- That didn’t take long. Just two months ago, residents of the southern region of Sudan voted to secede from the rest of the country and form their own nation and already, the newly minted Southern Sudan is suspending talks and diplomatic contact with northern Sudan over claims that the northern government is funding militias in the south. A top Southern Sudanese official made that claim Sunday in light of clashes that have killed hundreds of people in recent months. This is definitely not the start that the world’s next country would want, but
Pagan Amum, the secretary-general of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement, didn’t make all of this up; he’s just commenting on reality. Does anyone seriously doubt that the northern government would stoop so low as to arm local tribes to use as proxy forces in Southern Sudan? “The country is in a crisis because the (northern ruling party) has been planning and working to destabilize Southern Sudan," Amum said Sunday in the southern capital of Juba. Of course, oil is at the center of much of the drama and it is the south that has oil in bulk. Other issues must be resolved before Southern Sudan can officially complete its transition from autonomous region in transition to full-fledged nation, including the status of southerners or northerners living across the border and who controls the disputed border region of Abyei, a fertile area near large oil fields. Amum offered to provide evidence Monday to back up his claims, which could answer many important questions. The obvious conclusion to draw is the north does not want to lose southern oil revenues. Many southerners fear that could lead to a recurrence of the country’s civil war, which would be a heck of a way for a new country to come into existence. Amum said that the northern government wanted "to overthrow the government of Southern Sudan before July and to install a puppet government" in order to "deny the independence of Southern Sudan.” Those words should create an incredibly cooperative environment as negotiations over the future of the contested north-south borderland of Abyei resume Monday in Khartoum between Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and southern leader Salva Kiir……or they would have if those talks were going to take place. "We have nobody to talk to (in the north)," said Amu in announcing that the negotiations would not go ahead as planned. He also requested that the United Nations Security Council investigate the allegations. From non-existent country to country-in-waiting with a possible civil war on its hands……the world definitely does move more quickly these days………
- How do you know the economy has reached a point where terrible might not be enough to describe it? When Las Vegas casinos are closing their doors, that’s when. Vegas casinos are supposed to be building their monstrosities that pass as buildings higher and higher into the sky, not closing their doors and leaving more than 1,000 people without jobs. Sadly, that is the reality facing the Sahara Hotel & Casino, which will close its doors on May 16 after nearly 60 years on the Las Vegas Strip. Even with a 60-day notice, there will undoubtedly be employees who have a difficult time finding a new job. However, the company that owns the hotel felt it was no longer profitable enough to operating. "The continued operation of the aging Sahara was no longer economically viable," CEO Sam Nazarian of owner SBE Entertainment Group said. News of the hotel’s closure spread quickly and drew reaction from those with ties to the Sahara in the past. "It's a sad day for the Sahara, it's a sad day for the employees and it's a sad day for the town," said former Sahara COO John Morocco. Morocco served as the Sahara’s chief operating officer from 2003 to 2007 and characterized the move as a major gamble with the future of the north end of the Strip. "Business has to pick up and money lenders have to be willing to lend and right now that's not happening," he warned. The Sahara’s closing is also noteworthy because it was known as the last of the Ratpack era hotels. Unfortunately, the north end of the Strip has become much less crowded as its southern end has become a more popular destination over the past decade. "I think what the Sahara realized was the economy wasn't coming back anytime soon and they wanted to stop the bleeding," said Morocco. After the Sahara closes on May 16, SBE Entertainment will undertake its plans to redevelop the 18 acres on which the facility sits. Of course, as much as Vegas resorts and casinos will always have the stupidity of gamblers and their well-honed systems to beat the house to fall back on for steady income, the truth is that even Vegas has cycles and a definite ebb and flow to business, so casinos will come and they will go. Only the losses of those visiting will remain steady…………
- Finding a great spring break destination is a must for any true college student. Florida is always an option, whether it’s Miami Beach, Daytona Beach or Panama City Beach. South Padre Island can work, as can San Diego or Tijuana. Or, if you are a bit more privileged and upper-class than the average spring-breaker, you can roll into the skiing paradise that is Aspen and hit the slopes. Assuming that’s your choice, one might assume that the normal trappings of “traditional” spring break destination - lots of drunk college kids acting like idiots - wouldn’t be a problem. That assumption would be faulty, as evidenced by the tale of Michigan State football players Max Bullough and Brian Linthicum. Bullough and Linthicum were enjoying their spring break on the slopes and like any spring breaker, their nighttime plans consisted of hitting the best bar they could find and getting as drunk as possible. That plan worked to perfection, but it also led to them getting into a brawl with another bar patron. Employees at the Regal Watering Hole called police on the two men when a fight broke out and informed the officers who responded to the call that Linthicum was assaulting another patron, Benjamin Nichols of London. How did Bullough and Linthicum respond in a time of adversity? Like athletes, that’s how. Both men attempted to flee from officers shortly after midnight and when they were finally tracked down, police said they had to use a stun gun to subdue Linthicum, who is 6-foot-5 and weighs 250 lbs. That’s right, dude got Tased on spring break. He has definitely placed himself in an elite class with that accomplishment because let’s face it, most college students, no matter how drunk or high they get, don’t end up on the receiving end of several dozen volts of electricity during their spring break. At the end of their epic night, Bullough was charged with underage possession of alcohol and eluding officers and Linthicum was charged with assault in the third degree and eluding officers. Maybe more spring breakers would hit up Aspen if they knew these sorts of good times were there to be had……….
- Los Angeles has been saved (sorry to spoil the ending) and the battle was intriguing enough to generate $36 million and snare the top spot at the box office this weekend. Battle: Los Angeles finished first in its debut weekend, beating out newcomers and returning films alike with a strong start. Aaron Eckhart and Jake Gyllenhaal drew in enough drooling female fans to best last week’s top film, Rango, which fell one spot to second place in its second weekend. The animated flick from Paramount scored $23.1 million, a 39 percent drop, and has made $68.7 million thus far. Third place went to another new release, Red Riding Hood, which didn’t exactly roar out of the gate and made just $14.1 million to put it roughly one-third of the way to breaking even with its $42 million budget. The Adjustment Bureau landed in fourth place after a 46 percent drop-off from its debut weekend led to a meager $11.5 million effort. For two weeks of work, Matt Damon’s mind-bender has scored $38.5 million. The third newcomer in the top five was Mars Needs Moms, which was also the second animated film in the group. For its first weekend in theaters, the film made $6.8 million and considering its $150 million budget, it is safe to say that Mars won't be setting any records for the most profitable film of the year. The lower half of the top 10 was made up entirely of films that have been out at least two weeks, breaking down thusly: Hall Pass (No. 6 with $5.1 million and a three-week total of $35 million), Beastly (No. 7 after a whopping 48 percent drop from its opening weekend and making an even $5 million in its second weekend of release), Adam Sandler’s riotously overrated Just Go With It (No. 8 with $4 million and a five-week haul of $93.9 million, sadly), The King’s Speech (slipping seriously for the first time in its 16-week - 16-WEEK! - run as it dropped 42 percent, made $3.6 million and elevated its cumulative total to $129 million) and Gnomeo and Juliet (No. 10 with $3.5 million and $89.1 million through its first five weeks). Dropping out of the top 10 were Unknown (No. 6 last weekend), I Am Number Four (plummeting 61 percent) and Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (all the way down to No. 13)……………
- Good, good, another reason to hate smoking. A new study by University of Nottingham researchers found that pregnant women exposed to smoke at work or home increased their risk of stillbirth by 23 percent and their chances of having a baby with defects by 13 percent. In other words, family members and co-workers of pregnant ladies, you have even more of a reason to put down those cancer sticks. Not only will you not have rank cigarette breath, greenish skin, clothes that reek of smoke, a nasty cough, what looks like a wrinkled catcher’s mitt stapled atop your neck where your head should be and not only will you avoid hunching over your cancer stick in the freezing cold outside of your office because smoking isn't allowed inside, but you’ll be helping the unborn child of someone you know. The researchers reviewed 19 previous studies from around the world and found that being exposed to more than 10 cigarettes a day is enough for the risks to be increased. Dr. Jo Leonardi-Bee of the University of Nottingham was the lead researcher for the study and her team truly collected a global representation of known research on this particular topic by including studies conducted in North America, South America, Asia and Europe. Why they didn’t find a study on smoking done in Antarctica, I have no idea, but let’s not dwell on that. All of the included studies focused on pregnant women who did not smoke themselves but were “passive smokers” due to their proximity to a partner or co-workers who smoked. What the study did not show was an increased risk of miscarriage or newborn death from second-hand smoke. It also failed to establish when the effects of the second-hand smoke begin on an unborn child. "What we still don't know is whether it is the effect of sidestream smoke that the woman inhales that increases these particular risks or whether it is the direct effect of mainstream smoke that the father inhales during smoking that affects sperm development, or possibly both. More research is needed into this issue although we already know that smoking does have an impact on sperm development, so it is very important that men quit smoking before trying for a baby,” Dr. Leonardi-Bee explained. "The risks are related to the amount of cigarettes that are smoked so it is therefore very important for men to cut down. Ultimately though, in the interests of their partner and their unborn child, the best option would be to give up completely." Agreed and agreed. Combining these results with previous research showing that women who smoke during their pregnancy create serious health risks for their unborn baby, including low birth weight, premature birth and a range of serious birth defects such as cleft palate, club foot and heart problems, why not just agree that no one who has even a remote possibility of being within five miles of a pregnant woman should smoke? Actually, let’s just eliminate smoking all together………
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