Thomas Donald, a military veteran, was reportedly out hunting with his 11-year-old son and armed with an “unloaded” single-shot .410-gauge shotgun (his son chose to use a crossbow instead) when he confronted a man riding a dirt bike on his 10 acres of land. The man and his son then reportedly escorted the trespasser to the front of his property and told his wife, Heather, to call the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to file a “recreational trespass.”

What happened when the Crawford County Sheriff’s Department arrived shocked them both, though Sheriff Kirk Wakefield tells TheBlaze quite a different story.

In an exclusive interview with TheBlaze, Heather Donald recounted what happened from the couple’s perspective. Her husband, Thomas, declined to speak with us on the advice of his attorney and due to the charges against him. His attorney also declined an interview request.

read more with video

Goodbye, US passport.

That’s not a concept that Americans contemplate lightly. But it’s one that many of them seem to be considering – and acting on.

The number of expatriates renouncing their US citizenship surged in the second quarter of 2013, compared with the same period the year before – 1,131 cases to 189 in 2012. It’s still a small proportion of the estimated six million Americans abroad, but it’s a significant rise.

The list is compiled by the Federal Register and while no reasons are given, the big looming factor seems to be tax.

A new law called the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) will, from 1 July next year, require all financial institutions around the world to report directly to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) all the assets and incomes of any US citizens with $50,000 (£31,000) on their books. The US could withhold 30% of dividends and interest payments due to the banks that don’t comply.

It’s an attempt by the US authorities to recover an estimated $100bn a year in unpaid taxes on US citizens’ assets overseas. Unlike other countries, Americans are taxed not only as residents of the US but also as citizens, wherever they live.

Suddenly, some expats are waking up in a cold sweat. They have always had to file tax returns and disclose foreign accounts on a form called the FBAR, although in practice many didn’t. But now Fatca means they have to be more rigorous or face huge fines, in the knowledge that the US authorities could know a lot more than they have in the past.

Many would say the IRS is only trying to get what it is owed, but critics say that in trying to track down the wealthy tax-dodgers, ordinary people are being dragged into an expensive and time-consuming form-filling nightmare. And for some, it’s become too much.

American in Germany

Bridget, who asked the BBC not to use her real name, gave up her US citizenship in 2011, 32 years after leaving for a new life in Scandinavia.

“This has nothing to do with avoiding taxes. I was never in danger of having to pay taxes in the US since I pay more here. The issue for me was that it was becoming harder and harder to follow the tax code and comply. It was difficult already but when I knew Fatca was coming, I thought, ‘Do I want to go through with it anymore?’”

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On the Senate floor before 10 a.m. Friday, the senator gave a speech describing how American politics have reached the level at which “a small group of willful men and women who have a certain ideology”—read: the tea party and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas—have been able to take over the congressional budget debate in the last week. “Since they can’t get their way,” Harkin said, “they’re going to create this confusion and discourse and hope that the public will be so mixed up in who is to blame for this, that they’ll blame both sides.”

This isn’t just congressional business as usual, Harkin said. It’s much, much more dire:

It’s dangerous. It’s very dangerous. I believe, Mr. President, we are at one of the most dangerous points in our history right now. Every bit as dangerous as the break-up of the Union before the Civil War.

This isn’t the first time the senator has spoken out about the spiraling budget and the fight over Obamacare. Harkin suggested Thursday that Cruz looked “foolish” for his “little tirade” that lasted from Tuesday afternoon until Wednesday morning. Harkin called out Cruz as being part of “the most extreme tea-party wing” of his party, and for his “ideology-driven obstructionism.”

read more

Despite the warnings, CNBC, CNN and Bloomberg talking heads kept telling viewers it was going to happen and the cuts were going to be somewhere between $10 and $20 billion, citing financial institutions like Goldman Sachs and Barclay’s.

In that desert of ignorance, there was only one financial expert telling the media that the nation’s central bank was not going to taper. For those who cannot believe it, Capital Liberty News posted a recent video titled “Peter Schiff was right – ‘Taper’ edition” that highlighted his comments – his remarks can also be read in this article from Economic Collapse News.

With a strong majority of economics and market professionals forecasting a tapering of Fed stimulus, how did so many get it wrong and so few got it right? Well, ideology for one and understanding the issue at hand is the other reason.

It should be noted that it wasn’t just Schiff promoting the concept that the Fed wouldn’t taper, it was many other libertarian, Austrian economics adherers and central economic planning critics who understood that the central bank couldn’t roll back its inflation-inducing policy because the fundamentals of the economy are unsound.

Right now, it’s costing $85 billion per month to keep the Dow Jones at its current level. Since the economic collapse in 2007 and 2008, markets have relied heavily on the injection of heroin, er, stimulus. It’s akin to what former Reagan budget director David Stockman stated earlier this year: if the Fed were to go fishing for two weeks and close up shop then the markets would collapse because they wouldn’t know where to get its monthly fix.

The United States is in the biggest bond market bubble in its history. Indeed, Fed officials are blind and near-sighted when it comes to forecasting bubbles and long-term economic trends – Fed Chair frontrunner Janet Yellen didn’t think there would be a severe economic downturn prior to the Great Recession.

Here is what Schiff had to opine late last year in a video:

“The Fed’s long-term forecasting, particularly when it comes to seeing a crisis in advance or a bubble, like the stock market bubble or the real estate bubble, is horrible,” stated Schiff. “So if they couldn’t see the stock market bubble and they couldn’t see the real estate bubble, should we be surprised that they can’t see the bond bubble or what’s going to happen when it bursts or what’s going to happen when the dollar collapses.”

Essentially, everything is debt on debt and there is no genuine equity left in the market anymore. This is definitely the greatest bubble ever perpetrated on the American people and everyone seems to have complete apathy, until the day of reckoning occurs that is.

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McAuliffe invoked the Washington Navy Yard, Aurora, and Newtown tragedies and asked, “How many people have to be killed until we wake up to have sensible gun ownership?”

He said he was “dismayed with United States Senate this year” for not bringing up a bill which was co-sponsored by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-PA) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) that would have mandated universal background checks.

“As governor, I’m going to push,” McAuliffe said. “We need universal background checks for everyone to keep our loved ones safe.”

Cuccinelli mentioned that McAuliffe was the only candidate among the six running statewide who has received an “F” grade from the NRA. After the Colorado recall of State Senators John Morse and Angela Giron, McAuliffe vowed to bring Colorado-style gun control laws to Virginia.

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Meanwhile, NATO military forces are set to conduct large-scale maneuvers in November that will be designed to counter growing concerns of a westward Russian military encroachment, according to U.S. officials.

“The Russians are moving forces closer to Europe, and that is troubling,” said a military official.

Russia’s Zapad-13 military exercises in Belarus are scheduled to end Thursday. They included practice attacks on a western state, said one official familiar with reports of the maneuvers.

Some 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops took part with over 60 aircraft and helicopters and up to 250 vehicles.

The forces practiced “rapid reaction” drills.

Russian officials recently denied Polish press reports that the Zapad-13 would include a notional nuclear attack on Warsaw. However, Russian officials have said the war games will involve practicing precision air and missile strikes.

On the Russian air base, Russian air force chief Lt. Gen. Vladimir Bondarev announced in June that the air base for Su-27 jets in Belarus would be opened near the city of Lida, near the border with Poland and Lithuania.

Bondarev said the warplanes would bolster a 1997 defense agreement between the two countries in response to NATO expansion.

It will be Russia’s first military base in Europe since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and along with it the Warsaw Pact, in 1991. Moscow currently has military bases in Armenia, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

read more

Alone in jail and with just a few friends left a news report today showed what is really going on. As first reported by Shield Mutual, Adams membership/ renewal was cancelled.

Shield Mutual (this author has no affiliation with them), is a stand up company that assist many people in the liberty and freedom movement. Their press release today stated in part,

“As Much as $50,000 May be Missing
Tragically, this lack of transparency is the least of my concerns at this point. One week ago, Adam’s father contacted me to request my assistance in securing documentation from Young about how he spent as much as $50,000 of Adam’s personal money and AVTM business funds, including donor funds raised under the pretense of an AVTM-administered Adam Kokesh legal defense fund.

Adam’s father alleged to me specifically that:
■Checks that are normally received each month at the AVTM post office box went missing during July and August, including regular payments from YouTube in connection with the AVTM show.
■Young improperly has possession of a table and leather couch that are precious to Adam. (Other sources claim that Young is also in possession of Adam’s bed, flat screen TV, clothes and possibly more.)”

What will happen with Adam Kokesh is yet to be seen. Many of his close friends and family are horrified as the donations sent to the Liberty activist seems to have gone missing.

Adam Kokesh is currently in jail in D.C. , with latest reports shown that he has been locked up in solitary confinement and being forced with medical brainwashing techniques as well as medication because he is a gun owner.
Read more from Shiledmutal.com and Libertairancrier.com for more information.

The death threat video of his former manager is here

Posted by Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive officer

Dear Fellow Americans,

Few topics in America generate a more polarized and emotional debate than guns. In recent months, Starbucks stores and our partners (employees) who work in our stores have been thrust unwillingly into the middle of this debate. That’s why I am writing today with a respectful request that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas.

From the beginning, our vision at Starbucks has been to create a “third place” between home and work where people can come together to enjoy the peace and pleasure of coffee and community. Our values have always centered on building community rather than dividing people, and our stores exist to give every customer a safe and comfortable respite from the concerns of daily life.

We appreciate that there is a highly sensitive balance of rights and responsibilities surrounding America’s gun laws, and we recognize the deep passion for and against the “open carry” laws adopted by many states. (In the United States, “open carry” is the term used for openly carrying a firearm in public.) For years we have listened carefully to input from our customers, partners, community leaders and voices on both sides of this complicated, highly charged issue.

Our company’s longstanding approach to “open carry” has been to follow local laws: we permit it in states where allowed and we prohibit it in states where these laws don’t exist. We have chosen this approach because we believe our store partners should not be put in the uncomfortable position of requiring customers to disarm or leave our stores. We believe that gun policy should be addressed by government and law enforcement—not by Starbucks and our store partners.

Recently, however, we’ve seen the “open carry” debate become increasingly uncivil and, in some cases, even threatening. Pro-gun activists have used our stores as a political stage for media events misleadingly called “Starbucks Appreciation Days” that disingenuously portray Starbucks as a champion of “open carry.” To be clear: we do not want these events in our stores. Some anti-gun activists have also played a role in ratcheting up the rhetoric and friction, including soliciting and confronting our customers and partners.

For these reasons, today we are respectfully requesting that customers no longer bring firearms into our stores or outdoor seating areas—even in states where “open carry” is permitted—unless they are authorized law enforcement personnel.

I would like to clarify two points. First, this is a request and not an outright ban. Why? Because we want to give responsible gun owners the chance to respect our request—and also because enforcing a ban would potentially require our partners to confront armed customers, and that is not a role I am comfortable asking Starbucks partners to take on. Second, we know we cannot satisfy everyone. For those who oppose “open carry,” we believe the legislative and policy-making process is the proper arena for this debate, not our stores. For those who champion “open carry,” please respect that Starbucks stores are places where everyone should feel relaxed and comfortable. The presence of a weapon in our stores is unsettling and upsetting for many of our customers.

I am proud of our country and our heritage of civil discourse and debate. It is in this spirit that we make today’s request. Whatever your view, I encourage you to be responsible and respectful of each other as citizens and neighbors.

Sincerely,

Howard Schultz

Source

“When will enough be enough?” Feinstein said in a statement Monday evening.

“Congress must stop shirking its responsibility and resume a thoughtful debate on gun violence in this country,” she said. “We must do more to stop this endless loss of life.”

The FBI confirmed Monday afternoon that 34-year-old Aaron Alexis is the suspect in Monday’s massacre at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. Alexis died at the scene. Authorities are still looking for other potential gunmen in the rampage that has killed at least a dozen people.

“I mourn those killed today at the Navy Yard in Washington and send my thoughts and prayers to those families grieving the loss of loved ones,” Feinstein said.

“There are reports the killer was armed with an AR-15, a shotgun and a semiautomatic pistol when he stormed an American military installation in the nation’s capital and took at least 12 innocent lives,” she said.

Feinstein has long been an anti-gun rights activist. After last year’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, she unsuccessfully pushed to ban more than 150 types of firearms, including rifles, pistols and shotguns.

Read more:

South (front) elevation, looking north – Navy Yard, Building No. 197
The mainstream press doesn’t push for answers.

It’s a vital question. In school shootings, we’ve learned that the answer is often yes. For example, Eric Harris at Columbine in 1999 was on Luvox, an SSRI antidepressant. These SSRIs are well known for pushing people over the edge into violence; and the manic effects can also motivate them to form grandiose plans for destruction. (See the website “SSRI stories” for documented accounts.)

In the last few years, the US Armed Forces have loaded down their personnel with psychiatric meds, which have led to suicides and killings.

Typically, at these shootings, pharmaceutical investigators show up to find out whether their drugs are involved, so, if necessary, they can clamp down on “information leaks” and instead divert the conversation to: “he had a mental disorder,” as if that, rather than the drugs, was the key factor.

Another top question: was it a “random” shooting or was it an intentional op, designed for several purposes:

implementing a further gun grab from private citizens;

a lesson in official control—“obey the instructions of the authorities and shelter in place”;

inducing generalized fear and demoralization in the population;

and distracting the public from ongoing scandals/ops—e.g., Syria, NSA spying, Benghazi.

Two tweets may or not be be relevant here:

Scott MacFarlane (NBC 4 I-team reporter, Washington DC—unless someone has hijacked his twitter account): “Navy ran mass shooting drill in Feb-March at Navy Yard. Part of nationwide ‘Citadel shield’ security program.”

Jonathan Feng: “There was one active shooter drill during my time at Navy Yard. I was stuck inside a building while getting lunch. Guess which building.”

Several other tweets (unconfirmed info) claim a drill took place at the Navy Yard several says ago.

Several mass killings (e.g., Aurora, Boston bombing) took place at the same time as, or close to the time of, official terror drills, suggesting several possibilities—one being the drills were prepping for an intentional op.

As navy.mil reports, in March of 2012, not 2013, a Solid Curtain-Citadel Shield exercise took place, “designed to test the service’s ability to respond to nation-wide threats to its installations, units, personnel and families.”

Adm. John C Harvey Jr. stated, “Overall, it was a resounding success…”

How did two or three armed shooters enter the Navy Yard and get past security today? Will the mainstream press do a deep investigation on that?

So far, officials are telling the press that at least 6 people have been killed at the Navy Yard and 10 have been wounded. There are two or three shooters, which suggests some level of planning and coordination. DHS has released a pat statement: “no known connection to terrorism,” which means nothing.

In Washington DC, open or concealed carry of weapons (by private citizens) is illegal. Therefore, aside from armed security guards at the Navy Yard, no civilian workers in the buildings can defend themselves against the shooters. Also, from what I can gather, non-security military personnel working inside the Navy Yard are forbidden from carrying weapons as well.

From 1886 to 1964, the US Navy Yard manufactured weapons for the US Navy. According to a Wikipedia article, it was, by the start of WW2, the largest ordnance naval yard in the world.

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