Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 23:43 - Category: Unfiled ;
Tyler Froatz, who was arrested on May 1 for assaulting Sarah Sloane of the ANSWER Coalition at an immigrant rights rally, then on weapons charges after his car and apartment were searched, was denied bail in a hearing today.
The judge said “the community has reason to fear” Froatz and ordered him back to jail. His trial is mandated to take place within 100 days.
Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 08:52 - Category: Unfiled ;
The Connecticut legislature yesterday voted unanimously to award $5 million to Calvin Tillman who spent 18 year in prison for rape and was freed after DNA tests showed he could not have done it. He and his mother were invited in after the vote and got “sustained applause”.
Legislators seemed shaken by the fallibility of the legal system - and humbled by how graciously Tillman has coped with that failure.
“I’ll never vote for the death penalty again,” Sen. Edith Prague, D-Columbia, told Tillman after the 33-0 vote in the Senate. “This did it for me.”
Sen. Ed Gomes, D-Bridgeport, called Tillman the most gracious man he had ever met.
“If this had happened to me, I would hate the world for the rest of my life,” Gomes said.
How many more are there like Tillman? He was freed through the efforts of the Connecticut Innocence Project, a state program.
The nationwide Innocence Project has been instrumental in getting 200 convictions reversed based on DNA testing and works towards reforming the criminal system. Tragically, 15 inmates have been executed prior to DNA testing that showed them to be innocent.
Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 00:15 - Category: drought ;
Dave Riley blogs on the continuing serious drought in Queensland, Australia, saying that undoubtedly needed water conservation measures are having unintended consequences. The government is now mandating that 10% of sewage water be treated then used as drinking water. But this adds all manner of chemicals to the water, and if water usage is down due to conservation, then less of that is available to go back into the supply. Thus, the concentration of the chemicals will rise. He thinks the chemicals will cause fish kills too.
Also, with everyone building water tanks and storing as much water as possible, he asks, “what are we then supposed to do, ‘individually’, with the water?
Another problem is that reduced water usage means less water flowing into septic tanks, with the result that they stop working correctly.
So, I’m saying peoples: things ain’t as easy as they seem no matter what baloney is proffered as a solution.
Often, conservation (and recycling) programs are aimed at the end user, the consumer. Like it’s all supposed to be their responsibility. But that’s hardly a solution. The answers have to come from all levels of the production chain, from manufacturers and agriculture too, not just consumers. In the Central Valley of California, water is brought in from hundreds of miles away at subsidized rates to irrigate water-hungry crops in a semi-arid area simply because the soil is fertile. Growing crops unsuited for semi-arid areas using imported water is something that can not last long-term nor is it sustainable.
California better pay attention to what’s happening in Australia now. As should we all. Conservation and intelligent use of resources need to be implemented at all levels of the (literal) food chain.
Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 00:07 - Category: Unfiled ;
IBM will be spending $1 billion a year to make its data centers more energy efficient.
The company has aptly titled this initiative Project Big Green, and claims that it will enable the average 25,000-square-foot data center to cut its energy bills by 42 percent.
Google too
Companies such as Google, which has quietly rolled out a massive network of advanced data centres, have built new plants on the banks of large rivers to harness hydroelectric power.
One of the most dramatic advances perhaps are the new Sun T1000 servers. They are the most energy efficient ever, using about the power of a light bulb, a mere 72 watts per processor, resulting in huge savings on electricity and cooling. Video.
As mentioned before, large corporations are doing what the US government should be doing, moving fast to become energy-efficient and green. Sure, they see money in it, both in savings to themselves and future revenue as they sell the technology and skill sets to others. But they are doing it. Large corporations will be the driving wheel towards energy efficiency in the U.S. because only they have the money, resources, and technological chops to implement the change, especially given that the U.S. government is obstructionist and comatose about energy efficiency.
Via Gigaom
Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 00:02 - Category: Unfiled ;
Here’s a direct URL to search Google minus Adsense/Adwords ads:
Use that URL and no Google ads will appear.
Bob Morris @ May 17th 2007 00:02 - Category: Unfiled ;
Use Bringo to look up the 800 number of the company you want to call.
Enter your phone number.
“Wait a few seconds while we navigate the phone tree.”
Bringo will then phone you. When you pick up the phone, you’ll be talking to a real person at the 800 number.
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