We have covered what you can do if your laptop has been stolen, but with the proliferation of other portable gadgets–cameras, cell phones, e-book readers–theft recovery applies to more than just your computer. An Ars reader recently told us a tale of woe involving the loss of his Kindle DX on a flight home and his subsequent efforts to get it back.

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The footage is shaky and low quality, with chaotic shouts and protests from onlookers at a subway station in San Francisco’s East Bay. But it clearly shows three policeman roughly handling a group of young men–including one who is pinned to the ground by two officers and shot in the back.

This shooting of 22-year-old Oscar Grant–who died later in hospital–has outraged many in California and triggered riots in Oakland in a case that many feel echoes the brutal beating of Rodney King by LA police in 1991.

Transport police were called to the Fruitvale train station in the early hours of New Year’s Day after reports of a fight. Grant was one of a small group of men taken off the train and restrained, at which point several passengers began to film, using mobile phones and cameras.

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Having spent eight days in India in August, I found the recent tragic events in Mumbai of particular interest, as I have both business colleagues as well as friends in three of the largest cities in India. While the world watched the events play out to their terrible conclusion, I was reminded of one of the most seminal events in television history, that of watching Jim McKay’s harrowing updates during the 1972 Olympic games in Munich. It’s interesting to compare the two events, 36 years apart.

Unlike today, in 1972 we were dependent almost entirely on one main source: ABC Sports, which had cameras trained on the compound where the hostages were being held. Eventually, through a video pooling process, other networks had access to footage, but that came a bit later. It is difficult to state the impact that Sept. 5, 1972 had on the world of live television and on the viewing audience that was watching throughout the world.

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