Banks Outbidding Private Equity Funds at Foreclosures, Believing They Can Beat Them at the Pump and Dump Game
naked capitalismIt’s conventional to deem local journalism to be dead, but Josh Salman at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune has written well-researched investigative story on bank bidding at foreclosures in his neck of the woods, Big lenders bidding to keep homes, that has national implications.
Secret move keeps bin Laden records in the shadowsWASHINGTON (AP) – The top U.S. special operations commander, Adm. William McRaven, ordered military files about the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden’s hideout to be purged from Defense Department computers and sent to the CIA, where they could be more easily shielded from ever being made public.
Obama gives himself control of all communication systems in AmericaUS President Barack Obama quietly signed his name to an Executive Order on Friday, allowing the White House to control all private communications in the country in the name of national security. President Obama released his latest Executive Order on Friday, July 6, a 2,205-word statement offered as the “Assignment of National Security and Emergency Preparedness Communications Functions.”
“Why did you shoot me? I was reading a book”: The new warrior cop is out of controlSal Culosi is dead because he bet on a football game – but it wasn’t a bookie or a loan shark who killed him. His local government killed him, ostensibly to protect him from his gambling habit. Several months earlier at a local bar, Fairfax County, Virginia, detective David Baucum overheard the thirty-eight-year-old optometrist and some friends wagering on a college football game.
In Secret, Court Vastly Broadens Powers of N.S.A.WASHINGTON – In more than a dozen classified rulings, the nation’s surveillance court has created a secret body of law giving the National Security Agency the power to amass vast collections of data on Americans while pursuing not only terrorism suspects, but also people possibly involved in nuclear proliferation, espionage and cyberattacks, officials say.
IMF’s Lagarde says U.S. budget cuts ‘inappropriate’AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (Reuters) – The U.S. federal budget cuts are an inappropriate measure that will weigh on potential growth, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said on Sunday, urging Washington to present “credible” fiscal plans. Washington enacted across-the-board federal government spending cuts, known as sequestration, in March because Congress could not agree on an alternative.
NYC cases show crooked cops’ abuse of FBI databaseNEW YORK (AP) – It’s billed by the FBI as “the lifeline of law enforcement” – a federal database used to catch criminals, recover stolen property and even identify terrorism suspects. But authorities say Edwin Vargas logged onto the restricted system and ran names for reasons that had nothing to do with his duties as a New York Police Department detective.
Hinkle: Commit any felonies lately?Daly understandably panicked. With her roommate in the passenger seat yelling “Go, go, go!” Daly drove off, hoping to reach the nearest police station. The women dialed 911. Then a vehicle with lights and sirens pulled them over, and the situation clarified: The people who had swarmed Daly’s vehicle were plainclothes agents of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.
World’s Most Evil and Lawless Institution? The Executive Branch of the U.S. Government by Fred Branfman
Dandelion Saladby Fred Branfman Writer, Dandelion Salad originally published on Alternet, June 26, 2013 July 1, 2013 Executive Branch leaders have killed, wounded and made homeless well over 20 million human beings in the last 50 years, mostly civilians. America has a secret.
Bank of America Faces Debt Collection Harassment Class Action LawsuitNew York, NY: A class action lawsuit has been filed against Bank of America (BoFA) by a Florida resident, over allegations America’s biggest bank is in violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act. Filed by Broward County resident Marc Katz, the lawsuit, entitled, Marc Katz v.
“Everything secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that cannot bear discussion and publicity.” — Lord Acton
How Unreasonable Searches of Private Documents Caused the American RevolutionJust FYI, the Restore the Fourth movement in defense of the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution is holding protests all over the US today. On the Fourth of July, Americans should be celebrating the freedoms enshrined in the US constitution, especially the Bill of Rights.
U.S. Postal Service Logging All Mail for Law EnforcementWASHINGTON – Leslie James Pickering noticed something odd in his mail last September: a handwritten card, apparently delivered by mistake, with instructions for postal workers to pay special attention to the letters and packages sent to his home. “Show all mail to supv” – supervisor – “for copying prior to going out on the street,” read the card.
Thanks to Snowden, a chance to reset Sino-US relationsLanxin Xiang says the fallout from Edward Snowden’s revelations may not be as damaging to Sino-US ties as feared, but could instead provide an opportunity for recalibration
Lawmakers Question White House Account of an Internet Surveillance ProgramWASHINGTON – When the existence of a vast Internet surveillance program run by the National Security Agency was disclosed last month, Obama administration officials quickly took credit for having shuttered the effort in 2011.
‘Imperial Skyjacking’: Bolivian presidential plane grounded in Austria over Snowden stowaway suspicionsSpain has authorized Bolivia’s presidential jet to pass through its airspace and continue its journey to Bolivia, the Austrian President has said. The plane was grounded in Austria Wednesday morning over suspicions that Edward Snowden was on board. The Bolivian presidential jet has left Vienna and is on its way to La Paz, AFP reports.