Homeland Security.................

A Government Accountability Office investigator smuggled live bomb components into a federal building in just 27 seconds, then assembled a bomb in a restroom and ventured throughout the building without being detected, a leaked tape revealed Wednesday. In addition, congressional investigators were able to penetrate every single federal building they probed without any difficulty — 10 in all...Link

HR 1207 - 250 Co-sponsors..............

Title: To amend title 31, United States Code, to reform the manner in which the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is audited by the Comptroller General of the United States and the manner in which such audits are reported, and for other purposes.

Mortgage Defaults: Many Are Intentional....

Up to 26% of U.S. homeowners who stop paying their mortgage may be doing so intentionally, not because they can't make the payments but because they don't want to put money into a house that's worth less than what they owe. That finding, from a paper by economists at the University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the European University Institute, raises some doubt about the approach the Obama Administration has taken toward stabilizing the housing market. The current approach focuses on whether or not homeowners can afford their monthly payments, and largely ignores the fact that some 20% of homeowners owe more than their house is worth — a situation known as negative equity, or being "underwater," which, according to the paper's findings, may itself trigger default...Link

Swiss Vow to Block UBS From Providing Data.

PARIS — The Swiss government said Wednesday that it was prepared to seize U.B.S. client data rather than allow the bank to hand it over to the United States to settle a tax case. U.B.S. has refused a demand from U.S. authorities that it turn over the names of 52,000 American clients, arguing that to do so would be illegal under Swiss banking secrecy laws and would open it to prosecution at home. The U.S. Justice Department in February sued U.B.S., saying it suspected the bank of helping wealthy Americans hide billions of dollars in secret offshore accounts....Link

Garnering a lot of attention these days.....

It's no stretch to say the Federal Reserve is garnering a lot of attention these days. On Wall Street, there's a big debate over whether the Fed's next big move will come too soon or too late. In Washington, the Administration is promoting a plan to give the central bank new powers to oversee systemic risks. Over in the House of Representatives, maverick Republican Ron Paul has gathered more than 245 co-sponsors for a bill requiring an audit of the Fed. In the media, there are questions about whether President Obama will allow Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to keep his job when his term ends in January. And finally, some commentators are wondering whether this allegedly autonomous institution will retain its independence in a post-crisis world...Link

Ron Paul Is Right!.............

An amendment based on Congressman Ron Paul’s House bill to audit the Federal Reserves was blocked by the Senate this week on procedural grounds. Speaking on the Senate floor, Republican Senator Jim DeMint and supporter of an audit said, "allowing the Fed to operate our nation's monetary system in almost complete secrecy leads to abuse, inflation and a lower quality of life." Charles Ortel, managing director with Newport Value Partners, an independent research firm, agrees. "Transparency is the key to any market," he says, noting the Fed doesn't mark-to-market its assets, much of it now consisting of the worst toxic debt Wall Street had to offer...Link

New Rodney Mullen Footage! from Jesse Fritsch