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Filming cops on the street illegal in Chicago - (www.rt.com) Chicago, Illinois plans to host more than 7,500 international dignitaries and 3,000 journalists at the G8 Summit this spring. But if history is any indication, those numbers will be dwarfed by tens of thousands of demonstrators descending on the Windy City this year to protest the massive gathering of world leaders. And as police prepare to clash with protesters who picket the annual meeting of the minds, the crime scenes that are expected to be marred by messy arrests might never be made available outside of Chicago. In the state of Illinois, an obscure eavesdropping law prohibits recordings of unknowing individuals. Even if a cop is caught clobbering a protester on the streets of Chicago, recording the incident can land both amateur photographers and seasoned journalists alike behind bars, where they could face sentencing on par with charges of rape and murder. The law in question is an antiquated eavesdropping rule that can bring about felony charges for producing an audio recording without ones’ consent. Critics have come after the law and challenged its constitutionality — or lack thereof — but as of now the offense is on the books and is likely to stay that way come springtime. For the Chicago cops that will be tasked with controlling a swarm of protesters at the summit, it could be to their benefit. The same, sadly, can’t be said for the freedom of the press.
Have Americans Given Up On McMansions? - (www.theatlanticcities.com) After many years of dramatically increasing home size in America - from an average of 983 square feet in the 1950s up to 2300 square feet in the 2000s, despite declining household sizes - the trend appears finally to be going in the other direction. The real estate research firm Trulia found in 2010, for example, that the median "ideal home size" for Americans had declined to around 2100 square feet. More than one-third of survey respondents reported that their ideal preference was lower than 2000 square feet. This is consistent with the forecasts of the National Association of Home Builders. (See detailed findings here.) Data from the census are also consistent in direction with those from Trulia's survey, though more subtle in the degree of change: according to the census, the median size of a new U.S. home in 2010 was 2,169 square feet, up from 1,525 sqare feet in 1973 but down from the 2007 peak of 2,277 square feet.
Foreclosure Deal to Spur House Seizures - (www.bloomberg.com) The $25 billion settlement with banks over foreclosure abuses may result in a wave of home seizures, inflicting short-term pain on delinquent U.S. borrowers while making a long-term housing recovery more likely. Lenders slowed the pace of foreclosures as they negotiated with attorneys general in all 50 states for more than a year over allegations of faulty and fraudulent paperwork used to repossess homes. With yesterday’s agreement, banks are likely to resume property seizures. “The best thing about the settlement, frankly, is that it will be done,” said Stan Humphries, chief economist for Seattle-based Zillow Inc. (Z), a provider of home-sales data. “The shadow of the settlement hung over the market for a year now.”
Settlement Mistake: Banks Already Forgiving Short Sale Deficits - (www.bayarearealestatetrends.com) The Obama Administration won a political victory with the $26 Billion mortgage settlement announced last night. But the most impactful part of the plan – principal reductions – may be nothing more than what the banks are already doing by forgiving the unpaid balances on short sales. The New York Times reports: Despite the billions earmarked in the accord, the aid will help a relatively small portion of the millions of borrowers who are delinquent and facing foreclosure.The success could depend in part on how effectively the program is carried outbecause earlier efforts by Washington aimed at troubled borrowers helped far fewer than had been expected.
Settlement still may not turn housing market around - (news.yahoo.com) Federal and state officials announced Thursday the largest agreement yet to address the effects of the housing crisis, in which five of the nation's largest banks will pay $26 billion to help current and former homeowners. The deal aims to hold banks accountable for abusive foreclosure practices and to give a boost to the still-struggling housing sector. The deal, President Obama said, will make it possible to "begin to turn the page on an era of recklessness that has left so much damage in its wake." But the wider response to the agreement has been mixed, with some housing experts saying it doesn't do enough to get the housing market--whose ongoing woes continue to exert a major drag on the broader economy--back on track. "It doesn't seem like it'll have a huge impact," said Ted Gayer, a housing expert at the Brookings Institution.
European superhighway of debt - (www.demonocracy.info)
Self-Interest and the Pathology of Power: the Corruption of America - (www.oftwominds.com)
Yet Another Mega-millionaire Calls for Higher Taxes on the Rich - (www.yahoo.com)
The Recession of 2007 -- 2009: BLS Spotlight on Statistics - (www.bls.gov)
Consumer Credit Not Actually Growing - (www.globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com)
How to become a Ron Paul delegate - (www.wordpress.com)
Bill Black On Why White Collar Crime is on the Rise - (www.capitalismwithoutfailure.com)
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