I am just not amused

Over 279,000 federal workers and retirees owed more than $3.4 billion in back income taxes in 2010 (up from $3.3 billion in 2009, $3.0 billion in 2008, and $2.7 billion in 2007). A partial breakdown:

• U.S. Office of Government Ethics: 6.49%
• Federal Reserve Board: 4.86%
• U.S. House of Representatives: 4.24%
• U.S. Senate: 3.08%
• SEC: 2.50%
• U.S. Tax Court: 2.25%

British lingerie label Agent Provocateur have seen annual sales jump by more than 12 per cent in a year which also saw First Lady Michelle Obama joining their list of elite customers. Mrs Obama, is said to have spent $50,000 (£31,794) in the one shopping trip to the boutique which closed down part of Madison Avenue when she visited with the Queen of Qatar, Sheikha Mozah.

Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor running for the U.S. Senate, has a potential deadly political sin in her background. Maybe it is the reason President Obama didn’t nominate her to head up the consumer agency. One of her many well-compensated part-time gigs included consulting for Travelers Insurance. She made it harder for claimants to collect. Warren helped establish the bankruptcy strategy for companies to avoid crushing lawsuits. In short, go bankrupt to avoid paying victims. In court briefings, she supported the effort to protect Travelers Insurance from future lawsuits after agreeing to a $500 million settlement with asbestos plaintiffs. That sort of destroys her image as consumer advocate, doesn’t it?