RIDES AT COUNTY FAIRS

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RIDES AT COUNTY FAIRS

It’s summertime the kids are out of school, their excited about going to county fairs.  When I was a kid summertime to me meant hanging out with friends. Making money babysitting so you could, have money to go to the county fair. It’s a right of passage for kids all over to ride the rides at county fairs.

At the Alameda County fair Seven people were injured on the Wacky Worm ride a children’s roller coaster ride on July 1, 2010. On June 24, 2010 at Sonoma-Marin Fair in Petaluma a workers leg was severed when he stepped in front of  the Wacky Worm roller coaster. This ride is different from the children’s ride at Alameda County Fair.

 Are rides a county fair’s safe? At the Alameda County Fair, a chain broke on the ride. Was the ride inspected very carefully? Was it negligence on the part of operators of the rides? I guess we have to wait and see until the Occupational Safety and Health Administration gets done with their report. And for the worker at the Sonoma-Marin County Fair, I think personally he was at fault.

Well people if you love to go to county fairs and ride the rides, I guess we have to hope and pray that every ride we get on is safe. Have a great and safe summer.

http://kcbs.cbslocal.com/2010/07/02/wacky-worm-ride-injures-seven-at-alameda-county-fair/

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local/north_bay&id=7516634

LM

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Another Historic Murder Trial Gets Under Way

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Another historic murder trial gets under way this week in Los Angeles., however, this case was moved there from Oakland, California due to over-heated Bay Area publicity. Like the O.J. and Rodney King saga's, it involves a controversial police action, and racial elements that could lead to violence, depending on the outcome.

On New Years Eve 2009, 28-year old  BART police Officer Johannes Mehserle, who is white, shot and killed 22-year old Oscar Grant, who was black during a group scuffle at the Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California, and this time the tragedy was captured on video by an array of witnesses using cell phone cameras!

Guilt or innocence could actually depend on what this video or pictures reveals!  Did Mehserle intentionally shoot Grant in the back, or was he really just trying to shock the suspect with his Taser gun...and simply pulled the wrong trigger? Simply?  I don't think any part of this trial will be simple!

For instance, a final piece of evidence was turned over just this morning.  It was a photograph taken by Grant just moments before he was shot....and it shows Mehserle aiming his Taser at Grant. What happens after this snapshot....is the focus of the whole case!  If it is allowed as evidence, will this photo reveal that Mehserle knew full well where his stun gun was, in relation to where his revolver was?

Prosecutors say that Mehserle, who is the first Bay Area police officer ever charged with murder for an off-duty action, acted with malice when he shot the un-armed Grant in the back while trying to arrest him. The defense counters that Mehserle accidentally pulled the trigger on his revolver, while intending to just stun Grant with his Taser gun instead.

Neither side agrees on another critical question.... whether or not Grant resisted officer Mehserle prior to the shooting.  Prosecutors will try to prove that Grant had intense fear of being shocked, and thus saw the Taser being pointed at him, and yielded.

Mehserle's attorney Michael Rains, alledges that video shows Grant struggling to avoid being cuffed by his client, causing him to resort to the stun gun, and also that past incidents reveal Grant's tendency to resist  Police officers..

My own impressions may be swayed by the fact I know and have previously worked with the victim's mother in Hayward, California, Grant's hometown.  His mother supervised a UPS warehouse which I delivered packages to and from over the years.

Which ever way this trial ends, I fear the un-imaginable pain she has endured will surely be re-kindled the longer it drags on, knowing that no matter what the verdict....nothing brings back her son Oscar! My heart and my prayers have been with her for the past 17-months.

Still, I was satisfied to hear about the efforts of Dion Evans, an East Bay church leader and radio host who gathered many other community activists to enlighten authorities on the need for this trial.  "The people decided, we're not going to allow something like this to occur again", said Evans.

A different sentiment comes from police officers around the state who are concerned that a fellow cop could go to prison for making a mistake under difficult conditions.  One can't help but wonder how difficult...or not, the conditions may be for Mehserle, now on trial in front of a jury with no black members!

Nevertheless, Judge Robert Perry will allow this jury to hear racially slurred statements by former BART officer Anthony Pirone, who also detained Grant along side Mehserle prior to the shooting.  Pirone shouted at Grant: "Bitch-ass n--, right! Bitch-ass n--, right!"  Prosecuters believe Mehserle overheard this exchange, and it may have contributed to his actions.

The judge will also allow Grant's girlfriend to testify that she spoke briefly to him before the shooting, and that he sounded scarred while claiming he was being beaten for no reason.  The judge is also allowing both sides to introduce their own synchronizations of video footage from multiple angles...despite claims that some footage was botched.

Finally, while the evidence is unique in this case, the verdict may render violent public responses, so, the Oakland Police Department, who have already quelled one previous riot, are making plans to deal with any violent acts should Mehserle be acquitted.

Perhaps the police in Los Angeles should make similar plans!  Remember what happened after the Rodney King trial....not that long ago?

Thanks, and stay safe.

Sincerely, PeteCam4

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SAN JOSE COUNCIL CONSIDERS ARIZONA BOYCOTT

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SAN JOSE COUNCIL CONSIDERS ARIZONA BOYCOTT




I felt that with these bad economic times that Arizona Senate Bill 1070, This act declares that it is a crime to reside in Arizona as an illegal immigrant, and that law enforcement has the right to demand proof of legal residence of those suspected of having illegal immigrant status. It was signed on April 23, 2010 would benefit all of us.


 I have three opinions on this matter. First of all jobs are very hard to come by these days. If  businesses keep hiring  illegal aliens and paying them less than minimum wage all the legal United States citizens out of work will continue to suffer. Second why should illegal aliens get government services, when United States citizens have a hard time getting these services themselves. Third when a illegal alien commits a crime in the Untied States some of them get away with it, because they hop on a plane, train or bus go back from where they came.


San Jose Council in my opinion should not! boycott Arizona. It would be a stupid move.  If San Jose Council is considering doing this just because, they think it’s wrong, in my opinion that’s not good enough. I think it’s wrong that San Jose Council is considering giving up millions of dollars and let alone putting jobs in jeopardy, just because they don’t think illegal aliens would report crimes because their afraid of deportation.


 I know it sounds like I am for racial profiling well I am not! I have had family members profiled because of the color of there skin or for what they were wearing. That was definitely wrong, but Arizona has the right idea, at least their trying to curtail the illegal alien problem in this country.






http://www.cfr.org/publication/22029?gclid=CL2go7DKjqICFQ06agodiB3_WA


http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_15231589?source=rss




LM

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OAKLAND TEACHER WALK OUT

OAKLAND TEACHER WALK OUT

People say our children are our future. What’s going on in Oakland school district, is nothing new. This has been going on all over the country for years. Teachers walking out because they have not had a raise in years or working without a contract. How are our children supposed to get the education they need, when teachers are walking out.

I feel for the teachers, because it’s hard enough to make ends meet on a teachers salary, let alone not getting a raise with the cost of living going up. How are our teachers all over this country supposed to go to work and give our children a good education  when they are fed up. Not giving a hundred percent to our children is not acceptable. Something needs to be done about this crisis, because if not then the future of our children is at stake. If that means higher taxes then so be it, because our future is in the hands of our youth.

LM

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Off-color in Morgan Hill

The four boys at Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill, California who wore American flag T-shirts on 'Cinco de Mayo', may have showed poor judgment, chose bad timing, and displayed insensitivity toward their Latino classmates. 

 However, unless they were flaunting this patriotic gesture with physical threats or verbal insults in order to start a riot....nobody (school officials included) had the right to tell them to turn the shirts inside-out or go home!  It wasn't like they were yelling "fire" in some crowded theater

All that did was violate their rights of freedom of speech and expression, and, in the process...fuel a media frenzy that catapulted a small California town into the national spotlight.  Maybe that's IT!  This is all some public relations brainstorm used to boost local economy!  No, I'm kidding--although it DID!

Seriously though, just as free speech rights protected flag burners 40-years ago, those same rights protect our wearing the national colors(on T-shirts)...the same way they should protect others who wear colors of their own ancestral flag.

Therefore, if four Mexican-American students wear red, white, and green T-shirts next 4th of July, no one should tell them to take them off either! The entire incident was blown out of proportion, and should never have happened.

 What I'm saying is, America is a land of immigrants(other than the Native Indians), all of us proud of our heritage, culture, language,origins and flag colors! While we should always hold tight to them, we're also Americans now--required to adapt, embrace, love, honor, and strive to become positive, contributing citizens who are proud of the red-white-and blue among other colors.(gang colors excluded)

If we actually lived by the above color-code in national harmony, incidents like the one in Morgan Hill, which ignited protest rally's and patriotic arguments on both sides, would never have blown up like they did!

Unfortunately, we don't, and it's bound to happen again because...although we are all in this together, we haven't yet learned to deal with it!

Thanks, stay cool

Sincerely, PeteCam4

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Buying printer ink is a rip off!

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I paid about $60 for a new Epson computer printer, which didn't seem too expensive at the time.  Then, I ran out of ink, and the nightmare began!  To replace all four standard colors(black,blue,yellow,purple) cost me almost $58!!

What's wrong with this picture?  At first I thought....well, it's the color of course!  I'll just by black ink, which runs between $17 and $19 a cartridge, and blow off the other colors!  WRONG!  You can't just replace the black ink!  You must get all four color  cartridges, that is, unless you can figure out which color is totally empty.  Then and only then, can you buy just one empty color....and that seldom happens.

If you are lucky, you'll be back printing for between $12 and $15, which is still expensive!  It seems just as economic to buy a new printer each time, rather than pay to refill its ink!  Where is the light at the end of this nightmare?

I talked with a sales guy at the 'Office Depot' on Bascom Avenue in Campbell, California, and told me there is some hope!  He said you can always get cartridge refills, however, not with all brands of printers such as Epson or the new HP models....but, you have to shop around.

If you own Cannon, Brother, Dell, Lexmark, or an older HP model printer, many stores such as Walgreen's and Office Depot have refill centers for certain printers. Going online helps even more. Check out sites like 'Ink Technologies.com', 'Ink Grabber.com', and Cartridge World.

Cartridge World offers anything and everything involving printer color and toner needs, and they have more than 600 stores in the United States....including Bay Area locations such as San Jose, Campbell, Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Redwood City, Hayward,  San Leandro, Pleasanton, and San Francisco.

Like many places, they take online orders with cheap shipping deals, however, keeping your printer filled with ink still costs consumers an arm and a leg--while companies who sell them get mega-rich!

Black ink costs the most because it runs out the fastest (of course), and in most other cases, all four colors either run-out or dry-up at the same time!  The best advice is to print as sparingly as possible, and check the color levels closely.  In many cases, the printer window on your computer will display a color gage.  Use it, if you have it!

Meanwhile, let us all hope that someday, printer ink prices will go down....the same way calculators, digital watches, and vcr's did!  It's possible...but, highly improbable!

Take care, and keep the faith

Sincerely,  PeteCam4

"Best Wishes"--PTCJr

THREE CAL BEREKELY GRADS DETAINED IN IRAN

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Image via Wikipedia

THREE CAL BERKELEY GRADS DETAINED IN IRAN

All the education in the world in my opinion does not stop people from doing stupid stuff. Shane Bauer, Sara Shourd and Josh Fatal set out on a journey to visit Iraq. They were hiking in the mountains of Northern  Iraq and crossed the border into Iran, they say by mistake.

First of all what in the world, would anybody in their right mind want to visit a country that is at war. The three are supposed to be educated, apparently not educated enough to know that Americans are not welcome in the Middle East. Stupid idea on their part! Now they are in poor health and are thinking about go on a hungry strike. What’s that going to prove!

I my opinion their just going to make their loved ones more worried. I think the three of them are acting selfish.

I don’t blame Iran for detaining the three, because if the tables were turned the United States would do the same. This should be a lesson to all the other educated fools, that if you are thinking about going to another country, let a alone one that is at war. Stop don’t do it is it really worth your life.

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/politics/Cal-Grad-Detained-in-Iran-52354402.html

http://www.kcbs.com/localnews/Hikers-Detained-in-Iran-Sick-Considering-Hunger-St/6873192

LM

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