In the 1990s, the Soviet Union fell apart, and Russia began moving towards a market economy. However, this transition brought with it a severe economic collapse, widespread poverty, and a sharp rise in organized crime.
If you think the collapse of the Soviet Union was good for the people, think again.
Related:
The Internal Revenue Service audits Black taxpayers at significantly higher rates than other Americans, Commissioner Daniel Werfel told lawmakers Monday, confirming earlier findings by researchers at leading universities and the Treasury Department.
IRS audits Black taxpayers more often than other groups, agency confirms
Related:
The IRS Targets Black Taxpayers, Researchers May Have Uncovered Why
Consistent underfunding of the IRS means it’s a lot easier for them to go after someone who is low-income and qualifies for the EITC than it is to go after someone with a million lawyers hiding money in the Cayman Islands.
Targeting the rich for their tax-related shenanigans takes some major coins, and the IRS severely lacks the funds it would need to do that. Unfortunately, that means they’re more likely to knock on the doors of people just trying to get by.
Good thing Republicans are trying to repeal IRS funds?! /sarcasm
President Macron is not a king but a pawn of global finance
The current tenant of the Elysee Palace has been called by NUPES, the left coalition opposition in France, a President-King. To do so is to give him a bigger role and more power than what he has. In reality, Macron is just one of the numerous figure heads of the billionaire class that meets in Davos once a year. The power resides there, concentrated, often anonymous and always brutal in a masquerade of do-gooders. In Davos, the financial Masters of the Universe, posturing as philanthropists, have been in reality jealously protecting the complex Gordian Knot that is global capitalism. Perhaps France’s radical protesters, in their quasi insurrection form, are trying to emulate Alexander the Great by putting this giant Gordian Knot to the sword!
French Radical Protests: Can the Sinister Fascist Traits of Capitalism be Overcome?
by Conor Gallagher
Russia, Iran, and India are speeding up efforts to complete a new transport corridor that would largely cut Europe, its sanctions, and any other threats out of the picture. The International North-South Transport Corridor (NSTC) is a land-and sea-based 7,200-km long network comprising rail, road and water routes that are aimed at reducing costs and travel time for freight transport in a bid to boost trade between Russia, Iran, Central Asia, India.
Russia’s “Sanction-Proof” Trade Corridor to India Frustrates the Neocons
H/T: Alex Christoforou
The failed coup in Brazil is the latest CIA stunt, just as the country is forging stronger ties with the east.
Why the CIA attempted a ‘Maidan uprising’ in Brazil
Had a feeling that US Intelligence was behind it, somehow.
Previously:
Peter Thiel is full of contradictions—a libertarian who founded a company that aids government surveillance, a critic of tech who supports Facebook’s mission for world domination, and a defender of free speech who helped to kill a media outlet.
The Dungeon Master
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 