Craigslist sparks the inevitable, Apple v. Nokia heats up, Riot Watch! back in Thailand

- It was only a matter of time before a story like this happened, so color me un-surprised at news that four suspects have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a home invasion that began with an ad on Craigslist. That announcement was made by Washington state authorities said Friday, with the final of the four suspects turning himself in Thursday after three of them were arrested on May 1. The fourth suspect, Clabon Terrel Berniard, 23, turned himself in Thursday, police said. He and his cohorts stand accused of killing a man on April 28 in Edgewood, just outside Tacoma. All four are charged with first-degree murder, robbery and assault. Things came off the rail for all involved after James Sanders and his wife posted an ad on Craigslist offering a diamond ring for $1,050. From there, Sanders arranged to meet prospective buyers of the ring at the his home. Amazingly enough, some shady characters responded to the ad and from there…..well, I’ll allow Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist to take over the story. "Two people show up and act like a couple looking for a ring for the mother-in-law," Lindquist said. Instead, the man posing as the husband busted out his gun and Sanders, his wife, and their sons, ages 14 and 10, were restrained with plastic handcuffs. It was at that point two additional suspects entered the home and one of them proceeded to pistol-whip the older son. Sanders was able to free himself from the restraints and attempted to defend his son. For that effort, he was shot three times. "While this is going on," Lindquist said, "other bad guys are kicking Mom in the head while she's lying on the floor." The three suspects arrested on May 1 were located in California after a traffic stop. They have been identified as Kiyoshi A. Higashi, Joshua N. Reese, and Amanda C. Knight. Knight posted bail in California and surrendered to authorities in Sumner, Wash. on Tuesday. Higashi, Reese and Berniard will be arraigned next week. Again, a story like this is not surprising because with the yahoos, kooks and whack-jobs who populate and frequent Craigslist, it’s akin to putting a tightly sealed bowl of spicy chili in the microwave, turning it on high for two hours and expecting it not to explode……………

- Life became a bit more interesting for players and fans of the Round Rock Express this past week. It began innocuously enough with a news release stating: "The Round Rock Express have acquired Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson... Johnson, who was born in East Texas but was raised in Venezuela, recently had his prison sentence commuted. He served time for running a smuggling ring that imported rare and illegal species of reptiles into the United States from South America during the mid-to-late 1990s." As it turned out, Rojo bears an awfully strong resemblance to actor Will Ferrell. In fact, some people are suggesting that Billy Ray "Rojo" Johnson was actually Will Ferrell in disguise. Rojo made his debut Thursday night, toting a six-pack of beer with him to the mound and throwing his first pitch behind the batter. Rojo was promptly ejected by the home-plate umpire and proceeded to have a confrnation with the batter. Apparently the entire thing was a stunt to promote a charity golf event being held in nearby Austin, Texas. What did the team get out of it? Well, aside from having one of the biggest names in Hollywood take the mound, the Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros drew their largest crowd of the season, with more than 10,000 in attendance, including more than 4,000 walk-up sales. The team didn’t immediately state whether Rojo would be back with the team in the future, but I have to admit that I like what I saw from this guy on the mound, especially that cheesy mustache that almost appeared to be glued onto Rojo’s face and the moxie he showed in going right after the very first batter he faced. So if we never see you on the mound again, Rojo, know that you have earned my respect…………

- All right, maybe the Red Shirts haven’t totally lost it. I fretted last week that by accepting a deal with the same illegitimate government they are looking to evict from office, the Red Shirts were basically throwing in the towel on their rioting and protesting days. That perception changed after hearing that two Thai policeman were killed and 13 people wounded in gun and grenade attacks overnight Friday. While some might view this development as a threat to efforts to forge a deal to end two months of anti-government protests, I of course take a different view of the situation. I see the outburst as a reason for hope and a sign that the Red Shirts have plenty of fight left in them. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has a plan to end the riots and protests and I don’t like that idea one bit. The fact that the demonstration have choked off business and other activities in much of Bangkok and scared off most tourists are merely unfortunate side effects of the political process. If Vejjajiva and his cronies would admit that they were illegitimately elected and step down, this problem would be solved on the spot. Oh, and the Red Shirts should not be denying involvement in the attacks early Saturday morning and quickly condemning the violence. Quit insisting that you are committed to the reconciliation plan and working on your own proposals to present to the government, Red Shirts? Keep taking it to the street and forget about having those proposals ready by May 15. "This should be a peaceful solution. There are some issues on which we agree with the government, and some in which we disagree," a protest leader, Nattawut Saikua, explained. "Our proposal will be flexible. We are ready to listen... because we want to make way for a conciliatory atmosphere." No, no, no. Proposal rejected. You head into talks with that weak junk and the government will swat it into the fifth row of the stands. While offing cops in drive-by shootings on motorcycles during the night is a bit over the edge and grenade blasts in the early morning aren’t the typical protest tactics I advocate, desperate times call for desperate measures. Abhisit responsed to the overnight attacks by ordering a tightening of security in the area after a meeting on Saturday with Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban and the government's crisis control group, the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES). "CRES believe there are a group of people who don't want the protest to stop," government spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said. Yeah, me. These protests/riots/whatever you want to term them are awesome and those of us who enjoy stickin’ it to The Man want them to go on as long as possible. Rioting is fun and clashing with police is not just great exercise; it also serves social and political purposes. Revolutions change the world and any good revolution must start at street level with some fists a-flyin’………….

- So as it turns out, MTV’s “The Real World” doesn’t just churn out a steady string of tanning-obsessed, surgically enhanced wannabe actors who are then recycled for the network’s various incarnations of “Gauntlet/Fresh Meat/The Ruins” all-star shows for former Real Worlders and Road Rulers. No, the show can also produce aspiring politicians, as evidenced by Kevin Powell, a cast member from the first season of “The Real World,” and Sean Duffy, from “The Real World: Boston,” both of whom are now running for office. Powell is running for Congress to represent the 10^th District of New York City in Brooklyn and Duffy is looking to succeed Wisconsin Congressman David Obey who is retiring after 41 years representing the state. Powell actually has been building toward this run for a decade, building a career as an author, activist, poet, lecturer and writer. He has lived Brooklyn for about a decade and first ran for congress in 2008. H failed in that attempt to unseat current Representative Edolphus Towns. As for Duffy, he has spent the past eight years serving as the Ashland County District Attorney and is married to “The Real World: San Francisco” alumna Rachel Campos-Duffy. Now, these two certainly aren’t on the same status level as former “RW” cast members like WWE wrassler Mike “The Miz” Mizanin, but perhaps they are showing that everyone who appears on the show are vapid, bizarre freak shows looking to jump-start their acting careers………

- So not only are tech enthusiasts like myself not all that thrilled with the iPad, Nokia also has a serious beef with Apple’s new tablet computer. Nokia’s concerns center on the fact that it believes Apple has infringed upon some of its patents in the iPad and iPad 3G. The claims are the latest development in growing tensions between the two companies over a range of devices and products. The lawsuit was filed in the Federal District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and relates to technologies related to enhanced speech and data transmission. Nokia released a statement labeling the technology as "positioning data in applications and innovations in antenna configurations that improve performance and save space, allowing smaller and more compact devices." Apple hasn’t yet responded to the suit publicly, but given that the two sides have been doing battle since October, they may as well take their time. In October, Nokia fired the first round when it sued Apple in Delaware District Court, claiming that the iPhone infringed on many of its patents. Apple returned fire with a countersuit against Nokia in December, claiming Nokia is trying to take advantage of Apple by making unwarranted claims in order to try to access Apple's intellectual property. That led Nokia to file a motion with the International Trade Commission (ITC), claiming all of Apple's products violate its patents (which seems a big general and over-reaching) and the ITC is currently investigating those claims. At that point, most companies would have been content and focused on the battles already at hand - but not Nokia. It added to the melee with a second complaint in federal court, this time asking the court and the ITC to ban imports of iPhones, MacBooks and iPods. In a petty and punitive step, Apple filed a complaint of its own with the ITC against Nokia. With lawsuit battles against Kodak and HTC also raging, Apple is going to need all of its profits from iPad and iPhone sales just to finance the efforts of its legal department. Expect a countersuit by Apple in Wisconsin sooner rather than later and the perfunctory retaliatory response from Nokia. Ah, gotta love the smell of tech giants setting fire to one another’s reputations with reckless abandon, no? Me too……………