The Panama Papers

[GG]

Since when is the friggin Guardian a mouthpiece for US interests?

 

For the last week, you've been bathed in all these massive revelations that don't show crap about the US. So your response is that there must be a huge cover up? It can't be a simple answer that powerful people who live under restrictive regimes try to hide their wealth?

[Deranged Rhino]

For the last week, you've been bathed in all these massive revelations that don't show crap about the US. So your response is that there must be a huge cover up? It can't be a simple answer that powerful people who live under restrictive regimes try to hide their wealth?

 

First of all, I'm not offering that article as my position. I don't have a position in this matter. The story is still in its very early stages. I'm not saying there's a cover-up, in fact I stated I don't buy it.

 

But considering the way the story unfolded in its first hours, it's not an unreasonable assumption to make and is worth considering, even academically. Do you think the US is above this kind of information warfare and blackmail? I sure don't.

.

**************

More: Data Journalism is changing the balance of power

https://medium.com/@dan_leslie/data-journalism-is-changing-the-balance-of-power-panamapapers-5dffb3eb18b8#.i56v0ubcn

 

It’s unclear whether the forced transparency made possible by these events will actually discourage the use of offshore shell companies, which are on their own completely legal. But leaks like the State Department cables or the Panama Papers are almost certain to continue at an ever-increasing scale, whether world leaders and their apparatchiks like it or not.

 

The frictionless nature of digital data, and its urge to be free might be viewed as a kind of disinfectant of the worst kinds of secrecy: those that enrich authoritarian regimes and enable corruption. And even the mightiest governments are almost entirely powerless to stop it.

Data journalism, as it’s become known, is quickly becoming the single most important antidote to illegal corporate or government activity. What’s more, its power is felt even without actual disclosures taking place; because data can so easily be copied, anonymously shared, and distributed across borders, even the possibility of a leak is a significant deterrent to behavior previously shrouded by secrecy.

[TakeYouToTasker]

This is a pretty shallow view of the story. I would think there are plenty of citizens in the UK, Saudi Arabia, Iceland, Turkey, China and other such countries who are rightfully outraged about having their national treasuries pilfered by their own leaders. And we haven't even gotten to the Americans wrapped up in this yet.

 

The majority of what off shore bankers do is legal. That's not in dispute. But that's also not what this story is about.

Here's a quick explanation as to why this is an issue -- or rather one issue of many:

You were saying?

 

http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/apr/05/justice-department-panama-papers-mossack-fonseca-us-investigation

 

 

 

“There is no doubt that the problem of global tax avoidance generally is a huge problem,” he told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. “The problem is that a lot of this stuff is legal, not illegal.”

 

The US president said the leak from Panama illustrated the scale of tax avoidance involving Fortune 500 companies and running into trillions of dollars worldwide.

 

“We shouldn’t make it legal to engage in transactions just to avoid taxes,” he added, praising instead “the basic principle of making sure everyone pays their fair share”.

 

Obama described the Panama revelations as “important stuff” and highlighting the impact upon ordinary citizens, added that “a lot of these loopholes come at the expense of middle-class families, because that lost revenue has to be made up somewhere.

 

As I said, this entire story is nothing more than "be t3h OUTRAGE!!!!!111!!one!!11! about how much money the wealthy have!"

[Deranged Rhino]

Shots fired: Wikileaks Accuses Panama Papers' Leaker Of Being "Soros-Funded, Soft-Power Tax Dodge"

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-04-05/shots-fired-wikileaks-accuses-panama-papers-leaker-being-soros-funded-soft-power-tax

More: Panama Papers taunt the masses with proof the game is rigged

http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/panama-papers-neil-macdonald-1.3520491

More: Chile's head of Transparency International resigns after Panama Papers

http://www.reuters.com/article/panama-tax-chile-idUSL2N1771Z1

[....lybob]

[unbillievable]

I'm actually concerned about computer security getting progressively worse.

[Deranged Rhino]

I'm actually concerned about computer security getting progressively worse.

 

If the anti-encryption crowd has their way, it will get worse.

[B-Man]

REMINDER: Panama Papers Are About Government Corruption, Not ‘Tax Evasion.’

 

“In general, this is why politicians have off-shore accounts, to hide wrong-doing, and not just to ‘evade taxes.’”

 

 

The political class wants to talk about tax evasion, because then they don’t have to talk about how corrupt the political class is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First American connection to Panama Papers involves associates of Hillary campaign

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/04/first_american_connection_to_panama_papers_involves_associates_of_hillary_campaign.html#ixzz453skadai

Edited April 6, 2016 by B-Man

[meazza]

 

 

First American connection to Panama Papers involves associates of Hillary campaign

 

Read more: http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2016/04/first_american_connection_to_panama_papers_involves_associates_of_hillary_campaign.html#ixzz453skadai

 

 

 

Hey they're good fellas, friends of ours. No biggie.

[Deranged Rhino]

Putin Rejects Corruption Allegations, claims west is trying to destabilize Russia:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35989560?ns_mchannel=social&ns_campaign=bbc_breaking&ns_source=twitter&ns_linkname=news_central

 

More: Austrian bank's CEO quits after Panama Papers

https://www.yahoo.com/news/austrian-provincial-banks-ceo-quits-panama-papers-reports-053917165--sector.html

[Deranged Rhino]

(UK) The 1% hide their money offshore - then use it to corrupt our democracy:

 

Because at root, the Panama Papers are not about tax. They’re not even about money. What the Panama Papers really depict is the corruption of our democracy.

Following on from LuxLeaks, the Panama Papers confirm that the super-rich have effectively exited the economic system the rest of us have to live in. Thirty years of runaway incomes for those at the top, and the full armoury of expensive financial sophistication, mean they no longer play by the same rules the rest of us have to follow. Tax havens are simply one reflection of that reality. Discussion of offshore centres can get bogged down in technicalities, but the best definition I’ve found comes from expert Nicholas Shaxson who sums them up as: “You take your money elsewhere, to another country, in order to escape the rules and laws of the society in which you operate.” In so doing, you rob your own society of cash for hospitals, schools, roads…

But those who exited our societies are now also exercising their voice to set the rules by which the rest of us live. The 1% are buying political influence as never before. Think of the billionaire Koch brothers, whose fortunes will shape this year’s US presidential elections. In Britain, remember the hedge fund and private equity barons, who in 2010 contributed half of all the Conservative party’s election funds – and so effectively bought the Tories their first taste of government in 18 years.

(Snip)

In Britain and in America, the super-rich have broken Hirschman’s law – they are at one and the same time exercising economic exit and political voice. They can have their tax-free cake and eat it.

(snip)

What have the super-rich got for their investment in British politics since 2010? Cuts in personal taxes, invitations from George Osborne to advise on overhauling corporation taxes, the security of knowing that their tax havens will be treated with due leniency.

In my politics lessons, we were taught that Britain was a representative democracy. But what 30 years of plutocracy have brought is an era of un-representative democracy. With a few exceptions, our politicians no longer resemble, nor do they work for us.

http://www.theguardian.com/news/commentisfree/2016/apr/10/money-offshore-corrupt-democracy-political-influence?CMP=share_btn_fb

[TakeYouToTasker]

In summary, the left in the UK is "t3h OUTRAGED!!11!1one!!11" about having their 18 year monopoly on policy interrupted by an opposing view point; and the Tories are bad and don't deserve representation, because reasons.

 

They are also "t3h OUTRAGED!!11!1one!!11" because, how dare wealthy British citizens want to avoid confiscatory tax rates long imposed upon them by an ignorant majority; and if they do want to avoid them, how dare they use those funds to participate in their government in order to seek a more equitable tax burden for themselves in the future.

[meazza]

In summary, the left in the UK is "t3h OUTRAGED!!11!1one!!11" about having their 18 year monopoly on policy interrupted by an opposing view point; and the Tories are bad and don't deserve representation, because reasons.

 

They are also "t3h OUTRAGED!!11!1one!!11" because, how dare wealthy British citizens want to avoid confiscatory tax rates long imposed upon them by an ignorant majority; and if they do want to avoid them, how dare they use those funds to participate in their government in order to seek a more equitable tax burden for themselves in the future.

 

No it's a concerted effort to take over the world through the military industrial complex and to destroy our democracy.

 

/greg

[Deranged Rhino]

Swiss Banker Whistleblower: CIA behind Panama Papers

 

In an exclusive interview Tuesday from Munich, Birkenfeld said he doesn't think the source of the 11 million documents stolen from a Panamanian law firm should automatically be considered a whistleblower like himself. Instead, he said, the hacking of the Panama City-based firm, called Mossack Fonseca, could have been done by a U.S. intelligence agency.

"The CIA I'm sure is behind this, in my opinion," Birkenfeld said.

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/12/swiss-banker-whistleblower-cia-behind-panama-papers.html

 

No it's a concerted effort to take over the world through the military industrial complex and to destroy our democracy.

 

/greg

 

Close, but not a totally accurate representation of my theory.

[Deranged Rhino]

A reddit Ask Me Anything thread is ongoing now with some of the reporters who broke the story for those who are interested:

 

https://np.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/4fi6ck/we_are_the_investigative_journalists_who_worked/

[Deranged Rhino]

New data dump coming May 9th:

 

On Wednesday the ICIJ said in an email that on May 9 it would "publish what will likely be the largest-ever release of information about secret offshore companies and the people behind them, based on data from the Panama Papers investigation.

"The searchable database will include information about more than 200,000 companies, trusts, foundations, and funds incorporated in 21 tax havens, from Hong Kong to Nevada in the United States."

 

 

http://www.businessinsider.com/panama-papers-data-dump-in-may-2016-4

[unbillievable]

Should wealth be taxed?

[Tiberius]

Papers include dozens of Americans tied to financial frauds

Washington Post - 2 hours ago

Len Gotshalk, an Atlanta Falcons football player turned Oregon businessman, had a history of legal issues by the time he went looking to buy an offshore company in 2010.

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

So, when liberal entertainers hide their money, it's for "safety and privacy reasons":

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/05/10/emma-watson-named-panama-papers/84196712/

[Tiberius]

So, when liberal entertainers hide their money, it's for "safety and privacy reasons":

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/05/10/emma-watson-named-panama-papers/84196712/

She's hot, so its ok