Maxiumum Retail Pump Prices in Kenya for the Period 15th December 2016 – 14th January 2017 (14.12.2016)

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Cry havoc: Kanye creates more fuzz than actual news!

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This are one of these days where I see more articles about the meeting between President-Elect Donald J. Trump at the Trump Tower with the rapper Kanye West. What should be news that more and more people connected with either Big-Oil like the Standard Oil babies ExxonMobile, grand wizards of the economy, hedge fund infused billionaires and others are packing their offices to find ways of ravaging the faucets and gooses, while the workers are tripping and wonder what they voted in.

The American People been duped by a sales-man with such vigour and bravado that he claimed Hillary Clinton’s connection to the big business and Wall Street; while him two seconds and near the swearing-in are handpicking more Goldman Sachs officials than fish in a barrel.

With this in mind the visit of Kanye West at the Trump Tower is just a suggestion, from the man in 2011 on ‘Watch the Throne’ LP on the song ‘New Day’ wrote:

“And I’ll never let my son have an ego

He’ll be nice to everyone, wherever we go

I mean I might even make him be Republican

So everybody know he love white people”

Therefore, the truth of the matter is that this is not really a thing. If so, this is made-up to undermine the key aspects in the wind. The Goldman, the swamp swirling around the nest and dropping loads of golden eggs for the big business to use.

That the cabinet either filled with the ones that was to be cleared out of Washington D.C. or the populist agenda with men like Jeff Sessions and Stephen Bannon whose despicable worldview can destroy any kind of men has belief in decency left in the American Experience. Therefore, the scenery of this Alt-Right, White Supremacist in power should not overshadow the greedy-guts that are nominees for seriously grand opportunities.

Where bankers, where big industrialist and self-loathing interests combined with the infused tolerance for business over policy can conquer the republic’s works. As the lax-tax and corporate loopholes will be covered into a level where it isn’t a few bigger whole like a Swiss-Cheese, instead more like common water leaks like from pipes connected to the faucets.

The faucet is the sales-man on the top, the President-Elect Trump that gives all the donors of the Republican Party a feast, also the men and woman who can offer something in return; so the nomination is a future-buy in for a coming return on investment. The portfolio is more of government funds and taxes together with the estimated earnings on foreign affairs as the kickbacks through the political funded monies can return to the bankers and the industries that offered their nominees.

So we shouldn’t worry about Kanye is hanging out with the President-Elect, when the view of the man and woman handpicked to secure the coffers, misuse the immigrants as scarecrows for their economic policies to enrich themselves and their top 1 %, while leaving leaves and empty promises behind.

Therefore, American people be proud of you and yours have created! This is what you will become and what that is ahead, the President-Elect is surely going to have a blast and you as the citizen of the grand Republic going to left behind with the bill. Pay it either directly or to the rich-men is coffers or as a benefit for what you already had.

Certainly these noblemen who is handpicked by the Trump isn’t going to let you off the hook easily, they are in to cash-in or they are nominated to departments they back-in the day didn’t believe in like Ben Carson or Rick Perry. However, when they get a government position it’s all smiles and glory, even if they got no clue about the organization or its mission. Because that is not needed, because the President-Elect does not know what he is entitled to do either.

We can grin and wonder why Trump meet with Kanye, other than a publicity stunt of some kind, as the Republican blasted Obama for meeting Common at the White House, but no one is screaming vicious when Trump met with Kanye, since that is just so COOL!

Well, the reality is that the Republican party can stick it, for the pain and suffering they will give their own in the will of little government, little tax and massive army, the taxation policies as well as the prospects of Alt-Right policies to make enemies out of neighbours who are citizens as much the next one. Certainly, the Trump administration got work ahead, not only with themselves, but also with the Republic it will run. Peace.

Kenya: On Civil Society and Civic Education, You Are Wrong Mr. President! (13.12.2016)

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The rise of #ThisFlag Movement Pastor Evan Mawarire: the Civil Rights Activist and leader that Zimbabwe and the world needs right now!

Evan Mawarire 13.07.2016

Pastor Evan Mawarire, the Zimbabwean Civil Rights leader who started wearing the Zimbabwean Flag and called for demonstrations wearing it in public. The Zimbabwean Flag became a tool of resistance and defiance of the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (Zanu-PF), the ruling regime that has been in power since 1980 and under the current President Robert Mugabe.

Robert Mugabe reign started hopeful, but has turned sour over time. President Mugabe has forgotten his struggle is keener on buying jewellery for his wife than caring about his citizens. Therefore the rise of men and civil rights activists like Evan Mawarire is extremely important to change the republic. A republic that has become corrupt cronyism and where the foundations are shaking; where the police brutality and impunity runs rapid. Where massive amount of citizens are living in the diaspora and flee to live in shacks in South Africa.

This is the legacy that is left behind after decades under the President Mugabe, the real change never came, only that that the Zanu-PF elite got to eat and takeover lands from the inherent former colonial tribes and given that away to Zanu-PF elites and generals. So this has shackled the production of a former breadbasket, as the El Nino even made the lacking foods worse. The drought together with the lacking agricultural policies made the former proud farmer nation into a nation who needs help to feed it; so the independent nation needs more help than before existence of Mugabe Administration.

The thieving of export funds together with the problematic inflations, as well as faltering currency policies that lead to the depleted economy, as well as International Monetary Fund and World Bank put sanctions or suspended needed loans to the Zanu-PF government. The Zanu-PF has used the funds on their own and had famous parties for the President and his family. As well as the Vice-President putting hotel bills on the government as he lived over 1,5 year at hotel in Harere and sponging of the government coffers.

With the knowledge of this, with the lacking medication on the hospital, the lacking payments of salaries to the civil servants and others proves the lack of governance. The allocations and misuse of funds is rampant as the Zanu-PF elite rides in expensive imported SUVs while the common-man cannot get out enough funds at the ATMs to pay their rent or pay for food suppliers at the market.

In this context came the monumental rise of a simple man, not a man of wealth or kin of former renegades against the colonial Ian Smith Government. Evan Mawarire was close to nobody before 2016 and #ThisFlag Movement. He wasn’t somebody who was well-known. Still, his cause through peaceful means became too much for the government to handle. Therefore they abducted him and as the whole day in Court happen with a dozens of the lawyers who worked Pro-Bono for the man, because they saw his cause and his rise. Pastor Mawarire, we’re a citizen and an outspoken one, who showed no fear for the repression of the Zanu-PF. That because it seems like a genuine cause and heart for his nation. The Republic that birth him and raised him, he wanted a republic with a government that would represent the people and not just bow-down and bend knees for Mugabe.

That is what it is now. The Zimbabwean nation with their mismanaged bond-notes who are another tactic of the Zanu-PF to gain spoils on loans and trying to get more out of the foreign currency in the nation. So the Zimbabwe Reserve Bank together with the President Mugabe hustling more out the poverty with the transaction of  loaning a fortune and then exchanging the foreign currency surplus to the elites. White-washing the bond-notes at the same time; a successful receipt to destroying faith in monies and getting a new 2008 crash-course in hyper-inflation; something the Zanu-PF under Mugabe has created before!

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So the #Tajamuka, #NotoBondNotes and #ThisFlag together with the rising men and woman who acts against Mugabe and his regime are currently rising with 2016 year coming to the end. Evan Mawarire is a symbol, not only a man who sadly had to flee to United States after the short trial where the public waited for him to released. They proved the people power over a corrupt crony government with draconian laws and a security apparatus that takes the freedom, liberty and opportunity away from the citizens.

The Zanu-PF under Mugabe isn’t giving the Zimbabwean people hope, he is destroying while eating the spoils, while running away from his killings and his damaging rhetoric that has barricaded himself and left him alone. The ones that are loyal to Mugabe isn’t there because the love him, but they love the brown envelopes. There isn’t a policy or political framework that can build the nation or change the pattern of destruction under Mugabe. He has only his own will, which he believes is the will of the Zimbabweans.

If it we’re so, the people wouldn’t felt touch and felt the need for Pastor Evan Mawarire, there wouldn’t be a unknown pastor who turned civil rights activist who would make the headlines, it would been men like Morgan Tsvangirai and Acie Lumumba should be in charge, they should blaze the winds of change. Tsvangirai under the Movement for Democratic Change that had a popular rise a decade ago and nearly toppled the Mugabe regime. The current youth leader and populist Acie Lumumba his VIVA Zimbabwe we’re supposed to garn support, but it doesn’t. Their ties with Mugabe and history are making people sceptical of their will to change the cronyism.

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Zimbabwe needs people like Evan Mawarire, the world needs people like him and that has faith in peaceful disobedience against greedy oppressive regimes. Mawarire needs Zimbabweans and the world needs to support his cause for peaceful change. Mugabe isn’t automatically entitled to be president, than he is a Zimbabwean King. Kings are entitled to their role as leaders of their people and to be monarchs. But a President is elected to represent the people and ones in the dominion that the President has the power to rule, because the hand over that power to the person through elections or other functions that make it just. That hasn’t happened in Zimbabwe.

The people in Zimbabwe deserve a government that represent them and work for their will, not being in Harare to earn on the public coffers and earn on loyalty to Executive Mugabe. So the rise of a man like Mawarire is bound to happen because of the injustice happening time and time again. Too many people and their stories dwindle away, so many people have suffered while the rich has eaten, as they have built mansions and owning land instead of building institutions and invested in the people.

Charge Against Evan Mawarire

#ThisFlag and Evan Mawarire are the signs of hope, the signs of people wanting justice and development for their nation. That would be well deserved, the liberation from the Ian Smith regime wasn’t to make sure the liberators could eat the spoils, but actually the free-men of Zimbabwe could live free and earning a proper living for their work. That is dream right now, the rights are only for the entitled in the Zanu-PF the others has to beg. The justice is of two nations, the ones living in the elite and the rest. It’s the rest that needs men and woman like Mawarire, the world need people like him to address the concerns of people in need and who deemed poverty with no voice for their concerns. They are the ones that needs help and needs a government working for them. Instead they are keener on fixing the riches for the elite and finding new ways of short-conning the population. So the Mawarire has to rise-up and say “enough is enough” the Zanu-PF has used their time and taken the people for granted; the Zanu-PF doesn’t deserve anymore, they have used their time and spent it unwisely. Mugabe forgotten his struggle and his riches has blinded him from the cause that lead him to power.

Therefore he had to call out Mawarire and claiming his cause we’re useless. He was hurt that one of his citizens called him out and acted against him. Mugabe made this way and now have to see what he has made, but his stubborn acts of ignorance, his will of keeping enriching himself, is the reason for the rise of the Pastor. The Pastor wouldn’t be anybody if it wasn’t for the oppressive and brutal regime. The regime of Mugabe has lost their way and lost the reason for existing… Peace.

Opinion: It’s total silence not defiance anymore

Dr. Kizza Besigye Quote Outspend

The Campaign of Defiance is dead, because the compliance has sunk the ship of Defiance that we’re ushered in with the Presidential Campaign of 2015/2016 of Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) and for the Presidential Candidate Dr. Kizza Besigye. The rigged and fraudulent election went down, the President since 1986 President Yoweri Museveni triggered election victory with 100% in dozens of districts and acted vicious in others; that are known opposition strongholds like Kampala, Wakiso and others. Therefore the FDC and Besigye should have and could have grievances on the methods of suppression of the votes.

Besigye’s campaign of defiance was a grand idea in the darkness of an oppressive regime under the National Resistance Movement. The NRM has for decades and during previous elections used public funds, used the state and security organizations to spread fear instead of free and fair election. As well as hiring fellow cronies in the Electoral Commission that we’re working directly on orders for the Movement instead of securing the popular vote, as well as using the Police Force and the Army to show where the loyalty should be, also gifts of soaps, food and small fees to take part of rallies in the districts. This has been NRMs way of spreading loyalty and fear mixed together.

So the Defiance campaign was a good idea, to defy the rigged system and state apparatus that has eaten the whole plate and only follows orders of loyal cronies of Museveni. That in itself was genuine and straight-forward plan from Besigye, only if more of the citizens and the party he was apart of really believed in it. As with time the defying plans has been silenced, the fighting the machine and corrupt behaviour of the state has turned silent.

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The FDC and the defiance after the failing Election Petition of the Go-Forward and Amama Mbabazi in Supreme Court, the FDC and Besigye hasn’t had the levels of defiance in them or tried to defy the structures that validates the regime. The FDC has turned into compliance as the swearing-in of Museveni happen and the Members of Parliament we’re sworn-in after the fraudulent election. It was topped when certain MPs went into Shadow-Parliament and legitimized the Movement.

So with this the FDC themselves did comply with Museveni and his fellow cronies instead of defying the ruler. They went into the chambers made sure they got paid and later trying to follow the lead of Besigye isn’t believable. That the same men and woman who easily take the small-change at the Parliament and later goes to FDC Prayers is playing to games.

The Short-Con is the Shadow-Cabinet and validating the rule of Museveni to make sure their pockets are filled and that their MPs respectability is fixed so their families and friends are secured. But with this they are forgetting the long-term damage to be parts of Movements skin-democracy.

The Long-Con is that with the sharing parts of the skin-democracy and playing the game of the freedom fighters while not really working the cause. So the long-con is some of the FDC leadership roles right now, only patching the hurt, but not trying to rebuild.

FDC 05.05.2016 Planned March

The Defiance Campaign was about defying the Movement… something that the FDC didn’t do, which is complicated and also lacking of moral support from the FDC while he was serving time in Moroto and Luzira. They might show up to gates of the prison and even say publicly that they condemn the Police Force actions against the democratic and rights to assemble as an opposition party.

So the plan of Defiance wasn’t supposed to be one-man band, Besigye wasn’t supposed to carry it on his own. Besigye weren’t alone as we could see youths, P-10 Groups and FDC-Diaspora we’re supportive efforts. You had and still have Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago and Gen. David Sejusa. Still, they have very few others who have been under fire at the same level without trading their souls, there is Ingrid Turinawe and Doreen Nyanjura has fought battles without much to gain.

That the silence in general should be worrying as the Police Force are continuing to battle with Besigye, his house is still besieged and the man is monitored every movement. If he breaks the barrier and creates public excitement, than it’s straight into detention or police brutality cases towards the crowds that surge the man.

Besigye should be free, the country should be free, but the silence isn’t saving anything. The silence has settled the defiance campaign and the mentality of the defiance agenda. They didn’t build momentum enough to stop the daily life and hurt the business of the movement. The defiance didn’t stop the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) from collecting VAT or stop exports of fuel. The Defiance didn’t stop the UPDF from getting new recruits or any other possible monetary deficiency the campaign could do. Just like the shops stopping trading as the shop-keepers we’re even detained for doing so, because it hurt the taxation and trade that the Movement needs to run their merry-go-round of graft and embezzlement of public funds.

The Defiance could have worked if the FDC and Besigye had gotten the momentum and had the public will behind them, not the half-ready pile of work, sort of like the way the Police Force in Uganda picks up intelligence as they see fit in forged police case. The FDC could have used the anger and frustration of the public, the citizens who feel used.

So the May Protest this year we’re starting of profound messages that the citizens we’re on the road of pressing the government. So much we’re ready as they remembered the recent thieving of their future from the Movement yet again, the wounds we’re fresh. Still the army had been in the streets, the Police Force we’re targeting the opposition and also civil society offices we’re attacked.

FDC Youth 14.03.2016

The people shouldn’t be silenced as the Christmas season are in line, the FDC cannot carry this alone, not that all of them wanted the defiance; they wanted the easy compliance life of the pseudo-opposition instead of a fighting defying organization that could get rid of the militarized movement that been running it since the 1980s. That should be KEY. That should be the goal of the FDC; instead many went into legitimizing it.

So the silenced is understandable, Besigye and his trials cannot be of only him and it isn’t, but it is many who has given in and went back to business-as-usual. Besigye could have more support from the FDC NEC, but he hasn’t. They don’t have the backbone and the wish to succeed. They gave in when it was going against the grain. They we’re risking it all and couldn’t. While Besigye is again under a “treason” charge as others who are questioning the Movement; the others are walking free and without any Court Orders in their name.

It’s not like the man who took the power by the gun want to leave silent or let it go easy, he fought a brutal bush-war. Now he has a big-army and guerrillas of M23, Museveni got allies of USA and Russia dropping arms in his favour so he can suppress his people. Citizens can fight this, but they cannot only rely on Besigye. Besigye only has power if the people are behind him. If the people are working with to dismantle the regime, but the silent obedient citizens are changing an illegitimate regime. Civil disobedience and systematic effort to discontinue the regime would be true defying the Movement. Instead the silence is what is running the tides as 2017 are coming around the corner. Peace.

A look into Donald Trump’s possible nominee for Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, what has he said and done?

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“Whether I choose him or not for “State”- Rex Tillerson, the Chairman & CEO of ExxonMobil, is a world class player and dealmaker. Stay tuned!” – Donald J. Trump on Twitter 11.12.2016.

We have to scrutinize and look over the men that possibly will be the most powerful men and woman in the Trump Administration, as they should not be forgotten what they did in the past. Especially when Trump himself has branded Obama Administration as ‘hopeless’ and ‘bad’; therefore his Administration should be better, though by the men and woman who is already picked his stature for military and rich-men is staggering, more than the qualifications for each role in Government. That is what is worrying. This time around it is the current Chairman of ExxonMobile, a negotiator and deal-maker for the grand-oil empire from Texas, the Rex Tillerson who is connected in Venezuela, Russia and Kazakhstan. He is the next in line for the possible task of Secretary of State!

“If you ask the average person on the street about U.S. energy and U.S. oil in particular, our situation, most Americans would say, ‘Oh, we’re energy poor; we don’t have enough oil; we don’t have enough natural gas.’” – Rex Tillerman

What he even wished to happen inside the US in the midst of the Obama Administration:

“Q: President Obama has outlined a plan to cut oil imports by one-third over the next 10 years. Is this feasible?

A: We expect gasoline demand in the U.S. to decline about 17% over the next 20 years. And that’s a function of both efficiency standards that have been put in place for automobiles, but also an ongoing penetration of hybrid and hybrid-electric vehicles. There’s going to be a natural decline in demand for motor fuels from that. That will be partially offset by increasing demand for heavy-duty fuels like diesel. That, along with the penetration of bio fuels, is going to result in a mitigation of imports. Whether we eliminate a third of the imports is hard to say. Another piece of our success will rest on whether the U.S. government decides to make available the lands that it controls, because 60% of the remaining oil resource in the U.S. is on federal lands and 40% of the remaining gas resource. It’s up to the federal government to allow the industry to explore those lands and develop those resources that could have a big impact on supply in the future” (Bartiromo, 2011).

Secretary of State does: “The Secretary of State, appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, is the President’s chief foreign affairs adviser. The Secretary carries out the President’s foreign policies through the State Department, which includes the Foreign Service, Civil Service, and U.S. Agency for International Development” (Secretary of State, link: http://www.state.gov/secretary/).

So as the foreign affairs job has lots of responsibility to be the face of the nation when the President self cannot travel or negotiate, even do diplomatic missions to keep up with alliances and treaties that the US Government have or currently in the works. So the position should be done by somebody with tact and courtesy for the will of the US Government and the foreign dignitaries so that the person doesn’t offend either party while working for the common good. That is something that the possible former ExxonMobile chairman Tillerson has to do.

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Negotiations in Venezuela:

“According to the XM executives, the last significant contact XM had with the BRV or PDVSA was XM Chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson’s May 16 meeting with Ambassador Bernardo Alvarez. During the meeting, Tillerson told Alvarez that XM must have a confidentiality agreement before it could begin negotiations on the remaining migration issues. In addition, he stated book value was not an acceptable basis for compensation for lost value. Finally, Tillerson said XM was looking for a win-win solution but warned that XM was willing to go to arbitration if it had to do so. The executives later mentioned that PDVSA’s stake in the Chalmette refinery was mentioned as a possible component in a compensation package. They did not specify who raised the topic” (…) “When asked if other IOCs had entered into negotiations with the BRV, XM executives replied they did not believe any companies had entered into meaningful negotiations. They stated they met with Total executives on May 22 to discuss the general situation. The Total executives stated their company has also rejected book value as a basis for compensation for lost value. In addition, they told the XM executives they believe the Sincor strategic association will be hit with a large tax assessment in the near future. Seniat, the BRV tax authority, presented CP and Chevron earlier this month with tax bills for close to USD 550 million for back taxes for the Petrozuata and Hamaca strategic associations for the years 2003 to 2005” (WikiLeaks, 2007).

In 2008 – Trading oil in Kazakstan:

“(Note: The one exception was a threat by President Nazarbayev in a December meeting with Tillerson’s deputy to use the subsoil legislation. Nazarbayev, however, reverted to his previous public line when he reassured the Ambassador privately the next day that the legislation would not/not be used against any existing contract. End Note.) In the end, both ExxonMobil and ConocoPhilips confirmed that the GOK used tough, but legitimate business pressures to pursue their case” (…) “ExxonMobil told us that CEO Rex Tillerson had decided that Exxon was going to hold the line on this issue. However, all our sources indidated that Tillerson was subjected to very strong pressure in the final negotiations, both by the other CEOs and by the Kazakhstani side. According to our in-country ExxonMobil contact (who was not in the meetings but who was extensively debriefed about them), it was the lure of future business in Kazakhstan that eventually led Tillerson to reverse course, and to agree to a “below market price” figure of $1.8 billion as the valuation of KMG’s increased share. (Note: Determining the “market price” for this share is essentially impossible, as different financial models will yield wildly varying results depending on the assumptions used. That said, all parties involved agree that $1.8 billion is a “below market price,” even if they can not tell you how much below market. End Note.)” (WikiLeaks, 2008). In 2011: “0100 Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev meets Rex Tillerson, the CEO of ExxonMobile corporation, and Dhimitrios Khristofias, the  president of Cyprus, within the framework of his visit to New York to  attend 66th session of the UN General Assembly. Video shows meetings;  Rex Tillerson and Dhimitrios Khristofias, speaking to camera” (WikiLeaks, 2011).

“Experience tells us that a good foundation is critical for success in the Arctic and elsewhere. ExxonMobil’s Sakhalin-1 project with Rosneft is an example where we have put this experience to work.” – Rex Tillerson

On Russia:

“Tillerson said he valued the efforts of the Russian government to improve the tax regime and that it would have a positive effect on Russian and foreign investors.The moves will help expand cooperation in the complex situation in Russia, he said. Tillerson said he was encouraged to see Russia move to create a competitive environment, taking into account the experiences of other tax regimes in other countries” (WikiLeaks, 2011). “Prime Minister Vladimir Putin yesterday put the total of direct  investment in joint projects by Rosneft and ExxonMobil at 200-300  billion dollars, but “if we are talking about infrastructure, the construction of the necessary buildings, and surface facilities, the  investment could reach 500 billion dollars”. However, ExxonMobil expects  its agreement with Rosneft to encourage the Russian authorities to ease the tax regime for the industry. “Such steps will help the government to  expand cooperation in the difficult situation that is taking shape in  Russia,” the head of ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson, explained” (WikiLeaks, 2011).

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On Fracking:

Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson speaking at a January 2010 congressional hearing concerning the $41 billion merger of Exxon with XTO Energy (one of the worlda**s biggest natural gas drilling companies), said he could support revealing toxic frack mixes. He added that, by combining the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling processes a**we can now find and produce unconventional natural gas supplies miles below the surface in a safe, efficient and environmentally responsible manner.a** Exxon has threatened to nix its XTO acquisition if Congress makes fracking a**illegal or commercially impractical.a**” (WikiLeaks, 2010).

Article about Tillerson faith in Global Warming:

“They’re clearly cognizant of global warming – they employ some of the world’s best scientists, after all, and they’re bidding on all those oil leases made possible by the staggering melt of Arctic ice. And yet they relentlessly search for more hydrocarbons – in early March, Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson told Wall Street analysts that the company plans to spend $37 billion a year through 2016 (about $100 million a day) searching for yet more oil and gas.

There’s not a more reckless man on the planet than Tillerson. Late last month, on the same day the Colorado fires reached their height, he told a New York audience that global warming is real, but dismissed it as an “engineering problem” that has “engineering solutions.” Such as?” (Bill McKibben – ‘Global Warming’s Terrifying New Math’ 09.07.2012).

David Fenton sent an E-Mail titled: “Murdoch climate campaign” on the 19.02.2015 to Clinton Campaign Manager John Podesta that said: “Hi again. Here is the plan to go after WSJ and FOX on climate. I have 500,000 of this pledged if I can raise another million. It’s a real pledge from Graeme Wood in Australia. I sure hope something like this can happen it’s long overdue. Thanks again, David”. This E-Mail had an attachment where this we’re said:

“1)       A climate science ad series (surprisingly affordable) on the Wall Street Journal’s opinion page, sponsored by a mainstream institution like Columbia University’s Earth Institute or the Union of Concerned Scientists.  These would be unassailably factual and scientific but also compelling, memorable and clear. They would show the facts the Journal denies — Co2 from fossil fuels traps heat, the earth has warmed, the CEO of EXXON believes it why not this paper? This series would stress consequences for the economy and mainstream support from groups like the World Bank, International Energy Agency, PWC, NAS, the Royal Society, etc. Of course the Journal would attack the series in editorials, which will help it get more attention” (WikiLeaks, 2015).

This here shows some of the stories of the man in the past, Rex Tillerson who has apparently massive faith in fracking and negotiation with Putin for the business he was running ExxonMobile. The WikiLeaks stories are special in themselves, but there other lost tales that needs to show the character of the man.

Like the Kurdistan adventure:

“Exxon Mobil Chief Executive Rex Tillerson refused Tuesday to answer questions about a controversial deal the oil company has signed with the Kurdish government in northern Iraq” (…) “Exxon, (XOM, Fortune 500) which holds big contracts with the Iraqi government to develop oil fields in the southern part of the country, was sharply criticized by Iraqi government ministers last month over the deal. The Iraqis suggested Exxon might be sanctioned over the move, possibly putting their deals in the southern part of the country in jeopardy” (…) “Iraqis in Baghdad are loathe to see oil companies sign separate deals with the semi-autonomous government in the Kurdish north, preferring instead that all deals go though the central government” (Hargreaves, 2011). So the next Secretary of State is ruthless in trade for fortunes that he picked deals with Kurdistan government over the Southern Iraqi Central Government that counters the diplomatic way that the governments do with Iraq. So Rex Tillerman could surely do the same in charge of the State Department under the Trump Administration.

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Here is a story in the inner workings in Chad:

“There was Exxon’s meddling in a 2006 standoff between Idriss Déby, the authoritarian leader of Chad — a Central African country with rich oil reserves — and Paul Wolfowitz, then the leader of the World Bank. Déby wanted weapons to fight rebels supported by nearby Sudan, but good-governance clauses in loans Chad had received from the World Bank restricted the country’s ability to purchase arms. Wolfowitz was ready to freeze some of Sudan’s bank accounts, prompting Déby to threaten to effectively kick Exxon out of Chad. That could have cost the company billions of dollars. So Exxon lobbied the U.S. ambassador to Chad to fix the problem, which led to Déby getting his weapons and Exxon its oil” (…) “By now ExxonMobil had made its own choice clear,” Coll writes. “It was more interested in the survival of Chad’s oil production than it was in the World Bank’s experiment in nation building.” (Walsh, 2012). So he would use World Bank loans to trade weapons to make sure that the ExxonMobil get the possibility to the Oil Reserves in Chad. That proves how far the man will go for profit, that the authoritarian leaders needs for arms can be meet, if he get the oil as long as he makes a killing.

Than you have the story of how he worked in Guyana:

“US oil giant ExxonMobil made waves in Guyana last Thursday by announcing it had confirmed a “world-class discovery” of oil offshore. The company said results from its exploration well in the Stabroek block, about 120 miles (193 kilometres) offshore Guyana, found between 800 million and 1.4 billion oil-equivalent barrels” (…) “The waters around Guyana are largely unexplored. According to a Forbes story quoting Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson, the 3-D seismic survey that Exxon conducted in the area was its largest in history — “the equivalent of 1,400 Gulf of Mexico blocks” (…) “In November 2015, Guyana’s government faced accusations that the state didn’t have the capacity to independently monitor ExxonMobil’s compliance with environmental regulations. The worry arose after it was alleged that ExxonMobil was promoting and funding climate change denials” (Abdelwahab, 2016).

So now that he is peculiar connected into the oil developments outside Guyana, as it was profitable for the company without considering the environment of the ocean and the sea as the we’re even paying climate change deniers in Guyana. That the billions of barrel is more important that the effect that oil drilling will have on the nation.

This from the guy that are key part of the former Standard Oil companies that we’re re-merged from Exxon and Mobil Oil Companies, that we’re too powerful in the United States. The US Company now are now so big Multi-National that they can secure the World Bank to fund Chad Government loans so they can buy weapons, and exchange give possible oil fields to the ExxonMobil. If that doesn’t say anything nothing does. This sort of fellow will now run the Secretary of State, not to talk about the Foreign Affairs of the United States. The diplomatic correspondence and according to due procedure of the Trump Administration; that will be interesting as the CEO Tillerman has been focused on profits and not on anything else. We can wonder what will be his Modus Operandi as a Secretary of State, what his policies and foreign affairs chief under Trump. Peace.

Reference:

Abdelwahab, Alex – ‘ExxonMobil’s significant oil find off Guyana leads to questions about the country’s future’ (05.07.2016) link: http://www.caribbeannewsnow.com/headline-ExxonMobil’s-significant-oil-find-off-Guyana-leads-to-questions-about-the-country’s-future-30969.html

Bartiriromo, Maria – ‘ExxonMobil CEO: Open more federal land for oil and gas’ (18.04.2011) link: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/bartiromo/2011-04-18-bartiromo-rex-tillerson-exxonmobil.htm

Hargreaves, Steve – ‘Exxon silent on controversial Iraq oil deal’ (06.12.2011) link: http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/06/news/international/Exxon_Iraq_oil_deal/

Walsh, Bryan – ‘Inside the Death Star — Also Known as Exxon’ (01.05.2012) link: http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2113546,00.html

Wikileaks –‘KAZAKHSTAN: ALL SIDES SMILING WITH KASHAGAN DEAL’ (18.01.2008) link: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/08ASTANA91_a.html

WikiLeaks – ‘FAJA NEGOTIATIONS: NO NEWS IS BAD NEWS’ (25.05.2007) link: https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/07CARACAS1030_a.html

WikiLeaks – ‘KAZAKHSTAN/CYPRUS/UK – Programme summary of Kazakh Khabar TV “Zhanalyqtar” news 1400 gmt 21 Sep 11’ (21.09.2011) link: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/71/711052_kazakhstan-cyprus-uk-programme-summary-of-kazakh-khabar-tv.html

WikiLeaks – ‘RUSSIA/FORMER SOVIET UNION-Exxonmobil Hails Russian Government Efforts to Improve Tax System’ (31.08.2011) link: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/25/2574477_russia-former-soviet-union-exxonmobil-hails-russian.html

WikiLeaks – ‘Murdoch climate campaign’ (19.02.2015) link: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/27241

WikiLeaks – ‘Re: FRACK – W.Va. eyes fluid disclosure; quote from Lachelt’ (09.03.2010) link: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/38/386876_re-frack-w-va-eyes-fluid-disclosure-quote-from-lachelt-.html

WikiLeaks – ‘RUSSIA/CANADA/MEXICO – Russia’s oil firm signs partnership deal with ExxonMobil’ (02.09.2011) link: https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/70/705223_russia-canada-mexico-russia-s-oil-firm-signs-partnership.html

On Trump: How did we get here?

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I got to ask! How did we get here? What happen for the worldwide of events to lead to the man of that stature to be elected as the President of the United States, the Commander in Chief, the leader of the so-called free-world! That the man most enlightened and most visionary happen to be the Donald, Donald J. Trump of New York and Manhattan.

We got to ask, now that it’s a month since he won the Electoral College and days apart from when they are throwing their inherent ballot to suffocate the world for 4 years. The Electoral College that has been basis for speculations for months for all broadcaster’s from inner Montana to Hot 97 in New York. Seriously, the Democracy of world is based on few noble men and woman from the states electing a president on confidence of the rules in each state. Because the people cannot be trusted to already elect a person on the ballot. Not that the United States population is caring enough about civic education to consider a fellow caring human being, still they should reconsider their political system when a fellow like Trump can eat cake and vomit daily from the White House. Just as written here: “The Constitution does not specifically require electors to cast their votes according to the popular vote in their states, but the laws of 29 states and the District of Columbia bind electors to do so. Some require pledges or threaten fines or criminal action, according to a summary of state laws by the National Assn. of Secretaries of State. No elector has ever been prosecuted for not voting as pledged. Since 1900, there have been only nine faithless electors who defected for individual reasons, including one who abstained from voting altogether” (Los Angeles Times – ‘All the times in U.S. history that members of the electoral college voted their own way’ (08.12.2016) link: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-faithless-electors-2016-story.html).

But, still with that in mind, how did we get there? It can be so many reasons, the lacking knowledge of how government works or the need for understanding of intricate policy building to succeed in Washington D.C. or that some daft small-town ignorant citizens would drop a metaphorical bomb on the lobbyists and elite in the capital. That is what they thought they did with electing a “billionaire” Trump who after becoming President-Elect started plotting together the riches, the most connected to big-business cabinet that has been in the White House. As well as taking in men who despise the ideas of certain departments and chambers they will run; so that the American government can become smaller and take in less tax of the wealthy that they all in power represent. They are walking away from the all the needed men and woman in the grass-root that ushered in the Trump Administration. So now they can do what they want without question, because the votes secured this chair’s and possibilities that is now in for the taking.

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We got there with fear, with a dishonest media, a dishonest internet, little spread of information and quick browsing through the contested campaigns as we still doesn’t know what “Making America Great Again!” means or to what extent making it better. If that is making KKK and Alt-Right accepted as a means of less-subtle racism in politics and the American communities, that has surely happen. That the Trump Campaign has surged on the fear of immigration and job-loss is clear factors, while they haven’t had a coherent plan to fix it. This has been seen as a factor while the Obama Administration took the nation from 7.9% unemployed into 4.9 % in 8 years that has happen while the Republican Party and Trump has claimed the destruction of nation as they know it. Which cannot be seen in statistics, tax-base or in sort of inflation level since the start of Recession of 2008; but that doesn’t matter because the myth of problems is what Trump needs! Just said like this: “The term Alt-Right, reputedly coined in 2008 by Richard Spencer of the National Policy Institute, a bogus think-tank, encompasses views from libertarianism to paleoconservatism and onwards to the edges of pseudo-intellectual claptrap and the English language. Many Alt-Righters demonise Jews, but a few do not. Some, such as Brad Griffin of Occidental Dissent, another website, think “democracy can become a tool of oppression”, and that monarchy or dictatorship might be better; others, such as Mr Taylor, disagree. Some are techno-futurists; others espouse a kind of agrarian nostalgia. Many mourn the Confederacy. Mr Griffin thinks that, even today, North and South should separate” (…) “Yet from the quack ideologues to the out-and-proud neo-Nazis, some Alt-Right tenets are clear and constant. It repudiates feminism with misogynistic gusto. It embraces isolationism and protectionism. Above all, it champions white nationalism, or a neo-segregationist “race realism”, giving apocalyptic warning of an impending “white genocide”. Which, of course, is really just old-fashioned white supremacism in skimpy camouflage” (…) “The association precedes Mr Trump’s hiring as his campaign manager of Stephen Bannon, former boss of Breitbart News, a reactionary news website that Mr Bannon reportedly described as “the platform for the Alt-Right”, and which has covered the movement favourably” (Economist – ‘Trump and the Alt-Right Pepe and the stormtroopers’ 17.09.2016 link: http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21707201-how-donald-trump-ushered-hateful-fringe-movement-mainstream-pepe-and).

Why I ask myself this now is because of we’re soon in 2017, there will be important questions ahead. Many that we cannot foresee as much as the environment and climate change might mean for us, as kid of the 90s I remember the sun-damage danger and the Ozone, now it’s the CO2 emissions and heated polluted air, that Donald Trump doesn’t believe him because he is not a penguin who’s struggling to in dwindling ice on Greenland. As he assemble people who cares for business over environment, that cares more about production than the reasons for the earthquakes in Oklahoma state: “The state has seen a sever spike in earthquakes of 3.0 magnitude or higher since 2008, when energy companies ramped up their hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, for oil and gas in the state, Choy said. The number of 3.0 magnitude quakes rose from 2 in 2008 to 889 last year, according to USGS statistics. So far this year, there have been 572” (USA Today,’ Oklahoma earthquake reignites concerns that fracking wells may be the cause’ 07.11.2016 link: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/11/07/oklahoma-earthquake-fracking-well/93447830/).

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We can wonder how this might be, as the Alt-Right, Republican Cabinet is assembled by men and woman who will honour Trump, be his advisors and take orders as he doesn’t have trouble with connections with his own businesses that his kids will control while he is in command. This is still an issue a month after as he will be Executive Producer for ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ on NBC while being in the White House, which is a hobby for the old-man who just used two years becoming President. So the Trump Organization will surely be controlled from the White House as he cannot shelf his control from anything he touches, even if that breaches with the constitution. That foreign dignitaries are now renting rooms in the Trump Hotels close to the White House, as it just happen to done during the Presidential Campaign was just coincidence: “Wednesday’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the culmination of a $200 million project. The Trump Organization renovated the 1899 Romanesque Revival-style Old Post Office building, on Pennsylvania Avenue near the White House. With 263 guest rooms and suites, and a ballroom that Trump has said is the biggest in the nation’s capital, the hotel is among the priciest in town. Donald Trump, speaking at the event, said the hotel came in “under budget and ahead of schedule.” He cut the ribbon in the lobby alongside wife Melania and children Ivanka, Donald Jr., Eric and Tiffany” (Bloomberg – ‘Trump Executives Tout Brand Resilience at D.C. Hotel Opening’ 26.10.2016 link: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-10-26/trump-executives-use-d-c-hotel-opening-to-tout-brand-resilience).

So as he was a Presidential-Candidate he could consider his time to his own business, how could we get there and how could the citizens who voted for him think he will act differently a month after? Certainly the proof now is clear that he thinks of his business and opportunities as much as he can consider America first. The public might grab glimpses of his thoughts on Twitter, but not a reality of how that will be configured in actions as President.

What the world can expect and how he will acts is unsure, more unsure than the policies of the Tories coming to the “leaving Europe and European Union in the Red-White-Blue Brexit” of Theresa May. Donald Trump might bomb somewhere for oil, he might kill kids and families to stop the civil war in Syria. What we can foresee of his actions is unknown and the US Society accepted that sort opinions and as a Commander-in-Chief is exceptional.

trump-goldman

The bravery and the reality, the stuttering silence of hope and only despair. Industrialization together with Multi-National Companies who gotten all freedom and liberty, while the citizens has to apply and be lucky to get jobs. The reality of Multi-National Companies steering lobbying in Washington D.C. and together with giant supported Super-PACs has picked out the “good” candidates for the Trump Administration as the roots of too big to fail is evident in the matter of businesses of the day. That is where the US dream is happening and dying. It is dying because of the Multi-National gets full control of the Senate and Congress, the President and if the Supreme Court Justices dies, than they can get their selected people to run for them there too. Not for the public good or will, but for the companies’ profits. That will be on overdrive with the men that has been picked as Secretary of Treasury and Secretary of Commerce.

How did we get to a place where the Presidential Candidate who was supposed to be there for the workers, the American workers was in shambles, that he nominees a man who has done this: “Puzder observes, “They’re not talking about $15 or $12 an hour, the kind of dramatic increases that are being bandied about in the political process right now.”  CKE’s average wage, he says, is a bit over $10 an hour, “so we’re not talking about everybody in the restaurant working for $7.25.” (In California, the minimum wage is now $10.) “But we’re talking about entry-level jobs. Are people going to want to hire entry-level employees for these very high minimums, which come with Obamacare, which come with mandatory sick leave, or other benefits which the government imposes on business for these individuals? Are you going to be able to keep minimum wage entry-level job positions open for individuals?” (L.A. Times – ‘   Does Andy Puzder really want to replace his Carl’s Jr. workers with robots? No, but…’ 30.03.2016 link: http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-puzder-20160322-snap-htmlstory.html).

So with this all in mind, we should ask how we got here? Michael Moore said it so nicely back in the day: “Midwest Math, or Welcome to Our Rust Belt Brexit.  I believe Trump is going to focus much of his attention on the four blue states in the rustbelt of the upper Great Lakes – Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. Four traditionally Democratic states – but each of them have elected a Republican governor since 2010 (only Pennsylvania has now finally elected a Democrat). In the Michigan primary in March, more Michiganders came out to vote for the Republicans (1.32 million) that the Democrats (1.19 million). Trump is ahead of Hillary in the latest polls in Pennsylvania and tied with her in Ohio. Tied? How can the race be this close after everything Trump has said and done? Well maybe it’s because he’s said (correctly) that the Clintons’ support of NAFTA helped to destroy the industrial states of the Upper Midwest. Trump is going to hammer Clinton on this and her support of TPP and other trade policies that have royally screwed the people of these four states” (…) “That’s a small peek into the mind of the Endangered White Male. There is a sense that the power has slipped out of their hands, that their way of doing things is no longer how things are done. This monster, the “Feminazi,”the thing that as Trump says, “bleeds through her eyes or wherever she bleeds,” has conquered us — and now, after having had to endure eight years of a black man telling us what to do, we’re supposed to just sit back and take eight years of a woman bossing us around?” (…) “The Depressed Sanders Vote. Stop fretting about Bernie’s supporters not voting for Clinton – we’re voting for Clinton! The polls already show that more Sanders voters will vote for Hillary this year than the number of Hillary primary voters in ’08 who then voted for Obama. This is not the problem. The fire alarm that should be going off is that while the average Bernie backer will drag him/herself to the polls that day to somewhat reluctantly vote for Hillary, it will be what’s called a “depressed vote” – meaning the voter doesn’t bring five people to vote with her. He doesn’t volunteer 10 hours in the month leading up to the election” (Michael More – ‘5 Reasons Why Trump Will Win’ link: http://michaelmoore.com/trumpwillwin/).

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That Michael Moore saw it coming and asked for society to think about the reasons for protest Trump vote out there and the plans for shaking certain swing-states to the Republican Party. Something that happen… and it wasn’t beautiful the ones who had hope for another experience. We can just wonder how they got duped to follow this man and made the system ready for his as commander in chief!

I just wonder how the American Experience became Donald J. Trump, how we went from hope and change, into fear and depression, where the army and military will get more power, where the multi-national companies will be more connected with the Trump Administration and the fracking, big-oil, giant banks and finance industry get more power in the White House. The Republican Party and their loyal cronies will have both houses and the Presidency under Trump. So the possibilities are endless. We can wonder how we got here.

How did we get here? And we should ask ourselves that? The answers are many and reasons for the US election turning to Trump should be asked more times as the answers will be different with times, as the layers will peeled off and we will find the core reasons for why a Reality Star, a Real Estate Investor and a Limited Label salesman, sometimes a snake-oil of that, became the next President of the United States. Peace.

European Countries accept to offer tax-exemptions that benefits Europe while stifling the rest, report claims!

cyprus-tax

“Considering the strong democratic traditions in Europe, and the fact that taxation is considered an issue of great importance to national sovereignty, it seems rather odd that the EU has taken such a negative approach to the inclusion of developing countries in the setting of global tax standards” (Eurodad, P: 33, 2016)

There are in this world, lots of greedy people and states that want to earn on their own benefit and get the little extra without the second party. That is why the European States do what they can to keep as much benefit of businesses inside their own dominion, even as the businesses are earning their profits in developing countries, this is happening with sophisticated business transactions, sweetheart-deals, letter-box companies and stashing profits into tax-havens.

The ones that doesn’t this tactic, this way of earning higher profits and getting better rates on the production; the reality is that European States has worked coherent to avoid their thieving of funds as the taxation deals and openings of the multi-national companies in Europe. So with these possibilities, there comes also the reasoning that the companies do what they can to stifle the European states in their own scheme to keep them. Certainly the countries getting a point on the dollar instead of multiple points on it; they could get a fair trade out of, but when they are tricking the businesses there, the businesses will do what they can to trick out of them too. The Businesses are not in the country out of love, they are there to earn profits and doesn’t’ care how as long as they get. So long the States are having the set-up to be used, they will use them and the citizens will wonder why the sophisticated businesses pay so little why earning fortunes, while the citizens are paying fairly high tax on the dollar.

Just take a look!

pspib-luxembourg-tax-plan-p1-normal

Letter box companies:

“The setting up of letterbox companies is one of the practices used by multinational corporations to avoid paying taxes in countries where their economic activity takes place” (…) “Looking at global investment flows, it is clear that several European countries are major centres providing attractive tax regimes for letterbox companies and thus functioning as conduits for multinationals’ investments. By comparing the statistics of foreign direct investments (FDI), Dutch organisation SOMO shows that the Netherlands is by far the largest exporter of FDI in the world, ahead of much bigger economies such as the United States and China” (Eurodad, P:17, 2016).

Sweetheart deals:

“In November 2014, the LuxLeaks revelations exposed the secret world of Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) – also known as sweetheart deals – which benefited multinational corporations, in some cases with tax rates lower than 1 per cent.89” (…) “Public insight into these kinds of deals is very rare indeed, since they are kept highly confidential. In fact, the LuxLeaks revelations were followed by legal charges against the two whistleblowers, as well as one of the key journalists, who brought the story to the public. The case is still ongoing in Luxembourg (see ‘Lack of whistleblower protection’)” (…) “Other examples of problematic APAs have been highlighted by the European Commission’s state aid cases. For example, APAs played a central role in the tax arrangements between Luxembourg and Fiat, the Netherlands and Starbucks, and Apple and Ireland. In these cases, the European Commission found the tax advantages given to the multinational corporations, through APAs, to be a violation of the EU’s State Aid rules” (Eurodad, P: 19, 2016).

Tax Treaties:

“Another key concern related to tax treaties is that they often include provisions to lower – or remove – withholding taxes on cross-boundary financial flows, and thus can lead to lower tax income in the countries signing on to such treaties, including developing countries. For example, research by ActionAid shows that a tax treaty between Uganda and the Netherlands, signed in 2004, completely takes away Uganda’s right to tax certain earnings paid to owners of Ugandan companies if the owners are resident in the Netherlands” (…) “The underlying problem in the international tax system today is that multinational companies are treated as a collection of ‘separate entities’ even though in reality they function as unified firms, with subsidiaries under the central control of the parent company. In today’s system, subsidiaries of the same company are expected to trade with each other ‘at arm’s length’, as if they did not have any connection to each other” (Eurodad, P: 21-24, 2016).

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Bank Secrecy:

“In order to deal with the tax evasion and avoidance risks related to banking secrecy, some developed countries, such as the EU Member States, have agreed to start exchanging information on financial accounts automatically amongst each other” (…) “This means that, for example, the Belgian tax authorities will, automatically and on a periodic basis, receive information on any bank accounts or assets held by Belgians in other EU Member States. The aim of this automatic information exchange is to improve the efficiency of tax collection and prevent taxpayers from hiding capital or assets abroad” (Eurodad, P: 27, 2016).

Interesting findings from European Countries:

“The Austrian government is against full public country by country reporting, and even the European Commission’s proposal for partially public country by country reporting” (Eurodad, P: 41, 2016).

“Belgium generally has a relatively high number of tax treaties with developing countries, but the average reduction in developing country tax rates through these treaties is low. However, that the average does not show is that several of Belgium’s tax treaties with developing countries are ‘very restrictive’. There are also clear indications that Belgium’s tax treaties have significant negative impacts on the developing countries that sign them. A conservative estimate puts the fiscal cost to 28 developing countries at €35 million in 2012”(Eurodad, P: 41 , 2016). “The Belgian tax treaty system is also an issue of concern. A conservative estimate suggests that 28 developing countries lost €35 million in 2012 due to tax treaties with Belgium” (Eurodad, P: 57, 2016).

“The position of the Czech government on the issue of ownership transparency is ambiguous. On the one hand, the new Czech law is very restrictive in terms of access to information in the Czech beneficial ownership register (in fact, it seems that the definition of the “legitimate interest” is so narrow that in practice it will be inaccessible for the public, no matter if they have a legitimate interest or not)” (Eurodad, P: 42, 2016).

The Danish government does not support full public country by country reporting. Instead, Denmark supports the proposal from the European Commission, which would only allow the public to get a partial picture of the activities and tax payments of multinational corporations” (Eurodad, P: 42 , 2016).

“Although the French tax treaties with developing countries on average reduce the tax rates less than most other countries covered in this report, France has eight ‘very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries. In total, France also has the highest number of treaties with developing countries among all countries covered by this report” (Eurodad, P: 43, 2016).

The German government has previously worked very actively against the adoption of full public country by country reporting at EU level. Germany remains very sceptical, even towards the proposal from the European Commission, which would only introduce partially public country by country reporting” (…) “Germany’s tax treaties with developing countries are a cause of concern due to the high number of very restrictive treaties. Also of concern is the fact that Germany’s total number of treaties with developing countries is significantly above average” (Eurodad, P: 44, 2016).

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“Of all the countries covered by this report, the Irish tax treaties with developing countries introduce the highest average reductions on the tax rates of their developing country treaty partners. Among the Irish tax treaties with developing countries are three ’very restrictive’ treaties” (Eurodad, P: 44, 2016).

“Although the Italian tax treaties with developing countries on average reduce the tax rates less than most other countries covered in this report, Italy and the UK are the countries that have the highest number of ’very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries” (Eurodad, P: 45, 2016). “An Italian investigation is also ongoing into Credit Suisse Ag. The Switzerland-based group’s parent company is charged with systematically having helped 13,000 Italian clients to hide their assets of more than €14 billion abroad” (Eurodad, P: 73, 2016).

“According to the Financial Secrecy Index, Luxembourg has the highest level of financial secrecy of all the countries covered by this report (and ranks at number 6 at the global level). The government’s position on the issue of public registers of beneficial owners is unclear” (Eurodad, P: 46, 2016). “In spite of the LuxLeaks scandal, Luxembourg has continued to issue a very high number of advance pricing agreements (or ‘sweetheart deals’) to multinational corporations – with a 50 per cent increase during the year following the scandal. This, as well as the fact that Luxembourg generally has a significant amount of indicators of aggressive tax planning, is highly concerning. Also, on the issue of financial secrecy, Luxembourg remains a high concern – currently placed as number 6 at the list of the world’s most secretive countries” (Eurodad, P: 79, 2016).

“Netherlands currently has some extremely restrictive tax treaties with developing countries, which make it difficult for those developing countries to collect taxes. Netherlands generally also has more tax treaties with developing countries, and is more aggressive in negotiating the lowering of tax rates in developing countries, than the average among the countries covered in this report. In addition, the government does not levy withholding taxes on outgoing payments to tax havens, which would be an effective anti-abuse measure that would not require lengthy treaty renegotiations” (Eurodad, P: 46, 2016). “Leaked EU documents show that the Netherlands is attempting to undermine EU plans to tackle harmful tax practices by introducing a minimum tax rate of 10 per cent for royalties and interest payments. They reveal that the Netherlands has proposed exceptions in the plans for its patent box provision, which can reduce taxation on revenues resulting from research and development to 5 per cent. This provision, which is a key component of the Dutch tax system, would be threatened by a 10 per cent minimum rate” (Eurodad, P: 82, 2016).

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“Norway has a high number of ‘very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries” (Eurodad, P: 47, 2016). “Norway’s tax treaty with Benin completely prevents Benin from taxing royalty payments to Norway. This is problematic since multinational corporations can use royalty payments between subsidiaries to minimize their profits and thereby avoid taxes in the countries where they have business activities” (…) “Norway does not have a patent box. It does however have a very favourable tax regime for shipping companies, albeit in line with EU countries’ legislation. Shipping income is tax-exempt and qualifying companies instead pay a small tax based on the tonnage of its vessels” (Eurodad, P: 84, 2016).

“Poland has a significant number of ‘very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries” (Eurodad, P: 47, 2016).

“Spain has on average been the second most aggressive negotiator when it comes to lowering developing country tax rates through tax treaties. Spain also has a relatively high number of tax treaties with developing countries, which gives even more reason for concern” (Eurodad, P: 48, 2016). “Wealthy Spanish people have doubled their money stashed in Luxembourg (more than €13 billion) – afraid of uncertainty and looking for lower tax rates” (…) “Inside Spain, the Canary Islands (located close to the African Atlantic coast) have a special economic and tax regime that make them “one of the most profitable tax regimes in Europe”, according to PwC. A tax rate of 4 per cent for companies located there is one of the several tax benefits. Special incentives also are applied in Ceuta and Melill” (Eurodad, P: 90-91, 2016).

“Sweden has four ‘very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries” (Eurodad, P: 49, 2016).

“Together with Italy, the UK has the highest number of ‘very restrictive’ tax treaties with developing countries. On average, the UK’s tax treaties with developing countries contain relatively high reductions in developing country tax rates. The fact that the UK at the same time has the second highest number of treaties with developing countries gives even more reason for concern” (Eurodad, P: 49, 2016).

If this isn’t eye-opening, than I don’t know, but it shows the systematic state of easy taxation to benefit big-business, the multi-national companies, so they can set-up show and get grander profits, while the states works the perks between them to settle score. The negotiations and the tax-havens gives more space for the companies to fuel money out of Europe and of the Developing Countries, which hurts all sort of government operations as the end-game is that the government doesn’t get the supposed tax-base as that flee to offshore or overseas where the taxations is lax or non-compliance with the place the business actually operates. We all should get our MPs, Senators, MEPs, Governors and all other Elected Representatives, to take action against this sophisticated thieving from the Multi-National Companies and the Representatives who opens the gates for this activity. Peace.

Reference:

EURODAD – ‘Survival of the Richest – Europe’s role in supporting an unjust global tax system 2016’ (15.11.2016).

Zim: Dr. Godfrey Gandawa Barclays loan paid with ZimDev Funds letter (17.10.2016)

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