MaxFly

SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday refused to spare the life of Stanley Tookie Williams, the founder of the murderous Crips gang who awaited execution after midnight in a case that stirred debate over capital punishment and the possibility of redemption on death row. Schwarzenegger was unswayed by pleas from Hollywood stars and petitions from more than 50,000 people who said that Williams had made amends during more than two decades in prison by writing a memoir and children’s books about the dangers of gangs. “After studying the evidence, searching the history, listening to the arguments and wrestling with the profound consequences, I could find no justification for granting clemency,” Schwarzenegger said, less than 12 hours before the execution. “The facts do not justify overturning the jury’s verdict or the decisions of the courts in this case.” Schwarzenegger could have commuted the death sentence to life in prison without parole. With a reprieve from the federal courts considered unlikely, Williams, 51, was set to die by injection at San Quentin State Prison early Tuesday for murdering four people in two 1979 holdups. Williams’ fate became one of the nation’s biggest death-row cause celebres in decades. No guilty plea from Williams Prosecutors and victims’ advocates contended Williams was undeserving of clemency from the governor because he did not own up to his crimes and refused to inform on fellow gang members. They also argued that the Crips gang that Williams co-founded in Los Angeles in 1971 is responsible for hundreds of deaths, many of them in battles with the rival Bloods for turf and control of the drug trade. A statement released from the California governor’s office on Monday emphasized Williams’ guilty charge. “The possible irregularities in Williams’ trial have been thoroughly and carefully reviewed by the courts, and there is no reason to disturb the judicial decisions that uphold the jury’s decisions that he is guilty of these four murders and should pay with his life,” the statement said. Williams is set to become the 12th California condemned inmate executed since lawmakers reinstated the death penalty in 1977 after a brief hiatus. Williams was condemned in 1981 for gunning down a clerk in a convenience store holdup and a mother, father and daughter in a motel robbery weeks later. Williams claimed he was innocent. The last time a California governor granted clemency was in 1967, when Ronald Reagan spared a mentally infirm killer. Schwarzenegger — a Republican who has come under fire from members of his own party as too accommodating to liberals — rejected clemency twice before during his two years in office. Just before the governor announced his decision on clemency, the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals said it would not intervene because, among other things, there was no “clear and convincing evidence of actual innocence.” In his last-ditch appeal, Williams claimed that he should have been allowed to argue at his trial that someone else killed one of the four victims, and that shoddy forensics connected him to the other killings. Williams was convicted of killing Yen-I Yang, 76, Tsai-Shai Chen Yang, 63, and Yu-Chin Yang Lin, 43, at a Los Angeles motel the family owned, and Albert Owens, 26, a 7-Eleven clerk gunned down in Whittier. Celebrities fight for Williams Among the celebrities who took up Williams’ cause were Jamie Foxx, who played the gang leader in a cable movie about Williams; rapper Snoop Dogg, himself a former Crip; Sister Helen Prejean, the nun depicted in “Dead Man Walking”; Bianca Jagger; and former “M.A.S.H” star Mike Farrell. During Williams’ 24 years on death row, a Swiss legislator, college professors and others nominated him for the Nobel Prizes in peace and literature. “If Stanley Williams does not merit clemency,” defense attorney Peter Fleming Jr. asked, “what meaning does clemency retain in this state?” The impending execution resulted in feverish preparations over the weekend by those on both sides of the debate, with the California Highway Patrol planning to tighten security outside the prison, where hundreds of protesters were expected. A group of about three dozen death penalty protesters were joined by the Rev. Jesse Jackson as they marched across the Golden Gate Bridge after dawn Monday en route to the gates of San Quentin, where they were expected to rally with hundreds of people. At least publicly, the person apparently least occupied with his fate seemed to be Williams himself. “Me fearing what I’m facing, what possible good is it going to do for me? How is that going to benefit me?” Williams said in a recent interview. “If it’s my time to be executed, what’s all the ranting and raving going to do?”

I know. Every attack of mine is for the preservation of balance. You guys should be honored to be attacked.

Yeah, I just checked and I got the same message. Wack.

Interestingly enough, the average level of members of the Vigilantes is level 30. The average level of members of TDH is level 28. As I said, just trying to balance things out.

Intel (Nasdaq: INTC - news) is creating a new transistor technology that promises to boost processing speed while requiring significantly less power. The technology could form the basis of the company's chips a decade down the road. Transistors, the primary components of semiconductors, control the flow of electrical current inside a chip. The prototype transistor, created by researchers at Intel and UK-based QinetiQ, is made with indium antimonide (chemical symbol: InSb). This material is seen as a complement to silicon and is expected to help extend Moore's Law beyond 2015. Moore's Law is the observation made in 1965 by Intel cofounder Gordon Moore that the number of transistors per square inch on integrated circuits will double roughly ever year, meaning that chips will continue to get smaller and more powerful. While many industry observers have suggested that we are nearing the limits of chip miniaturization, breakthroughs like this could, at least in theory, help continue to increase processing power long into the future. Best of Both Worlds The basic concept is that adding more transistors to a piece of silicon increases the speed and power of the integrated circuit. Intel said the new transistor can increase processing speed by 50 percent while using one-tenth the power needed by transistors in today's chips. Considerably less energy used and less heat generated could boost battery life for mobile devices and increase opportunities for building both smaller and more powerful products. "This is a significant breakthrough," said Intel spokesperson John Casey. "Normally there is a tradeoff between processing speed and power consumption, but this provides the best of both worlds. We expect the new material will enhance the future of silicon-based semiconductors." Issues To Address InSb is in a class of materials called III-V compound semiconductors, Casey explained, which are used in a variety of devices such as radio-frequency amplifiers, microwave hardware, and semiconductor lasers. The prototype transistors are the smallest ever invented, able to operate at a reduced voltage, about 0.5 volts, or roughly half of that for transistors in today's chips, enabling chips with far less power consumption. "It's not just about the number of transistors in a processor, it's about density. Now we can significantly increase that density and increase electron mobility," Casey said. Before the new transistors find their way into processors, though, researchers need to address issues related to combining silicon and InSb, which have distinct atomic structures and thus are not easily compatible, said Casey. The first commercial products based on this technology are not expected until at least 2015, he added. http://news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20051209/bs_nf/40040

Yeah, I'd definitely like to see Will on something with LL, or Nas. Those sort of tracks would be hot. I've always wanted Will to do something with Boys 2 Men reminiscent of LL's Hey Lover... It's a shame he hasn't really worked with them. Just don't want to see collaborations that are forced.

Those attack logs are about a week old... both yours and Schnazz's. As for my level, about 2-3 weeks ago, Schnazz was leading me level wise. If he had continued the pace he was on, he would still be leading me now. Not my fault he fell off. Trash talking... Yeah, the Vigilantes balanced the board. You guys were massacring the Chosen Ones when we were in your guild. Now that we have created our own guild, there is balance. I'm just trying to help keep things balanced. It got so bad for you guys at one point that I noticed that Schnazz would attack my guildmates and not attack me. Admit it, you guys think twice before you attack any members of our guild. That's exactly how it should be. You don't want it wit us. :rofl:

:lolsign: And that's what it shall be called from now on. Level envy. Lol

Hey, I'm not the one who created the thread. Schnazz stated that the battle is still alive... I merely demonstrated that you guys are surely helping to keep it alive as well. Remember, not too long ago, your guild was talking trash and attacking everyone incessantly. Tim, Chief and I left... You guys don't seem to be talking much trash anymore. Tim, Chief, and I, along with the others in our guild have kept ya'll in check for the most part, in addition to The Chosen Ones. I think you guys are a little peeved that things are more balanced now... the true way of the tyrant!

No, not at all. The title of the thread is "The Guild Wars are still alive." Just showing that they are indeed alive, on all sides. In fact, so much so that you guys buy potions just to attack people. How did reborn have enough attack strength a week ago to use 449 str in all as shown above, yet he only has a str rating of 212 right now... yeah... The Guild Wars are still alive fa sho.

Incidentally.... And this was a week ago as was your two.

Oh please... Replace my name with yours, and yours with mine, that was me three weeks ago. In fact...

Haha. The internet is great. I need to write a thank you note to Al Gore.

Johnny, is this the girl from yesterday? :3-japsmile: sure is MahxFly :) was speakin to her this morning and she sent me another photo, she's only like 16 and a half so I'll pass I find it hilarious that she's still speaking to you after yesterday :mygod: :lolsign: :lolsign: Tim, I was thinking the same thing. Lol

You know, I'd much rather Will do his thing solo or with Jeff and attain whatever notoriety he gets that way than to collab with other artists for the sake of popularity. I honestly don't think he wants that sort of popularity. If the collab adds to the track, that's wonderful, but collabs for the sake of popularity is not a good look.

Johnny, is this the girl from yesterday?

Thanks for the recap Cookies. Sounds like a great time. Glad you got to see them live.

Yeah, Stern is definitely trippin.

I'm not saying anything, less I jinx it...

I rest my case.

What's this all about?

Easy... It's Will Smith... dude gets no respect. It's outrageous, but not much of a surprise.

This isn't much of a surprise. Lost and Found wasn't given staying power. Like we said during the summer, though Switch was successful, the album didn't get much hype from its success. Not too many people cared that he had an album out because they weren't hearing much about it. Interscope, or whoever is responsible for publicity started the proccess strong, but let too much time go between singles and appearances towards the middle and end of the summer. Lost and Found was talked about for no more than 3 weeks after it's release and then it seemed to disappear. Also, Switch, while very popular, is given more recognition as a pop song than as a hip hop track.

It's pretty incredible how well and how quickly the mind can process information.

I feel bad for her, and I definitely hope she gets better.