THAT DON'T IMPRESS ME MUCH...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqFLXayD6e8&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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Wednesday, February 29, 2012
"SCANDALOUS" & "DISGRACEFUL": SEN. GRASSLEY SEEKS TOP-LEVEL REVIEW, ACTION AGAINST DEFENSE SPENDING WASTE
SEN. GRASSLEY SEEKS TOP-LEVEL REVIEW, ACTION AGAINST DEFENSE SPENDING WASTE
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28 --Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member, Chuck Grassley, issued the following news release:
With $500 billion in controversial defense budget cuts proposed by the Obama administration, Grassley said the waste identified in the reports is the perfect place for the Pentagon to begin its belt-tightening campaign.
"If I had two words to characterize what I found in those 16 reports, they would be 'scandalous' and 'disgraceful,'" Grassley said in a letter he gave directly to Panetta during a hearing on Tuesday of the Senate Budget Committee.
Grassley urged the Secretary to prevent the findings and recommendations in the reports from being buried in the Pentagon bureaucracy.
The Budget Committee hearing focused on the President's defense budget request for the next fiscal year. Eight of the audit reports highlighted by Grassley pertain to contract-related issues. The other eight zero in on wasteful stimulus-bill funded projects.
"The officials who are responsible for what happened must be held accountable and improper payments need to be recovered," he said. "Until there are meaningful consequences and real penalties for such gross waste and misconduct, the culture of the organizations involved will never change. Unabated waste of the taxpayers' money will continue."
Grassley noted that the reports themselves cost $100 million a year to produce for the Secretary of Defense and Congress, so if the reports are ignored, the Secretary and members of Congress become party to the waste exposed.
The detailed letter from Grassley to Panetta can be seen here ( http://www.grassley.senate.gov/about/upload/defense-budget-2-28-12-letter-to-Secretary-Panetta-about-waste-and-misconduct.pdf )
The reports identified in Grassley's letter concerning contracts involve purchases made through the Department of Energy, spare parts pricing practices; Defense Finance and Accounting Services procedures; body armor effectiveness; the Afghan National Police Training Program; and fuel contracts in Korea.
The eight stimulus-funded projects described in Grassley's letter involve a solar lighting project a the Naval Station in Norfolk, Virginia; a wind turbine project at Fort Wainwright; Air Force projects on energy efficiency; photovoltaic projects at Navy and Marine Corps bases; a geothermal energy development project at the Naval Air Station in Falon, Nebraska; and a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning project at Naval Support Activity in Norfolk, Virginia. For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Copyright 2012 HT Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved
U.S. FEDERAL CRIMINAL WIRE FRAUD, CONSPIRACY TO KIDNAP, & CONSPIRACY TO MURDER CHARGES ARE PENDING AGAINST LA-WHORA! A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR BRADLEY MANNING A/K/A JEEFREY HEDGEDUS, ABSURD? OR, A U.S. FEDERAL CRIMINAL INDICTMENT?
IBD EDITORIALS
A NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR BRADLEY MANNING A/K/A JEEFREY HEDGEDUS, ABSURD? OR, A U.S. FEDERAL CRIMINAL INDICTMENT?
Posted 02/28/2012 06:54 PM ET
Madness: Bradley Manning, the Army private who allegedly leaked sensitive U.S. government information, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. If the award hadn't already become a joke, we'd be offended.
It really doesn't take much to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize these days. Bradley, who is currently in the brig and on trial for multiple counts of disclosing top-secret military files and State Department cables, is one of 231 nominees for the 2012 prize.
Also on this year's list is Bill Clinton, confirming once again that promoting peace is less a qualification for the prize than being popular on the political left and objectionable to the political right. It certainly hasn't taken much more to win the prize in recent years.
In this era of unseriousness, laureates have included the terrorist Yasser Arafat, the bungling Jimmy Carter, the useless Al Gore, the fraudulent Rigoberta Menchu and that darling of the political elite, Barack Obama, who had barely settled into the Oval Office when they fitted him for a wreath.
While it's become hard to underestimate the pettiness and absence of rigorous thinking by the Nobel Committee, we don't expect Manning to win. That would be too low even for this once-respected group. And it might make for an awkward awards ceremony if Manning had to receive his prize in a prison cell.
Manning hasn't been convicted in his court-martial. But the crimes with which he is charged are grave. Prosecutors say he's responsible for the biggest leak of intelligence files in U.S. history and guilty of aiding the enemy, punishable by death.
These are official charges, not baseless accusations. They are serious enough for the Nobel Committee, which accepted WikiLeaks — the organization Manning allegedly leaked to that traffics in private, classified and sensitive material — as a nominee last year, to reject the nomination.
At the very least, the committee needs to consider whether the Movement of the Icelandic Parliament, Manning's sponsor, should be taken off its list of individuals and groups authorized to make nominations.
Doing so would signal the start of a much-needed restoration of the committee's credibility.
OBAMA'S DOJ & HOLDER DENY KNOWLEDGE OF BRIBED PROSECUTORS IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS FINANCIAL SECURITIES VIOLATIONS OF UTILITIES CORRUPTION CASE
DOJ DENIES KNOWLEDGE OF BRIBED PROSECUTORS IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS CORRUPTION CASE
Published: 10:59 PM 02/27/2012
In a Feb. 24 letter to Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, the U.S. Department of Justice denied knowledge that two of its prosecutors accepted bribes in connection with a years-long investigation into financial crimes that National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) executives allegedly committed over the past ten or more years.
The DOJ’s letter to Grassley, signed by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich, was in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee ranking member’s request on Feb. 10 for the Department to brief his staff after The Daily Caller first reported on the scandal on Feb. 1.
TheDC’s investigation discovered that the DOJ had failed to arrest and prosecute already-indicted financial executives because bribery had corrupted the process.
In his letter to the DOJ, Grassley said he read TheDC’s investigation into the bribery allegations “with great concern.” That investigation unearthed allegations that two DOJ prosecutors on a team of more than 25 accepted cash bribes from indicted finance executives in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
(RELATED: Read the letters between Sen Grassley and Assistant Attorney General Weich)
According to TheDC’s source, a knowledgeable government official who served on a DOJ team put in place to arrest those finance executives, five other prosecutors on the team were also compromised in some way other than being bribed.
The DOJ never acted on the sealed indictments, which were the consequence of a lengthy criminal scheme involving bank fraud and other financial crimes. This, TheDC’s source said, was because Attorney General Eric Holder is embarrassed by the corruption that has plagued his DOJ internally.
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. John de Jongh, a Democrat, was personally on the receiving end of a portion of $20 million in cash bribes spread to officials in the Virgin Islands government, according to TheDC’s Justice Department source. (RELATED: Full coverage of the Justice Department)
The bribes went to de Jongh, his attorney general Vincent Frazer and assorted Virgin Islands legislators, the source said. The bribes were intended to quash local concerns about financial irregularities identified on CFC’s books.
TheDC is withholding the name of its source in order to reduce the likelihood of career retaliation from political figures in the Obama administration.
“The article describes in extensive detail the alleged financial crimes of the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation in the U.S. Virgin Islands,” Grassley wrote to Holder in his request for a briefing.
“If the article is correct, the case was apparently a priority for the Department because more than 25 prosecutors were working on the case in some capacity. The whistleblowers in the article allege that confidential information was being leaked from the Department to the targets of the investigation. The article states that a meeting was held with all of the prosecutors involved and it was uncovered that two Department officials had accepted cash bribes and other improper contact had occurred.”
“It is further alleged that the bribed officials attempted to disrupt the investigation and protect certain targets,” Grassley added. “The article states although the suspects had been indicted and arrest teams were in place, the case went dormant due to the leaks and bribes at the Department. The article also goes on to allege that the sitting governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands and top officials in the government also accepted bribes.”
NEXT: The Justice Dept.'s carefully worded denial
HOLDER & DAWHORA WERE RESPONSIBLE SODOMIZERS & MOHHAMAD 'ISA HAS ABDICATED HIS CONSTITUTIONAL DUTY FOR HIS "INSIDER TRADING' INTEREST!
HOLDER: I'M THE GUY WHO SODOMIZED
POSTED AT 12:10 PM ON FEBRUARY 29, 2012 BY ED MORRISSEY
And … he’s also the Attorney General who was in charge when it was put into place, and the Attorney General who refused to provide Congress with documentation on Operation Fast and Furious until threatened with subpoenas and contempt, and the Attorney General who didn’t see fit to make any personnel changes after the ATF sent almost two thousand weapons over the border into the hands of the drug cartels.
What was Eric Holder’s point again? Oh, yeah, that he’s responsible:
A visibly frustrated Attorney General Eric Holder slammed the table when responding to a question about Operation Fast and Furious during a Tuesday budget hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
“That was a fundamentally flawed program, fundamentally flawed,” Holder said of Fast and Furious. “And, I think that I can agree with some of my harshest critics that there are legitimate issues that need to be explored with regard in which the way Fast and Furious was carried out.”
“But, I think one thing that also has to be understood is that once this was brought to my attention” — Holder said before slamming his hand on the committee room table he was sitting at — “I stopped it. I stopped it.”
Count Darrell Issa among the unimpressed. In the video clip above, Issa reminds Megyn Kelly that Holder’s DoJ made misleading representations to Congress that bordered on flat-out lies, and that the DoJ was touting Fast and Furious until the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry exposed the program’s incompetence or worse when it came to accounting for the weapons.
Holder either was incompetent at responding to the Terry murder and Congressional inquiries into Operation Fast and Furious, or he has something to hide. Either way, he doesn’t get credit for shutting down an operation that took place entirely on his watch that never should have taken place at all.
POSTED AT 12:10 PM ON FEBRUARY 29, 2012 BY ED MORRISSEY
And … he’s also the Attorney General who was in charge when it was put into place, and the Attorney General who refused to provide Congress with documentation on Operation Fast and Furious until threatened with subpoenas and contempt, and the Attorney General who didn’t see fit to make any personnel changes after the ATF sent almost two thousand weapons over the border into the hands of the drug cartels.
What was Eric Holder’s point again? Oh, yeah, that he’s responsible:
A visibly frustrated Attorney General Eric Holder slammed the table when responding to a question about Operation Fast and Furious during a Tuesday budget hearing before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies.
“That was a fundamentally flawed program, fundamentally flawed,” Holder said of Fast and Furious. “And, I think that I can agree with some of my harshest critics that there are legitimate issues that need to be explored with regard in which the way Fast and Furious was carried out.”
“But, I think one thing that also has to be understood is that once this was brought to my attention” — Holder said before slamming his hand on the committee room table he was sitting at — “I stopped it. I stopped it.”
Count Darrell Issa among the unimpressed. In the video clip above, Issa reminds Megyn Kelly that Holder’s DoJ made misleading representations to Congress that bordered on flat-out lies, and that the DoJ was touting Fast and Furious until the murder of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry exposed the program’s incompetence or worse when it came to accounting for the weapons.
Holder either was incompetent at responding to the Terry murder and Congressional inquiries into Operation Fast and Furious, or he has something to hide. Either way, he doesn’t get credit for shutting down an operation that took place entirely on his watch that never should have taken place at all.
SEC PURPOSES RULES TO HELP PREVENT & DETECT IDENTITY THEFT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2012-34
Washington, D.C., Feb. 28, 2012 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a rule proposal to help protect investors from identity theft by ensuring that broker-dealers, mutual funds, and other SEC-regulated entities create programs to detect and respond appropriately to red flags.
The SEC issued the proposal jointly with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Section 1088 of the Dodd-Frank Act transferred authority over certain parts of the Fair Credit Reporting Act from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to the SEC and CFTC for entities they regulate. The proposed rules are substantially similar to rules adopted in 2007 by the FTC and other federal financial regulatory agencies that were previously required to adopt such rules.
Additional Materials Proposed Rule Submit Comments
The rule proposal would require SEC-regulated entities to adopt a written identity theft program that would include reasonable policies and procedures to:
Identify relevant red flags. Detect the occurrence of red flags. Respond appropriately to the detected red flags. Periodically update the program.
The proposed rule would include guidelines and examples of red flags to help firms administer their programs.
The proposal will be published in the Federal Register with a 60-day public comment period.
# # #
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2012/2012-34.htm
JP MORGAN CHASE FACES SEC FEDERAL CRIMINAL CHARGES OVER "BURGER KING" MORTGAGE BONDS
JP MORGAN CHASE FACES SEC FEDERAL CRIMINAL CHARGES OVER "BURGER KING" MORTGAGE BONDS
Published February 29, 2012 Reuters
JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM: 39.62, +0.41, +1.05%) said it may face federal enforcement actions stemming from two investigations into mortgage-backed securities that went bad in the financial crisis.
The largest U.S. bank, in a regulatory filing on Wednesday, said Securities and Exchange Commission staff told the company in January that they may recommend the commission bring cases against the company.
One possible case involves the bank's scrutiny and disclosure of facts behind two sets of mortgage securities, JPMorgan said.
A second investigation involves loans used in mortgage securities created by Bear Stearns, the investment bank that collapsed and was sold to JPMorgan in 2008.
The JPMorgan statements, included in an annual filing to the SEC, follow similar disclosures on Tuesday by Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC: 31.58, +0.21, +0.67%).
The SEC staff frequently notifies subjects of investigations that it is weighing allegations of civil wrongdoing and offers them a chance to argue against legal actions.
The disclosures are the latest sign that government officials are stepping up action against banks that packaged home loans into bonds during the housing boom. The underlying mortgages later soured, spurring billions in losses for investors.
GOLDMAN, WELLS FARGO, & JP MORGAN CHASE CITE SEC ENFORCEMENT THREAT
GOLDMAN, WELLS FARGO, & JP MORGAN CHASE CITE SEC ENFORCEMENT THREAT
By Dakin Campbell and Christine Harper February 29, 2012 12:00 AM EST
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are among banks warned by federal regulators that they may face civil claims tied to sales of mortgage-backed securities.
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo said yesterday that they received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission, warning that agency staff may recommend enforcement. The SEC has issued such notices to multiple banks including JPMorgan, the nation’s largest, in probes focusing on mortgage securities, said people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the communications weren’t public.
“It’s a big deal given the level of anticipation that has been in the markets about whether there would be further actions,” said Jacob Frenkel , a former SEC lawyer now with Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker PA in Potomac, Maryland . “These cases were complicated and time-consuming and the government has said for a long time that its investigations were continuing. These Wells notices are the manifestation of these investigations coming to their conclusion.”
Almost four years after mounting mortgage defaults prompted unprecedented government bailouts of the financial system, regulators are still examining how banks packaged and sold home loans to investors. The SEC is looking for evidence that firms failed to disclose underlying credit weaknesses in mortgage pools and delinquencies, Jason Anthony, special counsel for the agency’s structured products unit, said last week. He didn’t identify companies under scrutiny.
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs got a so-called Wells notice Feb. 24 relating to disclosures for a late-2006 offering of $1.3 billion in subprime residential mortgage-backed securities, the company said in an annual report. The New York-based firm said it “will be making a submission to, and intends to engage in a dialogue with, the SEC staff seeking to address their concerns.”
The notices show the enforcement staff has concluded that violations occurred, Frenkel said. They’re also the first time during the agency’s investigations that banks will have an opportunity to defend themselves, he said.
The investment bank paid $550 million in 2010 to settle SEC claims that it misled investors on a mortgage-linked investment in 2007. In that case, the company said it made a “mistake” in omitting disclosures.
Wells Fargo, which revealed the SEC’s warning in an annual report, said the government has been examining whether it properly described facts and risks in offering documents.
Fair Lending Government agencies are also looking at whether San Francisco-based Wells Fargo may have violated fair-lending laws or other regulations when making home loans, the firm said. The company is providing information requested by various agencies conducting investigations, it said.
Spokesmen for Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, New York-based JPMorgan and the SEC either declined to comment on the investigations or didn’t respond to messages.
The SEC said in January it will help form a state and federal working group that will share information and coordinate inquiries involving residential mortgage-backed securities.
“We already have issued scores of subpoenas, analyzed more than approximately 25 million pages of documents, dozens and dozens of witnesses, and worked with our industry experts to analyze the terms of these deals and the accuracy of the disclosures made to investors,” the agency’s enforcement director, Robert Khuzami , said at the time.
Wells Fargo was among five mortgage servicers that agreed this month to a $25 billion settlement of state and federal probes into shoddy foreclosure practices. The deal allowed regulators to continue pursuing the industry over claims regarding the packaging of loans into securities.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dakin Campbell in San Francisco at dcampbell27@bloomberg.net ; Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net .
By Dakin Campbell and Christine Harper February 29, 2012 12:00 AM EST
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are among banks warned by federal regulators that they may face civil claims tied to sales of mortgage-backed securities.
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo said yesterday that they received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission, warning that agency staff may recommend enforcement. The SEC has issued such notices to multiple banks including JPMorgan, the nation’s largest, in probes focusing on mortgage securities, said people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because the communications weren’t public.
“It’s a big deal given the level of anticipation that has been in the markets about whether there would be further actions,” said Jacob Frenkel , a former SEC lawyer now with Shulman Rogers Gandal Pordy & Ecker PA in Potomac, Maryland . “These cases were complicated and time-consuming and the government has said for a long time that its investigations were continuing. These Wells notices are the manifestation of these investigations coming to their conclusion.”
Almost four years after mounting mortgage defaults prompted unprecedented government bailouts of the financial system, regulators are still examining how banks packaged and sold home loans to investors. The SEC is looking for evidence that firms failed to disclose underlying credit weaknesses in mortgage pools and delinquencies, Jason Anthony, special counsel for the agency’s structured products unit, said last week. He didn’t identify companies under scrutiny.
Goldman Sachs Goldman Sachs got a so-called Wells notice Feb. 24 relating to disclosures for a late-2006 offering of $1.3 billion in subprime residential mortgage-backed securities, the company said in an annual report. The New York-based firm said it “will be making a submission to, and intends to engage in a dialogue with, the SEC staff seeking to address their concerns.”
The notices show the enforcement staff has concluded that violations occurred, Frenkel said. They’re also the first time during the agency’s investigations that banks will have an opportunity to defend themselves, he said.
The investment bank paid $550 million in 2010 to settle SEC claims that it misled investors on a mortgage-linked investment in 2007. In that case, the company said it made a “mistake” in omitting disclosures.
Wells Fargo, which revealed the SEC’s warning in an annual report, said the government has been examining whether it properly described facts and risks in offering documents.
Fair Lending Government agencies are also looking at whether San Francisco-based Wells Fargo may have violated fair-lending laws or other regulations when making home loans, the firm said. The company is providing information requested by various agencies conducting investigations, it said.
Spokesmen for Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, New York-based JPMorgan and the SEC either declined to comment on the investigations or didn’t respond to messages.
The SEC said in January it will help form a state and federal working group that will share information and coordinate inquiries involving residential mortgage-backed securities.
“We already have issued scores of subpoenas, analyzed more than approximately 25 million pages of documents, dozens and dozens of witnesses, and worked with our industry experts to analyze the terms of these deals and the accuracy of the disclosures made to investors,” the agency’s enforcement director, Robert Khuzami , said at the time.
Wells Fargo was among five mortgage servicers that agreed this month to a $25 billion settlement of state and federal probes into shoddy foreclosure practices. The deal allowed regulators to continue pursuing the industry over claims regarding the packaging of loans into securities.
To contact the reporter on this story: Dakin Campbell in San Francisco at dcampbell27@bloomberg.net ; Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net .
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net .
HEY, CULLIGAN MAN...CAN WE GET A 'REAL' PLUMMER IN HERE? MAXINE WATERS' DRUG SMUGGLING, SODOMIZING BK BANKERS AT ONEUNITED BANK MOVE TO FORECLOSE ON HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH!
MAXINE WATERS' DRUG SMUGGLING, SODOMIZING BK BANKERS AT ONEUNITED BANK MOVES TO FORECLOSE ON HISTORIC BLACK CHURCH
More than a year into a legal battle with a famous Boston church, OneUnited Bank is taking steps to foreclose on a loan to the Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church and auction off church property in March.
Relations between Charles Street AME and its lender have been icy for some time, since the church has been unable to repay a $4 million construction loan on a nearby community center it was building.
The bank, facing its own financial struggles and a $12 million federal bailout it has been unable to repay, sued the church in October 2010.
Now, the stakes in the fight have ratcheted up. In recent days, without warning to the church, the bank advertised that it planned to foreclose on the AME property, where worshipers have been congregating since 1939, as well as another property in Milton.
“It’s unfortunate that they had to resort to that,’’ the Rev. Gregory G. Groover Sr. said yesterday. “This is clearly a result of their anger around the litigation. Or maybe it was simply to humiliate and embarrass us.’’
The high-profile fight pits a famous congregation - founded in 1818 on Beacon Hill and part of the Underground Railroad - against a bank owned by black executives who say their mission is community lending.
It also highlights how the relationship between borrower and lender can deteriorate in hard times. While OneUnited has long pointed to its association with such institutions as Charles Street AME, these days, Groover said, the bank won’t take his calls.
OneUnited’s general counsel, Robert P. Cooper, denied the bank is stonewalling the church. He said both parties’ lawyers are in contact and the bank has tried to work through the loan problems with Charles Street AME.
“We’re perplexed because we truly have worked with Charles Street,’’ Cooper said.
In a statement, the bank also said:
“We applaud the important role that Charles Street AME Church plays in our community. As a Community Development Financial Institution focused on serving low-to-moderate income neighborhoods of greater Boston, OneUnited Bank recognizes the impact the economy is having on our small businesses and not-for-profits.’’
The church’s struggles came as OneUnited was facing its own financial troubles. The bank lost $50 million on investments in 2008 as the financial crisis hit and sought federal assistance through the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Since then, the bank has been calling in loans to shore up its balance sheet.
Both sides have waged battle since the 2010 lawsuit, each accusing the other of mishandling the construction loan. The bank alleges the church breached its financial duty to repay the debt, while the church charges that OneUnited recklessly made a risky bet when the economy was strong and then refused to help the church get through difficult times.
Meanwhile, the church’s $1.1 million commercial loan (which is separate from the construction loan on the Roxbury Renaissance Center) came due in November. The church wanted to refinance it but has been unable to, because of the legal issues.
So it tried just continuing to pay the monthly interest on the loan in November. The bank cashed the check, but later returned the money, according to Groover and the church’s lawyer, Ross Martin.
“This church, without fail, never missed a payment,’’ Groover said. But when the money came back, it was yet another sign of the unraveling relationship. “It’s senseless. It really is,’’ he said.
The bank’s plan to auction off the church on March 22 was first reported in the Boston Herald yesterday.
The auction would include a residence owned by the church in Milton, which is currently vacant, according to the foreclosure document obtained by the Globe.
Martin said what’s puzzling is that the bank is foreclosing on the church, not on the Renaissance Center, the building project that’s been on hold since the litigation started. He said the bank has rejected third-party mediation and refused to negotiate. “We’d love to talk to them,’’ he said.
The church and Milton house have assessed values of $662,000, according to public databases.
The bank contends the church is looking for a break on its obligation but should instead tap the resources of its district church. Charles Street AME has over 1,000 members.
Groover said the church has a strategy, but he declined to elaborate. He is confident the church will not go to auction.
“We’re not losing our property,’’ he said. “There’s no question about that.’’
DIRTY WATER HEARING: BK BANKERS AT MAXINE WATERS' BANK & HER CAPITOL POLICE PROTECTION HAVE HISTORY OF DRUG SMUGGLING & VIOLENT SEXUAL ASSAULT ARREST RECORDS!
ONEUNITED BANK CEO HAS CRIMINAL ARREST HISTORY INCLUDING VIOLENT SEXUAL ASSAULTS
South Florida Business Journal by Brian Bandell
A feature story in The Washington Post sheds light on the arrest record of Kevin Cohee, chairman and CEO of OneUnited Bank branches.
The Boston-based bank is in the national spotlight, and not in a good way. U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., is facing a congressional ethics investigation for her roll in allegedly helping OneUnited secure taxpayer dollars from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) in 2008. Waters and her husband were investors in the bank at the time.
Waters has disputed the charges.
A story in Friday’s South Florida Business Journal takes a look at OneUnited’s lending track record – or lack thereof – in South Florida and how one analyst was stunned that the bank passed its regulatory community lending exam.
The Post turned its attention to Cohee, who heads the nation’s largest African-American-owned bank. OneUnited paid for his leased Porsche, bought him an $880,000 condo on Miami Beach’s Ocean Drive and leased a mansion for him in Santa Monica, Calif.
The owner of the mansion where Cohee’s bank shelled out $26,500 a month? None other than Bruce Springsteen drummer and former “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” bandleader Max Weinberg. In 2006, Cohee bought the mansion from Weinberg for $6.4 million, but the bank supported him there with a living allowance.
The article said that Cohee was arrested in the California home in 2007 on sexual assault and drug charges. The first arrest came after a woman – not his wife – fled the mansion and told police she had been the victim of a violent sexual assault. During an ensuing police search of the mansion over a “sodomy investigation,” police allegedly found Cohee and another woman in a room with cocaine and concentrated cannabis.
I’ve heard of holding executives to a higher standard, but that’s not the way to do it.
The sexual assault charges against Cohee were not pursued. The drug charges were dismissed after Cohee completed a counseling program.
The Post story featured this response from the bank’s attorney:
Robert Patrick Cooper, the bank's counsel, released a statement in the bank's name, stating that "it is essential to reiterate and make clear that Mr. Cohee has no criminal record; the spurious claims from 2007 were reviewed fully by a court which found the allegations to be baseless and without merit."
For how OneUnited has been performing in South Florida, check out Friday’s print edition of the Business Journal.
Related:
THE POISONED WELL & PIPELINE LEAKS: MAXINE WATERS ETHIC PROBE CRIMINALLY OBSTRUCTED STALLED BY BURGER KING & ONEUNITED BANK
MAXINE WATERS ETHIC PROBE CRIMINALLY OBSTRUCTED STALLED BY BURGER KING & ONEUNITED BANK
By Thomas Lifson
California Democrat Rep. Maxine Waters was supposed to be on trial last November for abuse of power before the House Ethics Committee (the very same body Nancy Pelosi wants to investigate Rep. Weiner), but that trial has been postponed indefinitely. Investor's Business Daily has the story:
...the Democrat leadership has delayed Waters' trial by blocking subpoenas and firing the lead lawyer working on the two-year investigation. Also, the ranking Democrat on the House Ethics panel reportedly is holding up the hiring of a new staff director.
In the long stall, we've learned that Waters' chief of staff heavily lobbied bank examiners, who according to internal emails were livid about the intervention.
Pressure from Waters' office resulted in a $12 million federal loan for OneUnited Bank and a unique exemption from the FDIC's accounting rules. One FDIC examiner called it a "travesty of justice."
Waters' husband owned $350,000 in stock of the failing bank, which would have become worthless but for the extraordinary loan.
This stalling is outrageous. Republicans should be publicly complaining, and noting that it is ridiculous to refer Weiner to the committee (which results in a news blackout and gives Democrats an excuse for not commmenting).
Hat tip: Lucianne.com
BURGER KING BANKING I.C.E. AGENTS ARRESTED IN FLY-BY-NIGHT STING OPERATION DEFRAUDING THE PEOPLE OF BOEING & THE TAXPAYERS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!
AFTER FUNDER INDICTED, LIU TO SPEAK
IRS AGENT INDICTED ON TAX CHARGES, OBSTRUCTION
A revenue agent with the Internal Revenue Service has been arrested in connection with a scheme to defraud the government by claiming he suffered a loss when he sold his real estate when, in fact, he realized a substantial profit.
Jim H. Liu, 42, of Diamond Bar, Calif., is an IRS revenue agent who conducts audits of taxpayers. He was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport. Liu was indicted by a federal grand jury on three counts — one count of submitting a false tax return and two counts of obstructing the IRS investigation of his tax return.
The indictment charges that Liu filed a false tax return that improperly claimed a loss on a sale of a property in Pomona. Liu actually sold the property for a substantial gain and should have paid taxes on that substantial gain, the indictment alleges.
The indictment also alleges that during the IRS audit of Liu’s tax return, he provided false documents and made false statements to the IRS in an attempt to obstruct the audit. Liu allegedly mailed and faxed documents to the IRS that falsely stated he bought the property for $231,250 when he knew that he had actually purchased it for $185,000.
If convicted, Liu faces up to 13 years in prison.
+++++
Lithonia Woman Catherine Griffin Sentenced for IRS Computer Fraud
ATLANTA, Ga. - A Lithonia woman is heading to prison for giving away thousands of dollars in tax credits that were intended for first-time homebuyers. Government prosecutors say the woman, Catherine Griffin, worked for the IRS, and she created fraudulent returns for her family and friends.
Griffin pleaded guilty to the charge of computer fraud on March 24. Authorities say Griffin gave the credits to family and friends who were not eligible to receive them, and who had not purchased homes during the eligible time period.
According to federal authorities, Griffin worked as a seasonal employee for the IRS in Chamblee from July – November 2009. They say she processed amended tax returns filed by taxpayers, and she also had access to the IRS computer system.
Authorities said evidence showed that Griffin altered tax information for approximately four people in exchange for a $2,000 kickback.
On Thursday, Griffin was sentenced to more than nine months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release. She was ordered to repay the government more than $40,000. http://www.gadailynews.com/news/68327-li...fraud.html
THIS STATE-SPONSORED TERRORIST, ROBERT ZIDEK, HAS CROSSED STATE LINES TO THE "NEW COMMUNITY SHELTER" TO CRIMINAL HARASS, MAKE DEATH THREATS & SEXUALLY HARASS ... THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S. ARE AWAITING HIS FEDERAL CRIMINAL INDICTMENT & RESTRAINING ORDER!
PEOPLE v. ZIDEK
691 F.Supp. 1177 (1988)
PEOPLE of the State of Illinois, Plaintiff, v. Robert C. ZIDEK, Defendant.
No. 88 C 3621.
United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, E.D.
August 23, 1988.
Richard M. Daley, State's Atty. of Cook County by Nancy Martin, Asst. State's Atty., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff.
Thomas J. Sullivan, Evergreen Park, Ill., for defendant.
ORDER
BUA, District Judge.
In a case initiated in the Circuit Court of Cook County, defendant Robert Zidek faces charges of driving under the influence of alcohol, improper lane usage, failure to submit to a BAC test, and battery. Zidek now petitions to remove his case to federal court. The State of Illinois counters with a petition for remand. Unpersuaded by Zidek's arguments for removal, this court grants the State's petition for remand.
Zidek, an agent of the Internal Revenue Service, seeks removal of his case pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) (1982). This statute provides for removal of cases involving a federal officer's acts "under color of office." Zidek claims that he engaged in the alleged criminal conduct during an official investigation into the tax liability of exotic dancers. Zidek's supervisor, however, neither knew of nor authorized any such investigation. In any event, even if Zidek actually was conducting a federal investigation at the time of his arrest, he has failed to establish a nexus between the investigation and his alleged criminal acts. To qualify for removal under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1), a federal officer must show a causal connection between his official authority and the conduct with which he is charged. Willingham v. Morgan,395 U.S. 402, 409, 89 S.Ct. 1813, 1817, 23 L.Ed.2d 396 (1969); Maryland v. Soper (No. 1),270 U.S. 9, 33, 46 S.Ct. 185, 190, 70 L.Ed. 449 (1926). Zidek cannot possibly demonstrate that his federal duties required him to drive while intoxicated. See Morgan v. California,743 F.2d 728, 733 (9th Cir.1984); Georgia v. Waller,660 F.Supp. 952, 954 (M.D.Ga.1987). Because Zidek did not act under color of office when he committed the alleged criminal acts, he is not entitled to removal. Therefore, this court remands Zidek's case to the Circuit Court of Cook County.
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EX-IRS AGENT LINKED TO MAFIA INDICTED IN HUGE SWINDLE
By Cam Simpson and Matt O'Connor Tribune Staff Writers September 9, 2000
Gregory T. Ross was a veteran criminal investigator for the Internal Revenue Service, rising to a supervisory post, but after he left the government years ago, he allegedly took on a decidedly unusual role for a former agent—accountant for mobsters.
As he drove to his job Friday, IRS agents arrested their former colleague on fraud and money-laundering charges that arose, law enforcement sources said, from the federal probe of corruption and mob influence in Cicero town government.
The 13-count indictment charged that Ross swindled more than $3.6 million from a dozen well-heeled investors, falsely promising to invest their money in office buildings, hotels and riverboat gambling operations.
Instead, authorities alleged, he spent much of the money on himself and on several unsuccessful personal business ventures, including a failed investment in a Wisconsin golf resort. Cicero Town President Betty Loren-Maltese and the widow of a mob boss also were investors in the resort.Ross bought a $150,000 Ferrari automobile and a $78,000 Winnebago motor home with investors' money, spent $22,500 for his daughter's tuition at Lake Forest College and $200,000 in mortgage payments on his residence and paid off credit-card bills for entertainment and merchandise, prosecutors charged.
Ross' lawyer, Kevin E. Milner, denied any wrongdoing on his client's part and said he expects Ross to be vindicated.
Ross, 53, of far northwest suburban Ingleside, pleaded not guilty Friday in U.S. District Court and was released on a $100,000 recognizance bond.
According to Milner and others, Ross worked for 12 years for the IRS and was so highly thought of that he was promoted to supervisor of a squad investigating narcotics traffickers. He resigned in late 1981 to open his own tax and accounting practice.
Law enforcement officials do not believe Ross' work for the IRS put him in much contact with mobsters.
But according to sources, he eventually became the trusted, personal accountant and friend to some of the Chicago area's most notorious mob figures, including convicted Cicero rackets boss Ernest Rocco Infelice and Salvatore DeLaurentis, a top Infelice underling.
Infelice, serving a 63-year federal prison sentence for a racketeering conviction, referred other organized crime associates to Ross to have their taxes done, sources said.
In time, Ross' ties to mob bosses grew tighter, becoming not just their accountant, but also their business partner, the sources said.
Through the partnership he allegedly used to bilk investors, Centrum II Associates, Ross poured money into the Four Seasons Resort, a golf club nestled in Wisconsin's North Woods that is at the center of the long-running federal probe of Cicero, according to sources and court records.
The small group of investors that bankrolled the $2 million purchase and renovation of the club in 1994 included Lila Mae Torello, the widow of mob boss James "Turk" Torello, according to Wisconsin land and mortgage records. Torello was a predecessor of Infelice in controlling some of the Chicago Outfit's most lucrative rackets, sources said.
Loren-Maltese and Speciality Risk Consultants Inc., an insurance firm accused of bilking the town out of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds, also invested in the golf resort, the records show. Loren-Maltese has said she invested $300,000 from campaign funds.
The debt-ridden resort was to be sold at a sheriff's sale in June, said Jim Kanikula, sheriff of Marinette County, Wis. But the sale was halted by an 11th-hour federal court order obtained by federal prosecutors in Chicago, Kanikula said.
"The matter is still being investigated by the FBI, and it can't be sold until that's resolved," Kanikula said.
Sources familiar with Ross' indictment confirmed that some of the money allegedly bilked from investors went toward the failed Four Seasons investment.
According to sources, Ross invested more than $400,000 in the resort, though not all of that money was from the dozen investors.
The indictment didn't identify the dozen investors allegedly fleeced in Ross' scheme, but sources indicated Cicero businessman Floyd A. Schlossberg was one of the victims.
Schlossberg has sued Ross in Cook County Circuit Court alleging that Ross failed to repay at least $2.25 million borrowed for a reported riverboat casino venture. The case is still pending, records show. Schlossberg could not be reached for comment Friday.
Ross gained the confidence of the investors in part by touting his years of experience with the IRS, authorities said.
Most of the investors contributed more than $100,000 each and one invested as much as $1.5 million, authorities said. The investments were made between 1994 and 1996. To lead some of the investors to think their investments were doing well, Ross allegedly used some of the funds to make what he called "interest" payments to them.
In court Friday, Assistant U.S. Atty. Marsha McClellan alleged that as recently as last month Ross had been lying to investors that they would get their money back.
Milner said Ross had known of the federal investigation for several years and was almost relieved to have the indictment unsealed Friday.
Investors' funds were spent on "legitimate business ventures," Milner said. "Everything was done on the up and up."
Meanwhile, in a development in the federal probe of Cicero, sources said Frank Taylor, formerly general manager of Specialty Risk Consultants, is cooperating with federal authorities investigating alleged overbilling of millions of dollars by the insurance firm to the Town of Cicero. Taylor pleaded guilty last year in Minnesota to failing to pay nearly $40,000 in federal income taxes and acknowledged he was under investigation in Chicago, the sources said.
Tribune staff writer Ray Gibson contributed to this report.
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WATCH SHERRY JACKSON'S ACORN PROSTITUTION VIDEO:
http://www.taxhelpattorney.com/videos/tax-protestor-sherry-jackson.html
Tax Protestor Sherry Peel Jackson
Tax Protestor, and former IRS Agent, Sherry Peel Jackson. Mrs. Jackson used to work for the Internal Revenue Service and now gives advice to tax protestors. Mrs. Jackson was sentenced to prision for evading income taxes.
SHERRY PEEL JACKSON, 45, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, a former IRS Revenue Agent, was sentenced on February 14, 2008 to four years in federal prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release, and was taken into custody immediately after sentencing. JACKSON was convicted by a federal jury on October 30, 2007, after a two-day trial on four counts of failure to file her individual tax returns for the years 2000 to 2003. Beginning in 2000, JACKSON operated a tax preparation business and continued to prepare, submit and file individual tax returns for her clients. For the next three years, however, JACKSON intentionally did not file her own tax returns, despite an income of over $400,000 during that time period.
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U.S. Department of Justice press release announcing Ms. Jackson being sentenced to four years in federal jail.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan/press/2008/04-11-08.pdf
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Former IRS Agent Indicted on 49 Counts
SAN DIEGO (CN) - A former IRS agent turned tax preparer was arrested Friday and charged with stealing $11 million in taxes that should have been sent to the IRS, federal prosecutors said. Steven Martinez, 49, of Ramona, was charged in a 49-count criminal indictment, including mail fraud, procuring false tax returns, Social Security fraud, aggravated identity theft, making false tax returns, money laundering, and criminal forfeiture, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Martinez is accused of preparing returns that showed clients they owed "a significant amount of tax," then having them write checks to a so-called client trust account. Then he'd file a different return, showing his clients owed little or no tax, and spend their money "to fuel his extravagant lifestyle which included a multimillion dollar home in Ramona, an airplane, a boat, a motor home, trips to the Super Bowl, and vacations in Mexico," prosecutors said. Martinez was due in court today (Monday) for arraignment.
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RENO, Nev. (AP) - The Reno lawyer for a retired IRS agent who pleaded guilty to a prostitution-related charge says he needs more time to prepare for sentencing of the man who once investigated brothels in Nevada and wanted to open one himself.
U.S. District Judge Howard McKibben agreed to postpone the sentencing scheduled Tuesday until March 7 for Kemp Shiffer.
The 58-year-old Shiffer plead guilty in November to transporting a California woman across state lines to commit prostitution.
Shiffer once led the IRS investigation that shut down the Mustang Ranch and caused brothel owner Joe Conforte to flee to Brazil in the 1990s. He later formed a partnership with his lawyer David Houston to open a brothel west of Fallon but Churchill County denied the permit in 2006 for the proposed Petticoat Junction.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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Thursday, February 9, 2012
Hudson man, IRS employee, found guilty of filing false tax forms
By JOSEPH G. COTE Staff Writer
BOSTON – A Hudson man and former IRS agent was found guilty of falsely claiming he qualified for a first-time home buyer tax credit. On Wednesday, a jury found Michael Doyle guilty of submitting a fraudulent claim in U.S. District Court in Boston. Doyle worked for the IRS for nearly 20 years, according to an indictment. He was a supervisor in the IRS’ Small Business and Self-Employed Division, according to court documents. Prosecutors claimed Doyle submitted a phony form claiming he bought a home in Hudson in time to qualify for a $7,500 tax credit that was part of the federal stimulus package, according to the indictment. To qualify for the credit, first-time home buyers had to make the purchase sometime between April 8, 2008 and June 30, 2009. Doyle bought his house on or about Aug. 15, 2007, but between Feb. 12 and March 2, 2009, Doyle submitted a 1040 tax return that falsely claimed he purchased the home on April 15, 2008, according to the indictment. Doyle was one of 14 people indicted around the same time on similar charges, according to Massachusetts’ U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz. After a three-day trial, a jury returned a guilty verdict against Doyle. Doyle was released with condition and is scheduled to appear again May 7 for a sentencing hearing, according to court documents posted online. The charge carries a possible sentence of five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Doyle remained employed by the IRS at the time his arrest was announced. IRS employees annually receive ethics training, the indictment said. Ethics training includes “admonitions that they must fully comply with all tax laws and submit accurate tax returns in a timely manner,” the indictment said. Joseph G. Cote can be reached at 594-6415 or jcote@nashuatelegraph.com. Also follow Cote on
1 Co mm en ts 1 Co mm en ts
Twitter (@Telegraph_JoeC).
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
U.S. FARMERS, U.S. LAND & HOMEOWNERS, LOCAL COUNTIES, MUNICIPALITIES, CITIES, & STATE GOVERNMENTS GEAR UP FOR CLASS-ACTION LAWSUITS AGAINST TRANSCANADA KEYSTONE XL & CLASS WARFARE AGAINST A FAILED LEGISLATIVE BRANCH THAT GAVE US A FAILED EXECUTIVE BRANCH & SENDS OUR SONS & DAUGHTERS TO FIGHT THEIR PUPPET ASSHOLES & DA-WHORAS AT THE DUMP!
TEXAS BECOMES A BATTLEGROUND IN TRANSCANADA KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE CONTROVERSY
bY DAVE MONTGOMERY dmontgomery@star-telegram.com
AUSTIN -- The politically volatile Keystone XL pipeline is becoming embroiled in a widening controversy in Texas as supporters tout the promise of jobs and other economic benefits while increasingly vocal opponents say the project would trample property rights and endanger water supplies in East Texas.
Although President Barack Obama rejected the application by TransCanada, the pipeline company says it plans to resubmit its proposal to transport heavy crude oil from Canada to refineries in Texas. The project holds $2 billion of economic potential for Texas, more than for any other state, according to a survey commissioned by TransCanada.
Its high-profile supporters include Gov. Rick Perry and Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, all Republicans. Perry made the pipeline an element of his failed presidential bid by blasting Obama's rejection of the application, accusing the president of squandering the chance to create jobs.
"There is not a politician in Texas in their right mind -- I don't care if you're a Democrat or Republican -- that doesn't know the importance of this to all of Texas," said Bill McCoy, president of the Greater Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce. At least two Port Arthur refineries, Motiva Enterprises and Valero, would be on the receiving end of the 1,661-mile pipeline.
Opposition campaign
But landowners, environmentalists and property rights advocates have begun stepping forward in an impassioned campaign against the 376 miles of pipeline that would stretch through 18 counties in East Texas.
Opponents accuse TransCanada of using bullying tactics to seize land rights for the project and say a spill could pollute vital water resources in drought-ridden Texas.
Sign-wielding protesters gathered outside a court hearing in Paris on Friday to support Julia Trigg Crawford in her efforts to block TransCanada from digging on a 600-acre farm that has been in her family since 1948.
Crawford, who manages the farm, says the pipeline threatens Bois d'Arc Creek, which flows through the Northeast Texas property, as well as Native American archaeological remains.
"My hope is that our state leaders will see that their landowners are being bullied," Crawford told the Star-Telegram earlier in the week.
The opposition campaign has also re-energized a property rights coalition that flexed its muscle during the last decade to upend one of Perry's most ambitious projects, the Trans-Texas Corridor.
The project was originally envisioned as a $145 billion-plus supernetwork of tollways, rails and utility lines. It dissolved after it was attacked as a land grab that would encroach on thousands of private acres. The involvement of a foreign contractor, Spain-based Cintra, further angered opponents.
"We certainly have shades of the corridor fight resurrecting themselves," said Wharton businesswoman Debra Medina, who ran against Perry in the 2010 gubernatorial race and is a leading opponent of the Keystone project.
"You've got a foreign company. You've got a private property battle. If I know Texans like I think I do, I think the landowners will win," Medina said.
The project would complement an existing TransCanada pipeline in the United States, doubling the system's total capacity to 1.1 million barrels of crude a day into U.S. markets, the company said. The 1,661-mile, 36-inch, $7 billion pipeline would start in Alberta, Canada, and stretch through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas.
Obama turned down the application over concerns about the route's potential impact on the environmentally sensitive Nebraska Sandhills, but he left the door open for a new application. Republicans accused the president of turning his back on a project that supporters say would create more than 100,000 jobs.
Shawn Howard, a TransCanada spokesman, said the company plans to resubmit the application to reroute the pipeline away from the sand hills, but the rest of the route, including the Texas portion, would remain the same.
Waco economist Ray Perryman, in a TransCanada-sponsored study that critics dispute, says the pipeline would create at least 50,000 jobs in Texas, by far the most of any pipeline state. Perryman also predicts $41 million in state government revenue and $7.6 million for local governments during construction.
Water worries
But many of those in or near the proposed route say the uncertainties and potential hazards outweigh the positives. In Reklaw, population 266, Mayor Harlan Crawford says fighting the pipeline has become his principal mission in a job otherwise filled with the predictable litany of small-town complaints, such as stray dogs and water problems.
The community, which Crawford, 77, describes as "just a blink in the road," was founded in 1890. Settlers wanted the name Walker but, learning that it was taken, opted for the backward spelling. Many current inhabitants are aging retirees.
After learning that the pipeline would run near the town, residents joined forces with Gallatin, another small farming community, to form the equivalent of a regional compact that would give them more power to challenge the pipeline. One big concern for the alliance is the potential contamination of the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer, which lies underneath 60 counties.
"This is some nasty stuff, and we look to get it stopped," Crawford said.
Others say TransCanada representatives also applied not-so-subtle pressure when they began acquiring access to property to build the pipeline.
"They were pushy and would intimidate you and said you had to sign this thing," said Eleanor Fairchild, who lives near Winnsboro in Wood County. Like others, she said, she "got into the fight" out of concern over possible water contamination.
"We can live without oil," she said, "but we cannot live without water."
Michael Bishop, a retired Marine who owns 20 acres in Nacogdoches County, hired an attorney to fight the project after learning that the route would cut through his orchard and garden.
"It's going to totally disrupt my life as I know it," he said. "Is it fair for a foreign-owned company to come over here and take land for their private use and their personal gain?"
Eminent domain
As with the Trans-Texas Corridor, the pipeline dispute seems certain to reopen a legislative debate over eminent domain powers, which governmental entities and so-called common carriers such as utilities and pipelines use to acquire land for public projects after compensating the owner.
TransCanada has used eminent domain to acquire a number of tracts, but critics of the company are challenging that authority, citing a 2011 Texas Supreme Court decision that makes it harder for pipelines to meet the definition of a common carrier.
Entities with eminent domain powers typically first seek to negotiate with a landowner. If they can't agree, the entity sues to take the land. The courts also appoint a three-member commission to set a price.
Howard, the TransCanada spokesman, called eminent domain proceedings "an absolute last resort" for the company and said "we do everything we can" to reach a voluntary agreement instead of going to court. He also said the company uses the property as a right of way for the pipeline and does not take ownership.
The company has obtained 99 percent of the easements needed to build the pipeline in Texas, with only 19 tracts outstanding, he said.
Medina, who now heads We Texans, a conservative advocacy group, says she has documented at least 89 lawsuits in which property owners were taken to court. She also said others have been forced to negotiate because they couldn't afford a legal battle.
Dave Montgomery,
512-476-4294
Twitter: @daveymontgomery
WHO SAYS DIAMONDS ARE A GIRL'S BEST FRIEND...?
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but emeralds were coming a close second as the ear candy of choice for the A-list at the 2012 Academy Awards.
The Help’s best actress nominee Viola Davis matched her enormous green earrings to her strapless Vera Wang gown AND her eye make-up.
The Artist’s Berenice Bejo had us green with envy over her spectacular Chopard emerald and diamond drop earrings, while Red Riding Hood’s Virginia Madsen contrasted her stunning amethyst toned Kevan Hall gown with giant emerald rocks.
IRELAND TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON EUROPEAN FISCAL PACT
IRELAND TO HOLD REFERENDUM ON EUROPEAN FISCAL PACT
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press DUBLIN February 28, 2012 (AP)
Ireland's citizens will vote on the European Union's new fiscal treaty, Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced Tuesday in a major test for plans to impose tougher budget discipline on the 17-nation eurozone.
Kenny said he would sign the treaty Friday at a Brussels summit but noted that Ireland's constitution requires the public to ratify the treaty in a referendum. The outcome is uncertain — Ireland has voted down two previous European treaties, delaying their ultimate ratification.
Ireland's government will quickly draft the yes-or-no question to be put to the people "in the coming weeks," Kenny said. He specified no date for the vote.
"I am very confident that, when the importance and merits of this treaty are communicated to the Irish people, they will endorse it emphatically by voting 'yes' to continued economic stability and recovery," Kenny told lawmakers in Dail Eireann, the parliament.
The fiscal treaty agreed last month by 25 of the 27 EU countries proposes tough new deficit and debt limits for eurozone members in hopes of preventing future financial crises. The only holdouts, the United Kingdom and Czech Republic, are not euro members.
The treaty would normally require ratifying members to keep their deficits within 0.5 percent of gross domestic product. But it offers basic exceptions, such as a severe recession or an existing bailout agreement.
Ireland's 2010 bailout terms require the government to reduce its deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2016, so Ireland wouldn't be expected to reach the 0.5 percent target until 2017 at the earliest. It ran a 2011 deficit of 10 percent, better than expected, while its bailout target for 2012 is 8.6 percent.
While the 0.5 percent rule is of no immediate concern to Ireland, the fiscal treaty also emphasizes that any members who fail to ratify the pact by March 2013 will be blocked from receiving funds from the eurozone's future euro500 billion ($670 billion) European Stability Mechanism.
This means that if the Irish vote to reject the treaty, Ireland could be barred from receiving more EU loans once its current bailout funds run dry by the end of 2013.
In 2010, Ireland was forced out of bond markets as its borrowing costs soared and negotiated a euro67.5 billion ($90 billion) bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund.
While the bailout is meant to keep it funded until late 2013, many economists expect Dublin will require a new round of EU-IMF loans next year.
"In this referendum, the Irish people can confirm our commitment to responsible budgeting and, in doing so, ensure that the reckless economic mismanagement that drove our country to the brink of bankruptcy will not be repeated by any future government," Kenny said.
Opposition leaders welcomed the government's decision as a chance to undermine what they consider European efforts to seize control of Ireland's spending and taxation policies.
Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, vowed to lead a strong anti-treaty campaign to stop a pact he said would strengthen the Irish government's "terrible policy of austerity."
And Shane Ross, an independent lawmaker and investment guru also critical of Ireland's bailout terms, argued that rejection of the treaty was the only way to stop a process that would end in Ireland's surrender of economic decision-making. He noted Franco-German hopes of forcing Ireland to raise its 12.5 percent rate of corporate tax, a key magnet for investment by 600 U.S. companies in Ireland.
Ross called the treaty "a forerunner of further fiscal union down the road" that, if ratified, would set the stage for "greater sacrifices of our independence."
Ireland has been the only EU member bound by its 1937 constitution to subject each EU treaty to a nationwide vote.
The policy twice has caused major headaches for the EU as Irish voters temporarily blocked the union's two previous treaties with narrow "no" votes in 2001 and 2008. Ireland on both occasions staged second referendums in 2002 and 2009 that overcame anti-EU sentiment.
This time EU leaders, foreseeing the risk of an Irish referendum defeat, agreed to make the treaty legally binding once 12 of the eurozone's 17 members ratify it. That way, if a majority of Ireland's voters reject it, other eurozone countries still can adopt it for themselves.
Ireland's adherence over the past year to an EU-IMF austerity plan has helped boost the value of Irish bonds, raising hopes of an Irish return to normal borrowing in 2013. But the sheer volume of funds required to finance Ireland's deficits and bank-rescue program leaves open the prospect of a second Irish bailout next year.
A spokeswoman for Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council who oversaw the drafting of the fiscal treaty, declined to comment on Ireland's referendum plans.
———
Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK Associated Press DUBLIN February 28, 2012 (AP)
Ireland's citizens will vote on the European Union's new fiscal treaty, Prime Minister Enda Kenny announced Tuesday in a major test for plans to impose tougher budget discipline on the 17-nation eurozone.
Kenny said he would sign the treaty Friday at a Brussels summit but noted that Ireland's constitution requires the public to ratify the treaty in a referendum. The outcome is uncertain — Ireland has voted down two previous European treaties, delaying their ultimate ratification.
Ireland's government will quickly draft the yes-or-no question to be put to the people "in the coming weeks," Kenny said. He specified no date for the vote.
"I am very confident that, when the importance and merits of this treaty are communicated to the Irish people, they will endorse it emphatically by voting 'yes' to continued economic stability and recovery," Kenny told lawmakers in Dail Eireann, the parliament.
The fiscal treaty agreed last month by 25 of the 27 EU countries proposes tough new deficit and debt limits for eurozone members in hopes of preventing future financial crises. The only holdouts, the United Kingdom and Czech Republic, are not euro members.
The treaty would normally require ratifying members to keep their deficits within 0.5 percent of gross domestic product. But it offers basic exceptions, such as a severe recession or an existing bailout agreement.
Ireland's 2010 bailout terms require the government to reduce its deficit to 3 percent of GDP by 2016, so Ireland wouldn't be expected to reach the 0.5 percent target until 2017 at the earliest. It ran a 2011 deficit of 10 percent, better than expected, while its bailout target for 2012 is 8.6 percent.
While the 0.5 percent rule is of no immediate concern to Ireland, the fiscal treaty also emphasizes that any members who fail to ratify the pact by March 2013 will be blocked from receiving funds from the eurozone's future euro500 billion ($670 billion) European Stability Mechanism.
This means that if the Irish vote to reject the treaty, Ireland could be barred from receiving more EU loans once its current bailout funds run dry by the end of 2013.
In 2010, Ireland was forced out of bond markets as its borrowing costs soared and negotiated a euro67.5 billion ($90 billion) bailout from the EU and International Monetary Fund.
While the bailout is meant to keep it funded until late 2013, many economists expect Dublin will require a new round of EU-IMF loans next year.
"In this referendum, the Irish people can confirm our commitment to responsible budgeting and, in doing so, ensure that the reckless economic mismanagement that drove our country to the brink of bankruptcy will not be repeated by any future government," Kenny said.
Opposition leaders welcomed the government's decision as a chance to undermine what they consider European efforts to seize control of Ireland's spending and taxation policies.
Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, vowed to lead a strong anti-treaty campaign to stop a pact he said would strengthen the Irish government's "terrible policy of austerity."
And Shane Ross, an independent lawmaker and investment guru also critical of Ireland's bailout terms, argued that rejection of the treaty was the only way to stop a process that would end in Ireland's surrender of economic decision-making. He noted Franco-German hopes of forcing Ireland to raise its 12.5 percent rate of corporate tax, a key magnet for investment by 600 U.S. companies in Ireland.
Ross called the treaty "a forerunner of further fiscal union down the road" that, if ratified, would set the stage for "greater sacrifices of our independence."
Ireland has been the only EU member bound by its 1937 constitution to subject each EU treaty to a nationwide vote.
The policy twice has caused major headaches for the EU as Irish voters temporarily blocked the union's two previous treaties with narrow "no" votes in 2001 and 2008. Ireland on both occasions staged second referendums in 2002 and 2009 that overcame anti-EU sentiment.
This time EU leaders, foreseeing the risk of an Irish referendum defeat, agreed to make the treaty legally binding once 12 of the eurozone's 17 members ratify it. That way, if a majority of Ireland's voters reject it, other eurozone countries still can adopt it for themselves.
Ireland's adherence over the past year to an EU-IMF austerity plan has helped boost the value of Irish bonds, raising hopes of an Irish return to normal borrowing in 2013. But the sheer volume of funds required to finance Ireland's deficits and bank-rescue program leaves open the prospect of a second Irish bailout next year.
A spokeswoman for Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council who oversaw the drafting of the fiscal treaty, declined to comment on Ireland's referendum plans.
———
Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.
ROMANIA FLEXES MUSCLE AT EU MEETING ON SERBIA --- NO EU MEMBERSHIP STATUS FOR SERBIA!
PATTI BLAGOJEVICH FACES U.S. FEDERAL INDICTMENT OVER HER DEALINGS WITH CONVICTED SYRIA REAL ESTATE & OSAMA CAMPAIGNER, TONY REZKO ---
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/22/patti-blagojevich-indictm_n_656102.html
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ROMANIA FLEXES MUSCLE AT EU MEETING ON SERBIA
TODAY @ 20:49 BY ANDREW RETTMAN
BRUSSELS - Romania caused confusion and annoyance with last-minute demands at an EU meeting on Serbia in Brussels on Tuesday (28 February).
Member states in the end endorsed giving Serbia EU candidate status, but not before extensive discussions with Romania, which threatened until the last minute to block the decision on grounds that Serbia is mistreating a Romanian minority group in the country.
The European Commission also drafted a special declaration to keep Bucharest happy. "The commission is of the view that, while the legal and institutional framework for respecting and protecting minorities is in place in Serbia, implementation needs to continue to be further improved. It will continue to closely monitor Serbia's efforts in this regard," it said.
Romania had earlier flagged up the minority issue at a meeting of foreign ministers in the EU capital on Monday.
But the doggedness of its resistance on Tuesday took colleagues by surprise, given that it had never made a big deal of it before and that the commission, in its series of extensive annual reports on Serbia, had never identified it as a serious problem.
The prevailing theory is that Romania wanted to show the Dutch how strongly it feels about the EU's passport-free Schengen zone.
Romania had hoped to join Schengen last year after fulfilling technical criteria. But the Netherlands blocked it on grounds it is too corrupt, causing national embarrassment. For its part, the Netherlands has invested a lot in Serbia's EU bid, helping to make sure in 2011 that it handed over its top war crimes fugitives to the international court in The Hague.
The decision on Romania's Schengen entry is now due in July.
The Dutch delegation said Romania did not make any kind of Schengen-Serbia link. The Danish EU minister, Nicolai Wammen, who chaired Tuesday's event also said: "The issue of Schengen was not raised."
But other diplomats and officials in and around the event said the Schengen fiasco was in the air.
One EU diplomat told this website: "It was about the Netherlands and the Schengen bid. The Romanians did not say anything like that today publicly, but there were one or two little comments about it at the Fac [the foreign ministers' meeting on Monday]. It's definitely part of the reason."
An EU official said: "A lot of time was devoted to this today and we were supposed to be preparing for the EU summit on Thursday, which has some serious business on the agenda about the financial crisis."
He added that EU presidents and prime ministers at the summit are now set to rubber stamp Serbia's candidate status. But he did not rule out that Romania's leader, or someone else, might come up with more last-minute objections. "After all, this is the EU," he said.
For his part, the Romanian minister responsible for the fuss on Tuesday cancelled his scheduled press briefing and flew back home citing agenda pressures.
EU'S ALUMINIA FLAGS CONCERNS ON INTEREST-RATE MANIPULATION OF LIBOR & EURIBOR
EU'S ALUMINIA FLAGS CONCERNS ON INTEREST-RATE MANIPULATION OF LIBOR & EURIBOR
Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:08pm GMT
* Commissioner says concerned about violation of antitrust rules
* Almunia - any such abuse would have considerable economic cost
BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief underscored concerns over suspected manipulation of interbank lending indexes, saying on Tuesday he would act if any abuse was uncovered by an investigation which is under way.
The European Commission last year raided lenders including Deutsche Bank AG in a probe into suspected fixing of the interbank lending benchmark Euribor.
The investigation runs alongside probes by enforcement agencies in the United States, Europe and Japan into whether the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) was manipulated during the last financial crisis.
Joaquin Almunia, the EU official in charge of antitrust enforcement, said any such abuse, if proven, has a considerable economic cost.
"Our concern is that the companies may have violated the antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," Almunia told lawmakers in the European Parliament, adding the EU's executive Commission could take action.
The Commission has powers to impose heavy fines and has punished Microsoft Corp, for example, to the tune of more than 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for abusing its market power.
"Given the number and the value of transactions in interest-rate derivatives, and the crucial role these products play in the management of risk, any confirmed manipulation of these interest rates would probably imply a very significant cost to the European economy," Almunia said.
The Euribor benchmark rate is used by banks as a reference when fixing a price on interbank euro loans. There are 44 contributors to Euribor, far more than contribute to Libor. Most major banks, including Santander, BNP Paribas and UBS, are on the Euribor panel.
The rate is based on an average from the 44 and used on trillions of euros in euro-denominated loans and debt instruments. The European Banking Federation (EBF) hosts the committees of banks that set the rate.
The investigation suggests that regulators suspect there may have been a fixing of prices, but Euribor-EBF, which compiles the benchmark, has challenged this and promised to provide any data to the authorities.
Libor has existed since the 1980s, when banks developed it as a benchmark for adjustable rates on corporate debt. Calculated in a daily process overseen by the British Bankers' Association, it measures the interest rates at which banks lend to each other and covers a range of 10 currencies and maturities of up to a year.
Barclays, HSBC and RBS have confirmed in regulatory filings that they are being investigated as part of the European Commission's Libor probe. ($1 = 0.7450 euros) (Reporting By Foo Yun Chee; Writing by John O'Donnell)
Tue Feb 28, 2012 5:08pm GMT
* Commissioner says concerned about violation of antitrust rules
* Almunia - any such abuse would have considerable economic cost
BRUSSELS, Feb 28 (Reuters) - The European Union's antitrust chief underscored concerns over suspected manipulation of interbank lending indexes, saying on Tuesday he would act if any abuse was uncovered by an investigation which is under way.
The European Commission last year raided lenders including Deutsche Bank AG in a probe into suspected fixing of the interbank lending benchmark Euribor.
The investigation runs alongside probes by enforcement agencies in the United States, Europe and Japan into whether the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor) was manipulated during the last financial crisis.
Joaquin Almunia, the EU official in charge of antitrust enforcement, said any such abuse, if proven, has a considerable economic cost.
"Our concern is that the companies may have violated the antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices," Almunia told lawmakers in the European Parliament, adding the EU's executive Commission could take action.
The Commission has powers to impose heavy fines and has punished Microsoft Corp, for example, to the tune of more than 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for abusing its market power.
"Given the number and the value of transactions in interest-rate derivatives, and the crucial role these products play in the management of risk, any confirmed manipulation of these interest rates would probably imply a very significant cost to the European economy," Almunia said.
The Euribor benchmark rate is used by banks as a reference when fixing a price on interbank euro loans. There are 44 contributors to Euribor, far more than contribute to Libor. Most major banks, including Santander, BNP Paribas and UBS, are on the Euribor panel.
The rate is based on an average from the 44 and used on trillions of euros in euro-denominated loans and debt instruments. The European Banking Federation (EBF) hosts the committees of banks that set the rate.
The investigation suggests that regulators suspect there may have been a fixing of prices, but Euribor-EBF, which compiles the benchmark, has challenged this and promised to provide any data to the authorities.
Libor has existed since the 1980s, when banks developed it as a benchmark for adjustable rates on corporate debt. Calculated in a daily process overseen by the British Bankers' Association, it measures the interest rates at which banks lend to each other and covers a range of 10 currencies and maturities of up to a year.
Barclays, HSBC and RBS have confirmed in regulatory filings that they are being investigated as part of the European Commission's Libor probe. ($1 = 0.7450 euros) (Reporting By Foo Yun Chee; Writing by John O'Donnell)
I.C.E. AGENTS FACE LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY AFTER ANGLOLIAN "BURGER KING BANKERS", ROBO-SIGNERS, & FLY-BY-NIGHT THIRD WORK EX, IM BANK HIJACKERS!
ICELANDIC BANKS FACE LONG ROAD TO RECOVERY
By Aimee Donnellan Fri Feb 24, 2012 10:57am EST
LONDON, Feb 24 (IFR) - Iceland's Arion Bank, formerly known as Kaupthing, has sold the first covered bond since the country's banking sector collapsed in 2008, although market supporters say the country's banks are still unlikely to pique the interest of international investors.
In the wake of the deal that was taken up exclusively by domestic institutional investors, a number of European accounts are still reluctant to look at Icelandic debt.
They say this is not only because of the sovereign's banking and currency collapse, but more so because of the size of the country (population 317,398 according to the World Bank) and therefore the level of work it would take to analyse the credit.
"Iceland is just such a small jurisdiction so it's really not something that international investors would look at," said Daniel Loughney, portfolio manager at Alliance Bernstein.
"I think domestic investors are likely to buy into smaller deals and then Nordic investors could also get involved."
Covered bond syndicate bankers away from the deal also questioned whether investors would be willing to buy Icelandic covered bonds or not.
"Iceland is famous for two things - having a population of 300,000 and having a banking system that went boom a few years ago. I don't think you will see international investors looking at these bonds particularly because the programme is only EUR1bn in size it just wouldn't be worth their while," said one.
STARTING SMALL
The bank launched a EUR1bn covered bond programme two weeks ago that is listed on the Luxembourg and Iceland stock exchange and was arranged by Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, UBS and Arion Bank itself.
The bank priced the first deal off the programme last Friday, printing a IKr2.5bn (EUR15m) private placement trade that was "massively oversubscribed" according to Arion.
According to a lead manager the bond had a five-year maturity with a coupon of 3.6% issued at 100% and is callable each year after 2017.
BABY STEPS
And while some are skeptical about Icelandic banks' ability to lure international investors, there are those that think it is an important first step and one that will lead to further issuance and eventually international interest.
"The message is clear - covered bonds are an optimal way for financial institutions from countries in the rehabilitation process to get back into the capital markets," said Ted Lord, head of European covered bonds at Barclays Capital.
"Iceland experienced a total market meltdown and a full nationalisation of the banking system. Despite this, investors in Icelandic covered bonds got their money back in full, on time, and with interest."
Salim Nathoo, a structured finance partner at Allen & Overy that advised the bank on the offering shared that optimistic view and said: "We see this as a good example of the reopening of the Icelandic banking system."
SOVEREIGN GAINS
Iceland has made significant gains in the past year and recovered its investment-grade rating from Fitch last week which has positive implications for the country's banks.
Fitch raised Iceland's credit rating to BBB-minus from BB-plus, adding to the investment grade ratings of BBB- from S&P and Baa3 from Moody's Investors Service. The rating agent praised the sovereign for restoring macroeconomic stability after its 2008 banking and currency crisis.
"When markets are shut it takes the sovereign to get things going, then comes covered bonds and eventually banks gain access to the international markets. Iceland is now following this pattern," said a DCM banker.
In June of last year the Republic of Iceland sold a USD1bn five-year US dollar deal that marked the return of the sovereign to the capital markets having been absent for five years.
Arion is 87% owned by Kaupskil, a subsidiary Kaupthing Bank which was one of Iceland's three banks that collapsed in 2008. The remaining 13% is owned by the government. (Reporting by Aimee Donnellan, Editing by Helene Durand)
PVSAD OH ME.... U.S. SECURITIES FRAUDSTERS & "BURGER KING ROBO-SIGNERS" AIRLIFT FAILING ON MINING MANIPULATION!
FIRESTONE SUSPENDS BOTSWANA DIAMOND MINE ON WEAK MARKET
Feb 28, 2012 7:36 AM By Avi Krawitz
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds has suspended operations at its BK11 mine in Botswana due to operational challenges and current weaknesses in the diamond market, the company reported.
"We remain committed to the operations in Botswana and the program at BK11 is a temporary measure that has been designed to enable a rapid re-start of operations when the technical and market challenges have been resolved,” said Tim Wilkes, Firestone’s chief executive officer (CEO).
The mine, which launched production in late 2010, has been placed on care and maintenance with a monthly holding cost of approximately $65,000. Firestone noted that a consultative process has been concluded with employees at the mine to ensure a transparent and legitimate process covering a number of options which are in line with the labor and mining acts within Botswana.
Wilkes said the company will now focus on its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, which is on track to produce 1 million carats by 2014.
Feb 28, 2012 7:36 AM By Avi Krawitz
RAPAPORT... Firestone Diamonds has suspended operations at its BK11 mine in Botswana due to operational challenges and current weaknesses in the diamond market, the company reported.
"We remain committed to the operations in Botswana and the program at BK11 is a temporary measure that has been designed to enable a rapid re-start of operations when the technical and market challenges have been resolved,” said Tim Wilkes, Firestone’s chief executive officer (CEO).
The mine, which launched production in late 2010, has been placed on care and maintenance with a monthly holding cost of approximately $65,000. Firestone noted that a consultative process has been concluded with employees at the mine to ensure a transparent and legitimate process covering a number of options which are in line with the labor and mining acts within Botswana.
Wilkes said the company will now focus on its Liqhobong mine in Lesotho, which is on track to produce 1 million carats by 2014.
BRIBES HOLD BACK CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA MINING----WIKILEAKS
BRIBES HOLD BACK CHINESE IN AUSTRALIA MINING----WIKILEAKS
(AFP) – 23 hours ago
SYDNEY — Chinese mining interests in Australia are being held back because they believe they must pay bribes to get what they want, according to a former senator quoted in emails released by WikiLeaks.
The private email is one of a huge number from the US-based global intelligence company Stratfor that the whistleblowing organisation began publishing Monday.
The assessment, titled "Insight -- China/mining", said that Chinese firms were unable to overcome a corruption mindset when doing business Down Under.
"Where foreign companies do get access to tenements, they always seem to lose out because the mining sector in China is one of the most corrupt sectors of all," the unnamed former senator reportedly said.
The email is dated mid-2010, just months after Australian mining executive Stern Hu was jailed for 10 years in China after a Shanghai court convicted him of taking kickbacks worth millions of dollars from Chinese steel firms and stealing corporate secrets during 2009 iron ore talks.
The incident damaged ties with Beijing, Australia's biggest trading partner and a major investor in its vital resources sector.
In the email, the senator said corruption was widespread in China.
"Ironically, this corruption is one of the impediments to Chinese interests not having accumulated even greater stakes in the resources sector in Australia," he reportedly said.
"They simply cannot get it in their heads that the rule of law applies to mining projects in Australia.
"They refuse to believe that they have a right to receive a mining lease subject only to complying with relevant environmental permitting conditions.
"They think you have no credibility unless you tell them they need to bribe someone!!!"
The email did not name the former senator but said he was "well-connected politically, militarily and economically" and now worked in private industry helping foreign companies with mergers and acquisitions.
WikiLeaks on Monday began publishing a huge tranche of emails from Stratfor dating from July 2004 to December 2011 in a move the anti-secrecy website said revealed the "private lies of private spies."
(AFP) – 23 hours ago
SYDNEY — Chinese mining interests in Australia are being held back because they believe they must pay bribes to get what they want, according to a former senator quoted in emails released by WikiLeaks.
The private email is one of a huge number from the US-based global intelligence company Stratfor that the whistleblowing organisation began publishing Monday.
The assessment, titled "Insight -- China/mining", said that Chinese firms were unable to overcome a corruption mindset when doing business Down Under.
"Where foreign companies do get access to tenements, they always seem to lose out because the mining sector in China is one of the most corrupt sectors of all," the unnamed former senator reportedly said.
The email is dated mid-2010, just months after Australian mining executive Stern Hu was jailed for 10 years in China after a Shanghai court convicted him of taking kickbacks worth millions of dollars from Chinese steel firms and stealing corporate secrets during 2009 iron ore talks.
The incident damaged ties with Beijing, Australia's biggest trading partner and a major investor in its vital resources sector.
In the email, the senator said corruption was widespread in China.
"Ironically, this corruption is one of the impediments to Chinese interests not having accumulated even greater stakes in the resources sector in Australia," he reportedly said.
"They simply cannot get it in their heads that the rule of law applies to mining projects in Australia.
"They refuse to believe that they have a right to receive a mining lease subject only to complying with relevant environmental permitting conditions.
"They think you have no credibility unless you tell them they need to bribe someone!!!"
The email did not name the former senator but said he was "well-connected politically, militarily and economically" and now worked in private industry helping foreign companies with mergers and acquisitions.
WikiLeaks on Monday began publishing a huge tranche of emails from Stratfor dating from July 2004 to December 2011 in a move the anti-secrecy website said revealed the "private lies of private spies."
BOEING HIJACKERS & "BURGER KING BANKING GANGSTERS" AT JP MORGAN CHASE & BLACKROCK HOLDINGS CONTINUE SECURITIES FRAUD IN MINING SECTOR AS YANZHOU COAL MINING UP $778 MILLION --- AFTER FUNDER INDICTED, LIU TO SPEAK
JP Morgan Chase and BlackRock holdings of Yanzhou Coal Mining 778 million
AFTER FUNDER INDICTED, LIU TO SPEAK
By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL
Embattled Comptroller John Liu will attempt to re-establish his place as a credible force in New York City's political world with a major speech Thursday, but some say he may face significant hurdles to winning re-election next year, let alone fulfilling his dream of becoming mayor.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Xing Wu Pan, a fund-raiser for Mr. Liu, on charges he engaged in an illegal scheme to funnel $16,000 into the comptroller's campaign. Mr. Pan's attorney, Irwin Rochman, said he planned to respond to the indictment in the coming days. Mr. Liu, who has not been charged with a crime, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The indictment of Mr. Pan comes less than 24 hours before Mr. Liu, the first Asian-American to hold citywide office, is slated to deliver a State of the City address. Mr. Liu, 45 years old, will be the first comptroller in recent memory to deliver such a speech, and even supporters are viewing it as largely political.
People close to Mr. Liu say the comptroller remains undaunted by the federal probe and is steadfast in his intention to launch a bid to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg next year. But some of his potential mayoral rivals no longer consider him a serious contender, questioning whether he will even run. Others are assessing whether Mr. Liu could be defeated if he seeks a second, four-year term as comptroller.
"There are currently Democrats interested in running for comptroller who see a weakened John Liu as a good target, and they're not wrong to think that way," said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime political consultant.
"This is New York. So, anything can happen. Could he still run for mayor? The answer is: Yes. Would he be successful? Probably not," he said. "Can he run for re-election is the larger issue. That depends significantly on what the investigation reveals."
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined Wednesday to discuss whether others will be charged in the case. The investigation into Mr. Liu's fund-raising operation is ongoing.
Mr. Liu maintains that he and his campaign are fully cooperating with the investigation. But the comptroller has repeatedly refused to answer detailed questions from reporters about the allegations that were outlined in the criminal complaint against Mr. Pan.
Last month, Mr. Liu's campaign reported that it returned every contribution connected to Mr. Pan. The campaign returned tens of thousands of dollars in other contributions, some from donors that The Wall Street Journal reported were linked to disgraced Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu. In 2009, Mr. Hsu was convicted of illegally funneling money to candidates across the country.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Mr. Liu's approval rating continues to suffer in the wake of the federal probe. The poll showed 40% of New Yorkers approve of his job performance, while 29% disapprove. That marks a significant drop in support from a May 2011 poll when 57% approved and 14% disapproved.
"Voters have a low tolerance for any type of unethical behavior and scandals. And it's especially acute these days," said Costas Panagopoulos, assistant professor of political science at Fordham University. "Candidates starting a campaign on the defensive will be fighting an uphill battle, and there will be no shortage of viable contenders in the next mayoral race."
Among mayoral contenders and their strategists, there are mixed views about whether a Liu mayoral campaign is viable.
One consultant for a potential mayoral candidate said Mr. Liu's core constituency, many of whom believe he's being unfairly attacked, will circle around him. A political obituary is premature, the consultant said.
"Short of an indictment or more of a real smoking gun, I don't think he's significantly impacted," said the consultant, who did not want to be identified.
If Mr. Liu chooses to sit the mayor's race out and run for re-election, Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, who has been very critical of Mr. Liu's proposal to change the governance structure of the pension system, said there's a "good possibility" Mr. Liu will face a Democratic challenger.
During his first two years in office, Mr. Liu did not deliver a State of the City address, and his predecessor, William Thompson, the 2009 Democratic mayoral nominee, never delivered a speech of this kind during his eight-year tenure.
Asked to explain the rationale for the speech, spokeman Matthew Sweeney replied, "As the elected chief financial officer of the city, it makes sense for the comptroller's office—whoever the comptroller is—to deliver an update on the state of the city and its finances."
"New Yorkers are concerned about their fiscal well-being and the fiscal health of the city as a whole and that's what Comptroller Liu will address," he said.
Mr. Liu is expected to outline a number of initiatives, one of which calls for expanding the availability of discounted broadband Internet access to low-income New Yorkers, his aides said. His office is in discussions with several major telecommunications companies about the initiative.
Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a business group, said she believes Mr. Liu's political future hinges on his ability to improve pension returns and change the governance structure of the pension system, two of his top priorities.
But "while those charges are out there, he's operating with a weaker hand in getting his objectives accomplished," she said.
Both Ms. Wylde, a supporter of Mr. Liu, and Mr. Sheinkopf said they considered Mr. Liu's speech to be politically motivated. "It is entirely political and an attempt probably to tell people that he's alive and well," Mr. Sheinkopf said.
Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com
AFTER FUNDER INDICTED, LIU TO SPEAK
By MICHAEL HOWARD SAUL
Embattled Comptroller John Liu will attempt to re-establish his place as a credible force in New York City's political world with a major speech Thursday, but some say he may face significant hurdles to winning re-election next year, let alone fulfilling his dream of becoming mayor.
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted Xing Wu Pan, a fund-raiser for Mr. Liu, on charges he engaged in an illegal scheme to funnel $16,000 into the comptroller's campaign. Mr. Pan's attorney, Irwin Rochman, said he planned to respond to the indictment in the coming days. Mr. Liu, who has not been charged with a crime, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
The indictment of Mr. Pan comes less than 24 hours before Mr. Liu, the first Asian-American to hold citywide office, is slated to deliver a State of the City address. Mr. Liu, 45 years old, will be the first comptroller in recent memory to deliver such a speech, and even supporters are viewing it as largely political.
People close to Mr. Liu say the comptroller remains undaunted by the federal probe and is steadfast in his intention to launch a bid to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg next year. But some of his potential mayoral rivals no longer consider him a serious contender, questioning whether he will even run. Others are assessing whether Mr. Liu could be defeated if he seeks a second, four-year term as comptroller.
"There are currently Democrats interested in running for comptroller who see a weakened John Liu as a good target, and they're not wrong to think that way," said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime political consultant.
"This is New York. So, anything can happen. Could he still run for mayor? The answer is: Yes. Would he be successful? Probably not," he said. "Can he run for re-election is the larger issue. That depends significantly on what the investigation reveals."
A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan declined Wednesday to discuss whether others will be charged in the case. The investigation into Mr. Liu's fund-raising operation is ongoing.
Mr. Liu maintains that he and his campaign are fully cooperating with the investigation. But the comptroller has repeatedly refused to answer detailed questions from reporters about the allegations that were outlined in the criminal complaint against Mr. Pan.
Last month, Mr. Liu's campaign reported that it returned every contribution connected to Mr. Pan. The campaign returned tens of thousands of dollars in other contributions, some from donors that The Wall Street Journal reported were linked to disgraced Democratic fund-raiser Norman Hsu. In 2009, Mr. Hsu was convicted of illegally funneling money to candidates across the country.
A Quinnipiac University poll released last week showed Mr. Liu's approval rating continues to suffer in the wake of the federal probe. The poll showed 40% of New Yorkers approve of his job performance, while 29% disapprove. That marks a significant drop in support from a May 2011 poll when 57% approved and 14% disapproved.
"Voters have a low tolerance for any type of unethical behavior and scandals. And it's especially acute these days," said Costas Panagopoulos, assistant professor of political science at Fordham University. "Candidates starting a campaign on the defensive will be fighting an uphill battle, and there will be no shortage of viable contenders in the next mayoral race."
Among mayoral contenders and their strategists, there are mixed views about whether a Liu mayoral campaign is viable.
One consultant for a potential mayoral candidate said Mr. Liu's core constituency, many of whom believe he's being unfairly attacked, will circle around him. A political obituary is premature, the consultant said.
"Short of an indictment or more of a real smoking gun, I don't think he's significantly impacted," said the consultant, who did not want to be identified.
If Mr. Liu chooses to sit the mayor's race out and run for re-election, Greg Floyd, president of Teamsters Local 237, who has been very critical of Mr. Liu's proposal to change the governance structure of the pension system, said there's a "good possibility" Mr. Liu will face a Democratic challenger.
During his first two years in office, Mr. Liu did not deliver a State of the City address, and his predecessor, William Thompson, the 2009 Democratic mayoral nominee, never delivered a speech of this kind during his eight-year tenure.
Asked to explain the rationale for the speech, spokeman Matthew Sweeney replied, "As the elected chief financial officer of the city, it makes sense for the comptroller's office—whoever the comptroller is—to deliver an update on the state of the city and its finances."
"New Yorkers are concerned about their fiscal well-being and the fiscal health of the city as a whole and that's what Comptroller Liu will address," he said.
Mr. Liu is expected to outline a number of initiatives, one of which calls for expanding the availability of discounted broadband Internet access to low-income New Yorkers, his aides said. His office is in discussions with several major telecommunications companies about the initiative.
Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a business group, said she believes Mr. Liu's political future hinges on his ability to improve pension returns and change the governance structure of the pension system, two of his top priorities.
But "while those charges are out there, he's operating with a weaker hand in getting his objectives accomplished," she said.
Both Ms. Wylde, a supporter of Mr. Liu, and Mr. Sheinkopf said they considered Mr. Liu's speech to be politically motivated. "It is entirely political and an attempt probably to tell people that he's alive and well," Mr. Sheinkopf said.
Write to Michael Howard Saul at michael.saul@wsj.com
INTERSTATE STATE STALKERS INVOLVED IN THE MURDER OF AGENT BRIAN TERRY...
HERE'S ONE ATTEMPTED IT & ROMICIDE WITH VEHICLE AFTER INTERSTATE STALKING FROM ARIZONA'S MURDER OF BRIAN TERRY WITH MIDDLE EASTERN TERRORIST SUSPECTS EXITING HUMANA IN GREEN BAY, WI:
WISCONSIN LICENSE PLATE NUMBER# 610 GWD
WISCONSIN LICENSE PLATE NUMBER# 397 SDB
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WISCONSIN LICENSE PLATE NUMBER# 610 GWD
WISCONSIN LICENSE PLATE NUMBER# 397 SDB
.
DO NOT REWARD, EMPLOY, INVEST, OR PAY UNION FEES TO TALIBAN TREACHERY!
DO NOT REWARD TALIBAN TREACHERY!
Posted 02/27/2012 06:59 PM ET, INVESTORS DAILY
War On Terror: As the Taliban assassinate U.S. military officers and poison troop chow in Afghanistan, the president secretly plans the release of Taliban prisoners from Gitmo.
Whose side is this commander in chief on? Just days before members of the Taliban took credit for infiltrating the Afghan Interior Ministry and murdering two American officers, the Obama administration was finalizing a secret deal with the terror group.
"If all goes as hoped," reported Reuters, "U.S. and Qatari negotiators will meet soon to nail down final details for transferring Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo prison — a momentous step for President Obama, the Afghan war and perhaps U.S. foreign policy as well."
The deal reportedly includes a political office for the Taliban in Qatar and possible power-sharing for the banned terrorist group in Kabul. What does the U.S. get out of the deal? More treachery and bloodshed.
On Saturday, a Taliban agent planted inside the high-security Interior Ministry murdered in cold blood a U.S. major and lieutenant colonel while they were visiting the building. The Taliban operative, posing as a ministry employee, pulled out a gun and shot the two unarmed officers in the head at close range.
The Taliban also claimed credit for infiltrating a NATO base in Afghanistan and poisoning fruit and coffee with bleach in a mess hall.
The murder of the two soldiers, which was carried out by an insurgent wearing an Afghan national army uniform, was not the first instance of Afghan security forces turning on U.S. or NATO troops.
According to a new Pentagon report, there have been 50 such insider murders since 2007. Many of the attacks have been carried out by Taliban insurgents disguised as Afghan security personnel.
How do they get so close to our troops? They're imbedded with them as military or police trainees. In many cases, they're assigned to "guard" them. Yes, you read that correctly: The Pentagon has brought in Afghan nationals to provide "security" for our troops.
You'd think U.S. command would thoroughly vet local Muslims for such a sensitive duty. But that would make too much sense. Fact is, military brass don't even screen them, at least not using military personnel. That critical chore is farmed out to private contractors.
The administration thinks the sooner it stands up an Afghan army and national police, the sooner it can pull out troops. Obama has announced a formal 2014 withdrawal. But by telegraphing his plans, everybody in Afghanistan knows we're leaving.
And now there's no reason for a local Afghan Muslim not to side with the Taliban, either openly or secretly, especially in light of reports the administration is in political talks with the Taliban.
Afghans working for the army or police have good reason to fear the Taliban will soon be back in power. If they don't want to end up buried in a soccer field, they'll throw in with the Taliban — and help them kill as many American "infidels" from the inside as they can.
The enemy must be doubled over with laughter at the stupidity of this administration.
Posted 02/27/2012 06:59 PM ET, INVESTORS DAILY
War On Terror: As the Taliban assassinate U.S. military officers and poison troop chow in Afghanistan, the president secretly plans the release of Taliban prisoners from Gitmo.
Whose side is this commander in chief on? Just days before members of the Taliban took credit for infiltrating the Afghan Interior Ministry and murdering two American officers, the Obama administration was finalizing a secret deal with the terror group.
"If all goes as hoped," reported Reuters, "U.S. and Qatari negotiators will meet soon to nail down final details for transferring Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo prison — a momentous step for President Obama, the Afghan war and perhaps U.S. foreign policy as well."
The deal reportedly includes a political office for the Taliban in Qatar and possible power-sharing for the banned terrorist group in Kabul. What does the U.S. get out of the deal? More treachery and bloodshed.
On Saturday, a Taliban agent planted inside the high-security Interior Ministry murdered in cold blood a U.S. major and lieutenant colonel while they were visiting the building. The Taliban operative, posing as a ministry employee, pulled out a gun and shot the two unarmed officers in the head at close range.
The Taliban also claimed credit for infiltrating a NATO base in Afghanistan and poisoning fruit and coffee with bleach in a mess hall.
The murder of the two soldiers, which was carried out by an insurgent wearing an Afghan national army uniform, was not the first instance of Afghan security forces turning on U.S. or NATO troops.
According to a new Pentagon report, there have been 50 such insider murders since 2007. Many of the attacks have been carried out by Taliban insurgents disguised as Afghan security personnel.
How do they get so close to our troops? They're imbedded with them as military or police trainees. In many cases, they're assigned to "guard" them. Yes, you read that correctly: The Pentagon has brought in Afghan nationals to provide "security" for our troops.
You'd think U.S. command would thoroughly vet local Muslims for such a sensitive duty. But that would make too much sense. Fact is, military brass don't even screen them, at least not using military personnel. That critical chore is farmed out to private contractors.
The administration thinks the sooner it stands up an Afghan army and national police, the sooner it can pull out troops. Obama has announced a formal 2014 withdrawal. But by telegraphing his plans, everybody in Afghanistan knows we're leaving.
And now there's no reason for a local Afghan Muslim not to side with the Taliban, either openly or secretly, especially in light of reports the administration is in political talks with the Taliban.
Afghans working for the army or police have good reason to fear the Taliban will soon be back in power. If they don't want to end up buried in a soccer field, they'll throw in with the Taliban — and help them kill as many American "infidels" from the inside as they can.
The enemy must be doubled over with laughter at the stupidity of this administration.
FREAK-CREEP UP-DATE ON THE BIGGEST WHORE, PERVERT, CHILD MOLESTOR & FAILURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY!
FREAK CREEP UP-DATE ON THE BIGGEST WHORE, PERVERT, CHILD MOLESTOR & FAILURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY!
Reprisal for Whistleblowing: FDA Former Employees File Federal Lawsuit
Six current and former employees of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) filed a federal lawsuit against the agency in January, alleging that high-level officials within the FDA intercepted their private correspondence to effectively interfere with their ability to “blow the whistle” on government misconduct.
In 2008, FDA employees, including scientists, experts and physicians, started alerting congressional representatives that senior managers within the FDA were deliberately ignoring scientific data challenging the safety of medical devices. The employees explained that they had expressed their concerns regarding the use of certain devices to detect colon cancer or breast cancer, but that their conclusions were ignored during the review process.
In their complaint, the former employees allege that following their disclosures to Congress, the FDA started to monitor their personal communications, secretly installing spyware on their government-owned computer to have access to personal e-mails sent from their private accounts. Through this monitoring, the FDA was able to gain access to its employees’ communications with Congress and the Office of Special Counsel, the agency in charge of investigating allegations of official corruption. Using this information, the agency sought criminal charges against the employees for disclosure of confidential proprietary information pertaining to medical devices. When the inspector general office found that there was no criminal misconduct, the FDA simply terminated the employment of the whistleblowers.
The complaint raises several issues regarding federal employees’ reasonable expectation of privacy in personal communications sent from government-owned computers. Although the agency authorizes its employees to use work equipment to make personal communications, it also posts warnings that the government may intercept any personal data for lawful purposes. But here lies the catch for the FDA: intercepting communications to congressional authorities in charge of investigating official misconduct and retaliating against the employees responsible for such communications is probably not lawful under whistleblower laws (See Lloyd LaFollette Act, 5 U.S.C. § 7211). Furthermore, as the complaint also points out, the FDA’s conduct may have violated its employees’ First Amendment right to freedom of speech and association.
In the end, the U.S. District Court will have to weigh the FDA’s interest in protecting proprietary information regarding medical devices submitted for its approval, against the right of federal employees to disclose acts of official misconduct to public authorities.
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