crony capitalism

U.S. seeking $6 billion from JPMorgan to settle mortgage claims

"U.S. government housing finance authorities are pressing JPMorgan Chase & Co for at least $6 billion to settle lawsuits over bonds backed by subprime mortgages, according to a person familiar with the matter. The FHFA litigation is among a raft of legal issues JPMorgan is trying to work through in addition to investigations over its $6.2 billion 'London Whale' derivatives loss of last year. The FHFA, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, sued JPMorgan over some $33 billion of securities two years ago and also sued at least 16 other financial institutions. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were seized by the government in 2008 and received $187.5 billion to stay afloat." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. seeking $6 billion from JPMorgan to settle mortgage claims

JPMorgan Bribe Probe Said to Expand in Asia as Spreadsheet Is Found

"The Justice Department has joined the SEC in examining whether JPMorgan hired people so that their family members in government and elsewhere would steer business to the firm, possibly violating bribery laws. The scrutiny began in Hong Kong and has now expanded to countries across Asia, looking at interns as well as full-time workers, two people said. The employees include influential politicians’ family members who worked in JPMorgan’s investment bank, as well as relatives of asset-management clients, the people said. Wall Street firms have long enlisted people whose pedigree and connections can win business, a practice that doesn’t necessarily violate the law." Continue reading →

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The Undead Corporate Welfare Programs For Automakers

"Originally created by Congress in 2007, the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program provided low-cost government loans that were subsidized, guaranteed, and then in part eaten, as we now know, by hapless and strung-out American taxpayers. Ford was the top beneficiary. While bragging vociferously that it hadn’t been bailed out by the government, as opposed to GM and Chrysler, it received a $5.9 billion loan under that program ostensibly to retool its plants and start producing electric vehicles. Nissan got $1.4 billion to build its plug-in EV, the Leaf. Tesla got $465 million. It is building a few, very expensive plug-in EVs a day. Others weren’t so 'successful.'" Continue reading →

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Americans are Now Traveling Overseas for Surgery

"Growing up I recall hearing stories of how wealthy foreigners would frequently travel all the way to these United States in order to receive top notch medical attention. Fast forward a decade or two, and all I hear about now is how it is us Americans being forced abroad in order to receive affordable care. The article below from the New York Times, 'In Need of a New Hip, but Priced Out of the U.S.' is a fantastic, but depressing read on the subject. While this is an extraordinarily complicated subject, one on which I claim zero expertise, one thing is for certain. If a U.S. citizen has to travel to Belgium to implant a medical device made right here in the USA, we have a very, very serious problem." Continue reading →

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Defiling the Memory of President Eisenhower

"On a Tuesday night, 52 years ago. President Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared on TV sets across America. Three days later, he would leave the Oval Office to John F. Kennedy. It all happened very fast. No one was prepared for the grim prophecy Eisenhower would tell that night in his farewell address. In 1961, the words 'military-industrial complex' probably sounded nuts. But writing in 2013, I can say with confidence that an alert and knowledgeable citizenry is far more absurd. Back when Ike made his address, defense spending was about $350 billion in today’s dollars. Today, it’s over half a trillion dollars. What would Eisenhower say today? Probably, 'I told you so you, idiots!'" Continue reading →

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Man still “smarting” from police detainment after refusing “smart meter”

"Because this man was the last holdout in this particular Guthrie neighborhood, the Guthrie Police Department sent three officers to the man’s house to protect the OG&E installer, while allegedly detaining the man, echoing a story out of Naperville, Illinois last month where two women were arrested for 'interfering with the installation process.' OK-SAFE, Inc. and Axxiom for Liberty report that the man said he was frisked and handcuffed, and would inexplicably leave no paperwork. This encounter was confirmed by Karen Kurtz, a spokesperson for OG&E. 'We did have police out at that gentleman’s residence,' Kurtz said. 'It wasn’t a show of force at all.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan still “smarting” from police detainment after refusing “smart meter”

Oklahomans Going It Alone Against Smart Meters?

"Many Oklahomans have been fighting individual, solitary battles against the utility corporations and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to get these unwanted smart meters off of their homes. I believe that there are many more Oklahomans out there suffering or fighting all alone. Whether or not we are personally concerned about the possible privacy, security or health issues that surround smart meters, we all should be concerned if the utility corporations, our elected representatives, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission and other public servants of this state are not being properly responsive to those who have serious objections to having a smart meter installed." Continue reading →

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Energy Firm Caught Breaking Into Door to Install Smart Meter

"Smart Meters are a financial coup for Big Energy. This is why we are witnessing - and now catching on film - criminal acts of vandalism, breaking & entering and trespass by energy firms trying to install their next-generation 'cash machines' in the homes of customers. When companies are prepared to treat the properties of their customers with this much contempt, the extent to which sensitive personal data will be cared for is in little doubt." Continue reading →

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Snowden Leak: U.S. Paying Contractors Ten Times as Much as Bureaucrats

"While contractors represent fewer than 20 percent of the workforce, 70 percent of the intelligence budget goes to them, according to a figure from the U.S. Director of National Intelligence Agency (DNI) at a Colorado sponsored by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). That rare peek behind the veil is likely still relatively accurate. Traditionally the lion's share of this money has gone to Northrop Grumman Corp. (NOC), Honeywell Int'l Inc. (HON) (via is Science Applications Int'l Corp. subsidiary), Raytheon Comp. (RTN), Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), and Edward Snowden's former firm Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Comp. (BAH)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden Leak: U.S. Paying Contractors Ten Times as Much as Bureaucrats

The Real Reason for the Iraq War

"Like most lefty journalists, I assumed that George Bush and Tony Blair invaded Iraq to buy up its oil fields, cheap and at gun-point, and cart off the oil. We thought we knew the neo-cons true casus belli: Blood for oil. But the invasion was not about 'blood for oil', but something far more sinister: blood for no oil. War to keep supply tight and send prices skyward. Oil men, whether James Baker or George Bush or Dick Cheney, are not in the business of producing oil. They are in the business of producing profits. And they've succeeded. Iraq, capable of producing six to 12 million barrels of oil a day, still exports well under its old OPEC quota of three million barrels." Continue reading →

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