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marmar
marmar's Journal
marmar's Journal
February 25, 2012
from the NY Times:
The former chief executive and former chairman of the failed Icelandic lender Kaupthing Bank were indicted on Wednesday on charges of fraud and market manipulation.
Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the bank’s former chief executive, and Sigurdur Einarsson, the former chairman, are expected to stand trial at the beginning of March in Iceland, their lawyers said. The court hearings could last for several months. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictments are the latest step by Iceland’s special prosecutor to investigate the executives behind the 2008 collapse of Kaupthing, which crippled the country’s banking system and paralyzed its economy.
During the boom years, Kaupthing and other Icelandic banks expanded far beyond their small domestic market, relying on Icelandic authorities and others to finance their efforts. Then the credit crisis hit, and Kaupthing crumbled under the weight of its $50 billion debt load, leaving creditors in the lurch. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/2-former-executives-of-failed-icelandic-bank-charged-with-fraud/
Iceland indicts more banksters
from the NY Times:
The former chief executive and former chairman of the failed Icelandic lender Kaupthing Bank were indicted on Wednesday on charges of fraud and market manipulation.
Hreidar Mar Sigurdsson, the bank’s former chief executive, and Sigurdur Einarsson, the former chairman, are expected to stand trial at the beginning of March in Iceland, their lawyers said. The court hearings could last for several months. Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The indictments are the latest step by Iceland’s special prosecutor to investigate the executives behind the 2008 collapse of Kaupthing, which crippled the country’s banking system and paralyzed its economy.
During the boom years, Kaupthing and other Icelandic banks expanded far beyond their small domestic market, relying on Icelandic authorities and others to finance their efforts. Then the credit crisis hit, and Kaupthing crumbled under the weight of its $50 billion debt load, leaving creditors in the lurch. ...................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/2-former-executives-of-failed-icelandic-bank-charged-with-fraud/
February 25, 2012
What Are We Really Eating? Reporter Goes Undercover to Reveal the Real Story of Our Broken Food System
Tracie McMillan talks about her new book and how she went undercover as a farmhand and worker at Walmart and Applebee's.
February 23, 2012 |
Tracie McMillan's The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table takes us on a vivid and poignant tour of a place we don't really want to go: the mostly hidden, sometimes horrible world of the workers who form the backbone of our cheap, industrialized food chain. Sound grim? It is, at times, but McMillan's lively narrative and evident empathy for the people she encounters make her sojourn into the bowels of Big Food and Big Ag a pleasure to read.
.......(snip).......
KT: You found that farm work in California's Central Valley was extremely demanding, sometimes dangerous, and routinely underpaid. What do you think it would take to provide the people who pick our crops with better working conditions and paychecks that don't deliberately shortchange them?
TM: I was typically working alongside undocumented immigrants. You always hear the stories about how undocumented immigrants work for very low wages and how they get treated. It's one thing to hear about it, it's another thing to see how terrified everybody is, how unwilling they are to say anything.
.......(snip).......
KT: What were your most miserable moments?
TM: This belies my upwardly mobile aspirations (laughs). For me, what was the most emotionally miserable was working the night shift at Walmart. I didn't see any daylight for the most part. That's also really physical work, so I would move half a ton of sugar and a half ton of flour in a night, by myself. It's isolated work, you're in an aisle stocking by yourself, so there's no social aspect to it.
But what I found most draining about it was that most of my coworkers, many of whom were married and had families, had been there for seven, 10, 15 years. One coworker was earning $11 an hour after working there for seven years, and she talked about how if you worked at Walmart for 15 years that's actually really good because you get a lifetime discount card. .............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/food/154280/what_are_we_really_eating_reporter_goes_undercover_to_reveal_the_real_story_of_our_broken_food_system/
What Are We Really Eating? Reporter Goes Undercover to Reveal Real Story of Our Broken Food System
AlterNet / By Kerry TruemanWhat Are We Really Eating? Reporter Goes Undercover to Reveal the Real Story of Our Broken Food System
Tracie McMillan talks about her new book and how she went undercover as a farmhand and worker at Walmart and Applebee's.
February 23, 2012 |
Tracie McMillan's The American Way of Eating: Undercover at Walmart, Applebee's, Farm Fields and the Dinner Table takes us on a vivid and poignant tour of a place we don't really want to go: the mostly hidden, sometimes horrible world of the workers who form the backbone of our cheap, industrialized food chain. Sound grim? It is, at times, but McMillan's lively narrative and evident empathy for the people she encounters make her sojourn into the bowels of Big Food and Big Ag a pleasure to read.
.......(snip).......
KT: You found that farm work in California's Central Valley was extremely demanding, sometimes dangerous, and routinely underpaid. What do you think it would take to provide the people who pick our crops with better working conditions and paychecks that don't deliberately shortchange them?
TM: I was typically working alongside undocumented immigrants. You always hear the stories about how undocumented immigrants work for very low wages and how they get treated. It's one thing to hear about it, it's another thing to see how terrified everybody is, how unwilling they are to say anything.
.......(snip).......
KT: What were your most miserable moments?
TM: This belies my upwardly mobile aspirations (laughs). For me, what was the most emotionally miserable was working the night shift at Walmart. I didn't see any daylight for the most part. That's also really physical work, so I would move half a ton of sugar and a half ton of flour in a night, by myself. It's isolated work, you're in an aisle stocking by yourself, so there's no social aspect to it.
But what I found most draining about it was that most of my coworkers, many of whom were married and had families, had been there for seven, 10, 15 years. One coworker was earning $11 an hour after working there for seven years, and she talked about how if you worked at Walmart for 15 years that's actually really good because you get a lifetime discount card. .............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/food/154280/what_are_we_really_eating_reporter_goes_undercover_to_reveal_the_real_story_of_our_broken_food_system/
February 25, 2012
(Bloomberg) Two years ago, Citigroup Inc. (C) embarked on one of those feel-good corporate-image campaigns, aimed at showing a skeptical public that it could be trusted again. Citigroup was a “fundamentally different” company from what it had been during the financial crisis, it promised, a mantra its executives have repeated ever since.
“The new Citi has a clear strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said in a February 2010 video on the company’s website. “We’re going to stand for the financial- services company that practices responsible finance. Making sure we’re transparent. Making sure we’re honest.”
Oh, well. Last week, Citigroup agreed to pay $158.3 million to settle a civil complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, accusing the company and its CitiMortgage home-loan unit of defrauding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. By itself, that wouldn’t be big news. The payment is small for a company with $1.9 trillion of assets. And the government has accused Citigroup of fraud many times before.
What makes this case different -- and so galling -- is that some of the alleged misconduct was ongoing as recently as last year, well after the company’s 2008 taxpayer bailouts. All this might have stayed under wraps, too, were it not for a CitiMortgage employee, Sherry Hunt, who filed a federal whistle- blower complaint against the company last year. Hunt was awarded $31.7 million, or 20 percent of the settlement proceeds agreed to last week, after the government intervened in her lawsuit and resolved the case. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-24/new-citigroup-looks-too-much-like-the-old-one-commentary-by-jonathan-weil.html
New Citigroup Looks Too Much Like the Old One
(Bloomberg) Two years ago, Citigroup Inc. (C) embarked on one of those feel-good corporate-image campaigns, aimed at showing a skeptical public that it could be trusted again. Citigroup was a “fundamentally different” company from what it had been during the financial crisis, it promised, a mantra its executives have repeated ever since.
“The new Citi has a clear strategy,” Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit said in a February 2010 video on the company’s website. “We’re going to stand for the financial- services company that practices responsible finance. Making sure we’re transparent. Making sure we’re honest.”
Oh, well. Last week, Citigroup agreed to pay $158.3 million to settle a civil complaint by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan, accusing the company and its CitiMortgage home-loan unit of defrauding the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. By itself, that wouldn’t be big news. The payment is small for a company with $1.9 trillion of assets. And the government has accused Citigroup of fraud many times before.
What makes this case different -- and so galling -- is that some of the alleged misconduct was ongoing as recently as last year, well after the company’s 2008 taxpayer bailouts. All this might have stayed under wraps, too, were it not for a CitiMortgage employee, Sherry Hunt, who filed a federal whistle- blower complaint against the company last year. Hunt was awarded $31.7 million, or 20 percent of the settlement proceeds agreed to last week, after the government intervened in her lawsuit and resolved the case. ..................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-24/new-citigroup-looks-too-much-like-the-old-one-commentary-by-jonathan-weil.html
February 25, 2012
Former ESPN college football analyst Craig James is trying to woo voters with some anti-gay rhetoric.
James, running for a Senate seat in Texas, was at a candidate's debate and responded to the fact that, when his opponent Tom Leppert was mayor of Dallas, he marched in gay pride parades. Leppert said he is against gay marriage but as a Christian wanted to reach out to all people.
James said being gay was "a choice" and that "they are going to have to answer to the Lord for their actions." ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/02/craig-james-believes-gays-will-answer-to-the-lord/1?csp=ip#.T0g-tnnNkgk
Craig James courts the knuckledragger vote
Former ESPN college football analyst Craig James is trying to woo voters with some anti-gay rhetoric.
James, running for a Senate seat in Texas, was at a candidate's debate and responded to the fact that, when his opponent Tom Leppert was mayor of Dallas, he marched in gay pride parades. Leppert said he is against gay marriage but as a Christian wanted to reach out to all people.
James said being gay was "a choice" and that "they are going to have to answer to the Lord for their actions." ...............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2012/02/craig-james-believes-gays-will-answer-to-the-lord/1?csp=ip#.T0g-tnnNkgk
February 25, 2012
from the Toronto Star:
By Linda Diebel
National Affairs Writer
An impending trade deal with Europe is ringing alarm bells across the country.
Under the deal, Canada has agreed to European demands to prohibit municipalities and provinces from offering incentives or otherwise favouring local bidders on procurement contracts.
The effects on Toronto could be serious:
Could the TTC still impose Canadian content rules for its vehicles if faced with a European trade challenge? Could the city continue to ensure certain construction projects hire youths from priority neighbourhoods? Could the city still award food procurement contracts to support local farmers? .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1136423--canada-europe-trade-deal-prohibits-provinces-municipalities-from-favouring-local-bidders-on-contracts?bn=1
Stephen Bonaparte Walker Bush Friedman Harper
from the Toronto Star:
By Linda Diebel
National Affairs Writer
An impending trade deal with Europe is ringing alarm bells across the country.
Under the deal, Canada has agreed to European demands to prohibit municipalities and provinces from offering incentives or otherwise favouring local bidders on procurement contracts.
The effects on Toronto could be serious:
Could the TTC still impose Canadian content rules for its vehicles if faced with a European trade challenge? Could the city continue to ensure certain construction projects hire youths from priority neighbourhoods? Could the city still award food procurement contracts to support local farmers? .....................(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/politics/article/1136423--canada-europe-trade-deal-prohibits-provinces-municipalities-from-favouring-local-bidders-on-contracts?bn=1
February 25, 2012
WA Republican Says Maria Cantwell Is Unqualified to Talk About Birth Control Because She's an Unmarried Woman
What year is this again? Oh, and what decade?
On Tuesday, I wrote about how Republicans would have a fighting chance at this contraception debate if they stayed on the message that it was only about religious liberty, but because their visceral need to slut-shame is so great that they just can't do it. They are incapable of applying their habitual message discipline to this issue because they really, really hate the idea of women being on control of their own sexuality.
The very next night, during the latest GOP Cavalcade of Clowns, the point was illustrated perfectly. Gingrich and Romney stayed on-message, insisting that birth control isn't an issue and it was all about freedom to worship as one pleases and people's "conscience." ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/817500/wa_republican_says_maria_cantwell_is_unqualified_to_talk_about_birth_control_because_she%27s_an_unmarried_woman/
More news from the unhinged Repug patriarchy......
WA Republican Says Maria Cantwell Is Unqualified to Talk About Birth Control Because She's an Unmarried Woman
What year is this again? Oh, and what decade?
An opponent, state Sen. Michael Baumgartner, denounced her for signing a Senate letter arguing that the so-called "morning after" birth control pill should be available over the counter at pharmacies. Baumgartner said that Cantwell was not qualified to talk on the issue because she isn't married.
On Tuesday, I wrote about how Republicans would have a fighting chance at this contraception debate if they stayed on the message that it was only about religious liberty, but because their visceral need to slut-shame is so great that they just can't do it. They are incapable of applying their habitual message discipline to this issue because they really, really hate the idea of women being on control of their own sexuality.
The very next night, during the latest GOP Cavalcade of Clowns, the point was illustrated perfectly. Gingrich and Romney stayed on-message, insisting that birth control isn't an issue and it was all about freedom to worship as one pleases and people's "conscience." ..............(more)
The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/817500/wa_republican_says_maria_cantwell_is_unqualified_to_talk_about_birth_control_because_she%27s_an_unmarried_woman/
February 25, 2012
This video of Virginia state rep. Dave Albo joking about how his wife refused his overtures after seeing the contentious debate over that trans-vaginal ultrasound bill would be funny, except for the fact that it's kind of sick how light-hearted these conservative men are when discussing their efforts to punish and humiliate women seeking abortions in their state.
As Yes! Magazine's Brooke Jarvis noted on Twitter, it's telling that he can sponsor a bill mandating that an 8-10 inch probe be inserted into women's vaginas for no reason whatsoever, but can't bring himself to say the word "trans-vaginal."
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/817501/virginia_republican_jokes_that_his_wife_refused_to_have_sex_with_him_after_he_pushed_the_state-rape_bill/
More Repug (humor-free) humor
Virginia Republican Jokes that His Wife Refused to Have Sex With Him After He Pushed the State-Rape BillThis video of Virginia state rep. Dave Albo joking about how his wife refused his overtures after seeing the contentious debate over that trans-vaginal ultrasound bill would be funny, except for the fact that it's kind of sick how light-hearted these conservative men are when discussing their efforts to punish and humiliate women seeking abortions in their state.
As Yes! Magazine's Brooke Jarvis noted on Twitter, it's telling that he can sponsor a bill mandating that an 8-10 inch probe be inserted into women's vaginas for no reason whatsoever, but can't bring himself to say the word "trans-vaginal."
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/817501/virginia_republican_jokes_that_his_wife_refused_to_have_sex_with_him_after_he_pushed_the_state-rape_bill/
February 23, 2012
from the Detroit Metro Times:
Detroit ballot fight: Pot as political football
After court of appeals loss, city tries again to keep the question from voters
By Larry Gabriel
Published: February 22, 2012
Marijuana is a political football in any Michigan municipality, but in Detroit the ball is getting more slippery of late.
Take the Court of Appeals decision on the Coalition for a Safer Detroit (CSD) vs. the Detroit Election Commission case a couple of weeks ago. A three-judge panel ruled two-to-one in favor of CSD. That means the city Election Commission has to put the question of legalizing possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana on private property for adults in Detroit on the ballot of the next regularly scheduled election. If successful, this initiative would essentially legalize individual marijuana use in Detroit — although I'm guessing opponents will find some convoluted way of squirming around implementing it if it's passed.
"It's almost anticlimactic in that it should have happened two years ago," says Matt Abel, director of the Michigan Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the attorney who argued the case in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael Sapala last year. Sapala ruled against CSD, but Abel feels vindicated by the Court of Appeals decision.
"I was right," he says. "It's really well-settled law. The election law issue is so clear that they really should be sanctioned for their frivolous arguments here." .........(more)
The complete piece is at: http://metrotimes.com/mmj/detroit-ballot-fight-pot-as-political-football-1.1274760
Pot as political football
from the Detroit Metro Times:
Detroit ballot fight: Pot as political football
After court of appeals loss, city tries again to keep the question from voters
By Larry Gabriel
Published: February 22, 2012
Marijuana is a political football in any Michigan municipality, but in Detroit the ball is getting more slippery of late.
Take the Court of Appeals decision on the Coalition for a Safer Detroit (CSD) vs. the Detroit Election Commission case a couple of weeks ago. A three-judge panel ruled two-to-one in favor of CSD. That means the city Election Commission has to put the question of legalizing possession of less than 1 ounce of marijuana on private property for adults in Detroit on the ballot of the next regularly scheduled election. If successful, this initiative would essentially legalize individual marijuana use in Detroit — although I'm guessing opponents will find some convoluted way of squirming around implementing it if it's passed.
"It's almost anticlimactic in that it should have happened two years ago," says Matt Abel, director of the Michigan Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws and the attorney who argued the case in front of Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Michael Sapala last year. Sapala ruled against CSD, but Abel feels vindicated by the Court of Appeals decision.
"I was right," he says. "It's really well-settled law. The election law issue is so clear that they really should be sanctioned for their frivolous arguments here." .........(more)
The complete piece is at: http://metrotimes.com/mmj/detroit-ballot-fight-pot-as-political-football-1.1274760
Profile Information
Gender: MaleHometown: Detroit, MI
Member since: Fri Oct 29, 2004, 12:18 AM
Number of posts: 77,090
