Hi Catherine:

This article and video have been going around on Facebook, and after reading about it I was very disturbed.

I’m wondering what your take on it is beyond the obvious and if you have any books or articles on the “business” of the prison system, youth incarceration or child sex trafficking in the US that you would recommend.

I would like to learn more about this terrible situation and possibly join an organization to help change things.

Article/Video: Sarah Kruzan: Sentenced to Life Without Parole at Age 16

Thank you and hope all is well with you in this not so well world!

Concerned in California

Continue reading ‘The Darker Profits from Unemployment’

On April 22, 2007, Bear Stearns hedge fund manager Matthew Tannin sent an e-mail to fellow hedge fund manager Ralph Cioffi. “The entire subprime market is toast,” he said. “There is simply no way for us to make money — ever.” Three days after the now-infamous “toast” e-mail, Tannin reassured investors during a conference call, telling them he was “very comfortable with exactly where we are” and “there’s no basis for thinking this is one big disaster.”

Of course, it was indeed a big disaster. The hedge funds run by Tannin and Cioffi cratered, costing investors $1.6 billion and leading to the near-death of Bear Stearns, which was ultimately sold to JP Morgan Chase & Co. The fund managers were indicted for fraud and conspiracy in June 2008. On Tuesday their trial will begin in federal district court in Brooklyn — with Tannin’s e-mails front and center in the prosecution’s case.

Continue reading E-Mails Seen as a Flash Point for Bear Stearns Fund Managers’ Fraud Trial

The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal

I just finished reading Nick Bryant’s new book, The Franklin Scandal: A Story of Powerbrokers, Child Abuse & Betrayal.

The book delves deeply into the 1980’s national pedophilia ring headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska and made famous by attorney John DeCamp’s book, The Franklin Cover Up which was the basis of a documentary, Conspiracy of Silence. Bryant  adds a new round of evidence and description that gives the reader more rich detail to understand that such activities have been highly organized and protected at the highest levels of business and government.

Continue reading ‘The Franklin Scandal’