Safeway Shopper Card Leads to Arson Arrest

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Richard Smith summarizes the story of a Tukwila, Washington firefighter – Philip Scott Lyons. Lyons, a Safeway loyalty cardholder was arrested last August and charged with attempted arson:

According to the KOMO-TV and the Seattle Times, a major piece of evidence used against Lyons in his arrest was the record of his supermarket purchases that he made with his Safeway Club Card. Police investigators had discovered that his Club Card was used to buy fire starters of the same type used in the arson attempt.

For Lyons, the story did have a happy ending. All charges were dropped against him in January 2005 because another person stepped forward saying he set the fire and not Lyons. Lyons is now back at work after more than 5 months of being on administrative leave from his firefighter job.

The moral of this story is that even the most innocent database can be used against a person in a criminal investigation turning their lives completelyupside down.

Toyota: The Car Company in Front

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The Economist on Toyota’s automotive juggernaut:

THERE is the world car industry, and then there is Toyota. Since 2000 the output of the global industry has risen by about 3m vehicles to some 60m: of that increase, half came from Toyota alone. While most attention over the past four years has focused on a spectacular turnaround at Nissan, Toyota has undergone a dramatic growth spurt all round the world. Japan’s industry leader will soon be making more cars abroad than at home. It has overtaken Ford in global production terms and is set to pass Chrysler in sales to become one of America’s Big Three. In an industry strewn with basket cases, where hardly any volume producer makes a real return on its capital, Toyota is exceptional in that it consistently makes good returns (see chart 1).

Milwaukee Voter Fraud – more

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Greg Borowski continues his investigation into Milwaukee’s November election voter address problems.

And a new Journal Sentinel review of the city’s voting records shows the system is so flawed that more than 300 people are listed as voting twice from the same address, even though each apparently was given only one ballot.
That increases the size of a gap, already at more than 8,300, between the number of ballots cast and the number of people who can be identified as voting in the presidential election, which in Wisconsin was determined by about 11,000 votes.

“Category Killers”

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Brand Autopsy has an interesting discussion on category killers:

Costco has a very loyal clientele (who pay a membership fee). Costco understands the taste level of this group and caters to their wants and needs–for wine, apparel, technology, jewelry, etc. Costco communicates with those customers through an excellent monthly magazine, the Costco Connection. Because many of Costco’s customers are small business owners, the magazine (and, of course, the stores) cater to their needs and interests.

Now, Costco’s customers are also attracted by the deals. There is an implicit understanding that Costco is offering the best possible price on that particular product on that particular day. The product may not be offered tomorrow. So, if you want it, you better buy it today.

More on Milwaukee New Voter Address Problems

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Greg Borowski continues on the trail of Milwaukee’s new voter address validation problems.

As a state, Wisconsin has long prided itself on the openness of its voting system. It is a place where voters don’t have to declare a party, can register right at the polls and – if they have registered in advance – get a ballot simply by stating their name and address.

But after a second straight razor-close presidential election, where some see positives in a system that makes it easy to vote, others see problems that they argue make it too easy to vote fraudulently.

More here.