Overstock Accuses Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch of Racketeering
December 19th, 2010Via: Reuters:
Overstock.com Inc plans to amend a lawsuit it filed in early 2007 to include racketeering claims against Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch, the online retailer said on Thursday.
The original lawsuit, filed in the California superior court in San Francisco, alleged that Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch unit engaged in a “massive, illegal stock market manipulation scheme” that involved so-called naked short-selling.
Pfizer Targeted Nigerian Attorney General to Undermine Suit Over Fatal Drug Tests
December 17th, 2010Via: Democracy Now:
Diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks show the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer hired investigators to find evidence of corruption against the Nigerian attorney general to pressure him to drop a $6 billion lawsuit over fraudulent drug tests on Nigerian children. Researchers did not obtain signed consent forms, and medical personnel said Pfizer did not tell parents their children were getting the experimental drug. Eleven children died, and others suffered disabling injuries including deafness, muteness, paralysis, brain damage, loss of sight, slurred speech. We speak to Washington Post reporter Joe Stephens, who helped break the story in 2000, and Musikilu Mojeed, a Nigerian journalist who has worked on this story for the NEXT newspaper in Lagos.
Related: Deadly Medicine: Lethal Profit Machine
CIA Gave Torturers $5 Million Legal Shield
December 17th, 2010Via: AP:
The CIA agreed to cover at least $5 million in legal fees for two contractors who were the architects of the agency’s interrogation program and personally conducted dozens of waterboarding sessions on terror detainees, former U.S. officials said.
The secret agreement means taxpayers are paying to defend the men in a federal investigation over an interrogation tactic the U.S. now says is torture. The deal is even more generous than the protections the agency typically provides its own officers, giving the two men access to more money to finance their defense.
It has long been known that psychologists Jim Mitchell and Bruce Jessen created the CIA’s interrogation program. But former U.S. intelligence officials said Mitchell and Jessen also repeatedly subjected terror suspects inside CIA-run secret prisons to waterboarding, a simulated drowning tactic.
U.S. and Canada Planning North American Perimeter
December 17th, 2010Via: National Post:
The Conservative government is set to announce a landmark security and trade deal with the United States, designed to create a perimeter around North America and allow people and goods to flow more freely across the border.
Sources suggested that Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama will sign the broad-ranging agreement in Washington as early as next month.
“It’s big on ideals but maybe not so great on details,” said one person familiar with the negotiations. “But it does use the word ‘perimeter’ many times…The question is, will it reduce the compliance burden at the Canada-U.S. border?”
The New Border Vision is being billed as a 21st century border management system that will include new common consumer product regulations, a pre-clearance agreement for goods crossing the border to expedite waiting times and the use of advanced technology to utilize biometric data for travelers at airports and land crossings, according to people familiar with the plan.
Related: Australia and New Zealand Working on “Common Border” Policy
Ireland’s Credit Rating Cut Five Levels by Moody’s With a Negative Outlook
December 17th, 2010Via: Bloomberg:
Ireland’s credit rating was cut five levels by Moody’s Investors Service and further downgrades are possible as the government struggles to contain losses in the country’s banking system.
The rating was lowered to Baa1 from Aa2, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement from London today. That’s three levels above non-investment grade and the same level as countries including Russia and Lithuania. The outlook on the rating is “negative,” Moody’s said.
Nashville: Sheriff Rolls Out Mobile Booking Unit
December 17th, 2010Via: WSNV:
The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office has a new mobile booking unit. It’s a bus bought and outfitted with a $300,000 grant from the state to help police officers get back on the street more quickly after an arrest.
…
But there’s a missing step that’s causing some concern: the officer never appears before the commissioner.
Attorney David Raybin said the officer’s sworn statement before the commissioner is a crucial step that can’t be cut out.
“It’s unconstitutional. It’s illegal. The warrant is worthless if you do that,” Raybin said. “The felony bus makes a lot of sense, but it’s a step backward if they are going to cut out the constitutional requirements.”
Hall said he’s gotten a legal opinion that it’s OK for a sheriff’s department employee to present the officer’s case.
“The question becomes, who appears before the commissioner? We agree that someone has to. Who has to be that person?” Hall said.
The sheriff said the process may need some tweaking.
Food Price Inflation
December 17th, 2010Via: San Francisco Chronicle:
For the first time since 2008, inflation is hitting consumers in the stomach.
Grocery prices grew by more than 1 1/2 times the overall rate of inflation this year, outpaced only by costs of transportation and medical care, according to numbers released Wednesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Economists predict that this is only the beginning. Fueled by the higher costs of wheat, sugar, corn, soybeans and energy, shoppers could see as much as a 4 percent increase at the supermarket checkout next year.
There Are Now Enough Vacant Properties In China To House Over Half Of America
December 17th, 2010Via: Business Insider:
Property stocks in China were weak today due to media reports that the Beijing and Shanghai authorities were investigating the high vacancy rate for Chinese property. Markets are worried they’ll be shocked by what they discover and clamp down on speculation even harder than they have.
How large might the vacancy problem be? Here’s a taste:
Finance Asia:
Recent statistics show that there are about 64 million apartments and houses that have remained empty during the past six months, according to Chinese media reports. On the assumption that each flat serves as a home to a typical Chinese family of three (parents and one child), the vacant properties could accommodate 200 million people, which account for more than 15% of the country’s 1.3 billion population. But instead, they remain empty. This is in part because many Chinese believe that a home is not a real home unless you own the flat.
And so people prefer buying to renting, and as a result, the rental yield is relatively low.
Research Credit: ltcolonelnemo
Vi Hart
December 17th, 2010Vi Hart might be interesting for Cryptogon homeschoolers out there.
We Briefly Interrupt the Rubber Hose Beatings…
December 17th, 2010Court Rebuffs Obama on Warrantless Cell-Site Tracking
Appeals Court Holds that Email Privacy Protected by Fourth Amendment
Context:
Mark Klein on AT&T/NSA Domestic Surveillance Program: “The NSA is Getting Everything.”
Ship of Fools by Ted Kaczynski
