http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article11686.html
Quietly and almost unnoticed by most Americans, the US Federal Government introduced a fourth branch to its political structure in 2006. As you know we already had three branches, they are:
The Judicial: the Supreme Court
The Executive: the President
The Legislative: Congress
This pretty much has us covered in terms of political strategy… but what about financial issues? Everyone knows Congress has no clue how to allocate capital. And the Executive Branch doesn’t exactly have a great track record when it comes to financial matters either (we’ve run a deficit virtually every year since 1970).
Shouldn’t we have a Financial Branch of government? A group of fiscal experts entirely devoted to keeping the US’s fiscal house in order?
Well, we actually do, but instead of installing a branch of smart, genuine financiers interested in benefiting the American people, we installed a bunch of greedy crooks intent on stealing as much of the public’s money as possible with no consequences what so ever.
Ladies and Gentleman, I present to you America’s Financial Branch of the Government: Goldman Sachs.
Trying to detail exactly how integrated Goldman has become to the Federal Government would be like trying to track the peanut butter swirls in Ben and Jerry’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl ice cream. Indeed, with the exception of Ben Bernanke and a few other officials, Goldman Sachs provided all the lead characters for the Tragic Comedy that is our latest Financial Crisis.
Central to the entire mess is Hank “the Hammer” Paulson, our former Public Money Privatizer or Secretary of the Treasury as he is commonly known. To chronicle the full intricacy of Paulson’s web of cronies and the methods he used to funnel public funds to them and their business during the Crisis would require a book, not an essay.
However, one can draw a great deal of conclusions about Paulson’s central beliefs on business and politics by mentioning that one of his first positions of power was serving as assistant to John Erlichman, the central architect of Richard Nixon’s Watergate Scandal: a man who believed that when it came to wining seats of power, it’s best to break and enter, steal, and destroy one’s enemies at all costs.
Erlichman was convicted on conspiracy, obstruction of justice and perjury. Paulson went on to become CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Beyond Paulson, Goldman’s reach in this crisis is virtually unending. John Thain, former CEO of Merrill Lynch was a former Goldmanite. So was Robert Rubin, the Chairman of Citigroup. Then
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
A Former Hitler Youth Warns America (Part 1)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZG2Ju21tKM&feature=PlayList&p=90B3B6C2FE0E78B0&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=76
A little refresher course on how minds are persuaded
A little refresher course on how minds are persuaded
Were Nuclear Reactors the Cause of the WTC Destruction?
http://norfidid.wordpress.com/2009/0...c-destruction/
Very interesting that's the first time I've heard of radioactive fallout being found at 35 separate sites within a mile of the Towers.
That alone is definitely food for thought
Tahil argues that signatures of a reactor were plentiful, beyond just brown clouds of dust and the curious application of the 1946 term “Ground Zero,” to the WTC. Its dictionary definition is the geographical point of a nuclear explosion.
As evidence, he cites radioactive fallout found by the U.S. Geological Survey in samples from 35 sites surrounding the WTC for nearly a mile. Other signs were the speed of the Towers disintegrations
Very interesting that's the first time I've heard of radioactive fallout being found at 35 separate sites within a mile of the Towers.
That alone is definitely food for thought
Tahil argues that signatures of a reactor were plentiful, beyond just brown clouds of dust and the curious application of the 1946 term “Ground Zero,” to the WTC. Its dictionary definition is the geographical point of a nuclear explosion.
As evidence, he cites radioactive fallout found by the U.S. Geological Survey in samples from 35 sites surrounding the WTC for nearly a mile. Other signs were the speed of the Towers disintegrations
FDA panel to vote on painkiller restrictions
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FDA-pa...sset=&cc ode=
No it's not killer drugs they want to pull, it's everything you'd need to combat a cold or the flu. Interesting to say the least don't you think.
Timing is everything
Government experts are scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.
The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen -- the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually, according to the FDA. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.
"It can happen to anybody, but it's very rare," said Dr. Lee Simon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who attended Monday's meeting. "Obviously it's important that we improve the communication about these products because they are ubiquitous, and we still see people inadvertently overdosing."
The drugs that could be pulled off shelves are combination medications, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, which mix acetaminophen with other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The panel vote is
No it's not killer drugs they want to pull, it's everything you'd need to combat a cold or the flu. Interesting to say the least don't you think.
Timing is everything
Government experts are scheduled to vote on whether Nyquil and other combination cold medications should be pulled from the market to help curb deadly overdoses.
The Food and Drug Administration has assembled more than 35 experts for a two-day meeting to discuss and vote on ways to prevent overdose with acetaminophen -- the pain-relieving, fever-reducing ingredient in Tylenol and dozens of other prescription and over-the-counter medications.
Despite years of educational campaigns and other federal actions, acetaminophen remains the leading cause of liver failure in the U.S., sending 56,000 people to the emergency room annually, according to the FDA. There are about 200 acetaminophen-related deaths each year.
"It can happen to anybody, but it's very rare," said Dr. Lee Simon, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, who attended Monday's meeting. "Obviously it's important that we improve the communication about these products because they are ubiquitous, and we still see people inadvertently overdosing."
The drugs that could be pulled off shelves are combination medications, such as Procter & Gamble's NyQuil or Novartis' Theraflu, which mix acetaminophen with other ingredients that treat cough and runny nose.
The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, though it usually does. The panel vote is
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sen. Inhofe Calls for Inquiry Into 'Suppressed' Climate Change Report
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/06/29/gop-senator-calls-inquiry-supressed-climate-change-report/
A top Republican senator has ordered an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency's alleged suppression of a report that questioned the science behind global warming.
The 98-page report, co-authored by EPA analyst Alan Carlin, pushed back on the prospect of regulating gases like carbon dioxide as a way to reduce global warming. Carlin's report argued that the information the EPA was using was out of date, and that even as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased, global temperatures have declined.
"He came out with the truth. They don't want the truth at the EPA," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla, a global warming skeptic, told FOX News, saying he's ordered an investigation. "We're going to expose it."
The controversy comes after the House of Representatives passed a landmark bill to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, one that Inhofe said will be "dead on arrival" in the Senate despite President Obama's energy adviser voicing confidence in the measure.
According to internal e-mails that have been made public by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Carlin's boss told him in March that his material would not be incorporated into a broader EPA finding and ordered Carlin to stop working on the climate change issue. The draft EPA finding released in April lists six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, that the EPA says threaten public health and welfare.
A top Republican senator has ordered an investigation into the Environmental Protection Agency's alleged suppression of a report that questioned the science behind global warming.
The 98-page report, co-authored by EPA analyst Alan Carlin, pushed back on the prospect of regulating gases like carbon dioxide as a way to reduce global warming. Carlin's report argued that the information the EPA was using was out of date, and that even as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have increased, global temperatures have declined.
"He came out with the truth. They don't want the truth at the EPA," Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla, a global warming skeptic, told FOX News, saying he's ordered an investigation. "We're going to expose it."
The controversy comes after the House of Representatives passed a landmark bill to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, one that Inhofe said will be "dead on arrival" in the Senate despite President Obama's energy adviser voicing confidence in the measure.
According to internal e-mails that have been made public by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, Carlin's boss told him in March that his material would not be incorporated into a broader EPA finding and ordered Carlin to stop working on the climate change issue. The draft EPA finding released in April lists six greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, that the EPA says threaten public health and welfare.
Only a flight away? Swine flu followed route map
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N2990339.htm
Health experts are fond of saying any new disease is just a flight away from anywhere, and a report published on Monday shows the new strain of H1N1 flu followed the airline route map as it spread around the globe.
The swine flu virus spread first and quickest in March and April in the United States and Canada -- where 80 percent of airline passengers traveled in March and April of 2008, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto found.
Dr. Kamram Khan of St. Michael's and colleagues used International Air Transport Association data for their study. They said travel patterns were also similar in 2007 and therefore likely to be similar in 2009.
"This work provides the world with a potent early warning system for emerging infectious diseases," Dr. Michael Gardam of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion said in a statement.
"Our analysis showed that in March and April 2008, a total of 2.35 million passengers flew from Mexico to 1,018 cities in 164 countries," Khan and colleagues wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine and published at http://h1n1.nejm.org/.
Los Angeles had the most travelers, with 221,494 passengers
Health experts are fond of saying any new disease is just a flight away from anywhere, and a report published on Monday shows the new strain of H1N1 flu followed the airline route map as it spread around the globe.
The swine flu virus spread first and quickest in March and April in the United States and Canada -- where 80 percent of airline passengers traveled in March and April of 2008, researchers at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto found.
Dr. Kamram Khan of St. Michael's and colleagues used International Air Transport Association data for their study. They said travel patterns were also similar in 2007 and therefore likely to be similar in 2009.
"This work provides the world with a potent early warning system for emerging infectious diseases," Dr. Michael Gardam of the Ontario Agency for Health Protection and Promotion said in a statement.
"Our analysis showed that in March and April 2008, a total of 2.35 million passengers flew from Mexico to 1,018 cities in 164 countries," Khan and colleagues wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine and published at http://h1n1.nejm.org/.
Los Angeles had the most travelers, with 221,494 passengers
The Mosquito, Revised
http://www.newsweek.com/id/204228
Aedes Aegypti is a tricky enemy with a dangerous weakness for travel. Unlike other mosquitoes, it can survive the cold and thrives on city life. The increase of international trade and the accelerating pace of urbanization have broadened its horizon with grim consequences. The disease it carries, dengue fever—debilitating and sometimes lethal—is spreading fast. More than 100 million people in 100 countries are afflicted every year. Fatality rates can top 20 percent. There is no vaccine, no cure and no solution—none, at least, that conventional medicine can offer.
A new strategy involves a subtle reconfiguring of the bug's DNA. Scientists working in labs near Oxford have devised a genetic modification that sterilizes the male Aedes, transforming the critter into his own worst enemy. He can still mate—but he can't breed. Any offspring dies before becoming fully developed. The idea is to release a huge, all-conquering swarm of the doctored insects into the wild, let them find partners among the native females and wait for the mosquito population to decline. Preliminary trials, looking at both safety and effectiveness, have already taken place in Malaysia. Within a few years, the Franken-insects could be airborne.
The idea of GM mosquitoes was first floated 20 years ago. But it's only recently gained the support of mainstream health officials. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $38 million into the research. In May, experts from around the world gathered
Aedes Aegypti is a tricky enemy with a dangerous weakness for travel. Unlike other mosquitoes, it can survive the cold and thrives on city life. The increase of international trade and the accelerating pace of urbanization have broadened its horizon with grim consequences. The disease it carries, dengue fever—debilitating and sometimes lethal—is spreading fast. More than 100 million people in 100 countries are afflicted every year. Fatality rates can top 20 percent. There is no vaccine, no cure and no solution—none, at least, that conventional medicine can offer.
A new strategy involves a subtle reconfiguring of the bug's DNA. Scientists working in labs near Oxford have devised a genetic modification that sterilizes the male Aedes, transforming the critter into his own worst enemy. He can still mate—but he can't breed. Any offspring dies before becoming fully developed. The idea is to release a huge, all-conquering swarm of the doctored insects into the wild, let them find partners among the native females and wait for the mosquito population to decline. Preliminary trials, looking at both safety and effectiveness, have already taken place in Malaysia. Within a few years, the Franken-insects could be airborne.
The idea of GM mosquitoes was first floated 20 years ago. But it's only recently gained the support of mainstream health officials. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has invested $38 million into the research. In May, experts from around the world gathered
U.S.-built bridge is windfall — for illegal Afghan drug trade
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/world/story/70849.html
Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stupidity of it all.
And we actually pay these people to think like this
In August 2007, the presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan walked side by side with the U.S. commerce secretary across a new $37 million concrete bridge that the Army Corps of Engineers designed to link two of Central Asia's poorest countries.
Dressed in a gray suit with an American flag pin in his lapel, then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the modest two-lane span that U.S. taxpayers paid for would be "a critical transit route for trade and commerce" between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Today, the bridge across the muddy waters of the Panj River is carrying much more than vegetables and timber: It's paved the way for drug traffickers to transport larger loads of Afghan heroin and opium to Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Western Europe.
Standing near his truck in a dusty patch on the Afghan side of the river, Yar Mohammed said it was easy to drive drugs past the Afghan and Tajik border guards.
US confirms U-turn in Afghan counter-narcotics policy
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9ec7e174-6314-11de-b803-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F9ec7e174-6314-11de-b803-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fdffed620-648b-11de-a13f-00144feabdc0.html
Sometimes you just have to laugh at the stupidity of it all.
And we actually pay these people to think like this
In August 2007, the presidents of Afghanistan and Tajikistan walked side by side with the U.S. commerce secretary across a new $37 million concrete bridge that the Army Corps of Engineers designed to link two of Central Asia's poorest countries.
Dressed in a gray suit with an American flag pin in his lapel, then-Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the modest two-lane span that U.S. taxpayers paid for would be "a critical transit route for trade and commerce" between Afghanistan and Tajikistan.
Today, the bridge across the muddy waters of the Panj River is carrying much more than vegetables and timber: It's paved the way for drug traffickers to transport larger loads of Afghan heroin and opium to Central Asia and beyond to Russia and Western Europe.
Standing near his truck in a dusty patch on the Afghan side of the river, Yar Mohammed said it was easy to drive drugs past the Afghan and Tajik border guards.
US confirms U-turn in Afghan counter-narcotics policy
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/9ec7e174-6314-11de-b803-00144feabdc0,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F9ec7e174-6314-11de-b803-00144feabdc0.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fdffed620-648b-11de-a13f-00144feabdc0.html
U.S. Companies Seek New Tax Havens
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090628_851524.htm
Just more legal loopholes
Ah, Bermuda. Pink sand beaches. Charming pastel cottages and kelly-green golf courses. Tiny storefront "headquarters" of major global corporations.
For years the archipelago, along with its Caribbean siblings the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, has played host to companies seeking favorable tax treatment. But rising concerns about a U.S. crackdown on tax havens have a growing number of companies rolling up their beach blankets and decamping to far less sunny shores.
Since October at least a half-dozen major corporations, including Tyco International (TYC), Noble (NE), and Ingersoll-Rand (IR), have proposed reincorporating in Ireland or Switzerland. The two countries may have higher tax rates than in the tropics, but both offer bigger tax savings than either the U.S. or Europe. Plus, both have well-established tax treaties, which decide which country has primary taxing rights and help avoid double taxation.
The trend comes amid increasing moves by both the Obama Administration and congressional Democrats to clamp down on corporate overseas tax maneuvering. Much attention has been given to the White House's call to end the deferral of taxes on foreign profits, but the plan will also make it harder to shift profits from one foreign subsidiary to one with tax-haven status. Meanwhile, legislation introduced by Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) would, among other things, tax corporations based in designated tax havens as U.S. corporations if they're managed and controlled here, too
Just more legal loopholes
Ah, Bermuda. Pink sand beaches. Charming pastel cottages and kelly-green golf courses. Tiny storefront "headquarters" of major global corporations.
For years the archipelago, along with its Caribbean siblings the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands, has played host to companies seeking favorable tax treatment. But rising concerns about a U.S. crackdown on tax havens have a growing number of companies rolling up their beach blankets and decamping to far less sunny shores.
Since October at least a half-dozen major corporations, including Tyco International (TYC), Noble (NE), and Ingersoll-Rand (IR), have proposed reincorporating in Ireland or Switzerland. The two countries may have higher tax rates than in the tropics, but both offer bigger tax savings than either the U.S. or Europe. Plus, both have well-established tax treaties, which decide which country has primary taxing rights and help avoid double taxation.
The trend comes amid increasing moves by both the Obama Administration and congressional Democrats to clamp down on corporate overseas tax maneuvering. Much attention has been given to the White House's call to end the deferral of taxes on foreign profits, but the plan will also make it harder to shift profits from one foreign subsidiary to one with tax-haven status. Meanwhile, legislation introduced by Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) would, among other things, tax corporations based in designated tax havens as U.S. corporations if they're managed and controlled here, too
Financial Regulation: Industry Objections Increasing
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2009/db20090626_446404.htm
Obviously NO lessons learned here.
The fucking over of "The People" will carry on if the financial industry has it's way.
There was no shame in the bailout it was just par for the course.
It wasn't so long ago—against the backdrop of the financial crisis and its aftershocks, amid a tide of popular anger—that financial-industry representatives took pains to acknowledge the need for financial reform, even in their own corners of the sector.
That's beginning to change. While few are arguing against revamping regulation generally, lobbyists and industry trade groups are increasingly arguing that policymakers should tread lightly when it comes to their particular constituents. The ever more vocal objections began right around the time that the Obama Administration unveiled its omnibus proposal for financial regulation, on June 17.
Now banks are pushing hard to fend off a new accounting rule that would force them to put many off-balance-sheet assets back onto their books, and thrifts are fighting to keep the widely criticized Office of Thrift Supervision from being merged with other bank regulators. Hedge funds are calling for caution on rules that go beyond basic registration of the investment pools. The derivatives industry's supporters in Washington are warning that proposals to require increased transparency and more systematic markets for the complex financial instruments could drive up costs for a variety of financial and industrial companies. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which called consumer-protection improvements a key part of reform earlier this year, is fighting against the Administration's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
Obviously NO lessons learned here.
The fucking over of "The People" will carry on if the financial industry has it's way.
There was no shame in the bailout it was just par for the course.
It wasn't so long ago—against the backdrop of the financial crisis and its aftershocks, amid a tide of popular anger—that financial-industry representatives took pains to acknowledge the need for financial reform, even in their own corners of the sector.
That's beginning to change. While few are arguing against revamping regulation generally, lobbyists and industry trade groups are increasingly arguing that policymakers should tread lightly when it comes to their particular constituents. The ever more vocal objections began right around the time that the Obama Administration unveiled its omnibus proposal for financial regulation, on June 17.
Now banks are pushing hard to fend off a new accounting rule that would force them to put many off-balance-sheet assets back onto their books, and thrifts are fighting to keep the widely criticized Office of Thrift Supervision from being merged with other bank regulators. Hedge funds are calling for caution on rules that go beyond basic registration of the investment pools. The derivatives industry's supporters in Washington are warning that proposals to require increased transparency and more systematic markets for the complex financial instruments could drive up costs for a variety of financial and industrial companies. And the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which called consumer-protection improvements a key part of reform earlier this year, is fighting against the Administration's proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency.
How a Loophole Benefits GE in Bank Rescue
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...802955_pf.html
the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.
At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government.
The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms. But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE.
As a result, GE has joined major banks collectively saving billions of dollars by raising money for their operations at lower interest rates. Public records show that GE Capital, the company's massive financing arm, has issued nearly a quarter of the $340 billion in debt backed by the program, which is known as the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, or TLGP. The government's actions have been "powerful and helpful" to the company, GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt acknowledged in December.
GE's finance arm is not classified as a bank. Rather, it worked its way into the rescue program by owning two relatively small Utah banking institutions, illustrating how the loopholes in the U.S. regulatory system are manifest in the government's historic intervention in the financial crisis.
The Obama administration now wants to close such loopholes as it works to overhaul the financial system. The plan would reaffirm and strengthen the wall between banking and commerce, forcing companies like GE to essentially choose one or the other.
"We'd like to regulate companies according to what they do, rather than what they call themselves or how they charter themselves," said Andrew Williams, a Treasury spokesman.
GE's ability to live in the best of both worlds -- capitalizing on the federal safety net while avoiding more rigorous regulation -- existed well before last year's crisis, because of its unusual corporate structure.
Banking companies are regulated by the Federal Reserve and not allowed to engage in commerce, but federal law has allowed a small number of commercial companies to engage in banking under the lighter hand of the Office of Thrift Supervision. GE falls in the latter group because of its ownership of a Utah savings and loan.
Unlike other major lenders participating
the world's largest industrial company, has quietly become the biggest beneficiary of one of the government's key rescue programs for banks.
At the same time, GE has avoided many of the restrictions facing other financial giants getting help from the government.
The company did not initially qualify for the program, under which the government sought to unfreeze credit markets by guaranteeing debt sold by banking firms. But regulators soon loosened the eligibility requirements, in part because of behind-the-scenes appeals from GE.
As a result, GE has joined major banks collectively saving billions of dollars by raising money for their operations at lower interest rates. Public records show that GE Capital, the company's massive financing arm, has issued nearly a quarter of the $340 billion in debt backed by the program, which is known as the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program, or TLGP. The government's actions have been "powerful and helpful" to the company, GE chief executive Jeffrey Immelt acknowledged in December.
GE's finance arm is not classified as a bank. Rather, it worked its way into the rescue program by owning two relatively small Utah banking institutions, illustrating how the loopholes in the U.S. regulatory system are manifest in the government's historic intervention in the financial crisis.
The Obama administration now wants to close such loopholes as it works to overhaul the financial system. The plan would reaffirm and strengthen the wall between banking and commerce, forcing companies like GE to essentially choose one or the other.
"We'd like to regulate companies according to what they do, rather than what they call themselves or how they charter themselves," said Andrew Williams, a Treasury spokesman.
GE's ability to live in the best of both worlds -- capitalizing on the federal safety net while avoiding more rigorous regulation -- existed well before last year's crisis, because of its unusual corporate structure.
Banking companies are regulated by the Federal Reserve and not allowed to engage in commerce, but federal law has allowed a small number of commercial companies to engage in banking under the lighter hand of the Office of Thrift Supervision. GE falls in the latter group because of its ownership of a Utah savings and loan.
Unlike other major lenders participating
Paper Avalanche Buries Plan to Stem Foreclosures
http://finance.yahoo.com/loans/article/107247/paper-avalanche-buries-plan-to-stem-foreclosures.html?mod=loans-home&sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=
See it for what it is just another scam to appease public reaction for their outrage
on what can only be seen as a massive manipulation scheme created by the financial banking system and their cronies to satiate their need to feed their greed.
Paper Avalanche Buries Plan to Stem Foreclosures
by Peter S. Goodman
Monday, June 29, 2009
provided by
Somewhere on earth, there must be a more difficult task than this: persuading American mortgage companies to lower payments for homeowners who can no longer afford their loans. But as Karina Montenegro struggles to accomplish this feat for a troubled borrower, she strains to imagine a more futile pursuit.
Ms. Montenegro, an intern at a local company that seeks loan modifications, dials Washington Mutual to check on the status of an application for a homeowner whose income has plummeted. She endures a Muzak-scored purgatory while on hold. Syrupy-voiced customer service representatives chide her for landing in the wrong department. She learns that the documents her company sent in have simply vanished — for the third time since November.
"I don't know what happened," says a customer service officer who identifies himself as Chris. "I don't know if there was a glitch in the system, whether it was transferred from one call center to the other."
Think of the documents as being part of a pile massing inside the bank, Chris suggests. "This pile is not going to be moved forward at any point in time."
Ms. Montenegro and her colleagues suffer these sorts of excruciating exchanges all day long. It is a potent indication of the difficulties afflicting the $75 billion taxpayer-financed program created by the Obama administration in an effort to avoid foreclosure for as many as four million distressed homeowners.
Under the plan, the government offers mortgage companies $1,000 for each loan they agree to modify, then another $1,000 a year for up to three years.
Hanging in the balance is more than the fate of individual homeowners. The administration portrays its mortgage program as a crucial piece of its broader effort to restore vigor to the economy. If the effort fails, foreclosures will continue to surge and home prices will probably keep falling, sowing fresh losses in the financial system and threatening to crimp credit anew for businesses and households.
Yet in the four months since the Treasury Department announced the program, millions of new homeowners have slipped into delinquency and foreclosure. For now, progress is constrained by the limited capacities of mortgage servicing companies, said Michael S. Barr, the assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions. He offered the first signs of the administration's impatience with the institutions that control home loans.
"They need to do a much better job on the basic management
See it for what it is just another scam to appease public reaction for their outrage
on what can only be seen as a massive manipulation scheme created by the financial banking system and their cronies to satiate their need to feed their greed.
Paper Avalanche Buries Plan to Stem Foreclosures
by Peter S. Goodman
Monday, June 29, 2009
provided by
Somewhere on earth, there must be a more difficult task than this: persuading American mortgage companies to lower payments for homeowners who can no longer afford their loans. But as Karina Montenegro struggles to accomplish this feat for a troubled borrower, she strains to imagine a more futile pursuit.
Ms. Montenegro, an intern at a local company that seeks loan modifications, dials Washington Mutual to check on the status of an application for a homeowner whose income has plummeted. She endures a Muzak-scored purgatory while on hold. Syrupy-voiced customer service representatives chide her for landing in the wrong department. She learns that the documents her company sent in have simply vanished — for the third time since November.
"I don't know what happened," says a customer service officer who identifies himself as Chris. "I don't know if there was a glitch in the system, whether it was transferred from one call center to the other."
Think of the documents as being part of a pile massing inside the bank, Chris suggests. "This pile is not going to be moved forward at any point in time."
Ms. Montenegro and her colleagues suffer these sorts of excruciating exchanges all day long. It is a potent indication of the difficulties afflicting the $75 billion taxpayer-financed program created by the Obama administration in an effort to avoid foreclosure for as many as four million distressed homeowners.
Under the plan, the government offers mortgage companies $1,000 for each loan they agree to modify, then another $1,000 a year for up to three years.
Hanging in the balance is more than the fate of individual homeowners. The administration portrays its mortgage program as a crucial piece of its broader effort to restore vigor to the economy. If the effort fails, foreclosures will continue to surge and home prices will probably keep falling, sowing fresh losses in the financial system and threatening to crimp credit anew for businesses and households.
Yet in the four months since the Treasury Department announced the program, millions of new homeowners have slipped into delinquency and foreclosure. For now, progress is constrained by the limited capacities of mortgage servicing companies, said Michael S. Barr, the assistant Treasury secretary for financial institutions. He offered the first signs of the administration's impatience with the institutions that control home loans.
"They need to do a much better job on the basic management
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Beer Sales Fall Off A Cliff
http://www.businessinsider.com/beer-sales-fall-off-a-cliff-2009-2
The great thing about this recession is that it's busting all the old cliches, like the idea that vice is somehow recession proof. Porn is hurt. Gambling is getting killed. And even alcohol sales have fallen off a cliff. Nate Silver plucked this chart from the BEA, which says it all.
And it's beer, the cheapest sorrow-drowner, that's really gotten killed, with demand falling a whopping 14%.
The great thing about this recession is that it's busting all the old cliches, like the idea that vice is somehow recession proof. Porn is hurt. Gambling is getting killed. And even alcohol sales have fallen off a cliff. Nate Silver plucked this chart from the BEA, which says it all.
And it's beer, the cheapest sorrow-drowner, that's really gotten killed, with demand falling a whopping 14%.
A Tale of Two Depressions
http://www.voxeu.org/index.php?q=node/3421
It doesn't take a genius or even the ability to read a chart to understand the economic mess we're in is not going to go anytime to soon.
It doesn't take a genius or even the ability to read a chart to understand the economic mess we're in is not going to go anytime to soon.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Obama administration seeks to quash suit by 9/11 families
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/ju...saud-j26.shtml
The Obama administration has intervened to quash a civil suit filed against Saudi Arabia by survivors and family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The suit seeks to hold the Saudi royal family liable, charging that it provided financial and other support to Al Qaeda and was thereby complicit in the hijack bombings that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington DC.
According to an article by Eric Lichtblau in the June 24 New York Times, documents assembled by lawyers for the 9/11 families “provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family.” However, the article states, the documents may never find their way into court because of legal challenges by Saudi Arabia, which are being supported by the US Justice Department.
The administration is taking extraordinary measures to kill the suit and suppress the evidence of Saudi support for Al Qaeda and complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Last month, the Justice Department sided in court with the Saudi monarchy in seeking to halt further legal action. Moreover, it had copies of American intelligence documents on Saudi finances that had been leaked to lawyers for the families destroyed, and is now seeking to prevent a judge from even looking at the material.
Two federal judges and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals have already ruled against the 7,630 people represented in the lawsuit, rejecting the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot sue in the US against a sovereign nation and its leaders. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether to hear an appeal, but the families’ prospects have been weakened by the intervention of the Obama administration, which has called on the court not to hear the plaintiffs’ appeal.
The Times reports that it obtained the new documents from the families’ lawyers, adding that they are among “several hundred thousand pages of investigative material” assembled by the 9/11 families in their long-running suit against the Saudi royal family.
The Obama administration has intervened to quash a civil suit filed against Saudi Arabia by survivors and family members of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. The suit seeks to hold the Saudi royal family liable, charging that it provided financial and other support to Al Qaeda and was thereby complicit in the hijack bombings that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York and Washington DC.
According to an article by Eric Lichtblau in the June 24 New York Times, documents assembled by lawyers for the 9/11 families “provide new evidence of extensive financial support for Al Qaeda and other extremist groups by members of the Saudi royal family.” However, the article states, the documents may never find their way into court because of legal challenges by Saudi Arabia, which are being supported by the US Justice Department.
The administration is taking extraordinary measures to kill the suit and suppress the evidence of Saudi support for Al Qaeda and complicity in the 9/11 attacks. Last month, the Justice Department sided in court with the Saudi monarchy in seeking to halt further legal action. Moreover, it had copies of American intelligence documents on Saudi finances that had been leaked to lawyers for the families destroyed, and is now seeking to prevent a judge from even looking at the material.
Two federal judges and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals have already ruled against the 7,630 people represented in the lawsuit, rejecting the suit on the grounds that the plaintiffs cannot sue in the US against a sovereign nation and its leaders. The Supreme Court is expected to rule this month on whether to hear an appeal, but the families’ prospects have been weakened by the intervention of the Obama administration, which has called on the court not to hear the plaintiffs’ appeal.
The Times reports that it obtained the new documents from the families’ lawyers, adding that they are among “several hundred thousand pages of investigative material” assembled by the 9/11 families in their long-running suit against the Saudi royal family.
Obama's Health care proposal seen in a different light
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ho-0SHFEgGo&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.infowars.com%2Fobama-depopulation-policy-exposed%2F&feature=player_embedded
Friday, June 26, 2009
If “accidental” contamination is virtually impossible,then intentional contamination likely
If “accidental” contamination is virtually impossible,
then intentional contamination likely
http://cottontopssandbox.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/european-labs-discover-flu-vaccines-contaminated/
The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (biosafety level 3)-a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials. Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. …All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”
Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped to vendors throughout the world.
This leaves only two possibilities
then intentional contamination likely
http://cottontopssandbox.wordpress.com/2009/03/28/european-labs-discover-flu-vaccines-contaminated/
The shocking answer is that this couldn’t have been an accident. Why? Because Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (biosafety level 3)-a set of laboratory safety protocols that prevent the cross-contamination of materials. Laboratory personnel have specific training in handling pathogenic and potentially lethal agents and are supervised by competent scientists who are experienced in working with these agents. …All procedures involving the manipulation of infectious materials are conducted within biological safety cabinets or other physical containment devices, or by personnel wearing appropriate protective clothing and equipment. The laboratory has special engineering and design features.”
Under the BSL3 code of conduct, it is impossible for live avian flu viruses to contaminate production vaccine materials that are shipped to vendors throughout the world.
This leaves only two possibilities
Bernanke warns that meddling with Fed's monetary policy cause harm economy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ks3xDmG8jA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eronpaulforums%2Ecom%2Fshowthread%2Ephp%3Ft%3D197461&feature=player_embedded
Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mas
http://www.naturalnews.com/026503_pa...terrorism.html
Thank God someone is paying attention and willing to do something about it!
As the anticipated July release date for Baxter's A/H1N1 flu pandemic vaccine approaches, an Austrian investigative journalist is warning the world that the greatest crime in the history of humanity is underway. Jane Burgermeister has recently filed criminal charges with the FBI against the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and several of the highest ranking government and corporate officials concerning bioterrorism and attempts to commit mass murder. She has also prepared an injunction against forced vaccination which is being filed in America. These actions follow her charges filed in April against Baxter AG and Avir Green Hills Biotechnology of Austria for producing contaminated bird flu vaccine, alleging this was a deliberate act to cause and profit from a pandemic.
Summary of claims and allegations filed with FBI in Austria on June 10, 2009
In her charges, Burgermeister presents evidence of acts of bioterrorism that is in violation of U.S. law by a group operating within the U.S. under the direction of international bankers who control the Federal Reserve, as well as WHO, UN and NATO. This bioterrorism is for the purpose of carrying out a mass genocide against the U.S. population by use of a genetically engineered flu pandemic virus with the intent of causing death. This group has annexed high government offices in the U.S.
Specifically, evidence is presented that the defendants, Barack Obama, President of the U.S, David Nabarro, UN System Coordinator for Influenza, Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, Kathleen Sibelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, David de Rotschild, banker, David Rockefeller, banker, George Soros, banker, Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria, and Alois Stoger, Austrian Health Minister, among others, are part of this international corporate criminal syndicate which has developed, produced, stockpiled and employed biological weapons to eliminate the population of the U.S. and other countries for financial and political gain.
The charges contend that these defendants conspired with each other and others to devise, fund and participate in the final phase of the implementation of a covert international bioweapons program involving the pharmaceutical companies Baxter and Novartis. They did this by bioengineering and then releasing lethal biological agents, specifically the "bird flu" virus and the "swine flu virus" in order to have a pretext to implement a forced mass vaccination program which would be the means of administering a toxic biological agent to cause death and injury to the people of the U.S. This action is in direct violation of the Biological Weapons Anti-terrorism Act.
Update:
Update with more info
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rense.com/general86/lat.htm
Here is a list of the "contents"
Submitted: FBI OFFICER
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES
Boltzmanngasse 16
A-1090 Vienna
Austria
Date: June 10, 2009
Contents
I. Introduction: Summary of Claims
II. Factual Background
III. Evidence the "swine flu" vaccines are bioweapons
IV. Scientific evidence the "swine flu" virus is an artificial (genetically engineered) virus.
V. Scientific evidence the "swine flu" was bioengineered to resemble the Spanish flu killer virus of 1918.
VI. Genome sequence of the "swine flu"
VII. Evidence as to deliberate release of the "swine flu" virus in Mexico
VIII. Evidence as to the involvement of President Obama
IX. Evidence as to the role of Baxter and WHO in producing and releasing pandemic virus material in Austria.
X. Evidence Baxter is an element in a covert bioweapons network.
XI. Evidence Baxter has deliberately contamined drugs.
XII. Evidence Novartis is using vaccines as bioweapons.
XIII. Evidence as to the WHO's role in the bioweapons program: supplier of the bird flu virus to Baxter
XIV. Evidence as to WHO's manipulation of disease data in order to justify declaring a Pandemic Level 6 in order to seize control of the USA.
XV. Evidence as to FDA's role in covering up the bioweapons program
XVI. Evidence as to the Canada's National Microbiology Labs role in the bioweapons program
XVI. Evidence of the involvement of scientists working for the UK's NIBSC, and the CDC in engineering the swine flu.
XVII. Evidence vaccinations caused the Spanish killer flu of 1918.
XVIII. Precedents: the abandoned swine flu mass vaccination program of 1976
XIX. Inadequate performance of the government in stopping the spread of the swine flu as cover for spreading a pandemic
XX. Evidence as to manipulation of the legal framework to allow mass murder with impunity
XXII. Constitutional issues: the legality v. Illegality of jeopardising the Life, health and "public good" by mass vaccinations
XXI. The Issue of immunity and compensation as evidence of intent to commit a crime
XXII. Evidence as to the use of chemtrails for population reduction
XXIII. Evidence as to the existence of an international corporate crime syndicate
XXIV. Evidence as to the existence of the "Illuminati"
XXV. Evidence of the Illuminati's involvement in the current collapse of the world's financial system
XXVI. Evidence as to the depopulation agenda of the Illuminati/Bilderbergs and their involvement in the engineering and release of the artificial "swine flu" virus
XXVII. Evidence as to the Genocide Agenda by means of Weaponised Flu being discussed at the annual Bilderberg meeting in Athens from May 14-17, 2009
XXXVIII. Conclusion
XXIX. Defendants
XXX. Attachments
- Criminal Charges filed against Baxter and WHO i.a. in Austria
- Criminal Charges filed against Baxter and WHO i.a. in Switzerland
- Parliamentary answers to the Baxter incident
- Excerpt: Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989
Begin forwarded message:
From: longlocksf@aol.com
Date: June 27, 2009 11:16:31 AM PDT
To: LongLocksF@aol.com
Subject: Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder
Hi all,
After receiving many versions of this complaint filed via petitions and all sorts of other emails..concerning efforts to stop the upcoming planned epidemic I decided to do some digging to find the original source. The original source is from an Investigative Australian Reporter named Jane Burgermeister who filed a 173 page complaint with the FBI. Her complaint was revealed through The Natural News Website and that is where I wrote for more information. I wrote to them namely wanting the evidence and dossier this reporter used in her complaint so it would all be together for anyone else to use. And I asked for her permission to use her evidence. I was contacted today by Barbara Minton the Editor of Natural News. She told me the following...
Thank God someone is paying attention and willing to do something about it!
As the anticipated July release date for Baxter's A/H1N1 flu pandemic vaccine approaches, an Austrian investigative journalist is warning the world that the greatest crime in the history of humanity is underway. Jane Burgermeister has recently filed criminal charges with the FBI against the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), and several of the highest ranking government and corporate officials concerning bioterrorism and attempts to commit mass murder. She has also prepared an injunction against forced vaccination which is being filed in America. These actions follow her charges filed in April against Baxter AG and Avir Green Hills Biotechnology of Austria for producing contaminated bird flu vaccine, alleging this was a deliberate act to cause and profit from a pandemic.
Summary of claims and allegations filed with FBI in Austria on June 10, 2009
In her charges, Burgermeister presents evidence of acts of bioterrorism that is in violation of U.S. law by a group operating within the U.S. under the direction of international bankers who control the Federal Reserve, as well as WHO, UN and NATO. This bioterrorism is for the purpose of carrying out a mass genocide against the U.S. population by use of a genetically engineered flu pandemic virus with the intent of causing death. This group has annexed high government offices in the U.S.
Specifically, evidence is presented that the defendants, Barack Obama, President of the U.S, David Nabarro, UN System Coordinator for Influenza, Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, Kathleen Sibelius, Secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Department of Homeland Security, David de Rotschild, banker, David Rockefeller, banker, George Soros, banker, Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria, and Alois Stoger, Austrian Health Minister, among others, are part of this international corporate criminal syndicate which has developed, produced, stockpiled and employed biological weapons to eliminate the population of the U.S. and other countries for financial and political gain.
The charges contend that these defendants conspired with each other and others to devise, fund and participate in the final phase of the implementation of a covert international bioweapons program involving the pharmaceutical companies Baxter and Novartis. They did this by bioengineering and then releasing lethal biological agents, specifically the "bird flu" virus and the "swine flu virus" in order to have a pretext to implement a forced mass vaccination program which would be the means of administering a toxic biological agent to cause death and injury to the people of the U.S. This action is in direct violation of the Biological Weapons Anti-terrorism Act.
Update:
Update with more info
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.rense.com/general86/lat.htm
Here is a list of the "contents"
Submitted: FBI OFFICER
EMBASSY OF THE UNITED STATES
Boltzmanngasse 16
A-1090 Vienna
Austria
Date: June 10, 2009
Contents
I. Introduction: Summary of Claims
II. Factual Background
III. Evidence the "swine flu" vaccines are bioweapons
IV. Scientific evidence the "swine flu" virus is an artificial (genetically engineered) virus.
V. Scientific evidence the "swine flu" was bioengineered to resemble the Spanish flu killer virus of 1918.
VI. Genome sequence of the "swine flu"
VII. Evidence as to deliberate release of the "swine flu" virus in Mexico
VIII. Evidence as to the involvement of President Obama
IX. Evidence as to the role of Baxter and WHO in producing and releasing pandemic virus material in Austria.
X. Evidence Baxter is an element in a covert bioweapons network.
XI. Evidence Baxter has deliberately contamined drugs.
XII. Evidence Novartis is using vaccines as bioweapons.
XIII. Evidence as to the WHO's role in the bioweapons program: supplier of the bird flu virus to Baxter
XIV. Evidence as to WHO's manipulation of disease data in order to justify declaring a Pandemic Level 6 in order to seize control of the USA.
XV. Evidence as to FDA's role in covering up the bioweapons program
XVI. Evidence as to the Canada's National Microbiology Labs role in the bioweapons program
XVI. Evidence of the involvement of scientists working for the UK's NIBSC, and the CDC in engineering the swine flu.
XVII. Evidence vaccinations caused the Spanish killer flu of 1918.
XVIII. Precedents: the abandoned swine flu mass vaccination program of 1976
XIX. Inadequate performance of the government in stopping the spread of the swine flu as cover for spreading a pandemic
XX. Evidence as to manipulation of the legal framework to allow mass murder with impunity
XXII. Constitutional issues: the legality v. Illegality of jeopardising the Life, health and "public good" by mass vaccinations
XXI. The Issue of immunity and compensation as evidence of intent to commit a crime
XXII. Evidence as to the use of chemtrails for population reduction
XXIII. Evidence as to the existence of an international corporate crime syndicate
XXIV. Evidence as to the existence of the "Illuminati"
XXV. Evidence of the Illuminati's involvement in the current collapse of the world's financial system
XXVI. Evidence as to the depopulation agenda of the Illuminati/Bilderbergs and their involvement in the engineering and release of the artificial "swine flu" virus
XXVII. Evidence as to the Genocide Agenda by means of Weaponised Flu being discussed at the annual Bilderberg meeting in Athens from May 14-17, 2009
XXXVIII. Conclusion
XXIX. Defendants
XXX. Attachments
- Criminal Charges filed against Baxter and WHO i.a. in Austria
- Criminal Charges filed against Baxter and WHO i.a. in Switzerland
- Parliamentary answers to the Baxter incident
- Excerpt: Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989
Begin forwarded message:
From: longlocksf@aol.com
Date: June 27, 2009 11:16:31 AM PDT
To: LongLocksF@aol.com
Subject: Journalist Files Charges against WHO and UN for Bioterrorism and Intent to Commit Mass Murder
Hi all,
After receiving many versions of this complaint filed via petitions and all sorts of other emails..concerning efforts to stop the upcoming planned epidemic I decided to do some digging to find the original source. The original source is from an Investigative Australian Reporter named Jane Burgermeister who filed a 173 page complaint with the FBI. Her complaint was revealed through The Natural News Website and that is where I wrote for more information. I wrote to them namely wanting the evidence and dossier this reporter used in her complaint so it would all be together for anyone else to use. And I asked for her permission to use her evidence. I was contacted today by Barbara Minton the Editor of Natural News. She told me the following...
Look up, It's Raytheon's sky blimp
http://antifascist-calling.blogspot.com/
They are watching you
In this context, the public roll-out of RAID is all the more pressing for securocrats and the companies they serve since Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano "plans to kill a program begun by the Bush administration that would use U.S. spy satellites for domestic security and law enforcement," the Associated Press reported June 22.
That program, the National Applications Office (NAO) was first announced by the Bush regime in 2007 and was mired in controversy from the get-go. As Antifascist Calling reported last year, NAO would coordinate how domestic law enforcement and "disaster relief" agencies such as FEMA utilize GEOINT and imagery intelligence (IMINT) generated by U.S. spy satellites. But as with other heimat security schemes there was little in the way of oversight and zero concern for the rights of the American people.
The intrusiveness of the program was so severe that even Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the author of the despicable "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" (H.R. 1955) vowed to pull the plug. Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee's Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment subcommittee, Harman introduced legislation earlier this month that would have shut down NAO immediately while prohibiting the agency from spending money on NAO or similar programs.
When the bill was introduced, Harman told Federal Computer Week: "Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like if one of these satellites were directed on your neighborhood or home, a school or place of worship--and without an adequate legal framework or operating procedures in place for regulating their use. I daresay the reaction might be that Big Brother has finally arrived and the black helicopters can't be far behind. Yet this is precisely what the Department of Homeland Security has done in standing up the benign-sounding National Applications Office, or NAO."
They are watching you
In this context, the public roll-out of RAID is all the more pressing for securocrats and the companies they serve since Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano "plans to kill a program begun by the Bush administration that would use U.S. spy satellites for domestic security and law enforcement," the Associated Press reported June 22.
That program, the National Applications Office (NAO) was first announced by the Bush regime in 2007 and was mired in controversy from the get-go. As Antifascist Calling reported last year, NAO would coordinate how domestic law enforcement and "disaster relief" agencies such as FEMA utilize GEOINT and imagery intelligence (IMINT) generated by U.S. spy satellites. But as with other heimat security schemes there was little in the way of oversight and zero concern for the rights of the American people.
The intrusiveness of the program was so severe that even Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), the author of the despicable "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" (H.R. 1955) vowed to pull the plug. Chairwoman of the Homeland Security Committee's Intelligence, Information Sharing and Terrorism Risk Assessment subcommittee, Harman introduced legislation earlier this month that would have shut down NAO immediately while prohibiting the agency from spending money on NAO or similar programs.
When the bill was introduced, Harman told Federal Computer Week: "Imagine, for a moment, what it would be like if one of these satellites were directed on your neighborhood or home, a school or place of worship--and without an adequate legal framework or operating procedures in place for regulating their use. I daresay the reaction might be that Big Brother has finally arrived and the black helicopters can't be far behind. Yet this is precisely what the Department of Homeland Security has done in standing up the benign-sounding National Applications Office, or NAO."
Mounting Jobless Claims Force States To Borrow Funds
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31565441
Fifteen states have depleted their unemployment insurance funds so far, forcing them to borrow from the U.S. Treasury.
A record 30 of the country's 50 states are expected to have to borrow up to $17 billion by next year, said Rick McHugh of the National Employment Law Project, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
"We are setting the stage for big pressures for states to restrict eligibility and benefit levels," McHugh said. "Those type of restrictive actions undercut the (Depression-era program's) economic and social stability purposes."
The state-run unemployment insurance programs are normally financed with payroll taxes paid by employers on each worker. But the funds' tax revenues are falling at the same time as benefit demands are rising.
Nine million Americans are receiving jobless benefits, triple the number who got checks at the beginning of the year. Experts predict the number of recipients will peak sometime this summer as long-term unemployed run out of benefits, which were recently extended and last for 59 weeks in most cases.
Fifteen states have depleted their unemployment insurance funds so far, forcing them to borrow from the U.S. Treasury.
A record 30 of the country's 50 states are expected to have to borrow up to $17 billion by next year, said Rick McHugh of the National Employment Law Project, a nonpartisan advocacy group.
"We are setting the stage for big pressures for states to restrict eligibility and benefit levels," McHugh said. "Those type of restrictive actions undercut the (Depression-era program's) economic and social stability purposes."
The state-run unemployment insurance programs are normally financed with payroll taxes paid by employers on each worker. But the funds' tax revenues are falling at the same time as benefit demands are rising.
Nine million Americans are receiving jobless benefits, triple the number who got checks at the beginning of the year. Experts predict the number of recipients will peak sometime this summer as long-term unemployed run out of benefits, which were recently extended and last for 59 weeks in most cases.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Before we saw their faces
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-bromwich/iran-was-an-easier-enemy_b_220186.html
If you want to kill with a clean conscience, the faces of the enemy had better be blank. Start to see them as human beings and it becomes harder to blockade and bomb them, to mine, and pollute, and "destabilize." President Clinton had no imagining of the disease he would bring to the innocent in Sudan by the "surgical" missile attack on the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in 1998. George W. Bush had a happy warrior's notion of the fury he would unleash on Falluja when he gave the order to destroy that city after the election of 2004. The Sudan bombing was treated by the American press as a distraction from a sex scandal. The second siege of Falluja--tens of thousands of houses crushed or cratered--was hardly covered at all.
The faces of the people, and not "the face of the enemy." The difference between the abstract and the individual is decisive for imagination. It is the faces that are indelible, as we saw in the streets of Tehran, whether the men and women were holding up cell phones or placards written black on green, or waving a bloodied shirt or bandage; or holding a rock, as some in Iran did, and as the members of other crowds, less kindly portrayed in the American press, have been known to do. It isn't the face of the enemy that we see in these pictures. No, these are people much like ourselves, who don't want to die at the hands of their government--or at the hands of ours, either, for that matter.
If you want to kill with a clean conscience, the faces of the enemy had better be blank. Start to see them as human beings and it becomes harder to blockade and bomb them, to mine, and pollute, and "destabilize." President Clinton had no imagining of the disease he would bring to the innocent in Sudan by the "surgical" missile attack on the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in 1998. George W. Bush had a happy warrior's notion of the fury he would unleash on Falluja when he gave the order to destroy that city after the election of 2004. The Sudan bombing was treated by the American press as a distraction from a sex scandal. The second siege of Falluja--tens of thousands of houses crushed or cratered--was hardly covered at all.
The faces of the people, and not "the face of the enemy." The difference between the abstract and the individual is decisive for imagination. It is the faces that are indelible, as we saw in the streets of Tehran, whether the men and women were holding up cell phones or placards written black on green, or waving a bloodied shirt or bandage; or holding a rock, as some in Iran did, and as the members of other crowds, less kindly portrayed in the American press, have been known to do. It isn't the face of the enemy that we see in these pictures. No, these are people much like ourselves, who don't want to die at the hands of their government--or at the hands of ours, either, for that matter.
Building Obama’s Civilian National Security Force
http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4619-0-5-5--.html
This sounds like the draft to me.
Filner’s bill would amend the United States code with the following: “Sec. 1585b. Law enforcement officers of the Department of Defense: authority to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms… for any offense against the United States.” (Emphasis added.)
The Posse Comitatus Act, passed on June 18, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction, limits the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. The Act prohibits members of the federal uniformed services from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain “law and order” on non-federal property within the United States.
H.R. 675 sidesteps Posse Comitatus by defining “law enforcement officer of the Department of Defense” as “a civilian employee of the Department of Defense,” including federal police officers, detectives, criminal investigators, special agents, and game law enforcement officers classified by the Office of Personnel Management Occupational Series 0083 (the United States Office of Personnel Management is described as an “independent agency” of the U.S. government that manages the civil service of the federal government).
In 2005, the Office of Personnel Management partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to create a “21st century human resources management system that fully supports the Department’s vital mission,” according to then Office of Personnel Management Associate Director for Strategic Human Resources Policy Ron Sanders.
At approximately the same time, the DoD issued a Defense Directive 1404.10 (read PDF) that establishes a “DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce” and rescinds a prior Clinton era directive dealing with the emergency use of civilian personnel. The Obama administration describes the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce as follows:
Members of the DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce shall be organized, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to deploy in support of combat operations by the military; contingencies; emergency operations; humanitarian missions; disaster relief; restoration of order; drug interdiction; and stability operations of the Department of Defense in accordance with DoDD 3000.05
“This new directive is odd, coming as it does after campaign promises by Obama to establish a paramilitary ‘civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded’ as our military,” writes Doug Ross.
According to Sec. Def. Robert Gates, defeating terrorism will require the use of more “soft power,” with civilians contributing more in communication, economic assistance, political development and other non-military areas. “Gates called for the creation of new government organizations, including a permanent group of civilian experts
This sounds like the draft to me.
Filner’s bill would amend the United States code with the following: “Sec. 1585b. Law enforcement officers of the Department of Defense: authority to execute warrants, make arrests, and carry firearms… for any offense against the United States.” (Emphasis added.)
The Posse Comitatus Act, passed on June 18, 1878 after the end of Reconstruction, limits the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. The Act prohibits members of the federal uniformed services from exercising nominally state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain “law and order” on non-federal property within the United States.
H.R. 675 sidesteps Posse Comitatus by defining “law enforcement officer of the Department of Defense” as “a civilian employee of the Department of Defense,” including federal police officers, detectives, criminal investigators, special agents, and game law enforcement officers classified by the Office of Personnel Management Occupational Series 0083 (the United States Office of Personnel Management is described as an “independent agency” of the U.S. government that manages the civil service of the federal government).
In 2005, the Office of Personnel Management partnered with the Department of Homeland Security to create a “21st century human resources management system that fully supports the Department’s vital mission,” according to then Office of Personnel Management Associate Director for Strategic Human Resources Policy Ron Sanders.
At approximately the same time, the DoD issued a Defense Directive 1404.10 (read PDF) that establishes a “DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce” and rescinds a prior Clinton era directive dealing with the emergency use of civilian personnel. The Obama administration describes the Civilian Expeditionary Workforce as follows:
Members of the DoD Civilian Expeditionary Workforce shall be organized, trained, cleared, equipped, and ready to deploy in support of combat operations by the military; contingencies; emergency operations; humanitarian missions; disaster relief; restoration of order; drug interdiction; and stability operations of the Department of Defense in accordance with DoDD 3000.05
“This new directive is odd, coming as it does after campaign promises by Obama to establish a paramilitary ‘civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded’ as our military,” writes Doug Ross.
According to Sec. Def. Robert Gates, defeating terrorism will require the use of more “soft power,” with civilians contributing more in communication, economic assistance, political development and other non-military areas. “Gates called for the creation of new government organizations, including a permanent group of civilian experts
Mystery of 'ghost of Bagram' - victim of torture or captured in a shootout?
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/aug/06/pakistan.afghanistan
For five years, no one would say for certain whether Aafia Siddiqui, a mother of three with a PhD from an elite American university, was alive or dead. Her family did not know and authorities in Pakistan and the US were not saying.
Yesterday, as Siddiqui was produced before a magistrate in New York to face charges of attacking US army officers in Afghanistan last month, that central mystery was resolved.
The devout Pakistani-American Muslim, once named by the US as a top al-Qaida operative, is indeed alive and now in US custody. But almost nothing can be said for certain about her whereabouts since March 2003, when she was last seen getting into a taxi with her three children in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi.
Some campaigners believe Siddiqui was snatched by Pakistani intelligence agents, passed to the Americans, and held in solitary confinement at the US base in Bagram, Afghanistan. There she acquired mythical status - prisoner 650 - whose wails haunted other inmates.
But the US, which has made multiple allegations against
For five years, no one would say for certain whether Aafia Siddiqui, a mother of three with a PhD from an elite American university, was alive or dead. Her family did not know and authorities in Pakistan and the US were not saying.
Yesterday, as Siddiqui was produced before a magistrate in New York to face charges of attacking US army officers in Afghanistan last month, that central mystery was resolved.
The devout Pakistani-American Muslim, once named by the US as a top al-Qaida operative, is indeed alive and now in US custody. But almost nothing can be said for certain about her whereabouts since March 2003, when she was last seen getting into a taxi with her three children in Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi.
Some campaigners believe Siddiqui was snatched by Pakistani intelligence agents, passed to the Americans, and held in solitary confinement at the US base in Bagram, Afghanistan. There she acquired mythical status - prisoner 650 - whose wails haunted other inmates.
But the US, which has made multiple allegations against
Bagram detainees allege abuse by US soldiers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/24/bagram-inmates-claim-torture
Well it would seem lightening strikes twice. Lets all remember Abu Ghraib
and all the liberties that were taken there.
You know how bad it was just for the simple fact they won't release the pictures.
More than 20 former prisoners at a US detention centre in Afghanistan have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs, according to a BBC report.
The BBC interviewed 27 people who were held at the Bagram military base between 2002 and 2008. None of them was ever charged or tried.
The former inmates made repeated allegations of ill-treatment, saying they were subjected to physical abuse, excessive temperatures and loud noise, forced into stress positions and ordered to undress in front of female soldiers. Four detainees claim they were threatened with death at gunpoint.
"They did things that you would not do against animals, let alone to humans," said one inmate. "They poured cold water on you in winter and hot water in summer. They used dogs against us. They put a pistol or a gun to your head and threatened you with death. They put some kind of medicine in the juice or water to make you sleepless and then they would interrogate you."
The BBC's allegations were put to the Pentagon, which denied them and insisted that all Bagram inmates were treated humanely.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Wright, a spokesman for the US secretary of defence, said conditions on the base met
Well it would seem lightening strikes twice. Lets all remember Abu Ghraib
and all the liberties that were taken there.
You know how bad it was just for the simple fact they won't release the pictures.
More than 20 former prisoners at a US detention centre in Afghanistan have alleged they were beaten, deprived of sleep and threatened with dogs, according to a BBC report.
The BBC interviewed 27 people who were held at the Bagram military base between 2002 and 2008. None of them was ever charged or tried.
The former inmates made repeated allegations of ill-treatment, saying they were subjected to physical abuse, excessive temperatures and loud noise, forced into stress positions and ordered to undress in front of female soldiers. Four detainees claim they were threatened with death at gunpoint.
"They did things that you would not do against animals, let alone to humans," said one inmate. "They poured cold water on you in winter and hot water in summer. They used dogs against us. They put a pistol or a gun to your head and threatened you with death. They put some kind of medicine in the juice or water to make you sleepless and then they would interrogate you."
The BBC's allegations were put to the Pentagon, which denied them and insisted that all Bagram inmates were treated humanely.
Lieutenant Colonel Mark Wright, a spokesman for the US secretary of defence, said conditions on the base met
Revenge
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1194891/Pensioners-kidnap-financial-adviser-lost-2m-batter-Zimmer-frames.html
Pensioners battered a financial adviser with Zimmer frames before kidnapping and torturing him for losing £2million of their savings.
James Amburn, 56, was ambushed outside his home in Speyer, western Germany, bound with masking tape and bundled into a car boot.
‘It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath,’ said Mr Amburn, who was driven to the Bavarian lakeside home of one of the gang.
Another couple, retired doctors, joined the kidnappers in the cellar where Mr Amburn was chained and tortured for four days last week.
Pensioners battered a financial adviser with Zimmer frames before kidnapping and torturing him for losing £2million of their savings.
James Amburn, 56, was ambushed outside his home in Speyer, western Germany, bound with masking tape and bundled into a car boot.
‘It took them quite a while because they ran out of breath,’ said Mr Amburn, who was driven to the Bavarian lakeside home of one of the gang.
Another couple, retired doctors, joined the kidnappers in the cellar where Mr Amburn was chained and tortured for four days last week.
Ex-Government Employee talks about CHEMTRAILS
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/25579/Ex_Government_Employee_talks_about_CHEMTRAILS/
Insider reveals shocking details behind aerosol spraying program.
Ex-Government Employee Talking about CHEMTRAILS.
Make sure to listen to all 5 parts which can be found on the right side panel of the interview
Insider reveals shocking details behind aerosol spraying program.
Ex-Government Employee Talking about CHEMTRAILS.
Make sure to listen to all 5 parts which can be found on the right side panel of the interview
Edward Griffin Exposes the Federal Reserve System Part 1 of 12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmgaoX2-nFo&feature=PlayList&p=F8833C858F75B492&index=0
Fed Engaged In 'Cover Up' of BofA, Merrill Deal: Lawmaker
http://www.cnbc.com/id/31528412/
The Federal Reserve sought to hide its extensive involvement and concerns about Bank of America's [BAC 12.35 0.12 (+0.98%) ] acquisition of Merrill Lynch amid the latter's
Source: U.S. Congress
Rep. Darrell Issa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
worsening financial condition, a top Republican congressman said on Wednesday.
See the Memo for GOP Members
"The committee has already learned that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve made inappropriate threats to fire Bank of America management unless they went ahead with the 'shotgun wedding' that was the Merrill Lynch acquisition," Rep. Darrell Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a statement released to Reuters.
"The Federal Reserve also engaged in a cover-up and deliberately hid concerns and pertinent details regarding the merger from other federal regulatory agencies," the statement said.
Bernanke said in a statement to Congress obtained by CNBC that the Fed acted with the "highest integrity" and denied exerting any undue pressure in the deal.
The committee has obtained a number of emails and documents from the U.S. central bank about its behind-the-scenes role in the merger, according to sources familiar with documents.
In an interview with CNBC, Issa said Congress will explore the allegations in further detail during upcoming hearings.
"We can't tolerate government officials using their power," he said. "We hope that we'll be vindicated all through the process as we ask our witnesses to answer some tough questions."
Bernanke is "going to have to answer for this role" in the deal, though Issa said the final package put together for the BofA-Merrill deal was not illegal.
"There's nothing wrong with the deal as it turns out, but there is something wrong with interfering with businesses taking normal due diligence and informing their stockholders," he said.
As Bernanke's appointment nears its expiration, the turmoil over the merger could play a factor in whether President Obama will grant the chairman another term.
"The fact is that Bernanke has to be held accountable for how handled this wreck both publicly and privately, and right now there is serious doubt about whether privately he in fact handled it correctly," Issa said.
The Federal Reserve sought to hide its extensive involvement and concerns about Bank of America's [BAC 12.35 0.12 (+0.98%) ] acquisition of Merrill Lynch amid the latter's
Source: U.S. Congress
Rep. Darrell Issa
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
worsening financial condition, a top Republican congressman said on Wednesday.
See the Memo for GOP Members
"The committee has already learned that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve made inappropriate threats to fire Bank of America management unless they went ahead with the 'shotgun wedding' that was the Merrill Lynch acquisition," Rep. Darrell Issa of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said in a statement released to Reuters.
"The Federal Reserve also engaged in a cover-up and deliberately hid concerns and pertinent details regarding the merger from other federal regulatory agencies," the statement said.
Bernanke said in a statement to Congress obtained by CNBC that the Fed acted with the "highest integrity" and denied exerting any undue pressure in the deal.
The committee has obtained a number of emails and documents from the U.S. central bank about its behind-the-scenes role in the merger, according to sources familiar with documents.
In an interview with CNBC, Issa said Congress will explore the allegations in further detail during upcoming hearings.
"We can't tolerate government officials using their power," he said. "We hope that we'll be vindicated all through the process as we ask our witnesses to answer some tough questions."
Bernanke is "going to have to answer for this role" in the deal, though Issa said the final package put together for the BofA-Merrill deal was not illegal.
"There's nothing wrong with the deal as it turns out, but there is something wrong with interfering with businesses taking normal due diligence and informing their stockholders," he said.
As Bernanke's appointment nears its expiration, the turmoil over the merger could play a factor in whether President Obama will grant the chairman another term.
"The fact is that Bernanke has to be held accountable for how handled this wreck both publicly and privately, and right now there is serious doubt about whether privately he in fact handled it correctly," Issa said.
http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=7880954&page=1
Sometimes the Universe gives you an example
That words just can't extend
Look not at the affliction
But the Love contained within
You see the eyes of a child
Not the age of the life that grows
Contained is Love in a very beautiful smile
With no wicked there to show
And God gave her a special family
To keep her as their own
This child is who lives in me
And it's who I want the world to know
That Love should be lived quite conscientiously
To keep the Universal whole
And it's not to be exploited purposely
By artificial means to make it grow
Or tainted by society
But to retain the innocence of the soul
For all intended purposes the word innocent should be changed to purity
because the word innocence in an adults tend to conjure up the thought of naivety,
and on the path I chose to walk to further the grow of my soul in this life time, naivety was beaten out, and yet some how through the free will of my own, the purity remains.
Sometimes the Universe gives you an example
That words just can't extend
Look not at the affliction
But the Love contained within
You see the eyes of a child
Not the age of the life that grows
Contained is Love in a very beautiful smile
With no wicked there to show
And God gave her a special family
To keep her as their own
This child is who lives in me
And it's who I want the world to know
That Love should be lived quite conscientiously
To keep the Universal whole
And it's not to be exploited purposely
By artificial means to make it grow
Or tainted by society
But to retain the innocence of the soul
For all intended purposes the word innocent should be changed to purity
because the word innocence in an adults tend to conjure up the thought of naivety,
and on the path I chose to walk to further the grow of my soul in this life time, naivety was beaten out, and yet some how through the free will of my own, the purity remains.
Love holds no container
That's not what it's all about
It spreads the joy and slays the fears
And does it without leaving doubt
It does take a special class
But not of wealth or of educations see
But the ability to look through the eyes of Love
To appreciate and validate our world of individuality's
And the many gifts that others bring
That most would look on as quite small
For the lack of their economic abilities
And not for the beauty of it's all
Look through the eyes of a child's smile
When met by one whose tall
Appreciate the innocents that you see
With no judgement there at all
Just the beauty of a little happy face
With the gift to make you smile
And the ability to stop your pace
To appreciate Love again
If only for awhile
That's not what it's all about
It spreads the joy and slays the fears
And does it without leaving doubt
It does take a special class
But not of wealth or of educations see
But the ability to look through the eyes of Love
To appreciate and validate our world of individuality's
And the many gifts that others bring
That most would look on as quite small
For the lack of their economic abilities
And not for the beauty of it's all
Look through the eyes of a child's smile
When met by one whose tall
Appreciate the innocents that you see
With no judgement there at all
Just the beauty of a little happy face
With the gift to make you smile
And the ability to stop your pace
To appreciate Love again
If only for awhile
Frank endorses consumer-protection agency
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Frank-scoffs-at-worries-about-apf-750601230.html?x=0
Should industry groups really be allowed to have a say when it comes to consumer protectionism? Especially since the need for such a regulator comes about from industry's penance for greed and the inability to rein themselves in to feed it without conscience to the calamities of it's cost?
While Democrats seem to be united on the issue of creating a consumer-protection agency, Republicans and industry groups are railing against it. They say there already are enough regulators policing the market and that holding those regulators more accountable would have prevented the current economic crisis.
Should industry groups really be allowed to have a say when it comes to consumer protectionism? Especially since the need for such a regulator comes about from industry's penance for greed and the inability to rein themselves in to feed it without conscience to the calamities of it's cost?
While Democrats seem to be united on the issue of creating a consumer-protection agency, Republicans and industry groups are railing against it. They say there already are enough regulators policing the market and that holding those regulators more accountable would have prevented the current economic crisis.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
State cuts tax exemptions for kids
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/06/23/BUN418BJU3.DTL
California parents beware: Those little tax deductions running around the house are now worth less (in a strictly financial sense, of course).
To help balance its budget, California has reduced the state tax credit for dependents.
The change will increase a family's California taxes for 2009 by about $210 per dependent compared with 2008.
A family with one dependent that normally gets a state-tax refund will get back $210 less when they file their 2009 return next year. A family that normally owes money will have to pay $210 more. Multiply that by two or more dependents, and it really adds up.
This may come as a shock to parents who have been too busy shuttling between soccer games and viola lessons to keep up with the state's budget fiasco. The Franchise Tax Board is trying to get the word out, so families can prepare.
At issue is the exemption you get for each person listed on your tax return. The credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. (The exemption credit phases out for couples with more than roughly $326,400 in adjusted gross income and singles with more than $163,200. This column applies to those under the limit.)
California parents beware: Those little tax deductions running around the house are now worth less (in a strictly financial sense, of course).
To help balance its budget, California has reduced the state tax credit for dependents.
The change will increase a family's California taxes for 2009 by about $210 per dependent compared with 2008.
A family with one dependent that normally gets a state-tax refund will get back $210 less when they file their 2009 return next year. A family that normally owes money will have to pay $210 more. Multiply that by two or more dependents, and it really adds up.
This may come as a shock to parents who have been too busy shuttling between soccer games and viola lessons to keep up with the state's budget fiasco. The Franchise Tax Board is trying to get the word out, so families can prepare.
At issue is the exemption you get for each person listed on your tax return. The credit reduces your tax bill dollar for dollar. (The exemption credit phases out for couples with more than roughly $326,400 in adjusted gross income and singles with more than $163,200. This column applies to those under the limit.)
AIG Trading Partners Squeeze Insurer Before Bailout
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...d=atPG852RVX3Y
The whole truth and nothing but the truth makes for a very interesting story
June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA extracted about $11.4 billion from American International Group Inc. before the insurer’s collapse as the firms demanded to hold cash against losses on mortgage-linked securities, according to regulatory filings.
Goldman Sachs got $5.9 billion and Societe Generale received $5.5 billion of about $18.5 billion in collateral paid by AIG in the 15 months before the September bailout. The payments helped settle AIG’s obligations on $62.1 billion of credit-default swaps that the Federal Reserve later removed from the New York-based insurer as part of the rescue. Officials at AIG, Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale declined to comment.
“When counterparties see trouble coming, they’ll do everything they can to get their money back, even if it means the death of the other firm,” said William Cohan, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment banker and author of “House of Cards,” about the financial crisis.
President Barack Obama proposed an overhaul in regulations last week to prevent the failure of systemically important institutions such as AIG, which needed a $182.5 billion government rescue to stave off bankruptcy. Banks that bought swaps as protection against losses on mortgage-linked assets demanded cash collateral as the market value of the securities plunged last year, overwhelming AIG’s ability to pay.
“It was precisely that drain of liquidity to Goldman and SocGen that put AIG in a position of illiquidity and ultimately threw them into the government’s arms,” said Charles Calomiris, a finance professor at Columbia Business School in New York.
The whole truth and nothing but the truth makes for a very interesting story
June 22 (Bloomberg) -- Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Societe Generale SA extracted about $11.4 billion from American International Group Inc. before the insurer’s collapse as the firms demanded to hold cash against losses on mortgage-linked securities, according to regulatory filings.
Goldman Sachs got $5.9 billion and Societe Generale received $5.5 billion of about $18.5 billion in collateral paid by AIG in the 15 months before the September bailout. The payments helped settle AIG’s obligations on $62.1 billion of credit-default swaps that the Federal Reserve later removed from the New York-based insurer as part of the rescue. Officials at AIG, Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale declined to comment.
“When counterparties see trouble coming, they’ll do everything they can to get their money back, even if it means the death of the other firm,” said William Cohan, a former JPMorgan Chase & Co. investment banker and author of “House of Cards,” about the financial crisis.
President Barack Obama proposed an overhaul in regulations last week to prevent the failure of systemically important institutions such as AIG, which needed a $182.5 billion government rescue to stave off bankruptcy. Banks that bought swaps as protection against losses on mortgage-linked assets demanded cash collateral as the market value of the securities plunged last year, overwhelming AIG’s ability to pay.
“It was precisely that drain of liquidity to Goldman and SocGen that put AIG in a position of illiquidity and ultimately threw them into the government’s arms,” said Charles Calomiris, a finance professor at Columbia Business School in New York.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Congress condemns Iran's crackdown on protesters
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/255/story/70410.html
This is to funny, over in Iran it's fine but if you protest in the US your considered a terrorist.
Congress voted resoundingly Friday to condemn the Iranian government's crackdown on protesters, sending a strong bipartisan signal to the White House that it wants less caution and more outrage.
The House of Representatives voted 405 to 1 to protest the Iranian government's actions, and the Senate followed a few hours later by unanimously endorsing the measure.
The White House said the votes — originally intended by Republicans as an implicit criticism of Obama, but which eventually drew strong bipartisan support — were consistent with its views.
"Obviously we welcome the resolution," said press secretary Robert Gibbs. "We believe, despite the question, that it echoes the words of . . . President Obama throughout the week."
Obama said Monday that while he was "deeply troubled" by the government's efforts to quash the protests, he added "We respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran
This is to funny, over in Iran it's fine but if you protest in the US your considered a terrorist.
Congress voted resoundingly Friday to condemn the Iranian government's crackdown on protesters, sending a strong bipartisan signal to the White House that it wants less caution and more outrage.
The House of Representatives voted 405 to 1 to protest the Iranian government's actions, and the Senate followed a few hours later by unanimously endorsing the measure.
The White House said the votes — originally intended by Republicans as an implicit criticism of Obama, but which eventually drew strong bipartisan support — were consistent with its views.
"Obviously we welcome the resolution," said press secretary Robert Gibbs. "We believe, despite the question, that it echoes the words of . . . President Obama throughout the week."
Obama said Monday that while he was "deeply troubled" by the government's efforts to quash the protests, he added "We respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran
Bankster Bailouts Of 2008/9 Exceed Over 200 Years Of Major Government Spending
http://www.blacklistednews.com/news-4556-0-24-24--.html
The amount of US taxpayer money committed to bailouts over the last 12 months by far exceeds the combined cost of major historical events dating back over 200 years.
The combined amount spent, lent, consumed, borrowed, printed, guaranteed, assumed or otherwise committed to bailouts by the government from March 2008 to March 2009 amounts to some $15 TRILLION.
To emphasize how much money that is, the producers of the book Bailout Nation, put together the following graphic, which illustrates how almost every large one time expenditure of the US over the last 206 years is a drop in the ocean compared with the current level of spending.
The cost of World War Two, the race to the moon, the New Deal, and the Iraq, Vietnam and Korean wars combined does not come close to the amount spent so far in just 12 months on the bailout of a handful of privately owned offshore corporations.
Click for enlargement
The amount of US taxpayer money committed to bailouts over the last 12 months by far exceeds the combined cost of major historical events dating back over 200 years.
The combined amount spent, lent, consumed, borrowed, printed, guaranteed, assumed or otherwise committed to bailouts by the government from March 2008 to March 2009 amounts to some $15 TRILLION.
To emphasize how much money that is, the producers of the book Bailout Nation, put together the following graphic, which illustrates how almost every large one time expenditure of the US over the last 206 years is a drop in the ocean compared with the current level of spending.
The cost of World War Two, the race to the moon, the New Deal, and the Iraq, Vietnam and Korean wars combined does not come close to the amount spent so far in just 12 months on the bailout of a handful of privately owned offshore corporations.
Click for enlargement
Numbers On Welfare See Sharp Increase
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124562449457235503.html
I left in the history for a comparison of today
Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging "to end welfare as we know it" more than a decade ago.
Climbing Caseloads
See the increase in welfare cases for the 30 most populous states, year-over-year.
Looking Back at Welfare Reform
Journal articles on the Nixon administration's attempted overhaul of the welfare system
Overhauling Welfare: Administration Intends To Seek Broad Changes In Assistance Programs (March 4, 1969)
Nixon Budget Problem Puts Crimp in His Plan For Social Legislation (Aug. 7, 1969)
Import Quotas, Welfare Plans Killed by Senate (Dec. 29, 1970)
A House Divided: Nixon Is Likely to Get Tax Cuts, but Congress Will Push Own Program (Sept. 3, 1971)
Many States Reduce Benefits to the Poor To Ease Cash Squeeze (Dec. 31, 1971)
.Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation's total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.
The biggest increases are in states with some of the worst jobless rates. Oregon's count was up 27% in May from a year earlier; South Carolina's climbed 23% and California's 10% between March 2009 and March 2008. A few big states that had seen declining welfare caseloads just a few months ago now are seeing increases: New York is up 1.2%, Illinois 3% and Wisconsin 3.9%. Welfare rolls in a few big states, Michigan and New Jersey among them, still are declining.
I left in the history for a comparison of today
Welfare rolls, which were slow to rise and actually fell in many states early in the recession, now are climbing across the country for the first time since President Bill Clinton signed legislation pledging "to end welfare as we know it" more than a decade ago.
Climbing Caseloads
See the increase in welfare cases for the 30 most populous states, year-over-year.
Looking Back at Welfare Reform
Journal articles on the Nixon administration's attempted overhaul of the welfare system
Overhauling Welfare: Administration Intends To Seek Broad Changes In Assistance Programs (March 4, 1969)
Nixon Budget Problem Puts Crimp in His Plan For Social Legislation (Aug. 7, 1969)
Import Quotas, Welfare Plans Killed by Senate (Dec. 29, 1970)
A House Divided: Nixon Is Likely to Get Tax Cuts, but Congress Will Push Own Program (Sept. 3, 1971)
Many States Reduce Benefits to the Poor To Ease Cash Squeeze (Dec. 31, 1971)
.Twenty-three of the 30 largest states, which account for more than 88% of the nation's total population, see welfare caseloads above year-ago levels, according to a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal and the National Conference of State Legislatures. As more people run out of unemployment compensation, many are turning to welfare as a stopgap.
The biggest increases are in states with some of the worst jobless rates. Oregon's count was up 27% in May from a year earlier; South Carolina's climbed 23% and California's 10% between March 2009 and March 2008. A few big states that had seen declining welfare caseloads just a few months ago now are seeing increases: New York is up 1.2%, Illinois 3% and Wisconsin 3.9%. Welfare rolls in a few big states, Michigan and New Jersey among them, still are declining.
Robert F Kennedy explains vaccines and the autism coverup
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry7toSjjgXE
The truth in a nutshell!
The truth in a nutshell!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Goldman to make record bonus payout
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/21/goldman-sachs-bonus-payments
Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms.
A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm.
Staff in London were briefed last week on the banking and securities company's prospects and told they could look forward to bumper bonuses if, as predicted, it completed its most profitable year ever. Figures next month detailing the firm's second-quarter earnings are expected to show a further jump in profits. Warren Buffett, who bought $5bn of the company's shares in January, has already made a $1bn gain on his investment.
Goldman is expected to be the biggest winner in the race for revenues that, in 2006, reached £186bn across the entire industry. While this figure is expected to fall to £160bn in 2009, it will be split among a smaller number of firms.
Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are among the European firms expected to register bumper profits, along with US banks JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley following the near collapse and government rescue of major trading houses including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland.
In April, Goldman said it would set aside half of its £1.2bn first-quarter profit to reward staff, much of it in bonuses. It is believed to have paid 973 bankers $1m or more last year, while this year's payouts are on track to be the highest for most of the bank's 28,000 staff, including
Staff at Goldman Sachs staff can look forward to the biggest bonus payouts in the firm's 140-year history after a spectacular first half of the year, sparking concern that the big investment banks which survived the credit crunch will derail financial regulation reforms.
A lack of competition and a surge in revenues from trading foreign currency, bonds and fixed-income products has sent profits at Goldman Sachs soaring, according to insiders at the firm.
Staff in London were briefed last week on the banking and securities company's prospects and told they could look forward to bumper bonuses if, as predicted, it completed its most profitable year ever. Figures next month detailing the firm's second-quarter earnings are expected to show a further jump in profits. Warren Buffett, who bought $5bn of the company's shares in January, has already made a $1bn gain on his investment.
Goldman is expected to be the biggest winner in the race for revenues that, in 2006, reached £186bn across the entire industry. While this figure is expected to fall to £160bn in 2009, it will be split among a smaller number of firms.
Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank are among the European firms expected to register bumper profits, along with US banks JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley following the near collapse and government rescue of major trading houses including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland.
In April, Goldman said it would set aside half of its £1.2bn first-quarter profit to reward staff, much of it in bonuses. It is believed to have paid 973 bankers $1m or more last year, while this year's payouts are on track to be the highest for most of the bank's 28,000 staff, including
The Risks of Genetically Modified Foods
http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/647.html
At 3 minutes and 51 seconds into this video it becomes riveting.
"They knew and didn't tell"
We all know how utterly corrupt the FDA is, but sometimes the full significance of this fact doesn't resonate.
This video is a major wake up call.
Short version:
The FDA gave Monsanto and it friends a free pass on genetically modified organisms.
They've helped suppress the science that shows food produced this way is dangerous.
Here are the foods that are genetically modified: milk, corn, soybeans, canola oil and cottonseed oil.
One simple way to protect yourself is to stop eating these foods unless they come from a certified organic source.
For more information on how to protect yourself from the corporate/government criminals that are selling garbage and poison and calling it food, go here:
http://www.TheRealFoodChannel.com
At 3 minutes and 51 seconds into this video it becomes riveting.
"They knew and didn't tell"
We all know how utterly corrupt the FDA is, but sometimes the full significance of this fact doesn't resonate.
This video is a major wake up call.
Short version:
The FDA gave Monsanto and it friends a free pass on genetically modified organisms.
They've helped suppress the science that shows food produced this way is dangerous.
Here are the foods that are genetically modified: milk, corn, soybeans, canola oil and cottonseed oil.
One simple way to protect yourself is to stop eating these foods unless they come from a certified organic source.
For more information on how to protect yourself from the corporate/government criminals that are selling garbage and poison and calling it food, go here:
http://www.TheRealFoodChannel.com
A History of CIA Atrocities
http://www.mindcontrolforums.com/his...atrocities.htm
The following timeline describes just a few of the hundreds of atrocities and crimes committed by the CIA. (1)
CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or democratically elected leader. The people support their leader because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions, redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment. So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal: "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy). It uses every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture, intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictator’s security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants, liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights abuses follow.
This scenario has been repeated so many times that the CIA actually teaches it in a special school, the notorious "School of the Americas." (It opened in Panama but later moved to Fort Benning, Georgia.) Critics have nicknamed it the "School of the Dictators" and "School of the Assassins." Here, the CIA trains Latin American military officers how to conduct coups, including the use of interrogation, torture and murder.
The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6 million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations. (2) Former State Department official William Blum correctly calls this an "American Holocaust."
The CIA justifies these actions as part of its war against communism. But most coups do not involve a communist threat. Unlucky nations are targeted for a wide variety of reasons: not only threats to American business interests abroad, but also liberal or even moderate social reforms, political instability, the unwillingness of a leader to carry out Washington’s dictates, and declarations of neutrality in the Cold War. Indeed, nothing has infuriated CIA Directors quite like a nation’s desire to stay out of the Cold War.
The ironic thing about all this intervention is that it frequently fails to achieve American objectives. Often the newly installed dictator grows comfortable with the security apparatus the CIA has built for him. He becomes an expert at running a police state. And because the dictator knows he cannot be overthrown, he becomes independent and defiant of Washington's will. The CIA then finds it cannot overthrow him, because the police and military are under the dictator's control, afraid to cooperate with American spies for fear of torture and execution. The only two options for the U.S at this point are impotence or war. Examples of this "boomerang effect" include the Shah of Iran, General Noriega and Saddam Hussein. The boomerang effect also explains why the CIA has proven highly successful at overthrowing democracies, but a wretched failure at overthrowing dictatorships.
The following timeline should confirm that the CIA as we know it should be abolished and replaced by a true information-gathering and
The following timeline describes just a few of the hundreds of atrocities and crimes committed by the CIA. (1)
CIA operations follow the same recurring script. First, American business interests abroad are threatened by a popular or democratically elected leader. The people support their leader because he intends to conduct land reform, strengthen unions, redistribute wealth, nationalize foreign-owned industry, and regulate business to protect workers, consumers and the environment. So, on behalf of American business, and often with their help, the CIA mobilizes the opposition. First it identifies right-wing groups within the country (usually the military), and offers them a deal: "We'll put you in power if you maintain a favorable business climate for us." The Agency then hires, trains and works with them to overthrow the existing government (usually a democracy). It uses every trick in the book: propaganda, stuffed ballot boxes, purchased elections, extortion, blackmail, sexual intrigue, false stories about opponents in the local media, infiltration and disruption of opposing political parties, kidnapping, beating, torture, intimidation, economic sabotage, death squads and even assassination. These efforts culminate in a military coup, which installs a right-wing dictator. The CIA trains the dictator’s security apparatus to crack down on the traditional enemies of big business, using interrogation, torture and murder. The victims are said to be "communists," but almost always they are just peasants, liberals, moderates, labor union leaders, political opponents and advocates of free speech and democracy. Widespread human rights abuses follow.
This scenario has been repeated so many times that the CIA actually teaches it in a special school, the notorious "School of the Americas." (It opened in Panama but later moved to Fort Benning, Georgia.) Critics have nicknamed it the "School of the Dictators" and "School of the Assassins." Here, the CIA trains Latin American military officers how to conduct coups, including the use of interrogation, torture and murder.
The Association for Responsible Dissent estimates that by 1987, 6 million people had died as a result of CIA covert operations. (2) Former State Department official William Blum correctly calls this an "American Holocaust."
The CIA justifies these actions as part of its war against communism. But most coups do not involve a communist threat. Unlucky nations are targeted for a wide variety of reasons: not only threats to American business interests abroad, but also liberal or even moderate social reforms, political instability, the unwillingness of a leader to carry out Washington’s dictates, and declarations of neutrality in the Cold War. Indeed, nothing has infuriated CIA Directors quite like a nation’s desire to stay out of the Cold War.
The ironic thing about all this intervention is that it frequently fails to achieve American objectives. Often the newly installed dictator grows comfortable with the security apparatus the CIA has built for him. He becomes an expert at running a police state. And because the dictator knows he cannot be overthrown, he becomes independent and defiant of Washington's will. The CIA then finds it cannot overthrow him, because the police and military are under the dictator's control, afraid to cooperate with American spies for fear of torture and execution. The only two options for the U.S at this point are impotence or war. Examples of this "boomerang effect" include the Shah of Iran, General Noriega and Saddam Hussein. The boomerang effect also explains why the CIA has proven highly successful at overthrowing democracies, but a wretched failure at overthrowing dictatorships.
The following timeline should confirm that the CIA as we know it should be abolished and replaced by a true information-gathering and
Saturday, June 20, 2009
In stark legal turnaround, Obama now resembles Bush
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/100/story/70383.html?storylink=omni_popular
The change of nothing
Just as reality feared
Just another piece of white bread
With the crust removed for ears
Stale from airing yesterday
With soggy baloney from the heat
And the same ole nauseating way
Of leaving puke upon our feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is morphing into George W. Bush, as administration attorneys repeatedly adopt the executive-authority and national-security rationales that their Republican predecessors preferred.
In courtroom battles and freedom-of-information fights from Washington, D.C., to California, Obama's legal arguments repeatedly mirror Bush's: White House turf is to be protected, secrets must be retained and dire warnings are wielded as weapons.
"It's putting up a veritable wall around the White House, and it's so at odds with Obama's campaign commitment to more open government," said Anne Weismann, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal watchdog group.
Certainly, some differences exist.
The Obama administration, for instance, has released documents on global warming from the Council on Environmental Quality that the Bush administration sought to suppress. Some questions, such as access to White House visitor logs, remain a work in progress.
The change of nothing
Just as reality feared
Just another piece of white bread
With the crust removed for ears
Stale from airing yesterday
With soggy baloney from the heat
And the same ole nauseating way
Of leaving puke upon our feet
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Michael Doyle | McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is morphing into George W. Bush, as administration attorneys repeatedly adopt the executive-authority and national-security rationales that their Republican predecessors preferred.
In courtroom battles and freedom-of-information fights from Washington, D.C., to California, Obama's legal arguments repeatedly mirror Bush's: White House turf is to be protected, secrets must be retained and dire warnings are wielded as weapons.
"It's putting up a veritable wall around the White House, and it's so at odds with Obama's campaign commitment to more open government," said Anne Weismann, chief counsel for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a legal watchdog group.
Certainly, some differences exist.
The Obama administration, for instance, has released documents on global warming from the Council on Environmental Quality that the Bush administration sought to suppress. Some questions, such as access to White House visitor logs, remain a work in progress.
U.S. commission warns of declining base security in Iraq
http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtri...0481_06_17.asp
900 people to replace 400 yeah that makes alot of sense and then they're outsourced to.
Can you say government waste because I can and this crap makes no sense.
A U.S. commission has warned that non-U.S. security guards have been proven inadequate in protecting facilities in Iraq. ShareThis
The Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan warned that non-U.S. security guards have been proven inadequate in protecting facilities in Iraq.
In a report titled "At What Cost? Contingency Contracting In Iraq and Afghanistan," the commission, which visited Iraq, said these security guards might have also been denied proper equipment and training, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The commission is concerned that some contractors in Iraq may be limiting training and not providing basic equipment," the report said. "The adequacy of weapons and equipment, the number of vehicles available, and the type of night-vision equipment used are a few areas of performance that gave us cause for concern."
Many large and medium U.S. bases in Iraq have employed private security guards. The report said most of the contractors use non-U.S. nationals as security personnel.
"They are usually hired through labor brokers in countries such as Uganda and Peru," the report said. "Of all the PSCs [private security contractors] the commission interviewed, only one said they have in-country quality assurance employees that supervise the brokers to ensure proper vetting and evaluation of TCN performance."
The report said the poorly-trained security guards were endangering U.S. forces. The commission urged the Defense Department to review its use of private security contractors.
U.S. commanders have supported the use of private guards to free up soldiers for other missions. At one major U.S. base, Camp Taji, the Pentagon approved the assignment of more than 900 private security personnel to release 400 U.S. soldiers for combat duties
900 people to replace 400 yeah that makes alot of sense and then they're outsourced to.
Can you say government waste because I can and this crap makes no sense.
A U.S. commission has warned that non-U.S. security guards have been proven inadequate in protecting facilities in Iraq. ShareThis
The Commission on Wartime Contracting in Iraq and Afghanistan warned that non-U.S. security guards have been proven inadequate in protecting facilities in Iraq.
In a report titled "At What Cost? Contingency Contracting In Iraq and Afghanistan," the commission, which visited Iraq, said these security guards might have also been denied proper equipment and training, Middle East Newsline reported.
"The commission is concerned that some contractors in Iraq may be limiting training and not providing basic equipment," the report said. "The adequacy of weapons and equipment, the number of vehicles available, and the type of night-vision equipment used are a few areas of performance that gave us cause for concern."
Many large and medium U.S. bases in Iraq have employed private security guards. The report said most of the contractors use non-U.S. nationals as security personnel.
"They are usually hired through labor brokers in countries such as Uganda and Peru," the report said. "Of all the PSCs [private security contractors] the commission interviewed, only one said they have in-country quality assurance employees that supervise the brokers to ensure proper vetting and evaluation of TCN performance."
The report said the poorly-trained security guards were endangering U.S. forces. The commission urged the Defense Department to review its use of private security contractors.
U.S. commanders have supported the use of private guards to free up soldiers for other missions. At one major U.S. base, Camp Taji, the Pentagon approved the assignment of more than 900 private security personnel to release 400 U.S. soldiers for combat duties
Friday, June 19, 2009
US regulators close 3 small banks
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/US-regulators-close-3-small-apf-3026110925.html?x=0
Regulators on Friday shut down three small banks, pushing this year's tally of failed banks to 40.
One bank was in North Carolina, another in Georgia, and the third was in Kansas. The wave of bank failures is expected to continue throughout the year as the weak housing market and rising unemployment rate cause more borrowers to default on their loans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, N.C., Southern Community Bank of Fayetteville, Ga., and First National Bank of Anthony in Anthony, Kan.
The FDIC agreed to have First Bank of Troy, N.C., take over Cooperative Bank's 24 branches and nearly all of its assets. Cooperative Bank had total assets of $970 million and total deposits of $774 million.
United Community Bank of Blairsville, Ga., will assume Southern Community bank's five branches, its $307 million in deposits, and nearly all of its $377 million in assets.
And Bank of Kansas of South Hutchinson, Kan., will acquire First National Bank of Anthony's six branches, its $142.5 million in deposits, and nearly all of its $156.9 million in assets.
The FDIC will retain the remaining unacquired assets of all three failed banks to sell later. And
Regulators on Friday shut down three small banks, pushing this year's tally of failed banks to 40.
One bank was in North Carolina, another in Georgia, and the third was in Kansas. The wave of bank failures is expected to continue throughout the year as the weak housing market and rising unemployment rate cause more borrowers to default on their loans.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of Cooperative Bank of Wilmington, N.C., Southern Community Bank of Fayetteville, Ga., and First National Bank of Anthony in Anthony, Kan.
The FDIC agreed to have First Bank of Troy, N.C., take over Cooperative Bank's 24 branches and nearly all of its assets. Cooperative Bank had total assets of $970 million and total deposits of $774 million.
United Community Bank of Blairsville, Ga., will assume Southern Community bank's five branches, its $307 million in deposits, and nearly all of its $377 million in assets.
And Bank of Kansas of South Hutchinson, Kan., will acquire First National Bank of Anthony's six branches, its $142.5 million in deposits, and nearly all of its $156.9 million in assets.
The FDIC will retain the remaining unacquired assets of all three failed banks to sell later. And
Power Writes History
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/C-bac-ms-economy-banks-wfc/index/a/23189/from/home
The government's white paper describing the causes and effects of the financial crises provides the rationale for President Obama's proposals for reform. Conveniently, nowhere does the paper mention the actual primary causes:
1. The Federal Reserve kept real interest rates negative for nearly five years. Negative interest rates are an abomination, a radiation to proper pricing of risk:they encourage if
not force excessive risk-taking.
2. The Federal Reserve kept margin requirements at banks too low for too long.
3. The shoddy monitoring of off-balance sheet leverage and derivatives, both of which accelerated leverage to unparalleled levels.
4. The Congressional creation and support of the GSEs, which guaranteed and bought debt that would otherwise never been made because of its quality.
Of course the banking industry played along. Unfortunately, the private market will always take advantage of shoddy government regulation. But the private market never would have had the fuel or the risky inclinations if not for the above.
But the above wasn't mentioned, because the paper was written by those culpable.
Now we are about to give the very institution, a private bank with its own shareholders and where only half its board members are appointed by the government, undefined powers. Ron Paul has nearly half of Congress willing to support a bill to audit the Fed. It can't come soon enough. We know a lot more about the operations of the CIA than we do about the operations of the Fed, whose operations that always devalue our currency.
We will rue the day that we gave this power to the Fed. The power is undefined; they have carte blanche. We should by now all realize the destruction for which the Fed is already responsible.
Risk is high.
The government's white paper describing the causes and effects of the financial crises provides the rationale for President Obama's proposals for reform. Conveniently, nowhere does the paper mention the actual primary causes:
1. The Federal Reserve kept real interest rates negative for nearly five years. Negative interest rates are an abomination, a radiation to proper pricing of risk:they encourage if
not force excessive risk-taking.
2. The Federal Reserve kept margin requirements at banks too low for too long.
3. The shoddy monitoring of off-balance sheet leverage and derivatives, both of which accelerated leverage to unparalleled levels.
4. The Congressional creation and support of the GSEs, which guaranteed and bought debt that would otherwise never been made because of its quality.
Of course the banking industry played along. Unfortunately, the private market will always take advantage of shoddy government regulation. But the private market never would have had the fuel or the risky inclinations if not for the above.
But the above wasn't mentioned, because the paper was written by those culpable.
Now we are about to give the very institution, a private bank with its own shareholders and where only half its board members are appointed by the government, undefined powers. Ron Paul has nearly half of Congress willing to support a bill to audit the Fed. It can't come soon enough. We know a lot more about the operations of the CIA than we do about the operations of the Fed, whose operations that always devalue our currency.
We will rue the day that we gave this power to the Fed. The power is undefined; they have carte blanche. We should by now all realize the destruction for which the Fed is already responsible.
Risk is high.
Wall Street Critic Inspired New Consumer-Protection Agency
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124545888032233137.html
Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Warren dined for three hours with White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers two months ago, and discussed over curry her idea for an agency to protect consumers from bad financial products.
This past week, President Barack Obama announced his plan to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, endorsing Ms. Warren's idea and causing an uproar in the financial-services industry.
Ms. Warren, for years a scourge of Wall Street, has emerged as an influential force in the administration's overhaul of financial regulations. The White House said the agency she helped inspire would strengthen consumer protection in areas including credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. If approved by Congress, it would be able to write new rules governing how products can be sold.
Harvard University law professor Elizabeth Warren dined for three hours with White House economic adviser Lawrence Summers two months ago, and discussed over curry her idea for an agency to protect consumers from bad financial products.
This past week, President Barack Obama announced his plan to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, endorsing Ms. Warren's idea and causing an uproar in the financial-services industry.
Ms. Warren, for years a scourge of Wall Street, has emerged as an influential force in the administration's overhaul of financial regulations. The White House said the agency she helped inspire would strengthen consumer protection in areas including credit cards, mortgages and other financial products. If approved by Congress, it would be able to write new rules governing how products can be sold.
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A
This is a lecture by Elizabeth that's an hour long but it an hour well spent.
After your finished you will fully understand that the collapse of the middle class was eminent and why.
She is an advocate of "The People"
This is a lecture by Elizabeth that's an hour long but it an hour well spent.
After your finished you will fully understand that the collapse of the middle class was eminent and why.
She is an advocate of "The People"
Obama's Doctor Knocks ObamaCare
http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/18/obama-doctor-knocks-obamacare-business-healthcare-obamas-doctor.html
Scheiner, 71, was Obama's doctor from 1987 until he entered the White House; he vouched for the then-candidate's "excellent health" in a letter last year. He's still an enthusiastic Obama supporter, but he worries about whether the health care legislation currently making its way through Congress will actually do any good, particularly for doctors like himself who practice general medicine. "I'm not sure he really understands what we face in primary care," Scheiner says.
Scheiner takes a few other shots too. Looking at Obama's team of health advisors, Scheiner doesn't see anyone who's actually in the trenches. "I have a suspicion they pick people from the top echelon of medicine, people who write about it but haven't been struggling in it," he says.
Scheiner is critical of Obama's pick for Health and Human Services secretary--Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who used to work as the chief lobbyist for her state's trial lawyers association.
Scheiner, 71, was Obama's doctor from 1987 until he entered the White House; he vouched for the then-candidate's "excellent health" in a letter last year. He's still an enthusiastic Obama supporter, but he worries about whether the health care legislation currently making its way through Congress will actually do any good, particularly for doctors like himself who practice general medicine. "I'm not sure he really understands what we face in primary care," Scheiner says.
Scheiner takes a few other shots too. Looking at Obama's team of health advisors, Scheiner doesn't see anyone who's actually in the trenches. "I have a suspicion they pick people from the top echelon of medicine, people who write about it but haven't been struggling in it," he says.
Scheiner is critical of Obama's pick for Health and Human Services secretary--Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who used to work as the chief lobbyist for her state's trial lawyers association.
Bernanke in Denial 2005-2007
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INmqvibv4UU
Do you really trust this man with more power.
Do you really trust this man with more power.
100% PROOF THAT CHEMTRAILS CAUSE DEATH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIUACk46TU8&feature=related
Look up people, see what they're doing
Look up people, see what they're doing
Nestle recalls all refrigerated Toll House dough
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nestle...sset=&cco de=
They say the ice cream is safe but it has raw dough in it to. Perhaps a better to be safe than sorry attitude would be best.
The recall includes refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tubs, cookie dough tubes, limited edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and Ultimates cookie bar dough. Nestle said about 300,000 cases of Nestle Toll House cookie dough are affected by the recall, which covers chocolate chip dough, gingerbread, sugar, peanut butter dough and other varieties.
The FDA said consumers should not try to cook the dough, even though it would be safe to eat if cooked, because the bacteria could move to their hands and to countertops and other cooking surfaces
They say the ice cream is safe but it has raw dough in it to. Perhaps a better to be safe than sorry attitude would be best.
The recall includes refrigerated cookie bar dough, cookie dough tubs, cookie dough tubes, limited edition cookie dough items, seasonal cookie dough and Ultimates cookie bar dough. Nestle said about 300,000 cases of Nestle Toll House cookie dough are affected by the recall, which covers chocolate chip dough, gingerbread, sugar, peanut butter dough and other varieties.
The FDA said consumers should not try to cook the dough, even though it would be safe to eat if cooked, because the bacteria could move to their hands and to countertops and other cooking surfaces
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Obama's plan for Fed worries some in Congress
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Obamas-plan-for-Fed-worries-apf-869253138.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=1&asset=&ccode=
One can only hope the voice of common sense overrules the FED lunacy
President Barack Obama's plan to transform the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator ran into skepticism Thursday from lawmakers who worry that the central bank is not the best suited to keep an eye on firms deemed so big and influential that their demise could hurt the economy.
Democrats and Republicans voiced misgivings as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began a marathon day of selling Obama's financial regulatory plan to give the Fed more authority, create a new consumer protection agency and bring unregulated sectors of the financial markets under government oversight.
"I do not believe that we can reasonably expect the Fed or any other agency to effectively play so many roles," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., noting that it also sets monetary policy, regulates banks and handles an array of other functions.
Some lawmakers have called for a council of regulators, not a single agency, to oversee and regulate large institutions.
The administration did propose a council to watch for products and trends that could pose widespread risks, but chose not to give it regulatory power to supervise specific institutions
One can only hope the voice of common sense overrules the FED lunacy
President Barack Obama's plan to transform the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator ran into skepticism Thursday from lawmakers who worry that the central bank is not the best suited to keep an eye on firms deemed so big and influential that their demise could hurt the economy.
Democrats and Republicans voiced misgivings as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began a marathon day of selling Obama's financial regulatory plan to give the Fed more authority, create a new consumer protection agency and bring unregulated sectors of the financial markets under government oversight.
"I do not believe that we can reasonably expect the Fed or any other agency to effectively play so many roles," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., noting that it also sets monetary policy, regulates banks and handles an array of other functions.
Some lawmakers have called for a council of regulators, not a single agency, to oversee and regulate large institutions.
The administration did propose a council to watch for products and trends that could pose widespread risks, but chose not to give it regulatory power to supervise specific institutions
Total US jobless rolls drop sharply to nearly 6.7M
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Total-US-jobless-rolls-drop-apf-1306581616.html?x=0&sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=
The power of the spin
The drop in continuing claims could signal a slowing in the rise of the unemployment rate, which reached a 25-year high of 9.4 percent in May. Many economists forecast the rate could reach 10 percent by the end of the year.
Still, millions of Americans are receiving unemployment compensation under an emergency federal program authorized by Congress last summer and extended by the Obama administration's stimulus package.
About 2.36 million people received benefits under that program in the week ending May 30, an increase of more than 102,000 from the previous week. That's in addition to the 6.7 million people receiving benefits under the 26-week program typically provided by states.
The power of the spin
The drop in continuing claims could signal a slowing in the rise of the unemployment rate, which reached a 25-year high of 9.4 percent in May. Many economists forecast the rate could reach 10 percent by the end of the year.
Still, millions of Americans are receiving unemployment compensation under an emergency federal program authorized by Congress last summer and extended by the Obama administration's stimulus package.
About 2.36 million people received benefits under that program in the week ending May 30, an increase of more than 102,000 from the previous week. That's in addition to the 6.7 million people receiving benefits under the 26-week program typically provided by states.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ritalin ADHD Drug Linked to 500 Percent Increased Risk of Sudden Death in Children
http://www.naturalnews.com/026459_ad...s_ritalin.html
Just how dangerous are the amphetamine stimulant drugs prescribed for children with so-called ADHD? According to scientific research funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health, drugs such as Ritalin increase the risk of sudden death by five hundred percent among children and teens.
In these cases of sudden death, the child suddenly collapses and dies, only to be discovered later by parents or siblings. That's what happened to Matthew Hohmann in 2004 (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMo...), and according to this new research, it keeps happening to more and more children at a rate that's 500 percent higher than would be considered typical for children of a similar age and health status.
ADHD drugs like Ritalin are, of course, amphetamine stimulants. They used to be sold on the street as "speed," but now they're prescribed by psychiatrists to children after a subjective diagnosis of a fictitious disease: ADHD -- a "disorder" which has no measurable biological symptoms whatsoever.
Interestingly, the FDA banned ephedra, an herbal stimulant, after a handful of consumers died from consuming huge amounts of the herb in a desperate effort to lose weight. In that case, in banning the herb, the FDA announced "the risks outweigh the benefits," declaring that "ephedra is not safe at any dose."
In great contrast to that, even as children are literally dropping dead after taking ADHD drugs, the FDA is now insisting "the benefits are worth the risks."
Just how dangerous are the amphetamine stimulant drugs prescribed for children with so-called ADHD? According to scientific research funded by the FDA and the National Institute of Mental Health, drugs such as Ritalin increase the risk of sudden death by five hundred percent among children and teens.
In these cases of sudden death, the child suddenly collapses and dies, only to be discovered later by parents or siblings. That's what happened to Matthew Hohmann in 2004 (http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMo...), and according to this new research, it keeps happening to more and more children at a rate that's 500 percent higher than would be considered typical for children of a similar age and health status.
ADHD drugs like Ritalin are, of course, amphetamine stimulants. They used to be sold on the street as "speed," but now they're prescribed by psychiatrists to children after a subjective diagnosis of a fictitious disease: ADHD -- a "disorder" which has no measurable biological symptoms whatsoever.
Interestingly, the FDA banned ephedra, an herbal stimulant, after a handful of consumers died from consuming huge amounts of the herb in a desperate effort to lose weight. In that case, in banning the herb, the FDA announced "the risks outweigh the benefits," declaring that "ephedra is not safe at any dose."
In great contrast to that, even as children are literally dropping dead after taking ADHD drugs, the FDA is now insisting "the benefits are worth the risks."
The American Empire Is Bankrupt
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/20090614_the_american_empire_is_bankrupt/
This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful.
Barack Obama, and the criminal class on Wall Street, aided by a corporate media that continues to peddle fatuous gossip and trash talk as news while we endure the greatest economic crisis in our history, may have fooled us, but the rest of the world knows we are bankrupt. And these nations are damned if they are going to continue to prop up an inflated dollar and sustain the massive federal budget deficits, swollen to over $2 trillion, which fund America’s imperial expansion in Eurasia and our system of casino capitalism. They have us by the throat. They are about to squeeze.
There are meetings being held Monday and Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, (formerly Sverdlovsk) among Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other top officials of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The United States, which asked to attend, was denied admittance. Watch what happens there carefully. The gathering is, in the words of economist Michael Hudson, “the most important meeting of the 21st century so far.”
This week marks the end of the dollar’s reign as the world’s reserve currency. It marks the start of a terrible period of economic and political decline in the United States. And it signals the last gasp of the American imperium. That’s over. It is not coming back. And what is to come will be very, very painful.
Barack Obama, and the criminal class on Wall Street, aided by a corporate media that continues to peddle fatuous gossip and trash talk as news while we endure the greatest economic crisis in our history, may have fooled us, but the rest of the world knows we are bankrupt. And these nations are damned if they are going to continue to prop up an inflated dollar and sustain the massive federal budget deficits, swollen to over $2 trillion, which fund America’s imperial expansion in Eurasia and our system of casino capitalism. They have us by the throat. They are about to squeeze.
There are meetings being held Monday and Tuesday in Yekaterinburg, Russia, (formerly Sverdlovsk) among Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and other top officials of the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization. The United States, which asked to attend, was denied admittance. Watch what happens there carefully. The gathering is, in the words of economist Michael Hudson, “the most important meeting of the 21st century so far.”
The Mysterious Case of the Seized Bearer Bonds, Worth $134 Billion
http://watchingthewatchers.org/article/18160/case-134-billion-seized-bearer
The US media has been generally silent about $134 billion in bearer bonds seized by Italian police at the Swiss border. On June 8, AsiaNews reported:
Italy’s financial police (Guardia italiana di Finanza) has seized US bonds worth US 134.5 billion from two Japanese nationals at Chiasso (40 km from Milan) on the border between Italy and Switzerland. They include 249 US Federal Reserve bonds worth US$ 500 million each, plus ten Kennedy bonds and other US government securities worth a billion dollar each.
Italian authorities have not yet determined whether they are real or fake, but if they are real the attempt to take them into Switzerland would be the largest financial smuggling operation in history; if they are fake, the matter would be even more mind-boggling because the quality of the counterfeit work is such that the fake bonds are undistinguishable from the real ones.
Karl Denninger has been following
The US media has been generally silent about $134 billion in bearer bonds seized by Italian police at the Swiss border. On June 8, AsiaNews reported:
Italy’s financial police (Guardia italiana di Finanza) has seized US bonds worth US 134.5 billion from two Japanese nationals at Chiasso (40 km from Milan) on the border between Italy and Switzerland. They include 249 US Federal Reserve bonds worth US$ 500 million each, plus ten Kennedy bonds and other US government securities worth a billion dollar each.
Italian authorities have not yet determined whether they are real or fake, but if they are real the attempt to take them into Switzerland would be the largest financial smuggling operation in history; if they are fake, the matter would be even more mind-boggling because the quality of the counterfeit work is such that the fake bonds are undistinguishable from the real ones.
Karl Denninger has been following
SEC allows Madoff to settle civil charges
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/930b13ae-5ac9-11de-8c14-00144feabdc0.html
We're living in the Twilight Zone. Were right is wrong and wrong is fine.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday agreed to allow Bernard Madoff to settle civil fraud charges without admitting to any wrong-doing.
Mr Madoff, who in March pleaded guilty to 11 charges related to his $64bn Ponzi scheme, is scheduled to be sentenced to a long prison term this month. Victims have been lobbying the judge to impose the maximum sentence possible
We're living in the Twilight Zone. Were right is wrong and wrong is fine.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday agreed to allow Bernard Madoff to settle civil fraud charges without admitting to any wrong-doing.
Mr Madoff, who in March pleaded guilty to 11 charges related to his $64bn Ponzi scheme, is scheduled to be sentenced to a long prison term this month. Victims have been lobbying the judge to impose the maximum sentence possible
Five Things: What Really Caused the Debt Crisis
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/.../index/a/23157
Very well worth the read, Silver buffs will love the second page
1) What Really Caused the Debt Crisis
Yesterday I ran across a recent interview with the Financial Times' Gillian Tett which appeared in Newsweek. Tett has a new book out that looks interesting, "Fool's Gold: How the Bold Dream of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan Was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe."
In the interview, Tett was asked, Once things started to go bad, there were a lot of mistakes made by managers but also by policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. What, in your mind, were some of the crucial ones?
"One of the biggest policy mistakes was made by the American officials who repeatedly said that the subprime problem was contained and that there was no reason to worry about it at all. That represented a considerable misunderstanding of how the financial system had changed. They failed to calculate the enormous quantity of derivatives written … nobody knew how big they were."
Her response leads to a point I've been trying to make in Five Things with respect to Socionomics and herding behavior. Consider this point: "one of the biggest policy mistakes was made by the American officials who repeatedly said that the subprime problem was contained and that there was no reason to worry about it at all." Well, that's not really a policy mistake so much as an observational mistake
Very well worth the read, Silver buffs will love the second page
1) What Really Caused the Debt Crisis
Yesterday I ran across a recent interview with the Financial Times' Gillian Tett which appeared in Newsweek. Tett has a new book out that looks interesting, "Fool's Gold: How the Bold Dream of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan Was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe."
In the interview, Tett was asked, Once things started to go bad, there were a lot of mistakes made by managers but also by policymakers on both sides of the Atlantic. What, in your mind, were some of the crucial ones?
"One of the biggest policy mistakes was made by the American officials who repeatedly said that the subprime problem was contained and that there was no reason to worry about it at all. That represented a considerable misunderstanding of how the financial system had changed. They failed to calculate the enormous quantity of derivatives written … nobody knew how big they were."
Her response leads to a point I've been trying to make in Five Things with respect to Socionomics and herding behavior. Consider this point: "one of the biggest policy mistakes was made by the American officials who repeatedly said that the subprime problem was contained and that there was no reason to worry about it at all." Well, that's not really a policy mistake so much as an observational mistake
Standard & Poor's cuts ratings on 22 banks
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Standard-amp-Poors-cuts-apf-15548167.html?sec=topStories&pos=7&asset=&ccode=
There is the truth of the story in those two paragraphs and it holds true for every bank even the ones paying back their TARP loans.
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut ratings and revised outlooks on 22 banks amid concern about further weakening in the financial sector.
S&P said the changes reflected its assessment that volatility will remain in the financial sector and the industry is expected to face tighter regulatory oversight. S&P also said loan losses, which have plagued the industry for more than a year, are likely to continue to increase and could grow beyond expectations
There is the truth of the story in those two paragraphs and it holds true for every bank even the ones paying back their TARP loans.
Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Wednesday cut ratings and revised outlooks on 22 banks amid concern about further weakening in the financial sector.
S&P said the changes reflected its assessment that volatility will remain in the financial sector and the industry is expected to face tighter regulatory oversight. S&P also said loan losses, which have plagued the industry for more than a year, are likely to continue to increase and could grow beyond expectations
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
DoD Training Manual: Protests are "Low-Level Terrorism"
http://open.salon.com/blog/dennis_lo...evel_terrorism
The Department of Defense is training all of its personnel in its current Antiterrorism and Force Protection Annual Refresher Training Course that political protest is "low-level terrorism."
The Training introduction reads as follows:
"Anti-terrorism (AT) and Force Protection (FP) are two facets of the Department of Defense (DoD) Mission Assurance Program. It is DoD policy, as found in DoDI 2000.16, that the DoD Components and the DoD elements and personnel shall be protected from terrorist acts through a high pirority, comprehensive, AT program. The DoD's AT program shall be all encompassing using an integrated systems approach."
The first question of the Terrorism Threat Factors, "Knowledge Check 1" section reads as follows:
Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?
Select the correct answer and then click Check Your Answer
The Department of Defense is training all of its personnel in its current Antiterrorism and Force Protection Annual Refresher Training Course that political protest is "low-level terrorism."
The Training introduction reads as follows:
"Anti-terrorism (AT) and Force Protection (FP) are two facets of the Department of Defense (DoD) Mission Assurance Program. It is DoD policy, as found in DoDI 2000.16, that the DoD Components and the DoD elements and personnel shall be protected from terrorist acts through a high pirority, comprehensive, AT program. The DoD's AT program shall be all encompassing using an integrated systems approach."
The first question of the Terrorism Threat Factors, "Knowledge Check 1" section reads as follows:
Which of the following is an example of low-level terrorism activity?
Select the correct answer and then click Check Your Answer
Western states want reins on federal power
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationwo...,3422958.story
An expanded federal role prompts declarations of state sovereignty. Montana goes further with a gun bill defying U.S. firearm restrictions. The goal: Keep Washington on its side of the fence.
By Mark Z. Barabak
June 16, 2009
Reporting from Bozeman, Mont. -- Frustrated by the expanded power of Washington, a growing number of state lawmakers are defying the federal government and passing legislation aimed at rolling back the reach of Congress and President Obama.
While many measures are symbolic ones declaring the sovereignty of states, some Westerners are taking more dramatic steps. One Utah lawmaker wants to limit federal law enforcement in his state. In Montana, legislators enacted a bill that flagrantly ignores federal firearm restrictions, hoping to force a constitutional showdown.
Supporters of the bill want the Supreme Court to eliminate gun controls and, eventually, curtail Washington's ability to set policy on a wide range of issues, including education, civil rights, law enforcement and land use.
"It's about states' rights," said state Rep. Joel Boniek, an independent-turned-Republican from nearby Livingston, who introduced the bill. "Guns are just the vehicle."
An expanded federal role prompts declarations of state sovereignty. Montana goes further with a gun bill defying U.S. firearm restrictions. The goal: Keep Washington on its side of the fence.
By Mark Z. Barabak
June 16, 2009
Reporting from Bozeman, Mont. -- Frustrated by the expanded power of Washington, a growing number of state lawmakers are defying the federal government and passing legislation aimed at rolling back the reach of Congress and President Obama.
While many measures are symbolic ones declaring the sovereignty of states, some Westerners are taking more dramatic steps. One Utah lawmaker wants to limit federal law enforcement in his state. In Montana, legislators enacted a bill that flagrantly ignores federal firearm restrictions, hoping to force a constitutional showdown.
Supporters of the bill want the Supreme Court to eliminate gun controls and, eventually, curtail Washington's ability to set policy on a wide range of issues, including education, civil rights, law enforcement and land use.
"It's about states' rights," said state Rep. Joel Boniek, an independent-turned-Republican from nearby Livingston, who introduced the bill. "Guns are just the vehicle."
ABC TURNS PROGRAMMING OVER TO OBAMA; NEWS TO BE ANCHORED FROM INSIDE WHITE HOUSE
http://www.drudgereport.com/flashaot.htm
On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!
Highlights on the agenda:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.
MORE
Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:
Dear Mr. Westin:
As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.
Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that
On the night of June 24, the media and government become one, when ABC turns its programming over to President Obama and White House officials to push government run health care -- a move that has ignited an ethical firestorm!
Highlights on the agenda:
ABCNEWS anchor Charlie Gibson will deliver WORLD NEWS from the Blue Room of the White House.
The network plans a primetime special -- 'Prescription for America' -- originating from the East Room, exclude opposing voices on the debate.
MORE
Late Monday night, Republican National Committee Chief of Staff Ken McKay fired off a complaint to the head of ABCNEWS:
Dear Mr. Westin:
As the national debate on health care reform intensifies, I am deeply concerned and disappointed with ABC's astonishing decision to exclude opposing voices on this critical issue on June 24, 2009. Next Wednesday, ABC News will air a primetime health care reform “town hall” at the White House with President Barack Obama. In addition, according to an ABC News report, GOOD MORNING AMERICA, WORLD NEWS, NIGHTLINE and ABC’s web news “will all feature special programming on the president’s health care agenda.” This does not include the promotion, over the next 9 days, the president’s health care agenda will receive on ABC News programming.
Today, the Republican National Committee requested an opportunity to add our Party's views to those of the President's to ensure that all sides of the health care reform debate are presented. Our request was rejected. I believe that
FDA says Zicam nasal spray can cause loss of smell
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/FDA-says-Zicam-nasal-spray-apf-15537702.html
Didn't the FDA pass this drug for consumer use in the first place? Why yes it did.
So one would have to assume that long term effects were studied and taken into account or discount as the case may be.
Greed kills. Do you think it's a good idea to allow a potentially mandatory flu vaccine to be fast tracked without the rigors of Zicam's testing to be approved?
The Food and Drug Administration says Zicam nasal spray can permanently damage users' sense of smell.
The FDA says consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products immediately. All the over-the-counter products contain zinc. Scientists say that ingredient may damage nerves in the nose needed for smell.
The FDA says about 130
are you to take a fast tracked flu vaccine?
The Food and Drug Administration says Zicam nasal spray can permanently damage users' sense of smell.
The FDA says consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products immediately. All the over-the-counter products contain zinc. Scientists say that ingredient may damage nerves in the nose needed for smell.
The FDA says about 130
Didn't the FDA pass this drug for consumer use in the first place? Why yes it did.
So one would have to assume that long term effects were studied and taken into account or discount as the case may be.
Greed kills. Do you think it's a good idea to allow a potentially mandatory flu vaccine to be fast tracked without the rigors of Zicam's testing to be approved?
The Food and Drug Administration says Zicam nasal spray can permanently damage users' sense of smell.
The FDA says consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products immediately. All the over-the-counter products contain zinc. Scientists say that ingredient may damage nerves in the nose needed for smell.
The FDA says about 130
are you to take a fast tracked flu vaccine?
The Food and Drug Administration says Zicam nasal spray can permanently damage users' sense of smell.
The FDA says consumers should stop using Zicam Cold Remedy nasal gel and related products immediately. All the over-the-counter products contain zinc. Scientists say that ingredient may damage nerves in the nose needed for smell.
The FDA says about 130
Monday, June 15, 2009
Swine flu is officially a pandemic. But don't worry ... not yet, anyway
"GlaxoSmithKline will be stretched to meet demands and have decided to add chemicals known as adjuvants to their vaccines. Adjuvants stimulate immune systems and so reduce amounts of vaccine needed to create antibody protection in an individual"
This bothers me
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/14/swine-flu-pandemic-vaccine-influenza
"Hens' eggs remain the bulwark for vaccine production," said Professor Peter Dunnill, of the Centre for Biochemical Engineering at University College London. "It is a pretty ponderous business, however. Each egg has to be looked after carefully and you have to beware lest infections kill them off."
This point was backed by Dr James Robertson, leader of the team that created the RG121 strain. "Different strains behave differently in eggs and produce varying amounts of virus particles. In the case of our swine flu vaccine strain, we simply do not know yet how much virus you will get from each egg,
At present, pharmaceutical companies' estimates of the amounts of virus particles they will get from their eggs are optimistic. This could be a mistake, warn scientists, and companies could find they get less than a third or a quarter as many viral particles as they hoped for, a reduction that would, in turn, limit the number of vaccine doses available to the public.
Once viruses are extracted from eggs they are broken into pieces including bits of their protein coats. These protein pieces are important because they stimulate immune responses in humans and can be used to make a vaccine. "Coat proteins raise antibodies in the blood so that a person, coming across the real live virus, will be prepared to launch an immune attack against it," said Robertson.
But sometimes, it takes more than one dose of a vaccine to stimulate full protection. The current seasonal flu vaccine requires only a single shot but other vaccines require two inoculations, a point stressed by Dr Hay. "It may require two doses to provide significant immunity against swine flu," he told the Observer. And if a swine flu vaccine requires a double dose, this would also limit numbers of doses available to provide full protection as quickly as possible.
Even if viral production in eggs goes to plan, manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline will be stretched to meet demands and have decided to add chemicals known as adjuvants to their vaccines. Adjuvants stimulate immune systems and so reduce amounts of vaccine needed to create antibody protection in an individual. "We will be using adjuvants in our vaccines," said Stephen Rae of GlaxoSmithKline. "This will be the first time we have used them for a flu vaccine but we are confident they will work."
This bothers me
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/14/swine-flu-pandemic-vaccine-influenza
"Hens' eggs remain the bulwark for vaccine production," said Professor Peter Dunnill, of the Centre for Biochemical Engineering at University College London. "It is a pretty ponderous business, however. Each egg has to be looked after carefully and you have to beware lest infections kill them off."
This point was backed by Dr James Robertson, leader of the team that created the RG121 strain. "Different strains behave differently in eggs and produce varying amounts of virus particles. In the case of our swine flu vaccine strain, we simply do not know yet how much virus you will get from each egg,
At present, pharmaceutical companies' estimates of the amounts of virus particles they will get from their eggs are optimistic. This could be a mistake, warn scientists, and companies could find they get less than a third or a quarter as many viral particles as they hoped for, a reduction that would, in turn, limit the number of vaccine doses available to the public.
Once viruses are extracted from eggs they are broken into pieces including bits of their protein coats. These protein pieces are important because they stimulate immune responses in humans and can be used to make a vaccine. "Coat proteins raise antibodies in the blood so that a person, coming across the real live virus, will be prepared to launch an immune attack against it," said Robertson.
But sometimes, it takes more than one dose of a vaccine to stimulate full protection. The current seasonal flu vaccine requires only a single shot but other vaccines require two inoculations, a point stressed by Dr Hay. "It may require two doses to provide significant immunity against swine flu," he told the Observer. And if a swine flu vaccine requires a double dose, this would also limit numbers of doses available to provide full protection as quickly as possible.
Even if viral production in eggs goes to plan, manufacturers such as GlaxoSmithKline will be stretched to meet demands and have decided to add chemicals known as adjuvants to their vaccines. Adjuvants stimulate immune systems and so reduce amounts of vaccine needed to create antibody protection in an individual. "We will be using adjuvants in our vaccines," said Stephen Rae of GlaxoSmithKline. "This will be the first time we have used them for a flu vaccine but we are confident they will work."
Friday, June 12, 2009
nearly 1.6 million homes have foreclosure filings for 2009 and this is with 5 months of data:
http://www.doctorhousingbubble.com/foreclosure-reality-check-16-million-foreclosure-filings-with-5-months-of-data-california-notice-of-defaults-and-foreclosures-skyrocketing/
With two months of data for Q2 we are approaching a new record number of NODs for California if the rate holds. Yet somehow this is the bottom to many even thought the data is assuring us a flood of distressed inventory for the foreseeable future. Alt-A and pay Option ARMs are absolutely the worst mortgage products ever devised. They are creations of the housing bubble and serve no other purpose but to fuel the housing bubble. I love this pamphlet put out by the Federal Reserve back in November of 2006:
I took the liberty of answering the question for you in what the Fed took 17 pages to explain. These monstrosities are toxic like nuclear waste. Now a new argument that I am seeing is that since the actual recast time line pushes things well into 2012, that this unfolding will somehow be methodical and efficient. Really? These people have not been to the Inland Empire or to any current auctions. It is anything but. Some places are selling for whatever they can fetch. First the argument was, “housing will go down but not in California.” Next it was, “housing will go down but not in mid to upper range areas.” Now the argument is, “housing will not go down in prime areas.” The bottom line which people fail over and over to examine is local area incomes do not support prices even today. Period. It wasn’t incomes that supported these home valuations but Chucky Cheese mortgages that allowed fantasies to play out in a debt playground.
Many of you old time Dr. Housing Bubble readers
With two months of data for Q2 we are approaching a new record number of NODs for California if the rate holds. Yet somehow this is the bottom to many even thought the data is assuring us a flood of distressed inventory for the foreseeable future. Alt-A and pay Option ARMs are absolutely the worst mortgage products ever devised. They are creations of the housing bubble and serve no other purpose but to fuel the housing bubble. I love this pamphlet put out by the Federal Reserve back in November of 2006:
I took the liberty of answering the question for you in what the Fed took 17 pages to explain. These monstrosities are toxic like nuclear waste. Now a new argument that I am seeing is that since the actual recast time line pushes things well into 2012, that this unfolding will somehow be methodical and efficient. Really? These people have not been to the Inland Empire or to any current auctions. It is anything but. Some places are selling for whatever they can fetch. First the argument was, “housing will go down but not in California.” Next it was, “housing will go down but not in mid to upper range areas.” Now the argument is, “housing will not go down in prime areas.” The bottom line which people fail over and over to examine is local area incomes do not support prices even today. Period. It wasn’t incomes that supported these home valuations but Chucky Cheese mortgages that allowed fantasies to play out in a debt playground.
Many of you old time Dr. Housing Bubble readers
NORAD and USNORTHCOM exercise planned for mid-June
http://www.northcom.mil/News/2009/060909.html
PETERSON AFB, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command are planning to conduct a combined exercise June 18 - 24 that will incorporate several military exercises with a National Guard exercise. These linked exercises are referred to as ARDENT SENTRY 09. Events will take place in multiple venues across the country including Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wyoming, and off the East and West Coasts.
The exercise will allow several Department of Defense organizations and some federal and state partners to implement plans and respond to a variety of notional events. Historically, exercises like these have helped both DoD and other agencies review their processes and procedures and focus their future training efforts on closing gaps and identifying areas that need additional attention.
Major AS 09 venues include:
■NORAD’s AMALGAM DART exercise involving air defense activities at Camp Rilea, Oregon;
■The National Guard’s VIGILANT GUARD exercise focused on civil support with major activities in Des Moines, Iowa and Topeka, Kansas; and,
■A Nuclear Weapons Incident exercise (NUWAIX) with a U.S. Air Force response near Cheyenne, Wyoming;
The activities in the vicinity of Camp Rilea will involve the deployment of an Army National Guard ground-based air defense system that will be integrated with Air Force airborne systems (AWACS and fighters) and a Navy Aegis Destroyer. (Media interested in covering this event should contact Mr. Al Eakle at 1-850-283-8080)
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska National Guard units will respond to multiple events in Iowa and Kansas including simulated train derailments and foreign animal disease. (Media interested in covering events in Iowa should contact LTC Greg Hapgood at 515-971-6385; for events in Kansas, contact Sharon Watson at 785-274-1192)
In Wyoming, Air Force Space Command will respond to an incident involving a simulated nuclear weapon. (Media interested in covering this should contact Capt. Sharbe Clark at 719-554-3815).
NORAD is a bi-national United States and Canada organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. USNORTHCOM provides command and control of DoD homeland defense efforts and, when directed, provides timely and effective defense support of civil authorities. (see www.norad.mil and www.northcom.mil for more information)
For more information about the exercise, contact NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs at 719-554-6889.
PETERSON AFB, Colo. – North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command are planning to conduct a combined exercise June 18 - 24 that will incorporate several military exercises with a National Guard exercise. These linked exercises are referred to as ARDENT SENTRY 09. Events will take place in multiple venues across the country including Iowa, Kansas, Oregon, Wyoming, and off the East and West Coasts.
The exercise will allow several Department of Defense organizations and some federal and state partners to implement plans and respond to a variety of notional events. Historically, exercises like these have helped both DoD and other agencies review their processes and procedures and focus their future training efforts on closing gaps and identifying areas that need additional attention.
Major AS 09 venues include:
■NORAD’s AMALGAM DART exercise involving air defense activities at Camp Rilea, Oregon;
■The National Guard’s VIGILANT GUARD exercise focused on civil support with major activities in Des Moines, Iowa and Topeka, Kansas; and,
■A Nuclear Weapons Incident exercise (NUWAIX) with a U.S. Air Force response near Cheyenne, Wyoming;
The activities in the vicinity of Camp Rilea will involve the deployment of an Army National Guard ground-based air defense system that will be integrated with Air Force airborne systems (AWACS and fighters) and a Navy Aegis Destroyer. (Media interested in covering this event should contact Mr. Al Eakle at 1-850-283-8080)
Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska National Guard units will respond to multiple events in Iowa and Kansas including simulated train derailments and foreign animal disease. (Media interested in covering events in Iowa should contact LTC Greg Hapgood at 515-971-6385; for events in Kansas, contact Sharon Watson at 785-274-1192)
In Wyoming, Air Force Space Command will respond to an incident involving a simulated nuclear weapon. (Media interested in covering this should contact Capt. Sharbe Clark at 719-554-3815).
NORAD is a bi-national United States and Canada organization charged with the missions of aerospace warning and aerospace control for North America. USNORTHCOM provides command and control of DoD homeland defense efforts and, when directed, provides timely and effective defense support of civil authorities. (see www.norad.mil and www.northcom.mil for more information)
For more information about the exercise, contact NORAD and USNORTHCOM Public Affairs at 719-554-6889.
Child's Nightmares and Memories Prove Reincarnation
http://www.fox8.com/wjw-reincarnation-txt%2C0%2C1190900.story
It is being called the most documented case of reincarnation ever.
A little boy is able to recall over 50 memories from someone else's life.
A World War II Pilot's family believes it is their reincarnated brother based on the child's memories.
The boy's story is so compelling, it has been published in a new book called "Soul Survivor."
It is being called the most documented case of reincarnation ever.
A little boy is able to recall over 50 memories from someone else's life.
A World War II Pilot's family believes it is their reincarnated brother based on the child's memories.
The boy's story is so compelling, it has been published in a new book called "Soul Survivor."
Thursday, June 11, 2009
KBR Wasted Billions in Troop-Support Work, Panel Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=attCZ.fVGdWc
KBR Inc. wasted billions of dollars through inefficiencies, lax oversight and poor management of its contract to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an independent, bipartisan panel.
The contract -- to provide housing, food, laundry, mail delivery and fuel for U.S. troops -- was ultimately worth $31.7 billion, with most of the work being done in Iraq and Kuwait.
“The services could have been delivered for billions of dollars less,” the commission stated in a report released today at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform’s national security panel. “Substantial evidence supports the view” that KBR’s services “cost too much.”
The Wartime Contracting Commission, in its first report since Congress established it last year, gives the most critical assessment to date of the contract that Houston-based KBR, then a unit of Halliburton Co., won in December 2001, shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.
KBR’s record may be hurting its chances to win work under a new program for awarding contracts to support U.S. troops. That competition, begun in April 2008, pits KBR against Falls Church, Virginia-based DynCorp
KBR Inc. wasted billions of dollars through inefficiencies, lax oversight and poor management of its contract to support U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to an independent, bipartisan panel.
The contract -- to provide housing, food, laundry, mail delivery and fuel for U.S. troops -- was ultimately worth $31.7 billion, with most of the work being done in Iraq and Kuwait.
“The services could have been delivered for billions of dollars less,” the commission stated in a report released today at a hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform’s national security panel. “Substantial evidence supports the view” that KBR’s services “cost too much.”
The Wartime Contracting Commission, in its first report since Congress established it last year, gives the most critical assessment to date of the contract that Houston-based KBR, then a unit of Halliburton Co., won in December 2001, shortly after the U.S. invaded Afghanistan.
KBR’s record may be hurting its chances to win work under a new program for awarding contracts to support U.S. troops. That competition, begun in April 2008, pits KBR against Falls Church, Virginia-based DynCorp
Lawmakers Invested in Bailed-Out Firms
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/06/10/AR2009061002565_pf.html
Top House lawmakers had considerable holdings in major financial institutions that took billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts at the end of last year, according to annual financial disclosure reports released yesterday.
From stock holdings to retirement funds to mortgages, more than 20 House leaders and members of the House Financial Services Committee had large personal stakes in the Wall Street powerhouses whose collapse last year led to an unprecedented government intervention in the marketplace. In some instances those lawmakers, like millions of other investors, sold their holdings at steep losses while others retained the stocks at greatly diminished value.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband lost hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in American International Group, which has received $170 billion in government loans and cash injections, making it by far the largest recipient of federal bailout dollars. Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his wife held stock, retirement plans and other investments worth at least $183,000 and as much as $495,000 in firms benefiting from federal government rescue efforts, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
At least 18 members of the House Financial Services Committee -- which oversees the banking and housing industries at the core of the economic meltdown -- held stock last year in firms that received federal bailout assistance, according to a review of the forms that were available yesterday.
The release of the annual disclosure forms was not scheduled to occur until tomorrow, but the House clerk's office briefly posted many of them online yesterday, apparently by accident. A firm called LegiStorm captured the data and posted them on its Web site. The Senate will release its forms tomorrow.
The disclosure forms require lawmakers to reveal a broad range of personal holdings and liabilities but not the precise
Top House lawmakers had considerable holdings in major financial institutions that took billions of dollars in taxpayer bailouts at the end of last year, according to annual financial disclosure reports released yesterday.
From stock holdings to retirement funds to mortgages, more than 20 House leaders and members of the House Financial Services Committee had large personal stakes in the Wall Street powerhouses whose collapse last year led to an unprecedented government intervention in the marketplace. In some instances those lawmakers, like millions of other investors, sold their holdings at steep losses while others retained the stocks at greatly diminished value.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and her husband lost hundreds of thousands of dollars investing in American International Group, which has received $170 billion in government loans and cash injections, making it by far the largest recipient of federal bailout dollars. Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and his wife held stock, retirement plans and other investments worth at least $183,000 and as much as $495,000 in firms benefiting from federal government rescue efforts, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
At least 18 members of the House Financial Services Committee -- which oversees the banking and housing industries at the core of the economic meltdown -- held stock last year in firms that received federal bailout assistance, according to a review of the forms that were available yesterday.
The release of the annual disclosure forms was not scheduled to occur until tomorrow, but the House clerk's office briefly posted many of them online yesterday, apparently by accident. A firm called LegiStorm captured the data and posted them on its Web site. The Senate will release its forms tomorrow.
The disclosure forms require lawmakers to reveal a broad range of personal holdings and liabilities but not the precise
What a special day for you now
And taking it quite well I see
Much better than the great one did
Wallowing in his misery lol
And you know you do it's flavor
Quite proud to fine degree
Being born on the Spirit's corner
And being given blessed eyes to see
On your earlier take of the WHO of the day
And the call to prosperity
To "show me the money"
For big pharma's guaranty
We know your a hippy
And quite sure of it's positivity
Even if you wear a tie
And sometimes show up on TV lol
And taking it quite well I see
Much better than the great one did
Wallowing in his misery lol
And you know you do it's flavor
Quite proud to fine degree
Being born on the Spirit's corner
And being given blessed eyes to see
On your earlier take of the WHO of the day
And the call to prosperity
To "show me the money"
For big pharma's guaranty
We know your a hippy
And quite sure of it's positivity
Even if you wear a tie
And sometimes show up on TV lol
Emails show Fed pressed BofA to do Merrill deal
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Emails-show-Fed-pressed-BofA-rb-15500303.html?sec=topStories&pos=2&asset=&ccode=
The POWER of the FED and the abuse of that ISSUE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emails from Federal Reserve officials appear to back assertions by Bank of America (BAC - News) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis that he was under pressure, to the point of losing his job, to complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch, despite worries about its financial condition.
Republican lawmakers on Wednesday released excerpts of documents, including an email from Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker that cites Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Lewis' intent to exercise a "material adverse change" (MAC) clause to exit the Merrill deal.
"Just had a long talk with Ben ... Says they think the MAC threat is irrelevant because it's not credible. Also intends to make it even more clear that if they play that card and they need assistance, management is gone."
A congressional hearing on Thursday will
The POWER of the FED and the abuse of that ISSUE
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Emails from Federal Reserve officials appear to back assertions by Bank of America (BAC - News) Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis that he was under pressure, to the point of losing his job, to complete the purchase of Merrill Lynch, despite worries about its financial condition.
Republican lawmakers on Wednesday released excerpts of documents, including an email from Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker that cites Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Lewis' intent to exercise a "material adverse change" (MAC) clause to exit the Merrill deal.
"Just had a long talk with Ben ... Says they think the MAC threat is irrelevant because it's not credible. Also intends to make it even more clear that if they play that card and they need assistance, management is gone."
A congressional hearing on Thursday will
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