Saturday, June 14, 2014
Australia Seizes 360M From Dormant Bank Accounts And All 50 U.S. States Are Doing This Too
Do you have a bank account that you don't actively use or a safe deposit box that you have not checked on for a while? If so, you might want to see if the government has grabbed your money. This sounds absolutely crazy, but it is true. All over the world, governments are shortening the time periods required before they can seize "dormant bank accounts" and "unclaimed property".
For example, as you will read about below, just last year the government of Australia seized a whopping 360 million dollars from dormant bank accounts. And this kind of thing is going on all over America as well.
In fact, all 50 states actually pay private contractors to locate bank accounts and unclaimed property that can be seized. In some states, no effort will be made to contact you when your property is confiscated. And in most states, the seized property permanently become the property of the state government after a certain waiting period has elapsed. So please don't put money or property into a bank somewhere and just let it sit there. If you do, the government may come along and grab it right out from under your nose.
In this day and age, broke governments all over the globe are searching for "creative ways" to raise revenues.
In Australia for example, the time period required before the federal government could seize a dormant bank account was reduced from seven to three years, and this resulted in an unprecedented windfall for the Australian government over the past 12 months...
The federal government has seized a record $360 million from household bank accounts that have been dormant for just three years, prompting outrage in some quarters amid complaints that pensioners and retirees have lost deposits.
Figures from the Australian Security and Investments Commission (ASIC) show almost $360 million was collected from 80,000 inactive accounts in the year to May under new rules introduced by Labor. The new rules lowered the threshold at which the government is allowed to snatch funds from accounts that remain idle from seven years to three years.
The rule change has delivered the government a massive bonanza with the money collected in the year to May more than the total collected in the past five decades combined.
Most Americans are not going to be too concerned about this because it is happening on the other side of the planet.
But did you know that this is happening all over the U.S. as well?
For instance, the waiting period in the state of California used to be fifteen years.
Now it is just three years.
And when California grabs your money they don't just sit around waiting for you to come and claim it. Instead, it gets dumped directly into the general fund and spent.
If you do not believe that California does this, just check out the following information that comes directly from the official website of the California State Controller's Office...
The State acquires unclaimed property through California's Unclaimed Property Law, which requires "holders" such as corporations, business associations, financial institutions, and insurance companies to annually report and deliver property to the Controller's Office after there has been no customer contact for three years. Often the owner forgets that the account exists, or moves and does not leave a forwarding address or the forwarding order expires. In some cases, the owner dies and the heirs have no knowledge of the property.
And it is not just bank accounts and safe deposit boxes that are covered by California law. The reality is that a vast array of different kinds of "unclaimed property" are covered...
The most common types of Unclaimed Property are:
Bank accounts and safe deposit box contents
Stocks, mutual funds, bonds, and dividends
Uncashed cashier's checks or money orders
Certificates of deposit
Matured or terminated insurance policies
Estates
Mineral interests and royalty payments, trust funds, and escrow accounts.
And when a state government grabs your property, the consequences can be absolutely devastating. The following is an excerpt from an ABC news report from a few years ago...
San Francisco resident Carla Ruff's safe-deposit box was drilled, seized, and turned over to the state of California, marked "owner unknown."
"I was appalled," Ruff said. "I felt violated."
Unknown? Carla's name was right on documents in the box at the Noe Valley Bank of America location. So was her address -- a house about six blocks from the bank.
Carla had a checking account at the bank, too -- still does -- and receives regular statements. Plus, she has receipts showing she's the kind of person who paid her box rental fee. And yet, she says nobody ever notified her.
"They are zealously uncovering accounts that are not unclaimed," Ruff said.
To make matters worse, Ruff discovered the loss when she went to her box to retrieve important paperwork she needed because her husband was dying. Those papers had been shredded.
And that's not all. Her great-grandmother's precious natural pearls and other jewelry had been auctioned off. They were sold for just $1,800, even though they were appraised for $82,500.
And some states are even more aggressive than the state of California in going after bank accounts.
In a recent article, Simon Black noted that the state of Georgia can go after "dormant bank accounts" after just one year of inactivity...
In fact, each of the 50 states has its own regulations pertaining to the seizure of dormant accounts. And the grand prize goes to… the great state of Georgia!
Georgia’s Disposition of Unclaimed Properties Act sets the threshold as low as one year.
In other words, if you have a checking account in Georgia that you haven’t touched in twelve months, the state government is going to grab it.
So much for setting aside money for a rainy day and having the discipline to never touch it.
As economic conditions get even worse, the temptation for governments all over the planet to grab private bank accounts is going to become even greater.
We all remember what happened in Cyprus. When the global financial Ponzi scheme finally collapses, politicians all over the world are going to be looking for an easy way to raise cash. And our bank accounts may be one of the first things that they decide to confiscate.
So please don't keep all of your eggs in one basket, and check on all of your accounts in regular intervals.
In this day and age, it pays to be diligent.
Credit to Activist Post
Russian Aerospace Defence Forces placing S-300 in operational readiness
Units of the Russian Aerospace Defence Forces taking part in an exercise outside Kaliningrad are placing S-300 air-defence missile systems in operational readiness and locking on targets at different heights, the Defence Ministry Press-Service and Information Directorate told RIA Novosti.
A joint exercise of the Baltic Fleet, the Russian Airborne Troops and the Russian Air Force directed by the Western District commander is being held in the Kaliningrad Region. Aerospace defence units pursue defensive of the aerospace in the exercise area.
The exercise is taking place at the same time with the NATO international exercises Saber Strike 2014 and Baltops 2014 that started in Europe. The Russian Baltic Fleet manoeuvres are monitored by The Alster reconnaissance ship of the German Navy.
"During the exercise, Aerospace Defence units are fulfilling tasks in putting missiles onto launch platforms and preparing them for field firing, as well as acquisition tracking of solitary and collective air targets at low and super-low heights," the Defence Ministry said.
At the same time, the division battle headquarters starts acquisition tracking of aggressor targets whose role is performed by Russian Naval Aviation aircraft.Among the main tasks practised by the personnel is placing S-300 air-defence missile systems in combat readiness. After receiving a signal of combat readiness, the crews are moved to combat sites within a short time (five minutes) and turn on and check the equipment.
Credit to Voice of Russia
Obama Facilitates The Rise Of The Caliphate
Obama is making faint sounds of intervention, but they are toothless and insincere as always. Witness ‘Obama The Weak’ per Allen West:
There is no doubt we are watching something happening in Iraq that is far more horrific than the fall of Saigon and will rival the killing fields of Pol Pot.
Indeed it will as the Islamic hordes sweep thru Iraq killing, raping and pillaging in the name of Allah, driving slaves and concubines forward to serve. If you kill one or two, you are a mass murderer… If you kill hundreds of thousands or millions, the world stands in awe and seems to say ‘well done.’ Picture this… thousands of Christians, Jews and Muslims fleeing for their very lives with families in tow and what little they can carry — literally running from the oncoming Army of Allah and being mowed down as they cry out and weep. Visualize thousands of corpses of police, military and civilians decapitated and crucified along their path. It’s worthy of The Stand. Recently ISIS (Levant) leaders imposed punitive rules on the Christian population, demanding that they pay a levy of gold for ‘protection,’ or else face being killed on the streets for their faith.
More…
There are those who believe Obama is a Muslim. Only he can answer that question — but knowing his penchant for lying, who will ever know? What is for certain is that Obama’s failed foreign policies in the Middle East have afforded a resurgence of Islamic terrorism. Perhaps that is where Obama’s loyalties lie? I can think of no other reason.
Obama has sided with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. He has advanced Islamist forces in Libya and destabilized that country. He has sat back and watched the rise of a barbaric terrorist group in Nigeria. He has allowed Iran to continue its march towards producing a nuclear device. And now, he has allowed an al-Qaida group, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), to overtake major portions of Iraq. As well, he has set free the senior management of the enemy while they enemy is still fighting our troops.
As Investor’s Business Daily reports, “Obama and his former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, have been so busy patting themselves on the back for their foreign policy brilliance that they haven’t seemed to notice that their Mideast policies — from the disastrous Arab Spring, to encouraging Libya’s revolt, to Hosni Mubarak’s ouster in Egypt, to drawing a “red line” in Syria on chemical weapons use, to negotiating with a soon-to-be-nuclear Iran — are all in extreme disarray, threatening not just the region but the world.”
The butchers of Baghdad are on their way and they are getting their Jihad on. For years, we have warned you on the rise of the Islamic Caliphate. We were dismissed as kooks and disparaged over it. Behold… it doesn’t look so crazy anymore. In fact, it looks horrific. And all of this can be laid squarely at the feet of Barack Obama, who as this is unfolding, is jetting to Palm Springs to play golf. I mean, what else would you do? He’s celebrating.
Thousands of Iraqis are volunteering, arming up and they are determined to fight. It might surprise you that ISIS is a big supporter of gun control. Savor the irony from Bob Owens:
Yes, the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Shams (ISIS), the decapitation-minded, crucifying terrorists that were so cruel that they got kicked out of al Qaeda, have something in common with Michael Bloomberg and Shannon Watts:
In a document circulating on social media attributed to the group, Isis warned tribal leaders and sheikhs not to “work with [the Iraqi] government and be traitors” while proclaiming that women should only go outside if absolutely necessary.
“For women, dress decently and wear wide clothes. Only go out if needed,” read the document as translated by Al Aan TV reporter Jenan Moussa.
Further rules included bans on drugs, alcohol and cigarettes while public gatherings, the possession of guns and the carrying of flags not of the Islamic state were outlawed.
And while telling the people to disarm and submit, ISIS is leaving a wake of blood soaked bodies and burned vehicles across the country. Mosul and Tikrit are now ghost towns, deserted by citizens fleeing the carnage in a manner reminiscent of Genghis Khan (ask John Kerry what that means and he’ll enlighten you). ISIS is proclaiming that Baghdad and the holy city of Karbala will fall to them. The UN says 800,000 refugees have now fled and that number will surely rise sharply.
The battle to save Iraq’s capital from the advancing Al Qaeda-inspired militants is underway today after the government begged Iraqis to sign up and fight — The Daily Mail
Thousands of men of all ages turned up today at an army recruiting center in the city to volunteer for military service in a bid to stop the Baghdad falling to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant — The Daily Mail
ISIS is instituting hardline Sharia law throughout the country. It is brutal, with no pity for those who transgress. Refugees tell of heads lined up in rows, a trademark of ISIS and a violent Sharia threat to ensure compliance among the people to the Quran’s holy orders.
As the conquest proceeds, I hear the Army in Iraq has now fallen. That’s okay… Obama sent his condolences yesterday. Americans, Germans and many others have now been evacuated. If you can believe it, Iran is sending in the cavalry. Yeah, that ought to end well.
Regional tensions: How religious and military divides shape the Middle East — The Daily Mail
Even though the military vastly outnumbers the Jihadists, they have simply turned and ran or changed sides. Most, deserted in the night betraying their own people. Now, the Jihadists are sporting American military vehicles and weapons, courtesy of Barack Obama. Obama doesn’t just have blood on his hands, he’s drenched in it. The terrorists have captured two helicopters, 15 tanks, weapons and several armored cars that used to belong to the American military. They also seized £350 million-worth of dinars by robbing a bank in Mosul, making them uber-funded for conquering in the name of Allah.
With friends like the Americans, who needs enemies? Mark Steyn puts it bluntly in “Harmless as an Enemy, Treacherous as a Friend“:
Let’s put it this way: Two parties pulled off 9/11 and were responsible for the deaths of over 3,000 people. The perpetrators were al-Qaeda, and their accomplices were the Taliban. The Taliban will be back in charge of Afghanistan very soon. And al-Qaeda, in the shape of its most virulent progeny, are now running large chunks of Iraq and Syria. So the bad guys won, and America lost.
Sadly true for America, tragically true for Iraq and Syria. Obama may not personally wield a sword that cuts off heads or drive the spikes home for crucifixion, but he might as well have — he put the means in the hands of our enemies and encouraged them to go forth.
And in only what I can call dark comedy, not only will America not help, but the Brits say they won’t because Iraq is now a Democracy. Now that’s rich… it’s to die for.
Someone yesterday on Facebook left me a comment saying this felt like Saigon all over again. Shades of the Khmer Rouge:
Hugh Hewitt said it felt like 1975 all over again. Forty years ago, as another American client regime crumbled, the US Ambassador sportingly offered asylum to a former Cambodian prime minister, Prince Sirik Matak. His response is worth quoting:
I thank you very sincerely for your letter and for your offer to transport me towards freedom. I cannot, alas, leave in such a cowardly fashion. As for you and in particular for your great country, I never believed for a moment that you would have this sentiment of abandoning a people which has chosen liberty. You have refused us your protection and we can do nothing about it. You leave us and it is my wish that you and your country will find happiness under the sky. But mark it well that, if I shall die here on the spot and in my country that I love, it is too bad because we are all born and must die one day. I have only committed the mistake of believing in you, the Americans.
So Sirik Matak stayed in Phnom Penh and was murdered by the Khmer Rouge, but so were another 1.7 million people, and in a pile of skulls that high it’s hard to remember this or that individual. But there are many in Iraq and Afghanistan who are reflecting, as Sirik Matak did, that they made the mistake of “believing in you, the Americans”.
And Steyn is right as always, Obama isn’t leading from behind, he’s leaving from behind: America is departing the world stage. He’s also right to ask, why would the world turn to America now and not the bad guys? What have we done for them lately, but destroy everything and cause death and sorrow via the Obama Administration? I mean the al-Qaeda leader of ISIS was released in 2009 from Gitmo by Obama, who had to know this would happen. More on the leadership of ISIS (Levant):
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the shadowy leader of thousands of Islamist fighters in Syria and Iraq, many of them Westerners, appears to be surpassing Al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahri as the world’s most influential jihadist.
‘For the last 10 years or more, [Zawahri] has been holed up in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border area and hasn’t really done very much more than issue a few statements and videos,’ said Richard Barrett, a former counterterrorism chief at MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service.
‘Whereas Baghdadi has done an amazing amount – he has captured cities, he has mobilized huge amounts of people, he is killing ruthlessly throughout Iraq and Syria.
‘If you were a guy who wanted action, you would go with Baghdadi,’ said Barrett. noting the ISIS leader’s challenge to Zawahri was ‘a really interesting development.’
‘Where that goes will determine a lot about how terrorism is [carried out],’ Barrett said.
The ISIS leader, who was born in 1971 in Baghdad, is touted as a battlefield commander and tactician, a crucial distinction compared with Zawahri.
Baghdadi, who has a degrees in Islamic studies, apparently joined the insurgency that erupted in Iraq soon after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
He was taken as a prisoner of the Americans in Camp Bucca between 2005 and 2007 – it was here that one of the only two photos know to be in existence was taken of him.
He is known as ‘The Ghost’ to members of the pro-Assad Lebanese Shi-ite militia Hizballah.
‘Only a few people know the face of Baghdadi,’ Sheik Ahmad, the Hizballah official in charge of investigating ISIS in Syria, told TIME last year.
The secretive Baghdadi talks with a scarf covering his face even when dealing with close allies, according to militants who worked with him in Iraq.
He addresses his ISIS followers through audio recordings posted to the internet, rather than in public places.
In October 2005, American forces said they believed they had killed him in a strike on the Iraq- Syria border.
But that appears to have been incorrect, as he took the reins of what was then known as the Islamic State of Iraq in May 2010 after two of its chiefs were killed in a U.S.-Iraqi raid. Since then, details about him have slowly trickled out.
In October 2011, the U.S. Treasury designated him as a ‘terrorist’ in a notice that said he was born in the Iraqi city of Samarra in 1971.
And earlier this year, Iraq released a picture they said was of Baghdadi, the first from an official source, depicting a balding, bearded man in a suit and tie.
Lt. Gen. Abdel-Amir al-Zaidi, who heads a northern security command centre, says his forces believe Baghdadi is hiding in Iraq’s Diyala province, but other officials contest this.
He is a renegade within al-Qaeda and it was his maverick streak that eventually led its central command to sever ties, deepening a rivalry between his organization and the global terror network
Zawahri has urged ISIS to focus on Iraq and leave Syria to Nusra, but Baghdadi and his fighters have openly defied the Al-Qaeda chief and, indeed, have fought not only Assad, but also Nusra and other rebel groups.
He is ‘more violent, more virulent, more anti-American [than Osama Bin Laden]‘ a senior U.S. intelligence official told the Washington Post.
This is our fault. We pulled out and left a void in 2011 that was bound to be filled this way. Now, the fighters have reached Samarra, 70 miles north of Baghdad and revenge is on the menu. The country is about to fall to the Caliphate and if you think it won’t have repercussions worldwide, think again.
Oil spiked yesterday and the stock market fell. That is only the beginning. Already Russia, China and Iran are shunning the US dollar. Inflation is on the rise in the US despite what the government says and people already can’t afford the necessities of life here. It’s about to get a lot worse. Between the crises in Iraq and Syria, the refugees from the Southern border in the US that Obama is having bused in and a myriad of other scandals… the US is reeling and is headed for a rendezvous with a massive cliff dive moment. Buckle up.
Less than 24 hours later the oil-rich city of Tikrit was captured by the militants, who then turned their attentions to the capital as it pushes ahead with its aim to overthrow the western-backed government as part of its goal to create an Islamic emirate spanning both sides of the Iraq-Syria border — The Daily Mail
Iraq is being redrawn and divvied up. And with that, its rich oil reserves. Blood, death, oil and religion — a very, very bad mix.
A man is executed in a propaganda video released this morning by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant as the Al Qaeda-inspired militants continue their march towards Baghdad — The Daily Mail
Iraq’s government didn’t even declare an emergency as not enough MPs showed up for a vote. By the way, all of this was foreseeable and predictable. Meanwhile, the UN, America and the world will do absolutely nothing but make condemnatory noises. Maliki, in Iraq, has been calling for help for two years and Obama just couldn’t be bothered.
Three years after America left Iraq, marauding ISIS militia are beheading their way to Baghdad… a Jihadist group so extreme, even al-Qaeda has distanced itself from them, is threatening to take Iraq. It’s a nightmare out of the Middle Ages come to life in Progressive times.
The Islamist militia is so ruthless and extreme that even al-Qaeda has cut ties and distances itself from them — The Daily Mail
The Arab Spring is over… welcome to the Jihadi Spring as Jonah Goldberg so aptly put it. Muslim-fascist fanatics galorecheered on by the Left and Obama. We are literally about to reap what we sow.
The Wall Street Journal is saying that the fall of Mosul is as big as Russia’s seizure of Crimea. I wholeheartedly agree… Obama is obviously facilitating the rise of the Caliphate and thumbing his nose at infidels.
Credit to Noisyroom.net
Teresa Monroe-Hamilton
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)