The Federal Reserve as Serial Arsonists

The Federal Reserve as Serial Arsonists
by Chriss W. Street

http://biggovernment.com/cstreet/2010/11/09/the-federal-reserve-as-serial-arsonists/

Greenspan's Comments on Criminal Activity in the Financial Sector

Debunking White House Pro-Tax Increase Propaganda

Limitation of Central Planning Foresight

Flight attendants union upset over new pat-down procedures

A flight attendants union with 2,000 members is upset over what it calls "invasive pat-downs" recently implemented by the TSA.



Contact with genitals? Hello!

Colbert Report - TSA, Bert & Dogs

Striking the balance between marginally safer travel and total humiliation.

N.H. Supreme Court rejects Manchester effort to cap taxes, spending

Supreme Court rejects Manchester effort to cap taxes, spending
By TOM FAHEY

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?articleId=3b19bbae-c5a8-4d56-938c-2b7798f04b39&headline=Supreme+Court+rejects+Manchester+effort+to+cap+taxes,+spending

Bombs kill six Baghdad Christians, sow panic

Bombs kill six Baghdad Christians, sow panic
By Marwa Sabah (AFP)

An estimated 800,000 Christians lived in Iraq before the US-led invasion but that number has since shrunk to around 500,000 in the face of repeated attacks against their community and churches.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5isS9GysXyBXINAgZIRVaFLNo6e2g?docId=CNG.6e747f6b0485e74fd719f1dad112b33a.a41

Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There?

Coffee, Tea, or Should We Feel Your Pregnant Wife’s Breasts Before Throwing You in a Cell at the Airport and Then Lying About Why We Put You There?
by Nicholas Monahan

At the security checkpoint I was led aside for the "inspection" that’s all the rage at airports these days. My shoes were removed. I was told to take off my sweater, then to fold over the waistband of my pants. My baseball hat, hastily jammed on my head at 5 AM, was removed and assiduously examined ("Anything could be in here, sir," I was told, after I asked what I could hide in a baseball hat. Yeah. Anything.) Soon I was standing on one foot, my arms stretched out, the other leg sticking out in front of me à la a DUI test. I began to get pissed off, as most normal people would. My anger increased when I realized that the newly knighted federal employees weren’t just examining me, but my 7½ months pregnant wife as well. I’d originally thought that I’d simply been randomly selected for the more excessive than normal search. You know, Number 50 or whatever. Apparently not though – it was both of us. These are your new threats, America: pregnant accountants and their sleepy husbands flying to weddings.

After some more grumbling on my part they eventually finished with me and I went to retrieve our luggage from the x-ray machine. Upon returning I found my wife sitting in a chair, crying. Mary rarely cries, and certainly not in public. When I asked her what was the matter, she tried to quell her tears and sobbed, "I’m sorry...it’s...they touched my breasts...and..." That’s all I heard. I marched up to the woman who’d been examining her and shouted, "What did you do to her?" Later I found out that in addition to touching her swollen breasts – to protect the American citizenry – the employee had asked that she lift up her shirt. Not behind a screen, not off to the side – no, right there, directly in front of the hundred or so passengers standing in line. And for you women who’ve been pregnant and worn maternity pants, you know how ridiculous those things look. "I felt like a clown," my wife told me later. "On display for all these people, with the cotton panel on my pants and my stomach sticking out. When I sat down I just lost my composure and began to cry. That’s when you walked up."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig3/monahan1.html

TSA Forces Mother in Wheelchair to Tears with "Enhanced Patdown" Portland

The TSA: making sex workers obsolete

The TSA: making sex workers obsolete
J. Doug Gill

And now, much like when patronizing a house of ill repute, the customer boarding an airplane can choose which government employee can palm their package

http://www.examiner.com/strange-news-in-national/the-tsa-making-sex-workers-obsolete

US slopes do skiers a powder of good ...

US slopes do skiers a powder of good ...
By Alison O'Riordan

With plenty of activities for the non-skier, the area is perfect for families in which one or two members do not want to hit the slopes. Instead, for instance, they can take part in a 300-year-old ritual, maple tapping, which is an art form in this part of the world. Maple producers have a six-week period to tap their trees and it coincides with the last few weeks of the ski season. Nigel Manley came from England 20 years ago to help save the maple forests. He now shows people how to tap for maple syrup at the Maple Museum on the Rocks Estate in Bethlehem.

http://www.independent.ie/travel/winter-holidays/us-slopes-do-skiers-a-powder-of-good-2410854.html

EPIC Files Lawsuit To Suspend Airport Naked Body Scanner Use

EPIC v. DHS (Suspension of Body Scanner Program)
http://epic.org/privacy/body_scanners/epic_v_dhs_suspension_of_body.html

EPIC Files Lawsuit To Suspend Airport Body Scanner Use
http://news.slashdot.org/story/10/11/05/158250/EPIC-Files-Lawsuit-To-Suspend-Airport-Body-Scanner-Use

Federal Reserve: Changing the Ruler

America's greatest export is Federal Reserve Notes. Say goodbye to low consumer prices.

Where are the Jobs? The Parallels between Today and the Great Depression

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm5ZbjkGV3Y&feature=player_embedded

Barrack Obama is wearing Herbert Hoover's Concrete Booties

Restructuring cannot be stopped, only delayed.

Skipping the Body Scanner and Taking Brusque Treatment

Skipping the Body Scanner and Taking Brusque Treatment
By JOE SHARKEY

The T.S.A. says travelers can opt out of "advanced imaging technology" scans. But such fliers are subject to a physical pat-down, and sometimes outbursts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/02/business/02road.html

America ... Land of the Free?

For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance

For the First Time, the TSA Meets Resistance
By Jeffrey Goldberg

At BWI, I told the officer who directed me to the back-scatter that I preferred a pat-down. ... When I made this request, a number of TSA officers, to my surprise, began laughing. I asked why. One of them -- the one who would eventually conduct my pat-down -- said that the rules were changing shortly, and that I would soon understand why the back-scatter was preferable to the manual search.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/10/for-the-first-time-the-tsa-meets-resistance/65390/

'Are Any Parts of Your Body Sore?' Asks the Man From TSA

'Are Any Parts of Your Body Sore?' Asks the Man From TSA
By Jeffrey Goldberg

"The guidelines have changed, just to warn you. We now have to run our hands through your groin until we meet --"

...

I give him several more answers than he expected:
1) I prefer to limit my exposure to radiation, which the back-scatter imager produces;
2) I don't think this new technology will stop terrorism;
3) I find the idea of the government taking pictures of my genitalia a discomfiting invasion of privacy;
4) I find the specific pose a person is forced to take inside the machine -- hands up, as in a mugging -- particularly debasing.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2010/11/-are-any-parts-of-your-body-sore-asks-the-man-from-tsa/65482/

The TSA vs. Mankind

The TSA vs. Mankind
by Lew Rockwell

A great man had to go through his first invasive pat-down at the airport the other day, since his knee replacements bar him from the naked x-ray machine. This is a the kindest, most well-mannered man I know, but after four very hard jabs to his genitals, he asked the federal agent: “How can you live with yourself, feeling up men all day?” “I love my job,” sneered the goon.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/68445.html

Memos Detail TSA Officer's Cocaine Pranks

Memos Detail TSA Officer's Cocaine Pranks

Worker falsely claimed to have found drugs in passenger luggage

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/documents/stupid/memos-detail-tsa-officers-cocaine-pranks

State Bailouts? They've Already Begun

State Bailouts? They've Already Begun
Bond subsidies and transfers have allowed states to avoid making tough decisions. It won't last.
By MEREDITH WHITNEY

The threat posed by the state fiscal crisis in the U.S. is vastly underestimated and under-appreciated—because even today too few people understand how states have been managing their finances.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304173704575578203887408076.html

Federal Reserve Announces Plan To Continue Funding Its Hedge Fund "like" Activities By Devaluing the Dollar

QUANTITATIVE EASING OFFICIALLY BEGINS WITH $600 BILLION IN TREASURY PURCHASES

The breakdown:
Currently, the monetary base is $2,003,117,000,000.00 dollars (two trillion, roughly). In eight months, it'll be roughly $2,600,000,000,000.00 dollars (two trillion, six hundred billion). This is an expansion of the denominator of the worth of a dollar. So, in eight months, one dollar will be equal to $2,003,117,000,000.00 divided by $2,600,000,000,000.00. Which is 0.7693.

To put it another way, in eight months, the dollar will be 23.1% worth less.

Of course, this just adds to the insult that they already increased the monetary base from 900B to 2T in 2008. So, if you divide $900,000,000,000.00 by $2,600,000,000,000.00, then in eight months, a dollar will be worth 34.6% of its 2008 value.

In other words, since 2008, the Central Bank of the United States has exacted a 65% tax on all greenback users, and against all asset classes, to cover for the crimes of the financial sector. All done without representation.

Meet The New Face Of The Democratic Party

Meet The New Face Of The Democratic Party
http://legalinsurrection.blogspot.com/2010/11/meet-new-face-of-democratic-party.html

Mid-Term Elections

Elections 2010
Union Leader

Senate Vote Tally for Bethlehem
Hodes 421
Ayotte 445
Blevens 10
Booth 17

Governor Vote Tally for Bethlehem
Lynch 506
Stephen 371
Babiarz 21

CD2 Congressional Tally for Bethlehem
Kuster 458
Bass 384
vnBlmm 19
Wilson 20

Also, Huge swing gives GOP a NH Senate majority

Results, etc: http://www.unionleader.com/politics.aspx/politics?channel=872fe89b7fe84644be19cd3fc9bdf6ae

Robert Shiller Sees More Housing Pain Ahead

Robert Shiller Sees More Housing Pain Ahead
By Jennifer Schonberger

The Yale economist who called the housing bubble says foreclosure-gate is sapping confidence and more home price declines are likely.

http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/dekaser-practical-economics/archives/robert-shiller-shares-his-view-on-the-housing-market.html

Now, About Governing.....

Now, About Governing.....
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=171097

This the price we are paying for not prosecuting fraud, theft and graft.

Percent of Jobs Lost Since 2007

http://cr4re.com/charts/charts.html?Employment#category=Employment&chart=EmploymentRecessions.jpg

Iowans dismiss three justices who backed homosexual marriage

Iowans dismiss three justices who backed homosexual marriage
By Grant Schulte, USA TODAY

Three Iowa Supreme Court justices lost their seats Tuesday in a historic upset fueled by their 2009 decision that allowed same-sex couples to marry.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/2010-11-03-gay-marriage-iowa-election_N.htm

John Lynch: Economic undertaker of the North Country

Brien Ward: John Lynch: Economic undertaker of the North Country
By BRIEN WARD

GOV. JOHN LYNCH has taken political credit for a plant expansion in Rochester. Fair Enough. He should also take credit and be held accountable for the nine plant closings that have occurred in the North Country since he was elected governor in 2004
...
During his six years as governor he hasn’t opened a single plant in the North Country that has survived. Zip. Zero. Nada!

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Brien+Ward:+John+Lynch:+Economic+undertaker+of+the+North+Country&articleId=f29d08a4-8385-41ff-b890-018c6a787534

Prepare To Be Betrayed

Prepare To Be Betrayed
by Llewellyn H. Rockwell, Jr.

The larger problem occurs once they take office. Here is where the serious problems begin. They are leaned on by their new colleagues, the party elites, related financial interests, the press, and the entire system of which they are now part. Are they going to make themselves enemies of that system, or are they going to work within the system in order to achieve reform, and not just for one term but more terms down the line? Doing a good job means being part of the structure; doing a bad job means being an enemy of the very system that they now serve.

Which choice do they make? The same choice that everyone else in office makes (Ron Paul being the lone exception in all of human history). It is for this reason that newly seated "revolutionary" politicians will betray those who put them in power. It happens like clockwork, same as day turns to night.

http://www.lewrockwell.com/rockwell/prepare-for-betrayal155.html

The Partisans: Is Obama A Keynesian? Rally For Sanity, 10/30/10

Wiki: Keynesian

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_23Nt5XumaU&feature=player_embedded

For me autumn is a time of new beginnings

For me autumn is a time of new beginnings
Dianne Newcomer; thenewsstar.com

By early evening, we had arrived at the Adair Inn, Bethlehem, N.H., which was going to be our base of operation for two nights. The plan was to capitalize on this great location and day-trip out while allowing sufficient time for long strolls and hikes in the late afternoon on the grounds of this extraordinary New England bed and breakfast.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/article/20101031/LIFESTYLE/10290338

The 99ers - Still Living in the Land of Opportunity?

To cut ObamaCare costs, TSA Security Checkpoints to begin performing Mammograms and Prostate-Screenings

TSA to phase in new Aggressive and Humiliating Pat-Down Procedures at airports nationwide
By Jim Barnett

According to Rosemary Fitzpatrick, a CNN employee, a female [TSA] screener ran her hands around her breasts, over her stomach, buttocks and her inner thighs, and briefly touched her crotch.

"I felt helpless, I felt violated, and I felt humiliated," Fitzpatrick said, adding that she was reduced to tears at the checkpoint.

...

"I am appalled and disgusted at the new search procedures and the fact that passengers have not been made aware of the new invasive steps prior to entering the security area," Fitzpatrick wrote. "It appears once you enter the security area, passengers forfeit their rights. "

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/10/28/airline.security.pat.down/index.html

Federal Reserve to announce new "Tax on the Consumer", and that It's For Your Own Good.

The Fed's 'tax on the consumer'
By Hibah Yousuf; CNNMoney.com

"The problem I have with QE2, is it behaves like a tax on the consumer," said David Giroux, a fund manager at T. Rowe Price. "People want to believe it's a free lunch for the economy, but it's definitely not. Next year, we're going to be paying more at the gas pump and the grocery store."

http://money.cnn.com/2010/10/28/news/economy/quantitative_easing_consumer_impact/index.htm

Of Couse you have a Choice: It's Either a "photo-realistic" Naked Body Scan or a X-rated Pat Down

Q. Would a [“advanced imaging technology” scan or a ] “front of the hands” pat-down have caught the "Christmas-Day Underwear Bomber"?
A. Not likely. He had powder in his underpants.



Pat Down or Full Body Scan? Security Gets More Personal at Airports
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/tsa-pat-procedure-airports/story?id=11998304

Changing Education Paradigms

How many more kids are going to be put on the psychostimulant Ritalin before we abolish the No-Child Left Behind Act and the Federal Dept of Education?

Jim Grant: The Federal Reserve

http://www.businessinsider.com/jim-grant-bernanke-2010-10

Sparks Goes To The White House

Make your own irreverent movie http://www.xtranormal.com/

Sen. Gregg Compares Health Care Reform To Freddy Krueger

The Mortgage Backed Security Fraud Snowball

Banks May Face $97 Billion Loss From Mortgage Mess
By Kate Kelly
http://www.cnbc.com/id/39870708

Pork for Me, Scraps for You, Is A Tragedy of the Commons

Pork for Me, Scraps for You, Is Tragedy: Caroline Baum
By Caroline Baum

Tea Party candidates who ride into Washington on a wave of anti-incumbent fervor will face the same skewed spending incentives as their predecessors. In their zeal to represent the common man, they may just compound the common tragedy.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-27/pork-for-me-scraps-for-you-tragedy-for-all-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html

The Only Budget Options are Borrowing, Taxing, and Cutting

The Only Budget Options are Borrowing, Taxing, and Cutting
Charles M. Arlinghaus

Over the last two budget cycles, New Hampshire’s tax revenue’s have been flat. In the 2006-2007 biennium, tax and fee revenues for the general and education funds were $4.47 billion while the current 2010-2011 budget is projected to be $4.45 billion. Despite that tiny drop, spending increased at historically average rates growing from $4.4 billion to $5.1 billion.

http://newhampshire.watchdog.org/7197/the-only-budget-options-are-borrowing-taxing-and-cutting/

Stop the Invasiveness of the Body Scanners

Stop the Invasiveness of the Body Scanners
by Mike Miller

“I don’t know why everybody is running to buy these expensive and useless machines. I can overcome the body scanners with enough explosives to bring down a Boeing 747. That’s why we haven’t put them in our airport. — Rafi Sela, leading Israeli airport security expert, referring to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport, which has some of the toughest security in the world.

The “Stimulus” money the federal government stole from you is paying for potentially dangerous and invasive body scanners at our airports. Congress is planning on purchasing more of these scanners in the coming year.

http://libertymaven.com/2010/10/27/stop-the-invasiveness-of-the-body-scanners/10833/

The Subprime Debacle: Act 2, Part 2

The Subprime Debacle: Act 2, Part 2
By John Mauldin

What Happens When the Biggest Banks Are Convicted of Fraud?

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/the-subprime-debacle-act-2-part-2/

Department of Education Seeks to Regulate Higher Education

Department of Education Seeks to Regulate Higher Education
William A. Estrada, Esq.

A recently proposed regulation would give the federal Department of Education unprecedented authority over all colleges and universities—even private ones.

http://www.hslda.org/docs/news/201010250.asp

The final regulation will be issued on November 1, 2010.

Kelly Ayotte and Paul Hodes: No Response to Liberty Survey

New Hampshire Candidate Surveys
http://www.campaignforliberty.com/candidatesurvey.php?state=NH

Treasury Hid AIG Losses by Keeping Two Sets of Books

Treasury Hid A.I.G. Loss, Report Says
MARY WILLIAMS WALSH

The United States Treasury concealed $40 billion in likely taxpayer losses on the bailout of the American International Group earlier this month, when it abandoned its usual method for valuing investments, according to a report by the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/26/business/26tarp.html

America: The Fraud-Backed Banking System

Right Turn Seen in Granite State

Right Turn Seen in Granite State
Polls Show Republicans With Upper Hand as Voters Tire of Democratic Dominance in New England

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303496104575560291341344182.html

Employee Free Choice Act – The campaign issue Paul Hodes wishes would go away

Employee Free Choice Act – The campaign issue Paul Hodes wishes would go away
by Shawn Millerick

The EFCA issue came up again in Monday’s Manchester Chamber/AARP debate, with Kelly Ayotte calling it a major area of distinction between her and Hodes. Ayotte’s primary opponent Ovide Lamontagne made card check one of his campaign issues, and Ayotte’s rhetoric made it sound like she could do the same. It’s clearly a vulnerable spot for Hodes and other Democrats, and could end up being the final nail in the Paul Hodes coffin.

http://www.nowhampshire.com/2010/10/19/employee-free-choice-act-the-campaign-issue-paul-hodes-wishes-would-go-away/

Gene Munster: Android-Based Tablets Will Beat Out Apple's iPad

Gene Munster: Android-Based Tablets Will Beat Out Apple's iPad

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/category/video#ixzz13DA16tOJ

Clear Capital Home Price Survey

Tea Party to the Rescue

Tea Party to the Rescue
How the GOP was saved from Bush and the establishment.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304023804575566503565327356.html

Foreclose on the Foreclosure Fraudsters, Part 1: Put Bank of America in Receivership

Foreclose on the Foreclosure Fraudsters, Part 1: Put Bank of America in Receivership
William K. Black and L. Randall Wray

In other words, to keep the investors at bay the foreclosing banks must manufacture fake documents. If the original documents do not exist the securities might be ruled no good. If the original docs do exist they will demonstrate that proper underwriting was not done -- so the securities might be no good. Foreclosure fraud is the only thing standing between the banks and Armageddon.

This is a very serious allegation.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-k-black/foreclose-on-the-foreclos_b_772434.html

Why Is Due Process a Big Problem for Banks?

Why Is Due Process a Big Problem for Banks?
By Barry Ritholtz

That has been why I have been hammering the fraudclosure issue so hard — my focus is on the rule of law, property rights and due process. The banks expediency needs does not mean that they get to throw away centuries of laws because they are inconvenient.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/why-is-due-process-a-big-problem-for-banks/

James Cameron's Lifestyle vs. His Opposition of California's Proposition 23 for Suspension of Global Warming Law

18 Iconic Products That America Doesn't Make Anymore

18 Iconic Products That America Doesn't Make Anymore
Anika Anand and Gus Lubin

Simple products like lightbulbs are not manufactured ANYWHERE in America. Even the shirt on your back is almost certainly not made in this country, unless it comes from a few craft companies.

http://www.businessinsider.com/basic-products-america-doesnt-make-2010-10

Banks Face Two-Front War on Bad Mortgages, Foreclosures

Banks Face Two-Front War on Bad Mortgages, Foreclosures
By John Gittelsohn and Jody Shenn

Shoddy mortgage lending has led bankers into a two-front war, pitting them against U.S. homeowners challenging the right to foreclose and mortgage-bond investors demanding refunds

. . .

Richard M. Bowen, former chief underwriter for Citigroup’s consumer-lending group, said he warned his superiors of concerns that some types of loans in securities didn’t conform with representations and warranties in 2006 and 2007.

“In mid-2006, I discovered that over 60 percent of these mortgages purchased and sold were defective,” Bowen testified on April 7 before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission created by Congress. “Defective mortgages increased during 2007 to over 80 percent of production."

80 Percent Defective!!!

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-21/banks-face-two-front-war-on-bad-u-s-mortgages-flawed-foreclosure-process.html

Regulator for Fannie Set to Get Litigious

Regulator for Fannie Set to Get Litigious
By NICK TIMIRAOS

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which in July issued 64 subpoenas to issuers of mortgage securities, bank servicing companies and other entities, is working with Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, a Los Angeles-based firm that specializes in business litigation, to coordinate its investigations.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304011604575564631414300418.html

Why All The Affidavits?

Open Question: Why are banks submitting Lost Note Affidavits (LNA) as their primary way of claiming right to foreclose? Why not submit the original property note? Filing a LNA is supposed to be a "back-up" mechanism in the law. However, banks appear to be using it as their primary means of claiming right to foreclose.

This article states Bank of America will file 102,000 new affidavits. [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303496104575560432631814848.html]. Why aren't they instead submitting 102,000 original notes?

Does anyone know: Why has the procedure of foreclosure in the business model of mortgage securitization come to rely primarily on the backup legal method of filing Lost Note Affidavits?

Chris Whalen on How MBS Investors Are Lawyering-Up

Uncollateralized RMBS?

The RMBS Are Coming Home To Roost

Pimco, NY Fed Said to Seek BofA Repurchase of Mortgages
By Jody Shenn

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-10-19/pimco-new-york-fed-said-to-seek-bank-of-america-repurchase-of-mortgages.html

German "heatball" wheeze outwits EU light bulb ban

German "heatball" wheeze outwits EU light bulb ban

A German entrepreneur is bypassing a European Union ban on light bulbs of more than 60 watts by marketing his own brand as mini heaters

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20101015/od_nm/us_germany_heatballs

VFW fires PAC board over Democratic endorsements

About face: VFW fires PAC board over Democratic endorsements
BY J.E. DYER

The Veterans of Foreign Wars PAC, which endorsed an unbelievable slate of left-wing candidates this month (including Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, and Barbara Boxer), has been shut down by the VFW leadership, according to the Wall Street Journal.

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/10/18/now-thats-what-im-talking-about-vfw-about-face/

Jim DeMint on NewsMax

Banks to Restart Foreclosures

Banks Restart Foreclosures
By JESSICA SILVER-GREENBERG, ROBBIE WHELAN and DAN FITZPATRICK

Bank of America Corp. reopened more than 100,000 foreclosure actions, declaring that it had found no significant problems in its procedures for seizing homes. GMAC Mortgage, a lender and loan servicer, said that it also is pushing ahead with an unspecified number of foreclosures that came under intense pressure.

Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray, who last week filed a lawsuit against GMAC alleging hundreds of counts of fraud related to foreclosure documents, said he is suspicious of efforts to replace paperwork. "Substituting new evidence in [cases] where there's been fraud won't help prevent the court from sanctioning them for the fraud that has already been committed," he said. "It doesn't unring the bell."

We'll see if they submit the paperwork next Monday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304410504575560634267416838.html

Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago sues Bank of America, others

Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago sues B of A, others
By: Steve Daniels

The Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago has sued several of the nation’s largest banks, including its biggest shareholder, Bank of America Corp., alleging that their failure to disclose lax mortgage underwriting standards led the Home Loan Bank to suffer losses after purchasing poor-quality mortgage-backed securities from them.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20101015/NEWS01/101019921/federal-home-loan-bank-of-chicago-sues-b-of-a-others

Institutional Holders of Countrywide-Issued RMBS Issue Notice of Non-Performance Identifying Alleged Failures by Master Servicer to Perform Covenants

Institutional Holders of Countrywide-Issued RMBS Issue Notice of Non-Performance Identifying Alleged Failures by Master Servicer to Perform Covenants and Agreements in More Than $47 Billion of Countrywide-Issued RMBS

Today, the holders of over 25% of the Voting Rights in more than $47 billion of Countrywide-issued RMBS sent a Notice of Non-Performance (Notice) to Countrywide Home Loan Servicing, as Master Servicer ("Countrywide Servicing"), and to Bank of New York, as Trustee, identifying specific covenants in 115 Pooling and Servicing Agreements (PSAs) that the Holders allege Countrywide Servicing has failed to perform.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/institutional-holders-of-countrywide-issued-rmbs-issue-notice-of-non-performance-identifying-alleged-failures-by-master-servicer-to-perform-covenants-and-agreements-in-more-than-47-billion-of-countrywide-issued-rmbs-105221854.html
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=169575

Commentary on Fraud and Foreclosure

Foreclosure-Gate In One Sentence

Hedge Fund Manager Whitney Tilson Explains Foreclosure-Gate In One Sentence
Courtney Comstock

What has happened is, some percentage of foreclosures were probably legitimate foreclosures, but the letter of law was not followed because the system wasn't designed to handle the amount of volume of foreclosures that occured, and banks, lawfirms, etc cut corners.

http://www.businessinsider.com/hedge-fund-manager-whitney-tilson-explains-foreclosure-gate-in-one-sentence-2010-10

In Holland, Free Speech on Trial

In Holland, Free Speech on Trial
By AYAAN HIRSI ALI

Imagine if a leader within the tea party movement were able to persuade its members to establish a third political party. Imagine he succeeded—overwhelmingly—and that as their leader he stood a real chance of winning the presidency. Then imagine that in anticipation of his electoral victory, the Democrats and Republicans quickly modified an existing antidiscrimination law so that he could be convicted for statements he made on the campaign trail.

All of this seems impossible in a 21st-century liberal democracy. But it is exactly what is happening in Holland to Dutch parliamentarian Geert Wilders.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704657304575539872944767984.html

The Impact of Error From Securitization to Foreclosure

The Impact of Error From Securitization to Foreclosure
Barry Ritholtz

do not misunderstand these circumstances: These are problems of the banks own making, and we should make sure that the costs of these do not fall to the taxpayers

And no, this is not about keeping deadbeats in their homes.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/the-impact-of-error-from-securitization-to-foreclosure/

Individual Property Rights (Guarded by the States) vs. Commercial Bankers (aka: Owners of the Federal Reserve)

The Coming Collapse of the Real Estate Market
Charles Hugh Smith

Either there is due process of law or you have a kleptocracy/"banana republic" oligarchy. At present, that is the decision we face as a nation. If the banking Elites and their partners in the Central State (Fed and Treasury) are allowed to "win" and gut the property laws of the states, then the U.S.A. will be revealed as a kleptocracy/"banana republic" oligarchy.

It's decision time, citizens. Either the banks/Central State "win" and we are a kleptocracy/ "banana republic," or they lose and the U.S. mortgage/ banking sector implodes and is either formally socialized (i.e. owned lock, stock and barrel by the Central State) or rebuilt from scratch without big banks, Federal guarantees and the Fed's incestuous interventions. ("We create the credit that enables the mortgage, you issue the mortgage, and then we buy the mortgage.")

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogoct10/foreclosure-collapse10-10.html

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The Rot Within: Our Culture of Financial Fraud and the Anger of the Honest
Charles Hugh Smith

To tell the truth is to bring down the entire status quo.

http://www.oftwominds.com/blogoct10/fraud-anger10-10.html

From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze

From a Maine House, a National Foreclosure Freeze
By DAVID STREITFELD, NYT

“When Stephan [the limited signing officer] says in an affidavit that he has personal knowledge of the facts stated in his affidavits, he doesn’t. When he says that he has custody and control of the loan documents, he doesn’t. When he says that he is attaching ‘a true and accurate’ copy of a note or a mortgage, he has no idea if that is so, because he does not look at the exhibits. When he makes any other statement of fact, he has no idea if it is true. When the notary says that Stephan appeared before him or her, he didn’t.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/business/15maine.html?_r=1

Did GM "Lie" About The Electric Car?

How GM "Lied" About The Electric Car

We were told the Volt would achieve 230 MPG fuel economy and would always use the electric drivetrain to motivate the wheels — only using the onboard gasoline engine as a "range extender" for charging the batteries. It now turns out that not only were those fuel economy claims misleading, but the gasoline engine is actually used to motivate the wheels — making the Volt potentially nothing more than a very advanced hybrid car and pushing some automotive journalists like Scott Oldham at Edmunds.com to claim "GM lied to the world" about it.

http://jalopnik.com/5661051/how-gm-lied-about-the-electric-car

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No, GM Didn't 'Lie' About The Volt, The Press Got It Wrong
Nelson Ireson, The Car Connection

The "GM lied" fanatics can build their semantic sand castles and kick down GM's own all day long, but at the end of the day, this "lie" means the Volt is more capable than any other vehicle in its class. Is a flashy headline really worth dragging what may be the best EV/hybrid/futuremobile/whatever through the mud over a case of dubitable nomenclature? Apparently, to some, it is.

http://www.businessinsider.com/no-gm-didnt-lie-about-the-volt-the-press-got-it-wrong-2010-10

Not to be outdone, FDIC joins the robo-signing club, too

Not to be outdone, FDIC joins the robo-signing club, too

That’s right – while IndyMac was under FDIC “control”, bank officers were robo-signing affidavits

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/10/not-to-be-outdone-fdic-joins-the-robo-signing-club-too.html

Let There be Lightbulbs - End the Nanny State

Let There be Lightbulbs
The perfect symbol of the Pelosi Congress.



http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703860104575508130552891248.html

60 Minutes Looks At High Frequency Trading

Time for Criminal Charges To Be Filed . . .

Time for Criminal Charges To Be Filed . . .
By Barry Ritholtz

The absurdity of illegal activity, criminal conduct, rampant fraud has reached a point where the nation much declare “No More.” We must begin the process of identifying criminal actors — and prosecuting them.

This is about fundamental property rights and the Rule of Law in the United States — nothing less.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/robo-signers-hired-criminal-charges-needed/

First The Stimulus, Now The Hangover

First The Stimulus, Now The Hangover
Nicole Gelinas, NY Post

Last week's dismal jobs figures tell us exactly what the President Obama's stimulus did: It temporarily saved jobs in state and local government -- thereby slowing our recovery.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/first_the_stimulus_now_the_hangover_AXlk9aHhMtraQ3mQ2oQ1DL

Do We Really Need a Central Bank?

Do We Really Need a Central Bank?
by John Tamny

The United States surely did experience a number of financial crises - 1873, 1884, 1893, and 1907 - prior to the Fed's charter. But Selgin writes that "by almost any measure, the major financial crises of the Federal Reserve era - those of 1920-21, 1929-33, 1937-38, 1980-82, and 2007-2009 most recently - have been more rather than less severe than those experienced between the Civil War and World War I." If greater financial stability had been the main purpose of creating the Fed, then it has failed on that score.

http://www.valueexpectations.com/blogs/do-we-really-need-central-bank10142010

Let’s Not Start Lionizing The Anti-Foreclosure Deadbeats

Let’s Not Start Lionizing The Anti-Foreclosure Deadbeats
By: John Carney

Now that all fifty states have launched a joint investigation into fauxclosuregate, it’s probably time to soberly address the fact that nearly everyone who has been ‘victimized’ by robo-signers and foreclosure mills is in default on their home loans.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39657316

One nation, under fraud

TheDC OP-ED: One nation, under fraud
By Joseph Tauke - The Daily Caller

How would you feel if one day you came home and found your homes locks were changed, your belongings were gone, it was done by a bank you didn't even have a mortgage with, and the bank claimed you had already missed your day in court?

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2010/10/14/thedc-op-ed-one-nation-under-fraud/print/

DID WALL STREET SHAFT MAIN STREET?

DID WALL STREET SHAFT MAIN STREET?
pragcap.com

One of the reasons I believe the US economy is such a mess right now is because we’ve attempted to create a marketplace where no one ever loses. It’s a ponzi approach to economics. It doesn’t work.

http://pragcap.com/wall-street-shaft-main-street

Car-Eating Rabbits Invade Denver Airport

 

http://jalopnik.com/5662917/car+eating-rabbits-invade-denver-airport

Why Foreclosure Fraud Is So Dangerous to Property Rights

Why Foreclosure Fraud Is So Dangerous to Property Rights
By Barry Ritholtz

It is a legal impossibility for someone without a mortgage to be foreclosed upon. It is a legal impossibility for the wrong house to be foreclosed upon, It is a legal impossibility for the wrong bank to sue for foreclosure.

And yet, all of those things have occurred. The only way these errors could have occurred is if several people involved in the process committed criminal fraud. This is not a case of “Well, something slipped through the cracks.” In order for the process to fail, many people along the chain must commit fraud.

That it is being done for expediency and to save a few dollars on the process is why the full criminal prosecution must occur.

http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2010/10/why-foreclosure-fraud-is-so-dangerous-to-property-rights/

Foreclosure Fraud: It's Worse Than You Think

Foreclosure Fraud: It's Worse Than You Think
By: Diana Olick



http://www.cnbc.com/id/39634568







Ref:
http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=168960

The Final End of Bretton Woods 2?

The Final End of Bretton Woods 2?

The time may finally be at hand when the imbalances created by Bretton Woods 2 now tear the system asunder. The collapse is coming via an unexpected channel; rather than originating from abroad, the shock that sets it in motion comes from the inside, a blast of stimulus from the US Federal Reserve.

http://economistsview.typepad.com/timduy/2010/10/the-final-end-of-bretton-woods-2.html

The Coming Middle-Class Anarchy

The Coming Middle-Class Anarchy

What’s really important is Brian and Ilsa: What’s really important is that law-abiding middle-class citizens are deciding that playing by the rules is nothing but a sucker’s game.

http://gonzalolira.blogspot.com/2010/10/coming-middle-class-anarchy.html

Related:
Whistleblower: Fannie Mae Bungled HAMP Anti-Foreclosure Program
http://www.publicintegrity.org/articles/entry/2305/

Obama's Medicare Czar Can't Take the Heat

It's been three months now since his recess appointment, and still no word from the new CMS director, Donal Berwick. In fact, Berwick hasn't granted any interviews, refuses to testify before Congress, and doesn't take any questions at public events.

To put this in perspective, Donald Berwick oversees the healthcare spending for one-in-three Americans and, as the New York Times put it, "has a budget bigger than the Pentagon's."

http://www.breitbart.tv/obamas-recess-appointed-medicare-czar-refuses-to-answer-questions/

WHERE GOOD IDEAS COME FROM by Steven Johnson

Chance favors the connected mind.

Should Non-Union Workers Hired by a Union to Protest form a Protestors Union?

Revisiting Shed End Street

Rain, Rain, Rain ...

NH gets at least 4 inches of rain from storm

Route 112 in Bath had been closed after a mudslide, but reopened, Van Dongen said. Up north, part of Route 3 was closed in Columbia and part of Route 302 was closed in Bethlehem.

High winds, drenching rain

Officials were keeping a close watch on three rivers - the Ammonoosuc at Bethlehem, the Pemigewasset at Woodstock and Plymouth and Baker River at Rumney. Van Dongen said they are expected to crest this afternoon.

How TED Became The New Harvard

How TED Became The New Harvard
BY: ANYA KAMENETZ; FastCompany.com

Of course TED doesn't look like a regular Ivy League college. It doesn't have any buildings; it doesn't grant degrees. It doesn't have singing groups or secret societies, and as far as I know it hasn't inspired any strange drinking games.
Still, if you were starting a top university today, what would it look like?

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/148/how-ted-became-the-new-harvard.html

ObamaCare: The sum of all fears

ObamaCare: The sum of all fears
BY ED MORRISSEY

http://hotair.com/archives/2010/08/05/obamacare-the-sum-of-all-fears/

A Living Will for the Federal Reserve

As a reminder, Federal Gov't already back over 90% of all mortgages.

Moses' parting of the Red Sea: New sim explains whole thing

Moses' parting of the Red Sea: New sim explains whole thing
By Lewis Page

Under a uniform 28 m/s easterly wind forcing in the reconstructed model basin, the ocean model produces an area of exposed mud flats where the river mouth opens into the lake. This land bridge is 3–4 km long and 5 km wide, and it remains open for 4 hours. Model results indicate that navigation in shallow-water harbors can be significantly curtailed by wind setdown when strong winds blow offshore.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/09/22/moses_water_sim_study/
Also: http://ultimosegundo.ig.com.br/ciencia/modelo+de+computador+explica+como+moises+separou+o+mar+vermelho/n1237781475212.html

PLoS One Article:
Dynamics of Wind Setdown at Suez and the Eastern Nile Delta
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0012481