Another Federal Housing Bailout: FHA Needs $943 Million

"What’s the problem at the FHA? It’s almost out of money. But what about all those loans it made? Too many of them have gone bad. Sorry about that. For four years, the FHA has assured Congress that this was not a problem. Sorry about that. What will Congress do about that? Hand out our money, of course. Congress will blame the FHA for making all those bad loans. It will blame the FHA for having misinformed Congress. Then it will reward the FHA to the tune of about a billion dollars. Lesson: nothing succeeds like failure." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAnother Federal Housing Bailout: FHA Needs $943 Million

Dutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients

"This week, a well-known Dutch bank was the first financial institution to inform its clients that their 'gold investments' are no longer physically deliverable, proving that the physical gold and 'paper gold' are different commodities with different prices. The world’s financial system is short on gold and no gold bars, except those that are kept by the owners, are safe from confiscation. ABN AMRO, the biggest Dutch bank, has sent a letter to its clients stating that they will no longer be able to take physical deliveries of the gold they have bought through ABN. Instead they are offered money at the current market rate for gold." Continue reading

Continue ReadingDutch bank ABN has no gold left for its clients

City of Yokohama Mistakenly Tweets of North Korean Missile Launch

"In this environment, it's easy to make a mistake and jump the gun. And that's precisely what happened in Yokohama, Japan. On Wednesday, city officials used Twitter to warn of a North Korean missile launch — one that never had happened. At 8:11 p.m. local time, the official disaster management Twitter account of the city prematurely announced: 'North Korea has launched a missile'. As it turns out, it was just a misfired tweet that was ready in case of a real launch. The tweet stayed up for approximately 20 minutes, when the city took it down and posted an official apology (Google Translate), saying the tweet was delivered by mistake." Continue reading

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FOIA documents suggest IRS may have ignored court ruling on email privacy

"The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), commonly thought of as accountants with the power to garnish wages and seize property, is also a law enforcement agency with the power to spy on communications, so it’s not totally surprising that it has typically followed Supreme Court precedent regarding law enforcement’s broad spying powers when it comes to emails more than 180 days old. However, in a ruling issued December 2010, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the IRS to always obtain a warrant before rifling through emails, no matter how old, contained on services like Gmail and Yahoo Mail, which otherwise have significantly less privacy protections." Continue reading

Continue ReadingFOIA documents suggest IRS may have ignored court ruling on email privacy

Communism Survivor To Gun-Grabbing Politicians: “You Don’t Know What Freedom Is”

"'You don't know what freedom is because you never lost it!' With a pointed finger Manuel Martinez called out Anti-Gun Committee Leader Floyd Prozansky during heated testimony on Friday. You can bet Prozansky got the message. Mr. Martinez escaped the brutal Communist regime in Cuba in 1954. His testimony included how citizens under Castro were first disarmed by legislation similar to that being shepherded along by Gun-Grabber in Chief Floyd Prozanski. Defenseless, many Cuban Citizens were later summarily slaughtered." Continue reading

Continue ReadingCommunism Survivor To Gun-Grabbing Politicians: “You Don’t Know What Freedom Is”

Cops Charge BB Gun Owner For Being In Vicinity Of Presidential Route

"By Tuesday, the story had changed. '…Joseph Stravinskas, 27, was shooting at cans behind a house about half an hour before the presidential motorcade came by.' No matter. They arrested poor Joseph and charged him 'with breach of peace in the second degree, threatening in the second degree and interfering with an officer' – though he instantly obeyed the thugs’ commands, according to the newspaper." Continue reading

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As cities lay off police, frustrated neighborhoods turn to private cops

"After people in Oakland’s wealthy enclaves like Oakmore or Piedmont Pines head to work, security companies take over, cruising the quiet streets to ward off burglars looking to take advantage of unattended homes. Long known for patrolling shopping malls and gated communities, private security firms are beginning to spread into city streets. While private security has long been contracted by homeowners associations and commercial districts, the trend of groups of neighbors pooling money to contract private security for their streets is something new." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAs cities lay off police, frustrated neighborhoods turn to private cops

Texas prosecutor, wife gunned down two months after assistant DA killed

"The top law enforcement officer in one Texas county and his wife were found shot to death in their home on Saturday. Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Justin Lewis confirmed to KTVT that Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and Cynthia McLelland had been killed. An assault rifle had been used to shoot the district attorney multiple times, KTVT reported. His wife was only shot once. Their home reportedly showed no signs of forced entry. Authorities are investigating if the case is related to the January slaying of Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, according to Kaufman Police Department Chief Chris Aulbaugh." Continue reading

Continue ReadingTexas prosecutor, wife gunned down two months after assistant DA killed

West Virginia sheriff fatally gunned down outside courthouse

"A West Virginia sheriff was shot and killed outside a courthouse in downtown Williamson on Wednesday. According to WCHS-TV, Mingo County Sheriff Eugene Crum had been shot and killed at around 12:04 p.m. A suspected shooter was also shot before being taken into custody. The condition of the suspect was not immediately known. Officials told WSAZ that Crum had been on his lunch break when he was gunned down. The Mingo County Courthouse was evacuated, but no other injuries were reported. Crum was known for his Operation Zero Tolerance program targeting illegal drug trafficking." Continue reading

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Mexican vigilantes seize town, arrest police

"Hundreds of armed vigilantes have taken control of a town on a major highway in the Pacific coast state of Guerrero, arresting local police officers and searching homes after a vigilante leader was killed. Members of the area's self-described 'community police' say more than 1,500 members of the force were stopping traffic Wednesday at improvised checkpoints in the town of Tierra Colorado, which sits on the highway connecting Mexico City to Acapulco. They arrested 12 police and the former director of public security in the town after a leader of the state's vigilante movement was slain on Monday." Continue reading

Continue ReadingMexican vigilantes seize town, arrest police