- They look sweet and nice in their sashes, silly hats and selling their cavity-inducing collection of cookies, but not everyone is a huge fan of Girl Scouts. Or at a minimum, some are not as big a fan of the Scouts as they are of cold, hard cash. That would explain why police in Richmond, Tex. are now looking for a pair of thieves who stole cookie money from a group of Girl Scouts on Saturday, and then hit one of them with their vehicle as they made their escape. Yes, they not only spat in the face of a bunch of 10-year-olds looking to earn another badge for their sash and raise some money for their next trip to camp, but these thieves clipped a girl scout making their getaway. To say the theft was not a well thought-out operation heavy on planning would be an understatement. Just before 2 p.m., a man walked brazenly up to the table where the Girl Scouts were selling their cookies and ripped the cash box from their table. He sprinted to the getaway car where his accomplice was waiting and the two sped from the scene. However, one of the older Scouts ran after the car and rather than stop and avoid hitting another human being, the driver kept going and trucked the brave girl. She was knocked to the ground and fortunately received nothing more than bruises on both knees. Unfortunately, no one was able to get the license plate number of the car and the suspects are still at large. The Girl Scouts will simply have to up the price on their cookies for a while to make the money back and all should be just fine. Oh, and someone should get the car-chasing Girl Scout a merit badge for attempted crime-stopping…………
- Oh, diesel industry, how you amuse us. For two decades now, scientific evidence has existed that diesel exhaust is hazardous to your health. Why hasn’t there been more discussion of this health hazard? According to two research papers just published in the prestigious Journal of the National Cancer Institute, the information has remained buried because industry opposition, led by the Mining Awareness Resource Group (MARG), worked hard to bury a study showing the harmful effects of diesel fuel. In the study, more than 12,000 miners who were frequently exposed to high concentrations of exhaust from diesel engines commonly used in the mining industry were studied over a period of years. Miners most heavily exposed to the exhaust had a risk of dying from lung cancer three times higher than it was for those exposed to low doses and for non-smokers, the risk was seven times higher. In other words, evidence exists that exposure to diesel exhaust may cause lung cancer in humans and represent a potential public health threat. The study was completed in 1992, but in June 2001, MARG won a court order giving it and the House Education and Workforce Committee the right to pre-publication review of any study-related pieces. Ten years later, the MARG won again, this time in the form of a contempt order against the Department of Health and Human Services for not fully complying with the 2001 court order. The federal government has appealed the 2011 decision and the contempt order is stayed while the New Orleans-based Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals rules on the appeal. Diesel supporters are quick to point to newer diesel engines’ ability to cut emissions by as much as 85 percent, which is impressive but not as impressive as a 100-percent efficiency rate in stifling the truth about the hazards of your product from coming out…………
- At first, it seemed the New Orleans Saints had a major problem. Then, maybe it was the Washington Redskins too. But take a step back and the issue seems to be a Gregg Williams problem and not one specific to any single team. The NFL first busted the Saints, the team Williams served as defensive coordinator for before leaving for St. Louis this offseason, for employing an illegal bounty system, financially rewarding defensive players for big plays, including knocking opponents out of games during the 2009-11 seasons. Such a system is illegal and Williams admitted he knew of it and did nothing to stop it. However, he denied playing an active role in the bounty system and at first, most believed him. That belief is disappearing rapidly now that the league is investigating claims that the Redskins had a bounty program when Williams was the team's defensive coordinator. The league’s security department conducted the initial investigation in New Orleans and found out about the pool of money collected and distributed for both big plays and hits that injured and incapacitated opponents. After the details became public, five former Redskins, including defensive end Phillip Daniels, and a former coach, stepped forward to say that Williams had a similar system with Washington. Another former Redskin, safety Matt Bowen, even wrote about the bounty system in a column for The Chicago Tribune and proclaimed that he didn't regret taking part in the program. "You do what he (Williams) wants: play tough, push the envelope and carry a swagger that every opponent sees on tape. When you lined up against us, you knew we were coming after you. It was our gig, our plan, our way to motivate, to extra-motivate," Bowen wrote. Uh-oh. Even if the players in question were quick to defend Williams and insist he’s not a bad guy, that isn't going to lessen the impact of the disciplinary hammer the NFL is going to drop on Williams if the allegations are proven. Oh, and former Buffalo Bills safety Coy Wire claimed that Williams promoted bonuses injuring opponents while he was the head coach in Buffalo. "There was financial compensation," Wire said. So now there are three separate allegations from three places Williams has coached and dropping the label “systematic” on Williams’ bounty-hunting ways isn't a stretch. Coincidentally enough, these bounty systems seem to pop up everywhere Williams goes. In the case of the Saints, the NFL said between 22 and 27 defensive players were involved in the team's bounty program, which was administered by Williams, with the knowledge of coach Sean Payton. Rewards were both significant and directed against a specific opposing player, such as future Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre. Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine discipline for the offenses and it’s tough to foresee a circumstance in which he doesn’t hammer Williams with a huge fine and suspension, even with Williams oh, so contrite apology issued Friday. "I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, (Saints owner) Mr. (Tom) Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the 'pay for performance' program while I was with the Saints," Williams said. "It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. I should have stopped it.” In his defense, it’s difficult to stop something you habitually do everywhere you go………….
- Having more than 70 promotional tie-ins and incessant commercials running during every break in every show on every network is good for business, apparently. “Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” proved as much over the weekend, grossing $70.7 million in its debut to crush the competition at the box office. The closest combatant was fellow newcomer “Project X,” which could manage just $20.7 million in its own debut. The duo bumped last week’s top film, “Act of Valor,” down to third with a $13.7 million weekend that raised its two-week domestic take to $45.2 million. “Safe House” held steady in fourth place, adding $7.2 million to its coffers for a four-week total to $108.2 million. “Tyler Perry's Good Deeds” was close behind at $7 million and has a modest two-week haul of $25.7 million in domestic earnings. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, soon to return to professional wrestling for an appearance at WrestleMania in April, fueled “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” to a $6.9 million weekend that bumped its earnings up to $85.6 million for its first month in theaters. Chick flick “The Vow” landed in seventh place with $6.1 million and elevated its four-week take to $111.7 million and counting. The news was not good for “This Means War,” which hasn’t brought in the fans with Reese Witherspoon’s über-hotness and managed a mere $5.6 million in its third weekend, dropping to eighth place. “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” has the same story, with $4.7 million in its third weekend and $44.8 million in cumulative domestic earnings. It finished ninth for the weekend, just ahead of Oscar darling “The Artist,” which made $3.9 million despite being in fewer than 2,000 theaters in its 15th weekend of release. “Wanderlust” (No. 11), “Gone” (No. 12) and “The Secret World of Arrietty” (No. 14) all dropped from the top 10………….
- Egypt’s legal system is such a Mickey Mouse operation – literally. On Saturday, an Egyptian court rejected the second of two lawsuits brought by ultraconservative Islamists against a Christian media member they accused of insulting Islam by re-tweeting a cartoon online of Mickey Mouse with a beard and Minnie in a face veil. The judge did not officially end the case against Naguib Sawiris, but instead ruled the plaintiff was not eligible to file the religious defamation lawsuit and sent the case back to the state prosecutor's office for further investigation. A separate lawsuit against Sawiris was thrown out by a different court earlier this week on similar grounds and after Saturday’s decision he took to Twitter to express his relief. "I thank God for this ruling because I feel that there is still hope," he wrote. "Congratulations to an open, free and smiling Egypt that respects all religions." He won't face legal liability, but Sawiris still must live with the hatred and anger of Muslim hard-liners who have been looking for a piece of his hide since June, when he re-tweeted a link to the Mickey and Minnie cartoon, which parodied the growing influence of Islamists in Egypt. Even after he tweeted an apology and removed the post, the anger remained. The lawsuits are part of a growing trend of hard-line Muslims seeking to punish individuals they deem as having offended Islam. Followers of the ultraconservative Salafi trend of Islam in Egypt have been behind almost all of the lawsuits. Salafism is very conservative and is partly inspired by Saudi Arabia's puritanical Wahhabi interpretation of the religion. The sect was heavily persecuted during former dictator Hosni Mubarak’s three-decade rule and with him gone, they are out for retribution. In dismissing the case, the judge ruled that the cartoon did not cause plaintiff Ali Dergham any harm and also hit him with an extremely severe fine of less than $10 for the court's time. The lawsuit seems frivolous on the surface, but Egyptian law contains a principle called hisba, which allows any Muslim to take to court anyone thought to be harming the Muslim community. Sawiris is a popular target for ultraconservatives, who have called on Muslims in Egypt to boycott his mobile phone company, Mobinil. How very militant of you all, Muslim ultraconservatives…………
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