Government, Enron-Style

Long silent and now contradictory, President Obama needs to deliver a clarifying speech about our financial markets and the rule of law.


Strongly recommend this piece at the Huffington Post by Jeff Connaughton, a former aide to Senator Ted Kaufman. Jeff is one of the smartest guys on the Hill and is particularly strong on issues surrounding Wall Street and the regulatory system. In this piece, he takes apart the oft-stated mantra that what Wall Street firms did during and after the crisis was maybe unethical, but not illegal.

He takes particular aim at Barack Obama, who recently tossed that line out on 60 Minutes in what I thought was one of the real low moments of his presidency. Here’s Jeff’s take:

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/obama-and-geithner-government-enron-style-20111220#ixzz1hQCCPBmt

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/blogs/taibblog/obama-and-geithner-government-enron-style-20111220

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-connaughton/obama-wall-street-laws_b_1157915.html?ref=email_share

Wall Street's 2011 Pay To Break Records Despite Layoffs/Canceled Holiday Parties

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/20/wall-street-pay-2011_n_1160580.html

Countrywide Gave Four Members Of Congress Discounted Loans

WASHINGTON — Four House lawmakers received VIP discounted loans from the former Countrywide Financial Corp., the lender whose subprime mortgages was largely responsible for the nation's foreclosure crisis, according to congressional investigators.


"Between January 1996 and June 2008, Countrywide's VIP unit gave discounted loans to employees of the federal government, including the U.S. Congress."

He added, "My staff is also aware of the possibility that loans with VIP benefits were conferred to other members and serviced by a separate loan processing branch."

The ethics committee determines whether House members violated standards of conduct, including a virtual ban on gifts. The committee also can refer cases to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation.

It was previously revealed that Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D. and Chris Dodd, D-Conn., while still a senator, had received VIP loans from Countrywide. Both said they did not know they were getting unique deals and Dodd maintained he received no preferential treatment.

Others named as recipients of the VIP program were James Johnson, former head of Fannie Mae who later stepped down as an adviser to Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, and Franklin Raines, who also headed Fannie Mae. Still other "friends" included retired athletes, a judge, a congressional aide and a newspaper executive.

The Senate's ethics committee looked at the Dodd and Conrad cases and cleared them of wrongdoing, but warned that they should have exercised better judgment.

The committee said the senators should have questioned why they were in the VIP program, because it should have raised red flags.

The Securities and Exchange Commission in October 2010 said that Mozilo would pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle charges that he and two other former Countrywide executives misled investors as the subprime mortgage crisis began. Mozilo also was banned from ever again serving as an officer or director of a publicly traded company.

He also agreed to pay another $45 million to settle other violations for a total settlement of $67.5 million that was to be returned to investors who were harmed.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/countrywide-congress-discounted-loans_n_1157486.html

Manning WikiLeaks hearing begins

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/12/16/bradley_manning_famed_whistleblower_daniel_ellsberg

Bradley Manning: Famed Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg on Alleged WikiLeaks Soldier’s 1st Day in Court

Occupy Broadway, A Theatrical Plan To Reclaim New York City's Public Spaces

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/09/occupy-broadway_n_1138650.html

"mockupy"

OWS Protesters "Mockupy" Law and Order Set

By Lauren Hepler | Posted Friday, Dec. 9, 2011, at 11:49 AM ET

The Occupy Wall Street crowd has no respect for Law and Order. Literally.

Overnight Thursday, a group of Occupy protesters decided to "mockupy" a replica set of their original Zuccotti Park encampment, which was constructed for an upcoming episode of the TV show Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

A roundup of mockupy-related tweets compiled by New York Magazine shows that protest organizers first called for occupiers to descend on the set, located in New York City’s Foley Square, at around 11:30 p.m. About 30 protesters obliged before déjà vu ensued.

NYPD officers again evicted protesters from their Zuccotti Park encampment, this time just an hour after the (m)occupation began. After reportedly pulling the show’s permit and evicting the occupiers, NYPD allowed crews to disassemble the set. There were no reported arrests.

Mother Jones caught some of the protestors’ tongue-in-cheek responses to their most recent eviction, including the chant "NYPD does not respect Law and Order." Another protester reportedly asked a police officer, "Are these real barricades, or a set piece?"

Despite the sarcastic response, the moccupation could have a lasting impact on the protests. At a hastily-gathered general assembly meeting nearby, Mother Jones reported one protester said: "this points out to us a more clever way to fight the struggle."

Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement raided a fictional recreation of their former Zuccotti Park camp late Thursday night into Friday morning, interrupting the filming of a new episode of NBC crime drama "Law & Order: SVU" that was taking place in lower Manhattan's Foley Square.


The show, a long running ripped-from-the-headlines police procedural, was in the midst of producing an episode that seemed to involve the economic protests that began in Zuccotti Park in September and have spread throughout the world. Word traveled online through Occupy's various social channels and a crowd of people quickly showed up to "mockupy" the square.


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/09/mockupy-wall-street-law-order-svu_n_1138421.html

Senate Votes To Let Military Detain Americans Indefinitely, White House Threatens Veto

WASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Tuesday to keep a controversial provision to let the military detain terrorism suspects on U.S. soil and hold them indefinitely without trial -- prompting White House officials to reissue a veto threat.

The measure, part of the massive National Defense Authorization Act, was also opposed by civil libertarians on the left and right. But 16 Democrats and an independent joined with Republicans to defeat an amendment by Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) that would have killed the provision, voting it down with 61 against, and 37 for it.

"I'm very, very, concerned about having U.S. citizens sent to Guantanamo Bay for indefinite detention," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), one of the Senate's most conservative members.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/29/senate-votes-to-let-military-detain-americans-indefinitely_n_1119473.html

U.N. Envoy: U.S. Isn't Protecting Occupy Protesters' Rights

THIS is a great article!!!!!!


WASHINGTON -- The United Nations envoy for freedom of expression is drafting an official communication to the U.S. government demanding to know why federal officials are not protecting the rights of Occupy demonstrators whose protests are being disbanded -- sometimes violently -- by local authorities.


........"Citizens have the right to dissent with the authorities, and there's no need to use public force to silence that dissension," Frank La Rue, who serves as the U.N. "special rapporteur" for the protection of free expression. "The use of police force is legitimate to maintain public order -- but there has to be a danger of real harm, a clear and present danger. And second, there has to be a proportionality of the force employed to prevent a real danger."

........"The demonstrations are treated as if they're presumptively criminal," she said. "Instead of looking at free speech activity as an honored and cherished right that should be supported and facilitated, the reaction of local authorities and police is very frequently to look at it as a crime scene." said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, co-chair of a National Lawyers Guild committee. 


read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/02/occupy-wall-street-un-envoy_n_1125860.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

Walker Prettyman, 15,

Citigroup Settlement Tossed: Judge Tells SEC To Get It Together

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/28/sec-citigroup-settlement-judge-jed-rakoff_n_1117140.html?utm_campaign=112811&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Alert-business&utm_content=FullStory

http://www.cdellebates.com/gallery_wallstreet1.html

In a potentially precedent setting ruling on Monday, a federal judge in New York tossed out a settlement between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Citigroup, effectively telling the SEC -- which is responsible for protecting investors and maintaining fair, orderly markets -- that it isn't not going far enough in holding financial institutions accountable for their 
wrongdoings.

Huffington Post - "OWS War on Poverty......shop Like an Heiress"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hillary-st-pierre/how-to-shop-to-boost-the-middle-class_b_1088444.html?ir=Style