IRS Obstructs Efforts to Stop Illegals from Fraudulent Use of Social Security Numbers

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irs_An audit report published this month by the inspector general for the Social Security Administration says that the Internal Revenue Service’s reluctance to penalize employers who consistently file W-2s on which the Social Security Number and name do not match has “hindered” the SSA’s efforts to stop “unauthorized noncitizens” from using Social Security Numbers that are fake or belong to someone else.

The audit report looked at “inaccurate wage reporting”—or the filing of W-2 forms on which the name and the Social Security Number do not match. The SSA has long said these no-match W-2s are frequently filed on behalf of illegal aliens. According to the IG audit report released earlier this month, a senior IRS official admitted to the IG that the service knows this is the case.

“Furthermore,” said the report, “a senior employment tax official at the IRS acknowledged that unauthorized noncitizens accounted for a high percentage of inaccurate wage reporting.”

The audit looked at the U.S. employers who in tax years 2007-2009 (the latest for which all data was available) had the worst records for filing W-2s on which the names and Social Security Numbers did not match.

The IG determined the 100 employers who filed the the largest raw numbers of no-match W-2s in those three years and the 100 employers (with at least 100 employees a piece) who filed the most as a percentage of their payrolls.

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Death by Firing Squad for Kim Jong Un’s Ex

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

The ex-girlfriend of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was among a number of musicians who were executed by firing squad on August 20, according to South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo.

The paper reports that Hyon Song Wol, a singer and rumored former lover of Jong Un, was arrested on August 17 along with 11 other prominent artists for violating the communist nation’s laws against pornography. Three days later, they were killed in front of their immediate families and other members of North Korea’s famous pop groups. These onlookers were then sent to prison camps due to the regime’s assumption of guilt by association, the Chosun Ilbo story claims.

“They were executed with machine guns while the key members of the Unhasu Orchestra, Wangjaesan Light Band and Moranbong Band as well as the families of the victims looked on,” said a Chinese source.

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Gay Marriages Get Recognition From the I.R.S. in All States

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Photo Credit: Getty Images

Photo Credit: Getty Images

All same-sex couples who are legally married will be recognized as such for federal tax purposes, even if the state where they live does not recognize their union, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service said Thursday.

It is the broadest federal rule change to come out of the landmark Supreme Court decision in June that struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, and a sign of how quickly the government is moving to treat gay couples in the same way that it does straight couples.

The June decision found that same-sex couples were entitled to federal benefits, but left open the question of how Washington would actually administer them. The Treasury Department answered some of those questions on Thursday. As of the 2013 tax year, same-sex spouses who are legally married will not be able to file federal tax returns as if either were single. Instead, they must file together as “married filing jointly” or individually as “married filing separately.”

Their address or the location of their wedding does not matter, as long as the marriage is legal: a same-sex couple who marry in Albany, N.Y., and move to Alabama are treated the same as a same-sex couple who marry and live in Massachusetts.

“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax-filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide,” Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said. “This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”

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Obama Setting ‘Scary and Dangerous Precedent’

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Photo Credit: WND

Photo Credit: WND

By Garth Kant

One of the most respected and veteran voices in Congress told WND it would be a “scary and dangerous precedent” if President Obama does not seek approval for a military strike on Syria because there is no “direct threat to the United States.”

“It isn’t like the United States has been attacked,” observed Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a 17-term congressman whose tenure extends back to Ronald Reagan’s 1980 victory.

President Obama has been considering whether to order a military strike on Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons against its own people on Aug. 21.

Asked whether the president is obligated under the War Powers Act to obtain congressional approval to strike Syria, or whether consultation would suffice, Wolf was adamant that the president must get authorization from Congress.

“I think we should have a vote, up or down.”

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Obama Ready to Go It Alone on Syria

By Cathy Burke

The White House signaled Thursday that President Barack Obama is ready to go it alone to strike Syria despite the British parliament’s rejection of military action and the lack of a UN mandate.

Aides said Obama believes that Syria must pay a price for breaking taboos on the use of chemical weapons, action which he sees as posing a grave threat to US national security.

US plans to build an international coalition for a “limited” strike on Syria suffered a devastating blow when the House of Commons in London voted against the use of force to punish a chemical weapons attack last week outside Damascus.

US officials signaled earlier Thursday that Obama would take unilateral action if necessary, but the possibility became a reality with the vote, which reverberated immediately across the Atlantic.

“We have seen the result of the parliament vote in the UK tonight,” National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said. “The US will continue to consult with the UK government — one of our closest allies and friends.

Read more from this story HERE.

Glenn Beck: ‘WE DON’T SURVIVE’ War in Syria

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John-Kerry-620x395Glenn Beck warned America in the strongest of terms on Tuesday that military intervention in Syria could lead to World War III, with the United States squaring off against China, Russia and Iran.

Beck’s warning came as Secretary of State John Kerry said it is “undeniable” that chemical weapons have been used in Syria, something President Barack Obama has called a “red line” that would change our approach to the nation’s civil war.

“I learned my lesson [in Iraq], he didn’t,” Beck said. “[John Kerry is] now going to repeat exactly the same thing.”

But unlike with Iraq, when it was asserted that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and was a clear and present threat to the United States, Beck said he hasn’t heard the second part of that case made yet. If anything, it can be argued that intervention is what poses the threat.

Read more from this story https://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/08/27/we-dont-survive-glenn-beck-breaks-down-possible-ramifications-of-u-s-entering-war-in-syria/”>HERE.

Syrians Vow to “Burn America’s Skies” on Obama’s Facebook

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

As the U.S. marches toward war with Syria, thousands of Assad-sympathizers bombarded President Obama’s Facebook page with threats of retaliation.

Comments from seemingly original profiles represented Syrians from the cities of Homs, Tartus, Damascus and Aleppo and more. Warnings of counter-attacks on U.S. soil and against Israel were not confined to one photograph or post, but the most disturbing were observed on today’s picture honoring Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

This comment was pasted 356 times at last check in both English and Arabic:

“We will burn the cities of the United States if it attacked Syria, and will remove Israel from the map.” Others referenced burning America’s skies and called for immediate jihad retaliation should America strike “another Muslim land”.

The second most common remarks were also in English or Arabic and translated by Facebook:

“To the American people: Have you ever asked yourselves why your flag is burning all over the world by protesters? We always distinguish between the American regime and the American people…but if the American people remain silent they will be murders as their government. Wake-up Americans and stand for humanity.”

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British Lawmakers Reject Military Action in Syria, in Setback for Obama Administration

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Photo Credit: Fox News

Photo Credit: Fox News

British lawmakers on Thursday voted against military intervention in Syria, in a major setback for both British Prime Minister David Cameron and the Obama administration in their push to punish the Assad regime for an alleged chemical weapons strike.

Cameron, who has been aligned with President Obama in advocating a tough response, indicated after the vote that he would abide by the outcome. The measure was narrowly defeated, by 285 votes to 272 votes.

The outcome raises serious questions for Obama, who has not yet made a decision on the way forward in Syria but had indicated his administration would need international support for any strike. After failing to win support for an anti-Assad resolution before the U.N. Security Council, U.S. officials were looking to allies like Britain and France to build a coalition for action in Syria.

The White House said after the vote that it would continue to assess its options on Syria.

“The U.S. will continue to consult with the U.K. Government – one of our closest Allies and friends. As we’ve said, President Obama’s decision-making will be guided by what is in the best interests of the United States,” said National Security Council spokesperson Caitlin Hayden.

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Leaked Documents Reveal US Sees Israel as a Spying Threat (+video)

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obama-israelThe Obama administration views Israel as one of the top spying threats facing its intelligence services, leaked documents reveal.

A secret budget request obtained by The Washington Post from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden lumps Israel alongside U.S. foes Iran and Cuba as “key targets” for U.S. counterintelligence efforts. The document suggests Israel does not believe U.S. assurances that its interests are aligned with Israel’s on crucial issues such as Iran and peace talks with the Palestinians.

“To further safeguard our classified networks, we continue to strengthen insider threat detection capabilities across the Community,” reads the FY 2013 congressional budget justification for intelligence programs. “In addition, we are investing in target surveillance and offensive CI [counterintelligence] against key targets, such as China, Russia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and Cuba.”

The White House and the Israeli Embassy did not respond to requests for comment.

The revelations come as no surprise to Georgetown University’s Paul Pillar, who retired as the national intelligence officer for the Near East in 1995 after a 28-year career in U.S. intelligence. Israeli spying, he said, has remained a major threat since U.S. citizen Jonathan Pollard received a life sentence in 1987 in a massive spying case that gravely strained relations between the two countries.

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To Hunt Osama bin Laden, Satellites Watched Over Abbottabad, Pakistan, and Navy SEALs

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

The U.S. commando raid that killed Osama bin Laden was guided from space by a fleet of satellites, which aimed dozens of receivers over Pakistan to collect a torrent of electronic and signals intelligence as the mission unfolded, according to a top-secret U.S. intelligence document.

The National Security Agency also was able to penetrate guarded communications among al-Qaeda operatives by tracking calls from mobile phones identified by specific calling patterns, the document shows. Analysts from the CIA pinpointed the geographic location of one of the phones and linked it to the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where other evidence suggested bin Laden was hiding.

The disclosures about the hunt for the elusive founder of al-Qaeda are contained in classified documents that detail the fiscal 2013 “black budget” for U.S. intelligence agencies, including the NSA and the CIA. The documents, provided to The Washington Post by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, make only brief references to the bin Laden operation. But the mission is portrayed as a singular example of counterterrorism cooperation among the U.S. government’s numerous intelligence agencies.

Eight hours after the raid, according to the documents, a forensic intelligence laboratory run by the Defense Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan had analyzed DNA from bin Laden’s corpse and “provided a conclusive match” confirming his identity. The budget further reveals that satellites operated by the National Reconnaissance Office performed more than 387 “collects” of high-resolution and infrared images of the Abbottabad compound in the month before the raid — intelligence that was “critical to prepare for the mission and contributed to the decision to approve execution.”

Also playing a role in the search for bin Laden was an arm of the NSA known as the Tailored Access Operations group. Among other functions, the group specializes in surreptitiously installing spyware and tracking devices on targeted computers and mobile-phone networks.

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School District Opts Out Of Federal Lunch Program – Kids Refuse to Eat Food

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Photo Credit: CBS

Photo Credit: CBS

At least one North Texas school district has turned up its nose at the new federal lunch program. Many schools report kids refused to eat the healthier meals that are supposed to be packed with whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Carroll Independent School District has dropped out for a year. Nutrition Services Director Mary Brunig says the requirements are too restrictive. “You have to follow exactly what is in this meal pattern, if you are the national school lunch program.”

Brunig says as a result, a lot of food wound up in the trash.

“With the new program in place, the new meal pattern, our participation started to drop. And the other thing was there was food waste. Children were not eating the food,” she said. “If the children aren’t eating the food, there’s no nutrition.”

Brunig says the district plans to create its own healthy meals without federal restrictions.

Read more from this story HERE.