- There was a party this weekend at the Miraval Resort in Tucson this weekend and if you weren’t invited, don’t feel bad. All but a select group of 69 individuals or couples were excluded from the gathering on account of, well, not being an American billionaire interested in philanthropy. This group of über-wealthy souls came together at the behest of billionaire investor Warren Buffett as part of a get-together from which all media members were banned. Buffett and his friend Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates issued a challenge to the country’s wealthiest individuals and couples last summer and Buffett said Friday that the private gathering was a great chance for the billionaires who have pledged to give away at least half their wealth to meet each other, hang out, share ideas and be rich. Buffett confirmed that he knew only about 12 of the 61 people at the dinner at before arriving. "They all more than fulfilled my expectations," Buffett said. Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, was also in attendance and said the conversation at her table included a discussion about the biggest mistakes people had ever made as philanthropists. Other attendees included Tashia Morgridge, a retired special education teacher, who works with her husband, Cisco Systems chairman John Morgridge, to give money to improve U.S. education through the Denver-based Morgridge Family Foundation and George Kaiser, a Tulsa, Okla., philanthropist who aids early childhood education and social services programs. Kaiser led a session (see, even rich people gatherings have boring components like “breakout sessions”) on applying analytical business practices to philanthropy. Other topics included education, the environment and the philosophies of giving. One thing America’s non-billionaires might be surprised to learn about this elite group is that they have no plans to work together to pool their philanthropic dollars. "There's a strong desire in this group to learn from each other," said Jean Case, CEO of the family foundation started by her and her husband, America Online founder Steve Case. Steve Case chipped in with a few ideas for the group on the topic of using social media to encourage giving. The most interesting point raised during the event came from Chuck Feeney, a New Jersey philanthropist Buffett called the spiritual leader of the group, who spoke about his plans to give all his money to charity. "He wants his last check to bounce," Buffett said. Sounds like a good life plan…………
- As the 11th season of NBC's "The Biggest Loser" winds toward its healthy conclusion, the show will be airing its final few episodes with trainer Jillian Michaels, the woman known as "America's toughest trainer." Michaels announced prior to the season that it would be her last training the orca-FAT contestants on the reality weight-loss series because she wanted to move on and pursue other career and personal ambitions. Those other ambitions appear to include a quasi-takeover of the daytime talk show genre, as Michaels has inked a multi-year contract giving her a co-host seat on CBS TV Distribution’s "The Doctors" starting next season. The series provides medical advice to sick and unhealthy people as well as those struggling with common medical issues. It is a spinoff of another CBS TV Distribution show, a small-time series called “Dr. Phil.” Coincidentally, Michaels will also become a special correspondent on "Dr. Phil." Because both shows are extremely popular with the daytime television crowd, Michaels should have little trouble stepping from one of the most popular reality shows on television into a different genre. Predictably, her commentaries and pieces for both shows will focus on wellness, prevention and lifestyle dynamics. No word on whether she will be keeping her “Biggest Loser” staples of jumping on top of treadmills to berate the FAT people running on them, dropping to the floor to get in the face of FAT people who aren’t giving enough energy in their workout or making disgusted faces at the lack of weight loss by FAT people being weighed in on a digital scale on steroids to keep their place on a reality weight loss show…………
- Dammit, Adel al-Othmani, hippies did NOT need this. There are still far too many people who use the phrase “Damn hippies!” any time they see a person with long hair doing something they disagree with or find inappropriate. Never mind the fact that hippies haven’t really existed in their true form for nearly four decades, these kooks need a go-to phrase to express their disgust and disdain. With hippies fighting an uphill battle already, al-Othmani allegedly showing up last week disguised as a guitar-toting hippie and carrying out the bombing of a popular tourist cafe in Marrakesh, Morocco is only going to make matters worse. Witnesses said al-Othmani walked into the cafe wearing a wig and carrying a guitar and the two bags in which he had hidden the explosive devices that killed at least 17 people. “He looked like a hippie,” said an unidentified official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The official said al-Othmani ordered an orange juice and left the cafe without the bags. “He used a mobile phone to detonate the bombs afterward,” the official said. On Thursday, the Moroccan Interior Ministry announced the arrest of three Moroccans in connection with the attack, which took place on April 28 in Djemma el Fna square. The ministry also postulated that the chief suspect in the bombing, al-Othmani, had links to Al Qaeda. Great, so now al-Qaeda is picking on hippies to. Does anyone else want to take a run at these long-persecuted souls? Would the Taliban or Hamas care to have one of their members dress in a tie-dye shirt, wear a long-haired wig and blow up some hospital or drop some explosives in the back of a flatbed truck as it passes through the heart of a busy city? Never mind the fact that this bombing will only make life more difficult for Moroccan leader King Mohammed as he tries to prevent political uprisings similar to those elsewhere in the Arab world; think about the impact on the world’s few, true remaining hippies. How are they supposed to live their relaxed, low-key lifestyle of pot, acoustic guitars, braided hair and tie-dye t-shirts if everyone they meet begins eyeing them as a potential terrorist? Does anyone think about potential consequences before they act these days or is it “Bomb now and let the hippies deal with the fallout” if you feel like killing a few people? Honestly, just an all-around depressing story…………
- Technical issues or a dying government agency trying to stave off its inevitable demise? NASA could be telling the truth in explaining its decision to postpone the launch date for the space shuttle Endeavour’s final mission……..or they could be dragging their feet because they have but two chances left to shoot people into outer space and want to stay relevant for a while longer. Endeavour's first launch attempt on April 29 was called off due to a supposed technical malfunction with one of the shuttle's power systems. Making the problem sound official wasn’t too difficult for the NASA brainiacs; they just tossed around technical-sounding explanations like a malfunctioning auxiliary power unit located in the hard-to-reach rear, or aft, section of the orbiter and everyone bought it. That allowed them to postpone the launch until at least 11:21 a.m. on May 10, when Endeavor may or may not lift off from Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. Maybe the launch happens or maybe ground crews are once again called out to remove a supposedly faulty component, called the Load Control Assembly-2 (LCA-2) box, from the shuttle's aft compartment. In between now and the alleged new launch date, technicians will evaluate data from the inspections and will install a new LCA-2 box and make any necessary repairs. The postponement will also affect several other big events on the ground and in space: the launch of an unmanned rocket, the undocking of a Russian spacecraft from the International Space Station and preparations for NASA's next and final space shuttle mission. "The forensic testing began," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. "They're preparing to put a new box in, but they have to get some other issues prepared and ready first." In addition to those “other issues,” NASA must also factor into its decision-making process activities at the neighboring Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where unmanned rockets lift off into space. NASA could also decide it needs more time to evaluate the power system failure and push the launch back even further than May 10. However, that would create problems because the mission could then conflict with the undocking operations of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft, which is scheduled to depart the space station May 23. "If we go on May 10, the full 14-day mission is unaffected, but the two extension days are affected because the undockings would be on the same day," Beutel said. "We're having to work very closely with the space station program on this, and there a whole bunch of factors involved. Ultimately it will be up to the space station program and what their priorities are." Regardless of when Endeavor finally launches, NASA still has one launch left before its space shuttle program is officially dead. The STS-135 flight of the shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to launch June 28 to the International Space Station. The orbiter has been rejoined with its orange external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, on May 10 and eventually rolled out to the launch pad. "We're all waiting to see how the repairs to Endeavour go," Beutel said. "Even if we get over to the Vehicle Assembly Building on the 10th, if for some reason Endeavour launches past the 13th or 14th, there's a potential to affect Atlantis' roll to the pad." That’s the way to do it, NASA. Just continue delaying everything for as long as possible and hope no one notices what you’re up to…………
- Well lookee here, if it isn't The Ohio State University’s athletic department in the middle of another sh*t storm even though the bigger sh*t storm facing its football program is still a long way from being over. While the football program prepares its defense for an August hearing with the NCAA over rules violations involving five current players and coach Jim Tressel, the athletic department’s director of compliance is reviewing at least 50 car sales to Buckeyes athletes and relatives to see if they met NCAA rules, according to multiple media reports. Those reports allege that Aaron Kniffin, a salesman who received game passes from Ohio State athletes, handled many of the deals at two different dealerships and some of the sales do not appear to have been conducted in legal fashion. For example, a 2-year-old Chrysler 300 with fewer than 20,000 miles was titled to then-sophomore defensive player Thaddeus Gibson in 2009 and documents show the purchase price as $0. That would be a problem because athletes are prevented from receiving special deals not available to other students and cannot trade autographs for discounts. Since both the dealership Gibson “bought” his car from and the other dealership in question both display signed Ohio State memorabilia in their showrooms, certain questions are being asked about Gibson’s and other transactions. In explaining his “purchase” of the car, Gibson said he did not know why the title showed a zero for the purchase price and said he was still paying for the car. In Ohio, as in most every state, the law requires dealers to report accurate information about all car sales for tax purposes. In launching its investigation of the car sales, the compliance department at Ohio State claimed it had no evidence of players getting special treatment in vehicle sales. "Consistent with our standard procedures, we are nevertheless reviewing these sales to assure ourselves that our policies were adhered to," said Douglas Archie, associate athletic director for compliance, in a statement Saturday. Another OSU player tied to the potential rules violations is one of the chief troublemakers in the football program’s other ongoing scandal, quarterback Terrelle Pryor. Pryor’s mother and brother also purchased cars from the dealerships and Kniffin also loaned his own car to Pryor for a three-day test drive to Pryor's home in Jeannette, Pa. In a huge coincidence, Kniffin and the owner of one of the dealerships he worked for, Jason Goss, have attended seven football games as guests of players, including the 2007 national championship game and the 2009 Fiesta Bowl. Call me crazy, but it’s starting to sound an awful lot like Tressel is running one of the most corrupt, dirty programs in college football……….
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