HOW TO KILL FREEDOM: SMOTHER IT

[Your Uncle Sam]

HOW TO KILL

ECONOMIC FREEDOM

AND FREE SPEECH

.

....SMOTHER IT!!

....AND SHAKE IT DOWN

...ECONOMIC FREEDOM

Swiss to release files on U.S. tax suspects

The IRS wants to investigate some 4,450 Americans who may be evading U.S. taxes.

Swiss lawmakers on Thursday gave final approval to a treaty with the United States that will hand Washington thousands of files on suspected tax cheats, agreeing to drop plans to allow a referendum on the issue.

Parliament's upper and lower houses agreed that there will be no possibility of referendum on the deal that will see the country's biggest bank, UBS AG, divulge the names of 4,450 American clients suspected of tax evasion to U.S. authorities.

The agreement between both houses secured final approval of the treaty, which the government hopes will eventually end UBS's three-year battle with U.S. tax authorities that culminated in revelations the bank had for years helped American clients hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts.

UBS chief executive Oswald Gruebel welcomed the decision.

"I and the whole bank thank the Federal Council and those parliamentarians who worked to find a solution to this issue," he said in a statement.

Shares in UBS went up 2.7 percent by noon at 15.93 Swiss francs ($14.10) on the Zurich exchange.

The lower house voted 81-63 to drop its earlier demand that Swiss voters should be allowed to approve the deal in a referendum before it comes law. Forty-seven lawmakers abstained.

A popular ballot would have made Switzerland miss a late August deadline to hand over all 4,450 names because the vote would have been held in November at the earliest.

The deal is crucial to UBS, which has faced intense pressure from U.S. authorities since 2007. Last year the bank agreed to turn over hundreds of client files and pay a $780 million penalty in return for a deferred prosecution agreement.

SHAKEDOWN:

But Washington has signaled that unless UBS reveals the further 4,450 American names demanded in the U.S.-Swiss agreement, it may face a crippling civil investigation just at a time when the bank is recovering from the subprime crisis and seeking to rebuild its U.S. business.

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MARXISM vs CAPITALISM:

*****************

...FREE SPEECH:

The Federal Communications Commission voted Thursday to start the controversial process of reclassifying high-speed Internet access as a tightly regulated telecommunications service, which could pave the way for adopting rules that prevent service providers from giving priority to some types of content travelling through their networks.

The commission voted 3-2 along party lines to collect public comments about a new regulatory framework that would make Internet service providers subject to some of the same nondiscrimination rules as telephone companies.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, a Democrat, has been a vocal supporter of requiring Internet providers to treat all similar Web traffic equally, an issue known as "net neutrality." Suchrules would prevent telecommunications companies from potentially charging Web sites for speedier delivery of their content. By reclassifying broadband, the FCC would have direct authority over Internet service providers to enforce net neutrality.

Fellow Democrats Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn joined Genachowski in supporting the move toward reclassification, which was motivated in part by a federal appeals court ruling in April that overturned a 2008 FCC decision concerning Internet traffic.

The FCC ruled in 2008 that Comcast Corp., the nation's largest cable and Internet service provider, had improperly discriminated against Internet content by blocking customers from using a file-sharing program used to download large data files. Signaling support for broadband service providers, the court said the FCC lacked authority from Congress to make such a ruling.

Republican commissioners Meredith Baker and Robert McDowell voted against the proposal. McDowell said that "the proposed new regime will place the heavy thumb of government on the scale of a free market" and stunt innovation and investment. Those concerns were echoed by Internet service provider trade groups and several congressional Republicans.

The debate over net neutrality has pitted broadband service providers, including Comcast and AT&T Inc., against Internet companies that extol the value of free-flowing Web traffic, such as Google Inc. and Amazon.com Inc.

Tom Tauke, a spokesman for Verizon Communications Inc., said in a statement that the FCC's move is "a terrible idea," saying, "Rather than attempting to make the new world of broadband fit into the regulatory scheme of the old telephone world, the FCC should acknowledge that this is an issue Congress should address."

SHAKEDOWN:

Meanwhile, Google, one of the most visible proponents of net neutrality, cheered the FCC's decision. "As we have said before, broadband infrastructure is too important to be left outside of any oversight," the company said in a statement posted on its blog.

What happens next?

With the FCC seeking comment on ways to regulate high-speed Internet access, here are possible scenarios for the outcome of broadband regulation:

•Action that could occur this year

The FCC will digest information collected from public comments to determine how to regulate broadband Internet access through landlines and airwaves to wireless devices.

A formal proposal could include another public comment period before a vote by the five commissioners. Or the FCC could skip the proposal and say it will regulate broadband under existing phone regulations.

•Stuck in court, perhaps for years

Companies squeamish about more regulation have said they would challenge the FCC's action in court, something that could take years to resolve.

The FCC likely would argue that it has the authority to reclassify broadband, and companies are likely to argue that the FCC is overstepping its bounds.

•Congress decides

Congress is considering whether to give the FCC clearer broadband authority.

Proponents of broadband regulation want closure on this issue, but the process could take several years to get through Congress. Lawmakers are considering a "surgical strike" approach for near-term changes to the U.S. communications law to give the FCC limited broadband authority. This option's chances of happening may be slimming as the November elections approach.

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....THUGGERY AT DEMOCRATIC FUND RAISER:

(FREE SPEECH ACCORDING TO CHAIRMAN MAO’bama)

OLD FASHIONED

HOMELAND SECURITY:

MODERN DAY HOMELAND SECURITY

"THE SYSTEM WORKED

...UNTIL I GOT AHOLD OF IT"

..."CAN I LET

MY

MOUSTACHE GROW YET?"

SHAKEDOWN:

(LEVIN'S LAW)