It’s Good To Be The King

Atlanta Airport Abuses Uber and Lyft Drivers and Their Customers

"Two years ago, ridesharing at the Atlanta airport was perfect. It was being widely used. It was cheap and convenient. Customers were king. Drivers were making money. Poor people without jobs suddenly had a job. Suddenly, the airport authorities had a problem. They had previously constructed vast parking lots for people coming and going from the airport. They had been a huge source of revenue. That revenue gradually began to fall. Then it fell some more. What had previously been a system of benign neglect began to turn."

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Governments turn tables by suing public records requesters

"Government bodies are increasingly turning the tables on citizens who seek public records that might be embarrassing or legally sensitive. Instead of granting or denying their requests, a growing number of school districts, municipalities and state agencies have filed lawsuits against people making the requests – taxpayers, government watchdogs and journalists who must then pursue the records in court at their own expense."

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How Trump Filled The Swamp

"With promises to 'drain the swamp!' still ringing in our ears, we have watched Trump appoint nothing but Goldman banksters, Soros stooges, neocon war hawks and police state zealots to head his cabinet. Join us this week on The Corbett Report as we examine the swamp-dwellers with which Trump has filled his swamp." Continue reading →

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European Central Bank sued by 200 investors over Greek debt deal

"In a case which could pave the way for a raft of legal action from the private sector, a group of Italian retail investors are claiming damages in excess of €12m from the ECB for an alleged violation of its 'equal' creditor status during the biggest private sector debt restructuring in history in 2012. During the episode, the ECB was able to 'swap' its holdings of Greek government debt for protected bonds with no repayment date. The move ensured the ECB did not suffer losses from the deal to stave off a Greek bankruptcy in March 2012. Private sector creditors, however, were forced into accepting a 53.5pc 'haircut' on their holdings." Continue reading →

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Ecuador launches new digital currency after banning competitors

"The new system, which is officially set to launch on Thursday, will work much like mobile phone bank payments in other countries: users will be able to exchange hard cash for digital money which is stored in an electronic wallet on their phones. As with other mobile payment programmes, text messages will allow users to make payments to other accounts, but what makes this plan different is that this is the first time a national government will have full control; everything from the creation of new units to securing the system against attack will be managed by the Central Bank of Ecuador. The bill that authorized the digital dollar also banned Bitcoin and other digital currencies." Continue reading →

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What’s It Like to Work for the New York FED?

"Not bad, if you like perks, 8-hour days, and bureaucratic security. This is the opinion of two-thirds of its employees who responded to the GlassDoor inquiry. It’s fat city in Fat City. And why not? Working for the Federal Reserve is a license to print money . . . literally. Click the link to see what the good life is like for America’s legal counterfeiting operation." Continue reading →

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Separatists chant ‘Death to Belgium’ at country’s new royal couple

"Though several hundred people lined up to greet Philippe, who ascended to the throne in July after his father’s abdication, an equally big crowd of republican separatists massed nearby shouting 'Death to Belgium' and waving the Flemish flag. Antwerp, Europe’s second biggest port located in the northern region of Flanders, is home to the powerful Flemish separatist N-VA party whose leader Bart De Wever won election as city mayor last year. Philippe and Mathilde are currently visiting Belgium under a medieval tradition that calls for new sovereigns to make 'a joyous entry' into the country’s major towns, and Friday’s protest was the first of its kind so far." Continue reading →

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Will Congress heed the warning on their Obamacare exemptions?

"The poll data is clear and cuts across party lines: 92 percent of the public does not think it is right that Congress and their staff are letting the Obama administration exempt them from the costs of Obamacare. Yet it seems many in Congress still want to dismiss these findings in hopes that these sentiments won't translate into actual voter preferences. Incumbents facing reelections shouldn't fool themselves. A recent real-world deployment of the issue shows it can powerfully impact candidates’ prospects." Continue reading →

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Obama’s more than 19.5 million online fans who don’t really exist

"Of the president's 36.9 million Twitter followers, an astonishing 53 per cent – or 19.5 million – are fake accounts, according to a search engine at the Internet research vendor StatusPeople.com. Just 20 per cent of Obama's Twitter buddies are real people who are active users. Overall, the five most influential accounts linked to the Obama administration – the first lady has two – account for 23.4 million fake followers. Biden's nonexistent fans make up 46 per cent of his Twitter total, with 20 per cent being 'real' followers. The White House's followers are 37 per cent fake and 25 per cent active; the first lady's primary account is 36 per cent fake and 29 per cent active." Continue reading →

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Washington Sees Incomes Soar as Most of U.S. Declines

"American incomes have tumbled over the last decade. But for many people in Washington, D.C., it’s been something of a party. The income of the typical D.C. household rose 23.3% between 2000 and 2012 to an inflation-adjusted $66,583, according to the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. During this period, median household incomes for the nation as a whole dropped 6.6% — from $55,030 to $51,371. The Washington, D.C. metro area — which includes the surrounding suburbs in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia — has it even better, with a median household income of $88,233 that ranks highest among the U.S.’s 25 most populous metro areas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington Sees Incomes Soar as Most of U.S. Declines