A compilation of brief news reports for Saturday, August 8, 2009.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Officials announced that a treasure containing sacks of diamonds and gold coins as well as golden idols, jewelry and other riches has been discovered in the secret subterranean vaults of Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple, in the southwestern state of Kerala, India. Estimates of its worth have been rising and it is now thought to be worth US$20 billion.

The Hindu temple was built in the 16th century by the kings of the then Kingdom of Travancore to serve as a royal chapel for the rulers of Travancore. The six vaults containing the treasure have been undisturbed for over a century. Assessment of the treasure began on June 27 after a lawyer concerned about the security of the treasure petitioned India’s Supreme Court, which then appointed a seven-member panel of experts to inventory the treasure. The panel does not have the power to determine to whom the treasure will belong. Estimates of the treasure’s worth are rising, provoking a heated debate as to how the treasure will be used in a country that has 450 million poverty-stricken people.

The chief minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy, announced on Sunday the treasure would remain with the temple, and security matters would be decided in consultation with the Travancore Royal Family, the temple management, and the temple priest.

“The gold was offered to the lord. It is the property of the temple. The government will protect the wealth at the temple,” Oommen Chandy said. Meanwhile, hundreds of armed police have been deployed around the temple to protect the treasure.

However, the view that the treasure should remain at the temple has been disputed. Among the dissenters is eminent jurist V R Krishna Iyer, who said the treasure should be put in a national trust for the peoples’ benefit. “God’s wealth belongs to the people, not to the king. It’s meaningless to say that it belongs to Hindus or any particular religious community,” said Iyer. “A mechanism should be devised to ensure that the benefits of it reach the poor and the needy and not the rich.”

Five of the six vaults of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple have been inventoried.

On Saturday, reports leaked to the press revealed that the treasure, including a golden idol of Mahavishnu and a golden ‘anki’, were found in one of the vaults, estimated to weigh 30 kilograms, along with precious stones, silver, two coconut shells of pure gold and another golden idol as well as other jewels and valuable coins. The panel hopes to find more treasure when the sixth and final vault is opened, but the attempt was suspended on Monday because the iron door inside presented “technical problems” requiring further consultation before opening. This vault is thought to contain the bulk of the wealth.

Keralan officials in a preliminary estimate said that the treasure was worth over US$11.2 billion; those estimates have now risen to US$20 billion. Historians say that the temple’s location on a site through which passed lucrative trade routes support the higher evaluations.

“Traders, who used to come from other parts of the country and abroad for buying spices and other commodities, used to make handsome offerings to the deity for not only his blessings but also to please the then rulers,” said P.J. Cherian, the director of Kerala Council for Historic Research

Some suggest that the profit from the sale of the treasure would be enough to wipe out the entire public debt of Kerala and fund future Kerala projects such as seaports, airports and highways.

Friday, April 27, 2018

Today, Judge Steven O’Niell sentenced United States comedian and television actor Bill Cosby, 80, to SPECIFIC PUNISHMENT. He was found guilty of three counts of aggravated indecent assault by a Norristown, Pennsylvania jury last April after his first trial ended in a hung jury in June 2017.

The jury, which contained five women and seven men, deliberated for 14 hours before declaring Cosby guilty of drugging and assaulting Andrea Constand. All three counts stemmed from the same encounter at Cosby’s home in January 2004.

Most of the dozens of public allegations against Cosby were too old and beyond the statute of limitations, meaning prosecutors could not charge Cosby with crimes. However, Constand’s case with the assault occurring in 2004 had not expired. Five women testified about similar experiences with Cosby knowing charges for their experiences would not be brought against Cosby.

Cosby’s lawyers argued Constand was a “pathological liar” and Cosby has been swept up in the Me Too movement, in which many female celebrities have publicly claimed prominent men harassed or assaulted them and they kept quiet for years.

The defense called Marguerite Jackson, a coworker of Constand’s at Temple University, as a witness. Jackson testified Constand had talked about framing some prominent person for a lawsuit. Constand did sue Cosby in civil court after prosecutors at the time told her they would not file criminal charges. The civil suit had a settlement of US$3.4 million to Constand.

Lawyer Gloria Allred, retained by some of Cosby’s accusers, told the public, “Justice has been done! […] We are so happy that finally we can say women are believed.”

District Attorney Kevin Steele told the press, “He used his celebrity, he used his wealth, he used his network of supporters to help him conceal his crimes[…] Now, we really know today who was really behind that act, who the real Bill Cosby was.”

Judge O’Neill can issue a ruling for a maximum sentence of 10 years per charge. The sentences can also be served consecutively rather than concurrently, meaning Cosby could be sentenced to a maximum 30 years in prison. The 1982 Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing recommends detention for 22 to 36 months per count, meaning Cosby would be expected to serve at least 22 months.

Former federal prosecutor Jack Meyerson told the press, “I would think the big battle is whether in fact he gets jail time[…] Given the public scrutiny over the case and Cosby’s celebrity, […] the judge may feel pressured to send Cosby to prison. Given the circumstances of the case, and public attention, I think he would have to send a message with some jail time.”

District Attorney Steele requested that Cosby, who has been out on bail but confined to his home, be sent to jail immediately, saying Cosby has access to an airplane and may try to run away. Cosby shouted back, “He doesn’t have a plane, you asshole!” and that he was “sick of” Steele. Steele did not ask for expedited sentencing. Judge O’Neill instead ordered Cosby to pay US$1 million in bail money and not to leave Montgomery County, where the Cosby residence is located.

Sentencing hearings in Pennsylvania usually take place two to three months after conviction. In the meantime, Cosby’s lawyers have announced they plan to appeal the conviction, and it is possible Cosby will remain out on bail until that appeal runs its course.

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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

The United States Senate Committee on Finance approved a proposal to reform health care on Tuesday, clearing it to move forward. The bill passed by a 14-9 vote, gaining support from the committee’s thirteen Democrats, and one Republican.

Senator Olympia Snowe was the only senator from the Republican party to back the bill. However, she said this might change as the bill moves through Congress.

“There are many, many miles to go in this legislative journey. My vote today is my vote today. It doesn’t forecast what my vote will be tomorrow,” Snowe said.

President Barack Obama, who supports the bill as part of his effort to overhaul the country’s health care system, welcomed the committee’s vote. “We are closer than ever before to passing healthcare reform but we are not there yet. Now is not the time to pat ourselves on the back – now is the time to dig in further and get this done. In this final phase we should engage with each other with civility and seriousness that has brought us this far and that this subject deserves.”

The bill, which contains a ten-year plan with an estimated cost of US$829 billion, is aimed at lowering healthcare costs and increasing the affordability of insurance. Proponents will now seek to merge it with another bill from the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus emphasized, “Americans want us to craft a package that will get the 60 votes needed to pass.” He argued that the Finance bill was the best candidate to attract needed the centrist support.

Critics, however, have said that the proposed plan is too costly, and will cause the government to interfere too much into the private healthcare sector.

“We can now see clearly that the bill continues its march leftward,” said the senior Republican on the committee, Senator Charles Grassley. “This bill is already moving on a slippery slope to more government control of healthcare.”

Tuesday, June 6, 2006

Google has launched an online spreadsheet site, in a private beta.

The site will allow spreadsheets to be shared between up to 10 users, which is aimed to be useful to teams and small businesses. “Many people already organise information into spreadsheets. Where they are struggling is to share it” said the product manager, Jonathan Rochelle.

Google recently bought the online word-processor Writely, launched a calendar product, as well as a desktop search tool. Many see this as them straying into Microsoft‘s markets.

Google Spreadsheets uses very advanced AJAX (Asynchronous Javascript And Xml) and Client Side Scripting to mimic very effectively it’s desktop counterparts’ functions.

It is surprisingly fast, has very good formatting and advanced formula support, but best of all it has complete support for Microsoft Excel .xls files, and very good collaboration: just enter the e-mail address and you can share easily.