- Lackawanna, N.Y.: Incredible irony lives here. Like many towns across America, Lackawanna has a fire department it counts on to keep its citizens safe in the event of fire or emergency. The Lackawanna Fire Department does its best to educate and inform the public on home safety and fire prevention, but perhaps the department should have been directing those messages of safety inward. See, Lackawanna Fire House #3 is not what you would call a safe place. The fire house has been under renovation for the past month, specifically for asbestos abatement. That’s right, the fire house was so out of code that it was rocking some of the most hazardous insulation material known to mankind. What, no lead paint on the windows and lead pipes bringing water to the fire house kitchen? Even with the renovations, testing last week showed unsafe levels of asbestos inside the building. Firefighters demanded the most recent round of testing and hired an independent lab to come in after they started noticing a large amount of dust in the building. Most of the dust was on the building’s second floor, but it was being tracked to other parts of the structure as well. Lab tests showed dangerous levels of asbestos in the that dust and raw building material that was left sitting on the ground. The results contradict air quality tests conducted on the structure, but city officials didn’t exactly spring into action once they were apprised of the testing. After the results came back from the lab on Dec. 8, the city engineer took a full nine days to order firefighters to vacate the building until it can be cleaned up. "A memo was published that we should avoid the second floor as best as possible. That was a less than appropriate response to the level of asbestos that was in the building", said Capt. Thomas Mendez, president of the firefighter’s union. A contractor hired by the city said it would be five to six days to clean up all the dust and asbestos out of the building. Until then, Lackawanna locals are advised to avoid burning things to the ground………….
- When you have a quality star who can actually carry an iconic movie franchise and further its legacy, you probably want to lock them up so you can continue cranking out nearly identical sequel after nearly identical sequel and rake in the cash. That lesson is not lost on producer Michael G. Wilson, who has offered star Daniel Craig a chance to renew his license to kill for five more “James Bond” movies. Craig assumed the role with the distinct advantage of following the consistently underwhelming Pierce Brosnan and his perpetually lifeless Bond performances and has done a solid job as 007. Rewarding him is a good idea even if his most-hyped project at the moment is "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," which hits theaters this week, and not a “Bond” flick. The next film in the spy series, "Skyfall," is currently in production and if Craig accepts the extension he would become the longest-tenured Bond in the 23-and-counting installment franchise, surpassing Roger Moore's seven tours of duty with MI6. "Filming has gone very well so far and I’d love Daniel to surpass Roger's record and do eight pictures. Daniel’s been an absolute pleasure to be around because he takes the role so seriously. There’s really no one more passionate about making these films work than him – he’s a filmmaker’s dream," Wilson said. "A lot of people have said Daniel’s been their favorite Bond since Sean Connery and I can’t argue with them. He’s doing a great job." Again, it’s a sliding scale and following Brosnan helps quite a bit. Keeping Craig could eat up a significant chunk of the budget - he's reportedly earning more than $12 million for "Skyfall" - but there is much to be said for continuity, as those associated with the “Bourne” franchise can confirm. “Skyfall” will begin filming soon in London, Shanghai, Istanbul and Scotland and is set for a late 2012 release with Javier Bardem, Judy Dench, Berenice Marlohe and Ralph Fiennes also on board……………
- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! If you close your eyes and just listen to the anguished screams of protestors being ruthlessly assaulted and abused by riot police, it’s like nothing at all has changed this year in Egypt. Hosni Mubarak could still be in power and the situation in Tahrir Square on Monday would not have unfolded any differently. The sight of hundreds of Egyptian soldiers in riot gear sweeping through Cairo's Tahrir Square early Monday and opening fire on protesters demanding an immediate end to military rule was a perfectly Mubarak thing to do. The Health Ministry confirmed three deaths in the crackdown, raising bringing the death toll for four days of clashes to 14. The latest round of violence in Cairo began Friday when military forces guarding the Cabinet building near Tahrir Square began cracking skulls and stomping protestors participating in a 3-week-old sit-in to demand Egypt's ruling generals immediately surrender power to a civilian authority. Monday’s raid theoretically attempted to keep protesters away from key government buildings near the square and protect parliament and the Interior Ministry, but it quickly veered off that aim and went straight to police looking for any excuse to pummel any protestor in their immediate vicinity. Witnesses reported more than the three deaths confirmed by the government and related stories of troops bum-rushing a mosque on the square and beating up protesters who spent the night inside. Monday’s violence marks the latest battle between pro-democracy protesters and the military. Images of troops attacking protestors have spread online and some of the more disturbing pictures show soldiers dragging women by the hair and ferociously beating protestors who are not even fighting back. Yet even as Monday’s attack reverberated across the country and the world, military council member Maj. Gen. Adel Emara ass-hattedly attempted to defend the use of force against protesters, arguing that the events since Friday amounted to what he called an attempt to "topple the state." Maj. Gen. Emara also took a shot at the media for its coverage of the violence. "There is a methodical and prepared plot to topple the state, but Egypt will not fall," he said. Umm……no and yes. No, it’s not a plot to topple the state, but the Egypt you know and rule over will eventually fall. Accusing protestors of attempting to destroy state property is missing the point all together. Ask yourself why protestors are attempting to destroy state property and you may begin to understand the magnitude of the problems facing Egypt right now. "What are we supposed to do when protesters break the law? Should we invite people from abroad to govern our nation?" Emara asked. What are you supposed to do? How about fix the damn problems that are causing them to riot? In 10 months of rule by the military council, Egyptians have seen what amounts of a continuation of the Egypt they knew under Mubarak’s repressive regime. Stop denying excessive force by troops against protesters, address the crisis before you can turn power over to a legitimate government…………
- Who isn’t clamoring for another reason to quit smoking or to never, ever start that disgusting habit? This news may apply specifically to the ladies, but that doesn’t mean it can’t bring joy to everyone. A new study has discovered a link between tobacco use and skin cancer. That’s right, smoking may in fact up your chances for not one, but two types of cancer! Score. Study lead author Dana Rollison, an associate member in the Moffitt Cancer Center department of cancer epidemiology, in Tampa, Fla., and her team found that women who had squamous cell skin cancer were more likely to have smoked than those who were free from the disease. Also, those who smoked at least 20 years were twice as likely to develop squamous cell skin cancer, a less aggressive form of skin cancer than melanoma. Men also saw a slight increase in their risk for the two types of non-melanoma skin cancer -- basal cell and squamous cell cancer -- but the results weren't statistically significant, the study authors determined. "We don't know why," Rollison said, referring to the difference between women's and men's risk. Doesn’t matter, D., doesn’t matter. What does matter is that hormonal differences affecting the metabolization of nicotine and the body's ability to repair damage to lung DNA caused by smoking suggest that the female hormone estrogen may play a role in links between smoking and skin cancer. In the study, 383 patients with skin cancer were compared to 315 people without the disease and all 698 participants were asked how much they smoked, when they picked up the habit and the total number of years they'd smoked. A total of 355 men and 343 women were included in the study and all were white, as white people are the race most likely to suffer from skin cancer, Rollison said. She and her team found that men who had basal cell skin cancer were significantly more likely to have smoked for at least 20 years than men with no cancer. Despite the link, researchers were not able to definitively establish a cause and effect firmly tying smoking to skin cancer. Other experts were unsurprised by the study’s results between smoke wafting from cancer sticks is known to contain carcinogens and loser smokers spend much of their day blowing the smoke and ash around their faces. Even if the link between smoking and skin cancer is not definite at this point, the mere possibility that it could increase a person’s chance for contracting a second type of cancer is reason enough to ramp up the effort to ban smoking and all tobacco products immediately and permanently. Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with about 2 million cases are treated annually, according to the U.S. National Institutes of Health. To read more about this very valid, 7,887,441st reason to hate smoking, hop on the Internet and peruse the online issue of the journal Cancer Causes Control…………
- Soccer, it’s good to know we can count on you. Granted, the world counts on soccer for on-field flopping, ridiculous goal celebrations when the one goal scored in each week’s worth of games around the world, brawls in the stands and general hooliganism inside and outside of the stadium, but still. Fans of Colombian soccer club America get all the credit for the latest reminder that soccer is sports’ most reliable constant. The concept of relegation also plays a role, even if it is a foreign one (no pun intended) for American sports fans. In essence, most soccer leagues around the world have different levels and divisions. To stay at a specific level, teams must finish at or near the top of their league. If they finish last or close to last, they risk being relegated to a lower division. A 4-3 loss to second division team Patriotas forced America into that unenviable spot and as difficult as relegation must have been for the team to accept, the news was even more jarring for America fans. How difficult? Difficult enough that hundreds of fans took to the streets of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city, and attempted to burn it to the ground or at least destroy enough of it to sufficiently demonstrate their displeasure. Riots broke out both inside the stadium as in other parts of the city after the loss to Patriotas, which will be promoted to the first division of Colombia's Liga Postobon to claim the spot vacated by America’s relegation. The news hit hard in large part because America de Cali is officially Colombia's best-performing team ever. That history could not help them after losing in the two-legged playoffs against Patriotas, a team from the small town of Tunja. Police arrested 66 people inside and outside the stadium as the mayhem quickly spread across the city. The arrests were for typical soccer riot crimes such as property destruction, fighting with police and disorderly conduct. Stay classy, soccer fans……….
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