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peppertree's JournalBrazilians in the south asked to vote on secession
Voters in the south of Brazil have been asked in an informal vote whether they want to be part of a new country.
The referendum was organised a week after a similar vote in Catalonia by a secessionist movement called "The South Is My Country." The movement said it set up polls in more than 1,000 municipalities across the states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, and Paraná - which together have 30 million of Brazil's 208 million people and one-sixth of its economy.
The group's leader, Celso Deucher, says he hopes to gather three million votes.
At polling stations in Paraná state, voters told local media they were disillusioned with the federal government and a giant corruption scandal that has seen dozens of politicians and members of the business elite jailed or indicted.
Others complained that the south of Brazil saw little return from taxation which mostly benefitted the poorer northern regions of the country who have bigger voting rights than the south.
The south of Brazil has expressed secessionist tendencies before, ever since Italy's Giuseppe Garibaldi helped it achieve a short-lived semi-independence in 1836. Last year a similar vote in October 2016 organised by the same group gathered 617,500 votes; over 95% of voters in the three states said they were in favour of separation.
Few Brazilians believe the separatist movement will succeed, not least because it is forbidden by the constitution.
At: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-41541063
Scandal over $132 million whitewash by president's associates prompts Macri to target whistleblowers
Shaken by revelations that presidential friends and relatives used a recent tax amnesty law to "whitewash" over $132 million in undeclared offshore funds, Argentine President Mauricio Macri has reportedly ordered Public Revenue head Alberto Abad to launch an internal investigation into the leak, first reported by the Buenos Aires news daily Página/12 on August 27.
The news raised concern among press freedom advocates in Argentina.
Macri had unsuccessfully pushed for language in the tax amnesty bill to penalize reporting on its beneficiaries with large fines and jail time. The conservative news daily La Nación - a Macri ally - reported in April moreover that lawmakers, media figures, and even famed football forward Lionel Messi, are routinely spied on by Macri's intelligence agency AFI.
"It can't be that we cannot guarantee tax secrecy," Macri repeated angrily this week according to Casa Rosada sources. "We look ridiculous to everybody."
The Tax Amnesty Law, passed by Congress at Macri's urging in July 2016, was amended by decree that November to allow family, friends, and associates of the administration to take advantage of the offer, which drops all tax evasion charges or potential charges in exchange for a 10% payment.
The amnesty resulted in a record $116 billion in offshore funds being declared by the March 2017 deadline, although 93% remained offshore. Among those who thus "whitewashed" their previously undeclared funds were:
·Nicolás Caputo, the president's best friend and a top public works contractor for the city of Buenos Aires while Macri was mayor between 2007 and 2015: $26.5 million.
·Alejandro Peña, cousin of the president's Chief of Staff Marcos Peña: $6.2 million.
·Manuel Torino, brother-in-law of Pablo Clusellas - Secretary of the President's Legal and Technical Office, and childhood friend: $20 million.
·Marcelo Mindlin, head of the nation's largest private electric company Pampa Energía and reputed cutout for the Macri family since his purchase of their public works contractor IECSA in March: $44 million.
·And Gianfranco Macri, the president's brother: $35.5 million.
Federal prosecutors are investigating at least six cases involving Macri, some of them stemming from his family's extensive business holdings.
Allegations range from influence trafficking to money laundering related to the Panama Papers, the Odebrecht scandal, the purchase of a failing Macri charter airline (MacAir) by Colombia's Avianca in exchange for access to local routes, and an attempted write-off of up to $250 million in Macri Group debts to the Argentine postal service.
So far none of the cases has resulted in charges against the president, and he denies wrongdoing; but they've become a headache for his center-right "Let's Change" coalition heading into legislative elections on October 22.
"The suspicion is that Gianfranco Macri's $35.5 million declaration puts the lie to Mauricio Macri's financial disclosure affidavits," opposition Congressman Darío Martínez said. "The president claims that his capital amounts to $4.7 million, or seven times less than what his brother whitewashed."
"Then only two hypotheses fit: or poor Mauricio was disinherited; or, Mauricio is not as poor as he claims and is hiding much of his estate."
At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F59215-gianfrancamente-hablando&edit-text=
And: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.elintransigente.com%2Fpolitica%2F2017%2F10%2F6%2Fmacri-pone-impaciente-falta-avances-investigacion-afip-459586.html
Gianfranco Macrì, Marcos Peña, Marcelo Mindlin, Nicky Caputo, and Pablo Clusellas.
Factories at the "end of the world" struggle to adapt in Macri's Argentina
Like dozens of factories that have taken root in this sparsely populated land of penguins and glaciers, consumer electronics manufacturer BGH owes its survival to government tinkering.
Special tax breaks and high trade barriers have turned Tierra del Fuego, located at the southern tip of Argentina, into the source of 90% of the air conditioners, cell phones, TVs and microwaves sold in the country - the region's third-largest economy.
Now, it has perhaps the most to lose as President Mauricio Macri lifts some import restrictions and unwinds costly subsidies for electricity and other utilities, hitting electronics sales.
Tierra del Fuego, home to just 150,000 people, is feeling the sting. Amid a deep recession, it shed 6,000 jobs last year - a 13% drop that was the sharpest for any province.
Output has plunged at many of the area's factories, including BGH. The Argentine company's TV set-top box business has dwindled to a single assembly line, down from five a few years ago. Its laptop unit closed last year, and the air conditioner lines run a single shift per day - down from two earlier this year.
Emboldened by trade protections under Macri's center-left predecessor, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the company invested in new equipment and doubled its Río Grande workforce to nearly 2,600 people. Under Macri, BGH has slashed its payroll to just over 1,000 workers and begun importing some electronics from China.
"The government changed the rules of the game," said Diego Teubal, executive director of BGH's consumer division.
The company's woes are emblematic of the pain rippling across Argentina's wider industrial sector, where employment shrank by 4.6%, or 58,000 jobs, between November 2015 (the month before Macri took office) and May 2017, according to Buenos Aires consultancy Elypsis. Unemployment has since increased from 5.9% to 8.7%.
A 30% jump in machinery imports since last year helped push Argentina's trade deficit to a record $1.1 billion in August alone; for all of 2017, the trade deficit may exceed $8 billion - a new record.
Costly tax cuts for agricultural and mining exports, meanwhile, have pushed already-record budget deficits to over $30 billion this year; but have failed to stimulate these sectors despite rebounding global commodity prices.
At: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-4819404/ANALYSIS-End-world-factories-struggle-adapt-Macris-Argentina.html
Ushuaia, capital of Tierra del Fuego and southernmost city in the world.
Thousands take to streets in Barcelona protesting police violence over referendum
Source: CBC
Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Catalonia on Tuesday to protest against Sunday's violent crackdown by Spanish police on an outlawed independence referendum for the region.
Spain's conservative government has said it will respond with "all necessary measures" to counter the Catalan defiance, and is holding talks with national opposition leaders to find multi-partisan consensus on the response, which could include suspending the region's self-government.
Meanwhile, in Barcelona's Catalonia and University squares, a sea of demonstrators waved flags, most of them "esteladas," embraced by those seeking secession, but there were also plenty of Spanish national flags.
One of the biggest groups concentrated around the Spanish national police headquarters in Barcelona, where protesters called them "occupying forces" and called for Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy to resign.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/catalonia-barcelona-spain-protests-referendum-1.4318538
Paris is for walkers and cyclists as city bans cars for day
Parisians and tourists were encouraged to stroll through the City of Light on Sunday as officials banned cars from its streets for a day.
Paris has experimented with car-free days in the past, but Sunday marked the first time the entire city was handed over to ramblers, cyclists and roller-bladers.
Only emergency vehicles, buses and taxis were allowed on the streets from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. Paris time.
"It's nice for the air quality, for enjoying the city, walking around without any noise, without any risk to be run over by a car," Maxime Denis said as he strolled near Place de la République in the city center. "But it should be a real no car day. There are still a few so we are careful."
Another resident, François Boillat, noted that "as a Parisian, I only use public transport all the time, even though I have a car buried in a sixth basement car park and I barely use it. It is a bit stupid. I should sell it."
At: http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Paris-bans-all-cars-from-the-whole-city-for-a-day-12244314.php
Catalan referendum: preliminary results show 90% in favour of independence
Source: The Guardian
Catalan officials have claimed that preliminary results of its referendum have shown 90% in favour of independence in the vote vehemently opposed by Spain.
Jordi Turull, the Catalan regional government spokesman, told reporters early on Monday morning that 90% of the 2.26 million Catalans who voted Sunday chose yes. He said nearly 8% of voters rejected independence and the rest of the ballots were blank or void. He said 15,000 votes were still being counted. The region has 5.3 million registered voters.
Turull said the number of ballots did not include those confiscated by Spanish police during violent raids which resulted in hundreds of people being injured. At least 844 people and 33 police were reported to have been hurt, including at least two people who were thought to have been seriously injured.
Catalonias regional leader, Carles Puigdemont, spoke out against the violence with a pointed address: On this day of hope and suffering, Catalonias citizens have earned the right to have an independent state in the form of a republic.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/01/dozens-injured-as-riot-police-storm-catalan-ref-polling-stations
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, who considers today's referendum illegal, sent in shock troops to sequester ballot boxes and stop today's vote.
Lobbyists See a Billion-Dollar Boon in Tax Rewrite's Lack of Detail
Source: New York Times
The sweeping tax rewrite unveiled by President Trump and Republican lawmakers this past week leaves many of the details to Congress; but two sentences in the nine-page framework have Washington lobbyists salivating over a payday that some industry experts predict could top $1 billion.
That language has prompted concerns among a wide range of businesses and industries about the prospect of losing valuable tax breaks — from preferential tax treatment for insurers to credits for renewable energy to a prized tax treatment used by the commercial real estate industry.
And those fears are being stoked by lobbyists, who are urging clients and prospective clients to get out in front of any changes that could eliminate or weaken sections of the tax code that benefit them.
“You’re either going to be at the table, or you’re going to be on the table,” said Thomas M. Reynolds, a former Republican congressman from New York who served on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee and is now a lobbyist at Holland & Knight focusing on tax issues.
Most businesses that could be affected by the tax overhaul “will not have to be encouraged to engage,”Reynolds said.
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/lobbyists-see-a-billion-dollar-boon-in-tax-rewrite%E2%80%99s-lack-of-detail/ar-AAsEweM?OCID=ansmsnnews11
The swamp will be busy tonight.
Justice Department nominee with ties to Russian bank voted out of committee
Source: Washington Examiner
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved President Trump's nominee to lead the Department of Justice's Criminal Division.
Brian Benczkowski, a Republican lawyer who once served as a staff director of the committee for former Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-AL, was advanced in an 11-9 party-line vote and will soon head to the Senate floor for a confirmation vote.
Benczkowski admitted earlier this year that he worked for Russia's Alfa Bank during his time as a partner at the law firm Kirkland & Ellis. He also ran the Trump transition team at the Justice Department.
The New York Times first reported that Benczkowski represented the bank, one of Russia's largest with ties to President Vladimir Putin. The FBI investigated the bank last year after it was mentioned in a dossier containing unproven allegations about the Trump campaign and possible collusion with Russia, but it ultimately concluded there was no wrongdoing or misconduct.
Benczkowski also downplayed his role in the Trump campaign during his confirmation hearing.
Read more: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/justice-department-nominee-with-ties-to-russian-bank-voted-out-of-committee/article/2635920
Criminal division nominee Brian Benczkowski; 'criminal' being the adjective in this case.
Trump defaulted on his Puerto Rico golf course, leaving the territory a $33 million debt
Long before Hurricanes Irma or María decimated much of Puerto Rico, the island was already in trouble. Earlier this year, faced with $123 billion in debt (and growing), the U.S. territory took the unprecedented step of essentially declaring bankruptcy.
Trump made it clear that he had little interest in helping Puerto Rico’s debt situation, tweeting on April 27 that "Democrats want to shut government if we don't bail out Puerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies for OCare failure. NO!"
But according to PolitiFact Florida, Trump only exacerbated the problem.
The Trump International Golf Club Puerto Rico, which, according to Fortune, borrowed $26.4 million in government-backed bonds in order to pay for improvements, later defaulted on a $119,814 bondholder payment. In 2015, the club filed for bankruptcy, which is when Trump (who licensed his name to the property) desperately tried to distance himself from the place bearing his name.
“We have zero financial investment in this course,” Eric Trump told Bloomberg News in July 2015. “This has absolutely nothing to do with Trump. This is a separate owner. We purely manage the golf course.”
Except that Trump, according to BuzzFeed News, did pocket the hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees from the resort. And when the club defaulted on those bonds and declared bankruptcy, it left Puerto Rico taxpayers with a hefty $32.7 million bill to pay in order to clean up the soon-to-be-president’s mess.
At: https://www.deathandtaxesmag.com/346335/trump-golf-course-puerto-rico-default-33-million-tax-debt/?utm_source=share-fb&utm_medium=button
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