- For any number of reasons, the American public has generally held a certain fascination with the idea of mobsters and organized crime. Even though much of that fascination is predicated upon Hollywood-crafted ideas and creations, that hasn’t stopped Americans from being enamored with the likes of Al Capone, John Gotti, etc. Oddly enough, the government has never shared that same fascination, which would probably explain why more than 110 suspects, including organized crime members and associates, were arrested on Thursday in one of the largest such operations ever in the United States. In typical smug, condescending government fashion, those involved with the sting seemed pretty pleased with themselves. "We are pleased to announce an important step forward in our nation's ongoing fight against the organized crime families of La Cosa Nostra -- the mafia," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in addressing the media at the Department of Justice's Eastern District of New York in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. "More than 800 federal, state and local law enforcement officials have arrested over 110 individuals, including dozens of La Cosa Nostra members and associates. In total, 127 people have been charged in 16 indictments unsealed today in four districts in New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island." By the way, how funny is it that he felt the need to make sure that everyone assembled knew that La Cosa Nostra was “the mafia” and not some other La Cosa Nostra? Thanks for clarifying, Mr. Attorney General. The list of crimes the 127 suspects have been charged with is impressive, ranging from murder and narcotics trafficking to extortion, illegal gambling, arson, loan sharking, and labor racketeering. "This is one of the largest single-day operations against the mafia in the FBI's history, both in terms of the number of defendants arrested and charged, and the scope of the criminal activity alleged," Holder said. The scope of the arrests is actually quite staggering, as those arrested came from all five New York-based mafia groups, the Bonanno, Colombo, Gambino, Genovese and Luchese families. Some truly iconic figures in the world of organized crimes were caught up in the sting, including “the former boss of La Cosa Nostra operations in New England; the Street Boss, Acting Underboss, and Consigliere of the Colombo family; and the Gambino family Consigliere and a member of that family's ruling panel," Holder said. The legal epicenter of the proceedings appeared to be Brooklyn federal court, where charges against roughly two-thirds of the defendants were lodged. The crimes themselves are pretty bland and unoriginal when it comes to the mafia, including "classic mob hits" and "senseless murders," the attorney general said. These alleged crimes took place during failed robberies, bar fights dating back decades and alleged schemes to steal money "by preying on vulnerable Americans," including one by the Colombo crime family involving fraudulent loans. Good ol’ fashioned extortion and racketeering were also thrown in for good measure, including the extortion of money from labor union members, including the International Longshoremen's Association and a concrete union in New York City. Holder’s most prescient remark from the day came when he conceded that the battle against organized crime in the United States is “far from over.” True is true………
- Birds, allow me to apologize on behalf of my fellow humans for pigeonholing (pun intended) and stereotyping you in such ugly fashion. As you probably know, the game Angry Birds has been a ginormous hit on both the iOS (iPhone) and Android platforms, was recently launched for the desktop PC and is coming soon to the Wii, Xbox and PS3. The amount of time people waste playing this insipid game on their iPhones or Droids is astounding and I cannot help but think it is giving birds an unfair reputation as being angry, misanthropic creatures that enjoy wreaking havoc. That rap is just plain wrong, no doubt about it. Stupid, small-brained creatures that poop on freshly washed cars with alarming proficiency and fly into freshly cleaned windows and sliding glass doors because they’re not smart enough to differentiate between a real bird and the reflection of one in glass? Sure. But like it or not, the Angry Birds phenomenon is not going away any time soon. Predictably, the game’s maker is exploring ways to expand and monetize its popularity. The first step, according to game maker Rovio, is to turn the game into an animated series. Rovio CEO Mikael Hed announced plans for the series this week and seems inexplicably optimistic that a video game with no real story line other than angry birds doing dumb sh*t can be turned into a regular, animated television series. “We have been looking at that for quite a while, and that is definitely one of my personal big focus areas right now – to work on broadcast content for Angry Birds,” Hed stated. No further details were immediately available about the potential TV series, but don’t think for one second that some network hard-up for programming wouldn’t grasp at it like a FAT kid desperately straining for the last Twinkie in the box. But wait……there’s more. In addition to a possible TV adaptation of the game, Mattel is also adapting it into a board game. All of this due to the power of a game that rose to prominence largely as a time-waster for people who would rather play games on their smartphones than interact with other human beings………
- If you haven’t yet created your “When will Larry Brown take another coaching job” office pool, act now because time is running out. Brown was fired by the Charlotte Bobcats on Dec. 22 and anyone who has followed basketball for more than two days knew that it would only be a matter of time before the 70-year-old Hall of Fame coach found himself a new team to coach for 2-3 years before growing tired of them/wearing out his welcome and moving on like the true basketball nomad he is. Time is ticking on creating your pool because Brown is already feeling the coaching itch. He was a guest at his pal Jay Wright’s practice as Wright prepared his Villanova team for their huge Big East battle against Syracuse on Saturday. When Brown showed up at ‘Nova’s practice on Thursday, he made no secret of his desire to coach again. "He's allowing me to hang around," Brown said of Wright, "and get my basketball fix." Brown is something of a mentor to Wright and other younger coaches, who clearly haven’t understood his message because they actually stay at jobs for longer than two years. "I love these kids," Brown said. "I just love being around him." He added that he’s already bored without basketball and was unhappy with how his tenure in Charlotte ended. "I would like to" coach again, Brown said. "I don't want to end the way this one ended. Right now, the most important thing is I'm getting time with my family." Yes, but for how long? A man doesn’t build a resume that includes 13 different NBA and college teams by sitting at home spending time with his family. Shaking hands with college players and Villanova assistant coaches is all well and good for now, until a new NBA job opens up, but Brown should be prowling a sideline near you some time soon. Coaching gig No. 14, here he comes…………
- Oh, Parents Television Council, you do make me laugh. Your relentless crusades against anything you deem offensive or un-wholesome (i.e. not conforming to your über-conservative agenda) on television are always good for a hearty chuckle. World Wrestling Entertainment has been a frequent target of the kooks at the PTC, but now these backwards-thinking misfits have turned their rage on a new target: MTV’s new teen drama Skins, which just premiered this week. One episode of the show was enough to send the PTC sprinting in the direction of the Department of Justice and U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committees and demanding that they open an investigation into the show. "In addition to the sexual content on the show involving cast members as young as 15, PTC counted 42 depictions and references to drugs and alcohol in the premiere episode," the group wrote in a letter to the government organizations. "It is clear that Viacom has knowingly produced material that may well be in violation of [several anti-child pornography laws] and is the most dangerous program ever for children." Most dangerous ever…..wow. Them there are heavy words. Ironically, Viacom executives had already ordered producers to tone down the show even before the PTC involved itself. Even more ironically, as someone with his finger on the pulse of the people, most teens were underwhelmed by the show and called watching it a waste of their time. Perhaps it’s because we have this thingy called the Internet that has exposed them to far worse for far too long. Yet the PTC is going full-bore on this issue, urging a boycott of Taco Bell, one of the show's sponsors. MTV is holding its ground publicly for now and a rep for the network said, "Skins is a show that addresses real-world issues confronting teens in a frank way. We review all of our shows and work with all of our producers on an ongoing basis to ensure our shows comply with laws and community standards. We are confident that the episodes of ‘Skins’ will not only comply with all applicable legal requirements, but also with our responsibilities to our viewers.” Good enough for me. Sorry PTC kooks, but I’m going to have to side with anyone but you once again………
- The people of Southern Sudan have spoken and they have spoken emphatically: Give us our own damn country. In a referendum on seceding from the northern half of the country, the votes came in fast, furious and in favor of secession. Estimates topped 80 percent in Unity (also known as Western Upper Nile), 90 percent in Central Equatoria (where Juba is located), and 95 percent in Western Bahr al-Ghazal, three of the states voting in the referendum. Numbers were even more impressive in Upper Nile, Northern Bahr al-Ghazal, Warrap, Jonglei, Eastern Equatoria, and Lakes, where estimates hovered around a whopping 99 percent. The only province where early estimates were not available was Western Equatoria, known as the resident slacker in Sudan (just kidding, Western Equatorians). It is worth noting that there was little to no difference in voting between states sharing a border with the north and those not sharing a border. Southern Sudanese head into independence largely unified on the one issue that matters even though they will undoubtedly have many other matters to resolve as they form a new country, the world’s 193rd nation. According to international monitors, the vote for secession was credible, so there should be no strife over that point. The largely Christian south is now separated from the heavily Muslim north and can now chart its own course into a future that it alone will shape……….
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