More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad.
2. Linkwad.
3. Linkwad.

The U.S. Department of Transportation has analyzed dozens of data recorders from Toyota Motor Corp. vehicles involved in accidents blamed on sudden acceleration and found that the throttles were wide open and the brakes weren’t engaged at the time of the crash, people familiar with the findings said.

…The initial findings are consistent with a 1989 government-sponsored study that blamed similar driver mistakes for a rash of sudden-acceleration reports involving Audi 5000 sedans.

The Toyota findings appear to support Toyota’s position that sudden-acceleration reports involving its vehicles weren’t caused by electronic glitches in computer-controlled throttle systems, as some safety advocates and plaintiffs’ attorneys have alleged. More than 100 people have sued the car maker over crashes they claim were the result of faulty electronics.

A while back, I suggested (while drinking, if I recall correctly) that anyone who crashed a Toyota should just blame their mistakes on a vehicular HAL 9000:

One case studied by U.S. regulators involves Myrna Marseille of Kohler, Wis., who reported in March that her 2009 Toyota Camry accelerated out of control and crashed into a building.

…Police in Sheboygan Falls, Wis., investigated and believe driver error was to blame, Chief Steven Riffel said Tuesday. He said surveillance video showed that the brake lights didn’t illuminate until after the crash. But Mr. Riffel said that determination is preliminary and that his agency has turned over the investigation to NHTSA.

…Ms. Marseille sticks by her story. “It makes me very angry when someone tells me, ‘She probably hit the gas pedal instead,’ because I think it’s a sexist comment, an ageist comment,” she said.

In the long run, it looks like God’s down with the assholes.

Via Radley Balko.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Let’s go, Toyota.
2. Serendipity.
3. Zap. Zoom.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad.
2. Linkwad.
3. Linkwad and an update.

Turns out Kill Hannah is opening for the Smashing Pumpkins tonight on the “Bands I should have seen in 1996 tour.” Here’s “Kennedy.”

Updated: Apparently that AIDS breakthrough isn’t a cure after all.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad and an update.
2. Linkwad and an update.
3. Linkwad.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad.
2. Linkwad and an update.
3. Linkwad.

Whether or not Mehersle actually intended to shoot Oscar Grant, the trial is a reminder of a few things:

1. Juries, especially juries where blacks are excluded, are unduly sympathetic to police.
2. Even when not confused with guns, Tasers have caused hundreds of deaths in the last decade. However, police still use them freely, even in confrontations with unarmed suspects.
3. This trial only came about because of citizen-recorded video, which will get you arrested in several states (Maryland has been particularly incoherent on the subject).

Update: Adam Serwer has a much more complete take on the trial’s import.

More potentially-related posts:

1. The NRA’s James Bond: an overweight 60-yr-old.
2. EFF the RIAA.
3. Under oath.

However, after Ford wrote an article for the NYT pointing out that helmets tested under the old rating system were still carrying Snell approval stickers (and ultimately recommending DOT-approved helmets), Shoei and Arai (two big-name helmet makers) started pulling ads from the magazine¹, and Ford was ultimately fired. The company has since attempted to circle the wagons, but it’s pretty obvious they were bowing to pressure. There’s a whole lot of documentation, none of which looks good for Motorcyclist.

Of course, this bottom-line-driven behavior isn’t limited to motorcycle rags, and is symptomatic of the general decline of large, for-profit media companies.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Rest easy, Mom.
2. Zap. Zoom.
3. Serendipity.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad and an update.
2. Linkwad.
3. Linkwad.

Wikipedia has more.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
2. Your attention, please.
3. Three points for Iowa.

1. Reno 911 has nothing on Pahrump, NV. (via @AnnieLowrey)
2. Noted wingnut Sharron Angle wants to keep her lunatic history under wraps. Bonus points for guessing her legal reasoning.
3. Woman has won the lottery four times, provides inspiration for others with phenomenally poor grasp of odds who continue to buy lottery tickets.
4. It’s fucking hot out.

More potentially-related posts:

1. Linkwad.
2. Linkwad.
3. Linkwad.