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Insert sentence worth of jokes here.
• Iran claimed progress on the road to nuclear fuel production, which incidentally is perfectly consistent with nuclear power production and not necessarily weapons.
• Great investigation from Lee Fang at Republic Report showing that the drone industry is banking on continued global conflict to drive their profits. The industry also lists “civil liberties” as a key obstacle to their business model.
• Meanwhile, the drone wars aren’t exactly helping matters in Yemen.
• Shaun Donovan and Eric Holder placed an op-ed in the Las Vegas Sun defending the foreclosure fraud deal. I don’t even have the heart to break this thing down (it hails “immediate relief” when it will take 6-9 months to notify borrowers of their eligibility, just to use one example). It should be noted that Donovan didn’t get the facts straight when discussing the settlement with mortgage investors.
• The Federal Reserve created another bank conglomerate that could become Too Big to Fail in the future, this time by allowing the Capital One/ING Direct merger.
• It must be the apocalypse, because I mostly agree with Robert Samuelson that higher health care costs and a graying population are crowding out federal spending on anything else. I’m sure we have different ideas on how to deal with that.
• Sam Stein reads Noam Scheiber’s new book The Escape Artists, and finds that Christina Romer actually wanted a $1.8 trillion stimulus. Incidentally, Scheiber himself remarks on the “11-dimensional chess” theory of Obama’s political strategy, and pronounces it non-existent.
• Depending on who you read, the Federal Reserve Board is unlikely to pursue more asset purchases, open to consideration of more asset purchases or somewhere in the middle.
• The chief judge in New York announced the creation of “foreclosure courts”, which have been bad news for homeowners in Florida. But these look like they won’t end up being “rocket dockets.”
• Greek leaders proclaimed “progress” in ongoing talks with Eurozone finance ministers on a bailout. Meanwhile, you’re still going to see holdouts among bondholders on the debt restructuring aspect of the deal.
• The President desires subtle changes to the debt limit deal, which you can see from his FY 2013 budget plan.
• Dean Baker thinks that Japan’s announcement of an inflation target is big news.
• Climate skeptics are getting a taste of their own medicine, as leaked documents from the Heartland Institute reveal the funding and strategy for climate denial, including indoctrination in secondary schools.
• The landmark Egyptian Presidential election will take place at the end of May, according to reports.
• Bashar al-Assad, meanwhile, set a vote for February 26 on a new Syrian Constitution that would include more political participation from opposition parties. Needless to say, this is seen by many as a sham.
• Look for a New START II in an Obama second term, provided the Russians elect someone with an eye toward reducing their nuclear arsenal further.
• After an expose showing Nancy Brinker completely ripping off the Susan G. Komen charity, the Washington Post instead runs a gauzy puff piece about her.
• Robert Zoellick will leave the World Bank. Let the Hillary Clinton/Larry Summers rumors begin.
• Rick Santorum, now well in the lead in the Republican nomination for President in some polling, released an ad today with a Mitt Romney impersonator firing a frothy mix of seminal fluid and fecal matter at him with a paint gun. At least that’s my assumption.
• More on Occupy the SEC’s Volcker rule document from Masaccio.
• The way in which US and British intelligence coddled Moammar Gadhafi is destined for the memory hole.
• Chris Christie will veto a marriage equality bill this week when it gets to his desk after passing the New Jersey state legislature.
• Interesting article about a proposed “land bank” to deal with foreclosures in Kansas City.
• Using Politifact’s logic, 4 out of every 10 voters in Kansas selected Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential election, giving him a majority.
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About FDL News Desk
Are Foxconn factories iNternment camps?
Bastids!
GM to move all salaried workers to 401(k) plans
“”These changes, I believe, really permit employees to share in the success of the business, while at the same time supporting our ability to be profitable, to strengthen our balance sheet and to reduce risk,” said Cindy Brinkley, vice president of global human resources for GM. “We’re really improving GM’s ability to grow profitably.”"
LINK.
Oh, nooooooo.
Bank of America downgraded
“A Citi analyst on Tuesday lowered his investment rating on Bank of America Corp. after a recent rise in the company’s share price, saying he believes other analysts are too optimistic in predicting profit growth over the next two years.”
LINK.
Tens of billions at stake in BP oil spill [Gulf gusher] trial
““There’s only one path for BP to take — blame it on as many other people as possible and make sure it’s not cast as gross negligence,” said Blaine LeCesne, a law professor at Loyola University in New Orleans who has been following the case closely.”
LINK.
Why do women have to endure such indignities in order to make sure their homeland is secure?
TSA says woman has ‘cute figure,’ asks for three body scans
LINK.
McClatchy’s Nukes & Spooks is reporting today: New NIE on Iran nuke program appears to differ little from 2007 findings…
According to Clapper, those Mad Mullahs have yet to decide upon pursuing the Bomb…!
You know what position we’ll be expected to assume once these “deep ties” set in. In DC, however, it’s all toothy smiles and handshakes.
China’s Xi Jinping calls for ‘deep’ US-China ties
LINK.
Oh, such a tortured country!
‘Massive’ displacement [caused by neo-paramilitary groups] in Colombian schools, students assassinated: UN
LINK.
Corp boilerplate, as always.
Here’s a little Bomblet…
EU’s Catherine Ashton has received Iran’s letter on nuclear talks…
…”I can confirm High Representative Ashton received the letter from Dr. [Saeed] Jalili today,” Maja Kocijancic, a spokeswoman for Ashton, told Yahoo News Wednesday. “We are carefully studying the letter and consulting with our E3+3 partners” on their response.
The State Department confirmed that it has received the letter and said U.S. officials are studying it, a State Department spokeswoman said.
keep worrying about condoms, but in the meantime
Today’s Guardian
“”When you use the word drought you become a hostage to fortune. Events can occur at the last minute to make you look silly,” said Andrew Chapman, a senior environment planning officer with the agency. “But the position is becoming very serious. In simple terms, unless we get a downpour that lasts for several weeks in the very near future, we are in trouble. There could be severe water shortages in many parts of the country.” Worst affected areas would include the Midlands, East Anglia and the south-east of England, say agency officials.
The impending crisis – which could have widespread consequences for farmers, food production, tourism, industry and domestic life – has been building for the past 18 months. Reservoirs were already low this time last year. Then came 2011, the driest year in England and Wales for 90 years.
In addition, we are now experiencing the driest winter on record,”
should be interesting olympic games with no water.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/feb/12/summer-drought-looms-for-england
Are these the people the US supported?
Libya militias threatening stability, says Amnesty
“According to Amnesty, some groups of former rebels are committing human rights violations with impunity, unchecked by the interim government.
“The report cites detainees who said they been suspended in contorted positions, beaten for hours with whips, cables, plastic hoses, metal chains and bars, and given electric shocks with live wires and taser-like electroshock weapons.”
LINK.
Finally–a study! We need lots more of them.
CALIFORNIA [SF County] AUDIT FINDS BROAD IRREGULARITIES IN FORECLOSURES
“An audit by San Francisco officials of about 400 recent foreclosures there determined that almost all involved either legal violations or suspicious documentation, according to a report released Wednesday.
. . .
“Commissioned by Phil Ting, the San Francisco assessor-recorder, the report examined files of properties subject to foreclosure sales in the county from January 2009 to November 2011. About 84 percent of the files contained what appear to be clear violations of law, it said, and fully two-thirds had at least four violations or irregularities.”
LINK.
Per the article, TSA claimed that repeat scanning to see a woman’s figure is impossible, since the only person that can see the scans is in another room. I don’t know what to believe here.
David, I wish you would have the heart to analyze the Donovan Holder piece. You have followed this story longer and better than almost anyone and I for one am very interested in your take on the principals own summary of their actions and the settlement itself.
Why just the Las Vegas Sun? Nevada was a state that was hit really really hard by the foreclosure crisis. I wonder how it is playing there.
The same column was published on Daily Kos where it was politely ignored and on Huffington Post where the comments really went to town dismantling their credibility and the settlement.
I think the Obama administration should be very concerned about the public reaction.
Gretchen Morgenson strikes again! I invoked your name over on Dday’s previous Tammy Baldwin thread when I duplicated your linking to the Times bombshell.
After the graf about 84% of foreclosures being unlawful and two-thirds being massively defective, Gretchen got this short attorney quote:
Near the end Gretchen reported this:
And the coup de grace:
Dday doesn’t need to rebut propaganda from Holder & Donovan, the evidence does the job for him. Just one audit by one county official in California blew a giant hole in all of the bland assurances from banks & federal officials that the settlement will benefit the true victims of foreclosure fraud.
Federal judges are obligated by law to find that settlements are fair to those harmed by the alleged misconduct and are in the public interest. The court must find both elements are achieved in any settlement (along with a host of other requirements). Gretchen’s bombshell implies that actual evidence from actual foreclosure war zones will show 60% to 80% of foreclosures were unlawful (fraudulent). The settlement claims it will give restitution to just over ten percent (750,000) of the seven million foreclosure victims. It won’t fly in court.
The “viewers” were in the other room and asked the female TSA person who was with her to have the young woman walk back through the scanner again, and again. Or at least that’s how I understood it, bmull.
” It won’t fly in court.” Yes! Oh, yes!
It’s amazing what actual research will do, isn’t it? You know, like reveal stuff?
Sort of a ps to all this:
Foreclosure crisis hits Beverly Hills mansions
LINK.