Puppet MastersS


House

US Foreclosure Fraud: 85% of Mortgage Transfers Were No Good

#FAIL truck
© beatefirlinger, flickr
That's a pretty startling headline, isn't it? Yet, that was the conclusion reached by study of 400 foreclosure files commissioned by San Francisco County assessor-recorder Phil Ting. You can read the data in a report authored by the auditors called "Foreclosure in California- A Crisis in Compliance." It's only 21 pages long and written in plain language. You should read it, if only for common sense language like this:
Given these well-documented and widespread origination and servicing issues, it is not implausible that there are homeowners who are alleged to have defaulted on loans to which they never fully agreed to and, further, are being foreclosed upon by lenders that might not even own such loans. The fact that these homeowners borrowed something, on some terms, from someone should not be enough to rob them of their due process right.
Gretchen Morgenstern at the New York Times is all over this story. She writes:
In a significant number of cases - 85 percent - documents recording the transfer of a defaulted property to a new trustee were not filed properly or on time, the report found. And in 45 percent of the foreclosures, properties were sold at auction to entities improperly claiming to be the beneficiary of the deeds of trust. In other words, the report said, "a 'stranger' to the deed of trust," gained ownership of the property; as a result, the sale may be invalid, it said.
Wow, let that sink in for a minute, "a stranger to the deed of trust gained ownership of the property." Maybe I should have used that for the headline.

Eagle

U.S. slaps more sanctions on Iran

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© Associated PressAn undated aerial photo of the Brussels-based SWIFT global financial network.
Even as Iran has signaled its readiness to return to international nuclear talks in a letter this week, the United States announced new sanctions on Iran Thursday.

The Treasury Department announced Thursday it is sanctioning Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security [MOIS], accusing it of sponsoring human rights abuses in both Iran and Syria, as well as being a sponsor of terrorism.

"Today we have designated the MOIS for abusing the basic human rights of Iranian citizens and exporting its vicious practices to support the Syrian regime's abhorrent crackdown on its own population," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen said in a Treasury Department press release Thursday. "The action came as key Washington lawmakers pressed for additional measures to further cut the Islamic republic off from the global financial network.

Comment: The basic human rights of American Citizens aren't represented here in the United States. We have Free Speech Zones (yahoo search) and the right to gather and protest is defunct at best. Apparently the Log in our eye (The United States) is somehow far less obstructive than the toothpick in Iran's. Thus we (USA), a nation of so-called-Democracy, can Dictate how Iran functions financially. The US is able to achieve this by the support of our Satellite nations err.. Colonies err.. fellow, Independent, Democratic friends.

Readers of the Signs of the Times have a good idea of what's "really" going on inside Syria.


Bad Guys

The .0000063% Election: How the Politics of the Super Rich Became American Politics

fat cat bankers
At a time when it's become a cliché to say that Occupy Wall Street has changed the nation's political conversation -- drawing long overdue attention to the struggles of the 99% -- electoral politics and the 2012 presidential election have become almost exclusively defined by the 1%. Or, to be more precise, the .0000063%. Those are the 196 individual donors who have provided nearly 80% of the money raised by super PACs in 2011 by giving $100,000 or more each.

These political action committees, spawned by the Supreme Court's 5-4 Citizens United decision in January 2010, can raise unlimited amounts of money from individuals, corporations, or unions for the purpose of supporting or opposing a political candidate. In theory, super PACs are legally prohibited from coordinating directly with a candidate, though in practice they're just a murkier extension of political campaigns, performing all the functions of a traditional campaign without any of the corresponding accountability.

Pirates

Thailand: Iranians planned to attack Israelis

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© UnknownIran and Pakistan: Terrorism States or Victims of Terrorism?
Bangkok - Three Iranians detained after accidentally setting off explosives in Bangkok were planning to attack Israeli diplomats, Thailand's top policeman said Thursday in the first confirmation by local officials that the group was plotting attacks in Thailand.

The allegation came after days of strong accusations by Israel that Iran was behind the botched plot as well as two others in India and the former Soviet republic of Georgia this week. Iran has denied the charges.

Citing the similarity of bombs used in New Delhi and Tbilisi, national police chief Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong said that Thai authorities now "know for certain that (the target) was Israeli diplomats."

"This issue was about individuals and the targets were specific," he said. "This was something personal."

Israel has accused Iran of waging a covert campaign of state terror and has threatened military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Iran has blamed the Jewish state for the recent killings of Iranian atomic scientists and has denied responsibility for all three bomb plots, including an explosion Monday in New Delhi that tore through an Israeli diplomatic vehicle, wounding the driver and a diplomat's wife, and a foiled attempt the same day in Georgia.

Comment: Iran and the United States came out recently with evidence that Israel most likely murdered Iranian Nuclear Scientists.

Just because bombs appear to be the same doesn't mean Iran is behind recent terror attacks. It's simple false flag operations, likely conducted by the Mossad to make attacking Iran that much more likely.

Since the recent NBC article 'Israel teams with terror group to kill Iran's nuclear scientists' Israel and the Western media have been speeding up rhetoric and sabre rattling against Iran instead of further investigating that facts about Israeli ties to terror groups and and terror activities. Those "Sticky" bombs, were they similar to the ones used to kill Iranian Scientists?

When you think about Democracy at gun point, or the burden Palestinians shoulder, one HAS TO WONDER, who's actually terrorizing who?!


War Whore

NATO Expresses Regret for Airstrike That Killed 8 Young Afghan Civilians

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© Ahmad Jamshid / The Associated PressMike Wigston, right, director of air operations of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) joint command speaks, as U.S. Brig. Gen. Lewis Boone, director of public affairs for coalition forces listens during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Feb. 15,
The U.S.-led military coalition said Wednesday that it regrets the killing of eight civilians in a NATO airstrike this month in eastern Afghanistan.

Civilian casualties have long been a source of friction between the U.S.-led international force and Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who condemned the bombing and sent a delegation to the scene to investigate.

The coalition called in the airstrike on Feb. 8 in the Najrab district in Kapisa province, after movements by eight people on the ground were assessed as a threat to Afghan police and NATO forces in the area, said Army Brig. Gen. Lewis Boone, director of public affairs for the coalition.

"The aircraft dropped two bombs on the group that we believed to be an imminent threat to our people," Boone told reporters in Kabul. "Despite all tactical directives being followed precisely, we now know the unfortunate result of this engagement. In the end, eight young Afghans lost their lives in this very sad event."

Coalition and Afghan security forces were searching the area for weapons and ammunition, he said. Using binoculars and other equipment, ground forces identified several groups of Afghan males leaving a village at different times and going in different directions, he said. One group of eight headed for nearby mountains.

Vader

Netanyahu: Iran's Terror Acts Undermine the World's Stability

Netanyahu
© unknown
Five arrested on suspicion of involvement in New Delhi attack against Israeli embassy; Thai police investigating Tuesday's botched bombing, one suspect reportedly fled to Malaysia.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that Iran is destabilizing the world and urged the international community to condemn its terror acts against Israeli targets.

The prime minister's comments come a day after a botched terror attack in Thailand, which Israeli officials believe was meant to target Israel's ambassador in Bangkok. The bombing followed an attack on Israel's embassy in New Delhi and an attempted attack on Israeli diplomats in Tbilisi.

"Iran's terror operations are now exposed for all to see," Netanyahu said during a Knesset plenum on Wednesday. "Iran is undermining the world's stability and harms innocent diplomats. World countries must condemn Iran's terror acts and draw a red line."

Gear

Thailand Finds Iran Link Between Bangkok and Delhi Attacks

Thai investigators believe they have found a link between this week's bomb blasts in Bangkok and New Delhi, a senior security official said on Wednesday, two of three botched attacks Israel has blamed on Iran.
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© ReutersThe three men suspected of being involved in three blasts in Bangkok

Iran, whose leaders had threatened to retaliate for Israel's alleged car-bomb assassination of several of its nuclear scientists, denied involvement in the attacks on Monday and Tuesday, including a bomb that failed to explode in the Georgian capital, Tbilisi.

Asked whether the explosives used in India and Thailand were the same, a senior Thai security official said they both had the same "magnetic sheets".

"The individual was in possession of the same magnets and we are currently examining the source of the magnet," National Security Council Secretary Wichian Podphosri said.

Laptop

Anti-Piracy Agreement ACTA is Falling Apart in Europe

ACTA
© unknown
Bulgaria won't be ratifying the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) any time soon.

On Tuesday, Bulgaria followed some of its European neighbors, including Germany and Poland, in halting approval of the controversial intellectual property treaty.

Bulgaria will "practically stop its participation" until it sees a clear and unified European stance on the treaty, according to Traicho Traikov, the Bulgarian economy and energy minister.

"I'm a pessimist when it comes to regulating an industry, which hasn't adapted to the digital age, through sanctions rather than market means," Traikov told the press, according to Bloomberg.

Mr. Potato

Canada: Tory Minister Accuses Bill Opponents of Siding with Child Pornographers

Vic Toews
© unknownVic Toews
The government says anyone who opposes federal plans to make electronic surveillance easier for police and spies is siding with child pornographers.

It's the first salvo in a battle that will resume Tuesday when the government reintroduces legislation that would expand online monitoring powers.

The issue pits the desire of intelligence and law-enforcement officials to have easier access to information about Internet users against the individual's right to privacy.

Asked Monday in the House of Commons about the coming bill, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews told a Liberal MP he could either stand with the government or "with the child pornographers" prowling online.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has warned against simply resurrecting a trio of previous federal bills to expand surveillance powers, citing several shortcomings.

Nuke

Russia Faced Major Nuclear Disaster in 2011: Report

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© Reuters/Lev FedoseevThe Yekaterinburg submarine and crew in 2006.
Russia came close to nuclear disaster in late December when a blaze engulfed a nuclear-powered submarine carrying atomic weapons, a leading Russian magazine reported, contradicting official assurances that it was not armed.

Russian officials said at the time that all nuclear weapons aboard the Yekaterinburg nuclear submarine had been unloaded well before a fire engulfed the 167-metre (550 feet) vessel and there had been no risk of a radiation leak.

But the respected Vlast weekly magazine quoted several sources in the Russian navy as saying that throughout the fire on December 29 the submarine was carrying 16 R-29 intercontinental ballistic missiles, each armed with four nuclear warheads.

"Russia, for a day, was on the brink of the biggest catastrophe since the time of Chernobyl," Vlast reported. The 1986 disaster in modern-day Ukraine is regarded as the world's worst nuclear accident.

Neither the Russian Defence Ministry nor the office of Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who has responsibility for military matters, would immediately comment on the report. A spokesman for the navy could not be contacted.