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The bidding war over free-agent Cliff Lee, the best starting pitcher on the market, is starting to heat up, with the Yankees and Lee's last team, the American League champion Texas Rangers, leading the pursuit of the lefty ace. The scuttlebutt at the winter meetings this week has largely focused on the potential length of Lee's next contract. Supposedly, Lee has let it be known that he would stay in Texas if the Rangers would give him a six-year deal, but Texas is believed to be holding the line at five. The Yankees, meanwhile, are reportedly going to offer Lee a six-year deal on Tuesday but don't want to offer more than that. Meanwhile SI.com's Jon Heyman has reported that there are two other unidentified teams willing to offer Lee a seven-year deal, one of which could well be the Washington Nationals, who just signed Jayson Werth to a ridiculous seven-year, $126 million contract last weekenRead more:http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/cliff_corcoran/12/08/cliff.lee.projections/
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
WikiLeaks cables: US 'lobbied Russia on behalf of Visa card and MasterCard' - WikiLeaks News
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The US lobbied Russia this year on behalf of Visa and MasterCard in an attempt to ensure the payment companies were not "adversely affected" by new legislation, according to American diplomats in Moscow.
A state department cable released this afternoon by WikiLeaks reveals that US diplomats intervened to try to amend a draft law going through Russia's Duma. Their explicit aim was to ensure the new law did not "disadvantage" the two US firms, the cable states.
The revelation comes a day after Visa – apparently acting under intense pressure from Washington – announced it was suspending all payments to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website. Visa was following MasterCard, PayPal and Amazon, all of which have severed ties with the site and its founder Julian Assange in the last few days.for more about this article copy paste this link on your Browserhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard
The US lobbied Russia this year on behalf of Visa and MasterCard in an attempt to ensure the payment companies were not "adversely affected" by new legislation, according to American diplomats in Moscow.
A state department cable released this afternoon by WikiLeaks reveals that US diplomats intervened to try to amend a draft law going through Russia's Duma. Their explicit aim was to ensure the new law did not "disadvantage" the two US firms, the cable states.
The revelation comes a day after Visa – apparently acting under intense pressure from Washington – announced it was suspending all payments to WikiLeaks, the whistle-blowing website. Visa was following MasterCard, PayPal and Amazon, all of which have severed ties with the site and its founder Julian Assange in the last few days.for more about this article copy paste this link on your Browserhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/08/wikileaks-us-russia-visa-mastercard
US President Obama tries to quell Dem rebellion on tax cut deal - income tax news
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President Obama mounted a hard sell Tuesday for his proposed tax cut compromise, moving to quell a growing rebellion among congressional Democrats while appealing directly to the American people about the economic urgency of a deal that mostly pleases Republicans.Congressional Democrats have yet to embrace the nearly $900 billion deal, and opposition within the president's own party could force the administration to try to enact the tax cuts package with a bipartisan coalition made up mostly of Republicans.Underscoring the ambivalence, congressional leaders had yet to schedule votes by late Tuesday in either the House or Senate. Lawmakers met behind closed doors into the evening to assess what leverage, if any, they have to alter the proposal.
"It's very troubling for all of us," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the No. 4 in party leadership. The deal would extend the Bush-era tax cuts across the board, even for the wealthiest earners, which angered liberals.
"I think a ransom was paid and it was a very high price," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), among the wealthiest members of Congress. "I don't give a damn about a tax cut. I'd rather have a strong country then to get a few bucks back on my taxes."Obama joined in the criticism of the tax cut for wealthy earners, which would cost $68 billion a year in government revenue. But he said there was no way to prevent it while ensuring that middle class Americans retained their tax cuts and unemployed Americans continued receiving benefits.for more info visit this linkhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sc-dc-1208-democrats-taxcuts-20101207,0,7476688.story
President Obama mounted a hard sell Tuesday for his proposed tax cut compromise, moving to quell a growing rebellion among congressional Democrats while appealing directly to the American people about the economic urgency of a deal that mostly pleases Republicans.Congressional Democrats have yet to embrace the nearly $900 billion deal, and opposition within the president's own party could force the administration to try to enact the tax cuts package with a bipartisan coalition made up mostly of Republicans.Underscoring the ambivalence, congressional leaders had yet to schedule votes by late Tuesday in either the House or Senate. Lawmakers met behind closed doors into the evening to assess what leverage, if any, they have to alter the proposal.
"It's very troubling for all of us," said Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.), the No. 4 in party leadership. The deal would extend the Bush-era tax cuts across the board, even for the wealthiest earners, which angered liberals.
"I think a ransom was paid and it was a very high price," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), among the wealthiest members of Congress. "I don't give a damn about a tax cut. I'd rather have a strong country then to get a few bucks back on my taxes."Obama joined in the criticism of the tax cut for wealthy earners, which would cost $68 billion a year in government revenue. But he said there was no way to prevent it while ensuring that middle class Americans retained their tax cuts and unemployed Americans continued receiving benefits.for more info visit this linkhttp://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sc-dc-1208-democrats-taxcuts-20101207,0,7476688.story
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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