Posts from — December 2011

to Elayne of Pen-Elayne on the Web, who is making candle makers very happy with her birthday, their anniversary and Robyn’s birthday, all front loaded in December.

New Guy?

Just resting … really

[Editor: While I have seen him before, this is the first picture of another cat who is stopping by to eat lately. I assume that like The Big Tipper, he was abandoned when his family had to leave.

Friday Ark

The BBC is reporting that US banks are being sued over homes seizures:

Massachusetts is suing five major banks alleging “illegal” and “deceptive” conduct in the way they seized homes during the financial crisis.

Bank of America, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and GMAC must pay for the “harm” caused, the writ says.

Martha Coakley, the state’s attorney general, said the banks had no legal right to foreclose on “hundreds, if not thousands, of properties”.

The banks have expressed disappointment over the move.

The banks have been counting on the ‘Get Out Of Jail Free’ card that is part of the settlement that they have been negotiating for years now, but Ms Coakley has given up on the process because the banks have continued to violate the preliminary agreements they made when the process started, and are still stealing homes.

The real purpose of the system the banks set up was to avoid state and local fees and taxes on property transfers, so they are stiffing local governments of one of their important revenue sources, and the process isn’t legal in most states. Of secondary importance is the fact that if someone buys a ‘foreclosed’ property from the bank, they may not actually own it, as their title isn’t valid. This is screwing up the real estate market.

It’s nice to see someone is going after them.

The season ended at midnight on November 30^th and it was statistically busy with 18 named storms, but 17 of them were defeated by the wind shear caused by La Niña, and the dry air from the Texas drought.

The exception was Hurricane Irene, which Dr. Masters notes could have been even more destructive if it hadn’t been interrupted by an eyewall replacement at a critical point. Even as a tropical storm, it was a record setter for rain and flooding along the Atlantic Coast and into New England.

There was another Invest out in the central Atlantic when the season officially ended, but it is unlikely to develop. As with many of the storms, it is southeast of Bermuda.

Happy NODWISH Greetings

As a service to my readers I have compiled a list of useful terms for our modern global village.

It is time to wish family and friends: [select one]

Happy NODWISH
Merry Solstice
Happy Hanukkah
Happy Kwanzaa
С Рождеством Христовым
Sung Tan Chuk Ha
Vrolijk Kerstfeest
Nadolig Llawen
Fröhliche Weihnachten
Joyeux Noël
Buon Natale
Feliz Navidad
God Jul
Rauhallista Joulua
Happy Hogwatch
Happy Christmas

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