“The Republican who helped design TARP under Hank Paulson was just nominated by President Obama to the FDIC.”; he truly has turned over the reins to Timmeh.

BP’s defiant dividend hike

BP announced Tuesday it’s raising its dividend 14% and bumping up its capital spending to $22 billion this year, $3 billion more than it spent in 2011 …. it … shows enormous confidence in BP’s legal team. Not that they necessarily have to beat the criminal negligence charges or hundreds of civil suits filed against the company. What’s critical to BP is its lawyers’ ability to buy time …. It’s a simple strategy honed by Exxon Mobil. Exxon managed to drag out settlements from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill for nearly 20 years.

Here’s the worst part of that Ron Paul investigation:

In 2009, the House changed the way it reports expenditures for Congressional travel in the quarterly public disclosures, eliminating details of who in the office traveled and where they went, making it impossible to track double-payments.

This happened on Pelosi’s watch. Shame.

BP swings into huge [$23.9 billion] profit before U.S. criminal trial LINK.

PPP: Kasich Would Lose A Do-Over In Ohio By Twenty LINK.

U.S. Said to Target Rescuers at Drone Strike Sites LINK.

Oh, and Yglesias is missing the point. At the moment, real interest rates are negative:
Short terms rates are 0%, while inflation is 2%-3.5% (depending on who you believe).
Take a retirement account that was ravaged in 2008-09 and let it decay at that rate for a few years
and you have a seriously underfunded retirement.

So it’s the perfect time for serious people like Yglesias to fix the “entitlements” problem.

Greek leaders postpone meeting as euro exit discussed LINK.

• Cry me a river for near-retirees who are sitting on a ton of cash. There’s a whole financial services industry that will help them find the right balance of risk and reward.

• A hispanic news network broadcasting in English–the Chicano News Network? This could give grammar teachers and assorted racists a heart attack, but could generate a lot of traffic to Urban Dictionary. ;)

There’s a whole financial services industry that will help them find the right balance of risk and reward.

Would that be a RMBS ETF, an emerging markets high yield bond fund,
or maybe an MF Global commodities account? /s

Moment of silence:

‘World’s last’ WWI veteran Florence Green dies aged 110

LINK.

I’m not saying it’s not a problem. I’m just saying it’s a nice problem to have, compared to the bottom 25% who have a negative net worth. How about corporate bonds? Seems like a nice time to invest in those.

I realize that for many people this is so far beyond their current problems that it’s a nonissue.
But I really wonder: suppose the Fed were to raise rates by 2% tomorrow.
Would the damage to the economy really outweigh the benefit?
I don’t know, but it’ll never happen, because a bunch of TBTFs would probably collapse.

Gee, wonder why this was investigated:

Mormon Church ‘owns unregulated gun sale website’
“One of the most active and unregulated gun sale websites in America is owned by the Mormon Church, an investigation by New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg has revealed.”

LINK.

I haven’t done this in the fatster style (a la fatster) before, but here goes:

Proposed settlement with banks over foreclosure practices dealt a setback

LINK.

That is the WaPo story posted at 9:22 pm tonight, based on the event in the very first line of Dday’s roundup: AG Schneiderman canceled a presser at the last minute, causing gasps & alarm at the banks, apparently. Cuz it sure as hell isn’t a “setback” for us if he rejects the crap settlement fraud covering up foreclosure fraud.

I was going to say that WaPo, like most of the MSM, still doesn’t get the importance of Schneiderman’s, Biden’s, Masto’s & Coakley’s pending civil actions, but it looks like WaPo tightened up its editing because the 9:22 pm version uses the phrase “erroneous and fraudulent foreclosure documents” in describing the target of Schneiderman’s Feb. 3 complaint, and then uses the phrase “flawed and fraudulent foreclosure documents” in this graf:

The current settlement stems from revelations in late 2010 that banks had filed hundreds of thousands of flawed and fraudulent foreclosure documents in their rush to keep up with a tidal wave of delinquent loans wrought by the housing crisis, a practice known as “robosigning.” Under the proposed deal, the five banks involved — Wells Fargo, Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Ally Financial and Citigroup — would agree to end those practices and overhaul the often-convoluted way they deal with borrowers trying to stay in their homes. They also would pay about $25 billion that would go toward lowering loan balances for borrowers who owe more than their houses are worth, helping others refinance at lower rates and paying up to $2,000 to hundreds of thousands of people who lost homes to foreclosure.

Increasing awareness among the M$M, at last. Thnx, Fractal.

Good!

Orangutan ‘exterminators’ on trial in Indonesia LINK.

Walker-Gate update:

“Darlene Wink, a Scott Walker staffer when he was the Milwaukee County Executive, struck a plea bargain and pleaded guilty today to two misdemeanor counts of illegal fundraising and political work. The Walkergate scandal began in 2010 when it was reported that Wink was doing campaign work on county time. Walker claims he asked for her resignation at that time and knew of no other wrongdoing on his watch. Her sentencing has been delayed until May. Prosecutors will likely suggest no jail time, depending on the level of cooperation they get from Wink. Word is she’s already singing like a canary on a 5-Hour-Energy drink.”

LINK.

Here in DC we just went through our own modest version of Walker-Gate, but we didn’t give it a “gate” name yet:

Federal Officials Take Victory Lap After Thomas’ Guilty Plea

LINK.

The “Thomas” is Harry L. Thomas, Jr. (HLT), the Councilmember on DC Council from Ward 5, located in part of the NE quadrant of DC. He took a plea bargain for embezzling $353,000 in taxpayer funds laundered through a “children’s” charity, and for evading taxes on $346,000 of that. He’s looking at over 27 months in prison, will be sentenced in May (just like Darlene!). But he wasn’t the “cooperator” who got credit for turning in other co-conspirators, that role was played by one or both of the guys running a “golf course foundation” (the green “Organization #2″ in the photo at the LINK above), who dropped the dime on HLT and signed plea agreements in November 2011, a month before HLT signed his plea deal on December 23, 2011.

HLT Started Stealing Right Away LINK.

[minor edit to correct initials of the guilty Ward 5 pol, who local press liked to call "HTJ" cuz he was Harry Thomas "Junior," the son of the original Harry Thomas who was the Ward 5 Councilmember for a generation]

Wednesday morning Boston Globe (paywall):

Coakley not ready to say settlement with banks is best choice

LINK.

So that makes at least five holdouts, when you add Massachusetts to the four listed in yesterday’s LA Times item: California, New York, Nevada, and Delaware.

Six, when you add Florida, listed as a holdout in a Bloomberg item yesterday.

I would love to be surprised by Lisa Madigan, AG in Illinois, but the astounding silence from the Chicago papers (Sun Times, Tribune) the past two days seems to confirm that she caved, after filing that promising lawsuit last Thursday against National Title Clearing.

My insides/instincts tell me that all these sudden congressional retirements mean something. They tell me it means something big and ugly, but we need to look forward, have hope, and expect some change.

Oh yeah, and eat our cake, er Peas!

WRT another news channel, guess the purpose is that the existing one aren’t doing a good enough job at brainwashing us.

Today’s National Security Brief:

http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/02/08/421045/national-security-brief-february-8-2012/

Is Fukushima overheating again? “Several Fukushima Nuclear reactors are overheating again as TEPCO says water is failing to cool them down and Boric acid is being injected – a tell tale sign of a nuclear meltdown”

http://radioactive.eu.com/

Re: The economy…
I really do not see people going out and spending like drunken sailors again any time soon, which is obviously what the administration and congress would like.

It took 40 years or so from the last depression for people to change their spending habits. And truthfully, I don’t see this as a bad thing.

Somebody must love the “framing” in the Globe, Fractal, ” … as much as 25 billion”.

When that reads, “… as little as 25 billion”, then, and only then, might it be said that the media, which is a part of the political class, is not engaged in, still, “pushing” the “line”, of the White House and Obama’s astute good buddies on Wall Street.

Your suggestion about Elizabeth Warren getting “together” with Coakley, on the “settlement” is “something” that the media might want (or not) to pursue, as well. I’m open to being surprised.

DW

This, from emptywheel, is worth a considered thought or two, as well.

http://www.emptywheel.net/2012/02/08/short-sale-at-the-white-house/#comments.

DW

Of course NHK has been resolutely silent on this.

Thanks for that. Now I need to hit something. :-(

Oh course, we are not a bit surprised.

Top o’ the morn to you, DW. Hearkening back to a yesterthread, here is how I’d like to see corporate criminals get dealt with, as opposed to what we are seeing with the mortgage fraud settlement negotiations. Of course, it is much more likely that this will just become a new police training video: http://www.lvrj.com/news/video-shows-officers-beating-motorist-in-diabetic-shock-138901274.html

No, eCAHN, “we” are not, in the least, surprised, however it must be made clear, to the people of this nation, that it is Obama and his minions who “offered” Harris, for example, the supposedly big carrots to go along with the “deal”. Citizens must come, soon, to understand that Obama is “sharing” still secret details with some and not with others, including both state attorneys general and the public and that this “deal”, which is itself fraudulent, and its long-term intentions, such as seeking to limit the easiest to prove and primary fraud, of forgery, are quintessential “Obama-Op”.

The handiwork of the proud “lesser evil”.

DW

Sick shit, rc, appalling …

Yes sir! We are number one!!!’

I wouldn’t wish that even on … the Filthy Bastards.

DW

Let’s not forget the U.S. electorate is by and large amnesiac. In two months Kaisich could well win by twenty points.

The laughter at the end was, to me, the most upsetting insight into cop mentality. You would not believe how pro “law-and-order” I used to be. Never again. But that is what real persons face on the street, corporate persons would never be so mistreated. I used to hope I’d be reincarnated as a wolf, but now I hope to be reincarnated as a corporation.

There was supposed to be a press call from New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman at 6pm ET, but ten minutes prior, his office abruptly announced it was “postponed indefinitely.” Wow

How do you spell CAVE IN????

Let’s give credit where credit’s due: Willard Romney is remarkably lifelike but that won’t fool even the NASCAR faction of the GOP.

“Basically there will be no public employees left in Greece before this is all through.”

There are over 2.2 million public employees in Greece – last years cut promise of 30,000 jobs in 12 months resulted in 1000 jobs cut. Now they ask for a real 15,000 decrease in head count. Seems minimal.

Meanwhile the attempt to stop the non-taxation of the Greek rich seems to no longer be on the EU’s todo list.

Surprise, surprise.

Wolves only get to live for a relatively short time, rc, just like fleshies, as a corp you could, conceivably, live forever and just get bigger and bigger.

What a way to go …

Yes, the laughter … must have been some chuckling around the ovens, as well …

I know, it is not “nice” of me to make such “comparisons” … but then, I am not nice, nor am I cute.

DW

My friend, the days when such comparisions were automatically dismissible are gone. Both as to the behavior of the authoritarians and the passivity of the people over whom they preside.

I recall when “comparison” was considered “odious”, rc … “odious” still obtains, whether comparison is raised … or not.

As to the “passivity” … time shall tell … or else keep its mouth shut.

DW

Look on the bright side. We had a good half-century or more of unrestrained self-congratulatory pretending that only Germans could be so fucked-up as to do or allow to be done the kind of things that took place there in the 1930′s et seq. Now we know, thru psych studies and, increasingly, our own national behavior, that even this country can swallow a wide assortment of atrocities with studied equanimity. So, compare away, my friend.

CCR Submits Declaration Detailing Torture to Spanish Court after Judge’s Order to Proceed with Guantánamo Torture Investigation

LINK.

Nobody expects a Spanish Inquisition!! (h/t to the Pythons)

another good thing about North Dakota:

Welcome to Farm Rescue!

“We are a one-of-a-kind nonprofit organization that plants and harvests crops free of charge for family farmers who have suffered a major illness, injury or natural disaster.

Our ability to help families on the land is 100% dependent upon some pretty amazing people – volunteers, sponsors and individual donors. They give of their time, talents and financial resources to help put a crop in the ground or harvest its bounty for families that are in crisis. Selfless acts. Selfless people. It doesn’t get much better than that in our book!”