Convicted Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison (the maximum sentence) Monday for a fraud that the judge called so "extraordinarily evil" that he needed to send a message to potential copycats and to victims who demanded harsh punishment.
Unless he later wins a reduced sentence, Madoff will spend the rest of his life behind bars because federal inmates are not eligible for parole.
"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," Chin said.
The judge said the estimate that Madoff has cost his victims more than $13 billion was conservative because it did not include money from feeder funds.
"Objectively speaking, the fraud here was staggering," he said.
Prosecutor Lisa Baroni said Madoff deserved a life sentence because he "stole ruthlessly and without remorse."
The jailed Madoff already has taken a severe financial hit: Last week, a judge issued a preliminary $171 billion forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments and $80 million in assets Ruth Madoff had claimed were hers. The order left her with $2.5 million.
The terms require the Madoffs to sell a $7 million Manhattan apartment where Ruth Madoff still lives. An $11 million estate in Palm Beach, Fla., a $4 million home on Long Island and a $2.2 million boat will be put on the market, as well.
Have fun with that $2.5 mill Ruth!!!! Really couldn't have happened to nicer people.....
Monday, June 29, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Priceless
The US beat Spain (the #1 ranked team in the world) 2-0 today to advance to the final of the Confederations Cup. This marks the first time a US team has advanced to a final in a major FIFA tournament. Good job boys! You overcame a lot to get to this point. Now here comes Brazil again -barring some miracle from South Africa.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Mission Impossible
As I have replayed the events of the Confederations Cup through my head this past week, I have once again found excitement and hope with the US team (not that I had ever lost it) and yet have lost faith once again in my fellow compatriots. Why? It's quite simple.
The US had a goal over a year ago of qualifying for the CC - which they did by wining the Gold Cup. The CC is a tournament held the year before the World Cup in the WC host country as a sort of tune-up tournament for competition. It really means nothing more than competitive matches and some bragging rights at the end. Well and of course every team gets about $1 million bucks - which most of which was probably spent on travel and the like attending the tournament anyway. The teams that get to compete in this tournament are essentially comprised of the following regions - the CONCACAF Gold Cup winner (North and Central America/Caribbean Isles), South America winner - I think they are CONMEBOL, the European Championship winners and runner up, the Asia Cup Champions and runner up, the host country, and the African Cup Champions. So 2 groups of 8.
When the draw was set - it was clear there was a lopsided draw and the result was the US was once again seeded in a Group of Death (like in the 2006 WC). A group of death is where there are 3 strong teams that the results could go any which way and one team will be a possible surprising early exit of the tournament. It's one of those where if your team is in the Group of Death - you instantly catch your breath and go - oh shit. Typically there are only one or two possible groups of death in the WC due to seeding. So in the CC this year (in South Africa) we were seeded in a group that contained Brazil, Italy and Egypt. Brazil and Egypt being ranked #4 and 5 in the world by FIFA.
We came out against Brazil - a 5 time WC champion and got spanked 3-0. We deserved it. However, we got an undeserved red card. Or should I say - dubious red card, putting us down a man for about half the match. Considering that two of Brazil's starting eleven is paid a combined $100 million salary - they aren't exactly the team you want to go down a man to. Next up was Italy - the current defending WC Champions. In 06 we found ourselves in a precarious situation with Italy - we ended up tieing them, they had a player sent off - we were elated, then we had a player sent off - we were bummed - we had another player sent off - there was a universal collective hush and a sigh of - oh no by US fans around the world. 9 v 10 against Italy and we are tied and need a win to help us stay in the tournament. Well we kept it tied but the result was we had one of the best displays of character for that remaining half that made all Americans proud regardless of the outcome. It will be one of those games forever talked about. And - we were the only team Italy did not beat in the WC that year.
So now here we are in the Italy game at the CC, playing against a team who has a young talented American Italian - who spurned the US to play for Italy - and who goes on to score twice on us. Bitter taste that was. Not to mention - we get done by the referee again. We get a man sent off on a crap call. So now we are down a man for another half of the match against the reigning WC Champions - not exactly a good sign - and we had been doing well until that point. In comes the American against us and he scores within a minute.
After these two games - which remember mean nothing other than a good test of competition and to see where some things are at with our team - the US Fans turn on their head and the calls for the Head Coach's head on a platter begin. Now I will say I didn't necessarily agree with a couple of his decisions - but he has a heck of a lot more information than I do on all things regarding his team, so one must put trust in that. The irony here is that everyone is screaming for a World Class coach (ours is pretty decent if you ask me) and they all think that somehow a better coach will magically transform our national team players into mega superstars - which they are not. They are competent athletes, but none is a superstar. People cried that they lacked grit and determination - making that the coach's fault. What I am amazed by the plethora of "fire the coach and change up the lineup" (which that definitely will not help) is the lack of rational thought and understanding that goes into coaching a team both leading up to and during game day by fans. And because our coach is a bit more of a thinker - an introverted man who uses his intelligence to analyze situations instead of acting like an out of control emotional baboon - people think he lacks heart and character.
Now I should of course not be surprised at my fellow arrogant human/American beings. they have grown up in an ideology that we are or should be the best at everything, and the concept of self reflection and rational perspective is lost on them.
So into game three we go. We have a million and one shot at advancing to the semis. But guess what? WE PERSEVERED and got a little lady luck for once. Even though the ref denied us a clear hand ball on the goal line (it sometimes sucks being an American who is hated by the world - we can all thank George Bush for that), we pulled out a 3-0 victory. And because Brazil gifted us a win against Italy by 3-0 - we squeaked through on goal differential and goals scored. GO FIGURE!
So then as to be expected - half of the haters on the coach shut up..... temporarily. And of course the players basically told the press that regardless that no one back home believed in them and were dogging on them - they believed in each other. My boy Bradley scored on Father's Day again - what a treat for his dad the coach. And now we get to play two more games. The next being tomorrow against........wait for it........Spain.
The #1 ranked team in the world and who has not been beaten in 35 straight matches. Is our quest hopeless? Maybe. But do we at least get to try? Hell yeah we do. But what I find upsetting is knowing that if we lose (which the odds are heavily favored that we will) that all those haters will come right back out and start the fire our coach calls. Because at the end of the day, just as they look at their little Super Spawn of a child with rose colored eyes and think they are the best thing in the world and no other child is better than their own, they too think we can and should overcome the greats in our sport, relying simply on athleticism and heart. They think that magically there is some tactical advantage we can play that will make us beat these teams. After all .......we are Americans. We saw the movie Hoosiers - it can be done.
I hope we do win tomorrow - for more than the simple pleasure of knowing we knocked off the best team in the world and I can stand up with a big fuck you to all the "supporters" who were less than supportive. On the flip side, that would simply make them think we deserve to be a higher ranking than we are, that we deserve to have this kind of cult status all the time - which we don't, and that we somehow just haven't been playing up to our potential.
I simply think - this is the nature of the game, some you win, some you lose, and sometimes you just get lucky. But that is why you play the game.
The US had a goal over a year ago of qualifying for the CC - which they did by wining the Gold Cup. The CC is a tournament held the year before the World Cup in the WC host country as a sort of tune-up tournament for competition. It really means nothing more than competitive matches and some bragging rights at the end. Well and of course every team gets about $1 million bucks - which most of which was probably spent on travel and the like attending the tournament anyway. The teams that get to compete in this tournament are essentially comprised of the following regions - the CONCACAF Gold Cup winner (North and Central America/Caribbean Isles), South America winner - I think they are CONMEBOL, the European Championship winners and runner up, the Asia Cup Champions and runner up, the host country, and the African Cup Champions. So 2 groups of 8.
When the draw was set - it was clear there was a lopsided draw and the result was the US was once again seeded in a Group of Death (like in the 2006 WC). A group of death is where there are 3 strong teams that the results could go any which way and one team will be a possible surprising early exit of the tournament. It's one of those where if your team is in the Group of Death - you instantly catch your breath and go - oh shit. Typically there are only one or two possible groups of death in the WC due to seeding. So in the CC this year (in South Africa) we were seeded in a group that contained Brazil, Italy and Egypt. Brazil and Egypt being ranked #4 and 5 in the world by FIFA.
We came out against Brazil - a 5 time WC champion and got spanked 3-0. We deserved it. However, we got an undeserved red card. Or should I say - dubious red card, putting us down a man for about half the match. Considering that two of Brazil's starting eleven is paid a combined $100 million salary - they aren't exactly the team you want to go down a man to. Next up was Italy - the current defending WC Champions. In 06 we found ourselves in a precarious situation with Italy - we ended up tieing them, they had a player sent off - we were elated, then we had a player sent off - we were bummed - we had another player sent off - there was a universal collective hush and a sigh of - oh no by US fans around the world. 9 v 10 against Italy and we are tied and need a win to help us stay in the tournament. Well we kept it tied but the result was we had one of the best displays of character for that remaining half that made all Americans proud regardless of the outcome. It will be one of those games forever talked about. And - we were the only team Italy did not beat in the WC that year.
So now here we are in the Italy game at the CC, playing against a team who has a young talented American Italian - who spurned the US to play for Italy - and who goes on to score twice on us. Bitter taste that was. Not to mention - we get done by the referee again. We get a man sent off on a crap call. So now we are down a man for another half of the match against the reigning WC Champions - not exactly a good sign - and we had been doing well until that point. In comes the American against us and he scores within a minute.
After these two games - which remember mean nothing other than a good test of competition and to see where some things are at with our team - the US Fans turn on their head and the calls for the Head Coach's head on a platter begin. Now I will say I didn't necessarily agree with a couple of his decisions - but he has a heck of a lot more information than I do on all things regarding his team, so one must put trust in that. The irony here is that everyone is screaming for a World Class coach (ours is pretty decent if you ask me) and they all think that somehow a better coach will magically transform our national team players into mega superstars - which they are not. They are competent athletes, but none is a superstar. People cried that they lacked grit and determination - making that the coach's fault. What I am amazed by the plethora of "fire the coach and change up the lineup" (which that definitely will not help) is the lack of rational thought and understanding that goes into coaching a team both leading up to and during game day by fans. And because our coach is a bit more of a thinker - an introverted man who uses his intelligence to analyze situations instead of acting like an out of control emotional baboon - people think he lacks heart and character.
Now I should of course not be surprised at my fellow arrogant human/American beings. they have grown up in an ideology that we are or should be the best at everything, and the concept of self reflection and rational perspective is lost on them.
So into game three we go. We have a million and one shot at advancing to the semis. But guess what? WE PERSEVERED and got a little lady luck for once. Even though the ref denied us a clear hand ball on the goal line (it sometimes sucks being an American who is hated by the world - we can all thank George Bush for that), we pulled out a 3-0 victory. And because Brazil gifted us a win against Italy by 3-0 - we squeaked through on goal differential and goals scored. GO FIGURE!
So then as to be expected - half of the haters on the coach shut up..... temporarily. And of course the players basically told the press that regardless that no one back home believed in them and were dogging on them - they believed in each other. My boy Bradley scored on Father's Day again - what a treat for his dad the coach. And now we get to play two more games. The next being tomorrow against........wait for it........Spain.
The #1 ranked team in the world and who has not been beaten in 35 straight matches. Is our quest hopeless? Maybe. But do we at least get to try? Hell yeah we do. But what I find upsetting is knowing that if we lose (which the odds are heavily favored that we will) that all those haters will come right back out and start the fire our coach calls. Because at the end of the day, just as they look at their little Super Spawn of a child with rose colored eyes and think they are the best thing in the world and no other child is better than their own, they too think we can and should overcome the greats in our sport, relying simply on athleticism and heart. They think that magically there is some tactical advantage we can play that will make us beat these teams. After all .......we are Americans. We saw the movie Hoosiers - it can be done.
I hope we do win tomorrow - for more than the simple pleasure of knowing we knocked off the best team in the world and I can stand up with a big fuck you to all the "supporters" who were less than supportive. On the flip side, that would simply make them think we deserve to be a higher ranking than we are, that we deserve to have this kind of cult status all the time - which we don't, and that we somehow just haven't been playing up to our potential.
I simply think - this is the nature of the game, some you win, some you lose, and sometimes you just get lucky. But that is why you play the game.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Deserved Punishment?
The Cleveland Browns Wide Receiver Dante Stallworth was sentenced yesterday after pleading guilty to manslaughter charges stemming from a DUI in which he killed a man. As a result, his sentence was 30 days in jail, a fine, 2 years of house arrest (but he was still able to play football), 8 years of probation and his license revoked for life.
Today the NFL Commissioner came out and decided to indefinitely suspend Stallworth citing the following statement:
"The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Stallworth in a letter Thursday, the league said. Excerpts from the letter were posted on the NFL Web site.
"While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL."
While the family of the deceased was good with his punishment, I 'm sure that Stallworth thought he was getting a good deal since he still got to play football. And yet I felt shock when I first read this. Is this a deserved punishment?
And then the reality that too many people - not to mention famous athletes that make bad decisions, get off too light in the wake of tragic circumstances came to mind. I commend Roger Goodell for always waiting for the justice system to sort things out (like with Michael Vick) before taking action. And at the same time - taking additional action than the justice system did.
I find a sad irony in the notion that these stars make enough money that they can either ay to be chauffeured when they are drinking or have a member of their "posse" drive them around. You would hope that one would be smarter. i just hopes this helps with the education of our youth.
Today the NFL Commissioner came out and decided to indefinitely suspend Stallworth citing the following statement:
"The conduct reflected in your guilty plea resulted in the tragic loss of life and was inexcusable," NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told Stallworth in a letter Thursday, the league said. Excerpts from the letter were posted on the NFL Web site.
"While the criminal justice system has determined the legal consequences of this incident, it is my responsibility as NFL commissioner to determine appropriate league discipline for your actions, which have caused irreparable harm to the victim and his family, your club, your fellow players and the NFL."
While the family of the deceased was good with his punishment, I 'm sure that Stallworth thought he was getting a good deal since he still got to play football. And yet I felt shock when I first read this. Is this a deserved punishment?
And then the reality that too many people - not to mention famous athletes that make bad decisions, get off too light in the wake of tragic circumstances came to mind. I commend Roger Goodell for always waiting for the justice system to sort things out (like with Michael Vick) before taking action. And at the same time - taking additional action than the justice system did.
I find a sad irony in the notion that these stars make enough money that they can either ay to be chauffeured when they are drinking or have a member of their "posse" drive them around. You would hope that one would be smarter. i just hopes this helps with the education of our youth.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Thanks
As I was standing in line at Jamba Juice today after my ever so fun 3 hour glucose test - 16 hours of fasting and 4 blood sticks - a woman walks by me and goes......you are soooo (big) pregnant. Thanks - that made me feel better. And I was even thinking as I stood there that my tshirt was disguising my bigness. Guess I was wrong.
And earlier in the day as I was standing in the elevator during one of the hours of waiting, another woman asked me when I was due, only to hear the one line I really hate people saying to me....oh my goodness how have you been dealing with this heat? So I of course made a comment that this heat was nothing compared to what I have lived in. Try August in Missouri. then you will know what heat is.
And before that as I was sitting in the chairs outside the lab waiting for one of my sticks, a woman was waiting by the elevator, and I just couldn't resist asking her - cause I was at least the same size as her both in height and baby bigness - so how far along are you? 36 weeks she says. 36 FREAKING WEEKS. I am 29. God help me.
There is no way Baby Mort makes it to Aug 30th.
And earlier in the day as I was standing in the elevator during one of the hours of waiting, another woman asked me when I was due, only to hear the one line I really hate people saying to me....oh my goodness how have you been dealing with this heat? So I of course made a comment that this heat was nothing compared to what I have lived in. Try August in Missouri. then you will know what heat is.
And before that as I was sitting in the chairs outside the lab waiting for one of my sticks, a woman was waiting by the elevator, and I just couldn't resist asking her - cause I was at least the same size as her both in height and baby bigness - so how far along are you? 36 weeks she says. 36 FREAKING WEEKS. I am 29. God help me.
There is no way Baby Mort makes it to Aug 30th.
Saturday, June 06, 2009
Starting Baby Mort out Right
Our baby will be a Seattle Sounders supporter. Is this the cutest thing you've seen or what?
And thanks to Angie and Rob for this cute top as well.
And here our baby's bed is ready! Actually we finally got the nursery done (sans baby shower gifts and the extras) the other night.
And the pregnant momma (looking less big than in person) with her wild hair.
And thanks to Angie and Rob for this cute top as well.
And here our baby's bed is ready! Actually we finally got the nursery done (sans baby shower gifts and the extras) the other night.
And the pregnant momma (looking less big than in person) with her wild hair.
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