Category: News

Not a senator’s place to degrade a nation’s legal system

Editor, The Times:

The recent statement on the Amanda Knox guilty verdict released by Sen. Maria Cantwell was insulting to all the citizens of Italy — our NATO ally — as well as to Americans of Italian descent [“Knox support network: friends, lawyers, scientists and a senator,” page one, Dec. 5].

She was clearly out of line to make them, as I suspect they were based largely or entirely on information provided to her by the Knox family. Her remarks were arrogant, to the point that she basically said Knox is innocent.

Knox may be, but the senator is simply not in a position to know, and she should take better measure of the available facts before making provocative public statements that disparage the legal system of an entire nation.

Too bad Sen. Cantwell wasn’t around when two Italians by the names of Sacco and Vanzetti were unjustly tried and executed in 1927, here in America. I’m certain she would have spoken out against the flaws in the justice system on display in this country. Or would she?

— Dan Possumato, Portland, Ore.

Boycotting all things Italian

I think it would be highly appropriate for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to converse with Sen. Maria Cantwell regarding the transfer of Amanda Knox to the U.S. to serve her prison term while her appeal undergoes the glacially slow injustice system that is Italy’s.

For my part, however, I have begun boycotting Italian products, starting with Perugina chocolate and San Pellegrino, both of which I like. I will not buy them or any Italian cheese, wine, or other products as long as Knox endures incarceration as a consequence of the farcical trial just concluded.

I urge others to join me in getting the attention of the Italians who were overjoyed by Prosecutor Giuliano Mignini’s successful vendetta against Knox and Raffaele Sollecito, whose cases probably should never have been brought to trial.

— Earl J. Bell, Seattle

Meredith Kercher and family are the only victims

Isn’t it time to show some balance in this matter [“Knox ‘railroaded from day one,’ ” News, Dec. 5]? The victims, the only victims, are Meredith Kercher and her family. The murderers are found to be Amanda Knox and Raffaele Sollecito. Neither deserve our sympathy, although compassion shown to their families is in order.

The attempts by Sen. Maria Cantwell and others to portray Italy and Italian justice as biased and unfit to try this case are highly offensive and should cease at once.

Knox and her family should be thankful she committed her crime in Italy and not in the U.S.

She can expect to be released from prison in around 15 years if she behaves well. She’ll be less than 40 years old. Her sentence here in the states likely would have been much harsher.

The Seattle Times would do its readers a service if it carried comment from Britain and Italy. The views of the rest of the world would be informative. We do not need to read further articles attempting to deny this crime.

— Bruce Bailey, Seattle

Why are we defending Amanda Knox?

My daughter shared a two-bedroom apartment in college freshman year with two girls who partied and brought boys home on a nightly basis. Out of fear for her safety, my daughter not only purchased a lock for her bedroom, but spent most nights squeezing into a single bed with a friend because she was too afraid to sleep in her own apartment.

This continued until one night a drunk male college student punched through an apartment wall with his fist and attempted to sexually assault my daughter’s fourth roommate returning from band practice. After my husband and I met with the dormitory authorities, nothing was done and our daughter had to change dormitories during finals.

Reading about the Amanda Knox case, I am thankful my daughter was not hurt, or worse. It seems Washington is trying to defend Knox just because she is from Seattle, while ignoring the brutal reality that a gruesome act was committed to a young, innocent life, plus the horrendous loss to Meredith Kercher’s family.

So many parents might have done better to provide direction in their children’s lives versus throwing money and influence after the fact. I shudder to think my daughter might have suffered a similar fate.

— Anchi Miller, Kirkland

I really don’t know why they don’t include the bowl season in the regular pick em–probably so they can have a Final Jeopardy crazy-like finale with the post season. Regardless, if you want to participate, go to Yahoo and sign up. You will need a yahoo email address, but you can have notifications sent to your regular one if you like. The name of our group is Fanblogs, but you need our group ID # which is 17240. The password for our group is fanblogs09 (but don’t tell anybody).

I believe we’re still limited to the first 50 pickers (or grinners), so hurry up and join. Bowl season starts December 19th and ends some time in the summer (I think). Although it makes it really easy to follow if you use the same yahoo name as your fanblogs name, you can remain anonymous if you like, but for those of you who join, chime in below so we can get a head count.

And as always, this contest is free and is not for the wagering of bets, real or imagined, but may, in fact, be used for trash-talking purposes freely.Member FBIC. If you spend four hours or longer making your picks, this is a rare medical condition known as pickempism. Please consult your doctor immediately. DO NOT TAUNT HAPPY FUN BALL. Thank you.

© fanblogs.com

View the original post or comment on Fanblogs Bowl Pick Em Contest/Sweepstakes/Jamboree…

Enough is enough

Enough. Please quit writing about the lunatic who gunned down the Lakewood officers. He doesn’t deserve the ink [“A path to murder,” page one, Dec. 6].

I did not read the lengthy article in the paper, but The Times sure devoted a lot of space to a man who took so much. He’s not worth my time to read about. His name should never be mentioned again.

What is the point of showcasing his miserable life? To show how society failed him? His family failed him.

I wonder how the left-behind family members feel about seeing his picture every day in the paper? What’s the point?

— John Meadows, Bonney Lake

Aunt deserves to be recognized for her courage

Please, won’t someone recognize the incredible courage of the aunt Chrisceda Clemmons and her husband Michael Shantz, who turned Maurice Clemmons in to the police [“‘I didn’t want him to hurt any more people,’ ” page one, Nicole Brodeur staff column, Dec. 3]?

It must have been a terribly difficult decision for them. Put yourself in their shoes. Would you have the courage to do what they did? I’m not sure I would.

The community should rise up to recognize them. They deserve more than a trashed house for their efforts. They deserve public recognition.

Someone — perhaps the police union — should offer to help her with the cleanup. That would be good community relations as well as simple justice.

If someone will start a fund to help her family with the cleanup, I would be happy to contribute.

— John Watkins, Seattle

Windows and doors are replaceable, lost lives are not

I am not surprised that after the tragedy of four police officers being murdered in cold blood, people are upset that Chrisceda Clemmons’ house was trashed by the Seattle Police Department in their search for a murderer [“Help is coming, and it’s only right,” NWFriday, Nicole Brodeur staff column, Dec. 4].

Yes, it is sad that the house was trashed, but the Seattle Police Department is helping her and her family. I admire her for doing the right thing, when no one else who knew this murderer would.

People don’t get it that the police just couldn’t go up to the front door, knock and say, “Come out Maurice Clemmons, we know you’re in there.” The police are trained in how to safely apprehend such a suspect without the loss of their lives or the suspect’s.

Broken windows and a front door — those and the other material things in Clemmons’ house that were trashed are replaceable, but those four officers are gone forever.

How sad that after this tragedy, people still get upset with the police for doing their job to protect us and keep us safe. Just because a person has a bad experience with the police, no police department should be judged as being bad.

— Donna Carlton, Federal Way

Wishing the blame game enacted real change

When something good happens, politicians run for the camera. When something bad happens, the blame game begins [“Fixing blame won’t fix this mess,” NWWednesday, Danny Westneat staff column, Dec. 2].

Within hours of the four police officers being shot, the blame game began. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee blamed the system, the system blamed the judges and so on. Then Gov. Chris Gregoire blamed Arkansas, Huckabee, their system and our system.

Do these politicians not realize that they are the system?

These are the very politicians we elect to make sure these things do not happen. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to have one of our politicians step forward and say, I am part of the system, so therefore I am part of the problem. They are all paranoid about their futures and therefore are hesitant about taking any blame.

How about taking the blame and take a stand to change the system.

Are these officers going to be soon forgotten or is this a turning point to protect the people who give their lives, to protect us? The catch-and-release program we seem to offer criminals needs a slight review.

Our judicial system needs to be changed to offer assistance to officers, rather than adding to their challenges.

— Bill Heimkes, Shoreline

Reflecting on recent events

Being a Seattle cop for the past 28 years has taught me one thing: Nothing surprises me about human behavior.

My reflecting over the past month about the abhorrent, vicious and senseless acts against our region’s police officers has caused me to rethink that statement. I understand that there are selfish, narcissistic criminals in society who go through life victimizing others and accepting no responsibility for their actions. I also know that a small percentage of those criminals present a clear danger to our community and to the police officers whose sole job is to protect society from them.

Even with this in mind, the carnage launched against this area’s law-enforcement officers over the past 30 days defies any logic, reasoning or justification.

These cowardly acts of murdering five of this community’s police officers in cold blood are so disturbing that it makes one question just how civilized our society is, and reminiscent of the Third World mayhem we all read about and dismiss as being irrelevant to our nation.

The late Maurice Clemmons is a shining example of people who leave behind a trail of victims throughout their life, with apparently no conscience or remorse for their acts. Not only did he discard the lives of four cops during his murderous rampage, but added a multitude of additional casualties such as the officer’s children, spouses, families, co-workers and most important, an increasingly frightened public for which no amount of comfort will ever make them feel safe.

— Jim Ritter, Seattle

Where is true America?

Emerson Richards’ recent plea to save Forks from commercialization [“Sucking the life out of Forks,” Opinion, guest commentary, Dec. 5] was heartfelt, but way off base.

I found the statement, “Forks is what is left of true America” profoundly offensive. The only true America is America, and all of America.

The American character is a product of diversity. America is made up of a hundred immigrant stocks, religions, cuisines, colors, classes, climates, geographies and environments. To declare one place, people, or subculture to be more American than the others, is to miss the whole point of the American experiment.

We are an inclusive culture, not an exclusive one.

To claim that one group of Americans represents true America is to disinherit the rest of us. It creates a dangerous division with a minority of so-called true Americans besieged by a vast majority who have been branded less American. We get too much of that kind of dangerous divisiveness from our pundits and politicians.

The “Twilight” fad will fade as soon as the last book is made into a movie. In the meantime, let Forks enjoy the boost to its economy brought by true American tourists visiting a true American town.

— John J. McKay, Seattle

A note from a Port Angeles native

I just read “Sucking the life out of Forks,” and as a Port Angeles native, and a fellow undergraduate, I am disappointed by the writer’s selfishness.

As someone who loves hiking around the Olympic Peninsula, I admit that I understand wanting Forks to remain pristine. However, the writer fails to realize that a major reason why Forks seems so pure and genuine to author Emerson Richards, is that many people from the Olympic Peninsula are poverty-stricken.

So, by urging people not to visit Forks because of “Twilight,” Richards implies Forks is only worthy of upward mobility if new businesses are sufficiently quaint.

It is shameful that she prioritizes her desire for a remote vacation spot over the livelihoods of everyone capitalizing on “Twilight.”

Granted, it would be nice if everyone could make a living without embracing teen vampire fads. It would also be nice if more people wanted to visit Forks just for the nature, but neither is likely to happen, and I wish the author would consider that the Olympic Peninsula does not just exist for her enjoyment, but that there are people here trying to make a living.

— Katherine Flowers, Port Angeles

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Chevrolet, Ford, GM, Toyota

Consumer Reports has surveyed 380,000 subscribers to rank the most satisfied new car owners and a newcomer came in and dethroned the Toyota Prius. An amazing 92 percent of V8-powered Dodge Challenger owners said that they would definitely buy another Mopar pony car if they had the chance to do it all over again. That’s a big-time win for Chrysler, as the Pentastar has been getting dinged badly in recent CR studies. Hybrids have been very popular in the satisfaction survey over the past few years, but the perennial champ Prius wasn’t even the number one battery-assisted model. That honor goes to the new Ford Fusion Hybrid, which came in second overall with a 91 percent rating. The Chevrolet Corvette, Porsche 911 and Prius round out the top five. To make the top of the satisfaction list at least 80 percent of customers need to say that they would definitely buy the same vehicle again.

Detroit automakers substantially improved their standing in the annual survey versus last year, as nine percent of overall Motown models were at the top of the list. That’s still down substantially against the 12 percent Asian automakers and 23 percent of European automakers scored in the top tier. While GM, Ford and Chrysler each found success at the top, each scoring a hit in the top five, two of the three automakers also filled out the entire bottom ten. Owners of the four cylinder Chrysler Sebring were the least satisfied among all surveyed. In all, GM had seven of the bottom ten while Chrysler had three unlovable losers. Head over to the Consumer Reports site for more details.

[Source: Consumer Reports]

Dodge Challenger tops Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Romulus, New York | Fascinating Fauna

For years, rumors have circulated about the strange herd of white deer living in the former Seneca Army Depot in Seneca County, New York. Many people have speculated that the “albino” breed of deer were freak-accidents in an army experiment gone wrong. Others have attributed the animals’ appearance to an underground supply of radioactive military weapons. Neither of these rumors, however, are true.

The white deer were first spotted around 1941, when the U.S. Army fenced off 24 square miles of land for the Seneca Army Depot, a munitions storage site. Under the protection of the security fencing, the deer population thrived — and, along with it, a recessive-gene for white coloration. Though the animals appeared to be albino, they were in fact White-tailed deer who carried the recessive-gene for an all-white coat.

As the white deer population proliferated through the 1950s, the U.S. Army decided to protect the unique herd. Aiding in the process of artificial selection, a depot commander managed the brown deer population through hunting and forbade GI’s from shooting any white deer. Since then, the white deer population has grown to approximately 300, making it the largest herd of white deer in the world.

The Seneca Army Depot was shut down in 2000 and has been closed to the public ever since. A non-profit group, Seneca White Deer, Inc., has been fighting to turn the area into a conservation park and Cold War museum. Until then, dozens of deer can still be visible from the highway, frolicking among the hundreds of abandoned bunkers.

Though the mainstream Seattle media focused on mostly on confrontations, tear gas, and “where were you?” person-on-the-street reminiscing, some outlets took the 10 year anniversary of the WTO protests in Seattle as a point to look at the future, what’s happened since, and where we go from here.  Below are just a few articles and pieces that caught our eye (beyond the uncharacteristic appearance of the phrase “WTO Protesters were right” on the Seattle Times business page)

TV:

Seattle WTO Anniversary Today, 11/28/2009 on Q13 Fox – Featuring interviews with People’s Summit organizers and CAGJ members!

RADIO:

KBCS 91.3 is offering a full week of WTO & People’s Summit programming, from Monday, 11/30 – Friday, 12/4

KBCS – N30: It Still Matters: November 30th, 1999 brought with it one of the largest global justice protests in the U.S. Now ten years later, what happened? In this series we ask participants and organizers where we have come since 1999. Produced by award-winning journalist Jill Freidberg who also co-directed the independent documentary about the WTO protests, This Is What Democracy Looks Like.

“WTO in Seattle ten years later,”  a series of stories by KPLU 88.5

The WTO Protests: 10 Years Later, on KUOW with Naomi Klein, Paul Schell, David Solnit, and more, 11/23/2009

LOCAL PRINT/BLOGS:

The “Special WTO Edition“, Eat the State, 11/26/09

“WTO Anniversary, Part 1″ & “WTO Anniversary, Part 2″, Real Change, 11/25/09

WTO – 10 Years Later, Don McIntosh with NW Labor Press, 11/20/2009

Change and Pains: 10 years after the No WTO Combo, Krist Novoselic on Seattle Weekly’s Blog, 12/1/2009

OTHER PRINT:

The Battle of Seattle Ten Years Later: Organizers Reflect on 1999 Shutdown of WTO Talks and the Birth of a Movement, Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!

Ten Years After Seattle – The Global Justice Movement Evolves, by Christopher Moraff with In These Times, 10/19/2009

10 Years After: Labor Needs Spirit of Seattle Protests, Roger Bybee with In These Times’ “Working in America” Blog, 11/17/2009

“The Seattle activists’ coming of age in Copenhagen will be very disobedient“, by Naomi Klein, 11/12/2009

Ten years after Battle in Seattle: Another World is Necessary, by John Nichols on the Nation’s Blog, 11/30/2009

Finding WTO significance beyond the protests, by Stephen Dunphy, crosscut.com, 11/30/2009

From Seattle to Detroit: 10 Lessons for Movement Building on the 10th Anniversary of the WTO Shutdown, By Stephanie Guilloud; An article written for the Project South Fall Newsletter

The Meaning of Seattle: Truth Only Becomes True Through Action – WTO+10: Before 1999, the momentum of globalization seemed to sweep everything in front of it, including the truth. But in Seattle, ordinary women and men made truth real with collective action. By Walden Bello

The “Battle in Seattle” at 10 – WTO+10: Did the 1999 protests against the World Trade Organization actually make a difference? By Mark Engler

The World Turned Out in Seattle – WTO+10: Ten years later, what has been the legacy of the 1999 Seattle protests? By Anuradha Mittal

The Battle for Reality. What really happened at the 1999 WTO demonstrations in Seattle? On television, it looked like vandalism and random violence. On the streets, it looked like part festival, part uprising, part police riot. Now there’s a movie version. Activist and author David Solnit was there—organizing in the streets and speaking up on the set. By David Solnit

One More Thing Seattle’s WTO Shutdown Taught the World – Among the many ripple effects of the successful shutdown of the WTO in Seattle in 1999 is one that few know about. The organizing that went into the direct action, marches, media center, and forums inspired the organizers of the World Social Forums, which have become some of the world’s most important centers of people power. By Sarah van Gelder
The WTO and the Myth of Activist Violence. From the Boston Tea Party perpetrators to Civil Rights activists, the people who have made our world through direct action have been treated as dangerous, even if they are revered when their radical acts are at a safe distance. By Rebecca Solnit

Seattle + 10. Time to declare our independence from Wall Street. By David Korten, Yes! Magazine.

The Battle Since Seattle: The Road to Pittsburgh and Beyond, by Paul J. Comeau and Wes Strong for Infoshop News, 12/08/09

Michigan, US | Natural Wonders

Detroit is known for many things: the auto industry, the failure of the auto industry, hockey, Motown, and lately as an example of a city gone to pot. But there is another part of the city far fewer people seem to be aware of, and it lies directly underneath their feet.

Some 1,200 feet beneath the streets of Detroit, under the north end of Allen Park, Dearborn’s Rouge complex, and most of Melvindale runs 50 miles of subterranean roads over an area of more then 5.6 kilometers. It is the Detroit Salt Mine, and as a Detroit industry it is older then automobiles. As a geological entity, this salt deposit is older even than the dinosaurs.

Created some 400 million years ago during the Devonian Period — a time when the first fish were beginning grow legs and make their way onto land, and the first seed-bearing plants came into existence — it was the result of ancient oceans pouring into a huge basin, evaporating, and leaving huge amounts of salt behind in the process. All of which would be covered up by dirt pushing glaciers.

The salt was first used by Indian tribes by filtering it from salt springs, and the existence of an enormous rock salt deposit was officially discovered in 1895. There was just one problem, it was beneath a thousand feet of stone and glacial drift.

Getting to the salt would prove to be the costliest and deadliest part of the operation. Six men were killed during the dig, and the Detroit Salt and Manufacturing Company was bankrupted in the process. The 1,060-foot shaft was finally completed in 1910. Everything had to be lowered into the mine, and once lowered in, it wasn’t coming back out. This included mules, which once lowered in on ropes stayed in the mines until they died.(It is unclear what happened to their remains.)

A second tunnel was dug in 1922 so salt could be brought up faster and larger equipment lowered in. Lowered piece by piece (large truck tires had to be compressed and tied up to fit) and then reassembled in a machine shop in the mine, like the donkeys the machinery is there to stay.

Deeper then the Empire State Building is tall, miners ride down to the mine smushed face to face in a tiny elevator. Once down there they extract the salt in the “room and pillar” method where they leave half the salt to act as enourmous pillars. To extract they cut a large slice between the floor and a desired section of salt. they then drill holes for explosives and blast out some 900 tons of salt in less then three seconds. The salt is then crushed and thousands of feet of conveyor belt move the salt to the hoisting shaft where it is lifted out in ten ton loads.

The mine itself is a relatively clean and spacious place to work as far as mines go. It has no vermin, who would have nothing to eat, and workers are even allowed to smoke, as long as it isn’t in sensitve areas. Today, the salt from this mine is used exclusively as road salt. Public tours are currently unavailable.

Tomorrow’s scheduled execution of Kenneth Biros may be a first in U.S. history. Biros, convicted of killing and dismembering a woman in 1991, has been delivered to the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility in Lucasville where he awaits lethal injection by a single drug. No one has ever been executed by this novel method, which some observers fairly note is a form of “human experimentation.”

The one-drug protocol was embraced by state authorities last month after Ohio botched the execution of condemned murderer Romell Brown — the latest in a long line of instances demonstrating the state’s cruel and inhumane ineptitude at dispatching of the condemned. Biros is scheduled to be injected intravenously tomorrow with about 14 times the dosage of anesthetic used in other states’ lethal injection protocols.

Experts indicate that the one-drug method is likely to induce death more slowly than Ohio’s former method, which states have relied on as the exclusive method of lethal injection since restoration of capital punishment in the 1970’s. As a fallback, in case Ohio once again proves a clumsy killer, state authorities will employ a two-drug injection into Biros’ muscle.

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Filed under: Etc., Saab

We here at Autoblog want to pass along our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jan-Willem Vester who passed away last night. Until last spring, Jan-Willem was the communications manager for Saab USA. In that role, the amiable Dutchman was always extremely helpful and prompt in answering our queries about Saab’s products and business.

Beyond being a great PR guy, Vester was a singularly wonderful advocate for the troubled brand, and we had hoped he would find a prominent position with the Swedish automaker should it ever find a new owner. He wasn’t just a hired gun, but a true longtime fan, owning an older 900 back in the Netherlands and new 9-5 Sportcombi for carting around the family. In recent months, Vester had been fighting an inoperable brain tumor to which he finally succumbed.

Jan-Willem is survived by his wife Mariska and their three children.

[Image: Saabhistory.com]

Former Saab PR manager Jan-Willem Vester succumbs to illness originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A classic chocolate chip cookie is good, but sometimes it seems like they’re missing something. Something like a cream cheese filling that will lend the cookies a bit of cheesecake flavor and make them even moister and chewier than they would be without the filling!

The cookie dough for this twist on a classic chocolate chip cookie is a fairly standard cookie dough. It even bakes up into tasty cookies on its own if you don’t want to go for the filling. The dough needs to be chilled before you work with it so it is easy to handle, then individual chunks of cookie dough are flattened into discs and packed with a cream cheese and white chocolate filling. These cookies are huge, but with good reason. The cream cheese filling is soft when you compare it to the firm cookie dough and it’s easiest to wrap the dough around it when you’re working with a fairly large amount. Not that I heard any complaints about cream cheese-filled chocolate chip cookies being too big from anyone I shared these with!

These cookies are real crowd-pleasers and very satisfying to eat – thanks in large part to their size! The cream cheese filling has a nice tang to it and it contrasts well with the sweet, chocolaty cookie dough. The centers of the cookies may sink a little bit after baking, but as long as you take your time when wrapping the dough around the filling, every cookie should have a well-defined layer of cream cheese at the center.

(more…)

It’s no secret that almost all of the observers of Charles Nesson’s defense of Joel Tenenbaum — no matter where you stood on issues related to file sharing and copyright — felt that Nesson’s plan was a complete and total disaster, doing himself, his client, and all copyright reformers a huge disservice. It was a complete disaster that made it that much harder for those with reasonable arguments to be heard. And, to date, he’s done nothing but continue to suggest that he has no clue how badly he screwed up. It’s a true shame.

Today, Judge Gertner finalized the ruling, which will almost certainly be appealed (though, hopefully with better legal representation). But, perhaps more interesting is that Judger Gertner also issued a separate memo where you can basically feel Gertner’s frustration with Nesson’s defense. In it, she even makes clear that she would have been open to a limited use of fair use to defend certain actions:

“As it made clear previously, the Court was prepared to consider a more expansive fair use argument than other courts have credited—perhaps one supported by facts specific to this individual and this unique period of rapid technological change. For example, file sharing for the purposes of sampling music prior to purchase or space-shifting to store purchased music more efficiently might offer a compelling case for fair use. Likewise, a defendant who used the new file-sharing networks in the technological interregnum before digital media could be purchased legally, but who later shifted to paid outlets, might also be able to rely on the defense.”

This wasn’t a huge surprise — given that Gertner had previously slammed RIAA tactics, and has also suggested that Congress really needs to change the punishment allowed for copyright infringement, as it appears to be totally unrelated to the actual lawbreaking. So, in her memo, she notes that she gave Tenenbaum every chance to make a reasonable defense, but instead Nesson and his team of law students provided “a truly chaotic defense.”

Once again, we’re left wondering what Nesson was possibly thinking, and what would have happened if a competent litigator was actually in charge of his case.

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Filed under: Government/Legal, Recalls, Safety, Hatchback, Toyota

When it rains, it pours. With recalls on the books for Toyota floor mats and corrosion problems, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is now investigating reports that Toyota’s Corolla and Matrix vehicles may have engines susceptible to stalling. Owners of the 2006 model year Corolla and Matrix vehicles with the questioned 1ZZ-FE engines have described stalling in intersections and on highways, putting drivers at a safety risk while they attempt to restart the engine. There have been no reports of crashes.

It’s important to note that about 397,000 vehicles are covered by the review, and that only 26 complaints have been lodged (that works out to about one in every 15,000 vehicles). Since it is a preliminary investigation, there’s no recall until NHTSA investigates and determines that the stalling is caused by a specific design or parts defect. Of course, they may also find the stalling issue is attributed to poor maintenance or bad gas… nobody is pointing fingers. Yet.

[Source: Reuters]

NHTSA investigating claims of stalling on 2006 Toyota Corolla, Matrix originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Thanks to Frank Pallotta of LVG for sharing this.)   download paper here

Current Loan Modification Programs Will Not Solve Strategic Default Crisis,
According to New White Paper Released by Loan Value Group

Rumson, NJ, December 7, 2009 – With an estimated 29% of all U.S. mortgages, or 15 million homes, currently in a position of negative equity, the issue of strategic mortgage default is fast becoming one of the biggest problems faced by mortgage security investors, loan owners and servicers as well as the current administration. According to a new white paper released today by Loan Value Group LLC, however, existing solutions for the mortgage industry’s strategic default crisis can’t solve the problem because they are too cumbersome, a burden on the servicers, and ignore the consumer’s behavioral response to the problem of negative equity.

The white paper, authored by Alex Edmans, Assistant Professor of Finance at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, addresses the behavioral aspects of strategic default in terms of an approach that provides incentives for borrowers to remain current on their mortgages without the need to reduce principal through a loan modification.

Professor Edmans, who is an academic advisor to LVG as well as a behavioral economist and noted expert in incentive structures, said, “The government and loan owners are currently pursuing a number of existing solutions to default. However, they have so far proven to be ineffective for two main reasons. First, certain solutions are founded on the idea that default occurs because households have no choice due to insufficient income, and thus fail to address default that is a rational choice that depends on the homeowner’s balance sheet. Second, certain solutions face substantial practical hurdles to implementation.”

In the white paper, Professor Edmans notes that existing loan modification programs – whether initiated by the government or by the lender – are inherently ineffective:

• First, they entail a significant amount of costs, including legal and documentation fees
for the new legal contract, a re‐underwriting process, and closing costs. In addition,
they require the use of existing mortgage servicing resources, which are currently under
extreme pressure due to the crisis. This pressure is likely to increase as the crisis
intensifies.
• Second, each of the two types of modifications involves their own issues. Payment
reductions/holidays or loan restructurings to increase affordability (e.g. HAMP) do not
address the issue that, even if a homeowner is able to pay, he may choose not to do so
and walk away. Principal forgiveness triggers a full and immediate write‐down to the
value of the loan, which deters lenders from offering them. As such, the uptake of both
types of modification has been limited.
• The lack of effective, systemic results to date by lenders and servicers argues for a new
approach that aligns the interest of the borrower with the mortgage owner. First, since
default is a discretionary, rational choice made by the homeowner, an effective solution
must provide incentives for the homeowner to choose not to default, rather than
welfare to enable them to make payments. Second, since this decision to default is
driven by negative equity rather than the loan’s affordability, the solution must target
the homeowner’s balance sheet rather than income.

“If an incentive‐based solution is not adopted rapidly, strategic default will likely accelerate as house prices continue to decline,” said Professor Edmans. “In contrast, adoption of a successful incentive‐based solution to strategic default will yield substantial benefits to numerous constituencies. Most obviously, it will now be rational for the homeowner to remain in their property, preserving their credit rating and avoiding the dislocation costs caused by having to relocate after foreclosure. Mortgage lenders, investors and insurers will avoid the delinquency, foreclosure and liquidation costs associated with a default, and mortgage servicers will benefit from lower servicing costs due to reduced delinquency rates.”

At the same time, he added, the potential benefits of an incentive‐based program “extend far beyond the specific borrower and lender involved in the mortgage. The local community avoids the social costs of foreclosure, such as the homeowner’s failure to maintain property,
vandalism of property, or mass emigration from certain communities. In addition, given
contagion effects in strategic default, deterring one homeowner from defaulting may help
deter others. Finally, local governments and taxpayers benefit from property tax revenues as borrowers remain in their home, supporting social services and related jobs.”

Copies of the white paper are available at LVG Academic Papers.

About Loan Value Group LLC
Loan Value Group LLC based in Rumson, NJ, works with mortgage owners and servicers to
positively influence consumer behavior to help reduce the risk of strategic default by rewarding the responsible homeowner. Their solutions align the interests of all stakeholders, including homeowners, risk‐owners, servicers and the government through incentive‐based programs and turn‐key solutions that stabilize and preserve neighborhoods while lowering foreclosures.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact:
Rosalia Scampoli
Marketcom PR
212‐537‐5177, Ext 7
[email protected]

On December 4, 2009, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed the case of Jason Sharp, who was sentenced to death following a trial tainted by the State’s discrimination against African Americans during jury selection.

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In order to keep up with China’s rising demand for  energy, the country’s biggest offshore oil explorer, Cnooc Ltd., may double its crude oil and natural gas production in the western part of the South China Sea.

Bloomberg: A number of foreign companies have shown “immense” interest in joining Cnooc’s bid to develop deepwater blocks in the region, Xie Luhong, head of the Cnooc unit, told reporters in Zhanjiang in Guangdong province Dec. 4.

…

Cnooc plans to work with foreign partners to drill the first deepwater wells in the area next year, Xie said, without naming the companies.

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• Is China About To Make A Monster $7.5 BILLION Oil Acquisition In The Gulf Of Mexico? (DVN)
• China’s CNOOC In Bidding War With Exxon For Huge Ghana Oil Field