Romney Wants to Privatize Disaster Relief
According to Bill Black, who teaches economics at the University of Missouri and is a former federal regulator. Thanks to Matt Bowler of the San Diego Union-Tribune for the link.
Saturday, November 03, 2012
Thursday, November 01, 2012
Neighborhood says 'no' to political signs | WCNC.com Charlotte
Neighborhood says 'no' to political signs | WCNC.com Charlotte: HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. -- The Carrington Ridge neighborhood in Huntersville does not allow political signs to be placed in front yards. Still, there are some homeowners who still do it.
Bena, who asked us not to use her last name, said she didn't know about that rule until the Home Owners Association sent her a letter Monday telling her to remove the Obama/Biden sign from her yard.
"As soon as I checked the mail, I drove around the circle, right by the HOA President's house and there was his Romney-Ryan sign in his yard," Bena said.
She showed NBC Charlotte a photo she snapped during Trick or Treating on Halloween night that showed the sign still up at the HOA President's house.
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The double standard lives on in Privatopia.
Bena, who asked us not to use her last name, said she didn't know about that rule until the Home Owners Association sent her a letter Monday telling her to remove the Obama/Biden sign from her yard.
"As soon as I checked the mail, I drove around the circle, right by the HOA President's house and there was his Romney-Ryan sign in his yard," Bena said.
She showed NBC Charlotte a photo she snapped during Trick or Treating on Halloween night that showed the sign still up at the HOA President's house.
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The double standard lives on in Privatopia.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
BBC News - Europe's oldest prehistoric town unearthed in Bulgaria
BBC News - Europe's oldest prehistoric town unearthed in Bulgaria:
Archaeologists in Bulgaria say they have uncovered the oldest prehistoric town found to date in Europe. The walled fortified settlement, near the modern town of Provadia, is thought to have been an important centre for salt production. Its discovery in north-east Bulgaria may explain the huge gold hoard found nearby 40 years ago. Archaeologists believe that the town was home to some 350 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC.
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Archaeologists in Bulgaria say they have uncovered the oldest prehistoric town found to date in Europe. The walled fortified settlement, near the modern town of Provadia, is thought to have been an important centre for salt production. Its discovery in north-east Bulgaria may explain the huge gold hoard found nearby 40 years ago. Archaeologists believe that the town was home to some 350 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC.
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Police allowed to install cameras on private property without warrant | Ars Technica
Police allowed to install cameras on private property without warrant | Ars Technica:
"A federal judge has ruled that police officers in Wisconsin did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they secretly installed cameras on private property without judicial approval. The officers installed the cameras in an open field where they suspected the defendants, Manuel Mendoza and Marco Magana, were growing marijuana. The police eventually obtained a search warrant, but not until after some potentially incriminating images were captured by the cameras. The defendants have asked the judge to suppress all images collected prior to the issuance of the search warrant."
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Interesting ruling. Warrantless surveillance cameras on private property don't violate the 4th amendment? It appears that the defendants did not offer any evidence in their motion proving that they own or lease the property. However, they posted it as if they did: "The property in question was heavily wooded, with a locked gate and "no trespassing" signs to notify strangers that they were unwelcome. But the judges found that this did not establish the "reasonable expectation of privacy" required for Fourth Amendment protection. In their view, such a rule would mean that (in the words of a key 1984 Supreme Court precedent) "police officers would have to guess before every search whether landowners had erected fences sufficiently high, posted a sufficient number of warning signs, or located contraband in an area sufficiently secluded to establish a right of privacy."
"A federal judge has ruled that police officers in Wisconsin did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they secretly installed cameras on private property without judicial approval. The officers installed the cameras in an open field where they suspected the defendants, Manuel Mendoza and Marco Magana, were growing marijuana. The police eventually obtained a search warrant, but not until after some potentially incriminating images were captured by the cameras. The defendants have asked the judge to suppress all images collected prior to the issuance of the search warrant."
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Interesting ruling. Warrantless surveillance cameras on private property don't violate the 4th amendment? It appears that the defendants did not offer any evidence in their motion proving that they own or lease the property. However, they posted it as if they did: "The property in question was heavily wooded, with a locked gate and "no trespassing" signs to notify strangers that they were unwelcome. But the judges found that this did not establish the "reasonable expectation of privacy" required for Fourth Amendment protection. In their view, such a rule would mean that (in the words of a key 1984 Supreme Court precedent) "police officers would have to guess before every search whether landowners had erected fences sufficiently high, posted a sufficient number of warning signs, or located contraband in an area sufficiently secluded to establish a right of privacy."
Sunday, October 28, 2012
9-year-old boy’s fort causes a stir with the neighbors | www.statesman.com
9-year-old boy’s fort causes a stir with the neighbors | www.statesman.com: Nicholas Aarsvold, 9, does what little boys do: Play in the woods, throw rocks in the creek and build stuff.
However, his latest creation, a small “fort” nestled between two nandina shrubs in front of his Northwest Hills townhome, is causing a stir with some neighbors who believe it’s unsightly.
Nicholas’s fort violates the architectural rules set by the Summerwood Homeowners Association, said Stan Scheiber, the managing agent for the community of 136 townhomes near Steck Avenue, west of MoPac Boulevard. On Thursday, the association’s board of directors voted to send Ramona Aarsvold, the boy’s mother, a letter giving her 10 days to take the structure down.
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Recently a girl's pink playhouse caused a ruckus in Privatopia. Now it's a little boy's play fortress. More bad press for Privatopia. Film at 10.
However, his latest creation, a small “fort” nestled between two nandina shrubs in front of his Northwest Hills townhome, is causing a stir with some neighbors who believe it’s unsightly.
Nicholas’s fort violates the architectural rules set by the Summerwood Homeowners Association, said Stan Scheiber, the managing agent for the community of 136 townhomes near Steck Avenue, west of MoPac Boulevard. On Thursday, the association’s board of directors voted to send Ramona Aarsvold, the boy’s mother, a letter giving her 10 days to take the structure down.
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Recently a girl's pink playhouse caused a ruckus in Privatopia. Now it's a little boy's play fortress. More bad press for Privatopia. Film at 10.
Report Labels Indiana Toll Road an Intergenerational Cash Transfer
Report Labels Indiana Toll Road an Intergenerational Cash Transfer:
A College of William and Mary professor believes the toll road public-private partnerships currently in vogue among transportation bureaucrats may end up costing the public a great deal of money in the long run. John B. Gilmour makes the case in the journal Public Administration Review, using the Indiana Toll Road as an example.
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Yet more evidence that state and local governments need to be a whole lot more careful about privatization than they have been to date. The short term benefits, if any, may end up being outweighed by the long term costs.
A College of William and Mary professor believes the toll road public-private partnerships currently in vogue among transportation bureaucrats may end up costing the public a great deal of money in the long run. John B. Gilmour makes the case in the journal Public Administration Review, using the Indiana Toll Road as an example.
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Yet more evidence that state and local governments need to be a whole lot more careful about privatization than they have been to date. The short term benefits, if any, may end up being outweighed by the long term costs.
Condos now missing $1 million in accounting scandal - Connecticut Post
Condos now missing $1 million in accounting scandal - Connecticut Post:
A Westport property management firm is facing more legal trouble in a widening accounting scandal and from fallout from a string of thefts at a Greenwich apartment complex.
This week, Community Association Underwriters of America Inc. filed a lawsuit against Consolidated Management Group, of Westport, and its former controller in an attempt to recover more than $1 million missing from the bank accounts of eight condominium associations that Consolidated manages.
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All these reports, and there are too many to even keep track of these days, demonstrate that people who own units in associations have to watch their BOD and property management firm very closely; that there is a need for governmental oversight of association finances; and that this form of privatization is in need of some serious study.
A Westport property management firm is facing more legal trouble in a widening accounting scandal and from fallout from a string of thefts at a Greenwich apartment complex.
This week, Community Association Underwriters of America Inc. filed a lawsuit against Consolidated Management Group, of Westport, and its former controller in an attempt to recover more than $1 million missing from the bank accounts of eight condominium associations that Consolidated manages.
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All these reports, and there are too many to even keep track of these days, demonstrate that people who own units in associations have to watch their BOD and property management firm very closely; that there is a need for governmental oversight of association finances; and that this form of privatization is in need of some serious study.
unique urban planning in denmark | one big photo
unique urban planning in denmark | one big photo
Fascinating design--thanks to Tom Besore for the link.
Fascinating design--thanks to Tom Besore for the link.
Condo association denies plagiarism, says MCO history 'not copyrighted' - Loop North News
Condo association denies plagiarism, says MCO history 'not copyrighted' - Loop North News:
Despite word-for-word duplication of two paragraphs from Marina City Online’s comprehensive history of Marina City to a 32-page soft-cover book recently published by Marina Towers Condominium Association, the condo association at Marina City denied wrongdoing late last week, claiming “MCO has not copyrighted” any of its text.
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This is an interesting situation. I don't know what happened in Marina City, but as a university professor who reads student work all the time, I have noticed that there is far more plagiarism than there was in the past, and at the same time there is an increasing sense among the people who do it that there is nothing wrong with it. When I point out to a student that they have cut and pasted language directly from a US Supreme Court opinion into their student brief, with no attribution or quotation marks, they seem baffled to hear that this is plagiarism. They think they did nothing wrong and that I am being picky and petty when I call them on it. Why? I blame the ubiquity of the internet and the effortlessness that search engines like Google have introduced into the process of creating documents--which many people think is the same thing as writing. I think it has become so easy to cut and paste text from online sources directly into documents that it seems normal and natural to many people. They think they are writing when all they are doing is cutting and pasting. The definition of "writing" seems to have gone through some Borg-like cultural metamorphosis in which authorship has been assimilated into the internet. But the definition of plagiarism hasn't changed, and in fact it is also easier to catch it now. So far, resistance is not futile.
Despite word-for-word duplication of two paragraphs from Marina City Online’s comprehensive history of Marina City to a 32-page soft-cover book recently published by Marina Towers Condominium Association, the condo association at Marina City denied wrongdoing late last week, claiming “MCO has not copyrighted” any of its text.
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This is an interesting situation. I don't know what happened in Marina City, but as a university professor who reads student work all the time, I have noticed that there is far more plagiarism than there was in the past, and at the same time there is an increasing sense among the people who do it that there is nothing wrong with it. When I point out to a student that they have cut and pasted language directly from a US Supreme Court opinion into their student brief, with no attribution or quotation marks, they seem baffled to hear that this is plagiarism. They think they did nothing wrong and that I am being picky and petty when I call them on it. Why? I blame the ubiquity of the internet and the effortlessness that search engines like Google have introduced into the process of creating documents--which many people think is the same thing as writing. I think it has become so easy to cut and paste text from online sources directly into documents that it seems normal and natural to many people. They think they are writing when all they are doing is cutting and pasting. The definition of "writing" seems to have gone through some Borg-like cultural metamorphosis in which authorship has been assimilated into the internet. But the definition of plagiarism hasn't changed, and in fact it is also easier to catch it now. So far, resistance is not futile.
Kansas City man lands in big house for embezzling from homeowners associations - Kansas City Business Journal
Kansas City man lands in big house for embezzling from homeowners associations - Kansas City Business Journal:
Dale Palmer, who owned Kansas City-based Home Owner Association Services, was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for embezzling from dozens of homeowners associations.
Palmer, 54, of Kansas City, faces 46 months without parole and an $825,937 restitution order. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud in February.
According to prosecutors, Palmer embezzled more than $750,000 from homeowners associations in Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin and Illinois while he ran the property and account management service from July 2009 to March 2011.
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More embezzlement. And yet the industry keeps right on claiming that no governmental oversight is needed.
Dale Palmer, who owned Kansas City-based Home Owner Association Services, was sentenced to nearly four years in federal prison for embezzling from dozens of homeowners associations.
Palmer, 54, of Kansas City, faces 46 months without parole and an $825,937 restitution order. He pleaded guilty to mail fraud in February.
According to prosecutors, Palmer embezzled more than $750,000 from homeowners associations in Missouri, Kansas, Wisconsin and Illinois while he ran the property and account management service from July 2009 to March 2011.
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More embezzlement. And yet the industry keeps right on claiming that no governmental oversight is needed.
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