Steve Donziger Wants Billions From Chevron Not For Ecuador
Steve Donziger, the lawyer representing Ecuador against Chevron in a $16 billion lawsuit, where Chevron is not the actual party at fault, stands to gain over $5 billion, making him one of the richest people in the World -- if he wins.
If the truth prevails, the company Donziger should be suing is Petroecuador, owned by the Country of Ecuador. That firm has been responsible for explosions and oil spills since 1990. If Donziger wins, Petroecudor litterally gets away with murder.
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com -- Last Friday's Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing Olympics Stadium was without a doubt the greatest event of its kind in the history of the Olympic Games. It was China's "coming out" party, and the organizers $300 million was well-spent.
The results showed in China Olympian Li Ning's levitating speed-skater style "walk" around Olympic Stadium and his lighting of a giant torch, which in turn caused what had to be the largest fireworks display in the history of the Olympic Games, if not the World.
A spectacle that looked tremendous, and even animated, and that's because it was.
The organizers of the event admitted that computer graphics were used to "replace" the actual fireworks images because the fear was that the "haze" -- read: smog -- was so bad that a great camera shot of the pyrotechnics would have not been possible.
Still, it was controversial because it took away from the overall historic effort and also took the wind out of the sails of the China Olympics, and sadly.
I write that because regardless of that country's problems, we're all fans of the Olympics and want to see it go well. Period.
But what was done reminded me of the movie "Wag The Dog". That flick, which starred Robert De Nero and Dustin Hoffman, was about a war that was staged on a television set and never happened at all.
With China's actions, we're a massive step closer to that possible occurence. China not only faked the fireworks, but the singer employed in the Opening Ceremony.
Seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, "who was deemed not attractive enough to go on stage" according to the article, was replaced by nine-year-old Lin Miaoke. One thing's for sure, that will scar Yang Peiyi for life, the fact that her own China told her she was not attractive enough to be seen singing on the biggest stage in the World, even though they love her voice!
Toward Laws Preventing This In The Future
I think we need to craft a series of International Laws to prevent or at least discourage (which is the best we can do) the occurence of the use of digital technology in this way. It's far too dangerous a possibility to ignore, especially in the wake of the fake fireworks scandal.
We hear alot about Michael Phelps and Natalie Coughlin, especially in the San Francisco Bay Area, where Natalie's a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley -- Cal!
But we don't hear alot about heroes like Emily Silver, Natalie's teammate , fellow Cal-grad, and friend. Emily planned and trained to race in the 100 free, 100 fly, 200 free, and 50 free, but because she broke two fingers, Emily qualified for the 4 by 100 relay, where she played a major role in the United States taking the silver medal in that category.
The latest twist in the Laure Manaudou v. Federica Pellegrini 2008 Olympics story is that Laure did not compete in the Wednesday finals of the 200 meter. It was kept in relative silence, but Manaudor had said she was thinking of quitting the day before.
Personally I feel sorry for Laure because she was in the perfect position to make a dramatic comeback on the World stage, and yet she gave up. Plus, in doing so, she allowed her nemesis Federica Pellegrini to win -- which she did -- and take the spotlight.
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com -- Last Friday's Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing Olympics Stadium was without a doubt the greatest event of its kind in the history of the Olympic Games. It was China's "coming out" party, and the organizers $300 million was well-spent.
The results showed in China Olympian Li Ning's levitating speed-skater style "walk" around Olympic Stadium and his lighting of a giant torch, which in turn caused what had to be the largest fireworks display in the history of the Olympic Games, if not the World.
A spectacle that looked tremendous, and even animated, and that's because it was.
The organizers of the event admitted that computer graphics were used to "replace" the actual fireworks images because the fear was that the "haze" -- read: smog -- was so bad that a great camera shot of the pyrotechnics would have not been possible.
Still, it was controversial because it took away from the overall historic effort and also took the wind out of the sails of the China Olympics, and sadly.
I write that because regardless of that country's problems, we're all fans of the Olympics and want to see it go well. Period.
But what was done reminded me of the movie "Wag The Dog". That flick, which starred Robert De Nero and Dustin Hoffman, was about a war that was staged on a television set and never happened at all.
With China's actions, we're a massive step closer to that possible occurence. China not only faked the fireworks, but the singer employed in the Opening Ceremony.
Seven-year-old Yang Peiyi, "who was deemed not attractive enough to go on stage" according to the article, was replaced by nine-year-old Lin Miaoke. One thing's for sure, that will scar Yang Peiyi for life, the fact that her own China told her she was not attractive enough to be seen singing on the biggest stage in the World, even though they love her voice!
Toward Laws Preventing This In The Future
I think we need to craft a series of International Laws to prevent or at least discourage (which is the best we can do) the occurence of the use of digital technology in this way. It's far too dangerous a possibility to ignore, especially in the wake of the fake fireworks scandal.
In a totally sad story of the work of a sick mind, Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney was killed by an obviously mentally deranged Timothy Dale Johnson, who walked in a shot him for no apparent reason. other than Timothy Dale Johnson had lost his job.
Gwatney was to appear at the Democratic National Convention on August 23rd to August 29th. I did not have the pleasure of knowing Mr. Gwatney but am saddened by the loss as I very will could have met him at the DNC Convention. Moreover, it brings into sharp focus how dangerous our society has become, especially to those who represent a political party during a poor economy.
As breath-taking as the current "Bird's Nest" design of the Beijing National Stadium is, this one -- an onion -- was favored before it. But the enormity and scale of the design reflects just how much in resources China committed to these games.
The total cost of the China Olympics was $40 Billion. That's more than twice as great as the current cost of the London games, which is at $18 billion. The cost of the Beijing Opening Ceremony alone is about $300 million.
- Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper will speak on Monday and Colorado Governor will speak on Thursday.
Mark Squier, the producer, said that bookending the convention with prominent Colorado Democrats was part of a larger strategy to showcase the party's rise in what has become a political battleground. - Denver Post
On Aug. 12, 1892, The Brown Palace Hotel opened its doors in the heart of downtown Denver. The hotel has remained open every minute of every day since opening.
Every U.S. president has visited The Brown Palace since Teddy Roosevelt (1905), with the exception of Calvin Coolidge.
Four of the hotel's suites are named for their famous residents: The Beatles Suite, Eisenhower Suite, Reagan Suite, and Roosevelt Suite.
Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to stop at The Brown Palace Hotel. He came to Colorado to hunt bear in the spring of 1905. During his trip, he spoke to a group of businessmen at an elaborate banquet at the hotel. Roosevelt preceded the trend for cigar smoking; 1,500 cigars were smoked during the event.
- Ohio Governor Ted Strickland will speak on Tuesday night
Gov. Ted Strickland has been given a prime speaking spot at the Democratic National Convention to talk about the economy. Strickland told reporters in a conference call that the Barack Obama campaign asked him to speak Tuesday evening at the convention. - PolitickerOH
- Focus on the Family has removed their video asking everybody to pray for rain at Invesco.
- The DNCC announces "Countdown to America's Future" daily webcasts.
In recognition of the growing power of the Internet and online video, now the primary source of news to millions of Americans, the Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) announced today the launch of “Countdown to America’s Future,” a series of daily webcasts about the 2008 Democratic Convention, featuring campaign officials and Convention insiders who know what’s happening behind the scenes and the inside scoop to watch for during each night’s televised Convention program.
- Our friends at Georgia Politics Unfiltered interviewed one of the finalists in the DNCC's "Why Are You A Democrat in 2008" contest. You can see the other videos and vote here.
In the wake of the Russia, Georgia conflict we have a new small scandal involving the speech Senator John McCain gave on Tuesday calling for Russia's withdrawl from the former part of the Soviet Union. According to Taegan Goddard that may be so. This is what he reports at CQ Politics:
A Wikipedia editor emailed Political Wire to point out some similarities between Sen. John McCain's speech today on the crisis in Georgia and the Wikipedia article on the country Georgia. Given the closeness of the words and sentence structure, most would consider parts of McCain's speech to be derived directly from Wikipedia.
First instance:
one of the first countries in the world to adopt Christianity as an official religion (Wikipedia)
vs.
one of the world's first nations to adopt Christianity as an official religion (McCain)
Second instance:
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Georgia had a brief period of independence as a Democratic Republic (1918-1921), which was terminated by the Red Army invasion of Georgia. Georgia became part of the Soviet Union in 1922 and regained its independence in 1991. Early post-Soviet years was marked by a civil unrest and economic crisis. (Wikipedia)
vs.
After a brief period of independence following the Russian revolution, the Red Army forced Georgia to join the Soviet Union in 1922. As the Soviet Union crumbled at the end of the Cold War, Georgia regained its independence in 1991, but its early years were marked by instability, corruption, and economic crises. (McCain)
Third instance:
In 2003, Shevardnadze (who won reelection in 2000) was deposed by the Rose Revolution, after Georgian opposition and international monitors asserted that the 2 November parliamentary elections were marred by fraud. The revolution was led by Mikheil Saakashvili, Zurab Zhvania and Nino Burjanadze, former members and leaders of Shavarnadze's ruling party. Mikheil Saakashvili was elected as President of Georgia in 2004. Following the Rose Revolution, a series of reforms was launched to strengthen the country's military and economic capabilities. (Wikipedia)
vs.
Following fraudulent parliamentary elections in 2003, a peaceful, democratic revolution took place, led by the U.S.-educated lawyer Mikheil Saakashvili. The Rose Revolution changed things dramatically and, following his election, President Saakashvili embarked on a series of wide-ranging and successful reforms. (McCain)
Granted the third instance isn't as close as the first two, which seem quite obviously taken from Wikipedia.
It should be noted that Wikipedia material can be freely used but always requires attribution under its terms of use. Whether a presidential candidate should base policy speeches on material from Wikipedia is another question entirely.
Yikes. This isn't something commonly done. Having written speeches for a number of politicians from former Mayor Elihu Harris of Oakland to Jerry Brown, I can explain that seasoned speakers generally have talking points or bullets. Full text is saved for a major speech, but then the writer tries to capture the "voice" of the speaker. You can't do that using Wikepedia.
Female French Swimmer Laure Manaudou has had a hard go of it of late. Just on top of the swimming World two years ago and in love with Italian Swimmer Male Luca Martin, Laure Manaudou saw her life change rapidly.
After breaking up with Luca Martin, tossing the ring he gave her into the pool, nude photos of her surface on The Internet, embarrasing her in the process.
Fast Forward to Beijing. Luca Martin has taken up with another female swimmer, Federica Pellegrini. Beautiful, athletic, and stunning, Federica Pellegrini has Laure Manaudou's ex-boyfriend and her ex-coach.
Then on Sunday, Laure Manaudou suffers a total performance collapse, coming in last in the 400m Freestyle race. Then, to add insult to injury, Laure Manaudou's 2007 200m Freestyle record is broken by none other than Federica Pellegrini, who also turned her back on Laure on Sunday.
The only way Laure can prevail and salvage a wrecked career is to beat Federica Pellegrini in the finals on Wednesday.
I'm rooting for Laure Manaudou, as she's been through far too much and is too talented for the treatment she's gotten.
What's fascinating about this is the level of attention female swimmers are given in Europe; much more than in the United States. Swimmers like Laure and Federica appear on talk shows and in the front page of magazines, and are chased by photographers.
In the Washington Post, former Hillary Clinton campaign spokesperson Howard Wolfson is under the mistaken impression Clinton would have won Iowa without Edwards.
That's nuts. Everyone knows that the Edwards people were more Obama folks than Clinton people. That why 80 percent of th Edwards delegates came over to the Obama side.
