Wealth Over WorkIt seems safe to say that “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” the magnum opus of the French economist Thomas Piketty, will be the most important economics book of the year – and maybe of the decade.
BofA to spend $9.33 billion in FHFA settlement – The Boston GlobeNEW YORK – Bank of America will spend $9.33 billion to resolve a dispute over mortgage securities with the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agency sued 18 financial institutions in 2011 over their sales of mortgage securities to Fannie and Freddie.
NSA, CIA, FBI sued for refusing to disclose Mandela recordsTransparency activist Ryan Shapiro is suing three government agencies for failing to comply with Freedom of Information Act requests he filed in an attempt to uncover details about any role the United States played in the 1962 arrest of Nelson Mandela.
Brzezinski: ‘Global Political Awakening’ Making Syrian War DifficultDuring a short interview with Germany’s DW News last Monday, former US National Security Adviser and Trilateral Commission co-founder Zbigniew Brzezinski commented on the growing inefficiency of war due to the increased political knowledge of the public.
Colorado approves retroactive reversal of marijuana convictionsThe Colorado Court of Appeals has ruled that residents there convicted of marijuana possession before recreational weed was legalized may be eligible to have those decisions overturned. As of January 1, 2014, adults from Colorado are legally allowed to buy up to one ounce of marijuana under the state Constitution’s recently passed Amendment 64.
FBI’s secret GPS tracking memos to stay secretReuters / Stephane Mahe Two secret Justice Department memos regarding the use of location tracking technology are going to stay confidential as a result of a ruling by a US federal district court. The memos in question were originally drafted to outline the guidelines governing the use of GPS and other location-tracking devices.
Obama administration censoring records more than ever beforeReuters / Stoyan Nenov Despite promising he’d preside over the most transparent administration in United States history, President Barack Obama’s White House is setting new records with regards to not releasing government documents. Never mind Obama’s assurances on the campaign trail and the vow he made in 2009 about being ” committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in government.”
In lawsuit, FDIC accuses 16 big banks of fraud, conspiracyThe Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has sued 16 big banks that set a key global interest rate, accusing them of fraud and conspiring to keep the rate low to enrich themselves. The banks include Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase in the United States.
Nasa-funded study: industrial civilisation headed for ‘irreversible collapse’?A new study partly-sponsored by Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Center has highlighted the prospect that global industrial civilisation could collapse in coming decades due to unsustainable resource exploitation and increasingly unequal wealth distribution.
Top U.S. Scientific Misconduct Official Quits in Frustration With BureaucracyScathing resignation letter describes “profoundly dysfunctional” work environment
White House withholding over 9,000 docs in CIA torture probeReuters / Jim Young For the last five years, the White House has withheld over 9,000 top-secret documents from a Senate investigation of the CIA’s former detention and torture program. The report comes one day after the CIA was accused of interfering in the probe.
Nuclear regulators misled the media after Fukushima, emails showEmails obtained by journalists at NBC News reveal that officials at the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission – the government agency that oversees reactor safety and security – purposely misled the media after the Fukushima, Japan disaster in 2011.
Tiny houses helping with homeless problem in U.S.MADISON, Wis. – While tiny houses have been attractive for those wanting to downsize or simplify their lives for financial or environmental reasons, there’s another population benefiting from the small-dwelling movement: the homeless.
ACLU appeals legality of NSA’s mass phone metadata collectionReuters / Susana Vera Civil rights attorneys at the American Civil Liberties Union have filed an appeal with a federal court asking the judge to outlaw the National Security Agency’s collection of phone metadata after another court deemed the method of surveillance legal.
Texan exonerated from death row goes after prosecutorAfter surviving 18 years in prison and avoiding execution twice for murders he was eventually exonerated of, Anthony Graves of Texas is now going after the prosecutor who originally convicted him. Flanked by state lawmakers on Wednesday, Graves announced the Texas State Bar has officially decided to investigate former Burleson County District Attorney Charles Sebesta, 73, for alleged professional misconduct regarding the case in question.
Historic: 1st state adopts plan to rein in fedsText smaller Text bigger The plan to put the brakes on Washington’s expansion of the federal government is under way. Convention of States confirmed that the Georgia legislature on Thursday passed the organization’s application “to limit the power and jurisdiction of the federal government.” State Sen.
Democratic presidential candidate accuses US of provoking Ukrainian crisisDiverting from the typical Western line against “Russia’s invasion of Crimea,” former Ohio congressman and Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich said it was driven by covert action by the United States.