Investigative reporting from the inner city to Wall Street to the United Nations This is the blogspot version InnerCityPress.com
Monday, October 31, 2022
Saturday, October 29, 2022
UN Guterres Covers up Ukraine War Now His 1 Claim Black Sea Grain Deal Stalls, Trammo
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC-Guardian UK - Honduras - NY Mag Song
UN GATE, Oct 29 – As he slowly kills the UN, Antonio Guterres has failed on Ukraine at every stage.
He assured that there would be no invasion, then through Melissa Fleming's Department of Global Communications ordered UN officials to not call it an invasion or a war. UN DGC email here.
After behind chided, below, Guterres tried to get back in the game through food. He's now been trying to raise money for commodities firm Trammo, involved in litigation in US courts for poisoning the water in Puerto Rico.
On October 29, Guterres lone claim to action on Ukraine teetered, as his spokesman Stephane Dujarric refused Inner City Press questions about UN rapist Karim Elkorany: "We’ve seen the reports from the Russian Federation regarding the suspension of their participation in the Black Sea Grain Initiative following an attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet. We are in touch with the Russian authorities on this matter."
Later, more formally: "UN Coordinator for the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Amir Abdulla, was notified today by the delegation of the Russian Federation to the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) of its concerns about the safety of movements of merchant vessels under the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Mr. Abdulla brought this to the attention of the Turkish and Ukrainian delegations to the JCC. Earlier today (29 October), nine vessels (five outbound and four inbound) transited safely the maritime humanitarian corridor established by the JCC. There are more than ten vessels both outbound and inbound waiting to enter the corridor. A joint agreement has not been reached at the JCC for the movement of inbound and outbound vessels on 30 October. The JCC is reviewing recent developments, assessing the impact on JCC’s operations and is discussing next steps."
What a failure. Oct 29 song here.
We'll have more on this.
Predictably and some would say intentionally, Guterres got played. Because he's spend six years (so far) calling Putin papacito. Week 21 song here; Week 22 song (on Odesa) here.
Week 23 song (on POWs) here.
Week 33 song (including Trammo) here.
Week 36 song including Elkorany, grain here
Today's UN is worse that the League of Nations, which never had personnel raping children in Africa and Haiti and then flying home with impunity, while the head man and his censor (here, Melissa Fleming) ban the Press that asks what is being done for the Organization's victims. Banned Inner City Press will have more on this, as well.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Paramount and Dexter Reboot Sued For Age Discrimination Citing US & Massachusetts Law
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 28 – When the "Dexter" reboot was filmed in Central Massachusetts amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Jennifer Lyon was hired to work on health and safety.
Then she was fired, and has sued for age discrimination.
The complaint, found in the docket of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by Inner City Press which daily covers the SDNY, says the plaintiff reported to David McElwain, a VP of ViacomCBS; it contains a list of the entire Dexter crew. Massachusetts labor law is also cited.
The case is Lyon v. Paramount Global, et al., 22-cv-9229 (Abrams)
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
In Barrack Trial As UAE Agent US After Charge Conference Says Put Bannon as Person 2
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell book
BBC - Honduras - CIA Trial book - NY Mag
EDNY MEDIA ROOM, Oct 28 – Thomas Barrack and Matthew Grimes, indicted for illegal lobbying for the United Arab Emirates, were arraigned on July 26, 2021 before U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Magistrate Judge Sanket Bulsara. Inner City Press live tweeted it here (and podcast here)
On October 28, after the charging conference, the US Attorney's Office filed a letter including the names to be added, and more: "Dear Judge Cogan: The government writes to provide the Court with the information requested at the charging conference that was held today. A. Names to Add to Indictment Language for Counts Six through Nine The government respectfully requests that the Court replace the anonymized identifiers in the quoted indictment language at pages 49 to 50 of the proposed charge, with the actual names of the individuals. The requested changes are as follows: Identifier to Replace True Name to Add Location in Charge Emirati Official 1 Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan (“MBZ”) Page 49, Lines 16, 31, 33 Page 50, Lines 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 18, 20, 21, and 23 Emirati Official 2 Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Page 49, Lines 16, 32, 34 Page 50, Lines 2, 3-4, 6, 8, 9 Emirati Official 4 Khalifa Al Ghafli Page 49, Line 15 U.S. Person 2 Stephen Bannon Page 50, Lines 18, 19, 21, 22 ." Full letter on Patreon here.
Prevous full 14 page letter on Patreon here.
On October 21, the defense called as a witness Brady Cassis, an associate at Paul Hasting in DC. He was present and took laptop notes at the June 20, 2019 DOJ interview of Barrack. But the US immediately opposed admission of the notes that he took. Judge Brian M. Cogan sent the jurors to the jury room in order to hear argument.
At 3:10 pm, more of Cassis' notes were shown, about Bannon's relationship with MBZ and "Erik Prince / Blackwater;" and a flight to the Middle East including "the actor Rob Lowe." Watch this site.
Order on Patreon here.
US filing on Patreon here.
On FARA, full order on Patreon here.
Analysis: Because of the possibility of (success) appeal to any conviction under Section 951, on a claim that the jurors confused it with FARA, the attempt is made to keep FARA out of testimony as much as possible. But what about the jury instructions? Watch this site.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
With Flagstar's NYCB Bid Stalled at FRB Amid Wisp of Fair Lending Action OCC Jumps Gun
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - CJR - PFT
SOUTH BRONX / SDNY, Oct 28 – Back in April 2021, Fair Finance Watch and Inner City Press predicted that the proposed merger of New York Community Bank and Flagstar would flounder, on disparate lending and regulatory evasions.
Fair Finance Watch found that in 2019 Flagstar made 60,982 mortgage loans to whites, with 13,963 denial to whites - while making only 3799 loans to African Americans with fully 1777 denials to African American. This was significantly worse than other lenders.
New York Community Bank's record as an enabler of and profiteer off slumlords led Inner City Press file a Community Reinvestment Act challenge to its then-proposed merger with Astoria Bank, which fell apart.
Now more than a year a half later, the proposed merger is still not done amid talk of, as we predicted, fair lending action.
But with the Fed not yet ruling, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency this week hauled off and handed out an approval. (This while the OCC brags about a February 2023 symposium on mergers - more on this to follow). These two banks immediately extended their drop dead date, and said "The Fed Approval is not expected to have any associated waiting period." They talk about the Fed approval as a fait accompli. And why no waiting period?
Inner City Press has gone back to find Flagstar's comments on the proposed and still pending Community Reinvestment Act regulations - tellingly, full of resistance: "Because Flagstar supports the goals of the CRA, the Bank submits this comment letter to highlight concerns about the Agencies' proposed reforms to the CRA framework. This Proposal would undermine the objectives of the CRA and run contrary to the Agencies' stated effmts to ensure that the law continues to be an effective force for strengthening banks and the communities they serve, which j: intludes (i) low- and moderate-income ("LMI") individuals, families, and neighborhoods; (ii) small businesses and farms; and (iii) communities in need of financial services and economic development. Flagstar is particularly concerned about the proposed retail lending assessment area requirements, which would impose significant regulatory, operational, and staffing burdens on banks (especially when coupled with the proposed data collection requirements); force banks to spread limited CRA resources thin and undermine the effectiveness of their CRA programs; and place banks at a competitive disadvantage to nonbanks and other lenders not subject to the CRA. In our view, these challenges will discourage banks from engaging in retail lending and other CRA activities that could otherwise benefit local communities, contrary to the spirit of the law. Moreover, as applied to Flagstar, the proposed retail lending assessment requirements would be so overly burdensome and unworkable that they would likely cause us to question and rethink our business model. 1. There is insufficient data to justify abandoning longstanding interpretations of the CRA to require the delineation of lending-based assessment areas; Requiring the delineation of a lending-based assessment area would go beyond the text and purpose of the CRA." Yeah.
Both companies' stock prices are down. CRA and fair lending sometimes do have an impact. Watch this site.
Watch this site.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
For Bank Fraud and Apple Store Purchases Chaobin Zheng Is Released on $100000 Bond
By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell Book
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY MAG COURT EXCLUSIVE, Oct 28 - In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on October 26, a detention or bond proceeding was held by Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger on a defendant in a bank fraud scheme, with a Chinese interpreter available by phone. Inner City Press was there, the only media in the Mag Court.
The defendant Chaobin Zhang had retained counsel, but the interpreter repeated said he couldn't hear him. The complaint details multiple fraudulent bank transactions in Flushing, Queens and in Manhattan, purchases at the Apple Store, and has ATM photos of the co-defendants.
The Assistant US Attorney had agreed to a bail package: $100,000 personal recognizance bond, with two co-signers in two weeks; no contact with co-defendants outside the presence of counsel and no new bank accounts without approval. Retained counsel began referring to the other defendants, then waived any preliminary hearing until the thirtieth day.
The overall case is US v. Zhang, et al., 22-mj-8293 (Lehrburger)
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.