Obama and religious leaders conflict over gay marriage decision
Obama decision conflicts with Black religious leaders
Obama explained to them that he struggled with the decision, pastors on the call told the paper, but several voiced their disapproval.
“They were wrestling with their ability to get over his theological position,” the Rev. Delman Coates, a Maryland pastor who was on the call, told the Times.
The conference call was part of a quiet effort by the president to control potential political damage caused by his support of same-sex marriage.
According to the Times, Obama phoned “at least one [the Rev. Joel C. Hunter] of the five spiritual leaders he calls regularly for religious guidance, and his aides contacted other religious figures who have been supportive in the past.”
Hunter, the pastor of a conservative megachurch, said he wasn’t surprised Obama didn’t ask him advice before the ABC interview because “I would have tried to talk him out of it.”
At services on Sunday, black churches were conflicted about President Obama’s support of gay marriage, according to the USA Today:
Bishop Timothy Clark, head of the First Church of God, a large African-American church with a television ministry in Columbus, Ohio, was perhaps most typical. He felt compelled to address the president’s comments at a Wednesday evening service and again Sunday morning. He was responding to an outpouring of calls, e-mails and text messages from members of his congregation after the president’s remarks.
What did he hear from churchgoers? “No church or group is monolithic. Some were powerfully agitated and disappointed. Others were curious. ‘Why now? To what end?’ Others were hurt. And others, to be honest, told me it’s not an issue and they don’t have a problem with it.”
What did the bishop tell his congregation? He opposes gay marriage. It is not just a social issue, he said, but a religious one for those who follow the Bible. “The spiritual issue is ground in the word of God.” That said, “I believe the statement the president made and his decision was made in good faith. I am sure because the president is a good man. I know his decision was made after much thought and consideration and, I’m sure, even prayer
Afghan women use graffiti as a medium as a voice
An Afghan woman’s tryst with graffiti to bring in positive changes in her country…
Inspiration can manifest itself in any form. Sometimes, it might seem too bizarre to relate to whereas at other times it might appear to be quite discernible that people would be just falling in love with it altogether. The other important aspect of this is that it’s not time-bound at all. One can say that it’s always a spontaneous reaction inside a human brain which is considered very opportune.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in war-torn places of the world where people struggling do have the guts to let their lives be an example of some great achievements. They want to make sure that deep beneath the constant shelling and bombing there is at least an element of eternal peace and harmony which can create a harmonious environment. One such volatile region is Afghanistan, still mired into sectarian violence and bedlam but at the same time trying hard to pick up the pieces after what has been a devastating experience almost on all fronts. More often than not, it’s mostly women who dream of getting rid of the inhumanely beleaguered past to start a new life.
Leading the motivating crusade to change the status of the country through her art works is Shamsia Hassani, 24. She teaches sculpture at Kabul University as an associate professor and she loves her profession a lot. Besides, she also heads a modern-day art group ROSDH as its founding member. In the entire country, she is the only female graffiti artist supported by a male graffiti artist Qasem Foushanji who too works on issues that people have to grapple with on a daily basis. He is also one of the members of her association ROSDH. “We are the two trying to shine light on the state of affairs our country is ducked in, “said she.
The capital which used to be a prime target of numerous bomb attacks and assassinations has now emerged as the popular hotspot for showcasing one’s artistic acumen like hers. Amidst the ruins of Kabul’s cultural heritage, she has displayed her own specialty in graffiti by drawing a spray-art work of a female hiding her face behind a sky-blue veil. Likewise, all other spray-paintings of women have been done to convey different messages to society which is still embroiled into mischief of the past. “The images reflect the impenetrable dimensions of women’s survival in Afghanistan. They are anguished about their way of life as it stands. I planned all this secretly at the destroyed Russian Culture Center here in Kabul because it was a safe place to do so, “said she.
Making sure that its message is decoded well by people while they see it, she has buffed it up with a beautiful verse. “If a river lies in a dried state, it could get filled with water any time but once the creatures living inside it are dead because of this, they can never come back ever again” is her translated version of the poem already embedded into cavernous holes which were created inside the walls due to heavy shelling. In reply to this anguish bursting through her illuminating face, she said, “The moment I realized what it was about, I could only think of it reflecting the lows and highs of Afghans. More importantly, those who lost their lives can no longer be with us”.
So what led her to tap into this medium to demonstrate the aspect of ‘Yes, we can’ against the odds? Was it her fondness for graffiti because of its direct connection to people’s consciousness? Her interest in graffiti arose thanks to an artist from Britain named Chu who had visited the country way back in 2010 for the purpose of rendering the know-how of street art to the budding artists here. And that’s how she became a pupil of his training and got a chance to know about this people’s friendly medium at first-hand. Initially, she used to sketch her works and paint them in oil which she still does as part of her teaching at Kabul University.
Since her training session with Chu in the field of graffiti, she had become a well-versed at this in every way, letting the sore feelings or emotions flow on the surface. “It’s easy to persuade a big crowd to come peer at your graffiti-the street magic of art which an exhibition cannot do. Therefore, I prefer to use spray cans and stencils than otherwise to glorify my work as more society-centered in the context of its larger aims.
“Art like this is more accessible to people from all walks of life including those who aren’t well-read in society. More or less, each Afghan will be aware of what art is if graffiti is ubiquitously splashed on the walls and fences.” Every second is important for her and she finishes her graffiti accordingly. “Usually I am very fast when it comes to doing graffiti because I may not be so lucky next time to find some other opportunity to continue my work. Therefore, the value of time in my case is quite significant, “said she.
With a sad note, the excitement just gets overshadowed by the conservative elements that are still rampant across the country and barging with their dictatorial agendas which try to suppress the voice of women. “There is always the possibility of women being harangued unnecessarily in our intolerant society, making it difficult for them to step outside their homes, “said she.
When one’s determination is too strong to evaporate, there is no chance that obstacles will stand in the way to create unnecessary incongruity. “What one could refer to as unusable stuff could also be utilized if one’s frame of mind is in a positive tenor. I am displaying my works in buildings which have been left bare open as a result of infighting going on but they seem to be a perfect corner where people could relate to what they are going through, “said Shamsia.
As prejudices of all sorts continue against women, she favors virtual graffiti which gives her a lot of scope to send the clear message without being bogged down by hateful comments from men in the street. This is what she does. She captures the shots of places liked by her and then tries to work upon them using latest tools like Photoshop where she makes the entire thing digitally attractive. Sometimes, she publishes an image of the street on which to insert graffiti dimensions with the help of a paintbrush. When she is done with all this, she puts the painted images in a scanner to get their print outs looking quite authentic. But they are not. Every now and then, after printing the pictures she does graffiti with brush, oil and acrylic color on the picture walls. What else could she do in such fragile circumstances?
Whatever graffiti works she has been able to do so far, most of them have shown women wearing burqas. Nonetheless, she has given a modern touch to them by bringing in new contemporary silhouettes with sexy hips and shoulders. In some of her works, there are fishes mired in an immovable state inside their soggy territory.
“The truth is that sometimes politicking is not the right way to resolve matters relating to people’s interests. Rather, they could be addressed amicably by different means which teaches no divide at all. And the prowess of art is a genuine method to bringing an end to conflicts, “said she.
Her family’s roots are etched in Kandahar (Taliban’s safe haven) where she comes from. Strangely, her birth took place in Iran. Her parents had fled to this country as a result of continuing violence where they lived like refugees.
“I chose art just as everybody did during my childhood. The road wasn’t that easy. A lot of them simply gave in and went to do something else. Though there were no art teachers to guide me, I was determined to go on and spruce up my knowledge about art as a whole.”
While living in Iran there was another hurdle waiting to striker her. As she got promoted into ninth grade (the appropriate time for learning art lessons in the country), her face became pale after hearing that such lessons were forbidden for Afghans, forcing her to opt for accountancy.
However, Shamsia and her parents decided to come back to their own native land. Soon afterwards, she enrolled at the University art department in Kabul to make up for what she had missed. Though there were conventional barriers here and there, she kept her spirits high and moved on with doing research on contemporary art. Since she is a professor at the University, she wishes to launch a graffiti course in her bid to make as many Afghans familiar with art as possible. “I have inkling that my city can be a backyard of stirring graffiti adorning every wall if this course comes into being, “said she.
That’s why graffiti is the most sought-after phenomenon among youths fighting for their rights worldwide. And certainly Shamsia Hassani is no exception but someone to be really admired for her forward-looking essence in a region where nothing is predictable.
By Nagmani
International Correspondent/ Writer, IJRNews
Threats from Russia on Missiles sites
Russia Threatens to Strike NATO Missile Defense Sites
“A decision to use destructive force pre-emptively will be taken if the situation worsens,” Russian Chief of General Staff Nikolai Makarov said at an international missile defense conference in Moscow attended by senior U.S. and NATO officials.
The threat comes as talks about the missile defense system, which the U.S. and its allies insist is aimed at Iranian missiles, appear to have stalled.
“We have not been able to find mutually acceptable solutions at this point, and the situation is practically at a dead end,” Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said.
Ellen Tauscher, the U.S. special envoy for strategic stability and missile defense, insisted the talks about NATO plans for a missile defense system using ground-based interceptor missiles stationed in Poland, Romania and Turkey were not stalemated.
But she acknowledged Wednesday that the recent elections in Russia and the upcoming elections in the U.S. make it “pretty clear that this is a year in which we’re probably not going to achieve any sort of a breakthrough.”
She reiterated that the U.S.-built system, still in development, is being designed to shoot down Iranian intermediate-range missiles aimed at Europe, not Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
Russian officials insist that the system has the capability to shoot down their ICBMs, thus robbing their nuclear deterrent of its credibility and destabilizing the Cold War-era balance of mutually assured destruction.
Neither the State Department nor the Pentagon had any immediate comment on the Russian threat Thursday.
Worldwide marriage equality campaign in the works
Campaigners push for marriage equality worldwide
Hong Kong (CNN) – Cushla wore a white dress for her big day, Tania, braces, a hat and bow-tie. The couple, now wife and wife, tied the knot during a small ceremony led by an unregistered celebrant on a farm west of Sydney, Australia. It had all the hallmarks of a “real” wedding. Except this one wasn’t valid, at least under Australian law.
Australia is one of many countries around the world where same-sex couples are not permitted to legally marry. And the law doesn’t seem likely to change any time soon.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who has long opposed gay marriage, made it clear Thursday that her mind hadn’t been nudged by a politically risky move by U.S. President Barack Obama to back same-sex marriages Wednesday night.
“My view hasn’t changed and when a bill comes to the parliament later this year, moved by private members, Stephen Jones, one of our Labor members… When that bill comes to the parliament this year I won’t vote for it,” Gillard told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Jones is one of two members of parliament who have submitted a private member’s bill that calls for the legalization of gay marriage, however neither Gillard nor main opposition leader Tony Abbott support it.
Obama’s decision to openly endorse same-sex marriage won plaudits from campaigners worldwide who have been pushing for more liberal laws since the first same-sex couples walked down the aisle in the Netherlands in 2001.
Same-sex marriages are now allowed in a number of U.S. states and in countries including Belgium, Canada,Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal,Iceland and Argentina, according to Australian Marriage Equality.
Wedding bells are close to ringing on same-sex marriages elsewhere: Leading human rights activist Peter Tatchell hailed Obama’s move as evidence that support for same-sex marriage was “an unstoppable global trend”.
“Gay marriage is all about love,” he said. “The love of same-sex couples is just as real, strong and committed as that of married heterosexual men and women. Prohibiting same-sex marriage devalues and denigrates the love of lesbian and gay couples. It signifies our continuing second class legal status.”
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said he supports their legalization in the UK, where authorities are currently consulting on the issue, having permitted civil partnerships since 2005.
However the issue’s omission this week from the Queen’s Speech, which outlines laws to be introduced in the coming months, dismayed campaigners. Ben Summerskill, of gay rights charity Stonewall said he was “disappointed,” and pledged “to push both coalition parties to deliver on their promise… by 2015.”
After becoming the first country to legalize same-sex unions in 1989,Denmark is close to doing the same for same-sex marriages. AndNepal, a country that only legalized same sex unions in 2008, has appointed a committee to develop laws on same-sex marriages.
However, in many countries LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) campaigners are nowhere near close to reaching for the confetti on gay marriage. Simply being able to live without fear or prejudice is the aim of activists in countries where homosexuality remains taboo or illegal.
According to a report released in May 2011 by the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, same-sex relations are still criminalized in 76 countries, and in five of those countries the death penalty can be applied.
Legalized in:
The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, the U.S. states of Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Washington D.C.,New Hampshire, New York, and in Mexico City.
Recognized, but not performed in:
Israel, Mexico, the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Maryland, and the Australian state of Tasmania.
Civil unions or partnerships legalized in:
Denmark, UK, Brazil, France, Finland, Greenland, Austria, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, Nepal, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and the Australian states of Tasmania, Victoria and New South Wales, and the Australian Capital Territory.
The countries with the harshest penalties are in Africa and the Middle East.
MPs in Uganda have repeatedly tried to introduce an anti-homosexuality bill which would make homosexual acts a capital offense; prominent gay rights activist David Kato was beaten to death in the country in 2011.
And even in South Africa, where single sex marriage was legalized in 2006, and where the post-apartheid constitution bans prejudice on the grounds of homosexuality, attacks on gays and lesbians — including instances of so-called “corrective rape” — still occur.
In other regions too, attitudes have been slow to change. InIndonesia, efforts to frame a Gender Equality Bill were resisted by campaigners who said that gender equality could open up room for legalizing same sex unions, according to Human Rights Watch.
Last month, a court in Malaysia backed police over its ban on a gay rights festival which officials argued could disrupt public order. And in Hong Kong, the sexuality of pop star Anthony Wong made headlines when he confirmed, after years of speculation, that he was gay. It was said to be the first time in nine years that a pop star had come out as homosexual in China’s Special Administrative Region.
“Hong Kong doesn’t have the gay bashing that a lot of countries have… But at the same time you still have people who are very ignorant,” said Reggie Ho, Chairman of the Pink Alliance which is organizing a concert Wong is due to perform at on Saturday, May 12. The concert is part of an event to mark International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT), which is observed in 60 countries. The official date is May 17, the day in 1990 that the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders.
“They gossip about you, or they make suggestions that hurt you very much. So it’s that kind of discrimination and the fact that the Hong Kong government has not moved forward at all in terms of legislating against discrimination against sexual minorities,” Ho said.
Separately in Australia on Saturday, campaigners will be holding a National Day of Action for Marriage Equality when thousands are expected to march through major cities calling for same-sex marriage.
“A lot of people are getting exasperated that we don’t have it yet,” said Jessica Payne who is organizing the Brisbane march. “I think it is a matter of time but it’s not going to happen without a push.”
Cushla said she and Tania weren’t willing to sit around and wait “and hope” for same-sex marriage to become legal.
“I didn’t want to miss out. I just wanted it to be the way that we wanted it to be, despite the fact that my partner is a woman,” she said. “Eventually, when it becomes legal, we’ll legally bind it.”
Obama backs same-sex marriages finally
Obama announces he supports same-sex marriage
The announcement was the first by a sitting president and put Obama squarely at odds with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, who on Wednesday said during an appearance in Oklahoma, “I believe marriage is a relationship between a man and a woman.”
Obama said in an interview with ABC News, “At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me, personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.”
Obama once opposed such marriages. He later indicated his views were “evolving.”
“I had hesitated on gay marriage, in part, because I thought civil unions would be sufficient,” the president said. “I was sensitive to the fact that — for a lot of people — that the word marriage is something that provokes very powerful traditions and religious beliefs.”
It was not immediately clear how the development — which same-sex marriage advocates had long sought — might play out at the voting booth.
A Gallup Poll released Tuesday indicated 50% of Americans believe same-sex marriages should be recognized by law as valid, with 48% saying such marriages should not be legal.
But a CNN/ORC poll, taken in late March, indicated policies towards gays and lesbians were tied for last in the most-important issues facing the country.
Obama was “disappointed” by Tuesday’s vote on the issue in North Carolina, which he described as discriminatory against gays and lesbians, a spokesman said earlier Wednesday.
North Carolina voted to implement a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was already prohibited by state law. Supporters of the measure pushed for the constitutional amendment, arguing that it was needed to ward off future legal challenges.
The president said he supports the concept of states deciding the issue on their own, ABC News reported.
Obama said his daughters, Malia and Sasha, have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. “It wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently. It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.”
What’s next for North Carolina?
Obama spoke Wednesday with ABC’s Robin Roberts. The interview will appear on ABC’s “Good Morning America” Thursday. Excerpts aired Wednesday evening on “World News With Diane Sawyer.”
The president’s stance will be among many key differences with Romney, but it is not expected to be a key talking point in his campaign.
In comments Wednesday to CNN Denver affiliate KDVR, Romney reiterated his opposition to same-sex marriage.
“And I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name,” Romney said during a visit to Fort Lupton. “My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate, but that the others are not.”
The Family Research Council criticized Obama, and its president said on CNN’s “The Situation Room” that the decision will aid Romney.
“The president, I think, has handed to Mitt Romney the one missing piece in his campaign,” said Tony Perkins. “That is the intensity and motivation that Mitt Romney needs among social conservatives to win this election.”
An expert on religion and politics said the move will make “an already close election even closer.”
“It cuts both ways — it activates both Democratic and Republican base voters,” said John Green of the University of Akron.
Obama told ABC that some opinions on the issue are “generational.”
“When I go to college campuses, sometimes I talk to college Republicans who think that I have terrible policies on the economy, on foreign policy, but are very clear that when it comes to same-sex equality or, you know, sexual orientation, that they believe in equality,” he said.
First lady Michelle Obama was involved in the president’s decision.
“This is something that, you know, we’ve talked about over the years and she, you know, she feels the same way, she feels the same way that I do,” Obama said.
Reaction to Obama’s same-sex marriage announcement
The new president of the Human Rights Campaign lauded the development.
“President Obama’s words today will be celebrated by generations to come,” Chad Griffin said. “For the millions of young gay and lesbian Americans across this nation, their president’s words provide genuine hope that they will be first generation to grow up with the freedom to fully pursue the American dream.”
Barney Frank, a gay Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, told CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront” that “no president could have done this 10 years ago.”
Obama’s interview followed recent comments by other key administration figures.
Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday on NBC he was “absolutely comfortable” with couples of the same gender marrying, leading observers to wonder when Obama would again address the issue.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan on Monday also made headlines when he openly backed same-sex marriage rights. Asked on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” if he supports allowing individuals of the same gender to legally wed, Duncan replied: “Yes, I do.”
Before Tuesday, 30 states had voted in favor of constitutional amendments that seek to defend traditional definitions of marriage as a heterosexual union.
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In February, Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage beginning in June, but opponents there have pledged to block the bill and called for voters to decide the issue.
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a bill that permits the state’s same-sex couples to wed as of January 1, and state residents may vote to affirm such a law. Minnesota will vote on a state constitutional amendment similar to the one in North Carolina. Maine will have a referendum on allowing same-sex marriage.
In 2011, the Pentagon stopped enforcement of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on homosexuals serving in the military. That change played a part in Obama’s announced stance on same-sex marriage.
“When I think about those soldiers or airmen or Marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married,” he told ABC News.
Legal challenges over same-sex marriage could reach the U.S. Supreme Court in coming months, but it seems unlikely justices would hear arguments before Election Day 2012.
The issue is on two legal tracks.
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals will decide the constitutionality of California Proposition 8, a voter-approved measure that would recognize marriage only between one man and one woman. A federal judge earlier struck down the law as a violation of equal protection, prompting the current appeal.
The Obama administration announced last year it believed the Defense of Marriage Act, often referred to as DOMA, to be unconstitutional. The law defines marriage for federal purposes as unions only between a man and woman.
A federal appeals court in Boston last month heard a DOMA lawsuit by a same-sex couple in Massachusetts. At issue is whether the federal government can deny tax, health and pension benefits to same-sex couples in states where they can marry.
That federal law is being officially defended in court by House Republicans, led by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, who stepped in after the Justice Department refused to participate.
The most influential CEO’s in The United States
Chief Executive Officer of Center for a New American Security (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The most influential CEO’s in The United States
The most powerful CEOs in America
Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
CEO Mark Zuckerberg has 56.5 percent of the voting shares of Facebook.
Several CEOs and founders of well-known American companies have complete control over their companies. Through voting power, they control the boards and strategic decisions of these corporations. The best current example is Facebook, which will go public in a few weeks. Founder and CEOMark Zuckerberg owns enough of the voting shares in the company that his decisions cannot be overruled by outside shareholders or the board under most circumstances. Zuckerberg is also the most visible American CEO among a small group who have complete control of their companies and how long they will remain at their jobs.
The most powe
President Barack Obama and Warren Buffett in the Oval Office, July 14, 2010. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
rful CEOs fall into three categories. The first are founders who are currently CEOs. They may, by themselves, or with other founders, have voting control over their companies. Larry Page of Google is the best example of this. He started the Internet search engine with Sergey Brin. Together with Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt, who they hired, the three hold shares that have nearly two-thirds of the company’s voting rights.
24/7 Wall St.: The least powerful CEOs in America
The next category is founders who no longer have the majority of the vote in their companies, but who have been in charge successfully for so long that their job security is not in question. Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com is the best example of this group. He owns slightly less than 20 percent of the company that he started in 1994. This stake is greater than that of any othershareholder. But it is his status as founder and his tremendous success that ensure he will not be replaced unless he wishes to be.
The final category of powerful CEOs are relatives of founders. These CEOs inherited the voting rights, usually from their parents, and they use those rights to run the company for another generation. The best example of this is Brian Roberts of Comcast, whose father started the company. By almost any measure, Comcast has done well financially and in the stock market. Even if it did not, Roberts would have his job.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed the corporate structure, governance and voting rights of the 500 largest companies by market cap. Based on a review of company proxies, we identified those companies where the CEO had voting control of the company or was the company’s founder. We then limited the universe to those companies with market cap in excess of $30 billion.
24/7 Wall St.: America’s nine most damaged brands
1. Facebook
- Name: Mark Zuckerberg (Age: 27)
- Title: Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive
- Shares: 36.1 percent of the Class A shares and 56.6 percent of the Class B shares
As the initial public offering of Facebook approaches, the company faces three major hurdles with investors. The first is the company’s worth. Estimates have pegged Facebook’s market cap once it begins to trade at $100 billion. It is unclear whether investors will support that price for a company that had only a little over $1 billion in revenue last quarter and earnings of $205 million. The second is whether it can continue to keep Google and other competitors at bay as it has done so successfully up until now. For example, Internet research firm Comscore released data late last year that showed the average U.S. Facebook user spent seven hours and 46 minutes on the site during August. That is nearly four times the time spent by visitors to Google during the same time frame. The last question is how much it matters that founder Mark Zuckerberg appears to run the company with only the most modest advice from his board. When Facebook bought the photosharing application company Instagram for $1 billion, several in the media reported that the board was not briefed about the transaction until it was well underway. Through direct and indirect control of class B stock, Zuckerberg has 56.5 percent of the voting shares of Facebook, making investors nearly powerless to affect changes in the social network company.
2. Google
- Name: Larry Page (Age: 39)
- Title: Founder and Chief Executive
- Shares: 28.4 percent of all voting power among shareholders
Larry Page was the CEO of search giant Google from its founding in 1998 until 2001. He and co-founder Sergey Brin brought in Eric Schmidt to run the company as chief executive. Page took the job back last year. Among them, the three have 65.8 percent of the class B voting shares. Google’s proposed stock split would give the founders even more power. Page’s immediate challenge a little over a year into his second stint as CEO is to show that Google can expand sales beyond its traditional search business. So far, Page has not had much more success in sales diversification than Schmidt had. Google’s Android mobile operating system is now among the most widely distributed in the world, and by some measures is in first place. But Google has been unable to demonstrate how this distribution makes it money. In addition, several patent suits have been brought against Google about Android’s intellectual property ownership, which makes the sales bar for the business even higher. Investors are also concerned about the fast growth of Google’s staff, which has added rapidly to costs. Google had 33,077 full-time employees at the end of the first quarter.
24/7 Wall St.: America’s 10 Highest Paid CEOs (Which Are Worth It?)
3. Amazon.com
- Name: Jeff Bezos (Age: 48)
- Title: Founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive
- Shares: 19.5 percent of all outstanding shares
At 48, Jeff Bezos is the grand old man of the American Internet. He founded Amazon in 1994, and the company has gone from a tiny online bookstore to the largest e-commerce business in the world. Amazon earned $130 million on sales of $13.18 billion in the last reported quarter. Bezos has increased Amazon products offerings over the years so that the company is a major force in consumer electronics, clothing, software, toys and even groceries. Bezos’s most widely regarded innovation is the e-reader business, driven by its Kindle hardware and an online library of tens of thousands of books. The Kindle and Kindle Fire tablet are leaders in the e-reader and tablet PC market. Amazon is one of the few companies that poses a threat to any of the Apple’s products. Amazon also has a large enterprise business line. Amazon Web Services offers clients e-commerce tools through the cloud. Companies that do not want to invest in their own server hardware, software and bandwidth can use the Amazon service as a turnkey solution.
4. Berkshire Hathaway
- Name: Warren Buffett (Age: 81)
- Title: Chairman and Chief Executive
- Shares: 33.8% of Class B voting shares, also listed in proxy as a controlling person of the corporation
Warren Buffett is the grand old man of American investing. Buffett has been a board member of the company since 1965 and its chairman and chief executive officer since 1970. Berkshire filings to the SEC say that “Major investment decisions and all major capital allocation decisions are made by Warren E. Buffett, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO.” He has built Berkshire Hathaway into one of the largest conglomerates in the world, as well as into a holding company for stakes in a number of well-known companies. These include total ownership of GEICO Auto Insurance, International Dairy Queen and Benjamin Moore. Berkshire also has significant investments in IBM, American Express, Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo. Berkshire is one of the most valuable public corporations in the county with a market cap of more than $200 billion.
5. Oracle
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Name: Larry Ellison (Age: 67)
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Title: Founder and Chief Executive
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Shares: 22.4% of company’s shares
Larry Ellison, who founded Oracle (ORCL) in 1977, has thrashed his competition in the global enterprise software industry, holding off challenges from Microsoft, SAP and a number of other companies. These companies would like to increase the part of their businesses that sell hardware and software to large businesses and governments. Ellison has made a number of shrewd buyouts, including Sun Microsystems, which increased Oracle’s business in Java software and the server market. The most powerful part of Oracle’s earnings engine is the license fees it charges its customers. The fees offer recurring revenue streams that can last for years. Not shy of exercising his control in the company, Ellison has rotated a number of people in and out of the number two position at Oracle. Its most recent president is disgraced former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd. Ellison made a public statement about how foolish the HP board was to fire a talented executive, and then snatched him up within a matter of weeks. Ellison has several extremely expensive hobbies, including the support of an entry in the America’s Cup yacht race. His boat won the most recent competition.
Also Read: America’s Most (and Least Peaceful States)
6. Comcast
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Name: Brian Roberts (Age: 52)
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Title: Chief Executive, Chairman and son of founder
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Shares: Owns or controls 100% of Class B voting shares
Brian Roberts, like a number of CEOs who control the voting shares of their companies, is the son of the founder. Ralph Roberts, who is 92, cobbled together a number of small cable companies as the industry grew from largely a rural and suburban business to one that serves large cities. Comcast, which was founded in Mississippi in 1967, now has 48.9 million video, high-speed Internet, and voice over IP customers. Comcast bought a controlling interest in NBC Universal from General Electric last year. The company is now only one of the largest distribution networks in the United States, but it is also one of the largest content producers because of NBC. The government struggled with potential “monopoly” problem when it approved the transaction. The cable industry used to be a de facto monopoly because cable companies controlled discrete regions of the country. Now, however, AT&T and Verizon have laid fiber in front of tens of millions of homes so that they can compete with cable companies in the broadband Internet and video markets. Comcast must also contend with improved technology for satellite TV, which makes these services more competitive with cable.
(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast’s NBC Universal unit.)
7. Groupon
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Name: Andrew Mason (Age: 31)
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Title: Chief Executive Officer and Cofounder
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Shares: 41.7% of Class B voting shares
Groupon (GRPN) is widely considered the most poorly run of the Web 2.0 IPOs. The online coupon company has to restate earnings for its most recent quarter because of a “miscalculation” of its customer refunds. It has cut the original revenue statements by $14.3 million. The company admitted it has a “material weakness” in its financial reporting process, a tremendous warnings sign about the quality of a company’s management. This is not the first time Groupon had to restate its financials. It had to do so before its IPO as well because of SEC and potential investors challenged how it accounted for sales. Andrew Mason has been able to insulate himself from all of these catastrophes at least as far as his job security is concerned. Mason and two other cofounders, Executive Chairman Eric P. Lefkofsky and Bradley A. Keywell, own 100% of the voting shares. SEC filings directed to by the company to shareholders say this stock ownership “limit your ability to influence corporate matters.” What is at risk for Mason is his fortune. Groupon’s shares have dropped from a post-IPO high of $31.14 to just over $10 recently.
Also Read: Nine Countries Where Everyone Has a Job
8. LinkedIn
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Name: Jeffrey Weiner (Age: 42)
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Title: Chief Executive Officer
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Shares: 5.9% of voting shares
LinkedIn has done a good job convincing Wall St. that its professional social network has strong longer term prospects. From a post-IPO low of $55.98, shares have risen to more than $108. LinkedIn’s 2011 revenue was $522 million, up from $243 million the year before. Net income attributable to common stockholders rose from $3 million to $12 million. Growth rates are not the only thing that shareholder likes about LinkedIn. The company makes money from its more than 150 million members in two ways. LinkedIn sells its products online but also has a sales force that sells and markets products directly to companies. The revenue between these two businesses is nearly equal, which gives LinkedIn a diversity of sales that other social networks like Twitter do not have. CEO Jeffrey Weiner benefits from his relationship with the company’s largest shareholder, Reid Hoffman. Hoffman owns 45.4% of Class B voting shares. SEC filings by LinkedIn call his holdings as having a “significant influence over the management and affairs of the company.” Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur who made a fortune as a senior executive at PayPal. He also sits on the board of online game company Zynga.
White House, Obama Campaign on Defense After Biden Backs Gay Marriage
Obama and Biden stand united moving forward with Gay equality
Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP Photo
The White House and the Obama campaign are playing defense on gay marriage, after comments by Vice President Joe Biden reignited debate over the president’s position on the issue and whether he would seek to legalize same-sex marriages in a second term.
On Sunday, Biden candidly expressed support for gay marriage but stopped short of saying whether the president, who has long said his position on the issue is “evolving,” would back same-sex marriage.
“I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties,” Biden said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
The White House today was quick to deny that the Vice President’s remarks signaled a shift in the administration’s policy.
“What he said about the protection of rights of citizens is completely consistent with the president’s position on this issue, and his description of the way the country has moved on this issue, I think, is wholly accurate,” White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters today. “I think there is a little bit of an overreaction here.”
While the president has supported civil unions, he continues to say his position on gay marriage is evolving. “Attitudes evolve, including mine, and I think that it is an issue that I wrestle with and think about because I have a whole host of friends who are in gay partnerships,” the president first told a group of progressive bloggers in October 2010.
“My feelings about this are constantly evolving. I struggle with this,” the president said again in December of 2011. “At this point, what I’ve said is, is that my baseline is a strong civil union that provides them the protections and the legal rights that married couples have. And I think — and I think that’s the right thing to do. But I recognize that from their perspective it is not enough, and I think is something that we’re going to continue to debate and I personally am going to continue to wrestle with going forward.”
Do Biden’s comments indicate the president’s evolution is complete? “I have no update on the president’s personal views,” Carney said.
Despite his hesitation on same-sex marriage, the president is adamant that he has met his commitments to the LGBT community. “I have delivered on what I promised and that doesn’t mean our work is done. There are gonna be times when you’re still frustrated with me. I know there are gonna be times where you’re still frustrated with the pace of change. I understand that,” the president said at an event marking LGBT Pride Month last June.
The administration points to the president’s efforts to end “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” and quit any legal defense of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as exclusively between a man and a woman, as evidence of his support for gay and lesbian rights.
The president’s campaign has also walked back on Biden’s comments, trying to draw attention instead to Mitt Romney’s position on same-sex unions. “By the way, there couldn’t be a starker contrast on this issue than with Governor Romney who has funded efforts to roll back marriage laws in California and other places who believes that we need a constitutional amendment banning the right of gay couples to marry and would take us backward not forward. So there’s a very clear distinction,” senior strategist David Axelrod told reporters on a conference call today.
But Biden isn’t the only administration official to support allowing gays and lesbians to wed. With the issue now back in the spotlight, Education Secretary Arne Duncan has also offered his endorsement.
In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday, Duncan was asked if he thought same-sex couples should have the legal right to marry. “Yes. I do,” Duncan responded bluntly.
The issue has also become a hot topic in the key battleground state of North Carolina, which later this week will vote on a measure to ban same-sex marriages.
Former President Bill Clinton, one of the president’s most powerful supporters, is voicing his opposition to the measure that would define marriage as between a man and a woman. “Hello, this is President Bill Clinton. I’m calling to urge you to vote against Amendment One on Tuesday May 8,” Clinton says in a robo-call to voters.
Nuclear reactors are all closed in Japan’s plants
Japan shuts down last nuclear reactor
What makes this Monday so remarkable is that for the first time in four decades, none of the energy is derived from a nuclear reactor.
Over the weekend, Japan’s last remaining nuclear reactor shut down for regular maintenance. In the wake of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, reactors have not been allowed back on. Japan is now the first major economy to see the modern era without nuclear power.
Tomari Nuclear Power Plant’s reactor 3 in Hokkaido shut down Saturday evening in a much-watched move by government, industry and environmentalists, who are waged in a public battle over the future of Japan’s energy policy.
“I think it is not easy, but this challenge is worth fighting for,” said Greenpeace Japan’s Junichi Shimizu. “There is an increased chance of earthquakes in Japan, so that has a significant risk to the Japanese people and the Japanese economy. The only way forward is to rapidly shift the energy source from nuclear to other sources of energy.”
That’s not the call just from environmental activists, but from a public suspicious of nuclear energy and its regulatory bodies since a tsunami and earthquake triggered nuclear meltdowns at three reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in March 2011.
The protesters waved colorful, traditional “koinobori” carp-shaped banners for Children’s Day that became a symbol of the anti-nuclear movement.
That movement grew from the grass-roots level in the wake of the disaster as the country watched tens of thousands of residents living within a 20-kilometer (12-mile) radius of the nuclear plant evacuated and the remaining area turn into a contaminated wasteland.
Before the Fukushima disaster, Japan relied on nuclear for about 30% of its energy. As reactors have come off-line, the country has increased its imports of fossil fuels.
Japan’s government predicts it won’t be able to keep up that pace, and the void will result in an energy crunch this summer, possibly leading to rolling blackouts.
The national government’s ruling party, the Democratic Party of Japan, has been urging local communities to allow reactors to return to operation.
The party’s deputy policy chief, Yoshito Sengoku, bluntly said without nuclear energy the world’s third-largest economy would suffer. “We must think ahead to the impact on Japan’s economy and people’s lives, if all nuclear reactors are stopped. Japan could, in some sense, be committing mass suicide,” Sengoku said.
Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japan’s biggest business lobby, Keidanren, joined the plea in an April press conference. “We cannot possibly agree to do the kind of energy saving yet again this year, or every year from now on,” he said, referring to the country’s efforts to turn off air conditioners and shift operation of production lines to weekends. “The government must bring the nuclear power stations back into operation.”
Economist Jesper Koll, managing director at JP Morgan, said Japan could avoid the economic fallout by defining a clear energy policy, something it has failed to do so far.
“The issue to the private sector of Japan is the government is taking its time in a very emotional, highly politicized debate. And the end result is very, very slow or no decision-making at all. After all, if you don’t have an energy policy, you don’t really have an economic policy because everything revolves around the energy,” he said.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has promised a clear energy policy sometime this year, perhaps by summer.
At a conference last month, the chairman of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum said the nuclear industry was committed to rebuilding the municipalities around the Fukushima plant, decommissioning that facility and pushing for increased safety measures at plants nationwide.
“We, the nuclear industry, will learn what should be learned from the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. Based on that, we will endeavor to restore the image and position of nuclear energy,” Takashi Imai said.
Nuclear energy must remain part of the government’s policy, he said, “in order for Japan to continue sustainable growth as a nation committed to trade based on science and technology.”
But Yukie Osaki, who used to live in Fukushima, said she won’t accept any policy that includes nuclear energy. “Nobody believes the government anymore when it says nuclear plants are safe,” she said.
“Japan is an earthquake country. It is already dangerous to have nuclear plants here. If we have another accident, we won’t have anywhere to live in Japan anymore.”
Dementia drug manufacturer to ordered to pay huge settlement
Abbott Laboratories to pay $1.5 billion over misbranding drug
Washington (CNN) – Abbott Laboratories has pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $1.5 billion to resolve its criminal and civil liability arising from the company’s unlawful promotion of the prescription drug Depakote, the U.S. Justice Department said Monday.
The total — the second-largest payment ever by a drug company — includes a criminal fine of $700 million and civil settlements with the states and federal government totaling $800 million.
Abbott pleaded guilty to misbranding Depakote by promoting the drug to control agitation and aggression in patients with elderly dementia and to treat schizophrenia when neither use was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, the Justice Department said.
Abbott will be subject to court-supervised probation and reporting obligations for Abbott’s CEO and board of directors.
Under the law, a drug maker’s promotional activities must be limited to uses approved by the FDA. Promotion by the manufacturer for “off-label” uses renders a product misbranded.
In this case, Abbott pleaded guilty to misbranding Depakote by promoting the drug for off-label uses.
The company admitted that, from 1998 through 2006, it “maintained a specialized sales force trained to market Depakote in nursing homes for the control of agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients, despite the absence of credible scientific evidence that Depakote was safe and effective for that use,” the Justice Department said in a news release.
“In addition, from 2001 through 2006, the company marketed Depakote in combination with atypical antipsychotic drugs to treat schizophrenia, even after its clinical trials failed to demonstrate that adding Depakote was any more effective than an atypical antipsychotic alone for that use.”
The FDA approved Depakote only for epileptic seizures, bipolar mania and the prevention of migraines.
In 1999, Abbott discontinued a trial of Depakote in the treatment of dementia due to adverse events that included drowsiness, dehydration and anorexia.
Abbott trained its sales force to promote the drug to health care providers and employees of nursing homes as better than antipsychotic drugs for controlling agitation and aggression in elderly dementia patients, the release said.
Abbott sales representatives touted the fact that Depakote was not subject to certain provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 and its regulations intended to prevent medications from being used unnecessarily in nursing homes, it added.
“Exploiting the fact that certain OBRA provisions did not yet apply to Depakote, Abbott sales representatives stated that by using Depakote, nursing homes could avoid the administrative burdens and costs of complying with OBRA,” the news release said.
The company wound up giving millions of dollars in rebates to pharmacists at long-term-care facilities that were based on increases in the use of the drug in nursing homes they serviced, the news release said.
“In addition to using its sales force to promote the drug to health care providers and employees of nursing homes, Abbott created programs and materials to train the pharmacy providers’ consultant pharmacists about the off-label use of Depakote to encourage them to recommend the drug for this unapproved use,” it added.
“Not only did Abbott engage in off-label promotion, but it targeted elderly dementia patients and downplayed the risks apparent from its own clinical studies,” said Acting Associate Attorney General Tony West. “As this criminal and civil resolution demonstrates, those who put profits ahead of patients will pay a hefty price.”
The company also admitted that, from 2001 through 2006, it marketed the drug to treat schizophrenia. Though the company paid for two studies of the use of Depakote to treat schizophrenia, neither met the goals established for the study, it said.
“When the second study failed to show a statistically significant treatment difference between antipsychotic drugs used in combination with Depakote and antipsychotic drugs alone, Abbott waited nearly two years to notify its own sales force about the study results and another two years to publish those results,” it said. During that time, the company continued to promote the drug for the treatment of schizophrenia.
Abbott pleaded guilty to a criminal misdemeanor for misbranding Depakote. Under the plea agreement, it will pay a criminal fine of $500 million, forfeit assets of $198.5 million, and submit to a term of probation for five years.
Under the civil settlement, Abbott agreed to pay $800 million to the federal government and to states that participate in the agreement to resolve claims that its practices caused false claims to be submitted to government health care programs.
The settlement covers allegations that Abbott paid health care professionals and long-term-care pharmacy providers to induce them to prescribe the drug.
The civil settlement resolves four lawsuits pending in federal court in the Western District of Virginia under the whistle-blower provisions of the False Claims Act. As part of the resolution, the whistle-blowers will receive $84 million from the federal share of the settlement amount.
In a statement posted on its website, Abbott said it had cooperated fully with the government during its investigation.
The company plans to separate into two publicly traded companies by the end of the year.
“We are pleased to resolve this matter and are confident we have the programs in place to satisfy the requirements of this settlement,” said Laura J. Schumacher, Abbott’s executive vice president and general counsel. “The company takes its responsibility to patients and health care providers seriously and has established robust compliance programs to ensure its marketing programs meet the needs of health care providers and legal requirements.”
Foreign policy changes upcoming for Francois
Early foreign policy tests await France’s Hollande
Hollande strides onto the world stage with major events over upcoming days and weeks — the Group of Eight meeting at Camp David, Maryland, and the NATO summit this month and a G-20 meeting set for Mexico City, and a European Council meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in June.
French journalist and political analyst Agnès Poirer said Hollande must meet President Barack Obama in Washington on May 17. She said in a CNN commentary that the “two men have never met and Hollande is an unknown entity in the U.S.”
The rule of thumb about judging the effectiveness of a president after his or her first 100 days in office could be changed to the first “100 hours” in Hollande’s case, said Heather Conley, senior fellow and director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe Program.
In a brief amount of time, Conley said, “We’re going to get important insights on French directions.”
The result is likely to reverberate across economically hard-hit Europe. Hollande has been critical of the austerity policies central to European bailout deals for troubled economies there. But his leadership is expected to make an impact in Afghanistan as well as Turkey and the Middle East.
European markets quickly recovered from an earlier sell-off Monday following national elections in France as well as Greece that sparked concern about the future of planned austerity measures.
U.S. stocks were mixed Monday amid reignited concerns about Europe following the elections in France and Greece. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 32 points, or 0.2%, the S&P 500 shed 1 point, or 0.1%, while the Nasdaq composite rose 2 points, or 0.1%.
“A change in leadership brings uncertainty because you don’t know exactly what you’re getting into,” said Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research.
“New leadership in France could cause investor jitters that reverberate through global financial markets.”
Stephen Flanagan, the Henry A. Kissinger chair in diplomacy and national security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, underscored the sense of uncertainty. Hollande doesn’t have a “big foreign policy track record,” he said.
“Hollande has been mostly a party functionary,” he said.
Danielle Pletka and Gary J. Schmitt of the American Enterprise Institute wrote that Hollande’s “campaign stayed away from talking about foreign policy almost altogether.” Only four points of Hollande’s 60-point agenda “touch on foreign affairs,” they said.
“Contrary to those who believe Sarko was the George Bush of France (‘dragging’ Obama into Libya, taking a hard line on Iran’s nuclear program), and have hopes that the long-time head of the French Socialist Party will take a severe turn to the left, Hollande is likely to disappoint,” they said.
Flanagan doesn’t see Hollande as being anti-American or a “difficult ally.”
“I think he’s going to be a little bit more cautious and circumspect about international intervention,” Flanagan said.
With Sarkozy, the United States enjoyed support in its positions on Syria, Iran and Afghanistan. Sarkozy was a proponent of the NATO air campaign in Libya, but Flanagan said he’s “not sure Hollande would have led the charge into Libya.”
Pletka and Schmitt wrote Hollande hasn’t tried to “distance himself from his predecessor’s intervention in Libya or his relatively hawkish policies toward Syria and Iran.”
“The one policy change Hollande is specifically committed to (and which will be most noticed by conservatives in Washington) is his pledge to withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year,” they said, “This is not a radical departure from Sarkozy, who had already pledged to bring those troops home in 2013, a full year ahead of the alliance’s agreement to stay until 2014.”
During the campaign, Hollande also raised questions about Sarkozy’s decision in 2009 to place French troops under NATO command.
Hollande can expect NATO leaders to urge him to change or soften his position when he attends the NATO summit in Chicago this month where the focus will be on Afghanistan.
But if Hollande commits to disengaging troops without a reasonable transition, “it’ll make a very bad first impression with his NATO allies,” Flanagan said.
Flanagan said relations between Turkey and France have been tense because Sarkozy was “dead set” against Turkey becoming a member of the European Union. He said Turks also viewed Sarkozy as supportive of legislation making the denial of the Armenian genocide a crime, a stance they vehemently opposed. Hollande is expected to be a bit more open-minded on Turkey, Flanagan said.
Marc Pierini, a former European Union career diplomat, wrote in a commentary for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peacethat France also needs a “fresh start” in the Arab world.
“Hollande will now have to rebuild decent relations with largely unknown political partners — Islamists now dominate the political game in Egypt and Tunisia for example. He will also need to work with the Arab world more through the EU framework, rather than through a strictly bilateral one, which his predecessor preferred but did not work,” he said.
Pierini wrote that Hollande’s “strongest cards” are his “calm, polite demeanor” and the “legitimacy deriving from his victory.” Pletka and Schmitt wrote “the dry and cautious Hollande appears almost certain to pursue a dry and cautious presidency.”
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