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21 Oct 2011 11:05

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World: News Corp. pays off phone-hacking scandal victim’s family

  • $3.2 million the settlement headed to Milly Dowler’s family, via News Corp.
  • $1.6 million the settlement headed to a charity of the Dowler family’s choosing source
  • » The scandal that killed a newspaper: With the News of the World scandal a bit of a low point for the company this year, it’s understandable that they might want to get this dealt with. But the Dowler family has made sure it was to their liking: “Nothing that has been agreed will ever bring back Milly or undo the traumas of her disappearance and the horrendous murder trial earlier this year,” they said. “The only way that a fitting tribute could be agreed was to ensure that a very substantial donation to charity was made in Milly’s memory. We hope that projects will be undertaken so that some good can come from this.” Meanwhile, News Corp. now has a second scandal under its large journalistic umbrella, though this one (the WSJ’s circulation scandal) is fortunately more business-oriented and less invasive on another person’s life.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Aug 2011 17:06

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U.S., World: Dominique Strauss-Kahn case might be decided by money, not courts

  • the Strauss-Kahn accuser might drop the case for money. However, the woman’s lawyer is denying these claims that follow a report from the Wall Street Journal that sites anonymous sources. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if they were trying to make a deal — anything close to a conviction in this case would be political suicide for prominent French politician Strauss-Kahn, if his career isn’t over already. It’s evident that he and his team want this case out of the way as soon as possible, and from what’s being said, the woman might just take money instead of going through with the trial. We’ll see. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Dec 2010 11:14

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Biz: Current score: Who’s still getting screwed by Bernie Madoff?

  • 16k number of people claim to have been affected by the breakdown of Madoff’s ponzi scheme, which left many of the victims destitute
  • 60% of victims may never see any of the money because they put their money into Madoff’s care indirectly, though feeder funds
  • 400 investors were sued for taking more than they were worth from Madoff’s ponzi scheme (though some of them are broke, too) source
  • » Not every victim is getting helped: Only around $5.9 billion in losses has been recognized by the trustee so far, which much of the rest of the money owed indirectly by hedge funds that need to pay back the money they withdrew first.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Dec 2010 12:16

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Biz: Madoff trustee scores big settlement for victims in Ponzi scheme

  • $20B the amount investors lost because of Bernie Madoff’s massive ponzi scheme over the years
  • $2.3B the amount that had previously been gained back through auctions and other means
  • $7.2B the amount earned in a settlement with the estate of Jeffry Picower, a Madoff investor source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

07 Dec 2010 22:39

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World: The U.S. decides to let Israeli settlement deal fall through

  • That sound you hear is that of the U.S. dragging its tail between its legs. After attempting to making an offer to Israel to give them some fighter jets in exchange for a temporary delay of their building ambitions, the deal fell apart. The hope was that the delay would encourage Israel and Palestine to create firm borders, but in the end, the U.S. wouldn’t offer anything up to Israel in writing, and Palestine wouldn’t rekindle peace talks over a temporary settlement-building halt. The U.S. is playing down the diplomatic failure (which was kind of a bum deal anyway) and instead moving on to diplomatic talks between Israel and Palestine next week in the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by the way, will be making a speech about the Middle East on Friday. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 21:08

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World: Israel PM to Obama: You don’t own me! I do what I want!

  • Jerusalem is not a settlement. It is the capital of the state of Israel. Israel sees no connection between the diplomatic process and the planning and building policy in Jerusalem.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • Explaining why Israel will continue to build settlements in disputed areas of Jerusalem and the West Bank despite rebukes from the U.S. for its latest settlement-building schemes. Just hours before, Obama criticized Israel for its actions like so: “This kind of activity is never helpful when it comes to peace negotiations, and I’m concerned that we’re not seeing each side make that extra effort involved to get a breakthrough. Each of these incremental steps end up breaking trust.” source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Nov 2010 10:19

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World: Israel approves more West Bank settlements, plays with fire

  • 1,200 number of homes Israel approved for building in East Jerusalem
  • 800 more homes were then approved for building in the West Bank
  • yes both Palestinians and the U.S. are extremely angry about all this source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

26 Oct 2010 22:00

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Biz: GlaxoSmithKline makes a whistleblower incredibly rich

  • $750 million GlaxoSmithKline will no longer have after this
  • $150M the amount in fines and forfeiture the company will have to pay to the U.S. government
  • $600M the amount of the settlement that GlaxoSmithKline will have to pay out
  • $94M the amount of the settlement the whistleblower, Cheryl D. Eckard, gets source
  • » The lesson of the day, guys? It pays to be a lawyer. Or a whistleblower. One thing that doesn’t pay is selling products on the market that don’t do what they purport to do, or are tainted during the manufacturing process.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

25 Mar 2010 08:53

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World: The U.S. can’t shake an Israel deal out of Benny Netanyahu

  • I think we have found the golden path between Israel’s traditional policies and our desire to move forward toward peace.
  • Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu • On leaving the U.S. without an agreement on that whole settlement thing that really pissed off the U.S. In perhaps the strongest sign that this statement isn’t entirely accurate, the two countries didn’t issue a joint statement about their peace talks. In other news, yet another Jerusalem settlement in a Palestinian area is getting built. Because, hey, why the heck not? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

23 Mar 2010 11:06

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World: Israeli West Bank settlement drama partly an economic thang

  • Real estate prices on the west side of the fence are the lowest, security arrangements are better than on the east side and (offer) better access to the major cities allows settlers to work in Israel.
  • A analysis piece by the Tel Aviv Macro Centre for Political Economics • Regarding why settlement-building in the West Bank is still an ongoing thing, with 6,657 new structures since 2004 alone. While the U.S. and EU say that the buildings get in the way of peace talks (and have caused the country’s latest blow-up), it’s notable that the structures often have significant economic benefits (that have nothing to do with a land debate), too. “Israelis do not want to live beyond the separation barrier” splitting the east and west sides of the West Bank, the report also notes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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