Anti Wallstreeters set sights on the mortgage biz

From HousingWire:

Protesters descend on MBA

Roughly 150 protesters gathered at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago Monday afternoon, protesting the Mortgage Bankers Association as some of the the trade group’s members looked on and snapped photos.

Thousands more from various groups organized around the city, including Daley Plaza and Federal Plaza. A pastor from a nearby suburb who identified himself as Russell, arrived at the Hyatt and picked up a sign from the Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation. It was a cardboard cutout of JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon that read: “Wall Street Bank Robber.”

The likenesses of Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo and others were also seen bouncing above the chants and a marching band.

One mortgage banker, who wouldn’t give her name, shook her head. “This is the wrong place to do this. We’re trying to figure out how to help them.”

Others were more critical. Another banker pointed out to his colleague different union members he thought he saw in the crowd. Another scolded some protesters for bringing their children to the rally.

One technology vendor, who wouldn’t be identified, said he was sympathetic and that some previous members of this very trade group “got away scot-free.”

“There’s just no jobs,” he said. “What would you do?”

Another banker, who also wouldn’t give his name, said the recent wave of protests was even routine. Coming out of crises and recessions, there is always a wave of descent before the eventual recovery.

The MBA itself put out a statement Monday morning in advance of the protest, highlighting the 3,000 members who assembled in Chicago to revamp the U.S. housing system.

“We all recognize that our industry faces a trust deficit with policymakers and the public and that people in our industry contributed to the events that led to the financial crisis,” the MBA said. “The mortgage professionals who have gathered in Chicago this week are about sustainable homeownership and ensuring access to affordable mortgage credit for qualified borrowers.”

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100 Responses to Anti Wallstreeters set sights on the mortgage biz

  1. grim says:

    “We all recognize that our industry faces a trust deficit with policymakers and the public and that people in our industry contributed to the events that led to the financial crisis,”

    Why did “policymakers” even make it into this statement? Let alone make it in before “public”.

    Good grief.

  2. grim says:

    From CNBC:

    Where To Find Housing Demand

    Given record low interest rates and still-falling home prices, you would think housing demand would be surging, but these are strange, strange times. Difficult credit conditions, combined with a steep drop in consumer confidence have cancelled out housing’s positives. Most concerning is a generational shift in housing demand.

    While the overall home ownership rate fell a little more than one percentage point over the last decade, the numbers were much worse for younger Americans.

    “Particularly hard hit were households headed by those age 25 to 54, who experienced homeownership rate declines ranging from 3.5 to 3.9 percentage points,” according to a Fannie Mae analysis of new Census data.

    The change in home ownership has been geographically widespread.

    As home prices seem to be taking a turn for the worse again now, potentially a triple dip, consumer confidence in housing has fallen right in line.

    Fannie Mae’s September housing survey, “showed a marked deterioration in consumer expectations of home prices over the next year—their weakest outlook since monthly tracking began in June 2010,” said Doug Duncan, vice president and chief economist of Fannie Mae.

    If housing demand cannot be spurred by low interest rates, low prices or even a slightly brighter economic picture, then where can we find it? For now, it’s with investors.

  3. grim (1)-

    Fascist States of Amerika. The goal of complete legislative capture has been achieved.

    Noted influence-peddler, criminal and oligarch Steven Rattner is being presented right now as a credible expert on CNBC. This kind of thing just makes me nuts.

  4. Mike says:

    Good Morning New Jersey

  5. 3B says:

    #2 Difficult credit conditions

    FHA????

  6. JJ says:

    Funny I thought it was impossible for a bank to foreclose on a homeowner. You don’t own the home till you pay off the mortgage. The media just likes to use that term homeowner as it makes banks look bad.

  7. reinvestor101 says:

    It’s this damn sort of class warfare that’s being applauded here. Why are you celebrating Parmar’s loss here? Just because he’s wealthy doesn’t mean he doesn’t have feelings and doesn’t deserve some damn sympathy. The article mentions that he also sold a damn house in Florida for a steep loss and for all we know, he may be homeless. Yet, some want to be so heartless and celebrate his damn problems.

    Meanie.

    >>Thundaar says:
    October 11, 2011 at 7:08 am

    Couldn’t happen to a nicer guy….

    http://therealdeal.com/newyork/articles/paul-parmar-no-longer-immune-to-recession-in-colts-neck<&lt;

  8. JJ says:

    I have not heard anything about Avaya lately, are’nt they based in NJ? Their bonds trade like they are about to go bankrupt. I mean 20% on a short term senior note means a company is at death’s door. But unlike Kodak and AMR don’t hear much abuot Avaya in news which is suprising. What is up with this company?.

    AVAYA INC SR NT 9.75000% 11/01/2015
    Price (Ask) 72.875
    Yield to Worst (Ask) 19.794%

  9. reinvestor101 says:

    This damn Occupy Wall Street bullspit is just a bunch of damn commies, liberals and stinking malcontents and I’ve had it up to here with this damn nonsense. I have a real low tolerance for these dirtbags that break the damn law and I advocate putting them down hard. That will make them think twice about starting up some crap.

  10. funnelcloud says:

    damn

  11. reinvestor101 says:

    damn right.

  12. Mike says:

    JJ No. 9 That 20 % sure is tempting! A while back the Ledger wrote a good article about how they were turning things around. Here’s the latest, seems they are holding plenty of debt. http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2011/07/ipo_plans_a_new_test_for_lucen.html

  13. JJ says:

    Mike, a lot of people work at Avaya in NJ, wonder if it is a sinking ship or its bonds are a bargain. They are a private company which means less news coverage, but as a local company with publicly traded bonds you would think some news would pop up when Senior bonds hit 20%. If the 20% rate is still there at end of October I may buy bond. Only reason I am not taking chance not is the coupon is 9.75% and if I buy now I have to pay a lot of accrued interest and if Avaya does not make 11-1-2011 payment not only will bond sink like a brick but I am out a lot of accrued interest.

  14. fka 2010 Buyer says:

    Foreclosure law firm to pay $2 million fine, overhaul practices

    New York-based foreclosure law firm Steven J. Baum P.C. agreed to pay a $2 million fine and change its foreclosure processes, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

    Bharara, based in Manhattan, described the Baum firm, based in Amherst, N.Y., as one of the largest volume mortgage foreclosure firms in New York state.

  15. Juice Box says:

    re #15 – slap on the wrist from DOJ? I guess the robo-signers will get off scott free after all.

  16. NJGator says:

    Camden, two other New Jersey towns, among nine U.S. cities going broke

    While President Obama and the assorted GOP contenders for the 2012 presidential nomination push their ideas for getting the country back in the black, there are some U.S. cities and counties on the brink.
    An analysis by 24/7 Wall St. examines the nine municipal bodies with the worst credit ratings assigned by Moody’s, not including school systems, rated Ba2 and lower. (For perspective, Moody’s rates junk bonds as Ba1.)
    Coming in at No. 9 on the list is Camden. The city has been beset with money issues for quite a while, highlighted by a mass layoff of its police officers and firefighters earlier this year. The city collected $181,257,000 in revenue in 2009, but was in debt to the tune of $103,284,000 during that same year.

    Moody’s notes that “more than half of Camden’s real estate is tax-exempt, hampering already weak tax collections.” The city has had a speculative grade credit rating since 1998. And it doesn’t help that three out of the past five Camden mayors have been sent to prison for corruption, the most recent in 2001.
    Camden isn’t the sole Jersey city on the list. It is joined by Salem and Harrison, coming in at Nos. 6 and 4, respectively. Both towns have stumbled financially in part because of bad investments.
    Salem built a large office building downtown with the intention of leasing office space. But construction delays caused lease payment delays and money has been taken from the debt fund numerous times.
    In 2010, Harrison built the $200 million Red Bull Arena. The venue cost the city $39 million in debt but has yet failed to have the expected returns. To help solve its debt problem and inch toward recovery, the city has drawn inspiration from Camden and plans to fire some police officers and firefighters.
    Aside from the cash-flow issues, the nine struggling locales on the list have little in common — even the reasons they are going broke are vastly different. Central Falls, R.I., which tops the list, is in the red due to a bloated pension plan. Strafford County, N.H., spent two-fifths of its budget on a single nursing home. And Detroit was the victim of a tanking economy that saw several major employers, such as Chrysler and General Motors, declaring bankruptcy and residents leaving to find work and homes elsewhere.
    The full list:
    1. Central Falls, R.I.
    2. Pontiac, Mich.
    3. Jefferson County, Ala.
    4. Harrison, N.J.
    5. Detroit, Mich.
    6. Salem, N.J.
    7. Riverdale, Ill.
    8. Strafford County, N.H.
    9. Camden, N.J.

    http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/philadelphia/camden-among-nine-u-cities-going-broke-164911032.html?bouchon=501,ny

  17. Maybe Camden can mortgage the bike paths they intend to build in the future.

  18. Where is that idiot who always talked about bike paths in Camden?

  19. gary says:

    New York City’s securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state’s comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area’s economy and government budgets.

    Thank goodness we’re insulated in North Jersey!!

  20. JCer says:

    Meat, Camden will be fine, we just need an incendiary device to destroy the entire place, one that’s done it could be redeveloped, problem solved!

  21. jamil says:

    New York City’s securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state’s comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area’s economy and government budgets.

    OWSbaggers get their wish. Wall Street will get destroyed.
    Hope they enjoy their life. That $200k student loan on BA and MA on Women’s Chicano Studies turned out to be bad investment. Who would have known that??
    Evil Wall Street to blame!

  22. Juice Box says:

    jamil – The hippies need to be punched then washed. Head down there with reinvestor and give em hell. Heck, I’ll provide the limo with a hot tub and bottles of champagne you can go down and give them all a beating and a bath.

  23. kraeusened says:

    22. wow more retard talking points. jamil poster child for regurgitated GOP pablum.

  24. kraeusened says:

    23. side-kick of the dunce patrol/

  25. gary says:

    jamil,

    Gotta disagree with you a little. Although it’s a drug and sex-fest down there, the “street” did a little pilfering over the years and there are a lot of people hurting. It’s a tough call on what the solution should be. Perhaps they need to drag some bodies through Senate hearings and knock some heads. I’m torn like a lot of people on which direction to go in.

  26. Shore Guy says:

    I wonder if Cary Grant somehow force-fed our economic policy makers from across the grave? Given the things they have been doing, it could be true:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2046708/Cary-Grant-force-fed-LSD-nearly-killing-says-Dyan-Cannon.html

  27. Juice Box says:

    Quote from Michael Lewis new book Boomerang.

    Quoting Lewis quote UCLA neuroscientist Peter Whybrow in the book’s last chapter (on California’s financial problems, not European countries), Lewis writes, “‘Human beings are wandering around with brains that are fabulously limited. We’ve got the core of the average lizard.’ Wrapped around this reptilian core is a mammalian layer (associated with maternal concern and social interaction), and around that is wrapped a third layer, which enables feats of memory and the capacity for abstract thought. ‘The only problem is our passions are still driven by the lizard core.’ Even a person on a diet who sensibly avoids coming face-to-face with a piece of chocolate cake will find it hard to control himself if the chocolate cake somehow finds him. Every pastry chef in America understands this, and now nueroscience does, too. ‘In that moment the value of eating the chocolate cake exceeds the value of the diet. We cannot think down the road when we are faced with the chocolate cake.’ … Everywhere you turn you see Americans sacrifice their long-term interests for a short-term reward.”

  28. Shore Guy says:

    “And it doesn’t help that three out of the past five Camden mayors have been sent to prison for corruption, ”

    Did they go on to be governors of Illinois?

  29. Shore Guy says:

    “among nine U.S. cities going broke”

    Coming to a bumper sticker near you:

    “Freeholders aren’t free”

  30. Shore Guy says:

    John,

    Speaking of Kodak. I heard recently that they were trying to sell off something like 10% of their patents for 1-2 billion dollars. Your post prompted me to look up their outstanding debt. It is something on the order of $1.5 billion. I thought I heard recently that the value of their outstanding stock was something less than $1 billion. Heck, an anterprising teck company could buy the whole company (including debt) for a little more than what the company was seeking for just 10% of their patents. I am surprised HP or a Chinese company has not pounced.

  31. Shore Guy says:

    an enterprising

  32. schabadoo says:

    We’ve got the core of the average lizard.

    It’s was a real eye-opener for me when the the different types of brains we possess was explained.

    And yeah, I see a lot of lizard activity lately.

  33. JJ says:

    Those 10K people are screwed. Wall st overhires in good times and overfires in bad times.

    But at same time when hiring Wall St. hates the stench of an unemployed person. In fact Morgan Stanley pretty much won’t look at a resume from an unemployed person.

    So what happens is when we replace that 10K people we let go we will look for interns, recent college grades, recent MBA grads or someone with 1-5 years experience in another similar industry. The folks let go who were highly paid and over 40 will have a hard time getting a good job back on wall st.

    jamil says:
    October 11, 2011 at 11:06 am
    New York City’s securities industry could lose nearly 10,000 jobs by the end of 2012, New York state’s comptroller predicted, a painful blow to the area’s economy and government budgets.

  34. JJ says:

    I agree. Only trouble is some pension obligations and contracts in place that you could kill in a BK and firm buying assets in a BK could get assets without liabilitiies. Plus in BK don’t have to give current shareholders anything. But given their huge IP value I think their senior bonds are a deal. as there will be a high recovery rate in a BK and if no BK bonds will double in value.

    Shore Guy says:
    October 11, 2011 at 12:00 pm
    John,

    Speaking of Kodak. I heard recently that they were trying to sell off something like 10% of their patents for 1-2 billion dollars. Your post prompted me to look up their outstanding debt. It is something on the order of $1.5 billion. I thought I heard recently that the value of their outstanding stock was something less than $1 billion. Heck, an anterprising teck company could buy the whole company (including debt) for a little more than what the company was seeking for just 10% of their patents. I am surprised HP or a Chinese company has not pounced.

  35. You guys did a great job spending your time to create this article! If I had to explain my emotions about your website in only one word ? it would be WOW! Thank you! P.S. Subscribed for updates!

  36. jamil says:

    if anybody needs a Wall Street job, there are plenty of them available. Pay is about $22/hour just for showing up there. No resume or degree needed.

    Some jobs pay on weekly basis (WFP pays up to $650/week) . Need to ramble something about evil corporations, though.

    http://www.lauraingraham.com/b/Astroturf-Wall-St.-protesters-get-paid-to-march/234076643073772.html

  37. Shore Guy says:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/opinion/this-time-it-really-is-different.html

    The title of the white paper is, admittedly, a mouthful: “The Way Forward: Moving From the Post-Bubble, Post-Bust Economy to Renewed Growth and Competitiveness.” It was commissioned by the New America Foundation, which hoped that it might “re-center the political debate to better reflect the country’s deep economic problems,” according to Sherle Schwenninger, the director of the foundation’s Economic Growth Program. Its authors are Daniel Alpert, a managing partner of Westwood Capital; Robert Hockett, a professor of financial law at Cornell and a consultant to the New York Federal Reserve; and Nouriel Roubini, who is, well, Nouriel Roubini, whose consistently bearish views have been consistently right. It is scheduled to be released on Wednesday.

    snip

    Its analysis of our problems is sobering. Its proposed solutions are far more ambitious than anything being talked about in Washington. And its prognosis, if we continue on the current path, is grim. “Unless we take dramatic steps, it will be Japan all over again,” says Alpert. “Continuous deflation, no economic growth, in and out of recessions. And high unemployment.” Adds Hockett: “It will be like the economic version of chronic fatigue syndrome. A low-grade fever all the time.”

    The paper’s central premise is something I’ve been hearing from Alpert for more than a year now: this time, it really is different. What he and his co-authors mean by that is that the bursting of the debt bubble three years ago was not just a severe example of the ups and downs that are an inevitable part of American capitalism. Rather, it was the ultimate consequence of the modern global economy. Chief among the changes that have taken place is the integration of China, Russia, India and other countries into the global economic mainstream. The developed world once had maybe 500 million workers. Today, say the authors, we’ve added another two billion people to the global work force.

    snip

  38. schabadoo says:

    Great article Jamil.

    The links in the article don’t work, and Laura Ingraham, a big supporter of the Tea Party, comes up with this gem Can we finally put an end to this notion that this is some populist up swell of concerned citizens without a hint of irony.

  39. Shore Guy says:

    Ket,

    You might like this:

    U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy: A Video History, 1945-2004
    Sandia Labs Historical Video Documents History of U.S. Strategic Nuclear Policy

    Interviewees Include Robert McNamara, Brent Scowcroft, James Schlesinger and Last Strategic Air Commander-in-Chief Lee Butler

    http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/nukevault/ebb361/index.htm

  40. Laura Ingraham is a hack and a feeble, watered-down version of Ann Coulter, whom I like because she says inappropriate and offensive things and smokes cigarettes.

    Disclaimer: I do not agree with Ann Coulter’s politics. However, I think she’s more interested in shocking people than being rigidly partisan.

  41. joyce says:

    Protesters swarm Senate office building

    http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-protesters-swarm-senate-20111011,0,3086097.story

    Ok, regardless of what these specific individuals are advocating, I find it disheartening and very depressing that they were arrested for, “demonstrating in a Capitol building.”
    Yeah, you really don’t want people exercising constitutional rights anywhere near their elected representatives. Heaven forbid such an idea.

  42. JC says:

    #37: I think Laura Ingraham is getting the OWS folks confused with the Teabaggers, who really ARE an astroturfed front group.

  43. xmonger says:

    #34 JJ, from my experience, aside from the garbage on/off the balance sheet, there two main problems with Wall Street:

    1) The BSDs believe they are worth what they are being paid. Consequently, there is very little tolerance for debate of questionable decisions.
    2) Income producer goals aren’t completely congruent with the firm goals despite the compensation reforms made since the ’08 crisis.

    As for the unemployed. Agreed, the most cost effective people seldom get fired. However, good employees are often casualties of the constant shift in the political winds at these firms.

  44. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [42] joyce,

    So can I get an “amen” that a person or group should be able to protest anybody, anywhere, at just about anytime?

    I submit that if the Tea Party did that, you’d be howling for their scalps. Let me know if I presume incorrectly.

  45. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Personally, I think that the protesters should take it to the state capitols. If they mean what they say, why not implement it on a state by state basis.

    They can easily overwhelm Vermont, for instance, and demand that VT end corporate existence (which is a creature of state law, not federal), outlaw private health insurance in favor of single payer (again, state regulated), and pass c0nfiscatory taxes on the wealthy, or simply seize their assets outright.

    This can easily be done in states where you already have a solid leftwing core, and enough general public support, like a Vermont or Oregon.

    Wonder what would happen? Maybe that’s why there’s no effort to actually implement their programs in a place where they actually have a shot at getting it through.

    As they taught us in law school, if the answer to the question is bad, don’t ask the question.

  46. Nicholas says:

    You can exercise your right to do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t infringe other people’s rights. You cannot protest in the capitol building because it infringes on my right to a functioning government (even if it is low functioning).

    You cannot march through the streets naked, looting, and setting fire to things because it infringes on my right to not see your ugly naked body, the shop keepers right to property, and you endanger the city by setting fires.

  47. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [33] boo

    “I’ve seen a lot of lizard activity lately.”

    Yep. For months, if not years (decades, actually), I’ve advocated lizard activity for those that you expect to prey upon. Emulate the chameleon, I tell them. Or, if circumstances warrant it, the Jesus lizard.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhsxo7vY8ac

    You can’t outrun a bullet. But you can outrun a ballot.

  48. chicagofinance says:

    shore: did you sign the NYC Tech campus petition yet?

  49. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    Personally, I think that the OWS types should take it to the state capitols. If they mean what they say, why not implement it on a state by state basis.

    They can easily take over Vermont, for instance, and demand that VT end corporate existence (which is a creature of state law, not federal), 0utlaw private health insurance in favor of single payer (again, state regulated), and pass c0nfisc@tory taxes on the wealthy, or simply sei-ze their assets outright.

    This can easily be done in states where you already have a solid “progressive” core, and enough general public support, like a Vermont or Oregon.

    Wonder what would happen? Maybe that’s why there’s no effort to actually implement their programs in a place where they actually have a chance at getting it through.

    As they taught us in law school, if the answer to the question is bad, don’t ask the question.

  50. chicagofinance says:

    The End Is Nigh (Telecommunications Edition):

    Sprint’s Hesse, on Quest to Alienate Every Living Human, Compares AT&T Chief to John Wilkes Booth

    By Greg Bensinger

    Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse said AT&T’s mobility chief Ralph de la Vega looks like Abraham Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth.

    The jab, or joke, didn’t get much response from a crowd at a convention in San Diego, causing Hesse to backpedal. He clarified by saying it was a compliment because Booth was reputed to be good looking.

    For his part, de la Vega called Hesse “the best actor in wireless today,” a reference to Booth’s profession and, apparently, to Hesse’s appearances in Sprint advertisements.

    Sprint shares are up nearly 6% today, clawing back a small fraction of their vicious selloff that began last week.

  51. joyce says:

    45-
    I’ll give you an amen for “the right of the people peaceably to assemble” anybody, anywhere (on public property), at just about anytime. The key part being peaceful or non-violent. If a person or group of people are using force, violence, or threats in anyway, there are a whole host of laws that they can be charged with breaking, and should be charged with. In my opinion, these are actual crimes because there are actual victims (no victim, no crime, IMO). And if they are on private property and the owner asks them to leave, trespassing would of course apply.
    You do presume incorrectly regarding the tea party. About them, the above applies as it should apply to everyone.

  52. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [52] joyce,

    We’ll see.

  53. Comrade Nom Deplume says:

    [35] JJ

    If the pension is underfunded, the PBGC will step in and assert a priority.

  54. chicagofinance says:

    Required Equipment for the Nompound:

    Assisted suicide machine in Kevorkian auction

    (Reuters) – The “death machine” used by the late Dr. Jack Kevorkian in his controversial campaign to help more than 100 people commit suicide will be among his paintings and other items up for auction this month, the sale’s coordinator said.

    Known as Dr. Death, Kevorkian started a polarizing debate in the United States over assisted suicide by crisscrossing Michigan in a rusty Volkswagen van with a homemade machine to aid sick and suffering people who wanted to die.

    Kevorkian died in June at the age of 83.

    The estate sale is on October 28 at the New York Institute of Technology in New York City, with a preview on October 27, the website of David W. Streets says.

    Streets, a California fine arts and celebrity memorabilia appraiser, is coordinating the auction that also includes Kevorkian’s blue sweater, personal items, paperwork and 13 paintings that have been on display at Boston’s Alma Museum.

    No expected prices for the “death machine” or the other items were given on the website. Kevorkian left the bulk of his estate to find a cure for pediatric cancer and the auction will benefit that cause, it said.

    No one at Streets’ office was immediately available to comment.

    Kevorkian used two devices to help people end their lives — the “death machine” that involved a person pushing a button to inject lethal drugs and the “mercy machine” that used a gas mask attached to a canister of carbon monoxide.

    He was convicted of second-degree murder in 1999 after a CBS News program aired a video of him administering lethal drugs to a 52-year-old man suffering from Lou Gehrig’s disease.

    Kevorkian served eight years in prison. As a condition of his parole, he promised not to assist in any more suicides.

    (Writing by Mary Wisniewski; Editing by Jerry Norton and John O’Callaghan)

  55. Juice Box says:

    I hear engines warming up at Whiteman Air Force Base.

    Attorney General Eric Holder, when asked how Iran would be held “accountable” in an alleged plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States, said he expected action from the White House, the State Department and Treasury within the next few hours.

    http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/11/official-fbi-dea-disrupt-terror-plot-in-u-s-involving-iran/

  56. BearsFan says:

    Hi, still a little torn on the makeup of the OWS crowd. Honest question: Anyone have any links to credible reporting that it is a drug/sex fest down there (that’s not reported by a Murdoch owned entity), any first hand accounts, etc? I have watched 20-30 minute live stream feeds and although I’m not saying these reports are 100% inaccurate, the feel I got from live feeds did not suggest these people are having a good time partying. They seem to have agreed upon a set of moral guidelines as well…just asking…..really would like to hear what you all think.

  57. yo says:

    Richard Gere’s vintage guitar and amplifier collection brought in $936,438 at Christie’s in New York today.

    The top lot was a 1960 Gibson Les Paul that fetched $98,500, surpassing its presale high estimate of $90,000. The winning bid came by telephone. The room was full of quiet guitar aficionados, including musician Steve Miller and redhead model, singer and songwriter Karen Elson.

    “You are being too quiet,” said auctioneer Andrew McVinish. “If you want to rock ‘n’ roll — rock ‘n’ roll.”

    The 107-lot group, amassed by the “Pretty Woman” male star since he was a kid, was expected to realize about $1 million. Only 4 percent of the lots failed to find buyers.

    “Without ever thinking I was putting a collection together, there seems to be one,” Gere said in his catalog statement. “I just bought what I liked, what sounded good — what played well.”

    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-11/richard-gere-s-guitar-collection-fetches-936-000-at-christie-s.html

  58. Juice Box says:

    BearsFan – every media outlet is down there, if it was rampant there would
    be lots of pics and videos.

  59. BearsFan says:

    JB (59) – agreed…I’m not seeing it.

  60. schabadoo says:

    Anyone have any links to credible reporting that it is a drug/sex fest down there

    Mmm….really?

    It’s SOP to make these claims whenever there’s a protest. Think Chicago ’68, for example. Your basic Silent Majority take on it: They merely followed the hippie crowds to any gathering of flower children so that they could partake of the sex, drugs and rock and roll all of which were plentiful.

    It’s vital to marginalize.

  61. jamil says:

    Joyce 51
    Ok, so lets have 500 tea party grandma activist to peacefully protest and camp in White House and Harry Reid’s office, lets say until Jan 2013.

    I’m sure you and state media are ok with that /sarc

  62. chicagofinance says:

    It’s NYC on the street and the weather has been mild. Between 11PM-6AM anything goes….

  63. joyce says:

    63
    Your inane rantings about how all the networks are biased (except for FOX) makes you look like the epitome of ridiculous. And pathetic I might add.
    I would be OK with that. As I said earlier, it is a constitutional right to peacefully protest. This applies to everyone.

    If you cannot admit the two major parties are BOTH bought and paid for, then you’re hopeless.

  64. chicagofinance says:

    hehehe:
    Slovakia versus Hoboken analogy…
    http://www.cnbc.com/id/44859067

  65. Shore Guy says:

    Re. 48,

    Chifi, that went right over my head.

  66. Shore Guy says:

    Like the guy or not, this is one of the best commencement addresses ever delivered:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc

  67. Shore Guy says:

    Were you speaking of a proposed satellite campus?

  68. Shore Guy says:

    Kind of like the med school not being in Ithaca?

  69. JJ says:

    Language Skills

    • Fluent in English,

    Why do people put this on their resume?

  70. Dan says:

    JJ,

    Some of you guys might have a bias against Mexican quants, remember?

  71. JCer says:

    JJ, because many are not, it’s downright scary!

  72. chicagofinance says:

    Shore Guy says:
    October 11, 2011 at 4:16 pm
    Re. 48, Chifi, that went right over my head.

    shore: I wrote this info to others….

    I am forwarding this information and the petition which I believe is strongly worthwhile to sign.

    However, recognize that the host website is something called “change.org” which is a for-profit venture and requires the visitor to register in order to sign.

    You may be presented with queries regarding other political and/or social causes that you should not consider an endorsement or advocacy in any way.

    Since this message originated at Cornell, I am placing my confidence in the idea that this resource has been vetted.

    To be clear, Stanford University is the favored institution by the Bloomberg Administration and further the current President of Stanford is from Long Island.

    That said, I believe that Cornell is a substantially better choice for a whole host of obvious and not so obvious reasons….please let your voice be heard….
    http://www.change.org/petitions/cornell-alumni-for-nycs-tech-campus

  73. shore (69)-

    I like the content of that speech. However, Jobs’ delivery convinces me he had Asperger’s. His flat affect and lack of connection to the audience seemed to be far more than nervousness. It also makes me wonder just how hard he had to rehearse all those new product launches, many of which were absolute classics of salesmanship.

  74. Shore dont need Stanford running a tech campus in NYC Guy says:

    Stanford? What the?

  75. make money says:

    BREAKING-Senate passes bill pressuring China on currency

    BC,
    Finger pointing begins.

  76. ChiFis Audi says:

    I feel pretty good for a Tuesday.

  77. Mikeinwaiting says:

    Iranian plot foiled trying to knock off U.S. Ambassador to Saud Arabia, timely false flag for “O”.

  78. Mikeinwaiting says:

    Make 79 Get out the popcorn, this should be a hoot.

  79. Fabius Maximus says:

    #45 Nom,

    Do we need to roll tape? I think we have some precedent here!
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35965961/ns/politics-capitol_hill/t/health-bill-opponents-heckle-top-dems/

  80. chifis audi (80)-

    Don’t worry; by Friday, you’ll feel like shit.

  81. Wow. A false flag and a trade war with our biggest creditor.

    What will Bojangles do tomorrow to distract us all from the fact that the wheels have come off?

  82. I know: let’s bomb the crap out of Iran.

    Just because we can.

  83. Don’t want to listen to me? Try Marc Faber:

    “Once again, the latest fire and brimstone sermon by Marc Faber is absolutely spot on, starting and ending with his “policy” recommendation for what the US needs: “I will tell you what the US needs. The US needs a Lee Kwan Yew who stands in front of the US and tells them, listen you lazy bugger, now you have to tighten your belts, you have to save more, work more for lower salaries and only through that will we get out of the current dilemma that essentially prevents the economy from growing.” No money printing, no extensive protests, no excuses. Of course, this would have to accompany a global overhaul of the system, something Zero Hedge has been advocating since day one, as it is impossible to reform this broken system from within: “The problem i have with the investment universe is that i find it difficult to envision how the US and western Europe can return to healthy sustainable growth without a complete purge of the financial system and some type of catalyst. Something that restores some measure of social cohesion among people; it could be hyperinflation, a complete credit market collapse, widespread sovereign defaults, civil strife, major military confrontation.” Alas, in that he is also correct, and as we said back in early 2010, when the current episode of extend and pretend ends and the can kicking exercise finally fails, next up is war.”

    http://www.zerohedge.com/news/marc-faber-america-listen-you-lazy-bugger-you-need-tighten-your-belts-you-need-work-more-lower-

  84. Fabius Maximus says:

    With Cain surging in the polls, I think Mitt should choose this for his theme tune tonight.
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8StG4fFWHqg

  85. Fabius Maximus says:

    Looks like the Boston PD, had a “Back to the 70’s, Beat a Hippie night”. Shame some of the Hippies were vets!

    “Occupy Boston said today in a statement that police had “brutally attacked” protesters.

    http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/10/boston-mayor-says-sympathizes-with-protesters-but-they-can-tie-the-city/GFmOU1qwApiGhBNsNSzMIL/index.html
    “Today’s reprehensible attack by the Boston Police Department represents a sad and disturbing shift away from dialogue and towards violent repression,” the group said on its website.

    “Members of Veterans for Peace [a peace group that has joined the loosely organized protest] carrying American flags were pushed to the ground and their flags trampled as the police hauled them away,” the group said in a statement.”

  86. NJCoast says:

    Yo Gabba Gabba? Really? I don’t know who enjoys the live show more, the 3 year olds or the college kids tripping in the back rows. Weird.

  87. Al Mossberg says:

    Way to go Cain. Federal Reserve insider. Lets have a national sales tax so we can be r_ped even more. Australia’s lower house just passed the Carbon Tax bill 74-72. Al Gore is drinking champagne tonight.

    Let me be very clear. This country is doomed. There is no other way out except self preservation which will require one to be mobile. Dont let your kids fight in the upcoming war. Its the least you can do.

  88. Al, they’re all bought and paid for…every last one of them, except for Ron Paul.

    It’s all over but for the crying.

  89. Fabius Maximus says:

    The debates best comment. Big kudos to the Bachmann campaign, this is a classic.

    The 999 plan isn’t a jobs plan, it is a tax plan. …when you take the 9-9-9 plan and turn it upside down, …. I think the devil’s in the details.”

  90. Al Mossberg says:

    Cain,

    999 plan 2011
    12-12-12 plan 2012
    15-15-15 plan 2013
    20-20-20 plan 2014

    The donut eating American fat _ss retards will fall for the same BS time and time again. The income tax was introduced as a tax on the rich then what happened?

    Expedite the implosion. Its time to separate the weak from the strong.

  91. chicagofinance says:

    The End Is Nigh (Smiting Edition):
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6qQKsieo8U

  92. Mike says:

    Since Harrison Ford lived there things have not been the same

  93. Don’t blame those Amish. How’d you like to live your whole life named Mullet?

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