The Camp Fire wildfire in the state of California has finally been contained after raging on
for several weeks, more than 80 people lost their lives in the fire and hundreds more
are still missing, and as those flames are being extinguished, the survivors of this
fire and other fires that have recently happened in the state of California, they're trying
to figure out how to put their lives back together after all of these massive wildfires
that we've seen over the last 12 months.
And more importantly, all of the victims want to know why these fires keep happening.
Thankfully, there are lawsuits that are beginning to emerge to hold the responsible parties
accountable for their negligence that's led to these fires.
And I have attorney Peter McNulty with me now to tell us about these emerging lawsuits.
So Peter, start by telling us how companies like PG&E might be liable for some of these
fires.
You know, there's, there's other utility companies as well.
What's the liability issue here for these wildfires?
In California, whether it's PG&E or Southern California Edison, if it's determined that
a cause of the fire related to either defective equipment or a failure of the equipment, even
without fault by the utility company, the utility is held responsible under an inverse
condemnation theory, which means basically it results in a taking of property.
So if you suffer property damage, personal property damage, or anything related to that
separate and apart from tort damages, you're allowed to recover directly from the utility
without having to show negligence or any type of fault at all.
And that's unique to California.
In addition, California law also permits you to file a tort suit seeking personal injury
damages, which run the panoply of everything you would expect in a usual personal injury
suit, emotional distress or dislocation, depression, ptsd, and the like.
In that type of situation, for those damages, you do have to prove negligence.
So there's lots of different pieces here, but you know, with these specific utility
companies, you know, you mentioned the potential faulty equipment that may not necessarily
be a huge factor in some of these suits, but it obviously can be.
So hitting on that faulty equipment thing, it seems obvious now that the company knew
that they had some faulty equipment.
Uh, you know, both PG&E and Edison out there in California, is that where we're, we're
finding out now that they knew that they had some faulty equipment but they just chose
not to act?
That's exactly right.
What, what both PG&E and SCE have done is they've known for years and years and years
and especially in Southern California for Edison, that there is climate change and that
there is more of a severe drought and high wind conditions that occur periodically, especially
in the fall.
In addition to that, the biggest problem that these utilities have faced but I've never
dealt with is that their pole and transmission systems are not only antiquated but overloaded.
For example, Southern California Edison has known since 2015 that their poles haven't
been inspected in a number of cases that their poles have vegetation around them that can
cause in a high wind situation either arching or other problems and that some of their poles
literally will fall down in winds that are forecasted and expect it.
And you know, at the end of the day, the dirty little secret has always been that it's cheaper
for these utilities to not underground their poles to not do their inspections, to not
put in metal or fire resistant poles because it's actually cheaper at the end of the day
to fight a fire lawsuit than it is to completely change the infrastructure to make it safe
for all of the people who are out there.
Right.
So paying out money in these lawsuits for these utility companies, it's just part of
the cost of doing business.
Do you save more money by not addressing the problems and just paying out the law suits
or is it going to be more financially beneficial to fix the equipment and not have to worry
about lawsuits?
You know, that we see this all the time in cases like this, whether it's pharmaceutical,
whether it's, you know, energy companies, whether it's chemical companies, it's always
the same.
Is it cheaper to pay lawsuits or is it more cost efficient to go ahead and fix the problems
and usually they're going to go with, let's pay off the lawsuits, but I want to focus
specifically real quick, your handling cases for the Woolsey Fire, not the Camp Fire that
is currently being contained in extinguished.
So tell us about the Woolsey Fire and what kind of damages are being sought with those
lawsuits.
Okay.
The Woolsey Fire basically started on November eighth at about 2:24 in the afternoon.
Interestingly enough, Southern California Edison reported an outage at their station
basically adjacent to where two fire points of origin were actually captured on film by
a firefighting helicopter and a news helicopter from channel seven.
That 16,000 volt transmission line has two separate ignition points underneath it that
occurred.
Basically, the report of the trip occurred two minutes before the fire was actually reported.
So we feel pretty confident based on our initial assessment that Edison's equipment was clearly
at fault and a substantial factor in causing the ignition that started the Woolsey Fire.
And then after that the Woolsey Fire started off in Chatsworth and Simi Valley and literally
raced across the Santa Monica mountains all the way to Malibu, burning straight to the
ocean.
In doing that, there were probably over a quarter of a million people who had to be
evacuated by their homes.
There were maybe as many as a thousand to 1500 structures, not just homes, but structures
destroyed completely in the fire.
Untold misery of all of the people that were in the fires path.
And those are the people, those are the victims who we're representing, in terms of trying
to hold Edison accountable.
And if it turns out that Edison had other folks who had equipment on their lines that
may have caused overloading, we'll consider bringing them in too.
But at the, at the end of the day, in this particular case, the Woolsey Fire, it clearly
seems to be Edison who is primarily at fault.
Now, if we can show that Edison's equipment had anything to do with the fire, everyone
who lost personal property and business property as well as homes, any type of property at
all, they can recover damages without showing fault.
However, if we're able to show fault and we think we will be based on Edison's history
of not performing pole remediation, not undergrounding their lines and not doing, if you will, the
safest thing, maybe not the cheapest thing, to protect both their rate payers and the
people in the path of the fire, we feel will be able to establish negligence.
And then they're open for basically any damages, all personal injury damages.
And in a case like this, if we're able to show willful or wanton misconduct or conscious
disregard for the safety of the people who were injured or suffered losses as well as
others in the fire path, conceivably punitive damages can be awarded.
So right now, the California legislature, they've proposed a new bill that would actually
protect companies like Edison and PG&E from wildfire costs.
So can you tell us what that's about?
I mean, why is the state actually trying to protect the utilities who are liable for these
fires?
It seems insane, doesn't it?
Well, Jerry Brown our lame duck governor finally signed a bill in September of 2018, Senate
Bill 901, which basically doesn't come into effect until 2019, so it really doesn't affect
either the Camp Fire or the Woolsey Fire, but what that bill purports to do is in a
sense, protect the utilities by allowing them if they show that they have engaged in some
sort of, if you will climb it and vegetation remediation, pole protection and acted responsibly
that they can then petition the PUC and eventually the court to allow them to recoup a certain
percentage of their losses based on either ratepayer increases or by issuing a bond that
would cover in a sense defer those expenses out over 10 or 15 years so that the utility
basically doesn't go broke.
PG&E for the Camp Fire probably has about $1.7 billion of insurance.
SCE, for the Woolsey Fire has about a billion three.
Both of them have, I should say a favorable audience in the state capital where the legislatures
decided that to prevent these companies from threatening bankruptcy or going bankrupt because
there's no one else because in a sense they all have a virtual monopoly on power delivery
that to allow them to continue and help them share without going bankrupt the rates, they're
in a sense giving them protection.
It seems like a bad idea because the incentive for business, and you mentioned pharmaceutical
companies and banks and the like, the incentive for companies to correct their conduct to
make things safe and to do the right thing is a financial penalty if you allow them to
defray that penalty, by passing it over to the innocent victims and rate payers.
How is that fair?
Exactly.
Listen, Peter, I'm glad we've got people out there in California like yourself fighting
for the rights of the victims here.
Please keep up the good work and thank you very much for talking with us today.
Thank you.
Really a pleasure and we'll keep on trucking.
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#1 SCAM ALL WHITE PEOPLE FALL FOR - Duration: 3:12.
White America's love affair with racism is destroying us! It's destroying our
democracy and it's disgusting. And we're letting it happen. White masses love
their racism so much in America, they'll vote or go against their own best
interest, just to make sure they keep their racism and you know what? People
like to, you know, point fingers, but I'm gonna tell you something... There's one
group in this country and one group only that is absolutely responsible for the
insanity that we've been enduring and that's the white people. From the very
beginning, the wealthiest people, the 1%, have fooled us all into working for them
for free and we fall for it century after century. All they had to do
was convince the white masses that the people of color are the reason for all
of our economic problems and why we can't make ends meet and everything like
that and we fall for it every time. Back when Lyndon B. Johnson was alive, he
summarized this scam that we white people fall for and he summarized it
great. It's kind of an antiquated language but he said it all. "If you can
convince the lowest white man he's better than the best colored man, he
won't notice you're picking his pocket. Hell, give him someone to look down on
and he'll empty them for you." This kind of make sense, huh? White America's been
scammed since the very beginning and we fall for every time. It's nothing new and
we are harming our brothers and sisters of color...all for a lie. The rulers of
this nation have one huge giant fear and that is that what America will get smart
and actually educate themselves and realize we have a common point with
people of color and unite with them and take over our federal government so that
it works for the people... all the people, not just the wealthy corporations
wealthy individuals. This nation was started by the near genocide of the
indigenous people who live here and made wealthy and prosperous on the backs of
human beings... African humans who were forced into an enslaved status so that
we could get rich, Well doesn't so all of us could get rich
okay. But it was so what people could get rich. Centuries later the white masses
are still refusing to face our own racial history and educate ourselves
about all this lying bullshit. Instead we fall for the propaganda that we've been
taught and told and you know what? That's why systemic racism is alive and
thriving in America today and the wealthiest elites thank us for our
service.
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Tommy Lee Calls Travis Scott an 'Idiot' for Allegedly Ripping Off Stage Designs - Duration: 1:14.
tommy lee is furious at travis scott for allegedly ripping off two of the motley
crue drummers long-time stage designs the rocker wrote on Instagram after
Travis Scott's show at Madison Square Garden just found out this idiot Travis
Scott or someone on his team ripped off the 360 and the crucified what the get
an original idea bro cuz you're unaware Lee has been notoriously walking out in
the loop on and off since he debuted back in 2011 the loop is a unique 360
drum kit that allows Tommy to play upside down while on the track Lee added
I get copying as a form of flattery but this is just straight ripping off Mike
Lee posted several videos comparing Scott's alleged ripoffs to his sets the
first show Scott performing in a sky-high loop the other was a clip of
the rapper riding above the crowd in a rollercoaster a ride Lee called the
crucify which debuted in 2014 Travis Scott had yet to respond to the
rock and rollers beef
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Hospital throws holiday party for young patients - Duration: 1:56.
[music]
Dr. Mary Lou Schmidt: We're having a lot of fun!
It's the pediatric hematology/oncology Thanksgiving festival that we have every year.
We have over 300 patients and families here to share a lot of fun activities with our
community groups, to eat our turkey dinner, to eat doughnuts, go to the tooth fairy, dance
with the Joffrey Team Ballet, and get a present.
Somebody in their family has really got a big struggle on their hands but today is not
about medicine; today is about thanking, life, love, a lot of hugs and just having fun.
Kelly: My daughter Katherine is nineteen months old now, but she was diagnosed with leukemia
when she was seven and a half months old.
Getting the diagnosis is devastating- it's worse than you could ever imagine, it's
something you never want to hear and it's awful, it's awful.
But very quickly, I felt like we had a village of people coming around to help us- our family,
our friends, we've developed a family at the hospital; the nurses, the medical team
all were around us.
The whole process took a whole village of people and I feel like today this is just the expanded
village.
This is back to the people who have helped us get here and it really is a very special day.
Javontae: I remember when I had Hodgkin's lymphoma, I don't remember exactly when
I was diagnosed, but I know I was twelve when I found out.
Seeing all the smiles on all the kids faces, interacting and doing things, taking pictures,
the dancing, everything.
It feels amazing to look back to see what I overcame and to pass it on to somebody else
to let them know, "Don't give up, keep fighting, it's going to be worth it in the end."
Dr. Mary Lou Schmidt: I want to say thank you to the patients and families for trusting
us, and for coming out today, and just being with us because we're probably receiving
as much joy as we might be sharing.
[music]
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Nightcore - Alright, for now. - (Lyrics) - Duration: 2:49.
matt van - Alright, for now. || Nightcore lyrics on the screen
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How to make the Bass, keys and lead sounds for Gui Boratto - 'Take My Breath Away' - Duration: 8:55.
Hello, this is Lucas Palmeira from Imaginando and I'm here to give you another tutorial on DRC.
Today I'm going to show you how to make the bass, keys and lead sounds from the song 'Take Your Breath Away' by Gui Boratta.
So let's get right into it and start with the sub and open a DRC on a default patch
This sound is quite easy we start by changing the waveform to a sine wave
And raising the master to 0.894
The PRE-GAIN to 0.751
And OSC 1 at maximum like this.
Are we go to the envelope generator 2 [EG 2], confirm that it's at 0.5 drop the CUTOFF to 0.194
Resonance at 0
now we raise the attack on the first envelope generator [EG 1] to 0.022, the DECAY at 0.504
Now the SUSTAIN at 0, and the RELEASE at 0.224
OK and the first sound is done.
Let's go now to the keys…
And delete this DRC…
Open another one on a default patch…
Now raise the MASTER to maximum, change waveform to sine wave [SIN]
Raise the octave to maximum
Now raise the PRE-GAIN to 0.543 and OSC 1 to 0.874
Now on the EG 2 amount that modulates the cutoff, raise it to 0.804
And CUTOFF and RESONANCE at 0
Change the mode of the filter from a Low-pass 4 pole to a low-pass 2 pole
Now for EG 1, ATTACK at 0, DECAY and SUSTAIN at maximum and RELEASE at 0.269
Now on EG 2, ATTACK and SUSTAIN at 0, DECAY at 0.393
And the RELEASE at 0.295
Finally we go to the reverb:
Drop the DECAY to 0.250 and raise the AMOUNT to 0.165
Just to give it a little bit of reverb.
Now finally for the last sound we go to the lead, and as you can see here
I'm not gonna delete the DRC because it has some small automations that you can check
out afterwards on the Ableton session.
Here I have a compressor, it's side-chaining, the only thing it's doing is dipping the
lead on each kick drum beat,
For now I'm gonna turn off the delay modulator and open the DRC
So let's do the sound…
First thing I'm going to do is put the MASTER at 0.712
PRE-GAIN at 0.809
And OSC 1 and OSC 2 at maximum.
the second oscillator drop one octave and fine-tune it 0.004
Now we go to the envelope generator 2 amount modulating the cut-off, Bring it back down to 0.135
CUTOFF at 0.222
And RESONANCE at 0.508
Ok like this.
Now on the modulation page that modulates the cut-off, we raise keyboard which means the higher the note the higher the cut off
On the VCA we raise the velocity, this turns the velocity to a much higher sensitivity
The next thing we're going to do is go to the first envelope generator, and raise the
DECAY and SUSTAIN to maximum
And the RELEASE at 0.302
EG 2 we do the same, but RELEASE to 0.094
Finally let's look at the delay modulator, as you can see here we have a time of 0.633
We have a really small rate, and middle depth 0.447
The biggest spread so we have really nice stereo, a little bit of crossover to leave
some of the low frequencies out,
And wet at maximum.
And this is it, so let's now listen to the melody that I have recorded before
Gonna turn back on automations and bring it back to this place to hear it…
OK, so let's now listen.
And this is it!
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial, don't forget we have the Ableton session to download in the description below.
See you again next week, goodbye.
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