| City manager tells candidate: Bonita can’t control illegal ...
Bonita could just create another code enforcement branch to go after illegal immigrants? Obviously, you must be in favor of raising taxes. Your proposal would be cost prohibitive to enforce and the legal fees to defend it would be astronomical. .
BACK IN IRAQ: THE 'WHORES OF WAR'
EVEN FOR Blackwater, it was an atrocity too far. If an Iraqi government report is to be believed, Blackwater, a US mercenary company which is unofficially the world's largest "for hire" private army, indiscriminately and without provocation opened fire earlier this month on civilians in a Baghdad street, killing at least 20 people. Iraq immediately revoked the firm's licence to operate in the country and moved to expel its staff and prosecute those responsible for the shootings, but Blackwater's activities have since resumed. This coincides with the release of a US Embassy report on the September 16 shooting, obtained by the Washington Post and described by a State Department official as a "first blush" account. It details the events, as given by Blackwater guards, and has stirred controversy in Iraq and Washington and prompted an inquiry into the role of Blackwater and other private security firms in Iraq.
Countrywide Posts $421 Million Q4 Loss
Late payments also rose on traditional mortgages and home equity loans.
'While considerably improved from the previous quarter, (results) were adversely impacted by further credit deterioration across the industry and continued illiquidity in the secondary mortgage markets,' Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo said in a statement.
Countrywide wrote down $831 million largely related to prime home equity loans. It set aside $907 million for credit losses, up from $70.8 million a year earlier. Restructuring charges totaled $87 million.
For all of 2007, Countrywide lost $704 million, or $2.03 per share.
Bank of America, the second-largest U.S. bank, on Jan. 11 agreed to buy Countrywide in a transaction that on Monday valued the mortgage lender at about $4.3 billion.
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