Voyages>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>: Cod: grim assessment from NOAA

Voyages>`·.¸¸.·´¯`·...¸><((((º>: Cod: grim assessment from NOAA:

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SawStop on Colbert Report!

Steve Gass and SawStop were featured on last night's Colbert Report (2/13/12)!!   He's ruining America, says Colbert's character by depriving us of our right to sacrifice our own fingers from those who would baby us by requiring SawStop technology.

HERE is the link and other good stuff from FineWoodworking

There is a ton of material - including links to the first plaintiff's verdict - upheld by the 1st Circuit, CPSC materials, and the famous hot dog video HERE
Steve Gass: "Steve Gass has a Ph.D. in physics and a dangerous hobby. An amateur woodworker, Gass cuts wood with table saws that spin almost 70 times a second. The saws' sharp, quickly spinning blades can chop off a finger; in fact, over 3,000 people a year lose fingers to table saws. One day in his workshop, Gass looked at his saw and wondered how quickly he could stop the blade in the event of accidental contact."
<div style="background-color:#000000;width:520px;"><div style="padding:4px;"><iframe src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:cms:video:colbertnation.com:408216" width="512" height="288" frameborder="0"></iframe><p style="text-align:left;background-color:#FFFFFF;padding:4px;margin-top:4px;margin-bottom:0px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:12px;"><b>The Colbert Report</b> <br/>Get More: <a href='http://www.colbertnation.com/full-episodes/'>Colbert Report Full Episodes</a>,<a href='http://www.colbertnation.com/video'>Video Archive</a></p></div></div>

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BP Reports Stronger Q4 Earnings in 2011 - NYTimes.com

BP crews looking for tarballs in the sand - 2010

It's morning in America on the Gulf Coast says British Petroleum. - GWC
BP Reports Stronger Q4 Earnings in 2011 - NYTimes.com: "HOUSTON — Less than two years ago, the British oil company BP was worried about its very survival as a seemingly unstoppable oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico threatened to destroy its finances and reputation."
"But on Tuesday, BP expressed renewed confidence in its future, reporting strong quarterly profits and raising its dividend to shareholders. The company also said it was eager to resolve billions of dollars in remaining private and government claims from the accident, whether through a settlement or in a trial scheduled to begin Feb. 27 in New Orleans. "
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Marriage Ban Violates Constitution, Court Rules - NYTimes.com

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has voided as violative of Equal Protection Proposition 8 - the popular referendum which barred gay marriage in California. The Federal court struck the measure, which amended the state constitution, overturning  a California Supreme Court decision affirming the right to marry on state constitutional grounds.  California Governor Jerry Brown refused to defend the referendum first as Attorney General, and now as Governor. 
The ruling is a narrow one.  It centers on the fact that Prop. 8 took away a status which some California same-sex couples had already gained while same-sex marriage was recognized in California.  Prop. 8 arbitrarily denied "equal dignity" to same sex married couples, the court concluded.  - GWC

Marriage Ban Violates Constitution, Court Rules - NYTimes.com: "“Although the Constitution permits communities to enact most laws they believe to be desirable, it requires that there be at least a legitimate reason for the passage of a law that treats different people differently,” Judge Stephen Reinhardt wrote in the decision. “There was no such reason that Proposition 8 could have been enacted.”


“All that Proposition 8 accomplished was to take away from same sex-couples the right to be granted marriage licenses and thus legally to use the designation ‘marriage,” the judge wrote, adding: “Proposition 8 serves no purpose, and has no effect, other than to lessen the status and human dignity of gay men and lesbians in California.""


Lead counsel for plaintiffs are the odd couple: David Boies and Theodore Olson (as in Gore v. Harris)
Opinion in Perry v. Brown (in his official capacity)
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After a Delay, MF Global's Missing Money Is Traced - NYTimes.com

After a Delay, MF Global's Missing Money Is Traced - NYTimes.com: "Investigators have determined what happened to nearly all of the customer money that disappeared from MF Global around the time of its bankruptcy last Oct. 31, but have not publicly disclosed their progress, fearing that doing so might cripple efforts to recover the cash and pursue potential wrongdoing, people briefed on the investigation said.

While authorities have traced hundreds of millions of dollars to banks, MF Global’s trading partners and even the firm’s securities customers, investigators remain uncertain about whether they can retrieve the money.

Some recipients were entitled to payouts from MF Global, which could make clawing back the money difficult. For instance, securities customers withdrawing their money as MF Global began to collapse were paid from accounts that belonged to futures clients, according to other people briefed on the matter."

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OTHERWISE: How Quinn Emmanuel Does it: Sugar-coated bills |

Alternative billing by "America's largest business litigation firm". - GWC

OTHERWISE: How Quinn Emmanuel Does it: Sugar-coated bills |:

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In 2003 businessman identified foreclosure abuses

Nye Lavalle

Unlike the many whistle blowers who are ignored - especially those whose rhetoric seems overheated to those used to the way business is done - Nye Lavalle hit the nail on the head and got a response.  His charges of mortgage foreclosure fraud prompted Fannie Mae to undertake a rebuttal.  The FNMA commissioned an analysis and report by the D.C. law firm Baker & Hostetler, LLP.  The lawyers confirmed many of Lavalle's allegations, but Fannie Mae ignored their warnings, according to an account in today's Times by Gretchen Morgensen.  In 2006 Baker & Hostetler concluded:

“It is axiomatic that the practice of submitting false pleadings and affidavits is unlawful...With his complaint, Mr. Lavalle has identified an issue that Fannie Mae needs to address promptly.”

But FNMA did not promptly address the issue.  Of the seven deadly sins sloth and greed are most obviously implicated.

North River Piers

Piers once lined the shores of Manhattan.  Remember in U.S. v. Carroll Towing the court says that a barge had to be "drilled out" and the bargehand should have been there to help out?  It probably was a barge tied to a pier like this.  You can find these pictures - and many more of the North River piers in Manhattan - HERE.

the bulk cargo barge in Carroll was probably this size,
not a huge RR barge

stanchion on pier

Feds turn down request for new cod assessment | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram

Feds turn down request for new cod assessment | The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram: "BOSTON — The nation's oceans chief has turned down a request made first by Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry for a new assessment of the health of Gulf of Maine cod.

New data indicates cod is badly overfished, and fishermen now face ruinous cuts in their catch. The data have drawn skepticism from fishermen because they show a reversal of a recent, optimistic study.

In December, Kerry asked for a new cod assessment that fishermen can trust.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco said this month that a new assessment can't be done in time for managers to make decisions for the May start of the fishing year.

She also said the agency doesn't yet have new data needed to move ahead. She assured Kerry she is committed to helping fishermen."

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CL&P Storm Credit to Total $140 - Ellington-Somers, CT Patch

Kenneth Feinberg is reported to be an adviser to Connecticut Power and Light and to the state's Governor on administration of a refund due to customers of $140 each.

CL&P Storm Credit to Total $140 - Ellington-Somers, CT Patch:

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