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50-State, $25B Mortgage Settlement: Relief for Struggling Homeowners or Bailout for Big Banks?

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Feb. 10 (News Analysis) - The U.S. Justice Department has unveiled a record mortgage settlement with the nation's five largest banks to resolve claims over faulty foreclosures and mortgage practices that have indebted and displaced homeowners and sunk the nation's economy. While the deal is being described as a $25 billion settlement, the banks will only have to pay out a total of $5 billion in cash between them. We speak to one of the settlement's most prominent critics, Yves Smith, a longtime financial analyst who runs the popular finance website, "Naked Capitalism." "The settlement, on the surface, does look like it's helping homeowners," Smith says. "But, in fact, the bigger part that most people don't recognize is the way it actually helps the banks with mortgages on their own books... The real problem is that this deal is just not going to give that much relief." [includes rush transcript]

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Police kill armed 8th-grader in Texas school

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

CBS News - By CBS News - Jan. 04 (News Report) - Police shot and killed an armed eighth-grader who "engaged" officers in the main hallway of his middle school on Wednesday, the South Texas school district said.

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Steven Seagal, ‘America’s Sheriff’ Sued Over Tank Raid, Puppy Death

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Gawker - Dec. 16 (News Report) - Arizona, which we are still not convinced isn't a hoax, is the home of not one but two of our nation's finest lawmen: Squat fascist Sheriff Joe Arpaio and sex slaver Steven Seagal, who is starring in a reality TV show where he... is a policeman, sort of. Well! Now they are both getting sued for killing a puppy.

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Court bars Muslim group access to FBI operating guidelines

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

rcfp.org - By J.C. Derrick - Nov. 16 (News Report) - He ordered the agency to provide further explanation to allow the court to "undertake a meaningful assessment of the redacted material."

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Six First-Hand Observations From Last Night's Chaos between Riot Police and Occupy Oakland

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joshua Holland - Oct. 27 (News Report) - We're taught from an early age that we have a right to peaceably assemble and protest, and that this right is guaranteed by the Constitution and can't be over-ridden by the city of Oakland.

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FBI to launch nationwide facial recognition service

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

nextgov.com - Oct. 25 (News) -

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Alleged Inhumane Conditions for Post-9/11 Suspects Sparks Global Scrutiny of U.S. Detention Policies

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 14 (News Analysis) - Mehanna is accused of trying to serve in al-Qaeda’s "media wing." He was 27 years old when he was arrested in October 2009 and has been held in solitary confinement since then. Mehanna was originally courted by the FBI to become an informant. Meanwhile, the European Court of Human Rights is hearing a case on the legality of extradition of terror suspects to the United States on the grounds that inmates are subjected to inhumane conditions of confinement and routine violations of due process. This could become a landmark case in human rights law, potentially damaging the international reputation of the U.S. legal system.

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Constitutional Rights Lawyer Michael Ratner: Failed Occupy Wall Street Evacuation Order is Illegal

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 14 (News Report) - attorney Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights says New York City’s efforts to displace Occupy Wall Street protesters in order to clean the park violates their First Amendment rights and would have led to a major confrontation. "Apart from the illegality of it, it was just too massive," Ratner says. "It would have been a bloodbath. The idea that they were going to come in here when there were thousands of people all over the place, union people everywhere, they could not have successfully closed this park down... It’s too big now. This park is becoming a permanent feature of the next generation of protests."

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How the FBI's Network of Informants Actually Created Most of the Terrorist Plots

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Trevor Aaronson - Oct. 10 (Investigative Report) - The FBI has built a massive network of spies to prevent another domestic attack. But are they busting terrorist plots—or leading them?

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Occupy Wall Street March Gets Massive Turnout; 28 Arrested in Police Crackdown

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 06 (News Report) - Labor unions and students joined the growing Occupy Wall Street movement in New York City on Wednesday in the largest march since the protest began 20 days ago. Tens of thousands marched from Foley Square to Zuccotti Park, renamed “Liberty Plaza,” the site of the protest encampment where hundreds have been sleeping since Sept. 17. The march was peaceful ,but police later beat a handful of protesters with batons after they toppled a police barricade in an attempt to march down Wall Street. Police say a total of 28 people were arrested. We hear from eyewitnesses to an altercation between police and protesters at Wall Street. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Press Freedom Victory: Democracy Now! Wins Settlement Over Unlawful Arrests at 2008 GOP Convention

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Oct. 04 (News) - On Monday, we reported a final settlement has been reached in a lawsuit filed by Democracy Now! Host Amy Goodman, along with producers Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, challenging the police crackdown on journalists at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. We play play excerpts of a news conference of our announcement, held yesterday in Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, where hundreds are camped out with the Occupy Wall Street protest. We were joined by our attorneys to announce the settlement, Steven Reiss of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, and Anjana Samant of the Center for Constitutional Rights. “There is a reason why freedom of the press is in the First Amendment. Because without freedom of the press, there is no democracy,” Reiss says. “That is a lesson that applies not just abroad. We have seen many times in recent months abroad, it applies here as well.”

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Why I Was Maced at the Wall Street Protests

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Jeanne Mansfield - Sep. 28 (News Report) - A new group of police officers arrives in white shirts, as opposed to dark blue. These guys are completely undiscerning in their aggression. If someone gets in their way, they shove them headfirst into the nearest parked car, at which point the officers are immediately surrounded by camera phones and shouts of 'Shame! Shame!' Jeanne Mansfield, Boston Review

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Occupy Wall Street Protest Enters Second Week

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Ryan Devereaux, Jon Gerberg - Sep. 26 (News Report) - Many of them were committing civil disobedience by walking in the street, but some say they were on the sidewalk when officers with the New York City Police Department used nets and physical force to break up the crowd. Videos uploaded to YouTube show officers pepper-spraying protesters in the face from close range, punching demonstrators and dragging people through the street. Since Sept. 17, thousands have gathered near in New York City’s financial district near Wall Street to decry corporate greed.

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Occupy Wall Street Protest Escalates On Eighth Day (VIDEO)

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By Jonah Green - Sep. 25 (News Report) - Tensions are rising at the Occupy Wall Street protest, currently in its eighth day, as organizers for the protest claim that 80 have been arrested.. Eyewitness accounts report that "dozens" have been arrested. Police would not confirm the exact number. Videos and eyewitness accounts show violent clashing between protesters and the police.

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The Execution of Troy Davis Provides Another ‘Haunting Reminder of Once Prevalent Southern Lynchings’

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

nationofchange.org - By John Nichols - Sep. 23 (News Analysis) - The American Civil Liberties Union notes that "systemic racial bias in the application of the death penalty exists at both the state and federal level," and it notes historic patterns of discrimination in particular states such as Georgia—highlighting the classic work of University of Iowa law professor David Baldus, who found that during the 1980s prosecutors in Georgia sought the death penalty for 70 percent of African-American defendants with white victims, but for only 15 percent of white defendants with black victims. (Troy Davis' case traces back to an incident in 1989.) The patterns of discrimination, noted Justice Stevens, “provides a haunting reminder of once prevalent Southern lynchings.”

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9 Policies Conservatives Were For Long Before They Were Against Them

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

AlterNet - By Joshua Holland - Sep. 22 (News Analysis) - Journalist Steve Benen noted that while "the record here may be inconvenient for the right ... it's also unambiguous: the mandate Republicans currently hate was their idea." It was championed by the Heritage Foundation ... Nixon embraced it in the 1970s, and George H.W. Bush kept it going in the 1980s. For years, it was touted by the likes of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Scott Brown, Chuck Grassley, Bob Bennett, Tommy Thompson, Lamar Alexander, Lindsey Graham, John Thune, Judd Gregg, and many other ... notable GOP officials.

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Court Ruling Backs Ecuadorian Effort to Hold Chevron Accountable For Amazon Pollution

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 20 (News Report) - A U.S. appeals court has ruled oil giant Chevron cannot escape an $18 billion fine for massive pollution of the Amazon rain forest. Amazonian residents won the damages in an Ecuadorian court earlier this year, and Chevron says it will appeal the decision. It is the latest development in a complex, 18-year legal battle that has gone before judges not just in Ecuador and the United States, but also the Hague. We speak with Atossa Soltani, executive director of Amazon Watch, which has worked closely with the Amazon residents suing Chevron. Atossa Soltani is in New York City this week to draw attention to environmental causes in the Amazon in conjunction with two major gatherings, the Clinton Global Initiative and the United Nations General Assembly. [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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U.S. Wasting Billions While Tripling No-Bid Contracts After Decade of War in Iraq, Afghanistan

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Sep. 02 (News Report) - As the war in Afghanistan approaches its 10th anniversary, a pair of new reports reveal how the Pentagon has squandered tens of billions of dollars while tripling the amount of no-bid contracts. The bipartisan Commission on Wartime Contracting concludes that between $31 billion and $60 billion spent on projects in Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 10 years has been lost to waste and fraud. In Afghanistan, the commission found the United States is indirectly funding the Taliban as money diverted from U.S.-backed projects is paid out to militants to ensure safety. Meanwhile, the Pentagon’s use of no-bid contracts has tripled since the United States was attacked on 9/11, in spite of promises to reform the controversial practice. A new investigative report from the Center for Public Integrity says no-bid spending has ballooned from $50 billion in 2003 to $140 billion in 2011.

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Justice Department Sues to Block AT&T's Takeover of T-Mobile

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Wall Street Journal - By Thomas Catan, Brent Kendall - Aug. 31 (News Report) - The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday sued to block AT&T Inc.'s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA, saying the combination of the second- and fourth-largest U.S. cellphone companies would hurt competition and likely raise prices. The antitrust challenge comes shortly after the Obama administration also blocked Nasdaq OMX Group's proposed offer for NYSE Euronext and shows its desire to put new teeth into antitrust enforcement after what it says was lax enforcement under the previous administration.

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Ex-Bush Official Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: "I am Willing to Testify" If Dick Cheney is Put on Trial

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Aug. 30 (Interview) - s former Vice President Dick Cheney publishes his long-awaited memoir, we speak to Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell. "This is a book written out of fear, fear that one day someone will 'Pinochet' Dick Cheney," says Wilkerson, alluding to the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, who was arrested for war crimes. Wilkerson also calls for George W. Bush and Cheney to be held accountable for their crimes in office. "I’d be willing to testify, and I’d be willing to take any punishment I’m due," Wilkerson said.

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Covering Up Wall Street Crimes: Matt Taibbi Exposes How SEC Shredded Thousands of Investigations

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Matt Taibbi - Aug. 23 (Investigative Report) - An explosive new report in Rolling Stone magazine exposes how the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission destroyed records of thousands of investigations, whitewashing the files of some of the nation’s largest banks and hedge funds, including AIG, Wells Fargo, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and top Wall Street broker Bernard Madoff. Last week, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said an agency whistleblower had sent him a letter detailing the unlawful destruction of records detailing more than 9,000 information investigations. We speak with Matt Taibbi, the political reporter for Rolling Stone magazine who broke this story in his latest article, "Is the SEC Covering Up Wall Street Crimes?" [Transcript to come. Check back soon.]

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Department Of Justice Investigates BP For Faulty Oil Spill Estimates

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Huffington Post - By John Rudolf - Aug. 22 (News Report) - On April 25, 2010, BP assured the Gulf Coast that a disaster wasn't unfolding. Five days earlier, the Deepwater Horizon, a BP-leased rig in the Gulf of Mexico, had suffered a massive blowout, killing 11 men and seriously injuring 17 others.

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SEC No Evil

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Countdown - By Keith Olbermann, Matt Taibbi - Aug. 19 (Interview) - 'In this 'Countdown' exclusive interview, Keith sits down with Rolling Stone contributing editor Matt Taibbi to discuss breaking the story about the Securities and Exchange Commission destroying the records of promising cases in the years leading up to the financial meltdown.'

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Undocumented Student Fanny Martinez Arrested Protesting Controversial Secure Communities Program

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman; Juan Gonzalez - Aug. 18 (News Report) - Last night in Chicago, the controversy over the immigration enforcement program called Secure Communities reached a dramatic standoff when six undocumented students were arrested protesting a meeting to discuss the program. Wearing T-shirts that said "Undocumented and Unafraid," the students joined about 300 people in walking out of the meeting. Once outside, they blocked an expressway on-ramp in an act of civil disobedience. Protests against Secure Communities were also held earlier this week in Houston, Boston, Miami, Atlanta and Charlotte. We go to Chicago to speak with Fanny Martinez, a 23-year-old graduate student in Chicago, one of those arrested at the meeting. She was released from jail shortly before we went to broadcast. [includes rush transcript]

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Should U.S. End Secure Communities? Sheriff Adrian Garcia Debates Immigrant Advocate Chris Newman

Thu, 18 Aug 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Juan Gonzalez, Amy Goodman - Aug. 18 (News Analysis) - Many are criticizing the Obama administration for unilaterally pushing ahead with a controversial federal immigration enforcement policy called Secure Communities that requires local police to forward fingerprints of every person they arrest to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. In recent months, the governors of Illinois, Massachusetts and New York announced they are pulling out of the program, but now officials from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) say it is mandatory. ICE has also created a task force to study possible reforms. We host a debate on Secure Communities program with Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, who helped ICE begin Secure Communities as a pilot program in Texas and is a member of the Secure Communities Task Force, and Chris Newman, legal director for the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, one of the immigrant rights groups spearheading national organizing efforts against Secure Communities. [includes rush transcript]

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