Obama putting his foot down

Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) — JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said it’s “unfair” for politicians to criticize Wall Street pay without differentiating compensation based on performance.

“It’s unfair to talk about us as one,” Dimon, who was paid $1 million last year and didn’t accept a bonus, said today at a conference sponsored by Crain’s New York Business. “Not every company was responsible.”

U.S. President Barack Obama and politicans worldwide have criticized financial industry executives for taking multi- million dollar pay packages after banks and brokerages racked up more than $800 billion of losses and writedowns on credit- related assets. Dimon, 52, is among CEOs including Bank of America Corp.’s Kenneth Lewis and Morgan Stanley’s John Mack who opted not to take bonuses for last year.

“Pay got a little exuberant, and there were some legitimate complaints,” Dimon said. “But I don’t think the president of the United States should paint everyone with the same brush.”

New York-based JPMorgan, the second-largest U.S. bank, doesn’t have so-called golden parachutes or retirement packages, and all top executives must retain 75 percent of their stock- based compensation, Dimon said.

Fed Oversight

JPMorgan has taken $29.5 billion in losses, writedowns and credit provisions since the start of the financial crisis. That’s a fraction of the $85.4 billion taken by Citigroup Inc. and $55.9 billion by Merrill Lynch & Co., now part of Bank of America.

Dimon also said the Federal Reserve should have the authority to regulate all companies within the banking system, including investment banks. Regulators lacked powers to oversee such firms before Bear Stearns Cos. and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. failed last year, Dimon said.

“If you’re going to regulate, you’ve got to regulate all of it,” Dimon said. “If you don’t, you’re going to end up here again with all of these problems.”

Talk of nationalizing the banks should “stop” since many institutions remain healthy, he said. Some lenders will fail, while others will need government aid to make it through the financial crisis, he said. The U.S. should help those firms that need it and should price that aid to recoup losses, Dimon said.

Say hello to our new neighbors!

What may be the smallest extrasolar planet, measuring less than twice the size of Earth, has been discovered orbiting a sun-like star.

The world is far hotter than ours, however. And controversy over the size claim has heated up, too.

Astronomers used the COROT space telescope (a mission led by the French Space Agency, and also involving the European Space Agency and others) to detect the new planet as it transited its parent star, dimming the light from the star as it passed in front of it.

The host star is located 457 light-years from Earth, where one light-year is the distance light will travel in a year, or about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers).

“For the first time, we have unambiguously detected a planet that is ‘rocky’ in the same sense as our own Earth,” said Malcolm Fridlund, ESA’s COROT Project Scientist. “We now have to understand this object further to put it into context, and continue our search for smaller, more Earth-like objects with COROT.”

Thank your local mormon

The Mormon church tried to pull a fast one with their support of the Yes On 8 campaign, which successfully outlawed gay marriage in California, but a recent investigation has exposed their shady ways, revealing $190,000 that the church spent assisting the passage of Prop 8.

While members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints donated directly to the campaign, the church initially reported almost no campaign activity.

At the prodding of a campaign watchdog agency, however, the church’s involvement was revealed to include airline tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals for the campaign, as well as $96,849.31 worth of “compensated staff time.”

Californians Against Hate’s Fred Karger, who filed the initial complaint against the church with the Fair Political Practices Commission, said that the findings raise more questions than answers, and believes there is even more activity since the first item listed in September.

He said, “I think there is still a lot of missing parts of the report because we know they’ve been active since June.”

The church could not be reached for comment.

Dick Cheney is a dick

Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a “high probability” that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed.

In an interview Tuesday with Politico, Cheney unyieldingly defended the Bush administration’s support for the Guantanamo Bay prison and coercive interrogation of terrorism suspects.

And he asserted that President Obama will either backtrack on his stated intentions to end those policies or put the country at risk in ways more severe than most Americans — and, he charged, many members of Obama’s own team — understand.

“When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry,” Cheney said.

Protecting the country’s security is “a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business,” he said. “These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.”

Citing intelligence reports, Cheney said at least 61 of the inmates who were released from Guantanamo during the Bush administration — “that’s about 11 or 12 percent” — have “gone back into the business of being terrorists.”

Politico

Jude Law… wow

Jude Law certainly got in touch with his feminine side for his new role in the upcoming movie, Rage.

The actor plays a transvestite supermodel called Minx in the edgy film, which also stars Dame Judi Dench and Lily Cole as a starlet called Lettuce Leaf.

The film, scheduled for release later this year, is a murder-mystery set in the fashion houses of New York.

Director Sally Potter recently praised Law for his performance, which sees the 36-year-old actor wear a jet black wig and heavy-handed make-up.

Huffingtonpost

Coldplay got SERVED

Coldplay may get served legal papers at this weekend’s Grammy Awards.

Last year guitarist Joe Satriani alleged that Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” borrowed a little too heavily from his “I Just Wanna Fly.” Satriani’s lawyer Howard King is planning to blanket the Grammys with servers to hand the band a plagiarism lawsuit.

Fox News reports:

King says, “We have warned their British lawyers that we have hired a fleet of process servers lined up to dog the band everywhere they go this weekend in the hopes of serving them.”

King even promises to have camera crews roaming around with the process servers to get the whole thing on tape.

Fox News

College decision today!

Manti Te’o, OLB, Honolulu/Punahou
Player rank (position rank): 2 (1)
Considering: Notre Dame, UCLA and USC
Front-runners: The recent announcement that Te’o no longer is considering BYU came as a major surprise to some. Less surprising was his eliminating Stanford. The Trojans might have a slight edge here — USC seems to come out on top more times than not in these situations — but it really seems to be a close call.
Scouts Inc. says: After dominating against lesser talent in the Hawaiian Islands during his high school career, Te’o didn’t need long to stake his claim as the best linebacker, and perhaps best overall player, on the mainland during the week of practices leading up to the Under Armour All-America Game. His great speed, striking explosiveness and uncanny instincts stood out all week; even former NFL coaches were in awe of his talents.

Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Gadsden, Ala.
Player rank (position rank): 4 (1)
Considering: Texas, Alabama, USC, Florida and LSU
Front-runner: Nick Saban has pretty much locked down the state of Alabama since taking over as coach of the Crimson Tide; it would be an upset if Kirkpatrick were to end up anywhere other than Tuscaloosa. Like Julio Jones last year, Kirkpatrick has indicated he won’t commit until signing day.
Scouts Inc. says: The Alabama native can do it all in coverage: press with superior physicality, mirror with exceptional quickness and close with a striking burst. His natural athleticism and coverage skills are excellent and extremely rare for a corner with his large frame. He has very smooth hips, turns and transitional quickness in and out of his backpedal.

Jelani Jenkins, OLB, Wheaton, Md./Good Counsel
Player rank (position rank): 9 (2)
Considering: Florida, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC and Stanford
Front-runner: Recent scuttlebutt has Florida and Penn State in the best position to land Jenkins. Jenkins has visited both schools and could like the idea of playing a year behind Brandon Spikes in Gainesville.
Scouts Inc. says: The only traits this fast, attacking defender lacks right now are size and strength to shed bigger blockers. We expect Jenkins’ longer, leaner frame to blossom to the 6-foot-2, 230-pound range in college, while he retains his great speed and athleticism.

Rueben Randle, WR, Bastrop, La.
Player rank (position rank): 10 (1)
Considering: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, USC and Oklahoma State
Front-runner: He has kept it pretty close to the vest about which way he’s leaning. As is the case with Kirkpatrick, it seems as though the in-state school has to be the favorite. Les Miles and LSU have done a nice job of keeping local talent home, and the state’s No. 2 prospect, Joshua Downs — a high school teammate of Randle’s — is heading to Baton Rogue.
Scouts Inc. says: Randle is a receiver with the measurables to be the complete package. He has the size-to-strength ratio you look for both in working off the line and matching up one-on-one downfield. He uses his hands well; he fights through traffic; and he can shuck defenders aside when attacking the football.

Marlon Brown, WR, Memphis, Tenn./Harding Academy
Player rank (position rank): 24 (3)
Considering: Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Ohio State and Ole Miss
Front-runner: By all accounts, Tennessee seems to be in the lead for Brown. Lane Kiffin has made bringing Brown to Knoxville a top priority; he was on a plane to see Brown within hours of officially taking the UT job. The Vols’ location and the chance to play early could be key parts of Kiffin’s pitch. Houston Nutt and Ole Miss have made a late push. The Rebels would give Brown the chance to play with a top-tier QB in Jevan Snead, and Brown could play basketball in Oxford.
Scouts Inc. says: Brown measures close to 6-6, and he knows how to use his frame. His athleticism makes him very difficult to handle off the line and on contested matchups downfield. He can outmuscle defenders for the ball, and his leaping ability makes it difficult to gain any position on him.

Sam Montgomery, DE, Greenwood, S.C.
Player rank (position rank): 27 (2)
Considering: North Carolina, Michigan, LSU, South Carolina, Clemson and Tennessee
Front-runner: North Carolina might be in the best position. Like Brown, Montgomery is interested in playing hoops in college, and the opportunity to walk on in Chapel Hill is said to appeal to him.
Scouts Inc. says: Montgomery has loads of potential and ability. He entered high school focusing on basketball and claims it is still his passion, but he realizes the potential he has on the gridiron is much greater. He went out for football as a junior, and his acclimation to the game is jaw-dropping.

Frankie Telfort, OLB, Miami/Gulliver Prep
Player rank (position rank): 29 (3)
Considering: USC, Florida and Stanford
Front-runner: Telfort recently cut his list to three, and he has visited all the campuses. Stanford is in a pretty good position here, but it’s hard to call the Cardinal the team to beat. USC and Florida have been in this one from the very start.
Scouts Inc. says: Telfort is exceptionally quick in coverage, but his best attribute might be his awareness. It’s hard to gain much after completing the short pass in his underneath zone; he has great breaking quickness and closing burst.

Xavier Su’a-Filo, OT, Pleasant Grove, Utah/Timpview
Player rank (position rank): 35 (3)
Considering: USC, BYU, LSU, Stanford and UCLA
Front-runner: It sounds as though LSU and USC are in the best position to lure Su’a-Filo. The opportunity to play with friend John Martinez could help in getting Su’a-Filo to Troy. His relationship with LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton — formerly the head coach at BYU — is what’s helping the Tigers.
Scouts Inc. says: We knew Su’a-Filo could play guard, but he stole the show by displaying his ability to play on the edge. He has active hands and does a super job of controlling athletic defensive ends. Rarely does Su’a-Filo get beaten underneath or to the outside by quicker pass-rushers. He gives great effort and is a real fighter in the trenches.

Darren Myles Jr. S, Atlanta/Carver
Player rank (position rank): 39 (5)
Considering: LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky
Front-runner: Like so many other top prospects, Myles hasn’t done much to tip his hand. He recently eliminated Georgia and Purdue from consideration. With the way Alabama has been succeeding of late, the Tide might be the team to beat for Myles, but all four teams have a shot.
Scouts Inc. says: Any football team will get a lot of miles from Myles. This athletic superman is never on the bench, and at about 6-1, he’s physically impressive. He can play safety, wide receiver and quarterback and is equally dangerous to the opposition at all three positions, but most impressive of all, he can play corner. As a safety, he’s an instinctive defensive back who can play the run and the pass with equal ability.

Kendall Kelly, WR, Gadsden, Ala.
Player rank (position rank): 66 (7)
Considering: Alabama, Clemson, LSU, Auburn and Tennessee
Front-runner: Kelly is considered to be leaning toward Clemson, but he could end up elsewhere. Of course, Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide have a great chance with the local product.
Scouts Inc. says: On the hoof, Kelly is a great-looking prospect, and not a lot of 6-3 wideouts can run and accelerate like he can. His build, strength and speed make him a vertical threat and a red zone target. He is a competitive, tough receiver with solid open-field running skills to boot. He is quick and explosive off the line, has good short-area burst, can catch the ball without breaking stride and will get upfield immediately after the catch.

Byron Moore Jr., ATH, Harbor City, Calif./Narbonne
Player rank (position rank): 71 (4)
Considering: USC, Notre Dame and Colorado
Front-runner: Notre Dame and Colorado seem to be in prime position with Moore. He recently decommitted from USC but says he is still considering the Trojans.
Scouts Inc. says: This guy is a very good wide receiver. He looks just as good in person as he does on tape, and he is very versatile. Moore has excellent size; he’s thickly built and extremely tough. He’s ultra-competitive on jump balls and contested matchups, and he has very good speed and explosiveness for his size. He can play inside or outside and is just as effective versus man coverage as he is against zone. He is very smooth and fluid, displays outstanding hands, and can consistently catch over his head.

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