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by Brad Johnson

Cross-posted from The Wonk Room.

Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship.After the worst coal mining disaster in at least 25 years, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship is facing long-overdue scrutiny for his record of putting coal profits over fundamental safety and health concerns. Blankenship, a right-wing activist millionaire who sits on the boards of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Mining Association, used his company’s ties to the industry-dominated Bush administration to paper over Massey’s egregious environmental and health violations. Massey rewarded Republicans with massive donations after the company avoided paying billions in fines for a 2000 coal slurry disaster in Martin County, three times bigger than the Exxon Valdez. After both mine inspectors and Massey employees got the same message that it was more important to “run coal” than to follow safety rules, a deadly fire broke out in the Aracoma Alma mine in 2006, burning two men alive.

Blankenship was abetted by former employees placed at the highest levels of the federal mine safety system. Massey COO Stanley Suboleski was named a commissioner of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission in 2003 and was nominated in December 2007 to run the Energy Department’s Office of Fossil Energy.  Suboleski is now back on the Massey board.  After being rejected twice by the Senate, one-time Massey executive Dick Stickler was put in charge of the MSHA in a recess appointment in October 2006. In the 1990s, Stickler oversaw Massey subsidiary Performance Coal, the operator of the deadly Upper Big Branch Mine, after managing Beth Energy mines, which “incurred injury rates double the national average.” Bush named Stickler acting secretary when the recess appointment expired in January 2008.

Below are further details of these two past incidents that foretold Blankenship’s latest disaster:

The fatal Aracoma Mine fire

Aracoma Mine fire.Photo: The Wonk RoomBlankenship branded deadly fire at dangerous Aracoma Mine ‘statistically insignificant’. In the most egregious case of preventable death before the Upper Big Branch explosion, Massey’s Aracoma Coal Co. agreed to “plead guilty to 10 criminal charges, including one felony, and pay $2.5 million in criminal fines” after two workers died in a fire at the Aracoma Alma No. 1 Mine in Melville, West Virginia. Massey also paid $1.7 million in civil fines. The mine “had 25 violations of mandatory health and safety laws” before the fire on January 19, 2006, but Massey CEO Don Blankenship passed the deaths off as “statistically insignificant.” [Logan Banner, 9/1/06; Charleston Gazette, 12/24/08]

Federal mine inspector who wanted to shut down mine told to ‘back off’. Days before fire broke out in the Aracoma mine, a federal mine inspector tried to close down that section of the mine, but “was told by his superior to back off and let them run coal, that there was too much demand for coal.” Massey failed to notify authorities of the fire until two hours after the disaster. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/23/06]

Blankenship memo: “Coal pays the bills.” Three months before the Aracoma mine fire, Massey CEO Don Blankenship sent managers a memo saying, “If any of you have been asked by your group presidents, your supervisors, engineers or anyone else to do anything other than run coal … you need to ignore them and run coal. This memo is necessary only because we seem not to understand that the coal pays the bills.” [Logan Banner, 9/1/06]

The Martin County coal-slurry disaster

Martin County coal-slurry disaster.Photo: The Wonk RoomThree times the volume of the Exxon Valdez spill. Massey Energy is the parent of Martin County Coal, responsible for the “nation’s largest man-made environmental disaster east of the Mississippi” until the 2008 Tennesee coal-ash spill.  In October 2000, a coal slurry impoundment broke through an underground mine shaft and spilled over 300 million gallons of black, toxic sludge into the headwaters of Coldwater Creek and Wolf Creek,” in Martin County, Ky.  [Lost Mountain, p. 128]

Site denied superfund status.  Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency “determined that the slurry spill was not a release of a hazardous substance” and thus ineligible for superfund status. [KY EQC]

Sen. McConnell and Wife Stopped MSHA Investigation. U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, wife of Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), oversaw the Mine Safety and Health Administration. Chao “put on the brakes” on the MSHA investigation into the spill by placing a McConnell staffer in charge. In 2002 a $5,600 fine was levied. That September Massey gave $100,000 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by McConnell. [Lexington Herald-Leader, 10/2/06, OpenSecrets]

$2.4 Billion Becomes $20 Million. In May 2007, the EPA filed suit for $2.4 billion against Massey for violating “Clean Water Act more than 4,500 times from the beginning of 2000 to the end of 2006″ in West Virginia and Kentucky, including the Martin County spill. In January 2008, Massey agreed to pay $20 million to settle the case. [Lexington Herald-Leader, 1/18/08]

Related Links:

Does coal mining matter to our energy future?

This week in comically evil corporate behavior

Massey’s mine in Montcoal has been cited for over 3,000 violations, over $2.2 million in fines

Everybody’s talking about Amazon retaliating against the iPad with a multitouch, multimedia, app-heavy Kindle 3. But it’s not as obvious a move as you think. In fact, it’s a bad idea. More »

Former state Rep. Rene Dugas Sr., a Democrat from Norwich, died in December 2009 at age 100. He served in the House of Representatives from 1947-1949 and 1957-1959.

Wednesday, the House remembered Dugas and his committment to public service with a moment of silence and some kind words.

He was described as a “true renaissance man” and a legend.

Public service is only a part of Dugas’ legacy.

He was a local photographer, who used his photography skills during World War II. He worked at the Underwater Sound Lab and received a citation from the U.S. Division of War Research.    

He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Ponemah Council 34 in Taftville, and he wrote two books: “The French-Canadians in New England” and “Taftville, CT and the Industrial Revolution.”

Just last year, Dugas was the grand marshal in Norwich’s 350th anniversary parade.

A copy of Wednesday’s joint House resolution expressing sympathy for Dugas’ death will be given to his family.

No, seven different card games are not coming to DSiWare. 7 Card Games is the game’s name, and it features seven ways in which people play with a deck of cards.
 
 
 
 

For all you New Englanders, the details on the “Second Annual Great Issues in Energy Symposium” are here and below:

Friday, April 9, 2010, 3:00–5:15pm

Spanos Auditorium
Reception immediately following
Free and open to the public

An informed view of societal energy challenges and possible responsive measures requires understanding nuclear energy and related issues. While construction of a new nuclear power plant has not been initiated in the United States in over a quarter century, the situation is far from static in light of technological advances, increasing impetus to address climate change, and developments elsewhere.

Presentations and Interactive Discussion Featuring:

Dr. Ernest Moniz

Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics and Engineering Systems, Director of the Energy Initiative, and Director of the Laboratory for Energy and the Environment, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Professor Moniz‘ research contributions span theoretical nuclear physics and energy technology and policy. He was Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President (1995-1997), Under Secretary of Energy at the United States Department of Energy (1997-2001), and currently serves on President Obama’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology and Blue Ribbon Commission on America’s Nuclear Future. A Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Humboldt Foundation, and the American Physical Society and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, Professor Moniz received the Seymour Cray HPCC Industry Recognition Award for vision and leadership in advancing scientific simulation and the Grand Cross of the Order of Makarios III for contributions to the development of research, technology, and education in Cyprus.

Dr. Joe Romm

Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress

Climate expert, physicist, author, blogger, and editor of the blog ClimateProgress.org, Dr. Romm focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing energy security through energy efficiency and green energy and transportation technologies. Senior positions he has held at the U.S. Department of Energy include Principal Deputy Assistant and Special Assistant for Policy and Planning. Romm’s acclaimed books and articles include Hell and High Water: Global Warming—the Solution, the Politics, and What We Should Do and The Self-Limiting Future of Nuclear Power. His newest book is Straight Up: America’s Fiercest Climate Blogger Takes on the Status Quo Media, Politicians, and Clean Energy Solutions. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science and was named to Rolling Stone magazine’s list of “100 People Who Are Changing America.” In naming him to its list of 2009 “Heroes of the Environment,” Time magazine called Romm “the web’s most influential climate blogger.”

Dr. Alex Glaser

Assistant Professor, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University

Professor Glaser is actively involved in research on technical aspects of nuclear energy use and related fuel-cycle technologies, and specifically on questions related to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. He has been an Advisor to the German Ministry of Environment and Reactor Safety and a member of a joint working group of the American Physical Society and the American Academy for the Advancement of Science on Nuclear Forensics. He is Associate Editor of the Journal of Science and Global Security and a member of the Science & Global Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the research staff of the International Panel on Fissile Materials.

It’s a good panel.  I worked with Ernie during the Clinton administration — and I took advanced electromagnetism from him at MIT in the fall of 1981!

For background on nukes, start with “An introduction to nuclear power.”

And if you still want more, try:

• Exclusive analysis, Part 1: The staggering cost of new nuclear power
• Warning to taxpayers, investors — Part 2: Nukes may become troubled assets, ruin credit ratings
• The Self-Limiting Future of Nuclear Power
• Nuclear Pork — Enough is Enough
• GOP wants 100 new nukes by 2030 while “Areva has acknowledged that the cost of a new reactor today would be as much as 6 billion euros, or $8 billion, double the price offered to the Finns.”
• Nuclear Bombshell: $26 Billion cost — $10,800 per kilowatt! — killed Ontario nuclear bid

• Turkey’s only bidder for first nuclear plant offers a price of 21 cents per kilowatt-hour
• Nuclear meltdown in Finland
• Nuclear power, Part 2: The price is not right
• Nukes, Part 1.5: Nuclear Bomb
• How much of a subsidy is the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industry Indemnity Act?
• Nuclear storage at Yucca jumps 38% — to $96B
• Nuclear cost study 3: Responding to Heritage’s staggeringly confused ‘rebuttal’
• Power plants costs double since 2000 — Efficiency anyone?
• What do you get when you buy a nuke? You get a lot of delays and rate increases….

Ready for some more device rumors? The latest comes from Engadget, which says June 13 is the likely Sprint Evo 4G launch date — don’t worry about it being a Sunday, that’s normal for Sprint — though a week earlier is in the running, too.

Another question they may be answering is how much extra access to Sprint’s WiMax network may cost, and it’s looking to be between $10 and $20. While nobody wants to pay extra for something, it’s nice to know that you won’t get stuck paying for 4G service if you’re not actually in a city that has it. Whether you’ll have to pay extra for the 8-device WiFi hotspot fun (we certainly hope not) remains to be seen. [Engadget]

Update: The Engadget guys are getting peppered with the same comments we are, and it looks like the fee will be for the hotspot only, and not 4G access. Fingers crossed.

While we don’t usually pay much attention to companies under $250M in market cap, there was something about the 10-K filed by tiny Industry Concept Holdings (INHL) that caught our attention. It wasn’t just because it was filed late on Friday on a day when the market was closed, though that certainly piqued our initial interest. But as we started to skim the filing, we realized that it seemed to have more in common with Page Six or People Magazine than the typical dry SEC filing.

That’s because the filing was a virtual panoply of bold-faced names. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were mentioned in the filing when the company noted that “One of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s toddlers wore Primp in the 2008 “People” magazine spread, the most expensive celebrity photo in the magazine’s history.” So too was Sasha Obama, who the filing notes wore “a Primp hoodie for her first day of school following the move to the White House.” So too was Jessica Simpson, who currently hosts the VH-1 reality show, “The Price of Beauty”. Keep in mind that the biggest names normally found in most SEC filings are former Senators, Members of Congress, or Governors who, once they leave office, often find their way into some lucrative board of directors gig. And it’s hard to compare Tommy Thompson’s star-power to that of Brad Pitt, no matter how hard one tries.

Still, just like the annoying person at the cocktail party that insists on dropping A-list names to prove their self-worth, dropping A-list names in an SEC filing seems to be about as effective, at least judging by the company’s stock, which appears to have last traded on Feb. 10. Which just goes to show you: name-dropping will only get you so far.

Filed under: Coupe, Hybrid, Performance, Honda, Rumormill

A mainstream hybrid that’s fun to drive. That’s a novel concept, to be sure, and one targeted by Honda in the marching papers of its recent CR-Z coupe, which is offered with a sporty six-speed manual gearbox and is supposed to be the spiritual successor to the much-loved CRX hatchback from the 1980s.

We’ve yet to drive the CR-Z and we’re already questioning if the 122 horsepower and 128 pound-feet of torque on tap from its 1.5-liter VTEC four-cylinder with Integrated Motor Assist will be enough to qualify the car as sporty.

According to Motor Trend, though, Honda has a much sportier model waiting in the wings that would use either a V6 or a large 2.5 liter four mated up with the familiar IMA hybrid system. Citing rumors from Japan, MT says the future car will be roughly the size of the Accord coupe.

In related news, that aforementioned V6 hybrid powertrain is reportedly slated for both minivans and SUVs for the American market. Further, Honda is currently working on an extended-range electric system similar to the one featured in the 2011 Chevrolet Volt except using a capacitor-based energy storage system. If true, we can expect to see that system featured in a future Accord.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Rumormill: More powerful Honda hybrid coupe in the works? originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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WASHINGTON–Last August, President Obama tapped Martha Minow and John G. Levi, two lawyers with Chicago ties–and personal connections to the president and First Lady Michelle–as board members of the Legal Services Corporation. On Wednesday, they were sworn into office and Levi was elected board chair and Minow vice chair.

Read my August report here.

Minow, the dean of Harvard Law School, is the daughter of Newton Minow, the former chair of the Federal Communications Commission, who is senior counsel at Chicago’s Sidley Austin. When Obama was at Harvard Law School, Minow recommended that Sidley hire him for a summer job.

Levi was the Sidley partner who actually hired Obama–and also another attorney at the firm, one Michelle Robinson. Obama met Michelle at Sidley Austin, when she was assigned to be his advisor.

below, release…

LSC Board Elects Chairman, Vice Chair

Washington, DC–Six presidential appointees to the Legal Services Corporation’s Board of Directors were sworn in to office this morning and at their inaugural Board meeting elected John G. Levi, a partner in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin, as Board chairman and Martha Minow, dean of the Harvard Law School, as vice chair.

The oath of office was administered by Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy during a ceremony at The Eisenhower Executive Office Building that was attended by family members and friends of the appointees.

In addition to Levi and Minow, the new Board members are Sharon L. Browne, a principal attorney in the Pacific Legal Foundation’s Individual Rights Practice group and a member of the foundation’s senior management; Robert J. Grey Jr., a former president of the American Bar Association and a partner in the Richmond, Va., and Washington offices of the Hunton & Williams law firm; Charles N.W. Keckler, a professor at Pennsylvania State University’s Dickinson School of Law; and Victor B. Maddox, a partner in the Louisville, Ky., law firm of Fultz Maddox Hovious & Dickens.

LSC is the single largest provider of civil legal assistance to the poor in the nation. Funded by Congress, LSC operates as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation that promotes equal access to justice and provides grants for high-quality civil legal assistance to low-income Americans. The grants currently go to 136 nonprofit legal services programs across the country.

In addition to Justice Kennedy, speakers at the swearing-in ceremony included LSC Board Chairman Levi, Vice Chair Minow, outgoing LSC Board Chairman Frank B. Strickland, LSC President Victor M. Fortuno, Daniel Meltzer, principal deputy White House counsel to the President, and Harold Hongju Koh, legal adviser at the State Department.

Levi, in his remarks, said, “Today, LSC funding, now over $400 million annually, is an essential part of our country’s effort to provide civil legal aid for the poor, and we take our Board positions at a time when our nation’s poor desperately need that aid.”

Requests for help with foreclosures, unemployment benefits and consumer issues are rising at LSC programs, Levi said. But “even as the need for LSC services increases, the funding resources necessary to make it happen are dwindling,” he said, adding that “we will need to find ways to make our dollars go further while seeking even greater financial support.”

Welcome Readers, as you know, on April 1st, 2010, Consumerist was acquired by Philadelphia-based cable giant, Kabletown. Today we are excited to announce the launch of our new website, Kabletown.com.

Here’s a little taste of the excitement:

Why Kabletown with a K? Because K stands for the Kindness we show our customers, the Keen interest we take in their needs and because Cabletown with a C was already the name of a store that sold cable knit sweaters and legal said we had to spell it with a K.

We pride ourselves on being one of the nation’s leading providers of cable entertainment. We currently have over 100,000 employees nationwide and 6 international employees due to a flight mix-up we are still trying to resolve.

Speaking on behalf of GE Sheinhardt NBC Universal, the 6 people who are in the Valparaiso, Chile airport, and of course, Consumerist, we invite you to experience Kabletown.com… with a K.

[Kabletown.com]

click on the image for a larger version

The trajectories for the bus/warhead/decoy complex (in red) and a cloud of chuff released just before burnou (in yellow)t.

(With apologies to Langston Hughes.) The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) might paraphrase Langston Hughes to say to potential adversaries “Chuff your rocket like you ought to do but [please] don’t let your rocket chuff [us].” It turns out that the MDA requires any potential incoming missile to behave extraordinarily well. Any deviation from absolutely perfect behavior could throw the missile defense into a dizzy. The latest example of this is the 31 January 2010 failure of the Ground-Based NMD interceptor to hit its target. One of two contributing reasons for the failure was a “chuffing” of the LV-2’s solid propellant stages, which apparently changed what the Sea-Base X-band radar enough to prevent it from adequately assisting the interceptor close with the target. (Or, perhaps, help it discriminate between the simulated warhead and the officially sanctioned decoys.)

That, of course, needs some explanation. Chuffing is pretty much what it sounds like; a type of puffing. Solid propellant motors (like liquid propellant engines) can suffer from instabilities in the combustion of their fuel and oxidizer. Chuffing involves a sudden extinguishing of the flame burning inside the rocket with a consequent loss of pressure, perhaps down to a vacuum if this happens at high altitudes. Gases released from the heated inner surfaces then spontaneously catch fire and the process of burning and snuffing out starts all over again. This can happen as much as one hundred times a second and it doesn’t take much imagination to believe that there is a lot of variation the amount of aluminum particles coming out the end during this process (aluminum is added to many types of solid-propellant rocket motors to increase the burn temperature and hence thrust).

Here is my guess on how chuffing completely changes what the SBX sees: The LV-2 target vehicles consists of the first two stages of a Trident C-4 missile a bus with the simulated warhead and the officially approved decoys. In my hypothesis, the second stage experiences chuffing near the end of its burn time, releasing excessive amounts of aluminum (in unburned chunks of propellant that broke off during the trauma of cyclic pressure drops). This cloud propellant chunks containing aluminum is, naturally, released with a lower velocity than the warhead and decoy bus because the bus/warhead/decoy complex continues to be accelerated. This difference in velocity, however, does not need to be very large if the chuffing lasted all the way up to burnout.

It turns out, however, that the cloud, traveling on its lower trajectory, actually appears to move ahead of the warhead because it is also on a lower trajectory. I have simulated this as shown in the diagram at the top of this post and, assuming that the SBX is some 1000 km West of Vandenberg, it could actually shield the warhead/decoy complex during the important period when the bus released the various bits and pieces.

click on the image for a larger version

You would think that an X-band radar could discriminate between chunks of aluminum and a warhead. That is certainly what Lincoln Labs thought in 1999 when they gave a briefing on just this issue. ( Here is their graph showing all potential sources of confusion, both “natural”, meaning stuff unavoidably produced during target vehicle flight, intentional countermeasures. Note II.b, the right diagram in the middle row, which shows fuel debris cloud as an important factor.) A little later in the briefing, they show a graph of measured “length” of the objects and their mean radar cross section (the right most diagram). The box, almost totally obscured by the “deployment hardware” square, shows that they expect the debris from chuffing to have very low length while the RV (and empty stages trailing along behind) have very large lengths. The battle management computers and filters on the individual sensors—including the SBX—would use these differences to discriminate between targets and decoys (and chunks of unburnt fuel). In this flight test, however, they weren’t able to.

Whether or not this is going to be a fundamental flaw in the whole missile defense development program remains to be seen. But remember that this is just a result of a fully functional target vehicle behaving in an “acceptable” manner. Based on MDA’s history, we might expect them to put increased attention to making sure the target booster does not chuff. And if they do attempt to solve the more general problem of discriminating between the nuclear tipped warhead and small bits of unburnt rocket fuel, the chances are they will come up with a new algorithm that is good only for chuffing from Trident C-4 stages.

We haven’t even started to think about what an aggressor might do to make life difficult for a missile defense system. Ted Postol has been working on similar issues and will be discussing his results in a forthcoming issue of Arms Control Today. From what I’ve seen of his article, it’s going to prove very interesting. As for today, I think we have a pretty good idea of why chuffing contributed to the failure of the January 2010 NMD flight test.

»  What will Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) do with its pile of cash? [The Source]

»  Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) will try to seek a younger audience with its Project Pink phones. [eWeek]

»  RIM (NSDQ: RIMM) releases updates to its Java and web development tools for BlackBerry. [InternetNews.com]

»  A preview of Windows Mobile 7. [building43]

»  Sales show consumers want mobile broadband but not personal hotspots. [GigaOm]

Here it is, folks, the chart to break a million retailers’ hearts.

It’s the Fed’s latest consumer credit reading, and after starting to come back, total outstanding consumer credit has fallen right back down, with a monster month-over-month decline.

Join the conversation about this story »

For all of you folks who were left disappointed after Verizon’s deafening silence regarded the HTC Incredible at CTIA : start smiling.

Earlier today, the above image from an internal Verizon e-mail started circulating. “New devices coming really soon!”, it promised. Now, it would have probably been safe to assume that included the Incredible – but assumptions are for chumps. Fortunately, something a bit more concrete has just leaked out.

Unearthed by those crazy chaps over at AndroidAndMe, the slide down below is purported to be ripped straight from a Best Buy Mobile presentation.

Smack dab in the middle of the page, right under “New Device Launches”, it reads “HTC Incredible: 4/29″. Also mentioned are the Samsung Reality on 4/22 and the LG Cosmos on 4/25, both of which are QWERTY messaging featurephones. Also mentioned for the 25th is the “LG 5600PP”, but we don’t have a dang clue what that is.

So, what say you, VZW fans: excited yet?

The shipment for the winning iPads was delayed until next week, so I’m going through the entries now. I will post the winners next week, so have patience, please! There are a whoooooooole lot of what I am sure are all wonderful designs by very talented people, so I gotta give em all my full attention. More »

The iPad has been out for less than a week and already the third-party accessory market is heating up. Apple has just started shipping the dock accessory, which provides a stand for the iPad on the desk while charging the tablet. Third-party accessory makers are not conceding the iPad stand market to Apple and there are some pretty cool ones now available or expected soon. Here’s a roundup of the stands we’ve seen so far for the iPad.

Apple Keyboard Dock. Apple is combining a stand and a keyboard to turn the iPad into a notebook replacement. The Keyboard Dock is expected in late April. $69.

Apple iPad Dock. For those insisting on the Apple logo but not needing a keyboard, the iPad dock is a simple resting place to hold the slate on the desk. It is available now for $29.

Apple Case. Apple has produced a rubbery case for carrying the iPad around, and it also works as a stand. $39.

Skadoosh Flip Stand. This stylish stand is scheduled for availability next month. The Skadoosh will stand the iPad up in either landscape or portrait orientation and the unique tilt mechanism allows adjusting the viewing angle to suit the user. There’s a push button lock to hold the iPad in place. No price specified.

Griffin A-frame Stand. Accessory maker Griffin is out of the chutes with a fully adjustable metal stand for the iPad. The A-frame holds the iPad in either screen orientation and provides access to charging and syncing. $49.99.

Scosche Kickback Stand. Scosche is getting into the act with this combo case and stand that works in either orientation. The metal and shatterproof carbonate case totally protects the precious iPad in addition to providing a pop-out stand. $44.99.

BookArc Stand. The folks at twelve south have long produced trendy accessories for the Mac, and the BookArc Stand carries on the tradition. Easily the best looking stand we found, the BookArc holds the iPad at a comfortable viewing angle in either portrait or landscape orientation. $39.99.

LUXA2 Stand. Not much is known about this stand that is not available yet but it sure looks good. What we can tell from the photos of the LUXA2 is it can work in either orientation while holding the iPad higher off the desk than the other stands. No pricing available.

Macally Viewstand. This stand is designed to look good while holding the iPad at a comfortable, adjustable viewing angle. It works in either orientation and is the same brushed metal as many of the other stands. $49.99.

Joule Stand. The elegance of this stand from ElementCASE is unmistakable. It is adjustable for viewing angle, and works in either orientation. $129.

Related GigaOM Pro Content (sub req’d)

The state House of Representatives observed a moment of silence today for the six people who died in the February 7 Kleen Energy power plant blast in Middletown.

“It was an explosion that was heard around the world,” said Rep. Joseph Serra, D-Middletown.

Rep. Marilyn Giuliano, R-Old Saybrook, singled out Raymond Dobratz, a pipe fitter from her hometown who died in the blast, while Rep. Linda Orange, D-Colchester, spoke about Ronald Crabb, a personal friend. Crabb, of Colchester, was also a pipe fitter.

Also killed in the blast were Peter Chepulis, of Thomaston; Chris Walter, of Florissant, Mo., and Roy Rushton, of Hamilton, Ontario. Peter Haskell, of New Durham, N.H., died of injuries from the explosion.     

Firefighters from South Fire District in Middletown were also honored during the House session. The firefighters were first responders to the blast, and Rep. James O’Rourke III, D-Cromwell, said the state was lucky that a well-trained, professional fire department dealt with the devestating situation.  

“It takes a lot of bravery to go into a scene like that not knowing what’s going to come next,” O’Rourke said.

The tragic Kleen Energy blast brought the issue of work place safety to the forefront, noted Rep. Matthew Lesser, D-Middletown.

From the Breaking News Center:

Federal prosecutors today sought a court order that could force former
Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s former general counsel to testify at
Blagojevich’s corruption trial.



According to the filing, William
J. Quinlan, counsel to the governor’s office under Blagojevich, has
declined to produce documents or agree to testify because Blagojevich
has not formally waived his attorney-client privilege. Communications
between a lawyer and a client are typically protected from being used in
court.



But in seeking to compel Quinlan to provide materials and
testify, prosecutors cited a 2002 decision in which the 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals found that the attorney-client privilege does not
apply in conversations between a public official and a taxpayer-provided
attorney such as Quinlan at the time.

Read more from Tribune federal courts reporter Jeff Coen by clicking here.