SEC Rule for Surprise Audits Eased back After Successful Lobbying?
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox) – The Securities and Exchange Commission approved a rule last week requiring some investment advisors who manage customer funds to undergo annual surprise audits. The rule prompted by the Bernard Madoff scandal, requires certain SEC-registered advisers who have custody of clients’ assets to retain an independent public accountant to conduct an annual surprise exam to verify that the money actually exists. If funds are found missing during the process, the accountants must notify the SEC.
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Cheney Uses Christmas Attack to Undermine President Obama’s ‘Low Key Response’
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox)—On Christmas day, a Nigerian plotter armed with an explosive device sewn inside his underwear attempted to blow up a U.S. airliner, as the plane prepared to land in Detroit. His plot was foiled, thanks to a faulty bomb and the quick-thinking of passengers and crew. Minutes after the attempted act of terrorism, before all of the facts were known, Republican Congressmen, Pete Hoekstra (MI) and Peter King (NY) shamelessly appeared before multiple media outlets, condemning President Obama for the attack, trying to make political hay from an event that could have resulted in the mass murder of nearly 300 people. The classy Pete Hoekstra, who is running for governor of Michigan, even went so far as to rush out a fund raising appeal seeking donations up to $250, exploiting the botched terror attempt to fill his campaign coffers.
And right on cue, the evil Dark Sith Lord of politics, former Vice President Dick Cheney, crawled out from under a rock in Wyoming to send his expected attack missive to Politico where it was dutifully published. Cheney attacked President Obama’s “low key response” to the attempted terror attack, claiming in his statement that President Obama “is trying to pretend we are not at war.” Read more
Texas Tech has fired football head coach Mike Leach
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox) — Texas Tech has fired football coach Mike Leach after suspending by the university on Monday while the school investigated allegations that he mistreated an injured player. Leach denied allegations he acted improperly in the treatment of injured wide receiver Adam James, and was set to appear before a Lubbock County district court on Wednesday seeking a temporary restraining order that would reinstate him in time to coach in Saturday’s game against Michigan State in the Alamo Bowl. Read more
Professor Stabbed To Death In Home By Man Claiming Sex Assault
December 30, 2009
Indiana (ChattahBox) – An English assistant professor at Indiana University was found stabbed to death in his home this week, after the killer claimed that the man had sexually assaulted him on Christmas Day.
German Computer Scientist Crack Mobile Safety Code
December 30, 2009
Germany (ChattahBox) – A computer scientists from Germany has manged to break the code used to encrypt mobile phone calls and keep people from listening in. And he has chosen to publish the results.
Story Of Alleged Attack On Tiger Woods Revealed From Inside Source
December 30, 2009
U.S. (ChattahBox) – Retired sports writer, Furman Bisher, has released a story on his blog, explaining what he says an ‘inside source’ told him about the night Tiger Woods crashed his car.
Refuting Witnesses Claim Dutch Say Abdulmutallab Had Passport
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox) — As we reported here a couple days ago, a Michigan man Kurt Haskell, who flew on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit, believes he witnessed alleged terrorist bomber, Umar Farouq Abdulmutallab, trying to board the plane earlier in the day without a passport. But Holland’s counter-terrorism agency said Wednesday, Abdulmutallab did present a passport to authorities in Amsterdam before boarding the Detroit-bound plane. Abdulmutallab was carrying a valid Nigerian passport and had a valid U.S. visa, the Dutch said. They claim after a layover of less than three hours, he passed through a security check at the gate in Amsterdam, including a hand baggage scan and a metal detector, officials said. But his name did not appear on any Dutch list of terror suspects. Read more
Al-Qaeda Recruited Underwear Bomber While London Student
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox)—A clearer picture is emerging of Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, the 23-year-old Nigerian accused of a failed attempt to blow up an airplane, as it started its descent in Detroit, Michigan on Christmas day. Authorities in Britain now believe that Abdulmutallab was recruited by al-Qaeda, after he became immersed in radical Islamic politics while an undergraduate student at University College London. The Christmas bomber charged with attempting to blow up Northwest Airlines Flight 253, by igniting the explosive PETN sewn inside his underwear, was the president of the school’s Islamic Society. And British authorities say that Abdulmutallab is the fourth president of a London student Islamic society charged with terrorism charges in just three years. Read more
Iraqi kidnappers release British hostage Peter Moore after two years of captivity
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox) – A British man Peter Moore, held hostage in Iraq for more than two-and-a-half years has been freed, according to Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Miliband said via The Daily Mail:
‘He is now in the care of the British Embassy in Baghdad.
‘I’ve spoken to the acting ambassador and I’ve just had a very moving conversation with Peter himself.
‘He’s in good health despite many months in captivity. He’s going to be reunited with his family as soon as possible in the Uk’
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CIA Sat on Underwear Bomber Report: Blame Game Erupts
December 30, 2009
(ChattahBox)—CNN reported on Tuesday that the Central Intelligence Agency prepared a report in November on the Flight 253 bomber, which was sent to headquarters in Langley, Virginia where it sat for five-weeks without being shared with other agencies. The failure of security agencies to share information was a systemic failure found by the 9/11 Commission Report, and it seems the problem remains. And soon after President Obama’s speech yesterday blaming the botched “terrorist attack on “human and systemic failures,” the unnamed and “reliable” sources came out of the woodwork to engage in the bureaucratic blame game and it appears that the CIA drew the short straw. But “systemic failures,” and turf battles only ensure that the American public continues to come out on the losing end. Read more