Lightning

Tim Cook seems to be in command so far in his appearance before the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations to defend Apple against charges that it parks cash overseas to avoid paying U.S. taxes. He began his testimony throwing down a gauntlet calling for “dramatic simplification” of U.S. corporate taxes. “Apple has always believed in the simple, not the complex,” he said adding that it should also apply to the tax code. He called for a revenue-neutral change that would lower corporate income tax rates and provide for “a reasonable tax”– which he said should be a single digit percentage — “that allows the free flow of capital back to the United States.” It would probably increase Apple’s U.S. taxes, he says, but “it would promote U.S. economic growth.” In response to questions from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), the Apple CEO said that his company does “have a low tax rate outside the U.S. but this is for products that we sell outside the US, not within. There’s no shifting going on.” Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) challenged Apple’s use of a holding company in Ireland where the company enjoys a less than 2% tax rate. That was offered by the government “as a part of recruiting us.” Still, he says that he would not consider moving Apple’s headquarters abroad. “We’re an American company and we’re proud to be an American company…We’re there [in California] because we love it ... Read More »

You already spend a lot of time on the Internet, right? I mean, that's how you found this page right here. And it's always fun to find another website or viral video or fantastically weird tumblr. Enter the Webbys. Watch: The new viral video of the week features dancing babies! The Webby Awards reward the very best of the internet, with every possible category you can think of (down to best university website). But the most fun sites on the list are the ones related to pop culture, of course! Well, pop culture and weirdness. Both fun. Here were my faves! OK! News: The sorority sister behind the viral ranting email has resigned! The amazing website for The Hunger Games, thecapitaltour.pn, won best film site. The beautiful interactive site let you view stills and learn about the characters, like other sites, but you can also explore the rich costumes and tour the city through awesome graphics.  The best celebrity/fan site award went to TeamCoco.com, a site for Conan O'Brien that lets you watch clips and web-exclusive outtakes from his show, plus meet fans and see fan artwork and other insanity. The best "weird" site is a hard one to pick on the internet, I'm sure. But I love the winner, onetinyhand.com. The premise is pretttttty simple: photos are doctored so that its subjects have just one tiny hand. The photoshopping is seamless, and the weirdness is bountiful. It is awesome. Jerry Seinfeld won a special outstanding comedic performance—which, straightaway, is kind of a duh for Seinfeld—for his web series comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com. At long last, who would have thought that Seinfeld's greatest return to comedy would be a simple, quiet little series of him riding around with other funny people? Sittin On Tha Toilet from Charlize Theron The best individual performance award went to Charlize Theron for her breathtaking series on Funny or Die, "Charlize Gets Hacked." The concept is that the FoD staff gets ahold of Charlize's phone and starts releasing all her embarrassing stuff, like the below. Which needs to be seen to be believed! I had just forgotten about the Mr. Rogers mashup video! The best video remixes/mashups" award went to this mystical, magical, ever-so-slightly creepy video, which went viral last year. Whenever you need to zen out, just turn to this video. Did you vote in the Webby Awards? Do you have other favorites among the winners and nominees? Are you obsessed with One Tiny Hand yet? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @OKMagazine. Photo credit:  Getty Images