From Denny: Kevin Costner, of Ocean Therapy Solutions, is as frustrated as the Louisiana residents he is trying to help on the Gulf Coast. What it amounts to is that several companies with the technology to clean up this BP oil spill are unable to get through to the one BP exec who can green light a project, shelling out the money to get the job going. Clearly, BP is still playing games with people's lives, the government and the environment.
The EPA, BP and the Coast Guard have collected 1,900 proposals for how to clean up the Gulf. Only one proposal has made it through to even be considered - after all this big talk the past month of setting up and getting organized as to how to process it all. NOTHING has been deployed into the Gulf for clean up. The EPA doesn't even know if any of their proposals have been deployed or not. Just what is Browner doing all day? What a mess. They are like the Keystone Cops. No one knows what to do and even if they did they could not get their proverbial act together to organize properly and get the work done. This is sheer lunacy.
Microsorb Environmental Products is a Massachusetts company that has also tried to find its way through the bureaucratic BP maze. They use non-toxic, oil-eating microbes to clean up oil spills like in the Gulf. Yet BP has not acknowledged their usefulness nor shown any interest in deploying this easy technology for the clean up.
One small bit of good news from Citibank, that Big Bank that holds a lot of America's mortgages. Turns out if you live within 25 miles of the Gulf coast they will relent and not start foreclosure on you for another 90 days. Such big hearts, yeah, right. If these Big Banks had an ounce of sense they would restructure these loans so people could pay at reduced rates while the economy is in a slump. No one said the banking sector was nimble in their policies or constructively creative in problem-solving difficult economic issues.
GOP Outraged By 'Shakedown' BP Escrow Account, Apologizes To CEO
Feds bust 485 mortgage fraudsters
Kevin Costner blasts Big Oil 'bureaucratic maze'
Costner: "The whole world is watching as America fumbles its way through the greatest environmental disaster in history," Costner told the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship at a hearing Thursday in Washington. "I believe there are other small companies out there in the private sector just like us. You should know that negotiating your way through the bureaucratic maze that currently exists is like trying to play a video game that nobody can master."
Oil spill victims get a break on mortgage payments
Opinion: How Wall Street reform falls short
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Showing posts with label business news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business news. Show all posts
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
BP On Hook for $75 Billion in Claims, 1-Man Mission American Ninja Faulkner Hunts bin Laden, News Headlines 15 June 2010
*** New Federal Reserve rules to protect consumers on credit cards, new larger estimate for oil gushing in the Gulf, Bloody Sunday apology from Britain PM.
From Denny: BP lost another nine percent of their stock value today. "Awwwww... how cares?" is the response from the Gulf Coast and here in Louisiana.
Higher levels of oil gushing in the Gulf
Scientists upped the amount of oil gushing in to the Gulf. They are figuring it at 2.5 million gallons a day as opposed to the recently revised estimate of 1.7 million gallons a day. That seemed evident to me from the new video after the top cap failed and the oil was rushing faster, along with the acknowledgment that there were underwater oil plumes from several leaks on the ocean floor.
Yesterday, BP also made a mention in passing on CNN about maybe it was 80,000 barrels a day spewing, trying to soft pedal the news that would come out today. People in this Gulf Coast region are furious at the lying and the abysmally slow and ineffective clean up. Clean up should have been the main priority from the beginning while the government and the oil industry were trying to figure out how to shut off the broken well.
American Ninja
Meanwhile, on another war front is a lone ranger kind of guy out trying to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. He was taken into custody today, along with a sword, night vision goggles, a gun, a dagger and Christian literature. He's been in Pakistan seven times now trying to find bin Laden. Like a whole country of fellow Americans, Gary Brooks Faulkner, a California construction worker, was frustrated at the terrorism from bin Laden's group and wanted to do something about it.
Faulkner, age 52, was in the mountain border province of Chitral which borders Afghanistan. It's next door to a Taliban stronghold believed to harbor bin Laden and Faulkner has already visited this area three times now. There is a $50 million bounty on bin Laden's head.
Bloody Sunday closure and apology
On yet another long time war front between Ireland and Britain about Bloody Sunday some 38 years ago, the new Brit PM actually apologized to the families of the teenagers killed that day. A new report, that took 12 years to finalize, found the teenagers not guilty. After all, they were shot in the back by police who lost their heads as the kids were not armed. At least the families and an entire nation got some closure today. Now if Britain would get as real as this for the Gulf Coast residents and this BP mess instead of lying and cheating us.
Poll against Obama's handling of oil disaster
And President Obama has a war of his own here in America with this Gulf Coast disaster. The polls are running against him and his poor, slow, disorganized response to the disaster. This poll cited is 52 percent angry with the President about his handling of the reponse. Other polls are as high as 71 percent angry and dissatisfied. Obama's political handlers better get real and start addressing the job of proper governing if they want to continue to remain comfortable collecting their pay checks. At the rate they have mishandled this crisis their boss is going to be out of office, if not at the ballot box then by impeachment or an actual grassroots coup.
Why they have not employed the super tankers to come in to the Gulf and handle this gargantuan mess is beyond me, other than BP is too cheap to pay for it, dragging their heels on paying out claims until they can slink off unnoticed. BP doesn't understand the Louisiana mentality. They will hunt BP down and wring the last dollar out of them if it takes ten life times. Yes, Southerners are that tenacious.
And what is BP's disapproval rating by Americans about this oil spill? A stunning 83 percent are furious with BP's poor handling of the clean up, the lying to the public and the government and bad handling of claims. Frankly, I'm surprised it's that low.
BP's true worth and claims capability
The good news, according to the Business sections online, is that BP has deep pockets for making this right. The real question is whether they will squirm out of their responsibilities. They generate tens of billions of dollars in cash regularly and they are sitting on some serious vast oil reserves worldwide like a rainy day bank account. Over the past five years, BP has generated a $100 million profit. Last year their profit was $16.8 billion.
Right now, according to Goldman-Sachs estimates of a worst case scenario, BP is currently looking at paying out up to $75 billion. BP claims, and I am seriously suspect of this figure, they claim they have already paid out $1.5 billion in claims. On what? They offered no itemization and expect us to take their word for it.
Credit card reforms from Federal Reserve
Another war front is that of the American consumer attempting to keep their heads above water with job cutbacks, hours cutbacks, job loss and a chaotic economy. Some good news on the credit card front for consumers. The Federal Reserve adopted new rules today about late payment charges and other penalty fees. Late payment fees could not exceed $25. Penalty fees are not to be higher than the dollar amount associated with the customer's violation. The Fed also barred "inactivity" fees when customers don't use the accounts to make new purchases. The Fed also prohibited multiple penalty fees on a single late payment.
BP faces huge tab, has deep pockets
Scientists up estimate of leaking Gulf oil
Poll: Majority disapprove of spill response - AP poll found 52 percent unhappy with Obama's handling of disaster
Opinion: How oil spills like BP's can reshape politics, from the Amazon to America - Like oil pollution in Ecuador and California years ago, the BP Gulf catastrophe could – and should – lead to profound political change across America.
Gary Brooks Faulkner: 'American ninja' hunting Osama bin Laden
Cameron apologizes for 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 - U.K. leader says he's 'deeply sorry' for death of 13 protesters in N. Ireland
Setbacks cloud U.S. plans to leave Afghanistan - 'There's not much sign of the turnaround that people were hoping for'
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
From Denny: BP lost another nine percent of their stock value today. "Awwwww... how cares?" is the response from the Gulf Coast and here in Louisiana.
Higher levels of oil gushing in the Gulf
Scientists upped the amount of oil gushing in to the Gulf. They are figuring it at 2.5 million gallons a day as opposed to the recently revised estimate of 1.7 million gallons a day. That seemed evident to me from the new video after the top cap failed and the oil was rushing faster, along with the acknowledgment that there were underwater oil plumes from several leaks on the ocean floor.
Yesterday, BP also made a mention in passing on CNN about maybe it was 80,000 barrels a day spewing, trying to soft pedal the news that would come out today. People in this Gulf Coast region are furious at the lying and the abysmally slow and ineffective clean up. Clean up should have been the main priority from the beginning while the government and the oil industry were trying to figure out how to shut off the broken well.
American Ninja
Meanwhile, on another war front is a lone ranger kind of guy out trying to hunt down and kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. He was taken into custody today, along with a sword, night vision goggles, a gun, a dagger and Christian literature. He's been in Pakistan seven times now trying to find bin Laden. Like a whole country of fellow Americans, Gary Brooks Faulkner, a California construction worker, was frustrated at the terrorism from bin Laden's group and wanted to do something about it.
Faulkner, age 52, was in the mountain border province of Chitral which borders Afghanistan. It's next door to a Taliban stronghold believed to harbor bin Laden and Faulkner has already visited this area three times now. There is a $50 million bounty on bin Laden's head.
Bloody Sunday closure and apology
On yet another long time war front between Ireland and Britain about Bloody Sunday some 38 years ago, the new Brit PM actually apologized to the families of the teenagers killed that day. A new report, that took 12 years to finalize, found the teenagers not guilty. After all, they were shot in the back by police who lost their heads as the kids were not armed. At least the families and an entire nation got some closure today. Now if Britain would get as real as this for the Gulf Coast residents and this BP mess instead of lying and cheating us.
Poll against Obama's handling of oil disaster
And President Obama has a war of his own here in America with this Gulf Coast disaster. The polls are running against him and his poor, slow, disorganized response to the disaster. This poll cited is 52 percent angry with the President about his handling of the reponse. Other polls are as high as 71 percent angry and dissatisfied. Obama's political handlers better get real and start addressing the job of proper governing if they want to continue to remain comfortable collecting their pay checks. At the rate they have mishandled this crisis their boss is going to be out of office, if not at the ballot box then by impeachment or an actual grassroots coup.
Why they have not employed the super tankers to come in to the Gulf and handle this gargantuan mess is beyond me, other than BP is too cheap to pay for it, dragging their heels on paying out claims until they can slink off unnoticed. BP doesn't understand the Louisiana mentality. They will hunt BP down and wring the last dollar out of them if it takes ten life times. Yes, Southerners are that tenacious.
And what is BP's disapproval rating by Americans about this oil spill? A stunning 83 percent are furious with BP's poor handling of the clean up, the lying to the public and the government and bad handling of claims. Frankly, I'm surprised it's that low.
BP's true worth and claims capability
The good news, according to the Business sections online, is that BP has deep pockets for making this right. The real question is whether they will squirm out of their responsibilities. They generate tens of billions of dollars in cash regularly and they are sitting on some serious vast oil reserves worldwide like a rainy day bank account. Over the past five years, BP has generated a $100 million profit. Last year their profit was $16.8 billion.
Right now, according to Goldman-Sachs estimates of a worst case scenario, BP is currently looking at paying out up to $75 billion. BP claims, and I am seriously suspect of this figure, they claim they have already paid out $1.5 billion in claims. On what? They offered no itemization and expect us to take their word for it.
Credit card reforms from Federal Reserve
Another war front is that of the American consumer attempting to keep their heads above water with job cutbacks, hours cutbacks, job loss and a chaotic economy. Some good news on the credit card front for consumers. The Federal Reserve adopted new rules today about late payment charges and other penalty fees. Late payment fees could not exceed $25. Penalty fees are not to be higher than the dollar amount associated with the customer's violation. The Fed also barred "inactivity" fees when customers don't use the accounts to make new purchases. The Fed also prohibited multiple penalty fees on a single late payment.
BP faces huge tab, has deep pockets
Scientists up estimate of leaking Gulf oil
Poll: Majority disapprove of spill response - AP poll found 52 percent unhappy with Obama's handling of disaster
Opinion: How oil spills like BP's can reshape politics, from the Amazon to America - Like oil pollution in Ecuador and California years ago, the BP Gulf catastrophe could – and should – lead to profound political change across America.
Gary Brooks Faulkner: 'American ninja' hunting Osama bin Laden
Cameron apologizes for 'Bloody Sunday' in 1972 - U.K. leader says he's 'deeply sorry' for death of 13 protesters in N. Ireland
Setbacks cloud U.S. plans to leave Afghanistan - 'There's not much sign of the turnaround that people were hoping for'
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Friday, May 7, 2010
1,000 Point Stock Market Plunge, Brits Still Tied After Election, Examining Obamas Humor - News Headlines 7 May 2010
From Denny: What a weird week this has been with the stock market plunging 1,000 points in only five minutes, supposedly due to a computer malfunction or human error. Who believes that lie? Come on; someone thought it would be cool to "short" a company, make some money really fast, and then right the ship in only five minutes. But it didn't turn out that way. Everyone is suspicious and the investigations have begun.
Speaking of weird, how about that crazy three way tie in the British elections? Now if Brown gets serious and decides to truly carry out a possible resignation then things might move ahead for his party. This has to be surreal for the British people, living in limbo like this for a national government - even after the votes were cast.
And to top off the weird category this week there is a story about President Obama's humor is examined. Apparently, some journalists decided it was noteworthy - it isn't in my opinion - to chastise Obama for no longer being quite so self-deprecating and poking fun at his friends and political enemies. Why is this newsworthy? I'll leave it to you to decide that weird one... :)
Greek Debt, Trader Error Eyed in Market Sell-Off (CBS)
Dow Plunged 1,000 Points Late in Day Before Recovering to Finish Down 347; Did Trader Type 'Billion' Instead of 'Million'?
The stock market had one of its most turbulent days in history as the Dow Jones industrials fell to a loss of almost 1,000 points in less than half an hour.
The sell-off was first thought to have been driven by fears that Greece's debt problems could halt the global economic recovery. But reports suggest that a trader error may have been the primary catalyst or that both factors contributed to the massive drop.
CNBC first reported that "According to multiple sources, a trader entered a 'b' for billion instead of an 'm' for million in a trade possibly involving Procter & Gamble, a component in the Dow."
Because so much U.S. trading is now done electronically based on programmed scenarios, such an error could have triggered its own domino effect of "sell" orders across the market.
The market's plunge came less than 90 minutes before the end of trading. The Dow's drop was its largest loss ever during the course of a trading day, but it recovered to a loss of 347 at the close. All the major indexes lost more than 3 percent...
Computer trading intensified the losses as programs designed to sell stocks at a specified level kicked in. Traders use those programs to try to limit their losses when the market is falling. And the selling only led to more selling as prices fell.
The selling was furious:
At 2:20 p.m. 6 May 2010 EDT, the Dow was at 10,460, a loss of 400 points.
It then tumbled 600 points in seven minutes to its low of the day of 9,869, a drop of 9.2 percent.
U.K. in Deadlock, Parties Jockey for Power (CBS)
Prime Minster Brown, Conservatives' Cameron Each Court 3rd-Place Liberal Democrats to Form Ruling Coalition
The leaders of Britain's leading political parties each made bids for the keys to 10 Downing Street, after Thursday's election failed to produce a majority winner.
Conservative leader David Cameron, ahead but shy of a majority, seized the initiative with a "comprehensive offer" to the ideologically dissimilar but possibly willing Liberal Democrats.
"We have to accept that we fell short of an overall majority," said Cameron, 43, as results showed his party 20 seats short in the House of Commons.
"Britain needs strong, stable decisive government and it is in the national interest that we get that on a secure basis. ... I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats," he said.
But Cameron promised only a "committee of inquiry" to look into the Liberal Democrats' major goal, reform of Britain's electoral system so that the number of seats gained is based on the percentage of vote a party achieves. They say that is fairer than the current system, in which a party can win a parliamentary majority by getting only a third of votes.
In Thursday's election, the Conservatives won 36 percent of votes cast, Labour 29 percent and the Liberal Democrats 23 percent.
Final results in Thursday's election gave the Conservatives 306 seats it the 650 seat House of Commons. Labour won 258 seats, the Liberal Democrats 57, and smaller parties 28. Voting in one constituency was postponed until later this month because of the death of a candidate.
"The country has spoken - but we don't know what they've said," former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown said, summing up confusion.
The uncertainty sent markets slumping.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he is prepared to speak to any other party about forming an alliance.
"We find ourselves in a position unknown to this generation of political leaders," Brown said outside 10 Downing Street this morning. "What we have seen are no ordinary election results. People have been talking for some time inside and outside of government about the possibility of a hung Parliament. That possibility has now become very real and very pressing.
"The question for all the political parties now is whether a parliamentary majority can be established that reflects what you, the electorate, have told us," Brown said.
As sitting prime minister, Brown would traditionally be given the first chance to put together a government. His left-of-center Labour Party is seen as a more natural coalition fit with the Liberal Democrats, the third-place party now thrust into the role of potential kingmaker...
Oil Leak Container Touches Down on Seafloor (CBS)
Robot Submarines Used to Position 100-Ton Structure; Contraption Needs 12 Hours Minimum to Settle
A BP-chartered vessel lowered a 100-ton concrete-and-steel vault onto a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, an important step in a delicate and unprecedented attempt to stop most of the gushing crude fouling the sea.
Underwater robots guided the 40-foot-tall box into place. Now that the contraption is on the seafloor, workers will need at least 12 hours to let it settle and make sure it's stable before the robots can hook up a pipe and hose that will funnel the oil up to a tanker.
"It appears to be going exactly as we hoped," BP spokesman Bill Salvin told The Associated Press on Friday afternoon, shortly after the four-story device hit the seafloor. "Still lots of challenges ahead, but this is very good progress."
Once a hose is connected to siphon the box's contents to a ship on the water level, engineers have to separate the mix of oil, water and gas, a potentially explosive process, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports from Venice, La.
By Sunday, the box the size of a house could be capturing up to 85 percent of the oil. So far about 3 million gallons have leaked in an environmental crisis that has been unfolding since a deepwater drilling platform exploded April 20, sending toxic oil toward a shoreline of marshes, shipping channels, fishing grounds and beaches. Eleven workers were killed in the accident.
The lowering of the containment device was a slow-moving drama playing out 50 miles from Louisiana's coast, requiring great precision and attention to detail. It took about two weeks to build the 40-foot box, and the effort to lower it by crane and cable to the seafloor began late Thursday night. After it hit bottom Friday afternoon, the crane gradually eased off to allow it to settle.
"We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin," Salvin said...
Obama's Humorous Shots at Opponents (CBS)
Bill Plante talks to Washington Post's Paul Farhi, author of an article about presidents and their funny bones.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Speaking of weird, how about that crazy three way tie in the British elections? Now if Brown gets serious and decides to truly carry out a possible resignation then things might move ahead for his party. This has to be surreal for the British people, living in limbo like this for a national government - even after the votes were cast.
And to top off the weird category this week there is a story about President Obama's humor is examined. Apparently, some journalists decided it was noteworthy - it isn't in my opinion - to chastise Obama for no longer being quite so self-deprecating and poking fun at his friends and political enemies. Why is this newsworthy? I'll leave it to you to decide that weird one... :)
Greek Debt, Trader Error Eyed in Market Sell-Off (CBS)
Dow Plunged 1,000 Points Late in Day Before Recovering to Finish Down 347; Did Trader Type 'Billion' Instead of 'Million'?
The stock market had one of its most turbulent days in history as the Dow Jones industrials fell to a loss of almost 1,000 points in less than half an hour.
The sell-off was first thought to have been driven by fears that Greece's debt problems could halt the global economic recovery. But reports suggest that a trader error may have been the primary catalyst or that both factors contributed to the massive drop.
CNBC first reported that "According to multiple sources, a trader entered a 'b' for billion instead of an 'm' for million in a trade possibly involving Procter & Gamble, a component in the Dow."
Because so much U.S. trading is now done electronically based on programmed scenarios, such an error could have triggered its own domino effect of "sell" orders across the market.
The market's plunge came less than 90 minutes before the end of trading. The Dow's drop was its largest loss ever during the course of a trading day, but it recovered to a loss of 347 at the close. All the major indexes lost more than 3 percent...
Computer trading intensified the losses as programs designed to sell stocks at a specified level kicked in. Traders use those programs to try to limit their losses when the market is falling. And the selling only led to more selling as prices fell.
The selling was furious:
At 2:20 p.m. 6 May 2010 EDT, the Dow was at 10,460, a loss of 400 points.
It then tumbled 600 points in seven minutes to its low of the day of 9,869, a drop of 9.2 percent.
U.K. in Deadlock, Parties Jockey for Power (CBS)
Prime Minster Brown, Conservatives' Cameron Each Court 3rd-Place Liberal Democrats to Form Ruling Coalition
The leaders of Britain's leading political parties each made bids for the keys to 10 Downing Street, after Thursday's election failed to produce a majority winner.
Conservative leader David Cameron, ahead but shy of a majority, seized the initiative with a "comprehensive offer" to the ideologically dissimilar but possibly willing Liberal Democrats.
"We have to accept that we fell short of an overall majority," said Cameron, 43, as results showed his party 20 seats short in the House of Commons.
"Britain needs strong, stable decisive government and it is in the national interest that we get that on a secure basis. ... I want to make a big, open and comprehensive offer to the Liberal Democrats," he said.
But Cameron promised only a "committee of inquiry" to look into the Liberal Democrats' major goal, reform of Britain's electoral system so that the number of seats gained is based on the percentage of vote a party achieves. They say that is fairer than the current system, in which a party can win a parliamentary majority by getting only a third of votes.
In Thursday's election, the Conservatives won 36 percent of votes cast, Labour 29 percent and the Liberal Democrats 23 percent.
Final results in Thursday's election gave the Conservatives 306 seats it the 650 seat House of Commons. Labour won 258 seats, the Liberal Democrats 57, and smaller parties 28. Voting in one constituency was postponed until later this month because of the death of a candidate.
"The country has spoken - but we don't know what they've said," former Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown said, summing up confusion.
The uncertainty sent markets slumping.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said Friday he is prepared to speak to any other party about forming an alliance.
"We find ourselves in a position unknown to this generation of political leaders," Brown said outside 10 Downing Street this morning. "What we have seen are no ordinary election results. People have been talking for some time inside and outside of government about the possibility of a hung Parliament. That possibility has now become very real and very pressing.
"The question for all the political parties now is whether a parliamentary majority can be established that reflects what you, the electorate, have told us," Brown said.
As sitting prime minister, Brown would traditionally be given the first chance to put together a government. His left-of-center Labour Party is seen as a more natural coalition fit with the Liberal Democrats, the third-place party now thrust into the role of potential kingmaker...
Oil Leak Container Touches Down on Seafloor (CBS)
Robot Submarines Used to Position 100-Ton Structure; Contraption Needs 12 Hours Minimum to Settle
A BP-chartered vessel lowered a 100-ton concrete-and-steel vault onto a ruptured well in the Gulf of Mexico on Friday, an important step in a delicate and unprecedented attempt to stop most of the gushing crude fouling the sea.
Underwater robots guided the 40-foot-tall box into place. Now that the contraption is on the seafloor, workers will need at least 12 hours to let it settle and make sure it's stable before the robots can hook up a pipe and hose that will funnel the oil up to a tanker.
"It appears to be going exactly as we hoped," BP spokesman Bill Salvin told The Associated Press on Friday afternoon, shortly after the four-story device hit the seafloor. "Still lots of challenges ahead, but this is very good progress."
Once a hose is connected to siphon the box's contents to a ship on the water level, engineers have to separate the mix of oil, water and gas, a potentially explosive process, CBS News Correspondent Mark Strassmann reports from Venice, La.
By Sunday, the box the size of a house could be capturing up to 85 percent of the oil. So far about 3 million gallons have leaked in an environmental crisis that has been unfolding since a deepwater drilling platform exploded April 20, sending toxic oil toward a shoreline of marshes, shipping channels, fishing grounds and beaches. Eleven workers were killed in the accident.
The lowering of the containment device was a slow-moving drama playing out 50 miles from Louisiana's coast, requiring great precision and attention to detail. It took about two weeks to build the 40-foot box, and the effort to lower it by crane and cable to the seafloor began late Thursday night. After it hit bottom Friday afternoon, the crane gradually eased off to allow it to settle.
"We are essentially taking a four-story building and lowering it 5,000 feet and setting it on the head of a pin," Salvin said...
Obama's Humorous Shots at Opponents (CBS)
Bill Plante talks to Washington Post's Paul Farhi, author of an article about presidents and their funny bones.
Watch CBS News Videos Online
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
USA Offshore New Oil Drilling Halted, New USA Terrorist Screening, 3-Way Tie in Brit Election - News Headlines 6 May 2010
From Denny: It just goes to show how much of a shell game is still going on in Congress with the latest GOP amendment voted down by the Democrats. There are two versions of how the bill was viewed even by the media. Essentially, the Democrats voted down the breaking up of big banks. On the flip side, Democrats safeguarded consumer protections the GOP wanted to get rid of in the financial industry. So, basically, Big Business got what it wanted: financial monopoly to keep screwing over the consumer.
Speaking of screwing over, there is a movement a foot in America of younger generation home owners - who owe on their mortgages far more than their homes are worth - well, these home owners are walking away from their financial responsibility. They have jobs. They are not bankrupt. They are angry at Big Banks and Big Business for constantly changing the terms of contracts and the financial mess on Wall Street that caused their real estate assets to turn into liability nightmares.
Apparently, they have no patience to wait for the real estate market to come back up to bring up the values of their homes. They believe they can get another house ten years from now, while saving up money. I'm not so sure that by intentionally defaulting on these mortgages now will make it possible in the future to be considered for another mortgage. That's quite a gamble.
Arizona continues to scare away the hard-working illegals as families run to Colorado or California. They fear the law will separate the undocumented parents from their children who were born here as American citizens. They are probably right. The sad thing is the criminals are not these families. It will be interesting to see how things shake out on this immigration law in Arizona as they bleed workers from their state who took the lowest paying jobs Americans did not want. Then what?
As to the oil rig spill disaster still playing out in the Gulf of Mexico, growing larger every day, it seems a new villain to rear its ugly head is Transocean. It is just now coming out that Transocean spirited away from the media - and their families - for a 15 hour interrogation - to coerce these traumatized survivors to sign legal documents while still in shock to release Transocean from legal responsibility.
You have got to be kidding me! Who do they think they are? The CIA after terrorists? Talk about sear into the survivors more PTSD symptoms when they were postponed treatment for their injuries, whether physical or psychological. These scumbag corporate lawyers and investigators need to be investigated for wrong-doing and prosecuted. They basically kidnapped these survivors against their will because they denied them access to leave and denied the families, the police and the media access to visit or talk to them.
*** ALSO: Transocean Kidnapped Oil Rig Survivors, Coerced Signing No Legal Repsonsiblity
Feinstein: Terrorist Screening Must Improve (CBS)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the government will have to improve screening of potential terror suspects, including making changes to how airlines use the no-fly list.
In the wake of Faisal Shahzad's near getaway on board a Dubai-bound Emirates airline flight late Monday, despite the fact that he was added to the no-fly list earlier that day, airlines are being required to check the list every two hours. Shahzad's no-fly status was apparently unknown to the airline when he boarded the flight...
"I would even prefer if it were sooner. And I think at some point the government is, in fact ... going to take over the list. And then it become as strict governmental responsibility. I think that's one reform that can easily be made," she said.
Feinstein said the Transportation Security Administration should enforce the list, not just domestically, but internationally as well.
"This is not an easy thing because I think we're now finding that there is a new prototype of this kind of terrorist. And this man, in fact, is a citizen. ... He's made a number of trips to Pakistan back and forth. And there are about 180,000 people a year going to Pakistan, 160,000 coming back. That's a lot of people to set up an improved screening system. But I think this is one of the things that has to happen because if we're going to prevent these attacks, we have to have a better screening of individuals who are likely suspects. And that's a very tall order."
Feinstein also addressed a proposal by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., to strip terror suspects of their citizenship, regardless of whether they've committed any crimes.
"Sen. Lieberman proposed that once before. I took a look at it then ... and my analysis was that it would not stand the constitutional test based on law made by the Supreme Court. I haven't seen the latest draft and don't know whether it's changed. So I really can't say."
Brits Head to Ballots to Elect New PM (CBS)
Outcome Said Likely to Reshape Nation's Politics in Historic Ways
There's only one good bet in Britain's razor-edge election: It's likely to reshape the country's politics in historic ways.
Should Gordon Brown cling to power, his Labour Party will have pulled off one of the most unlikely political comebacks in modern times. Victory for the Conservatives' David Cameron would return his once-discredited party to office after 13 years.
More likely - in an election with important consequences for everything from the war in Afghanistan to the global economy - there will be no clear winner, and a good showing for Liberal Democrat upstart Nick Clegg.
Only months ago, most thought the election would be the Conservatives' for the taking - but that was before the perfect political storm emerged.
An embarrassing expense scandal last year enraged voters after lawmakers were caught being reimbursed for everything from imaginary mortgages to ornamental duck houses at country estates, bringing trust in British politics to a record low.
And although lawmakers from all three parties were involved, the backlash was most severe for Britain's old guard, the Conservatives and Labour. Labour's popularity, slipping since Tony Blair's landslide victory in 1997, took a nose-dive after the unpopular Brown took the reins.
Then came the surprise success of Clegg, an affable 43-year-old who called for a complete overhaul of British politics during the country's first-ever televised election debates. His impressive performance thwarted Cameron and added to nagging worries over the extent to which the Tory leader has actually overhauled the stodgy Conservatives.
The 43-year-old Cameron has also been hampered by his own elite background. Eton-educated and married to an aristocrat's daughter, many question whether he can relate to an electorate that has endured 1.3 million layoffs and tens of thousands of foreclosures over the past year and a half.
"This could go down as one of the most revolutionary elections in the history of this country," said Bill Jones, a political analyst at Liverpool Hope University.
The stakes are high - both domestically and internationally. As Europe grapples with Greece's financial crisis, global markets are waiting impatiently for Britain's election outcome - anxious to know how quickly work can begin to cut the country's record 153 billion-pound ($236 billion) deficit, and whether the parties will be able to cooperate to pass key legislation.
A Conservative majority would likely lead to a stock market rally and a boost for the British pound because the Tories favor more aggressive, and immediate, cuts than Labour to Britain's huge budget deficit. But even a Labour majority could see a rally purely because it would erase market uncertainty.
The impact of a hung Parliament - in which no party wins enough seats to govern outright - is far less certain. Some analysts suggest that fears about delayed action on the deficit could weigh on Britain's currency and stocks. Others say the markets have already factored that in and believe rapid action on the deficit is possible - as long as a new government is formed quickly.
If the Liberal Democrats are able to push through their main goal - overhauling Britain's centuries-old electoral system so it is more proportionate - the changes would favor center-left parties, and potentially shut Cameron's Conservatives out of power for decades.
Britain's four-week electoral campaign was transformed by the country's first televised debates. The three prime-time clashes offered Clegg rare equal billing with Brown and Cameron, and he shined - combining his telegenic, friendly manner with sharp attacks on his rivals and the country's electoral system.
The Liberal Democrats - who have traditionally won about 20 percent of the vote since the party formed in a merger in 1988 - have held on to that unlikely surge, despite a dip in the last week of the campaign.
The same system that Clegg wants to overhaul, in which the number of districts won - not the popular vote - determines who runs the country, could produce perhaps the most bizarre election scenario. Labour could win fewer seats than the Conservatives, but still stay in power.
That's because convention holds that in the event of a hung Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II should offer the sitting prime minister the first chance to try to form a government - even if his party wins fewer seats than the opposition.
In such a scenario, Clegg could find himself with the balance of power. The backing of his expected bloc of about 80 seats in a coalition would give Cameron or Brown the ability to form a government and pass laws.
However, Clegg has already indicated his price will likely be Brown's resignation, as well as key government positions and a commitment to a proportional voting system - which Cameron bitterly opposes.
Graham Smith, of Republic, a lobby group seeking to abolish Britain's monarchy, said the queen could face a public backlash.
"The queen is terrified of making a decision because of the consequences for her if that decision is unpopular," he said.
It's also possible that as early as Friday, Cameron will take the keys to London's No. 10 Downing Street after ousting the 59-year-old Brown - who may decide to quit if his party is humbled...
Push Underway for Nuke-Free Mideast (CBS/AP)
Israel Likely to Face Pressure as World's Nuclear Powers Say They Are Ready for "Concrete Steps"
The United States and the world's four other major nuclear powers say they are ready for "concrete steps" to help move the Middle East toward establishing a regional nuclear weapons-free zone.
After 15 years of inaction, this long-dormant Arab idea, intended to pressure Israel to give up its secretive atomic arsenal, has been revived at the monthlong conference reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
But how far the United States, Israel's strongest supporter, is willing to go is not yet clear. Washington's chief arms control official said the lack of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace remains an obstacle.
"The question is, how do you do that in the absence of a peace plan?" Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher said Wednesday of the ``nuke-free'' zone idea.
But in answer to a reporter's question, she said the U.S. has been working "for months" with Egypt on the issue. Washington also has been discussing it with the Israelis, said another Western diplomatic source, who asked for anonymity since he was discussing other countries' contacts.
"The Five," the treaty-recognized nuclear powers United States, Russia, Britain, France and China took their position in a joint statement of nonproliferation and disarmament goals read to the conference Wednesday, in its third day, by Russian arms negotiator Anatoly I. Antonov.
Of the proposal for a Mideast free of weapons of mass destruction, he said, "We are ready to consider all relevant proposals in the course of the review conference in order to come to an agreed decision aimed at taking concrete steps in this direction."
In 1995, another of these twice-a-decade conferences adopted a resolution calling for a Mideast zone free of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Such a zone would join five other nuclear-free regions globally Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the South Pacific and Latin America.
It was support for that 15-year-old resolution that the five powers reaffirmed on Wednesday.
Although the U.S. has long endorsed the idea, it has never pushed for action. In her speech to the nuclear conference on Monday, however, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington would support "practical measures for moving toward that objective."
GOP Challenge to Financial Reform Bill Fails (CBS)
Following strong pushback from the White House, Senate Democrats today voted down a Republican proposal that opponents suggested would have effectively "gutted" consumer protections in the financial industry reform bill.
The amendment failed 38 yeas to 61 nays.
The bill being proposed by Democrats creates a consumer protection division housed at the Federal Reserve that would consolidate various consumer protections. The GOP amendment would have based that consumer protection division within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC.
As CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen reports, Republicans argued that the Democrats' proposal created unnecessary bureaucracy and represented government overreach; they suggested it would impact small businesses caught up in new regulations.
For their part, Democrats said that if the GOP amendment passed, the consumer protection division would lack independence and authority and essentially leave oversight to the same regulators that failed last time around...
President Obama released a statement earlier today hammering the Republican amendment as one that "will gut consumer protections and is worse than the status quo."
"This amendment will significantly weaken consumer protection oversight, includes dangerous carve outs for payday lenders, debt collectors, and other financial services operations, and hurts the ability of community and local banks to compete by creating an unlevel playing field with their non-bank competitors," the statement said, deeming the amendment "unacceptable..."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in an interview with the Huffington Post, said he would ensure that an amendment to break up big banks would come up for a vote - adding that he was leaning toward backing it. Majority Whip Dick Durbin has already come out in favor of the amendment. Under the amendment, designed to end "too big to fail," no bank could hold more than 1/10th of U.S. deposits.
Reid also said he supported an amendment to audit the Federal Reserve. That could mean, among other things, exposing payoffs to companies financially intertwined with AIG following the government bailout of the company.
**************
Senate Kills Bid To Limit Size Of Banks (NPR)
A bipartisan Senate coalition has rejected a proposal to limit the size of the nation's largest banks as a means of reining in the financial sector.
The Senate voted 61-33 against a proposal that would have required the nation's giant banks to split up. The Obama administration has argued that the size of financial institutions was not the root cause of the 2008 Wall Street crisis.
The proposal by Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Ted Kaufman of Delaware was opposed by the bank industry. Brown and Kaufman argued that cutting banks down to size would end firms deemed "too big to fail."
Among the banks that would have been affected were Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Earlier, Senate Republicans failed to get support for their own version of a consumer protection agency.
The GOP proposal failed on a vote of 38 to 61. Two Republicans — Olympia Snowe of Maine and Charles Grassley of Iowa — joined Democrats to defeat the measure.
Republicans proposed a council devoted to consumer lending within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Their plan sought to narrow the focus to businesses they said were at the core of the economic crisis — such as nonbank mortgage companies.
The White House criticized the proposal.
"Alternatives that gut consumer protections and do nothing to empower the American people by cracking down on unfair and predatory practices are unacceptable," President Obama said in a statement before the vote.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said the Republican plan essentially created a loophole for payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial businesses.
"They would create an oversight agency and then exempt virtually the entire financial industry for consumer lending oversight," Reed said. "It's more like a lapdog then a watchdog."
The current legislation seeks a consumer bureau headed by a presidential appointee, with its own budget and rule-making authority. It would be housed within the Federal Reserve. It would write and enforce laws over all kinds of personal lending — from student loans to credit cards and mortgages. That responsibility is at present spread across seven agencies.
But Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said the current plan would create a "massive new bureaucracy whose power and scope would have no equivalent in the U.S."
The Senate then turned its attention to another amendment opposed by the Obama administration — a proposed audit of the Federal Reserve that has bipartisan support and that even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he is inclined to support.
It would require the Federal Reserve to undergo a thorough audit by Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office.
The measure, proposed by Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, has populist support from across the political spectrum, from Tea Party activists to liberals and labor organizations. The Federal Reserve and the Treasury oppose the measure, arguing it could interfere with the Fed's independence, a crucial element if the Fed is to carry out unpopular but economically essential policies.
Sanders stressed Thursday that the GAO examination would not intrude on the Fed's job of setting monetary policy. Instead, it would focus on the Fed's emergency lending authority to banks and would require that it make public the recipients of that money.
"We cannot let the Fed operate in secrecy any longer," Sanders said.
Interior Secretary Halts Offshore Drilling Leases (NPR)
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar ordered a halt Thursday to all new offshore drilling permits nationwide until at least the end of the month, stepping up scrutiny of the entire industry amid a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Salazar spoke to reporters Thursday outside BP's Houston crisis center and said lifting the moratorium on new permits will depend on the outcome of a federal investigation over the Gulf spill and the recommendations to be delivered to the president May 28.
He said until then, "We are putting things on hold relative to the granting of permits for well construction on the outer continental shelf."
The ramifications of his order extend beyond the Gulf and affect permits pending in Alaska as well.
"They will not get those permits until we have an opportunity to complete this review," he said. "We will see what lessons we learn between now and then and at that point will make a decision about how we're going to move forward..."
He said this was his second trip in a week to the BP operation in Houston — "to make sure" BP Plc is doing everything it can to respond to the slick.
Earlier, the Interior Department suspended planned lease sales for oil drilling off the coast of Virginia.
Immigrant Families Leave Arizona, Fearing Law (CBS)
At Least 100,000 Illegal Immigrants Flee the State Fearing Legislation; Some Citizens Angered by Financial Impact
...Manuela Quintana said that they decided to leave when the Arizona governor signed the new immigration law.
For years, their family thrived with jobs in restaurants and construction, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Their 10 children were born here and are U.S. citizens. Both she and her husband are undocumented, and currently unemployed.
She said that her biggest fear is being put in jail and having her children taken away from her. Just the thought of moving scares their 12-year-old daughter Graciela...
Two years ago, this park was filled with families every weekend. Arizona was home to more than half a million illegal immigrants. Since then, at least 100,000 have left...
Rig Survivors Felt Coerced To Sign Waivers (NPR)
Hours after they had been rescued, workers who survived an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico were asked to sign form letters about what they had seen and whether they had been injured.
Lawyers for the oil rig's owner, Transocean, requested that workers who had survived the blast sign the form in the wake of the April 20 blowout on the Deepwater Horizon. This was hours before the workers had been allowed to see their families.
Now some of those survivors say they were coerced and that the forms are being used against them as they file lawsuits seeking compensation for psychiatric problems and other injuries from the blast.
"The form that they made them sign had, 'I was here when it happened, I didn't see anything.' Or 'I saw this and I was or was not hurt,' " says Steven Gordon, a Houston attorney who represents some of the survivors.
It's a pre-printed form letter. The surviving rig worker was asked to fill in the date, his name and address and where he was at the time the evacuation was ordered.
Then there are the two paragraphs at the end.
One says: "I was not a witness to the incident requiring the evacuation and have no first hand or personal knowledge regarding the incident."
The second says: "I was not injured as a result of the incident or evacuation."
The men were asked — if they agreed — to initial those statements.
Documents show those initials now are being used against the survivors as they file lawsuits seeking payment for emotional distress and other claims. Gordon says "When we were hired by one of the survivors, we gave notice to Transocean's lawyers. And the immediate response was, 'Wow, we're surprised. Here's a statement that says he's not hurt.'"
Gordon and attorney Kurt Arnold each have one client who has received letters from Transocean in the past few days.
Arnold says asking the men to sign those forms was coercive. He says the request came more than 24 hours after the rescue, after the men had seen 11 of their friends die in the explosion and chaos of that night, and after they had run to lifeboats to try to save their own lives.
Arnold's clients aren't speaking publicly but have described the scene to him. "It's extremely gruesome," he says. "I mean, one of the guys told me that as he's running out, there's guys burning and some guys missing limbs. It's like a war zone."
Arnold and Gordon say the survivors were kept on the water, in boats and on another rig for 15 hours or more. The explosion on the rig happened at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. "They did not bring them in till 3 a.m. Thursday morning," Gordon says.
When they did get to shore, he says: "They were zipped into private buses, there was security there, there was no press, no lawyers allowed, nothing, no family members. They drove them to this hotel and they escorted them into the back of this hotel, once again under escort."
It would be many hours more, according to lawyers and survivors, before they could see family and, for many, even telephone loved ones to say they were safe.
Secluded at a hotel, they were questioned by company consultants and investigators. And given the form to sign.
Arnold says it only added to his client's emotional distress. "Talking about adding to post-traumatic stress. Don't take them in once you get 'em off the rig. Just keep 'em there for 15 hours so that they can watch, watch their rig burning up, knowing they had to leave some of those guys behind. I mean come on. Really? Was there any reason for that?"
But Arnold thinks it was very deliberate. "The reason they were doing that, I think, is so they could assemble their teams onshore of investigators so that when they got to the hotel room they could try to get these guys to sign statements and such before they'd even let them go to bed. That's what they did. Unbelievable."
Other legal experts said the tactic of such letters is extreme but not unheard of — and that courts may question them. Says Robert Anderson, who teaches maritime law at Pepperdine University School of Law in California: "I think the court would respond very skeptically to a waiver of any type of these basic rights where the seaman was acknowledging that he or she was not injured or suffered no damages or otherwise was releasing the employer, particularly if that waiver was executed in the wake of a rescue at sea."
NPR contacted Transocean and the company sent a response by e-mail. "From the beginning," the response says, "our focus has been on the crew members and their families, working with all parties in the response efforts and conducting a Transocean investigation into the incident. At this time, it would be inappropriate to comment on litigation."
*** ALSO: Transocean Kidnapped Oil Rig Survivors, Coerced Signing No Legal Repsonsiblity
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Speaking of screwing over, there is a movement a foot in America of younger generation home owners - who owe on their mortgages far more than their homes are worth - well, these home owners are walking away from their financial responsibility. They have jobs. They are not bankrupt. They are angry at Big Banks and Big Business for constantly changing the terms of contracts and the financial mess on Wall Street that caused their real estate assets to turn into liability nightmares.
Apparently, they have no patience to wait for the real estate market to come back up to bring up the values of their homes. They believe they can get another house ten years from now, while saving up money. I'm not so sure that by intentionally defaulting on these mortgages now will make it possible in the future to be considered for another mortgage. That's quite a gamble.
Arizona continues to scare away the hard-working illegals as families run to Colorado or California. They fear the law will separate the undocumented parents from their children who were born here as American citizens. They are probably right. The sad thing is the criminals are not these families. It will be interesting to see how things shake out on this immigration law in Arizona as they bleed workers from their state who took the lowest paying jobs Americans did not want. Then what?
As to the oil rig spill disaster still playing out in the Gulf of Mexico, growing larger every day, it seems a new villain to rear its ugly head is Transocean. It is just now coming out that Transocean spirited away from the media - and their families - for a 15 hour interrogation - to coerce these traumatized survivors to sign legal documents while still in shock to release Transocean from legal responsibility.
You have got to be kidding me! Who do they think they are? The CIA after terrorists? Talk about sear into the survivors more PTSD symptoms when they were postponed treatment for their injuries, whether physical or psychological. These scumbag corporate lawyers and investigators need to be investigated for wrong-doing and prosecuted. They basically kidnapped these survivors against their will because they denied them access to leave and denied the families, the police and the media access to visit or talk to them.
*** ALSO: Transocean Kidnapped Oil Rig Survivors, Coerced Signing No Legal Repsonsiblity
Feinstein: Terrorist Screening Must Improve (CBS)
Sen. Dianne Feinstein said the government will have to improve screening of potential terror suspects, including making changes to how airlines use the no-fly list.
In the wake of Faisal Shahzad's near getaway on board a Dubai-bound Emirates airline flight late Monday, despite the fact that he was added to the no-fly list earlier that day, airlines are being required to check the list every two hours. Shahzad's no-fly status was apparently unknown to the airline when he boarded the flight...
"I would even prefer if it were sooner. And I think at some point the government is, in fact ... going to take over the list. And then it become as strict governmental responsibility. I think that's one reform that can easily be made," she said.
Feinstein said the Transportation Security Administration should enforce the list, not just domestically, but internationally as well.
"This is not an easy thing because I think we're now finding that there is a new prototype of this kind of terrorist. And this man, in fact, is a citizen. ... He's made a number of trips to Pakistan back and forth. And there are about 180,000 people a year going to Pakistan, 160,000 coming back. That's a lot of people to set up an improved screening system. But I think this is one of the things that has to happen because if we're going to prevent these attacks, we have to have a better screening of individuals who are likely suspects. And that's a very tall order."
Feinstein also addressed a proposal by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., to strip terror suspects of their citizenship, regardless of whether they've committed any crimes.
"Sen. Lieberman proposed that once before. I took a look at it then ... and my analysis was that it would not stand the constitutional test based on law made by the Supreme Court. I haven't seen the latest draft and don't know whether it's changed. So I really can't say."
Brits Head to Ballots to Elect New PM (CBS)
Outcome Said Likely to Reshape Nation's Politics in Historic Ways
There's only one good bet in Britain's razor-edge election: It's likely to reshape the country's politics in historic ways.
Should Gordon Brown cling to power, his Labour Party will have pulled off one of the most unlikely political comebacks in modern times. Victory for the Conservatives' David Cameron would return his once-discredited party to office after 13 years.
More likely - in an election with important consequences for everything from the war in Afghanistan to the global economy - there will be no clear winner, and a good showing for Liberal Democrat upstart Nick Clegg.
Only months ago, most thought the election would be the Conservatives' for the taking - but that was before the perfect political storm emerged.
An embarrassing expense scandal last year enraged voters after lawmakers were caught being reimbursed for everything from imaginary mortgages to ornamental duck houses at country estates, bringing trust in British politics to a record low.
And although lawmakers from all three parties were involved, the backlash was most severe for Britain's old guard, the Conservatives and Labour. Labour's popularity, slipping since Tony Blair's landslide victory in 1997, took a nose-dive after the unpopular Brown took the reins.
Then came the surprise success of Clegg, an affable 43-year-old who called for a complete overhaul of British politics during the country's first-ever televised election debates. His impressive performance thwarted Cameron and added to nagging worries over the extent to which the Tory leader has actually overhauled the stodgy Conservatives.
The 43-year-old Cameron has also been hampered by his own elite background. Eton-educated and married to an aristocrat's daughter, many question whether he can relate to an electorate that has endured 1.3 million layoffs and tens of thousands of foreclosures over the past year and a half.
"This could go down as one of the most revolutionary elections in the history of this country," said Bill Jones, a political analyst at Liverpool Hope University.
The stakes are high - both domestically and internationally. As Europe grapples with Greece's financial crisis, global markets are waiting impatiently for Britain's election outcome - anxious to know how quickly work can begin to cut the country's record 153 billion-pound ($236 billion) deficit, and whether the parties will be able to cooperate to pass key legislation.
A Conservative majority would likely lead to a stock market rally and a boost for the British pound because the Tories favor more aggressive, and immediate, cuts than Labour to Britain's huge budget deficit. But even a Labour majority could see a rally purely because it would erase market uncertainty.
The impact of a hung Parliament - in which no party wins enough seats to govern outright - is far less certain. Some analysts suggest that fears about delayed action on the deficit could weigh on Britain's currency and stocks. Others say the markets have already factored that in and believe rapid action on the deficit is possible - as long as a new government is formed quickly.
If the Liberal Democrats are able to push through their main goal - overhauling Britain's centuries-old electoral system so it is more proportionate - the changes would favor center-left parties, and potentially shut Cameron's Conservatives out of power for decades.
Britain's four-week electoral campaign was transformed by the country's first televised debates. The three prime-time clashes offered Clegg rare equal billing with Brown and Cameron, and he shined - combining his telegenic, friendly manner with sharp attacks on his rivals and the country's electoral system.
The Liberal Democrats - who have traditionally won about 20 percent of the vote since the party formed in a merger in 1988 - have held on to that unlikely surge, despite a dip in the last week of the campaign.
The same system that Clegg wants to overhaul, in which the number of districts won - not the popular vote - determines who runs the country, could produce perhaps the most bizarre election scenario. Labour could win fewer seats than the Conservatives, but still stay in power.
That's because convention holds that in the event of a hung Parliament, Queen Elizabeth II should offer the sitting prime minister the first chance to try to form a government - even if his party wins fewer seats than the opposition.
In such a scenario, Clegg could find himself with the balance of power. The backing of his expected bloc of about 80 seats in a coalition would give Cameron or Brown the ability to form a government and pass laws.
However, Clegg has already indicated his price will likely be Brown's resignation, as well as key government positions and a commitment to a proportional voting system - which Cameron bitterly opposes.
Graham Smith, of Republic, a lobby group seeking to abolish Britain's monarchy, said the queen could face a public backlash.
"The queen is terrified of making a decision because of the consequences for her if that decision is unpopular," he said.
It's also possible that as early as Friday, Cameron will take the keys to London's No. 10 Downing Street after ousting the 59-year-old Brown - who may decide to quit if his party is humbled...
Push Underway for Nuke-Free Mideast (CBS/AP)
Israel Likely to Face Pressure as World's Nuclear Powers Say They Are Ready for "Concrete Steps"
The United States and the world's four other major nuclear powers say they are ready for "concrete steps" to help move the Middle East toward establishing a regional nuclear weapons-free zone.
After 15 years of inaction, this long-dormant Arab idea, intended to pressure Israel to give up its secretive atomic arsenal, has been revived at the monthlong conference reviewing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
But how far the United States, Israel's strongest supporter, is willing to go is not yet clear. Washington's chief arms control official said the lack of a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace remains an obstacle.
"The question is, how do you do that in the absence of a peace plan?" Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher said Wednesday of the ``nuke-free'' zone idea.
But in answer to a reporter's question, she said the U.S. has been working "for months" with Egypt on the issue. Washington also has been discussing it with the Israelis, said another Western diplomatic source, who asked for anonymity since he was discussing other countries' contacts.
"The Five," the treaty-recognized nuclear powers United States, Russia, Britain, France and China took their position in a joint statement of nonproliferation and disarmament goals read to the conference Wednesday, in its third day, by Russian arms negotiator Anatoly I. Antonov.
Of the proposal for a Mideast free of weapons of mass destruction, he said, "We are ready to consider all relevant proposals in the course of the review conference in order to come to an agreed decision aimed at taking concrete steps in this direction."
In 1995, another of these twice-a-decade conferences adopted a resolution calling for a Mideast zone free of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Such a zone would join five other nuclear-free regions globally Africa, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, the South Pacific and Latin America.
It was support for that 15-year-old resolution that the five powers reaffirmed on Wednesday.
Although the U.S. has long endorsed the idea, it has never pushed for action. In her speech to the nuclear conference on Monday, however, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington would support "practical measures for moving toward that objective."
GOP Challenge to Financial Reform Bill Fails (CBS)
Following strong pushback from the White House, Senate Democrats today voted down a Republican proposal that opponents suggested would have effectively "gutted" consumer protections in the financial industry reform bill.
The amendment failed 38 yeas to 61 nays.
The bill being proposed by Democrats creates a consumer protection division housed at the Federal Reserve that would consolidate various consumer protections. The GOP amendment would have based that consumer protection division within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., or FDIC.
As CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen reports, Republicans argued that the Democrats' proposal created unnecessary bureaucracy and represented government overreach; they suggested it would impact small businesses caught up in new regulations.
For their part, Democrats said that if the GOP amendment passed, the consumer protection division would lack independence and authority and essentially leave oversight to the same regulators that failed last time around...
President Obama released a statement earlier today hammering the Republican amendment as one that "will gut consumer protections and is worse than the status quo."
"This amendment will significantly weaken consumer protection oversight, includes dangerous carve outs for payday lenders, debt collectors, and other financial services operations, and hurts the ability of community and local banks to compete by creating an unlevel playing field with their non-bank competitors," the statement said, deeming the amendment "unacceptable..."
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in an interview with the Huffington Post, said he would ensure that an amendment to break up big banks would come up for a vote - adding that he was leaning toward backing it. Majority Whip Dick Durbin has already come out in favor of the amendment. Under the amendment, designed to end "too big to fail," no bank could hold more than 1/10th of U.S. deposits.
Reid also said he supported an amendment to audit the Federal Reserve. That could mean, among other things, exposing payoffs to companies financially intertwined with AIG following the government bailout of the company.
**************
Senate Kills Bid To Limit Size Of Banks (NPR)
A bipartisan Senate coalition has rejected a proposal to limit the size of the nation's largest banks as a means of reining in the financial sector.
The Senate voted 61-33 against a proposal that would have required the nation's giant banks to split up. The Obama administration has argued that the size of financial institutions was not the root cause of the 2008 Wall Street crisis.
The proposal by Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Ted Kaufman of Delaware was opposed by the bank industry. Brown and Kaufman argued that cutting banks down to size would end firms deemed "too big to fail."
Among the banks that would have been affected were Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.
Earlier, Senate Republicans failed to get support for their own version of a consumer protection agency.
The GOP proposal failed on a vote of 38 to 61. Two Republicans — Olympia Snowe of Maine and Charles Grassley of Iowa — joined Democrats to defeat the measure.
Republicans proposed a council devoted to consumer lending within the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Their plan sought to narrow the focus to businesses they said were at the core of the economic crisis — such as nonbank mortgage companies.
The White House criticized the proposal.
"Alternatives that gut consumer protections and do nothing to empower the American people by cracking down on unfair and predatory practices are unacceptable," President Obama said in a statement before the vote.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) said the Republican plan essentially created a loophole for payday lenders, debt collectors and other financial businesses.
"They would create an oversight agency and then exempt virtually the entire financial industry for consumer lending oversight," Reed said. "It's more like a lapdog then a watchdog."
The current legislation seeks a consumer bureau headed by a presidential appointee, with its own budget and rule-making authority. It would be housed within the Federal Reserve. It would write and enforce laws over all kinds of personal lending — from student loans to credit cards and mortgages. That responsibility is at present spread across seven agencies.
But Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) said the current plan would create a "massive new bureaucracy whose power and scope would have no equivalent in the U.S."
The Senate then turned its attention to another amendment opposed by the Obama administration — a proposed audit of the Federal Reserve that has bipartisan support and that even Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has said he is inclined to support.
It would require the Federal Reserve to undergo a thorough audit by Congress' investigative arm, the Government Accountability Office.
The measure, proposed by Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, has populist support from across the political spectrum, from Tea Party activists to liberals and labor organizations. The Federal Reserve and the Treasury oppose the measure, arguing it could interfere with the Fed's independence, a crucial element if the Fed is to carry out unpopular but economically essential policies.
Sanders stressed Thursday that the GAO examination would not intrude on the Fed's job of setting monetary policy. Instead, it would focus on the Fed's emergency lending authority to banks and would require that it make public the recipients of that money.
"We cannot let the Fed operate in secrecy any longer," Sanders said.
Interior Secretary Halts Offshore Drilling Leases (NPR)
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar ordered a halt Thursday to all new offshore drilling permits nationwide until at least the end of the month, stepping up scrutiny of the entire industry amid a catastrophic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Salazar spoke to reporters Thursday outside BP's Houston crisis center and said lifting the moratorium on new permits will depend on the outcome of a federal investigation over the Gulf spill and the recommendations to be delivered to the president May 28.
He said until then, "We are putting things on hold relative to the granting of permits for well construction on the outer continental shelf."
The ramifications of his order extend beyond the Gulf and affect permits pending in Alaska as well.
"They will not get those permits until we have an opportunity to complete this review," he said. "We will see what lessons we learn between now and then and at that point will make a decision about how we're going to move forward..."
He said this was his second trip in a week to the BP operation in Houston — "to make sure" BP Plc is doing everything it can to respond to the slick.
Earlier, the Interior Department suspended planned lease sales for oil drilling off the coast of Virginia.
Immigrant Families Leave Arizona, Fearing Law (CBS)
At Least 100,000 Illegal Immigrants Flee the State Fearing Legislation; Some Citizens Angered by Financial Impact
...Manuela Quintana said that they decided to leave when the Arizona governor signed the new immigration law.
For years, their family thrived with jobs in restaurants and construction, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella. Their 10 children were born here and are U.S. citizens. Both she and her husband are undocumented, and currently unemployed.
She said that her biggest fear is being put in jail and having her children taken away from her. Just the thought of moving scares their 12-year-old daughter Graciela...
Two years ago, this park was filled with families every weekend. Arizona was home to more than half a million illegal immigrants. Since then, at least 100,000 have left...
Rig Survivors Felt Coerced To Sign Waivers (NPR)
Hours after they had been rescued, workers who survived an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico were asked to sign form letters about what they had seen and whether they had been injured.
Lawyers for the oil rig's owner, Transocean, requested that workers who had survived the blast sign the form in the wake of the April 20 blowout on the Deepwater Horizon. This was hours before the workers had been allowed to see their families.
Now some of those survivors say they were coerced and that the forms are being used against them as they file lawsuits seeking compensation for psychiatric problems and other injuries from the blast.
"The form that they made them sign had, 'I was here when it happened, I didn't see anything.' Or 'I saw this and I was or was not hurt,' " says Steven Gordon, a Houston attorney who represents some of the survivors.
It's a pre-printed form letter. The surviving rig worker was asked to fill in the date, his name and address and where he was at the time the evacuation was ordered.
Then there are the two paragraphs at the end.
One says: "I was not a witness to the incident requiring the evacuation and have no first hand or personal knowledge regarding the incident."
The second says: "I was not injured as a result of the incident or evacuation."
The men were asked — if they agreed — to initial those statements.
Documents show those initials now are being used against the survivors as they file lawsuits seeking payment for emotional distress and other claims. Gordon says "When we were hired by one of the survivors, we gave notice to Transocean's lawyers. And the immediate response was, 'Wow, we're surprised. Here's a statement that says he's not hurt.'"
Gordon and attorney Kurt Arnold each have one client who has received letters from Transocean in the past few days.
Arnold says asking the men to sign those forms was coercive. He says the request came more than 24 hours after the rescue, after the men had seen 11 of their friends die in the explosion and chaos of that night, and after they had run to lifeboats to try to save their own lives.
Arnold's clients aren't speaking publicly but have described the scene to him. "It's extremely gruesome," he says. "I mean, one of the guys told me that as he's running out, there's guys burning and some guys missing limbs. It's like a war zone."
Arnold and Gordon say the survivors were kept on the water, in boats and on another rig for 15 hours or more. The explosion on the rig happened at about 10 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20. "They did not bring them in till 3 a.m. Thursday morning," Gordon says.
When they did get to shore, he says: "They were zipped into private buses, there was security there, there was no press, no lawyers allowed, nothing, no family members. They drove them to this hotel and they escorted them into the back of this hotel, once again under escort."
It would be many hours more, according to lawyers and survivors, before they could see family and, for many, even telephone loved ones to say they were safe.
Secluded at a hotel, they were questioned by company consultants and investigators. And given the form to sign.
Arnold says it only added to his client's emotional distress. "Talking about adding to post-traumatic stress. Don't take them in once you get 'em off the rig. Just keep 'em there for 15 hours so that they can watch, watch their rig burning up, knowing they had to leave some of those guys behind. I mean come on. Really? Was there any reason for that?"
But Arnold thinks it was very deliberate. "The reason they were doing that, I think, is so they could assemble their teams onshore of investigators so that when they got to the hotel room they could try to get these guys to sign statements and such before they'd even let them go to bed. That's what they did. Unbelievable."
Other legal experts said the tactic of such letters is extreme but not unheard of — and that courts may question them. Says Robert Anderson, who teaches maritime law at Pepperdine University School of Law in California: "I think the court would respond very skeptically to a waiver of any type of these basic rights where the seaman was acknowledging that he or she was not injured or suffered no damages or otherwise was releasing the employer, particularly if that waiver was executed in the wake of a rescue at sea."
NPR contacted Transocean and the company sent a response by e-mail. "From the beginning," the response says, "our focus has been on the crew members and their families, working with all parties in the response efforts and conducting a Transocean investigation into the incident. At this time, it would be inappropriate to comment on litigation."
*** ALSO: Transocean Kidnapped Oil Rig Survivors, Coerced Signing No Legal Repsonsiblity
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Goldman Sh--ty Deal Testifies Loud and Clear, Drug Company Pays $500 Billion Fine, How to Detect Liars - News Headlines 27 Apr 2010
From Denny: The Senate hearing today with Goldman Sachs squirming in front of grilling Senators sure was entertainment TV at its best: a rockin' reality show! The real question remains that is this only to remain a fond memory of great dramatic theater or will the Congress actually get serious about taking these financial scumbags to task and put them in prison?
Sen. Levin Calls Goldman Sachs Allegations 'Deeply Troubling' (ABC) Senator Demands to Know Why Goldman Sachs Pushed 'Sh**ty Deal' on Clients
In a testy exchange at today's Senate grilling of Goldman Sachs executives, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., confronted a former Goldman trader with an e-mail in which another former Goldman executive described a mortgage-backed deal as "sh**ty."
The transaction in question was Timberwolf Ltd., a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation holding pieces of other CDOs. In an e-mail to Daniel Sparks, then head of Goldman's mortgage desk, Thomas Montag, Goldman's former head of sales and trading, called a set of mortgage-linked investments sold by the firm as "one shi**y deal," according to an e-mail that Sen. Levin quoted. Within five months, Timberwolf lost 80 percent of its value.
"Do you think it was a sh**ty deal?" Levin asked Sparks, one of seven Goldman executives appearing today. Sparks said he did not recall the e-mail, and did not directly answer the question.
"If you can't give a clear answer to that one Mr. Sparks then we're not going to get any clear answers from you today," Levin said.
In his opening remarks, Levin called the allegations against the Wall Street firm "deeply troubling."
"The evidence shows that Goldman repeatedly put its own interests and profits ahead of the interests of its clients and our communities," Levin said. "Its misuse of exotic and complex financial structures helped spread toxic mortgages throughout the financial system. And when the system finally collapsed under the weight of those toxic mortgages, Goldman profited from the collapse."
Watch CBS News Videos Online
It sure is amazing how the GOP thinks this idiot strategy will work FOR them in the November elections when poll after poll keeps reminding them the public and former Republicans have pulled away from them in favor of the Democrats. Now if the Democrats can just not step on their tongues, keep their spines strong and straight, get serious about all kinds of reform - then they might actually get to stay in office and run the country for a few decades before they get lazy again, forget to take care of the middle class and get thrown out in favor of lobbyist puppets Republicans. Yeah, that's choice in American politics...
Stance Against Financial Bill Risky For GOP (NPR)
Republican senators are offering a united front to block a Democratic bill that would revamp the rules for Wall Street. But the GOP's hard stand against the bill is not without political peril, party strategists warn -- and it has the potential to hurt the party with voters this fall.
"I think most people believe that Wall Street got away with something," says Reed Galen, a Republican consultant who was deputy campaign manager for Sen. John McCain's presidential bid.
Republicans blocked the financial overhaul bill from moving to the Senate floor for debate. The vote was 57-41, three short of the 60 needed for Democrats to advance their measure. A third test vote is expected on Wednesday.
On Monday night, all 41 Senate Republicans -- plus one Democrat -- blocked the bill . But no matter what they think about the details of the bill, Republicans have to be careful of appearing to be the party of the "wealthy, detached elite," Galen says.
The GOP also should be wary of playing into the hands of Democrats, who are privately pleased that they have been handed much-needed fodder -- and a simple message -- for the fall midterm elections. Republicans expect to make significant
gains on Capitol Hill...
Yes, Mr. Vice President, this IS a "Big F--king Deal!" :)
Biden 'Absolutely Confident' On Economic Recovery (NPR)
Vice President Joe Biden is bullish on the Obama administration's efforts to mend the U.S. economy after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
"I'm absolutely confident that the policies that we put in place are sending the economy and the American public in the right direction," Biden told NPR's Robert Siegel on Tuesday.
Last week, Biden told a political fundraiser in Pittsburgh that the economy would create 100,000 to 200,000 jobs a month, adding that there will be some months in which as many as 250,000 to 500,000 jobs would be created. The comments prompted White House spokesman Robert Gibbs to quip: "He's an optimistic man, and that's why we like him."
Biden acknowledged Tuesday that those predictions were "a long way [from erasing] an 8-million-job deficit."
"What has to happen is there has to be continued forward progress," Biden said. "There's going to be ebbs and flows ... but it has to constantly be moving in the direction of job creation..."
And yet another huge Scumbag Alert...
AstraZeneca Paying $520 Million To Settle Seroquel Charges (NPR)
AstraZeneca became the latest drug giant to pay up for marketing an anti-psychotic medicine for uses the Food and Drug Administration had not approved.
Federal officials announced a $520 million settlement of civil charges stemming from the drug maker's promotion of Seroquel, an antipsychotic with sales of $4.9 billion worldwide last year.
AstraZeneca pushed doctors to write Seroquel prescriptions for a host of unapproved uses, including anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleeplessness, the settlement alleges. The drug was improperly promoted for use in children and also the elderly.
In addition, the government claims the company curried doctors' favor with money. "AstraZeneca paid kickback to doctors as part of an illegal scheme to market the drug for unapproved uses," Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a news conference about the settlement.
I like the way Wall Street says this is no big deal because they were expecting it. Yeah, I guess not when they are making billions every quarter off the derivatives market to this day going unregulated! No wonder they are not sweating the small stuff.
Stocks Plunge on Europe's Deepening Debt Woes (CBS/AP) Dow Jones Plummets 213 Points as Debt Problems in Greece and Portugal Threaten Global Economy
Investors are once again worried that debt problems in Greece and Portugal could threaten the global economic recovery.
Stocks plunged in the U.S. and Europe Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of the two European countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213 points, its worst loss in almost three months. All the major market indexes were down about 2 percent.
The ratings downgrades also sent the dollar up more than 1.1 percent against the euro, hitting its highest level in about a year. At the same time, gold and Treasury prices also rose as investors sought safer investments. The three often do not trade in the same direction.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction," said Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group in Citrus Heights, Calif. Peardon said the small size of Greece and Portugal's economies mean their debt struggles are not yet a major problem. But if they were to default on their debt, other countries that hold their bonds would also suffer...
Hmmm... if you want to learn how to spot a liar just hike on over to Liars News aka Fox News. Just watch their lips move and you will automatically know on the spot that they are lying about everything - even what they had for breakfast. Yes, it's that bad over there. Definitely Liars News has only two kinds of audience draw: weak minds that believe lies easily and those who enjoy mocking them. Yep, that about sums it up!
Dr. Phil: How to Sniff Out a Liar in Your Midst (CBS) Famed Talk Show Host Tells of Common Indicators that Someone is Lying to You
Can you spot a cheater?
Dr. Phil can.
Famed talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, better known simply as Dr. Phil, appeared on "The Early Show" Tuesday to tell you how you know someone's lying...
Watch CBS News Videos Online
And for the laughing bizarre story of the day...
Police Say Man Wrapped In Toilet Paper Robs Store (CBS) Nebraska Police Say Man Who Concealed His Face With Toilet Paper Robbed A Convenience Store
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A man who concealed his face by wrapping his head with toilet paper robbed a Lincoln convenience store. Police said the man was armed with a knife when he robbed the store around 10:30 on Saturday night. He escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of money from the safe.
Capt. David Beggs said Sunday that no one was injured.
And that's all she wrote...
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Sen. Levin Calls Goldman Sachs Allegations 'Deeply Troubling' (ABC) Senator Demands to Know Why Goldman Sachs Pushed 'Sh**ty Deal' on Clients
In a testy exchange at today's Senate grilling of Goldman Sachs executives, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., confronted a former Goldman trader with an e-mail in which another former Goldman executive described a mortgage-backed deal as "sh**ty."
The transaction in question was Timberwolf Ltd., a $1 billion collateralized debt obligation holding pieces of other CDOs. In an e-mail to Daniel Sparks, then head of Goldman's mortgage desk, Thomas Montag, Goldman's former head of sales and trading, called a set of mortgage-linked investments sold by the firm as "one shi**y deal," according to an e-mail that Sen. Levin quoted. Within five months, Timberwolf lost 80 percent of its value.
"Do you think it was a sh**ty deal?" Levin asked Sparks, one of seven Goldman executives appearing today. Sparks said he did not recall the e-mail, and did not directly answer the question.
"If you can't give a clear answer to that one Mr. Sparks then we're not going to get any clear answers from you today," Levin said.
In his opening remarks, Levin called the allegations against the Wall Street firm "deeply troubling."
"The evidence shows that Goldman repeatedly put its own interests and profits ahead of the interests of its clients and our communities," Levin said. "Its misuse of exotic and complex financial structures helped spread toxic mortgages throughout the financial system. And when the system finally collapsed under the weight of those toxic mortgages, Goldman profited from the collapse."
Watch CBS News Videos Online
It sure is amazing how the GOP thinks this idiot strategy will work FOR them in the November elections when poll after poll keeps reminding them the public and former Republicans have pulled away from them in favor of the Democrats. Now if the Democrats can just not step on their tongues, keep their spines strong and straight, get serious about all kinds of reform - then they might actually get to stay in office and run the country for a few decades before they get lazy again, forget to take care of the middle class and get thrown out in favor of lobbyist puppets Republicans. Yeah, that's choice in American politics...
Stance Against Financial Bill Risky For GOP (NPR)
Republican senators are offering a united front to block a Democratic bill that would revamp the rules for Wall Street. But the GOP's hard stand against the bill is not without political peril, party strategists warn -- and it has the potential to hurt the party with voters this fall.
"I think most people believe that Wall Street got away with something," says Reed Galen, a Republican consultant who was deputy campaign manager for Sen. John McCain's presidential bid.
Republicans blocked the financial overhaul bill from moving to the Senate floor for debate. The vote was 57-41, three short of the 60 needed for Democrats to advance their measure. A third test vote is expected on Wednesday.
On Monday night, all 41 Senate Republicans -- plus one Democrat -- blocked the bill . But no matter what they think about the details of the bill, Republicans have to be careful of appearing to be the party of the "wealthy, detached elite," Galen says.
The GOP also should be wary of playing into the hands of Democrats, who are privately pleased that they have been handed much-needed fodder -- and a simple message -- for the fall midterm elections. Republicans expect to make significant
gains on Capitol Hill...
Yes, Mr. Vice President, this IS a "Big F--king Deal!" :)
Biden 'Absolutely Confident' On Economic Recovery (NPR)
Vice President Joe Biden is bullish on the Obama administration's efforts to mend the U.S. economy after the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
"I'm absolutely confident that the policies that we put in place are sending the economy and the American public in the right direction," Biden told NPR's Robert Siegel on Tuesday.
Last week, Biden told a political fundraiser in Pittsburgh that the economy would create 100,000 to 200,000 jobs a month, adding that there will be some months in which as many as 250,000 to 500,000 jobs would be created. The comments prompted White House spokesman Robert Gibbs to quip: "He's an optimistic man, and that's why we like him."
Biden acknowledged Tuesday that those predictions were "a long way [from erasing] an 8-million-job deficit."
"What has to happen is there has to be continued forward progress," Biden said. "There's going to be ebbs and flows ... but it has to constantly be moving in the direction of job creation..."
And yet another huge Scumbag Alert...
AstraZeneca Paying $520 Million To Settle Seroquel Charges (NPR)
AstraZeneca became the latest drug giant to pay up for marketing an anti-psychotic medicine for uses the Food and Drug Administration had not approved.
Federal officials announced a $520 million settlement of civil charges stemming from the drug maker's promotion of Seroquel, an antipsychotic with sales of $4.9 billion worldwide last year.
AstraZeneca pushed doctors to write Seroquel prescriptions for a host of unapproved uses, including anger management, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleeplessness, the settlement alleges. The drug was improperly promoted for use in children and also the elderly.
In addition, the government claims the company curried doctors' favor with money. "AstraZeneca paid kickback to doctors as part of an illegal scheme to market the drug for unapproved uses," Health And Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said at a news conference about the settlement.
I like the way Wall Street says this is no big deal because they were expecting it. Yeah, I guess not when they are making billions every quarter off the derivatives market to this day going unregulated! No wonder they are not sweating the small stuff.
Stocks Plunge on Europe's Deepening Debt Woes (CBS/AP) Dow Jones Plummets 213 Points as Debt Problems in Greece and Portugal Threaten Global Economy
Investors are once again worried that debt problems in Greece and Portugal could threaten the global economic recovery.
Stocks plunged in the U.S. and Europe Tuesday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the debt of the two European countries. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 213 points, its worst loss in almost three months. All the major market indexes were down about 2 percent.
The ratings downgrades also sent the dollar up more than 1.1 percent against the euro, hitting its highest level in about a year. At the same time, gold and Treasury prices also rose as investors sought safer investments. The three often do not trade in the same direction.
"It was a knee-jerk reaction," said Brian Peardon, a wealth adviser at Harrison Financial Group in Citrus Heights, Calif. Peardon said the small size of Greece and Portugal's economies mean their debt struggles are not yet a major problem. But if they were to default on their debt, other countries that hold their bonds would also suffer...
Hmmm... if you want to learn how to spot a liar just hike on over to Liars News aka Fox News. Just watch their lips move and you will automatically know on the spot that they are lying about everything - even what they had for breakfast. Yes, it's that bad over there. Definitely Liars News has only two kinds of audience draw: weak minds that believe lies easily and those who enjoy mocking them. Yep, that about sums it up!
Dr. Phil: How to Sniff Out a Liar in Your Midst (CBS) Famed Talk Show Host Tells of Common Indicators that Someone is Lying to You
Can you spot a cheater?
Dr. Phil can.
Famed talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, better known simply as Dr. Phil, appeared on "The Early Show" Tuesday to tell you how you know someone's lying...
Watch CBS News Videos Online
And for the laughing bizarre story of the day...
Police Say Man Wrapped In Toilet Paper Robs Store (CBS) Nebraska Police Say Man Who Concealed His Face With Toilet Paper Robbed A Convenience Store
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - A man who concealed his face by wrapping his head with toilet paper robbed a Lincoln convenience store. Police said the man was armed with a knife when he robbed the store around 10:30 on Saturday night. He escaped on foot with an undisclosed amount of money from the safe.
Capt. David Beggs said Sunday that no one was injured.
And that's all she wrote...
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Hate Groups On the Rampage, Big Banks Skirting the Law - Headlines 29 Mar 2010
From Denny: Two things are in play in today's culture. Hate groups are on the rise because of hate speech by the Republicans promoting fear, anger and action. Sarah Palin publishes "cross hairs" diagrams like on a sniper rifle for Democratic politicians she "wants taken out" of Congress. Well, a message like that is irresponsible and dangerous to weak minds.
Obviously, there are a lot of weak minds out there, easily influenced by Palin and Limbaugh to do criminal acts. There are actually militia groups that call themselves Christian. That's like Islamic terrorist groups calling themselves holy to God. It's all insanity and innocent people end up paying for it with their lives while these vicious people are allowed to attack, whether it's on the airwaves or with a gun.
The second message in play is Big Banks and Big Business are telling the government and Americans that they are above the law. The news story and video here will anger you with their audacity of arrogance. While it does not surprise me that Big Banks are doing despicable things to their customers like denying mortgage restructuring along with credit card abuses, what does surprise me is the lukewarm response from the Obama administration to bear down on Big Business and force them to comply with the law. It's obvious they will not comply with the laws of decency. Quit waiting, Mr. Obama, and act quickly on the behalf of the American people who need you so desperately as their champion right now.
Whistle-Blower: Banks Give Homeowners the Runaround: (ABC) A vice president for one of the nation's biggest banks claims customers looking for help in lowering their mortgage payments are often told to call an 800 number -- where he says representatives then give homeowners the runaround...
Of the 1.1 million homeowners who've signed up for the federal program aimed at avoiding foreclosures, only 168,000, or 15 percent, of homeowners have had their mortgages permanently modified.
"In our managers meeting, which can last eight or nine hours, we probably addressed mortgage modifications five minutes or less," the banker said...
Christian Militia Raid: Family of Four Allegedly Behind Plot to Ambush Police: (ABC) A family of four was behind an anti-government militia plot to kill law enforcement officers with improvised explosive devices and projectiles before being foiled by an FBI raid Sunday that netted nine members of a Christian extremist group, federal authorities said today.
David Brian Stone, 45, his wife, Tina Stone, 44, and David Stone's two adult sons allegedly conspired with five other members of the fringe Christian militia group called the Hutaree to kill a Michigan law enforcement officer and then ambush the officer's colleagues who would have gathered for the funeral, according to court documents...
All were indicted by a federal grand jury of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. They appeared in court this morning but no pleas were made...
Based in Lenawee County, Mich., the Hutaree are described by officials as an extremist group. Their Web site says the name means "Christian warrior" and claims it is preparing to defend itself for the impending arrival of the anti-Christ...
This red-haired European mummie was preserved in the deserts of far western China by first freezing and then baking and then freezing again. It's amazing that she looks as if she had only been buried about 20 years ago - not as long as 4,000 years ago! You can see she had curly eyelashes.
She is part of the Silk Road exhibit the Chinese finally allowed out of their country. Bowers Museum in Orange Country, California, negotiated for decades to receive this exhibit.
Overqualified? Yes, but just happy to have a job: (NBC/New York Times) Don Carroll, a former financial analyst with a master’s degree in business administration from a top university, was clearly overqualified for the job running the claims department for Cartwright International, a small, family-owned moving company here south of Kansas City.
But he had been out of work for six months, and the department badly needed modernization after several decades of benign neglect. It turned out to be a perfect match.
After being hired in December, Mr. Carroll, 31, quickly set about revamping the four-person department, which settles damage claims from moves, and creating tracking tools so the company could better understand its spending...
Sarkozy: ‘The world needs an open America’: (NBC) "The world needs an open America, a generous America, an America that shows the way, an America that listens," he said, calling on the U.S. to champion firm regulations of financial systems, from tax havens to hedge funds...
"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor," Sarkozy said, referring to the U.S. health care overhaul signed by President Barack Obama last week.
From the European perspective, he said, "when we look at the American debate on reforming health care, it's difficult to believe."
"The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them ... is something astonishing to us."
Then to hearty applause, he added: "If you come to France and something happens to you, you won't be asked for your credit card before you're rushed to the hospital."
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Obviously, there are a lot of weak minds out there, easily influenced by Palin and Limbaugh to do criminal acts. There are actually militia groups that call themselves Christian. That's like Islamic terrorist groups calling themselves holy to God. It's all insanity and innocent people end up paying for it with their lives while these vicious people are allowed to attack, whether it's on the airwaves or with a gun.
The second message in play is Big Banks and Big Business are telling the government and Americans that they are above the law. The news story and video here will anger you with their audacity of arrogance. While it does not surprise me that Big Banks are doing despicable things to their customers like denying mortgage restructuring along with credit card abuses, what does surprise me is the lukewarm response from the Obama administration to bear down on Big Business and force them to comply with the law. It's obvious they will not comply with the laws of decency. Quit waiting, Mr. Obama, and act quickly on the behalf of the American people who need you so desperately as their champion right now.
Whistle-Blower: Banks Give Homeowners the Runaround: (ABC) A vice president for one of the nation's biggest banks claims customers looking for help in lowering their mortgage payments are often told to call an 800 number -- where he says representatives then give homeowners the runaround...
Of the 1.1 million homeowners who've signed up for the federal program aimed at avoiding foreclosures, only 168,000, or 15 percent, of homeowners have had their mortgages permanently modified.
"In our managers meeting, which can last eight or nine hours, we probably addressed mortgage modifications five minutes or less," the banker said...
Christian Militia Raid: Family of Four Allegedly Behind Plot to Ambush Police: (ABC) A family of four was behind an anti-government militia plot to kill law enforcement officers with improvised explosive devices and projectiles before being foiled by an FBI raid Sunday that netted nine members of a Christian extremist group, federal authorities said today.
David Brian Stone, 45, his wife, Tina Stone, 44, and David Stone's two adult sons allegedly conspired with five other members of the fringe Christian militia group called the Hutaree to kill a Michigan law enforcement officer and then ambush the officer's colleagues who would have gathered for the funeral, according to court documents...
All were indicted by a federal grand jury of seditious conspiracy, attempted use of weapons of mass destruction, teaching the use of explosive materials and possessing a firearm during a crime of violence. They appeared in court this morning but no pleas were made...
Based in Lenawee County, Mich., the Hutaree are described by officials as an extremist group. Their Web site says the name means "Christian warrior" and claims it is preparing to defend itself for the impending arrival of the anti-Christ...
This red-haired European mummie was preserved in the deserts of far western China by first freezing and then baking and then freezing again. It's amazing that she looks as if she had only been buried about 20 years ago - not as long as 4,000 years ago! You can see she had curly eyelashes.
She is part of the Silk Road exhibit the Chinese finally allowed out of their country. Bowers Museum in Orange Country, California, negotiated for decades to receive this exhibit.
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Overqualified? Yes, but just happy to have a job: (NBC/New York Times) Don Carroll, a former financial analyst with a master’s degree in business administration from a top university, was clearly overqualified for the job running the claims department for Cartwright International, a small, family-owned moving company here south of Kansas City.
But he had been out of work for six months, and the department badly needed modernization after several decades of benign neglect. It turned out to be a perfect match.
After being hired in December, Mr. Carroll, 31, quickly set about revamping the four-person department, which settles damage claims from moves, and creating tracking tools so the company could better understand its spending...
Sarkozy: ‘The world needs an open America’: (NBC) "The world needs an open America, a generous America, an America that shows the way, an America that listens," he said, calling on the U.S. to champion firm regulations of financial systems, from tax havens to hedge funds...
"Welcome to the club of states who don't turn their back on the sick and the poor," Sarkozy said, referring to the U.S. health care overhaul signed by President Barack Obama last week.
From the European perspective, he said, "when we look at the American debate on reforming health care, it's difficult to believe."
"The very fact that there should have been such a violent debate simply on the fact that the poorest of Americans should not be left out in the streets without a cent to look after them ... is something astonishing to us."
Then to hearty applause, he added: "If you come to France and something happens to you, you won't be asked for your credit card before you're rushed to the hospital."
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Favorite Cartoon of the Week
