Category Archives: people

Tokyo Based Fujikura Guilty of Auto Parts Price Fixing

To date, including Fujikura, eight executives and five companies have been charged and have pled guilty in the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation into the auto parts industry. Three of the companies have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to pay criminal fines totaling more than $748 million. Seven of the executives have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to serve a total of more than 122 months in jail. Continue reading

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Former BP Engineer Arrested for Obstruction of Justice in Ongoing Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation

It was the first of what could become many criminal charges to be filed because of the environmental destruction caused by a huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. BP said “We will not comment on the Government’s case against former BP employee Kurt Mix and we will continue cooperating in the Department of Justice’s investigation.” Continue reading

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Energy Research to be Coordinated by Three Federal Agencies

In a public relations move that clearly has political value during an election year with skyrocketing energy prices, the U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Interior are supposed to work together “to ensure that continued expansion of natural gas and oil production happens safely and responsibly.” Continue reading

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Anti Nuke Weapons Group Says Porsche Ends Iran Business

United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) joined New York City Public Advocate Bill de Blasio in announcing that Porsche AG has ended its business in Iran. In a statement, the pressure group headed by former U.S. Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, said Porsche officials have confirmed that the company is no longer “engaged in any business or providing any goods or services in Iran,” and “has no intention to conduct business in Iran in the near future.” Continue reading

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Younger Passengers Least Likely to Protest Distracted Driving

Young drivers are nearly three times as likely to report having been reading or sending a text or e-mail when such an incident occurred as compared to drivers age 25 and higher. In addition, drivers younger than 25 are two to three times more likely to drive while sending or reading a text message or email. Reports of texting while driving drop sharply as age increases. Continue reading

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NSC Says Much Work Needs to be done on Distracted Driving. Again Urges Total ban on all Cell Phone Use

Determining the scope of the cell phone distracted driving problem remains a challenge. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and NSC claim the actual number of crashes involving cell phone distracted driving is higher, likely much higher, than reported figures. Continue reading

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One in Five Americans Blissfully Untroubled by the Internet

One out of five American adults does not use the internet, according to the latest study by the Pew Internet Project, which has been closely tracking the internet since 2000. Senior citizens, Spanish speakers, adults with less than a high school education, and those living in households earning less than $30,000 per year are the least likely adults to have internet access. Continue reading

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Local News is Newspaper Strength in Shifting Media Fare. Duh

What this means to struggling local newspapers is unclear. Nevertheless as a group, local news consumers are more likely than others to prefer newspapers for almost all of 16 topics asked about in the survey—including crime, local politics, community events, arts and culture, local schools, taxes, government activity, restaurants, other local business, housing issues, job openings, and local zoning issues. Continue reading

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Hapless SEC Sues AutoChina for Alleged Stock Manipulation

AutoChina (OTC: AUTCF), China’s largest commercial vehicle sales, servicing, leasing, and company said the SEC’s complaint is without merit, thereby setting up an intricate and lengthy court battle with the watchdog that does not bark. SEC claimed that AutoChina senior executive and director Hui Kai Yan, a former AutoChina manager, and others fraudulently traded AutoChina’s stock to boost its daily trading volume. Continue reading

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Justice Department Seizes Counterfeit Chinese Sports Jerseys

The Department of Justice has seized more than $896,000 in proceeds from the distribution of Chinese made counterfeit sports apparel and jerseys as the result of an investigation into the sale of bogus goods on commercial websites. The individuals involved, based in China, sold counterfeit professional and collegiate sports apparel, primarily counterfeit sports jerseys. Continue reading

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Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, 911 Designer, Dead at 76

In 1958, Ferdinand joined the engineering office of what was then Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche KG. His first model was the design of a successor to the 356 model out of plasticine. In 1962, he took over as head of the Porsche design studio, making his name one year later with the Porsche 901, which went into production as the 911, and is still in production seven iterations later. Porsche also designed racing cars, including the type 804 Formula One racing car and the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS. Continue reading

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New Chevrolet Ads with Verlander, Fielder for 2012 Season

As the 2012 major league baseball season begins, Chevrolet is using Justin Verlander and Prince Fielder of the Detroit Tigers in 15-second spots that are a remake of the now classic 1974 “Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet” TV ad. Don’t quit your day (and night) baseball jobs, guys… Continue reading

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Fisker Shows Atlantic EV – Will It Ever Be Built?

In essence, Fisker – similar to EVs – has a range problem with doubts about whether it can reach its stated destination of creating 2,000 autoworker jobs building 100,000 plug-in hybrids per year at the 3.2 million square-foot factory in Delaware before it runs out of cash. Continue reading

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April First in New York as Mini Cooper Yachtsman Debuts

The latest BMW press release from Mini on 1 April 2012 says that Mini customers will be able to boldly go (sic) where no motorer has gone before when the all-new Mini Cooper Yachtsman makes its world premiere at the New York International Auto Show this week, right beside the Hudson River. Continue reading

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Ruling against Chevron in $18 Billion Toxic Oil Waste Case

In February 2011, after an eight-year trial that produced 220,000 pages of evidence, an Ecuador court found Chevron liable for deliberately dumping more than 16 billion gallons of toxic waste into Amazon waterways when it operated in Ecuador from 1964 to 1992 under the Texaco brand. The dumping severely hurt indigenous groups and caused an outbreak of cancer and other diseases, according to the evidence. Continue reading

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