Sting Loves His Kids, but They Aren't Getting Trust Funds

Until he urged Roxanne against putting on that red light at the age of 27, Sting had next to nothing. Now he's worth more than $300 million, but none of that is headed to the pockets of his six children, he said in an interview today:

"I told them there won’t be much money left because we are spending it! We have a lot of commitments. What comes in we spend, and there isn’t much left.

"I certainly don’t want to leave them trust funds that are albatrosses round their necks. They have to work. All my kids know that and they rarely ask me for anything, which I really respect and appreciate.

"Obviously, if they were in trouble I would help them, but I’ve never really had to do that."

That's right. If one of Sting's children want to buy a brownstone in Brooklyn for their motorcycles, their all-cash offer will be made with money they earned and saved and now decided to spend. "They have this work ethic that makes them want to succeed on their own merit," he said.

He'll spend his millions saving the world in various ways. But we can't help but think his work as a father is on more way that he'll leave this rock better than he found it.

[Daily Mail]

5 things to know about heroin treatment Vivitrol

Vivitrol, increasingly being tried by courts, prisons and jails across the United States to fight repeat heroin abuse, offers a long-lasting treatment option advocates say addresses the day-to-day struggle of recovering addicts. Here are five things to know about the drug:

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HOW DOES IT WORK?

Vivitrol uses monthly, extended-release injections of the opiate blocker naltrexone, which prevents heroin users from getting high. It's an alternative to daily trips to methadone clinics, isn't potentially addictive like other drug treatments and provides a buffer for recovering addicts.

"It's very difficult to ask an opiate addict to adhere to a daily regimen of taking a pill that will reduce their addiction," says Richard Pops, CEO of drugmaker Alkermes PLC. "The secret of Vivitrol, or its major contribution, is its once-a-month dosing format that actually provides a safety net for the patient."

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HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN AROUND?

A daily pill form of naltrexone had been tried before without significant success. The longer-lasting version was approved for alcoholism treatment in 2006 by the Food and Drug Administration, and Vivitrol was approved in 2010 for heroin, morphine and other opoid drugs. At the time, the FDA called it "a significant advancement in addiction treatment."

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WHY THE INTEREST FOR NEWLY RELEASED INMATES?

Heroin overdose deaths have soared across the country amid a surge in use of more widely available, cheaper heroin than before. Federal statistics show a 45 percent rise in heroin overdose deaths from 2006 to 2010. Studies have shown that fatal overdose rates are high among inmates newly released from correctional and treatment facilities because their bodies have been detoxified and can't handle the same level of opiate as before. A Vivitrol injection gives them a month to resist their old urges and begin post-release counseling.

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WHAT ABOUT SIDE EFFECTS AND RISKS?

Patients must be opioid-free when they start taking Vivitrol or could experience severe withdrawal symptoms. They should be aware that resuming drug use after stopping Vivitrol treatment could make them more susceptible to overdose.

There also can be severe reactions at the injection site, including tissue damage. Other potential side effects include liver damage, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts.

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WHY ISNT IT IN WIDE USE?

Although an estimated 2.5 million Americans are addicted to prescription painkillers or heroin, less than half are receiving a medical treatment and only a fraction are on Vivitrol. It's relatively new, skeptics question its long-term efficiency and price — injections can cost $1,000 or more — and some doctors and officials are reluctant to use drugs to treat drug problems.

Pops, the drugmaker's CEO, says the cost of heroin-linked crime, prison inmates and fatal overdoses is much steeper. "It's extremely gratifying and at the same time extremely frustrating. It takes time."

Atlanta business owners back new startup spaces

ATLANTA -- Atlanta came late to a national push toward more flexible and community-focused offices for startup companies.

Now, several residents who have run their own businesses say they're trying to help the city catch up in a hurry.

The latest is an incubator and office building in downtown Atlanta, focused on startup companies that deal directly with individual customers. Michael Tavani is the co-founder of the coupon mobile app ScoutMob and says he wanted to give back and encourage consumer technology.

The announcement comes as another Atlanta entrepreneur is putting the finishing touches on a $24 million rehabilitation of a Buckhead office building. David Cummings founded the Atlanta Tech Village and says it is designed to encourage success for young companies.

Hezbollah: Terrorism does not change our stand toward Syria

BEIRUT: The deputy head of Hezbollah’s Executive Council said Sunday that no terrorist attack in Lebanon could change Hezbollah’s position toward Syria, calling for a united stand against fundamentalist terrorism.

“The takfiris know well that car bombs and suicide attacks cannot change Hezbollah’s stand toward Syria,” Sheikh Nabil Qawouq said at commemoration ceremony for Mohammad Abdullah Jouni.

“What happened in Dahr al-Baidar should motivate March 8 and 14 to take a unified stand for the continuation of the struggle against takfiri terrorism,” he said. “Takfiri terrorism is a disease threatening the human race and an evil [moving] across borders."

He condemned the disruption of Parliament by March 14 MPs and called for the legislature to meet to discuss the salary scale draft law.

“Activating institutions and protecting consensus contributes to enhancing Lebanon’s immunity to takfiri terrorism,” he said.

The comments came two days after a car bomb went off at a police checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar. The bombing killed a 49-year-old ISF officer and wounded 32 other people. Authorities say the target of the attack was a location in Beirut.

Top NY attorney sees humor in criticism from India

NEW YORK -- U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has made the cover of Time magazine and won praise for tough talk about corruption on Wall Street. But his prosecution of an Indian diplomat has drawn scorn from his birthplace, with one commentator in India even questioning if he took up the case "to serve his white masters."

For the most part, Bharara has chosen not to speak about the cultural and racial undercurrents that lurk in high-profile cases his office — the country's largest — has brought against South Asian defendants. That changed at a recent speech at Harvard Law School, where he cited the criticism and countered it with unusual candor.

The so-called white masters are "presumably, Eric Holder and Barack Obama," Bharara quipped.

But the prosecutor — who said he's been criticized by the left and the right, by various governments and has been banned from Russia — also conceded that the uninvited scrutiny about the arrest of a mid-level diplomat on charges she underpaid a domestic worker brought pain too. He told the crowd he only personally learned of the case that caused what he described as "an international incident" a day or two before the December arrest. Soon afterward, she was permitted to return to India, though charges remain.

The criticism was like nothing that had ever fallen upon a Manhattan prosecutor. Rudy Giuliani 's Italian-American background drew no special attention from Italy as his office arrested scores of defendants in organized crime cases. Giuliani seemed to enjoy the prosecutions, even playing a "Godfather" in an annual press show when he was mayor. Bharara's treatment got personal.

"Talk show hosts in India took to calling me a self-loathing Indian who made it a point to go after people from the country of his birth. Which was a bit odd, since the alleged victim in the case was also Indian," he recalled. "An Indian official basically asked on television, 'Who the hell is Preet Bharara?'"

Preetinder Bharara was born in Ferozepur, India, in 1968. His family moved to the U.S. when he was 2, and he was raised along the New Jersey shore in Monmouth County.

After graduating from Harvard in 1990 and Columbia Law School in 1993, he worked in private practice until 2000, when he became an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan. Five years later, he became U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer's chief counsel, and helped lead the investigation into the firings of nine U.S. attorneys under President George W. Bush.

After his 2009 appointment by Obama as U.S. attorney in Manhattan, he presided over one of the largest roundups in history of Wall Street professionals, using hundreds of hours of wiretaps that resulted in more than 80 convictions. His office also led the continuing probe of the collapse of Bernard Madoff's multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme, and the prosecution of the Times Square bomber and several high-profile terrorism defendants.

But his prosecution of some fellow highly successful South Asians strained perceptions of him in his birthplace even before the diplomat's arrest. Three years ago, his office successfully prosecuted Raj Rajaratnam, of Sri Lanka, along with some of Rajaratnam's Indian-born friends from college. Rajaratnam, serving an 11-year prison term for insider trading, became a billionaire after creating the Galleon Group of hedge funds that once handled as much as $7 billion. His brother is currently on trial on insider trading charges.

Bharara also has prosecuted several highly successful Indian-born defendants, the most prominent of which is Rajat Gupta, the former Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble board member who rose to the peak of American finance before he was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison on insider trading charges

The uproar over the arrest of India's deputy consul general in New York turned whispers about his motivations into shouts.

"Is Bharara targeting Indians?" was the question posed by an article on India Today's website in December. Firstpost.com Editor-in-Chief R. Jagannathan wrote in a December column that the United States "will use a Preet Bharara to target Khobragade (or Rajat Gupta or Raj Rajaratnam) so that it looks like Indian-Americans are implementing the law, and hence not racist." He finished the column with: "At the very least, we should target Preet Bharara for humiliating an Indian diplomat and make sure he never enters this country again."

Columbia Law Professor John C. Coffee Jr. said the U.S. separation of powers is unique.

"I don't think that foreign countries, foreign nationals, foreign defendants, quite understand how independent and separated the Department of Justice and particularly U.S. attorneys are," he said. "Usually a government controls everything."

On Friday, Bharara declined to talk about the issue to The Associated Press.

But in his Harvard speech, Bharara said the criticism "might not have bothered me so much had my parents not been reading every word of it."

"I had to explain to my daughter, who overheard a conversation in the house, what it meant to be called an Uncle Tom because that's what I was being called by journalists in South Asia. So that was not pleasant," he said.

Bharara said he eventually recovered perspective as the accusations got increasingly absurd, even "downright comical."

"After all, Indian critics were angry because even though I hailed from India, I appeared to be going out of my way to act American and serve the interests of America. Which was a bit odd, because I am American and the words 'United States' are actually in my title," he said.

Here's a link to an online video of Preet Bharara's speech: http://bit.ly/UvKpK3

Md. bar head focuses on vet court, new lawyers

BALTIMORE -- For Maryland State Bar Association President Debra G. Schubert, it's all about communication, giving back and the Dallas Cowboys.

"I still consider myself a Texas girl even though I have been in Maryland quite a long time," Schubert said. "I think the people are just so friendly and open. I like to be the same way. They are all about helping others and I am that way as well."

The Texas native took over as president this month during the MSBA's Annual Meeting in Ocean City. She replaces Michael J. Baxter of Baxter, Baker, Sidle, Conn & Jones P.A. in Baltimore.

Schubert, who also owns a 10-horse farm, wants to concentrate on military and veterans affairs and on the needs of newly admitted lawyers during her one-year term.

Her main goals are to implement a proposed Veterans Court in the state, bring a marketing consultant into the MSBA and continue the work of a committee helping new law school graduates find jobs, an initiative Baxter started during his term.

Schubert sat down with The Daily Record recently to discuss her upcoming term, her life as a solo practitioner and, of course, her horses — both living and iron.

— How did you decide to become an attorney?

There are no attorneys in my family. I took a business law course at the University of Texas, really enjoyed it. I took the LSATs on a whim and thought, 'Let's see how I do.' I did pretty well on them and decided I was going to go to law school. So I moved up to Maryland. At the time, my mother was living in Maryland. I grew up with my father in Texas.

— Tell us about growing up in Texas.

My father raised me. Anyone who knows me knows I am very much a sports enthusiast. I love sports and needless to say my favorite team is the Dallas Cowboys. . But growing up in Texas, I absolutely loved it. .

I did not have horses when I lived in Texas. This is something that started when I moved to Maryland. It started with one horse, then another horse. I decided I didn't want to board anymore, so I bought a farm. I had never ridden a tractor or plowed a field. Now, obviously, I have several tractors and can do that in my sleep. The horse farm is a labor of love for me. I wanted to look out every window in my house and see horses.

— Tell us about your practice.

I am a solo practitioner. I am the only one. I enjoy that quite a bit. I started out working for a law firm, first downtown, then in Towson called Klein & Webb. I was exposed to a lot of divorce work, District Court work, litigation and that sort of thing, but I had the opportunity to hang my shingle out after only a couple years, so I did that. But, in any event, I always say this to young attorneys, the reason I was able to do that was because of my involvement in bar associations . because of that involvement, and my ability to meet with other attorneys and with judges.

— What made you want to go solo?

It wasn't that I couldn't find a job, it's that I wanted to run my own business. I have always been that type of person. I like being my own boss. I like setting my hours.

— A lot of people are going solo coming out of law school now because they have no choice. What can the MSBA do to help them?

We had a conversation at the start of (Baxter's) year. He appointed a law school graduate committee consisting of the deans of both law schools, obviously members of the MSBA, so I am continuing with that. What we have done the first year is actually gather information to see what law schools are doing to educate students about debt. . We are continuing with the committee this year to figure out what is the best way for us to actually help. What can the MSBA do? We have looked at incubator programs where we assist young attorneys starting out with an office atmosphere with copiers and that sort of thing. Hopefully, we can relate it to the needs in the community for legal services at a low bono rate.

— Have you heard anything from members about the lawyers at bail issue?

We hope we can figure out how the MSBA can help facilitate getting members to serve and fulfill that obligation at bail review hearings. They are getting paid $50 an hour. There are a lot of young attorneys that would love the chance to make some money, particularly if they are unemployed. But then we have to educate them so they know what they are doing in the bail review hearings. We can and obviously will assist in any way we can.

— How will you balance your practice with all duties of being MSBA president?

I have known I was going to do this for a couple years, so obviously I had to get my practice in the position where I could do it. What I am doing now is a lot of guardianships. I am working with older folks. I really enjoy that. Estates, estates administration, guardianships, these are the types of cases the court will work with you on scheduling hearings. I wasn't going to do domestic work anymore because that would be too time-consuming.

— What are some of the things you have been doing to prepare?

You are going to accomplish one or two things well. You are not going to accomplish 10 things well. You've got to concentrate on a few things.

It's really important to see what we can do to help our active military and veterans. . One of the big issues out there is the possibility of a Veterans Court. A Veterans Court is a diversionary program, so to speak, for active military and veterans in trouble in District Court. We have drug courts. This would be another way judges could use the resources out there to help with the rehabilitation of military and veterans. There was a task force in 2012 appointed by the Maryland General Assembly looking into this issue and they have recommended that we pursue a Veterans Court, so I have been doing research on that the past few months. I recently appointed a special committee that will look into a Veterans Court. I hope (it can be implemented) in a year or two. I am that optimistic. .

There are some incredible programs going on throughout state. Local bar associations are putting different things on for veterans, but when I looked at it, it was like one hand didn't know what the other hand was doing. We didn't have a central location of resources and programs available for vets. So we have a new (MSBA) website that is being unveiled in June. I have asked to have a link on that website just for veterans' resources and those that practice military law.

— What do you think needs to be changed right now at MSBA?

There are a lot of things we do right, but we can always do things better and I think communication is one thing we are going to improve upon. . I know we are located in Baltimore city, but our membership is all over the state and we have a great concentration in Prince George's County and in Montgomery County, so obviously (when I) plan locations for some of the meetings, we have to keep in mind that some of our members are toward Washington.

— What are some ways you plan to reach out to members?

I think it's important we develop more of a marketing program and have a marketing person with the MSBA. This just came up and was talked about recently so I think the thing to do is appoint a small committee to hire a marketing consultant.

— A year from now, what do you want to look back on and say you have accomplished?

I hope I feel like I would feel at the end of a protracted domestic case where both parties walked away feeling satisfied and I felt like I really gave something back to my client. That it was a difficult time in their lives and they came back and say to me, 'You helped me and you made a difference in my life.' If someone came up to me at an annual meeting a year from now and said, 'You really made a difference,' whether it's a veteran, a law student, a recent graduate or whomever, if I felt like I actually made a difference, then I would have a successful year.

Five arrested for 'terror plot' in Baalbek

BAALBEK, Lebanon: Military Intelligence arrested Sunday five people in Baalbek suspected of planning a "major terrorist plot" and referred them to the judiciary, according to the National News Agency.

“Army intelligence agents apprehended a group of five people who were plotting a terrorist act,” the state-run NNA said.

Among the arrested was Omar al-Satem, the brother of Qutaiba al-Satem, who blew himself up in Haret Hreik in January 2014, according to the NNA.

A security source told The Daily Star that four Syrian nationals and one Lebanese from Arsal riding a minibus were arrested at a checkpoint in Harbata, as they were reportedly heading to Arsal hills to provide Syrian opposition forces with aid.