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12 May 2011 16:42

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U.S.: A bad day for former Senator John Ensign

  • attempt When John Ensign resigned from his position as Nevada’s junior senator on May 3rd, it was widely believed he was trying to halt an ethics investigation into his affair with a staffer, and subsequent alleged payoffs to her family.
  • failure The Senate Ethics Committee isn’t letting their old buddy John off that easy. They’ve forwarded their findings to the U.S. Justice Department, saying they found that Ensign violated the law. Jeez, all that resigning for nothing. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Apr 2011 12:10

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World: News of the World hacks their way into journalism scandal history

  • You know, bad journalism is bad journalism. But occasionally, someone manages to open up a new tier of bad journalism, one that not even Jayson Blair or Stephen Glass could even imagine. Such is the case of News of the World, Rupert Murdoch’s downmarket British tabloid, best-known in the States for revealing that Michael Phelps likes doing bong hits at college parties. The paper just admitted, after days of denials, that it is responsible for a scheme wher a bunch of its reporters hacked the mobile phones of many potential sources — including members of the Royal Family, actresses, politicians and sports stars. The scandal has already cost a member of David Cameron’s staff his job, and now News of the World is finally admitting their reporters screwed up. Stephen Glass looks professional in comparison. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Mar 2011 14:41

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Politics: Senator John Ensign to call it a career

  • John Ensign, signing off: The Nevada Senator is expected to announce he won’t seek reelection in 2012, opting instead to retire from public life. Ensign, 52, would face a winnable but nonetheless taxing battle to retain his seat in light of the ethics investigation against him, stemming from his extramarital affair with the wife of one of his top political aides. Ensign is one of Congress’ members of “The Family,” the secretive, moralistic Evangelical organization that operates out of the “C Street” house in Washington, which made his marital infidelity seem especially hypocritical and irritating to his detractors. (thanks pantslessprogressive) source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

08 Jan 2011 13:02

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Biz: Does Goldman Sachs’ Facebook deal hurt their image rehab?

  • The committee was undertaken in the hope and the commitment to do some things that were going to help restore and improve trust … [Instead] people are going to look at it and say do those standards seem credible in light of the Facebook deal?
  • Boston University School of Management professor James Post • Suggesting that the recent Facebook deal that Goldman Sachs put together may be questionable in the light of Goldman’s recent ethics troubles. The company even put together a business standards committee to help prevent future kerfluffles. They have a report that’s coming out next week. But instead of the story being the ethics report and the image rehab work that Goldman is doing, it’s Facebook. Somebody somewhere screwed up. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2010 12:08

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Politics: CHARLIE RANGEL GUILTY! Obvious ethics trial has obvious result

Our long national nightmare is over. Will Charlie Rangel be kicked out of Congress? Do we even care? We’ll find out in the next episode of “Lame Duck Congress.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

05 Nov 2010 14:01

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Politics: MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann suspended for campaign donations

  • I became aware of Keith’s political contributions late last night. Mindful of NBC News policy and standards, I have suspended him indefinitely without pay.
  • MSNBC President Phil Griffin • Announcing that Keith Olbermann has been suspended for donating to three political campaigns, one of which happened immediately after he interviewed the candidate (Raul Grijalva of Arizona) on the show. While Olbermann noted that he “did not privately or publicly encourage anyone else to donate to these campaigns, nor to any others in this election or any previous ones, nor have I previously donated to any political campaign at any level,” clearly that wasn’t enough for MSNBC. On Tumblr, me and Mark Coatney (formerly of Newsweek, now of Tumblr) had a little bit of a debate on all this, and while I didn’t come on Keith’s side here for ethical reasons, I honestly thought he was untouchable (and that it wasn’t bad enough to force MSNBC’s hand). Guess not. The mighty fall, too. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Aug 2010 12:12

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Politics: Rep. Maxine Waters to Congress ethics types: BRING IT ON!

  • She and Charlie Rangel are tag-teaming it. California Rep. Maxine Waters, currently facing ethics charges over her husband’s ties to a bank that she worked with, wants Congress to give her hell before the midterm elections. “I have made a very public request to come out with the formalized charges and to set up a meeting to hear them,” she said. “Let’s hope that they do it.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

05 Aug 2010 10:45

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World: Wyclef Jean hands the reins of Yele over to someone better-suited

  • bad Wyclef Jean’s pro-Haiti charity, Yele, has had years of financial issues brought on by questionable payments – bad accounting, money not going to charity, you name it. It’s scarred his reputation a little.
  • good Jean, however, will no longer be running the organization – likely so he can focus on his presidential run.  He’ll hand the reins over to someone  with a better history of working for nonprofits. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 11:17

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Politics: Maxine Waters in the same congressional ethics boat as Rangel

Maxine Waters, a California Democrat, reportedly had improper chats with an executive at a bank her hubby owned stock in – while it was asking for a bailout. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 2 Comments • Permalink

31 Jul 2010 10:34

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Politics: President Obama to Rep. Charlie Rangel: Drop Dead

  • I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well. But these allegations are very troubling. He’s somebody who’s at the end of his career. Eighty years old. I’m sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity. And my hope is that it happens.
  • President Barack Obama • Saying that Charlie Rangel should retire and just go away. The House ethics subcommittee has recommended a reprimand for Rangel, which would be light compared to the censure and expulsion he could get. Still, though, Rangel won’t admit his guilt and as a result is making the situation much worse for himself. But if he’s so convinced of his innocence, should he quit? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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