cle

IBM feature article: IBM Sponsors AFB Leadership Conference in the Windy City featuring keynote speaker, Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow.

The AFB Leadership Conference was held in Chicago, IL on April 18-20, 2013. The conference had over 400 attendees and covered a wide range of topics over the 3 days. Chieko Asakawa, IBM Fellow, was a keynote speaker.




cle

IBM feature article: The importance of mobile accessibility.

The desire to connect whenever we want, wherever we are has created a unique opportunity for the private sector to capture new markets as they work to fulfill our desire for ubiquitous connectivity. The growth in mobile ICT technology is profound and shows little signs of slowing down.




cle

36 days until golf: Michelle Wie West returns to winner's circle in style




cle

Cleveland Nat. Forest v. San Diego Assn. of Governments

(Supreme Court of California) - Reversing the judgment of the Court of Appeal insofar as it determined that a 2011 analysis of greenhouse gas emission impacts prepared as part of a project for the development of transportation infrastructure in San Diego was inadequate and required revision.




cle

Ronnie Van Zant, Inc. v. Cleopatra Records, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Vacated an injunction that prevented a movie producer from releasing a film about the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd. Held that a consent order settling a 1988 lawsuit concerning band members' rights to make films about the band did not support the issuance of an injunction here.




cle

Seattle will permanently close 20 miles of residential streets to most vehicle traffic | The Seattle Times




cle

Untitled (https://www.propublica.org/article/how-profit-and-incompetence-delayed-n95-masks-while-people-died-at-the-va)

If this lede doesn't get you, I don't know what will. @davidmcswane's latest:




cle

Anatomy of a Classic Goal: Ronaldo's bicycle kick vs. Juventus




cle

Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the Copyright Act authorizes federal district courts to award a prevailing party only the six categories of costs specified in the general costs statute. A software manufacturer that obtained an infringement judgment against another company argued that the Act's reference to "full costs" meant that a court could award it costs beyond the six categories. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected this argument for additional costs in an opinion delivered by Justice Kavanaugh.




cle

ClearValue, Inc. v. Pearl River Polymers, Inc.

(United States Federal Circuit) - In a suit involving claims of indirect patent infringement and misappropriation of a trade secret: 1) the district court's denial of the defendant's motions for judgment as a matter of law of invalidity and noninfringement is reversed, where the jury lacked substantial evidence to find that another patent did not anticipate the claim; and 2) the district court's grant of judgment as a matter of law to the defendant on the plaintiff's trade secret claim is affirmed, where another patent publicly disclosed the alleged secret before the plaintiff communicated it to the defendant, and thus the jury's verdict of trade secret misappropriation was not supported by substantial evidence.




cle

Behm v. Clear View Technologies

(California Court of Appeal) - In an action against officers and directors of a company in which plaintiff invested, alleging false representations, following a default judgment for plaintiff, the trial court's grant of defendant's motion to vacate the default judgment on grounds that it did not have sufficient notice of punitive damages under Code of Civil Procedure section 435.115(f) and that it was entitled to mandatory relief under section 473(b), is affirmed where: 1) due process requires that when a plaintiff moves for discovery terminating sanctions and seeks punitive damages, a statement under section 425.111(f) must be served a reasonable time before obtaining those sanctions; and 2) notice must be sufficient to afford a defendant the opportunity to fairly appraise the full amount of damages sought by the time he or she needs to respond and oppose the motion.




cle

In re Sino Clean Energy, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that former board members of a corporation lacked corporate authority when they filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The board members argued that they had the proper authority to file the bankruptcy petition even though a receiver appointed by a state court already had removed them from the board of directors. Rejecting their argument, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the bankruptcy petition.




cle

In re Sino Clean Energy, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that former board members of a corporation lacked corporate authority when they filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The board members argued that they had the proper authority to file the bankruptcy petition even though a receiver appointed by a state court already had removed them from the board of directors. Rejecting their argument, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the bankruptcy petition.




cle

Durnford v. MusclePharm Corp.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Reinstated a consumer's proposed class action lawsuit against a manufacturer of nutritional supplements. Held that the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act did not preempt the consumer's California law claims that the company made false or misleading statements about the source of the protein in one of its muscle-building products. Reversed dismissal and remanded for further proceedings.




cle

Oracle USA, Inc. v. Rimini Street, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Partially affirming, partially reversing, and vacating the district court's judgment after jury trial in favor of Oracle on its copyright claims against a provider of third party support, affirming judgments of infringement, but reversing judgment as to California and Nevada statutes that weren't violated by use of automated tools, reducing damages accordingly, and vacating the permanent injunction and reversing the award of attorney's fees.




cle

Oracle America, Inc. v. Google LLC

(United States Federal Circuit) - Reversing a district court determination that Google's use of Oracle's Java Standard Edition platform programming interface in its Android operating system was fair use and decisions denying Oracle's motion for judgment as a matter of law and remanding for a determination of damages.




cle

Rimini Street, Inc. v. Oracle USA, Inc.

(United States Supreme Court) - Held that the Copyright Act authorizes federal district courts to award a prevailing party only the six categories of costs specified in the general costs statute. A software manufacturer that obtained an infringement judgment against another company argued that the Act's reference to "full costs" meant that a court could award it costs beyond the six categories. The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected this argument for additional costs in an opinion delivered by Justice Kavanaugh.




cle

Clearlake Shipping PTE Ltd. v. NuStar Energy Services, Inc.

(United States Second Circuit) - Held that a bunker (marine fuel) supplier was not entitled to maritime liens against two chartered vessels to which it had physically provided marine fuel for which it was not paid. Affirmed the district court, in a case raising the question whether subcontractors were entitled to maritime liens.




cle

McCleery v. Allstate Insurance Co.

(California Court of Appeal) - Affirmed the denial of class certification in a wage-and-hour case involving property inspectors in the insurance industry. The inspectors proposed to establish liability and damages using a method of anonymously surveying class members, but the trial court found flaws with the plan, and its decision to deny class certification was upheld on appeal.




cle

Can California’s Air Remain Clean Post Pandemic? Yes, If The State Amps Up Its Climate Goals, Studies Say.

By Ezra David Romero

Air quality across California has visibly improved with fewer drivers on the road because of stay-at-home orders. But when the orders are lifted pollution will likely return to pre-pandemic levels.

Some scientists say we don’t have to go back to having such poor air quality in the state, but they recognize it will take a total mindset change for Californians. The number of miles driven in the state has dropped by around 75% since stay-at-home orders went into place and has resulted in a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, said UC Davis Road Ecology Center director Fraser Shilling.

“We're learning new things about our driving behavior … can we both mitigate the harm from COVID-19 and also mitigate the harm that we cause by burning fuel and causing climate change?” Sterling questioned after analyzing data from Streelight.com. 

Nationally he reports there was a reduction of around 74 billion miles traveled in the U.S. from early March to mid-April. That resulted in a greenhouse gas emissions reduction of 4% nationally for 2020 and by 13% from transportation in about eight weeks. 

If this continues, Shilling says, the reduction of miles traveled could drastically impact our climate goals for the better, including putting the nation on track to meet its annual greenhouse gas reduction goals under the Paris Climate Accord.

He says it’s an interesting position for the federal government to be in where the lack of driving allows the U.S. to meet the goals of the “Paris Climate Accord, and on the other hand, inadvertently exceed the goals ... It's a cool green lining.”

California has a 2050 goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% from 1990 levels. Shilling says if traffic remained at stay-at-home levels for a year, the drop in miles traveled would allow the state to meet half of its climate target by 2050.  

The rest of the reductions would come from all sectors of the economy including transitions to bioenergy, offshore wind power, and increased energy storage. A 2019 study highlighted by Stanford University from the group Energy Futures Initiative says meeting the 2050 goals will be “extremely challenging.”

“It's painful to drive less and have less economic activity,” Shilling said. “But when we drive less, and when we work at home, we can start to meet these climate change goals. They're not so far out of the way, out of bounds that we can't achieve them.”

But Shilling says there are negative aspects, depending on how you look at it, including potentially $370 million less state fuel tax revenue.

“The upside for drivers — like I filled my tank a month and a half ago — is we're not spending as much on fuel,” Shilling said. “The less fuel that's sold, the less fuel tax revenue … that money is not available for transportation projects.”

Could California keep its cleaner air?

Researchers at UCLA are taking this idea further. A study came out this week saying that California has all the policies and technology to stop all human-caused emissions by 2050. 

“We think there is a room for California to achieve that goal ahead of the game,” said Yifang Zhu, one of the authors of the peer-reviewed study published in the journal Nature Sustainability

The authors call for increased energy efficiency across all sectors and reducing emissions from energy creation as the core ways to reach the sped up goal. That would mean a “systematic change” in how Californians consume energy and “more stringent” policies.

“We're talking about 85% electrification rate in the residential and commercial sectors, which we’re not even close to [today],” Zhu said. 

Achieving carbon neutrality is part of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s mission to limit the rise in global temperature to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels by 2100. 

Zhu says, “nothing in our model in the roadmap is something unrealistic” even at a half a century ahead of the global goal. Doing so would mean fast tracking the state’s existing goals and their models show that by 2050 the savings from curbing emissions will exceed the cost by around $109 billion.

“We need to do more than what we're doing today,” Zhu said. “I want to highlight the cost is actually only 50% compared to the monetary benefits and also want to communicate the urgency for California agencies for stakeholders and policymakers to really act.”

Zhu says, even though the study started before the pandemic began, there’s a lesson to be learned from the COVID-19 crisis. 

“It is cheaper and safer to prevent people from catching and spreading this Coronavirus, then to treat huge numbers of severe cases,” Zhu said. “Similarly [with] climate change it is much better to cut down greenhouse gas emissions to prevent global temperature rise than to figure out how to deal with the potential future catastrophic consequences.”

The authors also note the state’s most disadvantage would benefit. According to the study, the state’s top 25% most polluted census tracts would get 35% of the health benefits of improved air quality. It could also, the study says, have a health effect of 14,000 fewer deaths from air pollution related illnesses every year, it could reduce asthma attacks in 1 million children and decrease cardiovascular hospital admissions by 4,500.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions in our state will not only slow down global climate change, but more importantly, will improve the air quality and protect people’s health in our local community,” said co-author Bin Zhao, a former UCLA researcher who is now an earth scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. 




cle

Joe Clegg Launches The You’re So Hybrid Video Series

Everything You Need To Know About Electronic Drums For Live Performances




cle

JIRGA Original Motion Picture Soundtrack By AJ True Nominated “Best Music” In The Film Critics Circle Of Australia Awards

The JIRGA Score Was Nominated ‘Best Music’ In The Film Critics Circle Of Australia Awards (FCCA).




cle

Joe Clegg Launches The You’re So Hybrid Video Series

Everything You Need To Know About Electronic Drums For Live Performances




cle

Country Artist Lady Redneck Embraces Eclectic Lifestyle With Brand New Single

Release Of Brand New Single "I'm A Lady That's Redneck Crazy" To All Digital Platforms And Country Radio





cle

Clemens v. New York Central Mutual Fire Insurance Co.

(United States Third Circuit) - Held that it was not an abuse of discretion to deny a fee petition in its entirety when the amount requested was outrageously excessive. The Third Circuit formally endorsed the view that where a fee-shifting statute provides a court discretion to award attorney fees, such discretion includes the ability to deny a fee request altogether when, under the circumstances, the amount requested is outrageously excessive. The panel thus affirmed the denial of a fee award to a prevailing plaintiff in an insurance bad faith case.




cle

In re Sino Clean Energy, Inc.

(United States Ninth Circuit) - Held that former board members of a corporation lacked corporate authority when they filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition. The board members argued that they had the proper authority to file the bankruptcy petition even though a receiver appointed by a state court already had removed them from the board of directors. Rejecting their argument, the Ninth Circuit affirmed dismissal of the bankruptcy petition.




cle

Rockies players ready for spring training 2.0, but when and where remain unclear

Rockies all-star shortstop Trevor Story pays close attention to the reports about baseball's possible return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.




cle

Rockies players ready for spring training 2.0, but when and where remain unclear

Rockies all-star shortstop Trevor Story pays close attention to the reports about baseball's possible return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.





cle

Micheo-Acevedo v. Stericycle of Puerto Rico, Inc.

(United States First Circuit) - Affirmed summary judgment which had denied an employee's Title VII gender discrimination and retaliation claims. A field sales representative for a company in the medical field alleged she was denied a promotion based on her sex and that she was fired in retaliation for asserting her Title VII rights. However, the First Circuit concluded that she failed to present sufficient evidence of unlawful conduct to create a genuine factual dispute.







cle

Clean energy industry could shed hundreds of thousands of jobs, report says

Oil and gas aren't the only part of the energy industry getting pummeled during the coronavirus outbreak. A new report says job losses are starting to pile up in the previously fast-growing renewable energy and energy efficiency sectors, too. The report released Wednesday by E2, Environmental Entrepreneurs, said more than 106,000 workers in the "clean energy" industry lost their jobs in March.







cle

Kevin Hart is Showing More of His Calf Muscles This Season!



Kevin Hart makes a case for watching RHOH all Fall 2016.




cle

Bridgette Flexes Her Cougar Muscles



Meow!




cle

Rockies players ready for spring training 2.0, but when and where remain unclear

Rockies all-star shortstop Trevor Story pays close attention to the reports about baseball's possible return in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.





cle

Lecrae Clears Up Whether He's A Rapper or A Christian Rapper



Is Lecrae a Christian rapper or just a rapper?




cle

Weekend Movie Marathon: Diggy Simmons Flexes Like Uncle Rus



"The Start Up" premieres on Saturday at 8P/7C.



  • BET Star Cinema

cle

Floyd Mayweather Jr. Speaks Out After Tragic Death Of His Uncle Roger Mayweather

The boxing icon had just lost ex-girlfriend one week prior.




cle

K. Michelle Comes Clean: ‘I Want My Normal Shape Back'



The singer says she’s having her butt enhancements removed.




cle

Would You Try Alicia Keys's 40-Day Cleanse?



This might make those healthy resolutions a little easier.




cle

Dragon Warrior Obstacle Challenge On Oct 27

Little Tigers Martial Arts is getting set to host the Dragon Warrior Obstacle Challenge [DWOC] on Sunday, October 27 from 1.00pm to 5.00pm in the Warwick Academy gym. A spokesperson said, “All 5 to 12-year-olds are invited to master the Dragon Warrior Obstacle Challenge on Sunday, October 27 from 1.00pm to 5.00pm in Warwick Academy’s […]

(Click to read the full article)




cle

Slideshow/Results: BMRC Motorcycle Racing

The Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club’s season got underway on Sunday [May 5] with the theme “Taste of Speed.” In the Super Bike Class, Cody-Sousa Saints won two of the three races, with Shannon Caisey winning the other. Jordan Fletcher finished third three times and Edward Daniels finished 4th three times. Jevaughn Simons won two of […]

(Click to read the full article)




cle

Photos: BMRC Weekend Motorcycle Racing

The Bermuda Motorcycle Racing Club season continued at the Southside Motorsports Park on Sunday [May 19] when they rode alongside the Bermuda Karting Club. D’Nico Durrant won both races in the Mini GP 70 Class. Neither Devone Bailey or Jazari Caisey finished race one in the Mini GP 80 Class. Bailey won the second race […]

(Click to read the full article)