FELIX REPORTS

Trump Talks Border Wall in Mexico, but Not Payment By  Steve Peoples  and   Christopher Sherman AP, Fil After meeting with Mexico's president on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the United Stats and Mexico must work to end illegal immigration together. AP Mexico President Enrique Pena Nieto and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump shake hands after a joint statement at Los Pinos, the presidential official residence, in Mexico City, Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. Trump called the surprise visit a "great honor," and that they had a "substantive, direct and constructive exchange of ideas." After meeting with Mexico's president on Wednesday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said the United Stats and Mexico must work to end illegal immigration together. "It must be solved quickly," he said.  His remarks covered what he said were the two countries' shared interests: stopping the ...

Suspended Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff answers questions during her impeachment trial at the National Congress in Brasilia on Aug. 29. (Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images) By  Marina Lopes  and  Dom Phillips   The Americas August 31 at 1:38 PM   BRASILIA —  Brazil’s Senate ousted Dilma Rousseff as president Wednesday, voting overwhelmingly to impeach the leftist leader in the culmination of a protracted process that has divided the country. The vote to impeach Rousseff was 61 to 20. Two-thirds of senators — 54 out of 81 — were needed for impeachment to pass. Senators broke into cheering and applause after the electronic voting was announced and sang the national anthem, concluding a process that was given the go-ahead in December. Read more  washingtonpost.com

In Latest Shocking Twist, Trump To Meet Mexican President Ahead Of Key Immigration Speech by  Tyler Durden Aug 31, 2016 6:12 AM In  his latest striking and unorthodox move, Trump announced last night via Twitter that he had accepted an invitation from Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto for a meeting in Mexico today.  The meeting, set to take place just hours before he sets out proposals to crack down on illegal immigration that have stirred up widespread anger among Mexicans, is expected to cover a broad variety of topics including NAFTA, immigration and the contentious issue of border enforcement.  The meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto looked to be the type of dramatic, Trump-style event to ensure he dominates the headlines as he tries to close a gap in national opinion polls that now favors his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton. According to  LifeZette , Trump will include former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, RNC Cha...

29 COMMENTS TAGS   Legal System The Police State Taxes and Spending Political Theory 08/29/2016 Brittany Hunter  Earlier this month, the  Justice Department announced  that it plans to stop using privately run prisons after a report found that they were often less safe for inmates than federally run facilities. While it is admirable for the federal government to finally start taking an interest in the well-being of its incarcerated population, referring to these facilities as “private” can be grossly misleading. A truly private organization is characterized by competition in a free marketplace. A private organization does not enjoy any monopoly powers conferred by the state. Nor are the taxpayers forced to pay for the services of any private organization through their tax dollars. “Private” prisons, on the other hand, are nothing like a truly private organization.   Specifically, these privately run prisons contract with the...

Fighting in eastern Ukraine between separatists and pro-government forces has risen to an intensity not seen in well over a year Michael Snyder  |  The Economic Collapse  -  AUGUST 31, 2016   24 Comments   The drumbeats of war are growing louder.   Fighting in eastern Ukraine between separatists and pro-government forces has risen to an intensity not seen in well over a year, and the Russians claim that they recently foiled a “Ukrainian plot” to conduct terror attacks in Crimea.  As tensions in the region have increased, the Russians have used the cover of “military drills” to move massive amounts of troops and military equipment up to the border with Ukraine.  This is something that I wrote about  a couple of weeks ago , but things have intensified since then, and a huge military exercise is planned for September.  Needless to say, the Ukrainians are quite alarmed by this, and Ukrainian President Petro Por...

Chaos would ensue if a vacancy emerges near Election Day. By  Steven Nelson   |  Staff Writer  Aug. 30, 2016, at 4:55 p.m. American democracy would break new ground if Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump left a presidential ticket vacancy before the Nov. 8 general election.  GETTY IMAGES The presidential election could be delayed or scrapped altogether if conspiracy theories become predictive and a candidate dies or drops out before Nov. 8. The perhaps equally startling alternative, if there's enough time: Small groups of people hand-picking a replacement pursuant to obscure party rules. The scenarios have been seriously considered by few outside of the legal community and likely are too morbid for polite discussion in politically mixed company. But prominent law professors have pondered the effects and possible ways to address a late-date vacancy. "There's nothing in the Constitution which requires a popular election for the electors s...

2 COMMENTS TAGS   Taxes and Spending 5 HOURS AGO Jeff Deist Apple Inc., the US corporate parent of dozens of foreign legal entities, has been hit with a  $14.6 billion tax bill  by a commission of the European Union. At the heart of the commission’s complaint is an alleged antitrust violation rather than a tax dispute per se: Apple is accused of negotiating a sweetheart arrangement with Ireland, in exchange for creating thousands of new jobs there. Under the arrangement, Apple reportedly funneled millions in international profits to its Irish headquarters—where those profits were taxed at a very low rate. Therefore other EU nations where Apple has operations and/or sales suffered tax losses, due to Ireland’s unfair “competitive advantage” (i.e., lower tax rates). Or, as a bureaucrat might say, Apple receives illegal tax benefits from Ireland. Politicians and elites viscerally hate any form of tax competition—at least for the plebes. See, for...