Friday, 11 September 2009

Global Tax Thuggery

Do you think the Internal Revenue Service should have the right to share your tax information with foreign governments -- even ones run by thugs and those that engage in human rights abuses and/or suppress freedom in their countries?

A meeting was held in Mexico City last week under the auspices of the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), whose implicit goal is to create a global high-tax cartel.

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Hitler in the Living Room, Kalashnikovs in the Street

Today, like yesterday, the headlines of the Belgian press are dominated by a couple from Hoboken, a southern suburb of Antwerp, who have a photo of Adolf Hitler in their living room. Two days ago, an undercover journalist of the Belgian state television had been in the living room to take pictures of the Hitler photo on the wall. The woman of the couple is a babysitter who in the daytime minds babies and toddlers of other people in her house, including in the room with the photo.

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A Protest Attacked; A Blogger Threatened With Execution

Emotions are running high in parts of Britain. Only a couple of weeks ago, rumors that a “Right wing” group was planning to march through the Bury Park region of Luton were spreading through the Muslim communities of the city. This turned out to be false. When no one turned up, the Muslim youths that had congregatedattacked the police, throwing missiles and hurling abuse [video]. 50 extra police had to be drafted to contain the situation.

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A History of Beer - Part 6

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There is no particular reason why this essay came to be mainly about beer, not wine. It’s a result of my personal preference, and perhaps indirectly because I come from a chilly Scandinavian country where grapes are rarely grown and where people have historically had a closer relationship with beer than wine. Nevertheless, you cannot write about alcoholic beverages or about European culture in general and not say something about wine. Consequently, I will include a few words about wine traditions in Europe and beyond. Much of the following information is taken from The World Atlas of Wine, 6th edition, by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson, a fine and richly illustrated work updated as of 2007.

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