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21 Sep 2011 10:58

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U.S.: Death penalty: One of James Byrd Jr.’s killers will be executed tonight

  • With all the hubbub over Troy Davis’ probable execution, there’s another death penatly case that’s about to hit a head tonight, and this one was probably far more notorious at the time. In 1998, James Byrd, Jr. (right), was murdered in one of the worst hate crimes in modern times — dragged behind a pickup truck that was moving at full-speed. Lawrence Russell Brewer, left, is an avowed white supremacist and one of two men on death row for the attack. Brewer is scheduled to die tonight, but Byrd’s own son doesn’t want that. “You can’t fight murder with murder,” Ross Byrd said about the case. “Life in prison would have been fine. I know he can’t hurt my daddy anymore. I wish the state would take in mind that this isn’t what we want.” The execution is set for 6 p.m. local time tonight. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2011 10:04

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Culture: Tony Bennett’s September 11 remarks draw strong scrutiny

  • They flew the plane in, but we caused it. We were bombing them, and they told us to stop.
  • Tony Bennett • Discussing September 11, 2001 with Howard Stern on Monday night. As you might guess, the legendary singer regretted saying this after the fact, because it drew a ton of controversy. “There is simply no excuse for terrorism and the murder of the nearly 3,000 innocent victims of the 9/11 attacks on our country,” he said in a statement released Tuesday night. “My life experiences — ranging from the Battle of the Bulge (in World War II) to marching with Martin Luther King — made me a lifelong humanist and pacifist, and reinforced my belief that violence begets violence and that war is the lowest form of human behavior.” So, in other words … he stands behind his basic point (violence begets violence), but admits he worded it really poorly. Check. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Sep 2011 09:49

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World: American hikers freed from Iranian prison … finally

  • what After a process delayed by a judge’s vacation, American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were reportedly freed from an Iranian prison this morning.
  • how The two men were freed on a $500,000 bond — each — but the source of the bond money is being kept a secret by the lawyer for the men. Anonymous donor?
  • why The Iranian government jailed the men (and a woman who was with them) on spying charges, but their main crime seems to be trespassing. Crisis over. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 21:08

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Politics: Elizabeth Warren leapfrogs Scott Brown in Massachusetts Senate race

  • ThenIn June, Scott Brown looked invincible. The Senator led every potential challenger by at least nine points, and Elizabeth Warren, perceived to be Democrats’ best shot against him, trailed by fifteen.
  • Now Since Warren declared her candidacy earlier this month, she’s skyrocketed in the polls and now leads Brown by two points. That’s a seventeen-point gain in a little over three months. source
  • » Hey, wha’ happen? Warren’s rise may be due in part to an “announcement boost;” she was long-rumored as a candidate, and her official entry in the race may have fired up a contingent of Democratic voters. Perhaps more significant of a factor, however, is Brown’s plummeting popularity. Back in December, he was the 16th most popular Senator in the country, out of 87 polled. Now, Brown is in 61st place, and his favorability has dropped by 25 points.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 21:00

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Biz, Tech: Amazon faces complaints, scrutiny over factory working conditions

  • I never felt like passing out in a warehouse and I never felt treated like a piece of crap in any other warehouse but this one. They can do that because there aren’t any jobs in the area.
  • Former Amazon factory worker Elmer Goris • Complaining about the conditions at the Allentown, Pa. Amazon warehouse facility, which handles East Coast orders. The problem? It was really freaking hot this summer, and the factory didn’t have air conditioning, turning the working conditions somewhat nightmarish. People reportedly fainted from heat exhaustion. In the wake of the lengthy Morning Call article that brought the allegations to light, Amazon appears to have put up a job posting for on-support medical staff, and now plans to install an air conditioner in the plant. In their defense, average temperatures throughout the year are reasonably cool, so the situation this summer was somewhat unexpected. Still, though. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 20:28

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Politics: The Department of Justice spends lots of money on conferences

  • Editor’s note: Please see this update to the story for more information that came out after this study was published. In short: Those muffins weren’t $16.
  • Playing to the biases people have about government: The Justice Department obviously has a very important job that requires them to herd a lot of cats into a lot of cages. However, when those cats are government workers and those cages are hotels like The Capital Hilton, a swanky hotel one block away from the White House, the costs leap quickly. Hence this report, which rips the wasteful spending happening all over the place. This, friends, validates every person who complains about wasteful spending. Just to give you guys an idea:
  • $121 million spent on 1,832 events in 2008 and 2009
  • $600,000 the amount spent on planning services for just five conferences
  • $490,000 the amount spent on food and beverages for ten conferences
  • $16 the amount spent on muffins — EACH — at one conference
  • $8 the amount spent on each cup of coffee at another conference
  • $32 the amount spent on snacks — per person! — at one conference source
  • » Absurd consulting fees, too: Why did one consultant charge $3,454 to fly back and forth between a conference site three times? And why didn’t he just go once? And why did the planners have to travel from across the country to stay at the hotel where they’ve had the conference numerous times in the past, incurring $29,000 in charges in the process? Do phones not work? And why did it cost the OCDETF Conference in D.C. $102 per person to feed 1,348 people over four days, incurring over $137,000 in charges? And why wasn’t there oversight on all this until after the study was implemented? It makes our head hurt.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 18:28

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U.S.: The end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” summed up in a single video

  • The first day of a new military reality: It’s easy, especially when major civil rights policy comes down to a big, dramatic vote, to check the “accomplished” box and move along. In the case of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, this would have been considerably premature, as it wasn’t until midnight this morning that the ban was finally lifted. Congratulations to all the people who’ve had the weight of a big injustice pulled off their shoulders by this. The above video was recorded hours after the ban was lifted, and is a pretty emotional scene to watch unfold; a soldier, finally able to state his sexuality without discrimination from the military, calls his father to come out to his family. Be warned, it might make you a bit misty-eyed. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 18:04

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World: Residents of central Japan advised to evacuate by typhoon warning

  • 1.3million people told to evacuate ahead of typhoon source
  • » Typhoon Roke approaches: The Japanese Meteorological Agency discovered the typhoon off the coast of southern Japan Tuesday evening, and they estimate it may reach Tokyo by Wednesday afternoon. The city of Nagoya, in particular, has suffered heavy rains and flooding as the typhoon charts its course, which the agency says brings winds at about 89 miles per hour.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 11:34

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World: Ex-Afghan president Burhanuddin Rabbani killed by attacker

Rabbani, president of Afghanistan from 1992 and 1996 and the leader of the Afghan Peace Council, was reportedly killed Tuesday. This is a serious blow to any sort of diplomatic process with the Taliban. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Sep 2011 11:14

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Biz: Ted Turner: Rupert Murdoch may have to resign from News Corp.

  • From one rich mogul to another: Former Turner Broadcasting owner Ted Turner, who knows a thing or two about running his mouth, says that Murdoch has made tactical errors in his handling of the phone-hacking scandal, including his claim that he didn’t know anything about the hacking. “Well, he should have known,” Turner said. “He was chairman of the board. He’s responsible. I took responsibility when I ran my company. You never heard me say, ‘Well, I didn’t know.’” The two moguls once famously feuded, after Turner claimed Murdoch’s media outlets (including Fox News, a direct rival to the Turner-founded CNN) were largely behind the Iraq war, because it helped his company. Turner says they eventually buried the hatchet, however, after he bought Rupert a bison burger and praised the Wall Street Journal. Well, this may perhaps change that situation once again. Heh. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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