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US sues S&P over pre-crisis mortgage ratings
The U.S. government accused Standard & Poor's of inflating ratings on mortgage investments to boost its bottom line, taking aim at a key player in the run-up to the financial crisis.
In charges filed late Monday in Los Angeles federal court, the Justice Department said S&P gave high marks to mortgage-backed securities that later went sour, even though it knew they were risky. The government said S&P misrepresented the risks because it wanted more business from the banks.
The case is the government's first major action against one of the credit rating agencies that stamped their seals of approval on Wall Street's mortgage bundles. It marks a milestone for the Justice Department, which has been criticized for failing to make bigger cases against the companies involved in the crisis.
"Put simply, this alleged conduct is egregious -- and it goes to the very heart of the recent financial crisis," Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference Tuesday. He called the case "an important step forward in our ongoing efforts to investigate and punish the conduct that is believed to have contributed to the worst economic crisis in recent history."
Rating agencies are widely blamed for contributing to the financial crisis that crested in 2008 and caused the deepest recession since the Great Depression. They gave high ratings, indicating little risk for investors, to pools of mortgages and other debt assembled by big banks and hedge funds. That gave even risk-averse investors the confidence to buy them.
Some investors, including pension funds, can only buy investments that carry high ratings. In effect, rating agencies like S&P greased the assembly line that allowed banks to push risky mortgages out the door.
When the housing market turned in 2007, the agencies acknowledged that mortgages issued during the bubble were far less safe than the ratings indicated. They lowered the ratings on nearly $2 trillion worth, spreading panic that spiraled into a crisis.
S&P, a unit of New York-based McGraw-Hill Cos., has denied wrongdoing. It says the government also failed to predict the subprime mortgage crisis.
The government's lawsuit says S&P was more concerned with making money than issuing accurate ratings. It says the company delayed updating its ratings models, rushed through the ratings process and kept giving high ratings even after it was aware that the subprime market was flailing even as it gave high marks to investments made of subprime mortgages. In 2007, one analyst forwarded a video of himself singing and dancing to a tune about the deterioration of the subprime market, with colleagues laughing.
The government, for its part, has been widely criticized for not pursuing financial crisis wrongdoing as doggedly as some might have hoped. Lance Roberts, chief economist at Streettalk Advisors in Houston, Texas, called the lawsuit "about three years too late."
"The government's just now getting around to filing a lawsuit?" Roberts said. "It seems disingenuous to me. Why is there actually no regulation that occurs at the front end?"
Ratings agencies like S&P are a key part of the financial crisis narrative. When banks and other financial firms wanted to package mortgages into securities and sell them to investors, they would come to a ratings agency to get a rating for the security. Many securities made of risky subprime mortgages got high ratings, giving even the more conservative investors, like pension funds, the confidence to buy them. Those investors suffered huge losses when housing prices plunged and many borrowers defaulted on their mortgage payments.
This arrangement has a major conflict of interest, the government's lawsuit says. The firms that issued the securities could shop around for whichever ratings agency would give them the best rating. So the agencies could give high ratings just to get business.
The government's lawsuit says that "S&P's desire for increased revenue and market share ... led S&P to downplay and disregard the true extent of the credit risks" posed by the investments it was rating.
For example, S&P typically charged $150,000 for rating a subprime mortgage-backed security, and $750,000 for certain types of other securities. If S&P lost the business -- for example, if the firm that planned to sell the security decided it could get a better rating from Fitch or Moody's -- then an S&P analyst would have to submit a "lost deal" memo explaining why he or she lost the business.
That created sloppy ratings, the government said.
"Most rating committees took less than 15 minutes to complete," the government said in its lawsuit, describing the process where an S&P analyst would present a rating for review. "Numerous rating committees were conducted simultaneously in the same conference room."
According to the lawsuit, S&P was constantly trying to keep the financial firms -- its clients -- happy.
A 2007 PowerPoint presentation on its ratings model said that being "business friendly" was a central component, according to the government.
In a 2004 document, executives said they would poll investors as part of the process for choosing a rating.
"Are you implying that we might actually reject or stifle `superior analytics' for market considerations?" one executive wrote back. "...What is `market perspective'? Does this mean we are to review our proposed criteria changes with investors, issuers and investment bankers? ... (W)e NEVER poll them as to content or acceptability!"
The lawsuit says this executive's concerns were ignored.
A 2004 memo said that "concerns with the objectivity, integrity, or validity" of ratings criteria should be communicated in person rather than through e-mail.
Also that year, an analyst complained that S&P had lost a deal because its criteria for a rating was stricter than Moody's. "We need to address this now in preparation for the future deals," the analyst wrote.
By 2006, S&P was well aware that the subprime mortgage market was collapsing, the government said, even though S&P didn't issue a mass downgrade of subprime-backed securities until 2007. One document describing the performance of the subprime loans backing some investments "was so bad that analysts initially thought the data contained typographical errors," the government lawsuit said.
In March 2007, one analyst who had conducted a risk ranking analysis of 2006 mortgage-backed securities wrote a version of "Burning Down the House": "Going - all the way down, with/Subprime mortgages."
A video showed him singing and dancing another verse in front of S&P colleagues, who laughed.
Another analyst wrote in a 2007 email, referring to ratings for mortgage-backed investments: "The fact is, there was a lot of internal pressure in S&P to downgrade lots of deals earlier on before this thing started blowing up. But the leadership was concerned of p(asterisk)ssing of too many clients and jumping the gun ahead of Fitch and Moody's."
The government filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. The government charged S&P under a law aimed at making sure banks invest safely, and said that S&P's alleged fraud made it possible to sell the investments to banks. .
If S&P is eventually found to have committed civil violations, it could face fines and limits on how it does business. The government said in its filing that it's seeking financial penalties.
The action does not involve any criminal allegations. Critics have long complained about the government's failure to bring criminal charges against any major Wall Street players involved in the financial crisis.
Criminal charges would require a higher burden of proof and carry the threat of jail time.
McGraw-Hill shares dropped $2.65, or 5.3 percent, to $47.65 in morning trading Tuesday after plunging nearly 14 percent on Monday in the expectation that a lawsuit would be filed.
Shares of Moody's Corp., the parent of Moody's Investors Service, another rating agency, lost $1.05, or 2.2 percent, to $48.40 in morning trading Tuesday after closing down nearly 11 percent on Monday.

subset: commoncrawl


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1. Mitt comes out swinging. Supposedly, Romney got no sleep Tuesday night. But the President was the one who looked tired. Romney started out with a lot more zip and Obama seemed tired and tentative in the first segment regarding jobs and taxes. He repeated himself several times without providing more explanation. Advantage: Romney.
2. The president fights back on bank regulation. "Does anybody think the problem is we had too much regulation of Wall Street?" He made Romney's atttack on Dodd-Frank seem disingenuous and insincere. Every time Romney is pushed to extol the virtues of handing things to private enterprise, "Bain Capital" resonates in voters' minds. Advantage: Obama.
3. Romney kicks butt on defining the role of government. Whether or not you agree with him about the role of government, he was crisp and definite. Obama was unfocused and lost in the weeds. Did he play hooky instead of preparing for this debate? Watch the Bears on Monday Night Football? I can't believe a constitutional scholar who moved millions with his eloquence four years ago was as scattered and unclear as he was most of the night. Advantage: Romney.
4. Romney kept the race going. A weak performance could have effectively ended a campaign in which the President went in with a clear lead in the swing states. Instead, Obama's listless, tongue-tied performance let him back in big-time. Romney also avoided any hideous gaffes, which was key. Advantage: Romney.
5. Trickle-down government. Mitt coined a phrase that neatly turned the discussion away from Republican voodoo economics to Democratic we-know-what's-best-for-you governmental control. It was one more example that the challenger utterly controlled the conversation. Advantage: Romney.
1. Too cautious to score points. "I suspect that on Social Security we've got a somewhat similar position." Obama seemed so scared of making a major blunder that he didn't even swing at fat pitches like this one, on entitlements. He said he wanted to get to Medicare but didn't even go after the Ryan budget until absolutely pushed by Romney's aggressive answer. Then he went into a lecture on entitlement instead of straight talk on an issue that should break in his favor. Advantage: Romney.
2. Professor Obama strikes. The sum of all fears for Obama's handlers was for him to go all didactic and explanatory. On health care — one of the signal accomplishments of his first term — Obama let the issue slip away by offering up a mind-numbing, virtually incomprehensible graduate-school lecture. He's no Bill Clinton, who can be a wonk without sounding like one. Advantage: Romney.
3. What happened to the 47%? Obama utterly failed at reminding voters that his opponent has been docmented to be utterly dismissive of almost half of the electorate. He kept talking about what he and Romney agree about. He seemed unwilling to engage on the most basic Democratic-Republican differences. He not only wasn't pugnacious, he was deferential. Advantage: Romney.
4. Obama allowed Mitt to continue to avoid specifics. With his rambling, non-confrontational approach, he was totally unable to pin Romney down and point up the glaring lack of substance to the Romney positions on several issues. Meanwhile, Romney had a free field to control the debate in many ways. Obama ultimately realized this and tried to rally with the "do you think he's hiding the specifcis because they're good?" line. But it was too little too late. Advantage: Romney.
5. Where was the passion? The president cannot afford to be cool and detached. He was so detached as to appear almost as bored as George H.W. Bush did when he famously checked his watch. This is a politician whose stock in trade has been the ability to communicate his passion to the electorate. He was completely passionless Wednesday night. Advantage: Romney.


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Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama will propose ideas for how the special congressional committee created by the recent debt ceiling deal can reach a deficit reduction plan that exceeds the required $1.5 trillion total, a White House spokesman said Wednesday.
"It's fair to say that the White House and the president will lay out some specific ideas about how ... the super committee can go beyond their $1.5 trillion mandate," said Josh Earnest, the deputy White House press secretary.
Meanwhile, the co-chairs of the committee said Wednesday they are working to set rules for how the panel will operate and to determine a meeting schedule.
It was the first joint statement from Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, and Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, since their appointment earlier this month as co-chairs of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction.
The 12-member panel, evenly divided between House and Senate Democrats and Republicans, has until November 23 to work out $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction after an initial round of more than $900 billion in spending cuts in the debt ceiling agreement.
Congress will then have until December 23 to vote on the proposal, with no amendments permitted.
A simple majority on the panel -- seven of 12 members -- is needed to approve whatever package it comes up with, meaning that it will take a lone member of either party to push something through by voting with the other side. The committee's proposal would then need a simple majority in each chamber of Congress to make it to President Barack Obama's desk.
If the committee fails to reach agreement or Congress fails to pass whatever package is recommended, a trigger mechanism would enact further across-the-board cuts in government spending, including for the military.
"In our capacity as co-chairmen, we are engaging in serious discussions to determine what set of rules will govern the committee's operation, examining a schedule of potential meetings and exploring how to build a committee staff that will help us achieve success," said the Murray-Hensarling statement.
It added that "most of the committee members" are reviewing deficit reduction work of the past few years, when a deficit reduction commission appointed by Obama and a group of six U.S. senators came up with similar plans calling for spending cuts, tax reform and changes to entitlement programs such as Social Security and Medicare.
Earnest told reporters that Congress faces tough choices in coming up with a deficit reduction plan, regardless of the size of the package.
"So if there is an opportunity for us to do something even bigger than $1.5 trillion, I think you can make a pretty good argument that doing something bigger is actually something that many members of Congress would find easier to support and vote for than something smaller," Earnest said.
Months of rancorous negotiations on deficit reduction have failed to resolve a fundamental dispute between Republicans and Democrats involving the size of government and whether to raise revenue while cutting spending.
Obama is pushing for a comprehensive plan that includes spending cuts, increased tax revenue and entitlement reforms, while Republicans seek to shrink government by proposing spending cuts and entitlement reforms without increased revenue.
An impasse over the tax revenue issue led to the debt ceiling agreement, which imposed the initial round of spending cuts and set up the special committee to work out further deficit reduction. The agreement also enables the federal debt ceiling to be increased through 2012, allowing the government to borrow what it needs to meet its obligations.
The brinkmanship of the negotiations, with uncertainty over whether the government might default if no deal is reached, was one reason that ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA-plus earlier this month.
CNN's Ted Barrett and Tom Cohen contributed to this report.


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Victoria Beckham Dining Out With Her Kids | Pictures
Victoria Beckham Dines Out With Harper and Cruz in London
Victoria Beckham Dines Out With Harper and Cruz in London
Victoria Beckham took two of her kids to dinner at one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurant in London yesterday. Victoria checked herself in the car mirror before she, Cruz, and Harper headed inside to eat. The family dinner was a mellow comparison to Victoria's previous night out, when she reunited with the rest of the Spice Girls at the Viva Forever premiere.
The mother-of-four reportedly skipped out on joining her fellow Spice Girls Ginger, Baby, Sporty, and Scary on the dance floor and opted to hang out with her husband, David, and kids instead. Harper missed out on the Viva Forever celebration, but last night looked adorable in a furry coat, sparkly shoes, and a hair bow. The Beckhams are winding down another exciting year, and we'll soon see what 2013 has in store.


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The best spy movies, in no particular order, are
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Roger Moore's third Bond flick was absurd, camp and utterly brilliant. The Spy Who Loved Me had exotic locations, gadgetry, women (notably Barbara Bach) and one of the greatest movie cars of all time – an amphibious Lotus Esprit.
The film's apéritif, in which Bond makes his daring escape by skiing off a cliff before unfurling a Union Jack parachute, had 1977 cinemagoers on their feet with applause. And then Carly Simon broke into the title theme: Nobody Does It Better. Superb.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Hi-tech gadgets, exploding aquariums and cryptic biblical references: is there nothing Mission: Impossible doesn't have?
Tom Cruise plays agent Ethan Hunt, framed for the murder of his entire team. His fight to be exonerated takes him into the depths of the CIA headquarters and across most of europe, before unlikely face masks and chewing gum explosions save the day.
Still the best of the series, largely because of its twisty-turny plot and for actually forcing Cruise to act as part of a team. Still, fans of the TV series still haven't forgiven the producers for recasting Peter Graves – and for what they did to his character.
The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
Matt Damon stars as anti-Bond Jason Bourne in this spy thriller on steroids. The second instalment of the Bourne series – and the first to be directed by Paul Greengrass – sees the hero out for revenge following the murder of his girlfriend.
As a rogue operative, Bourne is attacked from every side, fighting conspiracy, the Russians and the CIA alike. But it's the mystery surrounding Bourne's personal history that really keeps up the suspense.
The 39 Steps (1935)
If you've ever read John Buchan's 1915 novel, you too might wonder why it's spawned four major film adaptations. Hitchtook abandoned Buchan's odd plot and took his hero, Richard Hannay, on a pacy Scottish adventure with more twists than a cocktail convention.
Ignore the book and the other three films – The 39 Steps is a spy story that genuinely ought to belong to Hitchcock.
The Recruit (2003)
That staple of the spy movie genre – the double-cross – is tripled, squared and multiplied by 10 to the power of six in The Recruit.
Despite the knotty role-switching involved in the plot, a small core cast – led by Al Pacino, Colin Farrell and Briget Moynahan – means this action spy thriller's not as hard on the grey matter as it sounds.
Charade (1963)
Audrey Hepburn plays Reggie, a widow who's pursued through Paris by a gang of ex-OSS agents trying to track down her husband's ill-gotten fortune. Cary Grant is Peter, a charming stranger who helps her – but is he all he seems?
Everyone's wearing a mask in this frothy, fun escapade – it's as cool as… well, as Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn running around 1960s Paris in a comedy adventure caper.
The Tailor of Panama (2001)
Pierce Brosnan makes it into our list of spy movies not with his run of forgettable 1990s Bond films, but via the more measured gait of The Tailor of Panama.
Geoffrey Rush plays the eponymous suitmaker in this adaptation of John Le Carré's novel, thought in turn to be based on Graham Greene's Our Man in Havana. That's spy pedigree right there.
Eye of the Needle (1981)
Typical. Donald Sutherland's spent the first four years of WWII in England, tapping Morse Code messages back to Germany with his nasty Nazi fingers, and when he finally gets something juicy – the D-Day landing locations – he gets shipwrecked before he can Morse it all up.
And that's where this Ken Follett-penned suspense thriller gets thrilling and suspenseful – when the filthy spy washes up on a remote British island and becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Kate Nelligan and her crippled husband, while still trying to contact his Aryan brethren.
The real suspense, of course, in is finding out whether a Canadian playing a German pretending to be an Englishman can possibly keep his accent together until the big finale.
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)
Starring Jean Dujardin and Bérénice Bejo, and directed by Michel Hazanavicius – the trio behind this year's Oscar-baiting The Artist – OSS 117 is an equally loving homage to a bygone era of film-making. On this occasion, they're tackling the Eurospy films of the 60s, which sprang up in the wake of James Bond's success.
Dujardin plays Hubert Bonisseur de La Bath, aka self-important, culturally-insensitive secret agent OSS 117. He's assigned to investigate the murder of a colleague in Cairo, which he does in the manner of Inspector Clouseau parachuted into a Connery-era Bond film. Splendidly daft.
The Fourth Protocol (1987)
It's Harry Palmer versus James Bond in this Cold War thriller, with Michael Caine starring as discredited MI5 agent John Preston opposite a pre-Bond Pierce Brosnan as a Russian sleeper agent.
Steeped in Cold War-era nuclear paranoia, it mixes a le Carre-esque hero with the gloss and preposterous blockbuster plot of a 007 flick. Best of both worlds, really.
Body of Lies (2008)
Leonardo Dicaprio stars as CIA agent Roger Ferris, a case officer who's trying to track down a terrorist mastermind in Jordan using all his street contacts and local knowledge.
Meanwhile, his superior, a doughy Russell Crowe, takes an "end justifies the means" approach, shielded from the situation on the ground by distance and technology. Naturally, the pair rub each other up the wrong way, making for an interesting look at the clash between different branches of the intelligence service.
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Alfred Hitchcock directs as Dr. Ben McKenna's family holiday in Africa takes a nasty turn for the worst when someone they know is murdered on a bus – but not before he divulges details of an assassination plot in London. The assassins fear that their plan may be foiled and kidnap McKenna's son as leverage. Not even Cliff Richard could sing this holiday into a merry affair.
Three Days of the Condor (1975)
One minute you're a mild mannered CIA bookworm popping out for lunch. The next minute you return to find all of your colleagues dead, with you next on the list. Thankfully not a typical day at work is it? Unfortunately, that's the situation that Joe Turner (code name Condor) finds himself in, as he strives to uncover the mystery without meeting the same ugly demise.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
The first – and arguably best – Austin Powers film sees Mike Meyers artfully play both Austin Powers (a horny 60's spy with questionable dental hygiene) and Dr. Evil, an unimaginatively named super-villain with a rebellious teenage son. Jokes and puns fly thick and fast as the bumbling Meyers and his beautiful Brtish partner Elizabeth Hurley attempt to thwart Dr. Evil's dubious plan.
Gleefully homages/spoofs everything from the 1960s Casino Royale to Adam Adamant Lives! A fourth Austin Powers film is currently in the works – it had better be an improvement on Goldmember.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003)
Chuck Barris is a successful television show producer who is lured into the shady world of the CIA, turning him in to a contract killer. He balances both worlds with ease at first by chaperoning gameshow winners to cities which conveniently happen to harbour his targets. A double life is never easy though, and both worlds begin to crumble around him. And we thought alternating between a Mac and a PC was tricky.
Black Book (2006)
This Dutch World War II film stars Carice van Houten as Jewish spy Rachel Rosenthal. Working for the Dutch resistance, Ronsenthal seduces a German officer to get inside the local Nazi intelligence organisation – and, promptly falls in love with him. With wartime gadgetry and double agents, Black Book is proof that you don't need hi-tech kit to be a spy.
Director Paul Verhoeven – the man behind Robocop, Starship Troopers and, er, Showgirls – actually lived through the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, lending a touch of versimilitude to Black Book that sets it about as far apart from his earlier work as it's possible to get.
Nikita (1990)
Anne Parillaud stars as the titular femme fatale, a teenage junkie who's taken under the wing of a shadowy government agency after a robbery gone wrong ends with a policeman dead and her in jail. She's given a choice – work as a sleeper assassin or her fake suicide will become all too real.
Nikita's trained up to be a killer in high heels and a little black dress – but when a mission goes awry, Jean Reno's ruthless "Cleaner" (who bears more than a slight resemblence to his later role in Leon) is sent in.
Director Luc Besson lays on the clinical, European gloss with a trowel in this slick and stylish film.
North By Northwest (1959)
Ad executive Roger Thornhill (Cary Grant) is the victim of the world's worst case of mistaken identity, when a group of foreign spies get it into their heads that he's a government agent. What follows is the ultimate Hitchcock picture: an innocent man forced on the run through a series of iconic set pieces – including the famous crop duster chase and a thrilling climax atop Mount Rushmore. Oozes Mad Men-era cool.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
There's plenty of melodrama in this John le Carre adaptation – Colin Firth tossing his hair, lots of long moody looks – but apart from that, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a thoroughly modern classic.
Set during the Cold War, everyone is a suspect for being a Soviet spy. As we try to guess who's dobbing the others in, there's some fantastically tense scenes.
And we can't speak for everyone but personally we'd feel safer if Gary Oldman was really agent-hunting quietly at MI6.
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
American soldiers brainwashed during the Korean War are at the heart of this black and white political thriller, directed by John Frankenheimer.
Those pesky communists are to blame for making a right-wing Staff Sergeant turn against his own, in this incredible Cold War classic that's almost universally loved by those hard-to-please film critics.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold (1965)
Another film based on the works of the spy fiction master John le Carre, this 60s adaptation stars Richard Burton as the British agent who can't decide which side to stick with during the Cold War.
Jumping about over the Berlin wall, there's plenty of twists and turns as 'seedy, squalid bastard' informants, loyal spies and communist girlfriends meet their fate. Boy, they did have fun back then didn't they?
Munich (2005)
Spielberg tells the story of a group of Israeli assassins tasked with tracking down the people responsible for the 1972 Olympics massacre of athletes. Based on – but not completely true to – accounts of the real-life Operation Wrath of God, Munich mixes standard spy thrills with some of the controversial debate around Israeli intelligence.
It was never going to satisfy everyone but captures the "eye for an eye" mentality with a supremely well-made, international spy chase.
True Lies (1994)
Played – as only he could – by Arnold Schwarzenegger, Harry Tasker is an altogether different sort of spy to most of the characters in this list. He shoots before he thinks and does covert, under the radar things like getting into a lift on horseback. Yet despite this he's still somehow managed to convince his wife (Jamie Lee Curtis) that he's a mild-mannered salesman.
His web of lies soon begins to unravel when he catches his wife cheating on him – and decides to spice up her life by sending her on a "mission."
It's harmless fun – explosions, plenty of soundbites for Arnie and a nuclear warhead or two.
The Ipcress File (1965)
This Michael Caine vehicle may have been produced by the team behind the Bond films, but its hero Harry Palmer is the antithesis of Ian Fleming's suave super-spy. While Connery's Bond was scoffing at the "noise" of the Beatles, Caine's Palmer was wooing 60s dollybirds by driving them to his place in his Ford Zephyr and rustling up a meal.
Called in to investigate a scientist's disappearance, Palmer's investigation takes a turn for the psychedelic when he's subjected to brainwashing. How very 60s.
Goldfinger (1964)
James Bond 007 is the most useless secret agent in the world.
In his third cinematic outing, Bond does very little spying – he saves the day by being repeatedly knocked out and conveyed by the villains to a new location, where they tell him a bit more of their plans. And he doesn't even manage to disarm the bomb at the end: that job is left to an unnamed scientist.
Nevertheless, we love Goldfinger – it's the quintessential Bond film. When Bond's about to get sliced in half, you could cut the tension in the air with… well, with a laser beam. And who could forget the brilliantly-named Pussy Galore? They don't make them like this anymore.
Movie lists
25 best Australian movies ever
25 best alternative Christmas movies ever
25 best time travel movies ever
25 best TV and movie cars ever
5 of the best future sports movies
Gaming lists
25 best PlayStation games ever
More gadget lists


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What is a BUG?
I recently spoke with Peter Semmelhack, founder of BugLabs (http://buglabs.net), and home of the famous Test Kitchen (http://buglabs.net/testkitchen) - more on that in a moment. What is BugLabs, you ask? They're a software company with a hardware focus, if that makes sense. Their goal is to make it easier for others to bring hardware device ideas to life, and eventually to market. Semmelhack described it like this: if you have an idea for a software product (commercial or open-source), all you need is a modest computer, open-source software such as Linux, MySQL, Eclipse, NetBeans, and so on, and a little spare time to get started. Besides the time and effort, it doesn't take much money or other resources to start and complete such a venture.
Semmehack continued by contrasting this to hardware device development. If you have an idea, it's very difficult and expensive to build a working prototype, and far too expensive to produce in moderate quantities to sell into small or medium-sized markets. Basically, to bring production costs down, get investment, and have any hope of turning a profit in the consumer space, you need to sell millions of devices. Investors generally won't invest in hardware devices that aim to meet smaller market demands, and sell only hundreds-of-thousands of devices. Those that do, tend to focus on very expensive devices, such as those used in health-care for instance, and hence not for the consumer space.
But think about all of those good ideas for devices that would otherwise meet all sorts of small-market needs that just never get built. Semmelhack used an example of a unique medical device he built quickly and easily to meet the need of a family member. Because of the relatively small market for such a device, it doesn't exist today, although it can potentially save lives. How did he build it so easily then? With a BUG.
The BugLabs BUG
A BUG is a modular system for building devices, based on ARM processors with plug-gable expansion modules, running open-source software including Linux and the OpenJDK or phoneME Java VM. The BUGbase computer is an embedded Linux computer with 128M of memory, storage, 802.11b/g wireless, USB connectivity, integrated battery, LEDs, audio output, and support for up to four plug-gable modules. BUGbase modules currently available expand its features to include support for 3G cellular connectivity, GPS, an LCD screen, Bluetooth, extended audio I/O, motion detection and an accelerometer, and an expansion board for further development. There's even a third-party module available that measures interesting things about the environment, such as changes in temperature, the existence of odors, or the existence of alcohol on one's breath.
The modules plug into the base like a child's building blocks. You can witness this for yourself in the videos available on BugLabs' product page: http://www.buglabs.net/products
Semmehack's guiding vision is to bring a community approach to hardware development, and BugLabs is watching this vision become reality as they sign up more and more big-named customers.
Software Platform
The software platform for the BUG is all open-source, including Pokey Linux, OpenJDK/phoneME, the Eclipse IDE, and all of the software that BugLabs has developed to help you build a new device. The entire platform and development SDK is based on OSGi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osgi), where you can build new software services that plug right into the software platform as easily as hardware modules plug into the BUGbase computer. The Eclipse plug-in provides an easy drag-and-drop interface to make it easier for anyone to re-configure their BUG-based devices or add new functionality.
The Test Kitchen
What I liked most about BugLabs (and there's a lot to like about a company that provides Java-based device development to the masses) is their self-proclaimed world famous Test Kitchen (buglabs.net/testkitchen). Here, they have all sorts of hardware tools and components--including BUGs of course--to experiment with and wire up new and interesting things. In fact, they often open their doors and let the public into their Test Kitchen during free workshops led by a knowledgeable instructor. The fact that they open their doors to the public with nothing but education as the goal is impressive to me.
Like I said, there's a lot to like about BugLabs, especially the spirit they bring to open-source Java-based hardware invention. I particularly like the fact that they started with a vision, saw it through to an actual product in a short amount of time, have seen growth through big-named customers, employ a bunch of programmers and engineers in NYC, use Java, and have a singular goal to help average people become successful inventors. That's all cool.
Learn more about their development platform here: http://www.buglabs.net/you
Happy coding!


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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) Jerren Young came off the bench for 23 points to go with six rebounds as Wright State defeated Horizon League foe Cleveland State 69-53 Wednesday night for the Raiders' four straight win.
Young went 8 of 11 from the field and sank all four free throw attempts in just 21 minutes of action for Wright State (12-4, 3-0). Kendall Griffin chipped in 12 points. His three-point play midway through the first half gave the Raiders a commanding 50-36 lead.
Wright State shot 46.2 percent (12 of 26) from the field in the first half and made seven 3-pointers in the period to take a 35-17 lead into the break. Cleveland State (9-8, 1-2), conversely, made just 6 of 23 shots and committed 11 turnovers in the opening frame.
Bryn Forbes led Cleveland State with 15 points but leading scorer Charlie Lee was held to four points on 1-of-11 shooting.


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Lemon-Lime Layer Cake (Adapted from CL)
For the cake
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon fresh grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh grated lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
For the icing
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh grated lime zest
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
To make the cake
Preheat oven to 350
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and egg whites, one at a time, mixing until completely combined. Mix in the lemon zest, lime zest and lime juice.
Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scoop the mixture into two 9" baking pans coated with nonstick spray.
Bake until a toothpick placed in center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes - remove cakes from pans and let cool completely.
To make the icing
In a large mixing bowl, beat together cream cheese, lemon zest, lime zest and juice until smooth. Gradually add confectioners' sugar - beat at low speed just until combined, do not overbeat. Cover and place in the refrigerator to chill for 30 minutes.
To assemble, place 1 cake layer on a plate - cover the top with about 1/2 cup icing. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining icing over top - place cake in the refrigerator to chill for about 1 hour to set the icing.
Just found the recipe? Click here to see where we talked about it!
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Lemon-Lime Layer Cake
2 comments:
- Anonymous9/09/2008 10:11:00 PM
Thanks for the recipe, Joe. That cake's some good eats!ReplyDelete
Anon - Thanks! It was a tasty and fun cake.ReplyDelete
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)


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iLEARN is an ATO (Accredited Training Organization)
For an online verification of accreditments, do a research with
ISO / IEC 20000 is the international standard for IT Service Management (ITSM). It establishes requirements and provides the details of the system management services (Service Management System) required to deliver quality IT services agreed with the users, together with guidance on how to demonstrate compliance to the standard.
The Foundation course is the first step of the qualification path on ISO / IEC 20000 for the quality of IT services.
Classroom courses are confirmed approximately three weeks before the actual start of the course, reaching the minimum number of participants required. For this reason, please, contact us before making any payments.
The objective of the Foundation course is to transfer basic knowledge relating to the content and requirements of the ISO/IEC 20000 standard and aid comprehension of how the it works in an organisation that supplies IT services.
Foundation course is a prerequisite to enter the next qualification level, Practitioner.
At the end of the course and after passing the exam, the candidate will know:
Provided material:
To be able to take the exam, it is necessary to have read and accepted the terms and conditions of the examination institute. The acceptance of such terms and conditions will have to be confirmed when taking the exam.
ISO/IEC 20000 Foundation official certificate


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Why Bill Belichick is football's 'greatest tactician'
Clip: 02/05/2019 | 5m 32s
The New England Patriots have won their sixth Super Bowl. It was a contest between the oldest coach-quarterback duo, Bill Belichick and Tom Brady, and the youngest, the Los Angeles Rams' Sean McVay and Jason Goff. It was also the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever. John Yang talks to Washington Posts sports columnist Sally Jenkins about the detailed discipline of the Belichick-Brady "perfect storm."
Aired: 02/05/19Video has closed captioning.
The full episode is no longer available for online streaming. Why?
Please continue to enjoy extra(s) from this episode.
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Major corporate funding for the PBS NewsHour is provided by BNSF, Consumer Cellular, Leidos, Babbel, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by Mutual of America. For a complete list of funders for the PBS NewsHour and PBS NewsHour weekend, click here.


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I am looking for a used, in good condition, Model Master 4-axis mill.
I am looking for a used, in good condition, Model Master 4-axis mill.
What is it used for?
4-axis milling and machining
Integral Machining Ltd– IML specializes in a smaller size range for milling. All of the machines are capable of full, simultaneous 4 axis machining. Maximum spindle speed ranges are from 8000 – 20,000 rpm. These machines are ideally suited to machine light duty alloys and plastics requiring higher spindle speeds.
Below are just a few examples of the parts that have been machined in the Machining Centre Department. Aerospace communications component: Full 6 sided machining, high speed toolpaths and optimized tooling. 10lbs of material removed. All 6 sides need post anodizing machining.
Medical device component: Used in patient positioning. utilizes 4th axis positioning for the radial work.
Medical device compnent #2 Surgical device: Extensive full 4 axis milling. 304 stainless steel
Nuclear device component: Uses multiple fixtures for post-turning machining. 304 Stainless steel, tight bore tolerances in deep holes
Contact us at 905.847.1565 or visit our website at http://www.imach.ca if you have any questions in regard to our Machining Center and Machining Solutions we offer.


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Dramatic footage of a gunpoint arrest in the Fife town of Cupar has been released by the Crown Office.
Police arrested two Perthshire men outside the town's Eden Court retirement complex on January 20 and now they have been convicted of carrying out a daring raid at the Perthshire home of Stagecoach owner Anne Gloag's daughter.
The two, Brian Martin and Christopher McMultan, were given prison sentences of 14 years and 12 years respectively for two robberies in Perthshire.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the pair, wearing masks, had threatened Sarah Gloag and her husband Sundeep Salins with knives before wrapping them in masking tape and fleeing the scene with more than £200,000 worth of jewellery.
The day before they had forced their way into a flat above Muthill Post Office in Creiff in an attempt to rob the post office. After they were told there was no access, they left with cash and a bank card which were subsequently used after the robbery at ATMs in Creiff and Perth.
Following police surveillance the pair were detained by armed officers at the junction of Station Road and South Bridge Street in Cupar.
Cash was recovered from both of them and the jewellery was recovered from a section of the A92 after they had earlier tried to discard it.
Speaking following yesterday's (Tuesday) sentencing hearing Kenny Donnelly, Procurator Fiscal for the High Court in the East of Scotland, said: "Brian Martin and Christopher McMultan armed themselves with knives to threaten people, including children, in an effort to obtain cash and jewellery.
"Thankfully nobody was physically injured in these incidents, but being threatened with a knife would have been a terrifying ordeal for the occupants of these homes and will no doubt have a lasting effect.
"I am pleased that the effective action and thorough investigative work of police and prosecutors mean that they were quickly apprehended and now face a significant term behind bars."


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Helen Golay and Olga Rutterschmidt, the two women who took out insurance policies on homeless men and then murdered them for their insurance policies, have been given life imprisonment. Women who are exposed to high levels of PCB are 33% less likely to give birth to male children. Watch it, nothing wrong with being female. • Cyberbullying is now a "public-health problem" yet only 9% of kids admit to being bullied on the internet. • Police bust an "oral sex competition" in Greece, the women get charged with prostitution and the men get charged with "encouraging obscene behavior." Oh, that seems fair. • A 6% rise in STDs in the UK: is it because more people are being tested or because people just want a "casual shag."
A woman in Louisiana is poisoning men by making them smell "cologne samples." Must have been Axe body spray. • Olympics audience restrictions! Lip gloss, fountain pens, and sunscreen are limited. Do they want the spectators to get melanoma? • Rich people can afford full-time nannies, but 80% of nannies don't have health insurance. From what I remember, all of Fran Vine's doctor/therapy needs were covered! • A 77-year-old grandmother pinned down a rabid fox after it attacked her, resulting in surgery and four days rest at the hospital. • An 18-year-old woman attacked her boyfriend with a toilet seat after she found him smoking crack in their bathroom. • An award-winning program in England for female prisoners who were victims of abuse at home has been shut down by the government. • Spinach Artichoke Chicken Lean Pockets have been recalled after the company received consumer complaints of grossness. • Post-menopausal hormones to alleviate painful sex do not help a significant amount of sufferers. •


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For over 35 years, the Great Plains Food Bank has been ending hunger through community partnerships. Our goal is to not only help our hungry neighbors today, but provide the means for everyone to be fed tomorrow. We are known for distributing great amounts of food quickly and efficiently. In 2018 alone, we collected, warehoused and distributed nearly 15 million pounds of food that otherwise would have gone to waste, providing 12.5 million meals.
The problem of hunger is solvable. But we can't do it alone. Thanks to thousands of partners engaged in our day-to-day work of hunger-relief, we touch the lives of 1 in 9 individuals who seek emergency assistance though our programs and services and partner network of charitable feeding programs operating across North Dakota and Clay County, Minnesota. We invite you to learn more about the Great Plains Food Bank and join us in our work to create hunger-free communities.
Fast Facts
volunteers served 20,448 hours in 2018.
pounds of food were distributed by us to local communities last year.
96% of every $1
given goes directly to hunger relief efforts


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Puka Puka Kitchen
Chicken Katsu Don ($10.75). Light and crispy slightly sweet batter. Juicy chicken. Not too oily. Nice curried rice underneath. Beautiful fresh salad with a rich yogurt dressing.
Also highly recommended is their Ahi Don!
Located right in downtown Hilo. Perfect place for a quick lunch while cruising downtown.


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John Brust
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, John Brust is President and CEO of Brust Funeral Home Ltd. in Lombard and Brust Villa Park Funeral Home. John's dedication to helping others is reflected in his work and his service to the community of Lombard.
John is active in civic affairs and a former member of the faculty of Worsham College. He served as President of the DuPage Funeral Directors Association. A well known lecturer in DuPage County, John speaks on grief issues and the funeral profession to special interest, community and civic groups.
Jack Brust
Jack Brust founded Brust Funeral Home in Lombard in 1952, pursuing the profession of his father, Fred W. Brust. Jack's commitment to helping others extends to the community as well. He founded the DuPage Funeral Directors Association and rekindled the tradition of Lombard's annual Lilac Parade.
As Chairman or President, Jack has led many other civic organizations: Lombard Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Lions Club, Friends of the Library, Lombard YMCA and the Rotary Club. Recognized for his work in the community, Jack honors include being awarded Man of the Year in Lombard and Carol Stream.
Joseph P. Lyne
Born and raised in Hillside, Illinois, Joe is the 7th of 14 children born to Frank & Fran Lyne. Joe attended St. Domitilla grade school and is a 1982 graduate of Proviso West High School.
He received his Associates Degree in Mortuary Sciences and Funeral Service from S.I.U.C. in 1985. Joe has 26 years experience as a Funeral Director and Embalmer.
Past board Member of the Lombard Chamber of Commerce, Current Board Member and Past President of the DuPage County Funeral Directors Association.
Joe and his wife, Andrea are raising their two children, Frank, and Abigail here in Lombard. Joe is an active Member of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lombard.
A nice, friendly community and a good place to bring up your children is what Joe says about Lombard and he looks forward to serving the village through his association at Brust Funeral Home.
Current Services | Funerals | Funeral Preplanning | Funeral Preparation | Caskets and Vaults | Cremation Services | Grief Assistance | Death Away From Home | Vital Statistics Form | Information Request | Professional Contacts
Copyright@2009 Brust Funeral Home
Designed and Maintained by The Agent House


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KENNER, La. — A Coast Guard official leading a federal probe of the deadly Deepwater Horizon rig explosion was accused Monday by company and rig worker attorneys of violating the rights of the rig's captain and top manager, as well as trying to intimidate a witness.
Monday's hearing started with a testy exchange between Coast Guard Capt. Hung Nguyen, one of six panel members questioning witnesses, and lawyers for two rig workers who have been designated "parties in interest," or possible targets of the investigation who could be prosecuted by the Justice Department.
Attorneys for Deepwater Horizon captain Curt Kuchta and Jimmy Harrell, the rig's offshore installation manager, objected that their clients weren't named parties in interest until after their first testimony in May.
Pat Fanning, Harrell's attorney, said the delay deprived his client of "substantial rights."
"It is outrageous that you didn't afford him that opportunity at the very beginning of these hearings," Fanning said.
"By law, there was no presumption of guilt or innocence before the hearings proceeded," Nguyen said. "As the hearings progressed, we identified certain information that necessitated designation of Jimmy Harrell as a (party in interest)."
Kuchta's lawyer, Kyle Schonekas, said the panel "sandbagged" his client.
"It's just not fair," Schonekas said during a break in the hearing.
Kuchta had testified on May 27 about a delay in activating the rig's emergency disconnect system. The system, which didn't function after the April 20 explosion, allows the rig's "upper marine riser package" to break free from the lower part.
Harrell, who was Transocean Ltd.'s top manager aboard the rig, had testified that he never felt any pressure to accelerate the project's pace even though it was weeks behind schedule.
Nguyen also traded heated words with lawyers for Transocean, the majority owner of the rig, which was leased by BP PLC, and with the day's first witness, Stephen Bertone, Transocean's chief engineer on the Deepwater Horizon.
Bertone testified the rig had some mechanical problems before the blowout, including malfunctioning computer equipment in a "driller's chair" and problems with a thruster that lasted for several months. But he repeatedly said he didn't know or couldn't recall many details of the rig's maintenance history.
When Nguyen cautioned Bertone that the panel would be evaluating his "knowledge, skill and performance" as part of the probe, Transocean lawyer Edward "Ned" Kohnke accused him of trying to intimidate Bertone.
"I think what you're doing now is wrong," Kohnke said. "You're trying to challenge this witness to intimidate him because he said at various times, 'I can't recall.'"
"It's my duty to make sure you are well-informed of the process of this hearing," Nguyen told Bertone.
Bertone's attorney, Steve London, interjected and said, "If he truthfully can't remember something, then I don't see why you would be sitting here threatening him."
"If this committee wants the truth, he gave truthful answers," London added.
The Coast Guard and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (formerly the Minerals Management Service) heard six days of testimony in May and scheduled five more days this week.
The original witness list for this week's hearings included Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza, who were BP PLC's top managers aboard the rig, but neither is expected to appear.
Vidrine has been scratched from the list due to health reasons, according to a Coast Guard spokeswoman.
Kaluza refused in May to testify, exercising his constitutional right not to incriminate himself. His attorney, Shaun Clarke, said Kaluza won't be testifying this week "barring something unforeseen."
Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


text: Bobbi Brown's famed multi-faceted BB cream has added a new attribute to its long list of benefits: UVA and UVB sun protection. Already boasting water-attracting molecules to hydrate, light-reflecting pearls to brighten, botanical extracts and caffeine to reduce discoloration and redness and peptides to minimize fine lines, the skin care guru has added SPF 35 and antioxidants to fend off future skin damage. The latest BB , which first gained cult popularity in Asia, is available in five shades. Although we love reading about the science behind it all, at the end of the day all we know is that it makes our skin glow, gives just the right coverage and is an easy one-step process. Beauty Balm, indeed. Bobbi Brown SPF 15 BB Cream, $42, bobbibrown.com .


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Blood Orange with Cut Half Framed Art Print
Blood Orange with Cut Half Framed Art Print
Scoop Black
X-Small - 10" X 12"
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Smooth and luxurious—like if cashmere were a frame type. The gentle curves of the scoop framed art prints provide a contemporary aesthetic sure to highlight your favorite design. Framed prints available in six sizes, in a white or black frame color.
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- Frame dimensions: 1.06" (W) x 0.625" (D)
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- For more info click here
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