Archive for the 'Elite' Category
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Bailouts Could Hit $363 Billion
October 21st, 2010Via: Los Angeles Times: The taxpayer bailouts of housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost as much as $363 billion through 2013, according to government projections released Thursday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which has regulated the former government-sponsored enterprises since they were seized during the financial crisis in 2008, said the […]
Google Pays 2.4% Corporate Tax Rate; $60 Billion Lost to Tax Loopholes
October 21st, 2010Via: Bloomberg: Google Inc. cut its taxes by $3.1 billion in the last three years using a technique that moves most of its foreign profits through Ireland and the Netherlands to Bermuda. Google’s income shifting — involving strategies known to lawyers as the “Double Irish” and the “Dutch Sandwich” — helped reduce its overseas tax […]
Efforts to Prosecute Blackwater Are Collapsing
October 21st, 2010Via: New York Times: Nearly four years after the federal government began a string of investigations and criminal prosecutions against Blackwater Worldwide personnel accused of murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cases are beginning to fall apart, burdened by a legal obstacle of the government’s own making. Just a Couple of […]
Pentagon Plans $60 Billion Weapons Sale to Saudi Arabia; Largest Ever
October 21st, 2010Via: Washington Post: The Defense Department has notified Congress that it wants to sell $60 billion worth of advanced aircraft and weapons to Saudi Arabia. The proposed sale, which includes helicopters, fighter jets, radar equipment and satellite-guided bombs, would be the largest arms deal to another country in U.S. history if the sale goes through […]
Planetary Defense Coordination Office Proposed to Fight Asteroids
October 21st, 2010Maybe they’ll milk the space rocks before the little green men scenario??? Via: Space: A new report calls on NASA to establish a Planetary Defense Coordination Office to lead national and international efforts in protecting Earth against impacts by asteroids and comets. The final report of the Ad-Hoc Task Force on Planetary Defense of the […]
Most Food Grown By Children in Chicago Public School Gardens Must Be Sold or Given Away
October 21st, 2010I’m pretty numb to much of the sludge that falls down this page… but this one is going to haunt me. Via: Chicago Tribune: It’s harvest time in Chicago Public School gardens full of chubby tomatoes, heavy squash and fragrant basil. These urban oases, carefully tended by teachers, students and volunteers, range from several square […]
Drug Companies Pay 17,000 U.S. Doctors to Market Drugs to Other Doctors
October 20th, 2010Via: Reuters: More than 17,000 doctors and other healthcare providers have taken money from seven major drug companies to talk to other doctors about their products, a joint investigation by news organizations and non-profit groups found. More than 380 of the doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other professionals took in more than $100,000 in 2009 and […]
Federal Reserve May Soon Begin Buying U.S. Debt at the Rate of $100 Billion Per Month
October 20th, 2010Via: Reuters: A string of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday indicated the central bank will soon offer further monetary stimulus to the economy, with one saying $100 billion a month in bond buys may be appropriate. While internal differences on the unconventional policy are still evident, the consensus view at the Fed appears to be […]
Chicago Sheriff Won’t Enforce Foreclosures for BofA, JPMorgan, and GMAC/Ally Financial Unless They Are Proven to Be Legal
October 20th, 2010Via: CNBC: Two of the largest U.S. mortgage servicers have said they will resume home foreclosures, but a big-city sheriff has news for them: he won’t enforce their foreclosure evictions. The sheriff for Cook County, Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago, said on Tuesday he will not enforce foreclosure evictions for Bank of America […]
“None of the serial killers I know of have been pilots for the Queen.”
October 19th, 2010Via: Globe and Mail: For all the horrifying variety of their specific crimes, most serial killers tend to have one thing in common: they operate near the margins of society. And then there’s Colonel Russell Williams.
