Did Israel assassinate Iran's 'missile king'?

Iran hasn't accused Israel of causing the bomb blast at an ammunition depot near Tehran, and Israel hasn't taken credit. But the blast, which killed the founder of Iran's missile program, fits a pattern.

Iran today buries a senior commander of its missile force, amid claims that the huge explosion that killed him and at least 16 others at a Revolutionary Guard base on Saturday was the work of Israeli agents.

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Maj. Gen. Hassan Moghaddam was heralded by fellow commanders as the "founder" of Iran's missile program, which has deployed ballistic missiles with ranges up to 1,500 miles -- enough to reach Europe. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) praised his role in developing artillery and missile units. His importance was such that even Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei attended the funeral.?

That background would make Moghaddam a prime target in what appears to be a concerted Spy vs. Spy campaign ? from assassinations and facility explosions, to three destructive computer viruses, by Iran's count ? that have dealt setbacks to Iran's controversial nuclear and ballistic missile programs in recent years. Speculation that Moghaddam was the latest casualty, in the series of strikes that Iran blames on Israel and the US, has been spurred by the fact that?such a critical Guard officer was present and killed, during what Iran calls an "accident" involving a routine transfer of munitions.

IN PICTURES: Iran's military might

"Iran's current missile capability is owed to commander Moghaddam's efforts," Brigadier General Abbas Khani told the official IRNA news agency.? "Due to his role ... the enemy always wanted to identify and eliminate him," he said.

Iran has in the past blamed the "Zionist regime" and the US for being secretly behind what it styles a campaign of sabotage. Neither the US nor Israel have ruled out military strikes to prevent Iran acquiring a bomb. Analysts say the death of Moghaddam may be part of a broader, unconventional fight that has been on-going for years.

"Without concluding that this was an assassination, it fits in line with the kind of actions that have...deprived Iran of some of its top influential leadership" in nuclear and missile efforts, says Mark Fitzpatrick of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London. "Missiles are a major component of having a nuclear weapons capability, and this is the first time that we've seen some hint that the missile aspect is bearing the brunt," says Mr. Fitzpatrick, who edited a comprehensive 150-page dossier on Iran's ballistic missiles earlier this year.

The Islamic Republic insists its nuclear program is only to produce energy. Yet the latest report on Iran's efforts by the UN's watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), released last week, found a "systemic" effort by Iran to master weapons-related nuclear work, until it was halted in 2003.

Though some experts question the validity of the IAEA intelligence, the IAEA claimed that some weapons-related work "may" still continue.

The blast Saturday, 30 miles west of Tehran, was so large it could be heard and felt in the capital.? ????????????????????????????????? ??????????????

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Syria faces growing world pressure to halt bloodshed (Reuters)

BEIRUT (Reuters) ? Jordan's King Abdullah told Syria's President Bashar al-Assad on Monday he should step down and the European Union added pressure with more sanctions after the Arab League's surprise decision to suspend Damascus for its violent crackdown on protests.

Syria looks ever more isolated, but still has the support of Russia, which said the Arab League had made the wrong move and accused the West of inciting Assad's opponents.

Despite the diplomatic pressure, there was no let-up in violence and at least two people were killed, activists said.

The anti-Assad unrest, inspired by Arab revolts elsewhere, has devastated Syria's economy, scaring off tourists and investors, while Western sanctions have crippled oil exports.

Jordan's King Abdullah said Assad should quit. "I believe, if I were in his shoes, I would step down," he told the BBC.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said the League's decision, due to take effect on Wednesday, was "an extremely dangerous step" at a time when Damascus was implementing an Arab deal to end violence and start talks with the opposition.

Syria has called for an emergency Arab League summit in an apparent effort to forestall its suspension.

Nabil Elaraby, the organization's secretary general, said he had delivered the request to rulers of Arab League states and 15 members would have to approve in order to hold a summit, according to Egypt's state news agency MENA.

The League's suspension is a particularly bitter blow for Assad who has always seen himself as a champion of Arab unity. But adding to the injury, the Cairo-based League plans to meet Syrian dissident groups on Tuesday.

Even so, Elaraby said on Sunday it was too soon to consider recognizing the Syrian opposition as the country's legitimate authority.

Elaraby met representatives of Arab civil society groups on Monday and agreed to send a 500-strong fact-finding committee, including military personnel, to Syria as part of efforts to end the crackdown on demonstrators and dissenters.

"Syria agreed to receive the committee," said Ibrahim al-Zafarani, of the Arab Medical Union.

Moualem said Syria had withdrawn troops from urban areas, released prisoners and offered an amnesty to armed insurgents under an initiative agreed with the Arab League two weeks ago.

Yet violence has intensified since then, especially in the central city of Homs, pushing the death toll in eight months of protests to more than 3,500 by a U.N. count. Damascus says armed "terrorist" gangs have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.

Syria's ban on most foreign media makes it hard to verify events on the ground.

SHOOTING, TANK FIRE

In the latest violence, security police shot dead activist Amin Abdo al-Ghothani in front of his nine-year-old son at a roadblock outside the town of Inkhil, a grassroots organization known as the Local Coordination Committees said.

In Homs, residents said renewed tank shelling killed a teenager and wounded eight people in the restive Bab Amro district. Students in the Damascus suburb of Erbin chanted "God is greater than the oppressor," according to a YouTube video.

Moualem described Washington's support for the Arab League action as "incitement," but voiced confidence that Russia and China would continue to block Western efforts to secure U.N. Security Council action, let alone any foreign intervention.

"The Libya scenario will not be repeated," he said.

It was the Arab League's decision to suspend Libya and call for a no-fly zone that helped persuade the U.N. Security Council to authorize a NATO air campaign to protect civilians, which also aided rebels who ousted and killed Muammar Gaddafi.

The Arab League made no call for military action, but its disciplining of Syria is deeply embarrassing to a nation touted by its Baathist leaders as the Arab world's "beating heart."

Syrian state television said millions of Syrians protested at the League decision in Damascus and other cities on Sunday.

Crowds also attacked Saudi, Turkish and French diplomatic missions in Syria after the Arab League announcement.

Moualem apologized for the assaults, which have worsened already tense ties between Syria and its former friend Turkey.

"We will take the most resolute stance against these attacks and we will stand by the Syrian people's rightful struggle," Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told the Turkish parliament, saying Damascus could no longer be trusted.

Non-Arab Turkey, after long courting Assad, has lost patience with its neighbor. It now hosts the main Syrian opposition and has given refuge to defecting Syrian soldiers.

Turkey's stance has stung its former friends in Damascus.

"The implementation of the Arab plan must be accompanied by the securing of borders by neighboring countries," Moualem Said. "I mean here specifically the flow of weapons from Turkey and the transfer of money to the leaders of armed groups."

EU SANCTIONS

The European Union extended penalties to 18 more Syrians linked with the crackdown on dissent and approved plans to stop Syria accessing funds from the European Investment Bank.

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said she was in touch with the Arab League to work on an approach to Syria, but the 27-nation body appears set against military intervention.

"This is a different situation from Libya," British Foreign Secretary William Hague said in Brussels, where EU foreign ministers were meeting. "There is no United Nations Security Council resolution and Syria is a much more complex situation."

Syria, which borders Israel, is Iran's main Arab ally and has strong ties with Shi'ite Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon and the Islamist Hamas movement that rules the Gaza Strip.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whose country joined China to block a U.N. resolution critical of Syria in October, criticized the Arab League's decision.

Russia, an arms supplier to the Syrians, has urged Assad to implement reforms but opposes sanctions and has accused the United States and France of discouraging dialogue in Syria.

"There has been and continues to be incitement of radical opponents (of Assad) to take a firm course for regime change and reject any invitations to dialogue," Lavrov said.

The Arab League also plans to impose unspecified economic and political sanctions on Syria and has urged its members to recall their ambassadors from Damascus.

Assad still has some support at home, especially from his own minority Alawite sect and Christians, wary of sectarian conflict or Sunni Muslim domination if he were to be toppled.

Despite some defections, the Syrian military has not emulated its counterparts in Egypt and Tunisia in abandoning long-serving presidents faced with popular discontent.

The government has acknowledged that sanctions are hurting, but it is not clear whether this will force any policy change.

Chris Phillips of the Economist Intelligence Unit in London said Syria's economy was "slowly bleeding to death."

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis and Suleiman al-Khalidi in Amman, Steve Gutterman in Moscow, Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Ayman Samir in Cairo and Justyna Pawlak in Brussels; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111114/wl_nm/us_syria

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Arab League votes to suspend Syria over killings

Pro-Syrian regime protesters, gather and shout slogans against the Arab League as they throw tomatoes at the Qatari embassy which is seen in the background during a protest, in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday Nov. 12, 2011. The Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria in four days and warned the regime could face sanctions if it does not end its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters. The decision was a symbolic blow to a nation that prides itself on being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

Pro-Syrian regime protesters, gather and shout slogans against the Arab League as they throw tomatoes at the Qatari embassy which is seen in the background during a protest, in Damascus, Syria, on Saturday Nov. 12, 2011. The Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria in four days and warned the regime could face sanctions if it does not end its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters. The decision was a symbolic blow to a nation that prides itself on being a powerhouse of Arab nationalism. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

General view of the Arab League emergency session on Syria at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov.12, 2011. Arab foreign ministers gather to discuss Syria's failure to end bloodshed caused by government crackdowns on civil protests. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Syrian anti-Assad protesters are reflected on a masked protester's sun glasses during a protest in front of the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011, where the League emergency session on Syria is to discuss the country's failure to end bloodshed caused by government crackdowns on civil protests. Protesters called the Arab League to suspend the country's membership. Syrian flags are seen on the mask and on the glasses. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Syrian protesters burn a picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a protest in front of the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov.12, 2011 where an Arab League emergency session on Syria is to discuss the country's failure to end bloodshed caused by government crackdowns on civil protests. Protesters called on the Arab League to suspend the country's membership. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A Syrian protester kicks a burning picture of Syrian President Bashar Assad during a protest in front of the Arab League headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Nov.12, 2011 where an Arab League emergency session on Syria is taking place to discuss the country's failure to end bloodshed caused by government crackdowns on civil protests. Protesters called on the Arab League to suspend the country's membership. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

(AP) ? In a surprisingly sharp move, the Arab League voted Saturday to suspend Syria over the country's bloody crackdown on an eight-month uprising and stepped up calls on the army to stop killing civilians.

The decision was a humiliating blow to a regime that prides itself as a bastion of Arab nationalism, but it was unlikely to immediately end a wave of violence that the U.N. estimates has killed more than 3,500 people since mid-March.

"Syria is a dear country for all of us and it pains us to make this decision," Qatar's Foreign Minister Hamad bin Jassim told reporters. "We hope there will be a brave move from Syria to stop the violence and begin a real dialogue toward real reform."

In Damascus, pro-regime demonstrators threw eggs and tomatoes at the Qatari Embassy to protest the vote.

The 22-member Arab League will monitor the situation and revisit the decision in a meeting Wednesday in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, bin Jassim said, a move that appeared to give Syrian President Bashar Assad time to avert the suspension.

But Syria has been unwilling to heed previous calls to end the violence. Saturday's vote came after Damascus failed to carry out a Nov. 2 peace deal brokered by the Arab League that called on Syria to halt the attacks and pull tanks out of cities.

More than 250 Syrian civilians have been killed so far this month, including 12 on Saturday in attacks in the restive city of Homs, the Damascus suburbs and elsewhere, according to activist groups.

President Barack Obama praised the Arab League, highlighting what he called the group's leadership in seeking to end attacks on peaceful protesters. "These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests," he said in a statement.

Arab League diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters, said that if Syria does not adhere to its demands, the organization will work to unify the disparate Syrian opposition into a coalition similar to that of Libya's National Transitional Council. A next step would be to recognize the opposition as the sole representative of the Syrian people in a move that would symbolically isolate Assad's regime even further.

In his statement, bin Jassim called on all factions to meet later this week to unify their message as a step toward dialogue with the Syrian government, but many within the opposition refuse to negotiate with the regime.

Still, there is little to stop Assad now from calling upon the scorched-earth tactics that have kept his family in power for more than four decades. A longtime pariah, Syria grew accustomed to shrugging off the world's reproach long before the regime started shooting unarmed protesters eight months ago.

An international military intervention has been all but ruled out, given the quagmire in Libya and the lack of any strong opposition leader in Syria to rally behind. International sanctions, some of which target Assad personally, have failed to persuade him to ease his crackdown.

Syria also retains the iron support of Shiite Muslim-led Iran, which wants to keep Damascus in its fold in a mostly Sunni Muslim region dominated by Arab suspicions of Tehran's aims. Should Assad's regime fall, it could rob Iran of a loyal Arab partner.

The vote was a strong message from Syria's Arab neighbors and showed growing impatience with Damascus.

Neil Sammonds, a Syria researcher for Amnesty International, said the unified Arab showing will put more pressure on the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions despite objections by Syrian allies Russia and China. Only Syria, Lebanon and Yemen voted against the Arab League suspension of Syria, with Iraq abstaining.

"This will help put the diplomatic pressure on the Security Council to act, to show Russia and China that they are out of step with the region and the rest of world," Sammonds said.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said international pressure would continue to build "until the brutal Assad regime heeds the calls of its own people and the world community."

Saer el-Nashif, who was among the Syrian opposition leaders meeting with Arab League diplomats in Cairo several times in recent weeks, praised Saturday's vote and said he hopes it leads to a Security Council decision.

Arab nations are also eager to avoid seeing another leader toppled violently, as happened to Libya's Moammar Gadhafi, who was captured and killed last month. An Arab League decision had paved the way for the U.N.-mandated no-fly zone and NATO airstrikes that eventually brought down Gadhafi, but bin Jassim stressed international intervention was not on the agenda in Syria.

"None of us is talking about this kind of decision," he said.

Syria, which blames the bloodshed on extremists acting out a foreign agenda to destabilize the regime, slammed Saturday's vote as "illegal" under Arab League charter rules.

Its Arab League envoy, Youssef Ahmed, said Damascus was calling on the "armed opposition abroad to lay down arms, surrender, stop the violence and accept a national dialogue."

Diplomats who attended the meeting said the Syrian ambassador accused the Qatari foreign minister of carrying out a U.S. agenda, and the Qatari official replied that the league was doing this for the good of the Syrian people.

The bloodshed has spiked dramatically in recent weeks amid signs that more protesters are taking up arms to protect themselves, changing the face of what has been a largely peaceful movement. Many fear the change plays directly into the hands of the regime by giving the military a pretext to crack down with increasing force.

Despite growing international isolation, Assad appears to have a firm grip on power.

Assad and his father, who ruled Syria before him, stacked key security and military posts with members of their minority Alawite sect, ensuring loyalty by melding the fate of the army and the regime. As a result, the army leadership will likely protect the regime at all costs, for fear it will be persecuted if the country's Sunni majority gains the upper hand. Most of the army defectors so far appear to be lower-level Sunni conscripts.

The government has largely sealed off the country from foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting, making it difficult to confirm events on the ground. Key sources of information are amateur videos posted online and details gathered by witnesses and activist groups who then contact the media, often at great personal risk.

___

Associated Press writer Hadeel al-Shalchi contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-11-12-ML-Syria/id-0a979403219549868b4bf59eb6ddc3e4

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UK man jailed for selling guns smuggled from US (AP)

LONDON ? A judge has sentenced a British man to at least 11 years in prison for selling handguns smuggled into the country by a former U.S. Marine.

Prosecutors say Steven Cardwell sold guns imported by ex-Marine Steven Greenoe, who hid them in his luggage on trans-Atlantic flights.

Greenoe was arrested in July 2010 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina with 16 guns in his suitcase. He has been jailed for exporting weapons without a license.

Prosecutors say he smuggled at least 63 weapons into Britain, where handguns are banned and few police officers carry firearms. Only 10 have been recovered.

At Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, judge Elgan Edwards gave Cardwell a mininum 11-year sentence.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111111/ap_on_re_eu/eu_britain_gun_merchant

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Arab League suspends Syria as global pressure rises (Reuters)

CAIRO (Reuters) ? The Arab League suspended Syria and called on its army to stop killing civilians in a surprise move on Saturday that some Western leaders said should prompt tougher international action against President Bashar al-Assad.

Hours after the League's decision, hundreds of Assad supporters armed with sticks and knives attacked the Saudi Arabian embassy in Damascus and Turkish and French consulates in the city of Latakia, residents said.

U.S. President Barack Obama praised the League's move and France said it was time for international bodies to take more action against Syria's government.

The Arab League will impose economic and political sanctions on Damascus and has appealed to member states to withdraw their ambassadors, said Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani. It will also call a meeting of Syrian opposition parties, he said.

"We were criticised for taking a long time but this was out of our concern for Syria," Sheikh Hamad told reporters at the League's headquarters in Cairo. "We needed to have a majority to approve those decisions."

Syria's representative at the Arab League said the decision was "not worth the ink it was written with."

The League's announcement was a sharp rebuke for Syria's leadership which sees itself as a champion of Arab nationalism.

Hopes among Western powers that Assad would be isolated by his Arab neighbours were repeatedly dashed until now. Some Arab leaders have been reluctant to turn against one of their peers given their own restive populations, Middle East diplomats say.

But Assad has pressed ahead with the crackdown on protesters against his rule despite an Arab peace plan brokered on November 2. The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed in seven months of violence.

Syria blames armed groups for the violence and says 1,200 members of the security forces have been killed. Assad, from the minority Alawite community which has held power for four decades in mainly Muslim Syria, has said he has used legitimate means to confront a foreign conspiracy to sow sectarian strife.

Activists said six people were killed in Syria on Saturday.

Sheikh Hamad said the suspension of Syria from the regional body would take effect on November 16, but did not detail the sanctions.

"We ask the Arab Syrian Army to not be involved in the violent actions and killing of civilians," Sheikh Hamad said, quoting from an Arab League statement.

REACTION

Syria's Arab League representative, Youssef Ahmed, said suspending Damascus violated the League's charter because it could only be done by consensus at a summit of Arab leaders.

It was clear that "orders were issued to them from the United States and Europe to hasten a decision against Syria," Ahmed told Syrian state TV.

As news of the suspension spread in Syria, hundreds of men shouting pro-Assad slogans broke into the Saudi embassy in the Syrian capital, residents told Reuters.

Angry crowds also attacked the French and Turkish consulates in Latakia, 330 km (210 miles) north of Damascus on the Mediterranean coast, locals said.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement demonstrators "gathered outside the embassy, threw stones at it, then stormed the building." It said Syrian security forces did not react fast enough and held the Syrian government responsible for protecting Saudi interests.

A French Foreign Ministry spokesman said he was unaware of any attacks on French interests in Syria. There was no immediate confirmation from Ankara.

A senior diplomat in Damascus confirmed the attacks. "We do not have the full picture from Latakia, but the attacks there appear to have been really bad."

Syrian TV reported a demonstration outside the Qatar embassy in Damascus.

Assad's opponents hailed the League's new resolve.

"This gives a lot of strength to the position of the Syrian National Council. This is now an Arab position," said Basma Qadmani, a member of the executive committee of the Syrian National Council, the most prominent opposition group.

Qadmani said that now that the Arab League had taken its decision "we believe there is no justification for international reluctance" to take tougher steps against Assad's government.

Obama praised the Arab League and said he would continue to pile pressure on the Syrian leadership.

"These significant steps expose the increasing diplomatic isolation of a regime that has systematically violated human rights and repressed peaceful protests," he said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton repeated her call for Assad to step down. "International pressure will continue to build until the brutal Assad regime heeds the calls of its own people and the world community," she said in a statement.

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said the decision sent an important signal to those in the U.N. Security Council who had up to now prevented a clear resolution on Syria.

"We will urge this to be seen as a chance for a change of heart," he said.

French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said it was time for international bodies to take more action.

"France appeals to the international community to hear the message sent by the Arab states, to take its responsibilities and to thus act without further delay," he said in a statement.

ECHOES OF LIBYA

Freezing Syria out of the 22-member League of Arab States carries extra symbolism in the wake of events in Libya, where Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in a rebellion that benefited from NATO air support.

The NATO mission got U.N. Security Council approval after Libya was suspended by the Arab League.

"This step introduces a possibility of foreign intervention and opens the door for engaging the international community in the case," said Nabil Abdel Fattah, a political analyst at the Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo.

Sheikh Hamad held out the possibility that the League may ask the United Nations to help protect the rights of Syrians.

"If the violence and killing doesn't stop, the Secretary General will call on international organisations dealing with human rights, including the United Nations," he said.

(Additional reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis in Amman, Omar Fahmy and Ahmad Elhamy in Cairo, Dominic Evans in Beirut, Christian Plumb in Paris and Laura MacInnis in Honolulu; Writing by Tom Pfeiffer; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111112/wl_nm/us_arabs_syria

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Insert an AirPort Express and This Outdoor Speaker Becomes AirPlay Ready [Speakers]

Out of the box Russound's new AirGo outdoor speaker is fairly limited, letting you connect an audio source via a line in cable. But when you install an AirPort Express into a weather proof chamber on its back, it then gains AirPlay connectivity, letting you stream music from your iOS devices or iTunes. More »


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End Bonuses For Bankers

You also had a law passed in the Carter years to make it easier for people who couldn't (and as we can now see, shouldn't) have been granted a mortgage provided one. This law got itself teeth during the Clinton years to aggressively push these high risk mortgages out there, or the banks would suffer fines. All of this backed up by federally created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who then started bundling these high risk loans with AAA credit loans. All the while, anything that had once been considered wise lending practices were thrown out the window.

This is horseshit. This is the "blame the poor minorities and the liberals who thought they should be subject to the same standards as everyone else" canard that was trotted out after the collapse to try to divert blame away from the deregulation that is the real obvious cause -- point of fact, even if this bull excrement explanation held any water, had the old rules about the types of securities banks could invest in and the limits to their ability to leverage were in place, the collapse wouldn't have happened.

The law never required banks to make risky loans. It only required them to not refuse loans based solely on where someone lived, or to use a higher standard to secure the loan than they would for someone who lived somewhere else.

My bank was subject to the same law, and while so much of the financial sector was collapsing it was fine, because it didn't make risky loans, and it didn't invest in CDOs because the board was smart enough to realize what a crock of shit their ratings were.

The people who got mortgages but shouldn't weren't just the poor, but the middle class getting mortgages far beyond what they could afford. Not every middle class family should buy a McMansion, but that's not what the loan officers were saying. They knew the loan was risky (or didn't know but didn't care), but they also knew they could turn right around and sell the loan to someone who would package it up with a bunch of others, slap a completely fanciful risk rating on it, and then sell it again to some sap, aka Fannie May, Freddie Mac, Citibank, and all the others who had to be bailed out.

The only policies that were pushed that caused this disaster are the deregulation The-Free-Market-Knows-Best policies that the banks themselves were pushing for.

Oh and as far as taking -- the government may be the only one authorized to take in the form of taxes, but the government is only taking a percentage of earnings. When the bankers, in their irresponsible greed, trashed the economy and cost millions their jobs, so they had no earnings. Despite not having the authority, the banks took more than the government did.

The protesters know who is to blame. The bankers are not middlemen in this mess.

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/mFEpwVRMGhg/end-bonuses-for-bankers

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11-11-11 brings hopes of good luck

In a Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 photo, twin sisters Betsy, left, and Katie Overman pose for a photo in Madison, Wisc. The twins will turn 11 on Nov. 11, 2011, or 11/11/11. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, Craig Schreiner)

In a Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 photo, twin sisters Betsy, left, and Katie Overman pose for a photo in Madison, Wisc. The twins will turn 11 on Nov. 11, 2011, or 11/11/11. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, Craig Schreiner)

Place your bets! Tie the knot! Make a wish! Friday is the 11th day of the 11th month of 2011, and around the country, many people are planning to mark the triple convergence of 11s with a splash, hoping it will bring them good fortune or at least amuse them for a day.

Marjaneh Peyrovan, who just moved to New York, plans to buy 11 lottery tickets (each, of course, including the number 11). She will check out apartments she has been eyeing. And precisely at 11:11 a.m., she will walk into the office of Diane von Furstenberg, the fashion designer for whom she has long dreamed of working.

"People say on 11/11 things happen, things will come true," she said. "You never know."

Twins Betsy and Katie Overman of Madison, Wis., will celebrate their 11th birthdays with sweet bread topped with a buttercream number 11. Their mother, Julie Overman, plans to put 11 candles in their meals and snacks. And the twins will wear socks festooned with 11s.

"They also found the 11 date is supposed to be lucky for relationships, but they still think boys are gross," their mother said.

In Atlantic City, N.J., some restaurants are advertising $11.11 meals and the Trump Taj Mahal is planning drawings every 11 minutes for up to $1,111. The Riverwind Casino is Norman, Okla., prepared for an onslaught of gamblers eager to roll the dice or double-down in blackjack.

"Gamblers are a superstitious bunch," said Jack Parkinson, the casino's general manager.

In Las Vegas, Clark County Clerk Diana Alba got ready for an onslaught of weddings, with some 3,200 applications already filled out, more than three times the normal number. She is expecting the number of couples to surpass the crowd on 08/08/08 and equal the throng on 10/10/10. It may not, however, reach the turnout seen on July 7, 2007 ? a date that consists of three lucky sevens.

"That was like the granddaddy of all dates," Alba said.

Bryan Savage of Oklahoma City is among those tying the knot on 11-11. He said the number 11 is meaningful to him and his fiancee, Tara Melton, because his birthday is in November and they met in November.

"It's just kind of cool and we didn't really want Valentine's Day or a holiday, but we just wanted something memorable," he said.

Plus, he added, it will be easier to remember his anniversary.

In Des Moines, Iowa, Dr. Ross Valone, an obstetrician-gynecologist, will refund any fees he collects from delivering babies Friday. In Bellevue, Wash., Jason Brown will open his new grocery store at 11:11 a.m.

Fans of the movie "This Is Spinal Tap" plan celebrations honoring Nigel Tufnel, the heavy-metal guitarist whose amp's volume knob went up to 11, while lovers of corduroy planned a smattering of events on the theory that the fabric's ridges resemble lines of ones.

But some also planned to put the quirkiness of the date aside to observe Veterans Day, which grew out of the World War I armistice that took effect at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918.

"We as Americans, we like doing things like that with the numbers. I just hope that people do realize, if they can, just thank a veteran," said Genaro Alvarado of Los Angeles, who served in the Marines.

Vikki MacKinnon, a numerologist in Calgary, Ontario, said she expects the day to be a "cosmic wake-up call."

"Eleven is a number of illumination and enlightenment, a number of insight, blinding flashes of the obvious, and a number of transformation," she said Thursday. "I think really good things will come out of tomorrow."

___

Contributing to this report were Michael Crumb in Des Moines, Iowa; Kevin McGill in New Orleans; Russell Contreras in Albuquerque, N.M.; Tim Talley in Oklahoma City; Carrie Antlfinger in Milwaukee; Michael Melia in Hartford, Conn.; and Geoff Mulvihill in Haddonfield, N.J.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-11-10-US-11-11-11/id-8f39e9dac0014722912498a948f034c3

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