Saturday, June 11, 2005

A Little of the Old In and Out

In: Impromptu Breast Examinations. First, Jimmy Fallon copped a cheap and lecherous feel off of Sandra Bullock's dirty pillows at the MTV Awards. Now, Meghan Mullaly and Debra Messing (above) are getting into the soulful squeezing act.

Out: Russell Crowe. Wasn't it startling how The Corsair predicted the feral Crowe episode? Anyway, he's at it again, according to the most excellent Ben Widdicombe's Gatecrasher: "Russell Crowe is defending himself against more allegations of abuse, this time at a meat-pie shop in Sydney. 'Yes, I was pissed off, but the pie was horrible,' Crowe admitted to the Sydney Morning Herald yesterday. 'I wasn't happy with the pie and I asked what had happened to the quality level.' But he denied the Asian attendant's claim that the Oscar winner told her: 'Do you know who I am? You should know this is not your country.'"

The restaurant mistook Russell Crowe for Homo Sapien, a common mistake (He is actually "Crowe Magnon"), and, unfortunately baked the meat-pie. We suspect he prefers his viande raw.

In: Washington Fight Club. The partisan fighting in DC is like a goddamn conflagration. They ought to have weight divisions. We thought McCain had brought back the love to the imperial city. No dice. This week, journo's got a bit huffy with each other trying to cover -- ironically -- a full-court media showing of "manly love" between DNC Chair Howard Dean and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid.

Later in the week, Congressman Sensenbrenner threw proper parliamentary procedure to the wind and cut the mics on Democrats ("You can talk to the hand, my right honorable bitches"). Quoth TheHill:

"A House Judiciary Committee hearing on the renewal of the Patriot Act turned ugly this morning after Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) gaveled the proceedings to a close over the objections of Democrats. Democrats continued to make statements and witnesses continued to offer testimony even after Sensenbrenner had left the room.

"C-SPAN cameras were still rolling as the committee's majority staff rushed to turn off microphones and lights on the Democrats, prompting the television crews to break out boom mics.

"... Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), one of the Democrats who kept the hearing going after Sensenbrenner left, said, 'At the end, I wanted to make a statement. I sought recognition, but the chairman declared the hearing adjourned. I said, point of order, and he just got up and walked out.'"

Out: Debt Interest Payments. The World Bank and the IMF, like most international organizations, do not distinguish between the governmental forms of nation-states with regards to their respective lending policies. Those fine distinctions -- democracy, autocracy, monarchy, whatever -- are not good for business. So, ostensibly, a sociopathic tyrant could, oh, say, borrow a few billion dollars. Now, when said tyrant gets overthrown as he invariably always is, it is the country, and not the tyrant, that has to pay off the debt. The tyrant goes off to his Belgian chateau and Swiss whores funded by the billions he borrowed/pilfered.

And so an ugly cycle begins. The cash poor nation becomes more and more dependent and is unable to create growth, as they annually service the debts. No longer. According to Africasia.com:

"The G8, comprising Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States, agreed to immediately write off 40 billion dollars ... of debt owed by 18 countries to the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the African Development Bank.

"The 18 nations comprised: Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guyana, Honduras, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

"Uganda, which spends up to 200 million dollars to service its debt annually, is one of the 18 nations that would benefit from the programme."

Three cheers to Bush and Blair. And, quite frankly, the saintly Sir Bob Geldoff (Nobel Committee, are you reading this?), who brought this issue to the attention of the British public, they responded enthusiastically, the embattled Blair took it upon himself (And his battered legacy) to bring it to Bush's attention, who, finally, made it all happen. God bless Bob Geldof.

3 comments:

(S)wine said...

good to know "Pinky" still has a hand (influential, no less) in not only social, but also political issues. yes. three cheers for Geldof and (GASP) the G8. finally.

The Corsair said...

FINALLY!!

Anonymous said...


Judicial Foreclosure

The judicial process of foreclosure, which involves filing a lawsuit to obtain a court order to foreclose, is used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. Generally, after the court declares a foreclosure, your home will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

Using this type of foreclosure process, lenders may seek a deficiency judgment and under certain circumstances, the borrower may have up to one (1) year to redeem the property.

Non-Judicial Foreclosure

The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause exists in a mortgage or deed of trust. A "power of sale" clause is the clause in a deed of trust or mortgage, in which the borrower pre-authorizes the sale of property to pay off the balance on a loan in the event of the their default. In deeds of trust or mortgages where a power of sale exists, the power given to the lender to sell the property may be executed by the lender or their representative, typically referred to as the trustee. Regulations for this type of foreclosure process are outlined below in the "Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines".

Power of Sale Foreclosure Guidelines

If the deed of trust or mortgage contains a power of sale clause and specifies the time, place and terms of sale, then the specified procedure must be followed. Otherwise, the non-judicial power of sale foreclosure is carried out as follows:
A notice of sale must be: 1) recorded in the county where the property is located at least fourteen (14) days prior to the sale; 2) mailed by certified, return receipt requested, to the borrower at least twenty (20) days before the sale; 3) posted on the property itself at least twenty (20) days before the sale; and 4) posted in one (1) public place in the county where the property is to be sold.
The notice of sale must contain the time and location of the foreclosure sale, as well as the property address, the trustee's name, address and phone number and a statement that the property will be sold at auction.

The borrower has up until five days before the foreclosure sale to cure the default and stop the process.
The sale may be held on any business day between the hours of 9:00 am and 5:00 pm and must take place at the location specified in the notice of sale. The trustee may require proof of the bidders ability to pay their full bid amount. Anyone may bid at the sale, which must be made at public auction to the highest bidder. If necessary, the sale may be postponed by announcement at the time and location of the original foreclosure sale.

Lenders may not seek a deficiency judgment after a non-judicial foreclosure sale and the borrower has no rights of redemption..