Archive for November, 2011
Foreclosure Fraud Whistleblower Found Dead
November 30th, 2011Via: MSNBC: A notary public who signed tens of thousands of false documents in a massive foreclosure scam before blowing the whistle on the scandal has been found dead in her Las Vegas home. NBC station KSNV of Las Vegas reported that the woman, Tracy Lawrence, 43, was scheduled to be sentenced Monday morning after […]
Radiologist Makes Almost Exact Copy of Antique Stradivarius Violin
November 30th, 2011Via: BBC: A Stradivarius violin has been “recreated” using an X-ray scanner normally used to detect cancers and injuries, according to researchers. The US-based group used a computerised axial tomography (CAT) scanner on the 307-year-old instrument to reveal its secrets. They then used the data recovered to build “nearly exact copies”. The team said the […]
Paulson Gave Hedge Fund Managers Inside Information
November 30th, 2011Mmm hmm. Via: Bloomberg: On the morning of July 21, before the Eton Park meeting, Paulson had spoken to New York Times reporters and editors, according to his Treasury Department schedule. A Times article the next day said the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency were inspecting Fannie and Freddie’s […]
That Was Fast: New Zealand Government Has Reneged on Promise to Give Public a Say on Opencast Coalmine
November 30th, 2011Thanks, National voters. For f*ck’s sake. Via: New Zealand Herald: The Government has reneged on its promise to give the public a say on whether Bathurst Resources’ Denniston opencast coalmine should go ahead, on the first working day after the election, says Forest and Bird. After the Government’s back down last year on opening national […]
S&P Downgrades World’s Largest Banks
November 30th, 2011Rabobank was taken down two notches: Dutch Rabobank is among 15 global banks downgraded by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services Tuesday as part of a shift in how the ratings company forms its opinions about financial institutions. S&P rates Rabobank now two notches lower at AA, instead of AAA previously. S&P’s new measures not only […]
LAPD to Occupy LA: “You Have Ten Minutes to Disperse”
November 30th, 2011Via: OakFoSho:
U.S. JUDGE ORDERS HUNDREDS OF SITES “DE-INDEXED” FROM GOOGLE, FACEBOOK
November 30th, 2011Via: Ars Technica: After a series of one-sided hearings, luxury goods maker Chanel has won recent court orders against hundreds of websites trafficking in counterfeit luxury goods. A federal judge in Nevada has agreed that Chanel can seize the domain names in question and transfer them all to US-based registrar GoDaddy. The judge also ordered […]
Widespread Police Use of Drones Coming Soon
November 30th, 2011Via: Los Angeles Times: Drone aircraft, best known for their role in hunting and destroying terrorist hideouts in Afghanistan and Pakistan, may be coming soon to the skies near you. Police agencies want drones for air support to find runaway criminals. Utility companies expect they can help monitor oil, gas and water pipelines. Farmers believe […]
Feds Want to Digitize Records
November 30th, 2011Transparency? Oh sure. Alternative explanation: It would be nice to be able to disappear documents down the memory hole as easily as it is to print money. Via: Computer World: President Obama this week gave government agencies four months to come up with a plan to improve records management by moving to electronic records management […]
U.S. Settles Suit Over Anthrax Attacks
November 30th, 2011Via: New York Times: The federal government has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the widow and children of the first person killed in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, settling a lawsuit claiming that the Army did not adequately secure its supply of the deadly pathogen. The settlement with the family of Robert Stevens, […]
