- A bad weekend for drug addicts and lovers everywhere just got worse. Less than 48 hours after Honduran anti-drug officials seized a cocaine-filled submarine containing 7.3 million tons of the Colombian nose candy, state and federal authorities in northern California announced a sweeping campaign that over the past few weeks raided dozens of marijuana farms in and around the Mendocino National Forest. Melinda Haag, U.S. attorney for Northern California, announced the attack at a press conference Friday. Haag claimed more than 460,000 pot plants were destroyed and 101 people arrested in the raids, which supposedly came in response to a proliferation of marijuana farms that are destroying ecosystems and scaring hikers away. "The Mendocino National Forest is under attack by drug traffickers," Haag said at the news conference. "Visitors to the forest are increasingly intimidated by the prospect of armed drug traffickers and illegal cultivation sites. I've warned people who come up here during the summer to be careful when they go hiking." Oh, so some hybrid-driving, granola-eating, tree-hugging nature hippies are afraid of running into a drug trafficker or two out on the trails, eh? What about all of the loveable stoners out there who just want to veg out on their couch, get baked, do a few bong rips and watch Beavis & Butthead reruns while slamming a bag of Cheetos? Who’s looking out for them? Stoners aren’t looking to hurt anyone, so why is The Man so intent on jamming them up? “There are those who believe that growing marijuana is a harmless, peaceful activity in harmony with nature," Haag proclaimed. "This notion is, in a word, wrong." No Haag, you’re the one who is wrong. You can take your little Operation Full Court Press, as you dubbed it, and cram it up you…..well, you get the point. All told, state and federal authorities targeted 56 growing sites across six Northern California counties and in addition to the nearly half a million put plants and more than 100 arrests, agents also seized 27 guns, 11 vehicles and large quantities of fertilizers, chemical pesticides and rat poison. Not only did agents and officers seize all of this, but also ripped up 22 miles of irrigation pipes and 13 man-made dams used for marijuana farms raided in the operation. Farms of this type have existed in California forests for years, but suddenly they’re a huge issue that has to be tackled now. Hopefully all involved in this little sting operation are pleased with themselves because millions of stoners won't be……whenever they sober up and finish with their all-important game of hacky sack……….
- There are many weekends wherein movie fans have ample reason to be ashamed when they look at the box office earnings list, but none more so than this particular three-day frame. When a movie about war between cowboys and aliens is not only green-lit and released by a studio but is also the top-earning film for a weekend, the world of cinema is in a dark, dark place. Such is the case this weekend, when the über-crappy Cowboys & Aliens debuted in first place with $36.3 million, beating out fellow newcomer The Smurfs for the top spot. Smurfs landed in second place in its opening frame with a modest take of $36.2 million, somewhat disappointing considering the marketing push Sony put behind the film. Captain America, last weekend’s top movie, slid to third place after debuting in the top spot just one weekend ago. This time around, the superhero flick garnered $24.9 million, a 62-percent decline. Dork magnet Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 finished fourth, padding its overflowing coffers with another $21.9 million to blow right past the $300 million mark in domestic earnings at $318.4 million and counting after three weeks. Crazy, Stupid, Love was the third newcomer in the top five and made $19.3 million in its first weekend with Steve Carrell leading the way. The latter half of the top 10 was equally unimpressive, populated by: Friends With Benefits (No. 6 with a scant $9.3 million in its second weekend of release and $38.2 million for two weeks of work), Horrible Bosses (No. 7 with $7.1 million and $96.2 million in cumulative earnings for four weeks), Transformers: Dark of the Moon (falling four spots to No. 8 with $5.9 million and a whopping $337.9 million in domestic earnings after just five weeks), the absurdly and exponentially awful Zookeeper (No. 9 with $4.2 million and $68.7 million one month into its one-month-too-long-and-counting run in theaters) and Cars 2 BV (No. 10 with $2.3 million and $182 million for its first six weeks of release). Dropping out of the top 10 from last week were the mega-disappointing Winnie the Pooh (No. 11), Midnight in Paris (No. 12) and Bad Teacher (No. 14)……………
- The Chinese government was bound to go back to what it knows best. After being drenched by the towering wave of public criticism over last month’s high-speed train crash and the government’s reaction, Chinese authorities have reverted to their usual form by attempting to quash any and all dissent and criticism. To make that happen, they have put in place a virtual news blackout on the disaster except for positive stories or information officially released by the government. You know, the sorts of positive stories that are always plentiful and easy to find in a major disaster where 40 people die and nearly 200 more are injured. Courtesy of the Communist Party’s publicity department, those stories will be the only ones that can be told from here on out. Spineless newspaper editors were forced to scrap their planned front page layouts for their Saturday editions after the decree from the commies came down Friday. Instead of investigative articles and commentaries about the accident that killed 40 people in eastern China, cartoons or innocuous news stories were frantically crammed into the suddenly open white space on newspaper pages. The blackout even affected Xinhua, the government’s news agency, which reportedly had to postpone the publication of an article on the crash. How the government went this long without muzzling the media and trying fruitlessly to prevent any negative or critical pieces on the crash is something of a mystery. The crash and subsequent coverage of it has become something of a symbol for many Chinese of growing concerns about whether the government is sacrificing people’s lives and safety in pursuit of fast-paced economic development and hiding its failures under a cloak secrecy or an onslaught of propaganda. Twitter has become a forum for these complaints, a site for 140-character mini-rants on how the rescue effort after the train crash was mishandled. Dozens of journalists now have reason to join the chorus of outraged because they too have been silenced and many took to the Internet to voice their anger. That anger has largely been focused on the government’s unrelenting drive to construct high-speed rail lines as part of the world’s largest public works project. At least one bold voice ignored the government’s “happy news only” mandate on Saturday. The Beijing-based Economic Observer rolled out nine pages of accident coverage, highlighted by a report labeling the Railway Ministry as a runaway operation and a reconstruction of the events in Wenzhou from the viewpoint of dozens of survivors. An accompanying commentary carried the headline: “We are all passengers in this high-speed train.” Passengers, perhaps……but heading in which direction? After all, only Thursday, Premier Wen Jiabao proclaimed during a press conference in Wenzhou that the “investigation into the accident should be open, transparent and monitored by the public.” Hmm, sounds like a conflicting message to say the least…………
- Hot dogs are disgusting, there is no doubting that reality. Cramming various animal parts and meat products into a small tube with a quasi-food casing and then dropping it onto a bun for consumption just sounds wrong and according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, it could be more than wrong - it could be deadly. The Washington, D.C. group preventive medicine and a vegan diet, so their take on hot dogs is admittedly skewed in a negative direction. Keep that in mind while listening to the group’s confrontational campaign focused on none other than the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The PCRM unveiled a billboard last week near the famed race track bearing the advisory: "Warning: Hot dogs can wreck your health." On the billboard is a picture of hot dogs in a cigarette pack inscribed with skull and crossbones. The PCRM would have the public believe that there is a strong link between colorectal cancer and hot dogs, so strong that hot dogs should come with a "warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk," just like cigarettes. Those words of wisdom were spewed out by Susan Levin, the committee's nutrition education director. Oddly enough, most health experts don’t agree with that assessment. "It is not necessary to eliminate consumption of red or processed meat; rather the message is that these foods should not be the mainstay of your diet," American Cancer Society guidelines state. In other words, hot dogs may not be health food, but neither are they toxic merchants of death like cigarettes. Yes, they are high in salt and if a person was to eat hot dogs every day for every one of their meals, then hot dogs could definitely lead to hypertension and heart disease. One lingering question about the PCRM’s campaign is why the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is at the heart of the effort. Hot dogs are definitely a big part of events at the race track and last year, more than 1.1 million hot dogs were sold during the Indianapolis 500. Not only does the committee want the public to stop eating hot dogs, but deli meats, ham, sausage, bacon and pepperoni are also on the list. Lots of success in achieving that goal, you vegan kooks…………
- The threats have been made by NBA players from the league’s superstars to its role players and now, the words can officially be matched by action. As the Association’s lockout drags on and all involved parties seem resigned to a long and contentious work stoppage, players have taken the idea of playing abroad during the lockout to varying degrees. Some, like Nets All-Star guard Deron Williams, have signed contracts with foreign clubs. Others, like Lakers star Kobe Bryant and Oklahoma City forward and reigning NBA scoring champion Kevin Durant, have merely teased the idea of playing in a foreign professional league. Hovering over all of those situations was the legality of such moves - until now. FIBA, basketball’s international governing body, announced Friday it would clear NBA players under contract to play in its leagues during the work stoppage, provided the deals they sign come with opt-out clauses. Players can now earn a living playing basketball while the NBA remains on hiatus, but must do so at their own risk of injury. "As the world governing body for basketball, we strongly hope that the labor dispute will be resolved as soon as possible, and that the NBA season is able to begin as scheduled," secretary general Patrick Baumann said in a statement. "In view of our role to promote basketball worldwide, we support any player wishing to play the game, wherever and whenever. We do so while obviously taking the interests, rights and obligations of all parties into account." To this point, many league executives have laughed off the idea of players going abroad, believing it to be nothing more than a negotiating ploy on the part of the players. Even after Williams signed a deal with Turkish club Besiktas -- which is also courting Bryant - that belief remained unchanged. Union executive director Billy Hunter has endorsed the idea as well and players are confident that signing with foreign teams will boost their negotiating position because owners will see that their players have options elsewhere. "Our players are gratified by today's announcement by FIBA, although it comes as no surprise," Hunter said in a statement. "We have consistently advised our members that in the event of a lockout they would have the right to be compensated for playing basketball irrespective of whether they were under contract to an NBA team or not. We have encouraged all of our players to pursue such opportunities and will continue to do so." Pursuing those opportunities is one thing, but finding them will likely be much different. Most foreign leagues have a quota on the number of American players allowed on a roster and few professional teams outside the United States are financially solvent enough to pay NBA players suitable wages. However, with the lockout not close to ending in any way, shape or form, other options are still needed. The league and players have not met at all in recent weeks and won't get back to the bargaining table until Monday…………
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Driving up the cost of coke, apologizing for idiotic remarks and what your web browser says about your IQ
- Umm, about that whole “calling the commissioner of the National Football League a ‘crook’ and a ‘puppet,’” Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison didn’t really mean it. Harrison, who lashed out at the commissioner in a controversial interview that appears in August's Men's Journal, spoke about his remarks following the Steelers' walk-through Friday morning. Harrison admitted he should not have said what he said about the commissioner, whom he ripped for being everything short of the anti-Christ or an axe murderer. "The interview that I did and the comments that I made about Roger Goodell were inappropriate, at the least," Harrison said. "They were way out of line, and I was speaking out of anger and frustration at the time. Any comments that I made that offended anyone, I apologize." Ah, the “IF I offended anyone, I apologize” standby for an athlete or public figure who has made regrettable remarks. Go ahead and assume that IF you’re apologizing in the first place, then you said something that offended someone. Also, people tend to get offended when you call them a crook, a puppet and essentially, the devil. That Harrison was angry surprised no one because he was the most-fined player in the NFL last season because he could not or refused to adjust to the league’s increased focus on cracking down on hits to the head and defenseless players. Instead, Harrison seemed to relish being the poster boy for the campaign and delivered one over-the-top, dangerous hit to a defenseless player after another, then became livid at Goodell after his fines totaled $100,000. He followed those fines with controversial remarks and even staged a totally unbelievable debate over possibly retiring because he couldn’t cope with the “new NFL” before predictably backing down. While making his apology Friday, Harrison said he hasn't spoken to the NFL or to Goodell about his statements. The league has not commented on possible fines or a suspension for the remarks and Steelers president Art Rooney II stated that he had talked with Harrison about the remarks but that the team will keep any discipline internal. But with such a fine, thoughtful apology, how could anyone still be angry at Harrison…………
- What does the Web browser you use say about you? If a new study by tech research company AptiQuant is accurate, it could be a solid measure of your IQ points - at least if you use what could easily be classified as the world’s worst browser, which just happens to be made by the creator of the world’s worst operating system. The study tested the IQs of users and grouped the results according to which browser respondents used and surprise, surprise, they found that Internet Explorer users are generally dumber than Chrome and Firefox users. AptiQuant, the self-proclaimed "world leader in the field of online psychometric testing," found that users of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera were all slightly above average in IQ test results, but Internet Explorer users tended to rank lower on the IQ scale. And before you dismiss the results as skewed and not representative of the general browser-using public because they include a small sampling, know that there are factual reasons why the results make sense. Browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Opera are generally used by professionals and other well-educated, tech-savvy individuals, whereas Internet Explorer is the default browser on Windows-based computers, with Windows being the aforementioned world’s worst OS. Thus, Internet Explorer tends to be used by inexperienced and clueless computer users, many of whom don’t even realize there are other options. The numbers are even more staggering when the data is broken down amongst different versions of Internet Explorer. Older versions of the browser, such as IE6 and IE7, has users who scored lower than users of more recent versions, such as IE8 or IE9. So who are the smartest browser users on the Internet? That would be Opera users, who recorded the highest IQ scores of all the browsers. Chrome and Safari users posted similar scores, both slightly behind those of Opera users……….
- Don’t start complaining when the price of an eight ball of coke goes through the roof, Hondurans, because you need look no further than your own government for the cause of the trouble. See, it was your own authorities who seized 7.3 tons of cocaine from a semi-submersible craft seized off the country's Caribbean coast. Specifically, look in the direction of presidential guard chief Col. Rene Osorio and his crew, who seized the drugs and have been unloading them since Wednesday. Some of the blame also goes on the U.S. Coast Guard patrol that detected the vessel Wednesday off the coast of the sparsely populated province of Gracias a Dios, near the Nicaraguan border. Had these meddling Coast Guard members simply looked the other way and thought of all the friendly neighborhood coke dealers and cokeheads who were waiting on the product from that submarine-like fiberglass craft, they might have acted differently than they did. Instead, they stopped it and detained its five crew members. To their credit, the crew members didn’t go down without a fight and did so by……looking to go down, literally. Realizing the noose that was tightening around their collective neck, the crew members attempted to sink the vessel. Sadly, their efforts failed and The Man got to pin another gold star on his vest by taking control of enough Colombian nose candy to boost the overall haul of their most recent campaign against coke to 13.8 tons, with a total value of at least $500 million. That is a whole lot of Bolivian marching powder, quite possibly enough to last Lindsay Lohan through the filming or her next two or three movies…………
- Did he or didn’t he………..and better yet, why should anyone care either way? The last of those three is the appropriate question with rumors that “rapper” Soulja Boy purchased a $55 million G5 jet as a birthday present for himself last week making the rounds. The big difference with this rumor? It was apparently Soulja Boy and members of his crew who started the rumor. He, a member of his management team named Shai Storm and his personal assistant all implied to TMZ that he had dropped the cash on the private jet as a 21st birthday gift to himself. To further perpetuate the rumor, Soulja Boy went on a radio show Friday in Miami and was coy in answering questions about the story. He told the DJ he was "G5 status" but never directly confirmed or denied the jet tale. In fact, it wasn’t until his personal mouthpiece, Greg Miller, issued an “official” statement about the G5 rumor that any definitive word was given. The statement claims the "elaborate rumors" are "not true." That would be well and good - if Soulja Boy himself had not said the exact opposite to TMZ earlier in the week, answering a direct query on the subject by declaring, "Hell yeah ... I bought it." Storm has dropped off the radar entirely, insisting all media inquiries from this point forward go through Miller. Again, one could easily get swept up in whether the rumor is true or false, or even ask why anyone who go to such lengths to build an elaborate fairy tale about purchasing a G5, only to have the story unravel so quickly. One could ask those questions, but by simply taking a step back and asking, “Why the hell should I give a damn about a D-list, bubble gum pop rapper with no game who is nothing more than the flavor of the week and whether or not he blew $55 million on a private jet even though he’s a one-hit wonder who probably won't make $55,000 once the remainder of the fame from his lone “hit” fades the rest of the way?” Ask that question and the drama all goes away…………
- No matter what neighborhood around the United States you go to, you’re bound to find that one über-annoying neighbor whom everyone else just hates and wants to go away yesterday. In the Fair Oaks neighborhood in Sacramento, the neighbors in question are small, too numerous to count and equipped with stingers. A massive swarm of bees took up residence in a vacant house early in the spring and literally overran the place, building hives and putting down roots. Angry neighbors first reported the problem to local law enforcement in April, but no one did anything about the problem and people simply went about their lives because the bees weren’t creating a big enough menace to inspire them to take action. Finally, the bees became belligerent enough to spur the locals to action and they called in beekeepers to help remove the insects. Resident Meg Helton, who lives across the street from the infested house, attempted to get her family from their house to their car to leave for their family vacation but was unable to get both of her children in the car in time and one was stung nearly 20 times. The family retreated to the house and unfortunately, the bee keeper who was hired for the cleanup did not enjoy much better fortune. Despite entering the house decked out on protective gear, he was forced to retreat after being stung more than 20 times. After fleeing in fear, the flustered beekeeper declared it could take as long as a week to fully clear the house of all bees. A local TV news reporter who attempted to cover the story was also stung half a dozen times in the face while attempting to do his job. If only someone had noticed this mounting problem months ago and that observant person had access to some sort of advanced, futuristic communication device allowing him or her to summon people with the ability to come and deal with large quantities of bees…………
- What does the Web browser you use say about you? If a new study by tech research company AptiQuant is accurate, it could be a solid measure of your IQ points - at least if you use what could easily be classified as the world’s worst browser, which just happens to be made by the creator of the world’s worst operating system. The study tested the IQs of users and grouped the results according to which browser respondents used and surprise, surprise, they found that Internet Explorer users are generally dumber than Chrome and Firefox users. AptiQuant, the self-proclaimed "world leader in the field of online psychometric testing," found that users of Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Opera were all slightly above average in IQ test results, but Internet Explorer users tended to rank lower on the IQ scale. And before you dismiss the results as skewed and not representative of the general browser-using public because they include a small sampling, know that there are factual reasons why the results make sense. Browsers such as Chrome, Firefox and Opera are generally used by professionals and other well-educated, tech-savvy individuals, whereas Internet Explorer is the default browser on Windows-based computers, with Windows being the aforementioned world’s worst OS. Thus, Internet Explorer tends to be used by inexperienced and clueless computer users, many of whom don’t even realize there are other options. The numbers are even more staggering when the data is broken down amongst different versions of Internet Explorer. Older versions of the browser, such as IE6 and IE7, has users who scored lower than users of more recent versions, such as IE8 or IE9. So who are the smartest browser users on the Internet? That would be Opera users, who recorded the highest IQ scores of all the browsers. Chrome and Safari users posted similar scores, both slightly behind those of Opera users……….
- Don’t start complaining when the price of an eight ball of coke goes through the roof, Hondurans, because you need look no further than your own government for the cause of the trouble. See, it was your own authorities who seized 7.3 tons of cocaine from a semi-submersible craft seized off the country's Caribbean coast. Specifically, look in the direction of presidential guard chief Col. Rene Osorio and his crew, who seized the drugs and have been unloading them since Wednesday. Some of the blame also goes on the U.S. Coast Guard patrol that detected the vessel Wednesday off the coast of the sparsely populated province of Gracias a Dios, near the Nicaraguan border. Had these meddling Coast Guard members simply looked the other way and thought of all the friendly neighborhood coke dealers and cokeheads who were waiting on the product from that submarine-like fiberglass craft, they might have acted differently than they did. Instead, they stopped it and detained its five crew members. To their credit, the crew members didn’t go down without a fight and did so by……looking to go down, literally. Realizing the noose that was tightening around their collective neck, the crew members attempted to sink the vessel. Sadly, their efforts failed and The Man got to pin another gold star on his vest by taking control of enough Colombian nose candy to boost the overall haul of their most recent campaign against coke to 13.8 tons, with a total value of at least $500 million. That is a whole lot of Bolivian marching powder, quite possibly enough to last Lindsay Lohan through the filming or her next two or three movies…………
- Did he or didn’t he………..and better yet, why should anyone care either way? The last of those three is the appropriate question with rumors that “rapper” Soulja Boy purchased a $55 million G5 jet as a birthday present for himself last week making the rounds. The big difference with this rumor? It was apparently Soulja Boy and members of his crew who started the rumor. He, a member of his management team named Shai Storm and his personal assistant all implied to TMZ that he had dropped the cash on the private jet as a 21st birthday gift to himself. To further perpetuate the rumor, Soulja Boy went on a radio show Friday in Miami and was coy in answering questions about the story. He told the DJ he was "G5 status" but never directly confirmed or denied the jet tale. In fact, it wasn’t until his personal mouthpiece, Greg Miller, issued an “official” statement about the G5 rumor that any definitive word was given. The statement claims the "elaborate rumors" are "not true." That would be well and good - if Soulja Boy himself had not said the exact opposite to TMZ earlier in the week, answering a direct query on the subject by declaring, "Hell yeah ... I bought it." Storm has dropped off the radar entirely, insisting all media inquiries from this point forward go through Miller. Again, one could easily get swept up in whether the rumor is true or false, or even ask why anyone who go to such lengths to build an elaborate fairy tale about purchasing a G5, only to have the story unravel so quickly. One could ask those questions, but by simply taking a step back and asking, “Why the hell should I give a damn about a D-list, bubble gum pop rapper with no game who is nothing more than the flavor of the week and whether or not he blew $55 million on a private jet even though he’s a one-hit wonder who probably won't make $55,000 once the remainder of the fame from his lone “hit” fades the rest of the way?” Ask that question and the drama all goes away…………
- No matter what neighborhood around the United States you go to, you’re bound to find that one über-annoying neighbor whom everyone else just hates and wants to go away yesterday. In the Fair Oaks neighborhood in Sacramento, the neighbors in question are small, too numerous to count and equipped with stingers. A massive swarm of bees took up residence in a vacant house early in the spring and literally overran the place, building hives and putting down roots. Angry neighbors first reported the problem to local law enforcement in April, but no one did anything about the problem and people simply went about their lives because the bees weren’t creating a big enough menace to inspire them to take action. Finally, the bees became belligerent enough to spur the locals to action and they called in beekeepers to help remove the insects. Resident Meg Helton, who lives across the street from the infested house, attempted to get her family from their house to their car to leave for their family vacation but was unable to get both of her children in the car in time and one was stung nearly 20 times. The family retreated to the house and unfortunately, the bee keeper who was hired for the cleanup did not enjoy much better fortune. Despite entering the house decked out on protective gear, he was forced to retreat after being stung more than 20 times. After fleeing in fear, the flustered beekeeper declared it could take as long as a week to fully clear the house of all bees. A local TV news reporter who attempted to cover the story was also stung half a dozen times in the face while attempting to do his job. If only someone had noticed this mounting problem months ago and that observant person had access to some sort of advanced, futuristic communication device allowing him or her to summon people with the ability to come and deal with large quantities of bees…………
Friday, July 29, 2011
Rock stars and guns, lift weights to prevent diabetes and brawling mayors
- On the one hand, two dudes with checkered pasts - one of whom has a criminal record and thus cannot legally own a gun - should probably know better. On the other hand, when those two men are Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee and Poison frontman Brett Michaels, can anyone truly expect more from them than rolling up on a shooting range in North Carolina to unwind during some down time on their joint U.S. tour? While crisscrossing the country, Lee and Michaels apparently decided to unwind by hitting a shooting range in Rowan County, N.C. and that would have been fine if Lee didn’t have a rap sheet that includes domestic violence and indecent exposure charges and oh yeah, an entry on that rap sheet for illegal possession of a firearm. Unfortunately, those with criminal records cannot own, possess or carry a gun in the state of North Carolina. State laws make it illegal "for any person who has been convicted of a felony to purchase, own, possess, or have in his custody, care, or control any firearm." Ironically enough, the two men were accompanied to the shooting range by a former police officer who either didn’t know about the legal issues associated with the visit or was simply too star struck to care. The entire incident probably would have gone unnoticed had meddlesome local TV station WSOCTV not brought it to the attention of police. In an official statement, the station rather boastfully proclaimed, “The sheriff and local police chiefs didn't know about it until we brought it to their attention. It could be illegal if any of those men have criminal records that prohibits them from using guns. There were officers from the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, Salisbury and Spencer police departments with the rockers. We found that out when the sheriff and both chiefs called me to say they’re now investigating. The sheriff wants to know if the pictures show bad judgment, a policy problem or a crime.” Hmm……I know who showed bad judgment on this one…..aside from Lee and Michaels. It’s WSOCTV, which should have simply kept its mouth shut. Yes, a story like this might boost your ratings for a day or two, but in the end you’re doing more harm than good and simply kicking a couple of has-been rockers when they’re down. Who was injured by Michaels and Lee shooting some paper targets at the range? No one, that’s who. Still, WSOCTV would not have had this golden chance at a pub grab if Lee and Michaels had simply known and followed the law…………
- There is now an additional reason to get off the couch and work out, world. Not only can lifting weights help you get that cut, chiseled physique all the ladies (or fellas) will enjoy, but pumping iron may reduce your chance of contracting type II diabetes. A new study released Thursday suggests that increasing your muscle mass could do more in decreasing your risk than simply reducing your body fat. Researchers at UCLA state in the report that building muscle mess has a direct link to a person’s likelihood of contracting type II diabetes. "Our findings suggest that beyond focusing on losing weight to improve metabolic health, there may be a role for maintaining fitness and building muscle mass," says assistant professor Preethi Srikanthan, of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Medical experts have long known that reducing your body fat will reduce your chances of getting type II diabetes, but the way in which people go about reducing body fat could be the key. Researchers in the school's division of endocinology studied 13,644 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III in search of a connection between higher muscle mass and the bodies' insulin resistance. One warning sign of the onset of diabetes is the body's resistance to absorbing insulin. In their study, scientists found that for every 10-percent increase in a person’s muscle mass, there was an 11-percent decrease in the bodies' resistance to insulin. Additionally, an increase in muscle mass also amounted to a 12-percent decrease in pre-diabetes, a condition associated with people on the edge of contracting diabetes due to their blood's high glucose levels. The findings could offer hope to the 79 million Americans the American Diabetes Association says currently have the pre-diabetes condition. Nearly 26 million Americans presently have type II Diabetes and combined, the two conditions comprise one-third of the country’s population. Decreasing the amount of obese and overweight Americans is a great solution to the problem, but anyone who has been in the immediate vicinity of a fast food restaurant or all-you-can-eat buffet of late can attest to what a difficult endeavor that is. Convincing many Americans to exercise is a war in and of itself, but perhaps doing some biceps curls and dead lifts will be easier than talking them into running, biking, swimming or other activities that require them to venture into the great outdoors……….
- Never has there been a prouder day for someone to call themselves a resident of Sheboygan, Wisc. Contrary to popular belief, having a mayor who is (hopefully sober enough to be) governing by day and brawling in local bars by night is freaking awesome. How many Americans regularly lament the lack of concern and interest on the part of their elected officials, a general disinterest in fighting for anything worthwhile? Mayor Bob Ryan is a man who will fight and while he may have been fighting mostly out of a drunken belligerent-ness, at least he was fighting over the weekend. While out on the town Saturday night, Ryan apparently found himself in the middle of a bar brawl and also passed out at some point in the evening. No one is clear in which order the events happened, but Ryan isn't attempting to deny what went down at a bar near Elkhart Lake. He also readily admits to having a drinking problem, something he has copped to numerous times in the past but has simply never gotten around to addressing. In fact, he addressed the matter in October 2009 and vowed to stay off the sauce from that point on. "Alcohol will never again play a role in my future," Ryan told the Sheboygan City Council at the time. He went on to apologize for his abuse of alcohol after a video surfaced of him apparently drinking and making inappropriate comments at a local bar. In light of breaking those promises and proving himself to be the angry drunk guy everyone is looking to avoid when they go to the bar, many residents are calling for Ryan’s resignation. He has no plans to give those people what they want and went on a local radio station Thursday to state his intentions to remain in office, "I do not blame the council for asking for my resignation. What I did is indefensible....I'm not proud of it," Ryan said. "I'm not proud of that," said Ryan. "I'm humiliated by that. If it happens again, I need to walk away.” Yes, if it happens again for the umpteenth time, then he definitely needs to walk away because then it would just be ridiculous to keep going. This was just one isolated incident - that the mayor characterized as part of "a three-day drinking session." That “drinking session” also included a series of inappropriate remarks to a female bartender before passing out. The city council is moving ahead with efforts to oust Ryan from office regardless of his opinion on the matter and council members have decided to introduce a resolution asking the mayor to step down at a meeting next week. Like any good, “functional” alcoholic, Ryan insists alcohol has not affected the way he does his job. He vows to remain sober for the rest of his term and days the "fishbowl" he lives in helps keep him sober. What fishbowl he’s referring to, no one is sure. After all, dude is the mayor of Sheboygan, Wisc., not New York City………..
- One too many times to the well, Oklahoma University athletic department, one too many times to the well. Asking the NCAA for leniency after committing your first major rules violation might fly depending on the infraction and the NCAA’s mood at the time, but doing so a second time in a five-year span for the same program - men’s basketball - is too much of a reach. But there OU athletic department officials are, pleading with the governing body for collegiate athletics to spare them severe sanctions despite two major rules violations in its men's basketball program. In making the request, OU officials hope to avoid harsh penalties that can be applied to a “repeat offender” under NCAA bylaws, penalties that include a minimum of having the sport dropped for one or two seasons with no scholarships provided for two seasons. The hail Mary for the Sooners is being sent to the NCAA infractions committee, which has the authority to override such a designation. To win over the committee, the school needs to explain how, despite admitting that it does qualify under the description of repeat violator -- having two major infractions cases within five years in the same sport - it should not get a punishment smackdown from the NCAA. "This is an isolated incident involving a single member of the coaching staff, who clearly knew his lack of action to prevent or report the violation was not acceptable," the university said in a summary disposition report put together jointly with NCAA investigators. In the latest case, the school claimed former assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro broke NCAA rules by failing to report that a player had received an impermissible extra benefit and followed that brilliant decision up by lying to Oklahoma and NCAA enforcement staff during the investigation. The name of the player involved was redacted from the report, but former player Keith "Tiny" Gallon said in multiple interviews that he took $3,000 from a Florida financial adviser to pay for his high school transcripts and allow him to attend college. The previous NCAA violations came under the regime of serial rule breaker and liar Kelvin Sampson, who made thousands of illegal phone calls and sent many more illegal text messages to recruits during his time in Norman. Corruption and rule-breaking seems to run in the family at OU, so to speak, as the football, men’s and women’s gymnastics team have also had major rules violations in the past five years. The gymnastics violations are no surprise because anyone who knows college sports knows that the gymnastics recruiting game is as dirty, big-dollar and corrupt as they come. In spite of that rampant rule-breaking both department-wide and within the men’s basketball program, the school believes previous cases show the most severe penalties "are not appropriate in this case." In lieu of those sanctions, OU asked the NCAA to place the program on two more years of probation, vacate its wins from the 2009-10 season and take away one scholarship, two official visits and 10 in-person recruiting days during the upcoming academic year. Lots of success winning that argument……….
- Not that starting an international war is ever a desirable option, but now would be an excellent time to attack for any nations out there that have been eyeing an invasion of Turkey. The country’s entire military command resigned Friday, although the reason for the mass exodus wasn’t immediately clear. Local media began reporting the resignations early in the day and by midday, the head of the armed forces, and the army, naval and air commanders had tendered their resignations to the government. While no explanation was given, the move likely has tied to the recent string of arrests of active and retired officers by the government, which has accused the detainees of organizing an Internet-based plot to undermine the country's leadership. Relations between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government and the military were strained before the arrests and shockingly, dropping dozens of current and former officers into Turkish prisons did nothing to improve the relationship. Regardless of the cause, having the highest-ranking military officials in any country walk out on the job cannot be considered a good thing despite any questions about the military’s loyalty. Oh, and Turkey happens to be in one of the most combustible regions of the world, precariously situated between the Middle East - always on the verge of all-out war - and Africa, where a despotic regime is overthrown every other day or so. Any country with a grudge against Turkey or a score to settle might want to break out those plans for a strike and put things into motion before the conflict between the military and government are resolved. Not saying it’s time to start a war, I’m just saying…………
- There is now an additional reason to get off the couch and work out, world. Not only can lifting weights help you get that cut, chiseled physique all the ladies (or fellas) will enjoy, but pumping iron may reduce your chance of contracting type II diabetes. A new study released Thursday suggests that increasing your muscle mass could do more in decreasing your risk than simply reducing your body fat. Researchers at UCLA state in the report that building muscle mess has a direct link to a person’s likelihood of contracting type II diabetes. "Our findings suggest that beyond focusing on losing weight to improve metabolic health, there may be a role for maintaining fitness and building muscle mass," says assistant professor Preethi Srikanthan, of UCLA's David Geffen School of Medicine. Medical experts have long known that reducing your body fat will reduce your chances of getting type II diabetes, but the way in which people go about reducing body fat could be the key. Researchers in the school's division of endocinology studied 13,644 adults in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III in search of a connection between higher muscle mass and the bodies' insulin resistance. One warning sign of the onset of diabetes is the body's resistance to absorbing insulin. In their study, scientists found that for every 10-percent increase in a person’s muscle mass, there was an 11-percent decrease in the bodies' resistance to insulin. Additionally, an increase in muscle mass also amounted to a 12-percent decrease in pre-diabetes, a condition associated with people on the edge of contracting diabetes due to their blood's high glucose levels. The findings could offer hope to the 79 million Americans the American Diabetes Association says currently have the pre-diabetes condition. Nearly 26 million Americans presently have type II Diabetes and combined, the two conditions comprise one-third of the country’s population. Decreasing the amount of obese and overweight Americans is a great solution to the problem, but anyone who has been in the immediate vicinity of a fast food restaurant or all-you-can-eat buffet of late can attest to what a difficult endeavor that is. Convincing many Americans to exercise is a war in and of itself, but perhaps doing some biceps curls and dead lifts will be easier than talking them into running, biking, swimming or other activities that require them to venture into the great outdoors……….
- Never has there been a prouder day for someone to call themselves a resident of Sheboygan, Wisc. Contrary to popular belief, having a mayor who is (hopefully sober enough to be) governing by day and brawling in local bars by night is freaking awesome. How many Americans regularly lament the lack of concern and interest on the part of their elected officials, a general disinterest in fighting for anything worthwhile? Mayor Bob Ryan is a man who will fight and while he may have been fighting mostly out of a drunken belligerent-ness, at least he was fighting over the weekend. While out on the town Saturday night, Ryan apparently found himself in the middle of a bar brawl and also passed out at some point in the evening. No one is clear in which order the events happened, but Ryan isn't attempting to deny what went down at a bar near Elkhart Lake. He also readily admits to having a drinking problem, something he has copped to numerous times in the past but has simply never gotten around to addressing. In fact, he addressed the matter in October 2009 and vowed to stay off the sauce from that point on. "Alcohol will never again play a role in my future," Ryan told the Sheboygan City Council at the time. He went on to apologize for his abuse of alcohol after a video surfaced of him apparently drinking and making inappropriate comments at a local bar. In light of breaking those promises and proving himself to be the angry drunk guy everyone is looking to avoid when they go to the bar, many residents are calling for Ryan’s resignation. He has no plans to give those people what they want and went on a local radio station Thursday to state his intentions to remain in office, "I do not blame the council for asking for my resignation. What I did is indefensible....I'm not proud of it," Ryan said. "I'm not proud of that," said Ryan. "I'm humiliated by that. If it happens again, I need to walk away.” Yes, if it happens again for the umpteenth time, then he definitely needs to walk away because then it would just be ridiculous to keep going. This was just one isolated incident - that the mayor characterized as part of "a three-day drinking session." That “drinking session” also included a series of inappropriate remarks to a female bartender before passing out. The city council is moving ahead with efforts to oust Ryan from office regardless of his opinion on the matter and council members have decided to introduce a resolution asking the mayor to step down at a meeting next week. Like any good, “functional” alcoholic, Ryan insists alcohol has not affected the way he does his job. He vows to remain sober for the rest of his term and days the "fishbowl" he lives in helps keep him sober. What fishbowl he’s referring to, no one is sure. After all, dude is the mayor of Sheboygan, Wisc., not New York City………..
- One too many times to the well, Oklahoma University athletic department, one too many times to the well. Asking the NCAA for leniency after committing your first major rules violation might fly depending on the infraction and the NCAA’s mood at the time, but doing so a second time in a five-year span for the same program - men’s basketball - is too much of a reach. But there OU athletic department officials are, pleading with the governing body for collegiate athletics to spare them severe sanctions despite two major rules violations in its men's basketball program. In making the request, OU officials hope to avoid harsh penalties that can be applied to a “repeat offender” under NCAA bylaws, penalties that include a minimum of having the sport dropped for one or two seasons with no scholarships provided for two seasons. The hail Mary for the Sooners is being sent to the NCAA infractions committee, which has the authority to override such a designation. To win over the committee, the school needs to explain how, despite admitting that it does qualify under the description of repeat violator -- having two major infractions cases within five years in the same sport - it should not get a punishment smackdown from the NCAA. "This is an isolated incident involving a single member of the coaching staff, who clearly knew his lack of action to prevent or report the violation was not acceptable," the university said in a summary disposition report put together jointly with NCAA investigators. In the latest case, the school claimed former assistant coach Oronde Taliaferro broke NCAA rules by failing to report that a player had received an impermissible extra benefit and followed that brilliant decision up by lying to Oklahoma and NCAA enforcement staff during the investigation. The name of the player involved was redacted from the report, but former player Keith "Tiny" Gallon said in multiple interviews that he took $3,000 from a Florida financial adviser to pay for his high school transcripts and allow him to attend college. The previous NCAA violations came under the regime of serial rule breaker and liar Kelvin Sampson, who made thousands of illegal phone calls and sent many more illegal text messages to recruits during his time in Norman. Corruption and rule-breaking seems to run in the family at OU, so to speak, as the football, men’s and women’s gymnastics team have also had major rules violations in the past five years. The gymnastics violations are no surprise because anyone who knows college sports knows that the gymnastics recruiting game is as dirty, big-dollar and corrupt as they come. In spite of that rampant rule-breaking both department-wide and within the men’s basketball program, the school believes previous cases show the most severe penalties "are not appropriate in this case." In lieu of those sanctions, OU asked the NCAA to place the program on two more years of probation, vacate its wins from the 2009-10 season and take away one scholarship, two official visits and 10 in-person recruiting days during the upcoming academic year. Lots of success winning that argument……….
- Not that starting an international war is ever a desirable option, but now would be an excellent time to attack for any nations out there that have been eyeing an invasion of Turkey. The country’s entire military command resigned Friday, although the reason for the mass exodus wasn’t immediately clear. Local media began reporting the resignations early in the day and by midday, the head of the armed forces, and the army, naval and air commanders had tendered their resignations to the government. While no explanation was given, the move likely has tied to the recent string of arrests of active and retired officers by the government, which has accused the detainees of organizing an Internet-based plot to undermine the country's leadership. Relations between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic-rooted government and the military were strained before the arrests and shockingly, dropping dozens of current and former officers into Turkish prisons did nothing to improve the relationship. Regardless of the cause, having the highest-ranking military officials in any country walk out on the job cannot be considered a good thing despite any questions about the military’s loyalty. Oh, and Turkey happens to be in one of the most combustible regions of the world, precariously situated between the Middle East - always on the verge of all-out war - and Africa, where a despotic regime is overthrown every other day or so. Any country with a grudge against Turkey or a score to settle might want to break out those plans for a strike and put things into motion before the conflict between the military and government are resolved. Not saying it’s time to start a war, I’m just saying…………
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Quitting due to corruption, blown MLB calls and angry actors
- Nothing screams innocence for a high-ranking political official accused of corruption quite like resigning one day after being implicated in a $3.5 billion scandal. Credit for this reputation-boosting move goes to the chief minister of Karnataka state, B. S. Yeddyurappa, who quit Thursday, one day after anticorruption investigators implicated him in a probe involving the illegal mining of iron ore. Karnataka is an important southern state in India, so its chief minister resigning in scandal is kind of a big deal. Yeddyurappa made the decision because he felt he had lost the support of his party, the Bhartiya Janata Party, which is the main opposition party at the federal level. That can often happen when an anticorruption panel releases a report accusing someone and their family of receiving $2 million in illicit payments from a mining company and selling a piece of land at an inflated price. The resignation is merely the latest in a string of them among members of the party in recent months as part of a series of corruption scandals involving government licensing, natural resources and public projects. Other senior members of the coalition government have already lost their jobs and are now awaiting trial. A party spokesman said Yeddyurappa was hoping to stay in office until Sunday, although it’s unclear what good an embattled, scandal-ridden lame-duck leader could do with a few extra days in office. That will probably be the message party leaders deliver when they meet with him on Friday to persuade him to leave earlier. Getting out now would probably be wise on Yeddyurappa’s part, as the sh*t might truly hit the fan in a few months after a newly approved ombudsman’s office to investigate corruption is up and running, a move the cabinet also approved Thursday. Even the creation of the office wasn’t enough to placate a group of activists who undertook a hunger strike for the expressed purpose of pushing authorities to create the office. Those activists dismissed the proposed measure as “toothless” because the office would not be able to investigate the prime minister and would not have enough independence. The BJP reversed field on Yeddyurappa after initially standing behind him and announced Thursday morning that it had “advised” the leader to resign after considering the panel’s report. But hey, it is a 25,000-page report and reading it would take a long time. Karnataka state ombudsman Santosh Hegde also accused other state leaders and corporations of wrongdoing, including illegally mining iron ore, indicating the corruption is much more widespread than a few dirty government officials. This sounds like a scandal that has the potential to deliver more interesting headlines for some time to come…………
- Actors who have made tens of millions of dollars over the course of careers spanning decades don’t have much need to sue anyone, right? Not if the actor in question is Joe Pesci and not if you drastically altered your appearance for a movie role only to have the movie’s producers then inform you that you’ve been downgraded into a lesser role with a smaller paycheck and that role does not necessitate you changing your appearance. Pesci is livid over the sleight and Pesci has filed a lawsuit against the producer of Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father, for $3 million. He was originally slated to play the role of Angelo Ruggiero in the drama about the son of Mafia boss John Gotti, Sr. As part of his preparation for the role, Pesci gained 30 pounds. His lawsuit claims that only after he gained that weight did producers offered him $1 million instead and a lesser role. Rather than play the part of Gotti’s right-hand man, he was to be relegated to some second-tier part. Not only was it a major blow to his ego (probably a large part of the lawsuit because losing the weight he gained would not be that difficult), but Pesci clearly saw it as a reason to fight. Marc Fiore, CEO of Fiore Films rejected the claims and said, “Before we had a deal, Mr. Pesci walked away.” That statement doesn’t tell anyone anything and now that a lawsuit has been filed, it’s safe to say that the studio won't be saying anything worth listening to for the remainder of the case. Despite the suit, the project is moving forward and a cast featuring John Travolta, Al Pacino and Kelly Preston will do their best to keep co-star Lindsay Lohan from going on a Jack-and-coke (the Colombian nose candy, not the soda) bender for the duration of the film. And yes, Lindsay Lohan is attached to a project and she’s not the one making the biggest waves………….
- When your new handheld video game system bombs out abysmally, you face some difficult decisions and if the failure is profound enough you just may have to slash the price by nearly one-third. Nintendo found that out the hard way with its latest handheld gaming system, the 3DS, which will now retail for $169.99 instead of the original sticker price of $249.99 after falling well short of matching the sales success of its predecessors -- the DS, DS Lite and DSi. Nintendo announced that the new price will go into effect Aug. 12 and the company hopes it will boost sagging 3DS sales in the United States. Thus far, the 3DS has sold just 830,000 units in the U.S. since its March 27 launch It’s primary drawing point, 3-D viewing without the need for 3-D glasses, hasn’t been that much of a draw so far. Those who have already purchased a 3DS may not like the idea of the price dropping $80 and for that reason, Nintendo is planning to give them something of a thank you gift. "These Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo's most loyal customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop," Nintendo said. That sounds great except…….these customers have to use "a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11" to get the free games, which Nintendo is terming its "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program." However, those free games will be selected by Nintendo and not by users themselves. Half of the free games will be available in September and the remainder will be downloadable some time between then and year’s end. While admitting to the 3DS’ failure in the U.S., Nintendo tried to aid its case by point out that it has sold more than 4 million 3DS systems worldwide since the device launched in February in Japan. That’s awesome - except that last year, Nintendo sold more than 27 million DS consoles. "We feel the price change and several prominent software releases by the end of the year will definitely change the situation," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata proclaimed. That was an allusion to several high-profile titles for the 3DS set to launch this year, including new Super Mario and Mario Kart games. All of that sounds great, but probably not enough to pull Nintendo out of its full-fledged nosedive………….
- Major League Baseball seems to believe it is “doing the right thing” when it admits after the fact that an umpire has blown a call and altered the outcome of a game with the bad call. To be fair to MLB, other major professional sports leagues occasionally do the same thing and the gesture is equally hollow every time. Tuesday night’s (Wednesday morning, actually) blown call by home plate umpire Jerry Meals in Atlanta's 4-3, 19-inning win over Pittsburgh gave MLB a golden chance to issue one of its patented meaningless mea culpas and sure enough, Bud Selig and crew obliged. Meals conceded after the game that he missed the call when Atlanta's Scott Proctor hit a ground ball to third base, where Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez fielded it and threw home to catcher Michael McKenry, who seemed tag to baserunner Julio Lugo in plenty of time for the out. Meals inexplicably ruled Lugo safe, sparking a near-brawl between he and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and his coaches, all of whom were understandably livid. Replays showed McKenry clearly tagging Lugo before Lugo reached the plate, but the backward-thinking brass in the commissioners office have an inexplicable vendetta against technology and are looking to keep it out of the sport as much as possible. The loss was especially tough to digest for the Pirates, who are looking to break an MLB-record streak of 18 straight seasons with a losing record and are unexpectedly contending in the National League Central. The team filed a formal complaint hours after the game and MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Joe Torre said it appeared Meals missed the call. Meals himself conceded as much after watching a replay of the play. "After coming into the locker room, I reviewed the incident through our videos that we have in here and after seeing a few of them, on one particular replay, I was able to see that Lugo's pant leg moved ever so slightly when the swipe tag was attempted by McKenry," Meals said. Meals’ admission should satisfy Hurdle, who had all but insisted on an apology from the 14-year umpiring veteran for the missed call. "I think that would be appropriate," Hurdle prior to Meals’ statement. "It would be professional. It would be respectful. And then we could all move on." Added to the growing list that includes umpire Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base last season in a Tigers-Indians game that cost Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game, this latest incident should be enough to push Selig, Torre and their crew to expand replay in baseball, but as always it won’t be………….
- Wednesday was not nearly as exciting as it should have been for residents of Grand Rapids, Mich. When a truck full of food falls from an overpass and that food cargo is spilled all over the road below, an all-out bonanza should ensue, especially when that food is an easily perishable item that spoils quickly in summer heat. Thus, when a semi-truck full of yogurt fell from a I-196 overpass in Grand Rapids, residents should have bum rushed the spot and after making sure they were not interfering with rescue workers extricating the trapped driver from his demolished truck, gone hog wild on the yogurt. Oh, and the driver was fine, so no worries there. Even though his truck his the guardrail and flew up and over, falling all the way to Garfield Avenue below, the driver was fine and after several minutes, emergency crews were able to cut him from the mangled cab of the truck, conscious and communicating. Fuel also spilled from the truck as it fell from the bridge and the area reeked of diesel fuel, but a hazardous materials team was able to clean up the spill before it filtered into a nearby storm sewer. Sadly, there was no a massive cleanup effort amongst the locals to scoop up armfuls of yogurt and either eat them or rush them to the nearest refrigerator for safe keeping. Had the spill been ice cream, doughnuts, Doritos or beer that was strewn across Garfield Avenue, one has to imagine that there would have been dozens of fistfights right there on the street amongst portly Americans looking for their free piece of some fatty, fried or otherwise unhealthy food items. Instead, the sight of bland, unexciting yogurt fired up next to no one and a great opportunity went largely unnoticed and missed. Next time the world marvels at how FAT we are collectively, America, just recall incidents like this one and the entire problem will be explained very succinctly…………
- Actors who have made tens of millions of dollars over the course of careers spanning decades don’t have much need to sue anyone, right? Not if the actor in question is Joe Pesci and not if you drastically altered your appearance for a movie role only to have the movie’s producers then inform you that you’ve been downgraded into a lesser role with a smaller paycheck and that role does not necessitate you changing your appearance. Pesci is livid over the sleight and Pesci has filed a lawsuit against the producer of Gotti: In the Shadow of My Father, for $3 million. He was originally slated to play the role of Angelo Ruggiero in the drama about the son of Mafia boss John Gotti, Sr. As part of his preparation for the role, Pesci gained 30 pounds. His lawsuit claims that only after he gained that weight did producers offered him $1 million instead and a lesser role. Rather than play the part of Gotti’s right-hand man, he was to be relegated to some second-tier part. Not only was it a major blow to his ego (probably a large part of the lawsuit because losing the weight he gained would not be that difficult), but Pesci clearly saw it as a reason to fight. Marc Fiore, CEO of Fiore Films rejected the claims and said, “Before we had a deal, Mr. Pesci walked away.” That statement doesn’t tell anyone anything and now that a lawsuit has been filed, it’s safe to say that the studio won't be saying anything worth listening to for the remainder of the case. Despite the suit, the project is moving forward and a cast featuring John Travolta, Al Pacino and Kelly Preston will do their best to keep co-star Lindsay Lohan from going on a Jack-and-coke (the Colombian nose candy, not the soda) bender for the duration of the film. And yes, Lindsay Lohan is attached to a project and she’s not the one making the biggest waves………….
- When your new handheld video game system bombs out abysmally, you face some difficult decisions and if the failure is profound enough you just may have to slash the price by nearly one-third. Nintendo found that out the hard way with its latest handheld gaming system, the 3DS, which will now retail for $169.99 instead of the original sticker price of $249.99 after falling well short of matching the sales success of its predecessors -- the DS, DS Lite and DSi. Nintendo announced that the new price will go into effect Aug. 12 and the company hopes it will boost sagging 3DS sales in the United States. Thus far, the 3DS has sold just 830,000 units in the U.S. since its March 27 launch It’s primary drawing point, 3-D viewing without the need for 3-D glasses, hasn’t been that much of a draw so far. Those who have already purchased a 3DS may not like the idea of the price dropping $80 and for that reason, Nintendo is planning to give them something of a thank you gift. "These Nintendo 3DS owners represent some of Nintendo's most loyal customers, and Nintendo is rewarding them for getting in on the action early with 20 free downloadable games from the Nintendo eShop," Nintendo said. That sounds great except…….these customers have to use "a wireless broadband Internet signal to connect to the Nintendo eShop at least once before 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Aug. 11" to get the free games, which Nintendo is terming its "Nintendo 3DS Ambassador program." However, those free games will be selected by Nintendo and not by users themselves. Half of the free games will be available in September and the remainder will be downloadable some time between then and year’s end. While admitting to the 3DS’ failure in the U.S., Nintendo tried to aid its case by point out that it has sold more than 4 million 3DS systems worldwide since the device launched in February in Japan. That’s awesome - except that last year, Nintendo sold more than 27 million DS consoles. "We feel the price change and several prominent software releases by the end of the year will definitely change the situation," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata proclaimed. That was an allusion to several high-profile titles for the 3DS set to launch this year, including new Super Mario and Mario Kart games. All of that sounds great, but probably not enough to pull Nintendo out of its full-fledged nosedive………….
- Major League Baseball seems to believe it is “doing the right thing” when it admits after the fact that an umpire has blown a call and altered the outcome of a game with the bad call. To be fair to MLB, other major professional sports leagues occasionally do the same thing and the gesture is equally hollow every time. Tuesday night’s (Wednesday morning, actually) blown call by home plate umpire Jerry Meals in Atlanta's 4-3, 19-inning win over Pittsburgh gave MLB a golden chance to issue one of its patented meaningless mea culpas and sure enough, Bud Selig and crew obliged. Meals conceded after the game that he missed the call when Atlanta's Scott Proctor hit a ground ball to third base, where Pittsburgh's Pedro Alvarez fielded it and threw home to catcher Michael McKenry, who seemed tag to baserunner Julio Lugo in plenty of time for the out. Meals inexplicably ruled Lugo safe, sparking a near-brawl between he and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle and his coaches, all of whom were understandably livid. Replays showed McKenry clearly tagging Lugo before Lugo reached the plate, but the backward-thinking brass in the commissioners office have an inexplicable vendetta against technology and are looking to keep it out of the sport as much as possible. The loss was especially tough to digest for the Pirates, who are looking to break an MLB-record streak of 18 straight seasons with a losing record and are unexpectedly contending in the National League Central. The team filed a formal complaint hours after the game and MLB executive vice president for baseball operations Joe Torre said it appeared Meals missed the call. Meals himself conceded as much after watching a replay of the play. "After coming into the locker room, I reviewed the incident through our videos that we have in here and after seeing a few of them, on one particular replay, I was able to see that Lugo's pant leg moved ever so slightly when the swipe tag was attempted by McKenry," Meals said. Meals’ admission should satisfy Hurdle, who had all but insisted on an apology from the 14-year umpiring veteran for the missed call. "I think that would be appropriate," Hurdle prior to Meals’ statement. "It would be professional. It would be respectful. And then we could all move on." Added to the growing list that includes umpire Jim Joyce’s blown call at first base last season in a Tigers-Indians game that cost Detroit pitcher Armando Galarraga a perfect game, this latest incident should be enough to push Selig, Torre and their crew to expand replay in baseball, but as always it won’t be………….
- Wednesday was not nearly as exciting as it should have been for residents of Grand Rapids, Mich. When a truck full of food falls from an overpass and that food cargo is spilled all over the road below, an all-out bonanza should ensue, especially when that food is an easily perishable item that spoils quickly in summer heat. Thus, when a semi-truck full of yogurt fell from a I-196 overpass in Grand Rapids, residents should have bum rushed the spot and after making sure they were not interfering with rescue workers extricating the trapped driver from his demolished truck, gone hog wild on the yogurt. Oh, and the driver was fine, so no worries there. Even though his truck his the guardrail and flew up and over, falling all the way to Garfield Avenue below, the driver was fine and after several minutes, emergency crews were able to cut him from the mangled cab of the truck, conscious and communicating. Fuel also spilled from the truck as it fell from the bridge and the area reeked of diesel fuel, but a hazardous materials team was able to clean up the spill before it filtered into a nearby storm sewer. Sadly, there was no a massive cleanup effort amongst the locals to scoop up armfuls of yogurt and either eat them or rush them to the nearest refrigerator for safe keeping. Had the spill been ice cream, doughnuts, Doritos or beer that was strewn across Garfield Avenue, one has to imagine that there would have been dozens of fistfights right there on the street amongst portly Americans looking for their free piece of some fatty, fried or otherwise unhealthy food items. Instead, the sight of bland, unexciting yogurt fired up next to no one and a great opportunity went largely unnoticed and missed. Next time the world marvels at how FAT we are collectively, America, just recall incidents like this one and the entire problem will be explained very succinctly…………
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Arson in Kosovo, science confirms the obvious (again) and South Carolina football stupidity
- Memo to military and government officials in Kosovo: Next time, either use fireproof materials or simply stop provoking your region’s ethnic Serbs. For the second time in three years, those ethnic Serbs have set fire to a border crossing post in northern Kosovo. The second incident took place Wednesday, more than three year after the same border post was burned down in 2008 by local Serbs after Kosovo declared independence. Wednesday’s uprising came after Kosovo's government said it had regained control of that station and one other, which probably was not a wise move - at least not without drastically upping security at the post and preparing for the inevitable attempt to burn it to the ground. Oliver Ivanovic, Serbia's state secretary for Kosovo, said no one was hurt in the incident but worried that the arson would spark other like-minded acts against government and military properties. "One act of violence produces more violence. I am afraid we are entering a spiral of violence," he fretted. That sentiment would seem to have some merit as Wednesday’s violence came just one day after a Kosovo police officer was shot in the head and died on Tuesday in clashes between the police and local Serbs opposing Kosovo's efforts to take control of its border posts. Now, to the cynic it would seem that Serbs in the area are extremely angry and territorial and have no intention of allowing the government or anyone to take control of anything they believe to be theirs, but a more resonant message underlies Wednesday’s violence if one listens closely enough. “Oh, so you think you now control this border post? We’ll show you that you control nothing more than a smoldering heap of ashes, you insolent a**holes………….
- This explains so very much. South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia has been suspended an astonishing six times by coach Steve Spurrier for various off-field indiscretions, including showing up drunk to an athletic department function and being kicked out for acting like…..well, a drunken idiot. He returned to working out with the team in June and during SEC media days last week, Spurrier said he expects Garcia to return to the team full-time for the start of preseason practice. "Stephen has done well," Spurrier said. "He has some guidelines he must follow to be reinstated in August. He's done everything we've asked. He's certainly behaved very well, gone to all the workouts from what I understand. I guess we don't want to kick him out for stupidity.” Explaining how Garcia has been given so many second chances and managed to f*ck them all up became much easier after South Carolina quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus was arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with nuisance conduct for allegedly "facing Main St. urinating on the street curb and roadway," at 1:31 a.m. ET Tuesday in Greenville as two police officers looked on. According to the report, another officer was called to the scene and approached Mangus, who was "unsteady on his feet and he had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person." Wait, a guy taking a leak on a public street at 1:31 a.m. was drunk? Wow. If there was any doubt of his inebriated state at that point, it was erased when the officer began questioning him and Mangus' speech was slurred and he failed to provide the officer with "straight answers." He was hit with a ticket for $470, handcuffed and taken to the Greenville County Detention Center. That led to the requisite apology via written statement in which Mangus said, "Last night I acted irresponsibly and I deeply regret my actions. I take full responsibility. I would like to publicly apologize to Coach Spurrier, (athletic director) Eric Hyman, the entire team and everyone associated with the University of South Carolina." Hmm, so a drunk and disorderly coach who works directly with quarterbacks and his No. 1 player at the position was just suspended for drunk and idiotic conduct……I sense a connection. Maybe Mangus and Garcia can commiserate over their woes during Mangus’ sudden wealth of free time, as he has been suspended indefinitely. One lingering question from the arrest is what Mangus, a 42-year-old dude, was doing out well past midnight, drunk and stumbling from a bar. As it turns out, he was doing what all convention goers do when they get out of boring meetings and brainstorming sessions. See, he was in Greenville for the annual South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association convention and decided to go out and blow off some steam at the end of the day. Oh, and also setting a solid example for his players to follow…………
- Science has done it again. Stunning the world is part of what the scientific community does and unearthing nuggets of wisdom that no one with an IQ south of 22 could have surmised in their lifetime comes easily to those in lab coats and goggles, toting clipboards and burning through research dollars. This new discovery is as earth-shattering as ever because no one ever could have imagined that individuals who dislike the size of their nose and seek plastic surgery to rectify the problem might be more likely to show signs of mental illness. This über-revealing study found that approximately one in three people seeking rhinoplasty — commonly called a nose job — have signs of body dysmorphic disorder, a mental health condition in which a person has an unnatural preoccupation with slight or imagined defects in appearance. Its scope is limited because its findings are based on a study of 266 patients evaluated by plastic surgeons in Belgium over a 16-month period, but making broad generalizations about a much larger group of people based on the actions and characteristics of a much smaller group is what science is all about. Study participants all made appointments to discuss a rhinoplasty procedure and were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. What researchers found was that among patients seeking the procedure specifically for medical reasons, just two percent exhibited symptoms of the disorder. The rate was exponentially higher - 43 percent - for those having surgery purely for cosmetic reasons, 43 percent showed signs of the disorder. Yes, people with an unreasonable preoccupation and distress about their bodies also were more likely to have negative feelings about noses that were relatively normal. Reading more about this exhilarating research won't be difficult, as you will only need to consult the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery that has undoubtedly already landed in your mailbox. As is to be expected, the scientific community’s response to the study has been to suggest follow-up research to examine the link between BDD and plastic surgery. Previous studies have shown the figure to be close to 10 percent, meaning this new research falls well outside the norm. Oh, and it also provides another built-in excuse for any narcissistic, superficial jackass who insists on carving up their body with dozens of plastic surgery procedures on their way to looking like a human Barbie doll……….
- The dream has long lived in the hearts and minds of Americans from coast to coast and citizens of every nation on God’s great Earth and now, that dream can be realized. An entire town in South Dakota is for sale and you can score the entire operation for less than most NFL veterans make in a season. For a mere $799,000 (less if your haggling skills are good), you can purchase Scenic, South Dakota - the whole, unpopulated town. Sure, Scenic may not offer much - a dance hall, a jail and a handful of out-buildings - but imagine the cachet of being able to say you own your own town. Donald Trump may own a lot of things, but even he can't say he owns an entire town. Enough land and golf course property to form several towns, yes, but an actual town, no. What’s the story behind Scenic being for sale? "They've decided to sell and move on," said Dave Olsen, a realtor with Coldwell Banker, who is hoping to sell the property. The sale includes the "kit and kaboodle," said Olsen. The means a total of 46 acres - 12 composing “downtown” Scenic and 34 surrounding the center of this thriving metropolis - located about 50 miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota. Anyone considering such a purchase has to be asking a few important questions and the answer to the most important questions is a resounding “yes.” As in yes, Scenic does have its own saloon where you and your friends can re-enact scenes from classic spaghetti westerns. It also has a dance hall, museum, bunkhouse, two stores, a train depot, jails (one abandoned) and a handful of out-buildings. Not only can you re-enact scenes from old westerns, but you can imprison your friends afterward and it may even be quasi-legal (probably not). Acting quickly on this rare offer is essential because it is currently posted on buyscenicsd.com, which offers video tours of various locations. The entire world can get in on this sale and that means Scenic likely won't last long on the open market, not after would-be buyers see the cow skulls adorning the sign for the Longhorn Saloon, which advertises tobacco, lunch and dancing -- in that order. Clearing out of town won't take long for the current residents, as the population has slowly dwindled to less than 10 people. All of them are related to Twila Merril, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Running the town has become too much for the family, Olsen explained. "It's really an interesting place and there's so much history," he said of the town. "All it needs is a little population -- and ingenuity." Sounds like a typical desperate realtor with big deal locked in his crosshairs………….
- Oh, Parents Television Council, how you slay us with your easily mockable ridiculousness. If you’re not bombarding World Wrestling Entertainment and its sponsors with square-tastic complaints about how violent WWE action is and how inappropriate it is for children, you’re launching crusades against some other entity or show responsible for bringing un-wholesome, non-Bible thumper material to the small screen. The latest of those crusades is what brings the PTC to the world’s attention at the moment. Depending on how closely you follow ratings-challenged television networks with one or two good shows on their entire programming schedule, you may or may not known that NBC is readying a new drama called “The Playboy Club” for launch this fall. The program has already created waves in über-conservative and caffeine-hating Salt Lake City, Utah, where the local NBC affiliate steadfastly refuses to carry the show because it does not fit with the station’s core values. Alternative plans have been created to rectify that situation, but the PTC still has its tighty-whities in a bunch over the show and is lambasting the Peacock for putting “Playboy Club,” starring Eddie Cibrian as a candidate for district attorney who frequents the titular establishment and soon finds his life entangled with that of a Playboy bunny, on local stations across the country. Predictably, this is a twofold effort in which the organization is also leaning on local stations to not air the show. At the core of this push are supposedly alarming statistics provided by the PTC claiming that 200,000 Americans are “porn addicts,” and 56 percent of divorce cases can be blamed not on lack of love but on “one person” having "obsessive interest" in pornography. In PTC leaders’ minds, airing this show makes NBC and its affiliates avid supporters of the demise of the American family. Never mind that viewers won't see anything 1/100th as offensive or revealing as the porn they can access any time they want on their smartphones, tablets, laptops or desktop computers, dammit, the Parents Television Council will not be denied. According to the PTC, NBC affiliates have responded with “canned responses” to previous pleas. Anyone wanting to play an active role in taking a blowtorch to the existence and survival of the American family as we know it can tune in to the debut of “The Playboy Club” on Monday, Sept. 19 at 10 p.m., assuming your local affiliate does not cave under the immense influence of the mighty Parents Television Council…………
- This explains so very much. South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia has been suspended an astonishing six times by coach Steve Spurrier for various off-field indiscretions, including showing up drunk to an athletic department function and being kicked out for acting like…..well, a drunken idiot. He returned to working out with the team in June and during SEC media days last week, Spurrier said he expects Garcia to return to the team full-time for the start of preseason practice. "Stephen has done well," Spurrier said. "He has some guidelines he must follow to be reinstated in August. He's done everything we've asked. He's certainly behaved very well, gone to all the workouts from what I understand. I guess we don't want to kick him out for stupidity.” Explaining how Garcia has been given so many second chances and managed to f*ck them all up became much easier after South Carolina quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus was arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with nuisance conduct for allegedly "facing Main St. urinating on the street curb and roadway," at 1:31 a.m. ET Tuesday in Greenville as two police officers looked on. According to the report, another officer was called to the scene and approached Mangus, who was "unsteady on his feet and he had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his person." Wait, a guy taking a leak on a public street at 1:31 a.m. was drunk? Wow. If there was any doubt of his inebriated state at that point, it was erased when the officer began questioning him and Mangus' speech was slurred and he failed to provide the officer with "straight answers." He was hit with a ticket for $470, handcuffed and taken to the Greenville County Detention Center. That led to the requisite apology via written statement in which Mangus said, "Last night I acted irresponsibly and I deeply regret my actions. I take full responsibility. I would like to publicly apologize to Coach Spurrier, (athletic director) Eric Hyman, the entire team and everyone associated with the University of South Carolina." Hmm, so a drunk and disorderly coach who works directly with quarterbacks and his No. 1 player at the position was just suspended for drunk and idiotic conduct……I sense a connection. Maybe Mangus and Garcia can commiserate over their woes during Mangus’ sudden wealth of free time, as he has been suspended indefinitely. One lingering question from the arrest is what Mangus, a 42-year-old dude, was doing out well past midnight, drunk and stumbling from a bar. As it turns out, he was doing what all convention goers do when they get out of boring meetings and brainstorming sessions. See, he was in Greenville for the annual South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association convention and decided to go out and blow off some steam at the end of the day. Oh, and also setting a solid example for his players to follow…………
- Science has done it again. Stunning the world is part of what the scientific community does and unearthing nuggets of wisdom that no one with an IQ south of 22 could have surmised in their lifetime comes easily to those in lab coats and goggles, toting clipboards and burning through research dollars. This new discovery is as earth-shattering as ever because no one ever could have imagined that individuals who dislike the size of their nose and seek plastic surgery to rectify the problem might be more likely to show signs of mental illness. This über-revealing study found that approximately one in three people seeking rhinoplasty — commonly called a nose job — have signs of body dysmorphic disorder, a mental health condition in which a person has an unnatural preoccupation with slight or imagined defects in appearance. Its scope is limited because its findings are based on a study of 266 patients evaluated by plastic surgeons in Belgium over a 16-month period, but making broad generalizations about a much larger group of people based on the actions and characteristics of a much smaller group is what science is all about. Study participants all made appointments to discuss a rhinoplasty procedure and were asked to complete a questionnaire to assess their symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder. What researchers found was that among patients seeking the procedure specifically for medical reasons, just two percent exhibited symptoms of the disorder. The rate was exponentially higher - 43 percent - for those having surgery purely for cosmetic reasons, 43 percent showed signs of the disorder. Yes, people with an unreasonable preoccupation and distress about their bodies also were more likely to have negative feelings about noses that were relatively normal. Reading more about this exhilarating research won't be difficult, as you will only need to consult the August issue of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery that has undoubtedly already landed in your mailbox. As is to be expected, the scientific community’s response to the study has been to suggest follow-up research to examine the link between BDD and plastic surgery. Previous studies have shown the figure to be close to 10 percent, meaning this new research falls well outside the norm. Oh, and it also provides another built-in excuse for any narcissistic, superficial jackass who insists on carving up their body with dozens of plastic surgery procedures on their way to looking like a human Barbie doll……….
- The dream has long lived in the hearts and minds of Americans from coast to coast and citizens of every nation on God’s great Earth and now, that dream can be realized. An entire town in South Dakota is for sale and you can score the entire operation for less than most NFL veterans make in a season. For a mere $799,000 (less if your haggling skills are good), you can purchase Scenic, South Dakota - the whole, unpopulated town. Sure, Scenic may not offer much - a dance hall, a jail and a handful of out-buildings - but imagine the cachet of being able to say you own your own town. Donald Trump may own a lot of things, but even he can't say he owns an entire town. Enough land and golf course property to form several towns, yes, but an actual town, no. What’s the story behind Scenic being for sale? "They've decided to sell and move on," said Dave Olsen, a realtor with Coldwell Banker, who is hoping to sell the property. The sale includes the "kit and kaboodle," said Olsen. The means a total of 46 acres - 12 composing “downtown” Scenic and 34 surrounding the center of this thriving metropolis - located about 50 miles east of Rapid City, South Dakota. Anyone considering such a purchase has to be asking a few important questions and the answer to the most important questions is a resounding “yes.” As in yes, Scenic does have its own saloon where you and your friends can re-enact scenes from classic spaghetti westerns. It also has a dance hall, museum, bunkhouse, two stores, a train depot, jails (one abandoned) and a handful of out-buildings. Not only can you re-enact scenes from old westerns, but you can imprison your friends afterward and it may even be quasi-legal (probably not). Acting quickly on this rare offer is essential because it is currently posted on buyscenicsd.com, which offers video tours of various locations. The entire world can get in on this sale and that means Scenic likely won't last long on the open market, not after would-be buyers see the cow skulls adorning the sign for the Longhorn Saloon, which advertises tobacco, lunch and dancing -- in that order. Clearing out of town won't take long for the current residents, as the population has slowly dwindled to less than 10 people. All of them are related to Twila Merril, who was recently diagnosed with cancer. Running the town has become too much for the family, Olsen explained. "It's really an interesting place and there's so much history," he said of the town. "All it needs is a little population -- and ingenuity." Sounds like a typical desperate realtor with big deal locked in his crosshairs………….
- Oh, Parents Television Council, how you slay us with your easily mockable ridiculousness. If you’re not bombarding World Wrestling Entertainment and its sponsors with square-tastic complaints about how violent WWE action is and how inappropriate it is for children, you’re launching crusades against some other entity or show responsible for bringing un-wholesome, non-Bible thumper material to the small screen. The latest of those crusades is what brings the PTC to the world’s attention at the moment. Depending on how closely you follow ratings-challenged television networks with one or two good shows on their entire programming schedule, you may or may not known that NBC is readying a new drama called “The Playboy Club” for launch this fall. The program has already created waves in über-conservative and caffeine-hating Salt Lake City, Utah, where the local NBC affiliate steadfastly refuses to carry the show because it does not fit with the station’s core values. Alternative plans have been created to rectify that situation, but the PTC still has its tighty-whities in a bunch over the show and is lambasting the Peacock for putting “Playboy Club,” starring Eddie Cibrian as a candidate for district attorney who frequents the titular establishment and soon finds his life entangled with that of a Playboy bunny, on local stations across the country. Predictably, this is a twofold effort in which the organization is also leaning on local stations to not air the show. At the core of this push are supposedly alarming statistics provided by the PTC claiming that 200,000 Americans are “porn addicts,” and 56 percent of divorce cases can be blamed not on lack of love but on “one person” having "obsessive interest" in pornography. In PTC leaders’ minds, airing this show makes NBC and its affiliates avid supporters of the demise of the American family. Never mind that viewers won't see anything 1/100th as offensive or revealing as the porn they can access any time they want on their smartphones, tablets, laptops or desktop computers, dammit, the Parents Television Council will not be denied. According to the PTC, NBC affiliates have responded with “canned responses” to previous pleas. Anyone wanting to play an active role in taking a blowtorch to the existence and survival of the American family as we know it can tune in to the debut of “The Playboy Club” on Monday, Sept. 19 at 10 p.m., assuming your local affiliate does not cave under the immense influence of the mighty Parents Television Council…………
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Water in space, asylum from Australia and a voice in favor of soap operas
- It is the ages-old question about outer space: Can the moon really be made of green cheese? Or maybe the question is where all of the funny-looking aliens who populate low-rent sci-fi movies live when filming is done……and then there’s the query of whether or not there is water in outer space. If water exists in space, the theory goes, then life exists there and a world of possibilities opens up. A team of international scientists have been plugging away on the dilemma and although the United States is now officially out of the business of shooting human beings into outer space, the world at large still possesses a healthy interest in the cosmos. A group led by Jason Glenn, an associate professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder, has come to the conclusion that there was, at one time, a lot of water in space - literally, a ginormous and mind-blowing quantity. "We not only detected water in the farthest reaches of the universe, but enough to fill Earth's oceans more than 100 trillion times," said Glenn, who was co-author of a study of the quasar where traces of water vapor were found. The quasar, located 12 billion light-years from Earth, has traces of water vapor in it. Those asking what a quasar is clearly haven’t been watching the NASA channel enough, but scientists liken it to "a voraciously feeding black hole" – equivalent to 34 billion times the mass of our planet. As recently as 12 billion years ago (sounds reasonable), these scientists say there was water located in the quasar and it is supposedly the largest mass of water ever found. Satellite images show, in the researchers’ minds, that water was present in the early stages of the universe when it was 1.6 billion years old. Those who subscribe to the big-bang theory believe the universe to be approximately 13.6 billion years old. As a point of comparison for the amount of water in the quasar, Earth’s home galaxy, the Milky Way, contains 4,000 times less water than in the quasar, and it is spread over a few light-years, according to the study. Conversely, in the quasar, the water vapor is present over hundreds of light-years. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles. The study’s findings came from the use of a spectrograph at the California Institute of Technology's telescope on the Mauna Kea volcano on Hawaii's Big Island and verified using a facility in California's Inyo Mountains. Its work was completed by scientists from the University of Colorado-Boulder and Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Japan's Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the Observatories of the Carnegie Institute of Science and the University of Pennsylvania. That’s a lot of smart people on one project, but if they were really smart they would probably be focusing their intelligence on solving Earth’s own water problems…………
- Soap operas may be so dead that even Oprah Winfrey has turned a dead ear to pleas from fans of the doomed genre to jump in and save their beloved shows, but as Orlando Bloom’s character Will Turner reminded one and all in the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it. When it comes to soap operas, that one fool just may be actor James Franco. Franco, still riding low after scathing reviews of his performance last year as co-host of the Oscars with Anne Hathaway, is a busy man these days. He is still taking college courses in New York and this fall he will appear on Broadway in the fall with Nicole Kidman in "Sweet Bird of Youth." Yet in the midst of those efforts as well as film roles he is currently involved in or considering, Franco is reportedly carving out time to return to none other than “General Hospital,” one of the few remaining soaps on the air - for now. Once it meets the same fate as “All My Children” and every other dinosaur-like soap and heads off to the television graveyard in the sky, there will be no more chances to save it and so Franco is throwing his (questionable) might behind the show now. He appeared on “GH” in 2009 as Robert "Franco" Frank, a serial killer and performance artist. His character has made return visits to whatever imaginary town it is that “General Hospital” is set in and his last appearance was just after the Academy Awards ceremony in February. Franco will soon return to the show to reprise his role, the fourth time he has done so. Making time for the soap will certainly put a strain on his busy schedule and he may have to find a way to squeeze some homework and paper writing in between takes, but can one ever put a price on doing everything possible to keep a dying genre of TV from decades gone by alive? So what if “GH” is filmed in California and everything else he’s involved in is based in New York? Go for it, J. Franco………….
- The concept of asylum doesn’t have the buzz or cache among Americans that it has elsewhere in the world. Fleeing the U.S. because of government persecution and oppression and filing for asylum to get a fresh start elsewhere just isn't a part of the normal American thought process. Sure, there will always be the occasional Roman Polanski who will have sex with a 13-year-old girl and flee the country to live in France, but for the most part any American who grows disenchanted with living in the land of the free can simply expatriate and become a citizen of another country without much trouble. For the rest of the world, asylum is a bigger part of the vocabulary and for a renegade group of Australians, it’s their current reality as part of a refugee swap deal with Malaysia. The first wave of asylum-seekers under the deal were sent out Monday night on their way to the Australian territory of Christmas Island en route to Malaysia. Under the arrangement with Malaysia , Australia will be able to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 UN-assessed refugees over the next four years. The trek from Java to Christmas Island is approximately 240 miles and has been known to take as little as 30 hours in a fast boat with GPS. However, past refugees have claimed that they were at sea for as many as 11 days from Indonesia trying to reach the Australian territory. All the Australian Border Protection Command confirmed that at least one boat could have left Indonesia for Christmas Island. Malaysia seems to be ducking any involvement in the matter by placing responsibility for organizing the transit accommodation to be used to house transferred asylum-seekers for the first 45 days of their stay with the Australian government. Those leaving Australia are tied to Labor for Refugees, a rank-and-file party group with more than 180 members supported by several federal MPs. The group also has about 75 state branches. Three sites for the refugees’ housing are reportedly under consideration: a “run down” former hotel and two unidentified sites all in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur and its airport. Amnesty International is not a big fan of the agreement, warning that refugees in Malaysia are "frequently caged in appalling conditions, exploited and caned.” Malaysian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen dismissed those concerns and vowed that Malaysian authorities would uphold protection guarantees for asylum-seekers sent by Australia. "With the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration, they'll move into the community," Bowen said. "They will have the right to self-reliance, including work rights, they'll have the right for children to attend schools and they'll have the right to basic healthcare. And they'll receive Australia and Malaysia identification to establish their legal right to be in Malaysia, as is very clear in the arrangement." Many parties have weighed in on the situation in Australia as well, with the Law Council of Australia ranting, "There are significant shortcomings . . . in particular a lack of detail about unaccompanied minors and legal assistance for transferees." Just about the only party yet to check in? The refugees themselves and at present, they probably have bigger concerns to cope with……….
- Life is about to get a little more comfortable for inmates in the state of New Hampshire and not everyone is happy about it. The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announced on Monday it had signed a contract with a St. Louis-based company that provides inmates with access to email and downloadable music. Keefe Commissary Network works specifically with correctional institutions to cater to the needs of inmates, NHDOC officials said. "The (company) provides kiosks where inmates can access email and they can access things such as downloadable music," said NHDOC official Jeff Lyons. The company’s primary services are selling see-through MP3 players and other devices to the inmates directly for as much as $130 and setting up limited Internet access for inmates. Ten percent of the purchase price of the electronic devices will go into the NHDOC's recreation fund to pay for other inmate activities. Prison officials say email access will also help reduce operational expenses by cutting down on traditional mail, thus lessening the flow of contraband coming into the facility and the associated expenses of paying employees to process the mail. "(The amount of paper mail coming in) and things that are stuffed into envelopes or hidden under stamps or things like that will decrease," Lyons said. "This will give us the ability to monitor the current mail that's going out and coming in." Those worried that Internet access will provide incarcerated men and women with a chance to keep up to date on their Facebook profile and tweet about life on the inside need not worry, as inmates will still not have access to most of the Internet. "The (program) is just another tool that we can use to enhance safety, at the same time giving the inmates activity they can do when they are not in their programs and treatment," Lyons said. Taken in its totality, the program doesn’t seem like a terrible thing and best of all, the NHDOC said there is no cost to the taxpayer for the program. That hasn’t placated some New Hampshire residents, who are angry about inmates having access to privileges that some struggling free men and women cannot afford…………
- Now that the NFL lockout is officially over, a few rites of football passage need to happen before football can truly be considered “back.” The league must have its free agency period wherein teams throw ridiculous amounts of money at undeserving players, trade rumors must run wild and out-of-shape players must start reporting to training camp and sweating off the pounds in the hot sun. Oh, and the world needs its unwanted annual dosage of Brett Favre rumors because no one’s life is complete without hearing how the Ol’ Gunslinger just might dust off the cleats and dirty baseball cap one last time and come back to chase another championship because he just loves playin’ ball, so much so that he would play the game for free. This time, the rumor struck before the NFL Players Association had officially ratified the new labor agreement it had spent four-plus months negotiating with owners. Media outlets in Philadelphia began circulating word that the Eagles were interested in Favre as a backup to starter Michael Vick, which made no sense because if there is one thing Brett Favre is not (other than humble, selfless or adverse to the spotlight), it is a backup. He plays football to feed his ego, get as much camera time as possible and yes, to win games as well. Backing up Vick, even for a rumored $4 million salary, was never going to fly with Favre. Vick didn’t help put out the rumor fire by tweeting that he would be honored to have Favre as his backup. Vick tried to double back on those words by deleting his tweet, but to no avail. With Favre laying uncharacteristically low and spending most of his offseason at home in Hattiesburg, reporters were left to flock en masse to his agent Bus Cook, who steadfastly maintained that his most prominent client has given no indication of reviving his career. Cook dismissed talk of his client attempting another NFL comeback as nothing more than “speculation.” Cook said on Monday morning that Favre hasn’t talked to him about a comeback and to his knowledge, Favre “hasn’t talked to anybody else about a comeback” either. Combined with Favre’s own insistence that he’s done playing football and that would be the end of the story - with anyone but Brett Favre. To football fans who have grown weary of his annual game of retirement chicken, the fear of Favre popping up on ESPN, throwing go routes to high schoolers near his home, being interviewed leaving the field in his souped-up pickup truck and hopping aboard an owner’s private jet for the flight to his introductory press conference with his new team is very real and that fear will persist as long as Favre is alive. Yes, he stumbled through an injury-plagued season with the Minnesota Vikings last year, throwing for 2,509 yards, 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, but he remains the football equivalent of the villain in a bad horror movie, the one you just cannot kill…………
- Soap operas may be so dead that even Oprah Winfrey has turned a dead ear to pleas from fans of the doomed genre to jump in and save their beloved shows, but as Orlando Bloom’s character Will Turner reminded one and all in the third installment of the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, no cause is lost if there is but one fool left to fight for it. When it comes to soap operas, that one fool just may be actor James Franco. Franco, still riding low after scathing reviews of his performance last year as co-host of the Oscars with Anne Hathaway, is a busy man these days. He is still taking college courses in New York and this fall he will appear on Broadway in the fall with Nicole Kidman in "Sweet Bird of Youth." Yet in the midst of those efforts as well as film roles he is currently involved in or considering, Franco is reportedly carving out time to return to none other than “General Hospital,” one of the few remaining soaps on the air - for now. Once it meets the same fate as “All My Children” and every other dinosaur-like soap and heads off to the television graveyard in the sky, there will be no more chances to save it and so Franco is throwing his (questionable) might behind the show now. He appeared on “GH” in 2009 as Robert "Franco" Frank, a serial killer and performance artist. His character has made return visits to whatever imaginary town it is that “General Hospital” is set in and his last appearance was just after the Academy Awards ceremony in February. Franco will soon return to the show to reprise his role, the fourth time he has done so. Making time for the soap will certainly put a strain on his busy schedule and he may have to find a way to squeeze some homework and paper writing in between takes, but can one ever put a price on doing everything possible to keep a dying genre of TV from decades gone by alive? So what if “GH” is filmed in California and everything else he’s involved in is based in New York? Go for it, J. Franco………….
- The concept of asylum doesn’t have the buzz or cache among Americans that it has elsewhere in the world. Fleeing the U.S. because of government persecution and oppression and filing for asylum to get a fresh start elsewhere just isn't a part of the normal American thought process. Sure, there will always be the occasional Roman Polanski who will have sex with a 13-year-old girl and flee the country to live in France, but for the most part any American who grows disenchanted with living in the land of the free can simply expatriate and become a citizen of another country without much trouble. For the rest of the world, asylum is a bigger part of the vocabulary and for a renegade group of Australians, it’s their current reality as part of a refugee swap deal with Malaysia. The first wave of asylum-seekers under the deal were sent out Monday night on their way to the Australian territory of Christmas Island en route to Malaysia. Under the arrangement with Malaysia , Australia will be able to send 800 asylum-seekers to Malaysia in return for 4,000 UN-assessed refugees over the next four years. The trek from Java to Christmas Island is approximately 240 miles and has been known to take as little as 30 hours in a fast boat with GPS. However, past refugees have claimed that they were at sea for as many as 11 days from Indonesia trying to reach the Australian territory. All the Australian Border Protection Command confirmed that at least one boat could have left Indonesia for Christmas Island. Malaysia seems to be ducking any involvement in the matter by placing responsibility for organizing the transit accommodation to be used to house transferred asylum-seekers for the first 45 days of their stay with the Australian government. Those leaving Australia are tied to Labor for Refugees, a rank-and-file party group with more than 180 members supported by several federal MPs. The group also has about 75 state branches. Three sites for the refugees’ housing are reportedly under consideration: a “run down” former hotel and two unidentified sites all in the vicinity of Kuala Lumpur and its airport. Amnesty International is not a big fan of the agreement, warning that refugees in Malaysia are "frequently caged in appalling conditions, exploited and caned.” Malaysian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen dismissed those concerns and vowed that Malaysian authorities would uphold protection guarantees for asylum-seekers sent by Australia. "With the assistance of the International Organisation for Migration, they'll move into the community," Bowen said. "They will have the right to self-reliance, including work rights, they'll have the right for children to attend schools and they'll have the right to basic healthcare. And they'll receive Australia and Malaysia identification to establish their legal right to be in Malaysia, as is very clear in the arrangement." Many parties have weighed in on the situation in Australia as well, with the Law Council of Australia ranting, "There are significant shortcomings . . . in particular a lack of detail about unaccompanied minors and legal assistance for transferees." Just about the only party yet to check in? The refugees themselves and at present, they probably have bigger concerns to cope with……….
- Life is about to get a little more comfortable for inmates in the state of New Hampshire and not everyone is happy about it. The New Hampshire Department of Corrections announced on Monday it had signed a contract with a St. Louis-based company that provides inmates with access to email and downloadable music. Keefe Commissary Network works specifically with correctional institutions to cater to the needs of inmates, NHDOC officials said. "The (company) provides kiosks where inmates can access email and they can access things such as downloadable music," said NHDOC official Jeff Lyons. The company’s primary services are selling see-through MP3 players and other devices to the inmates directly for as much as $130 and setting up limited Internet access for inmates. Ten percent of the purchase price of the electronic devices will go into the NHDOC's recreation fund to pay for other inmate activities. Prison officials say email access will also help reduce operational expenses by cutting down on traditional mail, thus lessening the flow of contraband coming into the facility and the associated expenses of paying employees to process the mail. "(The amount of paper mail coming in) and things that are stuffed into envelopes or hidden under stamps or things like that will decrease," Lyons said. "This will give us the ability to monitor the current mail that's going out and coming in." Those worried that Internet access will provide incarcerated men and women with a chance to keep up to date on their Facebook profile and tweet about life on the inside need not worry, as inmates will still not have access to most of the Internet. "The (program) is just another tool that we can use to enhance safety, at the same time giving the inmates activity they can do when they are not in their programs and treatment," Lyons said. Taken in its totality, the program doesn’t seem like a terrible thing and best of all, the NHDOC said there is no cost to the taxpayer for the program. That hasn’t placated some New Hampshire residents, who are angry about inmates having access to privileges that some struggling free men and women cannot afford…………
- Now that the NFL lockout is officially over, a few rites of football passage need to happen before football can truly be considered “back.” The league must have its free agency period wherein teams throw ridiculous amounts of money at undeserving players, trade rumors must run wild and out-of-shape players must start reporting to training camp and sweating off the pounds in the hot sun. Oh, and the world needs its unwanted annual dosage of Brett Favre rumors because no one’s life is complete without hearing how the Ol’ Gunslinger just might dust off the cleats and dirty baseball cap one last time and come back to chase another championship because he just loves playin’ ball, so much so that he would play the game for free. This time, the rumor struck before the NFL Players Association had officially ratified the new labor agreement it had spent four-plus months negotiating with owners. Media outlets in Philadelphia began circulating word that the Eagles were interested in Favre as a backup to starter Michael Vick, which made no sense because if there is one thing Brett Favre is not (other than humble, selfless or adverse to the spotlight), it is a backup. He plays football to feed his ego, get as much camera time as possible and yes, to win games as well. Backing up Vick, even for a rumored $4 million salary, was never going to fly with Favre. Vick didn’t help put out the rumor fire by tweeting that he would be honored to have Favre as his backup. Vick tried to double back on those words by deleting his tweet, but to no avail. With Favre laying uncharacteristically low and spending most of his offseason at home in Hattiesburg, reporters were left to flock en masse to his agent Bus Cook, who steadfastly maintained that his most prominent client has given no indication of reviving his career. Cook dismissed talk of his client attempting another NFL comeback as nothing more than “speculation.” Cook said on Monday morning that Favre hasn’t talked to him about a comeback and to his knowledge, Favre “hasn’t talked to anybody else about a comeback” either. Combined with Favre’s own insistence that he’s done playing football and that would be the end of the story - with anyone but Brett Favre. To football fans who have grown weary of his annual game of retirement chicken, the fear of Favre popping up on ESPN, throwing go routes to high schoolers near his home, being interviewed leaving the field in his souped-up pickup truck and hopping aboard an owner’s private jet for the flight to his introductory press conference with his new team is very real and that fear will persist as long as Favre is alive. Yes, he stumbled through an injury-plagued season with the Minnesota Vikings last year, throwing for 2,509 yards, 11 touchdowns and 19 interceptions, but he remains the football equivalent of the villain in a bad horror movie, the one you just cannot kill…………
Monday, July 25, 2011
Former NBA stars fleeing accident scenes, Comic-Con dorks meet Spiderman and angry all-girls college alums
- Former Miami Heat center Alonzo Mourning is not known for being an easy guy to deal with. He does a lot for charity with his own foundation to promote awareness of kidney disease, but has a reputation for being prickly and disagreeable at times. The non-charitable Alonzo Mourning was apparently was the one who showed up early in the morning on July 17 at the scene of a multi-car accident in Miami Beach. Mourning was apparently on his way home from current Heat star Chris Bosh’s wedding with his wife when they came upon a wreck that had just occurred. According to Miami Beach police, Mourning was unable to avoid hitting one of the cars. That car belonged to a Miami college student who claimed he was nearly killed in the collision and filed a civil lawsuit against Mourning last week. William Candelario claimed in the suit that he was driving home from Miami Beach early Sunday morning when a blue Porsche driven by the former Heat star crashed into Candelario’s 2010 Audi, causing the car to flip over several times. Candelario’s attorney, Spencer Aronfeld, filed the suit and alleged that Mourning left the scene of the accident without exchanging insurance information. Mourning admitted to police that he left the scene but claimed he and his wife Tracy returned to the scene in her SUV 40 minutes later. The official Florida Highway Police report states that Mourning got out, went over to check on the men, who told him they were OK and that they had already called police. He then continued to his home and came back to the accident scene on the Julia Tuttle Causeway nearly an hour later. To Mourning’s credit, he did call police, but that won’t stop the FHP from citing him for the second-degree misdemeanor of leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and failure to leave information at the scene. He may not have been able to control whether or not he struck Candelario’s silver Audi, but he definitely had control over how he reacted to the accident and made the wrong choice in a criminal way. A former NBA star who probably has a fair amount of bank left from his career earnings can afford a slight insurance premium hike on account of an accident, or he could just buy a new car for the guy whose ride he hit and whom he (allegedly) nearly killed………….
- All of those stories dudes tell about the hostility they feel sitting in the room for the one women’s studies course they are forced to take in college to fill their humanities quota, maybe they are true and not exaggerated. If the fine alumnae of Peace College in Raleigh, N.C. are any indication, the femi-Nazis who populate those women’s studies classes and women’s colleges aren’t very friendly to the opposite sex. With their esteemed institution of higher learning facing the same financial pressures that nearly every other university and business in the United States, hundreds of these distinguished graduates are none too happy with the plan school administrators have formulated to deal with them. The 154-year-old women's college has always been all-female and it has always known was Peace College, but as of this fall it will be called William Peace University and more importantly, it will admit male students. Peace College President Debra Townsley said the decision is based on noting more than simple economics. "We know that two percent of women will look at a women's college. That means 98 percent won't," she said. "We're also not appealing to any men, so you lose a large portion of that market as well." It’s a simple and honest enough explanation, but not satisfactory for alums like Class of 2000 graduate Jamie Averette Mitchell. Mitchell gathered with hundreds of other alumnae on the campus Sunday to speak out against the planed changed and called them a "travesty." Other rally attendees complained that the school did not confer with them before making its decisions on the name change and admissions policy. "To be disrespected and not given an opportunity to speak about out dissatisfaction, it's an ultimate insult," fumed Billie Burney-Scott, class of 1987. The most coherent demand from the group as a whole was that school officials open a dialogue with alumni about the changes. Townsley, who has been the college’s president for just one year, has not responded directly to the request but conceded admitting men is just another measure to bring in more money. Unless the angry alums are planning on a ginormous fundraiser to generate a few million dollars annually for the school, it seems unlikely they could say much in any potential dialogue to change the reality of the situation and keep their beloved college man-free………….
- The dust has settled and the nerds have left after their five-day respite from the dark, poorly-lit basements they call home 360 days a year, but the fallout from Comic-Con is still being felt around the dork world. That is due in large part to Andrew Garfield, star of The Amazing Spider-Man, the latest installment of the Spiderman franchise that will soon hit theaters and begin breaking all sorts of records thanks to fanboys around the world. Stars of movies and TV series showing up at Comic-Con is common because studios and networks realize the power of the nerd masses and want to appeal to them directly at the dork equivalent of Woodstock, but no stars show up quite the way Garfield did Saturday at the San Diego Convention Center. He disguised himself as an enthusiastic fan and hijacked the mic while wearing an über-cheap Spiderman costume, rambling on like an overly hyped-up fanboy before ripping off his mask and sending the crowd into a frenzy. After speaking in an American accent while posing as a fan, Garfield reverted to his natural British dialect and delivered an emotional speech to fans about what Spider-Man has meant to him through the years. "I needed Spidey in my life when I was a kid, and he gave me hope," Garfield stated. "In every comic I read, he was living out my and every skinny boy's fantasy of being stronger, of being free of the body I was born into, and that swinging sensation of flight." He went on to say that not only did the famed web-slinger help him have more confidence growing up, playing Peter Parker and his alter-ego has made him a better person. "I think that we all wish we had the courage to stick up for ourselves more, to stick up for a loved one more, or even a stranger you see being mistreated, and Peter Parker has inspired me to feel stronger," Garfield declared. "He made me, Andrew, braver. He reassured me that by doing the right thing, it's worth it. And I wouldn't be able to stand here in front of you guys right now without feeling that Spider-Man was here with me with his reassuring hand on my shoulder, making sure I don't fall over and concuss myself.” It was quite an address and it would have been truly inspiring had Garfield not concluded his speech by saying what he had just done in front of hordes of virginal, pasty nerds whose primary focus at that moment was the perfect opening line to use on the hottie in the Princess Lea costume at the Star Wars exhibit was the “coolest moment of my life.” But at least Garfield had a better experience than co-star Rhys Ifans, who plays the villain Lizard in the film and was arrested for allegedly getting into a fight with a female Comic-Con security guard. The movie is due in theaters July 3, 2012 and it’s first trailer was just released…………
- Venezuela could be saddled with overbearing despot Hugo Chavez not just for five more years, not for 10 years and not even 15, but possibly 20 more years of dictatorial bliss. Not that anyone expected this power-hungry dictator to go quietly into any night, but Chavez gave his people - and the world in general - even more reason to be concerned over the weekend when he declared his intent to seek a third six-year term as Venezuela's “president” and to remain in power for the next 20 years. "On a personal level, I tell you I have never thought for even an instant of retiring from the presidency. I am determined to arrive at 2031," Chávez said, alluding to the "golden decade" he has promised the Venezuelan people between 2020 and 2030. The controversial madman is currently recovering from surgery last month in Cuba to remove a baseball-sized tumor from his brain and claimed over the weekend that he was cancer-free. His pal and fellow despised dictator, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, confirmed the good news of Chavez’s health. "He told me they found nothing. I have never heard such a short speech by Fidel," Chávez said. "It was very different from how it was a month ago." Chavez has since returned to Venezuela and his primary daily activity, aside from brutally repressing his people and the rights of anyone who dares to oppose him, has since become proclaiming to one and all the news of his good health. "I have medical reasons, scientific reasons, human reasons, reasons of love and political reasons to keep myself at the front of the government and the candidacy with more force than before," Chávez stated before issuing his terrifying proclamation of staying in power for two more decades. Given the mysterious ways in which votes just seem to flow in his direction in every single election, that threat doesn’t seem the least bit far-fetched……………
- Google+ has not been up and operational for long, but it’s already discovering the level of ire to which social networking site users can rise when their beloved site does something they don’t like. The first mini-storm of the Google+ experience struck over the weekend as Google apparently accelerated deletions of Google+ accounts because of the site's requirement that members use their real names. Users began complaining about the policy the same week Google launched the social networking site in late June and Google officials have addressed the issue multiple times over the past few weeks. On July 11, Google+ Community Manager Natalie Villalobos wrote about the policy and responded to complaints in the site's official discussion forum. That did little to stem the flow of complaints on the official Google+ discussion board and in other forums like Twitter and personal blogs. Knowing the policy and agreeing with it are two very different realities and Google has to know it was provoking a much bigger outcry this weekend when it shut down the accounts of some high-profile users. Some users who have had their account deleted seem to have valid complaints, namely that they are in fact using their real names but were targeted for deletion because they have unconventional names or their names contain foreign-language characters or letters. The second group of gripers, who may or may not have a valid beef depending on where you stand on privacy matters, want to use pseudonyms because they don't want to reveal their real names for privacy reasons. A separate controversy involves public figures and companies that have set up Google+ business profiles, which are currently forbidden. Google is deleting their accounts as well from its growing user base of 20 million members. All of this is occurring while the service is in a limited beta trial and people can join only if they are invited by Google or by existing members. Google+ is clearly a very important project for the tech titan as it attempts to challenge Facebook’s current stranglehold on the social networking scene. Past Google efforts to break into the market have failed miserably, but the company contends that Google+'s content-sharing features and privacy settings are better and easier to use than Facebook's. They hope to inspire a mass exodus from Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg and Co.’s 750 million users would suggest otherwise at this point in time…………
- All of those stories dudes tell about the hostility they feel sitting in the room for the one women’s studies course they are forced to take in college to fill their humanities quota, maybe they are true and not exaggerated. If the fine alumnae of Peace College in Raleigh, N.C. are any indication, the femi-Nazis who populate those women’s studies classes and women’s colleges aren’t very friendly to the opposite sex. With their esteemed institution of higher learning facing the same financial pressures that nearly every other university and business in the United States, hundreds of these distinguished graduates are none too happy with the plan school administrators have formulated to deal with them. The 154-year-old women's college has always been all-female and it has always known was Peace College, but as of this fall it will be called William Peace University and more importantly, it will admit male students. Peace College President Debra Townsley said the decision is based on noting more than simple economics. "We know that two percent of women will look at a women's college. That means 98 percent won't," she said. "We're also not appealing to any men, so you lose a large portion of that market as well." It’s a simple and honest enough explanation, but not satisfactory for alums like Class of 2000 graduate Jamie Averette Mitchell. Mitchell gathered with hundreds of other alumnae on the campus Sunday to speak out against the planed changed and called them a "travesty." Other rally attendees complained that the school did not confer with them before making its decisions on the name change and admissions policy. "To be disrespected and not given an opportunity to speak about out dissatisfaction, it's an ultimate insult," fumed Billie Burney-Scott, class of 1987. The most coherent demand from the group as a whole was that school officials open a dialogue with alumni about the changes. Townsley, who has been the college’s president for just one year, has not responded directly to the request but conceded admitting men is just another measure to bring in more money. Unless the angry alums are planning on a ginormous fundraiser to generate a few million dollars annually for the school, it seems unlikely they could say much in any potential dialogue to change the reality of the situation and keep their beloved college man-free………….
- The dust has settled and the nerds have left after their five-day respite from the dark, poorly-lit basements they call home 360 days a year, but the fallout from Comic-Con is still being felt around the dork world. That is due in large part to Andrew Garfield, star of The Amazing Spider-Man, the latest installment of the Spiderman franchise that will soon hit theaters and begin breaking all sorts of records thanks to fanboys around the world. Stars of movies and TV series showing up at Comic-Con is common because studios and networks realize the power of the nerd masses and want to appeal to them directly at the dork equivalent of Woodstock, but no stars show up quite the way Garfield did Saturday at the San Diego Convention Center. He disguised himself as an enthusiastic fan and hijacked the mic while wearing an über-cheap Spiderman costume, rambling on like an overly hyped-up fanboy before ripping off his mask and sending the crowd into a frenzy. After speaking in an American accent while posing as a fan, Garfield reverted to his natural British dialect and delivered an emotional speech to fans about what Spider-Man has meant to him through the years. "I needed Spidey in my life when I was a kid, and he gave me hope," Garfield stated. "In every comic I read, he was living out my and every skinny boy's fantasy of being stronger, of being free of the body I was born into, and that swinging sensation of flight." He went on to say that not only did the famed web-slinger help him have more confidence growing up, playing Peter Parker and his alter-ego has made him a better person. "I think that we all wish we had the courage to stick up for ourselves more, to stick up for a loved one more, or even a stranger you see being mistreated, and Peter Parker has inspired me to feel stronger," Garfield declared. "He made me, Andrew, braver. He reassured me that by doing the right thing, it's worth it. And I wouldn't be able to stand here in front of you guys right now without feeling that Spider-Man was here with me with his reassuring hand on my shoulder, making sure I don't fall over and concuss myself.” It was quite an address and it would have been truly inspiring had Garfield not concluded his speech by saying what he had just done in front of hordes of virginal, pasty nerds whose primary focus at that moment was the perfect opening line to use on the hottie in the Princess Lea costume at the Star Wars exhibit was the “coolest moment of my life.” But at least Garfield had a better experience than co-star Rhys Ifans, who plays the villain Lizard in the film and was arrested for allegedly getting into a fight with a female Comic-Con security guard. The movie is due in theaters July 3, 2012 and it’s first trailer was just released…………
- Venezuela could be saddled with overbearing despot Hugo Chavez not just for five more years, not for 10 years and not even 15, but possibly 20 more years of dictatorial bliss. Not that anyone expected this power-hungry dictator to go quietly into any night, but Chavez gave his people - and the world in general - even more reason to be concerned over the weekend when he declared his intent to seek a third six-year term as Venezuela's “president” and to remain in power for the next 20 years. "On a personal level, I tell you I have never thought for even an instant of retiring from the presidency. I am determined to arrive at 2031," Chávez said, alluding to the "golden decade" he has promised the Venezuelan people between 2020 and 2030. The controversial madman is currently recovering from surgery last month in Cuba to remove a baseball-sized tumor from his brain and claimed over the weekend that he was cancer-free. His pal and fellow despised dictator, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro, confirmed the good news of Chavez’s health. "He told me they found nothing. I have never heard such a short speech by Fidel," Chávez said. "It was very different from how it was a month ago." Chavez has since returned to Venezuela and his primary daily activity, aside from brutally repressing his people and the rights of anyone who dares to oppose him, has since become proclaiming to one and all the news of his good health. "I have medical reasons, scientific reasons, human reasons, reasons of love and political reasons to keep myself at the front of the government and the candidacy with more force than before," Chávez stated before issuing his terrifying proclamation of staying in power for two more decades. Given the mysterious ways in which votes just seem to flow in his direction in every single election, that threat doesn’t seem the least bit far-fetched……………
- Google+ has not been up and operational for long, but it’s already discovering the level of ire to which social networking site users can rise when their beloved site does something they don’t like. The first mini-storm of the Google+ experience struck over the weekend as Google apparently accelerated deletions of Google+ accounts because of the site's requirement that members use their real names. Users began complaining about the policy the same week Google launched the social networking site in late June and Google officials have addressed the issue multiple times over the past few weeks. On July 11, Google+ Community Manager Natalie Villalobos wrote about the policy and responded to complaints in the site's official discussion forum. That did little to stem the flow of complaints on the official Google+ discussion board and in other forums like Twitter and personal blogs. Knowing the policy and agreeing with it are two very different realities and Google has to know it was provoking a much bigger outcry this weekend when it shut down the accounts of some high-profile users. Some users who have had their account deleted seem to have valid complaints, namely that they are in fact using their real names but were targeted for deletion because they have unconventional names or their names contain foreign-language characters or letters. The second group of gripers, who may or may not have a valid beef depending on where you stand on privacy matters, want to use pseudonyms because they don't want to reveal their real names for privacy reasons. A separate controversy involves public figures and companies that have set up Google+ business profiles, which are currently forbidden. Google is deleting their accounts as well from its growing user base of 20 million members. All of this is occurring while the service is in a limited beta trial and people can join only if they are invited by Google or by existing members. Google+ is clearly a very important project for the tech titan as it attempts to challenge Facebook’s current stranglehold on the social networking scene. Past Google efforts to break into the market have failed miserably, but the company contends that Google+'s content-sharing features and privacy settings are better and easier to use than Facebook's. They hope to inspire a mass exodus from Facebook, but Mark Zuckerberg and Co.’s 750 million users would suggest otherwise at this point in time…………
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Latvian legislative chaos, losers in Key West and dodging scuds at Ohio State
- Anyone who was vacationing in Key West this past week and thought maybe they had stumbled into a bizarro world where every other guy they passed on the street was auditioning for a gig as a mall Santa Claus for the upcoming holiday season, rest assured that’s not the case. No, it was something different yet equally pathetic. Those stocky, bearded men were merely trying to win the title of looking most like one of American literature’s most famous and accomplished alcoholics, Ernest Hemingway. The “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, a highlight of Key West’s annual Hemingway Days, took place Thursday through Saturday nights at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, a watering hole frequented by Hemingway when he resided in Key West throughout the 1930s. To be fair, pretty much every alcohol-serving establishment in any place Hemingway called home for more than 24 hours can boast that he spent a significant amount of time there, be it in the United States, Spain or elsewhere. Hemingway Days is a six-day festival built around the celebration of the author’s birthday, with the preliminary round of the “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest taking place Thursday night on Hemingway’s 112th birthday anniversary. More than 120 would-be Heimngways showed up for the competition, with the second round Friday night and the winner chosen Saturday night by a judging panel of past winners. Many contestants return year after year even though they never make it past the preliminary round of the contest, adding another level of pathetic-ness to the proceedings. Other festival events include a tongue-in-cheek “Running of the Bulls” as part of a Hemingway Street Fair on Saturday, the Key West Marlin Tournament and culmination of a short story contest directed by author and Hemingway’s granddaughter Lorian. The Running of the Bulls is an homage to the real Running of the Bulls in Pamplona, where Hemingway spent a significant amount of time as a correspondent for the Spanish Civil War. It was during his time living (and drinking heavily) in Key West that Hemingway wrote some of his most famous works including “Snows of Kilimanjaro,” “Green Hills of Africa” and “For Whom the Bell Tolls.” He would undoubtedly be honored by a bunch of flabby losers with ugly bears vying for the honor of winning a look-alike contest…………
- Exit one big-budget summer blockbuster from the top spot at the box office and slide another into the pole position as Captain America debuted with a solid first weekend and knocked the nerdy wizard world of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 from the No. 1 spot on the earnings list. Although its debut was nowhere close to matching the opening wizard dorks across America gave Harry Potter last weekend, Captain America did post $65.8 million domestically and should be well on its way to massive profits with star Chris Evans in the lead. Harry Potter fell to second in this weekend’s race, adding $48 million to its overall tally, which now stands at $274.1 million domestically for two weeks of work. Thoroughly unwatchable newcomer Friends with Benefits, fronted by Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, was the top new film and third overall thanks to an $18.5 million effort that wasn’t exactly impressive. Transformers: Dark of the Moon tumbled from second last weekend to fourth for this frame with $12 million and now has a four-week total of $325.7 million domestically. Completing the top five was Horrible Bosses, which also fell two spots in its third weekend of release, yet added $11.7 million to its coffers to puts its U.S. haul at $82.4 million and counting. The rest of the top 10 was populated by: the mind-numbingly awful Zookeeper (No. 6 with $8.7 million and just $59.2 million overall through three weeks), Cars 2 (No. 7 with an additional $5.7 million and $176.4 million in domestic earnings through five weeks), family friendly Winnie the Pooh (No. 8 after a 34-percent decline in earnings, making $5.1 million and with a two-week pot of a measly $17.5 million), the Cameron Diaz-fronted Bad Teacher (No. 9 with $2.6 and boasting a five-week tally of $94.3 million) and Midnight in Paris (holding strong at No. 10 with $1.9 million in appropriately enough, its 10th week of release for a running total of $44.8 million). Last weekend’s Nos. 8 and 9 films, Larry Crowne and Super 8 respectively, fell to Nos. 12 and 14 this time around…………
- This is not an especially proud day for Ohio. When a state is able to blow right by the pollution-generating giant that is California and claim the title as the state whose residents are most at risk in the United States from toxic emissions spewing from coal and oil-fired power plants, that’s not an occasion for celebration. But according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility, Ohio is at the top of the list of 20 states most affected by toxic air pollution. The two leading environmental groups cited Ohio for pollution from electricity generation and chemical processing that led to its dubious distinction. Pennsylvania just missed out on the top spot and Florida was close behind in generating toxic air pollution, which comes with the added benefit of causing and/or worsening ailments such as asthma and cancer. States that fell well short of their polluting potential and didn’t crack the top three included Kentucky (fourth) and Maryland (fifth), followed by: Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. "Power plants are the biggest industrial toxic air polluters in our country, putting children and families at risk by dumping deadly and dangerous poisons into the air we breathe," said Dan Lashof, director of the climate center at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The study is an analysis of toxic emissions data from 2009 released last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its findings don’t paint such a rosy picture of the nation’s air quality. Researchers found that coal and oil-fired plants were responsible for nearly half of all toxic air pollution in America and in blue-collar, manufacturing-fueled states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, there aren’t many solutions for the problem that are easily and readily available. For those who wonder exactly how the report was compiled, it compared data from the electric utilities sector to those from other industry sectors and ranked on the basis of total emissions by sector. Elsewhere in the EPA data was the revelation that in 2009, electricity generation in America was responsible for 49 percent of all industrial toxic air pollution and accounted for about 75 percent of all mercury air pollution. Environmental groups are pointing to the data as evidence of the pressing need for strong action by the Environmental Protection Agency to push the manufacturing and energy industries to clean up the emissions. Oh, and the U.S. House of Representatives will consider legislation this week that is designed to block the EPA’s air pollution standards, so that should definitely help matters. The Republican-led House began piling on the EPA back in February, when it voted to thwart the EPA from making rules to limit mercury and other toxic emissions from cement plants. Well done, legisla-tools………..
- The biggest scud yet in the Ohio State football scandal involving scores of illegal benefits for players and subsequent cover-ups by then-coach Jim Tressel has come and gone and the Buckeyes are still standing. While an Aug. 12 hearing with the NCAA's committee on infractions still looms, Ohio State learned Thursday it won't face the most severe charges possible in the memorabilia-for-cash and tattoos scandal that cost Tressel his job. NCAA investigators, whose work lacks much bite because they don’t have subpoena power, said they found no evidence that Ohio State failed to properly monitor its football program or any evidence of a lack of institutional control and also that they have not found any new violations. "Considering the institution's rules education and monitoring efforts, the enforcement staff did not believe a failure to monitor charge was appropriate in this case," the NCAA said in the letter sent to the OSU athletic department. The letter clears OSU of the most serious of institutional breaches and is viewed as a major break for the university. The infractions committee could simply accept the über-light penalties Ohio State already placed on itself or could add recruiting restrictions, bowl bans and other, stiffer sanctions to the list. If the program does dodge more serious sanctions, it will likely be because the NCAA determined that Tressel was the only university official who knew about the violations involving his players and did not convey that information to anyone else at the school. More serious allegations of widespread violations were reported in a piece by Sports Illustrated, but the NCAA and its lack of subpoena power were unable to uncover evidence to support those claims. Tressel resigned/retired (depending on whether you believe the university’s bogus version of his departure) in May after details of his involvement in covering up his players' involvement with a Columbus tattoo parlor owner became public. After its own internal investigation confirmed the five players involved in the scandal were ineligible for the entire 2010 season, Ohio State announced it would vacate the entire year, including its Allstate Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas and its share of the Big Ten championship. A two-year NCAA probation and five-game suspensions for the five players were also included in the self-imposed punishment, which looks less impressive now that the biggest name among the suspended players - quarterback Terrelle Pryor - has left the program and ended his college career. To further the perception that it really is going to change and mend its ways, Ohio State has also announced that it will overhaul its compliance office by the end of the year, creating a centralized office that will oversee athletics as well as other university departments. The collective sigh of relief emanating from Columbus after this weekend can probably be heard from coast to coast…………
- When it comes to international political intrigue, Latvia is general not among the top producers. For a limited time, that is going to change. Latvian voters are expected to vote on Monday to dissolve parliament in a referendum that is part of a campaign to crack down on rampant governmental corruption. Experts believe the referendum may actually strengthen Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ deficit-cutting government. Opinion polls have shown that nearly 80 percent of voters support former President Valdis Zatlers’ demand to oust parliament after it refused to lift the immunity of a legislator targeted by a corruption probe. Oddly enough, that seemed to give off the impression of protecting a guilty man. Should the referendum pass, it would set up parliamentary elections on Sept. 17. Zatlers and Dombrovskis have led the charge to strip power from wealthy businessmen and legislators who built their fortunes and gained significant political influence when the country sold state assets after the Soviet Union collapsed. Zatlers sounded a bit nutty in May when he warned of attempts to “privatize democracy” and criticized three politicians as oligarchs who he said influence policy and may secretly own companies, but very few are laughing at him now. Dombrovskis’ biggest accomplishment to date was successfully pushing a deficit-cutting package equal to 16 percent of gross domestic product after Latvia turned to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for a $10.6 billion bailout in 2008. More belt-tightening is needed if Latvia is to bring its budget deficit below the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP next year from 7.6 percent in 2010 and qualify for euro adoption in 2014 - $202 million of budget-tightening to be exact. Dombrovskis hopes to lead the next government if the current one is ousted and his experience working with the international political scene is his major selling point for his leadership. That potential leadership change would not be possible without Zatlers, who called the referendum on May 28 by naming lawmakers Ainars Slesers and Andris Skele, as well as Aivars Lembergs, mayor of the port city of Ventspils, as oligarchs and guilty of corruption and other abuses of power. Even after he lost his bid for re-election as lawmakers voted 53-41 in favor of Andris Berzins, a 66-year-old former banker, Zatlers did not stop his crusade and Dombrovskis has bolstered the effort. “A main goal of the elections will be to ensure that oligarchs, and the parties supporting oligarchs, do not control a majority in the next parliament,” Dombrovskis said in a July 21 interview. “If this will happen, then I would say the former president’s initiative of dissolving the parliament will pay off.” New elections would almost certainly mean a major reshuffling of governing coalition, which currently consists of Dombrovskis’ Unity Party, with 33 seats in the 100-member legislature, and the Greens & Farmers, with 22. It would also be a step forward in developing the country’s democracy. Zatlers, who will officially form his Reform Party Monday, plans to nominate his own candidate for prime minister if the party wins seats in parliament. From there, let the uncertainty and chaos rule………….
- Exit one big-budget summer blockbuster from the top spot at the box office and slide another into the pole position as Captain America debuted with a solid first weekend and knocked the nerdy wizard world of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 from the No. 1 spot on the earnings list. Although its debut was nowhere close to matching the opening wizard dorks across America gave Harry Potter last weekend, Captain America did post $65.8 million domestically and should be well on its way to massive profits with star Chris Evans in the lead. Harry Potter fell to second in this weekend’s race, adding $48 million to its overall tally, which now stands at $274.1 million domestically for two weeks of work. Thoroughly unwatchable newcomer Friends with Benefits, fronted by Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, was the top new film and third overall thanks to an $18.5 million effort that wasn’t exactly impressive. Transformers: Dark of the Moon tumbled from second last weekend to fourth for this frame with $12 million and now has a four-week total of $325.7 million domestically. Completing the top five was Horrible Bosses, which also fell two spots in its third weekend of release, yet added $11.7 million to its coffers to puts its U.S. haul at $82.4 million and counting. The rest of the top 10 was populated by: the mind-numbingly awful Zookeeper (No. 6 with $8.7 million and just $59.2 million overall through three weeks), Cars 2 (No. 7 with an additional $5.7 million and $176.4 million in domestic earnings through five weeks), family friendly Winnie the Pooh (No. 8 after a 34-percent decline in earnings, making $5.1 million and with a two-week pot of a measly $17.5 million), the Cameron Diaz-fronted Bad Teacher (No. 9 with $2.6 and boasting a five-week tally of $94.3 million) and Midnight in Paris (holding strong at No. 10 with $1.9 million in appropriately enough, its 10th week of release for a running total of $44.8 million). Last weekend’s Nos. 8 and 9 films, Larry Crowne and Super 8 respectively, fell to Nos. 12 and 14 this time around…………
- This is not an especially proud day for Ohio. When a state is able to blow right by the pollution-generating giant that is California and claim the title as the state whose residents are most at risk in the United States from toxic emissions spewing from coal and oil-fired power plants, that’s not an occasion for celebration. But according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility, Ohio is at the top of the list of 20 states most affected by toxic air pollution. The two leading environmental groups cited Ohio for pollution from electricity generation and chemical processing that led to its dubious distinction. Pennsylvania just missed out on the top spot and Florida was close behind in generating toxic air pollution, which comes with the added benefit of causing and/or worsening ailments such as asthma and cancer. States that fell well short of their polluting potential and didn’t crack the top three included Kentucky (fourth) and Maryland (fifth), followed by: Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia, Georgia and North Carolina. "Power plants are the biggest industrial toxic air polluters in our country, putting children and families at risk by dumping deadly and dangerous poisons into the air we breathe," said Dan Lashof, director of the climate center at the Natural Resources Defense Council. The study is an analysis of toxic emissions data from 2009 released last month by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its findings don’t paint such a rosy picture of the nation’s air quality. Researchers found that coal and oil-fired plants were responsible for nearly half of all toxic air pollution in America and in blue-collar, manufacturing-fueled states like Ohio and Pennsylvania, there aren’t many solutions for the problem that are easily and readily available. For those who wonder exactly how the report was compiled, it compared data from the electric utilities sector to those from other industry sectors and ranked on the basis of total emissions by sector. Elsewhere in the EPA data was the revelation that in 2009, electricity generation in America was responsible for 49 percent of all industrial toxic air pollution and accounted for about 75 percent of all mercury air pollution. Environmental groups are pointing to the data as evidence of the pressing need for strong action by the Environmental Protection Agency to push the manufacturing and energy industries to clean up the emissions. Oh, and the U.S. House of Representatives will consider legislation this week that is designed to block the EPA’s air pollution standards, so that should definitely help matters. The Republican-led House began piling on the EPA back in February, when it voted to thwart the EPA from making rules to limit mercury and other toxic emissions from cement plants. Well done, legisla-tools………..
- The biggest scud yet in the Ohio State football scandal involving scores of illegal benefits for players and subsequent cover-ups by then-coach Jim Tressel has come and gone and the Buckeyes are still standing. While an Aug. 12 hearing with the NCAA's committee on infractions still looms, Ohio State learned Thursday it won't face the most severe charges possible in the memorabilia-for-cash and tattoos scandal that cost Tressel his job. NCAA investigators, whose work lacks much bite because they don’t have subpoena power, said they found no evidence that Ohio State failed to properly monitor its football program or any evidence of a lack of institutional control and also that they have not found any new violations. "Considering the institution's rules education and monitoring efforts, the enforcement staff did not believe a failure to monitor charge was appropriate in this case," the NCAA said in the letter sent to the OSU athletic department. The letter clears OSU of the most serious of institutional breaches and is viewed as a major break for the university. The infractions committee could simply accept the über-light penalties Ohio State already placed on itself or could add recruiting restrictions, bowl bans and other, stiffer sanctions to the list. If the program does dodge more serious sanctions, it will likely be because the NCAA determined that Tressel was the only university official who knew about the violations involving his players and did not convey that information to anyone else at the school. More serious allegations of widespread violations were reported in a piece by Sports Illustrated, but the NCAA and its lack of subpoena power were unable to uncover evidence to support those claims. Tressel resigned/retired (depending on whether you believe the university’s bogus version of his departure) in May after details of his involvement in covering up his players' involvement with a Columbus tattoo parlor owner became public. After its own internal investigation confirmed the five players involved in the scandal were ineligible for the entire 2010 season, Ohio State announced it would vacate the entire year, including its Allstate Sugar Bowl victory over Arkansas and its share of the Big Ten championship. A two-year NCAA probation and five-game suspensions for the five players were also included in the self-imposed punishment, which looks less impressive now that the biggest name among the suspended players - quarterback Terrelle Pryor - has left the program and ended his college career. To further the perception that it really is going to change and mend its ways, Ohio State has also announced that it will overhaul its compliance office by the end of the year, creating a centralized office that will oversee athletics as well as other university departments. The collective sigh of relief emanating from Columbus after this weekend can probably be heard from coast to coast…………
- When it comes to international political intrigue, Latvia is general not among the top producers. For a limited time, that is going to change. Latvian voters are expected to vote on Monday to dissolve parliament in a referendum that is part of a campaign to crack down on rampant governmental corruption. Experts believe the referendum may actually strengthen Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis’ deficit-cutting government. Opinion polls have shown that nearly 80 percent of voters support former President Valdis Zatlers’ demand to oust parliament after it refused to lift the immunity of a legislator targeted by a corruption probe. Oddly enough, that seemed to give off the impression of protecting a guilty man. Should the referendum pass, it would set up parliamentary elections on Sept. 17. Zatlers and Dombrovskis have led the charge to strip power from wealthy businessmen and legislators who built their fortunes and gained significant political influence when the country sold state assets after the Soviet Union collapsed. Zatlers sounded a bit nutty in May when he warned of attempts to “privatize democracy” and criticized three politicians as oligarchs who he said influence policy and may secretly own companies, but very few are laughing at him now. Dombrovskis’ biggest accomplishment to date was successfully pushing a deficit-cutting package equal to 16 percent of gross domestic product after Latvia turned to the European Union and International Monetary Fund for a $10.6 billion bailout in 2008. More belt-tightening is needed if Latvia is to bring its budget deficit below the EU limit of 3 percent of GDP next year from 7.6 percent in 2010 and qualify for euro adoption in 2014 - $202 million of budget-tightening to be exact. Dombrovskis hopes to lead the next government if the current one is ousted and his experience working with the international political scene is his major selling point for his leadership. That potential leadership change would not be possible without Zatlers, who called the referendum on May 28 by naming lawmakers Ainars Slesers and Andris Skele, as well as Aivars Lembergs, mayor of the port city of Ventspils, as oligarchs and guilty of corruption and other abuses of power. Even after he lost his bid for re-election as lawmakers voted 53-41 in favor of Andris Berzins, a 66-year-old former banker, Zatlers did not stop his crusade and Dombrovskis has bolstered the effort. “A main goal of the elections will be to ensure that oligarchs, and the parties supporting oligarchs, do not control a majority in the next parliament,” Dombrovskis said in a July 21 interview. “If this will happen, then I would say the former president’s initiative of dissolving the parliament will pay off.” New elections would almost certainly mean a major reshuffling of governing coalition, which currently consists of Dombrovskis’ Unity Party, with 33 seats in the 100-member legislature, and the Greens & Farmers, with 22. It would also be a step forward in developing the country’s democracy. Zatlers, who will officially form his Reform Party Monday, plans to nominate his own candidate for prime minister if the party wins seats in parliament. From there, let the uncertainty and chaos rule………….
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Skateboarders doing good, denying the truth in Somalia and soccer corruption
- Old fogeys of America, this would be the optimum time to take a pass on complaining about those young whippersnappers on their skateboards, with their long hair, sagging pants and loud rock music. As it turns out, those kids can actually do some good with their skateboards and that good will benefit a lot of foster children. The effort has its origins in Alhambra, Calif., where a group of local skateboarders is preparing to skateboard across the country in a record-setting 20 days. Known as "The Great Skate," the project is attempting to set that record to raise money for Friends of Foster Children, Inc., an organization that helps foster kids. Starting Monday, members of the project will start from Oregon and make their way relay-style across the country to New York City. One member of the group will skate at a time while the others ride in a van alongside them. The hope is to have each person ride about 30 to 40 miles a day, which should allow them to meet their goal of completing the trek in 20 days. Members of “The Great Skate” are hoping to succeed where they fell short last year, as they attempted the same journey but did not complete the trip in 20 days or raise as much money as they were hoping for. This year’s goal is $20,000 and reaching it would be especially meaningful to at least one member of the group. "I'm a foster child myself. I was in the system for about a year-and-a-half," skateboarder Mark Juvinall explained. "Once I was adopted, I really just had this big, deep feeling in my heart that I really needed to start giving back, giving these kids an inspiration... that helped them achieve things they didn't think were possible." Juvinall pointed to the mountainous terrain of the Rockies and consistent humidity as the two biggest challenges from last year’s trip and hopes to overcome those hurdles this time around. Maybe if they’re really fortunate, the participants of “The Great Skate” will even manage to ruffle the feathers of some crotchety, bitter old timers who hate long-haired skateboarders……………
- Oh international soccer, how you and your rampant corruption amuse us. In a sports world where greed, corruption and deceit reign and the cheaters are always one step ahead of those chasing them when it comes to illegal performance-enhancing drugs, it is good to know we can always look to you as a bastion of (no) integrity and revel in your thoroughly fraudulent nature. After all, what non-corrupt group awards the hosting of its premier event to a country with no real soccer tradition, temperatures sure to surpass 120 degrees during said event and the heat-beating solution of UFO-like, man-made clouds? Handing the hosting gig for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar may have been the most emphatic and obvious sign that FIFA - international soccer’s governing body - is corrupt to the core, but rest assured it is far from the only indicator that something shady is always going on among the organization’s powers that be. The recent election for FIFA’s next president provided ample evidence of that. In the election, incumbent Sepp Blatter and challenger Mohamed bin Hammam were both accused of corruption and bribery (in matters relating to the election and otherwise) to the point that members worried they may have to call off the election for a lack of candidates if both men were forced to withdraw. Blatter ultimately found a way to duck the allegations against him (more bribes?) and stay in the election, but bin Hammam was forced to withdraw and now he will be taking a more permanent break from the organization after FIFA banned him from soccer for life after finding him guilty of bribing presidential election voters. FIFA ruled that bin Hammam - coincidentally enough, hailing from Qatar - conspired to pay Caribbean officials $40,000 cash bribes to back his challenge Blatter. Bin Hammam is the most senior FIFA official convicted of corruption in its 107-year history, which is shocking given how many scandals and underhanded activities have undoubtedly gone on during that century-plus of soccer governance. Needless to say, bin Hammam isn't taking the decision well. He didn't cooperate with the FIFA investigation or attend his hearing Friday and wrote on his website Friday that he expected a guilty verdict and would appeal……………
- When in danger of being slapped with stricter federal laws and regulation, what is a telecommunications company to do? Hurl more money into lobbying Congress, of course. That’s the plan AT&T has embraced over the past few months as it faces increased regulatory scrutiny for its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. To head off that scrutiny, AT&T has been whoring itself out to Congress even more than usual. According to its latest quarterly disclosure report, AT&T spent $4.9 million to lobby the federal government in the second quarter of 2011, a whopping 58 percent from the amount spent during the same time period last year, $3.1 million. On the heels of dishing out $6.8 million in spending on lobbying during the first quarter of the year, that figure is a sure sign that AT&T executives realize the pressure they could soon be under. In addition to bending congressmen’s ears about T-Mobile-related matters, AT&T is also lobbying in support of proposals that would free up more wireless spectrum for the company to use for its various mobile broadband services, including mobile apps and online video and on measures to support the creation of a national wireless broadband network–based on a 10 Mhz, $3 billion chunk of 700 MHz commercial wireless spectrum known as the "D Block." The “D Block” (not D-bag) concept would allow emergency personnel priority access to the spectrum during emergencies, which actually does seem like something worth lobbying for. At present, draft legislation related to the matter is currently calling for an auction of the D Block instead of a exclusive allocation of the spectrum to public safety agencies. T-Mobile is doing its share of lobbying as well, with its own spending on lobbying up 66 percent from the second quarter of last year. Top senators have spoken out against the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger, so maybe more lobbying is in order…………
- Not that Justin Bieber and his total lack of actual musical talent (But he’s so dreamy, right girls ages 10-15?) should be turning down any movie offers coming his way while his 15 minutes of fame last, but it would be difficult not to double-clutch when the person doing the offering is known freak/pedophile Pee-wee Herman. Somehow, Herman has latched on to producer Judd Apatow and together they have created a movie concept chock full of celebrity cameos. They want Biebs as one of those guest stars and Herman broke the news amongst the pale, pasty, virginal, never-kissed-a-girl dweebs in superhero and Wookie costumes this week at Comic-Con in San Diego. "I can't really tell [what the cameo is], but he makes an appearance toward the end of the film," Herman (a.k.a Paul Reubens) said. "He doesn't know about it yet, so if you're watching this, Justin!" Herman has clearly set his hopes high for the film, admitting that a hack-tastic 8-year-old Canadian pop singing chick isn't the biggest fish he hopes to land. "There's a party scene in the film that I think will have a lot of the stars. We just wrote President Obama into them. We have an offer out to him," Herman proclaimed. "Sarah Palin wasn't asked. I have to draw the line somewhere, and unfortunately that's where it was drawn. I'm sorry, Sarah, I'm sorry." Hmm, something tells me the commander-in-chief will have to pass on that offer, what with the movie not even having been officially picked up by a studio yet. Universal Studios is reportedly considering the project and Herman optimistically projected that filming could begin within the next couple of months. Having hitched his cinematic wagon to Apatow (and how great it will be to see the embarrassing photos of Apatow that Herman used to blackmail him into this project) will certainly help and apparently, Apatow has already been dishing out some sage directorial advice. “He's given us the same advice over and over again, which is 'emotional arc,' " Herman declared. "He wants the character to go through an emotional arc and to come out on the other end arced. So that's what we're doing. We're adding an emotional arc. Emotional growth, so there's a change in Pee-wee Herman during this film. Pee-wee makes a change." Oh good, because more Pee-wee in our lives is something we’re all seeking…………
- What gives, Somalia? Do you so relish your Third World nation status and leader in the race for nation with the most emaciated, malnourished children appearing in disturbing refugee camp photos that you’re blocking aid from reaching those most in need of it? According to the World Food Program, that’s exactly what you’re doing. The WHP says it cannot reach 2.2 million Somalis in desperate need of aid in militant-controlled areas of Somalia, leaving those weakened, desperate souls to attempt dangerous journeys across the border to Kenya and Ethiopia. Those camps are being flooded with thousands of new refugees each week. Those in Somalia's expanding famine zone are in dire straits, enough to motivate entire familes to attempt dangerous treks that can last days or weeks just to reach refugee camps. Drought conditions in south-central Somalia have amplified to problem and Josette Sheeran, the executive director of WFP, does not see much hope on the horizon for the refugees. She visited eastern Kenya on Saturday and saw firsthand the scene in the drought-stricken town of Garissa and the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab. "I walked 25 days to get here. I have no money," a translator quoted a refugee as telling Sheeran. The chief culprit, other than the drought, in the food problems in Somalia is the militant group al-Shabab, which won't allow aid in. These ass hats deny a famine is taking place and insanely dispute the U.N.'s view that tens of thousands of people have already died. Perhaps they have never heard of the Internet or cable television, both of which directly contradict their claims with gruesome images. Because of al-Shabab’s resistance, Sheeran has labeled Somalia "the riskiest environment we operate in the world today" and said 14 WFP employees have been killed there since 2008. Not only are al-Shabab a bunch of giant ass hats living in a world of absurd denial, but they are also hypocrites and indecisive bastards who said earlier this month they would accept previously banned aid groups before reversing field Thursday and saying groups like WFP are not welcome. A staunch refusal to accept aid from Western and "Christian" aid groups means millions could starve or die on long walks to Kenya, Ethiopia or Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Kenyan officials have already begun demanding that aid groups set up refugee camps on the Somali side of the border for fear the influx of Somalis will lead to the consumption of resources needed for their people. A report from the U.N. refugee agency published Saturday seems to confirm those fears, as it states that some 13,000 tents need to be shipped to the Ethiopian refugee camp of Dollo Ado to provide emergency shelter for up to 65,000 people due to the high influx of Somali refugees. The situation is becoming more dire by the day and yet, those controlling whether or not aid reaches those in need seem to have no interest in fixing the problem or admitting it exists at all…………
- Oh international soccer, how you and your rampant corruption amuse us. In a sports world where greed, corruption and deceit reign and the cheaters are always one step ahead of those chasing them when it comes to illegal performance-enhancing drugs, it is good to know we can always look to you as a bastion of (no) integrity and revel in your thoroughly fraudulent nature. After all, what non-corrupt group awards the hosting of its premier event to a country with no real soccer tradition, temperatures sure to surpass 120 degrees during said event and the heat-beating solution of UFO-like, man-made clouds? Handing the hosting gig for the 2022 World Cup to Qatar may have been the most emphatic and obvious sign that FIFA - international soccer’s governing body - is corrupt to the core, but rest assured it is far from the only indicator that something shady is always going on among the organization’s powers that be. The recent election for FIFA’s next president provided ample evidence of that. In the election, incumbent Sepp Blatter and challenger Mohamed bin Hammam were both accused of corruption and bribery (in matters relating to the election and otherwise) to the point that members worried they may have to call off the election for a lack of candidates if both men were forced to withdraw. Blatter ultimately found a way to duck the allegations against him (more bribes?) and stay in the election, but bin Hammam was forced to withdraw and now he will be taking a more permanent break from the organization after FIFA banned him from soccer for life after finding him guilty of bribing presidential election voters. FIFA ruled that bin Hammam - coincidentally enough, hailing from Qatar - conspired to pay Caribbean officials $40,000 cash bribes to back his challenge Blatter. Bin Hammam is the most senior FIFA official convicted of corruption in its 107-year history, which is shocking given how many scandals and underhanded activities have undoubtedly gone on during that century-plus of soccer governance. Needless to say, bin Hammam isn't taking the decision well. He didn't cooperate with the FIFA investigation or attend his hearing Friday and wrote on his website Friday that he expected a guilty verdict and would appeal……………
- When in danger of being slapped with stricter federal laws and regulation, what is a telecommunications company to do? Hurl more money into lobbying Congress, of course. That’s the plan AT&T has embraced over the past few months as it faces increased regulatory scrutiny for its proposed acquisition of T-Mobile. To head off that scrutiny, AT&T has been whoring itself out to Congress even more than usual. According to its latest quarterly disclosure report, AT&T spent $4.9 million to lobby the federal government in the second quarter of 2011, a whopping 58 percent from the amount spent during the same time period last year, $3.1 million. On the heels of dishing out $6.8 million in spending on lobbying during the first quarter of the year, that figure is a sure sign that AT&T executives realize the pressure they could soon be under. In addition to bending congressmen’s ears about T-Mobile-related matters, AT&T is also lobbying in support of proposals that would free up more wireless spectrum for the company to use for its various mobile broadband services, including mobile apps and online video and on measures to support the creation of a national wireless broadband network–based on a 10 Mhz, $3 billion chunk of 700 MHz commercial wireless spectrum known as the "D Block." The “D Block” (not D-bag) concept would allow emergency personnel priority access to the spectrum during emergencies, which actually does seem like something worth lobbying for. At present, draft legislation related to the matter is currently calling for an auction of the D Block instead of a exclusive allocation of the spectrum to public safety agencies. T-Mobile is doing its share of lobbying as well, with its own spending on lobbying up 66 percent from the second quarter of last year. Top senators have spoken out against the proposed AT&T-T-Mobile merger, so maybe more lobbying is in order…………
- Not that Justin Bieber and his total lack of actual musical talent (But he’s so dreamy, right girls ages 10-15?) should be turning down any movie offers coming his way while his 15 minutes of fame last, but it would be difficult not to double-clutch when the person doing the offering is known freak/pedophile Pee-wee Herman. Somehow, Herman has latched on to producer Judd Apatow and together they have created a movie concept chock full of celebrity cameos. They want Biebs as one of those guest stars and Herman broke the news amongst the pale, pasty, virginal, never-kissed-a-girl dweebs in superhero and Wookie costumes this week at Comic-Con in San Diego. "I can't really tell [what the cameo is], but he makes an appearance toward the end of the film," Herman (a.k.a Paul Reubens) said. "He doesn't know about it yet, so if you're watching this, Justin!" Herman has clearly set his hopes high for the film, admitting that a hack-tastic 8-year-old Canadian pop singing chick isn't the biggest fish he hopes to land. "There's a party scene in the film that I think will have a lot of the stars. We just wrote President Obama into them. We have an offer out to him," Herman proclaimed. "Sarah Palin wasn't asked. I have to draw the line somewhere, and unfortunately that's where it was drawn. I'm sorry, Sarah, I'm sorry." Hmm, something tells me the commander-in-chief will have to pass on that offer, what with the movie not even having been officially picked up by a studio yet. Universal Studios is reportedly considering the project and Herman optimistically projected that filming could begin within the next couple of months. Having hitched his cinematic wagon to Apatow (and how great it will be to see the embarrassing photos of Apatow that Herman used to blackmail him into this project) will certainly help and apparently, Apatow has already been dishing out some sage directorial advice. “He's given us the same advice over and over again, which is 'emotional arc,' " Herman declared. "He wants the character to go through an emotional arc and to come out on the other end arced. So that's what we're doing. We're adding an emotional arc. Emotional growth, so there's a change in Pee-wee Herman during this film. Pee-wee makes a change." Oh good, because more Pee-wee in our lives is something we’re all seeking…………
- What gives, Somalia? Do you so relish your Third World nation status and leader in the race for nation with the most emaciated, malnourished children appearing in disturbing refugee camp photos that you’re blocking aid from reaching those most in need of it? According to the World Food Program, that’s exactly what you’re doing. The WHP says it cannot reach 2.2 million Somalis in desperate need of aid in militant-controlled areas of Somalia, leaving those weakened, desperate souls to attempt dangerous journeys across the border to Kenya and Ethiopia. Those camps are being flooded with thousands of new refugees each week. Those in Somalia's expanding famine zone are in dire straits, enough to motivate entire familes to attempt dangerous treks that can last days or weeks just to reach refugee camps. Drought conditions in south-central Somalia have amplified to problem and Josette Sheeran, the executive director of WFP, does not see much hope on the horizon for the refugees. She visited eastern Kenya on Saturday and saw firsthand the scene in the drought-stricken town of Garissa and the world's largest refugee camp, Dadaab. "I walked 25 days to get here. I have no money," a translator quoted a refugee as telling Sheeran. The chief culprit, other than the drought, in the food problems in Somalia is the militant group al-Shabab, which won't allow aid in. These ass hats deny a famine is taking place and insanely dispute the U.N.'s view that tens of thousands of people have already died. Perhaps they have never heard of the Internet or cable television, both of which directly contradict their claims with gruesome images. Because of al-Shabab’s resistance, Sheeran has labeled Somalia "the riskiest environment we operate in the world today" and said 14 WFP employees have been killed there since 2008. Not only are al-Shabab a bunch of giant ass hats living in a world of absurd denial, but they are also hypocrites and indecisive bastards who said earlier this month they would accept previously banned aid groups before reversing field Thursday and saying groups like WFP are not welcome. A staunch refusal to accept aid from Western and "Christian" aid groups means millions could starve or die on long walks to Kenya, Ethiopia or Mogadishu, the Somali capital. Kenyan officials have already begun demanding that aid groups set up refugee camps on the Somali side of the border for fear the influx of Somalis will lead to the consumption of resources needed for their people. A report from the U.N. refugee agency published Saturday seems to confirm those fears, as it states that some 13,000 tents need to be shipped to the Ethiopian refugee camp of Dollo Ado to provide emergency shelter for up to 65,000 people due to the high influx of Somali refugees. The situation is becoming more dire by the day and yet, those controlling whether or not aid reaches those in need seem to have no interest in fixing the problem or admitting it exists at all…………
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