Which one said this? 'I have a dream'. 'I have a drone'.........."?" 'I have a democracy'. 'I Have hypocrisy.'
More untouchables: the white collar legal looters. The fetid stench of greed...kosmicdebris
Hard News
"
Peace, in the sense of the absence of war, is of little value to
someone who is dying of hunger or cold. It will not remove the pain of
torture inflicted on a prisoner of conscience. It does not comfort
those who have lost their loved ones in floods caused by senseless
deforestation in a neighboring country. Peace can only last where human
rights are respected, where people are fed, and where individuals and
nations are free." - The XIVth Dalai Lama
More untouchables: the white collar legal looters. The fetid stench of greed...kosmicdebris
The quotation at the end that the reporter attributes to me was actually me quoting the
famous concluding paragraph of George Akerlof and Paul Romer's 1993 article
entitled "Looting: the Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit."
The OCC statement about SARs (the technical jargon for "criminal
referrals"), is sad. Banks virtually never make criminal referrals against
their senior officers, so the number of SARs filed by banks is not relevant to
the subject being discussed. The OTS made over 30,000 criminal referrals during
the peak years of the S&L debacle. It made zero in this crisis -- a crisis
in which the losses and the frauds by senior managers were roughly 70 times
larger than during the debacle. Apparently, the OTS and the OCC are trying to
excuse their failure to examine, supervise, regulate, and investigate, much
less make referrals on the claim that this is the first Virgin Crisis.
Readers are invited to read my testimony before the FCIC and the Senate. The
ultra brief version is (1) by 2006 roughly 40% of total mortgage loans
originated were "liar's loans", (fyi, roughly half of all loans
called "subprime" were also liar's loans -- the categories are not
mutually exclusive, (2) the incidence of fraud among liar's loans is 90%, (3) an
honest real estate lender would not make pervasively fraudulent loans because
doing so would inevitably cause the firm to fail (absent a bailout), (4) liar's
loans, however, are optimal "ammunition" for "accounting control
fraud", (5) investigations (and logic) have confirmed that it was
overwhelmingly lenders and their agents who put the lies in liar's loans, (6)
no lender was ever required or encouraged by the government to make or purchase
liar's loans -- the opposite was true, the government discouraged such loans
and industry documents confirm this fact, (7) liar's loans make an excellent
"natural experiment" because even Fannie and Freddie were not
encouraged to make these loans -- because they did not aid them in meeting the
"affordable housing goals", (8) Fannie and Freddie, eventually,
purchased enormous amounts of liar's loans for the same reason that the
investment banks (not subject to the CRA or any affordable housing goals did)
they created massive (albeit fictional) short-term accounting income, which
flowed through to the bonuses of many Fannie and Freddie executives. Let me put
these data in another format -- by 2006, lenders were making over two million
fraudulent liar's loans annually. Fraudulent liar's loans grew massively
because lenders (and purchasers) created perverse incentives to make and
purchase massive amounts of these fraudulent loans.
This level of fraud is massively greater than during the S&L debacle, where
accounting control fraud never became a dominant national lending strategy.
Liar's loans grew so rapidly, and became such a large share of the market that
they constituted the loans "on the margin" that hyper-inflated the
financial bubble, which drove the Great Recession.
The S&L debacle was halted by vigorous reregulation that was successful
precisely because we targeted the accounting control frauds as our top priority
to shut down, remove their senior managers, and prosecute those managers. The
liar's loans "crisis" of 1990-1992 in Orange County, California was
stopped in its tracks without any expensive failures because we (the OTS West
Region) realized that such loans inherently would lead to endemic fraud and
losses. We drove entities like Long Beach out of the industry (it became a
mortgage banker, and gave up its federal depositi insurance) for the sole
purpose of escaping OTS jurisdiction). The OCC and the OTS not only failed to
regulate the accounting control frauds they had jurisdiction over -- they
engaged in a vigorous "competition in laxity" with each other that
included a heavy focus on which agency could most aggressively
"preempt" state efforts to stop the fraudulent lenders.
Beginning with Federal Home Loan Bank Board Chairman Gray in 1984 (through
1993), the S&L regulatory agency made one of its top priorities the
prosecution of fraudulent senior officers who led the accounting control
frauds. The agency did so because it understood that criminal prosecutions were
the only remedy that CEOs really fear. The OCC's head, Mr. Curry, has a very
different view:
"Curry said bank regulators were more focused on
getting problems corrected rather than criminal penalties. 'From our
standpoint, as a bank regulatory agency, our job is to, one, identify the
problems and then mandate that they get fixed,' he said. 'I don't think it's
our role to avenge or to punish per se.'"
We secured over 1,000 felony convictions in cases designated as "major" by the
Justice Department. We worked with the FBI and DOJ to prioritize the 100 worst
fraud schemes. Those schemes involved roughly 300 S&Ls and over 600 elite
targets for prosecution. Virtually all of them were prosecuted. We secured over
a 90% conviction rate -- against the best criminal defense lawyers in the
world.
One of our mantras in white-collar criminology is: "if you don't look, you won't
find." The Frontline documentary begins the process of explaining what
those of us who are aware of what a real investigation is and what it requires
have been saying for years -- neither the Bush nor the Obama administration has
been willing to conduct a real investigation of the elite banksters whose
frauds made them wealthy and drove the financial crisis and the Great
Recession. This is one of the hallmarks of crony capitalism. It cripples our
economy, our democracy, and our integrity. The statue of Lady Justice is
blindfolded to symbolize that justice is blind to power. No one is above the
law. The Department of Justice is now, officially, an oxymoron given its senior
officials' admissions that they deliberately refuse to hold accountable (or
even investigate) the systemically dangerous institutions (SDIs) and their
senior officers because of fears of causing a global financial crisis. As a
former senior regulator, an effective regulator, I am astounded that anyone
believes that the route to financial stability is leaving elite frauds in
charge of many of our banks. Any bank that is too big to fail and to prosecute
is a clear and present danger that should be promptly shrunk tot he point that
it can no longer hold the global economy hostage in order to extort immunity
from the criminal laws for the controlling officers who became wealthy by being
what Akerlof and Romer aptly described as "looters."
Congratulations to everyone at Frontline involved in producing the documentary. I urge Frontline to revisit this issue because it is one of defining matters that will
decide whether our Nation will restore the rule of law and return to greatness.
William K.
Black
Associate
Professor of Economics and Law
University of
Missouri-Kansas City
Monsanto seeds caveat emptor
"A Daughter's Regret" - Powerful Testimony in Defense of the 2nd Amendment
ACTION ALERT: Katerina Jeleva's Battle to See Her Son Will Take Place Monday
The Secret Government War Against The Most Vulnerable
The Truth About Red Tide's Manmade Causes and Health Effects
Is “Gray State” a Psy-Op?
‘Red October’ Spy Network Goes Dark Hours After Being Exposed
US Has Even Larger Gap Between The Rich & Poor Than Downton Abbey Does
New Must-See Videos
"A Daughter's Regret" - Powerful Testimony in Defense of the 2nd Amendment
Is “Gray State” a Psy-Op?
The Secret Government War Against The Most Vulnerable
Brandon Turbeville: Another Study Proves the Existence of Chemtrails;
and Strategies for Effective Activism
CIA torture whistleblower jailed for 2 1/2 years for unpublished leak
Washington Governor Encouraged After Marijuana Legalization Meeting w/ Feds
Constant Surveillance of Entire Cities Now Possible with Latest Drone Tech
What Does Freedom Mean to You?
famous concluding paragraph of George Akerlof and Paul Romer's 1993 article
entitled "Looting: the Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit."
The OCC statement about SARs (the technical jargon for "criminal
referrals"), is sad. Banks virtually never make criminal referrals against
their senior officers, so the number of SARs filed by banks is not relevant to
the subject being discussed. The OTS made over 30,000 criminal referrals during
the peak years of the S&L debacle. It made zero in this crisis -- a crisis
in which the losses and the frauds by senior managers were roughly 70 times
larger than during the debacle. Apparently, the OTS and the OCC are trying to
excuse their failure to examine, supervise, regulate, and investigate, much
less make referrals on the claim that this is the first Virgin Crisis.
Readers are invited to read my testimony before the FCIC and the Senate. The
ultra brief version is (1) by 2006 roughly 40% of total mortgage loans
originated were "liar's loans", (fyi, roughly half of all loans
called "subprime" were also liar's loans -- the categories are not
mutually exclusive, (2) the incidence of fraud among liar's loans is 90%, (3) an
honest real estate lender would not make pervasively fraudulent loans because
doing so would inevitably cause the firm to fail (absent a bailout), (4) liar's
loans, however, are optimal "ammunition" for "accounting control
fraud", (5) investigations (and logic) have confirmed that it was
overwhelmingly lenders and their agents who put the lies in liar's loans, (6)
no lender was ever required or encouraged by the government to make or purchase
liar's loans -- the opposite was true, the government discouraged such loans
and industry documents confirm this fact, (7) liar's loans make an excellent
"natural experiment" because even Fannie and Freddie were not
encouraged to make these loans -- because they did not aid them in meeting the
"affordable housing goals", (8) Fannie and Freddie, eventually,
purchased enormous amounts of liar's loans for the same reason that the
investment banks (not subject to the CRA or any affordable housing goals did)
they created massive (albeit fictional) short-term accounting income, which
flowed through to the bonuses of many Fannie and Freddie executives. Let me put
these data in another format -- by 2006, lenders were making over two million
fraudulent liar's loans annually. Fraudulent liar's loans grew massively
because lenders (and purchasers) created perverse incentives to make and
purchase massive amounts of these fraudulent loans.
This level of fraud is massively greater than during the S&L debacle, where
accounting control fraud never became a dominant national lending strategy.
Liar's loans grew so rapidly, and became such a large share of the market that
they constituted the loans "on the margin" that hyper-inflated the
financial bubble, which drove the Great Recession.
The S&L debacle was halted by vigorous reregulation that was successful
precisely because we targeted the accounting control frauds as our top priority
to shut down, remove their senior managers, and prosecute those managers. The
liar's loans "crisis" of 1990-1992 in Orange County, California was
stopped in its tracks without any expensive failures because we (the OTS West
Region) realized that such loans inherently would lead to endemic fraud and
losses. We drove entities like Long Beach out of the industry (it became a
mortgage banker, and gave up its federal depositi insurance) for the sole
purpose of escaping OTS jurisdiction). The OCC and the OTS not only failed to
regulate the accounting control frauds they had jurisdiction over -- they
engaged in a vigorous "competition in laxity" with each other that
included a heavy focus on which agency could most aggressively
"preempt" state efforts to stop the fraudulent lenders.
Beginning with Federal Home Loan Bank Board Chairman Gray in 1984 (through
1993), the S&L regulatory agency made one of its top priorities the
prosecution of fraudulent senior officers who led the accounting control
frauds. The agency did so because it understood that criminal prosecutions were
the only remedy that CEOs really fear. The OCC's head, Mr. Curry, has a very
different view:
"Curry said bank regulators were more focused on
getting problems corrected rather than criminal penalties. 'From our
standpoint, as a bank regulatory agency, our job is to, one, identify the
problems and then mandate that they get fixed,' he said. 'I don't think it's
our role to avenge or to punish per se.'"
We secured over 1,000 felony convictions in cases designated as "major" by the
Justice Department. We worked with the FBI and DOJ to prioritize the 100 worst
fraud schemes. Those schemes involved roughly 300 S&Ls and over 600 elite
targets for prosecution. Virtually all of them were prosecuted. We secured over
a 90% conviction rate -- against the best criminal defense lawyers in the
world.
One of our mantras in white-collar criminology is: "if you don't look, you won't
find." The Frontline documentary begins the process of explaining what
those of us who are aware of what a real investigation is and what it requires
have been saying for years -- neither the Bush nor the Obama administration has
been willing to conduct a real investigation of the elite banksters whose
frauds made them wealthy and drove the financial crisis and the Great
Recession. This is one of the hallmarks of crony capitalism. It cripples our
economy, our democracy, and our integrity. The statue of Lady Justice is
blindfolded to symbolize that justice is blind to power. No one is above the
law. The Department of Justice is now, officially, an oxymoron given its senior
officials' admissions that they deliberately refuse to hold accountable (or
even investigate) the systemically dangerous institutions (SDIs) and their
senior officers because of fears of causing a global financial crisis. As a
former senior regulator, an effective regulator, I am astounded that anyone
believes that the route to financial stability is leaving elite frauds in
charge of many of our banks. Any bank that is too big to fail and to prosecute
is a clear and present danger that should be promptly shrunk tot he point that
it can no longer hold the global economy hostage in order to extort immunity
from the criminal laws for the controlling officers who became wealthy by being
what Akerlof and Romer aptly described as "looters."
Congratulations to everyone at Frontline involved in producing the documentary. I urge Frontline to revisit this issue because it is one of defining matters that will
decide whether our Nation will restore the rule of law and return to greatness.
William K.
Black
Associate
Professor of Economics and Law
University of
Missouri-Kansas City
Monsanto seeds caveat emptor
"A Daughter's Regret" - Powerful Testimony in Defense of the 2nd Amendment
Washington Governor Encouraged After Marijuana Legalization Meeting w/ Feds
Activist Post
ACTION ALERT: Katerina Jeleva's Battle to See Her Son Will Take Place Monday
Brandon Turbeville
The Secret Government War Against The Most Vulnerable
Mick Meaney
The Truth About Red Tide's Manmade Causes and Health Effects
Sayer Ji
Is “Gray State” a Psy-Op?
Michael Winter
‘Red October’ Spy Network Goes Dark Hours After Being Exposed
Chris Dougherty
US Has Even Larger Gap Between The Rich & Poor Than Downton Abbey Does
Michael Snyder
New Must-See Videos
"A Daughter's Regret" - Powerful Testimony in Defense of the 2nd Amendment
Is “Gray State” a Psy-Op?
The Secret Government War Against The Most Vulnerable
Brandon Turbeville: Another Study Proves the Existence of Chemtrails;
and Strategies for Effective Activism
CIA torture whistleblower jailed for 2 1/2 years for unpublished leak
Washington Governor Encouraged After Marijuana Legalization Meeting w/ Feds
Constant Surveillance of Entire Cities Now Possible with Latest Drone Tech
What Does Freedom Mean to You?
Jordan's King Abdullah: "The New Taliban Are In Syria"
By Christopher Dickey
Speaking
at the World Economic Forum summit in Davos, King Abdullah warned of
Al Qaeda's presence in Syria and said that it could take years for
peace to return to the war-torn country.
US-Led Sanctions Contribute To The Destruction Of Syria's Millenary History
By Franklin Lamb
What
"civil war"? What "crisis"? One is tempted to ask himself even though
there continues to be intermittent "thuds" and a jet streaking overhead
now and then en route apparently to one of the suburbs where clashes
erupt intermittently.
Holocaust And Extermination
A Terrible Normality
By Michael Parenti
President
Barack Obama is not spineless. He is hypocritical but not confused. He
is (by his own description) an erstwhile "liberal Republican," or as I
would put it, a faithful servant of corporate America. Continue
The Nation defends John Brennan, Obama's nominee for the CIA
By Joseph Kishore
The "left" publication
speaks on behalf of a privileged layer of the upper middle class,
deeply complacent, lacking political principles and more and more
integrated into the military and political establishment.
Noam Chomsky : Long Distance Revolutionary
Video
There is no doubt in my mind, my heart, and my soul that Mumia Abu-Jamal is an innocent man.
Nature's Capital Is The Limiting Resource
By Paul Craig Roberts
Only in science fiction can humans escape the consequences of destroying their own habitat.
Gun Owners Refuse to Register Under New York Law
By Alex Newman
According to news
reports, gun rights activists are urging everyone to defy far-left
Governor Andrew Cuomo's new registration mandate while daring
authorities to "come and take it."
Clash between Pakistani Taliban and militia said to kill 31:
At
least 31 people were killed when Pakistan Taliban attacked a
pro-government militia, according to reports from the two sides on
Saturday, but the Taliban were beaten back after hours of fierce
fighting.
'10 police killed in Afghanistan suicide attack':
At
least ten policemen were killed and 18 others, mostly civilians, were
wounded in a suicide attack on Saturday in a crowded area of the
northeast Afghan city of Kunduz, provincial authorities said.
Saudi prince calls for Syrian rebels to be armed:
A
senior member of Saudi Arabia's monarchy called on Friday for Syrian
rebels to be given anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to "level the
playing field" in their battle against President Bashar al-Assad
Iran warns against attack on Syria:
Iran
would consider any attack on Syria an attack on itself, a senior
government official was quoted as saying on Saturday, in one of
Tehran's most assertive defences of its ally yet.
Two Iraqi soldiers killed as hundreds attend funeral for protesters:
Two
Iraqi soldiers were killed and three others were abducted in Fallujah
today as hundreds of mourners gathered in the city for the funeral of
protesters killed during a shooting by army troops a day earlier,
according to officials.
Sheik wants Iraq to hand over soldiers involved in the killing of 7 protesters:
A
Sunni sheik called on the prime minister of Iraq to hand over soldiers
involved in the killing of 7 protesters in Fallujah or face "losses
among their ranks." "They need to go back to their barracks and be
stopped, or there may be losses among their ranks or the ranks of the
police. With all honesty, Fallujah is boiling," he said.
Iraqi lawmakers pass law to block Maliki from third term:
Lawmakers
from Sunni, Kurdish and Shi'ite parties voted for the law, but the
legislation still needs the president's approval and will face
challenges in federal court after Maliki's supporters rejected it as
illegal.
Rand Paul: 'any attack on Israel will be treated as an attack on the United States':
"Well
absolutely we stand with Israel," he said in an interview with
Breitbart News, "but what I think we should do is announce to the world
- and I think it is pretty well known - that any attack on Israel will
be treated as an attack on the United States."
Lib Dems condemn MP's criticism of Israel ahead of Holocaust Memorial Day:
He accused "the Jews" in Israel of "inflicting atrocities on Palestinians... on a daily basis".
26 dead in Egypt clashes :
The
clashes erupted after a Cairo court handed down the sentences over the
riot last February in which 74 people were killed, and came a day
after violence swept Egypt on the second anniversary of its uprising.
9 killed in deadly clashes across Egypt, Army :
On
the second anniversary of the 25 January uprising, deep rifts were
exposed in post-revolution Egypt after 9 people were shot dead in
nation-wide protests against Muslim Brotherhood President Mohamed
Mursi.
Mali: French-led soldiers in control of Gao airport:
French-led
troops in Mali have taken control of the airport in the northern town
and Islamist stronghold of Gao, the French defence ministry has said.
Both Gao's airport and the strategic Wabary bridge have been secured, though fighting continues in the town.
Mali crisis: US admits mistakes in training local troop:
Gen
Carter Ham of United States Africa Command (Africom) said its forces
had failed to train Malian troops on "values, ethics and a military
ethos".
U.S. may give $32M to train African troops in Mali:
The
Obama administration is seeking an additional $32 million to train
African troops to fight Islamic extremists in Mali. State Department
spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters Friday the request had been
made to Congress.
U.S., French leaders pledge expanded counter-terrorism in North Africa:
The
Obama administration sent some 100 military trainers last week to
Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Togo and Ghana -- the nations
that are poised to send their troops to Mali.
Fears grow that Libya is incubator of turmoil:
Fears
are growing that post-Moammar Gadhafi Libya is becoming an incubator
of turmoil, with an overflow of weapons and Islamic jihadi militants
operating freely, ready for battlefields at home or abroad.
Before he was overthrown and killed, Muammar Gaddafi warned jihadists would conquer northern Africa:
The Islamists would pour in from Afghanistan, Algeria, and Egypt, he warned, saying, "These are beasts with turbans."
What's the threat? North Korean rhetoric, reality:
According to its official statements, North Korea is ready to go to the brink. But how serious are Pyongyang's threats?
Venezuela prison riot 'kills many':
The
riot was triggered when local media broadcast news that soldiers had
been sent to Uribana prison in Barquisimeto to search for weapons,
Prisons Minister Iris Varela said. The dead are thought to include
inmates, guards and prison workers.
The First Prison Sentence Related To Gitmo Torture Goes To Someone Who Spoke Out Against It:
Ex-CIA
officer John C. Kiriakou became the first person to be sentenced to
prison for issues related to torture at Guantanamo Bay on Friday-
because he talked about, but did not participate in, "enhanced
interrogation" techniques.
Total Surveillance : NYPD places full body scanners on the streets of New York -
Video
US appeals panel agrees government can demand Twitter account info in WikiLeaks probe:
A
federal appeals court ruled Friday that prosecutors can demand Twitter
account information of certain users in their criminal probe into the
disclosure of classified documents on WikiLeaks.
Britain is experiencing 'worse slump than during Great Depression':
Britain's
recent economic performance is the worst since records began in the
pre-Victorian era, experts said today, apart from the two immediate
post-war slumps.
Businessweek: World 'Plunges Into Currency War':
Governments
from Germany, to Russia, to Brazil, to Thailand have expressed worry
that the world is plunging into a currency war, Bloomberg Businessweek
reports.
Jim Sinclair: This is the Big One!:
Legendary
gold trader Jim Sinclair has sent another email alert to subscribers
today, warning that the current reaction in gold is the big one, and
the last play by the bullion banks to denude gold and silver investors
of their positions
US banks shaken by biggest deposit withdrawals since 9/11:
US
Federal Reserve is reporting a major deposit withdrawal from the
nation's bank accounts. The financial system hasn't seen such a massive
fund outflow since 9/11 attacks.
More Americans delay retirement, keep working:
Retirement
is becoming a more distant dream for a rising number of older
Americans, largely because they need the money but also because they
are healthy enough to keep working.
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