The Canadian Pacific Holiday Train passed through Michigan this evening. There are postings on Facebook.

At scheduled stops the sides of one of the cars drops down and there are singers and musicians that play holiday carols to the crowd. It is fun. It is interesting. It is nice Canadian Pacific has this enthusiasm for the holiday and for their customers. 

November 30, 2016
By Logan T. Hansen

Southern Michigan - Residents of metro Detroit (click here) can expect to see the Canadian Pacific Holiday Train chugging along the Michigan leg of its 18th annual cross-country journey Wednesday evening, Nov. 30.

The Holiday Train is scheduled to travel from Windsor, Ontario, to Chicago this week, passing through the southern portion of the Great Lakes State Wednesday and allowing residents of the area to catch a glimpse of the 1,000-foot train decorated to the hilt with LED holiday lights....

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What is Nancy Pelosi doing about an investigation to the actions of FBI Director Comey during and the lead up to the election of 2016?

See, I don't think there is anything wrong with the message of the Democratic Party. Really. Yeah.

Senator Bernie Sanders is continuing to raise monies from the American people that supported his candidacy. Why? Because he is mounting an opposition to the Trump Regime regarding Medicare. Really. Yeah. Bernie is very serious about unifying the American people to protect the benefits to seniors. Why do that? Because the seniors of the USA is prime importance to tourism in the country. Really. Yeah. Really. 

The INSTITUTIONS of Medicare and Social Security provide a strong baseline to the USA economy. When that spending is gone and uncertainty enters their lives the entire USA economy will be in turmoil.

For real.

So, I am with Bernie! Everyone needs to get busy.

The people that voted for Donald Trump were confused when they cast that vote and they still are because there is no clear and certain message from Donald Trump. In interpretation that means Donald Trump lied to them while he is talking to Carrier and appearing to be upholding his promises. There are more questions about what will happen with Carrier than not today. I am worried about the Americans that work for Carrier. The only certain way of insuring the employees of Carriers won't be victimized by an angry CEO is to elect a union. It is the only certain way to protect the employees of Carrier.

The people are confused because they don't know what conclusions to come to about Donald Trump and his administration. That confusion will become indifference and we cannot allow that to happen.

So what message of the Democrats need to change? The people of the USA need unions more than ever and they need PROMISES of Medicare and Social Security to continue and quite possibly increase. There is very little the Democrats need to change and change to what? The same confused message of Donald Trump?

Comey demised the Democratic momentum in the 2016 election. When he is going to be investigated for his thumb on the scale of the USA's election. Enough. 

The lesson of 2016 is one of sexism. Where is the anger about the sexism of 2016? Women in the USA are held to a perfection standard and now that a sexist man is headed for the White House the perfection component to women is all that much more exaggerated. Women will be more victimized with Trump in the White House than they were.

There is a lot to organize around.

There is one thing the Democrats need to change. NO MORE OUTLANDISH TRADE DEALS that puts their thumbs on the scale for Wall Street.

There is a lot correct about the Democratic message, and what is wrong is easy to walk away from. 

The Undocumented needs a champion yet today. They should be abandoned because it is hard to sell that message to the public? Has Nancy Pelosi ever stood next to Pope Francis in his menssage about the Undocumented? Why not?

The Democrats are moral and decent people. The young people of this country can't be abandoned to yet more Republicans that will continue to abandon generation after generation of young Americans. The local economies and their protection is more important today than every before if we are to be able to look at the future and see one for the young Americans looking to the American Dream to be real.

There is a lot right about the Democrats. They need to make their position of moral policy a strong message and louder and better than Trump and his henchmen in the administration and Congress. The Democrats need to dominate the national dialogue. And start it by, "Look, you voted him in and now we are suppose to do what?"

November 29, 2016
By Bob Bryan

Bernie Sanders (click here) is going after President-elect Donald Trump for his pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services.

In a statement Tuesday, the former Democratic presidential candidate said Trump's selection of GOP Rep. Tom Price as the department's secretary went against the president-elect's campaign promises....

And I know no one from the Democrats is noticing an encampment of Native Americans because no one has gone to their plight to stand with them. Why not? It's hard to stand with Native Americans? Really? That is racism in the politics of the country and it has to end!

When people complain the Trump kids will not have a job if they shut the business down because Donald Trump was elected President of the USA; no one actually believes they will be homeless and destitute, do they?

In order for the Trumps to be adversely effected by the sale of the business is if they are living on cash flow rather than a portfolio.

Tornadoes are occurring now in the southeast.

November 30, 2016
2230.18z
UNISYS Enhanced Infrared USA southeast satellite image (click here)

There is debris noted in South Carolina. It is a very wide system so staying in shelter for a longer period of time may be prudent. Be aware in any underground shelter as to the flow of water. Do not leave the shelter unless absolutely necessary.

The storm may be moving toward North Carolina with potential tornadoes.

November 30, 2016
By AP

Atlanta -- A tornado touched down near Atlanta (click here) Wednesday as heavy storms continued to sweep through parts of the South.

The National Weather Service confirmed the tornado was located about seven miles north of Atlanta moving northeast about 40 mph around 1:50 p.m. Wednesday. A tornado warning was issued for counties including Fulton and DeKalb.

NWS meteoroligst Keith Stellman said there was some damage west of Atlanta near Six Flags Over Georgia. The weather service reported down power lines and multiple trees along with some roof damage.

A tornado watch was issued to more than 50 counties including Cobb and Gwinnett. It should expire at 6 p.m. Wednesday....

November 30, 2016
2230.19z
UNISYS Water Vapor GOES East Satellite (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

Georgia. This is a very wide storm.

There is still water vapor diffusely connected to the system. There is a high pressure system over the islands. It is pushing the system northeast. 

The small dotted area within that high pressure at the west side is beginning to connect to the system over the east coast USA. This isn't over yet. Those little dots are clouds.

The water vapor is filling in that high pressure system. The high pressure is being homogenized with the east coast system. It is turbulent. 

Intellicast has a very clear vortex with it's center over south Lake Michigan. 

November 30, 2016
609.17 PM EST
Intellicast USA satellite (click here for 2 hour loop - thank you)

This is a Intellicast December 3rd projection. The winds are significant over this area. (click here)

If this system is continually infused with water vapor there could be sustaining storms. The vortex is pulling the east coast 'TAIL' inward and not out to sea.

The jet is pushing the systems east with significant 50 mph winds. But, if the warm water vapor continues to fill in the part of the system moving east, this isn't over.

Local officials need to assess any flooding opposed to wind damage and damaged structures for future shelter.

November 30, 2016
1623.15z
NOAA Satellite Image of GOES East water vapor satellite (click here)

The vortex over Lake Michigan is occurring because of a strong push back from the Europe system. If the Jet Stream can't move these air masses stagnation is possible with Coriolis. 

In the UNISYS satellite the European system does not move at all. It is southeast of Greenland. The Jet Stream is moving the air masses below 30 degrees north where the Trade Winds live. The air masses are moving quickly over Africa. There is more stagnant air beginning with the Westerlies.

What does all that mean? Watchful waiting for potential danger. The chance of dangerous weather is significant and may remain so for a couple of days.

This is the way I see this issue with stagnating systems. The Earth has curves to the North Pole. The air column over these wind areas of Earth become lower as one moves to the North Pole. The troposphere is far more shallow over the North Pole than over the Northeast Trade Winds. That means warmer air expands. Those 'wind cells' of such as the Westerlies and the Trade Winds will maintain the same amount of air to some extent as it always has, but, in the year 2016 those air masses are far warmer and expand because of that warmer Earth. The expanded air mass will result in fronts that bump against each other and will stagnate and lose velocity. 

Stagnation of air masses results in homogeneous temperatures and distribution of water vapor. Water vapor and heat equals danger.

This is the climate crisis. It is real. All too real. "Gee, I wish we listened to Henry Ford back in the day" when he warned society of the dangers of the greenhouse effect.

Know your reality. Survive the day.

Typical over reaction by Wall Street since last week.

OPEC, including Iran, does not have that feel good feeling to help out Wall Street and the USA petroleum industry. The chart below shows the emotional roller coaster that Wall Street rides rather than doing their homework to know the facts.

The facts are this, OPEC is cutting back on production because the demand is falling. 

Global Liquid Fuels (click here)

U.S. crude oil production averaged 9.4 million barrels per day (b/d) in 2015, and it is forecast to average 8.8 million b/d in 2016 and 8.7 million b/d in 2017. Forecast production in 2017 is more than 0.1 million b/d higher than in last month's STEO.

EIA expects Brent crude oil prices will average close to $48/ barrel (b) in the fourth quarter of 2016 and in the first quarter of 2017. Forecast Brent prices average $43/b in 2016 and $51/b in 2017. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil prices are forecast to average about $1/b less than Brent prices in 2017. The values of futures and options contracts indicate significant uncertainty in the price outlook, with NYMEX contract values for February 2017 delivery traded during the five-day period ending November 3 suggesting that a range from $35/b to $66/b encompasses the market expectation of WTI prices in February 2017 at the 95% confidence level.

Higher crude oil prices contributed to U.S. average retail regular gasoline prices in October increasing by 3 cents/gallon (gal) from September to an average of $2.25/gal. With the switch to less-expensive winter gasoline blends and the typical seasonal decline in gasoline consumption, EIA expects gasoline prices to fall to an average of $1.97/gal in January. Retail gasoline prices are forecast to average $2.13/gal in 2016 and $2.27/gal in 2017.

Global oil inventory builds are forecast to average 0.8 million b/d in 2016 and 0.5 million b/d in 2017.

The USA Energy Department has already published estimated prices for the COMMODITY oil and it matches what is being realized now.

This graph is also the "production vs demand."

November 30, 2016
By Reuters

Oil prices jumped (click here) as much as 8 percent on Wednesday to a five-week high as some of the world's largest oil producers agreed to curb oil output for the first time since 2008 in a last-ditch bid to support prices.

Brent crude futures for delivery in January were up $3.67, or 7.9 percent, at $50.05 a barrel by 11:38 a.m. ET (1638 GMT), recovering from a drop of nearly 4 percent on Tuesday and on course for their biggest one-day move in nine months. Brent crude for delivery in February was up $3.63 at $50.95 a barrel.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose $3.50, or 7.7 percent, to $48.73 a barrel, a one-week high.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has agreed its first output limiting deal in eight years, OPEC said on Wednesday.

Their was a family member attempting to talk Mr. Scott to insure no one, including police were in danger. In fact, the only person in danger was Mr. Scott.

The problem with the killing in Charlotte is that it didn't happen in a vacuum. It is standard procedure for police to call on family members to talk down a person from drastic actions. That was happening voluntarily within this episode.

The mental health of Keith Scott is as much a part of this killing as the fact his wife was seeking to intervene to end the stand off.

The police have created a horrible paradigm in the USA with the African American community fearing for their sons. There are African American men arming themselves UNDER THE CURRENT LAWS to give them a chance of survive if they are stopped by police. The reality Mr. Scott has before him was the fact he could die for no real reason. The stance by the Charlotte District Attorney is unhelpful.

It is my opinion, the more black men die at the hand of police, the more ambushes of police officers will occur.

Mr. Scott posed no threat to the police and the circumstances could have been diffused. That is what the men in our African American community are seeing. They are witnessing the death of an innocent man unable to deter a police assault even by showing them his gun in a non-threatening manner.

Additionally, the officers never recognized the family member that could have been helpful in defusing the circumstances.

The Charlotte DA is talking from one point of view in defense of the police. That is not what the African American community is seeing. They are seeing an unnecessary death.

The deaths of minority men by police officers is completely incompetent use of force in police tactics. This episode has occurred over and over in the USA and it is becoming tragic to both the minority men and their families and police officers as well. The policing of the USA has to change. 

The reality is the police are becoming more than dysfunctional because of these deaths. Chicago crime statistics are increasing because the police can't deal with the public effectively. That is not the fault of the police or the public, but, the value of life is skewed in police methodology.

Get real about this people because the relationship between the minority public and community police is already deteriorated. The more the relationship deteriorates the more escalation of violence on both sides will increase.

The jobs went from 1400 to 1000 and now it is nearly 1000 jobs.

Don't get me wrong, I think this is an incredible development in the saga of "Outsourced American Jobs" and long overdue. There is no doubt this is a clear and new stance for the USA's posture when dealing with Wall Street. But, the American people need vigilance to the final outcome of these new policies. 

The negotiations cannot be considered a joke by Wall Street. Someone needs to come forward to monitor the actual and final reality of these efforts. I think there is a lot of "splash politics" for the Trump administration with Carrier. But, Wall Street is familiar with 'the public image' as opposed to the real character of the company or the administration.

What needs to be realized is that Carrier was moving these jobs because the CEO wanted a bonus. At what cost to the American people will that deferred bonus take? I am worried these deals will sell out the sincere values of the American people, including environmental costs. Basically, the watch dogs to these 'deals' have to include all the costs and not just the gain of job stability in the USA. There should be no back room deals that sells out the standards and morality of the people.

All this seems a little too good to be true. Evidently, Tweeting CEOs are now in fashion. It is about time Wall Street begin to appreciate the monies they garner from the American people.

If all this goes well and the American people are taken seriously about keeping jobs in the USA, then Donald Trump has accomplished what for decades has been considered impossible. I remain skeptical. If this becomes the USA's new reality, then the people are finally ending cronyism. That is a major accomplishment, but, it is not measured by one deal either.

The employees from Carrier should be heard as well. I don't want to hear that employees are hobbled to their interaction with the media. What sacrifice is being felt by the employees in order to have this deal happen. CEOs are slick folks. This first jobs deal by the Trump administration and Carrier needs to be as good as it sounds.

November 30, 2016

By David Farber

The incoming Trump Administration and United Technologies (UTX) (click here) have reached an agreement that will keep close to 1,000 jobs at Carrier Corp., which is owned by UTX, in Indiana.

Carrier had planned to move production from a key factory in that state to Mexico, taking with it the roughly 1,400 jobs of those who work at the Indiana plant.

But shortly after CNBC revealed that Donald Trump was expected to travel to Indiana on Thursday to announce that a deal had been reached, Carrier itself confirmed the agreement....

No, Snyder is not a nice man.

By Salman Haqqi

In an outrageous example of corporate hijacking of government, (click here) Nestlé is about to get permission from the state of Michigan to nearly double the amount of groundwater it draws from a plant in Evart to 210 million gallons a year.

Michigan Live reported that the request is in conjunction with a $36 million expansion of its Ice Mountain bottling plant.

The kicker is that Michigan is about to sell 100 million gallons of groundwater for $200 a year — to a company that is currently worth almost $212 billion. Regulators say that is because under state law, the bottling plant in Evart is considered to be a private well.

Residents are understandably outraged, especially in the aftermath of the Flint water crisis, in which public officials switched water sources and caused lead to contaminate the city’s water in order to save money.

Michigan’s government response to the fury is that the construction of the plant will create jobs. How many jobs? That number is 20. Yes, you read that right. In the eyes of Michigan’s government, 20 jobs is the market rate for more than 100 million gallons of virtually free groundwater every year.

Nestlé’s plant at Evart is just 120 miles from Flint, where the Guardian reported the water is still unsafe to drink unfiltered....

Why hasn't Snyder cut a deal for Flint? And it was NOT the city that originally switched the water supply, it was Snyder's emergency manager that did this. Can the media please get that fact straight!

The city originally switched its water source to save $5 million (click here)

August 8, 2016

The water crisis in Flint, Mich.,that exposed an estimated 8,000 children to lead and other toxins could amount to almost $400 million in future costs to the city and thousands of cumulative years of poor health for those affected, according to a new estimate released Monday.

Peter Muennig, a professor of public health at Columbia University, calculates that the elevated blood lead levels found in more than 8,000 Flint children since 2014 will lead to $395 million in social costs based on the likelihood of lower IQ levels for those exposed, leading to lost economic productivity, reliance on welfare and costs to the criminal justice system. Muennig estimates those losses will amount to 18,000 fewer healthy years for those exposed....

What will occur in the Michigan court system is the recognition that, "Oh, your one of the Flint kids, huh?"

Those costs are going to increase over time when "Growing Up Flint" will take decades to play out. $395 million are estimated costs today, but, in ten years from now and when they are adults the outcomes will be far more expensive. There needs to be a class action lawsuit to compensate victims of this crime by Governor Snyder.

The next attempt by state officials in North Dakota to remove the water guardians is a human rights violation.

Preventing food, water and shelter from reaching the encampment is a human rights violation. Fining transporting vehicles is designed to end the supply of food, water, shelter and other needs, including medical supplies. 

This is outrageous.

The State of North Dakota is literally trying to starve the Native American Indians out of their encampment. 

Ask them if they will leave even in the face of the food blockade? Go ahead, ask them? Because if I know them the way I think I know them, there will be people carried out in body bags and have died from starvation before they will leave the encampment.

The State of North Dakota is trampling their spirituality and belief centers. That is not negotiable and it isn't because I stated same. People die, regardless of heritage or nationality, for the beliefs they hold dear. This is an entirely different nation of people within the USA that we hold treaties with and they are not budging because the will of the USA government is to starve them.

November 30, 2016
By Terry Sylvester

...State officials said on Tuesday (click here) they would fine anyone bringing prohibited items into the main protest camp following Governor Jack Dalrymple's "emergency evacuation" order on Monday. Earlier, officials had warned of a physical blockade, but the governor's office backed away from that.

Law enforcement would take a more "passive role" than enforcing a blockade, said Maxine Herr, a spokeswoman for the Morton County Sheriff's Department.

"The governor is more interested in public safety than setting up a road block and turning people away," Herr said by telephone.

Officers will stop vehicles they believe are headed to the camp and inform drivers they are committing an infraction and could be fined $1,000.

These penalties should serve as a hindrance, according to Cecily Fong, a spokeswoman for the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services....   

With these deaths there is no clear definition to "Tornado Season."

November 30, 2016
0030.20z
UNISYS hemispheric water vapor image (click here for 12 hour loop - thank you)

November 30, 2016

A tornado in Alabama killed three people (click here) in a mobile home early Wednesday and critically injured four children at a daycare center, according to media reports.

The Jackson County coroner's office confirmed the deaths, in Rosalie in northeastern Alabama, and said there were multiple injuries, AL.com reported. Thousands of people were left without power.

November 30, 2016
1330.18z
UNISYS hemispheric water vapor satellite

The National Weather Service said four children were critically injured when a daycare center in Ider, DeKalb County, was destroyed. Its operators, who live in a nearby mobile home, had sought shelter from the weather in the building, local officials told NBC News.

The severe weather that battered portions of the South on Tuesday night also caused damage and some injuries in Mississippi, according to media reports.

These images are twelve hours apart and illustrates the development of a powerful tornado in the southeast.

The system that caused this tornado feed off the water vapor from the ITCZ. The system is most dense about two hours ago.

November 30, 2016
1030.18z
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite of the north and west hemisphere

Donald Trump cannot act as a dictator and throw the power of the presidency around. It doesn't work that way. 

Senator Bernie Sanders does not have a problem with the idea of limiting military contracts to preserve American jobs, but, to simply end treaties takes Congress and quite frankly American jobs at the expense of the Ozone Layer will not be effective. If Earth's ozone layer is not protected, the USA could have $100,000 per year jobs but the people won't benefit from them long enough to make it a moral decision. 

People on Earth cannot live without an ozone layer. That is not negotiable.

Mr. Crutcher was unarmed and there was no one else on the scene that could have killed him.

No one in the USA wants a police officer to be guilty of killing an unarmed citizen. But, it happens and it happens in particular to young African American men. The phenomena cannot be denied. No one is making false accusations. 

September 22, 2016

Tulsa, Oklahoma - A prosecutor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, (click here) says arrangements are being made for the surrender of a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black man on a city street.

Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler filed a first-degree manslaughter charge Thursday against officer Betty Shelby, who shot and killed 40-year-old Terence Crutcher on Sept. 16. Dashcam and aerial footage of the shooting and its aftermath showed Crutcher walking away from Shelby with his arms in the air.

The footage does not offer a clear view of when Shelby fired the single shot that killed Crutcher. Her attorney has said Crutcher was not following police commands and that Shelby opened fire when the man began to reach into his SUV window.

Tulsa police say Crutcher did not have a gun on him or in his vehicle.

Flag burning is decided law.

Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the convention center where the 1984 Republican National Convention was being held in Dallas, Texas. Johnson burned the flag to protest the policies of President Ronald Reagan. He was arrested and charged with violating a Texas statute that prevented the desecration of a venerated object, including the American flag, if such action were likely to incite anger in others. A Texas court tried and convicted Johnson. He appealed, arguing that his actions were "symbolic speech" protected by the First Amendment. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his case.

This is the real twist. The liberals split the decision regarding flag burning. The decision came down from Justice William Brennan that it was "symbolic speech" and was protected by the First Amendment.

The Justice that dissented is now retired. Justice John Paul Stevens wrote the dissenting opinion stating the flag had special status and the First Amendment did not apply.

So, while the right wing extremists are having a rip roaring good time with the standards of our government so the hubris of the GOP is intact, it wasn't a conservative judge that dissented. 

What did the Late Justice Scalia say?

Ready?

The late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (click here) stressed that flag burning is protected by the Constitution — even if he doesn't think it should be.

In 1989, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in Texas v. Johnson, which found a man named Gregory Lee Johnson had a Constitutional right to burn the American flag during the Republican National Convention.

Scalia sided with the majority in that case, which found the First Amendment protects political expression like setting the stars and stripes on fire. That doesn't mean the 78-year-old justice likes flag desecration, but it's the justices' job to interpret the Constitution, not to pass moral judgment, Scalia has said repeatedly....

As the country goes through the next four years, remember, the bills the US Congress passes are suppose to be read three times and the bills are stated to have been read three times, but, the truth is the bills aren't read even once in the Congress. 

The Republican Hubris exists in a vacuum. They have no idea what they are talking about and this is a prime example.

Now people can begin to be terrorized by Donald Trump. These jobs cannot reverse the use of CFCs.

November 29, 2016

By Stephen Singer

President-elect Donald Trump (click here) may have considerable leverage in negotiations with United Technologies Corp. as he tries to force the conglomerate to reverse its decision to move 1,400 Carrier jobs to Mexico from Indiana.

Trump can renegotiate UTC's aerospace contracts with the Pentagon and seek revised federal environmental regulations and performance standards governing air conditioning and cooling equipment made by Carrier. He also could propose new federal tax policy affecting billions of dollars in cash that UTC and other conglomerates hold overseas....

The USA and the world is in real trouble. There is a mad man in the White House.

The Montreal Protocol (click here)  on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer(a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.

If dismantling entire international agreements is what Donald Trump plans to keep jobs in the USA there have to be sanctions placed on the country. The Republican majority has already stated they will simply rubber stamp all the plans of Donald Trump. Donald Trump is planning on the support of the Red State voters to enforce his demented ambitions.

November 24, 2011
By David Doniger

...The good news: (click here) Support continued to grow in Bali for taking steps to avoid disastrous increases in production of HFCs.  108 countries – more than half the world’s nations – have now backed moving forward on HFC phase-down proposals from Micronesia and from Canada, Mexico, and the United States.  That’s up from 91 supporters last year and 41 two years ago.  (The countries are listed below.)...

If the previous Goldman Sachs run down didn't do it for you. There is this.

“These banks have literally millions of email flying around a day. If you don’t have a system that can find the 0.001% instead of the 0.1%, the sheer number of alerts you have to deal with is overwhelming,” says Estes. “It required a quantum leap in cognitive review so you don’t have to spend 100-times the money in manual review,” he adds. Estes began pushing Digital Reasoning into finance in 2012 and now counts firms such as Goldman Sachs, UBS and billionaire Steven A. Cohen’s family office, Point72 Asset Management, as customers.

So, it sounds interesting doesn't it? Right? Think "Super Spy."

November 7, 2016
By Antoine

When Tim Estes, 37, created Digital Reasoning as a twenty-one year old with a philosophy degree from the University of Virginia, his startup aimed to use software to bridge mathematics with language and understand human behavior. Sixteen years on, Estes’ language-learning technology is used by a who’s who roster of Wall Street’s most scrutinized firms as they rein in employees and avoid the multi-billion dollar regulatory fines that have plagued the industry since the crisis.

Nashville-based Digital Reasoning, a new member of Forbes’ Fintech 50, was created with the premise that people build recognizable behavioral patterns using language and quantitative technology can be used to define these habits to understand corresponding action. Over time, the firm’s quantitative software teaches itself about patterns thus developing ever more-sophisticated models of individuals’ behavior, which can be used for surveillance ranging from counterintelligence to the combatting of fraud.

Estes’ bet has paid off. A few years after its founding in 2000, Digital Reasoning became an important cog utilized by the Department of Defense during the war in Afghanistan for communications surveillance aimed at gaining intelligence and protecting troops. Digital Reasoning was one of the successful startups that helped the Army comb through a haystack of digital information to spotlight counter terrorism intelligence, or uncover threats to troops on the battlefield.

Supposedly this really works to end the war in Afghanistan. Really?

In 2012, Estes decided to ply this surveillance to Wall Street amid the industry’s litany of billion-dollar fines for actions ranging from insider trading, to client fraud, and market manipulation. In a short period of time, Digital Reasoning’s Army-grade technology has become a staple inside the biggest banks and hedge funds in the world as they use big data and analytics to track employee communications and prevent against the next front-page scandal....

I guess Wells Fargo didn't buy it or use it enough to know the scams that was occurring.

So, there you have it. The frosting on the Edward Snowden cake.

Goldman Sachs is back in the Treasury.

Don't worry about it, last time Goldman Sachs was in the US Treasury he spent most of his time in China. Mr. Mnuchin can visit with his former peer at Goldman, Hank Paulson (click here).

President-elect Donald Trump (click here) is planning to name investor and former Goldman Sachs executive Steven Mnuchin as Treasury Secretary, opting for an industry insider with no government experience to helm the agency in charge of the nation’s finances, according to people familiar with the matter.

Mnuchin joined Trump’s whirlwind campaign in May as finance chairman, despite the fact that he has never worked in politics and that he donated to Democrats in the past. He quickly earned Trump’s trust as he worked closely with the Republican National Committee to raise substantial amounts of money in a short period of time. On the policy front, he was instrumental in crafting the details of Trump’s proposal to overhaul the tax code....

By the way, there are five positions opening at the Federal Reserve during the next four years.

November 18, 2016

By Dan Burns and Jennifer Ablan (see link above at Paulson)

With President-elect Donald Trump promising to spend as much as half a trillion dollars on infrastructure and slash taxes – initiatives that could add dramatically to the U.S. debt and balloon the budget deficit - Wall Street is far more focused on who will next head the U.S. Treasury than it was in the previous selection process under President Barack Obama.

Unlike current Secretary Jacob Lew, who assumed the role in early 2013 with little fanfare and has operated largely in the background, the next Treasury chief is expected to be a featured player in articulating and executing the Trump administration's economic policies and initiatives.

"You need somebody who has the experience and the knowledge and understands the gravity of the position," said Richard Bernstein, chief executive of Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC, an asset management firm. "It's a huge position. It has implications not only for the U.S. economy but also the global economy."...

There is a volunteer from Goldman Sachs to serve as Secretary of State. 

November 15, 2016
By Jennifer J. Jacobs

...Bolton would likely face a tough confirmation (click here) fight in the Senate, particularly after Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Tuesday that he would strongly oppose Bolton. Two other contenders have emerged in addition to Giuliani: former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who served under Colin Powell, and Henry Paulson, who was Treasury secretary under Bush, according to one person familiar with the transition....

See, Hank Paulson made this huge investment in China and opened a financial firm after leaving his Secretary of the Treasury post. I guess things in China didn't pan out as he expected, so a post as Secretary of State would provide him the seat of power to turn things around to benefit his Chinese financial firm. 

Noooooo, this folks are corrupt. Not at all. They are simply incompetent financial wealthy men that have no foresight. That's all.

Get this right. This is a perfect time to do so. 

The men that head up the most abusive financial firms in the world, simply game the system. They don't care if the game is at the Treasury post of then USA, it is just the next seat to secure to improve their game. 

Got that?

But, before Goldman Sachs could take over the US federal government they had to clean up those pesky fines.

November 6, 2016
By Karen Freifeld

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (click here) has settled a 2011 lawsuit claiming the investment bank fraudulently induced a bond insurer to guarantee payments on the doomed Abacus collateralized debt obligation ahead of the financial crisis.

ACA Financial Guaranty Corp. claimed Goldman and the hedge fund headed by John Paulson tricked it into insuring the CDO, which was tied to subprime mortgage securities....

Oh, interesting. Goldman Sachs Group was actually going to double dip insurers along with AIG. Well, that is somewhat clever. Did they actually think they wouldn't get caught?

Recently, Goldman Sachs have executives leaving the firm.

November 7, 2016
By Sam Shead

In 2014, Rahul Parekh (click here) left his job as a derivatives trader at Goldman Sachs in order to launch his own food company.

That company, EatFirst, is now shipping ready made meals to people's homes and offices across London and is considering expanding to other UK cities from next spring....

October 17, 2016
By Michael J. de la Merced

San Francisco — One of Goldman Sachs’s top bankers in Asia (click here) is planning on retiring after nearly three decades at the firm.
16 Mark Schwartz, who is chairman of Goldman’s Asia Pacific region and a vice chairman of the firm, will retire at the end of the year, the firm said in an internal memorandum on Monday.

His departure comes as Goldman faces challenges in Asia, particularly a slowdown in investment banking in the region for all Western firms. Goldman is expected to lay off a significant number of its bankers in Asia. (Mr. Schwartz’s plans were unrelated to those issues.)...

I have to start this now because by the time the mischief shows up there will be no time to work up the background noise.

21 November 2016
By Jill Treanor

One of the City’s most influential and highest-paid bankers, (click here) Michael Sherwood, is leaving Goldman Sachs after a 30-year career, including becoming embroiled in controversy over the collapsed retailer BHS.

Sherwood, a Londoner who joined Goldman after graduating from Manchester University, plans to focus on charitable activities when he leaves the US bank in about six months.

A former bond trader who was paid $21m (£16.8m) last year, Sherwood usually keeps a low public profile. But this year he appeared before MPs investigating the collapse of BHS, which put 11,000 jobs at risk and left a £571m pension deficit. It was a public appearance that Goldman bankers would usually prefer to avoid. The bank is proud of its work behind the scenes in securing deals and offering advice to governments and big businesses.

But Goldman was forced to talk about its relationship with Sir Philip Green when he was selling BHS. Green said he was “1,000,000%” would not have sold the department store chain to Dominic Chappell had the buyer not passed an informal vetting by the bank....