U.S. Congressman Asks FBI to Release Notes from Financial Crisis Banker Investigations

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These agreements were created 100 years ago to give juvenile defendants and first-time offenders a chance to for rehabilitate themselves. Only in the last 20 years have DPAs migrated to the field of corporate criminals, treating them like kids who’ve just gone down a bad path in life.

The Justice Department is leaning on these toothless agreements more and more. Of the DoJ’s 283 deferred prosecution agreements since 2000, half have come since 2010, Reilly found in a working paper for BYU Law Review.

Why has the DoJ been so keen on deferred prosecution since 2010? It coincides exactly with investigations into the 2008 financial crisis.

– From the 2014 post: The U.S. Department of Justice Handles Banker Criminals Like Juvenile Offenders…Literally

This is a really good move by Rep. Bill Pascrell of New Jersey. Indeed, the American public certainly has a right to know the details of why the U.S. government allowed Wall Street executives to walk away free, with zero accountability and wealthier than ever before.

Bloomberg reports:

FBI files on the firms that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis should be released to help the public understand why no senior executives were charged, a U.S. congressman from New Jersey said.

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IEX Group Plans Launch of Revolutionary New Gold Exchange

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This is very interesting.

Reuters reports:

IEX Group, which rose to prominence with its bid to shake up stock trading in the United States, now aims to do the same in the more than $5 trillion-a-year gold market with a new exchange being created by its spinoff TradeWind Markets, a board member of the new venture said on Tuesday. 

The protagonists of Michael Lewis’s book, “Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt,” are planning a gold exchange that would use elements of blockchain technology to improve transparency and the clearing and settling of trades, said Matt Harris, a managing director at Bain Capital Ventures. Bain has an investment in IEX. 

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“Storm of the Century” – How the Internet of Things Could Destroy Privacy

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As the Guardian reported, Clapper made clear that the internet of things – the many devices like thermostats, cameras and other appliances that are increasingly connected to the internet – are providing ample opportunity for intelligence agencies to spy on targets, and possibly the masses. And it’s a danger that many consumers who buy these products may be wholly unaware of.

“In the future, intelligence services might use the [internet of things] for identification, surveillance, monitoring, location tracking, and targeting for recruitment, or to gain access to networks or user credentials,” Clapper told a Senate panel as part of his annual “assessment of threats” against the US. 

– From February’s post: Top U.S. Official Admits – Government Will Use “Internet of Things” to Spy on the Public

Serving as an important followup to the post above, Cory Doctorow has just penned an extremely important warning at Locust titled, The Privacy Wars Are About to Get A Whole Lot Worse. Below are the relevant passages. Please read and share with everyone you know.

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Bill Clinton Compares Himself to Robin Hood

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The newly released financial files on Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton’s growing fortune omit a company with no apparent employees or assets that the former president has legally used to provide consulting and other services, but which demonstrates the complexity of the family’s finances.

Because the company, WJC, LLC, has no financial assets, Hillary Clinton’s campaign was not obligated to report its existence in her recent financial disclosure report, officials with Bill Clinton’s private office and the Clinton campaign said. They were responding to questions by The Associated Press, which reviewed corporate documents.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide private details of the former president’s finances on the record, said the entity was a “pass-through” company designed to channel payments to the former president.

Under federal disclosure rules for spouses’ earned income, Hillary Clinton was only obligated to identify the source of her spouse’s income and confirm that he received more than $1,000. As a result, the precise amounts of Bill Clinton’s earned income from consulting have not been disclosed, and it’s not known how much was routed through WJC, LLC.

– From last year’s post: Introducing “WJC, LLC” – Bill Clinton’s Little Known Pass-Through Entity Used to Channel Consulting Fees

The man’s shamelessness knows no limits.

The Hill reports:

Bill Clinton said Monday that Republican attacks on his family’s foundation were “funny” and likened his actions as head of the organization to Robin Hood’s.

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Why is Hillary Clinton Always Hiding Something?

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One of the more disturbing revelations from this year’s U.S. presidential election, has been Hillary Clinton’s compulsive propensity to hide all sorts of things from the American public. While I appreciate one’s right to privacy as much as the next person, if you want to run for President of these United States, transparency and engagement with the public should be a top priority and requirement.

In this post, I want to highlight three troubling ways in which Hillary Clinton has been shamelessly and inexplicably hiding things from the public throughout her presidential run. The first instance is one that came up frequently during the Democratic primary. That is, transcripts of the extraordinarily high priced speeches she gave to numerous corporations, including multiple Wall Street banks that were at the center of the 2008/09 financial crisis.

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Liberty Links 9/3/16

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This should keep you busy over the long weekend. 28 links today. Enjoy. 12 Things I Learned From the FBI Report on Hillary Clinton’s Private Email Server (Total madness, must read, The Washington Post) Clinton Staff Smashed Old Blackberry Devices with Hammer (Boston Globe) List of the 400 Wealthiest People in the World (Excluding Michael … Read more

Open the Books Exposes the Sham That is the Illinois State Budget

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Open the Books, the world’s largest private database of government spending, recently released its latest expose examining the Illinois state budget using data garnered from its annual FOIA request.

Here’s some of what it found (read the entire article at Forbes):

It’s been two years since Illinois state government had a full-year budget. Now, more than 70,000 vendors are owed $8.2 billion. Yet, despite the legislative deadlock and seemingly fiscal insolvency, more than $50 billion in state payments flowed to providers and other entities in FY2016. 

So, who actually got paid and for how much while others waited in the long line of unpaid bills?

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The Secret Global Court – Why Corporate Criminals and Corrupt Politicians Desperately Want the TPP

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Obama needs to ensure he gets well compensated after leaving office for a job well done protecting, defending and further enriching the global oligarch class. This is precisely why he’s so adamant about passing the TPP during the upcoming lame duck session of Congress, when he knows “representatives” who no longer face reelection can be coerced or bribed into voting for this monumental public betrayal.

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) ins’t really a free trade deal, it’s a way for global oligarchs to consolidate, grow and protect their enormous wealth. The investor-state dispute settlement system (ISDS) is perhaps the most nefarious and objectionable aspect of the deal, with this shadowy court system being used to accomplish the following for the super rich and powerful:

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Rutgers Residence Hall Warns Students Against ‘Microassaults,’ ‘Microinsults’ & ‘Microinvalidations’

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Just when you thought you had a handle on the treasonous thought-police infractions known as microagressions, folks at Rutgers University had to go ahead and further muddy the waters of what is and isn’t allowed to be uttered on today’s college campuses.

Since I know you’re all dying to find out, let’s turn to Campus Reform to learn about the latest verbal (and nonverbal) transgressions: “microassaults,” “microinsults’ & “microinvalidations”:

Students in at least one Rutgers University residence hall are being encouraged to use only language that is “helpful” and “necessary” to avoid committing microaggressions.

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Sports Authority to Sell 25 Million Customer Email Addresses

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I’m sure you’ve always wondered why pretty much every retailer unnecessarily asks you for your email address at checkout. For years, I’ve always declined and will definitely continue to do so, particularly after reading the following.

From GeekWire:

Another day, another reminder that companies don’t really have to abide by promises to not share your personal information. They have a big “but” in their contracts.

Last week, it was WhatsApp and Facebook. We’ll get to that in a moment.

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