White House Continues To Give Away The Store To Iran

[From article]
The deal led to the release of four Americans being held in Iran: Washington Post journalist Jason Rezaian as well as Amir Hekmati, Saeed Abedini and Nosratollah Khosravi-Roodsari, the official said.
While an official confirmed Obama issued seven grants of clemency in the deal with the Iranians, spokespeople at the Justice Department and the White House did not immediately release the names of those spared in the U.S. legal system.
However, Iran’s Fars news agency released seven names, which correspond with U.S. court records on pending or recent cases.
Obama appeared to have granted rare, pre-trial pardons to three men awaiting trial in Houston for violating U.S. export laws by shipping high-tech equipment to Iran: Bahram Mechanic and Tooraj Faridi of Houston and Khosrow Afghahi of Los Angeles.
On Saturday, prosecutors moved to drop charges against Matin Sadeghi, a fugitive in the same case who was being sought in a wanted poster available on the FBI website. A court filing said the move was undertaken “based on significant foreign policy interests of the United States.” Until Saturday, Obama had never granted a pre-trial pardon to anyone, nor had his predecessor, President George W. Bush.

[. . .]

Three people already serving prison time appeared to have had their sentences cut short through the president's commutation power Saturday: Arash Ghahreman of New York, serving a six-and-a-half-year sentence for planning to send fiber optic gyroscopes and electron tube to Iran and due for release in 2020; Nader Modanlo of Potomac, Md., serving an eight-year sentence for providing satellite services to Iran and due for release in 2021 and Ali Saboonchi of Parkville, Md., serving a two-year sentence for providing high-tech industrial parts to Iran and due for release in November of this year.
Prosecutors in San Diego also moved Saturday to dismiss charges against another individual charged in the same case as Ghahreman, Koorush Taherkhani, as well as a company, TIG Marine Engineering Services. Prosecutors called Taherkhani and the company “fugitives.”
[. . .]

"The United States also removed any Interpol red notices and dismissed any charges against 14 Iranians for whom it was assessed that extradition requests were unlikely to be successful," the official said.
A hacker who admitted to breaking into the computers of a Vermont-based engineering firm also was on the list of those winning clemency from Obama in the Iran deal. Nima Golestaneh was extradited from Turkey to the United States in February to face the charges in federal court in Burlington, Vt.
Just last month, Golestaneh pled guilty to wire fraud and unauthorized access to computers. He was awaiting sentencing next month. Now, that sentencing will apparently not take place, but as of mid-afternoon Saturday there was no indication in the court’s docket of any action by Obama or the Justice Department.

[. . .]

And in 2010, the U.S. and Russia brokered a prisoner swap that led to 10 people charged with acting as agents for Russia being given unusually short sentences of "time served." They were immediately flown to Vienna and exchanged for four people being held in Russian jails.

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2016/01/iran-deal-obama-grants-clemency-to-seven-217879

Obama grants clemency to seven in Iran deal
By Josh Gerstein
01/16/16 03:38 PM EST

Hedge Fund Boss Gives $400 million to Harvard University

John Paulson
[From article]
The 59-year old financier said the gift was his way of thanking the Ivy League school for providing him and others with a top flight education, to which he credits his success at his $19 billion firm Paulson & Co.
"Today is an opportunity to thank Harvard," he said at a conference on campus announcing the donation to Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Paulson earned a business degree from Harvard in 1980.
[. . .]
The school's $36.4 billion endowment makes it the world's richest university.
[. . .]
In 2012, Paulson made his first prominent gift with a $100 million donation to Central Park, near his New York City home.

http://news.yahoo.com/hedge-fund-mogul-paulson-gives-harvard-record-400-142021290--sector.html

Hedge fund boss Paulson gives Harvard record $400 million
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
June 3, 2015

Counting One's Blessings

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room's only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on
vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color
and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band -he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with
descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body
of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window.The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left
him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this
window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.

She said, 'Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.'

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled. If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

'Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present.

Gift To Columbia University Mysteriously Disappears

HENRY KRUMB Left university $16 million.

[From article]
Krumb’s gift to Columbia totaled $16 million.
[. . .]

Krumb’s gift was contingent upon Columbia continuing to offer two degrees — engineer of mines and metallurgical engineer.
But in 1998, Columbia essentially did away with its traditional mining courses and replaced them with a program in “earth and environmental engineering.”
The Krumb chair in mining has been vacant for at least two decades. Another endowed chair, the Stanley-Thompson chair in chemical metallurgy, has been empty for about five years.
[. . .]
Krumb’s will specified that if the mining program folded, and the two degrees were not offered, at least half of the endowment should be transferred to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, with some scholarship fund money going to Lenox Hill Hospital.
But it remains a mystery what happened to the Krumb cash.


http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/columbia_mine_boggler_Mhmq22ZXJVIM4TowZuCNJO

Magnate's missing millions: Columbia University mining program runs dry
By ISABEL VINCENT and MELISSA KLEIN
New York Post
Last Updated: 6:42 AM, August 25, 2013
Posted: 1:39 AM, August 25, 2013

Ban On Gifts to Doctors By Drug Cos. Debated

This article does not discuss the practice of influencing academic researchers who develop drugs for the industry. Some researchers accepted millions while promising to make their research favorable to the industry. Some universities adopted requirements that researchers reveal any moneys received from industry resources. But that does not ensure integrity in their findings. More sunlight is needed on the drug industry. Just as the manufacturers of generic drugs are unable to compete with the major drug companies advertisements, the consumer of those drugs have no advocate at the State House. The alleged advocates mentioned here work for the medical industry.

http://bostonherald.com/news/politics/view/20111228pharma-doctor_gift_ban_generated_lots_of_talk_no_final_action_in_2011/

Pharma-doctor gift ban generated lots of talk, no final action in 2011
By Kyle Cheney /
State House News Service
Boston Herald
Wednesday, December 28, 2011