November 2024 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

HMRC's £167M Charges To Reuters Group Deemed Lawful
by Gunnar Larson 19 Nov '24

19 Nov '24

HMRC's £167M Charges To Reuters Group Deemed Lawful <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261348?nl_pk=a94fc…> By Josh White A London court backed HM Revenue & Customs in a case over more than £167 million ($212 million) in diverted profits tax charges issued to U.K. companies in the Thomson Reuters media group. Opinion attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261348?nl_pk=a94fc…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261348?nl_pk=a94fc…>

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US Pushes For UK Trader's Extradition In Insider Dealing Case
by Gunnar Larson 19 Nov '24

19 Nov '24

US Pushes For UK Trader's Extradition In Insider Dealing Case <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261955?nl_pk=a94fc…> By Christopher Crosby The U.S. government urged Britain's highest court on Monday to approve the extradition of a British trader to face insider dealing charges, arguing that the alleged crimes were felt in America even though the conduct took place abroad. Read full article » <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261955?nl_pk=a94fc…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.co.uk/financial-services-uk/articles/2261955?nl_pk=a94fc…>

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The U.S. Has Failed Its Children – In the Most Unconscionable Ways
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/11/the-u-s-has-failed-its-children-in-t… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: November 5, 2024 ~ U.S. Capitol With Storm CloudsYesterday, the National Association of Realtors released their annual Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. It showed that by the time Americans have saved enough money for a downpayment to buy their first home in America, they will be close to middle age. The study recorded the median age of first-time home buyers as the oldest in the history of the study, at 38 years of age. (In the 1980s, first-time home buyers were in their 20s.) At the same time the age of first-time home buyers was hitting a record high, the percentage of first-time buyers was hitting a record low – just 24 percent of the market in the latest survey. That is the lowest percentage share of first-time home buyers since the National Association of Realtors began conducting the survey in 1981. The study reminded us of a series of articles we had written previously on the plight of college and university students who had been become debt slaves to high interest student loans from the megabanks on Wall Street and saw a bleak future in terms of being able to buy a home or afford to have children. (See here, here and here.) In the series, we quoted a complaint filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) by Allison L. of Rego Park, Florida, who had written about her loans from Citigroup’s Citibank as follows: “I have made over $110-125K in the past 4 years with working overtime as a nurse. My base pay is $59,000. I cannot keep this pace any longer. I do not own a home, and it seems that I never will. I have paid my credit card and student loan debt on time for the past 13 years. I have paid $50,000 towards my student loans, but $25,000 has gone to interest. I will end up paying at least double on my student loan money by the time it is over. This was not clear to me when I had initially borrowed the money. Now my credit card interest rates are too high for me to be able to pay for food and gas. I am thinking about filing for bankruptcy, but of course my ‘student loan’ debt is not dischargeable.” What Allison didn’t know about Citigroup was that as she was paying the megabank high interest rates on her student loans, it was secretly being bailed out to the tune of $2.5 trillion in cumulative loans from the New York Fed for its reckless mismanagement – with many of the loans made at ½ of one percent interest or less. For the 38-year olds who are finally able to afford to buy their own homes, they will increasingly have to worry about those homes washing away in a raging river from a flash flood caused by two feet of rain pouring down in a day’s time as a result of record-setting global warming and the U.S. hypocrisy on fossil fuels. Today, Kevin Crowley has a courageously honest report on the digital front page of Bloomberg News where he writes as follows: “Today, the US is producing more oil than any other country in history. Further increases to US output are planned next year and beyond, no matter who prevails in the presidential election….” “The US now produces nearly 50% more oil each day than Saudi Arabia….” “…the US recently became the world’s biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, jumping ahead of Australia and Qatar after flooding the market at home. American gas executives are scouring the world for new markets, locking buyers into fossil fuels for decades to come.” How did the United States of America, with 435 elected representatives in the House and 100 elected senators in the U.S. Senate, become a slave to the fossil fuel industry? We explained it as follows in 2022: “Imagine a country that allows a private fossil fuels conglomerate (or its billionaire boss, Charles Koch, the 17th richest person in the world according to Forbes) to get away with the following: Meet secretly with big political donors twice a year to plot a coordinated strategy to put their chosen people in public office; Meet at his private club with a sitting Supreme Court justice who will then rule on key legislation that benefits his interests; Fund an organization that then sluices money to the wife of the Supreme Court Justice; Run a highly sophisticated voter registration database, data mining and get-out-the-vote operation called i360, in order to pack Congress with people who will pursue an antiregulatory agenda; Install dozens of its lawyers and operatives into the highest offices of the federal government; Run a sprawling, opaque trading operation that could potentially be raising the prices of the fossil fuel products it sells via the futures market; Continue to operate major factories in Russia, ignoring sanctions and a murderous regime waging an unprovoked war on Ukraine, until a pressure campaign forced it to say it will look for an exit strategy; Fund a sprawling network of taxpayer-subsidized front groups to deny climate change and foment hate; Provide funding to groups involved in sending a mob to attack the seat of government of its own home country on January 6; Fund groups that use dark money and propaganda to put lifetime justices on the highest court and to promote legislation friendly to the fossil fuels conglomerate.” This is the future we have charted for our children and grandchildren. It’s enough to make you sick to your stomach – but is it enough to make you demand change?

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Grassley To Take 'Traditional Approach' To Blue Slips
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Grassley To Take 'Traditional Approach' To Blue Slips <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260280?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> By Courtney Bublé Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the incoming chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is signaling he will keep the process in place for home state senators' approval of district court nominees, although in the past he has claimed discretion to move forward when he thinks there's no good reason to block a nominee. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260280?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260280?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…>

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Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Law360's Legal Lions Of The Week <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261386?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> By Tracey Read Covington & Burling LLP leads this week's list of Law360 legal lions for helping Mark Zuckerberg beat multidistrict litigation claims alleging Meta concealed social media's risks to young users. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261386?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261386?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…>

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Ayahuasca Church Urges Justices To Hear Discovery Case
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Ayahuasca Church Urges Justices To Hear Discovery Case <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261533?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> By Sam Reisman An Arizona church that uses a psychedelic substance in its ceremonies has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reconsider lower courts' rulings directing the church to turn over members' personal information to federal drug enforcement authorities. Petition attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261533?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2261533?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…>

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Atty-Brother Feud Belongs In State Court, Mich. Judge Finds
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Atty-Brother Feud Belongs In State Court, Mich. Judge Finds <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260949?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> By Jonathan Capriel A Michigan federal judge won't weigh in on a spat between an attorney and his former cannabis business partner brother, who is accused of shorting him $18 million as part of a buyout agreement, saying the dispute should stay in state court. 2 documents attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260949?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/cannabis/articles/2260949?nl_pk=c844ee6a-f80e-4e60-b…>

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Trump Is President-Elect for Just 7 Days and a Sex, Drugs and Bribe Scandal Breaks Out
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2024/11/trump-is-president-elect-for-just-7-… By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: November 14, 2024 ~ Rep Matt Gaetz (Photo by Gage Skidmore via Flickr) Live streaming to you from various production sites in the nation’s capitol is Donald Trump’s new reality TV show, “Remaking U.S. Government in My Image.” What the cast of the show lacks in serious credentials to run a government for the largest industrialized nation with 5,000 nuclear warheads is being offset by attractive faces and savvy scriptwriters determined to bring daily gasps from the viewing audience. A collective gasp came yesterday afternoon as president-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination of House Rep Matt Gaetz of Florida to serve in the highest law enforcement position in the nation: Attorney General of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). Being under an ongoing probe for sex with an underage girl and illicit drug use is apparently not a barrier to sitting at the helm of the U.S. Department of Justice in Donald Trump’s plans for “reforming” the U.S. government. In June, the U.S. House Committee on Ethics released a statement as follows regarding its ongoing investigation of Gaetz: “On April 9, 2021, the Committee announced it had initiated a review into allegations that Representative Matt Gaetz may have engaged in sexual misconduct and/or illicit drug use, shared inappropriate images or videos on the House floor, misused state identification records, converted campaign funds to personal use, and/or accepted a bribe, improper gratuity, or impermissible gift, in violation of House Rules, laws, or other standards of conduct. The Committee deferred its consideration of the matter in response to a request from the Department of Justice (DOJ). In May 2023, the Committee reauthorized its investigation after DOJ withdrew its deferral request.” Reporting by NBC News indicated that DOJ prosecutors were investigating if Gaetz had sex-trafficked a minor; if he had violated the law prohibiting transporting “any woman or girl for the purpose of prostitution or debauchery, or for any other immoral purpose” across states lines; and if he obstructed justice. Inexplicably, the DOJ dropped its investigation into Gaetz in February of 2023 without bringing charges against Gaetz. Three months later, the House Committee on Ethics resumed its investigation of Gaetz. According to multiple media reports yesterday, the House Committee on Ethics was planning to vote to release a damning report on Gaetz as soon as this Friday. Instead, Gaetz resigned from his House seat yesterday after Trump nominated him for Attorney General. This brought about much media speculation as to whether the House Committee on Ethics has lost jurisdiction to release its report. There is, however, an active federal lawsuit that may shine critical disinfecting sunshine on the matter. In May of this year, the watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Washington, D.C. to obtain records the DOJ had denied CREW under Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. CREW explained the reasons for the lawsuit as follows: “CREW is suing the Department of Justice for records related to the now-closed criminal investigation into Rep. Matt Gaetz, including the DOJ’s decision not to charge Gaetz despite reports suggesting an abundance of evidence that he likely violated sex-trafficking laws, and the conviction of his associate on similar charges. CREW also challenges the legality of the Department of Justice’s policy of categorically denying FOIA requests for records relating to investigations of public officials. “The lawsuit follows the DOJ’s refusal to release records relating to their investigation of Rep. Gaetz in response to CREW requests for information, as well as a long history of the agency issuing blanket denials of requests for records relating to investigations of public officials, despite a federal appeals court ruling that clearly prohibits such denials. The public deserves to know whether the decision not to prosecute Gaetz was motivated by political considerations or anything other than the sufficiency of evidence against him, and should not be forced to sue for records every time they seek transparency on investigations of public officials. “The DOJ began its investigation into Gaetz in 2020, focusing on allegations of obstruction of justice and violations of federal sex trafficking laws. Gaetz’s associate Joel Greenberg pled guilty to underage sex trafficking and reportedly provided potentially incriminating information about Gaetz’s involvement to investigators. Gaetz also reportedly asked then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for a preemptive pardon from Trump. In February 2023, the DOJ informed Gaetz that the department would not bring charges against him. “It is of public interest to understand why a member of Congress was not charged with any crime despite public reporting that suggested that potential crimes had been committed. Transparency around high-profile investigations, including any failures to properly investigate Gaetz, is both required by law and urgently needed.” Read the initial complaint filed by CREW at this link. According to the court docket in the case, the Department of Justice has filed a motion to dismiss the action, a typical ploy to drag out a politically sensitive court case, and CREW has filed an opposition motion to the dismissal request. If CREW should prevail in its court battle, it could open a hornet’s nest of scandals involving other political figures. CNN reported in April 2021 that political bribes were under investigation: “As part of the ongoing probe, investigators are scrutinizing Gaetz’s connections to several associates in Florida who may have benefited politically in return for providing the congressman favors including escorts, travel, and campaign donations, according to the sources familiar with the investigation. “One event in focus is a trip that Gaetz took to the Bahamas with friends and young women, CNN has reported. Investigators are seeking to determine whether Gaetz was provided travel and women in exchange for political favors as part of their broader probe, the sources said.”

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Despite Vaccine Spotlight, RFK Jr. A Health Policy 'Unknown'
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

Despite Vaccine Spotlight, RFK Jr. A Health Policy 'Unknown' <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/2261656?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…> By Theresa Schliep Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Donald Trump's pick to be the nation's top health official, has made clear his unorthodox and often false views on public health issues like vaccines. But there's still plenty of policy under his potential control where his stance remains opaque, attorneys say, which could stymie their efforts to prepare for the next four years. Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/2261656?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/health/articles/2261656?nl_pk=6422bbc2-a823-4be5-9a9…>

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GM's Cruise Accepts $500K Criminal Fine Over Robotaxi Crash
by Gunnar Larson 18 Nov '24

18 Nov '24

GM's Cruise Accepts $500K Criminal Fine Over Robotaxi Crash <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/2261429?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> By Jonathan Capriel Cruise LLC, the autonomous vehicles subsidiary of General Motors Co., has agreed to pay $500,000 in criminal fines to end claims that it made false statements to federal highway investigators by omitting that one of its vehicles dragged a pedestrian over 20 feet, according to an announcement by federal prosecutors. Notice attached | Read full article » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/2261429?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…> | Save to favorites » <https://www.law360.com/compliance/articles/2261429?nl_pk=ab5ce197-c1fb-4d8e…>

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