http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/hangemhigh/ en-us Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:52:52 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2117061/posts The U.S. government is considering direct financial assistance to facilitate a possible merger between General Motors Corp (GM.N) and Chrysler LLC, a private sector source familiar with Treasury discussions told Reuters on Monday. The Treasury Department is weighing aid of at least $5 billion, which could include capital injections and government purchases of bad auto loans, according to the source, a financial policy executive who spoke anonymously because the discussions are private. Emergency financing, at least initially, most likely would be focused on GM and Chrysler and not Ford Motor Co (F.N), which is struggling but still better off financially... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2117061/posts#comment Tue, 28 Oct 2008 01:52:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2108656/posts Here are some details of the case that the FBI agent will discuss: From November 10, 2003:30-Y.O. Unsolved SF Murders Reopen [Weather Underground, Black Liberation Army, Ayers, Dohrn] BAY AREA (KRON) -- The unsolved murder of two San Francisco police officers has languished as cold cases for 30 years until now. A federal grand jury has been looking into the murders. Many of the people now under investigation both as potential targets and witnesses in this case are scattered across the country. Many of them are now in their 50s and 60s. Investigators believe the crimes were politically motivated and... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2108656/posts#comment Sat, 18 Oct 2008 04:58:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2108590/posts OCTOBER 16, 2008 AIG Still Lobbies to Relax Oversight Rules After Receiving Federal Aid, Insurer Focuses on Laws Aimed at Keeping Tabs on Mortgage OriginatorsBy ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON WASHINGTON -- Even after receiving an emergency loan that gave the government an 80% ownership stake, American International Group Inc. is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry. When the U.S. took control of failing mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, it prohibited them from lobbying. But it hasn't banned the practice at AIG, a huge insurer that is still 20%-owned by public shareholders. AIG is... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2108590/posts#comment Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:50:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2104613/posts MARSHALL, Minn. — One mother said she missed the sound of her little girl playing piano. Another said her surviving daughters used to play "wedding" with their dolls; now they play "funeral." Both said the Feb. 19 school bus crash that killed four children and injured 16 others near Cottonwood also killed an innocence that will never return. "This crime demands justice," said Rita Javens, mother of Hunter and Jesse, two brothers who died in the southwestern Minnesota collision. The community got some measure of justice Wednesday morning, when Olga Franco del Cid was sentenced to 12 1/2 years in... Twin Cities http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2104613/posts#comment Mon, 13 Oct 2008 19:15:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097033/posts WASHINGTON — Unqualified home buyers were not the only ones who benefitted from Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank’s efforts to deregulate Fannie Mae throughout the 1990s. So did Frank’s partner, a Fannie Mae executive at the forefront of the agency’s push to relax lending restrictions. Now that Fannie Mae is at the epicenter of a financial meltdown that threatens the U.S. economy, some are raising new questions about Frank's relationship with Herb Moses, who was Fannie’s assistant director for product initiatives. Moses worked at the government-sponsored enterprise from 1991 to 1998, while Frank was on the House Banking Committee, which had... Fox News (baby!) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2097033/posts#comment Fri, 3 Oct 2008 22:47:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093941/posts Per AP, Freddie and Fannie are facing a Grand Jury as a U. S. Attorney's Investigation is underway. Folks, this is huge! It is now a SCANDAL, the repercussions of which are TEN to TWENTY times the impact of the Enron Scandal!!! We need to write to the editors of our newspapers and publicize this every way possible. Of course, we need to trace the money path through Dodd, Frank and company, directly to the annoited one. Get excited, this is great news! http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2093941/posts#comment Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:11:22 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091228/posts I'm not putting a reference in becasue I want my freakin' title, I'm pissed. But search and you shall find ... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2091228/posts#comment Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:43:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088989/posts ... "These Credit Default Swaps have been written (as insurance is written) as private contracts. There is nil government regulation of them. Who writes these policies? Banks. Investment banks. Insurance companies. They now owe the buyers of these Credit Default Swaps on junk mortgage debt trillions of dollars. It is this liability that is the bottomless pit of liability for the financial institutions of America." ... Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088989/posts#comment Wed, 24 Sep 2008 01:42:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088174/posts After Comrade George W. Bush nationalised the two giants of the US mortgage market, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, earlier this month, Anatole Kaletsky wrote in The Times of London that ''the most capitalist administration ever, in the world's most capitalist country, [has] decided to wipe out the private owners of its biggest and most important financial companies and replace them with state-appointed bureaucrats''. Wikipedia defines ''nationalisation'' as ''the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government. It is a central theme of certain brands of state socialist policy that the means of... Canaberra Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088174/posts#comment Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:36:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088081/posts Why the Rescue Plan Can Work> Last Update: 22-Sep-08 08:21 ET The government plan to buy mortgage-backed assets from financial institutions is likely to be a win-win. It will be a win for financial institutions because it would finally provide a legitimate buyer for mortgage-backed assets. It will be a win for the government because these assets are trading well below their intrinsic value. The government could make a large profit. The Crux of the Problem The essence of the problems plaguing the U.S. economy (as discussed in the August 18 Big Picture column) is housing. The impact, however, is... briefing.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2088081/posts#comment Mon, 22 Sep 2008 23:54:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086781/posts In a move that could help increase home ownership rates among minorities and low-income consumers, the Fannie Mae Corporation is easing the credit requirements on loans that it will purchase from banks and other lenders. The action, which will begin as a pilot program involving 24 banks in 15 markets -- including the New York metropolitan region -- will encourage those banks to extend home mortgages to individuals whose credit is generally not good enough to qualify for conventional loans. Fannie Mae officials say they hope to make it a nationwide program by next spring. Fannie Mae, the nation's biggest... The New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2086781/posts#comment Sat, 20 Sep 2008 23:12:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083809/posts Police Arrest 81 Looting Suspects After Ike Houston Police Department FOX 26 News HOUSTON -- Many felt disgusted after witnessing looting in the city of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina left thousands of people dead and victimized. Who would steal at a time like this? According to Houston Police Department officials, more than 75 Houstonians and counting. At least 81 people have been arrested for looting. The crimes have hit several areas of our city as Ike was making landfall and after the monster storm moved out. "It's very disheartening because there's enough tragedy to infrastructure,...to the act of a... MyFoxHouston http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2083809/posts#comment Tue, 16 Sep 2008 22:19:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080345/posts Ever since he was tried and convicted with Julius and Ethel Rosenberg on espionage charges in 1951, Morton Sobell has maintained his innocence. A U.S. Marshal escorted Morton Sobell, left, to Federal Court in New York in March of 1951. Until now. In an interview on Thursday, Mr. Sobell, who served nearly 19 years in Alcatraz and other federal prisons, admitted for the first time that he had been a Soviet spy. And he implicated his fellow defendant, Julius Rosenberg, in a conspiracy that delivered to the Soviets vital classified military information and what the American government claimed was the... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2080345/posts#comment Thu, 11 Sep 2008 22:45:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078720/posts As predicted, my Sunday column that praised the Treasury’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac incited outrage from many readers. Typical comments? “A horrible deal for Americans.” “A sad day for America.” “Pity the taxpayer.” “Appeasement for China.” “It’s time for a taxpayer revolt.” As for who’s to blame? Anybody and everybody. Congress, Wall Street, Greenspan, Bush, Clinton, Hank Paulson, Freddie’s and Fannie’s CEOs and the Chinese. Of course, there is plenty of blame to go around. But let’s not just point fingers. It is time to take a hard look in the mirror and see where the blame... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2078720/posts#comment Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:28:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075918/posts Two Canadian teens were handed a year’s probation for trashing a home while the owners were on vacation, and leaving behind a nasty present, according to the Globe and Mail. Among the $10,000 in damages was writing scrawled on the kitchen window and cabinets: "You had a nice cat" and "it's in the microwave." Princess, the cat, "was screaming in the microwave for 10 minutes while it was essentially cooked to death," Prosecutor John Laluk reportedly told the court. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2075918/posts#comment Sat, 6 Sep 2008 09:19:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059479/posts EDINBURG, TEXAS -- Adelmina Rios has waited 19 long years for her brother's killer to be put to death. Now, after a trial, appeals and an international incident that threatened to delay the process for years, Hector Torres Garcia may be one step closer to execution. Torres, 47, injured Rios and fatally shot her brother in 1989 during a convenience store robbery north of Edinburg. An Hidalgo County jury imposed the death penalty on Torres a year later. But Mexico has challenged his sentence and that of more than 50 fellow Mexican nationals currently on death row in the United... McAllen Texas Monitor http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2059479/posts#comment Sun, 10 Aug 2008 17:15:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055054/posts SHENANDOAH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- By the time help arrived, Luis Ramirez lay convulsing in the middle of the street, foam running from his mouth. Crystal Dillman displays the religious medal worn by her fiance, Luis Ramirez, who died from a beating. 1 of 3 Blows had struck the 25-year-old Mexican immigrant with such force that they left a clotted, bruised impression of Jesus Christ on the skin of his chest from the religious medal he wore. His attackers were white teenagers, including star students and football players, witnesses told police. After a night of drinking, the teens taunted the undocumented... CNN http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2055054/posts#comment Fri, 1 Aug 2008 20:22:23 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022134/posts PHOENIX -- An engineer from Iran was convicted Tuesday of illegally accessing a protected computer in the United States to use software he obtained at a former job at the nation's largest nuclear plant. Mohammad Reza Alavi, 50, who worked at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station for 17 years, faces up to five years in prison and could be fined up to a $250,000 for his conviction on a count of illegally accessing a computer. A sentencing hearing has not been set. Alavi was also charged with one count of stealing protected software from the plant and one count... KPHO NEWS http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022134/posts#comment Tue, 27 May 2008 22:54:30 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017893/posts A leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq has been sentenced to death for the killing of the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Paulos Faraj Rahho. The archbishop of the northern city of Mosul was kidnapped in February by gunmen who attacked his car, killing his driver and two bodyguards. His body was found in a shallow grave two weeks later. The Iraqi government said the criminal court had imposed the death sentence on Ahmed Ali Ahmed, known as Abu Omar. The US embassy in Baghdad welcomed the verdict. Who are the Chaldeans? "Reiterating our condolences to the archbishop's family and community, we commend... BBC http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2017893/posts#comment Mon, 19 May 2008 02:20:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013317/posts HOUSTON -- An illegal immigrant accused of murdering a Houston police officer two years ago now faces the death penalty after a jury convicts him of capital murder. Jurors convicted Juan Leonardo Quintero-Perez  of capital murder shortly before 6 p.m. Thursday.  The jury began deliberating the illegal immigrant's fate shortly after noon. The sentencing phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday at 10 a.m. Quintero faces the death penalty. Quintero, 34, faced the capital murder charge in the 2006 death of  Houston Police Department Officer Rodney Johnson. Investigators said Perez shot Johnson four times in the head during... MyFox Houston http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013317/posts#comment Thu, 8 May 2008 23:32:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013023/posts ST. ANTHONY, Idaho — A suspected illegal immigrant has been charged with raping a 10-year-old girl who later gave birth in eastern Idaho. AP http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2013023/posts#comment Thu, 8 May 2008 14:26:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012156/posts Medellin's lawyer hopes to stop it, saying client didn't get to talk to consulate A Houston man who was convicted of capital murder 14 years ago for the gang rapes and slayings of two teenage girls received a death date Monday after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for his and other killers' executions. Jose Medellin, 33, is set to die by injection on Aug. 5 for the 1993 murders of Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Peña, 16. The girls were beaten, raped and killed after they happened upon a drunken midnight gang initiation rite in T.C. Jester Park... Houston Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2012156/posts#comment Tue, 6 May 2008 21:42:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979301/posts A 40-year-old illegal immigrant is charged in the drunken driving hit-and-run death of a pedestrian who was struck by a car and killed alongside La. 182 early Saturday morning, police said. Victor Santiesteban was more than one-and-a-half times over the legal limit when he stuck and killed 64-year-old Walter Hebert Jr. at about 2 a.m. Saturday and left the scene of the crash, State Police said. Hebert was walking west in front of the New Horizon bar at 713 La. 182 when he was struck from behind by a west-bound car, State Police said. A bouncer at the bar told... WWLTV http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1979301/posts#comment Sun, 2 Mar 2008 22:07:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968531/posts WASHINGTON — Law enforcement officials say a U.S. government official and up to four Chinese nationals are being charged with spying on the United States. The Associated Press has learned they are being accused of spying and giving U.S. military secrets to the Chinese government. Law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity say the charges are being unsealed later Monday by federal courts in California and Virginia. The officials asked for anonymity because the case has not yet been made public. It was not immediately clear where in the government the unnamed U.S. official worked. Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968531/posts#comment Mon, 11 Feb 2008 17:00:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968322/posts Military prosecutors have decided to seek the death penalty for six Guantánamo detainees who are to be charged with central roles in the Sept. 11 terror attacks, government officials who have been briefed on the charges said Sunday. The officials said the charges would be announced at the Pentagon as soon as Monday and were likely to include numerous war-crimes charges against the six men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the former Qaeda operations chief who has described himself as the mastermind of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people. A Defense Department official said prosecutors were seeking the death penalty... NY Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968322/posts#comment Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:25:05 GMT