- Dealing with players saying idiotic things on Twitter is a big part of the job for coaches at all levels of sports, especially college and pro coaches. Reining in every player who wants to get his or her tweet on and bang out 140-character messages to fans and followers is all but impossible. At any moment of any day, a coach knows he or she could get a call about a racist, sexist or otherwise offensive tweet one of their players has thumbed out on their iPhone or BlackBerry. New Mexico basketball coach Steve Alford has opted for a much more dictatorial approach, informing all current and incoming players that they must delete their Twitter account in order to be part of the program. Current players were alerted to the new rule first and incoming freshman were advised to do the same before they arrive on campus. Alford isn't dropping a blanket ban of all social media on his team, as players are allowed to have Facebook accounts but all of their activity will be monitored by the basketball staff. Alford plans to treat any violation of the new social networking policy like any other violation of team rules, with all violations resulting in disciplinary action. Alford has informed players that a third violation could result in the player losing his scholarship. Asked about the effect the Twitter ban will have on him, incoming Australian freshman point guard Hugh Greenwood downplayed any potential problems, saying he prefers Facebook over Twitter anyhow. The new policy definitely skews heavily toward the totalitarian, First Amendment-trampling side, but at least Alford and his assistant coaches will be able to sleep a little easier each night knowing that while one of their players could show up on YouTube, TMZ or Facebook doing or saying something moronic, at least their offense won't come in the 140-character variety…………
- For any government looking to ensure its upcoming elections are viewed as fair, legitimate and not in any way rigged or fixed, nothing does the job quite like banning international election observers for said election. Props to Egypt’s military rulers for doing just that for the first elections of the post-Mubarak era. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the exclusive cabal that took over after President Hosni Mubarak was pushed out, announced Wednesday that elections will be delayed to November, two months later than originally expected and more importantly, that international monitors will not be permitted on the grounds of national sovereignty. Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, the military council’s legislative adviser, made the announcement, which was immediately greeted with outrage and proclamations of disaster from human rights groups both in and outside of Egypt. Fears of continuing the fraudulent elections of Mubarak’s regime were already high and the ban on outside observers raised them even higher. This particular election has taken on added importance because Egyptians view it as critical to establishing both domestic and international trust in Egypt’s new government. International observers would be one sure way to add credibility to the process, especially since parliamentary elections held in November and December of last year were widely seen as some of the most fraudulent in Egypt’s modern history. Shahin did state that Egyptian civil society organizations will be free to monitor the vote, something Mubarak’s corrupt regime often said before seriously restricting any actual monitoring activity once the election began. To the cynic (and who isn't in Egypt at this point when it comes to the validity of election results?), banning international observers raises the question of what the military council is looking to hide. Whoever comprises the parliament elected in the fall and however legitimate their election, the legislative body will then be charged with selecting a commission to write a new constitution. That will be followed by a presidential election, after which the military has promised to surrender power. Other election laws were announced along with the ban on international monitors, but those laws have received little attention in light of the day’s bigger news. As per those laws, half of the 504 parliamentary candidates will be elected individually, while the other half will be elected under a list system. Under that list system, parties will be assigned seats proportionate to the percentage of the vote they received. Ladies will be fired up to know that a women’s quota instituted under Mubarak to ensure women's representation will be abolished, replaced by the very powerful mandate that every party list must include at least one woman. One rule left in place was a 50-year-old quota reserving half of the seats for farmers and workers. As for the legitimacy of the vote to select those farmers, workers, women and others, you’ll just have to take the military’s word for it…………
- What has the world come to when hackers are issuing press releases? Granted, the hackers in question are the world’s current “it” hackers from Anonymous, but still…….a press release? Anonymous is in the practice of hacking large companies, corporations and other massive entities whose politics run afoul of its ideals and after the arrests of at least 21 alleged hackers this week, members of the group claimed Thursday they had stolen a gigabyte of information belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Anonymous also tweeted (yes, they have a Twitter feed) claims that they had "breached" NATO and that they stole "lots of restricted material." Their tweets contain links to PDF files that they said contain some of the stolen information. Left unsaid was why the group targeted NATO. Some of the tweets did mention the FBI’s recent arrests of alleged Anonymous members. The press release itself was signed by Anonymous and fellow hacker group LulzSec. It taunted the powers that be with claims that members of the group were "not scared any more" and that the arrests were "meaningless to us as you cannot arrest an idea." The “you cannot arrest an idea” bullsh*t is some truly fine, Grade-A philosophical, anti-establishment thinking and verbiage, so credit to Anonymous for that. The arrests took place in the United States, United Kingdom and Holland and at least 14 of those were alleged to be members of Anonymous. NATO has remained suspiciously quiet on the supposed attack thus far. The FBI has mostly laid low as well, but given the directness and provocative nature of tweets directed at it by Anonymous, a response might be in order. "So, we are working (and) the FBI are working. Let's see who is more efficient," tweeted @AnonymousIRC. The press release was just as taunting, with Anonymous saying, "Arresting people won't stop us, FBI. We will only cease fire when you all wear shoes on your heads. That's the only way this is ending." What shoes on heads has to do with anything, only Anonymous knows…………
- What would Charlie’s Angels be without the franchise’s signature voice filling the title (and never seen on screen) role? Anyone dumb enough to be suckered into the 8,543rd reboot of the popular action franchise will find out when they tune in to ABC this fall and hear someone other than Robert Wagner in the role. No, Wagner isn't too old or too pricey for ABC and Sony TV to use him, at least not according to Sony. “Due to his scheduling conflicts, Robert Wagner will need to step away from his duties as Charlie on Charlie’s Angels,” the studio explained in a written statement. Wagner, 81, would seem like a natural fit and a great anchor for the show with all of the other characters played by actors with whom any Charlie’s Angels fan won't be familiar. Then again, most anyone tuning in to watch this train wreck in the making will probably have no idea who any of the original cast members were (as Farah Fawcett fans weep somewhere in the distance) or even what the original looked or sounded like, the original that spawned movie remakes and now a shameless and sure-to-suck TV version. If anything, the only knowledge those fans will have of a previous version of Charlie’s Angels will be the lame, cheesy and sham-tastic movie version of a few years ago starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore and Bernie Mac. Those fans may not even realize how much ABC and Sony’s version of the franchise sucks (and trust me, it will) or take a few episodes to clue in, giving ABC the false impression via slightly inflated ratings that the show isn't a total bomb. That message will be sent loud and clear by the midway point of the season, when the plug is pulled and the realization dawns on one and all for the umpteenth time that blatantly recycling an existing franchise isn't a guarantee for ratings or financial success……………
- There are currently two places where people are advised not to drink the water. Mexico remains the old standby for the “Don’t drink the water” warning, but Manhattan’s Upper West Side has temporarily joined the list as raw sewage from a Harlem water treatment plant continued to spill out into the Hudson River Thursday after a fire a day earlier compromised a second-story engine room. Plant and health officials confirmed the spill and swimmers and kayakers are warned to stay out of the water throughout the weekend. The fire broke out at North River Wastewater Treatment Plant on West 135th Street on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the evacuation and closure of Riverside Drive and Riverbank State Park. Closing the park seems like an overreaction because whose nature experience isn't made better by a little raw sewage and its oh, so pleasant odor? Shortly after the fire broke out, untreated wastewater began flowing out into the Hudson River. The Department of Environmental Protection cautioned that it would take at least 48 hours of continuous sewage discharge before water quality at city beaches would be affected, so beachgoers on the Upper West Side (renowned for its hopping beach scene) should keep an eye on the situation. The DEP is also issuing conflicting messages on just how far the spill’s effects may reach, insisting on one hand that the city's drinking water has not been contaminated, but simultaneously warning swimmers stay out of the river through Saturday as workers try to contain the discharge and reopen the plant. No word was given on which beaches could be affected if the leak is not contained within two days, but at least now Harlem residents will have an explanation for what that funky, nasty smell is…….well, at least one of the funky, nasty smells wafting through the city during the hot, hot summer…………
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