- Derrick Rose is one of the NBA’s brightest young stars, but he’s also giving fans plenty of reasons to hate him and reminding them why they’re not rooting for either side in the Association’s current labor dispute. Owners may be infuriating the masses by insisting they’re losing money despite being billionaires with private jets who handed out the absurdly inflated deals to players who would never come close to justifying them, but players aren't doing themselves any favor by refusing to accept responsibility for their part in breaking the sport’s twisted financial structure. Rather than admit that many players making $8 million or eight figures a year don’t deserve one-third of that amount, players are digging in and vowing to fight the good fight to be overpaid for as long as it takes. Rose chimed in on the lockout over the weekend and did his damndest to shirk all player responsibility for the work stoppage. "Everybody knows it's not our fault. It's definitely not our fault. If it were up to us, we'd be out there playing. But I think that it's wrong. I know (the owners) can easily take care of it and not take advantage of people. But I guess that's how people are,” Rose whined. "(The owners are) not thinking about anything we're saying. They're not taking it into consideration, nothing that we're trying to give them. We'll just have to see how it goes." Some of that may be true, but the players don’t seem to be doing the very things they believe the owners should be doing. Rose has been living in Los Angeles during the offseason, which began after he and his Chicago Bulls lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals, working out with his personal trainer. He is the league’s reigning Most Valuable Player and generally not considered a delusional kook with his head buried in the sand who refuses to admit the truth. There is plenty of blame to go around in the dispute, but claiming that none of the blame should be placed on the players is equal parts delusion and ignorance. Rose should take some advice from Ron Burgundy and just stop talking for a while, maybe sit the next few plays out…or an entire season………
- Stem cells aren't having any easier a time in Europe than they are right now in the United States. Stem cell research in Europe was dealt a setback Tuesday when the European Union's top court ruled Tuesday that scientists cannot patent stem cell techniques that use human embryos for research purposes. Many scientists were quick to denounce the ruling as a threat to important research since no one could profit from it. The ruling was issued by the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (a must visit when in Luxembourg’s capital city), which said the law protects human embryos from any use that could undermine human dignity. The cells are valuable for scientists and their research because embryonic stem cells can develop into any type of cell in the body and could eventually be used to replace damaged tissue from ailments such as heart disease, Parkinson's and stroke. Using stem cells from embryos has always been a controversial topic because many object to the practice on moral or religious grounds. The U.S. has actually become more liberal on the subject than Europe with this new roling, as there are no such restrictions on obtaining patents on stem cell techniques in the U.S. and many other countries. The case at the heart of the European ruling was that of a scientist named Oliver Bruestle at the University of Bonn, who filed a patent on a technique to turn embryonic stem cells into nerve cells in 1997. Bruestle's patent application sparked a challenge by Greenpeace, which argued that it allows human embryos to be exploited. The court concurred, ruling that patents would be allowed if they involved therapeutic or diagnostic techniques that are useful to the embryo itself, like correcting defects, but objecting to any stem cell techniques used exclusively to further research. Justices wrote that using embryos "for purposes of scientific research is not patentable." Big ups to all of the scientists arguing that this will stall research because researchers won't be interested in something they can’t rake in a huge profit from. So much for researching for the sake of helping mankind. "This is a devastating decision which will stop stem cell therapies' use in medicine," Pete Coffey, a stem cell researcher at University College London, said in a statement. "The potential to treat disabling and life-threatening diseases using stem cells will not be realized in Europe." Glad to know that you and your fellow researchers would just as soon let your fellow man die rather than research without the possibility of a huge payday at the end of the effort…………
- Larry Appleton is back? Sweet! Wait…….this isn't the Larry Appleton who starred alongside Balki Bartokomous, he from the mythical island nation of Mypos, on the 1980s network drama Perfect Strangers? This is some random dude who lives in northern Florida? Well, does this Larry Appleton have anything interesting going on right now? He does? Awesome. Thanks to several days of heavy rains in Seminole County and the resulting floods, this non-famous Larry Appleton may have found a solution for millions of Americans who wish they could find a way around using up expensive gas to fuel their lawnmowers and cut the grass in their yards. Appleton, a resident of Geneva, Fla., had his backyard flooded by the torrential downpours and several feet of standing water have prevented him from mowing his lawn so far this week. He received some help in that area Monday as several lost manatees appeared in the temporary lake behind his home, eating vegetation that Appleton said he is frequently out mowing. While he is worried that the water will continue to rise and could pose a threat to his home and the rest of his yard, Appleton should stop his complaining, enjoy the sight of some of nature’s goofiest creatures and thank those creatures for saving him money he would have had to spend on gas. With forecasts in the region calling for more heavy rain and increased flooding in the next few days, Appleton’s backyard lake could grow and even more manatees could show up to trim his lawn for him. Meteorologists have cited a low front moving toward the region as a recipe for plenty of storms. Hopefully other Seminole County residents will be more appreciative of a free lawn cutting from some of nature’s unheralded workers…………
- This, everyone, is what public relations professionals are for. When an athlete, actor, musician or other celebrity does or says something regrettable and needs to spin out of it, they bring in their PR flack to clean up the mess. The offense can range from the criminal to the stupid or insensitive, but the job of the PR flack is to take an ugly situation and spin it in a way that makes their client look more favorable. For the anonymous PR flunkie responsible for representing legendary singer Harry Belafonte, the current task at hand is explaining how, despite irrefutable video evidence to the contrary, his client did not actually fall asleep during an interview on live television. Belafonte appeared on a Bakersfield, Calif. TV station’s morning show to promote his new book, "My Song: A Memoir.” During the interview, something went wrong with Belafonte’s connection - allegedly - and according to his rep, his earpiece stopped working temporarily. To the rest of the world, the 84-year-old Belafonte fell asleep while speaking to the show’s anchors. But when the world sees a famous singer napping it out in the middle of the day during a live interview, Belafonte and his PR flack see someone whose earpiece stopped working "so he decided to take the time to meditate before the rest of his Day-O." Hey oh, good one, random PR flack. This very professional spin artist then said, "Mr. Belafonte is 84 years young, but sharper and more awake than most who have been interviewing him. Maybe the world would be a better place if more people took a moment to meditate." It’s true, the world might be a better place if more people napped it out during the middle of the day when they’re supposed to be working. Nice dig about how Belafonte is “sharper and more awake” than most of those interviewing him. Well, he’s sharper and more awake than those people when he’s not sleeping during live interviews…………
- Fear the wrath of NATO, Serbs in Kosovo! The mighty international fighting/peacekeeping force has made its demands known and if you continue to ignore them……umm….bad things are going to happen. The commander of NATO-led peacekeepers in Kosovo voiced his displeasure Tuesday with the Serb refusal to remove roadblocks in the north of the country. Maj. Gen. Erhard Drews warned of action if the blockade is not lifted soon after Serbs defied a Tuesday deadline to remove the barriers and gathered en masse to prevent NATO peacekeeping troops from removing them. "I am disappointed with this outcome," Drews said in a statement. "The north did not comply with the request to remove the roadblocks." Thanks, Capt. Obvious. Kosovo Serbs have kept the barricades in place for nearly three months to stop Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leadership from extending their control over the Serb-run territory. Serbs continue to reject Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence from Serbia and the presence of a 5,500-strong NATO peacekeeping force, known as KFOR, has done nothing to dissuade them. The crude barriers of rocks, mud and logs will remain in place as Maj. Gen. Drews and his forces wait for the outcome of a meeting of Kosovo Serb leaders who will discuss on Wednesday whether to lift the blockade for the passage of the peacekeepers. "KFOR is ready and resolved to take action on behalf of freedom of movement, if the municipality meeting on Wednesday does not have satisfactory results," Drews promised. "Our focus is on enabling civilians to lead normal lives." Normal lives are boring, Gen. Drews. What is exciting is the sight of hundreds of Serbs gathering at the barriers to protect them from forced removal by the peacekeepers. Maybe they don’t believe the peacekeepers’ claims that say they want to establish freedom of movement in the region and reopen supply routes for their troops. Also, don’t assume Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci speaks for the masses when he tells the peacekeepers to apply the rule of law and ensure freedom of movement on "all territories of Kosovo." Fight the good fight, Kosovo Serbs, and stick it to The Man……….
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