Jan 28 2009
Archive for January, 2009
Jan 28 2009
Do police have the right to confiscate your camera?
Do police have the right to confiscate your camera?
January 21st, 2009
By Carlos Miller
Seconds after BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant, police immediately began confiscating cell phones containing videos that have yet to see the light of day.
In fact, the only videos that have been seen by the public were filmed by people who managed to leave the scene before police confronted them.
In one instance, police chased after Karina Vargas after she stepped on the train, banging on the window after the doors closed and demanding her to turn over the camera. The train sped away with Vargas still holding her camera.
Her video, which did not show the actual shooting but captured the turmoil before and after, was one of the first to pop up on the internet. And soon after more videos popped up showing the actual shooting.
In the most vivid video, the train doors can be seen closing seconds after the shooting as the train speeds away.
Jan 26 2009
Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown …
Twenty-five people at the heart of the meltdown …
The worst economic turmoil since the Great Depression is not a natural phenomenon but a man-made disaster in which we all played a part. In the second part of a week-long series looking behind the slump, Guardian City editor Julia Finch picks out the individuals who have led us into the current crisis
Jan 26 2009
Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost
SPECIAL REPORT Issue #1: America’s Money Crisis
Bloody Monday: Over 71,400 jobs lost
Seven companies announce massive job cuts in a scary start to the week.
By Julianne Pepitone, CNNMoney.com contributing writer
Last Updated: January 26, 2009: 5:58 PM ET
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The final week of January began with a bloodbath for the job market, as over 71,400 more cuts were announced on Monday alone.
At least six companies from manufacturing and service industries announced cost-cutting initiatives that included slashing thousands of jobs.
More than 200,000 job cuts have been announced so far this year, according to company reports. Nearly 2.6 million jobs were lost over 2008, the highest yearly job-loss total since 1945.
Jan 18 2009
For Businesses Big and Small, It’s Lights Out
For Businesses Big and Small, It’s Lights Out
Instead of Restructuring, More Are Quick to Liquidate
By Annys Shin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 18, 2009; Page A01
With the economy in the tank, companies are doing all they can to stay afloat. For many, though, even the most desperate measures have not been enough.
Former giants in American business have recently tilted into extinction. Circuit City announced Friday it would follow Linens ‘n Things and Sharper Image into liquidation and sell its assets. Over the next two years, analysts say, countless other businesses will simply fade away.
“This is now an unprecedented time as far as how bad things have gotten,” said Scott Peltz, managing director of RSM McGladrey, a consulting firm that helps turn around troubled companies.
Jan 15 2009
Obama Cannot Escape Cannabis in 2nd Round of “Open for Questions”
It is very interesting to watch how the Transition Team is dealing with Change.gov’s second round of Open for Questions, because the cannabis issue is just not going away.
For those who don’t know, Open For Questions is an interactive, community exercise on President Elect Obama’s website where questions to our soon-to-be president are posed by the public and voted up or down by same. It was likely a small embarrassment in December of 2008, when, in the first round, this sticky question garnered the most votes:
“Will you consider legalizing cannabis/marijuana/hemp so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a multi-billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?”
However, in spite of being the top vote-getter, when it came time for the answers, it was positioned low in the list, and although other answers were deliberative and thoughtful, this one was answered with a terse single sentence: “President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.”
It was a very obvious we are not amused moment.
Jan 14 2009
Photoshopped Subway Ads Get Exposed in Berlin
Messing with ads in subways is becoming an artform, but this “Photoshopping” of ads in Berlin takes things to the next level by creating a Photoshop interface with stickers. This is pitch-perfect adbusting right here.