Trader linked to Raj Rajaratnam set to appear in New York court Danielle Chiesi, the former beauty queen turned stock trader, faces up to four years in jail for her role in the biggest insider-dealing case in decades by a New York judge as she awaits her sentence today. Chiesi, 45, was the former confidante of hedge fund billionaire Raj Rajaratnam . She pleaded guilty to three criminal counts of conspiracy to commit securities fraud in January, in a move that was seen as a major breakthrough for the prosecution. Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group hedge fund, was the central figure in the biggest insider-dealing case the US government has investigated since the 1980s. He fought the charges but was found guilty of fraud and conspiracy in May and is awaiting sentencing. Prosecutors are pushing for Chiesi, who once compared trading inside information to having an orgasm, to receive up to 46 months in jail. Alan Kaufman, her lawyer, has argued that Chiesi never traded on the insider information in her personal accounts and was the victim of a “toxic” sexual relationship with Mark Kurland, her former boss and lover at trader New Castle Partners. Kurland, who also pleaded guilty in the Galleon case, is serving 27 months. According to a letter filed with the court by Chiesi’s boyfriend, identified only as “Billy,” Chiesi was manipulated by Kurland, who engaged in a “vicious cycle of abuse” and “psychological exploitation” to turn her into his “virtual servant”. Chiesi is scheduled to appear before judge Richard Holwell in Manhattan federal court. She will become the 10th person to be sentenced out of 46 guilty pleas and convictions secured in the massive insider-dealing investigation. Rajaratnam once ran one of the biggest hedge funds in the world. He was convicted on 14 counts of fraud and conspiracy after a jury heard he had used a network of high-level contacts, including Chiesi, to gather inside information on top companies including Goldman Sachs, Google and Hilton. The jury in the Rajaratnam trial heard phone calls between the hedge fund billionaire and Chiesi that were secretly tapped by the prosecution. The pair discussed upcoming results from Akamai Technologies. The prosecution argued Chiesi passed inside information about the firm on to Rajaratnam. After he had made his investments, the Galleon boss called Chiesi: “Hi Dani. Raj. I just wanted to say thank you,” he said. She replied: “It’s a conquest. It’s mentally fabulous for me,” adding “I love the way I feel right now.” Hedge funds United States New York Goldman Sachs Google Dominic Rushe guardian.co.uk
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Emma Stone talks about being Hollywood’s latest It girl and getting career advice – while her ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love.’ co-star, Julianne Moore, reveals why she took the role in the film. (July 20)
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American Airlines is buying at least 460 new planes over the next five years in what it calls the biggest airline order in history. And in a victory for Airbus, it’s splitting the work between the European plane maker and Boeing. (July 20)
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WASHINGTON — House Republicans easily passed their “Cut, Cap and Balance” fiscal plan on Tuesday, a proposal that boosts their standing among Tea Party supporters but has no chance of becoming law. The bill passed, 234 to 190, on a largely partisan vote. Five Democrats, including Reps. Jim Cooper (Tenn.), Health Shuler (N.C.) and Dan Boren (Okla.), sided with Republicans in passing the measure. Nine Republicans opposed the bill, including Tea Party favorite and GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). In a statement issued after the vote, Bachmann said the bill “does not go far enough” and should have included provisions to defund health care reform. Other Republican defectors included Reps. Walter Jones (N.C.), Francisco Canseco (Texas), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), Connie Mack (Fla.) and Ron Paul (Texas). Paul said he has never voted for a debt ceiling increase and never will. In addition, he took issue with Republicans for not including defense cuts in the mix of discretionary cuts. “All spending must be deemed discretionary and reexamined by Congress each year,” Paul said in a statement. “To allow otherwise is pure cowardice.” Tuesday’s vote comes after weeks of Republicans touting the bill as proof of their commitment to conservative principles. It includes three provisions: substantial spending cuts, statutory spending caps, and a constitutional amendment to require the government to balance its books each year. Republicans say the proposal is just the kind of shot in the arm needed to address the nation’s staggering $14.4 trillion debt. Specifically, it calls for cutting more than $100 billion in fiscal 2012 and makes drastic spending cuts in areas that Democrats have prioritized as opportunities for investment: clean energy, infrastructure, education and job training. The biggest concern for Democrats, however, is the bill’s proposal to gut Medicaid funding by one-third over the next decade. Both parties know the bill has next to no chance of passing the Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Barack Obama has already threatened a veto. But Republicans have pushed for a record vote on it ahead of the 2012 elections. Democrats spent much of Tuesday’s four-hour debate bashing Republicans for wasting time on a political stunt. “This bill panders, even grovels, to Tea Party extremists,” Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) said. “Thank goodness this bill will never pass the United States Senate. Thank goodness this bill will never become law.” Republicans countered that their fiscal plan is better than nothing, which is what Democrats have put forward. Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the author of the GOP bill, said he would welcome debate on a Democratic alternative if there was one. “If you could slide it across the table to us, we’d love to see it,” Chaffetz said. Partisan tensions flared throughout the debate as both sides accused the other of leadership failure, sometimes with creative flair. “You guys are ruining this country’s fiscal future,” Rep. Sam Farr (D-Calif.) said to Republicans. “Shame on you for playing with fire on the United States Constitution. Shame on your ‘Cut, Cap and Ruin the United States.’” Rep. Todd Young (R-Ind.) said the debt debate reminded him of a scene from the book Alice in Wonderland, when Alice told the Cheshire Cat she didn’t really care where she went in her travels. “I get the sense my friends on the other side of the aisle don’t really much care where we go,” Young said. The measure now heads to the Senate. A senior GOP aide said Senate Republicans are pushing for a vote this week.
Continue reading …NPR Chops Pro-Life Talking Points in Program About Abortion in the Black Community
July 20, 2011 No Comment
On July 18, NPR refereed a debate between Ryan Bomberger, CEO of www.TheRadianceFoundation.org , and Rev. Carlton Veazey, President and CEO of the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice . I thought Ryan did great, but he reported afterward he would have scored even more points had NPR not severely edited him. “NPR’s liberal colors shone though as they cut out minutes worth of my responses yet kept every single word he spoke intact,” wrote Ryan in a follow-up report. Ryan identified where and what the edits were in this YouTube video of the interview …
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Back when we first laid eyes on Tango , the startup was sticking strictly to mobile, serving up free video calls over 3G, 4G, and WiFi to both iOS and Android devices (with front-facing cameras, of course). Now the company’s thinking big — quite literally — with the announcement that it plans to bring its video calling service to PCs sometime later this summer. As of now, it looks as if this will be a Windows-only affair, and will remain free of charge — as before, you won’t need to register to get your videophone on. We’ve yet to see Tango at work on the big screen, but from what we gather from the press stills, the desktop edition will bring a bit of the old Apple to your PC. Full PR after the break. Continue reading Tango brings video calling to desktop PCs — giant baby head not included Tango brings video calling to desktop PCs — giant baby head not included originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 11:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
Continue reading …Kamariah Ali may consider herself a member of the Sky Kingdom sect—known as the “teapot cult”—but she is a Muslim under the law, a Malaysian civil court has decided. The court rejected the 60-year-old woman’s request to leave Islam to avoid being jailed for apostasy, the BBC reports….
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Rebel forces in Misrata say they are making gains amid heavy fighting, while minefields hamper progress in battle for Brega Libyan rebel forces in Misrata, supported by Nato air strikes, launched an offensive towards the government-held town of Zlitan on Wednesday morning, with fighters saying they were making gains amid heavy fighting. “We are now one and a half kilometres from Zlitan,” said a rebel fighter, Mohammed Ashanobah, of the Shaheed (Martyr) Brigade. “The revolutionaries attacked at eight this morning.” In eastern Libya, rebels continue to try to capture Brega, a key government-held town that is home to an oil refinery. They said they were being hampered in their efforts by extensive minefields. Nato said it destroyed six government artillery pieces around Misrata on Monday and planes hit a further 12 targets on Tuesday, marking a sharp escalation in alliance air strikes around the besieged city. Hikma hospital in Misrata reported seven fighters killed and 14 wounded by midday. Tripoli issued no casualty figures. Among the wounded were two government soldiers brought to the hospital for treatment by the man who shot them. Hiden Hassan, 37, another Shaheed Brigade fighter, said the two soldiers had driven towards them as they advanced. “They came in a Toyota and they were shooting at us,” he said. “We fired back. The Toyota stopped and they jumped out, still firing their weapons. So I shot at them, I hit them both in the legs.” He said he called on his comrades to drag the wounded men behind the frontline, and then accompanied them in a rebel pickup truck to the hospital. “They are Muslims, I am Muslim, they are Libyans, I am Libyan,” he said. “It was my duty to help.” Rebel units have failed to break the six-week deadlock around the city, and the latest offensive is important politically and militarily. Together with the Brega offensive, the rebel National Transitional Council in Benghazi hope to demonstrate to coalition forces that they can win the war and avert talk of a compromise political solution that may divide the country. Libya Middle East Chris Stephen guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Bill O’Reilly tries to reel in the wingnuts, admits GOP losing debt-ceiling PR campaign while bashing Michele Bachmann
July 20, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Lately Bill O’Reilly has been trying to convince his Tea Party base that Michele Bachmann is too extreme and dangerous as a GOP presidential candidate and that Congress must raise the debt ceiling. If you missed his interview with Michele Bachmann from last week, check out the above video. It would seem that the grand Wizards of the GOP are using BillO to now try and rein in the Tea Party hardliners they’ve created. Last night he revealed that on his own website his viewers voted against raising the debt ceiling by a 60-40 split. No matter how hard he tries, they ain’t buying his sales pitch for sanity. Do you believe the economy will be harmed if a debt deal is not reached? He quickly announced the results of his poll as an afterthought. Bill again made the case that the debt ceiling must be raised. He’s been very mindful to include his usual 1930s view opposed to government spending and sprinkled in that Obama wants to take all their money and give it to the poor , all so he wouldn’t lose too much favor with his base. On paper, the debt thing is boring, and many Americans are not paying attention. But the controversy will define the future of the USA. On one side, President Obama and the Democratic Party want America to become an entitlement state that compels social justice, financially supporting Americans who can’t or won’t support themselves. We’re all lazy welfare queens who want nothing more than to live off unemployment and raise family. In Bill’s eyes working in Texas in below-minimum-wage jobs like those Rick Perry is creating is such a beautiful alternative. The hell with real job creation. The debt ceiling vote was always a formality vote until Obama took office. We all pay into Social Security and Medicare, so it’s not a handout from rich people, but the word entitlement conjures up that illusion. That’s why I try to stay away from it and use the term ‘social safety nets.’ And Bill is very shrill about the reality that President Obama is proving his bully pulpit is still strong, since he’s turned all the earlier polling on the debt ceiling debate around completely to his side. Remember when all the polling looked like the latest one from Pew? By a 53% to 30% margin, most Republicans say that it will not be a major problem if the debt ceiling is not raised by Aug. 2 Now poll after poll is coming out much like the latest Gallup which has flipped that dynamic around. I’ve been writing that I had wished Obama’s approach from the the beginning of his tenure would be to explain why Keynesian policies are needed at this time of a massive financial meltdown rather than the “tightening our belts” approach which is dominating the debate now. Back to O’Reilly; He’s agreeing that the R’s are losing the PR wars, but cleverly pivots away from that into a man-crush on Marco Rubio. A new CBS poll says that Democrats are winning the PR war. When asked how the debt negotiations are being handled, 43 percent approve of the way President Obama is going about it; 31 percent say the Democrats in Congress are doing OK; and just 21 percent believe the Republicans have the correct position. That either means that the GOP is not getting its message out or the vast majority of Americans want a Western European-style entitlement state. “Talking Points” does not believe that most Americans want that, so the message seems to be the problem. Enter Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who absolutely destroyed CBS newsman Bob Schieffer on Sunday. Rubio didn’t destroy Bob Scheiffer, he just didn’t answer his questions and scowled his responses, which to BillO and Bernie Goldberg are not questions journalists should be asking anyway. Here’s the transcript. See, it’s not allowed for any journalist or Villager to bring up the name George Bush since he put this country into the hole we now face, because that hurts the GOP. Alas, it must be an Obama planted question. BOB SCHIEFFER: Well, aren’t you going to have to concede, though, Senator, that maybe the previous administration might have had a little something to do with– SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (overlapping): Sure. But– BOB SCHIEFFER: –the bad economy that the President inherited when he came into office. I mean, and– and the other part is, when you say– SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (overlapping): So when does it start getting better, Bob? We’ve discussed Obama’s policies ad nauseum here, but Rubio doesn’t have a plan himself. Sen. Rubio believes that if unemployment drops dramatically, government revenues will rise because more people will be paying taxes. He went on to say that he does believe in closing some tax loopholes that corporations and wealthy people use. Now, this is not a partisan analysis here. This is the truth. Sen. Rubio put forth his party’s position clearly and efficiently. If the Republicans want to win this vital debate, they need to follow Rubio’s lead. And that’s “The Memo.” Cutting the deficit is not a job creator and Rubio’s position of closing loopholes is not the GOP’s position at all because they consider that a tax increase. Rubio, the King of the Tea, is actually in opposition to their sacred cows. O’Reilly is quite crafty how he presents his views. He carefully trashed Michele Bachmann as often as he can, he attacks government spending as much as he can and he’s for raising the debt ceiling. At the same time he’s trying to turn Marco Rubio into the next Chris Christie.
Continue reading …Open Thread: GOP Presidential Hopefuls Break Ranks With Party on Cut, Cap, and Balance
July 20, 2011 No Comment
Last night, nine Republicans and five Democrats broke with their parties on the Cut, Cap, and Balance Act, which would require a balanced budget amendment if the debt ceiling were to be raised. Two of the Republicans who voted against it were presidential hopefuls: Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and Rep. Ron Paul (Texas), both of whom believe the act doesn't goes far enough. Bachmann instead offered her own version of the act which would include a repeal of ObamaCare, while Paul argued for even greater cuts to entitlement and military spending. Check out what they had to say after the break, and let us know if you think this will bode well for their 2012 campaigns in the comments. Bachmann explained to her South Carolina audience, “In signing the pledge, I am adding a line. I also pledge that along with cutting spending, putting in place enforceable spending caps, and passing a balanced budget amendment, we must repeal and defund ObamaCare.” She has also refused to raise the debt ceiling under any circumstance, reminding her audience, “I continue to stand for voting against increasing the debt ceiling.” ( Video via Politico ) Paul released a statement
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