Michael Jackson Death Prompts Bus Brawl

Jackson Remark Prompts Knife Threat
Suspect In Bus Confrontation Arrested
POSTED: Friday, June 26, 2009
UPDATED: 3:23 pm EDT June 26, 2009

NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The Broward Sheriff's Office said a man's comment about the death of Michael Jackson prompted a confrontation on a Broward County Transit bus Thursday evening.

James Kiernan, 60, of Coral Springs was riding the bus near Kimberly Boulevard and State Road 7 when he received a text message saying that Jackson had died. He told the other passengers on the bus about Jackson's death.

The bus driver commented, saying
Jackson should have been in jail long ago, BSO said.

"The world just lost a great musical talent," Kiernan said.
For some reason, BSO said, that comment enraged another passenger, 54-year-old Henry Wideman of North Lauderdale. Police said he told Kiernan to shut up, and Kiernan said, "I can say whatever I want."

According to BSO, Wideman started yelling profanities, pulled out a 6-inch folding knife, moved toward Kiernan and threatened him as Kiernan backed away.

The bus driver told his dispatcher of the situation and pulled over near Rock Island Road and Kimberly Boulevard to wait for police.

BSO said Wideman got off the bus and went to a nearby Quick Stop, where deputies arrested him. Wideman
faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Story from JustNews

DC - Metro Operator was NOT on cell phone

There had been some speculation about whether Jeanice McMillan, the Metro operator who lost her life in Monday's Red Line crash, had been using her cell phone at the time of the collision, but Metro says she wasn't, WTOP reports.

"We know where her cell phone was -- it was not on her. It was in a backpack," Metro General Manager John Catoe said. Investigators have also reportedly found evidence on the rails at the crash site that the brakes were activated several hundred feet before impact.

"The train itself was trying to stop for several hundred feet," Catoe says. "There's not one letter of evidence that our operator did anything to cause the accident."

More from WTOP - DC

Howard Stern Programing Not Featured on iPhone App

When Sirius XM released its iPhone application last week, one of the conspicuous omissions was Howard Stern.
After fielding a call from a fan on Monday,
Stern discussed why his channels won't be featured on the iPhone app.

"It was a rights thing, a contractual-rights thing," Stern told listeners. "It was a rights issue and a whole entanglement thing. So, we're not on it.
Maybe one day, we will be."

Stern sidekick Artie Lange chimed in, saying,
"Apple shouldn't profit off Howard Stern."
After trying to find the words to answer Lange,
Stern responded with a simple, "Yeah, that's it."

Stern's production company is paid $100 million each year by Sirius XM.
I guess that fee just isn't enough to include his channels in its iPhone app.

Story from CNET

Pictures from DC METRO Train Crash

US State Department to Twitter: Keep Iranian tweets coming

The halls of Foggy Bottom are ringing with the Tweets coming with Iran and the State Department is working to ensure they keep coming.

Senior officials say the State Department is working with Twitter and other social networking sites to ensure Iranians are able to continue to communicate to each other and the outside world.

By necessity, the US is staying hands off of the election drama playing out in Iran, and officials say they are not providing messages to Iranians or “quarterbacking” the disputed election process.

But they do want to make sure the technology is able to play its sorely-needed role in the crisis, which is why the State Department is advising social networking sites to make sure their networks stay up and running for Iranians to use them and helping them stay ahead of anyone who would try to shut them down.

For example, senior officials say the State Department asked Twitter to refrain for going down for periodic scheduled maintenance at this critical time to ensure the site continues to operate. Bureau’s and offices across the State Department, they say, are paying very close attention to Twitter and other sites to get information on the situation in Iran.

Because the US has no relations with Iran and does not have an embassy there, it is relying on media reports and the State Department’s Iran Watch Offices in embassies around the world. The largest such offices are in Dubai, Berlin and London, all home to large Iranian expat communities.

But officials say the internet, and specifically social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook, are providing the United States with critical information in the face of a crackdown on journalists by Iranian authorities.

FROM CNN

Twitter Reschedules Maintenance Around #IranElection Controversy

Twitter is playing a crucial role in the ongoing controversy over the disputed Iran elections. Meanwhile, earlier today Twitter publicized on their status blog that there would be maintenance at 12:45am ET/9:45pm tonight and it would last for at least 90 minutes.

While that would’ve been convenient for users in the US, it would’ve meant the maintenance would be scheduled for Tuesday morning Tehran time, when activity on the ground is likely to be intense. Taking this into account, Twitter, in conjunction with their network host, NTT America, have rescheduled maintenance to tomorrow afternoon US time – the middle of the night in Iran.

Story from Mashable.com

Facebook Strikes Again - 20 year old faces parole violation after drinking photos posted

Facebook drinking photos show parole violation in fatal DUI case
Court orders woman, 20, to wear alcohol ankle monitor

Having their pictures posted on Facebook while partying with friends may not seem like a big deal to many college students. But for a Campton Hills woman charged in a DUI-related fatal crash, those pictures had serious consequences.

Under orders from a Kane County judge, Erika Scoliere, 20, was outfitted Thursday with an alcohol-monitoring ankle bracelet after police found online photos of her consuming alcohol on Facebook.

The woman, who is awaiting trial, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI after a July 2007 collision in South Elgin that killed a motorcyclist.

As a condition of her bail, Scoliere had been ordered not to consume alcohol or be around people who are drinking, but South Elgin police found photos of Scoliere, who attends college in Ohio, drinking with friends.

"It appears the defendant is having a grand old time drinking tequila," Judge Thomas Mueller said during Wednesday's court hearing as he leafed through copies of the pictures.

" 'Erika passed out in my bed. Ha Ha,' " the judge said, quoting one of the captions.

Story from the Chicago Tribune

Twitter on the Tonight Show

Conan introduces the Tonight Show's Twitter Tracker:

Tony La Russa Sues Twitter Over Fake Twitter Account

Tony La Russa, the manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, is up in arms over the fact that someone other than him tweeted under his likeness and that Twitter permitted it. In fact, he’s so pissed that he’s taking Twitter to court.

So what’s the fuss all about? Apparently the individual tweeting as Tony La Russa (@tonylarussa was removed after the lawsuit was filed) made statements that the real Tony didn’t appreciate. So he’s suing Twitter and the causes of action include trademark infringement, trademark dilution, cybersquatting, misappropriation of name and likeness, invasion of privacy, and intentional misrepresentation.

As Exhibit A demonstrates, the fake La Russa had all of four followers (just think of how many people know about this story now) and tweeted with a few obscenities and inappropriate remarks that are understandably offensive. We can also see, however, that the Twitterer in question wasn’t masquerading as La Russa, but instead a very obvious fake. The bio reads, “Bio Parodies are fun for everyone.”

According to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the complaint for damages states, “As a direct and proximate result of Defendant’s actions as stated herein, Plaintiff (La Russa) has suffered significant emotional distress, damage to his reputation, and damage to the goodwill of his mark.”



Story: June 3rd, 2009 | by Jennifer Van Grove from Mashable.com