CEOS IN THE CLINK

Want to see Dick Fuld in prison stripes? Angelo Mozillo in solitary? Join the crowd. A conversation with top legal minds on who will and who won’t be prosecuted—and why. “We, the Jury” – A conversation with top legal minds on who will and who won’t be prosecuted—and why.READ FULL STORY HERE

I have seen this quote published on other sites. I am pleased to “echo” it here:

QUOTE OF THE DAY: h/t To UnderNews:

“I suppose that every man who has looked on at the game has been struck by the remarkable way in which politics deteriorate the moral tone of everyone who mixes in them.” [Emphasis mine, DS.]

The deterioration is far more marked than in any other occupation I know, except the turf, stock-jobbing, and gambling. I imagine the reason in each case to be the same. It is the curse of politics that what one man gains, another man loses. On such conditions you can create not even an average morality. Politicians as a class must be as mean as card-sharpers, turf-men, or Wall Street curb-stone operators. There is no respectable industry in existence which will not average a higher morality.”

— Henry Adams, in an 1881 letter to Henry Cabot Lodge who had just lost election to the Massachusetts State Senate.

CONGRESS MIFFED AT CIA DISHONESTY
BARACK HOOVER OBAMA?
FBI FINDS UPSURGE IN MORTGAGE FRAUD

It was another day of violence in Iraq (scroll down for a clip of an insurgent video) and fighting continued in the streets of Iran where thousands defied police. There have been threats there and in China that people causing “instability” will be killed. China has another earthquake, 300 dead. The House shut down a resolution supporting Michael Jackson that was mocked on the NY Times Op-Ed Page, and LA Detectives will investigate his suspected drug use. Health Care Bill Stalled for Now as Democrats oppose some provisions. Study says 1 in 3 breast cancer patients overtreated. Obama was in Rome pushing poorer nations to promote global warming.

Back home:

House Intel Chair: CIA Has Misled Us for Years

Pamela Hess, The Associated Press:

“Democrats are accusing senior CIA official “of repeatedly misleading Congress, but Republicans say the allegations are just political maneuvering to protect House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. The accusations come as lawmakers prepare to debate intelligence legislation – a bill President Barack Obama has threatened to veto.”

Obama’s Rollback Strategy: Honduras, Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan (and the Boomerang Effect) By James Petras

The recent events in Honduras and Iran, which pit democratically elected regimes against pro-US military and civilian actors intent on overthrowing them can best be understood as part of a larger White House strategy designed to rollback the gains achieved by opposition government and movements during the Bush years. READ FULL STORY HERE

IS IT FAIR TO COMPARE PRESIDENT OBAMA WITH HERBERT HOOVER? Harper’s Magazine thinks so in a “must” read:

QUOTE: “The best indications now are that he will fail, because he will be unable—indeed he will refuse—to seize the radical moment at hand.

Every instinct the president has honed, every voice he hears in Washington, every inclination of our political culture urges incrementalism, urges deliberation, if any significant change is to be brought about. The trouble is that we are at one of those rare moments in history when the radical becomes pragmatic, when deliberation and compromise foster disaster. The question is not what can be done but what must be done.” READ FULL STORY HERE

RELATED:

Portfolio: Lead Us. Please. The Reeducation Of Timothy Geithner:

Growing up is hard to do—especially in public. After his disastrous start, the Treasury secretary is scrambling to learn on the job. But how long can we afford to wait? READ FULL STORY HERE

Eliot Spitzer: Redemption Tour by Matt Malone Emerging from exile after his own scandal, New York’s former top cop speaks his mind

[snip]

“If most of these people get off, which company would be most likely to face criminal charges?

AIG. I said for years that AIG is the center of the web. When we started investigating AIG and challenging [former CEO] Hank Greenberg, it was unambiguous to me that what we were seeing was evidence of a deeply problematic structure.” READ FULL STORY HERE

China: Xinjiang Crisis Deepens

So far, no world leader has publicly condemned the massive crackdown by Chinese security forces in Urumqi or challenged Beijing’s claim that its heavily-armed troops are there to maintain social order and prevent further ethnic conflict.

ISRAEL

Is Israel Already at War With Iran?

Israel may have already started a war against Iran’s nuclear program – not with bunker busting bombs and cruise missiles, but with computers.

FT: BRITISH POLICE WILL NOT REOPEN INQUIRY INTO NEWS CORPSE

The police said on Thursday there was no reason to reopen a phone-tapping investigation in spite of a political firestorm over allegations that journalists working for the News of the World had hacked into the phones of thousands of politicians and celebrities.

But questions were still being directed at News International, the paper’s parent and part of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp, to answer allegations that it had paid £1m to three people from the world of football in settlement of damages claims concerning the alleged hacking. MPs are to launch their own inquiry.