October 01, 2005
Early Bird: Terminator secures second term
Schwarzenegger signs paparazzi, health club bills
Schwarzenegger signs paparazzi, health club bills
By STEVE LAWRENCE, Associated Press Writer
Friday, September 30, 2005
(09-30) 17:32 PDT SACRAMENTO, (AP) --
Paparazzi who commit assault in their pursuit of celebrity photographs could be hit with hefty civil penalties under legislation signed Friday by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.The measure by Assemblywoman Cindy Montanez, D-San Fernando, stems from an incident last May 31 in which Los Angeles police said a photographer rammed his van into a car driven by actress Lindsay Lohan.
Lohan suffered cuts and bruises and the photographer, Galo Ramirez, was arrested on an assault with a deadly weapon charge and released on bail.
In addition to existing criminal charges, Montanez's bill would allow people who contend they are victims of paparazzi assaults to file lawsuits seeking up to three times the damages they allegedly suffered.
The plaintiffs could also ask for punitive damages and a court order requiring the photographer to give up any income earned from the pictures involved.
"This bill hits the paparazzi where it hurts — the wallet," Montanez said. "Money is their motivation, so taking away their money will be the solution."
In other news, Schwarzi announces that plastic surgery will be both deductable from your state taxes, and amortizable over a 10 year period.........
Posted by cystdog at 05:22 PM
July 12, 2005
Hitchens delivers a body blow (and so well)
From Srebrenica to Baghdad - What the genocide taught us about intervention. By Christopher Hitchens
From Srebrenica to Baghdad
What the genocide taught us about intervention.
By Christopher Hitchens
Posted Monday, July 11, 2005, at 9:41 AM PT
slate.com
Ronald Steel is one of the most gentle and humane liberals I have ever met, but I can still see his next-day's op-ed in the New York Times, announcing that the fall of the "safe havens" was "a blessing in disguise," since it might force the Bosnians to sue for peace. I can remember the red rage in which I wrote a letter to the Times, saying that a mass murder was a pretty effective disguise. And the sickening news, day by day, of the routine and organized torture and slaughter, and then the crude interment of the butchered cadavers, ploughed under like black plastic bags of refuse.
....
The European Union utterly failed Bosnia, which was in its very own "back yard." So did the United Nations. So did the Clinton-Gore administration, for as long as it regarded Milosevic as "containable" by the use of sanctions. Bosnia did not cease to be a killing field, and Serbia did not cease to be an aggressive dictatorship until the United States armed forces took a hand. The neoconservatives, to their great honor, mostly supported an effort to prevent genocide being inflicted on Muslims: an enterprise in which Israeli interests were not involved.
Posted by cystdog at 06:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2005
My letter to the Bee about KFBK
I wrote to the Bee on Saturday morning in reply to the editorial they did on the Lodi men accused of lying to the FBI about their involvement with an Al Queda-connected religious school in Pakistan. It won't get printed, but I thought I'd post it here. I'd like to say a whole lot more, but 200 words was enough, as I'm beginning to get a 1976 flashback.
RE:Editorial: Concern and restraintI've appreciated the Bee coverage of this situation, and the sense of urgency that Federal authorities have in stating Hate Crimes will be just as vigorously prosecuted as terrorism. Unfortunately, not all Sacramento media is as conscientious as the Bee in reporting the truth and trying to bring balance and context to coverage of this story. KFBK, as of Friday evening, continued to report that "hospitals or certain food supplies were possible targets listed in Federal documents" despite repeated quotes in print, on video, on radio,(not only for local media, but national and international media) of the FBI and Justice Dept. saying this was untrue, as quoted in the Bee's 06/09 story "Fifth Lodi man detained in al-Qaida investigation". It is said Politics makes for strange bedfellows, and KFBK's spreading of inaccuracies, creating Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt seems to put them on the same page as Al Queda, with the some of the same goals. Perhaps KFBK needs to examine their motivations in reporting inaccurate information in this situation, as do their audience members.
Posted by cystdog at 05:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
March 11, 2005
2 socal city council members get burned backing Walmart
2005 ELECTIONS -LA Times
Wal-Mart Foes Claim Win in Rosemead
Voters oust two council members who backed chain, which still plans to build a store there.
By Jason Felch - LA Times Staff Writer
March 10, 2005
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-walmart10mar10,1,4784178.story
Excerpt:
Wal-Mart's efforts to build Supercenters in Los Angeles County suffered a setback this week when voters in Rosemead ousted two council members who supported the project in that community and replaced them with two critics.
Although the results were unlikely to halt construction of the store, experts said it demonstrated the aggressive efforts of labor unions and community groups to challenge Wal-Mart at every turn as the retail giant attempts to expand across California.
The election in the small bedroom community 12 miles east of downtown Los Angeles was widely seen as a key battle in Wal-Mart's efforts to expand in Southern California. Wal-Mart wants to build 40 Supercenters, which combine a regular Wal-Mart store with a discount grocery market, in the state.
Wal-Mart's Supercenters have received a largely warm welcome in outlying communities in the Inland Empire. But unions, some politicians and some neighborhood activists have vigorously fought to keep them out of Los Angeles County.
"Its been slowed to the pace of a snail because they've run into all this opposition," said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., a nonprofit that has done regional economic studies for Wal-Mart. "It's working, but Wal-Mart is fighting back. It's too rich a market to walk away from."
The Rosemead City Council voted last year to allow Wal-Mart to build a store in the city. Though two anti-Wal-Mart council members were elected Tuesday, a majority on the council is still in favor of the development.
Posted by cystdog at 02:37 PM | TrackBack
March 08, 2005
Elk Grove's version of Paine's "The American Crisis" started by Mulberg
Elk Grove - Diana Lambert: New Web site's creator wants to keep low, roaming profile - sacbee.com
Diana Lambert: New Web site's creator wants to keep low, roaming profile
By Diana Lambert -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, February 27, 2005
Man behind the curtain: There's a new Web site in town. The Elk Grove Insider at www.elkgroveinsider.com made its debut Jan. 1 with little fanfare. The low-key launch was intentional. Elliot Mulberg would just as soon no one know he is the man behind the site. "Mostly because of my position in the community and the politics that are going on," said Elliot, a director on both the Elk Grove Community Services District and LAFCO boards. "I don't want them to think this is a position of the CSD or LAFCO." A community services district suit against the city, as well as Elliot's previous opposition to approving city incorporation documents as a LAFCO member, may be why he feels that way. So far, the site doesn't appear to be anti-city, balancing an article by activist Sarah Johnson that questions the city's lack of interest in the Sacramento Blueprint Project with an article by regular commuter Ray Asregadoo about improvements to the city's new transportation system, among others. Elliot plans to invite four to five authors to submit articles each month. There is no editing, and Elliot keeps his distance with a disclaimer at the bottom of the page
Posted by cystdog at 07:34 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 24, 2005
Did the Gods scare Angelo and Friends?
Natomas landowners call off arena deal - 2005-02-23 - Sacramento Business Journal
One wonders, with the unprecedented mini-tornados that touched down in North Natomas, and the subsequent announcement of the Arena deal going south, if Angelo and friends didn't get a little scared and interpret the weather as a "Sign from the Gods". If so, which God(s), and what will they sacrifice next to appease them? Somehow, I figure it will involve land in Rancho and our quality of life.
Natomas landowners call off arena deal
Mike McCarthy
Staff writer, Sacramento Business Journal
The North Natomas landowners planning to help fund a new arena for the Sacramento Kings basketball team in return for getting their land zoned for development have canceled their effort.
Posted by cystdog at 06:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Does Bush use the Internet?
I was thinking about how essential the Internet is for my personal finance decision-making: from buying tickets to various sporting events to buying auto insurance, balancing my checking account and paying bills, tracking my retirement investments, or trying to get to the bottom of a computer problem.
Bottom line, I don't know how I could make as timely and competent financial decisions w/o internet access as with internet access, and with that admission comes the frustrating fact that to use the Internet today, one has to take care in preventing spyware and adware from being installed on your system, given the volume of sensitive personal financial information we regularly share online.
And then the question struck me..........
after reading that Gator's CPO had been appointed to the Department of Homeland Security's Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee..
Does the President of the United States of America use the Internet?
How could anyone with so many important decisions to make resist the urge to verify for himself, even occasionally, what he's being told by his advisors, and if so, how in the heck did anyone from Gator get appointed to any position in the Dept. of Homeland Security with the prolific amount of negative publicity and discussions online about Gator?
So, does anyone know if President Bush uses the Internet and what he uses it for? And what does he do about spyware and pop-ups? Where's he browsing that's he's not reading about the uproar about spyware and adware?
Posted by cystdog at 05:30 AM | TrackBack
January 10, 2005
Matsui's Wife says yes
Politics - Matsui's widow planning to run - sacbee.com
Advisers urge her to head off potential rivals to replace her husband in Congress.By Steve Gibson and Sam Stanton -- Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, January 10, 2005Moving to fend off any potential competition, Doris Matsui began calling Sacramento friends and political figures Sunday to tell them she plans to run for the seat her husband held for 26 years before he died Jan. 1.
Matsui, 60, widow of Rep. Robert Matsui, D-Sacramento, plans to make a formal announcement early this week, said numerous people who spoke to her Sunday, one day after her husband was buried.
She had hoped to wait longer before making the move, but political advisers convinced her that she needed to make it clear she plans to run before any other candidates emerge.
Posted by cystdog at 09:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
