Year: 2005

I just couldn’t pass this up.

That’s what O.J. Simpson said today when asked to comment on the death of Johnnie Cochran.

“I’ve got to say, I don’t think I’d be home today without Johnnie,” Simpson said by telephone from Florida after learning of Cochran’s death in Los Angeles.

Simpson noted other members of his defense team but said: “Without Johnnie running the ball, I don’t think there’s a lawyer in the world that could have run that ball. I was innocent, but he believed it.”

Sounds like even O.J. couldn’t believe that. But did Johnnie really believe in Simpson’s innocence? You have to wonder, given this quote by Cochran:

“Give me a jury with only one Black on it and I’ll guarantee a hung jury [even though the client is guilty, of course].”

And there were nine Blacks on the Simpson jury.

Here’s Cochran’s closing argument in the Simpson case, and his most famous quote:

“Let me show you something. This is a knit cap. Let me put this knit cap on. You have seen me for a year. If I put this knit cap on, who am I? I’m still Johnnie Cochran with a knit cap. And if you looked at O.J. Simpson over there–and he has a rather large head–O.J. Simpson in a knit cap from two blocks away is still O.J. Simpson. It’s no disguise. It’s no disguise. It makes no sense. It doesn’t fit. If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

RIP Johnnie. Oh and one more thing. O.J. wants to be sure you say “hi” to Ron and Nicole…for him.

UPDATE: O.J., others attend Cochran funeral in Los Angeles. 

Apparently, that’s what it takes to put together a tsunami warning system in India.

Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal has told NDTV that a state-of-the-art tsunami warning system will be soon put in place in the country.

The proposed Rs 125 crore project, which has already been approved by the government, would give India the capability to know of a possible tsunami in five to 10 minutes.

“If we can buy and get the technology in place quickly, at least we will be able to tell if a tsunami is on its way so that we can inform our people,” Sibal said.

Sibal also said this system would be more efficient then the already existing Hawaii-based Pacific Tsunami Warning System located in the Pacific Ocean.

Though the state and the Central governments reacted promptly to the latest quake off Sumatra, predicting a natural calamity continues to be a challenge to scientists.

Now, how long will it take them to put this into action? Governments do nothing quickly. Hopefully, there won’t be another disaster in the meantime.

Via Wired: Why no tsunami this time? Answer lies in location.

The powerful quake that struck off Indonesia on Monday probably did not generate a killer tsunami because it was deep and in a fortuitous location, experts said on Tuesday.

But they said the uncertainty over whether there would be a tsunami after the 8.7 magnitude quake under the Indian Ocean floor showed just how little is known about earthquakes and their effects.

“That is why a tsunami early warning system is still badly, badly needed for this area,” said Jian Lin, a marine geophysicist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts.

Indeed.

Dead (updated 3/31/05 -ed.)

• Johnnie Cochran, Jr., (Famed O.J. Simpson lawyer) died in California today. Family statement on Cochran.
• Schiavo

Not Dead Yet

• Jerry Falwell in critical condition
• Pope needs feeding tube

It is finished.

The parents of Terri Schiavo met and prayed today with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, who called her impending death “an injustice.”

Where there’s a crisis and at least 3 or more cameras, you’ll find the Reverend Jackson.

Via TVNewser: Greta Van Susteren “spends about two hours a day writing her blog and answering emails from viewers.” She claims that blogging gives her a chance to be “part of the community.” 

Note to Greta – your blog isn’t really a blog. It’s merely webspace on Foxnews.com where you write a single article semi-regularly. It’s more like a column really. It’d be good for you to characterize it accurately. If you want to blog, get away from the Foxnews site and head to Blogger or TypePad or something. Choose one of the standard templates, or maybe ones with flowers or something. At least your blog could “look” like a blog if you did that.

Post two or more articles in a single day and accept trackbacks. I’d keep the comments section closed for now…you don’t want things to get too crazy right?

Also, while we’re on the subject, please talk to the suits at Fox and get them to completely revamp the Foxnews website. Frankly, it hurts my eyes. Just too much going on. It’s due for a new look anyway.

Back to your blog – rather than writing about your reporting on Foxnews (uninteresting), why don’t you tell us what you had for breakfast, who you sat next to on an airplane, how much your face lift cost and the maintenance involved, or what you think of the prima donna’s you work with – you know, interesting stuff like that?

You might even get an instalanche once and a while, and I’m sure you’d make this blogroll.

11:32 AM PST – QUAKE UPGRADED TO 8.7 MAGNITUDE

Via Drudge:

9:09 AM PACIFIC STANDARD TIME – 8.2 quake occurs in Indian Ocean, tsunamis feared. Lasted up to three minutes,same location as giant quake that hit area Dec. 26.

A powerful earthquake of measuring up to 8.5 on the Richter scale hit Indonesia’s tsunami-devasted Sumatra island late Monday, causing major panic and power blackouts…

More: BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) – A large earthquake struck off Indonesia’s Sumatra Island in the Andaman Sea late Monday, and the U.S. Geological Survey said it was a major quake measuring a magnitude of 8.2.

Thai officials issued a warning of a possible tsunami, three months after a tsunami devastated parts of Indonesia and other countries in the region. The quake occurred at 11:09 p.m. local at a depth of nearly 19 miles, the USGS in Golden, Colo., said.

Japan’s Meteorological Agency measured the quake at magnitude 8.2.

More coverage here

There is lots of “Good” happening in Iraq these days. Chrenkoff has been covering the positive stories for months now. Today’s update is bigger and better than ever.