It’s gotta happen all the time, but it’s rarely captured on film. But this past Saturday, an unlucky comet found itself pointed right at the unforgiving maw of our sun. Guess how this ended? More »
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The Sun Eating a Comet, Captured on Camera [Space]
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In Poland, a Nation Mourns Its President
There was no let up in the traffic around the Presidential Palace in Warsaw today.
People lined up for an entire city block to sign a condolence book.
They came out again, to light candles and lay flowers.
An elderly woman, holding one white rose and one red, the colors of the Polish flag, told me she had to do this, because it was a national tragedy. And not only had President Lech Kaczynski served his country, but his mother Jadwiga, now ill and reportedly in the hospital, had been active in the Warsaw Uprising during World War II. Another patriot.
Down the line, the rabbi of a progressive congregation here, a native New Yorker named Burt Schuman, said he didn’t care how long he had to stay in line. He was going to write in the condolence book.
He praised President Kaczynski’s efforts to promote reconciliation between Poles and Jews, efforts which really began under the late Polish Pope John Paul II. He said he believes there are 20,000-30,000 Poles of Jewish ancestry here. Schuman claims they are increasingly comfortable asserting their identity. And increasingly diverse and young.
U.S. Ambassador to Poland Lee Feinstein spoke of Kaczynski having been a good friend of the United States. American and Polish troops, he said, have fought side by side in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“I just saw President Kaczynski last week. President Kaczynski invited General David Petraeus to come to Warsaw to receive a medal, because the Polish and American troops have fought side by side in Iraq and Afghanistan and President Kaczynski was gracious enough to award a medal to General Petraeus,” he said. ” President Kaczynski to my wife and I, and the First Lady Mrs. Kaczynska, had been so gracious. They are freedom fighters, they were great friends of the United States, they were promoters of strong trans-Atlantic ties, and also promoters of tolerance, and were real models for the United States.”
Life has not gone back to normal. A Polish friend in Krakow teaches classes on Mondays and Tuesdays. She had intended to continue on this week but decided at the last minute to cancel. She took her students to the Katyn cross in town.
“Only death can make people closer to people,” she said. “Suffering is like a fire burning inside. It burns out and prepares a place for something good, love.”
Meantime, Rabbi Schuman said it’s doubly tragic that this catastrophe happened just 20 years after democracy was established here.
“Democratic life, free enterprise, all the benefits of liberal democracy were beginning to flourish in this country, and to lose such a leadership at such a tender stage in Poland’s development is a very, very sad thing.”
Schuman said that he is optimistic about Poland’s future. He believes the young generation is the most educated anywhere, and that they are capable of taking Poland forward, to great places.
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Microsoft Kin Two (Verizon) – Hands-On
Noah goes hands on with Kin Two, one of Microsoft’s two new social networking phones. Hits Verizon in May.
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Better Relax Using Your Nokia Phone and Relaxus
Found under: Nokia, Symbian, Application,
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Google’s Schmidt to Bloggers: Drop Dead!
Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt addressed the American Society of News Editors yesterday in D.C. As part of an apparent strategy of mollifying the media, he insulted the integrity and professionalism of bloggers and the quality of blogs. You know. Like this one.“There is an art to what you do,” he said to the real journalists. “And if you’re ever confused as to the value of newspaper editors, look at the blog world. That’s all you need to see. So we understand how fundamental tradition and the things you care about are.”
Sponsor
My hand to G-d, I’m not even sure where to begin with this one.
First, I am a journalist. I mean an I-worked-for-a-newspaper, I-was-a-stringer-for-Reuters, I-was-a-host-for-NPR, I-freelanced-for-Newsweek type journalist, the sort of journalist our CEO friend was presumably talking about. But I’ve also been a blogger since 2004. This blog I now write for is in the top ten of blogs for readership and has a sterling rep for…can you guess? JOURNALISM, you blowhard.
How many journalists blog? How many bloggers are journalists? How many blogs are chockablock with journalism? This motif of the whirly-eyed blogger in his pajamas was getting stale before I started my blog. (And for the record, I haven’t owned pajamas since I was old enough to shave.)
“We have goals in common,” Schmidt oozed. “Google believes in the power of information. We believe that it’s better to have more information than less.”
Well. It’s funny he should mention that.
Schmidt, if you’ve been rusticating outside the Kuiper belt, first attracted journalistic attention, for more than his balliwick as head bean-counter at Google, when he blackballed all CNET journalists. This was a reaction to a journalist doing her job. In response to his pooh-poohing privacy questions, Elinor Mills Googled him and then published what she found. How…dare she?
He’s also gained some WTF-points by trying to silence his alleged former mistress, Kate Bohmer. She had what appeared to be a fictionalized portrait of him on her blog until he marshaled a horde of lawyer-bots and sicced them on her.
But being creepy is not enough to warrant coverage, not on this blog anyway. The problem is, Schmidt’s actions create a pattern of hypocrisy in relationship to the information and privacy issues on which he has so frequently pontificated. If Schmidt were the CEO of the world’s largest culvert manufacturer, it would hardly matter. But he isn’t and it does.
Schmidt is a man who guides one of the world’s largest online information chaebols. He sets, or influences, policy that affects millions of people. And his Byronesque declamations of Google’s position in the moral vanguard of the Internet age seem difficult to countenance when they are set off at every turn with actions that contravene the company’s public values.
Maybe Google needs some sort of guiding trope, a first-principal that all of its people could refer to; something that, if Google employees found themselves unable to harmonize with it, would oblige them to give notice and maybe run off to develop more efficient well-poisoning systems for orphanages.
Something like…
DON’T BE EVIL.
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Earth Day events around the U.S.
From Green Right Now Reports
Thousands of events will commemorate this 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. In the U.S., many gatherings will focus on making environmental progress by cleaning up a wildlife area or prepping a community garden. Some cities will host festivals, with info booths and giveaways, live music and food.
In Washington D.C., The Climate Rally on the National Mall on April 25 aims to show broad support for climate legislation, which has been stalled in the Senate. Speakers will include the
Reverend Jesse Jackson; film director James Cameron; AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka; Olympic gold medalist Billy Demong; producer Trudie Styler; author Margaret Atwood and others. Headline performers will include Sting, John Legend, The Roots, Passion Pit, Bob Weir, Patrick Stump, Mavis Staples, Q-Tip and Booker T.The Earth Day Network is offering free buses to the event from Baltimore, Columbus, Pittsburg and selected other cities; those coming in cars are encouraged to park at RFK Stadium and take mass transit into the district for the rally. Organizers are not projecting how many will attend, but hope for a strong showing to send a signal that the U.S. populace wants climate and clean energy legislation.
Those who can’t make the rally — which will be carbon neutral — can find events in their immediate area via the tool at Earth Day Network events page, searching by city or zip code. We have included a sampling of events from around the country below:
- Austin – Texas’ greenest city offers several events include Eat=Earth at Republic Square Park, a food-focused event, and a more wide-ranging festival with music and activities at the Triangle on April 21. The Slow Money movement will have a “showcase” at City Hall on April 21 featuring Slow Money Alliance founder Woody Tasch. See Slow Money Austin for details.
- Chicago – Several green fairs are planned in communities and on college campuses (DePaul and the University of Chicago). The Nerds at Heart’s “Earth Date”, a two-day event for gay and hetero couples with a green fashion show and garden plantings, may be among the most ambitious, or certainly best-named events. Partial proceeds benefit Northside Collge Prep’s Joy Garden, a multi-use wildlife-friendly site.
- Denver/Boulder – Wild Earth Saturday in Boulder looks to be a good way to kick off Earth Day week, on April 17, with drumming, experiential activities in environmental education and astronomy lessons. Later, on April 24, Colorado College hosts a Pikes Peak Earth Day Fair with workshops, activities , enternatianment and art.
- Houston – Houston got a jump start on Earth Day with a festival and 5 K run at Discovery Green Park in downtown on April 3. There are scattered other events.
- Los Angeles – Events include an “Earth Day” with Avatar director James Cameron at the Nokia Theater, which benefits The Los Angeles Partnership Schools and will provide scholarships for at-risk youth. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster. And there’s a celebration at Loyola Marymount University, with a day of film screenings and a farmer’s market, among other events.
- New York City – “Be the E” – EDAY40 campaign centered at Grand Central Station will be a week of events, including indoor displays in Vanderbilt Hall from April 19-24th and a two-day outdoor festival or art, entertainment and advocacy along Vanderbilt Avenue on April 23-24. Earth Day New York, a nonprofit, also provides an interactive website where you can register your contributions to reducing carbon greenhouse gas emissions. It’s called Count Down Your Carbon.
- Philadelphia –Various event including the Earth Day Festival and Flea Market, on April 17 at Clark Park, sponsored for the African Village Surval Initiative. And the Earth Day celebration April 24 at the Philadelphia Zoo, in coordination with the EPA, City of Philly, the Mayor’s Office and others.
- San Francisco / Berkeley– Several events, including a month-long Nature in the City series of projects to help restore biodiversity and wildlife habitats in the city. Berkeley also has several events planned, including the Berkeley Shoreline Cleanup, set for April 17.
- Washington D.C. — Climate Rally on the National Mall, April 25.
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Measure to repeal anti-same-sex-marriage law fails to qualify for November ballot
A measure to repeal Proposition 8, the anti-gay-marriage initiative, has failed to qualify for the November ballot.
John Henning, who heads a group that sponsored the repeal effort, declined to say how many signatures were gathered since the all-volunteer campaign got underway in late November. He said 694,000 valid signatures were required by Monday.
"There comes a point where the intake of signatures isn’t rapid enough to make up your deficit," Henning said. "We started to realize last week that we weren’t going to make it."
He said his group, Love Honor Cherish, will work with other activists to put a repeal measure on the November 2012 ballot.
The effort to repeal Proposition 8 this year relied heavily on the Internet. Supporters could download signature-gathering forms and watch videos about how to approach voters.
Henning said he did not regret the effort, despite its failure.
"We have kept this issue in the public’s eye for the better part of a year, and the signature gathering in itself was a huge opportunity to talk to the public," he said.
A constitutional challenge of Proposition 8 is pending in federal court in San Francisco. Closing arguments in the case, expected last month, have been delayed because of disputes over the production of documents sought by proponents of the initiative.
Even if the federal challenge succeeds in the lower courts, a repeal measure should be placed on the 2012 ballot, Henning said.
"We have a conservative U.S. Supreme Court, and it is going to be very hard to win that case in the Supreme Court," he said.
— Maura Dolan
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Carbon Caps Would Cost Iran $100 Million a Day
Placing a strong cap on greenhouse gas emissions in the US alone would cost Iran $1.8 trillion worth of oil revenues over the next forty years. Every day from now till 2050 – Iran would lose another $100 million.
Using an MIT analysis of the effects of a carbon cap that reduces global warming pollution; WonkRoom has estimated that Iran stands the most to lose from climate and energy legislation pending in the US Senate.
Oil production is worth $120 billion a year to Iran. It holds the world’s second largest oil and gas reserves after Saudi Arabia.
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Windows Phone 7 Development Similar to iPhone OS Roadmap?
Found under: Windows Phone 7, Microsoft, Apple, iPhone,
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Mobile Game Maker Glu Loses Two Execs
Two of Glu (NSDQ: GLUU) Mobile’s high-level executives have left the company, according to an SEC document, and the mobile game company says it has come up with a new formula for how executives will be awarded bonuses.
Alessandro Galvagni, the company’s SVP of Global Product Development and CTO, will leave Glu effective today, but will provide consulting services for a month. Galvagni will receive one month pay as severance as well as compensation for his consulting services. In addition, Thomas Perrault, the company’s VP of Global Human Resources, said he would be leaving the Company effective Thursday.
The same document said the executives’ bonuses are now tied to the company’s new goals, which include trying to create communities around their mobile games that could generate recurring revenue from in-game virtual goods purchases. It also down plays the importance of its feature phone business.
The bonus has six parts:
—20 percent is awarded based on achieving three key metrics in the persistent/freemium games category;
—20 percent is awarded for achieving two key metrics in the Studio category;
—10 percent is awarded for achieving the Feature Phone Business goal;
—10 percent is awarded for achieving the Building Customer Base goal.
—20 percent is awarded for achieving three key metrics in the Revenue and Gross Margin category;
—20 percent is awarded for achieving two key metrics in the Operating Margin, Cash and Liquidity category.The plan went into affect April 8 and all bonuses will be paid no later than March 15, 2011.
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The Mac for Non-Profits: A Value Proposition
If you manage a small to medium sized non-profit chances, are that you’ve never considered Macs for your organization, or that if you have, you’ve quickly been turned off when you see that the cost of entry starts at around $1000 per machine. Let’s face it, operations budgets at non-profits are usually the tightest, and that’s saying something, especially in today’s economic environment.
That budget goes not only towards things like putting a computer in the hands of each employee, but also keeping the lights on and paying the rent. Given those constraints, many non-profits are much more likely to look at sub-$500 Windows computers instead of Macs.
Unfortunately, by making that decision you may be costing your organization in the long term. Here are three reasons why even a non-profit with a tight budget should be strongly considering Macs.
1) Support costs
There are the obvious reasons why Macs cost less to support, ranging from the fact that you don’t need to worry about viruses to the stability of OS X. Less obvious is the fact that recent surveys of IT professionals have found that Mac computers are less costly to manage than Windows PCs.
For smaller non-profits who don’t have an in-house IT department, you’ll also want to consider the value of the Genius Bar. If you have an Apple store anywhere near your office you can simply walk in with a problematic computer and usually have your problem solved quickly and easily. Compare that to the cost of spending time on the phone with Dell or HP support, or the lost opportunity that can accrue if you have to ship your computer away for repairs.
2) Longevity
I’m not one of those people who thinks that all Windows PCs are built like junk. You can certainly find a reliable computer running Windows, but there are two key things to consider. First, your chances of getting a reliable computer at a very low price isn’t great. Second, the odds of picking the right model from the array of available Windows computers also works against you.
By contrast, almost any model of Mac is a solid bet to be a reliable computer for three or four years. Trust me, I’ve been in organizations that have had to replace their entire collection of computers barely a year after buying inexpensive Windows laptops. You have to ask yourself if you want to buy two cheap computers over four years or one more reliable one. If it’s the latter, you’re probably better off going with Mac.
3) Software
This is usually a mark against the move to Macs, the argument being that you will need to repurchase all of your expensive software for another platform. Non-profits can avoid much of this cost due to services like TechSoup, which allow them to purchase software at a steep discount. If you’re a small non-profit iLife provides you with excellent tools to produce multimedia and a simple website without spending a single additional cent.
If you do need to do something more complex you have an incredible array of easy to use, attractive and relatively inexpensive applications to choose from. A few suggestions that would work well in a non-profit setting include Bento, RapidWeaver, iWork, iBank and Acorn. These range in cost from free to well under $100.
The value of any computing platform is defined by what you can do on it, and the Mac is without peer in this regard. There is value in having software that just works, and there is also value in having employees that enjoy working with their platform rather than suffering under it.
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Electric Mini Tackles the ‘Ring
This mean-lookin’ electric Mini blasted around the ol’ Nürburgring-Nordschleife in nine minutes, 51.45 seconds, hitting a top speed of 116.19 miles per hour. Not bad for a battery-powered racer. The car is about 400 pounds lighter than the Mini EV that was released for testing a few months back. It’s also lower, has race suspension, and a lower final drive ration for faster acceleration out of the corners. The 150-kilowatt motor puts out an equivalent 204 horsepower and gobs of torque at any RPM. The driver, former Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters racer Thomas Jäger, had this to say about the car:
“I’ve driven this circuit many times, but never in such an extraordinary car,” Jäger said in a statement. “The power of the electric motor has an incredible effect, as you can access its full reserves of torque at all times. Another element of this fascinating experience is the lack of noise from the drivetrain. All in all, that was certainly the cleanest and quietest race lap I’ve ever driven.”
See? Electric cars can be damn fun.
Source: Wired Autopia
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NCBI ROFL: Can a machine tickle? | Discoblog
“It has been observed at least since the time of Aristotle that people cannot tickle themselves, but the reason remains elusive. Two sorts of explanations have been suggested. The interpersonal explanation suggests that tickling is fundamentally interpersonal and thus requires another person as the source of the touch. The reflex explanation suggests that tickle simply requires an element of unpredictability or uncontrollability and is more like a reflex or some other stereotyped motor pattern. To test these explanations, we manipulated the perceived source of tickling. Thirty-five subjects were tickled twice–once by the experimenter, and once, they believed, by an automated machine. The reflex view predicts that our “tickle machine” should be as effective as a person in producing laughter, whereas the interpersonal view predicts significantly attenuated responses. Supporting the reflex view, subjects smiled, laughed, and wiggled just as often in response to the machine as to the experimenter. Self-reports of ticklishness were also virtually identical in the two conditions. Ticklish laughter evidently does not require that the stimulation be attributed to another person, as interpersonal accounts imply.”
Image: flickr/battywing
Related content:
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Finally, scientists create a breed of rat that loves to be tickled!
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: Why can’t you tickle yourself?
Discoblog: NCBI ROFL: rated G
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Ward’s releases 2010 Auto Interior Award winners
Filed under: Acura, BMW, Chevrolet, GM, Infiniti, Lexus, Mazda, Subaru, Volvo, Design/Style
2010 Chevrolet Camaro interior – Click above for high-res image gallery of interior award winners from Ward’s AutoDo you own a Lamborghini Miura? If not, we’re going to presume that you spend way more time looking at the interior of your car than the exterior. If you do happen to have a Miura parked in your garage, we suggest you stop reading immediately and go gaze upon its sensuous exterior lines for a few hours.
Still here? Great, that means you don’t own a Miura and the interior of your car is an extremely important consideration. Which begs the question: What car has the best interior in any given class? Attempting to answer that query is none other than Wards Auto, which has just released its annual Auto Interior of the Year Awards for 2010 after analyzing the innards of 40 vehicles that are either brand new for 2010 or at least significantly updated.
Somewhat surprisingly, the only automaker to take home more than one trophy was Chevrolet. The new Equinox won for popular-priced truck under $39,999 and the Camaro took top honors in the sportscar category. Other winners include the Subaru Outback in the popular-priced car under $29,999 category and the BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo for “Design Versatility.”
Want to see the rest? Check out our high-res image gallery below for a visual listing of all the winners and click past the break for the official press release.
[Source: Wards Auto]
Continue reading Ward’s releases 2010 Auto Interior Award winners
Ward’s releases 2010 Auto Interior Award winners originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Hands-on First Impressions of Microsoft’s Kin Phones
Microsoft today launched a line-up of mobile devices called Kin. Built by Sharp and going on sale through Verizon Wireless starting next month, the phones are targeted at young people — mostly teenagers — and are the handiwork of members of the Danger team, which Microsoft acquired in February 2008 for $500 million.I attended the Kin launch largely because I was curious as to what Microsoft’s response to the Apple-Android assault on the smartphone market would look like. After all, it’s not like anyone will be able to buy a Microsoft-branded Windows Phone anytime soon. Apparently I wasn’t the only one who was curious — the event was packed to the gills. So like everyone else there, I gave the first two models to be launched — the Kin One and Kin Two – a try, only to find myself quickly overwhelmed by all the things taking place on the screen.
But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Let me start by accentuating the positive: The two devices are extremely well built and are exceptionally fast, with touchscreens that are positively spritely compared to their Android-based rivals. In fact, I would go as far as to say that the company has done a great job of cobbling together solid hardware that’s chock-full of features. The Kin Two in particular felt nice and sturdy; its slide-out keyboard was comfortable and its overall look was as appealing as the Palm Pre. OK that last bit was a joke, but it does look very much like the Palm device.Marry that hardware to a superb 3G network like Verizon’s and you are in for a great experience, especially when accessing Internet-based services, whether they be photos, videos or contacts. Snapping photos or videos and loading them to the web using the Kin phones is dead simple.
Another excellent feature of the Kin phones is their tight integration with Microsoft’s Zune Music Service. Accessing music through the service was a totally mind-blowing experience — fast, responsive and easy to use. Whether that’s due to Verizon’s network or some under-the-hood trickery, I don’t know, but in the future I will expect all music services to be as good as this one.
Unfortunately all this goodness doesn’t add up to a great phone, because the user experience was cluttered and confusing. The opening screen, which is a grid divided into squares, is so busy it reminds me of Times Square on a Friday night.Microsoft’s Kin can be divided into three components — the Loop, the Spot and the Studio. The Loop is essentially a social aggregation service that is very much like Motorola’s Blur except a tad more polished. It allows you to get updates from Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, etc.
And as with the Moto Blur, it’s a good idea but one that causes visual dissonance — which is even more profound if you’ve ever experienced the picture-perfect serenity of an iPhone OS-based device. The lack of visual polish extends to the Spot, a sharing service that allows you to share photos, texts and web pages with almost anyone by simply dragging them to a “spot” on your phone.
Again, a great idea, but one that needs some spit and polish.
Photo of Kin Studio By Microsoft
The most stunning part of the package is the Kin Studio. I absolutely love this feature, which offers a visually delighful way to save everything you’ve created on the phone to the Internet and then access it from any web browser. Use it in concert with a Facebook account and suddenly you have a whole new way of managing information. If Microsoft is smart, it’ll turn this into a freestanding service. Think of this as Microsoft’s version of Apple’s MobileMe, albeit one that works with all devices, regardless of their operating environments.
As you might have guessed by now, there’s a lot I like about the Kin line of phones and yet they left me feeling as satisfyied as I do after eating a quick Chinese meal at the food court. I found the overall experience to lack a certain coherence, and ironically I think the problem with the Kin line as it stands now can be summed up by this bit from the Microsoft press release:
With KIN, social networking is built into the fabric of the phone. KIN has a fun, simple interface, which is designed to help people publish the magazine of their life by making the people and stuff they love the focus rather than menus and icons.
Exactly — it’s trying to do too many things at once. And in the process, it’s defying what has become standard user behavior among young people: trying and buying applications. As AdMob CEO Omar Hamoui once told me: Apps are the new entertainment. From that perspective, Microsoft may have missed a step here, especially given its odds. Indeed, at least one analyst suggests that nearly 31 percent of American teenagers want an iPhone in “the next six months, up from 22% last fall and nearly double the 16% who wanted one a year ago.” From Fortune:
“We believe that the teen demographic is a critical component of long-term growth in the digital music and mobile markets,” wrote Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster. “And Apple is taking its leading position in music and mobile markets.”
Well the good news is that Microsoft is at least is playing in the right market now.
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From Boston to San Diego, Companies Maneuver to Catch Online Video Wave
Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:Apple’s recent launch of the iPad has triggered intensifying interest in online video distribution, which seems to be reflected in a string of announcements that coincide with today’s kickoff of the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual conference in Las Vegas.
As if reminding everyone of the size of their network, Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM), announced today that unprecedented demand for online coverage of major sport events—including streaming video—pushed traffic on its global network to a single-day peak of 3.45 terabits per second on Friday. That’s roughly equivalent to the capacity needed to download the entire text of the U.S. Library of Congress in less than a minute.
The company noted that surging interest in major sporting events, including professional golf and baseball, helped to drive traffic to a new peak for high definition streaming video—part of a network platform that Akamai launched in 2009. San Diego-based VMIX also announced today it has broadened its relationship with Akamai by standardizing its online video capabilities with Akamai’s HD Network.
As Wade recently reported, Brightcove, another Cambridge, MA, company that has been a longtime proponent of Adobe’s Flash-based digital video technology, has moved to …Next Page »
UNDERWRITERS AND PARTNERS
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Dell Mini 3T1 and Mini 3iX 3G Android Phone Spotted in the Wild
Found under: Dell, Mini, 3T1, 3iX 3G,
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Families of slain Lakewood officers file lawsuit, then back down
Public opinion aside, Pierce County responsible for deaths
Editor, The Times:
Pierce County not only failed the police —it is still failing the public. [“Families: County failed officers,” page one, April 9.]
While the “Clemmons’ vendetta” with the police is an egregious example. Here’s why:
1. Clemmons’ had a ’ history of violence: burglaries, robbing an Arkansas police officer.
2. Psychiatric reports in Arkansas and Washington.
3. Recorded phone messages of seeking revenge against police.
With all of that, along with recent child rape and assault charges, Clemmons managed to get out with just an ankle bracelet.
Did Pierce County think it could monitor Clemmons cheaply? Or was it just following policy and procedure for a man with a history of violent robberies and who was suspected of raping a child?
There is a bigger problem to address, and Clemmons is just the tip of the iceberg. I only perceive this “negligence of institutes” getting worse with overcrowded jails, more violent crime, shorter jail time and budget cuts, especially with a 17 percent federal unemployment rate.
I do not think taxpayers just want red flags on criminals who might attack or have a vendetta with police, but for all victims and concerns of public safety in general. There is no question that having four innocent police officers slaughtered in a coffee house on a Sunday should be overlooked or swept under the carpet as if it were merely an oversight in an overwhelmed criminal processing system.
— Anita Dirini, Bothell
Apology owed to officers’ families
Members of the community and Pierce County Sheriff’s Spokesman Ed Troyer owe an apology to the families of the Lakewood police officers killed by Maurice Clemmons.
In their attempt to call attention to the possibility of preventing violence, the families have been called “greedy” and accused of bringing a “meritless” lawsuit against Pierce County. They have not only backed down, but their lawyer has publicly apologized for the monetary amount recorded in the suit.
Clemmons made threats and then carried them out. Four police officers lost their lives, and Clemmons was shot and killed.
It is outrageous to assume greed is behind every lawsuit brought against a county or any entity lax in its practices. The legal system exists as a remedy to protect individuals and the public. This lawsuit is a mechanism for change —one that should not be compromised by listening to negative public officials or a few ill-thinking individuals. I encourage the families as well as their legal counsel to pursue this case on its merits.
— Marcia Adams-Landry, Bainbridge Island
Dropping lawsuit helps taxpayers
The vicious murders of four Lakewood police officers was a tragedy for all Puget Sound area residents. That this senseless crime could have been prevented with greater resources is obvious.
All elements of our community’s critical infrastructure are suffering from the economic downturn and limited tax dollars —not just crime prevention. If we had the money, we could do much better in many areas.
A lawsuit brought by the slain officers’ families against Pierce County taxpayers, if successful, would only worsen our economic woes and inhibit our ability to fund needed improvements to prevent this tragedy from happening again. Sadly, this lawsuit is about greed, not about justice or the protection of our police officers.
— Dave Gamrath, Seattle
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Attorney, counsel, lawyer
NYC, NY, Windsor Consultants, Inc.
Several firms seeking partner level candidates with climate change, renewable energy expertise and clients. Also for DC, Hartford, Newark Princeton, Philly, etc.
contact Bruce Litvin, CPC
866-460-0586 ext 112
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Oklahoma City, Portland or San Antonio?
Q: Which 49-31 team will be L.A.’s first round opponent:
A) Oklahoma City
B) Portland
C) San AntonioWell … we don’t know yet. But we could after Monday night’s games. Here are the respective remaining schedules of OKC, POR and S.A., which take place on Monday and Wednesday:
Thunder: at Portland, Memphis
Blazers: Oklahoma City, Golden State
Spurs: Minnesota, at DallasAs if turns out, if Portland can beat Oklahoma City at home tonight without Brandon Roy and the Spurs take care of Minnesota at home, L.A. would play the Thunder in Round 1.
That’s the most simple answer.
Such would be the case in part due to tiebreakers, since San Antonio already holds that advantage over the Thunder, and Portland would as well with a victory. In other words, if that Monday scenario holds up, the Blazers and Spurs could both lose their final game even if OKC beat Memphis and steer clear of the Lakers.
However, if the Thunder happen to beat Portland, throw all that out of the window, because the Lakers won’t know whom they’ll play until the last day of the regular season on Wednesday.
Any of the three teams that wins its final two games will of course be safe from No. 8, but not all three could lose their final two since Portland and OKC go head-to-head. Here’s a look at some other options:
How the Thunder would be No. 8
– Lose at Portland with San Antonio winning one of two games.How the Blazers would be No. 8
– Lose vs. OKC and win against Golden State if San Antonio wins both of its games.How the Spurs would be No. 8
– Beat Minnesota but lose at Dallas (who could be fighting for the No. 2 seed) with OKC beating Portland and Memphis (Portland has the tiebreaker over San Antonio so they’d only need to win one of two games should San Antonio drop one of two games).In other words: who knows. We’ll just have to wait until the OKC – MEM, POR – G.S. and S.A. – DAL games shake out, then take a look at the tiebreak rules below.
NBA.COM TIEBREAK RULES
If all three teams split their two remaining games to finish at 50-32, the below rules would come into play:a. Two Teams Tied b. More Than Two Teams Tied
(1) Better winning percentage in games against each other. (1) Better winning percentage in all games among the tied teams.
(2) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if tied teams are in same division). (2) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if all tied teams are in the same division).
(3) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference. (3) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference.
(4) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position). (4) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
(5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in opposite conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position). (5) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (”point differential”).
(6) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents (”point differential”).
