When The S*** Hits the Fan

New #KFC Restaurant Run Entirely by #Robots

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(ANTIMEDIA) Colonel Sanders is raising a robot army to serve fried chicken at a restaurant near you. KFC’s first automated restaurant, called Original+, went live in Shanghai on April 25th, complete with an artificially intelligent robot manager named “Du Mi” who works at the front counter.

According to Chinese news outlet Sohu, “‘Du Mi’ marks the first commercial use of artificial intelligence in the fast food industry. The artificial intelligence robot was launched by China’s leading web services company Baidu during its World Conference in 2015.” 

KFC hopes that the hip new automated restaurant will attract young customers with its free wireless phone charging stations and human-less eating experience.

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But it’s not just KFC, and it’s not just China where automation, robots, and artificial intelligence is taking the place of human workers. If and when these automated restaurants gain traction in places like China, they are sure to be implemented in the U.S., as well. In fact, they already are — though to a lesser extent, for now. McDonald’s and other food chains are experimenting with digital kiosks similar to the self-checkout machines already found in many grocery stores.

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KFC’s Original+ kiosk.

In fact, as we covered recently at Anti-Media, automation is set to replace human jobs across broad sectors of the U.S. and world economies:

“[T]he Bank of England is preparing for automation to shed 80 million American jobs and 15 million British jobs within the next 10 to 20 years. This is approximately 50% of the U.S. and British workforce. Forbes has put the number at 45%.”

The ongoing debate surrounding robots, A.I., and automation displacing human workers is a delicate yet very important one. Many experts, including Stephen Hawking, have warned of the dangers of monopolistic artificial intelligence while others believe with the right direction from people, robots and technology can liberate humanity from manual labor.

The inevitable automation of the world’s economy will reshape society as we know it. Minimum wages will no longer protect workers as employers shift to using robots who will never ask for breaks, pay, raises, or healthcare. Worker unions may essentially be rendered useless. Militaries will eventually no longer need humans to fight wars. Additionally, Uber, Lyft, taxi and limousine drivers, and other driving jobs could soon be replaced by self-driving cars as automation also changes the way we think about transportation altogether.

Automation is loved, feared, and hated by many, but only time will tell how it will change our lives — for better or worse.

This article (New KFC Restaurant Run Entirely by Robots) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Nick Bernabe and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

 

From theantimedia.org Team

#Alaska Man Sentenced to 60 days in Jail for Growing $1.5 Million in #Pot

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Lou Colagiovanni
April 26, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Homer, Alaska — Joseph Gabryszak, 32, of Homer, Alaska was arrested earlier this year after he was found to be in possession of $1.5 million worth of marijuana.

The trouble began for Gabryszak on February 12, 2016, when Alaska’s State Drug Enforcement Unit raided a 4,500 square-foot building leased to Gabryszak and found 1,000 plants that allegedly contained around 6,000 ounces of marijuana, according to a local report by Homer News.

Further complicating matters, in 2014 Alaskan voters passed “Ballot Measure 2” with 52% of the vote, which legalized commercial, medical, and personal use of marijuana. In March of this year, the Alaska Marijuana and Alcohol Control Board began to accept applications for citizens interested in growing marijuana commercially. However, while they have accepted applications, as of this article’s publication, zero licences have been granted.

Gabryszak’s lawyer, Evan Barrickman, argued in court, “What happened here is he kind of jumped the gun on the new marijuana regulations in Alaska.”

The kinks in Barrickman’s argument concerned elements of Ballot Measure 2 that granted cities and municipalities the right to decide if they wanted to allow marijuana to be commercially grown within the limits of their borders. Gabryszak was arrested on February 12; on February 8, the Homer City Council introduced an ordinance to ban the commercial cultivation of marijuana in Homer. A second ordinance was introduced to zone districts to allow for commercially cultivated marijuana. The overall ban on commercial cultivation was rejected while the zoning of districts passed. This means commercial marijuana cultivation is legal in Homer — if a citizen has both a licence from the Alaska Marijuana and Alcohol Control Board and proper zoning permissions from the city. Gabryszak had neither.

Gabryszak had his day in court, and Homer District Court Judge Margaret Murphy sentenced Gabryszak to 360 days in jail and a $5,000 fine. Part of Gabryszak’s sentence was suspended, including 300 days in jail and the $5,000 fine. Gabryszak will spend 60 days in jail as part of a plea deal in which he agreed to plead guilty and forfeit his grow operation equipment, as well as a variety of electronics including a camera, laptop computer, television, and gaming equipment.

Had Gabryszak’s marijuana growing operation been legal, he would have owed the state $50 for each ounce of marijuana, totaling $300,000. The city of Homer would have received $67,000 in sales tax. Instead, the state receives nothing, and Gabryszak owes nothing — assuming he fulfils the judge’s sentencing requirements.

This article (Alaska Man Sentenced to 60 days in Jail for Growing $1.5 Million in Pot) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Lou Colagiovanni and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

 

From theantimedia.org Team

#Costco Begins Helping Farmers Buy Land to Supply Exploding Demand for #Organic Food

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AnonHQ Staff
April 19, 2016

(ANONHQ) It seems that Costco can’t get enough organic fruit and vegetables to supply its customers; and is now bypassing its competitor Whole Foods with a whopping $4 billion in its annual organic sales. In a bid to assist the supply to their warehouses, Costco is lending money to farmers to help them purchase land and equipment to grow more organic produce.

Costco CEO Craig Jelinek told investors in Washington earlier this year “We cannot get enough organics to stay in business day in and day out.”

The financial assistance for organic farmers is only a pilot program and still in its infancy, reports the Seattle Times. At this stage, they’re working with one partner, a San-Diego based Andrew and Williamson Fresh Produce purchase a further 1,200 acres of land.

But Costco is hopeful that the project will be expanded for future farmers if successful. Long-term contracts and advance payments to organic farmers may soon be an initiative of the future as Costco struggles to keep up with customer demand in an era plagued by uncertain GMO production.

Costco has also led the way in similar schemes. Two years ago it worked with a Mexican vendor who initially relied on shrimp caught in Thailand, to diversify. Now, the vendor gets their shrimp from the Sea of Cortez, rather than the Thai fishing industry where slave labor is prevalent.

In 2015, Costco started the contracting process with Nebraskan owners of organic fields. After purchasing cattle, they’re now encouraging ranchers to raise the livestock, ensuring a supply for its organic ground-beef program, Seattle Times reports.

Costco’s initiative is a step in the right direction, but Organic Trade Association spokeswoman Angela Jagiello said “demand is increasing. But we’re not seeing the same level of farmland.” Something that may have to do with the ever increasing stronghold Monsanto and the like have over agriculture.

It’s forcing food chains to buy their own land to produce what they need for their consumers, including Nature’s Path Foods Inc. and Pacific Foods, Wall Street Journal reports.

Ultimately, this move has been driven by consumers demanding a healthier choice. Establishing a sustainably grown organic agriculture again, is speaking volumes against Big Ag companies.

Ronnie Cummins, the international director of the Organic Consumers Association stated its “a transition we have to make if we’re going to address the multiple crises of declining health, declining local economies, [and] declining biodiversity.”

This Article (Costco Begins Helping Farmers Buy Land to Supply Exploding Demand for Organic Food) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ.com. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

 

From theantimedia.org Team

Hiding money in #London

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Michaela Whitton
April 14th, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) United Kingdom — The City of London has long been known as a tax bolt-hole, facilitating money laundering, welcoming dirty money, and turning a blind eye to the investment of dodgy foreign capital. Long before the Panama Papers leak and its resulting embarrassment, stampedes to buy property in the British capital eliminated locals from the market. Last year’s reports highlighting the purchase of over £100bn worth of London property by foreign investors through shady offshore firms were met with little more than sighs and apathy.

In contrast, the leaked documents linked to Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca, have propelled ministers to the podium in a race to prove who will crack down on tax dodging the hardest — a bit like a small child who has been caught with a hand in its mother’s purse.

Leading a debate on tax avoidance and evasion, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said London is seen as the tax haven at the centre of the worldwide system, designed to help the super-rich avoid paying taxes. Urging ministers to go further than the allocated £10 million for a taskforce to investigate the leak, McDonell has called for an independent public inquiry into the Panama Papers.

Claiming shady operations like Mossack Fonseca are being aided by “supposedly reputable” accountancy companies in London, the Shadow Chancellor named four major London firms, accusing them of aiding and abetting the systemic abuse of the tax system — some on an industrial scale. In addition, he named two banks, RBS and HSBC, claiming they have been “particularly proficient” in directing funds through Mossack Fonseca shell companies.

“We should be clear about this: the City of London is now being viewed by many as a tax haven in the middle of a dense network of havens created for the super rich to avoid the taxes the rest of us must pay,” he added.

As the capital braces for another massive anti-austerity protest this week, which will also call for the resignation of David Cameron, Britain has been reprimanded by UNICEF for lagging behind poorer nations in reducing inequality. Meanwhile, the public scandal emerging from the Panama Leaks is due to continue for some time. In the world’s dirty money laundry, however, few will hold their breath waiting for the U.K. government to prove it is serious about tackling tax evasion.

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This article (While You Pay Taxes, the Rich Hide Their Money In This City To Avoid Paying Theirs) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

 

From theantimedia.org Team

#Whistleblower Says #CIA Behind #PanamaPapers Leak

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Carey Wedler
April 12, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) A former Swiss banker-turned-whistleblower has accused the CIA of playing a key role the Panama Papers leak, which implicated numerous foreign leaders, companies, organizations and individuals in offshore tax evasion, among other offenses. Bradley Birkenfeld, a former American banker for Swiss firm UBS, told CNBC  “the CIA I’m sure is behind this, in my opinion,” in an interview conducted Tuesday from Munich.

Birkenfeld originally blew the whistle on American tax evaders using Swiss bank accounts to divert their funds away from the reach of U.S. authorities. He served two-and-a-half years for his involvement and was released from prison in 2012. Pursuant to whistleblower policy, Birkenfeld was awarded $104 million of the $780 million settlement UBS was forced to pay as a result of his cooperation with authorities. Since his release from prison in 2012, he has said he wants “to force the government to explain why it was so aggressive in prosecuting him, but let nearly everyone else involved in the scam get off with light penalties or none at all.”

Focusing on the CIA on Tuesday, Birkenfeld was careful to note his comments were his “opinion,” but nonetheless offered strong observations on the scope of the data leak, which is the biggest in history.

“The very fact that we see all these names surface that are the direct quote-unquote enemies of the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, Argentina and we don’t see one U.S. name. Why is that?” Birkenfeld said. “Quite frankly, my feeling is that this is certainly an intelligence agency operation.”

Asked why a U.S. spy agency would release information that damages U.S. allies, like David Cameron, Birkenfeld said he was likely “collateral damage” in the purported overarching scheme to smear American adversaries.

He suggested the CIA had a calculated role in the way the leak was presented to the public:

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“If you’ve got NSA and CIA spying on foreign governments they can certainly get into a law firm like this,” Birkenfeld said. “But they selectively bring the information to the public domain that doesn’t hurt the U.S. in any shape or form. That’s wrong. And there’s something seriously sinister here behind this.”

Birkenfeld’s comments seem even more perceptive considering German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Tuesday that “secret agents and their informants have made wide use of [Mossack Fonseca’s] services,”as translated by Raw Story. Sueddeutsche Zeitung originally received the leaked data from an anonymous whistleblower before handing it over to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

“Agents have opened shell companies to conceal their activities… Among them are close intermediaries of the CIA,” the German publication noted. Other individuals reportedly mentioned in the leaks included players in the infamous 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, in which the CIA was involved. The Iran-Contra scheme involved the U.S. selling weapons to Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages, then using the profits to fund anti-communist rebels in Nicaragua.

Though the CIA was not explicitly named in Sueddeutsche Zeitung’s report, their “intermediaries” were. Regardless, these revelations taken alongside Birkenfeld’s suspicions can mean one of two things: either Birkenfeld is wrong, or the CIA actually is involved with the Panama Papers and considered reports on their “intermediaries” to be “collateral damage,” as Birkenfeld suggested of Cameron.

Regardless, the Panama Papers leak has faced scrutiny beyond Birkenfeld’s. Wikileaks has called on the ICIJ to make all data from the 11,500 leaked pages available to the public.

Wikileaks also said, “If you censor more than 99% of the documents you are engaged in 1% journalism by definition.”

Gerard Ryle, Director of the ICIJ, has said, “We’re not WikiLeaks. We’re trying to show that journalism can be done responsibly,” and the ICIJ has noted it will not release all of the data. However, it will continue to release parts of the leak in the coming months.

Wikileaks also took to Twitter to accuse the ICIJ of being a “Washington DC based Ford, Soros funded soft-power tax-dodge” that “has a WikiLeaks problem.”

Further, the publishing organization accused ICIJ and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, with whom ICIJ shared the data, of launching an attack against Russian president Vladimir Putin:

“Putin attack was produced by OCCRP which targets Russia & former USSR and was funded by USAID & Soros,” Wikileaks tweeted. Another Twitter post later clarified the Panama Papers were not an “attack” against Putin, but that “DC organization [ICIJ] & USAID money tilt coverage.” USAID, the U.S. Agency for International Development, has been previously accused of corruption. Billionaire George Soros has been accused of influencing narratives in the mainstream media.

Regardless of who was behind the leak — and who may or may not be clandestinely pulling the strings on the flow of information — the CIA has faced similar accusations of media manipulation before. Otto Ulfkotte, the former editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine, a large German publication, said he was bribed by the CIA to write pro-American stories.

“It is not right what I have done in the past. To manipulate people and make propaganda,” he said in 2014. “I was bribed by billionaires, I was bribed by the Americans not to report exactly the truth.” Explaining how this relationship began, he said:

“Germany is still kind of a colony of the United States… And being a colony it is very easy to approach young journalists from transatlantic organizations.”

Noting that “all journalists from really respected and recommended big German newspapers” tend to be members of such transatlantic organizations, he said:

“They invite you [to see] the U.S. They pay for that, they pay all your expenses and everything, so you are bribed, you get more and more corrupt, because they make you good contacts. You won’t know that those good contacts are, let’s say, ‘non-official’ covers or officially people working for Central Intelligence Agency or other American intelligence agencies… so you make friends, you think you are friends, and you cooperate with them. They ask you, ‘Well, could you do me this favor? Could you do me that favor?’ And so your brain is more and more brainwashed.”

He said many reporters in countries around the world “play the [role of] respected journalists but if you look behind them you’ll find they are puppets on the string of the CIA.”

Though some may discount Ulfkotte’s account because it was not corroborated by a third party — and the interview aired on Russia Today, Russia’s state-funded news agency — the CIA has been known to work with other newspapers, including the Los Angeles Times, to manipulate news stories in their favor.

Regardless of whether or not Birkenfeld is correct in his assessment of the CIA’s role in the leaks, his statements on CNBC provide, at the very least, cause for continued skepticism among the many interests and motivations driving the ongoing leak.

This article (Whistleblower Says CIA Behind Panama Papers Leak) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at edits@theantimedia.org.

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From theantimedia.org Team

Jailed #Bankers Freed Early as #Icelandic Government Implodes Over #PanamaPapers

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Carey Wedler
April 7, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Iceland — The world watched in admiration last year when over two dozen Icelandic bankers who played a role in causing the 2008 financial crisis were sentenced to prison. Less than a year later, three of those bankers have been released — years earlier than expected. Their release was predicated on a change to current law regarding maximum penalties, but at least one lawmaker has suggested those who pushed the change through “handcrafted” it precisely to help bankers. News of their highly reduced sentences coincides with an ongoing scandal revealed by the Panama Papers this week regarding the Icelandic prime minister’s previously secret, offshore holdings in banks implicated in the collapse.

Icelandic outlet Stundin reported Thursday, as translated to English by the Icelandic Review, that three bankers from the Kaupthing Bank who were sentenced last year have been released. Former Kaupthing Chairperson of the Board Sigurður Einarsson, former Kaupthing Luxembourg CEO Magnús Guðmundsson, and former investor and 10% owner of Kaupthing Ólafur Ólafsson were convicted last year for their role in market manipulation and fraud. As the Reykjavík Grapevine summarized, “they artificially inflated the value of the bank, deliberately deceiving investors and depositors alike, and contributed significantly to the late 2008 collapse of the Icelandic banking system.”

They have each served roughly a year of their prison sentences, which ranged between four and five years, but because of a change to the law made March 16 regarding maximum penalties, they were released Thursday.

The Icelandic Review explained:

“The main part of the law change is to allow prisoners to double the amount of their sentence they serve at home, under electronic surveillance (i.e. tagged). The parliamentary bill was changed in committee to allow five days of electronic monitoring for every month of a prisoner’s sentence, instead of 2.5 days as it has been. This means that a prisoner sentenced to one year in prison can now spend the last 60 days electronically tagged and in the community, instead of 30 days. The rule change means criminals can now be released earlier from prison.”

Stundin reported they will be able to finish out their sentences at a “halfway house,” where they will be expected to spend every evening but will otherwise be free. After they have completed this phase — Stundin did not specify the exact length — they will be allowed to finish their sentences via electronic surveillance as determined by the new five-day guideline established by changes to the law.

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The change to the law was, according to Stundin’s sources, pushed through the legislature by Unnur Brá Konráðsdóttir, chair of the Alþingi (Parliament) General Committee and MP for the Independence Party.

But not all lawmakers viewed the decision in a positive light.

“I don’t think this is a good time for this legislative change, in light of the situation surrounding these particular prisoners,” Left-Green MP Bjarkey Olsen Gunnarsdóttir said of the modification. “This seems to have been handcrafted for them. I generally support the increased use of electronic surveillance [as opposed to prison]. But we need to have a discussion about what crimes this new law would apply to.”

Though the world celebrated the sentences of the bankers last year, the financial convicts complained of unfair treatment at their low-security prison, in spite of, as the Grapevine noted, “all evidence of their wrongdoing, their lenient sentences, practically idyllic living conditions, and – most galling of all – their continued assertions that they did nothing wrong.”

In a televised interview with the bankers from prison conducted this January, they expressed disbelief they had ended up behind bars.

“We made a big mistake, our lawyers and us, in trusting the system. We trusted the courts, and put our trust in the Supreme Court to sentence according to the law. There is our mistake,” Ólafsson claimed. The ex-banker, who has been called a “corporate Viking,” also complained of the ongoing backlash against bankers. “The community is responding to a certain social group. They are subjecting a certain social group to bullying,” he said. Twenty-six bankers were sentenced last year, receiving a combined total sentence of 74 years — an average of slightly less than three years per banker.

Regardless, the Kaupthing bankers have been now released from jail. The news comes the same week Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson came under fire amid evidence of corruption highlighted in the Panama Papers leak; Gunnlaugsson was revealed to have holdings in an offshore company — one tied to the banks implicated in the financial collapse for which the bankers were convicted. He initially refused to officially resign, instead “step[ping] aside for an unspecified amount of time.” Sigurdur Ingi Johannsson, deputy chair of the Progressive party Gunnlaugsson chairs, will now serve as Prime Minister. Gunnlaugsson will remain chair of the party.

The Panama Papers revelations inspired mass protests in Iceland as 22,000 gathered in the capital city of Reykjavík on Monday evening, many demanding new elections to wipe the slate clean after corruption reached the highest office. The protests have continued throughout the week, though the size of the crowd has grown smaller.

As the current government remains mired in scandal and attempts to salvage its image, news of the freed bankers highlights deep-rooted issues with accountability in Iceland prior to the Panama Papers scandal; Stundin also reported that last week, before they were released, the bankers were allowed to leave their confinement center to go out for ice cream.

This article (Jailed Bankers Freed Early as Icelandic Government Implodes Over Panama Papers) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Carey Wedler and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at edits@theantimedia.org.

 

From theantimedia.org Team

#PanamaPapers: #British Elite Linked to #Corruption, yet Media Only Focuses on Putin

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Michaela Whitton
April 04, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) United Kingdom — Believed to be the largest leak of secret documents in history, the Panama Papers are the latest revelations exposing global corruption. The worldwide investigation supposedly exposes the secretive offshore industry the world’s elites use to hide assets and swerve rules. Based on a library of more than 11 million leaked files, it claims to have exposed a host of characters using offshore companies to facilitate bribery, arms deals, tax evasion, financial fraud, and drug trafficking.

Few will be surprised that the global rich and famous hide their money offshore, regardless of their country of origin. While the Panama Papers are set to identify a cast of characters, from the stars of pitch and screen to political establishments, it’s worth pointing out that the 2.6 terabytes of data hail from just one law firm in one tax haven. They are the tip of the iceberg in spotlighting the shadowy corners where elites stash their cash.

Though much of the public reveres whistleblowers, as author and human rights activist Craig Murray points out, this particular leaker has made the mistake of turning to the Western corporate media to publicise the results. The crucial part of this story, according to Murray, is who is managing the leaked information: the “International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.” He explains they are funded and organised by the U.S.A’s Center for Public Integrity, which includes sponsors such as the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Endowment, Rockefeller Family Fund, W. K., the Kellogg Foundation, and the Open Society Foundation,  which is owned by George Soros.

All roads lead to Putin

Considering those guarding the information, it is unsurprising that here in the U.K., corporate press coverage has shown an overarching focus on official enemies like Putin and Assad. With the media dominated by glaring close-ups of Putin and misleading headlines, it seems the British public are only privy to information about official establishment foes while the misdemeanours of tax dodgers are practically ignored. From what Murray says, the identities of those behind managing the leak could also explain the deafening silence on the hundreds of Israeli companies and shareholders implicated.

With the enemies of the West paraded by British news outlets, by mid-morning only the Mirror and the Metro had given brief mention to the fact that David Cameron’s father and a host of senior Tory figures had reportedly used tax havens for the rich and powerful. David Cameron’s late father, Ian, is allegedly named as a client of Mossack Fonseca, the firm at the centre of the scandal. Using it it to protect his investment fund from U.K. taxes, he is said to have built up a significant legacy, part of which was inherited by the Prime Minister. The irony is not lost on many, especially in view of Cameron’s previous pledges to clamp down on tax dodgers and havens. He has described them as “morally wrong.”

Few will hold their breath for any of the rich and powerful named in the files to be held to account for the details released the latest data splurge. Undoubtedly, it will soon become clear whether there will be any real consequences of a leak of this size, particularly when most of the information will remain private. While tumbleweeds blow through the corporate media on the fact that the Tories were up to their necks in global corruption, Twitter users didn’t hold back.

This article (Panama Papers: British Elite Linked to Corruption, yet Media Only Focuses on Putin) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Michaela Whitton and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

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From theantimedia.org Team

One (Extremely) Important Policy that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump Both Agree on

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Claire Bernish
February 23, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) An increasing number of politicians have joined the call for an audit of the Federal Reserve, including several presidential contenders — most surprisingly, Donald Trump.

Senator Rand Paul drove the recent push for the audit, following in the footsteps of his father, Representative Ron Paul, with a proposed bill that drew condemnation from corporations and the Obama administration, as well as anti-Wall Street Senator Elizabeth Warren. Though the bill was ultimately defeated in January in a close 53-44 vote, the proposition to audit the Fed increasingly garners widespread attention and support.

Though Senator Bernie Sanders, with his apparent populist, socialist platform, might not be such a surprising supporter of the proposal, billionaire mogul Donald Trump is. In a tweet on Monday, Trump asserted:

“It is so important to audit the Federal Reserve, and yet Ted Cruz missed the vote on the bill that would allow this to be done.”

Cruz had backed the bill, but failed to show up for the vote. Sanders, Rubio, and a bipartisan assortment of senators all voted in favor of it.

Questionable Fed policy decisions and the handling of the financial crisis of 2008, namely the multi-trillion dollar big bank bailout, are cited as major concerns by those who support both the audit and oversight of the notoriously secretive central bank. Fed officials ambiguously argue against legislative oversight, and Fed chair Janet Yellen claimed prior to the vote that Paul’s bill would “damage the economy.”

In a statement before Congress in 2015, Sanders questioned the lack of transparency from the Fed in its refusal to disclose which financial institutions had received trillions in “zero-interest, or near zero-interest loans” after the crisis, courtesy of the American taxpayers.

“This $2 trillion [recent estimates have placed the figure above $3 trillion] in zero- and near zero-interest loans does not belong to the Fed,” Sanders declared. “It belongs to the American people, and the American people have a right to know where trillions of … their taxpayer dollars are going.”

He added that tracking where the money wound up seems a reasonable request, and “is why millions of Americans — whether you’re conservative, whether you’re progressive, or whether you are in-between — have come together to say that we need transparency at the Fed.”

Though the Vermont senator favors an audit, Ron Paul previously criticized what he called Sanders’s efforts to “water down” previous legislation to initiate one in 2010.

Nevertheless, however strange it may seem to find Sanders and Trump — and even Rubio — siding with a movement begun in earnest by Ron Paul, the importance of an audit has become the one point where an unlikely amalgamation of individuals of widely varied political camps can agree.

Despite the bill’s failure last month, the push for an audit of the Federal Reserve continues undeterred. Borrowing a choice mantra of government, the Fed should have nothing to fear in transparency — if it has nothing to hide.

This article (One (Extremely) Important Policy that Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump Both Agree on) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Claire Bernish and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, email edits@theantimedia.org.

From theantimedia.org Team