The age of banking secrecy coming to an end, climate scientist warns that billions will die, U.S. trade deficit contracts along with trade, Russians steal yet another foreign company’s assets, Mexican drug lord makes Forbes’ billionaires list, road to nowhere to take 26 years and $1.5 billion, California considers legalizing marijuana…just the latest in your Freedom Under Fire report!
Switzerland Gives in to Pressure to Reveal Bank Records. The Swiss government bowed to pressure on Friday and agreed to exchange information on suspected cases of tax evasion, but maintained that its principle of banking secrecy was intact. Swiss officials say that they will only release individual data in cases of “specific” and “justified” requests, rather than handing over blanket information on groups of people so that foreign governments can mine the data for evaders. Austria and Luxembourg are also jumping on the disclosure train, as are the small tax havens of Andorra and Liechtenstein.
Climate Scientist says Global Warming Will Kill Billions. Hans Schellnhuber, the director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, said that if the buildup of greenhouse gases and its consequences pushed global temperatures 7 degree Fahrenheit higher than today Earth’s population would be devastated.
U.S. Trade Deficit Shrinks, But So Does Trade. Trade between the U.S. and the rest of the world slid lower in January as domestic weakness slashed import levels and a spreading global downturn cut the overseas demand for American exports. U.S. exports declined 20% year-over-year, bringing the overall trade gap to $36 billion for the month. Compare this to last year’s average monthly trade deficit of $56.8 billion.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Division
Russians Steal Norwegian Stake in Joint Venture. Russian stocks collapsed on news of a Siberian court seizing Norwegian assets and handing them over to a company allied with a Russian oligarch. Telenor, the Norwegian company, accused the Russian plaintiffs of filing groundless lawsuits to gain control of a cell phone company they owned jointly. A similar fate befell British Petroleum last summer.
Drug Cartel Leader Makes Forbes’ Billionaire Report. Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera stunned authorities by making the Forbes magazines’s annual self-made billionaires report. One severe consequence of making drugs illegal is that criminals, alone, tap the multibillion dollar global trade. Men like “El Chapo” are responsible for murdering over 7,200 people in Mexico last year, alone.
Road to Nowhere will Take 26 Years and $1.5 billion. Part of President Obama’s “stimulus” bill will be the continuation of what critics call the “road to nowhere”. Corridor H has been a pet project of Sen. Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) for decades and has so far cost federal taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Another $9.5 million was earmarked in the $410 billion omnibus spending bill just signed, while $21 million is alloted from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Critics point out that the four-lane super highway is ridiculous considering the low population levels in that part of the Appalachian Mountains, especially since the road ends at Virginia, which refuses to fund its extension through its territory. Overall, the road is expected to take another 26 years to complete at a cost of $1.5 billion.
California Considers Legalizing Marijuana. State Assemblyman Tom Ammiano introduced legislation last month that would legalize pot and allow the state to regulate and tax its sale. The goal is to raise billions for the cash-strapped state. Marijuana sales already amount to $14 billion in annual sales, dwarfing the state’s second largest agricultural commodity, milk and cream, which brings in $7.3 billion annually. State tax collectors are salivating at the chance to bring in an estimated $1.3 billion in new revenues from its legal sale.
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