UK’s telco regulator Ofcom has apparently decided that the Digital Economy Act’s provisions on suspending accounts of those accused of file sharing will only apply to wireline ISPs who have 400,000+ customers. I would imagine that this might create a bit of a boom in business for smaller ISPs — though, that could be self-defeating if too many customers switch and push any particular smaller ISP over that 400,000 mark…
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Feeling a bit forgetful? Worried that you’re not going to be able to find your way back to your car? Worry no longer, there’s now an Android app for that. All you need is an Android phone, and Chevy Volt with OnStar. Once you’re parked, you can speak your destination into your phone which will then keep track of where you are relative to that point, and help you to find your way back. This is actually just part of GM’s plan for the Volt, which is going to be closely linked with the Google platform when it comes out. In addition to the location feature, you’ll also be able to check the battery level, monitor the vehicles overall health, and even run the A/C before you get in.
[via DVice]
Pythagoras will commercialize a solar power generating window that can be integrated into green buildings, BIPV. …
… “Pythagoras Solar leverages a combination of patent-pending optics, high-efficiency crystalline silicon, advanced materials science and simulation software to create a highly efficient photovoltaic glass unit (PVGU), a new category of green building material. Unlike existing BIPV products, Pythagoras Solar curtain walls, skylights and windows simultaneously block solar radiation; concentrate sunlight and convert it into solar power; and deliver a high level of transparency for optimal daylighting and aesthetics.” …
Via Pythagoras Solar: Green building material.
“I drive fast,” says David Adams, campaign manager for Kentucky Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul.
And hours before the polls closed in the Bluegrass State, Adams explained when he first knew that Paul could buck the establishment and win the Republican primary as a Tea Party-backed candidate.
It was March. The race was in flux and the Paul campaign was gaining a toe-hold. This meant Adams was logging lots of miles in his car and as he admits, at speeds above the limit.
With a smile Adams explains, “Twice in March, I was pulled over.”
(Don’t ask where. Don’t ask which police forces were involved. Adams won’t tell.)
In both instances, Adams says a large pile of Rand Paul campaign signs were stuffed and quite visible in the back seat.
Adams says in both cases, the officers caught glimpses of the campaign signs. Then, they asked Adams to be careful…and sent Adams along his way without a speeding ticket.
“(It said to me) ‘you guys are doing something right,’ ” says Adams.
It’s a curious measurement of campaign success. And now that Paul has claimed the Republican nomination, there will be six-months more campaigning ahead.
Meaning, the lead-footed Adams will get to do some more driving through the state and do some more ‘polling’ of Kentucky cops.
Last night, Shannon Brown of the Los Angeles Lakers showed how someone who lived from Wonders Hall and attending Michigan State University can jump up so high. Shannon Brown tried an outrageously daring dunk on Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
His attempt started on the free-throw line, and was stopped by the Spartan’s Jason Richardson. Brown could not get it in the basket but his attempt made Richardson commit a blocking foul.
Though Brown’s daring attempt was not really that impressive as when he could have completed it, the video of his dunk is one f the sensation on the internet. Many people also called it the best missed dunk attempt they have seen. Does that really exist? For the sake of those who haven’t seen the video, here it is.
Shannon Brown Greatest Missed Dunk Of All Time
Was it really the greatest missed dunk of all time? Talk about an epic fail with his dunk but most people still like it. 5 star for the crazy idea for the dunk, 3 star for overcoming Richardson and 1 star for your effort to put the ball in the basket. Hey, it’s still a nice game in the end.
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By Joe Wilcox, Betanews
Three words sum up Microsoft’s patent infringement suit against Salesforce.com: Competition by litigation. Microsoft knows plenty about competition by litigation, having been its victim through major antitrust cases on two continents. It’s simply shameful action from a company which executies rightly wagged accusing fingers at litigating competitors over the years. Microsoft’s “do unto them like they did unto us” approach cheapens the company. The proof is in the patents, which are hugely broad scope.
Qualifying that I am no patent attorney, I have applied layman’s eyes to the patents that Microsoft alleges Salesforce.com violates. The nine patents read to me as being very broad in scope and potentially applicable to many forms of end user to computer or Web browser interactions — or none at all. If any of these patents are enforceable, the US patent system really does need some reform.
I purposely did not read Microsoft’s description of the patents and Salesforce.com’s alleged violations from the 9-page patent infringement lawsuit. Instead, I looked over the actual patents, reading them as they are and looking at them in context of Salesforce.com’s business, as I understand it. I see huge PR value for Microsoft in filing this lawsuit, possibly inflicting damage against a successful competitor. The patent violations are sure to create FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) about Salesforce.com’s future business and may even cause some customers to look elsewhere — ah, like Microsoft. However, I see nothing among the nine patents, based on a careful non-lawyerly review, that remotely suggests Salesforce.com has grossly violated Microsoft intellectual property rights.
Now for the nine patents:
7,251,653: “Method and system for mapping between logical data and physical data,” granted July 31, 2007, describes interaction between data in columns and their storage. The patent clearly was intended for spreadsheets.
5,742,768: “System and method for providing and displaying a web page having an embedded menu,” granted April 29, 1998, describes the execution of menus in a Web browser by using an applet; Java is used as an example of applet delivering an “embedded menu” class. The patent was assigned to Silicon Graphics.
5,644,737: “Method and system for stacking toolbars in a computer display,” granted July 1, 1997, describes the display of stacked toolbars on computer operating systems, like Windows. Right, but Saleforce.com serves data to a Web browser. If Salesforce.com violates the patent, I have to ask: What service using toolbars on the Web doesn’t?
6,263,352: “Automated web site creation using template driven generation of active server page applications,” granted July 17, 2001, describes a method for merchants to use hypertext links retrieved from “Active Server Pages.” Say what? When did Salesforce.com become a merchant selling goods? What? Salesforce.com uses ASP.NET — and not licensed with Windows Server? Gosh, and I thought the service was a Linux shop. 🙂
6,122,558: “Aggregation of system settings into objects,” granted Sept. 19, 2000, describes a method for adjusting settings in a “desktop environment.” From the background of the invention section: “The Microsoft Windows, version 3.1, operating system, sold by Microsoft Corporation of Redmond, Wash., provides a control panel that allows a user to adjust various system settings, such as the color settings for the graphical user interface.” Someone explain how a patent applied to the Windows control panel applies to cloud service Salesforce.com.
6,542,164: “Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information,” granted April 1, 2003, is yet another toolbar patent. This one applies to the interaction of a cursor and “graphical objects.” It’s hugely broad, even though the patent claims the “limitations of the prior art are overcome by the present invention.” If Salesforce.com truly has violated this patent, the question should be: “Who else hasn’t?” The interaction described is a fundamental in computing systems using cursors and graphical objects. Surely, some other companies’ patents overlap this one.
6,281,879: “Timing and velocity control for displaying graphical information,” granted Aug. 28, 2001, is nearly identical to 6,542,164. Same arguments against the other apply to this one. Inventors are the same. The inclusion of two near-identical patents by the same inventor so stinks of competition by litigation.
5,845,077: “Method and system for identifying and obtaining computer software from a remote computer,” granted Dec. 1, 1998, describes a method for distributing software updates to computers over a connection, such as Internet Service Provider. The method describes how Microsoft might use Windows Update. Last I checked — and it has been awhile — Salesforce.com updates server software rather than pushing updates out to remote software. Am I wrong?
5,941,947: “System and method for controlling access to data entities in a computer network,” granted Aug. 24, 1999, describes the differentiating of access rights for “on-line services.” From the background: “The present invention is directed generally to the problem of flexibly and efficiently controlling the access rights of a large number of users to a large number of objects or other data entities.” Of the nine patents, this is the one most seemingly applicable to Salesforce.com. However, 5,941,947 specifically refers to the definition of “on-line services” contained in Microsoft patent 5,774,668. By my reading, the definition doesn’t apply to cloud service Salesforce.com. Moreover, Microsoft did not include 5,774,668 in its lawsuit, which raises doubts about 5,941,947’s applicability to Salesforce.com.
Copyright Betanews, Inc. 2010
Salesforce.com – Intellectual property – Microsoft – Lawsuit – Patent infringement
While people go gaga over the newly leaked Mondrian image, ElCondor has worked to produce an image from scratch for what this device should look like. The image above was created earlier today by my friend EC, who took all the current designs of the leaked Windows Phone 7 designs (LG, HTC) and put them together to form this image of what the device should look like.
The image looks pretty cool, from what I see that screen looks bigger than the HD2. It actually has 3 instead of 5 buttons, which WP7 needs, but the HTC HD2 does not have. It has a slim body, which is always a plus, and all in what seems to be a metal wrap device.
If I was to design the back of this device, I would love certain things to be included. The most important thing I would like to see in the back is maybe an all blue coloring (both back, and speaker grill like HTC Incredible), a 8MP 720p camera, a kick stand would be stupid, and lastly a nice looking logo that glows when on or when the device has a notification. Those are the features I would like for EC to add to his concept, and maybe HTC will pick some ideas out of that (glowing back would be the Sh**).
What do you think of the concept? What do you think of my ideas? Would you like a Glowing back (maybe send that into HTC)? comment below.
Concept image via:XDA
In the snowy Swiss Alps, behind a three and a half ton door that could withstand a nuclear attack and beyond a maze of passageways, scientists are depositing a capsule containing everything future generations will need to decipher our data. More »
Swiss Alps – Puzzle – Switzerland – Travel and Tourism – Technology
Yes! Yes! Yes! Those sounds you heard moments ago are the horrified screams of your nearest AT&T towers. Why? Because iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 brings us a new option in the settings menu: Tethering. More »
iPhone 3G – IPhone – Smartphone – Handhelds – Apple
Late last year, David Farr shot off his mouth and made a lot of people mad. But the insights that spring from his candid comments could make a lot of other people rich. Including you. With the inspired help of my colleague, David Gonigam, here’s the story…
Mr. Farr is the CEO of Emerson Electric. The firm makes electrical equipment, mostly for industrial customers. That said, its best-known product is likely in your kitchen sink – the InSinkErator garbage disposal.
In 2009, Emerson broke into the top one-fifth of the Fortune 500 – jumping nearly 20 positions, from 111 to 94. Impressive, considering what happened to the stock market and the economy in 2008. Not that Emerson was spared the pain. The company slashed its work force nearly 14% in 2009 – 20,000 jobs gone.
And Farr doesn’t see things getting much better in 2010 – owing largely to the decisions coming out of the nation’s capital. Which brings us to the things he said that made a lot of people mad.
The forum: The Baird Industrial Outlook Conference last November in Chicago. “Washington is doing everything in their manpower capability to destroy US manufacturers,” he said. “Cap and trade, medical reform, labor rules. What do they want to do? Raise taxes. They’re just going to destroy jobs.”
Result?
“Jobs are going to be created offshore. They’re going to be created in India and China, places where people want the products and where the government welcomes you. They actually do something.”
Step back for a moment and take that in. India was once larded down by decades of Nehru socialism. China’s economy was crushed by Mao’s madman schemes. But now a major American CEO says that these countries offer a friendlier environment for manufacturers than the United States.
“What do you think I am going to do? I’m not going to hire anybody in the United States. I’m moving. They are doing everything possible to destroy jobs.”
Farr’s remarks in Chicago set off a firestorm that raced 300 miles down Interstate 55 to St. Louis. Since Emerson’s founding in the 1890s, the firm has called the Gateway City home.
Outraged letters to the editor poured into the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. One labeled Farr and his fellow executives “unscrupulous parasites interested in nothing more than short-term profits.” Another addressed Farr directly: “How dare you try to blame Washington for your greed.”
Farr responded on the paper’s Op-Ed page a couple of weeks later. Clearly, the public relations people had gotten to him in the interim. His Chicago remarks were passionate and spontaneous. The column read as if vetted by a conference room full of PR pros…and maybe a couple of lawyers.
“We are a nation of varied beliefs and perspectives,” the committee – er, Farr – wrote, “and there is room for honest disagreement on all of these issues. But none of us wants to see our country weakened to the point where it is no longer the global economic leader.
“Greater government debt and diminished competitiveness mean global investment and good jobs will go elsewhere,” Farr continued, “and America will risk slipping into second-tier economic status. That’s not the legacy any of us want to leave future generations.”
He might have mentioned that the United States has the second-highest corporate tax rate, after Japan. The mushy article concluded with the truly bold declaration, “Action is needed now.” That’s OK, Dave. We know your true feelings. Atlas isn’t shrugging. But he is outsourcing and moving offshore.
Farr isn’t just ranting against the Obama administration. He knows emerging markets firsthand. He ran Emerson’s Asia-Pacific division in the 1990s. And Emerson has been steadily moving jobs overseas for years. That’s where the growth is. First came the new factory jobs. Then came the new white-collar jobs – engineers and product designers. “If half of your sales go outside of the United States, you’re going to have half of your engineering outside of the United States, too,” Farr told Forbes back in 2004. That was at a time when manufacturing output in emerging markets was growing 8% a year…and just 3% in the United States. And that was supposed to be a healthy post-recession figure.
Another factor in Farr’s reasoning is something we highlighted last month. Don’t forget about all those foreign-born engineering students at US universities who are choosing to return home.
This could be one reason that 54% of US executives surveyed by the search firm Korn/Ferry say they’d be willing to accept a post overseas. That compares with just 37% four years ago. Already, 24% of the freshly minted MBAs from MIT have accepted overseas posts. A year earlier? Just 19%.
Already by 2009, emerging markets accounted for one-third of Emerson’s revenue. (That’s up from just 14% when Farr became CEO, in 2000.) Foreign markets as a whole account for more than half of sales.
That puts Emerson in pretty good company. Nearly one out of every five S&P 500 companies now generates a majority of its sales overseas. (Coca-Cola is perhaps the iconic example: 74% of its revenue comes from outside the States.)
Those stand to be among the best performers among the blue chips in the years ahead. They’re exposed to healthier business environments overseas. And they’ll be insulated from the shock of a weakening dollar.
But Emerson (for example) has already had a good run over the last year.
Besides, if it’s overseas exposure you’re after, why not go for the real thing?
David Farr and other American CEOs find emerging markets a friendlier place to do business. And if American blue chips get a good reception, imagine how well the homegrown companies are treated. That’s the idea behind a fairly new exchange-traded fund (ETF) with a mouthful of a name: The Dow Jones Emerging Markets Composite Titans Index Fund (NYSEARCA:EEG).
We prefer to think of it as the emerging markets “fund of tens.” That is, it aims to buy the 10 top-ranked stocks in each of 10 sector indexes Dow Jones has developed for emerging markets economies. The sectors are the usual suspects – energy, financials, basic materials, telecom and so on.
So the fund is never spread among more than 100 stocks. Not a bad way to hedge your bets if this is your first time getting into emerging markets investing. (And from the e-mail we get, we know you’re skittish about this.)
The practical result of this mix is that right now the fund is about 25% China and 25% Brazil – two emerging markets on a tear. The other BRIC countries, India and Russia, make up another 25%. South Africa, Mexico and other countries make up the remaining quarter. You even get a little exposure to former Soviet bloc countries like Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
The top three holdings account for a little over 15% of the total:
The fund is fairly new, launching last July. For its first year, it’s keeping expenses limited to a guaranteed 0.75%. Investing by sector, as EEG does, will give you the emerging markets exposure you’re looking for, without too much exposure to any one country.
Addison Wiggin
for The Daily Reckoning Australia
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The Democratic primary for the Pennsylvania Senate seat remains tight now, while former Club for Growth President Pat Toomey (R) easily won his own contest.
Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak were tied at 50 percent in the Democratic Senate primary as of 9:50 p.m, with 37 percent reporting. The Associated Press and other outlets called the Republican primary for Toomey, who led activist and perennial candidate Peg Luksik 79-21 percent. Meanwhile, Democrat Mark Critz led Republican Tim Burns 58-40 percent in the special election to replace the late Rep. John Murtha (D), with just around 20 percent reporting.
Specter’s race against Sestak had become tougher in recent weeks as polls began to show the two tied or trading small leads. The last poll to be released, from Qunnipiac University, showed Sestak leading Specter by one point. Specter had been a Republican for 44 years before rejoining the Democrats in late April 2009. He was previously a registered Democrat from 1951 through 1965.
Burns hoped to make the special election in Pennsylvania’s 12th house district a referendum on Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s leadership, while Critz distanced himself from the national party to a degree, labeling himself an “independent thinker.”
Updated at 9:50 p.m. on May 18.
by Julian Ku
I guess this is why they need a ban on the burka in France. Stories like this make France seem decidedly more unpleasant for certain Muslims than Arizona is for illegal immigrants:
France had its first case of “burka rage” at the weekend when a shopper allegedly tried to pull the veil from the face of a Muslim woman and the resulting scuffle turned violent.
The Muslim woman, named only as Élodie, told reporters that she had been leaving a shoe store in Trignac, near St Nazaire, when two passers-by, apparently mother and daughter, made derogatory remarks before telling her: “Go back to your own country.”
The mother, a lawyer, allegedly tried to tear off the niqab worn by Élodie — at which point the two began trading slaps before being separated by shop assistants, Élodie said.
“Things got nasty,” she added. “The older woman grabbed my veil to the point of ripping it off.”
It’s been more than six months since Google (NSDQ: GOOG) agreed to pay $750 million for AdMob and the company is still waiting for government approval.
Many sources have said the FTC is considering blocking the deal between Google, the dominant online advertising company, and AdMob the largest mobile ad network. In an interview with Reuters today, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt said they are prepared to fight “very hard” if regulators stop the deal. Additionally, he believes it should be approved in order for Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) to have more competitors.
A decision has been expected at any moment for the past couple of weeks, but Schmidt opened up the possibility to it taking longer by saying he anticipated a decision over the next few weeks.
To be sure, Google has faced significant delays. After Google announced its acquisition, Apple announced it was buying Quattro Wireless, and has since been able to integrate the company and relaunch its services as a mobile ad network called iAd.
Schmidt said the waiting period has translated to a “significant disadvantage” for AdMob in competing against Apple and other rivals. “It would be better if the AdMob acquisition can be approved to see if Google can get a more competitive market on the iPhone platform.”
If the FTC denies the acquisition, the two companies could be in limbo for many more months as its tied up in litigation. Schmidt said: “We’re likely to fight very hard…It’s a very strategic acquisition for Google.” Google’s incentive may also come in the form of cash. One report pegged Google’s kill fee at $700 million if the deal were to fall apart for any reason.
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Today was dominated by the news that Germany planned to institute an emergency naked short-selling ban, a move that sent the euro and the stock market into a tailspin.
Of course, this is not the first time German leaders have deserved finger-pointing.
It was the fault of Angela Merkel that the Greece crisis was allowed to metastasize, feeding on her no-bailout bluff.
The sharpest take comes from BTIG’s Mike O’Rourke, who sees political incompetence being taken to an art:
Over the past several months, (Finance Minister Wolfgang) Schaeuble has demonstrated an uncanny ability to send both the Euro and the Equity markets swooning. Evidently, Schaeuble is not fond of those Sunday night announcements that were commonplace here in the U.S. in the fall of 2008. You know, the ones designed to be made while all markets were still closed so investors had the opportunity to digest the news. To top it all off, nearly 3 hours after spooking the markets and sending the Euro to a new 4 year low, Schaeuble try to reassure markets that the Euro is a “stable” currency. All in a day’s work.
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the methods of Paulson, Bernanke and Geithner in late 2008, most would likely agree that they were well intentioned. When it comes to Merkel and Schauble of Germany and their perpetual fumbling through this crisis, it is hard to say the same. But there has been a lone beneficiary to their continued foibles, German exporters. Interestingly, last night we noted the biggest beneficiary of the weakened Euro is Germany, but in the same respect, they would be the biggest loser if the Euro were to be dissolved, which is why Sarkozy’s threat to pull out of the Euro (if true) would have been so impactful.
If you’re bearish on Europe, perhaps there’s a bigger opportunity than merely shorting the euro (like everyone else is).
From our perspective the fact that markets are placing so much faith in German bunds is misguided. The leadership there is either inept or malicious, and neither is good in the long run for Germany. Those bunds may be a better short than Euro. Wait – you can’t do that anymore.
Burn!
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Goodnight All. Don’t forget to add PopCrunch on Facebook!
-Check out the new video from Improv Everywhere, the popular NYC comedy group whose YouTube videos have garnered over 107 million views. In the video, the comics recreate an infamous scene from the 1984 hit Ghostbusters inside The New York Public Library…
-Speaking of Facebook, founder Mark Zuckerberg thinks you’re all a bunch of “dumb fucks….”
-A sneak peek at Rihanna’s “Rockstar 101″ video….
-One very determined man enlisted the help of a flash mob in proposing to his sweetheart in NYC’s Washington Square Park last week….
–Glee creator Ryan Murphy says Lea Michele is no diva….
-Lots of Facebook News Today: Man creates Facebook group to find mystery girl. Keir Moffatt of England was on a train when he saw a girl with a blue headband. After missing her, he set up a Facebook page to try to find her…
-NeNe’s got a new nose….
-Uma Thurman’s New York townhouse is on the market for a mere $14.2 million….
-Jay-Z vs. Beyonce at this year’s BET Awards…
-Lindsay Lohan “did not have sexual relations with that cougar….”
-Dumb Ho of the Day: This chick is suing her cell phone provider for inadvertently revealing her affair. Gabriella Nagy, 35, is seeking $580,000 from Rogers Wireless for invasion of privacy and breach of contract. The husband became suspicious when he noticed a number frequently called on the bill and, after dialing it, was told by a man who answered that he recently had a three-week affair with Gabriella…
-Kristen Wiig’s 5 Greatest SNL characters. Here’s a video of the MacGruber star on TODAY…
-Amanda Seyfried on The Early Show…
-Victoria’s Secret Angel Miranda Kerr suggests GQ send an autographed copy of her latest feature in the mag to the Australian guy who was busted on live TV oogling steamy photos of her in the mag a few months back….
-A Malawian couple has been sentenced to 14 years behind bars for being gay…
–Terminator star Linda Hamilton lands guest arc on the Showtime hit Weeds….
-Job-hunting tips for the Class of 2010….
-A wanted woman in silver SUV dropped into the drive-thru of her local Taco Bell for a few burritos — and left with two grand…..
-Forget the guide books and the maps, the ideal way to discover a new city is Rent-A-Friend….
–Degree is offering one lucky woman the chance to go on tour with Lilith Fair 2010 as a concert correspondent…
Another day, another opportunity to score a hot 3D gaming title for a bargain. This time around Glu Mobile’s Transformers G1: Awakening can be had for 99 cents, or a full $6 off of the normal asking price. Are you bad enough to defeat the Decepticons?
Last night, we went to a marvelous restaurant – 1949.
The restaurant is in a complex in the middle of the business district. At relatively little expense, the owners have created a stylish oasis – one that they can knock down in a few years in order to build a high- rise on the precious property.
Dear Readers will recall that Peking duck is on our short list of the world’s greatest, almost divine, inventions. Here, at 1949, we had Peking duck in Peking. And it was the best ever.
The Chinese have been the source of many innovations – from pasta to gunpowder. But Peking duck is their finest contribution to human life.
*** “Talents heed the call of home,” says China Daily.
For many years, some of the brightest and best of young Chinese left the country. They considered the opportunities for education, entrepreneurship, and career advancement better overseas. Often, they went to the finest universities in Britain, Canada and America. Then, they took top jobs at multi-national companies, research institutes…and in academia.
But now they’re coming home, says the paper.
We met a number of these people yesterday. US-educated…sometimes US-raised…the overseas Chinese are now finding more opportunities back in China.
Why?
Because there is more money in China. Growth rates are higher. And new businesses find capital more easily.
In short, China is booming. And booms bring prodigal sons back home.
“I studied law in America…”
“I went to university in Montreal, Canada…”
“I used to work for Baker Mckenzie…”
“I grew up in Tennessee…”
It seemed like everyone we met had ties to the US or Canada. But now they’re doing business in China, not in North America…
Boom, Baby, Boom!
Regards,
Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning Australia
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Oh yes! iPhone OS 4.0 Beta 4 is out and we’re tearing it apart to find out what’s new so that you don’t have to risk your iPhones. Here’s what we’ve discovered so far. Updated. More »
IPhone – IphoneOs – smartphone – Handhelds – Apple
The state Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously reversed a lower court ruling that would have allowed Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz to run for attorney general.
The ruling shockingly ends one of the most unusual chapters in Connecticut’s political history. Bysiewicz had been one of the leading candidates for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination until January, when Attorney General Richard Blumenthal’s decision to run for the U.S. Senate prompted her to run for the office that he was vacating.
Bysiewicz, who was not at the Tuesday afternoon proceeding in the ornate Supreme Court building opposite the state Capitol, issued a statement within an hour of the 4:30 p.m. ruling: “I am tremendously disappointed with the court’s decision overturning Judge [Michael] Sheldon’s ruling and I strongly disagree with the decision both on the eligibility and the constitutionality issue. However, I do respect the rule of law and will abide by it.”
Bysiewicz, the state’s top official in charge of running elections and registering corporations, was not available to clarify the statement or elaborate on any plans that she has — but it apparently means that she will withdraw as a candidate for the party’s nomination as attorney general at Saturday’s Democratic state nominating convention in Hartford. She had been considered by many to be a favorite to win delegates’ support as the party-endorsed candidate.
Now the strong favorite to win the convention endorsement is former state Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen of Ridgefield. He had been expected to win enough delegate support to force an Aug. 10 primary against Bysiewicz.
Democratic Party officials said they expect that Bysiewicz will withdraw from consideration at the weekend’s convention. “Based on her statement that she will abide by the Supreme Court’s ruling today, we anticipate that her name will not be placed in nomination for attorney general,” said Kevin Reynolds, the party’s attorney.
But the question remained Tuesday night as to whether Bysiewicz would go back and try to run for her present office at the convention at this late date.
“She certainly could if she chooses to, but we haven’t heard from her on that,” Reynolds said.
As of now, the three contenders for the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state are state House Majority Leader Denise Merrill of Mansfield, state Sen. Jonathan Harris of West Hartford and Gerald Garcia of New Haven.
As soon as Bysiewicz launched her bid for attorney general in January, questions arose over whether she met the requirements of a state statute that says a person must have engaged in the “active practice” of law for 10 years in the state before holding the office. The statute does not define what “active practice” means — and Bysiewicz sued her own office and the state Democratic Party in Superior Court in search of a judge’s ruling to clarify the question. Sheldon ruled earlier this month that she was eligible — a decision overturned Tuesday, 7-0, on appeal from the state Republican Party.
The Supreme Court ruling apparently cannot be appealed to a higher jurisdiction, lawyers said afterward. One of Bysiewicz’s lawyers, Daniel Krisch, said he believed that the only legal avenue open would be to file a motion for reconsideration by the high court — but, because the court ruled unanimously against her, success would be highly unlikely.
Eliot Gersten, the Hartford lawyer who successfully argued the case for the state GOP, said he believed that, theoretically, Bysiewicz could still run for attorney general but, if she won, “the court would find … that she couldn’t serve.”
The Supreme Court justices were clearly troubled by the minimal standards set by Sheldon in his ruling that Bysiewicz, who has rarely set foot in a courtroom and never argued a case, met the statutory eligibility requirement.
Justice Richard N. Palmer asked Krisch some pointed questions during the 78-minute hearing. Apparently responding to Bysiewicz’s claims that her telephone advice to constituents and local officials constituted the practice of law, Palmer set up a hypothetical situation in which a radio talk-show host, who happened to be a lawyer, told his listeners that they shouldn’t talk to a police officer without an attorney present.
Palmer asked Krisch: Would that talk-show host be practicing law if he gave that advice to his radio audience?
Krisch said yes.
Then, another judge reversed the hypothetical with a follow-up question. Appellate Court Judge Thomas A. Bishop — pinch-hitting for Chief Justice Chase T. Rogers, who was out of the country — asked Krisch: If that same radio host were not a lawyer and gave his listeners the same advice, would he then be practicing law without a license?
Yes, Krisch said.
It is highly unusual — but not unheard-of — for the Supreme Court to issue its ruling the same day as its hearing. But Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., who presided Tuesday in Rogers’ absence, said that time was of the essence with the the convention coming up Friday and Saturday. At the close of arguments, the seven justices withdrew behind closed doors for 67 minutes while scores of interested parties and observers milled around and filled the space beneath the 35-foot-high muraled ceiling with vociferous speculation.
The din turned to a hush as Norcott announced the decision: Sheldon had “improperly determined” that Bysiewicz was eligible to serve as attorney general, and the “judgment is reversed,” Norcott said.
A written decision will follow, he added, but he did not say when.
O modelo já tinha sido flagrado outra vez, pra ser mais exato no mês de setembro. Depois disso a Fiat começou a andar com o modelo mais de “baixo do pano”.
O novo Siena Sporting foi flagrado com disfarce de “zebra”, mas dando para ver bem como será o desenho do novo modelo.
Segundo fontes, o modelo terá para-choques e spoilers mais baixos para dar um ar de esportividade.
Além disso, o modelo deverá ser equipado com um motor de 1.8 litros E.torQ de 16 válvulas, talvez venha mais alguns motores, mas só esse foi revelado até agora.
Fonte: Autos Segredos
