- This, without a doubt, is the sort of man you want leading your institution of higher learning if you are attending a Christian college or university. Anyone who incurs extra debt to attend a religious school (which invariably have higher tuition) wants someone leading their school who has the sort of morals, integrity and character that a Christian college is supposed to be about. So I have no doubt in my mind that every current or former student of Palm Beach Atlantic University is extremely proud of now-former PBAU president Lu Hardin, who abruptly resigned Friday and pleaded guilty in federal court in Little Rock, Ark. Monday morning to two federal felony charges — wire fraud and money laundering. The charges stem from Hardin’s time as president of the University of Central Arkansas, when he allegedly devised a scheme to get a 2005 $300,000 deferred compensation package paid out early, in spring of 2008. Hardin allegedly convinced the school’s board of trustees to pay him early thanks to evidence that included a supporting document he'd dictated to his secretary over the names of three top UCA officials: vice president for administration Jack Gillean, executive vice president Barbara Anderson, and Vice President for finance Paul McLendon. All three officials have since denied any knowledge of or association with the document. Prosecutor Pat Harris claimed Hardin directed his secretary to destroy all traces of the document. Hardin waived a formal indictment on the charges by pleading guilty, which should definitely streamline the legal process in the case. The obvious question is why he needed to cash out early on his bonus payment and for someone who went on to become the president of a Christian university, the answer isn't an encouraging one. Harris refused to comment on how Hardin spent the money, but multiple sources have said Hardin had incurred significant debts from gambling at casinos in Tunica, Miss. and likely used the money to pay some or all of those debts. The exact nature of the debts is likely to be revealed at sentencing, so the case should be clarified further at that point. Judge James Moody clearly felt Hardin was a flight risk, as he was ordered to surrender his passport before being release. No sentencing date has been set, but whenever it comes Hardin will face maximum penalties of 20 and 10 years, respectively, on the two charges along with a potential $250,000 fine for each. Other questions about accounting practices have been raised at UCA since Hardin’s departure and he had promised PBAU officials that he would resign immediately if anything substantial developed in relation to the investigation. It is odd that a man possibly facing serious criminal charges and with knowledge that the law was on his tail would be hired and spend two years leading a Christian university, but good university presidents are hard to find…………
- Just know, world at large, that Orlando Magic coach Stan Van Gundy views Dwight Howard’s NBA-leading 16 technical fouls this season differently than you. Whereas you see a player who has been T’d up 16 times and figure that he has a problem controlling his emotions and/or is exceptionally whiny when officials call a foul on him, Van Gundy believes Howard has shown restraint on the court this season despite having the league lead in techs. How does a coach in good conscience defend a player in this situation? Van Gundy first pointed to an Elias Sports Bureau statistic that notes Howard has been fouled 593 times this season without a single one of them characterized as flagrant. "You guys can estimate how many of those were hard hits and how many of those were above the shoulders ... I would say his control is amazing," Van Gundy said. "I think he has settled down. He's gotten two [technicals] in the last month [and] he hasn't gotten any for arguing. His problems were early in the year when he got a lot of arguing calls. Lately what he's gotten is two for retaliating for hits he's taken after the whistle and I think to be quite honest he's already had great restraint on those plays.” That’s a unique point of view, especially as Howard prepared to serve a one-game suspension Monday night against the Trail Blazers after picking up his 16th technical of the season against Chicago on Friday. The leash will be even tighter for Howard for the remainder of the season, as he will be suspended for one additional game for every two technicals he receives. Asked about officiating’s impact on his style of play at this point, Howard walked a fine line between cracking the referees and defending his behavior. "It's very tough, but I've just got to do it," Howard explained. "I think it's like they want to make an example out of me, but I'll just stay positive and continue to do all the things that I do to bring fun to the game. That's all I can do. I'm not a bad guy. I'm not a hothead because I get techs, and I think that's the message that people want to put across." His words, however, were mild compared to what Van Gundy had to say about the system he believes has singled out his star player. "This is the system David Stern and his minions like it," Van Gundy said. "So that's the system you have ... I certainly can't have an opinion because David Stern, like a lot or leaders we've seen in this world lately, don't really tolerate other people's opinion or free speech or anything. So I'm not really allowed to have an opinion. So it's up to him. He decides and he likes the system he has." Glad you’re not bitter or anything, SVG………….
- Facebook is already the source for gossip, relationship news, news in general and entertainment for many, so it only makes sense that the social networking site would want to find any possible way to further monetize its growing enterprise. The cue for that next great idea has come from Apple, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Google, Microsoft and most anyone who is anyone in the technology or entertainment fields and Facebook has taken that cue and used it to inspire a new system in which users can access their favorite movies through the site. Initially, Facebook will only allow users to rent movies directly from the site, using Facebook Credits to pay for the transaction. The eventual goal is to add the ability to purchase the titles outright, but rental is the only option for now and the only movie choice at this point is "The Dark Knight," from Time Warner's Warner Bros. studio. Renting the film for 48 hours will cost 30 credits, or $3, and these credits be purchased through an application the studio has built for the site. Warner Bros. described the rental as a test and with Facebook’s more than 600 million registered users, it’s a big test. Part of the equation is already a known commodity, as Zynga and other social games on Facebook already have many of those 600 million users plugged in to the site's virtual currency. Facebook has become a daily destination for hundreds of millions of people," said Thomas Gewecke, president of Warner Bros. Digital Distribution, in a press release. "Making our films available through Facebook is a natural extension of our digital distribution efforts. It gives consumers a simple, convenient way to access and enjoy our films through the world's largest social network." Translated from corporate-speak, that entire statement boils down to two words: KA-CHING! Facebook already has the social angle that many sites are seeking to include to draw in users, so adding the digital media angle in the form of movies and television shows is a natural fit that should make Mark Zuckerberg even richer……….
- Way to man up, soldiers backing Ivory Coast's rogue leader Laurent Gbagbo, opening fire on civilians and killing at least four people just hours after hundreds took to the streets to protest against the shooting deaths of seven women at a similar march last week. The march was in honor of International Women's Day, but the reason for the gathering mattered little to the soldiers as they fired into the crowd, killing three men and one woman. The march began in the Treichville neighborhood of Abidjan but ended quickly when security forces rushed into the area and began shooting. earlier in the day, hundreds of protestors gathered in the Abobo suburb near the bloodstained pavement where at least the unarmed women were killed last Thursday. In a video provided to the Associated Press, the moments leading up to the attack are captured and they show the crowd dispersing as screaming is heard before the cameraman pans over the collapsed bodies of at least four women. Many of those involved in that protest did not take part in Tuesday’s demonstrations, fearing reprisals by security forces. That did not stop hundreds of others from marching to voice their disgust at the Gbagbo regime. The demonstrations do not appear to have affected Gbagbo’s unwillingness to cede power, but that’s to be expected when a person has already chosen to ignore the decision of the country's election commission to declare the opposition leader, Alassane Ouattara, the winner of the November 28 election. In the three-plus months since the vote, nearly 400 people have been killed, most of them civilians who voted for Ouattara. Yet it was the horrific violence against the all-women march last week that was a tipping point for many in the international community in terms of speaking out against the Gbagbo regime. Britain's minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham, criticized the attack as "a deplorable and cowardly act against unarmed protesters, calling for the results of the presidential elections to be respected.” U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton added: "Gbagbo and his forces have shown a callous disregard for human life.” United Nations peacekeepers on the ground in Ivory Coast have reported more than 200,000 people fleeing Abobo after Gbagbo's security forces entered the suburb and began ravaging it with mortars. More fighting has broken out in the western part of the country, where rebels allied with Ouattara have seized control of a 30-mile corridor along the border with Liberia. Optimistic onlookers have maintained hope for a negotiated resolution to the dispute, but a high-level African Union panel of five presidents involved in the matters have made little progress and recently pushed back their timeline for mediation by a month. Gbagbo has already rejected offers of amnesty and exile, so this situation appears headed for a violent and contentious conclusion………
- Lily Allen may be just another sub-par pop singer like the many who clutter the music market and top 40 radio, but at least she’s right when it comes to her assessment of one of the “legends” of pop music. For an upcoming British television special on her life called Lily Allen: From Riches To Rags, which will air March 15, Allen addressed a number of subjects and one of them was her future as a pop singer. Asked if she could see herself still being a pop act in her fifties, Allen snarkily replied: "My idea of hell would be doing this in 25 years time. I don't want to be like Madonna, look at her, she's mental. No offense, but that is not what drives me. I want to get married and have kids and make sandwiches cutting the crusts off. That’s an unusual take for a recording artist - the sandwiches part - and while it will be no loss at all for the recording industry when Allen retires, anyone who has the chutzpah to call Madonna “mental” is aces in my book. It’s a completely accurate assessment of a woman who changes her shtick from album to album to distract people from her utter lack of vocal talent, says outrageous things for the purpose of getting attention, wrote a graphic sex book and now seems intent on, um, forcefully adopting children from every nation on the African continent whether those children’s parents like it or not. No one in their right mind would model their life after Madonna, pop singer or not. The remainder of the show is less headline-making, although Allen does address an eating disorder she battled around the time of the launch of her 2009 album “It's Not Me, It's You.” Allen admits that she used to vomit after meals and put herself through all manner of physical agony as part of the disorder. The sunnier side of the show details her launch of her clothes shop, Lucy In Disguise, her project with her sister Sarah. However, the average person’s interest in the broadcast begins and ends with Allen taking a run at Madonna, which just makes good sense……….
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