20 September 2013

NAB aims to 'footify' every Australian in new campaign

One reason to stay away from NAB, as they are 'forcing' you into a sport which, you may not necessarily support or even want to have ANYTHING to do with.

The banking elite at its best.

Corpau has posted a comment on the youtube video with the content:

"Brainwashing the morons"

It will be interesting if the so called 'Freedom of Speech', the corporatocracy follows.

For the record, Australian football is approaching a billion dollar industry.

It was created in the working class suburbs of Melbourne to keep the workers occupied, and focused away from the fraudulent dealings of the (corrupt) politicians. It was marketed under the name of the  VFL - Victorian Football League.

Its popularity flourished, and in a very well executed marketing campaign, the code went nationwide, with a name change to the AFL (Australian Football League).

See video posted on youtube at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u84utFYV1Xo&cid=103244614:0

See comment that the NAB will probably NOT publish:


Older wireless microphones to become illegal

The communications regulator confirmed on Tuesday it will become illegal in 2015 to use wireless microphones that transmit at a certain frequency.


Wireless audio device users Scott Doyle (left), Nick Carroll, the Reverend Mark Pearce and Irene Nickole. Photo: Simon Schluter


And all wireless microphones sold in Australia must now come with a written warning if the equipment only operates at the 700 megahertz frequency. The Australian Communications and Media Authority also plans to restrict the supply of non-compliant wireless microphones in the market.

Meanwhile, user groups told Fairfax Media they will continue to pressure the federal government for financial help for an estimated 150,000 wireless microphone users who need to upgrade their equipment.

Wireless microphones that transmit at between 694 megahertz and 820 megahertz would become illegal to use after December 31, 2014, because those frequencies have been sold to mobile network operators and would be handed over on January 1, 2015.

"Many community groups and small businesses use wireless microphones in their day-to-day work – ranging from school assemblies to local theatres to gyms and places of worship," said the Australian Communications and Media Authority's chairman, Chris Chapman.

"The intention continues to be to give Australians as much time as possible to prepare for the changes and we strongly encourage people to check their equipment now. Anyone considering buying a new wireless microphone or audio device should check for the warning label and ensure they are buying a compliant one."

The government first announced the changes in 2010 and the ACMA has held consultations and workshops with the industry since then. Wireless microphone users were advised in May this year they would have to move to between 520 and 694 megahertz or between 1790 and 1800 megahertz.

However, a lobby group called the Australian Wireless Audio Group, which represents thousands of users and suppliers, said earlier this year that replacing the equipment currently in use would collectively cost more than $200 million and wanted government funding to help with the cost of equipment upgrades.

Executive chairman of the Australian Commercial and Entertainment Technologies Association, Ian Harvey, said the group would be talking to the new Communications Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, about a buy-back scheme for old wireless microphones.

"We believe there will be at least 150,000 non-compliant devices," Mr Harvey said.

"What we are looking for is a scheme that will assist our users through the transition period."

There could still be non-compliant equipment on sale in Australia, although most suppliers sold transmitters that operated at other frequencies, and equipment bought online risked breaching the new rules, Mr Harvey added.

smh.com.au 17 Sep 2013

Unbeknown to the general population at large, another 'act' passed as law that is technically unlawful.

Northcote resident says smart meter caused her tinnitus

A NORTHCOTE resident says her pleas to an ­electricity provider to get rid of the smart meter she's blaming for her tinnitus are falling on deaf ears.


Vasiliki Erophile is calling for residents to have access to an opt-out clause similar to Holland and the UK where people can refuse similar technology.


Ms Erophile said she started getting tinnitus - a condition that causes ringing in the ears - after moving into her house, which has a smart meter installed next to her bedroom.

"I'm just exhausted because I can't get any sleep with the constant ringing in my ears - sometimes it's so bad I feel as if my head's ­going to explode," she said.

"Even when I sleep in ­another room in the house, I still get the ringing but it's not quite as bad." Ms ­Erophile said when she stayed at friends' houses where there were no smart meters, the problem went away.

She said a doctor had diagnosed tinnitus and given her a letter of support in a bid to get CitiPower to remove the meter. But despite several requests, the company has refused to remove it and ­reinstall an analog system.

CitiPower spokesperson Lyndall King said the company was unable to switch customers back to an analog system, regardless of the reason for the request.

She said the State Government had mandated the smart metre program, with 2.5 million to be installed by the end of 2013.

The company's website states the radio-frequency exposure from smart meters is lower than other devices such as mobile phones and baby monitors.

heraldsun.com.au  14 aug 2013

Unfortunately the corporate media cover-up is enormous.

What the media re NOT telling you is that you can choose NOT to have 'smart meter' installed at your premises if you so desire.

Installers are bullying people (especially the elderly) as they obtain a fee for installing the meter, therefore it is in the installers best financial interest for the customer to install such a meter.

There is NO lawfully passed act that mandates a 'customer' to have a 'smart meter' installed.

Inmates may be freed to live in caravans to ease prison overcrowding

PRISONERS would be released to live on the outside and toil in work gangs under a radical plan to ease jail overcrowding. 
 
The proposal, by Corrections Victoria, would have the most trustworthy inmates freed to live in disused community facilities or caravans.

The State Government has been facing mounting pressure over a cramped prison population and police being forced to look after some sentenced offenders in station cells.

Although new jails will be built in Victoria, demand for space will also increase as the government's get-tough-on- crime agenda leads to higher incarceration rates.

"The Government is always considering ways to make the corrections systems better and more efficient," James Talia, a spokesman for the Corrections Minister Ed O'Donohue said.

"Corrections has been asked to do more work on this idea before the Government assesses whether it will proceed."

A place on the work gangs would be viewed as a privilege earned by prisoners for good behaviour.
Most of those eligible would be nearing the end of their sentences, lessening the temptation to break the law and receive more prison time.

Only those serving time for non-violent and non-sexual crimes would be considered.

Planting trees, erecting fencing and clearing waterways would be among jobs to which they could be assigned.

Those on release would be supervised by Corrections Victoria staff.

Other elements helping push the proposal are:
BIG potential cost savings, compared to housing inmates behind bars;
PRISONERS being seen as giving something back to the community;
PROVIDING an extra incentive for good conduct;
INMATES developing new skills.

The plan will ultimately need the State Government's approval to be instigated.

A Department of Justice source said it was being painstakingly examined for pitfalls but, at this stage, appeared a potential solution to the jail overcrowding scourge.

"On paper, it looks like an idea which may work to satisfy a lot of requirements but we have to make sure it can work in practice," the source said.

"It wouldn't hurt any of these blokes to give something back to the community."

The prisoners involved would be lower risk offenders from minimum security jails.

Those would include Langi Kal Kal, west of Ballarat, Dhurringile, near Shepparton, and Beechworth in the state's northeast. Some of those prisoners already work on external community projects but are not allowed to live outside prison walls.

heraldsun.com.au 16 Sep 2013

Australia, one of he better places in the world to be a criminal, especially a white collar one.

At the end of the day, the legal system is letting out criminals onto the streets, in order so that they re-offend and the public pays again for their crimes.

Tim Mathieson's car use cost Julia Gillard $4000

JULIA Gillard wrote a personal cheque for $4243 to the Department of Finance because her partner, Tim Mathieson, had misused her taxpayer-funded car to drive around Victoria selling shampoo and other haircare products in breach of parliamentary rules. 

Documents released to The Australian under Freedom of Information laws yesterday show that Ms Gillard made the payment on March 9, 2007, as deputy leader of the opposition because of concern over a breach of rules forbidding the use of the car for commercial purposes. The documents were provided yesterday after a 10-month battle by the former prime minister and her office to prevent the Department of Finance from following through on its decision to release the material.


The $4243 repayment by Ms Gillard indicates her office estimated that Mr Mathieson had driven several thousand kilometres while pursuing his commercial interests in the private-plated car, which was wholly funded by the commonwealth.

Controversy over the alleged misuse of taxpayer-funded entitlements has dogged parliamentarians this year. Former Speaker Peter Slipper has pleaded not guilty over the alleged misuse of about $1200 in taxpayer-funded Cabcharge dockets to visit Canberra wineries in 2010.

Mr Slipper, who was investigated by Australian Federal Police, repeatedly claimed that the prosecution was unfair as he was being treated differently from other parliamentarians, including Tony Abbott, who repaid a claim for travel expenses incurred while promoting a book.

In Victoria, the state ombudsman's findings over alleged misuse by independent MP Geoff Shaw of his taxpayer-funded car in the day-to-day running of his hardware company has led to a political crisis and an ongoing police probe. Mr Shaw holds the balance of power.

Victorian Labor legal affairs spokesman Martin Pakula said last week that a closed parliamentary hearing into the alleged misuse by Mr Shaw was wrong as "nobody is going to know how rigorously these matters have been pursued".

"All that we will hear is a verdict from the committee," Mr Pakula said. "Geoff Shaw should get a real grilling from all members of the committee."

The misuse of Ms Gillard's parliamentary entitlement was not known until a whistleblower alerted The Australian late last year to Mr Mathieson's heavy use of the car when he was a PPS Hairwear salesman of hair products shortly after their relationship began.

One of four documents released yesterday is the March 2007 letter written by Ms Gillard's then chief of staff to the entitlements manager of the Department of Finance, and a copy of Ms Gillard's personal cheque.

The letter states: "Following the election of Julia Gillard as deputy leader of the opposition and my subsequent appointment as chief of staff, Ms Gillard asked me to undertake a comprehensive check of her entitlements.

"I am writing to address an issue. In relation to the use of Ms Gillard's private-plated vehicle, I believe there may have been some use of the car outside of the guidelines, particularly in relation to guideline 4.4.7.

"To ensure absolute compliance with the guidelines, please find enclosed a payment of $4243.58 to reimburse the department for the use of the vehicle."

An internal Department of Finance memo states: "The repayment related to Ms Gillard's partner's use of the vehicle. Partner is nominated driver."

Ms Gillard's chief of staff calculated the amount based on the kilometres believed to have been travelled by Mr Mathieson, indicating he accrued more than 6000km before it was brought to the department's attention. Mr Mathieson, a hair dresser, and Ms Gillard began seeing each other in early 2006. Soon after he worked for PPS Hairwear and travelled through regional Victoria. Under the rules he was permitted to use the car - but he could not use it for his own business.

Parliamentary Library records of payments for travel entitlements show the cost to taxpayers of running Ms Gillard's car more than doubled to $9200 in the second half of 2006 compared with $4162 in the same period in 2005. This was the highest increase of Victoria-based parliamentarians.

The Australian asked Bruce Wolpe, a spokesman for Ms Gillard, for a response from the former prime minister and Mr Mathieson to the disclosures. Mr Wolpe replied that there would be "no further comment".

Other documents released previously show the car was in minor accidents, leading to insurance claims for repairs.

A month ago, Information Commissioner John McMillan ruled against Ms Gillard's attempts to block the release of the material under FOI with a decision in which he stated: "The central facts disclosed in the documents are that there may have been an incident of non-compliance with government guidelines on parliamentary entitlements."

Ms Gillard, who has quit politics, did not pursue the option of lodging an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal within four weeks of the Information Commissioner's decision.

Professor McMillan ruled: "Members of parliament would be aware that their enjoyment of parliamentary entitlements must comply with relevant rules or guidelines, and that this will be independently scrutinised. In that event, it could reasonably be expected that information would be released as to whether the enjoyment of parliamentary entitlements complied with government guidelines, including whether the enjoyment of those entitlements by a family member complied."

theaustralian.com.au 17 Sep 2013

Tim Mathieson, another white collar criminal escaping prosecution.

The Anglo-Masonic legal system works to the detriment of everyday Australians.

Covert police tactics on slide after scrutiny from Public Interest Monitor

POLICE have abandoned one in 10 attempts to use covert methods in investigations following scrutiny from a new overseer. 

The Public Interest Monitor, set up as part of Victoria's new anti-corruption regime, says police have withdrawn six applications for top-secret warrants following challenges from its staff.

The PIM attends court to oversee applications by police and anti-corruption agencies for warrants authorising invasive investigative techniques.

These include the use of phone taps and surveillance devices, covert searches, and interrogations in which persons are legally obliged to answer.

The new Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, which started operation in July 2012, made no applications between February and July this year.

The PIM, set up after an explosion in the number of phone taps in Victoria, says police withdrew six of 57 applications.

Police declined to explain to the Herald Sun the reasons for the withdrawals.

In its annual report, the PIM says two were shelved after its staff "made submissions as to the merits" of the applications in court. The other four never made it into court after discussions between police and the PIM.

PIM advocates appear in court whenever an investigative body, such as police or anti-corruption investigators, applies to use invasive tools such as phone taps.

Before the PIM's creation, investigative agencies had applied for these warrants unopposed.

"On most occasions, the PIM had questions and raised issues in relation to applications," the PIM report says. Its says its questions were dealt with in a "satisfactory manner".

The PIM was set up after Ombudsman George Brouwer warned in 2011 that phone tap applications were not subject to sufficient scrutiny, creating the potential for misuse.

Concerns about phone taps were raised during investigations that followed a rift between former police commissioner Simon Overland and his former deputy, Sir Ken Jones.

The Herald Sun has reported that in the three years to 2011, every phone tap application by police and the former Office of Police Integrity was granted.

The PIM report shows the police Professional Standards Command made six applications, all granted without challenge by the PIM.

The Office of the Chief Examiner made one.

The principal PIM, Brendan Murphy QC, declined to comment, citing legal restrictions.

Victoria Police described its relationship with the PIM as "productive".

heraldsun.com.au 16 Sep 2013

Another criminal organisation that cannot be touched., which was headed by (Teflon) Simon.

The joke in the industry was "Simon Says" with reference to the children's game.

Victoria Police is a business (ABN: 63 466 481 493) and is considered as one of the most corrupt police corporations in the country.

The police function as debt collectors for the Australian government (an act that is unlawful).

Victoria is truly a police state, something to which the masses have not yet awakened to .

Brazil may opt out of US-centric internet after NSA spying claims

BRAZIL plans to divorce itself from the US-centric internet over Washington's widespread online spying in a move that may fracture the global network. 

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ordered a series of measures aimed at greater Brazilian online independence and security following revelations that the US National Security Agency intercepted her communications, hacked into the state-owned Petrobras oil company's network and spied on Brazilians who entrusted their personal data to US tech companies such as Facebook and Google.

The leader is so angered by the espionage that she's considering cancelling a trip to Washington next month where she's scheduled to be honoured with a state dinner.

Internet security and policy experts say the Brazilian government's reaction to information leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is understandable, but warn it could set the Internet on a course of Balkanization.

"The global backlash is only beginning and will get far more severe in coming months," said Sascha Meinrath, director of the Open Technology Institute at the Washington-based New America Foundation think tank. "This notion of national privacy sovereignty is going to be an increasingly salient issue around the globe."

While Brazil isn't proposing to bar its citizens from US-based Web services, it wants their data to be stored locally as the nation assumes greater control over Brazilians' internet use to protect them from NSA snooping.

The danger of mandating that kind of geographic isolation, Mr Meinrath said, is that it could render inoperable popular software applications and services and endanger the internet's open, interconnected structure.

The effort by Latin America's biggest economy to digitally isolate itself from US spying not only could be costly and difficult, it could encourage repressive governments to seek greater technical control over the internet to crush free expression at home, experts say.

In December, countries advocating greater "cyber-sovereignty" pushed for such control at an International Telecommunications Union meeting in Dubai, with Western democracies led by the United States and the European Union in opposition.

US digital security expert Bruce Schneier says that while Brazil's response is a rational reaction to NSA spying, it is likely to embolden "some of the worst countries out there to seek more control over their citizens' Internet. That's Russia, China, Iran and Syria."

Ms Rousseff says she intends to push for international rules on privacy and security in hardware and software during the UN General Assembly meeting later this month. Among Snowden revelations: the NSA has created backdoors in software and web-based services.
Brazil is now pushing more aggressively than any other nation to end US commercial hegemony on the Internet. More than 80 per cent of online search, for example, is controlled by US-based companies.

Most of Brazil's global Internet traffic passes through the United States, so Rousseff's government plans to lay underwater fiber optic cable directly to Europe and also link to all South American nations to create what it hopes will be a network free of US eavesdropping.

More communications integrity protection is expected when Telebras, the state-run telecom company, works with partners to oversee the launch in 2016 of Brazil's first communications satellite, for military and public Internet traffic. Brazil's military currently relies on a satellite run by Embratel, which Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim controls.

Ms Rousseff is urging Brazil's Congress to compel Facebook, Google and all companies to store data generated by Brazilians on servers physically located inside Brazil in order to shield it from the NSA.
If that happens, and other nations follow suit, Silicon Valley's bottom line could be hit by lost business and higher operating costs: Brazilians rank No. 3 on Facebook and No. 2 on Twitter and YouTube. An August study by a respected US technology policy nonprofit estimated the fallout from the NSA spying scandal could cost the US cloud computing industry, which stores data remotely to give users easy access from any device, as much as $US35 billion ($37 billion) by 2016 in lost business.

Brazil also plans to build more internet exchange points, places where vast amounts of data are relayed, in order to route Brazilians' traffic away from potential interception.

And its postal service plans by next year to create an encrypted email service that could serve as an alternative to Gmail and Yahoo!, which according to Snowden-leaked documents are among US tech giants that have collaborated closely with the NSA.

"Brazil intends to increase its independent internet connections with other countries," Ms Rousseff's office said.

It cited a "common understanding" between Brazil and the European Union on data privacy, and said "negotiations are underway in South America for the deployment of land connections between all nations." It said Brazil plans to boost investment in home-grown technology and buy only software and hardware that meet government data privacy specifications.

While the plans' technical details are pending, experts say they will be costly for Brazil and ultimately can be circumvented. Just as people in China and Iran defeat government censors with tools such as "proxy servers," so could Brazilians bypass their government's controls.

International spies, not just from the United States, also will adjust, experts said. Laying cable to Europe won't make Brazil safer, they say. The NSA has reportedly tapped into undersea telecoms cables for decades.

Mr Meinrath and others argue that what's needed instead are strong international laws that hold nations accountable for guaranteeing online privacy.

"There's nothing viable that Brazil can really do to protect its citizenry without changing what the US is doing," he said.

Matthew Green, a Johns Hopkins computer security expert, said Brazil won't protect itself from intrusion by isolating itself digitally. It will also be discouraging technological innovation, he said, by encouraging the entire nation to use a state-sponsored encrypted email service.

"It's sort of like a Soviet socialism of computing," he said, adding that the US "free-for-all model works better."

news.com.au 18 Sep 2013
 
As part of the global agenda to monitor all communications by the 'enemy of the state' (read the people), the United States of America will continue these operations irrespective of what the masses say or do.

As part of this 'conspiracy' all patents (read people's Intellectual Property) are stored in the United States.

ASX directors Shane Finemore and Russell Aboud quit after US trade scandal

A SHARE-TRADING scandal in the US has claimed two long-serving directors of the Australian Securities Exchange, with Shane Finemore and Russell Aboud resigning from the ASX's board. 
 
ASX chairman Rick Holliday Smith was told by the directors of their intentions last night following a board discussion over a US Securities and Exchange Commission fine imposed on Manikay for short-selling shares in Citigroup in 2009.

The SEC has fined Manikay $US2.65 million ($2.83m), including its profits on the trade. Manikay was among 23 funds that were caught up in a wide-ranging crackdown by the SEC on short selling.

In a short statement to the stock exchange this morning, ASX said that Mr Aboud and Mr Finemore had advised the board of their resignation as directors. As a result, Mr Finemore would not stand for re-election at ASX's annual general meeting on September 25, the company said.

Chairman Rick Holliday-Smith thanked the men for the "valued contribution" they had made since joining the board.

In a separate statement, Mr Holliday-Smith said that the event that triggered the directors' resignations did not raise any issues with regard to the AXS's governance. The markets operator oversees governance standards for about 2000 public companies in Australia.

"ASX has an ongoing program of board renewal and this process will now be used to find suitable replacements in the coming months," the chairman said.

ASX board members held a discussion yesterday after news of the fines totalling $US14.4m broke. Mr Finemore was in New York; Mr Aboud was in Australia.

Mr Aboud last night told The Australian that he was sad to have to resign, but that it was "the right thing to do" to avoid any perception problem for the ASX.

"We would not have done it otherwise," Mr Aboud said.

The short-selling of the Citigroup shares was an "inadvertent" breach by the firm of the rules governing short selling, Mr Aboud said.

"I don't think that there is a governance perception issue for the ASX arising from this but the cleanest thing for us to do in the circumstances is to resign," he said.

Mr Aboud is a former global head of European equities at investment bank UBS who joined the ASX in July 2005.

Mr Finemore is a former member of the UBS investment bank board who joined the ASX in 2007 and is on the boards of Ron Finemore Transport and the taskforce on Australia as a Financial Services Centre.

Manikay Partners is a $US1.5bn New York hedge fund set up by Mr Aboud and Mr Finemore in 2008.

The fund has grown from $US300m committed by backers including shopping centre billionaire Frank Lowy and returned 26.5 per cent last year.

Mr Finemore, who is described in the ASX annual report as a recognised authority on stock exchanges, had been due to face re-election for his place on the ASX board.

The fines are for violating rules against short-selling shares in a company within five days of a public offering and then buying the shares through the offering.

Short selling is selling shares you do not own in the expectation that the price will fall and you will be able to buy them back at a profit at a later date.

The SEC proceedings say Manikay short-sold two million shares in Citigroup on December 16, 2009, ahead of the bank pricing a share offering that saw Manikay allocated 30 million shares at a discount to the market price.

The trade netted the firm $US1.675m in profits.

Manikay has 14 days to pay the SEC that "improper" profit, plus interest and penalties.

Also caught in the crackdown were Hudson Bay Capital Management, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund Plan and Deerfield Management.

theaustralian.com.au 19 Sep 2013

Corporate criminals are rarely brought to 'justice', as the system protects them.

From the corrupt police handling the matter to the Anglo-Masonic brethren judges, at the end of the day, it is the monies from the general populous that pays for these criminals to walk free

They are literally the criminal elite supported by governments.

JPMorgan fined $920 million for 'London whale'

JPMorgan Chase admitted wrongdoing and was fined roughly $920 million Thursday for its "London whale" trading debacle as the U.S.-based global bank settled investigations by four oversight agencies.

The settlements stopped short of assessing blame against any top executives at the nation's largest bank — and JPMorgan still faces at least two continuing investigations.

The rare admission of fault and one of the largest bank fines in history focus on an early 2012 episode in which the bank's London-based traders amassed large and risky investment positions in an effort to avoid losses in a credit portfolio. The positions were so big they drew attention from other firms' traders, who dubbed Bruno Iksil, the chief JPMorgan trader involved, "the London whale."

The bank initially asserted that the trades, which ultimately racked up an estimated $6.2 billion in losses, had been a hedge against risk. But the strategy instead morphed into proprietary trading for the bank's benefit — partly funded with federally insured deposits.

In trying to move past the incident, JPMorgan publicly acknowledged that it had violated federal securities laws and conceded that the losses occurred against a backdrop of deficient accounting controls. The bank also acknowledged that senior management knew that London traders were using a valuation system designed to minimize the size of the losses.

The settlements require improvements in internal oversight by the bank's board of directors, steps to remedy "unsafe and unsound" banking practices, plus upgraded audit functions.

"JPMorgan failed to keep watch over its traders as they overvalued a very complex portfolio to hide massive losses,"said George Canellos, co-director of the enforcement division at the Securities and Exchange Commission, one of the regulators involved in the settlements. "While grappling with how to fix its internal control breakdowns, JPMorgan's senior management broke a cardinal rule of corporate governance and deprived its board of critical information it needed to fully assess the company's problems and determine whether accurate and reliable information was being disclosed to investors and regulators."

Investigators echoed a scathing Senate report that earlier this year concluded JPMorgan had kept bank regulators in the dark about the losses by withholding important information.

"Bank management must also ensure open and effective communication with supervisors so that we can effectively do our jobs," said Comptroller of the Currency Thomas Curry in a statement issued with his agency's settlement filing. "Anything less is unacceptable and will not be tolerated."

The Federal Reserve, and Financial Conduct Authority in Great Britain also settled their investigations with the bank.

"We have accepted responsibility and acknowledged our mistakes from the start, and we have learned from them and worked to fix them," said JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in a statement issued by the bank. "We will continue to strive towards being considered the best bank — across all measures — not only by our shareholders and customers, but also by our regulators."

In an unrelated issue, the Comptroller of the Currency announced enforcement actions against the bank Thursday for unfair billing practices related to identity-theft protection and for problems in connection with efforts to ensure that service members receive credit protection for their non-home loans. The bank said it had moved to redesign its practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also ordered JPMorgan and its consumer and commercial division to pay $309 million in refunds for improper credit card practices. The bank said it had already issued credits or refunds to customers who were affected.

JPMorgan shares closed down 1.2% at $52.75 in Thursday trading.

Despite the new London whale settlements, JPMorgan still faces a criminal investigation of the trading episode by federal prosecutors and a separate civil probe by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Iksil, who no longer works for the bank, is cooperating with the criminal investigation by the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office in New York. In a federal affidavit filed last month, two other former JPMorgan Chase employees directly involved in the London whale trades were charged with conspiracy, falsifying books and records, wire fraud and making false filings with the SEC.
The two, Javier Martin-Artajo and Julien Grout, were formally indicted Monday on charges they manipulated and inflated the value of the trading positions to cover up the true size of the deepening losses.
London-based lawyers for Martin-Artajo have said they were confident he would be cleared of any wrongdoing. New York defense attorney Edward Little this week said Grout "was a junior trader's assistant acting under the direct instructions of his managers and has been unjustly used as a pawn in the government's attempt to settle its highly politicized case against JPMorgan Chase."

In announcing the charges against the two traders, Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara signaled that senior bank officials had been aware of what the London traders had been doing. While declining to discuss the continuing investigation, he said, "They definitely knew they (bank traders) were cooking the books."

Sen. Carl Levin, D.Mich., whose Senate subcommittee issued the report critical of JPMorgan, said the issue of misinforming investors and the public was "conspicuously absent" from the SEC's part of the settlement.

John Coffee, a securities law expert at Columbia University Law School in New York, questioned why regulators imposed fines that would ultimately be borne by JPMorgan shareholders without finding any top bank officials at fault. "It is not a triumph without being able to identify who is responsible above the level of low-ranking officers," Coffee said.

Dan Marchon, a senior equity research associate at Raymond James & Co., said he was not surprised by the relatively muted stock market reaction to the settlement because JPMorgan CFO Marianne Lake recently disclosed a more than $1.5 billion third-quarter increase in the bank's reserves for litigation costs.

Marchon said he did "not necessarily expect to see a dramatic move," in the price of JPMorgan shares unless something unexpected arose from the settlement.

usatoday.com 19 Sep 2013

The current banking system is a fraudulent based system, which apparently is legal, to which the 'authorities turn a blind eye.

This current so called fine in the large scheme of things is irrelevant, as the monies will be recuperated from the customers in other ways

JP Morgan was just one of the banks that funded Hitler Nazi party, and continued to do so.

JP Morgan are part of the criminal banking elite.

16 September 2013

Your fingerprints stored by Apple and the NSA

The new iPhone 5S has arrived!

Yipee shout the mindless Apple fanboys, and the remarks fly high from the Android drone army.

One thing is certain in this so called smartphone war, is that your information is no longer yours.

YOU do not have ANY rights any more to privacy, as your information is no longer yours but apparently the property of 'advertising' or 'marketing' companies.

If the masses leaked all the government secrets, making governments more transparent in similar fashion to how the companies are making all people transparent, then the government would be at war with EVERYONE.

Now, with the advent of the fingerprint scanner in smartphones, Apple has access to your fingerprint information with the new iPhone 5S.


Along with Apple, so does the United State's NSA (National Security Agency), for the sole purpose of cataloging everyone.

Privacy laws are brought into play by corporations against the masses, and not vice versa as some may wish to believe.

Individuals (citizens) are prosecuted by 'privacy' breaches and not any person working for the corporatocracy.


Why would the NSA  keep information on e.g. famer Joe in Hobart Tasmania?

Surely for terrorist reasons, NOT!

Another tool used to enslave the masses welcomed with open arms and cheque books.

No wonder the ruling elite call the masses canon fodder.

A little bit of Nazi occupied Germany cataloging for everyone on the planet, produced by corporations, supported by governments.

iPhone 5s price - The Aussie rip off

Once again Australia is left in the telecommunications dark ages, and the racketeering Apple charges a mint for its overrated new product in Australia.


You want to get the NEW iPhone 5S, but what does it cost?

Well if you are in the United States of America, you will pay:

US $199 for the iPhone 5S (16GB)
US $299 for the iPhone 5S (32GB)

Which is fine and dandy if you're in Uncle Sam's land, BUT

If you live in Terra Australis, expect to pay

AU $869 for the iPhone 5S (16GB)
AU $999 for the iPhone 5S (32GB)

or 4.3 times the amount Yankees pay for 16GB model or 3.3 times more for the 32GB model.


One might wish to purchase the lego toy looking iPhone 5C, if one affluent Aussie is unable to purchase its big brother the 5S, but a what cost?


In the United States the 5C sells for:

US $99 for the iPhone 5C (16GB)
US $199 for the iPhone 5C (32GB)

While the Aussie market gets ripped of to the tune of

AU $739 for the iPhone 5C (16GB)
AU $869 for the iPhone 5C (32GB)

or 7.4 times the amount Yankees pay for 16GB model or 4.3 times more for the 32GB model.

For the record the exchange rate for today is 1AUD = 0.93USD

One could also excuse corpau for being on a conspiracy binge for comparing the two markets.

Naturally, the industrialists will have a logical explanation for this like, for example Global Warming, or the frequency of polar bear flatulence multiplied by pi.

All this is happening while the phones are made in third world countries with slave labour in hand, lovely!

We got it wrong on global warming, says IPCC

THE Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's latest assessment reportedly admits its computer drastically overestimated rising temperatures, and over the past 60 years the world has in fact been warming at half the rate claimed in the previous IPCC report in 2007.

More importantly, according to reports in British and US media, the draft report appears to suggest global temperatures were less sensitive to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide than was previously thought.

The 2007 assessment report said the planet was warming at a rate of 0.2C every decade, but according to Britain's The Daily Mail the draft update report says the true figure since 1951 has been 0.12C.

Last week, the IPCC was forced to deny it was locked in crisis talks as reports intensified that scientists were preparing to revise down the speed at which climate change is happening and its likely impact.

It is believed the IPCC draft report will still conclude there is now greater confidence that climate change is real, humans are having a major impact and that the world will continue to warm catastrophically unless drastic action is taken to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

The impacts would include big rises in the sea level, floods, droughts and the disappearance of the Arctic icecap.

But claimed contradictions in the report have led to calls for the IPCC report process to be scrapped.

Professor Judith Curry, head of climate science at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, told The Daily Mail the leaked summary showed "the science is clearly not settled, and is in a state of flux".

The Wall Street Journal said the updated report, due out on September 27, would show "the temperature rise we can expect as a result of manmade emissions of carbon dioxide is lower than the IPCC thought in 2007".

The WSJ report said the change was small but "it is significant because it points to the very real possibility that, over the next several generations, the overall effect of climate change will be positive for humankind and the planet".

After several leaks and reports on how climate scientists would deal with a slowdown in the rate of average global surface temperatures over the past decade, the IPCC was last week forced to deny it had called for crisis talks.

"Contrary to the articles the IPCC is not holding any crisis meeting," it said in a statement.

The IPCC said more than 1800 comments had been received on the final draft of the "summary for policymakers" to be considered at a meeting in Stockholm before the release of the final report. It did not comment on the latest report, which said scientists accepted their forecast computers may have exaggerated the effect of increased carbon emissions on world temperatures and not taken enough notice of natural variability.

According to The Daily Mail, the draft report recognised the global warming "pause", with average temperatures not showing any statistically significant increase since 1997.

Scientists admitted large parts of the world had been as warm as they were now for decades at a time between 950 and 1250, centuries before the Industrial Revolution.

And, The Daily Mail said, a forecast in the 2007 report that hurricanes would become more intense had been dropped.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Matt Ridley said the draft report had revised downwards the "equilibrium climate sensitivity", a measure of eventual warming induced by a doubling of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It had also revised down the Transient Climate Response, the actual climate change expected from a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide about 70 years from now.

Ridley said most experts believed that warming of less than 2C from pre-industrial levels would result in no net economic and ecological damage. "Therefore, the new report is effectively saying (based on the middle of the range of the IPCC's emissions scenarios) that there is a better than 50-50 chance that by 2083 the benefits of climate change will still outweigh the harm," he said.




theaustralian.com.au 16 Sep 2013

As a result of (deliberately?) sloppy science, politicians have put the burden on the masses to pay taxes, in the form of 'Carbon (dioxide) tax, for a naturally occuring event.

What the masses are also not being told is that as the Sun is getting older it is approaching super nova state, it is getting slightly warmer. This in effect heats up planet Earth.


Smart meter savings to kick in

NEW electricity price plans that charge different rates by the time of day and could save some Victorian households $150 a year are set for release. 


Customers are rewarded most for using power late at night, early in the morning and on weekends and pay a ­premium for weekday peak times under optional flexible tariffs to be marketed from Tuesday.

Some could face a summer surcharge for using airconditioners and other appliances during weekday afternoons and dinner times in the hottest months of the year.

The voluntary rates, for households with active smart meters, cost most for electricity use from 3pm-9pm weekdays, compared with off-peak discounts for 10pm-7am on weekdays and weekends.

A shoulder rate applies from 7am-3pm and 9pm-10pm on weekdays and 7am-10pm on weekends.
Major retailers AGL, ­EnergyAustralia and Origin are among those who will offer the plans.

Consumers are being urged to consider whether time-of-use consumption charges are compatible with their lifestyle.

They can trial them with an existing retailer, and return to regular flat rates if the new tariffs are unsuitable, without incurring administration fees, until March 31, 2015.

"The key message is people who can sustainably shift their energy out of peak times are best positioned to benefit," AGL marketing retail and sales general manager Mark Brownfield said.

AGL's published basic "standing offers" have peak charges 52 per cent to 98 per cent higher than off-peak, ­depending where customers live.

The shoulder rates are similar to the standard flat rates most people currently pay.

The default offers also list a "summer peak" rate in the southeastern suburbs and the Mornington Peninsula that is higher than the peak for the rest of the year.

Mr Brownfield said customers interested in AGL's flexible tariffs would need to phone to discuss electricity use patterns.

EnergyAustralia modelling has found some of its customers, who already use a lot of ­energy on weekends and late at night, would save more than $150 a year.

Retail group executive manager Adrian Merrick said customers wanted more control over electricity bills.

EnergyAustralia will release three types of flexible plans aimed at people at home during the day; workers away from home on weekdays; and shift workers. There are no separate summer rates.

Some industry sources said although some Victorians could expect to cut bills ­dramatically with flexible tariffs, savings of 2 to 5 per cent would be more typical.

SHIFTING FROM PEAK POWER USE 

* Clothes washing and drying: Shift laundry to off-peak periods when possible. Rinse and wash with cold water if possible.

* Air-conditioning and heating: Install a programmable thermostat and set it to reduce energy use when you're asleep or away.

* In summer, as much as possible, avoid running your airconditioner from 3pm-9pm on weekdays - consider a fan first.

* Use your dishwasher, washing machine, clothes dryer and other appliances after 9pm. Always run full dishwashing loads and don't forget the air-dry setting.

* Operate swimming pool equipment only during early morning and evening hours.

heraldsun.com.au 15 Sep 2013

There are a few key words in this article which are:

  • could save some Victorian households $150 a year and
  • The voluntary rates, for households with active smart meters.

What the general populous are (deliberately?) not made aware by the corporate media is that no one can be 'forced' to have a smartmeter installed, and under law consumers have the right to refuse the installation of one.

These facts are deliberately hidden from the consumers in order to fulfill the government nanny state agenda.

One could be labelled by the corporate media as a 'conspiracy theory' nut job by exposing some of the legal secrets within.

Princess Diana 'killed by bright light shone by SAS into car she was in'

A FORMER SAS soldier confessed to his wife that Princess Diana was assassinated and that a bright light was shone into the Paris car she was being driven in. 

princess diana crash 
The soldier, known only as Soldier N, made the admission after taking Prince William on an SAS advanced driving course in 2008.

Soldier N swore his wife to secrecy but she told her mother the extraordinary story.

"If it was not for Prince William being given driving lessons by the SAS, these allegations might never have emerged," a source told the Sunday Mirror.  "He went on to tell me that it had to be done in a tunnel, that people had been monitoring them [Diana and Dodi Fayed]... a light was shone in the driver’s eyes."

"He also said that it very nearly didn’t happen. When I asked how anyone could do something like that he said, ‘It’s an order, a job’s a job’. He said that it had to happen in the tunnel to ­guarantee death. He said that it looked bad so they left," the wife said.

She also told detectives that her husband had claimed that the "hit" had been carried out on the orders of individuals within the royal inner circle because they didn’t approve of Diana’s ­relationship with Dodi Al Fayed.

Soldier N told his wife that a former colleague, who had since left the SAS, was involved in the plot and that a motorbike and white car were used.

The women are said to have given "compelling" accounts about the crash which killed Diana, 36, Dodi Fayed, 42, and their driver Henri Paul, 41, in a Paris underpass in 1997. Diana’s bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, a former Paratrooper, was seriously injured in the tragedy.

Dodi’s father Mohammed Al Fayed has always insisted his son and Diana were murdered by the British establishment in a conspiracy involving MI6. He is convinced that a white Fiat, which smashed into the Mercedes but was never traced, was involved, along with a motorcyclist.

news.com.au 15 Sep 2013

One would be definitely called a 'conspiracy theorist' if one was to suggest that Dianna was killed, and that her death was NOT an accident.

NOT so a 'nutter' now when more evidence comes out of her 'killing'.

The likes of Dianna, Pippa Middleton, and Mary Donaldson are brought in from the 'outside' to thin out the 'incestial' blood of the royal family.

The current Queen of England Queen Elizabeth II is married to her second cousin, Prince Phillip.

The Rothschild dynasty had similar problems with inbreeding, where the heirs were not mentally capable of continuing with the business fortune.

This seem the likely case with Prince Charles.