Royal Bank of Scotland under state control - Times Online

Royal Bank of Scotland under state control - Times Online: "The Chancellor will move to take control of the Royal Bank of Scotland today by injecting £20 billion of taxpayers’ money.

The Government is also expected to take over HBOS in the most dramatic extension of state ownership in the British economy since the war. The bank’s rescue takeover by Lloyds TSB appeared to be on the brink of collapse last night.

As governments around the world scramble to prevent the collapse of the global financial system, Alistair Darling will unveil plans for a £40 billion “recapitalisation” of the banking sector."
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Marx said capitalism would collapse and be replaced by socialism. Maybe he was right after all. I hope not.

Foreclosure-proof homes? - Los Angeles Times

Foreclosure-proof homes? - Los Angeles Times: "A U.S. District Court judge in Cleveland tossed out 14 foreclosure cases Oct. 31 on the grounds that the bank suing to repossess the properties, Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., didn't actually own them. Deutsche Bank held debt securities that were linked to the mortgage loans on the properties, not the mortgages themselves. And the judge ruled that a security backed by a mortgage is not the same as a mortgage.

That's a distinction that could make all the difference in the world -- especially to the millions of Americans facing potential foreclosure in our crumbling housing market."
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What if I have a mutual fund account that has some MBS shares? Do I get somebody's back porch or something?

Pair arrested after large McCain sign torched in Sellwood yard | KATU.com - Portland, Oregon | News

Pair arrested after large McCain sign torched in Sellwood yard : "PORTLAND, Ore. - Authorities have arrested two men after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at a 4-foot by 8-foot campaign sign for Republican presidential candidate John McCain in a southeast Portland yard."
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If you are tossing Molotov cocktails while your candidate is up by 7 in the polls, what do you do if he loses? Or if he wins, for that matter.

Crime: Buy Or Be Stabbed: "The global economy is crashing, credit markets are playing ice age, and you consumers have a simple choice: buy things now or prepare to be stabbed next year."
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The facts are in, courtesy of Mystery Reader.

Brown lawn means jail time - St. Petersburg Times

Brown lawn means jail time - St. Petersburg Times: "His crime? He had disobeyed a court order that he sod the lawn at his Beacon Woods home.

His bail? Zero.

Prudente, 66, must stay in the Pasco County jail in Land O'Lakes until the required sod work is completed, under a September court order signed by Circuit Judge W. Lowell Bray.

'He's in prison for God knows how long because we can't afford to sod the lawn,' said his sobbing daughter, Jennifer Lehr."
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Thanks to Beth Young for this sad tale. The Beacon Woods Civic Association is serious about that green lawn thing. And so is the judge.

Behind McCain’s Fall « The State of the Union: "In this election, as in nearly all before, a black swan has shaped the race’s trajectory: one of those unforeseeable external events that pops up in the last month or so, bearing an impact far greater than any of the daily fluctuations dissected by the punditry."
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The line chart that accompanies the blog post tells a dramatic story. The black swan is honking louder than anything else. Unless another rara avis shows up before November 3, McCain's goose is cooked, so to speak.

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: Ombudsman Talks About HOA Investigation

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: Ombudsman Talks About HOA Investigation: "No other state has an office like Nevada's HOA Ombudsman, which has assisted thousands of homeowners over the past few years. However, it's up to the state's HOA Commission to handle more serious matters.

The I-Team found the commission has picked up the pace in the last year, but still processes a small trickle of cases, each of which takes about two years to be processed."
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No other state? What about Florida? In any event, the verdict seems to be that the Nevada ombudsman office and the state commission haven't made much of a difference.

My Way News - Obama fundraiser, convicted of fraud, spills beans: "CHICAGO (AP) - Jailed political fundraiser Antoin 'Tony' Rezko, the Chicago real estate developer who helped launch Barack Obama on his political career, is whispering secrets to federal prosecutors about corruption in Illinois and the political fallout could be explosive."
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Our slimy governor, Rod "Testicular Fortitude" Blagojevich, has a lot to fear. He seems to be the top target of the investigation. But I don't think Obama is a real target at all. Maybe Rezko could say things that make him look bad, but unless Obama was involved in criminal conduct, which I doubt, we probably won't hear about it. Fitzgerald won't smear a likely future president unless he has a slam dunk case against him.

ps: I forgot to mention the obvious wild card. If Obama is elected, he can fire Patrick Fitzgerald, the US attorney for the northern district of Illinois (Chicago), and appoint some stooge who will make sure nothing bad happens to Blago or The One. Some people think Obama wouldn't do that because it would look so bad, given that everybody knows Rezko is already singing and Blago is the target. I wonder if those are the same people who said Obama would never go back on his promise to use public campaign financing. In other words, with this much at stake, I'm sure Obama can find a way to talk his way around looking bad. On the other hand, maybe Blago at long last has no friends left and Obama will let him swing. And I'm still unconvinced that Obama ever did anything criminal. However, just for the record there is one long opinion to the contrary, so we will just have to wait and see what Rezko has to say.

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Investors' Real Fear: A Socialist Tsunami

IBDeditorials.com: Editorials, Political Cartoons, and Polls from Investor's Business Daily -- Investors' Real Fear: A Socialist Tsunami: "It isn't only that the most anti-capitalist politician ever nominated by a major party is favored to take the White House. It's that he'll also have a filibuster-proof Congress led by politicians who are almost as liberal.

Throw in a media establishment dedicated to the implementation of a liberal agenda, and the smothering of dissent wherever it arises, and it's no wonder panic has set in."
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The argument is that the continued selloff is the result of the public's reaction to the crash. They are moving to Obama. And that, the author says, is causing a secondary panic.

Contra Costa sues major Wall Street institutions over alleged bid-rigging scam - Inside Bay Area

Contra Costa sues major Wall Street institutions over alleged bid-rigging scam - Inside Bay Area: "Contra Costa sued nearly every major Wall Street financial institution Wednesday, arguing they conspired to fix bidding on its municipal bond investments, costing the county perhaps millions of dollars in higher interest payments, fees and credit risks.

The lawsuit contends the conspiracy involved more than 50 investment firms, banks and brokers — including many bankrupt companies rescued or bought out in the recent Wall Street collapse — conspiring to get more lucrative interest payments and fees from public entities, including Contra Costa."
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And it is bigger than that. Much bigger. Many counties are involved, the money involved is huge, and this is not just a private civil suit. The FBI is involved.

kakistocracy: Definition from Answers.com

kakistocracy: Definition from Answers.comn., pl. -cies.

Government by the least qualified or most unprincipled citizens.

[Greek kakistos, worst, superlative of kakos, bad; see caco– + –CRACY.]
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This may be where we are headed.

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders

Narcissistic People Most Likely To Emerge As Leaders: "COLUMBUS, Ohio – When a group is without a leader, you can often count on a narcissist to take charge, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that people who score high in narcissism tend to take control of leaderless groups. Narcissism is a trait in which people are self-centered, exaggerate their talents and abilities, and lack empathy for others.

“Not only did narcissists rate themselves as leaders, which you would expect, but other group members also saw them as the people who really run the group,” said Amy Brunell, lead author of the study and assistant professor of psychology at Ohio State University at Newark."
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Food for thought, not just for people who live in CIDs, but for the nation as a whole.

Panama Guide - Home Invasion Robberies, Safety, and Security in Panama

Panama Guide - Home Invasion Robberies, Safety, and Security in Panama: "Gated Communities: Many foreigners who talk about moving to Panama often eschew gated communities. They say they would prefer to mix and mingle with their Panamanian counterparts and don't want to live behind a wall or a fence. That's fine, but there's no doubt that gated communities exist for a reason, and the reason is that the people living in those communities are the most likely to be targeted for an armed home invasion robbery. As a foreigner you have a big, fat target painted on your back the minute you get off of the plane at Tocumen airport. Most of the real estate projects and developments have taken the safety and security of their residents into consideration in their planning, so be sure to look for and to ask about those elements when making your choice. You don't have to live like a scared cat but at the same time you don't want to invite trouble either."
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If the crime is that bad, I see the appeal of a gated community. The strange thing is that you see them even where the crime is practically nonexistent.

Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water' - WSJ.com

Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water' - WSJ.com: "About 75.5 million U.S. households own the homes they live in. After a housing slump that has pushed values down 30% in some areas, roughly 12 million households, or 16%, owe more than their homes are worth, according to Moody's Economy.com.

The comparable figures were roughly 4% under water in 2006 and 6% last year, says the firm's chief economist, Mark Zandi, who adds that 'it is very possible that there will ultimately be more homeowners under water in this period than any time in our history.'

Among people who bought within the past five years, it's worse: 29% are under water on their mortgages, according to an estimate by real-estate Web site Zillow.com."
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Take a look at the map that accompanies the story. The red states have the highest concentrations of CID housing.

How Much Oil is Actually Left On This Planet? Should We Care? : Gas 2.0

How Much Oil is Actually Left On This Planet? Should We Care? : Gas 2.0: "The way he sees it, the world has plenty of remaining and untapped fossil fuel resources to keep up with demand for at least the next 30 years. From squeezing oil out of unconventional sources such as oil shales, to using new technologies to re-exploit old oil fields that had since been left as dead, to undiscovered conventional oil sources, Dr. McCabe’s opinion is that there is no impending peak oil crisis - and the same thing goes for natural gas and coal."
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Check it out, complete with charts. 30 years doesn't seem like a long time, though. I think somebody had better come up with an alternative to burning all these dead dinosaurs.

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: HOA Insider Breaks Silence

Las Vegas Now | I-Team: HOA Insider Breaks Silence: "A former property manager is now coming forward saying she saw problems with the person at the center of the HOA investigations, Leon Benzer. New video and phone calls show some violent hired muscle willing to cross the line.

Allegations are flying back and forth in this case. Now there's proof it could get a lot worse.

From rigged elections and cushy contracts, to junkets to Cabo San Lucas and six tough guys acting as enforcers who would rough up anyone that would get in the way. The tale is the videotape, and it's one tale Diane Wild wishes she could forget."
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Thanks to Monica Caruso for this link, which includes scary video of the hired thugs. I haven't hear CAI's take on this whole deplorable saga yet. I expect something along these lines: this is just another isolated incident that is in no way representative of the hard working professionals who serve the hundreds of thousands of volunteer-run community associations across this great land of ours.

My Way News - Sheriff in Ill. county won't evict in foreclosures: "CHICAGO (AP) - Residents of foreclosed properties in Chicago and other parts of Cook County don't have to worry about deputies forcing them out. Sheriff Tom Dart says that starting Thursday his office won't take part in evictions."
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This is the first time I've seen this.

Homeowner associations want state protections from legislators -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com

Homeowners want state protections from legislators -- South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com: "Homeowners responding to two recent surveys said they want a state agency to oversee their associations, training requirements for board directors and an ombudsman's office to act as a neutral resource and liaison for unit owners and board members. Condo associations have these protections in place, but HOAs have never had them in Florida.

Part of the reason is that historically the perception has been there are fewer HOAs, said state Rep. Julio Robaina, R-Miami, who championed condo reform over the past few years. As of June, there were 1,441,284 condo units in Florida governed by a total of 21,737 associations, but no state agency contacted could provide the number of HOAs."
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From Fred Pilot comes this piece signaling the start of a campaign to regulate HOAs in Florida in much the same way that condo associations are regulated.

Riley asks for help on city's sewer debt | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser

Alabama Governor Riley asks for help on city's sewer debt | montgomeryadvertiser.com | Montgomery Advertiser: "The governor's meeting with legislators came after only two of the five members of the Jeffer­son County Commission voted Monday in favor of a bankrupt­cy filing. Others hope that a deal can be reached, but commis­sioners did vote to ask the coun­ty attorney to look into the pos­sibility of bankruptcy. One plan would use excess education sales tax money to pay part of the sewer debt, a move that would have to be ap­proved by the Legislature. Riley also has asked the in­terim head of the Treasury De­partment's $700 billion bailout to help Alabama's most popu­lous county avoid filing the larg­est municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history."
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Mr. Cash and Carry is going to have a long line outside his door. Jefferson County has a $3 billion sewer bill it can't pay.

Garbage crews 'paid to do nothing' city surveillance finds :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics

Garbage crews 'paid to do nothing' city surveillance finds :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Politics: "Chicago's household garbage is being picked up by crews that work less than six hours a day -- and get 'paid to do nothing' for 25 percent of their time on the clock -- costing taxpayers at least $14.3 million a year, the city's inspector general has found."
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I love the way President-in-waiting Obama reformed this city, county, and state before he went off to reform America.