You may be reading news about the FBI investigating insider trading and think that this is somehow an indication of action against the banksters.

Don’t delude yourself.

Madoff is not Wall Street (though it’s all a Ponzi scheme looking for new suckers at this point) and the people being targeted are by all indications low level employees.

My uncle was a Vice President on the Bond Trading desk and you know what that got him?  A Corner Carrel with a view of the window.  He still had to smoke on the street 20 floors below.

dday’s piece about TITLE FRAUD! is much more significant.

Deposition: Countrywide Never Sent Mortgage Notes to Trust; Mortgage-Backed Securities in Question

By: David Dayen Sunday November 21, 2010 12:01 pm

Now we have documented evidence, beyond anecdote, that Countrywide, one of the largest subprime lenders, which securitized almost all of the loans they made, never sent the notes to the trust. In a deposition provided to a US Bankruptcy Court in the District of New Jersey, Linda DeMartini, a supervisor for Bank of America Home Loans (BofA bought Countrywide in 2008), admitted that the original notes never transferred from Countrywide into the trusts.

Well, this is a multi-Trillion problem for your balance sheets because you just broke your contract with PIMCO, Blackrock, and The Federal Reserve Bank of New York (among other minor players).

The entire court document is below.

CASE FILE New Jersey Admissions in Testimony Notes Never Sent to Trusts Kemp v Country Wide

This is an enormous deal. If Countrywide never gave up possession of the note, then the trust has no standing to foreclose whatsoever. It also means that investors in the MBS don’t actually have securities backed by mortgages. The “allonge” appears to be an effort to clear up this situation, and it was signed years after the fact, well past the deadline of the pooling and servicing agreement, and not even affixed to the note as required by law.

This is a deposition from one supervisor, but it could mean that all mortgage pools that Countrywide sold are suspect. That would amount to perhaps hundreds of billions of dollars in MBS. And the law appears to be air-tight on this, and not governed by the Constitution but New York trust law and the specifics of the pooling and servicing agreement.

Now, tell me again how the banks are planning to get out of this.

ditto.

Monday Business Edition

This is not an easy story to tell in other’s words, so you’ll have to rely on mine.  I’m not an economist.

You’ll read today that Ireland has accepted a bailout.  They’ll get from 30 to 100 Billion Euros from the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund (which includes the U.S), Sweden, and Britain (with minor chunks from others).  In return for that they’re accepting an austerity plan that includes things like-

Middle class Irish families face the loss of tax credits and low paid workers, totalling 50 per cent of the labour force, will start to pay taxes for the first time.

Ireland’s minimum wage is to be cut 13 per cent and all Irish households face a new £257 property tax from 2012. Welfare payments, including jobseekers allowance and child benefit, will be cut five per cent.

As well as the steep tax increases, the EU has demanded extra public sector job cuts with a demand to cut the Irish civil service by 28,000 between 2011 and 2014.

The job cuts are double the level the Irish has agreed with trade unions and are expected to fuel protests and strikes. A trade union demonstration, predicted to be the biggest in decades, will take place in Dublin on Saturday.

As you might imagine, this is not very popular with the voters on whom politicians depend for their phony baloney jobs-

Irish ministers are so concerned over protests that austerity plans to cut chauffeur driven cars and police outriders have been shelved to protect the government amid heightened post-EU bail-out security.

Support for Fianna Fail, Ireland’s ruling party, has collapsed to 17 per cent the lowest level in 88-year history of the Irish Republic as pressure to hold a general election builds, threatening to plunge the country into more chaos.

What’s not changing, yet?  Corporate Tax Rates.

Corporate tax in Ireland is 12.5 per cent, compared to 34 per cent in France, 30 per cent in Germany and 28 per cent in Britain and the policy is credited with attracting over 1,000 multinational companies such as Google and Pfizer to Ireland.

Now, why is a bailout of Ireland ‘necessary’ at all?  Well, to prevent senior ‘secured’ creditors from having to take a haircut in the form of simply defaulting on the debt or alternatively converting it to equity and then having its market value drop to zero.  In this case senior ‘secured’ creditors means the ECB (European Central Bank) and the Central Banks of France and Germany (British banks also have major exposure).

In fact the total exposure of France, Germany, and the other members of the ‘Eurozone’ to the failed and insolvent banks of Portugal, Spain, and Italy (the next dominoes in the inevitable demise of the Euro) makes them insolvent should they have to mark their assets to market instead of the delusional values they’re now claiming on their books.  This has major political ramifications for the Very Serious People who have guided State Policy in the direction of a European Common Currency and a European Political Union for over 50 years now.

It exposes them as idiots.

What are the lessons to be taken away?  For one thing I invite comparison to the recommendations of the Catfood Commission, especially their insistence on imposing additional burdens on the middle class and the poor while cutting taxes on Corporations and the rich.

Trickle Down Supply Side Economics is a failure.  There is absolutely no evidence at all that it works.  Deregulation is equally a failure, Ireland was the Texas of Europe- a wild wild west.  As it turns out Texas was the biggest failure of Ronald Wilson Reagan’s Savings and Loan bubble, followed closely by other ‘Red’ states like Oklahoma that are smaller but experienced higher per capita losses.

Politicians, particularly Democrats, who support these policies are going to lose their phony baloney jobs.  This includes Barack Hussein Obama.  Street protests like you’ve seen in Europe are not our style, but as we saw in 2010 we voted for change and we’ll keep voting until we get it.

Republicans realize this which is why their goal is to block economic progress and hope that the disaffected vote either goes their way or stays home.  There is no reason to vote for a Democrat to enact Republican policies.

If Bloomberg runs in 2012 he’ll be much more successful than Ross Perot.

Business News below.

Amazing Race.  Giants @ Eagles (I undestand my local team is in a sporting contest).  New Simpsons, Cleveland, Family Guy, American Dad.  More premiers.  Awards (ugh).

71 – 51 over Georgia Tech.  81 and counting.

• ABC Family– Holiday in Handcuffs, Snowglobe
• AMC– From Dusk Till Dawn, The Walking Dead (last week’s and new x 3)
• Bravo– Real Housewives marathon (with premier)
• Comedy– Futurama marathon (including Holiday premier!)
• Disney– Good Luck Charlie, Shake it Up!, Sonny With a Chance (premiers)
• Discovery– Dirty Jobs x 2 (premiers), Brew Masters (Series Premier)
• Food– Next (penultimate and Season Finale), Iron Chef America (premier)
• History– Ice Road Truckers, Top Gear (premiers)
• Lifetime– The Devil’s Teardrop, One Angry Juror (again)
• National Geographic– Great Migrations marathon
• Sci Fi– The Grudge 3, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers
• TBS– Shrek, Shrek 2
• TLC– Sarah Palin’s Alaska
• Turner Classic– Room for One More, Every Girl Should Be Married (Cary Grant night)
• TNT– The Bucket List x 2
• Toon– Clone Wars x 2, Sym-Bionic Titan (this week’s)
• Vs.– Point Break x 2

Later-

• FX– Vantage Point
• Lifetime– Sleeping With the Enemy
• Sci Fi– House of the Dead 2, The Butterfly Effect 3: Revelations
• TBS– The School of Rock, Men in Black
• Turner Classic– The Viking (the first feature-length film that featured a soundtrack, also the first time a feature used the Technicolor process)
• TV Guide– Weeds marathon (useless)
• USA– The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Fourth Season Finale of The Venture Brothers, 1 hour special Operation P.R.O.M.

This season’s summaries-

• Blood of the Father, Heart of Steel
• Handsome Ransom
• Perchance to Dean
• Return to Malice
• The Revenge Society
• Self-Medication
• The Better Man
• Pinstripes & Poltergeists

• The Diving Bell Vs. The Butter-Glider
• Pomp & Circuitry
• Every Which Way But Zeus
• Everybody Comes to Hank’s
• Bright Lights, Dean City
• Assisted Suicide
• The Silent Partners
• Operation: P.R.O.M.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 World leaders scramble for funds to save the tiger

by Olga Nedbayeva, AFP

Sun Nov 21, 11:18 am ET

286 Stories served.  40 per day.

This is actually the hardest diary to execute, and yet perhaps the most valuable because it lets you track story trends over time.  It should be a Sunday morning feature.

• Sunday 11/14
• Monday 11/15
• Tuesday 11/16
• Wednesday 11/17
• Thursday 11/18
• Friday 11/19
• Saturday 11/20

Were I inclined to view things as a zero sum game between Republicans and Democrats instead of a tri-cornered contest between those who care about the soul of America, corporatist lickspittle lackeys, and batshit insane racist radicals, I’d take more schadenfreude glee over the demise of Dancing with the Stars than I do.

Not because I think any reality show is anything but an excuse to put up the cheapest and most exploitative programming possible, although Dancing is a little more athletic than some, but because it’s a prime public example of freepers doing what they do best which is stealing elections.

You know, Freeping.

If you don’t know the backstory Bristol Palin is a horrible dancer, really, really bad.  She has survived to the finals despite clearly being the worst in every evaluation of the judges only because of the jackbooted thuggery of Mama Grizzly’s stormtrooper keypad commandos.

I fully expect her to win.

This doesn’t bother me as much as others because it’s all kind of silly in any event, but in case you care about ‘artistic integrity’ I thought I might let you know.

The ongoing, albeit amusing, battle to save Bristol

Amanda Marcotte on 11/17 02:44 PM

I’ve rarely seen such a clean-cut example of the conservative tendency to say up is down and black is white.  Or, more precisely, to bemoan how oppressed white, rich, and highly privileged people are.  First of all, has the poor girl in school ever won Prom Queen?  Was that in some 80s movie somewhere?  As someone actually in the dork caste in my high school, I can assure you that the boundaries of who got those kind of awards were closely monitored, usually by people like Bristol Palin, who had powerful parents, lots of money, and super jock boyfriends.  But it was telling of what a cipher the Palin family has become.  They’re obscenely rich millionaires who run small town feuds on a level beyond what I ever saw with people trying to establish fiefdoms in the small town of my youth, but in the imagination of their fans, Sarah Palin is basically Dolly Parton—a scrappy poor girl who grew up with no shoes but became a big star on talent alone.  And Bristol Palin, too, though more as an afterthought.

Upset! High-scoring Brandy axed from ‘Dancing’

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer

Wed Nov 17, 6:13 am ET

LOS ANGELES – Brandy earned a perfect score for her Argentine tango on Monday’s “Dancing With the Stars,” only to learn Tuesday it would be her final dance in the competition.

…

The Internet has been abuzz in recent days about how Palin, who has consistently landed at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, has been able to remain on the show. Some have suggested that voters – particularly supporters of Sarah Palin – have been voting in blocs and manipulating the system.

DWTS Future Jeopardized by "Operation Bristol"

By Jeralyn, Talk Left

Posted on Sat Nov 20, 2010 at 12:54:48 PM EST

I’m not the only one who thinks politics has run Dancing With the Stars into the ground. According to Popeater, AOL’s online entertainment news site, Dancing With the Stars producers and ABC and other TV insiders believe the show will be permanently ruined if Bristol Palin wins, and they fear she might, due to her mother’s fan base and campaigning.

Not enough College Throwball for your eyes?  Florida State @ Maryland or Nebraska @ Texas A&M or USC @ Oregon State.  Oh, and Army @ Notre Dame.  John Legend fans will want to watch Austin City Limits.

Why is the rum always gone?

Oh… that’s why.

• ABC Family– Ratatouille x 2
• AMC– Open Range x 2
• Bravo– House marathon
• Comedy– Superhero Movie
• Disney– Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue
• Discovery– Wreck Chasers marathon
• E!– Coyote Ugly
• ESPN– College Throwball, Arkansas @ Mississippi State
• ESPN2– College Throwball, Oklahoma @ Baylor
• Food– Thanksgiving
• FX– What Happens in Vegas
• History– Swamp People marathon
• Lifetime– Reviving Ophelia, One Angry Juror
• Oxygen– Titanic
• Sci Fi– Impact
• TBS– Shrek 2, Meet the Fockers
• Turner Classic– San Francisco, Up the River (Spencer Tracy night)
• TNT– What Women Want, The Holiday
• Toon– Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 film)
• USA– The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
• Vs.– College Hoopies Wisconsin @ UNLV
• MTV– The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning

Later-

• Oxygen– The Perfect Man
• Sci Fi– Post Impact, Earthstorm
• TBS– Glory Daze (Series Premier repeat)
• Turner Classic– Plymouth Adventure (more Spencer)
• TNT– City of Angels
• True– Glory Daze (Series Premier repeat)
• USA– Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest

SNL- Anne Hathaway and Florence and the Machine.  GitS: SAC 2nd Gig, Natural Enemy, Inductance (Episodes 4 & 5).

Gentlemen… what do keys do?

Keys unlock… things?

And whatever this key unlocks, inside there’s something valuable. So we’re setting out to find whatever this key unlocks!

No. If we don’t have the key, we can’t open whatever it is we don’t have that it unlocks. So what purpose would be served in finding whatever need be unlocked, which we don’t have, without first having found the key what unlocks it?

So we’re going after this key!

You’re not making any sense at all.

Zap2it TV Listings, Yahoo TV Listings

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

1 NATO agrees Afghan withdrawal plan, woos Russia

by Dave Clark, AFP

2 hrs 20 mins ago

Premiers!  Good for you.

Keith called out Jon Stewart last night on false equivalency-

Take the poll and tell Keith to bring back ‘Worst’ just the way it was (73% at the moment).

In other news- Joe “Dead Intern” Scarborough suspended!

• AMC– Jeepers Creepers x 2, The Walking Dead (this week’s)
• Bravo– A Knight’s Tale
• Discovery– Swamp Loggers (last week’s and new)
• ESPN– Hoopies, Thunder @ Celtics, Bulls @ Mavericks
• ESPN2– College Hoopies, Pittsburgh v. Texas, College Throwball, Fresno @ Boise
• Food– Outrageous (premier)
• FX– Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, My Super Ex-Girlfriend
• National Geographic– Dog Whisperer (premier)
• Nick– iCarly, Big Time Rush (premiers)
• Sci Fi– Sanctuary (premier)
• Speed– Turn Left Trucks Ford 200
• Style– Doc Hollywood
• TBS– Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas (with Boris Karloff!), Shrek, Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat
• Turner Classics– The Last Wave, Gallipoli
• TNT– The Bucket List
• Toon– Sym-Bionic Titan, Generator Rex, Clone Wars (premiers)
• True– Conspiracy Theory With Jesse Ventura marathon (with premier)
• USA– National Treasure
• MTV– Dawn of the Dead x 2

Later-

• Bravo– The Legend of Zorro
• Oxygen– The Wedding Planner, Just Friends
• Sci Fi– Stargate Universe (this week’s), Sanctuary (Instapeat)
• Speed– Formula 1 Debrief (premier)
• TBS- Glory Daze (Series Premier repeat), Dead Man on Campus
• Turner Classic– Picnic at Hanging Rock
• TNT– Tombstone
• Toon– Childrens Hospital (Season Finale repeat)
• USA– The Golden Compass

Dave hosts Billy Bob Thornton, Mike E. Winfield, and the Secret Sisters (get a wiki page guys).

What your telling me Sir and correct me if I’m wrong, is that the infantry attack on Lone Pine, and our Light Horse attack on the Nek are diversions.

Oh, not just diversions Major, vital important diversions. Tonight, 25,000 British troops will land here at Suvla Bay. Our attacks are to draw the Turks down on us so the British can get ashore. Sorry I didn’t tell you this before, secrecy is vital.

But Sir, the Nek is a fortress. Protected by at least five machine guns at point-blank range.

Yeah, we’ve considered that Barton. We’re gonna hit their trenches with the heaviest barrage of the campaign just before your men go over the top.

By the time we’ve finished here, there won’t be a Turk within miles.

The Turks can keep us pinned down at ANZAC forever. This new British landing is our only hope. We must do what we can to make it succeed. Because of it does succeed, we’ll have Constantinople with a week, and knock Turkey out of the war.

Evening Edition is an Open Thread

Now with 60 Top Stories (my arbitrary limit).

1 Suspected Germany-bound bomb was ‘security test’

by Deborah Cole, AFP

Fri Nov 19, 11:16 am ET