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12 Oct 2011 20:16

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Biz: Warren Buffett made lots of money in 2010, paid fairly low taxes

  • $63 million dollars in 2010 alone for Mr. Berkshire Hathaway source
  • » And he only paid 17.4% in taxes: Buffett, whose monetary gains are the subject of scrutiny because of the fact that he’s the inspiration for Obama’s “Buffett Rule” (a notable part of the president’s jobs plan), released the earnings after being prodded by Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas, a Republican. Of note: Just $39,814,784 of his earnings were taxable, with the rest going to deductions and exemptions (like, say, his fairly robust charitable givings). And in case you’re wondering, Warren’s tax rate is low largely because he makes most of his income through investing. In the end, how much did he pay in taxes? A paltry $7 million (or a mere nine percent in taxes on adjusted gross income).
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2011 11:26

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Tech: The Winklevi’s cost of suing Facebook? Possibly not worth it

  • $65 million the amount Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss earned from their original settlement with Facebook
  • $13 million the amount the Winklevi have spent on lawyer fees in that case and a couple of others source
  • » Twenty percent of their settlement, down the toilet: Sure, the prize that the Winklevi could win from Mark Zuckerberg and company could possibly be massive — in the billions, even — but the thing is, they’re already rich and they’ve wasted much of their “I’m rich” money on courtrooms and lawsuits. Perhaps not the most efficient way of spending the money? Maybe.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2011 10:52

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U.S., World: Iran assassination plot: U.S. officials take super-hard line

  • The U.S. has something it’s trying to sell to the world. In case you’re wondering what that is, it’s that Iran is a very bad country — particularly in the wake of an assassination plot involving a Saudi diplomat —and we need to make sure they know it. “It’s critically important that we unite the world in the isolation of and dealing with the Iranians,” Vice President Joe Biden said today. “That’s the surest way to be able to get results.” He suggests that down the line, actions could go beyond sanctions, even, though we’re not at that point yet. He’s not alone. Here’s Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “This really, in the minds of many diplomats and government officials, crosses a line that Iran needs to be held to account for.” You get the feeling from reading these that the U.S. has been waiting for a moment like this for a while. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

12 Oct 2011 10:20

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Politics: Barney Frank rips Newt Gingrich for his Dodd-Frank assessment

  • I wish I knew that he was willing to listen to my advice, I would have given him some: I would have told him not to impeach Clinton, I would have told his successors not to go to war with Iraq, and I would have told [Tom] DeLay not to go on the dance show.
  • Rep. Barney Frank • Getting in an ice burn on Newt Gingrich, who ripped him and fellow Dodd-Frank architect Christopher Dodd, suggesting they should go to jail for daring to pass a financial reform. “If you want to put people in jail, you ought to start with Barney Frank and Chris Dodd,” Gingrich claimed during Tuesday night’s debate. As you might guess, Frank took umbrage with that assessment: “This notion we caused the problem that started while they were in charge even by Gingrich’s standards is very odd.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 18:52

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Politics: What we’re looking for from tonight’s #EconDebate

  • It’s debatin’ time! Yet again! The big news hanging over this one is Chris Christie’s recent endorsement of Mitt Romney, tactically deployed the day of the debate, but there’s a lot of other stuff to look for, too. Will Newt Gingrich insult the moderators? Will Michele Bachmann look unnervingly calm the entire time? Will Jon Huntsman make an awkward joke? Will Gary Johnson and Buddy Roemer crash the debate last-minute? Here are a few things to keep an eye out for tonight during the EconDebate, a Washington Post/Bloomberg joint we’re covering with DC Decoder, which starts at 8 p.m. EST:
  • Romney Vs. Hermanator The GOP field hasn’t, to this point, treated Cain as a serious threat. But with his recent polling surge, Cain now appears to be a legitimate top-tier contender and a real threat to Mitt Romney. If Romney goes on the offensive against Cain tonight, it’ll indicate that he’s bought into the hype and fears the Cain Train. On the other hand, if Romney and company give Cain a pass, it’s a sign that, polling aside, the pizza man still isn’t being taken seriously by the big dogs.
  • Can Perry Save himself? This debate may well be make-or-break for Rick Perry. Despite his $17 million fundraising haul — much of which was given prior to his profoundly inept performance in the last debate — the Texas good ol’ boy is sinking like an anvil in the polls and needs something to jumpstart his campaign. A robust performance tonight could do that. An aloof, absent-minded fumbling of easy questions could put the nail in Perry’s coffin. What a difference a month makes, eh?
  • the Mormon card For most of the race, Romney and Huntsman’s religion has been the elephant in the GOP primary room. Now it’s out in the open, after a prominent Perry supporter called Mormonism a “cult” at the Value Voters Summit last weekend. This question is sure to come up during the debate, and how the other candidates respond could portend the course of the campaign. If they take the bait, Mormonism may become a central campaign issue. If not, it may die down … for now.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 16:04

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U.S.: Officials say FBI foiled Iranian-backed bombing plot

  • Iranian bombing plot stymied by FBI: American officials reported today that the FBI infiltrated and derailed a terrorist plot backed by Iran. The plan involved paid collusion from an elite Iranian security force to the Zeta drug cartel of Mexico (unbeknownst to the Iranians, the contact they believed to be with the Zetas was cooperating with the FBI). The intended outcome was a bomb going off at a Washington D.C. restaurant, which would have killed Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States. This is big news, as a publicly disseminated example of Iran as a state supporter of terrorism; it has been viewed as such by the U.S. State Department since 1984. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 11:07

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World: Yulia Tymoshenko: Former Ukranian PM sentenced to prison

  • The end of Ukraine’s experiment with democracy? Just a few years ago, Yulia Tymoshenko was one of the most popular politicians in Ukraine. Then she lost power in a narrow 2010 election, and Viktor Yanukovich gained it. Yanukovich pursued Tymoshenko’s role in a set of negotiations with Russia over the price of natural gas — something which, at best, would constitute a political controversy in the U.S., but certainly not something worthy of jail time. But this is Ukraine, and Tymoshenko got sentenced to seven years in prison on Tuesday. Does this signify a move away from traditional democracy for the country? How does a political icon like Tymoshenko (who’s probably far-more-known in the West than Yanukovich) get jailed for what was, at worst, a political scandal? Seems questionable. (photo via the European People’s Party Flickr page) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 10:44

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Biz: Ex-Hedge fund trader Raj Rajaratnam could get huge prison sentence

The U.S. government wants Rajaratnam, center, to receive between 19 and 1/2 years and 24 and 1/2 years for his insider-trading crimes, considered to be the worst since the 1980s. Is that enough? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 10:22

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World: Twitter trolls try to control the conversation on Bahrain

  • They start working and finish all together. Which means, it’s like a job. They talk about Iran, sectarian warfare — they use common words and they never discuss. They just come to fight.
  • London-based Bahrain blogger Hussain Yousif • Describing the trolls that have come up on Twitter around Bahrain-related topics; trolls which seem to work on a 9-5 schedule. We’ve noticed a bit of signal-jamming in our day as well — there were a lot of pro-Libya protesters on both Twitter and YouTube who tried to cloud the information actually coming out about Libya, for example — so we totally believe this. Have you guys, especially the ones closely following the news in the Middle East, run into anything like this? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

11 Oct 2011 10:03

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U.S.: Occupy Boston: Scores arrested in turf war over what to occupy

  • 100+ protesters arrested in Boston early Tuesday source
  • » Why police acted: The protesters arrested Monday were in the Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, which officials say they don’t want protesters in because it recently underwent expensive renovations that would cost a lot to repair. Police did not move on nearby Dewey Square, where the protest originally began, and emphasized they wouldn’t. But that wasn’t enough for protesters. “From the beginning, occupiers have worked tirelessly to maintain a positive working relationship with city officials,” a statement from Occupy Boston organizers said. “Today’s threats by the Boston Police Department represent a sudden shift away from that dialogue.”
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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