From BBspot
http://www.bbspot.com/News/2006/11/home-theater-regulations.html
Monday, November 27 12:00 AM ET
MPAA Lobbying for Home Theater Regulations
By Scott Small
Los Angeles , CA - The MPAA is lobbying congress to push through a new bill that would make unauthorized home theaters illegal. The group feels that all theaters should be sanctioned, whether they be commercial settings or at home.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss! at 12:36 PM MST No Comments
My grandmother was the strongest woman I’ve ever met. She lived in Vandergrift, PA - a steeltown that subsequently struggled after WWII. Depression, war, house fire - life was NOT easy with three daughters after her husband collapsed and died on the steps of the steel plant after a sunday shift. She went on. I always admired her humor and her iron will, which I saw clearly in my mother. She was such a survivor. I’m certain her spirit lives on.
Posted by macguiguru as Musings, Poetry at 11:32 PM MST No Comments
One of Robert Service’s greatest works, IMHO
Posted by macguiguru as Musings, Poetry at 11:26 PM MST No Comments
If you’ve never heard this song by the man who made the song ‘Convoy’ famous, you’re in for a treat. Same ’storyteller’ style but very fast, complicated ‘lyrics’ (it doesn’t really rhyme) and hilarious story. Get a copy of the MP3 from somewhere, then sit down and TRY to follow along. I dare ya. How he managed to remember this entire saga is a feat unto itself. Definitely transcends the typical Country/Western genre.
Posted by macguiguru as Musings, Poetry at 11:21 PM MST No Comments
In a recent post I related how my cousin Joe had suggested a way of dealing with the violence in Iraq.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Religion at 9:07 PM MST No Comments
From Powell and Associates website:
http://www.rrpassociates.com/press.html
PRESS RELEASE FOR NOVEMBER 24TH, 2006
The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be holding a press conference at 6:30 p.m. on November 27th, 2006, at the Clarion Hotel, located at 1355 North Fourth Street, in San Jose, California regarding the death of Jamie Ceballos while in foster care with Monterey County on November 27th, 2005. The Law Offices Of Robert R. Powell will be filing a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Northern California (San Jose) on the 27th of November, seeking damages for the wrongful death of Jamie on behalf of Megan Allen, Jamie’s mother. The complaint also alleges the unlawful removal of Jamie and his three siblings from Ms. Allen by Monterey County Child Protection Services social workers.
At two years of age, Jamie and his siblings were removed from their mother after Ms. Allen contacted the police to make a report about allegations by daughter that she had been molested in some manner by a family relative. There were no allegations of abuse by mother of any kind.
After the children’s removal by Monterey CPS, they were placed in a foster home, where Jamie was later found deceased in a hallway of the home on November 27th, 2005. At the time of his death, Jamie had multiple bruises all over his body, a depression of his skull from some unknown blunt force trauma, and had suffered a series of blows to his abdominal area, with one or more blows delivered with enough force to tear his colon and rupture other internal organs. He died a slow agonizing death, without receiving any medical treatment. Amazingly, the Monterey County Sheriff concluded the death was “accidental.”
Jamies sister had been removed from the home not long prior to Jamie’s death for alleged abuse against her by the foster parents which was deemed “substantiated,” and CPS had received numerous complaints of abuse of the children, not only from the mother, to whom the children reported abuse during visitations and revealed visible marks of their injuries to visitation supervisors, but also from third party witnesses, including neighbors of the foster family.
In addition, Jamie and his siblings were placed in a foster home that was carrying more than the allowable number of children under state law, and was not properly licensed and/or qualified for providing services to “special needs” children, a description Monterey CPS executives have claimed fit Jamie at the time of his death.
When Jamie was found in the hallway of the foster family’s home early on the morning of November 27th, 2005, no attempts were made to resuscitate the child.
Refreshments and copies of the complaint available at the press conference.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss! at 2:21 PM MST No Comments
During a discussion with my cousin Joe I asked him what steps he would take to end the war in Iraq. His response (after qualifying that I might not like it) was that we should simply ‘dust’ people at funerals.
I submit this as evidence that such tactics usually don’t lead to peace:
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http://politics.guardian.co.uk/northernirelandassembly/story/0,,1956753,00.html
Uproar at Stormont as loyalist killer with bomb tries to storm assembly
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Politics at 1:03 PM MST No Comments
All watches should be built this way. If I’m hit by an asteroid, at least my watch will survive.
Posted by macguiguru as Photos, iSightz at 1:15 AM MST 1 Comment
Toughest cellphone I’ve ever seen. Period. Been dropped, thrown, dunked, baked, frozen and laundered. Simply refuses to die. Keep yer razorphones, this one WORKS. Every time.
Posted by macguiguru as Photos, iSightz at 1:01 AM MST 1 Comment
Fay Wray
Sept 15, 1907 - Aug 8, 2004
Starred in the original ‘King Kong’ (she was the woman he had in his fist as he stood on top of the Empire State Building).
Posted by macguiguru as People, Photos at 2:18 PM MST 1 Comment
Yellow Elephant
by Jule Paschkis
Hat tip to Operation Yellow Elephant
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc. at 1:25 PM MST 1 Comment
Three rings for the elven cows under the sky
Seven for the dwarf cows in their stalls of stone
Nine for McDonald’s cows, doomed to die
One for the Dark Cow on her Dark Throne
In the Land of Moodor where the milkshakes fly
One Cow to rule them all, One Cow to bilk them
One Cow to bring them all and in the darkness milk them
In the Land of Moodor where the milkshakes fly
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Humor, Musings at 11:42 PM MST 1 Comment
The CIA reported in a classified assessment this fall that it has found no evidence that Iran is pursuing a clandestine nuclear weapons program parallel to its declared energy research, The New Yorker reported today (see GSN, Nov. 15).
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Religion at 11:01 PM MST 1 Comment
Once again the ‘break down the door and ask questions later’ approach has failed spectacularly.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., News at 12:04 PM MST 1 Comment
Wow. This writer from Lexington, KY (where they make that great jelly)(not good on toast tho) has a serious jones for ‘them damn hippies’. Read it and be afraid.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/editorial/15986574.htm
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., Politics at 2:32 PM MST No Comments
Judge cites ‘elaborate scheme’ to defraud state
Ex-coin dealer (Tom Noe) told to pay nearly $17M
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Life, etc., News, Politics at 12:28 PM MST No Comments
The following is an anonymous post, no way to determine if the person really is a police officer, but his points are valid.
–
police POV (Score:5, Interesting)
by Anonymous Coward* on Tuesday November 21, @01:38AM
(*Slashdot software automatically assigns that name to non-signed-in users -MDW)
As a police officer, I have two things to say about this:
General rules for any controlled encounter (one where you aren’t in danger from the get go) include finding out what the issue is, telling the subject what he/she needs to do, and explaining what will happen if they do not. There is almost never a need to place your hands on anyone for any reason until you are ready to take them into custody unless you are suddenly attacked. This “officer” is grossly incompetent. Understand we deal with aggressive people that posture by yelling and swearing at us all the time - this should not disrupt the officer on bit. Keep. Your. Cool. So, screaming/swearing or not, this encounter should have been over with three sentences from the officer.
Now and only now, if he/she resists (NOT if he simply fails to cooperate i.e. passive resistence), you may use force sufficient to subdue him to the point of having him cease to be a danger to the officer or bystanders. That’s pretty simple stuff, folks. Basically, never be the first to use force, but when you do - do it quickly and overwhelmingly then STOP when he’s restrained. You are a trained professional who owns the situation and NOT a street brawler.
From what I can tell, he never told the subject he was under arrest until after at least five taserings, some of which occurred while he was in cuffs and all but the first while he was on the ground unable to stand under his own power. This “officer” grabbed the guy’s arm while he was leaving. Bad move, even if it seems like a little thing. Physical contact constitutes use of force, and any trained officer knows this is a big line to cross. I don’t care if he didn’t leave immediately - in that case place him calmly in custody early on and be done with it, no argument needed. You’re the cop; you NEVER need to be in an argument. You aren’t asking him what he wants to do, you’re telling him. Never ever let a subject think they are in control. Arguing tells the subject they have some power.
What he did is inexcusable. If this power-tripping bully didn’t have a badge what would you think of somebody tasering a defenseless person on the ground FIVE TIMES some while he was handcuffed and yelling at him to “get up.” A badge doesn’t free you from responsibility, it adds to to it exponentially.
This sadistic SOB gives all true professional LEOs a bad name and is part of the reason so many distrust cops. I’ve had training on most of the common less-than-lethal systems (lawyers don’t let us call them non-lethal) including tasers, stun guns, pepper spray, rubber bullets and even conducted some training on the same. Unless this guy was issued a system with no training, he knows damn well the individual won’t be getting up immediately after one tasing, let alone five. Frankly, I hope this guy answers for assault charges.
To summarize, to non-cops this might appear to be a case of overreacting during a tense moment with a belligerent person. To most professionals, this is about as vanilla an arrest as there is where the cop did basically everything wrong. So wrong, in fact, I intend to use these videos as a training aid.
This was so absurd that I actually laughed when the guy threatened to to taser the bystander who asked for his name and badge number. It’s almost like he was trying to get fired and sued.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss! at 2:02 AM MST No Comments
From The Arizona Republic
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/0820taser20.html
Police in 5 states sue Taser in past 2 weeks (note - this story first appeared in 2005 -MDW)
Robert Anglen
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 20, 2005 12:00 AM Police officers in five states filed lawsuits against Scottsdale-based Taser International over the past two weeks claiming they were seriously injured after being shocked with the electronic stun gun during training classes.
Posted by macguiguru as Discuss!, Musings, Tech at 2:41 PM MST No Comments
