originmetrics.com

Monday, February 5, 2018

Yesterday, North Korea announced head of state Kim Yong Nam is to attend ceremonies in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for the upcoming Winter Olympics. The proposed visit would make Kim the highest-ranking North Korean official to go to the South in several years.

The move comes after the two Koreas announced a unified team to play women’s ice hockey in the games and the North canceled a scheduled joint ceremonial display, opting instead for a military parade on their side of the Korean Demilitarized Zone.

Kim holds the title of President of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea, a purely ceremonial role in the legislative body of North Korea. He is to head a 22-member delegation supplementing artists, athletes, coaches, and a cheer squad of over 200. The last time a high-ranking official visited the South was the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon when army leader and Workers’ Party’s Central Committee member Hwang Pyong So came to the closing ceremony. Hwang was purportedly the second most powerful man in North Korea behind supreme leader Kim Jong-un until he disappeared in late 2017.

South Korea’s Ministry of Unification announced the delegation after the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team lost to Sweden 3–1. The two nations plan to march together on February 9’s opening ceremony but the North canceled a joint cultural event, instead announcing a military parade for the day before. The allies are to hold annual joint military exercises after the Paralypmics which follow the Olympic Games.

Sunday, September 21, 2008

An email accidentally sent to Jeff Crouse of the Anti-Advertising Agency recently brought the controversial techniques of the advertising firm Kluger Agency under fire.

“I’m writing because we feel you may be a good company to participate in a brand integration campaign within the actual lyrics of one of the worlds most famous recording artists upcoming song/album,” the email read, offering to place Jeff Crouse‘s fake brand, Double Happiness Jeans, into the songs of popular artists. It was posted on his blog along with a reply that mocked Kluger and brought ridicule and criticism against Adam Kugler and his agency. According to Crouse, Kluger emailed him once again to claim it had been an automated email, and later requested that Crouse remove the post and comments criticizing himself and his agency, threatening a $150,000 lawsuit against Crouse for defamation.

Kluger Agency is known for advertising brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Mercedes-Benz, and Nike by inserting the brand names in the songs of popular artists like Mariah Carey, Black Eyed Peas, Fall Out Boy, Pink, Lady GaGa and Ludacris. Kluger, founded in 2006, represents over 170 corporations and focuses on well-known record labels.

Kluger and his PR team have come forward defending the advertising techniques, stating that they do not have songs made just for the products in question and do not infringe on artistic integrity. “Now, we don’t want an artist to write a song specifically to promote a brand, we just feel that if it’s a product that’s admired by the artist and fits his/her image, we now have the capability of leveling out the playing field and making things financially beneficial for all parties involved,” he was quoted saying to Wired.

However, the agency’s website shows video examples of its product placement, with brand images and names often being repeated, pointed at, praised, or being the basis of the song. The website also advertises that “a successful ‘brand-dropping’ campaign will imprint [the] brand name and product into your market’s subconscious”.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Kentucky State Police said yesterday that the September 12 death of census worker Bill Sparkman was suicide. His body was found naked in a Clay County, Kentucky cemetery, with “Fed” written on his chest and his census identification taped to his neck. This prompted widespread speculation that anti-government sentiment was responsible. However, police now believe that Sparkman deliberately killed himself, and tried to make it look like murder so his son could receive an insurance payout. Trooper Don Trosper, a Kentucky State Police spokesman, said, “[w]e believe this was an intentional act. We believe the aim was to take his own life.”

This conclusion is based on the police’s analysis of several elements of the crime scene; Sparkman was not hanged in the typical manner; his knees were less than six inches off the ground, and he could have avoided death simply by standing up before he suffocated. Captain Lisa Rudzinski, a leader of the investigation stated, “We do not believe he was placed in that position.” The letters of the word “Fed” were written bottom first, which is unlikely if they had been written by an attacker. The rag found in his mouth contained only Sparkman’s DNA. Police also believed he left glasses taped to his head so he could see while preparing.

Police suspect Sparkman’s motives included debt, failure to find a full-time job, and a desire to provide for his son through his life insurance.

Friday, April 11, 2008

In the Opening Day of 2008 AutoTronics Taipei (April 9), the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) invited Jamie C. Hsu (Consultant of Ministry of Economic Affairs of the Republic of the China and Former Management Executive Director of General Motors Global Technology) for a speech in the “Pavilion of Taiwan Automotive Research Consortium (TARC)” to forecast the future of automobile industry in Taiwan, which echoed the “Taiwan Automotive International Forum & Exhibition”, held at TWTC Nangang in conjunction with 2008 Taipei AMPA.

Before the main show, Department of Industrial Technology of Ministry of Economic Affairs supervised the establishment of TARC by ITRI, Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Metal Industries Research & Development Center, and the other academical and industrial units to improve the level of research and development including applications on security, artificial intelligence, and energy-saving.

Sunday, January 1, 2006It looks like baseball stars Manny Ramirez and Miguel Tejada might be traded after all. Several New York Daily News sources claim that Ramirez could go to the New York Mets as part of a four-team deal. However, budget constraints may complicate the trade. According to the Daily News, if this blockbuster deal is successful, the following trades could take place:

Mets would get:

• Manny Ramirez
• Danys Biaz

Red Sox would get:

• Miguel Tejada
• Joey Gathright

Orioles would get:

• Matt Clement
• Julio Lugo
• Kris Benson

Devil Rays would get:

• Andy Marte
• Jae Seo
• Kaz Matsui

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Yesterday, Brian McMonagle, a lawyer defending the U.S. actor Bill Cosby, accused the prosecution of attempting to exclude black jurors. Cosby, who is black, is charged with drugging and sexually assaulting a white woman.

Prosecutors claimed that one of the potential jurors, a black former police officer who had once sued the state, might have an anti-government bias that could skew her judgement in trial. The judge overseeing the case, Steven T. O’Neill, decided to accept the prosecution’s explanation but told Cosby’s lawyers he would entertain their accusations of racial bias if they came back with statistical evidence. Of eleven jurors seated as of yesterday, ten were white and one was black. Out of the 100 potential jurors examined, sixteen were non-white and about a dozen were black. Of the eleven, seven were men, four were women. One juror and six alternates had yet to be selected.

Nearly 3000 residents of Pennsylvania’s Allegheny County have been called to report for jury selection for just one trial. After selection, eighteen of those people will be bused about 300 miles (500 km) to Norristown where the trial of Bill Cosby for the alleged 2004 sexual assault of Andrea Constand is scheduled to begin on June 5.

The area around Pittsburgh was chosen as as source of jurors at the request of Cosby’s legal team, who were concerned about the interest that politicians elsewhere in Pennsylvania have shown in the case.

Judge O’Neill, was present for jury selection: “No one should make an effort to be on this jury, and no one should make an effort to not be on this jury,” he instructed the first set of 100 potential jurors.

The first round of winnowing was done by questionnaire. Potential jurors were asked if they had religious beliefs or experiences with criminals that might affect their ability to serve impartially. Jurors were asked if they or anyone they know has been sexually assaulted, and about a third said yes. Jury selection specialist Howard Varinsky, who worked on the Scott Peterson and Timothy McVeigh cases, said the judge would be likely to dismiss jurors who said yes to that question; and said defense lawyers would likely favor black jurors who might question the veracity of reports from police officers and older jurors who may see Cosby’s alleged victim as an adulteress.

Under Pennsylvania jury selection rules, either side may reject any number of jurors “for cause,” meaning either that they have some health problem or work obligation that would make jury service an undue hardship for them or that there is some proof that they could not be impartial. Someone who has admitted to hating or loving Cosby could be struck for cause. Each legal team may also strike seven jurors and three alternates regardless of their reasons, which they are not obliged to share with the court. However, they are not allowed to exclude jurors solely because of their race or gender, which is what Cosby’s lawyers allege the prosecution attempted to do Tuesday.

Over the past few years, about 40 women have accused Bill Cosby of drugging and sexually assaulting them. One woman besides Constand is expected to testify to establish that Cosby’s actions were part of a predatory pattern. Cosby claims his encounter with Constand was consensual and says he hopes to restore his reputation and career. If convicted, Cosby, who is currently 79 years old, could serve 10 years in prison.

Bill Cosby is best known for his role on The Cosby Show, which earned him the nickname “America’s Dad.”

Judge O’Neill has already decided to sequester the jury for the trial, estimated at about two weeks.

Friday, December 8, 2017

On Thursday, a federal judge heard the first of several lawsuits filed against the U.S. government over the Bear’s Ears National Monument after United States President Donald Trump’s proposed reductions in the protections formerly given to the Bear’s Ears National Monument went into effect last Friday.

On Wednesday, the Utah Dine Bikeyah, a Navajo nonprofit, posted the fourth and latest of several lawsuits against the Trump Administration over plans announced Monday that would split the Bears Ears National Monument into several smaller parcels and greatly reduce its overall size. The Conservation Lands Foundation, Archaeology Southwest, Friends of Cedar Mesa, Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, Access Fund, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation are all co-plaintiffs in the suit.

“President Trump has literally dismembered our sacred Bars Ears monument that five Tribes have worked tirelessly for many years to protect in order to preserve our culture and way of life,” reads a statement by Mary Benally of Utah Dine Bikeyah.

On Monday, shortly after the announcement, representatives of the five Native American tribes of the Bears Ears Inter-tribal Coalition, the Hopi, Pueblo of Zuni, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Ute Indian Tribe announced plans to sue the administration of sitting United States President Donald Trump over the shrinking of protections on a Utah monument area that is home to Native American ruins and artifacts. Ten environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, National Resources Defense Council, and Wilderness Society are also filing lawsuits regarding another monument area, also in Utah. President Trump publicly announced his plans to redesignate both sites on Monday.

In a visit to Utah on Monday, President Trump announced plans to break up the Bears Ears National Monument into three smaller areas similarly reduce the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The coalition claims that the Antiquities Act of 1906 forbids the president from doing this. “The President was plainly aware that he lacked the authority to revoke a monument and is thus transparently attempting to evade that strict limitation by purporting to reduce it but, as described herein, the President’s action must be viewed as a revocation, particularly with respect to all objects not included in the two ‘new’ monuments,” the official filing argues.

In his announcement, President Trump said, “The families and communities of Utah know and love this land the best, and you know the best how to take care of your land. You know how to protect it. And you know best how to conserve this land for many, many generations to come,” and called the original designation government overreach.

According to documents acquired by The Washington Post, a uranium consortium called Energy Fuels Resources had engaged a professional lobbying firm to convince the Trump Administration to reduce the size of the monument so that it could access the uranium deposits inside. Uranium is the raw material used as fuel in nuclear power plants, and the only uranium mill in the United States is just outside Bears Ears. Secretary of the Interior Zinke says this was not a factor, however: “This is not about energy,” he said on Tuesday. “There is no mine within Bears Ears.”

Navajo Nation President Russel Bageye called the decision “an open invitation for mining companies to come in and start mining uranium and other minerals in the area.” Many uranium mines have been opened on or near Navajo land. Most were never cleaned properly and the land and water remain heavily contaminated.

There is some legal precedent for a president shrinking a national monument—Woodrow Wilson shrank the Mount Olympus National Monument during the early 20th century, but no court cases ever rejected or endorsed the decision.

Although the specifics were not confirmed until Monday, the fact that the administration had plans to reduce protections on Bears Ears and Escalante in some way has been public knowledge, and the Bears Ears Inter-tribal Coalition had already been planning to sue. In a statement issued Thursday, Nov. 30, President of the Navajo Nation Russel Beyaye said, “At the very least, President Trump should have consulted with the original local governments of the Bears Ears region: our five Indian Nations. Instead, our many requests for consultation were ignored. An action to diminish the Bears Ears National Monument in any way will be an action against the Navajo Nation and the Navajo people who have worked so tirelessly to protect these lands.”

“The tribes view this as an affront to themselves and their own self determination,” said attorney for the Native American Rights Fund Natalie Landreth earlier this month in the Salt Lake Tribune. “All of us, all five tribes will be suing jointly the day he makes an announcement.”

Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante were declared protected areas by then-Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, and both are home to artifacts and archeological sites. Bears Ears had a problem with looters before President Obama declared it a national monument. The changes will split the monuments up into many smaller parcels and reduce the overall protected area by more than a million acres collectively. According to some White House documents, protected status will be “confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects identified” as in need of protection.

The Antiquities Act gives the sitting U.S. President the authority to set aside spaces already within federal territory that he feels are in danger without requiring approval from Congress, for example, by prohibiting industrial development and motor vehicle access. Over the past century, legal scholars and a U.S. attorney general have claimed that the Act does not permit a sitting president to reverse a previous president’s decision.

Several Republicans, including Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, support the president’s decision: “I believe his proclamation, following Secretary [of the Interior] Zinke’s fair, thorough, and inclusive review, will represent a balanced solution and a win for everyone on all sides of this issue.”

Other groups, including the clothing retailer Patagonia have also announced plans to sue. Patagonia, which sells outdoor clothing and equipment, argues that by reducing the size of areas where customers would use the company’s products, the government is denying Patagonia business. However, the Inter-tribal Coalition’s lawsuit was the first one filed.

“The tribes feel it was important to file first, to be ahead of the line, to make it very clear that this is not just a conservation issue,” said attorney Natalie Landreth of the Native American Rights Fund, which is representing the coalition. “To them, it is a tribal sovereignty issue.”

This comes days after President Trump was condemned by the National Congress of Native Americans for his use of the term “Pocahontas” during ceremony meant to honor Navajo Code Talkers, Native American men who developed and used a Navajo language-based military code for the U.S. military forces during World War II. “Pocahontas,” is President Trump’s nickname for Democrat Elizabeth Warren, a reference to Warren’s claims that her family has Native American ancestry. The ceremony was held in front of a picture of former president Andrew Jackson, who presided over the Trail of Tears in the early 1800s, in which thousands of Cherokee perished in a forced migration west.

[edit]