The real welfare queens are finally turning up in the sights of law enforcement.
UBS clients seek amnesty on U.S. taxes
Mon Nov 24, 2008
Reuters
Some wealthy clients of UBS AG are coming forward to make amends with U.S. tax authorities after a former UBS private banker was indicted, a sign that U.S. efforts to battle offshore tax evasion are having the desired effect, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website...
The UBS clients are hiring tax lawyers and pursuing amnesty through an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) voluntary disclosure program, the paper said.
Under the program, U.S. citizens would be allowed to avoid criminal prosecution if they acknowledge evasion and agree to pay taxes and penalties, the paper said...
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Blind woman threatened with loss of home over 1-cent bill
I'm wondering what percentage of human beings who work for public entities are so rigid that they would threaten someone with a $48 penalty for not paying a 1-cent bill.
Why wouldn't the worker simply pay the penny and then, if the worker felt this was an unacceptable financial loss, simply reimburse himself/herself the next time he/she passed by the spare-pennies container sitting out on the counter of a 7-11?
I doubt that the worker knew that the target of the threat was a 74-year-old blind woman. So that's not the point. The point is that it cost more to send the letter than to pay the bill, and it was gratuitously harmful to a citizen.
Mass. woman 1 cent debt to city paid by former city councilor she does not know
Associated Press
November 19, 2008
ATTLEBORO, Mass.
A 74-year-old blind woman's 1 cent debt to a Massachusetts city has been settled.
People from across the country called Attleboro City Hall on Tuesday offering to pay the 1 cent balance owed by Eileen Wilbur for an overdue water and sewer bill.
Antonio Viveiros, a former city councilor who does not know Wilbur, wrote a check for one penny. He says he was "irked" by the fact that the federal government can spend billions for bailouts, yet a senior citizen was threatened with a lien on her home over 1 cent.
Wilbur's daughter first noticed the letter that warned of a lien and a $48 penalty if the overdue bill was not paid by Dec. 10.
Mayor Kevin Dumas says the whole situation was blown out of proportion.
Why wouldn't the worker simply pay the penny and then, if the worker felt this was an unacceptable financial loss, simply reimburse himself/herself the next time he/she passed by the spare-pennies container sitting out on the counter of a 7-11?
I doubt that the worker knew that the target of the threat was a 74-year-old blind woman. So that's not the point. The point is that it cost more to send the letter than to pay the bill, and it was gratuitously harmful to a citizen.
Mass. woman 1 cent debt to city paid by former city councilor she does not know
Associated Press
November 19, 2008
ATTLEBORO, Mass.
A 74-year-old blind woman's 1 cent debt to a Massachusetts city has been settled.
People from across the country called Attleboro City Hall on Tuesday offering to pay the 1 cent balance owed by Eileen Wilbur for an overdue water and sewer bill.
Antonio Viveiros, a former city councilor who does not know Wilbur, wrote a check for one penny. He says he was "irked" by the fact that the federal government can spend billions for bailouts, yet a senior citizen was threatened with a lien on her home over 1 cent.
Wilbur's daughter first noticed the letter that warned of a lien and a $48 penalty if the overdue bill was not paid by Dec. 10.
Mayor Kevin Dumas says the whole situation was blown out of proportion.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
CEO bonuses: Will the people who caused the meltdown be rewarded in the bailout?
Ten percent of $700 rescue package may go to bonuses
Bloggingstocks
Oct 19th 2008
by Douglas McIntyre
Wall Street walked into the path of its own oncoming stupidity. Of the $700 billion in Treasury rescue money, as much as $70 billion could go to bank and brokerage bonuses.
According to The Guardian, "Financial workers at Wall Street's top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (£40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year." The paper goes on to say that the Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) pool is large enough to buy the entire company when its stock was at a recent low.
Although this information get filed under "things you can't make up," it will probably have such a severe backlash that Congress will run hearings until the bankers have exhausted the extra money they are making on legal fees.
The contrary argument to punishing the firms is that some of the people getting big pay-outs work in departments that actually contributed huge sums of money to their parents.
If the management at these firms has any sense at all, they will pay nothing to the staff who worked in operations that lost money and file with the SEC to show the amount of operating income made from the operations where people are getting an extra check...
From AOL Money and Finance
A Goldman Hotshot Doles Out the Money
Neel Kashkari, a 35-year-old former Goldman Sachs whiz kid who believes in free markets, is getting the job at the Treasury Department of dispersing the government's $700 billion rescue. Is he really the right person for the job? Lots of observers have wondered if a seasoned vet with a little more political experience might be a better fit for the task at hand.
Bloggingstocks
Oct 19th 2008
by Douglas McIntyre
Wall Street walked into the path of its own oncoming stupidity. Of the $700 billion in Treasury rescue money, as much as $70 billion could go to bank and brokerage bonuses.
According to The Guardian, "Financial workers at Wall Street's top banks are to receive pay deals worth more than $70bn (£40bn), a substantial proportion of which is expected to be paid in discretionary bonuses, for their work so far this year." The paper goes on to say that the Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) pool is large enough to buy the entire company when its stock was at a recent low.
Although this information get filed under "things you can't make up," it will probably have such a severe backlash that Congress will run hearings until the bankers have exhausted the extra money they are making on legal fees.
The contrary argument to punishing the firms is that some of the people getting big pay-outs work in departments that actually contributed huge sums of money to their parents.
If the management at these firms has any sense at all, they will pay nothing to the staff who worked in operations that lost money and file with the SEC to show the amount of operating income made from the operations where people are getting an extra check...
From AOL Money and Finance
A Goldman Hotshot Doles Out the Money
Neel Kashkari, a 35-year-old former Goldman Sachs whiz kid who believes in free markets, is getting the job at the Treasury Department of dispersing the government's $700 billion rescue. Is he really the right person for the job? Lots of observers have wondered if a seasoned vet with a little more political experience might be a better fit for the task at hand.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
MA state senator Dianne Wilkerson accepted $23,500 in bribes
Politician Allegedly Stuffed Bribes in Bra
By GLEN JOHNSON and DENISE LAVOIE
AP
Oct. 29, 2008
A state senator who lost the Democratic primary last month was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with accepting $23,500 in bribes from undercover agents she believed were local businessmen.
Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was charged with attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. She did not enter a plea during an initial court appearance Tuesday.
On the Take?
Massachusetts state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was charged Tuesday with taking $23,500 in bribes from undercover FBI agents. This image made from video, which was included in an affidavit filed by the FBI, allegedly shows Wilkerson stuffing cash under her sweater and inside her bra on June 18, 2007.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)
She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count.
Wilkerson, 53, lost the Democratic primary in September to former teacher Sonia Chang-Diaz despite support from Mayor Thomas Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick. She is running a write-in campaign for the Nov. 4 election, in hopes of retaining the seat she has held since 1993.
Wilkerson was ordered Tuesday to have no contact with witnesses and retain any documents related to the extortion case or to her personal finances.
In asking for those conditions, Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil said Wilkerson has a "long history of acting as if she is above the law."
By GLEN JOHNSON and DENISE LAVOIE
AP
Oct. 29, 2008
A state senator who lost the Democratic primary last month was arrested by the FBI on Tuesday and charged with accepting $23,500 in bribes from undercover agents she believed were local businessmen.
Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was charged with attempted extortion as a public official and theft of honest services as a state senator. She did not enter a plea during an initial court appearance Tuesday.
On the Take?
Massachusetts state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson was charged Tuesday with taking $23,500 in bribes from undercover FBI agents. This image made from video, which was included in an affidavit filed by the FBI, allegedly shows Wilkerson stuffing cash under her sweater and inside her bra on June 18, 2007.(Note: Please disable your pop-up blocker)
She faces up to 20 years in prison and $250,000 in fines on each count.
Wilkerson, 53, lost the Democratic primary in September to former teacher Sonia Chang-Diaz despite support from Mayor Thomas Menino and Gov. Deval Patrick. She is running a write-in campaign for the Nov. 4 election, in hopes of retaining the seat she has held since 1993.
Wilkerson was ordered Tuesday to have no contact with witnesses and retain any documents related to the extortion case or to her personal finances.
In asking for those conditions, Assistant U.S. Attorney John McNeil said Wilkerson has a "long history of acting as if she is above the law."
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Code Pink rescues mother of Iraq casualty from foreclosure
How a Victim of the Housing Crisis Was Saved from the Brink of Eviction
By Linda Milazzo
AlterNet
October 20, 2008
video
Code Pink, American News Project, and community organizers worked together to save a woman's home from the auction block.
Jocelyn Voltaire is an émigré from Haiti who has lived in this country for 45 years. She's a United States citizen, a college graduate, and the mother of four. She recently suffered the unbearable loss of her eldest son -- a Marine who had served in the Gulf. Atop the unthinkable pain of losing a child, Jocelyne's Queens, New York home of twenty years was set to be auctioned on Friday (October 17th), due to a predatory lender scam.
But miracles do happen! Thanks to the brilliant work of independent media, American News Project (ANP), which captured Jocelyn's story in the video below, and Codepink Women For Peace, who after seeing ANP's video launched an appeal for funds to stop the auction, Jocelyn's home was saved. Miraculously, in one day, Codepink raised $30,000 from 650 patriots who stepped up to "spread their wealth." Below is the incredible video produced by American News Project that captured the "heart" of Codepink and inspired Jocelyne's patriotic "angels."
Needless to say, corporate media was much too busy camped out at the home of plumber Joe to pay Jocelyne Voltaire any mind. It took the efforts of independent media heroes ANP, generous spread-the-wealth patriots, and the inspired community organizing of Codepink to let humanity prevail. As Codepink says,
While our government has taken billions of our tax dollars to bail out the wealthy, we came together to bail out a desperate mother We modeled exactly what we want our government to do -- bail out families facing personal disaster, not financiers...
By Linda Milazzo
AlterNet
October 20, 2008
video
Code Pink, American News Project, and community organizers worked together to save a woman's home from the auction block.
Jocelyn Voltaire is an émigré from Haiti who has lived in this country for 45 years. She's a United States citizen, a college graduate, and the mother of four. She recently suffered the unbearable loss of her eldest son -- a Marine who had served in the Gulf. Atop the unthinkable pain of losing a child, Jocelyne's Queens, New York home of twenty years was set to be auctioned on Friday (October 17th), due to a predatory lender scam.
But miracles do happen! Thanks to the brilliant work of independent media, American News Project (ANP), which captured Jocelyn's story in the video below, and Codepink Women For Peace, who after seeing ANP's video launched an appeal for funds to stop the auction, Jocelyn's home was saved. Miraculously, in one day, Codepink raised $30,000 from 650 patriots who stepped up to "spread their wealth." Below is the incredible video produced by American News Project that captured the "heart" of Codepink and inspired Jocelyne's patriotic "angels."
Needless to say, corporate media was much too busy camped out at the home of plumber Joe to pay Jocelyne Voltaire any mind. It took the efforts of independent media heroes ANP, generous spread-the-wealth patriots, and the inspired community organizing of Codepink to let humanity prevail. As Codepink says,
While our government has taken billions of our tax dollars to bail out the wealthy, we came together to bail out a desperate mother We modeled exactly what we want our government to do -- bail out families facing personal disaster, not financiers...
Friday, October 10, 2008
But wasn't this exactly why Palin used Yahoo for state business in the first place?
There is some concern that vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's emails might have been erased, since she was using Yahoo email to conduct state business. This problem will have to be added to a long list of concerns about disappearing public records, since the George Bush White House has seen tens of thousands of emails disappear even though government email accounts were used.
AOL News
October 10, 2008
"...Palin has occasionally used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, and her Yahoo accounts were hacked last month. The hacking of Palin's private account was significant because it showed that using private e-mail accounts to conduct state business would be vulnerable to being exposed.
"It wasn't widely known that the governor and her staff were using private e-mail accounts until McLeod filed the first of several open records requests earlier this year that yielded some of the e-mail traffic — much of it redacted for what were deemed privacy reasons.
"'The judge ordered the attorney general to contact Yahoo and other private carriers to preserve any e-mails sent and received on those accounts. If the e-mails were destroyed when the accounts were deactivated, he directed state officials to have the companies attempt to resurrect the e-mails.
"'We shouldn't be in a position where public records have been lost because the governor didn't do what every other state employee knows to do, which is to use an official, secure state e-mail account to conduct state business," McLeod said after the 90-minute hearing.
"'It's a dereliction of the governor and her duties," she said."
AOL News
October 10, 2008
"...Palin has occasionally used private e-mail accounts to conduct state business, and her Yahoo accounts were hacked last month. The hacking of Palin's private account was significant because it showed that using private e-mail accounts to conduct state business would be vulnerable to being exposed.
"It wasn't widely known that the governor and her staff were using private e-mail accounts until McLeod filed the first of several open records requests earlier this year that yielded some of the e-mail traffic — much of it redacted for what were deemed privacy reasons.
"'The judge ordered the attorney general to contact Yahoo and other private carriers to preserve any e-mails sent and received on those accounts. If the e-mails were destroyed when the accounts were deactivated, he directed state officials to have the companies attempt to resurrect the e-mails.
"'We shouldn't be in a position where public records have been lost because the governor didn't do what every other state employee knows to do, which is to use an official, secure state e-mail account to conduct state business," McLeod said after the 90-minute hearing.
"'It's a dereliction of the governor and her duties," she said."
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Sarah Palin collected per diem allowance at home
Palin Collected Money For Staying Home
By Tommy Christopher
Sep 9th 2008 10:59AM
Filed Under:eRepublicans, Featured Stories, 2008 President, Sarah Palin
By Tommy Christopher
Sept. 9, 2008
"...[T]he former governor was moose hunting and could not be reached to comment," the Washington Post is reporting today...
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
The report goes on to say that the expense is within the applicable rules, but are these the actions of a lean, mean crusader against government waste?
On the other hand, the $16,9551.00 in per diem expenses she collected while staying at home could have been a lot more.
I understand she used Expedia to find the lowest fare from her living room to her kitchen...
By Tommy Christopher
Sep 9th 2008 10:59AM
Filed Under:eRepublicans, Featured Stories, 2008 President, Sarah Palin
By Tommy Christopher
Sept. 9, 2008
"...[T]he former governor was moose hunting and could not be reached to comment," the Washington Post is reporting today...
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has billed taxpayers for 312 nights spent in her own home during her first 19 months in office, charging a "per diem" allowance intended to cover meals and incidental expenses while traveling on state business.
The report goes on to say that the expense is within the applicable rules, but are these the actions of a lean, mean crusader against government waste?
On the other hand, the $16,9551.00 in per diem expenses she collected while staying at home could have been a lot more.
I understand she used Expedia to find the lowest fare from her living room to her kitchen...
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Does Sarah Palin believe in reproductive privacy?
Sandy Kerner of La Mesa, California wrote this letter to the San Diego Union Tribune:
"As soon as Sarah Palin allows me the freedom to choose how my family handles reproductive issues, I'll allow her privacy in how she handles hers.
"Until then, it's a fair topic of conversation."
Mat Wahlstrom of San Diego had this to say:
"...[Palin's] 17-year-old daughter... is the same teen they've been making take care of the candidate's own special-needs newborn..."
Blogger's note: I think some teens become pregnant as a cry for help without realizing that having a child is a serious matter. I hope Palin will get some help for her pregnant daughter, who missed five to eight months of school last year due to a case of mononucleosis.
Bristol is clearly not as tough as her mom, who flew in April from Texas to Alaksa, and then drove for several hours more, while being in labor all the while! Apparently Palin's water broke soon after giving a speech in the Longhorn state. It seems Palin didn't trust the obstetricians in Texas, or the ones in Anchorage. She believed she was better off in an airplane, and then a car!
In the light of personal experience, I hope Palin will rethink her stand on abstinence-only sex education and her big budget cuts to funds to support pregnant teens. If we have abstinence-only sex education, we need MORE support for pregnant teens.
"As soon as Sarah Palin allows me the freedom to choose how my family handles reproductive issues, I'll allow her privacy in how she handles hers.
"Until then, it's a fair topic of conversation."
Mat Wahlstrom of San Diego had this to say:
"...[Palin's] 17-year-old daughter... is the same teen they've been making take care of the candidate's own special-needs newborn..."
Blogger's note: I think some teens become pregnant as a cry for help without realizing that having a child is a serious matter. I hope Palin will get some help for her pregnant daughter, who missed five to eight months of school last year due to a case of mononucleosis.
Bristol is clearly not as tough as her mom, who flew in April from Texas to Alaksa, and then drove for several hours more, while being in labor all the while! Apparently Palin's water broke soon after giving a speech in the Longhorn state. It seems Palin didn't trust the obstetricians in Texas, or the ones in Anchorage. She believed she was better off in an airplane, and then a car!
In the light of personal experience, I hope Palin will rethink her stand on abstinence-only sex education and her big budget cuts to funds to support pregnant teens. If we have abstinence-only sex education, we need MORE support for pregnant teens.
Palin isn't ready for an interview, but she's ready to be a heartbeat away from presidency
John McCain says his running mate Sarah Palin will be ready for an interview with the press "in a few days."
Maybe Paula Taylor of San Diego was right when she wrote to the San Diego Union Tribune:
"It appears that Sen. John McCain has entered the Internet age by using Match.com or eHarmony to find a running mate."
Maybe Paula Taylor of San Diego was right when she wrote to the San Diego Union Tribune:
"It appears that Sen. John McCain has entered the Internet age by using Match.com or eHarmony to find a running mate."
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Will the media will treat scandalous donations to Bush's library as a big story? No, our standards have changed in 8 years.
George Bush has made a mess of the world, and earned a reputation for lying about things like weapsons of mass destruction.
Bill Clinton made a mess of his sex life, and earned a reputation for lying about things like exactly where the line is drawn between playing around and intercourse. Also, there was a scandal about donations to his library.
I don't think that the questionable donations to Bush's library will become much of a scandal.
Somehow, the issue has faded in importance over the last eight years.
Chicago Tribune
Washington Bureau
"The Swamp"
Lobbyist: $200K gift to Bush library helps
The library rejects any discussion of money in exchange for any meetings
July 13, 2008
by Mark Silva
"Stephen Payne, a significant fundraiser for President Bush's election and reelection campaigns, certainly didn't know he was being videotaped when he suggested that he could arrange some meetings with Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the Bush administration with a big donation to the Bush presidential library.
"And Payne, a Houston-based lobbyist and longtime Bush-backer who has served as a volunteer travel-advance planner for White House trips abroad, later told the Sunday Times of London, which today reported on the videotaped meeting between Payne and a Kazakh exile in London purportedly seeking some high-level contact with the Bush administration for a friend back home, that he certainly intended no 'quid pro quo.''"
Bill Clinton made a mess of his sex life, and earned a reputation for lying about things like exactly where the line is drawn between playing around and intercourse. Also, there was a scandal about donations to his library.
I don't think that the questionable donations to Bush's library will become much of a scandal.
Somehow, the issue has faded in importance over the last eight years.
Chicago Tribune
Washington Bureau
"The Swamp"
Lobbyist: $200K gift to Bush library helps
The library rejects any discussion of money in exchange for any meetings
July 13, 2008
by Mark Silva
"Stephen Payne, a significant fundraiser for President Bush's election and reelection campaigns, certainly didn't know he was being videotaped when he suggested that he could arrange some meetings with Vice President Dick Cheney and others in the Bush administration with a big donation to the Bush presidential library.
"And Payne, a Houston-based lobbyist and longtime Bush-backer who has served as a volunteer travel-advance planner for White House trips abroad, later told the Sunday Times of London, which today reported on the videotaped meeting between Payne and a Kazakh exile in London purportedly seeking some high-level contact with the Bush administration for a friend back home, that he certainly intended no 'quid pro quo.''"
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Dick Cheney hides health effects of climate change
We knew his office was involved in hiding the truth about Iraq. It turns out Cheney doesn't want Americans to know about climate change, either.
Cheney's Office Pushed Purge Of Climate Change Testimony
By SIOBHAN HUGHES
July 8, 2008
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's office was behind a push to censor congressional testimony that global warming poses a danger to the public, a former Environmental Protection Agency official told Congress.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control testified to a U.S. Senate panel last year about the public health effects of climate change in testimony that was heavily edited by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Until now, Mr. Cheney's office hadn't been publicly linked to the efforts to keep information about climate change out of the public eye.
"The Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of the Vice President were seeking deletions to the CDC testimony," Jason Burnett, formerly an EPA associate deputy administrator, wrote in a letter dated July 6...
Cheney's Office Pushed Purge Of Climate Change Testimony
By SIOBHAN HUGHES
July 8, 2008
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney's office was behind a push to censor congressional testimony that global warming poses a danger to the public, a former Environmental Protection Agency official told Congress.
The director of the Centers for Disease Control testified to a U.S. Senate panel last year about the public health effects of climate change in testimony that was heavily edited by the White House's Office of Management and Budget. Until now, Mr. Cheney's office hadn't been publicly linked to the efforts to keep information about climate change out of the public eye.
"The Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of the Vice President were seeking deletions to the CDC testimony," Jason Burnett, formerly an EPA associate deputy administrator, wrote in a letter dated July 6...
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Is the Master of the Universe allowed to talk about Vaporware?
Time Magazine INTERVIEW
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt, David S. Jackson
[Redmond, Wash., June 5, 1995]
Bill Gates displayed his well-known combativeness last month when TIME questioned him about Microsoft’s controversial business practices. These are excerpts from a two-hour interview with TIME technology editor Philip Elmer-DeWitt and San Francisco bureau chief David S. Jackson
...TIME: We’d like to ask you about some of the charges that have come out in court.
Gates: This is old, old stuff.
TIME: We’d like to have it on the record, if you wouldn’t mind.
Gates: Are you, like, a historical publication or a newsmagazine?
TIME: Just last January, according to Apple, you threatened to stop developing for the Macintosh. Is this true?
Gates: We at no time, in any way, have ever threatened to stop developing for the Macintosh. I don’t even understand what it would mean. It’s the most bizarre thing in the world. What would we get out of that? It’s a big revenue source. It’s a profitable business.
TIME: Borland [another Microsoft competitor] charges that you used vaporware [the preannouncement of a nonexistent product] to screw up the development of Turbo BASIC. Which you did, right?
Gates: No! If you’re accusing me of competition, then yes. You have to decide. Are we optimized to help competitors, or are we optimized to help customers? Should we be open about our plans?
Do you understand what is being said here? The question is, are you allowed to tell people what your products are in advance?
TIME: Isn’t the point that if you’re a small player and you pre-announce a product, it has no effect, but that when a large player preannounces, it can freeze out the competition?
Gates: I’d say that’s pretty nonsensical. Let’s say you take a market, like the cigarette market, and you ban advertising. Who benefits?
TIME: The manufacturer with the largest installed base.
Gates: Installed market share, totally. So let’s have an absolute ban. You may never talk about new products in advance. But people do talk about their plans. You know, it’s this damn free-speech thing. It’s well established that communications is valuable for the efficiency of marketplaces. That’s all procompetitive stuff. This assumes that you like capitalism.
TIME: We don’t live under free, unfettered capitalism. Isn’t that why we have antitrust laws?
Gates: When did antitrust come up in the discussion? Antitrust is the way that the government promotes markets when there are market failures. It has nothing to do with the idea of free information.
TIME: I guess in Judge [Stanley] Sporkin’s mind it does. He’s saying vaporware is an issue.
Gates: You have to laugh. I mean, this is a judge who goes off and intentionally reads a book [a biography critical of Gates called Hard Drive] in advance and asks about some of it. It’s minor. I mean, you’re either here to talk to me about Microsoft or talk to me about that stuff. This lawsuit has nothing to do with Microsoft. Nothing.
TIME: Are we supposed to ignore the fact that there is a complaint that has Microsoft’s name on it?
Gates: There are probably 60 cases with Microsoft’s name on them. There will be at all times. Period...
By Philip Elmer-DeWitt, David S. Jackson
[Redmond, Wash., June 5, 1995]
Bill Gates displayed his well-known combativeness last month when TIME questioned him about Microsoft’s controversial business practices. These are excerpts from a two-hour interview with TIME technology editor Philip Elmer-DeWitt and San Francisco bureau chief David S. Jackson
...TIME: We’d like to ask you about some of the charges that have come out in court.
Gates: This is old, old stuff.
TIME: We’d like to have it on the record, if you wouldn’t mind.
Gates: Are you, like, a historical publication or a newsmagazine?
TIME: Just last January, according to Apple, you threatened to stop developing for the Macintosh. Is this true?
Gates: We at no time, in any way, have ever threatened to stop developing for the Macintosh. I don’t even understand what it would mean. It’s the most bizarre thing in the world. What would we get out of that? It’s a big revenue source. It’s a profitable business.
TIME: Borland [another Microsoft competitor] charges that you used vaporware [the preannouncement of a nonexistent product] to screw up the development of Turbo BASIC. Which you did, right?
Gates: No! If you’re accusing me of competition, then yes. You have to decide. Are we optimized to help competitors, or are we optimized to help customers? Should we be open about our plans?
Do you understand what is being said here? The question is, are you allowed to tell people what your products are in advance?
TIME: Isn’t the point that if you’re a small player and you pre-announce a product, it has no effect, but that when a large player preannounces, it can freeze out the competition?
Gates: I’d say that’s pretty nonsensical. Let’s say you take a market, like the cigarette market, and you ban advertising. Who benefits?
TIME: The manufacturer with the largest installed base.
Gates: Installed market share, totally. So let’s have an absolute ban. You may never talk about new products in advance. But people do talk about their plans. You know, it’s this damn free-speech thing. It’s well established that communications is valuable for the efficiency of marketplaces. That’s all procompetitive stuff. This assumes that you like capitalism.
TIME: We don’t live under free, unfettered capitalism. Isn’t that why we have antitrust laws?
Gates: When did antitrust come up in the discussion? Antitrust is the way that the government promotes markets when there are market failures. It has nothing to do with the idea of free information.
TIME: I guess in Judge [Stanley] Sporkin’s mind it does. He’s saying vaporware is an issue.
Gates: You have to laugh. I mean, this is a judge who goes off and intentionally reads a book [a biography critical of Gates called Hard Drive] in advance and asks about some of it. It’s minor. I mean, you’re either here to talk to me about Microsoft or talk to me about that stuff. This lawsuit has nothing to do with Microsoft. Nothing.
TIME: Are we supposed to ignore the fact that there is a complaint that has Microsoft’s name on it?
Gates: There are probably 60 cases with Microsoft’s name on them. There will be at all times. Period...
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Republicans Block New Tax on Oil Profits
Republicans are loyally protecting oil companies from the greed of the American consumer, proving that a large enough campaign donation in America is worth its weight in oil.
Republicans Block New Tax on Oil Profits
By H. JOSEF HEBERT,AP
2008-06-10
"Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline..."
Republicans Block New Tax on Oil Profits
By H. JOSEF HEBERT,AP
2008-06-10
"Senate Republicans blocked a proposal Tuesday to tax the windfall profits of the largest oil companies, despite pleas by Democratic leaders to use the measure to address America's anger over $4 a gallon gasoline..."
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Who's telling the truth, the prosecutors or the defense?
"With all the witnesses that came forth that had immunity, you would have thought there'd be somebody that would have dropped a bomb or had the smoking gun..."
That's what a juror named Bruce said. He might not have as much experience as I do with perjury committed by the people you'd least expect it from. What good is immunity when you could still lose your job if you tell the truth? And be harmed in other, more subtle ways?
Whistleblowers are fired all the time, even though it's against the law.
On the other hand, it's clear (the Don Seligman case, for example) that US prosecutors go after innocent people for political reasons.
Why doesn't the legal profession care about the disreputable state of the American justice system?
Could the reason be money?
Here's a story from WTAE TV
Most Wecht Jurors Wanted To Acquit, Don't Favor 2nd Trial
'I'd Do Anything' To Stop A New Trial, Says One Jury Member
April 29, 2008
PITTSBURGH -- Five jurors in the federal mistrial of former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht said the jury favored acquitting Wecht on the majority of the 41 fraud and theft counts against him.
"With all the witnesses that came forth that had immunity, you would have thought there'd be somebody that would have dropped a bomb or had the smoking gun," said a juror identified only as Bruce.
Video: Wecht Jurors Speak Out
The 11-member jury deadlocked in federal court in Pittsburgh earlier this month, and U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab scheduled a new trial on the same charges to begin May 27.
At a news conference Monday in the city's Summer Hill section, five of the jurors said they had been unable to find any criminal intent or scheme and they do not believe Wecht should be retried.
"I definitely feel it's a waste of taxpayers' money," said the jury foreman, identified as Bob. "I don't understand how they can find a juror that would convict him, to have 12 people be unanimous."
At one point, the jury was unanimous for a not guilty verdict on three counts of mail fraud for allegedly overbilling area district attorneys for mileage expenses, the jurors said.
By the time they deadlocked, the jury favored acquitting Wecht 8-3 on those counts and 24 more wire fraud charges.
The jurors said they favored convicting Wecht, 6-5, on 14 wire fraud and theft counts -- but that count would have been 6-6 if not for one member of their panel being excused for illness.
"I felt strongly that the prosecution did not present a strong enough case that there was a plan or a scheme or intent to defraud," a juror named Kimberly said.
Wecht is charged with mostly mail and wire fraud counts for allegedly having his county employees send invoices and other correspondence relating to his private practice from the coroner's office on county time.
Some jurors said they think the prosecution of Wecht is politically driven -- a claim his defense team has repeatedly made in public.
"I feel that there definitely could be some political motivations behind what's happening with Dr. Wecht," Kimberly said.
"Definitely politics, now that it's all said and done," Bob said. "Not so much that I thought that during the trial, but especially after you think about how quickly (prosecutor Gene) Stallings got up and said, 'We're retrying him' -- how quickly they had a date set."
"I don't know if it's politically motivated or not, but it seemed to me that the motivations were certainly less than pure. There was something behind it other than seeking justice," a juror named Linda said.
Jurors were also surprised that the government pressed ahead with announcing a second trial before hearing from them.
"I would do anything that it took if I could have an effect on there not being a future trial," Linda said. "I just feel that it would be punitive, that there's not a chance that another jury would find differently than we did."
The jurors said they're speaking out because they don't think the government will ever get the unanimous vote necessary to convict Wecht.
"We truly did try," said a juror named Dawn. "We went though count by count by count, just went through that barrage of paper, and it just was not there."
Wecht's defense team is asking to have Schwab removed from this case, alleging he's biased for the prosecution.
"The defense was not able to get a lot of information out to us," Dawn said. "A lot of it was stopped, and I just feel that he somewhat sided with the government."
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan's office declined to comment on the jurors' remarks Monday.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/16036614/detail.html
That's what a juror named Bruce said. He might not have as much experience as I do with perjury committed by the people you'd least expect it from. What good is immunity when you could still lose your job if you tell the truth? And be harmed in other, more subtle ways?
Whistleblowers are fired all the time, even though it's against the law.
On the other hand, it's clear (the Don Seligman case, for example) that US prosecutors go after innocent people for political reasons.
Why doesn't the legal profession care about the disreputable state of the American justice system?
Could the reason be money?
Here's a story from WTAE TV
Most Wecht Jurors Wanted To Acquit, Don't Favor 2nd Trial
'I'd Do Anything' To Stop A New Trial, Says One Jury Member
April 29, 2008
PITTSBURGH -- Five jurors in the federal mistrial of former Allegheny County Coroner Cyril Wecht said the jury favored acquitting Wecht on the majority of the 41 fraud and theft counts against him.
"With all the witnesses that came forth that had immunity, you would have thought there'd be somebody that would have dropped a bomb or had the smoking gun," said a juror identified only as Bruce.
Video: Wecht Jurors Speak Out
The 11-member jury deadlocked in federal court in Pittsburgh earlier this month, and U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab scheduled a new trial on the same charges to begin May 27.
At a news conference Monday in the city's Summer Hill section, five of the jurors said they had been unable to find any criminal intent or scheme and they do not believe Wecht should be retried.
"I definitely feel it's a waste of taxpayers' money," said the jury foreman, identified as Bob. "I don't understand how they can find a juror that would convict him, to have 12 people be unanimous."
At one point, the jury was unanimous for a not guilty verdict on three counts of mail fraud for allegedly overbilling area district attorneys for mileage expenses, the jurors said.
By the time they deadlocked, the jury favored acquitting Wecht 8-3 on those counts and 24 more wire fraud charges.
The jurors said they favored convicting Wecht, 6-5, on 14 wire fraud and theft counts -- but that count would have been 6-6 if not for one member of their panel being excused for illness.
"I felt strongly that the prosecution did not present a strong enough case that there was a plan or a scheme or intent to defraud," a juror named Kimberly said.
Wecht is charged with mostly mail and wire fraud counts for allegedly having his county employees send invoices and other correspondence relating to his private practice from the coroner's office on county time.
Some jurors said they think the prosecution of Wecht is politically driven -- a claim his defense team has repeatedly made in public.
"I feel that there definitely could be some political motivations behind what's happening with Dr. Wecht," Kimberly said.
"Definitely politics, now that it's all said and done," Bob said. "Not so much that I thought that during the trial, but especially after you think about how quickly (prosecutor Gene) Stallings got up and said, 'We're retrying him' -- how quickly they had a date set."
"I don't know if it's politically motivated or not, but it seemed to me that the motivations were certainly less than pure. There was something behind it other than seeking justice," a juror named Linda said.
Jurors were also surprised that the government pressed ahead with announcing a second trial before hearing from them.
"I would do anything that it took if I could have an effect on there not being a future trial," Linda said. "I just feel that it would be punitive, that there's not a chance that another jury would find differently than we did."
The jurors said they're speaking out because they don't think the government will ever get the unanimous vote necessary to convict Wecht.
"We truly did try," said a juror named Dawn. "We went though count by count by count, just went through that barrage of paper, and it just was not there."
Wecht's defense team is asking to have Schwab removed from this case, alleging he's biased for the prosecution.
"The defense was not able to get a lot of information out to us," Dawn said. "A lot of it was stopped, and I just feel that he somewhat sided with the government."
U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan's office declined to comment on the jurors' remarks Monday.
http://www.thepittsburghchannel.com/news/16036614/detail.html
How did artificial blood get approved by the FDA?
By Rob Stein
Washington Post
April 29, 2008
A new analysis concludes that the Food and Drug Administration approved experiments with artificial blood substitutes even after studies showed that the controversial products posed a clear risk of causing heart attacks and death.
SUBSTITUTES CALLED TOO RISKY: FDA Faulted for Approving Studies of Artificial Blood
BENEFITS, DANGERS
The review of combined data from more than 3,711 patients who participated in 16 studies testing five different types of artificial blood, released yesterday, found that the products nearly tripled the risk of heart attacks and boosted the chances of dying by 30 percent.
Based on the findings, the researchers questioned why the FDA allowed additional testing of the products to go forward and why the agency is considering letting yet another study proceed.
"It's hard to understand," said Charles Natanson, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health who led the analysis, which was released early by the Journal of the American Medical Association so the data could be presented at an FDA meeting on the subject. "They already had data that these products could cause heart attacks and evidence that they could kill."
An FDA official defended the agency, saying it had carefully weighed the risks and benefits of each study individually and had convened this week's two-day meeting to address the very concerns raised by the analysis.
"FDA independently was aware of essentially the same concerns that have been raised, and indeed that is the reason we have convened this scientific workshop and is the reason why we have made careful decisions about allowing some studies to proceed and others not to proceed," said Jay S. Epstein, director of the Office of Blood Research and Review. "Our point of view is that FDA has been highly vigilant in its oversight."
An artificial blood substitute that has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration could save untold lives by providing an alternative to trauma patients in emergencies, especially in rural areas and in combat settings.
But attempts to develop such products have been marred by repeated failures and fraught with controversy, in part because some products have been studied under rules allowing researchers to administer them without obtaining consent from individual patients. Such trials were permitted based on the argument that there was no alternative because trauma patients are often unconscious and time is often too limited to obtain consent from a family member.
Natanson conducted the analysis after becoming concerned about the consistent risks emerging from studies of various versions of products known as hemoglobin-based blood substitutes. After the Washington-based consumer group Public Citizen sued the FDA to gain access to data submitted to the agency, Natanson and colleagues at NIH and Public Citizen pooled data from studies conducted between 1998 and 2007.
"It didn't matter what type of patient you studied. There was no one product that was responsible for this. It was similar regardless of the patient population studied, the company that manufactured the product, whether the study was published or unpublished, or the chemical characteristics of the individual products," Natanson said. "The effect was robust."
Based on the available data, Natanson and his colleagues said, the FDA could have been aware of the risk as early as 2000.
"Since this time they did five more trials," he said, including a 2004 study involving 714 patients in which 11 patients receiving an artificial blood had heart attacks and 47 patients died.
The earlier findings should have been disclosed so that doctors at hospitals considering whether to participate in the studies would be better informed about the potential risks.
"Keeping data from being public represents real risks to patients," Natanson said. "If secret science is allowed, other companies can't build on the successes and failures and [outside reviewers] won't be able to fully assess the risk."
But Epstein said the FDA did block some studies from proceeding and allowed them to proceed only when officials were satisfied that the potential benefits outweighed the risks.
"We have viewed each product in its own right. We have needed to consider the extent to which different products and different clinical circumstances warranted an independent assessment of the relative risks and benefits. We have done that in every case," Epstein said.
Although none of the products have been approved in the United States, at least one has been approved in South Africa. Five studies are ongoing in eight other countries, and the FDA is considering a request by the Navy to conduct another study of Hemopure, an artificial blood product made by Biopure Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., on 334 trauma patients.
Biopure condemned the analysis as fundamentally flawed.
"There are vast differences among these products that make any pooling of data flawed, especially across different clinical experiences," A.G. Greenburg, the company's vice president of medical affairs, said in an e-mail. "Moreover, the analysis of Biopure's experience, based on pooling of heterogeneous trials, we believe to be significantly flawed as it fails to meet the homogeneity criteria of meta-analysis, thus invalidating the conclusions."
But a former Biopure official said yesterday that he agreed with the analysis.
"The risk appears to be a class risk. It appears to be present for all products," said William D. Hoffman, director of the cardiac intensive-care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was Biopure's medical director and chief medical officer from 1998 to 2000. "They should all be on hold until they figure out what is causing the toxicity."
Hoffman said he tried to get the company to halt an earlier study when he became concerned about the product's safety.
"I went to the leadership at the company at the time and was outvoted," he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/28/ST2008042802318.html
Washington Post
April 29, 2008
A new analysis concludes that the Food and Drug Administration approved experiments with artificial blood substitutes even after studies showed that the controversial products posed a clear risk of causing heart attacks and death.
SUBSTITUTES CALLED TOO RISKY: FDA Faulted for Approving Studies of Artificial Blood
BENEFITS, DANGERS
The review of combined data from more than 3,711 patients who participated in 16 studies testing five different types of artificial blood, released yesterday, found that the products nearly tripled the risk of heart attacks and boosted the chances of dying by 30 percent.
Based on the findings, the researchers questioned why the FDA allowed additional testing of the products to go forward and why the agency is considering letting yet another study proceed.
"It's hard to understand," said Charles Natanson, a senior investigator at the National Institutes of Health who led the analysis, which was released early by the Journal of the American Medical Association so the data could be presented at an FDA meeting on the subject. "They already had data that these products could cause heart attacks and evidence that they could kill."
An FDA official defended the agency, saying it had carefully weighed the risks and benefits of each study individually and had convened this week's two-day meeting to address the very concerns raised by the analysis.
"FDA independently was aware of essentially the same concerns that have been raised, and indeed that is the reason we have convened this scientific workshop and is the reason why we have made careful decisions about allowing some studies to proceed and others not to proceed," said Jay S. Epstein, director of the Office of Blood Research and Review. "Our point of view is that FDA has been highly vigilant in its oversight."
An artificial blood substitute that has a long shelf life and does not need refrigeration could save untold lives by providing an alternative to trauma patients in emergencies, especially in rural areas and in combat settings.
But attempts to develop such products have been marred by repeated failures and fraught with controversy, in part because some products have been studied under rules allowing researchers to administer them without obtaining consent from individual patients. Such trials were permitted based on the argument that there was no alternative because trauma patients are often unconscious and time is often too limited to obtain consent from a family member.
Natanson conducted the analysis after becoming concerned about the consistent risks emerging from studies of various versions of products known as hemoglobin-based blood substitutes. After the Washington-based consumer group Public Citizen sued the FDA to gain access to data submitted to the agency, Natanson and colleagues at NIH and Public Citizen pooled data from studies conducted between 1998 and 2007.
"It didn't matter what type of patient you studied. There was no one product that was responsible for this. It was similar regardless of the patient population studied, the company that manufactured the product, whether the study was published or unpublished, or the chemical characteristics of the individual products," Natanson said. "The effect was robust."
Based on the available data, Natanson and his colleagues said, the FDA could have been aware of the risk as early as 2000.
"Since this time they did five more trials," he said, including a 2004 study involving 714 patients in which 11 patients receiving an artificial blood had heart attacks and 47 patients died.
The earlier findings should have been disclosed so that doctors at hospitals considering whether to participate in the studies would be better informed about the potential risks.
"Keeping data from being public represents real risks to patients," Natanson said. "If secret science is allowed, other companies can't build on the successes and failures and [outside reviewers] won't be able to fully assess the risk."
But Epstein said the FDA did block some studies from proceeding and allowed them to proceed only when officials were satisfied that the potential benefits outweighed the risks.
"We have viewed each product in its own right. We have needed to consider the extent to which different products and different clinical circumstances warranted an independent assessment of the relative risks and benefits. We have done that in every case," Epstein said.
Although none of the products have been approved in the United States, at least one has been approved in South Africa. Five studies are ongoing in eight other countries, and the FDA is considering a request by the Navy to conduct another study of Hemopure, an artificial blood product made by Biopure Corp. of Cambridge, Mass., on 334 trauma patients.
Biopure condemned the analysis as fundamentally flawed.
"There are vast differences among these products that make any pooling of data flawed, especially across different clinical experiences," A.G. Greenburg, the company's vice president of medical affairs, said in an e-mail. "Moreover, the analysis of Biopure's experience, based on pooling of heterogeneous trials, we believe to be significantly flawed as it fails to meet the homogeneity criteria of meta-analysis, thus invalidating the conclusions."
But a former Biopure official said yesterday that he agreed with the analysis.
"The risk appears to be a class risk. It appears to be present for all products," said William D. Hoffman, director of the cardiac intensive-care unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, who was Biopure's medical director and chief medical officer from 1998 to 2000. "They should all be on hold until they figure out what is causing the toxicity."
Hoffman said he tried to get the company to halt an earlier study when he became concerned about the product's safety.
"I went to the leadership at the company at the time and was outvoted," he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/04/28/ST2008042802318.html
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