just watch
      the government and report the
      facts. -- Will Rogers
 
13. If you think health care is
      expensive now, wait until you
      see what it costs when it's free!
      -- P. J. O'Rourke
 
14. In general, the art of government
      consists of taking as much
      money as possible from one
      party of the citizens to give to
      the other. --Voltaire (1764)
 
15. Just because you do not take an
      interest in politics doesn't mean
      politics won't take an interest
      in you! -- Pericles (430 B.C.)
 
16. No man's life, liberty, or
      property is safe while the
      legislature is in session.
      -- Mark Twain (1866)
 
17. Talk is cheap, except when
      Congress does it. -- Anonymous
 
18. The government is like a baby's
      alimentary canal, with a happy
      appetite at one end and no
      responsibility at the other.
      -- Ronald Reagan
 
19. The inherent vice of capitalism is
      the unequal sharing of the
      blessings. The inherent blessing
      of socialism is the equal sharing
      of misery. -- Winston Churchill
 
20. The only difference between a
      tax man and a taxidermist is that
      the taxidermist leaves the skin.
      -- Mark Twain
 
21. The ultimate result of shielding
      men from the effects of folly is
      to fill the world with fools.
      -- Herbert Spencer, English
           Philosopher (1820-1903)
 
22. There is no distinctly Native
      American criminal class, save
      Congress. -- Mark Twain
 
23. What this country needs are
      more unemployed politicians
      --Edward Langley,
           Artist (1928-1995)
 
24. A government big enough to give
      you everything you want, is
      strong enough to take everything
      you have.  -- Thomas Jefferson
 
25. We hang the petty thieves and
      appoint the great ones to public
     office. -- Aesop 

 

26.   A sinking lifeboat, with no help in sight and filled with politicians, lawyers and realtors, could be adequately described as A BLOODY GOOD START.

...........Jim Jervis            
 
FIVE BEST SENTENCES
 
1. You cannot legislate the poor into
    prosperity, by legislating the
    wealthy out of prosperity.
 
2. What one person receives without
    working for, another person must
    work for without receiving.
 
3. The government cannot give to
    anybody anything that the
    government does not first take
    from somebody else.
 
4. You cannot multiply wealth by
    dividing it.
 
5. When half of the people get the
    idea that they do not have to
    work, because the other half is
    going to take care of them, and
    when the other half gets the idea
    that it does no good to work
    because somebody else is going to
    get what they work for, that is the
    beginning of the end of any nation!
 
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