text:
Written in the Shadow of Death
From the Chorwon Valley, Korea, 1952, a soldier writes: "I'm coming home! It's official as of this morning. It will be sometime before I crash in your door, a few weeks maybe, but I'm coming home. That little house is going to look like a palace to me…." He has spent 12 months there, he tells his family, "the longest 30 years of my life." There are all kinds of wounds soldiers carry, he lets them know—there are the nightmares, the ghosts in the head.
"You'll need lots of patience with me. Patience and understanding. See you soon, see you soon, see you soon. Junior"
War Letters
Monday, May 30, 9-10 p.m. EDT on PBS's 'The American Experience' (PBS dates and times vary; check local listings)
Nothing in this letter, not its touch of dark memory or realization of troubles ahead, dims the triumphant force of that last line—a coda of joy and thanksgiving.
Nor is there, in this impeccably dramatized and wrenching collection of letters from American war fronts—the Revolutionary War included—any theme more pervasive than the craving for home and family. That longing is shared by all, sometimes openly, sometimes indirectly—as, for instance, in dreams.
"Dear Pa and Ma," another American in Korea writes in 1951. "I had a dream last night." He'd been sitting in the kitchen at home while his mother baked. "Mom pulled some beautiful rolls out of the oven. When I woke up I had a hunk of snow and was chewing on it."
A U.S. infantryman, slogging through the cold and endless snow of Western Europe, 1945, recalls the glory of long days spent playing in the snow with childhood pals. "When our feet got cold we called it a day." There is a lot of snow in Western Europe, he writes—and it's beautiful. "But the Flexible Flyers have turned into tanks, and the snowballs are grenades…and when your feet get cold there's no place to go to.…"
The documentary, based on Andrew Carroll's "War Letters," first aired in 2001, which is why the conflicts in question end with the first Gulf War, about whose high-tech combat one soldier reflects with a sense of wonderment. "Dear Y'all," he writes from Saudi Arabia in March 1991: "It never seemed like a war. More like a field problem, even when stuff was burning all around you. More like a curiosity than anything else.…"
In no previous American war had battle ever seemed less than real. It was an appallingly intimate experience, as the film's grimly eloquent footage and stills make clear. Here are hollow-eyed combatants on duty in Civil War encampments, in the trenches of World War I, on all the battlefronts of World War II, then Korea and Vietnam—all aware of what war is. One underage soldier, who had evidently lied his way into the service, begs his mother to "tell them" his real age and "get me out of here."
One of the distinctions of this film's choice of letters lies in its suggestion of the differences in each war's status. There is no missing the contrast between the sorrowful reverence of the Civil War soldier, mourning the state of "our once happy beloved country" now in a war pitting brother against brother, and the bitterness and desperation of the Vietnam-era letters here.
"Dear Mom—My buddies are all dead," one Vietnam War infantryman writes. Out of his company, 21 were killed, 29 wounded. He is among the 27 left. Men are killed, but people back home are told only half the number. "I can't sleep good anywhere now. Ma, I'm sick of it." Another letter writer in Vietnam—an officer—informs his wife: "Hard as I try not to get involved with my men I still can't help liking them and getting close to a few…. Maybe someday I'll tell you how scared I am."
Fear and misery are to be found, of course, in the letters from World War II, but also a tone of hope and of a common enterprise. In the letter of a Japanese-American soldier, deeply moved by the joy of the Europeans he and his fellow Americans liberated, there is pride and triumph. And the knowledge, he writes, that the cause for which he fought had meaning.
In this war, too, the winners would not be rushing to shake hands with the losers, as one World War I vet describes doing as soon as the armistice was official—the Germans had come over with wine, and there was much celebration. The peace that came a second time was with an incomprehensible enemy—a point a stunned U.S. soldier makes in a letter home after seeing the Dachau concentration camp.
There are, in this profoundly telling work, several moments best described as unbearable. Some of the most striking of these letters—voices full of life and wit and that passion for home—were the last their writers would ever send. This would be the weekend to hear them.
It was understood that the end of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" would occasion tears and star-studded extravaganzas. And there were, in those farewell ceremonies, images that couldn't fail to move audiences: such as the solemn march of 200 Morehouse College graduates in the Surprise Spectacular broadcast this week—just some of the men whose higher education Oprah had paid for.
The events produced another bit of news this week, albeit of a less inspiring kind: the adventures of Robert Spearing, a Canadian so desperate to explain what happened to the farewell-show tickets he'd—falsely—told his wife he had that he hit on the idea of an invented mugging. He consequently tore his hands up on concrete and cut himself on the head for good measure. Nothing persuaded the police, who hit him with a felony charge.
It's testimony, of a perverse kind, to Oprah's star power, but also a reminder of the time in her long career when she showed a side unforgettably sharper than the soft, ever-compassionate persona that spawned the term "Oprah-fication"—namely, mush. That side showed in 2006 when she confronted James Frey, author of the largely invented memoir "A Million Little Pieces" (which had been an Oprah book-club selection), and his publisher, Nan Talese. That display of steel, that willingness to confront lies and demolish the rationalizations of a powerful name in publishing, was Oprah's finest hour.
- 17


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By SGT David J. NunnNovember 6, 2009
Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines deployed in support of Operation
Iraqi Freedom at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, gathered at
the camp chapel to show their final respect to a fallen comrade
on Oct. 21, 2009.
"Sgt. Maj. Silver lived the Army Values and the [Non-
Commissioned Officers] Creed for 30 years," said Sgt. Maj.
Kenneth Eady, Third Army Sustainment sergeant major,
who counted Silver as a close friend and battle buddy. "No
matter how sick he was, he refused to quit. In his mind he
was ready to deploy with his Soldiers and told me to tell his
Soldiers here that he would see them soon."
Silver was known to the Soldiers that served with him
as a Soldier's sergeant major because he was always available
to help anyone that needed it, regardless of rank, and
dedicated his life to leading Soldiers. He was known for his
love for running and the countless times he would run with
his Soldiers.
"Silver was the type of guy that would go the extra
mile every day," said Sgt. Maj. Allerick Knight,
Third Army Personnel sergeant
major, who had
served with Silver in a previous
duty assignment in
Korea. "He really embodied
the Army's "Army of
One" philosophy, staying
late to help his fellow Soldiers
to complete the mission.
He was a good man
and always had a ready
Silver was born
in Linden, N.C., on
April 5th, 1961. Silver's
distinguished career
took him to many
duty stations across the
United States, Germany,
Korea and the Middle
East. His last duty
station was with Third
Army / U.S. Army Central at
Fort McPherson in Atlanta, Ga.,
where he served as the Chief Mechanic
Maintenance Non-Commissioned Officer.
His awards and decorations include
the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Service
Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Army Commendation
Medal (with four oak leaf clusters), the Kuwait
Defense Service Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal with
a Bronze Star, and three Overseas Service Ribbons.
"His hobbies included working on cars and fishing," said
Eady. "Those that knew him well knew that he could fix just
about anything. I remember many times taking our lunch
hours back at Fort McPherson to fix one of our Soldiers cars
and be back to work on time."
Among those whom Silver leaves behind that will cherish
his memory are his wife, Mrs. Wanda Silver, mother Mrs.
Mary Silver, brother Tyrone Silver and his sister Mrs. Gladys
"I will not forget, nor will I allow my comrades to forget,
that Sgt. Maj. Silver was a true professional, a non-commissioned
officer, a leader, hooah!" said Eady.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
I've written previously about a fraud-ridden, extortionate case brought against Chevron in an Ecuadorean court and masterminded by an American plaintiffs' lawyer. Readers of Shopfloor will remember that after years of legal drama, the Ecuadorean court ordered Chevron to pay damages of $19 billion, which was later reduced to $9.5 billion. But then a federal court in the United States prevented enforcement of the judgment because the case's mastermind, attorney Steven Donziger, was found liable for racketeering for using fraudulent and corrupt means to win the case in the first place. Read More
Activists and apologists for the shakedown litigation over supposed environmental damage in Ecuador once again tried to turn Chevron's annual stockholders' meeting in San Ramon, Calif., into a circus today. By now the Amazon Watch theatrics are old hat, and the cause they support — a lawsuit orchestrated by U.S. trial lawyers — has been revealed as fundamentally corrupt. Flying a banner off a bridge to promote a contingency-fee lawsuit demonstrates only witless fanaticism.
Chevron put together a short video to present its side of the case to the stockholders, shown at the meeting after Amazon Watch's Atossa Soltani raised the issue. Its showing produced a round of vigorous applause from the attendees.
Concise and pointed. Very well done.
We wrap up the trial lawyer, activist, politician and media alliance that has gone after Chevron in a post immediately below, "More than a Lawsuit: A Circle of Political Pressure Against Chevron."
Chevron held its annual stockholders meeting in San Ramon, Calif., today, and environmental activists again demanded that the company settle a lawsuit brought against it in Ecuador. But new documents show these demands, like most before them, to be serving not justice but instead the pecuniary interests of a small group of contingency-fee lawyers and their allies.
The U.S. trial lawyers suing Chevron over alleged environmental damage in Ecuador have worked from a sophisticated political and PR plan that has sought to use Congress, state governments and major media and even directly influence President Obama to force the oil company into a settlement.
Documents obtained by Chevron in court proceedings* reveal the true nature of the campaign against the company: It's not about using the law to find the truth, but rather applying the maximum amount of political pressure to extort billions of dollars from the U.S. corporate target. From those billions, the American contingency-fee attorneys and their operatives would take a huge share for their own enrichment.
Effectively using the discovery process to delve deep into the scheme, Chevron has uncovered sufficient proof of wrongdoing to bring a federal racketeering suit against the key actors behind the shakedown lawsuit.
Evidence of fraud at the heart of the anti-Chevron campaign has led a U.S. federal judge to block any effort by the "Lago Agrio" plaintiffs and their U.S. lawyers to collect on an $18 billion judgment handed down by an Ecuadorian court against the San Ramon, California company.
Chevron is the target because the company acquired Texaco in 2001; Texaco had operated in Ecuador's Amazon in a consortium with the state-owned oil company, Petroecuador, from the 1960s until 1992. Texaco remediated any environmental damage before it left Ecuador, while Petroecuador continued operations (and pollution).
The campaign against Chevron is multifaceted and organized. We have referred to it as the "combine," an alliance of trial lawyers, politicians, activists and supportive media. But the lawyers themselves depict the campaign as an encirclement, orchestrating numerous actors to pressure the company toward a settlement.
Above right is a chart created in January 2009 by Andrew Woods, an attorney who works with the Amazon Defense Coalition, the PR front group for New York trial lawyer Steven Donziger, his team of contingency-fee attorneys and the Ecuadorian plaintiffs suing Chevron. The document's title is "Chevron's Dilemma: Creating an Untenable Situation for a Multinational – Winter 2009." (Click for a larger picture.)
Chevron submitted the chart on April 26 to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, one of a batch of 29 new submissions to support the company's motion to hold Donziger in contempt for failing to disclose tens of thousands of documents he was under court order to make available to Chevron.
Each of the circles represents one of pressure points the lawyers are bringing to bear as they attempt to create "an untenable situation" for Chevron.
There's the circle for "Crude," the documentary-style film that director Joe Berlinger originally claimed was an independent and balanced exploration of the effects of oil development on Amazonian Indians. But New York trial lawyer Steven Donziger originally sold him on the project and subsequently Berlinger has conceded he let the lawyers make key editorial decisions to avoid undermining their storyline that Chevron is evil. In the circle you can see how the legal team planned to use the film:
"Crude" Film
- To be shown in local communities of the [Chevron] Board of Directors; Can generate media attention in home communities of BOD members.
- To be shown on Capitol Hill in coordination with Rep. McGovern
- Potential screening in White House.
Rep. McGovern is Jim McGovern (D-MA), one of the lawyers' key allies on Capitol Hill. He spoke at a showing of the film in downtown Washington in October 2009, recalling a trip he had made to Ecuador — here's a photo of the Congressman with Donziger in the jungle — and describing his efforts to bring President Obama into the anti-Chevron fight. "Ramp up the pressure!" McGovern urged the crowd at the Landmark E-Street Theatre. (See earlier Shopfloor posts on the movie.)
President Obama gets his own circle [below right], denoted, "Ongoing pressure of new administration publicly unfriendly to big oil companies." Not just unfriendly to big oil companies, the President was a Harvard Law School classmate and former basketball playing buddy of Steven Donziger. How about that for an avenue of influence?
The trial lawyers knew they had an ally. As a Senator, Obama joined Sen. Patrick Leahy in writing a letter in 2006 to then-U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman, highlighting the cause of the Amazonian Indians against Chevron. The Senators rejected any efforts to tie U.S. trade preferences for Ecuador to the country's treatment of Chevron in the litigation, telling Portman: "While we are not prejudging the outcome of the case, we do believe the 30,000 indigenous residents of Ecuador deserve their day in court."
That being the corrupted and politicized courts of Ecuador, which in February produced a $18 billion judgment against the company.
While the White House has stayed out of the issue publicly, the Obama Administration continued to support trade preferences for Ecuador, despite the continued assault on democratic institutions and U.S. interests by the leftist government of Rafael Correa. Read More
From today's Senate Finance Committee festival of finger-pointing, "Oil and Gas Tax Incentives and Rising Energy Prices," a serious observation from Rex Tillerson, Chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil:
It is important to make clear that tax provisions such as the Section 199 Domestic Production Activities deduction are not special incentives, preferences or subsidies for oil and gas, but rather standard deductions applied across all businesses in the United States.
Section 199 applies today to all U.S. domestic producers and manufacturers – from newspaper publishers, to corn farmers, to movie producers, and even coffee roasters. All can claim this deduction, which is intended to support job creation and retention in the United States….
Frankly, to then deny a select few companies within the oil and gas industry this standard deduction is tantamount to job discrimination. Why should an American refinery worker employed by a major U.S. oil and gas company in Billings, Montana, be treated as inferior to an American movie producer in Hollywood, an American newspaper worker in New York, or an employee at a foreign-owned refinery in Lemont, Illinois?
That's a good topic of a hearing: "Respecting the First Amendment: Ending Subsidies for Big Newspapers."
Any Senator who labeled the current tax treatment of oil and gas producers a "subsidy" today clearly knows better. If translated into policy, this kind of cynical populism makes the United States less competitive and discourages job creation.
One of the central players in the multi-billion-dollar litigation shakedown against Chevron for supposed environmental damage in Ecuador is Stratus Consulting. When New York attorney Steven Donziger and his team of trial lawyers wanted support for their outrageous environmental claims against the oil company, they turned to the Boulder, Colorado-based firm. But Stratus' involvement with Donziger and the others behind the Ecuadorian lawsuit has been so close and so suspect that Chevron felt justified in including Stratus in its federal civil racketeering suit.
This story reported today by Greenwire via The New York Times should therefore prompt a serious re-evaluation by the federal government of how it hires contractors in the wake of the Gulf Oil spill. From "Defendant in Racketeering Suit Works as U.S. Consultant on Gulf Spill":
Boulder, Colo.-based Stratus Consulting, a long-term contractor with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other federal agencies, is gathering and analyzing data concerning the Gulf of Mexico spill….
The filing of the racketeering suit raised eyebrows at NOAA, according to a government source familiar with the issue. The agency checked with the Justice Department to make sure it was OK to continue working with Stratus, the source added.
Stratus protests its innocence, as one would expect it to. But the court record — including documents from Steven Donziger himself — belies their protests. Greenwire:
Asked why Stratus believes its contracts with the government should not be affected by the racketeering case, Joe Silvers, an attorney who represents the firm, said it was because Chevron's allegations "are demonstrably false and its legal maneuverings are a transparent attempt to avoid its environmental responsibilities in Ecuador without, in the least, questioning the science."
Stratus "never engaged in the misconduct alleged by Chevron, and Chevron knows as much," Silver added.
Really? One of Chevron's most powerful accusations is that Stratus Consulting prepared the environmental report by Richard Cabrera, the "independent" expert appointed by an Ecuadorian court to recommend damages against Chevron. Cabrera is the one who eventually came up with the preposterous $27 billion figure — later inflated to $116 billion — seized on by the Donziger-led legal and PR operatives to supposedly prove the seriousness of their charges.
But Stratus wrote Cabrera's report. That's right. The U.S.-based consultants paid by the team suing Chevron actually wrote most of the report Cabrera submitted to the Ecuadorian court as his own work.
Who says so? Steven Donziger himself:
[If] Chevron succeeds in obtaining discovery from Stratus and deposing the Stratus principals (which we assume will happen although questions remain about the scope of production), they will find that Stratus wrote the bulk of the report adopted by Cabrera and submitted to the court. Various annexes and an executive summary were provided to local counsel, who provided it to Cabrera, who adopted it. There was significant back and forth collaboration between local counsel and Cabrera, and separately, via local counsel and Stratus. There are also numerous emails between Stratus and local counsel documenting how this work was done, and there are some emails between Stratus and U.S. counsel that show U.S. counsel (relying on guidance of local counsel) approved of this process, encouraged it, and was involved in it from a supervisory perspective. There was also at least one ex parte meeting between Stratus and Cabrera at which U.S. counsel was present. The emails and testimony likely will show some effort to keep the extent of this ex parte collaboration between our local counsel and Cabrera from being disclosed. (The entirety of the emails and production needs to be reviewed and privileges asserted so it is uncertain whether the emails will be disclosed.)
This damning admission, one of many, was made by Donziger in a document he created on April 16, 2010, a memo addressed to "Dear Fellow Counsel." Read More
The Obama Administration, today, issued its fifth deepwater permit since lifting the Gulf drilling moratorium, approving Chevron's request to drill a "wildcat" well in 6,750 feet of water more than 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana. This is the most important permit so far, in that it is actually for a new exploratory drilling as opposed to a permit that was previously issued. It is also the second permit to be approved which is using the containment system designed by Marine Well Containment Company as its solution in the case of a loss of well control. This is a good step forward and, we hope, marks the Administration's intention to move more expeditiously on the other pending permits. In addition, with the unrest in the Middle East, and the increasing oil prices, there is now talk of a possible double-dip recession. Therefore, it is essential for the Interior to move on these permits as quickly as possible to ensure that as many companies are able to return to the Gulf of Mexico to safely drill and explore for domestic sources of oil and gas.
Offshore drilling is a significant part of the U.S. economy. The federal government estimates that the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf contains proven reserves of 20.3 billion barrels of oil and 183.7 trillion cubic feet of gas. Moreover, the waters off Alaska's coast contain about 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. These reserves can provide a dependable and secure source of energy which will keep energy costs low.
With its action on Chevron's application, Interior has shown itself capable of approving permits for new deepwater drilling. Let's see the agency follow through by moving on all these pending permits, ensuring that many companies are able to return to the Gulf of Mexico to safely drill and explore for domestic sources of oil and gas.
In the flood of news coverage after Ecuadorian Judge Nicolas Zambrano announced an $8.6 billion damage award against Chevron, reporters sought out ostensibly independent experts to comment on the award. We laughed upon reading one such comment in an AP report:
A professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles who has studied the case, Georgene Vairo, said the comparatively small judgment is a signal from Ecuador that it is willing to negotiate a smaller fine.
"This is way low compared with what everyone was expecting to happen," she said. "They are trying to show the world they are reasonable people. This is Ecuador coming to the table."
Oh, please. The U.S. trial lawyers and their allies in Ecuador are on the record numerous times talking about their strategy to make those most outrageous, exorbitant claim for damages — $113 billion! — so they can pretend anything less is a sign of judicial reason and compromise.
Here's an example, yet another damning revelation from outtakes from the documentary-style movie on the litigation, "Crude."
As the natural gas industry group Energy in Depth reports, "At a Capitol Hill press conference today, a small group of critics opposed to the responsible development of job-creating American oil and natural gas – including U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY), actor Mark Ruffalo, and GasLand filmmaker Josh Fox – are poised to renew calls for a one-size-fits-all, federal takeover of hydraulic fracturing, a 60 year-old energy stimulation technology used to enhance 90 percent of the nation's onshore wells."
Lee Fuller, executive director of Energy In Depth, issued a statement:
It's clear that this event, scripted by a Hollywood publicist one week before the Academy Awards, is focused on achieving staged drama and inside-the-beltway chatter about a 'documentary' that's been debunked in its entirety.
Refusing to engage in a fact and science-based dialogue, New York City stage director Josh Fox, his Hollywood friends, and a few congressmen are more concerned with stunts and scare tactics than working to address critical energy security issues. The American people deserve and expect nothing less than a serious discussion and common sense solutions regarding national energy policy, not tired, misleading talking points from Hollywood elite who've never been on a drilling rig.
American natural gas and oil production must absolutely be done safely and in way that protects our environment and water. And for more than 60 years, state governments have ably and effectively regulated hydraulic fracturing. Energy-producing states, who understand their unique geology best, have inspectors and expert scientists in place to ensure that fracturing is done safely not impact groundwater.
The full statement is here. EID offers debunk the bunk-filled film, Gasland, at the group's website here.
Seems like even members of Congress can't resist the lure of movies and movie stars, which is apparently what Mark Ruffalo is. They should try. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), for example, was a prominent promoter of the anti-Chevron movie "Crude," a film revealed to be a cynical part of the PR strategy directed by U.S. trial lawyers in a corrupt ashakedown suit.
Chevron broke the news today that a judge in Ecuador has ruled against the company in the multiyear, multibillion-dollar litigation shakedown by U.S. trial lawyers claiming environmental damage in the Amazon. There has been so much wrongdoing and dishonesty by the plaintiffs in Ecuador and the United States that the ruling comes as no surprise.
From the Chevron news release, "Illegitimate Judgment Against Chevron in Ecuador Lawsuit":
The Ecuadorian court's judgment is illegitimate and unenforceable. It is the product of fraud and is contrary to the legitimate scientific evidence. Chevron will appeal this decision in Ecuador and intends to see that justice prevails.
United States and international tribunals already have taken steps to bar enforcement of the Ecuadorian ruling. Chevron does not believe that today's judgment is enforceable in any court that observes the rule of law.
Chevron intends to see that the perpetrators of this fraud are held accountable for their misconduct.
Reuters quotes Pablo Fajardo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs in Ecuador, that the judge's award was $8 billion.
The amount of damages sought by the plaintiffs fluctuates according to various manipulated reports and political considerations, rising from $6 billion at one point to $26.7 billion to the most recent $113 billion. Lest one conclude, "Oh, Chevron actually came out OK," it's worth remembering that the plaintiffs' team that organized the shakedown always sought a high damage figure as part of its strategy.
Outtakes from the documentary-style film "Crude" on the litigation revealed as much. Steven Donziger, the New York trial lawyer who has masterminded the suit, is seen discussing possible damages against Texaco (later acquired by Chevron). Donziger says:
- "If we have a legitimate fifty billion dollar damages claim, and they end up—the judge says, well, I can't give them less than five billion . . . . And, say, Tex had a huge victory. They knocked out ninety percent of the damages claim." And …
- "But as a concept, I ask, do we ask for much more than we really want as a strategy? Do we ask for eight and expect three, so that [the judge] says, 'Look, Texaco, I cut down the largest part.'"
In any case, the amount has no relation to reality — or justice. A $1 million, $1,000 or $100 finding of damages would be just as wrong because the lawsuit itself is corrupt. Chevron has filed a RICO suit against the U.S. and Ecuadorian lawyers and activists, detailing the multifacted conspiracy against the company.
Chevron's point of view and numerous legal claims have also been recognized by legitimate judicial bodies of the United States and the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague.
On February 8, U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan cited the record of widespread wrongdoing to block the plaintiffs from going after any of Chevron's assets anywhere in the world. (New York Law Journal, Shopfloor)
Last week, the international arbitration panel ruled that Ecuador should not pursue any awards from the litigation pending Chevron's arbitration vis a vis the country over violations of the Bilateral Investment Treaty. (Reuters: "Arbitrators find for Chevron in Ecuador dispute.")
The lawsuit against Chevron was always extortionate, an operation meant to damage the company's reputation enough so it would feel compelled to settle. The judge's ruling in Ecuador was supposed to provide the final bit of pressure necessary to force the settlement.
Fortunately, now that U.S. court proceedings have revealed the cynical conspiracy at the heart of the litigation, the ruling in Ecuador provides nothing more than additional evidence of corruption.
UPDATE (4:15 p.m.): In this Spanish-language report, the judge is identified as Nicolás Zambrano.
U.S. District Court Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Southern District of New York has delivered another body blow to the shakedown lawsuit against Chevron by the U.S. trial lawyers and their Ecuadorian allies. On Tuesday, the federal judge ordered a temporary injunction preventing the plaintiffs in the so-called Lago Agrio litigation from trying to seize any of Chevron's assets if an Ecuadorian court rules against the company.
In his order (available here), Kaplan wrote:
The Court is satisfied, for the present purpose, that Chevron is faced with a serious threat of immediate and irreparable injury. This is most assuredly true if the anticipated judgment were rendered and influenced by corruption or undue influence. It would be true in any case, however, as the threatened multiplicity of enforcement actions around the world invokes the traditional equitable ground for relief against a multiplicity of suits, particularly where, as here, there appears to be evidence that the purpose and effect of the multiplicity of actions may be to create so much disruption to Chevron's operations as to coerce a settlement without regard to the merits of the case for enforcement of any Ecuadorian judgment.
The Court is satisfied also, on the existing record, that the balance of hardships tips decidedly in favor of Chevron. The Lago Agrio plaintiffs would not be injured in any material way by a delay in judgment enforcement proceedings of sufficient length to permit determination of the preliminary injunction motion whereas Chevron likely would be seriously injured in the interim in the absence of a temporary restraining order.
Finally, there appear to be at least sufficiently serious questions going to the merits of Chevron's claims that the anticipated judgment cannot properly be enforced to make them a fair ground for litigation.
A hearing is scheduled for next Tuesday, Feb. 18, for further action on the restraining order. Chevron has filed a RICO suit against the plaintiffs and is seeking to prevent them from having any access to Chevron's global assets if, as expected, the Ecuadorian court hands down some unjustified award drawn from an extortionate lawsuit and judicial corruption.
Meanwhile, one of the plaintiffs' legal representatives, the law firm of Emery Celli, has moved to withdraw from the case. Sauve qui peut! (Or the Spanish equivalent.)
Coverage …
- New York Times, "Chevron Wins Restraining Order in $113B Pollution Case"
- ABA Journal, "US Judge Grants TRO to Block Enforcement of Potential Ecuador Verdict Against … "
- Motley Fool, "Chevron Clears Ecuadorian Legal Hurdle"
- American Lawyer, Chevron Wins TRO Barring Ecuadorian Plaintiffs and Their Lawyers from …


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I was re-reading Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery and discovered the passage in whiich she describes the author Virginia Woollf's technique for making a cottage loaf. That sounded like fun, so I decided to give it a try, and was very pleased with the outcome. I blogged about it here.
Here's the loaf just after removing the cloche.
And here it is after final browning.
I'm very pleased with both cold-start and cloche techniques, and will continue to use them. Of course, I quickly discovered that they are old news here!
I'm a northern Californian who now lives in Des Moines and there is little sourdough in this part of the country...at least little GOOD sourdough. I'm wanting to bake my own and love this site. Any tricks to getting a really sour sourdough??? I'm not looking for a mild sourdough.
I baked a couple boules of Susan from San Diego's "Original" favorite sourdough today.
I used BRM Dark Rye and KAF Sir Lancelot high-gluten flours. The bread was delicious - even better than usual - with our dinner of Dungeness Crab Cakes and a green salad with mustard vinaigrette. My wife even cut herself an extra slice after she'd finished her dinner. I gotta tell you: That's unprecedented. Still, not surprising. The bread was exceptionally yummy.
The surprise was that the crust, while fairly thick and wonderfully crunchy, developed crackles like crazy.
I'd convinced myself that this kind of crackly crust was achieved (at least by me) only when using lower gluten flour. But there it is. Another theory shot to heck!
I wish I knew how I did it.
I've been away from The Loaf for awhile and I thought I'd post an update to my bread-state.
I got away from baking baguettes over the summer/fall. I became comfortable with the 40% caraway rye bread recipe that I was toying with when last I was here regularly. But I forgot how to do a basic white bread. I've remembered/reinventing now. The last two batches of baguettes have been stellar, for me, after a run of really bad boules and batards. My old notes were all double and triple fermentations. I needed something simpler. In Colorado with a bread machine I used to keep a pate in the 'fridge and I got some really wonderful sour flavours, such as I have never achieved while working at it this past year. Now I have a substatial pate in the 'fridge, 1,000g right now, that I use to make about 3,000g of dough. That gives me 6 300g baguettes, prebaked weight. I can only bake them 3 at a time, so when I preshape the first 3 baguettes I degass the remaining 900g of dough and leave it in a cooler place while the baguettes proof for a little over an hour at about 80 degrees in a heated proofing box. When they go in the oven I can then preshape the remaining dough for another bake in 2 hours or so. I'm doing that and keeping track of how long I feel will be optimal for the pate to have been in the 'fridge.
Current baguette routine: Combine 1000g pate with 790g 105F water, 60g mature starter, and 1212g flour (10% ww or rye). Couple of stretch and folds at 45 minutes each, ferment until nearly double, divide, preshape etc. steam/bake 550 5min 500 5 min and 470 12 min. I think the stone is too close to the top of the oven, so I'll lower it one. The ends of the baguettes are getting a bit burnt, although they're nowhere near as wide as the stone. I remember this fix from before the summer.
The strangest thing happened while slashing the baguettes last night. I did one and had my usual drag-the-razor, ripple-cut slash, and then suddenly the slashes were working, smooth, deep, angled, perfect. That never happened before. I hope that on the next baguettes that I can do that again.
I've gone through 100 lbs. of Giusto's white flour. I'm picking up 50 lbs. of Bob's organic white flour in the next couple of weeks. I'm familiar now with Giusto's so I should be able to tell the difference if I handle the new flour the same as I've been handling the old flour. I made some bread at my brother's house in Crescent City awhile back using Bob's organic white flour from a local store and it had a wonderful taste. But then it was an unfamilar kitchen and I didn't really know what I was doing at the time. So, we'll see.
A little while ago I made my first Danish, since then we've been pursuing the perfect Danish for us. I liked to make pockets so that I could load plenty of filling inside and not have it run out onto the baking sheet. The problem was that the pastry didn't puff up under the filling, just the flaps that covered the filling. Currently we're trying a roll, but that's having problems as well. I'm going to post that problem to a forum once they come out of the oven today.
I'm so happy to have my baguettes back. I don't know where the bread journey will lead from here. I just saw someone's posting of a high percentage rye that looked wonderful. I may try something like that.
Hi everybody! I'm happy to be back.
I'm rather fond of challah, but my wife isn't. Most challah is too rich and too sweet for her taste. The closer to brioche it tastes, the less she likes it. So, when I made "My Sourdough Challah" from Maggie Glezer's "A Blessing of Bread," and both my wife and I loved it, I was delighted.
Of course, all challah was made with sourdough before the introduction of commercial yeast. Since then, according to Glezer, challah has tended to be made sweeter and richer. Sourdough challah has a "moister, creamier texture" and stays fresh longer that the yeasted variety. Glezer's version has a delightful sourdough tang which lends it an almost "sweet and sour" flavor. It is wonderful plain, as toast and as French toast.
The starter
Amount (gms)
Active firm sourdough starter
Warm water
Bread flour
The final dough
Large Eggs
3 eggs + 1 egg for glazing the loaves.
Vegetable oil
Mild honey
Or Granulated sugar
Sourdough starter
All of the above+
* I added an additional 3 tablespoons or so of flour during mixing, because the dough seemed too wet. This may have been needed due to my using more starter than Glezer specifies. See below.
+ Glezer says to use only 200 gms of starter, but I used all of it (250 gms)
The night before baking, mix the starter and ferment it at room temperature for 8-12 hours.
In the morning, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the starter in the water, then mix in the 3 eggs, salt, honey and oil until completely combined.
Mix in all the bread flour until it forms a shaggy mass.
Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it tightly. Ferment for about 2 hours. It may not rise much.
To make two 1 pound loaves, divide the dough into two equal portions, and divide each portion into the number of pieces needed for the type of braiding you plan to do. (I did 3-strand braids.)
Form each piece into a ball and allow them to rest, covered, for 10-20 minutes to relax the gluten.
Form each piece into a strand about 14" long. (I like Glezer's technique for this. On an un-floured board, flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece to about ¼ inch thickness. Then roll up each piece into a tight tube. Using the palms of your hands, lengthen each piece by rolling each tube back and forth on the bench with light pressure. Start with your hands together in the middle of the tube and, as you roll
it, move your hands gradually outward. Taper the ends of the tube by rotating your wrists slightly so that the thumb side of your hand is slightly elevated, as you near the ends of the tube.)
Braid the loaves.
Place each loaf on parchment paper in half-sheet pans (I used a quarter-sheet pan for each loaf.) Cover well with plasti-crap or place the pans in a food grade plastic bag, and proof at room temperature until the loaves have tripled in volume. (Glezer says this will take "about 5 hours." My kitchen was rather cool. I proofed for 6 hours.)
Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF with the rack in the upper third of the oven.
Brush each loaf with an egg lightly beaten with a pinch of salt.
Optionally, sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds.
Bake until done – 25-35 minutes for 1 pound loaves.
Cool completely before slicing.
Submitted to YeastSpotting on SusanFNP's Wildyeastblog.
Wednesday my sister bought a rye loaf at the town market. I remember when I spoke with the guy and asked him more about this bread: this is a true rye they buy from Austria, the frozen dough is baked it in their oven.
What!?!? Frozen and from Austria! Why don't you make it here, it's bread! No comment. Yes, I know it is not bread if you think at wheat based bread, rye is a different baking world. Here in Italy, with the exception of few small communities in the very north regions, is almost impossible to find a bakery that bake true rye bread. But this is obvious if you think 90% bakers do not have a sourdough culture! And most of the few bakers that have a sourdough got it from a friend, they never started a culture from scratch.
Going back to the market rye, that time I have to admit it was good: I think >=70% high extraction rye, sourdough and some molasse enrichment(?).
Last time it was ...uhmm, so and so. When I tasted a slice I said my sister - this is not rye, do you remember my last rye? She said something (she don't like to speak about bread but she like to eat rye bread), so yesterday I baked it again (and baked also my usual Pain Au Levain, I remember DiMuzio lesson "master one bread"). Now, I can say her - this is rye.
The formula is from J.Hamelman "80% Sourdough Rye with Rye-Flour Soaker", for me just "Pane di Segale". This is my favorite true (>70%) rye bread and the rye flour soaker is a great addition.
And this morning, after a rainy week, we finally see a ray of sun (or a rye of sun?).
Overall formula
Preferment: 35% of the total flour (whole rye flour) is prefermented at 83% hydration. Remember to subtract the flour and water from the final dough ingredients. I usually build the sourdough with a 5:83:100 ratio and ferment about 14:00 at 21°C.
Soaker: 20% of the total flour (whole rye flour) is soaked with hot (boiling) water. Pour the water oven the flour, cover and let it at room temperature for 14:00. I keep the soaker in a warm spot for the first 02:00. Remember to subtract the flour and water from the final dough ingredients.
Dough consistency: o_O ... it's rye!
I thought these ciabattas would make a nice first entry for my brand new blog .
3 hour bulk fermentation, retarded overnight in the fridge, 1 hour out of the fridge, shape (kind of) and 2 hour proof.
25 minutes in a very hot oven, 10 more with the oven turned off.
It's a great bread for the kind of sandwiches we like in Spain. I'm sure you have seen that chorizo in the background :-)
I just found an interesting article on The Heavy Table site - Solveig Tofte, the head baker at Turtle Bread Company in Minneapolis answering questions about her career. Might be helpful to anyone wanting to get into the baking business. Check it out, A.
Since my last post of Chocolate & Praline Almond Sourdough, I have done two posts at Sourdough Companion:
A Taste of Italy - Chilies, Sundried Tomatoes & Butternut Pumpkin Sourdough Baguette, and
Light Rye, Light Wholemeal Rustic Pain au Levain.
With this post, I am doing a Bread Salad using Five-Grain Levain.
My local fruit and vegetable store recently has a few new varieties of pumpkins. I picked up an attractive looking pumpkin (pictured below) when I was there about a week ago and I asked Con the fruiterer where it came from. He looked at me as if to say, why, Shiao-Ping, it's Australian-grown! He tells me the name of it, but how am I going to remember all those foreign names? I bought one, not knowing what to do with it. As the week progressed, I felt like making some sort of Bread Salad with it! What sort of sourdough bread would I make to go with roasted pumpkin?!
Pumpkin - pumpkin seeds - grains & seeds bread!! Haha!
Here it is, Hamelman's Five-Grain Levain from his Bread, page 174. My second try (the first try was in Polly, our dog's tummy):
Hamelman's Five-Grain Levain is an exceptionally moist bread. Depending on how big you make it, a good long bake is normally a good idea, or the moisture retained in the seeds will make the bread dense in the bottom. I didn't understand it whenever I read bakers commenting on how moist this bread was. When I studied Hamelman's recipe all that I could ascertain from his formula was that the soakers take the big chunk of the overall hydration (which may initially appear high at 98%) but the hydration for the final dough flour was only 58%! Now I know the reason why this bread is moist - it is because the moisture retained in the soakers is not easily baked off, as does the flour. Have you ever noticed that the weights of your dough before bake and after bake are very different? At least a good 12 - 15% difference. That's what I meant, whereas the pre-soaked seeds and grains seem to be able to retain the moisture in the oven better.
Notwithstanding the above, I made the following changes to my bread:
This moist bread is perfect for a bread salad because so often the bread dries out once it's out in the open air (unless you smear it with butter or oil, which I don't want to do) but this one stays fresh for a lot longer. It is a pleasing find for me.
I toasted these slices, broke them into pieces with my hands, then
tossed the pieces in a balsamic/dark brown sugar/olive oil dressing.
I made the bread salad for lunch yesterday and had to keep part of it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours for my daughter. She said it was still very fresh and crispy when she ate it, which shows how moist the bread was.
With this post, I would like to bid everyone a Happy Holiday Season! We are going away on our annual beach holiday in the South Coast of Queensland tomorrow. Much to my delight, there is no internet connection in the place we are staying. I was looking forward to some beach sourdough baking, but then again blogging can be an all-consuming exercise, and a break can be a welcome recharge.
Best to all,
Last week a friend brought us a box of Korean Pears (delicious, by the way) and seeing and tasting them, I thought they might make for a really yummy bread. I've never been a big fan of pears, don't like the texture, but I hadn't had asian pears before. The crisper texture, and not quite as sweet flavor was so much better than the pears I'd had previously. The crisper texture also seemed to lend itself better to inclusion in bread, not as likely to get lost. Then it came time for something else to add to the bread, and walnuts seemed like the natural choice. In the future I think I'll consider adding some chunks of blue cheese into the mix as well, but I didn't think some of the intended consumers of the bread would be happy with that.
I also decided to experiment with stenciling a bit with this bread, which was partially foiled by the flour from the couche, but by the time I was baking the third of the three loaves I'd manged to get it working a bit better. These loaves were also a testing ground for what differences using a cloche made. I played around with the slashing on them a bit too, somewhat successfully. The loaves that were baked in the cloche definitely had slashes that opened a bit wider, and somewhat crisper crust. The loaf volume appeared to be very similar, that is likely because they were verging on overproofed from being a little too warm when they went into the fridge overnight as shaped loaves.
I was very happy with how they turned out overall, though. The crust has a nice bite to it, while the crumb is creamy and very moist. The flavor has a lot of depth as well, just the slightest bit sour with some nuttiness and graininess from the rye and white whole wheat flours, yet exploding with bursts of fruity sweetness from the pears and nutty richness from the walnuts.
Walnut Pear Sourdough Recipe
Makes: 1 large loaf, 2 medium, or 3 small loaves (I made 3, just over a pound each)
Time: 2 to 3 days, 2 if you shape and bake the same day, 3 if you retard. First day: Make starter. Second day: Mix final dough, ferment final dough, divide and shape. Third day: Bake
Notes: Asian pears are intended in this recipe, although crisp European type pears would probably work well too. Yes, I realize the character on the top of the loaf is missing the top part of the upper left radical, I accidentally brushed it off when moving the loaf. If you want to make this bread with commercial yeast, in the starter dough replace the levain with an extra 1.8(51gm) ounces of flour, 1.2(34gm) ounces of water and 1/2tsp (.055 ounce, 1.5gm) yeast.
I'm happy this recipe turned out so well for me, it really hit what I was envisioning when I came up with it. Hopefully it will work as well for anyone else who decides to try it.


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|Reviews for Fossil Fighting Randomness
| HOW DARE YOU chapter 17 . 7/5/2015
Hunter/Duna of life!
| bk42bk42 chapter 54 . 4/25/2015
I think you should do one where Rupert has a dream where he is married to Dina, who turns into ZZ, then 'wakes up' to find Dina now has the head of a Z-Rex, then wakes up screaming, which causes Dina to awaken and get pissed and break Ruperts arm and then *time skip 4 years* Dina marries Rupert (My thinking is you have to be at least 14 to become an official fossil fighter) but then Dina says she changed her mind and then runs off with Stella LOL turns out it was all a dream... Or was it?
| dinomonfan chapter 16 . 4/17/2015
i am a boy and can you have it like the evil bannana closing in on everybody with playdoh scissors that he uses to beat people then i fall out of the sky on my t rex lord squishing the bannana
and i get of my t rex lord and i just shout to dina " WASSUP" she yells it back and then 10 seconds later everyones shouting WASSUP and im like ok away t rex lord away and hop on him and he just fly away and dina all like think im in love and ruperts all like im a kill you and catches a note and it says " try me and also beware falling bannana
| Guest chapter 54 . 4/13/2015
Update more often? Sureeeeeeee
| PokemonFreakGirl chapter 10 . 3/24/2015
My OC's name is Luna Dragonara she is half dragon,dinosaur,cat,vivasaur,and human hybrid
| PokemonFreakGirl chapter 54 . 3/24/2015
4 wordz WEIRD GOOFY FUNNY LAUGHED MY BUTT OFF
| Aubrie1234 chapter 54 . 10/10/2014
Well, I think you should do crossovers with Dinosaur King, Pokemon, and Digimon! They're some of my favorite shows!
| PokKing42 chapter 53 . 5/28/2014
Do a dinaurian blooper chapter, where Raptin gets humiliated. I think he should be found singing the barbie song in the shower by... wait for it... wait for it... HIS CRUSH, DUNA! Along with King Dynal, but Duna finds him first. Also, do one where Raptin is put into a random cartoon that you think is annoying.
| Mew'smeow chapter 53 . 1/2/2014
Hmm... make a crack chapter using only 4 characters. Please? Your story is very humorous.
| DunalN2 chapter 53 . 12/2/2013
| BloodLily16 chapter 53 . 12/1/2013
Oh wow! XD I love how everyone freaks out when the baby comes. And Rupert's right, how do you get a grape, an orange, and a watermelon from two bananas? (PS, please have Olivia shoot Jack in the knee again.)
| PokemonMasterRed75 chapter 5 . 11/18/2013
I can't stop laughing
| DunalN2 chapter 52 . 11/5/2013
...You didn't update FF:UC...
| BloodLily16 chapter 52 . 11/4/2013
| Starry's Light chapter 26 . 8/29/2013
HHHAAHAHAAAAAAA! That's my reaction to this. I love the chapter! :3 Banana family is superduper AWESOME! :DDDDDD


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Chris Johnson Sets Franchise Record with 94-Yard TouchdownPosted by on December 17, 2012 – 8:34 pm
Chris Johnson ripped off a franchise-long 94-yard run, giving the Titans a 7-3 lead with 8:53 remaining in the second quarter at LP Field.
It topped the previous franchise record of 91 yards, set by Sid Blanks against the Jets on Dec. 13, 1964 and matched by Johnson against the Houston Texans on Sept. 20, 2009.
Johnson's run was the longest in the NFL since a 95-yarder by Minnesota Vikings running back Chester Taylor on Oct. 22, 2006.
It also marked Johnson's sixth career touchdown of over 80 yards, extending his record for the most in NFL history.
In addition, it was the second-longest touchdown run in Monday Night Football history, second only to Tony Dorsett's 99-yard run on Jan. 3, 1983 at Minnesota.
Johnson became the third player in NFL history with multiple 90-plus yard TD runs, joining Ahman Green and Bo Jackson.
In five NFL seasons, Johnson now has reached the 1,100-yard mark for the fourth time.
Johnson talked about his long run after the game.
"It was an inside zone play and they were pressing," Johnson said. "Kyle DeVan got on his man and I came right behind him. Once I jumped through the line, I saw nothing but daylight. From there, it was just hitting it."
Johnson said when teams stack the box, it increases his ability for long runs if he can get past the initial line of defenders.
"No matter what run you have, you always know if you get behind those guys there is a good chance you can go all the way," he said. "It's a situation that I just read it and stayed with it and cut back through the offensive line, that's when I saw the daylight."
And once he reaches daylight, the chances of catching him are slim.
"I feel like once I get through the line or whatever, I don't feel like I can get caught," Johnson said. "It's a situation where a lot of teams like to play a lot of guys in the box against me. Anytime they do that, you are not going to have a lot of good runs, but you've got to take advantage when they slip. When they slip, you've just got to make them pay for it."
And that's exactly what Johnson did.
Tags: Chris Johnson
Posted in titansonline.com Blog | 1 Comment »
One Response
to "Chris Johnson Sets Franchise Record with 94-Yard Touchdown"
By Diane Leach on Dec 20, 2012 | Reply
I have not been a particular fan of the Tennessee Titans nor did I really know much about Chris Johnson. Because of what he did for the family in Newtown I will watch every game and be a dedicated fan of his. Thank you so much Chris and your team should be especially proud of your compassion for the small boy and his family. I'm sure your visit will leave them with much needed good memories.


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yeah, such an attack would be bad. The industy might take decades to recover, what with the loss of all those fluffers, 9.5 inch dicks, and women willing to do a dp scene. Not to mention the sheer expertise loss... crews for a sex flix are extremely rare.
I think you're overestimating the damage a bomb can do, especially in a suburban area like Van Nuys. There's no way you could take out more than a couple of houses, let alone 6,000 porn stars.
The most obvious place for a suicide bomber attack is at the security queue at the airport. Not on the plane; while waiting in line. Thousands of people all crammed together? Perfect. Because you'd not only do massive damage, but you'd shut down the air travel system again, all of it, and for a lot longer than 9/11 (because figuring out how to prevent it again would be very difficult).
I would follow it up a day later with two or three bridge bombings. A small charge could cause a major collapse. Obviously the country would be on high alert already, so you'd have to hire some clean-cut white kids in Dockers to place the bombs.
Or a big chemical plant, which are practically unguarded, and could create a major environmental disaster. They tend to be in places that are already pretty awful, though.
Better idea, especially if you can get up in a small plane: Bailey Yard in Nebraska. It's the world's largest railroad classification yard, and something like half of all US rail freight passes through it. Economists use the level of activity there to predict the economy.
FYI, two days ago Freakonomics was an independent site... Will being part of the NYT machine dull its edge? Guessing by this post, not at all...
Something tells me there might be some people freaking out at the NSA about all the new "chatter on the net" about terrorism suggestions. heh.
man, replying to that post is just asking to get warrantless wiretapped.
You're already being wiretapped, @5. You just don't realize it yet.
That said, some of us don't post comments on threads like this, because we have military training in how to do things like that, and it's not good to give people ideas.
But ... at the end of the day ... you are STILL far more likely to be killed or injured from heart disease, crossing the street, driving a car, or taking a bath, than by any FUD about terrorism.
To take a page out of Bush's playbook, it's much better to take the porn to the terrorists, rather than wait for the terrorists to attack the pornographers in our own country.
Jenna Jameson is looking a little rough around the edges lately. So to speak. I miss circa-1996 Asia Carrera. Smart can be very, very sexy.
Yeah...would they get all sorts of monetary bail-outs like the airline industry did?
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I can't believe this is not just a built-in function of WordPress, it's such a core feature to anyone customizing their site. Putting custom CSS in your theme file is just not the right way to do it. Fortunately, this plugin is the perfect solution to that!
AND it even works on multisite installations! +1 :D
Thank you!


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DUI and crash bring prison timeApril 06,2013
BENNINGTON — A Pownal man will serve eight days in jail after pleading guilty Friday to drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash in separate October incidents.
Jeremy M. Wilson, 34, pleaded guilty in Bennington criminal court to a felony DUI count and a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of a crash which caused property damage.
The state dismissed three other pending felony counts of driving under the influence of alcohol.
Wilson was arraigned on two felony counts of drunk driving Oct. 29 and two more felony counts of the same charge, plus the misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident, Oct. 31.
Police said in the first case Wilson was legally inebriated when he was stopped on Route 7 in Pownal on Oct. 13.
In the second case, police said Wilson fled from a crash near a horse farm on Middle Pownal Road on Oct. 21. He was found hiding in a horse pasture, police said.
A breath test indicated Wilson's blood-alcohol content was more than three times the legal limit for driving, police said.
Wilson was sentenced Friday to serve one to two years in prison, but all of it was suspended except for eight days.MORE IN This Just In
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HAVANA (AP) - Cuba's Communist Party has begun the process of
electing new leaders in a vote that is likely to formally name Raul Castro first secretary in place of his brother.
All eyes are on the selection of the No. 2 position, which could go to a younger leader.
An official photograph taken by state media from inside the spacious convention hall where the party confab is taking place shows Raul placing his vote inside a ballot box.
The ballot reads "Candidacy for Members of the Central Committee." On the ballot, Castro has checked off a box reading, "Vote for All," an
indication he has chosen to approve the entire slate of candidates.
The candidates themselves are not visible in the picture, and it was not clear when the new leadership will be announced.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)