What Makes Bernie Speak?
For Bernie Sanders, who has served in Congress for 20 years, his December 10 "mini-filibuster" was a continuation of essentially the same speech he’s been giving since he first emerged as a Vermont third party candidate in 1971. And the Senate speech, though it resonated with many people, doesn’t appear to have changed the outcome of the pending tax deal.
Miami Rice: The Business of Disaster in Haiti
What is at stake in Haiti? What interests underlie the grab for power in the country? One answer is the large amount of aid and development dollars that are circulating. Among those benefiting handsomely from the disaster aid are U.S. corporations who have accessed U.S. government contracts.
A Message for Cancun from Mexico City
Source: Yes Magazine
On Tuesday, as U.N. negotiations on climate change geared up in the Caribbean beach resort of Cancún, thousands of people marched through the streets of Mexico City to demand grassroots solutions to global warming —and to the slew of other crises they face.
“I’m here because I’m worried about the planet and also because I’m worried about our country,” a middle-aged woman from the grassroots coalition National Dialogue tells me as the march sets off toward Mexico City’s central plaza, the Zócalo.
SABMiller: Old, bad habits die hard
Source: Le Monde Diplomatique
SABMiller is one of the world’s leading beverage companies and a new report by ActionAid makes its history in apartheid South Africa of particular interest.
Among the strategies deployed by SABMiller during sanctions imposed on apartheid South Africa were ‘relocating’ intangible assets, such as the company’s many trademarks, to the Netherlands, a ‘conduit’ country used extensively for shifting corporate profits.
Not only did this allow SABMiller to bypass sanctions, but it also made it easier to expand into foreign markets – without the associated stigma of being an apartheid South African company – and avoid taxation through transfer (mis)pricing. The benefits of Dutch holding companies mean there is no requirement to have local economic substance, little or no taxation on repatriated profits, and full tax exemption on capital gains and dividends received from qualifying subsidiaries. And as ActionAid reports, according to Dutch law, the costs of acquired trademarks can be set against taxable income.
Message to South American Left Bloc: Don’t Trust Brazil
As the Wikileaks scandal drags on a portrait is emerging of Brazil, and suffice it to say it is not too flattering. A rising power with global aspirations, Brazil has a lot more political and economic muscle than, say Venezuela or Bolivia. Yet, time and again the Lula administration takes a very meek approach toward the United States or, even worse, goes along with Washington’s geopolitical machinations.
From Europe to Outer Space: Dissecting Obama’s Missile Defense Plan
At NATO’s recent summit in Lisbon, President Obama promoted the missile defense shield that will someday cover all of Europe, including Russia. Critics of missile defense say a European shield is a ruse that’s keeping the West’s true intentions for Russia under wraps.