Bangor Man Arrested After Calling San Francisco Man a ‘Sexual Slur’

By Nok-Noi Ricker, Bangor Daily News
04.20.11

BANGOR, Maine — A local man who apparently repeatedly called a man from San Francisco a sexual slur caused a Tuesday night fight at Longhorn Steakhouse and was arrested, Sgt. Paul Edwards said on Wednesday.

Three Bangor police officers were called to the Hogan Road restaurant at 9:45 p.m. to deal with Kevin Schmersal, 58, who got into a fight with a group of five men and one woman —  at least one of whom was from San Fransisco — at the restaurant’s bar, the sergeant said. The California city is known for its gay community.

After finding out the victim was from San Francisco, “Mr. Schmersal then allegedly made a derogatory remark about his sexuality based on his hometown,” Edwards said in a statement.

“He thought it was his right to say whatever he wanted,” the police sergeant added Wednesday, saying he was barred from releasing exactly what Schmersal called the visiting man.

The California man’s son became upset by Schmersal’s remarks and he and others in the group began fighting with Schmersal.

“There were actually punches thrown, but no one got hit,” Edwards said.

Bangor police Officers Kim Donnell, Gary Decker and Richard Polk went to Longhorn and found the group outside the restaurant waiting to talk to them, while Schmersal and his wife, Patti, waited inside.

When Donnell and Decker interviewed Schmersal, “that is when he became irate and continued to try and justify using that word,” Edwards said. “Then he just lunged at Officer Kim Donnell in an aggressive manner” and was subdued by the officers and then arrested.

Schmersal was charged with disorderly conduct and taken to Penobscot County Jail but was later released, he said. If convicted of the disorderly conduct charge, he could face up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000.

“The case is being forwarded to the Attorney General’s Office for review in order to see if any hate crime laws have been violated,” Edwards said.

The Schmersals appeared in the Bangor Daily News at the end of March in a story about criticism from neighbors concerning their home-based dog breeding operation and kennel on Pushaw Road.

Obama as a Chimp? E-mail Gives California GOP Problems It Didn't Need

By Daniel B. Wood, Christian Science Monitor

04.19.11

Los Angeles An e-mail by an Orange County Republican Party official that shows President Obama’s face superimposed on a chimpanzee is a fresh blow for a state Republican Party already teetering on the brink of political irrelevance.

State party officials have categorically condemned the e-mail by Marilyn Davenport, which shows the altered picture of Obama with the caption: “Now you know why – No birth certificate!” California Republican Party Chairman Tom Del Beccaro said "the actions in question are completely unacceptable.”

Yet the fact that a Republican official in Orange County – sometimes called “the most Republican county in the US" – so obviously endorses the "birther" movement and promoted it in a borderline racist e-mail runs the risk of confirming negative GOP stereotypes for some California voters.

“This underscores the problems that the Republican Party is having in the state of California, and spotlights the perception they are having nationally that the GOP is white, conservative, and sometimes insensitive to race," says Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political scientist at the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California.

As immigration has recast California and helped push it left of center, the Republican Party has adamantly stayed true to the small government, anti-illegal immigration credo that emerged from Orange County in the 1980s and made the party a potent political force through the early '90s.

More recently, however, that platform has been an electoral stumbling block. For the second time since 1882, no Republican was elected to statewide office last November. (The other time was 2002.) Moreover, Republicans are only three seats away – one in the Assembly and two in the Senate – from being outnumbered 2 to 1 in each chamber of the California Legislature.

Ms. Davenport apologized for the e-mail Monday. “I wasn’t wise in sending the e-mail out. I shouldn’t have done it. I really wasn’t thinking when I did it.”

The monkey caricature is not necessarily racist, some political experts note. President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Donald Rumsfeld – all white – have been targets of monkey comparisons online, with one famous critic calling Bush “Curious George."

But political experts say the damage is done. Several activist groups have called for Davenport’s resignation, and the state party is trying to distance itself.

Orange County Republican Chairman Scott Baugh has called for Davenport to resign, saying the e-mail was "dripping with racism and is in very poor taste."

Meanwhile, Gary Aminoff, former vice chairman of the Republican Party of Los Angeles County, called Davenport one bad apple.

“The actions of a single misguided, or possibly racist, Republican should not reflect badly on the Republican Party as a whole,” he says. “It has been made clear by leaders of the Republican Party in Orange County that they do not approve of the actions of Marilyn Davenport and such action was not an official Republican Party e-mail.”

At best for the state GOP, it is an opportunity to clarify what the party is all about.

“Kudos to the California Republicans for condemning this e-mail," says Robert Stern, president of the Center for Governmental Studies. "In these days of birther talk from Donald Trump, et al., it is refreshing to see Republican leaders taking a strong stand against unacceptable behavior."

Assignment: Editorial Essay

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO

Is Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, as some say, a brilliant innovator who has reshaped the way millions in the world connect with one another? Or is he, as others have argued, is he an overly-powerful and unscrupulous entrepreneur? Zuckerberg has clearly made an indelible mark on 21st century life, but does his creation threaten to become too powerful? And what of the disputed origins of Facebook? Should the allegations against Zuckerberg give us pause about his creation? Can we trust Zuckerberg, and Facebook, with our private information? What is your view of Mark Zuckerberg?

In a concise editorial, illustrate your views on this most iconic of personalities. Cite evidence from The Accidental Billionaires and the Zuckerberg articles and videos we read and watched this week to support your thesis.

Requirements:

• MLA format, including parenthetical citation
• 2.5-page minimum
• Cite at least four articles/videos, in addition to The Accidental Billionaires

The best papers:

• Stay within the parameters of the subject matter
• Have a concise thesis which clearly outlines a position
• Are written in a voice that is casual, yet informed
• Clearly support the thesis with solid evidence and a logical structure, citing from the Zuckerberg articles and videos, as well as The Accidental Billionaires
• Cite a minimum of four articles/videos, in addition to The Accidental Billionaires
• Conclude with a summation of the argument
• Properly cite evidence using MLA's parenthetical citation method
• Are in compliance with MLA Style

Sample editorials:

• "America’s Elites Have a Duty to the Rest of Us" (Washington Post)
• "The Oil Spill, One Year Later" (New York Times) 
• "The Best Remedy for the Price of Gas" (Los Angeles Times) 
• "Finally, Both Parties are in the Battle Over Debt and Deficit" (Dallas Morning News) 
• "Want Fries with That?" (Chicago Tribune) 
• "Sleeping Flight Controllers are One Harsh Wake-Up Call" (The Oregonian) 

Due: Mo 4. 25 / Tu 4.26 (Bring three copies)

Week 13: Mendocino

Mendocino Bay

Talk to me of Mendocino
Closing my eyes I hear the sea
Must I wait
Must I follow
Won't you say come with me

—Linda Ronstadt, "Talk to Me of Mendocino"

Week 13: Mendocino
Mo 4.18 / Tu 4.19
Read: MYCAL—“The Line” by Ruben Martinez, “Flirting with Urbanismo” by Patt Morrison,

In-class: Reading discussion

We 4.20 / Th 4.21

Read: MYCAL­— “My Little Saigon” by Ahn Do, “The Nicest Person in San Francisco” by Derek Powaze, “The Un-California” by Daniel Weintraub

In-class: Reading discussion; Lecture—“California on TV”

Sa 4/23
Field trip: Alcatraz Island—Participation optional 

Week 14: San Francisco
Mo 4. 25 / Tu 4.26
In-class: Writer’s workshop; Preview—Autobiographical essay
Due: Editorial essay (Draft 1, bring 3 copies)

We 4.27 / Th 4.28
In-class: Guest speakers, TBA
Due: Reflection 7

Note: Don't forget that my Monday office hour is moved to Tuesday until May 9th!
 

Important Alcatraz Field Trip Information

Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay

Below are instructions for obtaining tickets for this month's optional Alcatraz field trip. Please follow directions carefully:

1. Go to Alcatraz Cruises
2. Look for the TICKETS & TOURS box in the upper-left hand corner
3. Choose 4/23/11, the number of tickets ($26 each), then click SEARCH
4. On the next page, look for the row labeled DAY TOUR AM and the column labeled SAT APR 23 2011, click on 9:30 AM
5. On the next page, confirm the date and number of tickets, then click ADD TO CART
6. Proceed to checkout (I'd recommend using the PRINT AT HOME eTICKET option)

After you've purchased your ticket, please leave a comment below to notify me so I can begin work on transportation options.

Again, this field trip is optional.

Could This Email to Paul Ceglia Cost Mark Zuckerberg 50% of Facebook?

By Catharine Smith, The Huffington Post
04.12.11

Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg scored a major victory on Monday, when a U.S. appeals court ruled that the Winklevoss twins could not appeal their previous settlement with Facebook over claims that Zuckerberg had stolen their idea for a similar site. But the victory may prove to be short-lived.

Another of Zuckerberg's former challengers, Paul Ceglia, has again reared his head.

Ceglia, a New York state businessman, has produced new evidence in his case against Facebook. Last year, Ceglia filed a lawsuit claiming that Zuckerberg had signed a contract in 2003 that awarded Ceglia $1,000 and a 50-percent stake in the fledgeling social network. In return, Ceglia said that he worked as a designer and developer on Zuckerberg's site, while Zuckerberg worked as a coder for Ceglia's StreetFax.com.

Facebook denied Ceglia's initial claims, and many wondered why Ceglia had waited seven years to come forward. In addition, Ceglia had been arrested in 2009 and charged with criminal fraud.

While Ceglia's allegations seemed far-fetched in 2010, Business Insider reports that he has refiled his case and has brought forward more than a dozen emails allegedly written by Zuckerberg in 2003 and 2004.

In one purported email from 2003, Zuckerberg bounces around ideas for renaming the site and suggests that a good way to monetize would be to charge alumni $29.95 a month. In another, he mentions a pair of Harvard classmates [presumably the Winklevoss twins] who have a similar website idea. As the launch of Zuckerberg's website is delayed into 2004, the email correspondences begin to break down. Ceglia reminds Zuckerberg that their contract entitles him to a larger percentage of Zuckerberg's company the longer the site is delayed.

In an alleged email dated February 2, 2004, Zuckerberg mentions his contract with Ceglia explicitly, writing,

Paul, I have a rather serious issue to discuss with you, according to our contract, I owe you over 30% more of the business in late penalties which would give you over 80% of the company. First I want to say that I think that is completely unfair because I did so much extra work for you on your site [StreetFax.com] that caused those delays in the first place and second I don't even think it is legal to charge such a huge penalty. [...] I'd ike to suggest that you drop the penalty completely and that we officially return to 50/50 ownership.  

Ceglia agrees, according to later emails. Then, Zuckerberg backs out of the deal, writing to Ceglia that students have not shown much interest in the site and that he is considering ending the project.

If these emails are real, Ceglia stands to earn a huge payout from Facebook.

Facebook, on the other hand is flatly denying their authenticity. "This is a fraudulent lawsuit brought by a convicted felon, and we look forward to defending it in court," a Facebook lawyer told Bloomberg.

At the time Ceglia filed his first suit, Facebook was valued as high as $22 billion. Now, the site is believed to be worth over $50 billion.

Appeals Court Upholds Facebook Deal from 2008

The federal appeals panel rules that the deal between Mark Zuckerberg and Harvard colleagues Divya Narendra and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss is valid and enforceable. 'At some point, litigation must come to an end,' a judge says. 'That point has now been reached.'

By Carol J. Williams, Los Angeles Times
04.11.11

A federal appeals court panel ruled Monday that a 2008 deal between Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and three former Harvard colleagues is valid and enforceable.

The decision upheld a negotiated agreement between Zuckerberg and the founders of a rival social-networking site, ConnectU, in their dispute over who came up with the Facebook idea by giving Divya Narendra and Olympic rowing twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss a share of the privately held company, deemed to be worth about $65 million at the time of the settlement three years ago. Because of Facebook's soaring value, that share is now worth in excess of $160 million.

In the opinion from Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, who wrote for the three-judge panel, he said: "The Winklevosses are not the first parties bested by a competitor who then seek to gain through litigation what they were unable to achieve in the marketplace. And the courts might have obliged, had the Winklevosses not settled their dispute and signed a release of all claims against Facebook."

He concluded: "At some point, litigation must come to an end. That point has now been reached."

Lawyers for the ConnectU company, which Facebook acquires through the settlement, had argued that the twins and Narendra were fraudulently misled about the value of Facebook and that crucial details were omitted from the settlement, rendering it invalid. Facebook, now estimated to be worth more than $50 billion, is the world's largest social-networking site with 500 million members.

Facebook's legal team argued at the January hearing in San Francisco that it was the responsibility of the ConnectU owners to determine what Facebook was worth.

In a statement Monday, Facebook's deputy general counsel, Colin Stretch, said: "We appreciate the 9th Circuit's careful consideration of this case and are pleased the court has ruled in Facebook's favor."

The three 9th Circuit judges had expressed doubts at the hearing about the twins' claim that the deal was unenforceable for its lack of detail -- at one point noting that agreements written on scrap paper or the backs of napkins had been upheld in court.

The argument over who came up with the Facebook concept was the subject of last year's Oscar-winning film "The Social Network."