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OT: The News Thread

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The video of the office windows blowing out from the blast was insane. The sheer power behind it is unbelievable
 
You never know. I just don't want to be alive to see any of it. Astroid, Volcano, Ice caps melting. I would like to be long gone before all that chaos starts.
 
MapleLeafBlueJayBoy said:
Also a super volcano under Yellowstone National Park showing signs of expanding. If that blows, bye bye human race.
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bah, don't sweat it. Odds are it won't blow anytime soon. This is a true Black Swan type event. It has such a low frequency that it really shouldn't be considered for human time scales.
 
link
And he's not alone, according to a study released Wednesday which says the lockout has left many Canadian hockey fans feeling slighted by the NHL, a factor that has pulled down its overall brand value.

Consultancy firm Brand Finance, which tracks the clout of brand names in the real world, estimates that the NHL will lose nearly $328.2 million US in brand value in 2013 as fans spend less money on hockey in the coming year, for an overall post-lockout NHL brand value of $1.56 billion US.

By comparison, the NFL has a brand value of $9.13 billion US, Major League Baseball $4.41 billion US, and the NBA $2.73 billion US, according to Brand Finance.

Among the most valuable Canadian NHL teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost $26 million US in brand value due to the lockout, down to $141 million US, the Montreal Canadiens $36.2 million US, down to $126.4 million US, and the Vancouver Canucks lost $26.6 million US in brand value to $89.6 million US, the report said.

Overall, Canadian teams saw nearly $125 million US shaved off their brand value.
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The lockout lost the value of one franchise. Hmmm... great job, guys.
 
On the bright side ...

Conrad Black loses bid to have remaining convictions dismissed

Published Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 05:54PM EST

Last updated Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2013 06:08PM EST

Conrad Black has lost a bid to have his remaining convictions dismissed on the basis that prosecutors “intentionally deprived” the former media baron from hiring the defence lawyers he wanted.

The filing, made last year in a U.S. district court in Chicago, centred around claims that law enforcement’s seizure of $9-million (all figures U.S.) of proceeds from the sale of his New York apartment left Black without enough money to retain lawyers Brendan Sullivan and Gregory Craig, who both worked at Williams & Connolly LLP in Washington.

Black purchased the apartment from his company Hollinger in 2000 for $3-million and later sold for $9-million. His lawyers argued that prosecutors deceived the court to obtain two warrants to seize the assets by concealing information that would have undermined their case for taking the money.

The former press magnate sold the Manhattan dwelling for $9-million, with the intent of paying for counsel to defend him against allegations of improper conduct at Hollinger International. Because the money from the sale wasn’t available to Black, his lawyers argued that denied him his right to counsel.

Black said that without the money he couldn’t afford the services of the two high-profile lawyers. Sullivan served as defence counsel for U.S. Marines Lt.-Col. Oliver North during the Iran-Contra scandal. Craig worked as Barack Obama’s White House Counsel, represented John Hinckley, Jr. when he was acquitted of an attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, and represented Goldman Sachs in 2010.

On Tuesday, Illinois Justice Amy St. Eve, the same judge who presided over Black’s initial fraud charges, denied the motion.

“It is worth noting that this case was hotly litigated from the beginning,” Eve said in her decision.

“During the course of the pretrial proceedings and the trial, (Black) never informed the court that he was not represented by his counsel of choice.”

The filing accused prosecutors of leaving out two key documents that contradicted their claims that Black defrauded Hollinger in setting a purchase price of $3-million for the apartment, the same amount Hollinger had paid for it initially, even though it had appreciated in value.

Black, who was released from prison last May, would have been cleared of two remaining fraud counts if his motion was successful.

The initial filing stated that while it was too late to “turn back the clock” and allow Black access to his chosen lawyers, it was not too late to overturn his convictions.

Black served 37 months of a 42-month sentence in a Florida prison and returned to Canada last year under a special temporary permit given that he is no longer a citizen.

In a highly publicized battle in 2001, he renounced his Canadian citizenship so he could accept a peerage in the British House of Lords.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...maining-convictions-dismissed/article8901488/
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Metalleaf said:
Maybe we'll get another Santorini?
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One of the coolest places on the planet.

It's still active too.

I've been to Mt. Vesuvius as well. They call it the "sleeping giant". The town is creeping up the mountain. People never learn. I read somewhere that when it did go off and buried Pompeii and Herculano that it had been dormant for 900 years.

Nature >
 
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