Daily Archives: November 3, 2012

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John Grisham » The Racketeer

Given the importance of what they do, and the controversies that often surround them, and the violent people they sometimes confront, it is remarkable that in the history of this country only four active federal judges have been murdered.

Judge Raymond Fawcett just became number five.

Who is the Racketeer? And what does he have to do with the judge’s untimely demise? His name, for the moment, is Malcolm Bannister. Job status? Former attorney. Current residence? The Federal Prison Camp near Frostburg, Maryland.

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via John Grisham » The Racketeer.

Really liked this novel! The dynamics of unjust imprisonment and loss of personal freedoms, retribution… are very compelling.

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‘Pre-election promises on Iran, Afghanistan unrealistic’ – YouTube

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have resumed campaigning in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Despite the massive clean-up costs, neither is prepared to budge on the huge military budget.

US national security expert Gareth Porter shared his views on which election promises on Iran and Afghanistan are likely to remain nothing more than part of a TV performance

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Electotainment: Elex reality TV super-hit as ratings trump US politics – YouTube

With just four days to go until voting day, both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama have kicked their election campaigns into overdrive.

Racing from rally to rally – both are desperate to break their poll stalemate – something neither the debates nor superstorm have been able to do.

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Obama Defends His Finance Reform Record to Rolling Stone: A Response | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone

The new issue of Rolling Stone features an in-depth interview with President Obama. An interview with a sitting president is always an intense experience for any news outlet, but in this case the Obama interview offered us an additional surprise. When asked a question about financial regulation, the president turned the tables on us and critiqued Rolling Stone’s reporting on issues like the Dodd-Frank reform bill. We – well, I, specifically – criticized the Obama administration for not going far enough in reforming Wall Street, and he used the interview as an opportunity to respond on that score.

Earlier this week, I spoke to a number of people in and around Washington who were my sources during the time when I was writing the stories about Dodd-Frank that the president referred to in the interview. I forwarded the president’s response to them and solicited comments on his take on Dodd-Frank, then used them to put together a sort of respectful answer to the president’s critique; you can find that answer further down this page.

First, here’s the question and answer that appeared in the Rolling Stone interview with President Obama:

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via Obama Defends His Finance Reform Record to Rolling Stone: A Response | Matt Taibbi | Rolling Stone.

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Why We May Be Able to Start Feeding Ourselves From Urban Waters Again | Alternet

Small-scale vertical farms — some of the first in the country — are designed to grow multiple species of seaweed and shellfish, have small footprints and provide an array of environmental benefits.

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via Why We May Be Able to Start Feeding Ourselves From Urban Waters Again | Alternet.

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The Real Libor Scandal by Paul Craig Robert & Nomi Prins – Thoughts – Nomi Prins

(Note: I was deeply honored to have been asked to be a co-author on this piece by Paul Craig Roberts)

According to news reports, UK banks fixed the London interbank borrowing rate (Libor) with the complicity of the Bank of England (UK central bank) at a low rate in order to obtain a cheap borrowing cost. The way this scandal is playing out is that the banks benefitted from borrowing at these low rates. Whereas this is true, it also strikes us as simplistic and as a diversion from the deeper, darker scandal.

Banks are not the only beneficiaries of lower Libor rates. Debtors (and investors) whose floating or variable rate loans are pegged in some way to Libor also benefit. One could argue that by fixing the rate low, the banks were cheating themselves out of interest income, because the effect of the low Libor rate is to lower the interest rate on customer loans, such as variable rate mortgages that banks possess in their portfolios. But the banks did not fix the Libor rate with their customers in mind. Instead, the fixed Libor rate enabled them to improve their balance sheets, as well as help to perpetuate the regime of low interest rates. The last thing the banks want is a rise in interest rates that would drive down the values of their holdings and reveal large losses masked by rigged interest rates.

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via The Real Libor Scandal by Paul Craig Robert & Nomi Prins – Thoughts – Nomi Prins.

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Before the Election was Over, Wall Street won – Nomi Prins

Before the campaign contributors lavished billions of dollars on their favorite candidate; and long after they toast their winner or drink to forget their loser, Wall Street was already primed to continue its reign over the economy.

For, after three debates (well, four), when it comes to banking, finance, and the ongoing subsidization of Wall Street, both presidential candidates and their parties’ attitudes toward the banking sector is similar  – i.e. it must be preserved – as is – at all costs, rhetoric to the contrary, aside.

Obama hasn’t brought ‘sweeping reform’ upon the Establishment Banks, nor does Romney need to exude deregulatory babble, because nothing structurally substantive has been done to harness the biggest banks of the financial sector, enabled, as they are, by entities from the SEC to the Fed to the Treasury Department to the White House.

In addition, though much is made of each candidates’ tax plans, and the related math that doesn’t add up (for both presidential candidates), the bottom line is, Obama hasn’t explained exactly WHY there’s $5 trillion more in debt during his presidency, nor has Romney explained HOW to get a $5 trillion savings.

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Thoughts – Nomi Prins.

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Keiser Report: Wall St. Vomitorium (E362)

In this episode, Max Keiser and Stacy Herbert discuss how Wall Street has won big time with zero interest rate policy and that the biggest winner, JP Morgan Chase, has seen its deposits increase by 46% from 2007 (pre ZIRP) to 2012 and yet its interest expenses declined by nearly 89%. They also discuss the Vomitorium in Florida where Obama’s ‘historic’ mortgage settlement may be used to plug government deficits or political pay rises instead of helping the 11% of mortgage holders in foreclosure. In the second half, Max Keiser talks to former Goldman Sachs banker, Nomi Prins, discuss the lost lessons of the Great Depression.

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Cute video: Rare white lion cub nursed by dog – YouTube

A rare white lion cub was born in on Tuesday in China’s Quanzhou Amusement Park in eastern Fujian Province. The cub’s parents were both normal African lions with a yellow/brown coloring which makes the white lion even more unusual. Since it was the first time the female lion had given birth, keepers were worried about feeding problems so found a dog to nurse the lion cub along with her puppies.