Thursday, December 30, 2010

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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

foreclosure law

Only the banksters could get away with this:




TRUCKEE, Calif. — When Mimi Ash arrived at her mountain chalet here for a weekend ski trip, she discovered that someone had broken into the home and changed the locks....



The culprit, Ms. Ash soon learned, was not a burglar but her bank. According to a federal lawsuit filed in October by Ms. Ash, Bank of America had wrongfully foreclosed on her house and thrown out her belongings, without alerting Ms. Ash beforehand.



Ash was in the process of loan modification with Bank of America at the time. And they didn't just break in, they completely emptied the home, even taking "a wooden box, its top inscribed with the words 'Together Forever,' that contained the ashes of her late husband, Robert."




In Florida, contractors working for Chase Bank used a screwdriver to enter Debra Fischer’s house in Punta Gorda and helped themselves to a laptop, an iPod, a cordless drill, six bottles of wine and a frosty beer, left half-empty on the counter, according to assertions in a lawsuit filed in August. Ms. Fisher was facing foreclosure, but Chase had not yet obtained a court order, her lawyer says.



The break-in was discovered when a Canadian couple renting the house returned from the beach.



Turns out these and countless other Americans have become victims again. They're victims of the deficit peacocks.




WASHINGTON -- Despite mounting evidence of big banks committing serious fraud in the foreclosure process, the U.S. Senate eliminated $35 million in legal aid to homeowners trying to keep their homes.



The fund was wiped out in order to meet government spending caps advocated by Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), but will likely end up costing taxpayers much more in the long run, as wrongful foreclosures burn through the balance sheets of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The slashing of the foreclosure-assistance fund is just one casualty of Washington's increasing bipartisan push to cut spending across the board....



Recent reports suggest severe, nationwide problems with the mortgage system. A survey of 96 attorneys found that banks started foreclosure proceedings on 2,500 borrowers who were negotiating a loan modification. The survey was conducted by the National Association of Consumer Advocates and the National Consumer Law Center.



There's no relief in sight from the administration, either. Treasury has refused to use any of the funds for the Wall Street bailout for homeowner legal aid. Much worse, the Federal Reserve is actually blocking new foreclosure regulations that would homeowners.




WASHINGTON -- Top policymakers at the Federal Reserve are fighting efforts to rein in widely reported bank abuses, sparking an inter-agency feud with the FDIC and the Treasury Department. The Fed, along with the more bank-friendly Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is resisting moves to craft rules cracking down on banks that charge illegal fees and carry out improper foreclosures. The FDIC supports such rules, according to an FDIC official involved in the dispute.



The new regulations would rein in debt collection, loan modification and foreclosure proceedings at bank divisions called "mortgage servicers." Servicers have committed widespread fraud in the foreclosure process. While the recent robo-signing of fraudulent documents has received the most attention, consumer advocates have complained about improper fees and servicer mistakes that lead to foreclosure for years.



It's the banksters' world, and we're apparently to be considered lucky if we get to live in one of their houses, which is what they and the government consider them. It's hard to arrive at any other conclusion than dday does when it comes to the Fed, "They don’t want to stop the banks from breaking into your house." And your representatives in the Senate are fine with that.





In two recent pieces I harped on the problems at MERS, the Mortgage Electronic Registration System. ("Support Representative Kaptur's Bill: Time To Shut Down Mers And To Restore The Rule Of Law" and "Shut Down MERS"). Briefly, MERS purportedly offers an alternative to paperwork, maintaining an electronic record of mortgages that are usually packaged into mortgage backed securities (MBSs). When mortgages go delinquent, MERS helps mortgage servicers foreclose on homes.



I argued that MERS was created to run multiple frauds, a topic I will discuss in more detail in part two of this series. However, one of the big puzzles of the ongoing foreclosure crisis concerns the whereabouts of the "wet ink notes" -- the IOUs signed by borrowers. In foreclosure cases across the nation, the banks have been filing "lost note affidavits", certifying that they cannot find the notes that are required to prove that they have the right to take away someone's home. In some cases, the notes miraculously appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and in others "Burger King kids" have been manufacturing them for robo-signers. By law, the notes are supposed to be at REMIC trustees, held against the MBSs sold on to investors -- and must be presented to foreclose.



The real mystery is why these trustees cannot produce the notes. I think we have finally found the smoking gun. An interested reader alerted me to MERS's instruction manual, "MERS Recommended Foreclosure Procedures -- State by State", originally written in 1999, updated in 2002 and available on MERS's website (accessed by clicking on: Recommended Foreclosure Procedures).



The first thing to note is the date. Folks, this strategy was formulated in 1999. The second thing to note is these documents demonstrate that failure to properly endorse the notes and transfer them to the REMIC trustee was not an occasional mistake, but rather was MERS's business model. As we will see, MERS planned from the get-go to defraud the counties, and the IRS, and the homeowners, and the buyers of the mortgage-backed securities.



Let me provide three very clear quotes (emphasis added) from the document, and then I will explain the implications. To demonstrate that these quotes are not slips or errant comments I am appending at the bottom a couple of dozen more quotes from the manual with virtually identical wording.



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the owner and holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having its employees become certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Therefore, MERS is both the mortgage holder and the note holder as nominee for the current servicer. Page 62

...

Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights of the promissory note. Page 50

...

During the redemption period, MERS will be considered to be titleholder. However, at the end of the redemption period, a deed to the investor should be executed as soon as possible so that MERS remains in the chain of title for as short a time as possible. Page 54



The foreclosure manual establishes three key points that we have long suspected:



  1. Mortgage notes were not typically transferred to the trusts, as required by law. Further, there is no clear "chain of title" for these notes--which are actually presented for endorsement only on foreclosure (if then).

  2. MERS recommended that mortgage servicers retain the notes.

  3. MERS "deputized" employees of the servicers, pretending that these became MERS employees. This allowed the fiction that MERS had the notes so that it could foreclose.




I will discuss in part two the implications for the REMICs and the mortgage backed securities. Here I will focus only on the failure to comply with the requirement to properly endorse notes and to transfer them each time a mortgage was sold -- up to a dozen times over the course of the life of a mortgage through to foreclosure. Rather than following well-established law, MERS plainly directed mortgage servicers to retain the notes. Since most mortgage lenders and servicers are members of MERS, the plan was to pretend that transactions were "in-house", hence did not require transfers of notes or reporting of sales to the county recorders.



In the document, MERS claims that its recommended procedures are "customary". In fact, there are several hundred years of "custom" that requires endorsement of notes at the time of transfer, with a clear chain of title to ensure that anyone who claims to be a creditor, and who tries to seize someone's home, has clear documentary proof of entitlement. What MERS proposes in this document is to break the chain of title, to eliminate the protection that debtors need to prevent mortgage servicers and MERS from illegally stealing their property through the use of robo-signers and the manufacture of fake documents. In other words, both law and custom were formulated to prevent the sort of foreclosure fraud that has become normal business practice -- what the MERS document calls "customary".



I do not know why MERS proposed illegal activity as a new custom. It appears that MERS wanted to keep the notes handy, held by the servicers, to speed the foreclosure process -- in other words, to run foreclosure mills. Perhaps MERS foresaw, even in 1999, a wave of foreclosures. Why else would it recommend multiple frauds (as explained in part two), urging servicers to keep the notes rather than passing them along to trustees? It now seems most likely that the fraudulent practices were recommended as a means to speed the illegal foreclosures we are now witnessing.



Remember, the servicers are the same fraudsters who are losing mortgage payments, sending foreclosure notices to the wrong homeowners, telling homeowners to skip payments so that they can qualify for modifications -- then stealing their homes, and in some cases delaying foreclosures in order to maximize late fees and penalties.



Okay, but if the servicers hold the notes, why on earth can't they find them--why do they need to file "lost note affidavits"? In a word, fraud. If they now produce the notes, it will be clear that they were not properly endorsed each time the mortgages were transferred. And they were never held by the REMIC trusts. As I will explain, that means mortgage backed securities are fraudulent and the banks are on the hook for hundreds of billions of dollars. And that the banks holding the mortgages cannot legally foreclose. That is why they are destroying the documents, and hiring robo-signers to forge new ones.



When it comes to Wall Street, things are always worse than they seem. As the reader wrote to me:



These financial institutions that defrauded homeowners, then bet against them with a stacked deck of accomplices such as MERS, mortgage servicers, foreclosure mills and others have taken predation beyond previously known levels and executed financial crimes for which they must be fully prosecuted.


Or, one might think, shot.



Here's the deal. This financial crisis is like Shrek's onion. As you peel back layer after layer of sleaze, you find that the whole damn thing is fraud. We are talking about tens of trillions of dollars of it. Tens of thousands of individuals were involved. It was thorough. It was blatant. It was even transparent, right under the noses of regulators and supervisors. It was normal business practice. It never had any fear of prosecution or punishment. Even today, it taunts the impotent administration, daring President Obama to do anything.



And it expects to win. The fraudsters have Congress in their back pocket and plan to rush through legislation to validate ex post all of their illegal activity. It is almost a foregone conclusion that Congress will pass a law early next year to legalize everything MERS and the big banks did -- lending fraud, recording fraud, tax fraud, securities fraud, and foreclosure fraud. There will be no rule of law to protect private property in the United States. Wall Street can claim any property it wants -- no proof required. That is what President Bush meant when he proclaimed a new "Ownership Society" -- as I wrote back in 2005. The plan all along was to put the bottom four deciles of Americans into permanent indebtedness while the top fraction of one percent would transfer ownership of everything to itself. So far, President Obama has stuck with the program -- overseeing the greatest wealth transfer in human history.



Continue to Part II.





********

Key quotes from the MERS document



According to the document, MERS's mission statement reads as follows:



What is MERS?



MERS serves two purposes. First, it is a national electronic registry for tracking servicing rights and beneficial ownership interests in mortgage loans. Second, MERS acts as nominee (a form of agent) for the servicer and beneficial owner of a mortgage loan in the public land records. MERS is designed to operate within the existing legal framework in all U.S. jurisdictions and did not require any changes to existing laws.



How is this made possible? Its members appoint MERS as the mortgagee of record on all loans that they register on the MERS System. This appointment eliminates the need for any future assignments when servicing rights are sold from one MERS Member to another. Instead of preparing a paper assignment to track the change in the county land records, all subsequent transfers are tracked electronically on the MERS System.



MERS does not create or transfer beneficial interests in mortgage loans or create electronic assignments of the mortgage. What MERS does do is eliminate the need for subsequent recorded assignments altogether. The transfer process of the beneficial ownership of mortgage loans does not change with the arrival of MERS. Promissory notes still require an endorsement and delivery from the current owner to the next owner in order to change the beneficial ownership of a mortgage loan.



MERS explains the registry process as follows:



With every new loan that is registered on the MERS System, it becomes more likely that you will come in contact with a mortgage loan having MERS as the mortgage holder in the chain of title. MERS is put in this position in one of two ways: the first is by an assignment from a lender or servicer to MERS. This method is usually associated with bulk transfers of servicing. The second way is with the lender naming MERS as the mortgagee of record as nominee for itself (and its successors and assigns) in the original security instrument at the time the loan is closed. We call this second option "MOM", which stands for MERS as Original Mortgagee.



"MOM" was a significant milestone for MERS and the mortgage industry. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae have each approved the use of MERS as original mortgagee as nominee for a lender on the security instrument for loans sold to them and registered on the MERS System.



In order to make MOM work, changes were made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to their uniform security instruments allowing MERS to be named as the mortgagee in a nominee capacity for the lender. First, to reflect the interrelationship of the promissory note and mortgage and to ensure these two instruments are tied together properly, the recital paragraph names MERS, solely as nominee for Lender, as beneficiary. Second, it is made clear that the originating lender rather than MERS is defined as the "Lender". This change was made so that everyone understands that MERS is not involved in the loan administration process. Third, as mortgagee of record, MERS needs to have the authority to release the lien of security instrument, or if necessary, foreclose on the collateral on behalf of the lender. Such authority is provided by adding a paragraph to the security instrument informing the borrower that MERS holds only legal title to the interests granted by the borrower. It also informs the borrower that, if necessary to comply with law or custom, MERS may exercise the right to foreclose and sell the property and may take any action required of the Lender to release or cancel the security instrument.



Once MERS is named in the original security instrument or by way of an assignment, the document is then recorded in the appropriate public land records. From this point on, no subsequent assignments of the mortgage to a MERS member needs to be recorded. MERS remains in the land records, as mortgagee, throughout the life of the loan so long as servicing is not sold to a non-MERS member. All subsequent transfers of ownership in mortgage loans and servicing rights for that loan are tracked electronically between MERS members through the MERS System. This process eliminates the opportunity for a break in the chain of title.



So the basic scam is that when a loan is securitized, MERS is named as the mortgagee of record ("MOM"). Yet MERS does not hold the note. Instead, MERS pretends to hire someone in the firm that holds the note to maintain the fiction that it has got the note. Yet, it is the REMIC trustee that must hold the note to make the securities lawful. It is clear throughout the document that proper procedure is never recommended by MERS, instead, it is recommended that the servicer hold the note in almost all cases.



Here follow direct quotes from the document, as they appear but with emphasis added.



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note.



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 22 MERS doc



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having its employees become certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 34



Please Note: Fannie Mae's foreclosure regulations require an assignment from MERS to Fannie Mae in the Parish of Orleans. This means that Fannie Mae will be the foreclosing entity. This is the same requirement that exists when the servicer is the record mortgage holder.



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note.



possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 44 (Note: something was omitted here. This is exactly the way it reads on the page.)



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of (Note: something missing here also)



MERS should remain as the titleholder for as short of time as possible. Pg 45



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan.



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note. Pg 46



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights of the promissory note. Pg 50



During the redemption period, MERS will be considered to be titleholder. However, at the end of the redemption period, a deed to the investor should be executed as soon as possible so that MERS remains in the chain of title for as short a time as possible. Pg 54



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the owner and holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having its employees become certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Therefore, MERS is both the mortgage holder and the note holder as nominee for the current servicer. Pg 62



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note. Pg 63



Please Note: Fannie Mae's foreclosure regulations require an assignment from MERS to Fannie Mae in New Hampshire. This means that Fannie Mae will be the foreclosing entity. This is the same requirement that exists when the servicer is the record mortgage holder. Pg 66



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 68



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights of the promissory note.



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 70



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan.



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note. Pg 76



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note.



If the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan. Pg 80



Please Note: Fannie Mae's foreclosure regulations require an assignment from MERS to Fannie Mae in Rhode Island. This means that Fannie Mae will be the foreclosing entity. This is the same requirement that exists when the servicer is the record mortgage holder. Pg 87



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial right to the promissory note. Pg 88



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan.



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note. Pg 89



Even though the servicer has physical custody of the note, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial right to the promissory note. Pg 91



MERS prefers to not take title to the property, so the Certificate of Sale should be assigned if possible. However, either option is acceptable. Pg 92



MERS should only be in the chain of title for as short of a time as possible. As soon as the eviction is completed, the deed to HUD should be recorded. Pg 94



The servicer usually has physical custody of the note at the time of the foreclosure with a blank endorsement. This makes the servicer the noteholder for the purposes of foreclosing. However, custom in the mortgage industry is that the investor (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae or a private investor) owns the beneficial rights to the promissory note. Pg 99



We have been advised that the named plaintiff in the foreclosure action should be both the record holder of the mortgage and the holder of the promissory note. This is typically considered to be the servicer because if the promissory note is endorsed in blank and the servicer has physical custody of the note, the servicer will technically be the note holder as well as the record mortgage holder. By virtue of having the servicer's employees be certifying officers of MERS, there can be an in-house transfer of possession of the note so that MERS is considered the note holder for purposes of foreclosing the loan.



MERS should only remain the titleholder for as short as time as possible. A subsequent deed should be executed to the investor immediately. Pg 100



Local Counsel advises that the promissory note is endorsed to the servicer prior to commencing a foreclosure so that the servicer becomes the noteholder. In order for a foreclosure to be brought in the name of MERS, the note should be endorsed to MERS so that MERS is the noteholder. Pg 102







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A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


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Making <b>News</b> and Entertainment More Social in 2011 - Facebook <b>...</b>

In April, The Washington Post integrated Facebook Platform to create a social experience across the site with “Network News.” The Washington Post has seen more than 280% increase in referral traffic year-over-year, as news becomes ...

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: December 28, 2010 <b>...</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The reactor on your roof: Caltech breakthrough uses solar power to generate liquid fuel; Fmr. Shell president predicts $5-a-gallon gas by 2012; EPA develops neurotoxicants list; Obama admin takes ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Making <b>News</b> and Entertainment More Social in 2011 - Facebook <b>...</b>

In April, The Washington Post integrated Facebook Platform to create a social experience across the site with “Network News.” The Washington Post has seen more than 280% increase in referral traffic year-over-year, as news becomes ...

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: December 28, 2010 <b>...</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The reactor on your roof: Caltech breakthrough uses solar power to generate liquid fuel; Fmr. Shell president predicts $5-a-gallon gas by 2012; EPA develops neurotoxicants list; Obama admin takes ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Making <b>News</b> and Entertainment More Social in 2011 - Facebook <b>...</b>

In April, The Washington Post integrated Facebook Platform to create a social experience across the site with “Network News.” The Washington Post has seen more than 280% increase in referral traffic year-over-year, as news becomes ...

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: December 28, 2010 <b>...</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The reactor on your roof: Caltech breakthrough uses solar power to generate liquid fuel; Fmr. Shell president predicts $5-a-gallon gas by 2012; EPA develops neurotoxicants list; Obama admin takes ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Making <b>News</b> and Entertainment More Social in 2011 - Facebook <b>...</b>

In April, The Washington Post integrated Facebook Platform to create a social experience across the site with “Network News.” The Washington Post has seen more than 280% increase in referral traffic year-over-year, as news becomes ...

Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen: Green <b>News</b> Report: December 28, 2010 <b>...</b>

IN 'GREEN NEWS EXTRA' (see links below): The reactor on your roof: Caltech breakthrough uses solar power to generate liquid fuel; Fmr. Shell president predicts $5-a-gallon gas by 2012; EPA develops neurotoxicants list; Obama admin takes ...

Fugitive Banker Surrenders in $1.2 Million Fraud Case - AOL <b>News</b>

A former Oregon bank manager who fled after she was accused of stealing up to $1.2 million from customers has surrendered in California, the FBI said. The FBI had been seeking 37-year-old Shawna Leimomi Moore-Saia since Oct. 27, ...


bench craft company scam

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Help Making Money


While many people may mock the idea of accepting Facebook friend requests from strangers, that might be just what a long-term drug addict needs. An experiment being run in Amsterdam at the moment is exploring the idea.


Dutch branding agency Lemz has set up drug addict Monica with her own Facebook page. As she makes her way around the Dutch city she wears a bright blue jacket bearing text asking people to befriend her on the social network.


What can this possibly achieve? The idea is that by making friends online, Monica will be able to gain self confidence and new interests that will help inspire her to quit her addiction. On the page, Monica says “Don’t be afraid! If you decide to become my friend you will get an interesting peek into my daily life (with a maximum of two posts a day). I will NEVER ask for money or try to visit you in person. The only thing I will ask from you is your online friendship.”


Mark Woerde of Lemz tells us “It all started when a relative of mine started ikgebruik.nl to help junkies find their way to organisations of help. He asked me to help him to promote his site among drugs users. We soon found out that drugs users really wanted to help making this site a big success. Now the site ikgebruik.nl is run by drugs users, sharing their experiences and scaring of potential new users. What really struck me was that these drugs addicts by doing this felt like humans again. Especially when all news channels reported about this group of junkies now helping others.”


Now it’s hoped the Facebook idea will reaffirm Monica’s faith in humanity and that the idea could scale to more addicts in the city. “There are many many people out there who want to help others and you do not need 5000 friends per addict”, Woerde says.







Ok Go Explains There Are Lots Of Ways To Make Money If You Can Get Fans

from the everything's-possible dept

Over the last few years, we've covered many of the moves by the band Ok Go -- to build up a fanbase often with the help of amazingly viral videos, ditch their major record label (EMI), and explore new business model opportunities. In the last few days, two different members of Ok Go explained a bit more of the band's thinking in two separate places, and both are worth reading. First up, we have Tim Nordwind, who did an interview with Hypebot, where he explained the band's general view on file sharing:


Obviously we'd love for anyone who has our music to buy a copy. But again, we're realistic enough to know that most music can be found online for free. And trying to block people's access to it isn't good for bands or music. If music is going to be free, then musicians will simply have to find alternative methods to make a living in the music business. People are spending money on music, but it's on the technology to play it. They spend hundreds of dollars on Ipods, but then fill it with 80 gigs of free music. That's ok, but it's just a different world now, and bands must learn to adjust.

Elsewhere in the interview, he talks about the importance of making fans happy and how the band realizes that there are lots of different ways to make money, rather than just selling music directly:

Our videos have opened up many more opportunities for us to make the things we want to make, and to chase our best and wildest ideas. Yes, we need to figure out how to make a living in a world where people don't buy music anymore. But really, we've been doing that for the last ten years. Things like licensing, touring, merch, and also now making videos through corporate sponsorship have all allowed us to keep the lights on and continue making music.

Separately, last Friday, Damian Kulash wrote a nice writeup in the Wall Street Journal all about how bands can, should and will make money going forward. In many ways the piece reminds me a bit of my future of music business models post from earlier this year -- and Kulash even uses many of the same examples in his article (Corey Smith, Amanda Palmer, Josh Freese, etc.). It's a really worthwhile read as well. He starts by pointing out that for a little over half a century, the record labels had the world convinced that the "music" industry really was just the "recorded music" industry:

For a decade, analysts have been hyperventilating about the demise of the music industry. But music isn't going away. We're just moving out of the brief period--a flash in history's pan--when an artist could expect to make a living selling records alone. Music is as old as humanity itself, and just as difficult to define. It's an ephemeral, temporal and subjective experience.



For several decades, though, from about World War II until sometime in the last 10 years, the recording industry managed to successfully and profitably pin it down to a stable, if circular, definition: Music was recordings of music. Records not only made it possible for musicians to connect with listeners anywhere, at any time, but offered a discrete package for commoditization. It was the perfect bottling of lightning: A powerful experience could be packaged in plastic and then bought and sold like any other commercial product.

But, he notes, that time is now gone, thanks in large part to the internet. But that doesn't mean the music business is in trouble. Just the business of selling recorded music. But there's lots of things musicians can sell. He highlights Corey Smith and Smith's ability to make millions by giving away his music for free, and then touring. But he also points out that touring isn't for everyone. He covers how corporate licensing has become a bigger and bigger opportunity for bands that are getting popular. While he doesn't highlight the specific economics of it, what he's really talking about is that if your band is big, you can sell your fan's attention -- which is something Ok Go has done successfully by getting corporate sponsorship of their videos. As he notes, the sponsors provide more money than the record labels with many fewer strings:

These days, money coming from a record label often comes with more embedded creative restrictions than the marketing dollars of other industries. A record label typically measures success in number of records sold. Outside sponsors, by contrast, tend to take a broader view of success. The measuring stick could be mentions in the press, traffic to a website, email addresses collected or views of online videos. Artists have meaningful, direct, and emotional access to our fans, and at a time when capturing the public's attention is increasingly difficult for the army of competing marketers, that access is a big asset.



...



Now when we need funding for a large project, we look for a sponsor. A couple weeks ago, my band held an eight-mile musical street parade through Los Angeles, courtesy of Range Rover. They brought no cars, signage or branding; they just asked that we credit them in the documentation of it. A few weeks earlier, we released a music video made in partnership with Samsung, and in February, one was underwritten by State Farm.



We had complete creative control in the productions. At the end of each clip we thanked the company involved, and genuinely, because we truly are thankful. We got the money we needed to make what we want, our fans enjoyed our videos for free, and our corporate Medicis got what their marketing departments were after: millions of eyes and goodwill from our fans. While most bands struggle to wrestle modest video budgets from labels that see videos as loss leaders, ours wind up making us a profit.

Of course, that only works if you have a big enough fanbase, but that doesn't mean there aren't things that less well known bands can use to make money as well. He talks about an up-and-coming band in LA that doesn't even have a manager that was able make money:

The unsigned and unmanaged Los Angeles band Killola toured last summer and offered deluxe USB packages that included full albums, live recordings and access to two future private online concerts for $40 per piece. Killola grossed $18,000 and wound up in the black for their tour. Mr. Donnelly says, "I can't imagine they'll be ordering their yacht anytime soon, but traditionally bands at that point in their careers aren't even breaking even on tour."

The point, Kulash, notes, is that there's a lot of things a band can sell, focusing on "selling themselves." And, the thing he doesn't mention is that, when you're focusing on selling the overall experience that is "you" as a musician or a band, it's something that can't be freely copied. People can copy the music all they want, but they can't copy you. "You" are a scarce good that can't be "pirated." That's exactly what more and more musicians are figuring out these days, and it's helping to make many more artists profitable. And, no, it doesn't mean that any artist can make money. But it certainly looks like any artist that understands this can do a hell of a lot better than they would have otherwise, if they just relied on the old way of making money in the music business.



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bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

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bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

WikiLeaks documents leaked again : Views and <b>News</b> from Norway

“I have no comment on how we secured access to the documents,” Aftenposten's news editor Ole Erik Almlid told DN. “We never reveal our sources, not in this case either.” DN also reported that WikiLeaks spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson had ...

Small Business <b>News</b>: Your Social Media Update

How important is social media to your small business? Social media is no longer a little subject. It may be one of the most important forms of marketing and.

WarioWare D.I.Y. games cover 2010 <b>news</b> | Joystiq

British mag NGamer put together a clever 2010 "year in review" of mainstream news using WarioWare DIY. Some of the referenced incidents may be obvious internationally, while others are quite UK specific, so we made a list of the ...


bench craft company scam

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

personal finance programs




The Electrical Engineering PhD and former CEO of Northrop Grumman will join Apple’s board of directors and serve as the Chair of the Audit and Finance Committee.  The spot was vacated when Jerome York passed away in March.


“Ron is an engineer at heart, who then became a very successful business leader. We are very excited to welcome him to Apple’s Board,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “In addition to having been the CEO of a high-tech Fortune 100 company, Ron has a Ph.D. in engineering and has been involved in the development of some very sophisticated technology.”


A little background from Wikipedia:.


Ronald D. Sugar (born 1949) has been chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Northrop Grumman Corporation, a global defense company, since 2003. On September 16, 2009, he announced that he would retire as CEO from Northrop Grumman at the end of the year, to be succeeded by now Chief Operating Officer Wesley G. Bush. He has also been a director of Chevron Corporation since 2005. In 1968, he graduated summa cum laude in engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles. He obtained a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from UCLA in 1971. He is a member of the USC Board of Trustees.


Press release follows.




Giving gifts that help

I’ve put together a list of items that save the recipient money or fill a specific need. Prices range from as little as $5 to upwards of $50 or more — and some of the suggestions will cost you little except time.