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Morgan Stanley Just Walks Away from Huge Mortgages
If you did that, they'd call it immoral
Over at The Agonist, Numerian offered up a short, powerful explanation of what's happened with Wall Street bailout recipient, Morgan Stanley. The former investment bank bought five properties in San Francisco as the market verged on a sharp downturn. Their value fell precipitously. The office buildings lost 50% of their value at purchase.
Numerian's piece shows that the cosmetic terms used to differentiate Morgan's “structured default” are no different than individual home owners who abandon their mortgages for purely financial reasons.
“Morgan Stanley doesn't look at it that way, not when it comes to its own behavior. It only expects you, the consumer and homeowner, to have moral attitudes about financial decisions. With the corporations, morality doesn't enter into it; it's just business. That is why it is very, very important for strategic defaults by firms like Morgan Stanley to be dressed up as something different - as a negotiation done voluntarily for mutual agreement. And after all, Morgan Stanley itself isn't going bankrupt, just the subsidiary that bought these properties is acting like it's bankrupt.
ee Morgan Stanley Defaults, Numerian, The Agonist
Morgan Stanley received $10 billion in federal bailout funds as Wall Street high fliers faced collapse. in 2008. Just months after the citizen subsidy, Morgan gave 438 executives seven figure bonuses.
Waging Peace: Mass Arrests at White House Antiwar Rally
by William Hughes
Washington, D.C. - On Monday, Oct. 5, 2009, just after noon and under a warm sun, 61 activists were arrested at the White House for failing to obey a police order to move off the sidewalk. The nonviolent “Civil Resistance” protest was the largest such antiwar demonstration at this particular site since President Barack Obama took office, in January, 2009.
Hundreds more activists participated in the spirited event, but chose not to get arrested. Some of those detained by the police wore orange jump suits and black hoods. A few had even chained themselves to the White House fence on the North Lawn. Included in that gutsy group was “Peace Mom,” Ms. Cindy Sheehan. She has been one of the most visible and passionate opponents of the Iraq War. Her son, Casey, age 24, a U.S. Army Spc., was killed in Baghdad on April 4, 2004. He had been assigned to the 1st Calvary Division. Ms. Sheehan has indicated that she will soon move from her home state of California to Washington, D.C., to spend more of her time creating a strong grass roots movement that will bring about real change in the U.S.
Lebanon’s Ebenezer Scrooge
Franklin Lamb, Beirut
Jeffrey Feltman
Surely we should all have known better. It was just too good to last. It seemed to some Americans in Lebanon that nearly all the Lebanese and their political leaders were ready to try to more of less work together for the good of the country. Many even seemed to be getting excited about Christmas. Several of the diverse sects’ zaim’s (leaders) were seen on TV enjoying attending public lightings of Christmas trees, praising the new unity government and some humming their favorite holiday tunes during family visits to places like the crowded Beirut and City Malls.
The potentially widespread contamination of the soil of Gaza due to Israeli bombing
A Study done by Professors Mario Barbieri, Maurizio Barbieri and Paola Manduca
Summary of the press release, in a press conference held jointly with Al Shifa doctors and Health Ministry representatives.
We have analyzed the content of 35 elements in 4 craters derived from: 2 bombing events in Gaza in 2006, one in Beit Hanoun, one in Jabalia camp, and 2 bombings in 2009, both in Tufah, the Gaza suburb. We have also analyzed the powder remaining inside a shell of an exploded White Phosphorus bomb THS89D112-003 155MM M825E1 collected at Al Wafa in January 2009.
Kevin Cooper - Victimized by American Injustice
by Stephen Lendman
On November 30, the US Supreme Court denied Kevin Cooper justice by not reviewing his wrongful murder conviction despite overwhelming evidence of his innocence. Cooper is Black and was framed for a multiple homicide he never committed. He's imprisoned on death row at San Quentin State Prison, Marin County, CA, a victim of American injustice.
Savekevincooper.org documents his case and efforts to exonerate and release him, so far in vain and unlikely unless a new governor grants clemency or pardons him after taking office in January 2011.
On January 30, 2004, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger denied him clemency, saying at the time:
"I have carefully weighed the claims presented in Kevin Cooper's plea for clemency. The state and federal courts have reviewed his case for more than eighteen years. Evidence establishing his guilt is overwhelming (and despite his) mentoring of others (and other) commendable (acts his) is not a case for clemency."
There shall be no occupation in the land of Palestine
Salim Nazzal
2009 years ago, like these days, the wise men, guided by the Bethlehem star were to know that Jesus will be born. A new history has begun with the hope that lightness win over darkness. Last year, like these days when hundreds of millions of Christians around the world were celebrating the Christmas by chanting peace on earth, Israel launched one of its most deadly attacks on the besieged Gaza, the most populated area on earth, the majority of its population are the victims of the cleaning war of 1948. Isreal, did not listen to the voices coming from Gaza such as the voice of the father shown on Al Jazeera carrying his 3 and 5 years old murdered babies shouting in Hebrew to war lord Ehud Barak “Barak Barak why you killed my babies, they did nothing to you”. Neither had Israel heard the voices of Millions around the world demanding Israel to stop the genocide.
What Must Obama do about the Lie of the Century?
by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy
Obama should get off his butt and insist upon war crimes trials of George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Condo Rice. That Iraq had WMD was a bald faced lie to justify the seizure of Middle East oil fields! Ergo --every Iraqi death following is one count in a WAR CRIMES INDICTMENT on the scale of those charged to Adolph Hitler and high mucky mucks in the murderous Third Reich.
TITLE 18 >(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.
EU/IMF Revolt: Greece, Iceland, Latvia May Lead the Way
Ellen Hodgson Brown, J.D.
Europe’s small, debt-strapped countries could follow the lead of Argentina and simply walk away from their debts. That would shift the burden to the creditor countries, which could solve the problem merely by a change in accounting rules.
Total financial collapse, once a problem only for developing countries, has now come to Europe. The International Monetary Fund is imposing its “austerity measures” on the outer circle of the European Union, with Greece, Iceland and Latvia the hardest hit. But these are not your ordinary third world debtor supplicants. Historically, the Vikings of Iceland successfully invaded Britain; Latvian tribes repulsed the Vikings; and the Greeks conquered the whole Persian empire. If anyone can stand up to the IMF, these stalwart European warriors can.
An Open Letter to Pacifica Radio's KPFA Management
by Stephen Lendman
Subject: A "truth emergency" over censorship at Pacifica's flagship station
By implementing early December budget and staff cuts, KPFA's management targeted its award-winning Flashpoints Radio for extinction, sullied the name of its founder, Lew Hill, and defiled fundamental First Amendment freedoms without which no others are possible.
On April 15, 1949, Hill went on the air saying: "This is KPFA, listener-sponsored radio in Berkeley" and launched America's first independent, listener-supported, "people's radio" as a sanctuary for free speech, dissent, alternative voices, social justice, and human dignity unlike anything previously heard.
WHY LIEBERMAN RULES THE SENATE / AIPAC
Allen L Roland
Joe Lieberman is AIPAC's Senate minder like Emanuel is Obama's AIPAC minder. Lieberman bucks the Democratic party leaders because no one has the courage to buck AIPAC ~ who pushed the Iraq War and greatly influences both houses through their political influence and financial donations:
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