Credit & Copyright: David Cortner
Friday, April 24, 2009
Wisconsin teen steals from cars to pay lawyer
From the "Not too bright now is he" Department:
A teen allegedly broke into cars to raise money to pay a lawyer to defend him on other charges. A criminal complaint said a resident caught the teen inside his Chevrolet Camaro in his garage about 4:30 a.m. April 16 and tackled him and held him for police.
Officers found a GPS system, nine CDs and seven video games in his backpack. The criminal complaint said he took the items to help pay for a lawyer.
He was charged with felony burglary, possession of burglar tools and bail jumping.
The teen was charged previously with drug possession, disorderly conduct and theft of movable property.
Southern Steel to close after 98 years
A longtime Charlotte steel fabricator once dubbed “Little Pittsburgh” is closing its doors, putting about 70 people out of work.
Southern Steel, which founded in Charlotte 98 years ago, moved into its current Steele Creek plant seven years ago during a multimillion-dollar expansion.
On Friday, president Glenn Chambers said the company had struggled during the last year as the construction market, and demand for its products, dried up.
“I think everyone in the construction industry has seen things turning south for a year,” he said. “Then with the credit market joining the construction decline, it's just a bad combination.”
Southern Steel's parent company, Beta International, also owns a rebar plant in Rock Hill, Carolina Rebar, which employs 30 workers, and a structural steel fabricator in Lynchburg, Va., that employs 125 people.
Chambers said the company will focus resources on those companies, which he said are doing well.
Life imitates the movies
In a Gran Torino moment ...
Two men attempted to carjack Ted Mazetier, 84, of Tacoma, Washington. So he beat the crap out of them.
From KOMO NEWS:
Two men attempted to carjack Ted Mazetier, 84, of Tacoma, Washington. So he beat the crap out of them.
From KOMO NEWS:
Mazetier was driving down South Proctor Street Wednesday night when he spotted a car on the curb and two guys standing nearby. He thought they needed help, so he stopped...
"When I opened the door, he started toward me and I kicked him in the balls," he said.
When the other man charged, Mazetier put his feet up and kicked him in the belly.
"He kind of bent a little and went down. And I went around the guy and I'm in the street, and I'm waving for cars to stop and, you know, help."
The two men fled, not having gotten whatever they were looking for.
Behavioral Science and Climate Change
David Zax wrote a piece for Seed magazine about social scientist Ben Ho who is applying what he knows about behavioral economics to climate change, and how people might be "tricked" into reducing their carbon footprints.
Residents of a community were shown how their energy use measured up against the communal average. If they consumed more than the average, most reduced energy in the months ahead. If households saw that they consumed less energy than their peers, however, their energy use actually rose, except when the frugal households were given the merest of rewards: a smiley face on their bill.
Can the Madden Curse Take Down Two Players at Once?
Electronic Arts has selected two players to grace the cover of Madden 2010. Troy Polamalu of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Larry Fitzgerald of the Arizona Cardinals will both be featured on the cover of the Madden NFL 2010 video game.
Craigslist Founder Won't Shut Down Erotic Services
He May Not Have Much of a Choice Though
The brutal killing of 25-year-old Julissa Brisman in Boston earlier this month has raised questions about Craigslist's role in facilitating serious crimes, however inadvertently.In an exclusive interview with Martin Bashir, Craigslist founder Craig Newmark (pictured) spoke for the first time about the latest Craigslist-related murder, expressing compassion for the victim.
"My first reaction is sympathy, I mean I feel pretty bad for the victims and their families. I don't like it at all. Beyond that, well, how would you feel if ... the bad guy watched what you do on TV and started calling [you] the 'ABC Killer?' That's pretty much how I'm reacting," Newmark said. "It just feels bad. You know, remember, I'm spending a great deal of time here fighting bad guys."
Philip Markoff, 23, was arrested Monday and charged with Brisman's murder. Police say he contacted her through a Craigslist ad offering exotic massage services.
Markoff denies all the charges, but police say there's ample evidence linking him to the crime, including plastic restraints similar to those used in the murder, a gun found in his apartment that allegedly links him to the shooting and even the underwear of the victim. Markoff is now sitting alone in a Boston jail cell, on suicide watch.
Craigslist is now one of the most-visited Web sites on the planet. Newmark's online service allows users to post advertisements for everything from yard sales to massage services. Every major city in America has its own Craigslist, and there are hubs overseas. Most of the postings are free, and there are separate sections for jobs, apartments and social events.
But there are also sections called "Casual Encounters" and "Erotic Services."
Many in law enforcement believe these sections involve the brazen promotion of prostitution.
The site has been criticized by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. "Craigslist is the largest source of prostitution in America," said Cook County Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart.
Newmark, however, disagrees, saying that his site does not facilitate prostitution.
"Sometimes a bad guy of some sort tries to pull a fast one on our site. We don't want it there, it's wrong, and that's why we have the help of the general community and the law enforcement community getting rid of things like that," he said.
Prostitution aside, the site was linked with several violent crimes in recent years.
This month Michael Anderson was found guilty of shooting a woman to death lured to his apartment by a Craigslist ad. Earlier this year New York radio reporter George Weber was stabbed 50 times in his Brooklyn apartment, murdered by a man who answered Weber's ad on Craigslist offering $60 for "rough sex." In January Willie Donaldson was indicted for fatally shooting Michael Hicks, a man he met on Craigslist in Arlington, Virginia. Donaldson's attorney argued that his client fired at Hicks in self-defense.
Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said the 50-million strong Craigslist community has a low incidence of crime.
"Now the risk is not zero, and no occurrence of violent crime is acceptable," Buckmaster said.
Newmark echoed Buckmaster's comment, saying, "I'm very proud that our site is composed of people who are overwhelmingly trustworthy and good. I am very proud that there is very little crime on our site, proportionately. Compare that to any other American community, look at the numbers."
As a private company, Craigslist is under no obligation to publish its financial records, and it has never done so. But industry experts estimate the site made between $60 and $80 million last year alone.
Last November Buckmaster said Craigslist will donate 100 percent of its net revenues from erotic services ads to charities.
"We always think that we should be doing more," said Buckmaster. "Anytime something like this happens, and even if it's not happening, we are looking for ways to improve the site. Not just in this area, but in all areas."
On Wednesday Blumenthal asked Craigslist to stop what he calls "pimping and prostitution in plain sight."
"I don't agree with that particular comment," Buckmaster told ABC News.
Blumenthal urged the site to take down pornographic photographs, hire more staff to enforce standards and fine users who violate the site's terms and conditions. Buckmaster and Newmark have not yet identified any specific actions Craigslist will take to prevent crime or police the site.
"We love to get constructive criticism, suggestions and ideas from law enforcement. We consider them partners," Buckmaster said. "Anything that Attorney General Bloomenthal suggests we should have a hard look at in these areas, that's what we are going to do. We aren't comfortable with any crime happening on Craigslist, and we are going to keep working, as we announced with the attorney general, that we are going to keep working and adopting new measures until we get that off the site."
Newmark said he regularly polices the site for illegal ads and responds to users, often working from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
"I just, as of today, accumulated all of the e-mails that I received over the year, so I was able to do a count, and it's 195,000 e-mails that I received over the last 365 days. And I know that I'm sending out roughly 40,000 e-mails per year," he said.
But with a staff of fewer than 30 people, and more than 40 million new classified ads posted every month, it's virtually impossible to keep track of every advertisement.
Craigslist does allow users to flag inappropriate items on the site, part of Newmark's effort to preserve Craigslist as a "free, open democratic system," albeit one that isn't perfect.
"If you see something that's wrong with our site, you can flag it for removal, and if other people agree with you, they can flag it also. And if enough people flag the ad, it will be removed automatically," he said. "The system works pretty well, not perfect. Some misconceptions about that are that often ads are removed and people think they are still there because the ad is still in their browser. That's something that I have to explain to someone about every day."
Currently, Newmark does not plan to shut down the erotic services section.
"Every section on Craigslist is based on community feedback. People in law enforcement and related areas told us that they want us to isolate some of the, some kinds of ads in their own particular categories," he explained. "For example, we have erotic services, because that concentrates legitimate erotic services in one area, so people know what they are going to see when they get there. This has been reinforced very strongly recently by the law enforcement."
In a 2006 interview with "Nightline", Newmark also defended the erotic services section, saying, "People would find other ways to do it," he said. "It would spread to other, more legitimate sections of our site."
On May 3 Newmark will attend a benefit concert in Minnesota for a scholarship fund at St. Olaf College in memory of 24-year-old Katherine Olson, who responded to a Craigslist ad for a nanny, and was murdered by the man who had placed the ad.
Newmark says he'll always be committed to the community he formed and now serves.
"I'll do this until I die," Newmark said.
Hero dog's medal sold at UK auction for $35,700
A medal awarded to a dog who sniffed out scores of survivors in rubble of the Blitz was sold at auction Friday for 24,250 pounds Auctioneers said the buyer chose to remain anonymous.
The Legal World is Ganging Up on Craigslist
"Late night cravings special," promises the Craigslist ad in the "erotic services" category. "My exotic mix makes me an intoxicating and sensual treat."The "treat" runs a discreet 100 "rose petals" for 15 minutes, 130 rose petals for a half-hour and 160 for an hour.
Prostitution persists on Craigslist even as attorneys general pressure the online classified service to stamp it out, experts say. Those efforts are intensifying after the killing of a Boston masseuse hired through the site.
"It is clear that Craigslist is the new frontier," said Mark Lagon, executive director of the Polaris Project, an anti-slavery group.
Many of the victims who come to Polaris can point to a Craigslist posting used by a trafficker to market their bodies against their will, Lagon said in an April 6 letter to the site.
"Ultimately, the 'erotic services' section must be shut down," Lagon wrote, noting that a study last year found that Craigslist was the site used most frequently by johns seeking prostitutes.
The recent arrest of Boston University medical student Philip Markoff, charged with murder, armed robbery and kidnapping for the killing of a 25-year-old masseuse he met through Craigslist and the robbery of another, has intensified long-standing concerns about the ads.
In Illinois, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart sued Craigslist last month, saying the site not only allows the solicitation of prostitution, but also has actively created "the largest source of prostitution in America."
Craigslist rejected the sheriff's contentions, saying the company cooperates with law enforcement, has taken several steps to prevent illegal use of the site and pulls inappropriate ads.
"The Internet is still fairly new, and there's a tendency to focus on any crime story that has a connection to the Internet, as I suspect was done in the early days of the telephone as well," Jim Buckmaster,[pictured] Craigslist's CEO, told The Associated Press.
The Web site is among the most popular for posting classified ads, with 42.2 million visitors in the United States in March, a 48 percent increase from a year earlier, according to Andrew Lipsman, director of industry analysis for Comscore Inc.
In November, Craigslist reached an agreement with several attorneys general nationwide to crack down on ads for prostitution on its Web sites. The deal requires those who post "erotic services" ads to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card. The Web site must provide that information to law enforcers if subpoenaed.
Buckmaster said at the time that the deal would allow legitimate escort services to continue advertising, while strongly discouraging companies conducting illegal business.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal on Wednesday called on Craigslist to stop what he calls "pimping and prostitution in plain sight." He asked the site to immediately eliminate photographs in the "erotic services" section, hire staff to screen images and ads that violate the site's terms of service and fine users who violate those terms.
Blumenthal said Thursday that he plans to meet with Craigslist officials in the next week and is confident that his counterparts around the country will support him in reaching another agreement.
"I'm confident that they are committed to stronger steps against ads that can lead to horrific tragedies such as occurred in Boston," Blumenthal said. "The Boston tragedy is only one of many brutal and violent crimes that occur as a result of prostitution ads or other illicit activities on this site and similar ones."
Buckmaster said Wednesday that criminals who use the site are virtually guaranteed to get caught because they leave electronic trails that are easily traced. He noted that there have been billions of interactions on Craigslist, adding, "Compared to human society as a whole the risks of Craigslist are low, but they're not zero."
Some are skeptical about the efforts to combat the world's oldest profession on the Web. Trying to curb the ads on Craigslist may just drive them to another site that is less cooperative with authorities, said Steve Jones, a professor of communication at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
"Craigslist is sort of only a symptom of the problem," Jones said. "The problem here is criminal behavior. Criminal behavior will find a way to express itself regardless of the medium."
The issue shows how authorities are struggling with how to respond to age-old social ills that are increasingly emerging on the relatively new Internet, he said.
"In some ways it's kind of a constant cat and mouse game," Jones said. "We have a long way to go to figure out how to deal with them."
Erratic wildfires keep Myrtle Beach on edge
South Carolina's biggest wildfire in decades is threatening to rage again near tourist spots after an overnight lull.
Erratic wildfires
Also:
What your favorite songs say about you
From classic rock to classical, your musical taste can mean a lot when you're making a first impression.Swine flu deaths worry world health experts
Mexico City schools, museums, and theaters are closed after up to 61 die and hundreds sickened from a new strain of swine flu.Swine flu
Also:
'Hidden photons' to send secret emails through Earth
If the hypothetical particles exist, we could use them to send messages straight through the center of the planet.Dark matter may have ripped up early universe
A billion years after the big bang, hydrogen atoms were mysteriously torn apart.
Could dark matter be the culprit?
Dark matter
Road kill tally hints at wildlife health
Counting road kill may be an effective way to keep track of changes in local wildlife populations
NJ judge taking a month to rule on blogger rights in Too Much Media Case
It's expected to be at least a month before a New Jersey judge decides whether to dismiss a lawsuit against a blogger.Freehold-based Too Much Media, which sells software to porn Web sites, is suing Shellee Hale.(pictured) The company wants the judge to order the Washington state resident to reveal her sources in postings she made last year claiming customer information was compromised.
Hale's lawyer argues she's protected by shield laws for journalists.
The judge heard arguments on the issue Thursday.
*****
This case has far reaching issues attached to it and could place one helluva roadblock in the path of bloggers and blogs. I am none too sure of the 'journalist' defense however - at least in the traditional sense of the word. If her sources were/are legitimate then naming them would be a non-issue as a blogger - as a journalist maybe not such a non-issue. If they are pulled from the ether, then Libel it is, blogger or journalist.
As said, traditionally a blogger is not a journalist but with the changing mode of communication in the internet era that may not be the case any longer. This blog 'reports' and 'editorializes' and according to more than a few readers, 'is where they get their news', so - a journalist - maybe, maybe not. But the 'protections' afforded journalists are afforded bloggers just as the 'liabilities' of journalists are that of bloggers as well - you can not have the Ying without the Yang.
Obama responds to soldier's worried mother
A woman fearful for her son in Iraq says she feels much better after getting the president's handwritten note. Something the shrub would never do!Obama responds
Something the shrub would never do! Then again President Obama is an actual human being with intelligence, wit, manners and grace. Qualities completely absent from the shrub.Empty airport gets millions
Pennsylvania's small John Murtha airport doesn't get a lot of passengers, but it does pull in big stimulus cash.
Taxpayer money
Men find abandoned safe thought to be century old
Two men said they've found an abandoned safe by the side of some railroad tracks and that it could be more than a century old.
Shark Dumped On Australian Newspaper's Doorstep
Journalists have a lot to be nervous about lately: layoffs, furloughs, newspaper closures. But reporters at an Australian paper may have received the scariest threat of the day when a live shark was left on their doorstep.
Owl lives in Arkansas Home Depot
A Home Depot in northern Arkansas has someone new looking out for mice at the warehouse store.
I guess the 'better' old fashioned method of keeping a Black Snake in the 'Barn' to keep away the rats and mice (and other snakes as well - of the poisonous variety) wouldn't set too well with the wimmin and cityfolks.Yoga at 83
Bette Calman is a yoga instructor at age 83.
She teaches as many as 11 classes a week and has no plans to retire.
From News.com.au:
Damn, I wish I could do that! I can toss telephone poles and boulders around all day, but yoga - furgitaboutet!
She teaches as many as 11 classes a week and has no plans to retire.
From News.com.au:
"Even a basic posture, or just going to a window and breathing deeply, can have big benefits."
It's that spirit that has made Mrs Calman a legend. The author of three yoga books was a pioneer of the regime in Australia in the 1950s, ran yoga centers interstate for 33 years and made regular TV appearances in the 70s.
Damn, I wish I could do that! I can toss telephone poles and boulders around all day, but yoga - furgitaboutet!
Unusual Holidays and celebrations
You realize it is Arbor Day today, but are you aware it it is also National Hairball Awareness Day as well?
Our Readers
Some of our readers today have been in:
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Kuwait, Al Kuwayt, Kuwait
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
La Baie, Quebec, Canada
Kerch, Krym, Ukraine
Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas
Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
as well as Singapore
and
Anderson, Indiana: Durham, North Carolina: Washington, D.C.: Milford, Connecticut: Chicago, Illinois: Dayton, Ohio: Baltimore, Maryland: West Palm Beach, Florida: Englewood, Colorado: Columbia, Tennessee: Phoenix, Arizona: Las Vegas, Nevada: Chico, California: Olathe, Kansas:
Arlington, Virginia: Tacoma, Washington: Princeton, West Virginia: Plano, Texas: Honolulu, Hawaii: Sharon, Massachusetts: New Providence, New Jersey; Royersford, Pennsylvania: New Orleans, Louisiana: Madison, Wisconsin: Springfield, Missouri: Livonia, Michigan: Albany, New York: Portland, Oregon: Stone Mountain, Georgia: Bangor, Maine: Muscatine, Iowa: Lincoln, Nebraska: Jackson, Mississippi: New Castle, Delaware: London, Kentucky: Pinson, Alabama: La Crescent, Minnesota: Casper, Wyoming: Salt Lake City, Utah: Anchorage, Alaska: Tulsa, Oklahoma: Pelhamn, New Hampshire: Montpelier, Vermont: Billings, Montana: Boise, Idaho: Perrie, South Dakota: Fargo, North Dakota: Moncks Corner, South Carolina
in the United States
Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Kuwait, Al Kuwayt, Kuwait
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
London, England, United Kingdom
La Baie, Quebec, Canada
Kerch, Krym, Ukraine
Nassau, New Providence, Bahamas
Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Cairo, Al Qahirah, Egypt
as well as Singapore
and
Anderson, Indiana: Durham, North Carolina: Washington, D.C.: Milford, Connecticut: Chicago, Illinois: Dayton, Ohio: Baltimore, Maryland: West Palm Beach, Florida: Englewood, Colorado: Columbia, Tennessee: Phoenix, Arizona: Las Vegas, Nevada: Chico, California: Olathe, Kansas:
Arlington, Virginia: Tacoma, Washington: Princeton, West Virginia: Plano, Texas: Honolulu, Hawaii: Sharon, Massachusetts: New Providence, New Jersey; Royersford, Pennsylvania: New Orleans, Louisiana: Madison, Wisconsin: Springfield, Missouri: Livonia, Michigan: Albany, New York: Portland, Oregon: Stone Mountain, Georgia: Bangor, Maine: Muscatine, Iowa: Lincoln, Nebraska: Jackson, Mississippi: New Castle, Delaware: London, Kentucky: Pinson, Alabama: La Crescent, Minnesota: Casper, Wyoming: Salt Lake City, Utah: Anchorage, Alaska: Tulsa, Oklahoma: Pelhamn, New Hampshire: Montpelier, Vermont: Billings, Montana: Boise, Idaho: Perrie, South Dakota: Fargo, North Dakota: Moncks Corner, South Carolina
in the United States
Daily Horoscope
Today's horoscope says:
Today calls for more creative types of communication -- featuring your special brand of flair.
Express yourself by writing a poem, whipping up a song, or breaking out into a modern dance -- do whatever it takes to get yourself noticed by the people who care about you the most.
Give them a smile!
OK, but do I need to wear greasepaint and floppy shoes to do it?
Today calls for more creative types of communication -- featuring your special brand of flair.
Express yourself by writing a poem, whipping up a song, or breaking out into a modern dance -- do whatever it takes to get yourself noticed by the people who care about you the most.
Give them a smile!
OK, but do I need to wear greasepaint and floppy shoes to do it?
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