U.S. credit-ratings agencies have conflicts of interest because they're paid by firms they're supposed to rate neutrally, an ex-Moody's Corp. executive said.
"This conflict of interest permeates all levels of employment, from entry-level analyst to the chairman and chief executive officer of Moody's Corp.," William Harrington, a former Moody's Investors Service derivative products senior vice president, said in a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which is considering new rules to reform the agencies.
Ex-Moody's exec: Ratings agencies corrupt
Jersey Girls who emerged after 9/11 stay activists
The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 turned them into widows and the four Jersey Girls, as they became known, turned themselves into activists.
A decade after the attacks, at least two of them are still trying to make change in public policy. In doing so, they've broadened their focus from post-attack truth-finding, the cause that brought them together nearly 10 years ago.
National Science Foundation: No misconduct by climate scientist, case closed
An investigation by the National Science Foundation has found no evidence of wrongdoing or misconduct by Penn State climate-change researcher Michael Mann.
Mann, Penn State professor of meteorology, was the target of accusations from climate-change skeptics after thousands of e-mails exchanged between climate-change researchers were hacked from the University of East Anglia and made public.
New York/New Jersey Area Experiences Tremors/Earthquake
At approximately 1:55 PM ET the New York City region experienced what seems to be a minor earthquake. Buildings shook but no major damage seems apparent. We will report more as information becomes available.
TVNL Commentt: So...do you still think that nuclear reactors are safe? Did you know that Japan's situation is MUCH worse than Chernobyl? If you don't it is because you don't get your news here at TvNewsLIES.org...and you probably get your news on TV!
UPDATE: Earthquake Rattles the Mid-Atlantic - More here...
US Military Intervention in Libya Cost At Least $896 Million
The cost of U.S. military intervention in Libya has cost American taxpayers an estimated $896 million through July 31, the Pentagon said today.
The price tag includes the amounts for daily military operations, munitions used in the operation and humanitarian assistance for the Libyan people.
The U.S. has also promised $25 million in non-lethal aid to the Libyan Transitional National Council, half of which the Defense Department has already on MRE’s (military lingo for Meals, Ready to Eat).
Clint Curtis blew the whistle on Republican election in Florida (and no one listened—or is listening now) (MUST-SEE)
Clint Curtis is a United States computer programmer, ex employee of NASA, ExxonMobil, etc., who worked for Yang Enterprises (YEI) in Oviedo, Florida until February 2001. He is notable chiefly for making a series of "whistleblower" allegations about his former employer and about Republican Congressman Tom Feeney, including an allegation that in 2000, Feeney and Yang Enterprises requested Curtis's assistance in a scheme to steal votes by inserting fraudulent code into touch screen voting systems.
Curtis specifically alleged that: At the behest of Rep. Tom Feeney, in September 2000, he was asked to write a program for a touchscreen voting machine that would make it possible to change the results of an election undetectably. This technology, Curtis explained, could also be used in any electronic tabulation machine or scanner. Curtis assumed initially that this effort was aimed at detecting Democratic fraud, but later learned that it was intended to benefit the Republican Party.
Former editor says Murdoch personally gave order to have someone tailed
News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch personally told one of his former tabloid editors to have someone followed, according to a documentary that aired Monday night on Australian TV.
Ita Buttrose, former editor-in-chief of Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph, told ABC’s Australian Story that Murdoch instructed her to have a subject tailed because legitimate reporting techniques were not producing the desired results.
Obama administration pressures NY Atty Gen to take bank deal that limits investigations
Eric T. Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York, has come under increasing pressure from the Obama administration to drop his opposition to a wide-ranging state settlement with banks over dubious foreclosure practices, according to people briefed on discussions about the deal.
In recent weeks, Shaun Donovan, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and high-level Justice Department officials have been waging an intensifying campaign to try to persuade the attorney general to support the settlement, said the people briefed on the talks.
Goldman CEO hires prominent defense lawyer
Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein has hired high-profile Washington defense attorney Reid Weingarten, according to a government source, as the Justice Department continues to investigate the bank.
Blankfein, 56, is in his sixth year at the helm of the largest U.S. investment bank, which has spent two years fending off accusations of conflicts of interest and fraud.
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