Knicks v. Nets, butter Jesuses and found Picasso's

- While the New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets may both be subpar NBA teams with no hope of winning a championship any time soon, that doesn’t mean the two of them can’t scrap when it comes to the hearts and wallets of basketball fans in the greater Manhattan area. The two have always been rivals, but that rivalry escalated after Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov purchased the Nets earlier this year. The bombastic playboy with an incredibly diverse business empire fired the first major shot in the battle on the eve of the free-agent signing period, putting up a 227-foot billboard near Madison Square Garden that featured he and part-owner Jay-Z standing underneath the headline "The Blueprint for Greatness." The Knicks clearly didn’t like having such an obvious marketing salvo fired just a few blocks from their home turf and after signing one of the bigger prizes in the free-agent race, forward Amare Stoudemire, they retaliated a few days before their home opener with billboards featuring on buildings near the Nets' yet-to-be constructed arena in Brooklyn. But aside from dueling billboards, the feud hadn’t gone verbal until a recent Knicks’ radio ad taunting the Nets, stating "Hey Nets. You can walk like us, you can talk like us, but you ain't never gonna be like us." It’s a pretty direct poke at another NBA franchise, the sort of poke that you typically don’t see in the business-first world of professional sports these days. Never one to back down from a fight, Prokhorov responded to the radio spot. "I don't think we want to be like the Knicks. I think we'd more like to resemble the Lakers," the first-year owner said in a statement. Touché, Comrade Prokhorov. His team clearly appreciated the owner having their backs and Nets point guard Devin Harris affirmed that fact Tuesday morning, hours before the Nets traveled across the Hudson River to take on the Knicks at the Garden. "We ran some ads, they ran some ads, it's just an ad-fest," Harris said before later adding that he appreciated Prokhorov's response to the Knicks' radio ad. "It gives us confidence. [You] know that he's going to back us no matter what," he said. "He's proud of his product and we want to give him something to be proud of." Prokhorov might be proud of his product, but probably because he hasn’t seen enough Nets games yet to know how terrible they are and what an uphill fight he faces merely coaxing the franchise to respectability………


- Discovering more than 270 previously unknown works by Pablo Picasso stored at your home should be a good thing, right? That would seem logical, but it turned out to be false for 71-year-old Pierre Le Guennec, a retired French electrician who found the forgotten Picasso paintings, drawings and other works and sought to have them authenticated by the late artist's estate only to find himself on the wrong end of a lawsuit filed by the artist's son, Claude Picasso, and five other heirs who say the works are stolen. The works -- a collection of cubist collages, drawings, lithographs, notebooks and a watercolor -- were made known in January when Le Guennec contacted the Picasso estate by mail to request certification of authenticity. Along with the latter, Le Guennec enclosed 26 photographs of previously unpublished Picasso pieces and then sent similar photographs of other works in his possession in March and April. In April, he made the trip from his home in the south of France to the offices of the Picasso Administration in Paris with all 271 pieces. Here’s hoping he rolled with some heavy security for that trip because Lord knows he needed it. Christine Pinault, Claude Picasso's assistant and an employee of the Picasso Administration, confirmed that the works were reviewed and all determined to be authentic. Some time between then and Sept. 23, the Picasso family mulled the situation over and decided that the works were stolen. They filed their lawsuit on Sept. 23, charging that Le Guennec hid stolen goods. With ownership in dispute, France's Central Office for the Fight Against Traffic in Cultural Goods seized the pieces from Le Guennec's home on the French Riviera on Oct. 5 and is holding them in a vault at its Nanterre office, northwest of Paris. The family’s explanation for taking Le Guennec to court isn’t exactly well-reasoned, as the primary basis for their case seems to be his inability to explain how he came across the works. Le Guennec "hasn't given any response, not how, when or why" the works were taken, a family spokesperson said. Jean Jacques Neuer, a lawyer for the Picasso family, echoed those sentiments in an interview French television. "We are dealing with a huge number of works, and it doesn't make sense that Picasso would give 271 works," he said. "There are no documents which prove that this man was Picasso's close friend. It is simply unbelievable." Documents to prove that he was someone’s friend? Right, because people always make sure to properly document and verify their friendships. Le Guennec claims that he worked as an electrician for Picasso in the last three years of his life, but the works he found at his home are from a period spanning 1900 to 1932, well before he met the artist. Regardless of who comes out on top here, it should be interesting to see if anyone can prove anything at all in a case where most everything appears to be riding on memories, recollections and stories told from distant memories……..


- Oh, how I love it when bad and embarrassing things happen to hack karaoke singers who have secured their 15 minutes of fame via ridiculous, low-brow, offensive and hideous reality television karaoke shows. As you can imagine, this is a large group on account of there being so many horrendous, should-be-canceled reality singing/dancing shows on so very many networks. But above all those hacks to despise and root against, a few select hacks stand out. Chief among those is pale, flabby, never-kissed-a-guy, horrible-haircut-sporting Susan Boyle, the chunky, pigment-deprived opera-singer-wannabe who was on American X-Factor Dancing With the Stars or some other reality competition show and has somehow parlayed that into appearances on other reality shows and even daytime talk shows with a bunch of past-their-prime comediennes and media personalities. That’s how Boyle ended up singing on The View Tuesday morning as she attempted to promote her new album, The Gift. As a quick aside, if that album is “The Gift,” then I hope whoever bought it kept their receipt because that piece of sh*t is going right back to the store for a full refund. But Boyle couldn’t even make it through “O Holy Night” before stopping mid-song, apparently due to a frog in her throat. How rich is it that this loser was on a show for the sole purpose of promoting her wretched album and she couldn’t even make it through a song? View co-hosts Sherri Shepherd and Whoopi Goldberg rushed in for the save as per the show host’s code for struggling guests, but by that point the damage was done. Nothing like uncorking that dud and then having your next gig be at the Rockefeller Center tree-lighting ceremony on NBC. But then again, Boyle has gotten a lot more than she should have out of being a reality karaoke singer, so she really can’t complain…………


- ALL RIGHT, I GET IT! America is FAT, the vast majority of us enjoy eating fatty, unhealthy foods that clog our arteries and shorten our life spans. Do we really need a nativity scene sculpted out of butter to remind us of that fact? And if I’m talking about a full-size nativity scene made entirely from butter, what other corner of this wonderful nation would I be talking about but Iowa? Sure, Iowa is known for the famous Iowa State Fair butter cow, but now this hearty, Midwestern state is also known for a full-size butter nativity, courtesy of West Des Moines sculptor Sarah Pratt. Pratt, who has been single handedly sculpting the famous cow at the state fair each summer since 2006, has now finished work on her very first butter sculpted nativity scene. "This is actually the first year I’ve sculpted a nativity scene. This is one of my first sculptures I’ve done outside of the fair actually, so I’m really excited to be doing this,” Pratt said. "It's very rewarding, just as it starts as wire and butter and turns out as a piece of art. It's really rewarding.” Her butter nativity will be on display on Dec. 4 between 9 a.m. and noon and Dec. 5 between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. at 601 Grand Avenue in Des Moines. There will be other hand-crafted nativity scenes as part of the Nativity Exhibition, which is part of a fundraiser for St. Joseph’s Family Shelter, but rest assured that there will not be a more unique (or edible) version of the Holy Family on display. So thanks for showing us that dairy products can be turned into art, Sarah, and thanks for the reminder that America still dominates the globe in obesity and clogged arteries………


- Boy, some people just are not happy no matter what Congress does. Don’t pass a food safety bill and people are pissed. Pass a food safety bill and a different group of people gets pissed. Have the Senate wait more than a year to pass its own version of a food safety bull that the House of Representatives passed and……well, you get the point. But angry constituents or not, the Senate passed a food safety bill Tuesday to give more power to the Food and Drug Administration. The House approved its own version last year and both bills are designed to bolster the safety of the nation's food supply. The Senate version passed 73 to 25, which should placate the angry food safety advocates who had decried the Senate’s reticence to pass the bill. According to the non-profit advocacy group Center for Science in the Public Interest, there have been 85 recalls of FDA-regulated foods since the House of Representatives passed their version of the bill. A report from the CPSI claimed that the recalls were associated with 1,850 reported illnesses. Still, the Senate bill, called the Food Safety Enhancement Act (S. 510), is being criticized by some food safety groups as not strict enough even though it addresses many aspects of food safety, including better preventive control measures by manufacturers, more frequent inspections of facilities and greater FDA authority over recalls. In short, it should help the government and food manufacturers better handle situations like the recent recalls on lettuce, peanuts and eggs. One of the most important aspects of the bill is providing a direct path for the FDA to issue recalls of suspected eggs instead of relying on voluntary recalls by the manufacturers. In the end, I suppose a food safety bill of any sort is better than nothing at all and considering the pace at which Congress typically moves, let’s just be grateful and keep moving………

Booze-infused desserts, MLB playoff bonuses and bad news for FAT people

- The age-old conundrum has confounded many: how to get one’s buzz on and grub on but not get stuck with the massive influx of calories from pounding both dessert and booze in one sitting. The makers of Cream believe they have the answer. No, not Cream as in the old-school rock band that was one of Eric Clapton’s first groups, but Cream as in the alcohol-infused whipped cream that comes in a five flavors including chocolate, caramel, raspberry, vanilla and cherry. You heard me correctly - booze-infused whipped cream. With a major void in the liquor novelty products ever since the government dropped a ban on the sale of caffeine-packed alcoholic drinks, someone had to step up and fill the void. And what better product to pitch to Americans than something that combines their love of eating foods that make them FAT and their love of getting liquored up? Cream is currently available in a limited number of stores around the country and contains 15 percent alcohol by volume, three times the amount found in most beers and wines. One of the product’s first landing spots was Massachusetts, where liquor store owners can attest to Cream’s potency and popularity. "You definitely know that there's alcohol in it," said Max Pendolari, general manager of the Wine Emporium in Boston’s south end. "Most bottles of wine would have the same alcoholic content." But of course, any good idea is going to produce competition and Cream has its rival in the form of Whipped Lightning, which is being sold in at least a dozen states. Considering the fact that Cream costs $12.99 for a standard can, its growing popularity is interesting. For anyone buying Cream or Whipped Lightning, take note of the fact that neither product can be refrigerated because the alcohol separates from the cream. That would seem to give the alcohol-added whipped creams a short shelf life because keeping them in your liquor cabinet for long wouldn’t work either. Thus far, no state or national regulatory groups have taken a stance on alcohol-infused whipped creams, but if they have a problem with combining caffeine and booze, odds or they’ll have something to say about this topic as well………


- Any time Ryan Seacrest regularly appears on your network, airing programming that will actually decrease your network’s standards is next to impossible. E! certainly has an uphill battle in that regard, but the network that has made a habit of throwing Hugh Hefner’s latest ditzy, morals-free blond Playboy girlfriend into a reality show may have accomplished the feat with a new show called Bridalplasty, a competitive reality series in which 12 soon-to-be-brides compete in “challenges that will help you become closer and closer to the perfect bride.” That leads us to the obvious question: What amazing prize will these brides compete for in exchange for degrading themselves on a low-rent reality series for the world to see? For starters, they will win an all-expenses-paid dream wedding. That makes sense because if you’re going to humiliate yourself on the basis of your impending nuptials, then the least you should receive if you win is your wedding day tricked out and paid for. But as the name of the show would imply to anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of the medical field, there’s more to the equation. Because what happens if a bride-to-be is orca-FAT, has a ginormous nose or feels her rack is too small? Those concerns could lead to a less-than-perfect wedding, so of course the winner of this absolute debacle of a show will also receive an all-you-can-order plastic surgery process. Liposuction, nose job, cheek implants, enhanced rack, whatever you want. That way, a bride can looked as carved-up as Heidi Montag when her wedding day rolls around. Stay classy, reality television, stay classy………


- Thanks for finally getting around to that, Russia. Some 70 years after a World War II massacre in which an estimated 20,000 Polish officers were murdered at point blank in the village of Katyn, Russia's lower house of parliament has found time to approve a resolution recognizing that Josef Stalin's regime was responsible for the massacre. For some bizarre reason, Russia’s refusal to admit its culpability in the slaughtering of tens of thousands of Poles had kept relations between the two nations relatively icy. Immediately after the somewhat hollow and meaningless gesture (on account of everyone involved no longer being alive), Poland's Foreign Ministry issued a written statement saying it welcomed the resolution titled "Katyn Tragedy and Its Victims," adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on Saturday. "Acknowledging the Stalinist totalitarian regime's accountability for this unprecedented massacre is the Russian Parliament's important gesture, signifying that we are making progress on the way to reconciliation between our countries and peoples," the statement read. "This gesture proves that there is no turning back from the truth-based dialogue between Poland and Russia.” The truly hilarious part of the resolution is the “revelation” that documents stored in secret archives for years show that the "massacre was committed on the direct orders of Stalin." Really? These documents have simply been collecting dust in some secret storage room with a guard posted at the door and a retinal scan required for entry? Maybe this is looking the decades-late-hollow-resolution-passing Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) in the mouth, but they probably could have found time for this 25 years or so ago. I suspect this has a little something to do with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev trip to Poland in December. Nothing paves the way for a warm diplomatic reception quite like admitted that maybe, just maybe is wasn’t Nazi Germany that senselessly murdered 20,000 Polish officers were murdered at point-blank range. Sure, Russia attempted to score some brownie points in 1990 when it admitted to what many in Poland had long suspected: The Soviet Union secretly murdered as many as 22,000 Polish soldiers and civilians in the early days of World War II in an attempt to preemptively suppress a Polish rebellion against communist rule. However, a criminal case opened by Russian prosecutors into the killings was closed in 2004 and nothing more came of it. Predictably, the more staunchly Communist members of parliament opposed the declaration, claiming German authorities actually executed the Polish soldiers. Way to keep head firmly plated up ass, Commies. You keep on insisting that this declaration is part of "Soviet history falsification" as part of an "ideological war," but the rest of us are glad to see someone from your nation finally copping to the truth………


- Professional athletes just don’t make enough money each season in terms of salary, right? They need bonuses and other incentives for winning MVP awards, breaking records and playing to the very level they are already paid to play at, no? Then there are playoff shares, which reward players from teams that make the postseason with additional pay based on the amount of money made from those playoff games in terms of TV money, ticket sales, concessions, etc. Major League Baseball announced the value of playoff shares today for each of this postseason’s eight participating teams and needless to say, the totals were impressive, especially for teams that advanced past the divisional round. A full World Series share for the champion San Francisco Giants was worth $317,631.29 (don’t wanna round that down, no sir) while the American League champion Texas Rangers' share was worth $246,279.55. Teams are allowed to determine who receives a playoff share and the Giants voted 50 full shares to members of the team and other personnel, along with 9.89 partial shares and five cash awards. A full share was worth 7 percent less this year than it was last year for members of the world champion New York Yankees. The reason for the difference is smaller stadiums in this year’s playoffs, although it would be fair to argue that the difference with $317,000 and $350,000 when talking about bonus money is not much difference at all. The pool for players’ shares is 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first three games of the Division Series and 60 percent of the gate receipts from the first four games of the League Championship Series and World Series. The other six playoff teams broke down thusly for playoff shares: Philadelphia Phillies ($123,140.50), New York Yankees ($110,302.97), Minnesota Twins ($30,838.43), Atlanta Braves ($29.510.57), Tampa Bay Rays ($28,141.51) and Cincinnati Reds ($26,910.27). Nothing like being able to buy a new car with your bonus money………


- More bad news this way comes for you, lazy and out-of-shape Americans. As I’m sure you’re all aware, the Radiological Society of North America is currently holding its annual meeting in Chicago and some interesting studies relating to exercise and health were presented at the conference Monday. Three separate studies using imaging techniques to show how exercise can affect our bodies and brains were presented and all three suggest that walking may slow cognitive decline in adults diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as benefiting brains of healthy adults. One study, which is still ongoing, monitors participants for the distance they walk each week and that data is correlated to brain volume that is measured using MRI, then combined with mental function testing, using the 30-question mini-mental state exam, which measures cognitive decline. That may sound complicated, but in reality it’s simply a means to measuring the impact that regular exercise may have on people. Researchers are following 426 people for the study, which includes 299 healthy adults and 127 cognitively impaired adults, including 83 with mild cognitive impairment and 44 with Alzheimer’s disease. "Volume is a vital sign for the brain," said lead study author Cyrus Raji, Ph.D., from the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania. "When it decreases, that means brain cells are dying. But when it remains higher, brain health is being maintained." The distance walked by participants in varied between zero and 300 blocks per week. Those that walked greater distances tended to have greater brain volumes, especially in the key memory and learning areas of the brain. The standard for those with some form of cognitive impairment to slow cognitive decline and maintain brain volume was at least five miles – about 58 city blocks - per week. By comparison, healthy adults needed to walk about six miles per week— at least 72 city blocks —to maintain brain volume and reduce their risk for mental decline. "Alzheimer's is a devastating illness, and unfortunately, walking is not a cure," Raji said in a written release, "But walking can improve your brain's resistance to the disease and reduce memory loss over time." Anything that could improve brain function and even minimally decrease the affects of a debilitating disease like Alzheimer’s, which affects as many as 2.4 million to 5.1 million Americans, is huge. A similar study presented at the conference revealed that light exercise - like the walking researched in the first study - may help protect people at risk for osteoarthritis from developing it. That study was done by University of California, San Francisco researchers who studied 132 study participants who were at risk for knee osteoarthritis but were not yet experiencing symptoms. They then enrolled 33 control subjects in the study and divided participants groups based on their responses to a quiz on physical activity and strength training. Levels varied from sedentary and the way up to strenuous exercisers and also included strength and knee-bending-exercise-participation components. In the end, researchers found that light exercisers significantly healthier knee cartilage than those that did no exercise. The final study among the trio to be presented was from German researchers who spent two months collecting and analyzing MRI images, urine, blood and biometric data from 44 runners participating in the nearly 2,800 mile TransEurope-FootRace in 2009. Among their findings, which should be extremely encouraging for veteran marathoners like myself, is the fact that fat tissue was the first tissue affected by running and changes in visceral fat –the dangerous type of fat that’s tied to heart disease—occurred much earlier in the running process than previously thought. Also, researchers found out that some leg injuries are safe to “run through” without stopping, such as intermuscular inflammation in the upper or lower legs. All in all, the cumulative message of these three studies is simple: Run, walk, bike….just get some freaking exercise for once, America……….

Shopping for bullet-riddled receivers, weekend movie news and taxi cab dress codes

- New York City taxi drivers may soon find themselves subjected to a stricter dress code that would mandate “presenting a professional appearance.” Now I know what you’re thinking……wait, Manhattan taxi drivers actually have a dress code? The answer is yes and you can find that dress code in section 4-15 (b) of the Taxicab Drivers Rules manual. It stipulates that drivers face a $25 fine for failing to be "clean and neat in dress and person." In other words, drivers can't wear underwear, tank tops, tube tops, body shirts, swimwear, bathing trunks or cut-off shorts as their outer layer of clothing. Given how few cab drivers are hot chicks, I tend to agree with those rules. But that isn’t enough for the powers that be and as such, the rule that drivers "present a professional appearance" will be debated by the Taxi and Limousine Commission at a public hearing on Dec. 16. In between now and Dec. 6, the agency is also accepting comments through the NYC Rules Web site. "The TLC believes that a general requirement better states its concerns and that a detailed list is outmoded and impractical," the agency said in a notice on its site. "The TLC believes that the public is entitled to drivers who present a neat and professional appearance." Oddly enough, revising the rules is actually part of an effort to simplify the 62-page rulebook, according to TLC Chairman David Yassky. Yassky expects the change to be approved at the December hearing, which came as news to Bhairavi Desai, executive director of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance. “What was it about? Somebody wore shorts?” Desi asked. “I would be concerned if the idea of professional attire is left to the naked eye to decide.” I would concur with Desai on that one. This seems like a regulatory body with too much time on its hands and feeling a little power hungry, so they decide to drop cabbies into monkey suits and force them to dance. Fact is, tourists and locals would a) be a lot better off to just take the subway or b) enjoy it more if the city decided to reduce the absurd rates cab companies can charge for their services as opposed to worrying about what cabbies are wearing. The TLC is bundling the new rule up with a completely unrelated proposal that eliminates the need for drivers to inform passengers at the start of the trip that they must pay for any tolls, under the basis that "the riding public is aware, generally, that passengers are responsible for tolls." Don’t think y’all are fooling anyone on this, TLC. We see what you’re doing and we don’t like it………


- Attention visitors: Don’t murder anyone or commit any sort of violent crime while you’re in Switzerland or flee there after being convicted of such a crime. A recent vote by the Swiss approved a referendum to ease the expulsion of foreigners convicted of serious crimes such as murder. The measure would expel foreigners found guilty of serious crimes such as murder automatically, as proposed by the right-wing Swiss People's Party. The law would strengthen the current system, which deals with deportations on a case-by-case basis. It makes sense even to someone who has only had the chance to visit Switzerland for five days or so; no one wants violent criminals from other countries hanging around. Switzerland is a peaceful, neutral place filled with picturesque mountains, beautiful scenery, delicious chocolate and awesome cheese. The Swiss don’t need murderers and assaulters from abroad ruining what they have going on. Speaking of not ruining what they have going on, Swiss voters also (unsurprisingly) a proposal to impose a minimum cantonal (their equivalent of a state) tax on the über-wealthy. The proposal from the center-left Social Democrats would have imposed a minimum cantonal tax on the wealthiest citizens. Basically, various cantons attempt to attract wealthy citizens by slashing tax rates in a sort of financial fire sale. The practice is what draws so many foreign millionaires and multinationals to Switzerland and cantons still want those people to come - assuming they aren’t also violent criminals. Referendums are held in Switzerland several times a year at the federal, cantonal and municipal levels in a very direct form of democracy. Mandatory referendums apply to all amendments to the constitution and proposals for membership of specific international organizations and a double majority is required for passage, meaning a majority of votes cast plus a majority of cantons. On the other hand, a so-called 'facultative referendum' is held on federal laws and certain types of international treaties if at least 50,000 people or eight cantons have petitioned for one within 100 days of the measure’s official publication.


- While dorks may not have been camping out at their local multiplex to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend, the latest adaptation of one of J.K. Rowling’s wizard books was still the top film at the box office with a take of $50.3 million. As impressive as that figure is, it represents a 60-percent decline from last weekend. Overall, Deathly Hallows has made $220.4 million in two weekends of release. It did well enough in its second frame to hold off animated newcomer Tangled, which posted to $49.1 million for the weekend to finish in second place and has made $69 million overall since opening mid-week. The third spot on the list went to another animated movie, Pixar’s Megamind, which has fallen off slightly since opening at No. 1 three weekends ago but held strong this week with $12.9 million, a drop-off of just 20 percent to boost its cumulative take to $130.5 million. That means the movie has officially broken even and now can actually bring in a little bit of profit from here on out. Burlesque, the hack-job rip-off of 2002’s Chicago, debuted in fourth place with $11.8 million for the weekend. Rounding out the top five was Denzel Washington’s train thriller Unstoppable, which hasn’t blown anyone away but keeps chugging ahead with respectable showings week after week. The rest of the top 10 was comprised of: newcomer Love and Other Drugs (No. 6 with $9.8 million), fellow newbie Faster (debuting at No. 7 with $8.7 million), the surprisingly strong Due Date (No. 8 with $7.3 million after a scant 18-percent decline from its last weekend to boost its overall take to $85 million), Russell Crowe’s mega-disappointing prison break flick The Next Three Days (No. 9 with $4,840,000 and having made just $14.5 million in two weeks of release) and the equally disappointing Morning Glory (falling four spots from last weekend to finish at No. 10 with $4.1 million and only $26.5 after three weekends). Falling out of the top 10 from last weekend was Fair Game, which held the 10th spot last time around but was 12th this weekend. Inching past it and to the verge of the top 10 was the true story 127 Hours, telling the harrowing tale of climber Aron Ralston amputating his own arm to free himself from under a boulder. The movie made $1.7 million in limited release and should pick up steam in the next couple weeks……..


- Not that any of you want to hear this, America, but it’s once again time to hammer home the point that eating healthy foods such as yams, carrots, pumpkin, can make you a healthier person. The latest confirmation of that reality comes from a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. While everyone knows that the beta-carotene in those foods benefits several aspects of a person’s health, the CDC team discovered something else beneficial about these particular eats: alpha-carotene, which it credits with helping people live longer by eating orange or dark green foods. Both beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are members of the carotenoid antioxidant family and once digested, they are converted to vitamin A. Researchers found that alpha-carotene helps to defend cells' DNA from attack. In terms of scientific studies, this one was an extremely long-term project, spanning 14 years. During that time, CDC researchers found individuals with more alpha-carotene in their blood had lower risks of disease and death. Dr. Chaoyang Li of the CDC led the study and explained alpha-carotene’s role in overall health. "Alpha-carotene may be at least partially responsible for the risk reduction; however, we are unable to rule out the possible links of other antioxidants or other elements in vegetables and fruits to lower mortality risk," Li stated. To get these exciting alpha-carotene benefits, just eat carrots, squash and sweet potatoes or dark leafy greens like kale, broccoli, spinach and collard greens. That advice will undoubtedly fall on deaf ears with many Americans who fall into the two-thirds of the populace that the CDC has found to eat less than two servings of fruit each day. Never mind that these foods can be an effective way to fight certain cancers while also filling a key spot in a diet that will keep you from ballooning to 100 pounds overweight, pass the pie and pick up another double cheeseburger on your way home………


- What’s the market for an aging wide receiver who has spent the past 20 months in prison? If you believe bombastic, egocentric agent Drew Rosenhaus, the market for that type of player is rather brisk. Rosenhaus’ client, Plaxico Burress, is currently serving out the final few months of a 20-month prison sentence for accidentally shooting himself in the thigh at a Manhattan nightclub with a gun that had not been licensed in the state of New York. Initially, Burress was defiant - well, after he had teammate Antonio Pearce drive him to an emergency room and lied about who he was while seeking treatment for his gunshot wound. He seemed to believe that the state’s gun laws didn’t apply to him and rejected plea deal after plea deal from the prosecutor’s office. Eventually, he accepted a plea offer and went to prison in September 2009. He has sought entry into the prison’s work release program twice and was rejected both times, so he comes up for potential full release on June 6, 2011. After that, he will be on probation for two years. Yet in spite of all of those black marks on his record, Rosenhaus remains bullish on Burress’ career prospects. Rosenhaus said Friday that two teams have stayed in contact with him about the availability of his client. "I'm very confident that Plaxico will be playing next season in the NFL," Rosenhaus said. He refused to specify the two teams interested in Burress, clearly reading right out of the agent handbook for dealing with radioactive clients who have a difficult road ahead of them in finding a new team. Talk big, claim that teams are interested in them and then hide behind agent-client confidentiality in refusing to disclose the allegedly interested teams. That way, other teams can't know for sure who is pursuing the player and might be lured into the bidding themselves. Rumors did swirl around the league last offseason that the New York Jets explored the possibility of signing Burress and others speculated that the Giants would be open to bringing him back. Still, Burress’ case is drastically different than that of the league’s current poster boy for reclamation projects, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Michael Vick. Burress is four years older than Vick and is nowhere near the physical freak that Vick was at the time of his incarceration. Even though Vick’s crime was far worse than the one Burress plead guilty to, the idea that he is anywhere near as desirable a player as Vick is laughable at best………

Great tunnels for smuggling, a celeb jeweler gets what he deserves and Thanksgiving Day football assaults

- Is it wrong to express admiration for those who smuggle massive quantities of the hippie lettuce into the United States? I say no and it’s not simply because I am an avowed friend of stoners of all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds. Yes, I believe that stoners are a valuable addition to our society, giving very little but taking even less. However, appreciating ganja lovers doesn’t begin to explain why I’m impressed with a "sophisticated" tunnel between a Mexican eat-in kitchen and two Southern California warehouses used to smuggle huge supplies of the chronic across the border. Authorities discovered the tunnel on Thanksgiving Day and its unearthing led authorities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border to arrest at least nine suspects and seize between 20 and 30 tons of marijuana. The find came after an eight-month investigation and about three weeks after authorities discovered a similar drug tunnel in another warehouse in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego. Between these two huge setbacks to the pot head community, agents in the United States and Mexico seized roughly the equivalent of one marijuana cigarette for each of California's nearly 37 million residents. "This is obviously not a Mom and Pop operation," San Diego-based Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Miguel Unzueta said Friday. "This is a major, significant drug cartel working." The tunnel itself measured nearly one-half mile long and in some spots, was as deep as 90 feet. On the southern end, drug traffickers entered through the kitchen of a stucco Tijuana, Mexico, home, which had a garage attached big enough for tractor-trailer trucks. All they had to do was remove a 2-foot by 4-foot piece of flooring in that house and traipse down an 80-foot-long a cinder-block-lined stretch into the tunnel. Below ground, the tunnel sported lighting, ventilation, wood and cinder-block supports, wood floors and rail carts. Near the border, it split to lead into two separate warehouses in San Diego. San Diego Tunnel Task Force agents got the big break in the case Thursday morning after spotting a tractor-trailer arriving at one of the warehouses. They followed the truck to a border patrol checkpoint in Temecula, California, about 60 miles north of San Diego and there, authorities who had been tracking the shipment found the truck filled "top to bottom, front to back" with 27,000 600-pound packages of marijuana. I also love the fact that authorities initially could not get through the tunnel from the California side because it was blocked by huge packages of pot. Just smoke your way through it, fellas, it’s all good. Instead, these squares formed a human chain to lug out what amounted to 3 to 4 tons of marijuana. All told, the marijuana seized Thursday could have sold wholesale for $17 million to $20 million. That’s a whole lot of fatties and bong hits, y’all. A truly sad day for my stoner pals and I am bummed alongside all of you………


- Sometimes, people get what they deserve in life. When the person in question is dumb enough to loan $114,000 worth of jewelry to the walking disaster/camera whore that is Courtney Love, the deserved result is getting screwed out of $114,000 worth of jewelry. That is the fate celebrity jeweler Jacob & Co. is looking to avoid. The company filed a lawsuit this week claiming that Love hasn't returned nearly $114,000 worth of borrowed jewelry loaned to her for an awards show. According to the suit, Love borrowed two white gold and diamond chains, a white gold, floral-design mesh bracelet and a pair of white gold and diamond pave hoop earrings on Sept. 21. She allegedly returned only the bracelet despite demands for the other pieces and claimed that she had lost the other items. The company countered that she was responsible for them "regardless of loss or damage," said the its lawyer, Jeffrey Klarsfeld. The lawsuit seeks the gems or their $113,700 value, neither of which Jacob and Co. - founded by "Jacob the Jeweler" Arabov, who became known as the "King of Bling" among Hollywood’s elite before going to federal prison in 2008 for lying to investigators looking into a multistate drug ring - seems likely to receive. After all, we’re talking about Courtney Love here, the same Courtney Love who was sentenced in 2005 to 180 days at a drug treatment facility for violating probation in misdemeanor drug and assault cases and who still hasn’t returned the media spotlight she hijacked by marrying Kurt Cobain and riding his rising star into the public eye. Trying to thieve, er, um, losing more than $100,000 in borrowed jewelry sounds like exactly the sort of classless, ridiculous and despicable act that you could expect from a woman with no class, dignity or concept of what it means to be a decent human being……..


- So I guess not everyone had a nice Thanksgiving in Detroit. Lions quarterback Shaun Hill certainly didn’t, not after being on the wrong end of a 45-24 Turkey Day beatdown by the New England Patriots and especially not after (allegedly) having a New England defensive player attempt to break re-break his left arm during a sneak play near the goal line. During the second quarter, Hill ran a quarterback sneak from the Pats' 2-yard line and reached toward the goal line for the touchdown. He didn’t make it and a pileup ensued, a pileup in which Hill claims he felt someone trying to injure his non-throwing forearm, which he suffered a fracture in against the Giants five weeks ago. That's why I eventually gave up the ball," Hill said. "Somebody was down there [in the pile] literally trying to break my arm, which is already broken. Literally, trying. And, uh, y'know, I guess [it] wasn't seen [by officials]." Predictably, the Patriots had no comment on the accusation, a given for a team that pretty much never has anything to say about anything at all. For what it’s worth, the Lions scored a touchdown on the next play en route to a loss. That someone would engage in such dirty tactics in a pile during an NFL game is completely believable, as some of the nastiest, dirtiest things you will ever see in any fight, anywhere occur on the bottom of piles when guys are fighting for the ball or extra yardage. Still, Hill had no problem with the sneak and actually approved of the play call. "I loved the call," he stated. "I loved the call. Absolutely loved it. I have no qualms about running that play -- one-armed or whatever. I loved the call." He loved the call, but clearly did not love an opposing player trying to snap one of his arm bones in half……….

- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, he doesn’t just fight on behalf of endangered species like wild tigers. In his spare time, Bad Vlad also likes to lash out at new European Union laws aimed at liberalizing the continent’s energy market. Coming from a Communist, any claims of economic unfairness or impropriety are especially rich, so when Putin slams a law as hindering investment and amounting to “robbery,” it’s hard to tell whether to laugh or take him seriously. Putin made the remarks while in Berlin for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. He demanded that the European Union consult Moscow when drafting such important legislation because of the impact it would have on the Russian state-controlled gas giant, Gazprom. Should the new laws go into effect, Putin theorized, they would devalue Gazprom’s assets in Europe. “Our companies, together with German partners, legally acquired distribution assets in Lithuania,” Putin said. “Now, they are being thrown out there with reference to the Third Energy Package. What is this? What is this robbery?” For the record, the European Union agreed in March 2009 to split giant utilities, ensuring that small gas suppliers can get unhindered access to European infrastructure and compete with the major players in the market. As for Putin’s complaints…..sorry, bro-seph. You aren’t a part of the group but want to do business in their backyard, then you have to play by their rules and accept whatever arrangement they decide upon. I don’t see European nations whining about the asinine rules and measures your Commie regime puts in place………


- Big Brother is at it again. No, not the crappy, voyeuristic CBS reality show where a bunch of attention-desperate losers and rejects agree to live on a sound stage masquerading as a house for weeks on end and have their lives filmed for the world to see. In this case, Big Brother is the original Big Brother, as in the U.S. government and he is shutting down websites suspected of copyrighted infringement or selling counterfeit goods as Congress debates a bill that would give feds even more authority to do so. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), an agency within the Homeland Security Department, has already taken possession of more than 70 websites in recent days and in their place, left a notice saying that the domain name has been seized by ICE through court-ordered warrants. The notice also lays out potential penalties for willful copyright infringement and trafficking in counterfeit goods. The agency has refused to say anything other than to confirm the seizure of the sites. Tech media outlets first began reporting the seizures on Thursday when ICE agents raided facilities operated by a music file-sharing site called RapGodFathers. Other seized sites that share music or sell goods include torrent-finder.com, timberlandlike.com, dvdsetsonline.com and handbagspop.com, along with dozens of other sites whose owners claim that they were given no warning whatsoever about the seizures. On the side of those opposing the expanded powers for The Man is Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who has promised to block an online copyright enforcement bill that was unanimously approved last week by the Senate Judiciary Committee. This overreaching bill would allow the Justice Department to seek expedited court orders blacklisting websites suspected of piracy. Nothing like ripping fair legal procedures and rights from people just because you suspect that they may have violated the law. Supporters of the bill ass-hattedly argue that it will help put an end to Web sites that steal intellectual property, which is estimated to cost the U.S. economy more than $100 billion every year and results in the loss of thousands of jobs. "The Internet serves as the glue of international commerce in today's global economy. But it's also been turned into a tool for online thieves to sell counterfeit and pirated goods, making hundreds of millions of dollars off of stolen American intellectual property," Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, said in a written statement. What you and your cohorts forget, Orrin, is that cyberspace is the freaking Wild West circa 1870. You take down a site and in a day, five more pop up in its place. Actually, it’s more like trying to kill the hydra, a beast in ancient Greek mythology that grew two heads back in place of one that was cut off. Hatch was backed by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the chairman of the committee, who said if "rogue websites" existed in the physical world, the store would be shuttered immediately and the proprietors would be arrested. "We cannot excuse the behavior because it happens online and the owners operate overseas," he said in a written statement. "The Internet needs to be free – not lawless." Lining up to oppose these two senatorial clowns is Wyden, who insisted that the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act, or COICA, is excessive. "Deploying this statue to combat online copyright infringement seems almost like using a bunker-busting cluster bomb, when what you need is a precision-guided missile," he said during a hearing on digital trade. "If you don't think this thing through carefully, the collateral damage would be American innovation, American jobs, and a secure Internet." Now, while the analogy using weapons of mass destruction (they do exist, eh W.?) might be a tad over the top, Wyden's opposition essentially dooms the bill in this Congress and would force the next Congress convening in January to start anew on the issue. Consumer-rights groups also oppose the bill and some argue that if the bill had passed a few years ago, YouTube might not exist today. Thankfully, Ron Wyden was standing in the gap on this one and fighting for Americans’ rights to pirate and share intellectual property more liberally than the government would prefer them to……….

Ivy League racism, feuding lady rappers and buzz killing a great action figure

- Racism in the Ivy League? Say it ain’t so. But look, if a bunch of Harvard students are alleging racism, then quite frankly, I have no choice but to believe them. They’re wicked smaht and if they have looked at a situation with their brilliant minds and deduced that racist activity has occurred, then I am not going to argue with them. That means I am squarely on the side of a group of Ivy League students and graduates who claim they were made to feel like criminals and kicked out of a Boston club by owners because of their race. The incident occurred at Cure Lounge in Boston, where a group of black Harvard and Yale students put aside their mutual hatred of one another as attendees of rival schools and came together to celebrate homecoming weekend and the big Harvard-Yale football game. The party had barely begun when club staff began shutting things down, blaming it on technical difficulties. Harvard law student D. Omavi Harshaw claimed afterward that he heard club managers spotted "gang bangers" in the line and then worried the group of black students and graduates would attract the wrong crowd. "We were definitely kicked out on the basis of our skin," said Harshaw. "The management thought that the black women in the line would attract local gang bangers, is the phrase they used." Hmm, sounds awfully white and paranoid of them, no? Harshaw’s sentiments were echoed by Boston city councilor Ayanna Pressley, who said, “I believe there was some racial overtones here.” Pressley is calling for a full investigation and has appealed to the mayor's office of consumer affairs and licensing. Cure spokesman (yes, the club has a spokesman) George Regan defended the clubs actions, saying that the private party had brought in plenty of non-Harvard students and many of those in attendance were - in addition to rich Ivy Leaguers - “known in police circles” - and very dangerous. “There was no mistaken identity. These kids are known in police circles. They are who they are. They're not good people," Regan said. He added that bouncers recognized known troublemakers and thugs in line and shut down the party to protect patrons. "This was not a racial thing at all, it was just doing a smart thing. It was trying to stop a problem before it started," said Regan. As usual, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle of the stories from the opposing sides, but for now, I’ll side with the brilliant Ivy Leaguers…………


- Maybe the new spectator bridges being built at the world’s most famous arena will look cool once they are in place, but for now the idea of dropping bridges high above the court/rink at Madison Square Garden just seems bizarre. The high-up walkways are part of an upcoming renovation of the 42-year-old facility. Work will take place over a period from 2011-13 and when the project is completed, spectator bridges will hang from the ceiling, allowing a bird's-eye view of the playing surface. The bridges are supposed to be in place and functional in October 2013. "They'll be like no other seat in professional sports or entertainment," MSG President Hank Ratner said. "I think probably the Green Monster [at the Boston Red Sox's Fenway Park] is the only thing you could come to making the comparison. But these are going to take it up a notch -- because you're on bridges." All told, the renovation is expected to cost $775 million to $850 million and will change the entrance, seating, concourses and displays of the arena. Of all the changes, the bridges appear to be the most drastic change. Artist’s renderings of the new walkways show fans literally moving back and forth directly above the playing surface, which is an interesting concept but also raises series safety concerns, especially in light of a 2-year-old boy recently falling to his death from a luxury suite at the Staples Center after a Lakers game. Ratner dismissed those safety concerns and insisted that the walkways will be nothing like the setup that allowed the infant’s death after the Lakers game. "This product shouldn't really be different from that," he said. "Safety is of paramount and utmost concern in everything we do here." Of course, all the changes to the building itself would pale in comparison to Madison Square Garden’s most prominent resident, the NBA’s Knicks, being able to put a winning team on the court for the first time in years……….


- Umm, am I the only one completely terrified by what’s going on in the slums of Rio de Janeiro despite being thousands of miles away? Brazilian authorities sent in the military to help quell violence that continued Friday some of the most impoverished areas in all of South America. Criminal gangs torched at least two more buses and five cars before dawn, continuing a surge of violence in which at least 25 people have died and 192 have been detained or arrested since Sunday. The situation has a decidedly Mexican feel, as the uprising has been fueled by drug gangs angry about an increased police presence in the crime-ridden slums. Criminals have burned more than 96 vehicles thus far and three police officers have been injured. That led to the deployment of 800 soldiers to protect the perimeter of the areas occupied by police. The military will control all entry points into some slums, theoretically cutting off access for gangs. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva voiced his support Thursday for local and state officials and law enforcement and said he had spoken with the governor of Rio de Janeiro state, Sergio Cabral. “I told Sergio Cabral that whatever help he needs from the federal government so people will live in peace in this country, we will give him," Lula said. "Rio de Janeiro can rest assured that we will support the governor and the residents of the state." All of this could have been avoided if the government had simply allowed the cartels to continue doing whatever they wanted in Rio's slums, called favelas. For whatever reason, The Man doesn’t take well to drug cartels wreaking havoc in a country and thus this battle has been waged. With 17 slums across Rio, the task is a tall one for police and military in the area. The battle is so intense that Brazil's Marine Corps sent armored vehicles, weapons, ammunition and night-vision goggles for use by Rio de Janeiro security forces at the request of Gov. Cabral. With both the World Cup and Summer Olympics set to take place in Brazil in the next decade, cleaning up this mess seems like a solid idea………


- Sometimes Apple can be infuriating, even if they do make great operating systems and computers. This is one of those times because less than a week after buzz began building for the SJ Action Figure, the Steve Jobs look-alike doll, Jobs’ company has put the kibosh on the action figure made by Chinese toy manufacturer M.I.C Gadget. M.I.C. Gadget announced on its Web site Tuesday that it had discontinued the product after selling out its first batch of 300. “A few hours ago, we have just received an email from a law firm representing Apple Inc. Apple has informed us that this phenomenal SJ action figure, has not consented to the use of Apple's copyrights and trademarks, therefore they request us immediately to cease the marketing and sale of this figure. Here's what the email has told us: "Unauthorized use of a person's name and/or likeness constitutes a violation of California Civil Code Section 3344, which prohibits the use of any person's name, photograph or likeness in a product without that person's prior consent…" bla bla bla…So, all Apple fanboys, you are not going to get this phenomenal figure anymore. M.I.C gadget hereby apologizes to Steve Jobs, Apple.Inc, and their law firm for any inconvenience caused. For those of you who have successfully ordered this collection item, we will contact you.” Thanks for the very mature explanation, but even that tongue-in-cheek mea culpa doesn’t detract from the fact that Apple should have removed its head from its backside on this one. Who doesn’t want an action figure of the big cheese for their favorite computer company? This is one action figure that could have been a sensation this holiday season……….


- What is a crappy pop singer to do when her album is about to drop, she has minimal to no musical talent and is nothing more than a flash in a pan who has managed to write a catchy (yet bad) song and get the attention of musically clueless members of the public? Exactly what Nicki Minaj is doing to kick off her "Pink Friday" release week: try to create drama by attacking some of the bigger female hip-hop artists in the game, that’s how. Doing an interview with a New York radio station, Minaj spoke about a time when Foxy Brown told her Lil Kim was talking sh*t about her. She either pretended to be or was actually livid about the incident, but her words were disputed by her alleged confidant, Foxy Brown. "For the record... Nicki and I never had that conversation, ever," Foxy posted on her Twitter account. Wow…..that’s not even claiming that she is misquoting or misrepresenting what was said. That’s calling someone a liar straight-up. But Minaj wasn’t done pot-shotting Lil Kim and later in the interview, she said the controversial, pint-sized lady rapper will be remembered as a "sore loser." In response, Lil Kim has released a dis track titled "Black Friday." In a poor-quality rip from the song that leaked online Thursday, Lil Kim is heard rapping, "It'll be a murder scene, I'm turning 'Pink Friday' to Friday the 13th." Considering the none of these women have anywhere near the talent necessary to bump their gums this much, I think it’s best if we all simply keep moving……..

Worthwhile Div. 3 basketball, more reasons to hate smokers and Tom DeLay majority-whipped

- I don’t know about you, but when I go to see an NCAA Division III men's basketball game in rural Vermont, I like to feel that I got my money’s worth. No blowouts, no lackluster games where either team fails to bring its best and bleed, sweat and brawl in the effort to win. Bearing that in mind, I have to say thank you to Skidmore and Southern Vermont, two D-III schools who just played the longest game in NCAA Division III history -- a seven-overtime marathon. In the end, Skidmore came out on top, 128-123. Not only was the game the longest in D-III history, it matched the longest NCAA men's game in any division and was two overtimes longer than the previous record at the D-III level. The co-holder of the record is a game between Cincinnati and Bradley on Dec. 21, 1981, a game won by Cincinnati. Skidmore definitely deserved the win, having made tying shots near the end of four different overtime periods. Leading the way for the Thoroughbreds was John Mantas, who scored 27 points. But the true iron man of this never-ending game was Southern Vermont's Lance Spratling, who played all 75 minutes. For once, I actually feel a tinge of sympathy for a college athlete who says that he or she is so tired and worn out the day after a game. Big ups to Spratling, Mantas and everyone else who was involved in this amazing affair………


- Know how I despise scientific research that explores blatantly obvious topics and conclusions that no one is actually disputing? I’m going to make an exception to that rule and that exception is for the filthiest, nastiest and most revolting habit in the world: smoking. We all know smoking kills a crapload of people every year and that smokers are the most disgusting, appalling humans walking this Earth. However, I welcome a new study by the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare and Bloomberg Philanthropies which found that second-hand smoke kills more than 600,000 people worldwide every year. The study, published Friday in the British medical journal Lancet, is the first to examine the global impact of second-hand smoking. Researchers analyzed data from 2004 for 192 countries and found 40 percent of children and more than 30 percent of non-smoking men and women regularly breathe in second-hand smoke. Working outward from those figures, they then estimated that passive smoking causes about 379,000 deaths from heart disease, 165,000 deaths from lower respiratory disease, 36,900 deaths from asthma and 21,400 deaths from lung cancer a year. Take a moment, drink in the reality of those numbers and then read what the lead researcher on the study has to say. "This helps us understand the real toll of tobacco," said Armando Peruga, a program manager at the World Health Organization's Tobacco-Free Initiative, who led the study. Peruga then piled on by suggesting that the approximately 603,000 deaths from second-hand smoking should be added to the 5.1 million deaths that smoking itself causes every year. Most alarming among the studies findings were figures on the number of children who die of smoke-related respiratory infections, mostly in Southeast Asia and Africa - 165,000 per year. "The mix of infectious diseases and second-hand smoke is a deadly combination," Peruga said. Where is second-hand smoke worst? Not surprisingly, Peruga and colleagues found the highest numbers of people exposed to second-hand smoke are in Europe and Asia. Having spent a month in Europe recently, I can attest to the fact that an insanely high number of people smoke and it’s legal to do so just about anywhere. So not that we needed any further motivation to stamp out smoking around the globe, but this study should add fuel to that fire……….


- The deeds we do in this life echo in eternity……those words were spoken by Russell Crowe’s Maximus character in the film Gladiator, but they ring mighty true for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. DeLay, who in the previous chapter of his life was a scheming, conniving congressman, now finds himself convicted on charges of illegally funneling corporate money to help elect GOP candidates to the Texas Legislature. DeLay, who is retired from politics, was found guilty by a Texas jury on Wednesday
DeLay on charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The amount he was accused of funneling wasn’t that impressive - $190,000 - but that cash to help elect Republicans to the state House and Senate in 2002 was enough for a conviction. At the outset of the trial, a defiant DeLay forecasted that the jury would clear him and his stance was unchanged by the verdict. "This is an abuse of power. It's a miscarriage of justice," DeLay fumed. "I still maintain that I am innocent, that the criminalization of politics undermines our very system, and I'm very disappointed in the outcome. But you know, it is what it is, and we will carry on and maybe we can get it before people who understand the law." It is what it is…..wow. That right there is the ultimate go-to cliché for athletes who can’t think of a credible or insightful answer to an interviewer’s question. His view was not shared by Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, who said the verdict showed no one was above the law. "This case is a message from the citizens of the state of Texas that the public officials they elect to represent them must do so honestly and ethically, and if not they'll be held accountable," Lehmberg said. DeLay now must wait a month for sentencing and when he returns to court for that hearing, he will face a possible maximum prison term of 99 years on the money laundering charge and 20 years on the conspiracy charge. I’m just thinking out loud here, but this is probably not what a man who helped Newt Gingrich spearhead the GOP revival in 1994 that won control of the House and Senate in the first midterm election under Democratic President Bill Clinton saw himself doing post-politics. Ironically, a man once nicknamed "The Hammer" for his strict enforcement of party discipline is now guilty of violating the very rules he was supposed to uphold. He was no stranger to discipline while a member of the House, having been admonished three times by the House ethics committee, which warned him to "temper" his future actions to comply with House rules. He stepped down as majority leader after his 2005 indictment on the money laundering and conspiracy charges and resigned from Congress the following year. From that point on, he did his best to string the case out and held it up on procedural grounds for several years. During that time, he found enough of an opening in his schedule to appear as a short-lived contestant on Dancing with the (D-List) Stars. I am sure his future neighbors on cell block E will enjoy seeing those dance moves in the exercise yard………


- Apple has absolutely hammered the stuffing out of the Beatles’ debut on its iTunes music service this week and the results have been great thus far. After the band and the tech giant settled their long-running legal battle over the Apple name, the Fab Four’s music debuted on iTunes one week ago and in one week alone, the band sold 1.42 million tracks in the U.S. and a further 119,000 digital albums according to Nielsen SoundScan. So now that fans have a chance to buy the Beatles’ music through iTunes, which songs are they purchasing the most? The Beatles' top-selling song download of the week is 1970’s "Let It Be," which moved 63,000 units. Second place went to 1969's "Here Comes the Sun" with 55,000. That ranks the songs at Nos. 26 and 29 on the Digital Songs chart, respectively. Overall, 11 Beatles songs cracked the 75-position chart. Not surprisingly, half of the Beatles' top 10 sellers -- including "Sun" -- were never released as commercially available singles. Of the top 10 sellers, six were also unavailable on the Beatles' greatest-hits collection "1." That album sold 11.7 million copies in the United States, making it the seventh-best-selling album since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Which was the most-downloaded Beatles album of the week? That would be "Abbey Road," which moved 16,000 units and debuts at No. 8 on Top Digital Albums. Here is the entire top 10: 1) Let It Be - 63,000, 2) Here Comes the Sun - 55,000, 3)
In My Life - 45,000, 4)
Hey Jude - 38,000, 5)
Come Together, 6) No. 1
Yesterday - 35,000, 7)
Blackbird - 32,000, 8) Twist and Shout - 30,000, 9)
While My Guitar Gently Weeps - 27,000 and 10)
With a Little Help From My Friends - 26,000………


- Want to use a cell phone, women of Lank, India? The answer is simple: get married. That’s your only option because the remote northern Indian village has banned unmarried women from using cell phones for fear they will arrange forbidden marriages that are often punished by death. Village officials are clearly not big fans of Beyonce’s Single Ladies or actual single ladies because they forbade unmarried females from using cell phones while allow unmarried males to use cell phones under parental supervision. Council member Satish Tyagi confirmed the new law and local women's rights group immediately decried the measure as backward and unfair. Tying cell phones with marriages between members of the same clan, which are forbidden under Hindu custom, might seem odd, but the reality is that in some parts of north India, these unions are traditionally arranged by families. This is especially true in conservative rural areas, where families sometimes dish out severe punishments, including so-called honor killings, for those who violate marriage taboos. Village councils have been known to not only condone but order the punishments even though police often intervene to stop them. Seeing the problem and asking what the best solution would be, the Lank village council decided to stop young men and women from secretly calling one another to arrange forbidden elopements. Before you dismiss their concerns entirely, there is the fact that last month, 34 couples eloped in Muzaffarnagar district, where Lank is located in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Of those 34 couples, eight honor killings have been reported in the last month. "Three girls were beheaded by the male members of their family after they eloped with boys from their same clan,” said police assistant director general Brij Lal in the state capital of Lucknow. The Lank council ruling applies to around 50,000 people and is being considered by councils in the nearby villages. Don’t you just love being around to see it when a society actually regresses and slides back toward the Dark Ages………

Axl v. Slash again, E. Gordon Gee(k) an ass hat, Riot Watch! and more

- Apparently his ever-expanding waistline isn’t the only thing Axl Rose has problems with these days.
The Guns N' Roses frontman also has a healthy hatred of ex-bandmate Slash working for him and it’s the latter of these two dueling struggles that has Rose livid right about now. He has filed a $20 million lawsuit against Guitar Hero maker Activision claiming its use of the GNR song "Welcome to the Jungle" violated an agreement not to include any imagery of ex-GNR guitarist Slash in the popular music-themed video game. Slash, real name Saul Hudson, is long gone from GNR, as are good music, compelling live shows and Rose being able to look down and see his feet. But even FAT people can file lawsuits and Rose filed his in Los Angeles Superior Court in conjunction with his company, Black Frog Music, claiming that Activision Blizzard fraudulently tricked him into authorizing "Welcome to the Jungle" for use in Guitar Hero III by assuring him during negotiations that it wouldn't feature any reference to Slash or Slash’s current band, Velvet Revolver. "[Activision] began spinning a web of lies and deception to conceal its true intentions to not only feature Slash and VR prominently in GH III but also promote the game by emphasizing and reinforcing an association between Slash and Guns N' Roses and the band's song 'Welcome to the Jungle,' " the complaint claims. Furthermore, the suit alleges that when Rose found out that a Slash-like character and Velvet Revolver songs would be included the game, he immediately rescinded the authorization for "Jungle." However, Activision allegedly lied and told him the inclusion was just for the purposes of a trade show. A placated (and probably grubbing) Axl went on his way and didn’t give it another thought until someone showed him the GH III box with "an animated depiction of Slash, with his signature black top hat, long dark curly hair, dark sunglasses and nose-piercing," according to the complaint. So what sort of damages does Rose want from Activision? How about a whopping $20 million?
"This lawsuit is about protecting Guns N' Roses and 'Welcome to the Jungle' and is about holding Activision accountable for its misuse of these incredibly valuable assets," Rose lawyer, Skip Miller, stated. "The relief we are seeking is disgorgement of profits and compensatory and punitive damages." Disgorgement of profits……that sounds painful……..


- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! Sometimes the most sleep-loving, bong-hitting among us has to rise up and speak out for himself or herself. Yes, I’m looking at you, college students. Take notice of the example set by a crowd of students who marched through central London on Wednesday, disrupting traffic and shouting angry slogans in a protest against an increase in university tuition. The London protest was one of many across Britain, with marches also taking place in cities that included Leeds, Cambridge and Birmingham. Tuition hikes are the simplest and obvious means of sparking an uprising on any campus, as students need meal and beer money and paying more to actually attend classes doesn’t fit into their plan. The march in London was a rousing success, with an estimated 25,000 students turning out. "Students are starting to self-organize," organizer Clare Solomon said. "If we can get 25,000 on the streets with no major organization, it's a sign of things to come." Here’s hoping, C. She and her fellow students worry that the British system is modeling itself too closely after its American counterpart, where students have to pay large tuition fees and seek loans or grants themselves if they can't pay. Thus, certain segments of the populace are excluded from higher education. To make their point known, students held signs saying "Stop Education Cuts," "Education not Segregation" and "Unite and Fight." I especially like the last of those three because a fight is what it will take to make a change. Bearing that in mind, big ups to the students who became tired of the containment area police had penned them into, got free and broke into a police van inside the containment area in Whitehall after smashing the windshield, spray-painting the sides and trying to topple it. They blew right past some spineless, weak fellow students who for some odd reason attempted to stop them. Other students set off firecrackers in the crowd to incite a bit more panic and uproar. The protests came on the heels of even more impressive efforts two weeks ago, hen protesters invaded the building holding the headquarters of the Conservative Party. Police reported 15 arrests in London and one each in Oxford and Glasgow, Scotland on Wednesday. The actual tuition hike that sparked the protest is part of a governmental plan to allow universities to charge as much as 9,000 pounds (about $14,200) a year in tuition fees, a ginormous rise from the current cap of 3,000 pounds (about $4,700). That’s the solution the government sees for reducing its massive budget deficit, along with eliminating some subsidies for university students. Defenders of the change insist that universities will not necessarily raise tuition as much as allowed under the caps, but those people are either stupid or in denial. Either way, let’s see more students spray-painting anarchy symbols, breaking windows, setting off flares and clashing with police. Riot on, y’all, riot on………..


- Should you be among the no-life-having losers preparing to bash other no-life-having losers’ brains in for the right to buy cheap crap at 5 a.m. on Black Friday, this next bit of news is for you. Retailers know that you’re pathetic enough to be in line and waiting when they open their doors and they also know that you love social media, so they’re looking to combine the two, with many retailers offering shoppers discounts for "checking in" on location-based services like Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Gowalla during the busiest shopping day of the year. For example, Gowalla is giving out a $50 dollar Amazon.com gift code to hundreds of random shoppers who check-in at malls and discount stores around the country. Toys R Us is getting in on the check-in fun by offering a 15-percent discount for purchases over $150 to the first 3,000 people checking in from 1,500 of its stores around the country on Facebook Places, Foursquare, and Yelp. Not to be outdone, RadioShack is offering a number of discounts for checking in on Foursquare, including 10 percent simply for checking in, 15 percent if they are the mayor and 20 percent for unlocking the "Holiday Hero" Badge. Just a few things to keep in mind as you pathetically set your alarm clock for 3 a.m., get up while it’s still dark, trudge out into the freezing cold and stand in line elbow-to-elbow with your fellow losers and await the chance for a discounted laptop or whatever the heck the hot toy for kids is this year………


- Do drunks and nuclear weapons mix? I say yes, but I’m in that kooky minority that enjoys the idea of an entire corner of the world becoming radioactive because a couple of guys who were supposed to be watching over or transporting nuclear material couldn’t put down the rum and Coke, Irish car bomb or fifth of Jack and do the job they are being (over)paid to do. Others probably weren’t enthused to learn that federal agents responsible for driving nuclear weapons and other sensitive materials sometimes got drunk and were detained by police while on the job, according to a new watchdog report released Monday by the Energy Department's Office of Inspector General. The reported cited 16 alcohol-related incidents between 2007 and 2009 involving personnel with the National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Surface Transportation (OST), which employs about 600 OST agents responsible for safely transporting or shipping nuclear weapons and other materials across the country. Sure, it seems like an important gig and on spy dramas like 24, nuclear weapons always seem to be heisted while in transit, but what are the actual chances of something bad happening just because an OST agent is trucking along with a .07 blood-alcohol level with radioactive material in the trailer? Let’s not panic over the fact that an agent was arrested in 2007 for public intoxication, and two agents were handcuffed and temporarily detained by police officers in 2009. Pay no mind to the part of the report that warns, "Alcohol incidents such as these, as infrequent as they may be, indicate a potential vulnerability in OST's critical national security mission." I choose to focus on the positive, like NNSA spokesman Damien LaVera pointing out that NNSA officers have safely transported the nation's nuclear materials more than 100 million miles without a deadly accident or release of radiation. Besides, let’s face it: Some people drive extremely well when they’re drunk….and transporting deadly materials. It’s also vital to not that the report did not find evidence that agents were driving while intoxicated. Additionally, the office requires its agents to undergo alcohol testing at least once every 12 months or when there is reasonable suspicion of alcohol use and OST commanders ask agents during roll call whether they are fit for duty, so this report is much ado about nothing. With rules in place prohibiting agents from consuming alcohol 10 hours before reporting to work and there is NO way that any government employee isn’t following the rules, right……….


- Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee is a ginormous ass hat. Wait, that’s not fair. Ohio State president E. Gordon Gee is the world’s biggest ass hat. There…..that fits better. How else do you describe a man ignorant and asinine enough to insist that a) even if TCU and Boise State run the table, they still don't deserve to be in the Bowl Championship Series title game and b) that if the Bowl Championship Series ceased to exist, he would “vote immediately to go back to the bowl system," i.e. not deciding an actual national champion? This fool even admits that he knows nothing about football and is still making these moronic suggestions. "Well, I don't know enough about the Xs and Os of college football," said Gee, formerly the president at West Virginia, Colorado, Brown and Vanderbilt universities. "I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president and a Big Ten president, that it's like murderer's row every week for these schools. We do not play the Little Sisters of the Poor. We play very fine schools on any given day. "So I think until a university runs through that gantlet that there's some reason to believe that they not be the best teams to [be] in the big ballgame." Hey ass hat, maybe you should bother to look at Boise State or TCU’s schedule before you open your ignorant mouth. Among the quality opponents the two have played this year are Top 25 teams like Virginia Tech, Utah and Nevada, quality programs like Baylor, Hawaii and Fresno State. It’s ironic that you are the president at the university with the largest athletic program in the country because you are also the biggest tool in the world of intercollegiate athletics. How can I say that? Just read the following gem and see for yourself: "If you put a gun to my head and said, 'What are you going to do about a playoff system [if] the BCS system as it now exists goes away?' I would vote immediately to go back to the bowl system." Gee actually said that….really. If you all need a volunteer to actually put a gun to Gee’s head, I’ll be in the front of that line. Even his take on a potential national championship game is idiotic to the core. "It's not about this incessant drive to have a national championship because I think that's a slippery slope to professionalism," he said. "I'm a fan of the bowl system and I think that by and large it's worked very, very well." Well for whom, you moronic fool? What problem is there with a championship game? It works for every other level of college football -EVERY ONE - and none of them seem to be on a “slippery slope toward professionalism.” But really, no one should be surprised by Gee’s ignorance and stupidity on this issue. While he was at Vanderbilt, he abolished the athletic department since it was underwritten by the university's general fund. Thank God this guy has no actual power when it comes to the issues he speaks so ignorantly about………

No one wants to watch Sarah Palin, texting 911 and Joe Paterno to return-o

- Shocker…..people aren’t interested in watching noted tool Sarah Palin and her family tool around the frozen tundra that is Alaska. Perhaps some were thrown off the trail when Sarah Palin's Alaska opened to nearly five million viewers last week, becoming the best launch in TLC history. But even the crappiest new shows draw their highest ratings in the first week, when people have yet to see and understand how truly wretched they are. By the time viewers have clued in to their awfulness, the ratings for the first episode are much higher than they should be on the strength of the show’s quality. Thus, it’s best to wait until Week 2 to seriously consider the ratings and give any weight to them. So how did the ratings look for Week 2 of TLC's Sarah Palin's Alaska? Awful…..abysmal……horrific…..gawd-awful….pick any of the above or throw in your own adjective for bad and it fits. The second episode of the docu-series, which follows the former governor and her family, plummeted 40 percent and drew just three millions viewers. Worse still, the episode drew just 85,000 in the coveted adults 18-to-49 demographic. In other words, the people who like this show are old. How old? The median age of the show is 57 — 15 years older than the network's average. Now, I’m no ratings guru and I’ve never programmed an over-the-air or cable network, but I’d say those numbers indicate that this series is at least a little bit short of destined for greatness………


- The drama is over, Penn State fans. Your octogenarian, possibly alive and probably senile head football coach will be back next season. Joe Paterno announced Tuesday that he plans to return as Penn State coach next season. Of course, Paterno is the source of endless speculation every single season because a) he’s old and b) his teams haven’t been very good of late. Fans and media wonder if he might want to retire and spend time with his grandchildren, perhaps buy a bag of Wether’s Original candies from the local drug store or go sit on a park bench and feed the bird with stale bread. Given that his Nittany Lions are a so-so 7-4 this season, that speculation was again building up until his proclamation. As Penn State prepares for its final regular-season game against Michigan State on Saturday, the 83-year-old coach had made it clear that he is not coaching his final game at Beaver Stadium. He said even though his team has struggled at times this year because of youth and injuries, the Nittany Lions have a chance to be good next year. "I'm looking forward to it. ... We've struggled a little bit this year, the youth and the injuries and the whole bit," Paterno said at his weekly news conference at Beaver Stadium. "But I think with a good spring and preseason practice ... We're going to be a good football team, and I'd like to [be] part of it." Speaking as someone who has heard him give numerous interviews this season, I have to say…..I’m concerned. He sounds old-people confused, borderline senile and like he shouldn’t be left alone for extended periods of time. He may not want to retire and ride off into the proverbial sunset, but it’s freaking time. Sure, he’s snarky when asked about retirement, shooting a, "Yeah, why you know something I don't know," when the question was asked. But being cantankerous and irascible isn’t good enough to make you a successful college football coach and if Paterno doesn’t a) kick the bucket or b) have a change of heart, he’s going to have the same awkward, contentious parting with the university that Bobby Bowden had at Florida State……….


- Score another win for stoners! I have no problem being the biggest honk around for stoners and celebrating every single victory they achieve in their quest to a) get high and b) get their beloved hippie lettuce legalized in these here United States. Safe to say that an Arizona doctor unveiling a new pot vending machine counts as one of those victories. This hero’s name is Dr. Bruce Bedrick, CEO of Kind Clinics. Dr. Bedrick’s new invention incorporates biometric security technology to dispense medical marijuana and he says his clinic will assist future medical marijuana dispensary owners with everything from licensing to marketing. 

“We are the in the business of helping people get into the business and operate medical marijuana dispensaries,” he explained. The big unveil for this miracle machine was Monday, when Bedrick raised the curtain on an invention he believes will streamline the process, be convenient for patients, and her pot heads get buzzed more easily, er, um allow for better compliance with existing laws. Undoubtedly, he had this idea in the works well before Arizona voters approved medical marijuana earlier this month. Still, the timing couldn’t be better and now the world has a device that looks like an ATM and dispenses a measured amount of medical marijuana. Theoretically, the machine would help curb fraud because it would collect all of the patient’s information and store it electronically, thus allowing dispensaries and the government to keep digital tabs on who’s buying, how much and where. Additionally, the machine relies on biometric security technology, meaning that before a patient can select a variety of marijuana on their prepaid debit card, loaded with points rather than money, they have to submit their index finger to be scanned to verify their identity. The problem, of course (assuming you’re anti-stoner) is that people can still fake medical conditions to get a prescription for the chronic or have a friend who has a prescription get it for them. So while Dr. Bedrick hopes Arizona can set a new standard in the delivery of medical marijuana to be an example for other states considering legalizing medical marijuana, I choose to stand and cheer this moment as the one when getting bong fuel just became that much easier for Arizona stoners. State health leaders are still writing the first rough draft of the rules and regulations involving dispensaries and plan to release the primary version of the rules to the public on December 17, so stay tuned for big news next month, all……..


- And so it begins. As the first and most vocal person to insist that North Korea is hell-bent on beating Iran to the punch and being the one to kick off World War III, I feel compelled to alert you all to the fact that my (dire) prediction is finally coming true. Yes, so far we only have North Korea firing about 100 rounds of artillery at Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea and South Korea's military responding with more than 80 rounds of artillery and deployed fighter jets. But don’t think on a small scale; this thing has the potential to escalate and escalated quickly. Already, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is ratcheting up the angry rhetoric and throwing down the linguistic gauntlet. "The provocation this time can be regarded as an invasion of South Korean territory," the president said at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Seoul. He added that "enormous retaliation" is needed to stop Pyongyang's incitement even as international diplomats appealed for him to exercise restraint. Those pleas may fall on deaf ears because President Lee has to explain to his people what he’s going to do about an attack in which two South Korean marines died and which is "the first direct artillery attack on South Korean territory since the Korean War ended in an armistice" in 1953, according to state media in South Korea. Not only must Lee respond to this direct threat to his nation’s manhood, he also must retaliate for the 15 South Korean soldiers and three civilians who were wounded when North Korea fired. These survivors and their families will undoubtedly demand justice. North Korea could have achieved its goal of starting WWIII in one fell swoop had its attack managed to injure or kill any of the U.S. forces who were in the area helping the South Koreans in a military training exercises. The cynic might argue that the attack had something to do with South Korea and the rest of the world outside of China insisting that North Korea was responsible for sinking a South Korean warship, the Cheonan, back in March. Tensions have been high between the two nations ever since and I don’t suppose this will help, not when Lee is saying that "indiscriminate attacks on civilians are a grave matter" and that, since "North Korea maintains an offensive posture," South Korea's military forces -- the army, air force and navy -- "should unite and retaliate against [the North's] provocation with multiple-fold firepower." Immediately after the attack, the South Korean government "banned its nationals from entering the communist state, indefinitely postponed scheduled Red Cross talks and began looking at ways to push the United Nations to condemn Pyongyang." That message was unnecessary as it relates to the U.S. because President Barack Obama swiftly condemned the attack. North Korea responded by attempting to place blame on South Korean maritime military exercises, code named Hoguk, and called the exercises "war maneuvers for a war of aggression." The "South Korean puppet group" engaged in "reckless military provocation" by firing "dozens of shells" inside its territorial waters "despite the repeated warnings of the DPRK" or Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the North's military claimed in a statement. The North then issued a chilling warning that it is “a traditional mode of counter-action of the army of the DPRK to counter the firing of the provocateurs with merciless strikes." Not to go all clichéd on you, but them there are fightin’ words. Whenever this thing does escalate into WWIII, all of you who took part in my “North Korea v. Iran to start WWIII” office pool, make sure you pay up what you owe………


- OMG! 911. WTF! BRB, K? That might seem like something you would text to your BFF at 2 a.m. when you can’t get to sleep and are texting to pass the time, but the truth is that it could well be the text message you send to save your (or someone else’s life) in an emergency. Our very own government feels it’s time to bring the 911 emergency service "into the 21st century" by allowing text, photo and video reports from mobile phones. According to statistics released by the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, 70 percent of 911 calls come from mobile phones. Furthermore, there are certain emergencies - say a home invasion - where a person might not be able to make a voice call safely. "Today's 911 system [launched in 1968] doesn't support the communication tools of tomorrow," FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. "We primarily use our phones to text, [but] right now, you can't text 911. It's time [for] the digital age." What’s the solution, you ask? That would be "Next Generation 911," a proposal that would allow emergency call centers to receive text messages and use mobile photo or video for information about the situation in progress. Not only does the FCC want to allow texts for emergenices, but it also wants to include automatic reports coming from medical devices, car electronics, security cameras and more. The problem with all of this at the moment is that today's 911 call centers are not well equipped technologically and some even lack access to broadband Internet. For now, Genachowski, the FCC chairman, will launch a program in December to get public input on the changes to 911 services. Until then, this GR8 idea will have to W8………

NBA labor drama, no new Bush in the Oval Office and 1992 is back

- If you’re looking for hope that the NBA will be able to somehow avoid a lockout next summer, do yourself a favor and don’t ask NBA players' association executive director Billy Hunter for his take on the issue. Hunter, a man prone to opening his mouth and having stupid sh*t come out, said Monday he is "99 percent sure" there will be a lockout next summer. "I think it's highly probable that there will be a lockout and that's what I'm preparing for because I don't see anything else right now," Hunter said. His words actually seem smart on this occasion, as negotiations toward a new collective bargaining agreement to replace the one that expires next summer are, in essence, a boat without a motor, sitting helplessly in the middle of the lake with a ginormous storm approaching. The union met with league representatives last week and made no progress and the sides do not plan to meet again until next month. Hunter his crew insist that owners aren't budging on their demands for cuts in salaries, contract lengths and guarantees, annual raises, and the rookie salary scale. Since those are the major issues on the table, an unwillingness to negotiate at all on them would pose something of a roadblock. “What's left?" Hunter asked rhetorically. "I don't really see that the argument's all that compelling for the changes that they're asking for.” Well, other than teams playing in arenas that are half empty, with some teams drawing so poorly at the gate that there is talk of relocation or contraction. Perhaps that’s what inspired the league to call for a reduction in player salary costs of $700 to $800 million and a hard salary cap to replace the system which now allows for certain exceptions. The players dispute the league’s claims and insist that what they allege to be record revenues and ticket sales, and strong TV ratings are evidence that the system is fine as is. "It seems like things are doing all right and so our position is that we want to do what's best for the game," said New York Knicks guard Roger Mason Jr., a member of the players' executive committee. "Any way that we can make the game better as players, speaking for a lot of the guys, we're all for it. But we don't want to have a deal that's just not fair and that's what we think is being presented to us right now." The last new proposal offered by either side came from the players way back in July, but Hunter has refused to give any substantive details of the proposal. He theorized that some owners were amenable to the proposal, but that a certain group is dead-set against giving any ground to the players under any circumstances. "I think the message has to be driven home to I guess that hawkish group of owners that if they're inclined, if they want to lock us out -- because we're not going to strike -- if they want to lock us out and they want to pull the roof down on themselves, then hey, have at it," Hunter said. Doesn’t sound like much of a hopeful tone to me……..


- Nation, I have great news for us all. The one thing that terrifies us most when it comes to our nation’s highest elected office - well, outside of W. running again - is apparently nothing to worry about. Aside from the disastrous return to the Oval Office of the worst president in our country’s long history, the only other development that could send shivers down America’s collective spine would be another Bush in the White House - former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, younger brother of W. According to his father, former President George H.W. Bush, Jeb Bush would make a good president, but has no intention of running for the Oval Office. Speaking in an interview for Larry King’s television show, the former president spoke about his two politically-minded sons but shot down talk of a Bush presidential dynasty. Asked if Jeb was considering a run for president in 2012, his father responded: "I don't think he is. In fact, I know he's not. But would he be a good president? Absolutely. And don't just take that from a father's prejudice view. I mean, he's a good man, he performed as governor, he's well-spoken, he's not an extremist, he's not a wild guy that attributes bad motives to those that disagree with him, and he's good.” Fine, but why do I think you would have said the same thing about your other son prior to him taking office and look where that landed all of us. When asked who would make a good choice for the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 2012, both Bush and wife Barbara mentioned former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. "He's a reasonable guy," George Bush said of Romney. "He's a conservative fellow, that's good. But no, I think he'd be a good president, a very good president." Ironically, the one comment from the interview that has gotten more run than any other has been Barbara Bush taking a verbal sledgehammer to former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, answering a question about her opinion of Palin by saying “thought she was beautiful,” then adding, “And she's very happy in Alaska, and I hope she'll stay there." Ironically, the thought of another member of the Bush family taking office is the only thing that might terrify all sane Americans as much as the prospect of Palin in office……..


- Been finding yourself pining for 1992 lately? Have you been lusting for the days when grunge was on the uptick and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was the show to watch? If so, Warner Bros. has big news for you. The media titan has announced plans to remake 1992′s Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which gave led to the cult-followed Sarah Michelle Gellar-headed TV series of the same name. Thus far, Warner Bros. has been rather cryptic about the project and short on details, but filmmakers claim the movie would not return to the vampire slayer’s high school days, but would instead portray the “witty, tough, and sexy” heroine in a different part of her life. One big name is in the fold already, as Dark Knight producer Charles Roven has signed on and will be joined by newcomer Whit Anderson. This doesn’t appear to be one of those films that takes years to cast, film and get into theaters, as the team for the project believe that it could hit theaters in 2012 or late 2011. Having watched neither the original movie nor the TV series and possessing a firm hatred for remakes of movies and TV shows of all shapes, sizes and genres, I’m not enthused about the project and am fairly certain that this has everything to do with making a few bucks and no churning out a quality movie……..


- Will it do any good? That’s the primary question to ask in response to news that mayors from around the world have signed a voluntary pact committing them to reduce urban greenhouse gas emissions at a climate summit in Mexico City. The agreement, creatively dubbed the "Mexico City Pact," was signed at the World Mayors Summit on Climate. It has already been signed by 138 mayors from some the world's largest urban areas, including Buenos Aires, Johannesburg, Los Angeles, Paris, Vancouver and Jakarta. When agreements like this are signed, the predictable response from those involved is ridiculous hyperbole to the point that you almost have to break out in raucous laughter. In this case, the signers of the agreement did a decent job of staying in their shoes. "The world's cities must join together and put their data in the same pot," said Marcelo Ebrard, Mayor of the Mexico City and chair of the World Mayors Council on Climate Change. Ebrard went on to say that with over half the world's population now living in cities, "mayors and urban leaders are on the frontline of the planet's fight against a changing climate." The agreement’s most important component is the creation of a monitoring and verification mechanism called the "carbonn Cities Climate Registry" (cCCR), which will be operated by Germany's Bonn Center for Local Climate Action and Reporting. The purpose of the cCCR will be to create uniformity in reporting of urban greenhouse gas emissions as well as keeping track of local projects which combat climate change. Cities around the world will be able to hop online and monitor their city’s performance, as well as compare the results against other cities around the world. Elizabeth Gateau, secretary general of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) said in a statement: "The cCCR is a platform wherein cities can work together. Cities are ahead of the game of nations and are leading the global process combating climate change. The cCCR will be the official reporting mechanism of this leadership." Of course, there’s no way to wrap this story without hearing from Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), so let’s tackle that one. Speaking at the summit, Figueres hailed the cCCR as a mechanism that would "facilitate transparency and accountability of local climate actions and help local governments to demonstrate leadership in climate action." To mark the launch of the project, five "pioneer" cities, including Mexico City and Cape Town, South Africa, have already begun reporting some of key actions, commitments and performances. It’s actually a big time for climate change and environmental issues, as U.N. climate talks will soon commence in Cancun, Mexico. I’m sure a ton of great surfing, er, um, work will get done there………


- If you’re dumb enough to pay $199 or so for an iPhone and then lose it, Apple just might be able to help you. Since June, the tech giant has had an app to locate lost Apple mobile devices, but now that app is free for owners of newer Apple products. A new version of iOS was released Monday and it includes new features to the mobile operating system that runs the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Anyone who owns an iPad, a camera-equipped iPod Touch or iPhone 4 can go to the App Store and download Find My iPhone to get their copy of the app, which was previously included only as part of Apple's Mobile Me package, which costs $99 per year. Once it is downloaded, installed and enabled, the app allows the owner of a lost device can see its location online through a site which accesses the phone's GPS coordinates to show it on a map. Furthermore, you can use the app to have the lost device display a message asking whomever finds your property to return it. Or, if your phone contains information vital to national security and you fear it falling into the wrong hands, you can set a password or send a command to wipe personal information from the hardware. In addition to improving security, the updated app also allows users to print documents wirelessly and to send video or music to an Apple TV or compatible speaker system using a feature called AirPlay. Another nice feature is that the iPad can run the revised app in the background while other apps are being used, a major upgrade from the first wave of iPads. Installing the software is as simple as connecting your Apple device using a USB cable to a computer running iTunes……….