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* Why didn’t the experts see this crisis coming?

* Who let this happen?

* Where were the regulators?

* Were they overseeing our money or were they overlooking blatant fraud and theft?

Life On The Edge Of A Bubble is the first film to bring to light the financial shenanigans of the real invisible hands that have distorted the free market, eroded trust in our financial and political institutions, and threatened the promise of the American Dream.

Source: SKY News

Russia is planning to create a crack group of special military forces to help carve out and patrol the Arctic, which it claims is its territory.

The area will be controlled by Russia’s shadowy secret service, the FSB - the successor organization to the KGB.

A new document released by the Presidential Security Council lays bare Russia’s aggressive military intentions for the disputed region.

The country’s military elite have stated in the past how they are prepared to fight wars in the Arctic as the scramble for natural resources in the region heats up.

Russia launched an expedition to the Arctic in August 2007.

A team of scientists on board an atomic icebreaker placed a Russian tricolour on the seabed making a symbolic land grab.

The Arctic - with its untapped bounty of oil, gas and minerals - has become a new frontier in the cold war between Russia and the West.

Moscow’s claim is disputed by the four other Arctic nations - the United States, Canada, Norway and Denmark.

Arguments over who controls the Arctic are becoming more confrontational.

Analysts believe Russia has hardened its resolve to establish its presence in the Arctic by all means - economic, political and military.

Its military presence will be used as a deterrent against attempts by others to gain more influence.

The Arctic is one of the last places on the planet not to have been tapped for its mineral wealth.

Underneath the ocean it is thought there are enormous deposits of oil and gas - some experts estimate as much as 25% of the world’s resources.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Cameras to Catch Speeders and Scofflaws Are Spreading — And Sparking Road Rage

By WILLIAM M. BULKELEY

The village of Schaumburg, Ill., installed a camera at Woodfield Mall last November to film cars that were running red lights, then used the footage to issue citations. Results were astonishing. The town issued $1 million in fines in just three months.

But drivers caught by the unforgiving enforcement — which mainly snared those who didn’t come to a full stop before turning right on red — exploded in anger. Many vowed to stop shopping at the mall unless the camera was turned off. The village stopped monitoring right turns at the intersection in January.

Once a rarity, traffic cameras are filming away across the country. And they’re not just focusing their sights on red-light runners. The latest technology includes cameras that keep tabs on highways to catch speeders in the act and infrared license-plate readers that nab ticket and tax scofflaws.

Vehicles drive past a speed surveillance and ticketing camera on a road heading into downtown in Cleveland, Ohio, earlier this month. The cameras measure the speed of passing motorists and make a photo of the car’s license plate so the city can mail a speeding ticket to the offending driver.

Drivers — many accusing law enforcement of using spy tactics to trap unsuspecting citizens — are fighting back with everything from pick axes to camera-blocking Santa Clauses. They’re moving beyond radar detectors and CB radios to wage their own tech war against detection, using sprays that promise to blur license numbers and Web sites that plot the cameras’ locations and offer tips to beat them..

A member of the bomb squad outside Lawerence District Court House

Source: WBZTV

The court was evacuated when a janitor reporting for work found a suitcase with a cell phone and note - directing the finder to call the bomb squad and news media.

The FBI, AFT and state police were called to the scene and police officers were dispatched to area banks and credit unions.

The bank coverage was a precaution after a series of recent incidents in other eastern Massachusetts towns, where bomb threats were apparently used as a distraction for nearby bank robberies.

Lawrence Police Chief John Romero said there is nothing to suggest this was a diversion, but they wanted to be cautious.

Thursday, a suspicious device was found at a payphone in Weymouth just minutes before a bank on Washington Street was robbed. Similar incidents have occurred within the last week in Natick and Holbrook.

In Lawrence, the bomb squad x-rayed the suitcase and discovered there were no explosives inside. The suitcase was then detonated with a water cannon. Lawrence police searched the entire courthouse, and just before noon reopened it and the surrounding streets for business.

Investigators are now looking at surveillance tape from the courthouse to see if they can find any clues. There is not a camera in the entryway area, but there are some around the outside of the building.
The FBI is trying to determine if two suspicious devices found near each other in Wellesley on Thursday are connected, and if it could all be part of a serial robber’s plan to hit local banks.

The incidents on Thursday caused major traffic problems during the evening rush, as a stretch of Washington Street (Route 16) was shut down.

Wellesley police and the FBI evacuated the area after finding one device at a payphone outside a supermarket and the other inside a bank.

FIRST DEVICE, SECOND DEVICE

The first device was found after somebody dialed 911 and hung up, from the payphone outside the Star Market at 448 Washington Street. Responding police found the device on top of the phone. A special bomb squad robot was used to detonate it.

Minutes later, a masked gunman held up a Bank of America branch about half a mile away at 342 Washington Street. That robber left a device on the bank counter. Investigators are now examining the material from both devices for similarities, and to determine if they were actual explosives or hoax devices.

SIMILAR INCIDENTS IN LAST WEEK

Wellesley Police Sgt. Marie Clearly confirmed authorities are also looking into whether Thursday’s robbery and bomb scare are connected to two similar incidents in the last week.

On Monday, a device was found wired to a payphone in Needham, with a note attached to it. Like in Wellesley, somebody called 911 from that phone, and hung up.

Last week, somebody called in a bomb scare to an elementary school in Holbrook, minutes before the nearby Randolph Savings Bank was robbed.

Source: NBC San Diego

A new Senate bill that would give government funding to struggling newspapers could result in complete state control of the press, critics say.

Democratic Sen. Benjamin Cardin of Maryland proposed a bill this week that would allow newspapers to operate as tax-exempt nonprofits in order to keep the sinking industry afloat.

The government funding could make participating papers less likely to criticize the administration in power - a problem for a democracy that’s founded on the freedom of the press, those who oppose the bill say.

“It would de-claw participating newspapers, which couldn’t endorse candidates or freely question the party in power,” Ken McIntyre, a media and public policy fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, told Fox News.

“Reporters and editors are supposed to be wary skeptics of politicians and bureaucrats on behalf of readers — not beholden to the government’s favor,” he said.

The new legislation would prohibit the papers from making official endorsements of any political candidates. This could cause a problem for the outlets’ editorial pages, which frequently make explicit reference to which candidate or cause the paper supports.

Editorial sections aren’t mentioned specifically in Cardin’s bill.

“Since the Bill of Rights was passed, the government has never had a voice in the press. This is a very dangerous provision,” blogger Alan Mutter told Fox.

“It’s very unhealthy,” he said.

Cardin said the bill could be the only option for newspapers who are close to shutting their doors.

“This may not be the optimal choice for some major newspapers or corporate media chains,” said Cardin, “but it should be an option for many newspapers that are struggling to stay afloat.”

No other Senators have voiced public support for the bill.