- Oppress much, Ugandan government? Less than a day after the country’s main opposition leader led protests against high fuel prices, he was late Monday afternoon, charged in a Kampala court and released on bail. Retired army colonel Kizza Besigye, who finished second in the Feb. 18 presidential elections, led the protests that turned violent in several suburbs around the capital Kampala. The protests escalated enough for police to bust out some quality excessive force, firing live bullets and tear gas to disperse hundreds of people who had staged peaceful marches around the capital to protest high fuel prices. Police didn’t bother to try to defend their blatant abuse of force nor the arrest of 19 other people, mostly opposition members of parliament and the leader of the country's oldest party, and railroading them off to court. Inspector general of police major general Kale Kaihura held a news briefing in which he revealed that Besigye was charged with inciting violence, failing to comply with traffic laws and blocking a road before being released on bail. The protest was intelligent in that it was both effective and environmentally friendly, with the opposition last week calling on people to participate in a 'walk to work' match to Kampala in protest against the rise in the price of fuel and other essential commodities. Peaceful, enviro-friendly protests apparently aren’t allowed in Uganda and police swiftly condemned them as illegal and jumped in to quash the “uprising” and stop the people from reaching the city center. Protestors had some additional fuel in the form of Besigye’s claims that he rightfully won the country's forth multi-party elections despite H.E. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni’s claims that he was the victor and Besigye won just 26 percent of the votes. Besigye has maintained the elections were fixed in Museveni’s favor and while it would be easy to dismiss his words as the bitter rantings of a man who has lost to Museveni in the previous three polls, let’s just say there exists ample evidence that Besigye isn't so crazy after all……….
- Nerds, HBO has your back. Long known for racy, controversial and profanity-laden series and specials that could never air on over-air networks or basic cable, the network’s new series, "Game of Thrones," has those power struggles, family friction, sibling rivalry and sex, but also sword fights, supernatural elements and dudes riding horses, Lord of the Rings-style. The fantasy adventure has been described as fantasy for people who don't typically go for LOTR fare and "The Sopranos in Middle Earth" is executive producer David Benioff has described it. "It's a bit like 'Lord of the Rings' for grown-ups," says Mark Addy, who plays King Robert Baratheon, embattled ruler of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. "This is definitely not one that you can watch with your kids." The series is adapted from George R.R. Martin's novel series "A Song of Ice and Fire" and chronicles the bitter struggle for control of Westeros, a rugged land where the seasons last for decades. Fanboys and fans of the books have built buzz over the series to a fever pitch, but HBO is planning on luring in those who previously knew nothing about “Game of Thrones.” The first of the series’ 10 parts will debut Sunday at 9 p.m. EDT (and on Britain's Sky Atlantic the next day). The series is set in a world that combines medieval Europe with elements of chivalric legend and Norse saga. The early part of the first season centers on Robert and his longtime friend Lord Eddard "Ned" Stark (Sean Bean), who is recalled from his northern fiefdom to become "Hand of the King," the monarch's chief adviser. Lord Eddard must also help the king fend off numerous challenges to his throne from rivals as close as the king's conniving wife and her twin brother. Martin’s saga also weaves in nomadic warriors, knights and plenty of drama. Unlike most dork-centric books and TV series, “Throne” does contain quite a bit of sex. "I was surprised when I read some of the scenes," Bean said. "I thought, 'Can he get away with this?’ But it's not gratuitous in any way, the violence and the sex. If you didn't have that, you wouldn't have the story. It would be a very sanitized version." That would be a bad thing, as nerds tend not to have sex involved in their lives in any way, shape or form and can probably use the diversion…………
- San Diego is the scene. The Man is cracking down on a poor, harmless old lady doing damage to no one and nothing simply because of some inane, mindless homeowners association rule which says they can persecute someone simply for hanging out in their garage. The septuagenarian in question is Marilyn Weber, a San Diegan who admits she usually spends four or five hours a day in her garage space at Villa Portinifino knitting and watching TV. Neighbors say this kindly old lady often welcomes neighborhood children and friends to the space for treats and coffee.
That’s not cool with the homeowners association at Villa Portofino, a group of ass hats small-minded enough to fine a 70-year-old woman for allegedly using her garage space as living space. The homeowners association fined Weber $50 because she was using the area as living space and for every day she goes without dipping into her Social Security check to pay the fine, they add an additional $2 to the penalty. Many of Weber's neighbors have expressed appreciation for her willingness to use her garage as a neighborhood gathering place and criticized the homeowners association for persecuting her.
"She doesn't have a bed or running water," said Jonathon Heller, a neighbor who says Weber is like a grandmother to his son. "You live in so many places where you don't know your neighbors. I know all my neighbors because of Marilyn, because they migrate here." Sadly, Weber has lived in the same apartment for nearly 40 years, long enough to not have to put up with this kind of sh*t. She plans to fight the fine, which has grown to more than $120, and perhaps a few of her neighbors will chip in to take care of the penalty while also lobbying the tools with the homeowners association to change their arcane rules…………
- Unless and until the NCAA decides to pay college student-athletes, stories like this one will continue happening. Honestly, they will continue to happen even if the governing body for college athletes does make the unlikely decision to pay college athletes for the tens of millions of dollars they bring in for their respective schools. The story is as common as any alleged crime can be, with players (and in this case a coach) accused of taking money to shave points or fix the outcome of games. This particular tale comes from sunny San Diego, where a former University of San Diego assistant basketball coach and two former players, including the school's all-time leader in scoring and assists, are among 10 people indicted in an alleged conspiracy to affect the outcome of games. Federal authorities announced the indictments, handed down by a federal grand jury on April 8, in a new conference on Monday. The grand jury indicted former USD assistant coach Thaddeus Brown, who coached at USD during the 2006-07 season, and former players Brandon Johnson and Brandon Dowdy, for allegedly taking part in a plan to influence the result of a game in February 2010 and other games from the 2010-11 season. Johnson allegedly took a bribe to influence the result of that February 2010 contest and solicited someone else in January 2011 - because he had graduated and could no longer shave points personally - to affect the outcome of USD basketball games. Making matters worse for USD, Johnson is the school’s all-time leader in points (1,790) and assists (525). Those numbers could well be erased from the record books. The indictment alleges that this February, Brown and Dowdy sought out someone to affect the outcome of a game at the University of California, Riverside. Dowdy had ties to both schools, having played for USD in the 2006-07 season and for Riverside from 2008-10. Authorities are still attempting to ascertain the extent of the alleged gambling operation and did not reveal whether the alleged conspiracy actually affected the outcome of any games. As with many conspiracies and scandals uncovered at all levels of law enforcement, the sports-betting investigation actually grew out of a seemingly unrelated probe. About a year ago, began investigating a marijuana distribution operation and happened across the gambling side of the operation. U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy and Keith Slotter, head of the FBI's San Diego office, announced the indictments and made it clear that the university is not accused of any wrongdoing. "They are rightly concerned," Duffy said. "They were very responsive and cooperative and it was a good meeting." All 10 people charged in the case are accused of conspiracy to commit sports bribery, conduct an illegal gambling business and to distribute marijuana. Nine of the 10 have been taken into custody and one brave soul remains free at present…………
- Rejoice, FAT people! A new weight-loss drug that is actually a hybrid of two existing weight-loss drugs. The combo drug has shown significant promise in promoting weight loss, according to a new report. Combining the drugs, phentermine and Topamax, with lifestyle and weight-loss counseling produced an 18-22 pound weight loss in trial participants, compared with a three-pound weight loss in patients who received counseling alone. Better yet, the combo drug also appears to have reduced other obesity-related indicators, such as blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation levels. The numbers for this new miracle worker are that much more impressive when stacked up against the only approved long-term prescription weight loss medication available on the market today, Xenical. Xenical is associated with a seven-pound weight loss when combined with diet and exercise, roughly one-third of the new drug. It’s worth nothing that the study was funded by the pharmaceutical company Vivus, which combined the two drugs into one pill called Qnexa, and obviously has a vested interests in its success. Vivus petitioned the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval in October 2010, but the FDA denied the request, asking for more safety data from the company before moving forward. The FDA’s report expressed serious concerns about each drug's safety individually, specifically Topamax, which is reported to cause some psychiatric and cognitive side effects and may cause clef palate birth defects if taken while pregnant (but pregnant women get really FAT and could stand to shed a few pounds….). Vivus went back to the lab, did its due diligence and came back with findings showing that the two drugs, when taken together, and at controlled-release doses, were very safe. The most serious side effects the company reported from participants were dry mouth and constipation, although at higher doses, some participants did complain about some psychiatric side effects. Phentermine has a dubious history of its own; commonly used as a short-term weight loss treatment, but previously paired with fenfluramine to make the now-discontinued weight loss drug Fen-phen, which was removed from the market in 1997 amid concerns about the drug's heart risk. Risks or not, at this point tens of millions of obese Americans really cannot afford to be choosy………
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