Land Of The Flea

Why Are Your Children Buying Houses for Ben Bernanke?

"The Fed sells all those bonds to investors – who will, of course, want their money back, with interest. So, where will the money for paying off those bonds come from? From taxes, of course. When a government sells a bond, they are selling a right to their tax receipts. And that means your kids will be taxed to pay it all off. The Fed will keep the houses, of course, but hidden behind paragraphs of confusing financial and accounting terminology. Home ownership in America is falling off a cliff, as you can see in this graph. So, Mr. and Ms. America, get ready to meet your new landlords: Benny and the Banks." Continue reading →

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‘Eminent Domain for the People’ Leaves Wall Street Furious

"Richmond became the first California city last week to move forward on a plan that has been floated by other California municipalities to ask big bank lenders to sell underwater mortgage loans at a discount to the city (if the owner consents), and seize those homes through eminent domain if the banks refuse. The city has committed to refinancing these homes for owners at their current value, not what is owed. City officials launched this process by sending letters in late July to 32 banks and other mortgage owners offering to buy 624 underwater mortgages at the price the homes are worth, not what the owners owe." Continue reading →

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Scott Brown’s brother arrested with weapons arsenal after impersonating officer and commandeering boat

"Bruce W. Browne told officers responding to the call that he was the owner of the vehicle, and he admitted to wearing battle dress uniform (BDU) pants and carry a 9mm weapon. Inside of the vehicle, officers located three 9mm handguns, two sets of handcuffs, 12 fully-loaded magazines and over 200 rounds of ammunition. Browne also had law enforcement gear, including a tactical bullet-proof vest with the word 'POLICE' on the front and back and a metal TSA badge. Browne had IDs from when he worked for the TSA and Coast Guard, but the Connecticut State Police determined that he was no longer affiliated with those agencies." Continue reading →

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Hunger-striking California inmate on 27 years in solitary

"The core demand is an end to indefinite solitary confinement in Security Housing Units, known as SHUs. Some inmates have been in such cells for decades. Strike leaders – an unusual alliance of whites, African Americans and Latinos – say the conditions amount to torture and that the system for selecting those for segregation is callous and capricious. A condition of release into the general jail population is to 'debrief' – inform – against gang members. Authorities reject the criticism and say the strike is an attempt by gang leaders to regain the ability to terrorise fellow prisoners, staff and communities throughout California." Continue reading →

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Common Core Exams: New York Schools Get an F

"No one knows what to do. They are in panic mode. Watch the videos. Parents are outraged. School officials are in hunker-down mode. The top educational official in the country is the Secretary of Education. She says this: no problem! Parents should not be alarmed, she says. The test results will 'give a clear picture of where our students are on the trajectory toward college and career readiness.' Yes, they do. The kids are not ready. Then, she added, don't blame tax-funded education. No, no, no. 'The lower proficiency rates that we will see . . . do not reflect that teachers are teaching less or students are learning less.'" Continue reading →

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Connections Between Michael Hastings, Edward Snowden and Barrett Brown

"When the FBI raided the Dallas home of journalist Barrett Brown in March 2012, the travails of the Vanity Fair and Guardian contributor didn’t get much ink — that is, until Michael Hastings published an exclusive on the Brown raid on Buzzfeed. The story included a copy of the search warrant that revealed why the government was so interested in Brown: Along with colleagues at the research wiki he started, ProjectPM (PPM), Brown was looking into a legion of shadowy cybersecurity firms whose work for the government raised all sorts of questions about privacy and the rule of law." Continue reading →

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Send Mail To Bradley Manning (And Any Other Patriot In A Federal Dungeon)

"He is a political and persecuted prisoner just as our brothers and sisters overseas are. Indeed, most of the USSA’s inmates fall into that category since they have committed no crime: the only thing of which they’re guilty is angering a politician or bureaucrat because they persist in buying or selling plants Our Rulers dislike, or they consider their money their own rather than the IRS’s, or they’ve defied the totalitarian State in some other way. I don’t know whether the tyrants running this country have taken a page from North Korea and Saudi Arabia to deny Manning his mail, but no matter: writing him reminds the brutes that we are out here and we’re watching." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSend Mail To Bradley Manning (And Any Other Patriot In A Federal Dungeon)

The courage of Bradley Manning will inspire others to seize their moment of truth

"The critical moment in the political trial of the century was on 28 February when Bradley Manning stood and explained why he had risked his life to leak tens of thousands of official files. It was a statement of morality, conscience and truth: the very qualities that distinguish human beings. This was not deemed mainstream news in America; and were it not for Alexa O'Brien, an independent freelance journalist, Manning's voice would have been silenced. Working through the night, she transcribed and released his every word. It is a rare, revealing document." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe courage of Bradley Manning will inspire others to seize their moment of truth

Detroit city officials misplace $1 million check for a month

"Officials in the financially beleaguered city of Detroit misplaced a $1 million check made out to the city’s school system for a month. According to Bloomberg News, the fact that the check languished in a drawer, forgotten, for weeks from late February to March is another sign of the city government’s staggering inefficiency and bureaucratic incompetence. A spokesperson for Emergency Manager and Washington, D.C. bankruptcy lawyer Kevyn Orr blamed the oversight on the fact that the city’s technology is not up to date. 'Nobody sends million-dollar checks anymore — they wire the money,' Bill Nowling told Bloomberg." Continue reading →

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Obama announces proposals to reform NSA surveillance

"At his first full news conference in more than three months, Obama said he intends to work with Congress on proposals that would add an adversarial voice — effectively one advocating privacy rights — to the secret proceedings before the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Several Democratic senators have proposed such a measure. In addition, Obama said that he intends to work on ways to tighten one provision of the Patriot Act - known as Section 215 - that gives the government broader authority toobtain business phone data records." Continue reading →

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