Posts from — July 2011

Who was the person responsible for all of the illegal activities at News Corp – it was the tea lady. Apparently under the Murdoch regime only the tea lady is allowed to know what is going on, and has the authority to sign a lot of six-figure checks to pay for all of the hacking and snooping.

It has to be the tea lady, because Rupert kept switching between being Captain Louis Renault and being “shocked” that there was illegal activity at the papers he owned, and then becoming Sergeant Schultz to claim he “knew nah-theenk” about what was going on.

James was just sorry, and I have to say he is one of the sorriest excuses for an heir apparent since Dick Cromwell.

Nothing was apparently part of Rebekah’s “remit”. She was simply paid a lot of money to go to the office and hang out with people. She didn’t actually have any real duties or responsibilities.

So, it must have been the tea lady.

[Note: See Number 7.]

Both Tropical Storm Bret and Tropical Storm Dora are still active, but both are paralleling their respective coastlines, and neither seems inclined to go rogue and devastate large population centers. Dora might spin up to a Category 3 hurricane and produce high surf along the coast of Baja Sur, but that’s a good thing for local economies based on visiting surfers from el Norte.

They are threats to shipping, but that’s about it.

The longer it goes on the stranger it gets.

Via Attaturk at Rising Hegemon, I discovered this story from the Guardian: Police examine bag found in bin near Rebekah Brooks’s home.

Doesn’t everyone ask their friends to leave their laptop, cell phone, and personal papers in parking garage trash cans so they can be picked up later?

I wonder when Inspector Clouseau will be brought in to consult and if Mr. Brooks is related to Mel.

Saint Paul Troix Chateaux – Gap

Distance: 162.5 kilometers.

This stage is a 159 kilometer uphill grind to reach the top of the Category 2 Col de Manse, and then a downhill suicide run into Gap.

Thor swooped off the mountain and took Gap, but the jerseys are unchanged and there are only minor changes at the front.

Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 181 ) [Yellow] 69h 00′ 56″
Mark Cavendish ( GBr – THR – 171 ) [Green] 319 points
Jelle Vanendert ( Bel – OLO – 038 ) [Polka Dot] 74 points
Rigoberto Uran ( Col – SKY – 118 ) 10 [White]

Team: Garmin-Cervelo ( 051-059 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Thor Hushovd ( Nor – GRM – 051 )
Combative: Mikhail Ignatyev ( Rus – KAT – 195 ) [Red numbers]

They’ve gone 2,803.5 kilometers [1,742.0 miles] at an average speed of 40.6 kph [25.2 mph] ↑.

OVERALL STANDINGS:
[Read more →]

Position: 11.1N 94.1W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [280°] near 14 mph [22 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 105 miles [165 km].
Minimum central pressure: 997 mb ↓.

Currently about 360 miles [580 km] South-Southeast of Salina Cruz, Mexico.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

The BBC reports that Yates quits Met amid hacking row

Met Police Assistant Commissioner John Yates has resigned as the phone-hacking scandal fall-out continues.

He checked the credentials of Neil Wallis before the Met employed the ex-News of the World executive, arrested last week over hacking allegations.

Mr Yates indicated his intention to resign to the chairman of the Met Police Authority, which was accepted.

Mr Yates’s decison to quit comes after Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson resigned on Sunday.

The resignation of Sir Paul, the most senior policeman in Britain, came after he faced criticism for the recruitment of Mr Wallis as a PR consultant.

Mr Wallis, a former NoW deputy editor, was arrested and released on bail on Thursday on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications.

Mr Yates’s resignation came after he was informed he would be suspended pending an inquiry into his relationship with Mr Wallis.

There are rumors that London mayor Boris Johnson is in talks with several spinsters from small villages to take over the Met, although there are some promising traffic wardens closer to home. 😉

Update: The Guardian has a interesting piece: Sir Paul Stephenson turns on David Cameron. This will raise stakes on the Prime Minister.

Position: 28.7N 76.6W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northeast [030°] near 7 mph [11 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 60 mph [ 95 kph].
Wind Gusts: 70 mph [110 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 50 miles [ 85 km].
Minimum central pressure: 998 mb ↑.

Currently about 160 miles [260 km] North of Great Abaco Island.

The government of the Bahamas has cancelled all Watches and Warnings.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

I think most of us, at one time or another, have looked at a ballot and wanted to be able to check a box that rejected all of the choices we were given. There is no such choice on the general election ballot.

However, on the Presidential primary ballot you can select “none of the above”. There will usually be a choice for ‘uncommitted”, delegates that aren’t aligned with any candidate.

Consider the possibilities if you are still a member of a party, or are allowed by the laws in your state to vote in the Presidential primary election. If several states started sending uncommitted delegates to the convention, the Village would really get upset. The media can’t create controversies or pass along lies about “no one”. They can’t decide who gets talked about, because there is “no one” to talk about. The money people can’t run ads against “no one”.

Imagine the shock of the media conglomerates if it looked like they might have to actually cover a political convention to find out who won.

People who couldn’t afford to mount a primary campaign might actually have a reasonable chance at getting chosen, because it would be retail campaigning again.

There is another honored tradition of Presidential primaries that results in pretty much the same thing – nominating a favorite son/daughter. Usually there is a limit on the number of times a delegation votes for their candidate before being released to change their vote.

Long-time voters have watched the system morph into an insane waste of time and money to eliminate the selection process of a political convention. Maybe it’s time to step back to older traditions to indicate to the people currently in charge of the system that voters don’t like what they have done. Political conventions were once about selecting candidates, not providing media conglomerates with free content.

Position: 27.5N 78.0W [10PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Southeast [145°] near 2 mph [ 4 kph].
Maximum sustained winds: 40 mph [ 65 kph].
Wind Gusts: 50 mph [ 85 kph].
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 35 miles [ 55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 1009 mb.

Currently about 95 miles [150 km] Northwest of Great Abaco Island.

A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect for Grand Bahama Island and the Abaco Islands in the northwestern Bahamas.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

Women’s World Cup Final

Japan 1-1 US

Full Time

Japan 2-2 US

Extra Time

Japan 3-1 US

Penalty Shots

Japan wins on a 3-1 advantage in the Penalty Shoot-Out.

It was a 1-1 draw after regulation, then the US pulled ahead with a Wambach goal in the first extra time. Sawa responded with a goal for Japan in the second extra time, and extra time ended with a 2-2 draw.

This is well matched play with the exception of shots, which the US dominated 27-14, but the Japanese shots were more accurate 6-5.

The CBC reports that Rebekah Brooks arrested in phone-hacking scandal

Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch’s former British CEO, says she is “assisting the police with their inquiries” after being arrested in the British phone hacking and police bribery scandal.

Brooks, 43, was arrested at a London police station at noon Sunday by appointment. She is being questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications — phone hacking — and on suspicion of corruption, which relates to bribing police for information.

Police had previously arrested nine people connected to Murdoch’s British media empire over allegations that the News of the World hacked into the phone voice mails of hundreds of celebrities, politicians, rival journalists and even murder victims. No one has yet been charged.

Actually, Rebekah assumed she would be “assisting the police with their inquiries” [that phrase is actually a bit of humor that Terry Pratchett has used multiple times because only newspapers say it] when she went to the police station for an interview, but the police had already amassed enough information to arrest her.

[Read more →]

Limoux – Montpellier

Distance: 192.5 kilometers.

This is the sprinters last chance for glory in the Tour, with only a Category 4 in the morning and a relatively flat race in the afternoon. As Monday is a rest day. expect them to go all out to win the stage and the Green.

Well, it isn’t exactly a surprise that Mark Cavendish of the Isle of Man was first to the line with his fourth stage win this year and 19^th stage overall. He has moved into a tie for seventh place in lifetime stage wins. He has a 37 point lead over Jose Joaquin Rojas for the Green.

Thomas Voeckler ( Fra – EUC – 181 ) [Yellow] 65h 24′ 34″
Mark Cavendish ( GBr – THR – 171 ) [Green] 319 points
Jelle Vanendert ( Bel – OLO – 038 ) [Polka Dot] 74 points
Rigoberto Uran ( Col – SKY – 118 ) 11 [White]

Team: Leopard-Trek ( 011-019 ) [Yellow numbers]
Stage winner: Mark Cavendish ( GBr – THR – 171 )
Combative: Niki Terpstra ( Ned – QST – 129 ) [Red numbers]

They’ve gone 2,641.0 kilometers [1,641.0 miles] at an average speed of 40.4 kph [25.1 mph] ↑.

OVERALL STANDINGS:
[Read more →]

Apparently the Wall Street Journal didn’t think that the problems facing News Corp were of much interest to their readership, which is why they put the few stories they ran in the B Section, rather than the front page.

Fortunately, for those interested, other media outlets filled the gap. Outlets like NewsBiscuit provide the reader with interesting sidelights, as this story from 07/14: Rebekah Brooks should go now, urges Gaddafi

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is urging News International CEO Rebekah Brooks to ‘do the right thing and leave now.’ In an interview on Libyan state television, Gaffafi says: ‘She may well be charismatic, but she’s also batshit loopy. She’s power-daft, and yet I don’t think she can hold out much longer. It’s getting embarrassing, y’know?’

And there was: Rebekah Brooks unresigns

In yet another twist to the phone hacking scandal, former News International chief executive Rebekah Brooks has announced her unresignation from the company.

‘It is totally inconceivable that I could have known anything about my resignation,’ said Ms Brooks, speaking to a small crowd of remaining News International staff. ‘Clearly I cannot be held responsible for any decision to resign because when I made it I was only in charge,’ adding, ‘and anyway I was probably on holiday at the time.’

Note: for those who don’t understand, NewsBiscuit is a British satire site, so let’s not see these stories on CNN, OK? It goes without saying that Fox wouldn’t publish anything that questions the awesomeness of Rupert, even if it were a police report or court decision.

Apollo 11

Commander:

Neil A. Armstrong

Pilot: Columbia Command Module

Michael Collins, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF

Pilot: Eagle Lunar Module

Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin, Jr., Colonel, USAF

Launched: 16 July 1969 UT 13:32:00 (08:32:00 CDT)

Landed on Moon: 20 July 1969 UT 20:17:40 (15:17:40 CDT)

Landing Site: Mare Tranquillitatis – Sea of Tranquility (0.67 N, 23.47 E)

Returned to Earth: 24 July 1969 UT 16:50:35 (11:50:35 CDT)