Wall Street financier Bernard Madoff pleaded guilty today and was ledoff to jail. Madoff was denied bail after pleading guilty and stating he was "deeply sorry and ashamed" of his actions.
Prosecutors say the disgraced financier, who has spent three months under house arrest in his Manhattan penthouse, could face a maximum term of 150 years in prison at sentencing June 16. Madoff is expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.
The fraud, which prosecutors say may have totaled nearly $65 billion, turned a revered money man into an overnight global disgrace whose name became synonymous with the current economic meltdown.
The plea does not end the Bernie Madoff saga: Investigators are still undertaking the daunting task of unraveling how he pulled off the fraud for decades without being caught. They suspect that his family and top lieutenants who helped run his operation from its midtown Manhattan headquarters may have been involved.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
That Dancing With The Stars can be dangerous!
Wow! That Dancing With The Stars is dangerous stuff for sure! Seems the season hasn't even started yet and already it has claimed two victims. Nancy O'Dell and Jewel have both been forced out due to injury. Nancy O'Dell needs knee surgery for a torn meniscus while Jewel is out due to fractures in both legs due to the dancing stress.
Althought neither made it past rehearsals both enjoyed and were proud of their time with Dancing With The Stars. According to ABC, both O’Dell and Jewel will appear on Monday’s season premiere to talk about their departure from the show and “additional changes to the cast” will also be announced during the premiere.
Althought neither made it past rehearsals both enjoyed and were proud of their time with Dancing With The Stars. According to ABC, both O’Dell and Jewel will appear on Monday’s season premiere to talk about their departure from the show and “additional changes to the cast” will also be announced during the premiere.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Barack Obama Lovefest Losing Steam in Europe?
Europe anticipated his arrival as US President with open arms and enthusiasm after years of dealing with difficult Bush American political policy. Is the Barack Obama love affair losing steam so quickly in the new US President's tenure? The troubling world economy is definitely stifling the Obama momentum. Many Europeans are feeling a bit overlooked and ignored by Barack Obama. He has yet to visit Europe and sent his Secretary of State to Asia and the Middle East before Europe.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to Europe for a basic meet-and-greet trip. Hillary Clinton will also set the stage for Obama's visit to Europe next month. The Obama trip will include a summit with the 27 EU leaders in Prague, as well as a London summit of the G20, and NATO's 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg.
Hopefully a little attention from the new US President will reassure the Europeans of Barack Obama's plans and intentions moving forward as President.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is heading to Europe for a basic meet-and-greet trip. Hillary Clinton will also set the stage for Obama's visit to Europe next month. The Obama trip will include a summit with the 27 EU leaders in Prague, as well as a London summit of the G20, and NATO's 60th anniversary summit in Strasbourg.
Hopefully a little attention from the new US President will reassure the Europeans of Barack Obama's plans and intentions moving forward as President.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
So US Taxpayers get to rebuild Gaza?
Don't we have enough problems here in the US already? Now the news is that we will give $900 million to Palestine to help rebuild what Israel blew up. The government can't agree to help GM or Ford out of their miserable state yet we can agree to give a group of terrorists and extremists who don't even like us $900 million. Maybe the CEO of GM should go to Congress next time and be a jerk and say GM hates America....then they'll get a huge bailout package?
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Hillary Clinton heads to China
Newly appointed US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton heads to Asia looking to make new inroads in bilateral relations with China . Clinton will visit four nations during the trip, but make no doubts, the real focus of the trip is China.
She has made it clear she wants to move the relationship with China dramatically forward, finding new ways to build and sustain economic growth, but also to forge new agreements on climate change and the environment .
It will be interesting to see the welcome Clinton gets in China. In 1995, as first lady, Clinton delivered a fiery speech on human rights at a Beijing conference winning a worldwide following while dismaying her Chinese hosts, who banned coverage in the country's official media.
She has made it clear she wants to move the relationship with China dramatically forward, finding new ways to build and sustain economic growth, but also to forge new agreements on climate change and the environment .
It will be interesting to see the welcome Clinton gets in China. In 1995, as first lady, Clinton delivered a fiery speech on human rights at a Beijing conference winning a worldwide following while dismaying her Chinese hosts, who banned coverage in the country's official media.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
What to do with Guantanamo Inmates?
President Obama has stated plans to close Guantanamo Bay in a year. Most Americans are ok with this decision. The big issue that has barely been addressed is what to do with the prisoners?
It has been established that most of the prisoner's home countries will not take them back under any circumstances. Now several Senators are beginning to speak out saying "do not send them here!" The objections will become louder and more widespread I am sure as the closure date approaches.
The Guantanamo prison opened in 2002 at the US naval base on Cuba and has been widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments as failing to meet basic legal standards. President Obama is bowing to international pressure to close the facility. Unfortunately, nobody has come forward with a plan for the prisoners. Hopefully, we don't set them free, but I get the feeling many will be flat out released. Sixty prisoners that have been released over the last year are unable to leave because no country will allow them entry.
It has been established that most of the prisoner's home countries will not take them back under any circumstances. Now several Senators are beginning to speak out saying "do not send them here!" The objections will become louder and more widespread I am sure as the closure date approaches.
The Guantanamo prison opened in 2002 at the US naval base on Cuba and has been widely condemned by rights groups and foreign governments as failing to meet basic legal standards. President Obama is bowing to international pressure to close the facility. Unfortunately, nobody has come forward with a plan for the prisoners. Hopefully, we don't set them free, but I get the feeling many will be flat out released. Sixty prisoners that have been released over the last year are unable to leave because no country will allow them entry.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
North Korea threatens war with South Korea
North Korea threatened war with South Korea due to their confrontational political policies. The message was clear only two days after the North vowed to abandon all peace agreements with its southern neighbor.
Relations between the pair have been strained since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office nearly a year ago. He pledged to take a harder line on the North. Tension heightened Friday when the North said it was ditching a nonaggression pact and all other peace accords with South Korea.
The tension may lead to "an unavoidable military conflict and a war," North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
"The policy of confrontation" by the South Korean government is "the very source of military conflicts and war" between the Koreas, it said.
The North has accused Lee's government of preparing to stage a war, which South Korea denies. Earlier this month, the North's military declared it adopted an "all-out confrontational posture" to defeat any southern aggression. In its Friday statement, the North said it would no longer respect a disputed sea border with the South on the west of the peninsula, raising the prospect for a new armed clash in the area, already the scene of bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
President Lee Myung-bak sought to downplay the statement and called it "not unusual." He indicated his government will wait until the North is ready for talks in good faith.
A South Korean Defense Ministry official said Sunday that the country's navy remains on alert along the western sea border. The official also said the ministry has not detected any unusual movements of the North Korean military. The peninsula remains divided by a heavily fortified border, with tens of thousands of troops stationed on both sides.
Relations between the pair have been strained since conservative South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office nearly a year ago. He pledged to take a harder line on the North. Tension heightened Friday when the North said it was ditching a nonaggression pact and all other peace accords with South Korea.
The tension may lead to "an unavoidable military conflict and a war," North Korea's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.
"The policy of confrontation" by the South Korean government is "the very source of military conflicts and war" between the Koreas, it said.
The North has accused Lee's government of preparing to stage a war, which South Korea denies. Earlier this month, the North's military declared it adopted an "all-out confrontational posture" to defeat any southern aggression. In its Friday statement, the North said it would no longer respect a disputed sea border with the South on the west of the peninsula, raising the prospect for a new armed clash in the area, already the scene of bloody naval skirmishes in 1999 and 2002.
President Lee Myung-bak sought to downplay the statement and called it "not unusual." He indicated his government will wait until the North is ready for talks in good faith.
A South Korean Defense Ministry official said Sunday that the country's navy remains on alert along the western sea border. The official also said the ministry has not detected any unusual movements of the North Korean military. The peninsula remains divided by a heavily fortified border, with tens of thousands of troops stationed on both sides.
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