The cash pot available for the victims of Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme has grown by $7.2 billion, culminating into an engorged $9.5 billion balance that will be allocated to those duped by the Wall Street baron during his near 35-year investment history. Interesting to note is the fact that the $9.5 billion pot for the Madoff case dwarfs the $5.4 billion allocated by Congress for Katrina recovery. —JCL The New York Times: Federal prosecutors and the trustee charged with recovering assets in the Bernard L. Madoff bankruptcy, announced a settlement Friday that would add $7.2 billion to the cash available to compensate victims of Mr. Madoff’s global Ponzi scheme. Details of the agreement with the estate of Jeffry M. Picower, a Palm Beach philanthropist who died in October 2009, were released Friday at a news conference in Lower Manhattan. The settlement “will return every penny received from almost 35 years of investing with Bernard Madoff,” Mr. Picower’s wife, Barbara, said in a statement through her lawyer, William D. Zabel of Schulte Roth & Zabel. Read more Related Entries December 16, 2010 Everything Is Negotiable, Except Nature December 15, 2010 Time Taps Zuckerberg as Person of the Year
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Usually, big-name authors plug their books on a nationwide book tour. President Barack Obama took a lower-key approach Friday, reading selections from his new children’s book to a group of delighted second-graders in suburban Virginia. (Dec. 17)
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Photo: david.nikonvscanon , Flickr, CC The plans are being called the “largest shakeup of the UK energy sector” since the 1980s, and indeed, if implemented, they could have a profound impact on carbon emissions. The proposal, announced by UK energy and climate secretary Chris Huhne, would seek to position renewable sources as the “dominant” sources of energy generation by 2030, the Guardian reports. Among the initiatives is putting a floor price on carbon, investing in energy efficiency measures like smart meters, and limiting the emissions of coal plants. … Read the full story on TreeHugger
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The mercenary firm formerly known as Blackwater has argued in court that the company’s private contractors who killed 17 Iraqis in Baghdad in 2007 should not be held accountable. Why? It’s Washington’s fault, they claim, as Blackwater fighters were acting as employees of the U.S. government at the time. —JCL Al-Jazeera English: The security company formerly known as Blackwater has told a US federal judge that the US government, and not the company itself, should be held accountable for a 2007 shooting by its contractors that killed 17 Iraqis in Nisour Square in Baghdad. Lawyers for the company, now known as Xe Services, argued in court on Thursday that Blackwater contractors were essentially acting as employees of the US government because they were providing security to State Department personnel. The North Carolina-based company and several of its contractors are seeking the dismissal of a lawsuit that was filed on behalf of three people killed in the shooting: Ali Kinani, Abrahem Abed Al Mafraje and Mahde Sahab Naser Shamake. The lawsuit accuses the parties of wrongful death and negligence, and seeks punitive damages. Read more Related Entries December 16, 2010 Everything Is Negotiable, Except Nature December 15, 2010 Time Taps Zuckerberg as Person of the Year
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Despite sounding more like an arcade than a currency oversight organization, European Union leaders have agreed to set up an official bailout fund for eurozone members as soon as 2013, doing “whatever is required” to defend the beleaguered currency. —JCL Al-Jazeera English: European Union leaders have agreed to set up a permanent bail-out fund for eurozone members by 2013, as the region’s economic woes gather pace. Members of the 27-nation bloc agreed to do “whatever is required” to defend the shared euro currency as they met for a two-day summit in Brussels, the Belgian capital. “The European Union is not only an economic union and a trade bloc, but also an important geopolitical partner,” Herman Van Rompuy, the EU president said. “We are clearly moving in the right direction.” Read more Related Entries December 16, 2010 Everything Is Negotiable, Except Nature December 15, 2010 Time Taps Zuckerberg as Person of the Year
Continue reading …Jon Stewart plays it straight last night to lay out the absolute hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of this situation, both by the politicians and those in the media who fail to do their job and call them out on this. 9/11 first responders watch as Mitch McConnell cries over a friend’s retirement, and Jon Kyl explains why the Senate can’t work the week after Christmas. Partial transcript from an earlier segment: Before we go, I want to talk one last time about something called the Zadroga bill, who was an NYPD detective who died in 2006 from respiratory illness thought to be caused by the dust he inhaled while working at Ground Zero after 2001. This bill would provide $7 billion in medical and financial benefits for Ground Zero workers who get sick, and they’re going to pay for it by closing a corporate tax loophole. It’s a win-win-win-win, just fucking do it!! The House passed it. The House of Representatives passed it, and it would pass in the Senate, if it came to an up-or-down vote. They have more than the 50 votes they need. But the Senate Republicans have filibustered it, won’t allow the bill to come up for a vote. Luckily, yesterday there was some good news from the Senate, the logjam broke. DIANE SAWYER (12/15/2010): Today the Senate passed that bill to extend tax cuts to all Americans, including the wealthiest, by an overwhelming 81-19 vote. Meanwhile, one Republican Senator saw fit to call the cops on some 9/11 First Responders yesterday when they visited her office. Congratulations, Susan Collins of Maine.
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Photo: Mission Motors James Bond Would Certainly Like It! The last time we heard about Mission Motors , they were launching their MissionEVT operation (selling high-performance electric drivetrain components). But it’s not the only thing that has been keeping them busy lately; they’ve also been developing the Mission R racing electric motorcycle, which they are unveiling today. Read on for more specs and photos…. Read the full story on TreeHugger
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Fourth Latin American country recognizes Palestinian state, in line with 1967 borders
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Indian police and security forces have allegedly tortured hundreds of Kashmiris as WikiLeaked evidence shows the use of electrocution, physical beatings, and sexual humiliation against detainees from 2005 to 2007. —JCL The Guardian: US officials had evidence of widespread torture by Indian police and security forces and were secretly briefed by Red Cross staff about the systematic abuse of detainees in Kashmir, according to leaked diplomatic cables. The dispatches, obtained by website WikiLeaks, reveal that US diplomats in Delhi were briefed in 2005 by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) about the use of electrocution, beatings and sexual humiliation against hundreds of detainees. Other cables show that as recently as 2007 American diplomats were concerned about widespread human rights abuses by Indian security forces, who they said relied on torture for confessions. Read more Related Entries December 16, 2010 Everything Is Negotiable, Except Nature December 15, 2010 Time Taps Zuckerberg as Person of the Year
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Photo: Kelly Rossiter Now that I have a very beautiful Moroccan tagine , I am always looking for recipes to make in it. This recipe from Tunisia caught my eye as I was working on a series of street food for Planet Green. It turns out to be a very different thing from a Moroccan tagine. It is more like an frittata or open faced omelete than ste… Read the full story on TreeHugger
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