How can we take it back?

[ImaginaryBloke]

Meet Brad Birkenfeld: "Lucifer's Banker"

by Tyler Durden
Apr 18, 2017 5:00 AM

Authored by Adam Taggart via PeakProsperity.com,​

Just how bad is the ongoing fraud in the banking system? Get ready for a mind-bowing expose by a former insider at UBS.

Brad Birkenfield, author of Lucifer's Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy, recounts the efforts he uncovered by his employer to help its clients cheat the US government out of tens of $billions in taxes.

​

But despite his working with the government closely to expose the gigantic conspiracy between US-based tax cheats and the giant Swiss bank, UBS, the so-called Justice Department went after Mr. Birkenfeld for abetting tax evasion by one of his clients. After spending thirty months in Federal prison, he was released and three weeks later, received a whistle-blower check for $104 million, the largest such check ever from the IRS Whistle-blower Office.

Once again, 300,000,000 Americans-plus got screwed by the corrupt Department of Justice. They’re not about justice, they’re about protecting themselves, trying to take credit, and making everyone else listen to what they say the story is.

We remember the financial crisis of 2008. It was devastating and so many people lost their jobs, lost their homes and so forth. In the entire financial crisis, there was not one banker to go to jail. The only banker to go to jail was the UBS whistleblower who exposed the largest and longest running tax fraud in the world.

Here’s the problem with the system. When you fine UBS you must realize UBS is a Swiss bank, so that means they write off the fine on their taxes. So then, that means the Swiss taxpayers carry the burden. That’s the first thing.

The second thing is go look at the millions and millions of dollars in legal fees spent to defend their conduct. The UBS shareholders pick up that tab.

So you have UBS shareholders and Swiss citizens picking up the tab for bankers who just keep doing their business, and walk away untouched. How is this possible?

And third, the US government has set an incredibly bad precedent and zero deterrence. Because what they’re saying is, “Oh, if you get caught again, you just write a check. Yes, you might have to add $5 million or $10 million to that check, but just keep doing the business you’re doing.”

And the pathetic prosecutors at the Department of Justice say, “Oh, see? We’ve got a check and we can put it on our resume saying, ‘We got $200 million from this bank for doing illegal conduct.’”

Yeah, but you screwed the American people. It’s outrageous.

Click the play button below to listen to Chris' interview with Brad Birkenfeld (45m:31s).

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-17/meet-brad-birkenfeld-lucifers-banker


This banker deserves praise. He ended up in jail after releasing bank secrets for exposing corruption.

(Feeling a bit queasy about using the quote option. If you in a new post quote a quote, the first quote will vanish.)

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Yes...I would like to hear from some Canadians and those of you in countries with universal healthcare...what do you pay?
How hard is it to get a procedure you need and how long do you have to wait?
How long are your ER wait times?
What kind of medical bills do you get in the mail?
How could your system be improved??

I suggest that you take a look at expat pages about healthcare of individual countries. This is both tips and individual stories, mainly generalizations.

http://www.expatexchange.com/expat-health-insurance.html
http://www.expatexchange.com/expat-healthcare-guide
http://futureexpats.com/category/prepping-move/health-care/

If you are looking for something specific (e.g., a term or a country), these expat forum search engines yield a lot of information. This is about individual stories.

http://www.expatforum.com/
http://www.expatexchange.com/livingoverseasforum

These links might be biased toward middle-class experiences. Just a thought.

 

[Skarekrow]

I suggest that you take a look at expat pages about healthcare of individual countries. This is both tips and individual stories, mainly generalizations.

http://www.expatexchange.com/expat-health-insurance.html
http://www.expatexchange.com/expat-healthcare-guide
http://futureexpats.com/category/prepping-move/health-care/

If you are looking for something specific (e.g., a term or a country), these expat forum search engines yield a lot of information. This is about individual stories.

http://www.expatforum.com/
http://www.expatexchange.com/livingoverseasforum

These links might be biased toward middle-class experiences. Just a thought.

Would like more personal accounts.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

uesday, April 18, 2017
Common Dreams
Tribunal Finds Monsanto Endangers Right to Food, Health, Environment
If the crime of 'ecocide' were recognized in international criminal law, the activities of Monsanto could constitute such a crime, panel declares
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

A protest outside the Monsanto Tribunal, which heard testimony for two days in October. (Photo: Monsanto Tribunal/flickr/cc)

Biotech giant Monsanto "has engaged in practices which have negatively impacted the right to a healthy environment, the right to food, and the right to health," five international judges comprising the "Monsanto Tribunal" declared Tuesday.

The panel, which heard two days of testimony outside the Hague in October and spent the months since reviewing the evidence, concluded that "if such a crime of ecocide were recognized in international criminal law, the activities of Monsanto could possibly constitute" such a crime, citing its widespread dissemination of "dangerous agrochemicals in industrial agriculture;" "the engineering, production, introduction, and release of genetically engineered crops;" and "the introduction of persistent organic pollutants such as PCB into the environment."

Convened by civil society groups including the Organic Consumers Association, Navdanya, IFOAM Organics International, the Biovision Foundation, and Regeneration International, the tribunal's findings are not legally binding. However, they bolster the coalition's larger effort "to liberate our seeds and soils, our communities and societies, our planet and ourselves, from poisons and the rule of the poison cartel," as Navdanya founder Vandana Shiva wrote last year.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...santo-endangers-right-food-health-environment


Even if not legally binding, it is great that there is an event where the public can address environmental issues.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Thursday, April 20, 2017
Common Dreams
DAPL Developer Spills Drilling Fluids Into Wetlands While Constructing Another Pipeline
The latest incident is just another ding on Energy Transfer Partners' spotty record
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

The Rover Pipeline will carry fracked gas across four states and will cross three major rivers: the Maumee, Sandusky (above), and Portage, all of which feed into Lake Erie. (Photo: Christopher Riley/flickr/cc)

The company behind the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) is under fire in Ohio, where construction of a separate pipeline resulted in spills of millions of gallons of drilling fluids into nearby wetlands.

"These disasters prove that the fossil fuel industry is unable to even put a pipeline into use before it spills dangerous chemicals into our precious waterways and recreation areas."
—Jen Miller, Sierra Club Ohio

According to a notice of violation (pdf) filed by the Ohio EPA and obtained by Sierra Club Ohio, Houston-based Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) dumped two million gallons of drilling fluids into a wetland adjacent to the Tuscarawas River in Stark County on April 13. The next day, another 50,000 gallons of drilling fluids were released into a wetland in Richland County in the Mifflin Township. The spills occurred as part of an operation associated with the installation of the 713-mile Rover Pipeline, which will move fracked gas from southeastern Ohio to distribution points in western Ohio, Michigan, and Canada.

Ohio Environmental Protection Agency spokesman James Lee confirmed the Mifflin Township spill to the Mansfield News Journal on Thursday, saying that the drilling fluids spilled into an estimated 30,000-square-foot area of the wetland.

[...]

Meanwhile, the company—whose CEO, Kelcy Warren, is among the corporate moguls who cut big checks to President Donald Trump's Inaugural Committee—scored a big win last week when a federal judge ruled it could keep some information about spill risks secret from the public.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...-wetlands-while-constructing-another-pipeline


The DAPL pipeline company is making more headlines. There should be a public register for everyone to spot the culprits.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Common Dreams
It's Now Been Three Long Years Since Flint Had Clean Water
Flint, Michigan has not had clean water since the city switched its water source to the Flint River on April 24, 2014
Nika Knight, staff writer

"I'm so scared," one Flint resident said about the water this week. (Photo: Joyce Zhu / Flintwaterstudy.org)

As of Tuesday, the city of Flint, Michigan has been without clean water for over three long years.

"The people of Flint have been through hell over the last three years and it's absolutely disgusting that there has been little change in their daily lives."
—Lonnie Scott, Progress Michigan

April 24, 2014 was the day that city officials made the disastrous decision to switch the city's water source to the Flint River, whose polluted water corroded aged lead pipes and poisoned residents' water with lead.

The city still does not have clean water. Residents must purchase filters to reduce the lead in their water, and the city says it will be three more years before all of the city's lead pipes are replaced, according to NPR.

[...]

"The people of Flint have been through hell over the last three years and it's absolutely disgusting that there has been little change in their daily lives. Many still rely solely on bottled water and over 1,000 days into this crisis still cannot trust the water from their taps," said Lonnie Scott, executive director of Progress Michigan, in a statement.

"While the residents of Flint struggle without clean water and are denied their basic rights, no significant legislation has been passed to prevent another crisis like this one and the Republican-led legislature has yet to issue one subpoena to investigate the crisis," Scott added.

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/25/its-now-been-three-long-years-flint-had-clean-water


Republican corporate thugs are in control of the money and the political process. That is why you need to keep money away from politics.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, May 03, 2017
Common Dreams
Flint Residents Could Lose Their Homes Over Unpaid Bills for Poisoned Water
'I got scared, for probably the first time since this all started this actually scared me,' local resident says of tax lien notice
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

Roughly 8,000 people got the notice warning of tax liens from the Flint Treasury Department. (Screenshot)

The city of Flint, where the pipes have still not been fixed and the water crisis is ongoing, is threatening to place tax liens on people's homes for non-payment of water bills, according to a local news source.

NBC affiliate 25News reported Tuesday that more than 8,000 people have received notice from the city that they are "at risk of losing their homes to foreclosure if they don't pay up on their water bills" by May 19.

"We have to have revenue coming in, so we can't give people...water at the tap and not get revenue coming in to pay those bills," Al Mooney of the city's Treasury Department said to the outlet.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...-their-homes-over-unpaid-bills-poisoned-water


I have read in other sources that the Strawman argument makes you immune to paying any imaginary debts to imaginary companies that are not working in the public interest.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Common Dreams
The 'Told You So' Everyone Was Dreading—First DAPL Spill Reported
"We have always said it's not if, but when, pipelines leak"
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

At the Native Nations march in Washington, D.C. in March. (Photo: United Church of Christ/Jessie Palatucci)

Throughout the battle over the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), Indigenous campaigners and their allies repeatedly warned it was not a question of if, but when a breach would occur.

Now, before the pipeline is even fully operational, those warnings have come to fruition.

The Associated Press reports Wednesday:

"The Dakota Access pipeline leaked 84 gallons of oil in South Dakota early last month, which an American Indian tribe says bolsters its argument that the pipeline jeopardizes its water supply and deserves further environmental review."

"The April 4 spill was relatively small and was quickly cleaned up, and it didn't threaten any waterways. The state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources posted a report in its website's searchable database, but it didn't take any other steps to announce it to the public, despite an ongoing lawsuit by four Sioux tribes seeking to shut down the pipeline."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...eryone-was-dreading-first-dapl-spill-reported


We could not wait for that to happen. Could we?

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Thursday, May 11, 2017
Common Dreams
'Huge Victory' in Seneca Lake: After Years of Protest, Gas Storage Project Abandoned
"Don't think people can't make a difference. People can prevail."
Nika Knight, staff writer

"Star Trek" actors James Cromwell and John Hertzler were arrested at this demonstration against the fracked gas storage project in Seneca Lake last June. (Photo: We Are Seneca Lake/Twitter)

After a years-long popular resistance against a proposed fracked gas storage project in Seneca Lake, N.Y., the people have emerged victorious.

The Arlington Storage Company announced Wednesday that it was finally abandoning a contentious plan to store fracked gas in unlined salt caverns along the pristine lake in New York's Finger Lakes region.

"This has been a long drawn out battle to protect a world class region from a Texas-based oil and gas corporation. They only see dollar signs, where we see tranquil beauty, clean air, and fresh water," said Joseph Campbell, president of the Gas Free Seneca coalition of businesses, in a statement.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...r-years-protest-gas-storage-project-abandoned


After the Flint stalemate and DAPL approval, finally there is a victory.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Saturday, April 29, 2017
Common Dreams
In Photos: Peoples Climate March Draws 'One Hell of A Lot of People'
An estimated 200,000 take part in Peoples Climate March in Washington, D.C., with tens of thousands showing solidarity from afar
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

"Indigenous people are leading the Peoples Climate March to send one clear message to Trump: keep your fossil fuels in the ground," said Dallas Goldtooth, campaigner for the Indigenous Environmental Network, ahead of the action. (Photo: Eman Mohammed/Survival Media Agency)

From coast to coast and across continents, people marched for environmental justice on Saturday, sending a clear message to the climate-denying Trump administration: we'll fight your fossil fuel-soaked agenda every step of the way.

Organizers said that an estimated 200,000 participated in the flagship Peoples Climate March in Washington, D.C., while tens of thousands more demonstrated at more than 350 solidarity events in cities across the United States as well as in Asia and Europe.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/29/photos-peoples-climate-march-draws-one-hell-lot-people


MLK's I Have a Dream speech attracted 250,000 people. We are getting closer to beating an old champ. Anyway, the 60's are back like I said previously.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Friday, April 28, 2017
Common Dreams
'Partial Fix': NSA Scraps Part of Warrantless Surveillance
"The truth changed everything," tweets NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden
Andrea Germanos, staff writer

The NSA's change, said the ACLU's Neema Singh Guliani, "underscores the need for Congress to significantly reform Section 702 of FISA, which will continue to allow warrantless surveillance of Americans." (Photo: Greenpeace via EFF/flickr/cc)

The National Security Agency (NSA) has been forced to scrap one of its controversial surveillance practices, the New York Times reports Friday, a development the ACLU deemed "a partial fix."

Times reporter Charlie Savage writes that it regards "one of the most disputed practices of its warrantless wiretapping program: collecting Americans' emails and texts to and from people overseas that mention foreigners targeted for surveillance."

As the agency itself explains in a statement released Friday, it has to do with how information is hoovered up under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which is set to expire at end of this year. Privacy advocates have described Section 702 as "deeply troubling," and it's repeatedly been in the crosshairs of Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who has said it is impossible to know how it may "intrude on the privacy and constitutional rights of Americans."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/04/28/partial-fix-nsa-scraps-part-warrantless-surveillance


Public protests work. Clown bureaucrats that have concrete asses are not completely irresponsive. They have some fluidity, even if slow.

 

[Skarekrow]

Wednesday, May 10, 2017
Common Dreams
The 'Told You So' Everyone Was Dreading—First DAPL Spill Reported
"We have always said it's not if, but when, pipelines leak"
Deirdre Fulton, staff writer

At the Native Nations march in Washington, D.C. in March. (Photo: United Church of Christ/Jessie Palatucci)

Throughout the battle over the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL), Indigenous campaigners and their allies repeatedly warned it was not a question of if, but when a breach would occur.

Now, before the pipeline is even fully operational, those warnings have come to fruition.

The Associated Press reports Wednesday:

"The Dakota Access pipeline leaked 84 gallons of oil in South Dakota early last month, which an American Indian tribe says bolsters its argument that the pipeline jeopardizes its water supply and deserves further environmental review."

"The April 4 spill was relatively small and was quickly cleaned up, and it didn't threaten any waterways. The state's Department of Environment and Natural Resources posted a report in its website's searchable database, but it didn't take any other steps to announce it to the public, despite an ongoing lawsuit by four Sioux tribes seeking to shut down the pipeline."

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...eryone-was-dreading-first-dapl-spill-reported


We could not wait for that to happen. Could we?

I saw this....the fucking pipeline sprung a leak about 200 miles south of where the protesters were trying to stop it.
Fucking ridiculous.
No words for the sheer stupidity.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Visualizing The Collapse Of The Middle Class In 20 Major U.S. Cities

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-22/visualizing-collapse-middle-class-20-major-us-cities

The tail of income distribution is getting thicker.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Sudden Death For Greek Widows' Pensions: New Criteria, Cuts To Push 1000s More Into Poverty

by Tyler Durden
Apr 26, 2017 3:30 AM

The implementation of the Greek pension reform of 2016, will lead to the sudden death of incomes for widows, and as KeepTalkingGreece reports, will push a large portion of population further into poverty. Widows’ pensions will be cut down to 50% of the deceased’s pension and new more restrictive age-based criteria will go into effect this month.



According to so-called Katrougalos Law, a widow is entitled to receive a pension for the rest of her life, if she was at least 55 years old at the time of the spouse’s death.

• If the surviving spouse was below this age limit, the pension is given initially for three years. Then it is interrupted and is granted again after the surviving spouse reaches the age of 67.
• If the age of 55 in not completed within three years, the pension is cut and never granted again.

The state keeps in its pockets all the pension contribution paid by the deceased.

Exemptions are for widows with underage children until they reach 18th year of age and students until they reach the 14th year of age. Widows receive the pension independently of their age until the children/students reach the age limit.

Provision is for widows or unmarried children with disability over 67%. They receive the pension. However, if the disability occurred after the death of the spouse or father, this does not count as precondition to retirement.

Changes are also implemented to the age of the deceased.

The deceased insured person must have fulfilled completed at the time of death the requirements for pension due to age, invalidity, full or reduced pension.

“Old” insured – i.e. who started to pay social security contributions before 1993 – need to have 1,500 insurance days, 600 of them in the last five years.

A new criterion is the one linked to the length of marriage and the age difference between the deceased and the surviving spouse. Minimum length of marriage is now 5 years, from 3 previously. Exemptions are when the death was caused by an accident, if a child was born during the marriage or the widow was pregnant at the time of death. Unfortunately, I did not see details about the age difference between the spouses and how they can affect the pensions.

At the same time, widow pensions are lowered from 70% of the pension down to 50 percent.

What is interesting is that I read nothing about the old odd Greek regulation that daughters of civil servants, especially daughters of armed forces personnel, were granted the pension of their parents until the end of their life, if they were unmarried.

In times of recession and high unemployment, widows over 50 or 55 should seek a job or sink in poverty in a country without social safety net?

We have gone completely nuts here…

And it appears President Trump agrees.

Trump expressed his true sympathy for the plight in Greece and said that he will reveal his policy for the International Monetary Fund in the next days.

Speaking to a group of conservative US journalists in the West Wing of the White House, Donald Trump reportedly said “Greece!” They are in such a terrible situation there. It’s awful!”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...ons-new-criteria-cuts-push-1000s-more-poverty


Poverty in Greece is rising. This is not the European dream.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

The IMF Is Not Done Destroying Greece Yet

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-24/imf-not-done-destroying-greece-yet


GDP in Greece is declining, yet they are supposed to save more to pay the interest of their loans. Highly counter-intuitive.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

"The Crisis Has Become Pandemic" - System To Collect Defaulted Student Loans Is No Longer Functioning

by Tyler Durden
May 7, 2017 1:40 PM

The system used by the Dept. of Education to collect on defaulted student loans came to a standstill in the last month, leaving an estimated 91,000 accounts in limbo, when the agency ordered debt collectors under contract to stop making collections on accounts.



As Consumerist's Ashlee Kieler reports, consumers who expected their student loan payments to be deducted from their bank accounts this month have reportedly found the funds untouched, and their calls to the companies unanswered thanks to a Department of Education’s order prohibiting the debt collection companies from working on default accounts in response to two lawsuits against the agency.

The strange turn of events began with a lawsuit filed by two debt collection companies, who claim they were unfairly were fired by the Obama-era Education Department for poor performance. On March 29, the judge issued a temporary restraining order that prevented any new defaulted borrowers from being assigned to debt collectors and put into rehabilitation programs. Instead, the borrowers have piled up inside the department's system, waiting.

On April 21, the government ordered the debt collectors involved in the suit to stop work altogether on defaulted accounts: no phone calls, no withdrawals from student accounts, nothing.

[...]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-...ct-defaulted-student-loans-no-longer-function


I remember reading in other places that student loans are treated differently from other loans in the US. If you file personal bankruptcy due to a house or a car loan, the remainder of the loan will be written off after paying selling your personal assets. But student loans subsidized by state or federal loans are not like this. Once issued, they have to be repaid. This makes it lucrative for shady debt collection companies who get involved to fleece naive adults.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Uber Suffers Major Setback In Efforts To Conquer European Market


by Tyler Durden
May 12, 2017 4:15 AM


For years Uber has been battling with Barcelona taxi drivers who have argued that UberPOP engages in unfair competition by using unlicensed drivers that are not subject of the same regulatory hurdles as a regular "transport company." And while Uber has historically taken the approach of just entering new markets and sorting out the regulatory hurdles later, it looks like those hurdles are finally catching up with them in the European Union...which we suspect will not be well received by Uber's private investors that recently dumped money into the company at a modest $68 billion valuation.

As Reuters noted today, the Court of Justice of the European Union's (ECJ) Advocate General Maciej Szpunar has just issued a preliminary opinion that Uber is actually a "transport service" and not just an app. Of course, the ruling is significant because, if it stands, it would require Uber to operate effectively as a taxi company and thus provide insurance to drivers and guarantee that they are properly licensed and complying with all safety regulations. Per Reuters:

Although the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union's (ECJ) Advocate General Maciej Szpunar is non-binding, its judges usually follow such advice and are likely to reach a final ruling in the landmark case in the coming months.

If the ECJ does rule that Uber is a transport service, this is likely to have an impact on the Silicon Valley firm's operations in Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, and Finland where it still runs UberPOP, using amateur drivers to pick up riders.

The ECJ's final ruling cannot be appealed by Uber

While Uber has repeatedly argued in similar cases that they are merely a 'market maker' matching taxi demand with supply, the ECJ's Szpunar saw it differently finding that Uber "does much more than link supply and demand: it created this demand itself" adding that "Uber can thus be required to obtain the necessary licenses and authorizations under national law."

[...]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-05-11/uber-suffers-major-setback-efforts-conquer-europe-market


It is great that the ECJ is making it fairer for local taxis to compete. Uber has tried to cut the pay rates and social safety of their taxi drivers. Now Ueber is upgraded from an "app" to a "transport service".

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Common Dreams
Paving Way for Abuse and Scams, IRS Hires Private Debt Collectors
"The incentive there could be strong to be very aggressive. They're not working for you, they're working for the government and the government wants its money"
Nadia Prupis, staff writer

"Taxes are one of the few ways people interact directly with their government. How they are collected has the potential to shape our view of the government and our obligations as citizens." (Photo: Bloomberg)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is hiring private debt collectors to snatch up unpaid taxes, which consumer advocates warned Monday could come with a host of problems—from mistreatment to profit incentives to exploitation by scammers.

The four companies hired by the IRS are CBE, ConServe, Performant, and Pioneer Credit Recovery, NBC News reported. The move comes as people continue to demand President Donald Trump release his tax returns, which he has thus far refused to do.

[...]

Chi Chi Wu, a staff attorney with the National Consumer Law Center, told NBC News, "There are so many reasons why it's a bad idea that the IRS has been forced to use private debt collectors. They're the most complained about industry to the Federal Trade Commission [FTC] and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. All too often, consumers are being mistreated by debt collectors and now taxpayers are at risk of that in the collection of tax debt."

Wu said most of the people who will be targeted are likely to be below the poverty level, making them eligible for certain compromise programs or non-collectible status—but private debt collectors aren't apt to tell them that.

"The collectors don't have any incentive to do that because they get paid a commission for every dollar they bring in. Their main incentive is to collect money, come hell or high water," Wu said.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...e-and-scams-irs-hires-private-debt-collectors


This is the problem with private debt collectors.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Friday, May 05, 2017
Common Dreams
'You Betrayed Us' Billboards Targeting Anti-Privacy Lawmakers Erected
The ads encourage viewers to contact legislators' offices and ask why they voted to let broadband providers sell user data
Nadia Prupis, staff writer

"Members of Congress who help monopolies get richer while undermining our online privacy and attacking net neutrality will soon see that they can't hide from the public on these issues." (Photo: Fight for the Future/cc)

Billboards targeting legislators who voted to end online privacy measures earlier this year have gone up in key districts, as promised by activists.

Digital rights group Fight for the Future vowed to put up the ads against Reps. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and John Rutherford (R-Fla.), Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and Dean Heller (R-Nev.), as well as other lawmakers after they voted in favor of a resolution, introduced by Flake, that overturned federal rules preventing broadband providers from selling user data to third parties without consent.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...ards-targeting-anti-privacy-lawmakers-erected


Now, you have to pay a penny for reading my posts. Blame your local lawmaker.

 

[ImaginaryBloke]

Published on
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Common Dreams
Wells Fargo Directors Face Wrath for Complicity In Bank Corruption
Board of directors dealt low-confidence vote, met with fierce protests in and outside of annual shareholder meeting
Lauren McCauley, staff writer

"Around the country, people are saying that we've had enough of Wells Fargo really doing everything it can to extract as much value out of our communities as possible, and we're fighting back," Saqib Bhatti, director of the ReFund America Project who also is working on the Forgo Wells campaign. (Image: ForgoWells.org)

Met by fierce protests both inside and out the annual shareholder meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida on Tuesday, members of the Wells Fargo board of directors refused to step down despite expressions of outrage and no confidence for their handling of a massive consumer banking scam.

The meeting marked the first for shareholders since the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) last September exposed the bank for opening millions of unauthorized accounts, which saddled many customers with fees and blemishes on their credit score, all in the name of meeting unrealistic sales quotas.

The massive scandal and fallout led to the resignation of former CEO John Stumpf and Tuesday's meeting was expected to be the moment that the directors would be held to account.

[...]

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2...rectors-face-wrath-complicity-bank-corruption


Companies being held to account. It is great when shareholders can hold their directors liable.