#4
Three points:
1) Credit Default Swaps are still being traded. I thought they had been made illegal?
2) The market is saying there is a 1/3 chance of Royal Bank of Scotland defaulting.
3) This could happen in Sept. or Oct.
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
08/25/2011 18:00 Comments ||
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#5
My main point since 2007 is that things will get worse until the mountain of bad debt is discharged. Just when or to whom the bad stuff will happen isn't that predictable.
#7
#6 - you indeed have a point. But I was thinking of the Bank of America going out of business before the Royal Bank of Scotland, that sort of thing.
From the Communist Party USA. And check out the admission against interest that the red included.
Neither party is anti-capitalist, but they aren't identical either. Differences exist at the levels of policy and social composition. And despite the many frustrations of the past two years, the election of Barack Obama was historic and gave space to struggle for a people's agenda.
If, on the other hand, the Republicans had been victorious in 2008 the character of class and democratic struggles would have unfolded very differently. Our movement would have been on the defensive from Day One, the Democrats would be running for cover, and the Republicans would have an unfettered hand in their efforts to liquidate the welfare state, roll back the rights revolution of the 1930s and 1960s, and crush the people's movement -- labor in the first place.
As for the wisdom of a third party, we have always advocated the formation of an independent people's party at the core of which are the working class and labor, racially and nationally oppressed people, women, youth, immigrants, seniors, gay and straight, etc. It is essential for any deep-going social change. But its realization depends on more than our desire, more than our political-ideological attitude. Millions who have to be at the core of this party still operate under the umbrella of the Democratic Party, albeit increasingly in an independent fashion.
Moreover, to separate ourselves at this moment from these forces would be contrary to our strategic policy of building maximum unity against right-wing extremism now and in next year's elections. (emphasis added)
So, if you've ever wondered if there were real, bona fide Communists working within the Democratic Party, there it is. Yes, there are. The Commie said so.
Alternatively, one could just listen to what Obama says concerning "spreading the wealth around." Or watch him nationalize industry after industry. I never wondered if the dhimocrats were communists. I don't wonder if the greens are communists either.
#1
It's a question of resource allocation: why spend time investigating the mortgage debacle when your investigators can be finding out whether Rick Perry sassed his second-grade teacher or trying to find an email in which Palin split an infinitive.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/25/2011 14:04 Comments ||
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#3
From the article cited by the article: our view is we have the immediate opportunity to help a huge number of borrowers to stay in their homes, to help their neighborhoods and the housing market A convenient excuse to cover up massive criminal fraud, abuse of and fraud on state courts, widespread perjury, and weakening of centuries of legal principles safeguarding the ownership of real estate by rich and poor alike. All this criminal activity must be permitted, to prop up the Vampire Squid industry.
#4
He was fired from his position today. He refused to go easy on the lenders.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/25/2011 19:55 Comments ||
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#5
#4 - Do you mean this news: New York Removed From Leadership Role in Bank Foreclosure Settlement Talks Schneiderman is committed to a settlement that provides relief to homeowners and allows the housing market to recover, and he will work with state and federal officials to achieve those goals, his spokesman Danny Kanner said in an e-mailed statement.
Ongoing investigations by attorneys general cannot be shut down by efforts to settle quickly and those responsible must be held accountable, Kanner said. While it is Attorney General Millers prerogative to remove us from the executive committee, we will continue to be an active voice on these issues as a part of the 50-state coalition and in other forums.
Schneiderman has raised important and legitimate concerns about the scope of the liability releases demanded by the banks, Delawares Biden said yesterday in a statement.
I believe that the events leading up to the mortgage crisis must be fully investigated, including origination and securitization practices, before any broad immunity is granted -- the American people deserve an investigation, Biden said.
Beau Biden might be the next AG to be 'dealt' with.
#6
Schneiderman has raised "important and legitimate concerns" about the scope of the liability releases demanded by the banks, Delaware's Biden said yesterday in a statement.
This is nuts. How can a settlement not waive future liability? Why would banks pony up cash now only to give future litigants infinite future bites at the apple?
On the plus side, though, if this litigation freezes up the mortgage market, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. The real estate market is still way overvalued. A 50% drop from current levels, due to banks' uncertainty about their capital position as a result of potential future liabilities would be a healthy correction. It would certainly make things more affordable for first-time home buyers.
The Obama administration is setting new workplace regulations to assist foreign workers who fill goat herding positions in the U.S. , including employee-paid cell phones and comfy beds. Cheez, we give the Paks foreign aid and now we give them jobs in the U.S...
These new special procedures issued by the Labor Department must be followed by employers who want to hire temporary agricultural foreign workers to perform sheep herding or goat herding activities. It describes strict rules for sleeping quarters, lighting, food storage, bathing, laundry, cooking and new rules for the counters where food is prepared. These bugwits obviously have never been on a western goat or sheep ranch. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
"A separate sleeping unit shall be provided for each person, except in a family arrangement," says the rules signed by Jane Oates, assistant secretary for employment and training administration at the Labor Department. So no more spooning? Everyone has to have his/her own sleeping bag with an air mattress.
"Such a unit shall include a comfortable bed, cot or bunk, with a clean mattress," the rules state. Jeebus Cripes!
Diane Katz, a research fellow in regulatory policy at The Heritage Foundation, unearthed the policy in the "Federal Register," the massive daily journal of proposed regulations that Washington bureaucrats publish every day. Your tax dollars at work.
Under the Obama Administration, the nanny state has imposed 75 new major regulations with annual costs of $38 billion.
"This captures what is wrong with government," Katz said. "I could not have made this up."
With unemployment holding steady at 9% and government regulations adding more burden to small businesses, such as those run by ranching families, Katz said, bureaucrats aren't helping. We are from the Government and we are here to make sure you go out of business.
"Instead of remedying the problem, the regulations make it that much harder," Katz insisted. "We may need a whole set of regulations just to define what a comfortable bed is. I imagine it's not straw."
The new lighting standards say that in areas where it is not feasible to provide electrical service such as tents or mobile trailers, lanterns must be provided. "Kerosene wick lights meet the definition of lantern," the regulations say. Did ya ever try to light a lantern in a sleeping bag?
"When workers or their families are permitted or required to cook in their individual unit, a space shall be provided with adequate lighting and ventilation." A Coleman lantern is adequate lighting and outside is adequate ventilation.
"Wall surfaces next to all food preparation and cooking areas shall be of nonabsorbent, easy-to-clean material. Wall surfaces next to cooking areas shall be of fire-resistant material," the regulations say. I hear air doesn't burn. Don't try to cook in a sleeping bag, though.
"It makes you wonder," Katz said, "how they ever did this before the government got involved?" It was an efficient and beneficial to all involved system. The Government can't have that.
"Who knew we needed all of this federal help for herding goats?" Katz quipped. Some Bugwit Regulator who never bothered to find out just what is involved in Goat and Sheep herding.
Meanwhile, back at the Ranch, Tonto, who had disguised himself as a pool table, was having his balls racked. Just like what the Gubmint is doing to the Ranchers.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
08/25/2011 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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#1
And all these decades I lived under the assumption that "Goat Roper" was just a negative slur one used to piss off a cowboy and have a good fight.
Posted by: Water Modem ||
08/25/2011 1:10 Comments ||
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#11
I've never seen an article hit a nerve so hard amongst ham'Burgers as this one. It's as if y'all have a horse in this race. Or is that goat. As usual, it's one big circle-jerk of a post...
Posted by: Van Der Groot ||
08/25/2011 9:56 Comments ||
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#12
you're not funny, too insipid to really be insulting, and too ignorant to be effective as a troll. Get some new material. We used to have decent trolls. Now we're stuck with you? Pathetic
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/25/2011 10:21 Comments ||
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#13
Federal regulations ARE a goat rope.
Posted by: My two cents ||
08/25/2011 10:34 Comments ||
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#14
There really isn't anything the government won't regulate to death, is there?
#15
I've never seen an article hit a nerve so hard
No doubt that's true. But you've drawn that conclusion from your vast three days -- or is it four? -- of experience reading this site, which came on-line in 2002. Your sample size is some very small fraction of a percent of the raw data, clustered rather than randomly sampled -- not nearly enough to draw anything approaching a statistically valid conclusion. The logical fallacy is that of drawing a general conclusion from a specific case, eg "Everyone I know speaks English, therefore all people speak English."
I do hope you don't approach your day job in the same spirit.
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/25/2011 13:46 Comments ||
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#17
In a sense, brings up an issue which has been bogging me. Has the government, in effect, federalized the traditional role of labor unions? Look: minimum wages, osha, disability access, protection from discriminatory firing, health benifits, so forth.
Point being, if the fed is going to act like a union, perhaps there should not be unions as it would be redundant and in itself discriminatory.
uncle shakey is a mehpitisiphile, i'd pay no mind, either should be at work, is at work but not crucial to operation, or is up too late to be effective at work the next day. Any rate does not run a business.
[Iran Press TV] The head of the US-based Standard & Poor credit ratings agency, Deven Sharma, is set to step down from his post, less than three weeks after the agency decided to downgrade the United States' rating.
Sharma's departure was announced by the S&P's parent company, the McGraw-Hill, in a statement late Monday, AFP reported. Sharma will be replaced by Citibank's chief operating officer Douglas Peterson on September 12.
The S&P chief will then assume another role at the agency before leaving the organization altogether at the end of the year.
The S&P came under fire by US officials and both Democratic and Republican politicians following its August 5 decision to lower the US rating by one notch from the top triple-A to AA+ for the first time in the history of the ratings.
"No matter what some agency may say, we've always been and always will be a triple-A country," US President Barack B.O. Obama said in a speech, dismissing the move by the credit ratings agency.
Several other officials from the White House as well as the US Treasury accused the S&P of miscalculating and misreading basic data.
Other critics claimed that the S&P had a leading role in causing the market turmoil that led to the 2007 global financial crisis by lowering the triple-A ratings of several mortgage-backed securities.
The agency, however, defended its decision regarding the rating of the US and attributed the downgrade to the political gridlock between Obama and the US Congress over raising the debt ceiling.
Meanwhile, ...back at the game, the Babe was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger. Finally it hit him... the US Justice Department launched an investigation into the practices of the S&P that are claimed to have been behind the 2007 crisis. The investigation was, however, launched before the agency decided to downgrade the US rating.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
The only man with integrity in the business had to step down because some a-hole president decided to investigate the agency. S&P should have downgraded the FED two years ago.
#2
Yeahhhhhh. Just for grins, I googled McGraw Hill. Interesting. You talk about your conglomerates...Of course, they claim that "S&P's rating decision-making process is separate, fire-walled, and independent from the rest of our business". I believe that...just like I believe in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy...especially since it seems that McGraw Hill is also heavily involved in construction. Hmmmmmmmm. And, as I perused their website, I noticed a press release on Sharma's replacement, Douglas Peterson. Yep. Now if you want some real fun, google "S&P mortgage securities rating" and check out all the hits about the Justice Department investigating S&P's role in the mortgage meltdown. Well, I have to take all that with a grain of salt because, after all, the government had a bit of a role in the mortgage meltdown as well. Can you say "scapegoat"? I knew you could. Hey, I have an idea. Maybe the Justice Department should investigate Bawney Fwank! Nah. Never happen.
#3
So while the US Dept. of Justice harasses S&P, the largest theft in world history continues, scarcely abated by the Great Recession and ignored by Eric "Place" Holder, zombie Attorney General. Stop the looting, start prosecuting? Nah...
[Iran Press TV] US Congressman Dennis Kucinich ...far lefty representative-for-life from Ohio, the former mayor of Cleveland when the city defaulted on its debt. His policies on a national level are on about the same par... has blamed the B.O. regime for pursuing control over Libya's vast oil reserves by participating in a military campaign in the North African country. Jeez, talk about a guy with "little man's" disease...
"Was the United States, through participation in the overthrow of the [Libyan] regime, furthering the aims of international oil corporations in pursuit of control over one of the world's largest oil resources?" Kucinich said in a statement on his website on Tuesday. You fool! Think green jobs, Dennis! We're actually going over to steal their sunlight and their wind! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA...
"Did the United States at the inception of the war against Libya align itself with elements of al-Qaeda, while elsewhere continuing to use the threat of al-Qaeda as a reason for US military intervention, presence and occupation?" he added. Wow. Just like 9/11, Dennis?
Kucinich pointed out that the five-month-old military intervention in Libya sets a dangerous precedent for unilateral attacks on sovereign nations.
He also urged the International Criminal Court ... where Milosevich died of old age before being convicted ... to investigate potential war crimes by military leaders on all sides of the conflict.
"Resources which should be spent creating jobs in America are going to perpetuate war abroad," Kucinich said, adding, "Resources which should be used to build bridges in America continue to be used to bomb bridges elsewhere." Hey...catchy.
In March, Kucinich suggested President Barack B.O. Obama's authorizing of Arclight airstrikes on Libya were "an impeachable offense" and sponsored a July measure to defund the military effort in the North African state. So...impeach him, my little Munchkin.
Posted by: Fred ||
08/25/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
Can't we get those mind-control satellites up and running so we can beam a clue to this guy?
#4
The Japanese tsunami/nuclear disaster was 3/11, and within a week we started bombing Libya; coincidence - or diversion of attention? (Started out as a snarky question, but then I got to actually wondering, since I never did see a convincing reason for action at that time, though if it was some secret WMD issue I wouldn't expect to hear.)
#5
It's nice to know that there is atleast one Yank who understands what the rest of the planet has known for 8 years...with America, it's ALL about the oil...
Posted by: Van Der Groot ||
08/25/2011 8:10 Comments ||
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#6
Kucinich is right. It is about the oil, but his aim isn't worth shit.
Libyan oil importers:
14 Mar 2011: Gaddafi offers Libyan oil production to India, Russia, China As the insurrection gained momentum, Gaddafi warned on March 2 that oil production in Libya had hit a historic low and threatened to throw out Western oil companies operating in the country. "We are ready to bring Chinese and Indian companies to replace Western ones," he said as oil companies evacuated their personnel and fled the violence.
19 March 2011: France begins unilateral airstrikes on Libyan government forces near Benghazi.
Yeah, so it is an oil war, for Total, ENI and BP. But that's OK, since European Fascists have only pure motives in their hearts.
#8
Dennis, you psychotic dwarf, it isn't Libya's *oil* we're worried about, it's their strategic water resources! It threatens our agricultural monopolies.
Honest.
Posted by: Mitch H. ||
08/25/2011 10:01 Comments ||
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#9
#5 It's nice to know that there is atleast one Yank who understands what the rest of the planet has known for 8 years...with America, it's ALL about the oil...
Posted by Van Der Groot
Ja Van Der Groot. It enabled our ships and landing craft to reach Normany also. Geniet jy koffee :-)
#11
Yes, evil America always wants the oil.
Of course, the Dutch just want the gas...
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell is keeping an ear close to the gound in Libya, but says its still much too early to consider returning there, a spokesman told Dutch news agency ANP.
Shell withdrew its personnel from Libya earlier this year because of heightening political tension. The company was conducting exploration for natural gas with the help of two drilling towers.
"We are watching the situation carefully and monitoring it to see when one can make contact [with the rebels] and when we can go back in and operate," said Shell. "It's too early to make a call."
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant signed a deal with the Libyan government in 2005 to explore and develop five areas in the Sirte basin, as well as to upgrade a liquefied natural gas plant at Marsa al-Brega, on Libya's Mediterranean coast. Shell was one of the first energy companies to sign an exploration deal with Libya after international sanctions were lifted in 2004.
Global share prices have responded well to Colonel Muammar Gaddafis potential downfall as the rebel assault gains critical momentum. ENI, the largest foreign oil operator in Libya, rose 5.6 percent. Shell, BG Group and Galp Energia are up between 1.1 and 2.7 percent.
So fuck off and die, you Dutch hypocrite. Unless you're Ukranian today...
Posted by: Bobby ||
08/25/2011 15:16 Comments ||
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#15
EP7165, agree, also would like to add on to prevent massive immigration across the Med. Another reason why France and Italy were on board quickly if not so much publically. Basically, everything the USA has been accused of doing - war for oil and racism as others call it when the roles are reversed. Even before this kurfluffle, IIRC, North Africa nations were telling the EU, build us job centers or prepare to receive our unemployed, Algeria I believe leading this call. I can get that, those are reasons to war which date to prehistory. What I found interesting was not only how coy the EU was about it, but also what a CF a EU mobilization of force is. Also interesting was how shobama handled his own personal war. Not only did he not feel it was necessary to explain why the USA was launching tomadove love cruise kinetic devices so forth, but when he did it was made out to be such a pain for the obamas to cancel their vacation to go all the way back to DC and all we got was a 2 week cliff note, no plan of action. Then the public was just flat fucking lied to. If he had made the call right off the bat it would have been over in a month. Instead, as it has been pointed out, obama is more interested in dressage than stallion and we got process and points of order while daffy reinforced.
Gutsy Call, I want to see this movie. "Mr President, France is ready to send strike planes, Italy will provide logistics for bases, Britian has SAS on the ground as we speak. All they ask is a salvo of cruise missiles against confirmed radar and communication centers. What are your orders?"
"Samba."
Snoot is a fool...everyone knows 'Mericans made a secret pact in the early 1800's to robber all the petrol from around the world, knowing full well that 150 years later the world would depend upon it. 8 years a twit. Further proof, kucinich may be many things, and I'd even call him consistant and for himself honest, but I'm sure neither him or I would refer to him as a yanquis.
#22
re:Shakey. That's why a "Dutchman" wouldn't recall the drop of the 82nd and 101st in Market Garden. They've had regular commemorative drops for decades on the date of the event all along the original route.
#24
It's nice to know that there is atleast one Yank who understands what the rest of the planet has known for 8 years...with America, it's ALL about the oil...
Yes, And now that we have it, we are swimming in 50 cents a gallon gas. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAA!!!!!
The Obamas' summer break on Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
From the Communist Party USA. And check out the admission against interest that the red included.
International Criminal Court
