Dotcom is currently home in New Zealand on bail as US authorities pursue an extradition request in order to prosecute him on charges related to copyright infringement. But the mogul, whose birth name is Kim Schmitz, implied that he would take legal action against the powerful social networks and banking sites that have implemented Two Step Authentication if they refuse to contribute to his defense fund. The security feature springs into action when a user tries logging into a service from a device foreign to their usual method of access, at which point Two Step Authentication sends a one-time log-in password to a predetermined proxy device, such as that user’s cell phone.Twitter is the most recent Internet behemoth to institute Two Step Authentication after hackers victimized the Associated Press, Financial Times, and other high profile news agencies. Google, Facebook, Twitter, Citibank, etc. offer Two-Step-Authentication.Massive IP infringement by U.S. companies. My innovation. My patent — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 22, 2013 Big reveal: 1 billion+ Two-Step-Authentications on the Internet weekly.I invented it. Here’s proof: google.com/patents/US6078… — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 22, 2013 Wordpress, Facebook, Microsoft, and Google are just a few of the major networks that employ the advanced but not foolproof log-in method. I never sued them. I believe in sharing knowledge & ideas for the good of society. But I might sue them now cause of what the U.S. did to me — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 22, 2013 Google, Facebook, Twitter, I ask you for help. We are all in the same DMCA boat. Use my patent for free. But please help funding my defense. — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 22, 2013 As proof of his ownership, Dotcom pointed his Twitter followers to a patent, requested in 1998 and published in 2000, that lists Kim Schmitz as the sole assignee. The document references 14 separate patents and itself has been referenced by 79 others, including Sony, HP, and Research in Motion (the precursor to Blackberry). All of our assets are still frozen without trial. Defending our case will cost USD 50M+. I want to fight to the end because we are innocent. — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 22, 2013 The US Department of Justice is seeking to prosecute Dotcom on racketeering, fraud, money-laundering and copyright theft, charges that could land him a 20-year prison sentence if he were convicted in a US court. He has long denied the charges, citing an overzealous legal effort that was later found to have employed illegal surveillance methods. I’m an innovator, not a criminal. I live in the future, not the past. My innovations help people, not harm them. STOP persecuting me. — Kim Dotcom (@KimDotcom) May 23, 2013 … Read More
New York suing megabanks in bid to end ‘Kafkaesque’ mortgage experience
In a statement Monday Eric Schneiderman accused the two banking giants of failing to stick to the agreed settlement between some 49 attorney generals and five major housing lenders. He said his office has recorded hundreds of examples in the past year showing Wells Fargo – the country’s fourth-largest bank by assets – and Bank of America – the country’s second by the same measure – ignoring refinancing requests from mortgageholders, making it more likely those people would lose their homes.“The five mortgage servicers that signed the National Mortgage Settlement are legally required to take specific, rigorous, and enforceable steps to protect homeowners,” Schneiderman said in a statement. “Wells Fargo and Bank of America have flagrantly violated those obligations, putting hundreds of homeowners across New York at greater risk of foreclosure.”“I intend to use every tool available to my office to hold these companies accountable under the terms of the National Mortgage Settlement,” he said.The attorney general did not accuse All Financial/GMAC, JP Morgan Chase, or Citibank – who are also named in the settlement – of any violations, but told reporters the suit would have “implications” for them.Schneiderman’s announcement, which suggested the lawsuits could be filed within two months, came ahead of the report from the settlement’s monitor, which is expected to be critical of the bank’s practices, according to Reuters. The potential suit is the first critique of the big banks since the agreement was put in place in February 2012, although the statement did not describe whether the state will seek damages or penalties. In the biggest similar cases in American courts, banks are asked to pay a nominal fine, usually the equivalent of a few days’ profits, and are not required to admit that they broke any laws.“What’s clear to us is that the foreclosure crisis in New York is far from over,” said Meghan Faux, acting director of legal services in Brooklyn, at a press conference. “It takes us six to eight court appearances over two years to get one homeowner a loan modification.”Josh Zinner, the co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, implied a greater conspiracy is at work in his own statement.“These are not just technicalities,” he said, adding that it has been a “Kafkaesque experience for many” to navigate the mortgage corner of the consumer banking universe, despite the settlement ordering banks to pitch in on homeowner relief.As outlined by the settlement, the top banks agreed to provide $25 billion in such relief. But despite that promise, Schneiderman said his office has documented 210 violations of standards by Wells Fargo and 129 by Bank of America delaying mortgage modification applications.“Through March we have provided relief for more than 10,000 New York homeowners through the National Mortgage Settlement, totaling more than $1 billion,” said Bank of America in a statement. “Attorney General Schneiderman has referenced 129 customer servicing problems which we take seriously and will work quickly to address.” The settlement monitor, former North Carolina Banking Commissioner Joe Smith, said he was encouraged by Schneiderman’s announcement but reiterated that he would not release the results of his own findings until June. … Read More
Australian lawyer to run ‘serious’ Assange senate campaign
Assange’s brand new political party, set up as part of its creator’s bid to become an Australian senator in September 2013 elections representing the state of Victoria, has been open for membership since March 30. The party must enlist 500 dues-paying members to officially register with the Australian Electoral Commission.”It’s most definitely a serious campaign,” Barns, a high-profile political campaigner, told Australian radio, noting that the party will “offer a refreshing change from the Australian government culture of secrecy.” According to Barns, Assange’s party has already won support from local philanthropist and former Citibank executive Philip Wollen. WikiLeaks first revealed that the former computer hacker Assange was planning to run for a seat in the 76-seat Australian Senate a year ago. He submitted his application to the Australian Electoral Commission and had his political party incorporated in Australia in February. The 41-year-old whistleblower, who is an Australian citizen, has been holed up in London’s Ecuadorian embassy for nine months, after claiming asylum to avoid extradition to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on sexual assault allegations. Assange fears that once in Sweden, he could be extradited to America where, according to his lawyers, he is most likely to face trial and possibly even the death penalty for the release of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables, some of them about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s hoped that if Assange is elected, the chances are that the US and the UK could stop their persecution of him so as not to provoke a diplomatic row. Should he win a senate seat, Assange’s freedom of speech would be protected by Australia’s parliamentary privilege rules. It’s believed that chances are fairly small for Assange to win a senate seat, given that he would need to attract nearly 15 per cent of votes in Victoria. However, even if elected as an Australian senator, Assange may still be unable to be physically present at the Australian upper house and take his seat from July 1, 2014, because he might still be trapped in London’s Ecuadorean embassy. The UK authorities have promised to detain him the minute he steps foot outside of the embassy in light of the European Arrest Warrant issued against him. The WikiLeaks founder has not ruled out the possibility that, if he happens to win the election, but is unable to return to Australia, a WikiLeaks Party nominee could fill his seat in the senate. On April 1, WikiLeaks announced a press conference, set to take place next Monday, and generating rumors about its possible connection to Assange’s political party. The new “Special Project K” was publicized on Twitter where a countdown to the event, planned to be held in the National Press Club in Washington on 8 April, has been installed. … Read More
Australia to ditch interbank rate-setting panel over Libor scandal
The Australian Financial Markets Association suggests turning to an electronic system. This will allow the AFMA which oversees Australia’s bank bill swap reference rate (BBSW) to bypass the panel and extract the rates directly from brokers and electronic markets. Calculating rates electronically will eliminate “compliance and ancillary costs” incurred by banks, the association said. ”Building on the advantage of [bank bill swap rate] being based on a traded market AFMA proposes to bypass the panel requirement by adopting a process to extract these rates directly from trading venues,” Executive Director David Lynch said in a statement on Wednesday. “This proposal has the support of market participants.”The new rate-setting practice may be introduced in the next few months. The decision comes after HSBC Australia and Citibank said they will leave the rate-setting panel at the end of March. Earlier this year JP Morgan and UBS announced they would quit, hence leaving only ten banks on the panel. ”By scrapping the panel AFMA is indirectly allowing all market participants who trade prime bank paper to participate in the rate-set process. The decrease in the panel size could theoretically pose problems as it reduces the size of the quotes available for the elimination and average procedure,” Westpac interest-rate strategist Timothy Jung told Fox Business.Australia’s decision follows the rate rigging scandal with Libor. After Barclays, UBS and Royal Bank of Scotland Group were fined billions of dollars over fixing the London Interbank Offered Rate prompting several major banks’ exodus from the discredited structure.Australia’s bank bill swap rate model is regarded as a more transparent rate-setting practice than the international model. Australian banks report rates from actual trades and not just their own borrowing rates which leaves much less room for rigging and fixing. While LIBOR, for example, is set by a selection of banks on the London money market, and determines their borrowing and lending costs, leaving these banks a chance to manipulate the rates in their own interests.AFMA represents around 130 Australian and international banks, brokers and fund managers. The country’s “prime” banks are Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Westpac Banking Corporation, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. … Read More
Peter Schiff pulls apart Obama’s Treasury secretary
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Secrets And Lies Of The Bailout
It has been four long winters since the federal government, in the hulking, shaven-skulled, Alien Nation-esque form of then-Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, committed $700 billion in taxpayer money to rescue Wall Street from its own chicanery and greed. Read More…
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Citi Bank Loop Robbery Suspect Sought By FBI
The FBI is asking for the public’s help in locating a man who robbed a Loop bank Friday afternoon.A man displaying a handgun entered the Citibank at 222 W. Adams at about 3:30 p.m., and made off with an undisclosed amount of money. No injuries were reported.Read More…
