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…………

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…………

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………….

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…………

Riot Watch! in Syria, Chris Brown's dog racing circuit and more frivolous lawsuits

- Rihanna, you have company. No longer are you the only one publicly lamenting the nightmare of spending quality time in close quarters with R&B hack Chris Brown. Of course, no one’s phone was destroyed and no one was physically assaulted (that we know of yet) in this particular incident, but that doesn’t mean Brown’s neighbors in West Hollywood consider him to be any less of a “nightmare.” Neighbors are reportedly upset that Brown is somehow holding late-night dog races at the apartment complex, parking in handicapped spaces (L.A. Lakers center Andrew Bynum, you have company!) and blasting loud music. The loud music claim is boring beyond belief because it’s the same freaking complaint that stodgy, boring, old people the whole world ‘round make every day about their neighbors. Parking in handicapped spaces isn't as interesting either because the singer's lawyer Mark Geragos claims the West Hollywood condo developer didn't disclose that the spaces were reserved for the handicapped and that the condo’s deed shows the two spaces belong to Brown. That sounds like a complicated and potentially confusing situation to delve into, so let’s just focus on the fact that an award-winning (but still horrible) recording artist is accused of conducting dog races in the hallways around the “block” his condo is located on. These must be some hellaciously big hallways if Brown and his fellow loser friends are able to hold dog races in them. Dogfighting rings in barns and basements, sure, but dog racing rings in the hallways of condo complexes? That’s a first. Assuming you didn’t actually have to put up with that nonsense, how hilarious is the mental picture of a bunch of degenerates crowding into the dim hallway of some West Hollywood condo complex, screaming at dogs as they race around and try not to wipe out into a potted plant or end table? If the people who show up at legit, legal dog racing tracks to watch races are some of the biggest and most depressing lowlifes around, how much worse do Brown and his friends look with their operation? Oh, and there is also the allegation from unidentified neighbors that someone carved the initials "CB" on the communal elevator door. What that has to do with Chris Brown, I’m not sure. Here’s hoping Brown handles this little disagreement better than he did his dispute with Rihanna or the incident back in March following an outburst on Good Morning America in March where he smashed a studio window backstage after the show's interviewer Robin Roberts asked about Rihanna………..


- One of the many joys of living in the United States is the frivolous lawsuit, in which a party - typically wronged in some very minor way - seeks to cash in on a wrong that probably warrants nothing more than a simple apology by suing for thousands or even millions of dollars. When people from other countries, cultures and religious backgrounds begin to understand an embrace this trend, it is indeed a beautiful thing, almost as if they are coming to understand what it truly means to be an American. That’s exactly what is happening in Edison, N.J., where a simple mistake in the kitchen of an overpriced restaurant has led to an especially absurd and frivolous lawsuit. Seems that a group of strict Hindu vegetarians went to eat at the Mughal Express restaurant. The group ordered a small tray of vegetable samosas at a bloated cost of $35. Either the server or the chef made a mistake and sent out meat simosas instead, thus perpetuating a great religious, cultural and dietary affront upon the Hindu diners. Sure, the group made it clear to their server that there could be no meat in their meal, but millions of diners in all manner of restaurants across the United States have their explicitly stated special orders screwed up every day and they don’t sue, so that excuse doesn’t hold merit. Durgesh Gupta and Sharad Agrawal claim a restaurant employee assured them that it did not make meat samosas, according to court documents. Approximately 30 minutes later, the two men picked up a tray labeled "VEG samosas." When Gupta, Agrawal and their group of 16 friends began eating the samosas, they grew suspicious that they may in fact be chowing down on meat products. Sure enough, the triangular deep-fried pastries were not vegetarian and the restaurant admitted it had made a mistake, court documents showed. Any vegetarian in Gupta and Agrawal’s position would likely be offended and angry. In this case, those in their group believed they were complicit in inflicting death and injury to God's creatures. The Absurd-O-Meter is about to go haywire, by the way, so brace yourself. The vegetarians sued Mughal Express - located in the heart of Edison's Indian community - sued Mughal Express seeking…..wait for it……compensation for a trip to the Hindu holy town of Haridwar, India, where the Ganges begins its downward flow to the ocean to take ceremonial dips in the river to, by Hindu belief, cleanse their souls of sin. These clowns want the restaurant to reimburse them for the entire cost of the trip. Thankfully, a lower court ruled against the plaintiffs and the case seemed destined to go away……until this week, when an appellate court reversed that decision. Sadly, there may actually be a precedent for this sort of case and it slants in favor of the plaintiffs. In 2002, McDonald's Corp. paid $10 million to Hindu and vegetarian groups to settle a lawsuit against the company for failing to disclose that beef flavoring was used in its fries. On a hopeful note, that can involved the widespread serving of meat-tainted food and McDonald’s had not been forthright about the content of its products, as opposed to a single accident in one New Jersey restaurant. Some Hindu groups have smartly pointed out that the religion’s teachings instruct followers to be forgiving, but that idea seems to be lost on these money grubbers in their shameless attempt at tort abuse…………


- So not everyone is a fan of the centaur, it seems. Half-man, half-horse specimen may be good enough for the Preakness to use as its mascot (long live Kegasus!), but if a group of British researchers has its way, any research involving the combination of animal and human DNA will be subject to much stricter controls. The group is advocating the formation of a new regulatory group to oversee experiments that mix animal and human DNA because there are a few types of experiments that could “approach social and ethically sensitive areas.” All centaur jokes aside, human-animal hybrids are actually very common — at least on a genetic, cellular level. Within the last two months, scientists have engineered mice to express a human form of hemophilia and cows able to produce milk with human characteristics. Additionally, human DNA is frequently inserted into mice to study cancer. Those are some of the more sane, reasonable experiments. There are also the kook-tastic ones, like fertilizing human eggs in animals or using human cells to fundamentally alter animal brains? If we want that, all we need to do is pay $10 at our local movie theater to see the latest crappy Planet of the Apes remake. But rest assured, there are (non-cinematic) scientists who believe these sorts of experiments could be beneficial and for that reason, this particular group of British scientists believe a regulatory group should be formed to oversee them. “Where people begin to worry is when you get to the brain, to the germ (reproductive) cells, and to the sort of central features that help us recognize what is a person, like skin texture, facial shape and speech,” said Martin Bobrow, a professor of medical genetics at the University of Cambridge. Bobrow led a group from Britain’s Academy of Medical Sciences that examined creating animals with human facets, so he does seem qualified to speak on the topic. The controversy stems largely from the fact that three years ago, researchers in the United Kingdom planned to make human embryos with the nucleus hollowed out of cow eggs, which was intended to make a new supply of stem cells that could be used to treat a wide range of diseases. When science does get to the point where a real centaur is possible, that may be the definitive sign of a need to regulate these types of experiments more closely…………


- Plenty of big-name NBA players have either threatened to play overseas during the league’s ongoing lockout or signed deals with foreign teams, but Dallas Mavericks forward and NBA Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki is taking a slightly different approach to the question of whether to hoop it up internationally during the work stoppage. Nowitzki has laid surprisingly low since winning his first NBA title, surfacing only in a letter responding to Forbes magazine naming him the Association’s most marketable star. He has made no proclamations and dropped no hints about playing professionally overseas during the lockout, but he will suit up for Germany at the upcoming European Championship when Olympic berths will be at stake. With the Germans needing a high finish at the championships to secure an Olympic berth, Nowitzki said he'd "like to help the young German team have success." He will be joined by Los Angeles Clippers big man Chris Kaman, who also committed to the team because it’s not officially a major international sporting event unless a few teams have players who were not born in and have never lived in their country but are technically able to represent said nation because their parents or grandparents hailed from there. The European Championship is Aug. 31-Sept. 18 in Lithuania and the two finalists qualify for the 2012 Olympics in London. Germany must battle its way through a true basketball meat grinder of a group that includes hardwood dynasties France, Italy, Serbia, Latvia and Israel. Playing for his national team might not send quite the message to NBA owners that signing a contract with a foreign team would, but Nowitzki has made it clear that he simply wants to play basketball and enjoy success on the court as opposed to being a global icon or spokesman for anything………….


- Riot Watch! Riot Watch! The scene in Syria Friday was truly inspiring and uplifting as hundreds of thousands of Syrians across the country took to the streets in direct defiance of a brutal crackdown by security forces. At protests across the country, the aim was the same: demanding the end of President Bashar al-Assad’s government. In a predictable response to the uprising, armed forces loyal to the government opened fire on protesters in several towns and cities. Four fatalities were reported by protestors and antigovernment activists and another protester died Friday from wounds sustained this month in the central city of Hama. The overarching theme of Friday’s demonstrations was unity. Taking to the streets on this particular day was especially inspiring, as the protests took place one week after an onslaught of bloodshed in Homs, Syria’s third-largest city, claimed the lives of at least two dozen people. Certain worrywarts have fretted that Friday’s violence could portend a dangerous turn in the four-month popular uprising against Assad, but when the common man rises up to demand the ouster of a despot who has been in power since 2000, true rebels appreciate the gesture. “We are all one, not Arabs, not Kurds, not Muslims, not Christians, not Alawites, not Druze. We all want freedom,” shouted protesters in Dara’a, an downtrodden town in southwestern Syria. Impressively, the protests were sparked by a group of inspiring teenagers detained for scrawling antigovernment graffiti on a wall. What isn't good about these protests is demonstrators’ insistence that their movement is peaceful. First, no one believes that BS and second, peaceful protests are boring and lame. Stick with allegations that the government is trying to instigate strife among Syria’s religiously mixed society and build your angry revolt from there. Play up the attempts to create strife between the Sunni Muslim majority and the many sizable religious and ethnic minorities. For doubters of potential change that can result from the uprising, look no further than its ability to maintain its momentum since starting in mid-March. The number of protestors on the streets have increased steadily and those numbers have risen in spite of stricter security measures and heavy gunfire. Security forces are clamping down heavily in the capital of Damascus deploying a large number of troops beginning at dawn, setting up checkpoints and conducting house-to-house raids to arrest suspected activists. The four protestors killed Friday all died in different locations, ranging from rural towns to suburbs to large cities. The day’s largest protests were reported in Homs and Hama, both in central Syria, and in Deir al-Zour, in the northeast along the Iraqi border. “Despite the siege, people managed to go out and participate in demonstrations,” said Omar Idlibi, a spokesman for the Local Coordination Committee, an umbrella group that helps plan and document protests. “Arresting activists and shooting at demonstrators continued today. Nothing has changed.” Truly an inspiring sight and a sign that Assad’s government should not feel secure or confident about its ability to remain in power. Putting an exact total on the number of protestors killed since the revolt began is virtually impossible, but human rights groups estimate the tally to be at least 1,400. All the more reason to continue striking back at The Man…………

Thwarting Twitter idiocy, no election transparency in Egypt and Charlie's Angels sans Charlie

- Dealing with players saying idiotic things on Twitter is a big part of the job for coaches at all levels of sports, especially college and pro coaches. Reining in every player who wants to get his or her tweet on and bang out 140-character messages to fans and followers is all but impossible. At any moment of any day, a coach knows he or she could get a call about a racist, sexist or otherwise offensive tweet one of their players has thumbed out on their iPhone or BlackBerry. New Mexico basketball coach Steve Alford has opted for a much more dictatorial approach, informing all current and incoming players that they must delete their Twitter account in order to be part of the program. Current players were alerted to the new rule first and incoming freshman were advised to do the same before they arrive on campus. Alford isn't dropping a blanket ban of all social media on his team, as players are allowed to have Facebook accounts but all of their activity will be monitored by the basketball staff. Alford plans to treat any violation of the new social networking policy like any other violation of team rules, with all violations resulting in disciplinary action. Alford has informed players that a third violation could result in the player losing his scholarship. Asked about the effect the Twitter ban will have on him, incoming Australian freshman point guard Hugh Greenwood downplayed any potential problems, saying he prefers Facebook over Twitter anyhow. The new policy definitely skews heavily toward the totalitarian, First Amendment-trampling side, but at least Alford and his assistant coaches will be able to sleep a little easier each night knowing that while one of their players could show up on YouTube, TMZ or Facebook doing or saying something moronic, at least their offense won't come in the 140-character variety…………


- For any government looking to ensure its upcoming elections are viewed as fair, legitimate and not in any way rigged or fixed, nothing does the job quite like banning international election observers for said election. Props to Egypt’s military rulers for doing just that for the first elections of the post-Mubarak era. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the exclusive cabal that took over after President Hosni Mubarak was pushed out, announced Wednesday that elections will be delayed to November, two months later than originally expected and more importantly, that international monitors will not be permitted on the grounds of national sovereignty. Maj. Gen. Mamdouh Shahin, the military council’s legislative adviser, made the announcement, which was immediately greeted with outrage and proclamations of disaster from human rights groups both in and outside of Egypt. Fears of continuing the fraudulent elections of Mubarak’s regime were already high and the ban on outside observers raised them even higher. This particular election has taken on added importance because Egyptians view it as critical to establishing both domestic and international trust in Egypt’s new government. International observers would be one sure way to add credibility to the process, especially since parliamentary elections held in November and December of last year were widely seen as some of the most fraudulent in Egypt’s modern history. Shahin did state that Egyptian civil society organizations will be free to monitor the vote, something Mubarak’s corrupt regime often said before seriously restricting any actual monitoring activity once the election began. To the cynic (and who isn't in Egypt at this point when it comes to the validity of election results?), banning international observers raises the question of what the military council is looking to hide. Whoever comprises the parliament elected in the fall and however legitimate their election, the legislative body will then be charged with selecting a commission to write a new constitution. That will be followed by a presidential election, after which the military has promised to surrender power. Other election laws were announced along with the ban on international monitors, but those laws have received little attention in light of the day’s bigger news. As per those laws, half of the 504 parliamentary candidates will be elected individually, while the other half will be elected under a list system. Under that list system, parties will be assigned seats proportionate to the percentage of the vote they received. Ladies will be fired up to know that a women’s quota instituted under Mubarak to ensure women's representation will be abolished, replaced by the very powerful mandate that every party list must include at least one woman. One rule left in place was a 50-year-old quota reserving half of the seats for farmers and workers. As for the legitimacy of the vote to select those farmers, workers, women and others, you’ll just have to take the military’s word for it…………


- What has the world come to when hackers are issuing press releases? Granted, the hackers in question are the world’s current “it” hackers from Anonymous, but still…….a press release? Anonymous is in the practice of hacking large companies, corporations and other massive entities whose politics run afoul of its ideals and after the arrests of at least 21 alleged hackers this week, members of the group claimed Thursday they had stolen a gigabyte of information belonging to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Anonymous also tweeted (yes, they have a Twitter feed) claims that they had "breached" NATO and that they stole "lots of restricted material." Their tweets contain links to PDF files that they said contain some of the stolen information. Left unsaid was why the group targeted NATO. Some of the tweets did mention the FBI’s recent arrests of alleged Anonymous members. The press release itself was signed by Anonymous and fellow hacker group LulzSec. It taunted the powers that be with claims that members of the group were "not scared any more" and that the arrests were "meaningless to us as you cannot arrest an idea." The “you cannot arrest an idea” bullsh*t is some truly fine, Grade-A philosophical, anti-establishment thinking and verbiage, so credit to Anonymous for that. The arrests took place in the United States, United Kingdom and Holland and at least 14 of those were alleged to be members of Anonymous. NATO has remained suspiciously quiet on the supposed attack thus far. The FBI has mostly laid low as well, but given the directness and provocative nature of tweets directed at it by Anonymous, a response might be in order. "So, we are working (and) the FBI are working. Let's see who is more efficient," tweeted @AnonymousIRC. The press release was just as taunting, with Anonymous saying, "Arresting people won't stop us, FBI. We will only cease fire when you all wear shoes on your heads. That's the only way this is ending." What shoes on heads has to do with anything, only Anonymous knows…………


- What would Charlie’s Angels be without the franchise’s signature voice filling the title (and never seen on screen) role? Anyone dumb enough to be suckered into the 8,543rd reboot of the popular action franchise will find out when they tune in to ABC this fall and hear someone other than Robert Wagner in the role. No, Wagner isn't too old or too pricey for ABC and Sony TV to use him, at least not according to Sony. “Due to his scheduling conflicts, Robert Wagner will need to step away from his duties as Charlie on Charlie’s Angels,” the studio explained in a written statement. Wagner, 81, would seem like a natural fit and a great anchor for the show with all of the other characters played by actors with whom any Charlie’s Angels fan won't be familiar. Then again, most anyone tuning in to watch this train wreck in the making will probably have no idea who any of the original cast members were (as Farah Fawcett fans weep somewhere in the distance) or even what the original looked or sounded like, the original that spawned movie remakes and now a shameless and sure-to-suck TV version. If anything, the only knowledge those fans will have of a previous version of Charlie’s Angels will be the lame, cheesy and sham-tastic movie version of a few years ago starring Cameron Diaz, Lucy Liu, Drew Barrymore and Bernie Mac. Those fans may not even realize how much ABC and Sony’s version of the franchise sucks (and trust me, it will) or take a few episodes to clue in, giving ABC the false impression via slightly inflated ratings that the show isn't a total bomb. That message will be sent loud and clear by the midway point of the season, when the plug is pulled and the realization dawns on one and all for the umpteenth time that blatantly recycling an existing franchise isn't a guarantee for ratings or financial success……………


- There are currently two places where people are advised not to drink the water. Mexico remains the old standby for the “Don’t drink the water” warning, but Manhattan’s Upper West Side has temporarily joined the list as raw sewage from a Harlem water treatment plant continued to spill out into the Hudson River Thursday after a fire a day earlier compromised a second-story engine room. Plant and health officials confirmed the spill and swimmers and kayakers are warned to stay out of the water throughout the weekend. The fire broke out at North River Wastewater Treatment Plant on West 135th Street on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the evacuation and closure of Riverside Drive and Riverbank State Park. Closing the park seems like an overreaction because whose nature experience isn't made better by a little raw sewage and its oh, so pleasant odor? Shortly after the fire broke out, untreated wastewater began flowing out into the Hudson River. The Department of Environmental Protection cautioned that it would take at least 48 hours of continuous sewage discharge before water quality at city beaches would be affected, so beachgoers on the Upper West Side (renowned for its hopping beach scene) should keep an eye on the situation. The DEP is also issuing conflicting messages on just how far the spill’s effects may reach, insisting on one hand that the city's drinking water has not been contaminated, but simultaneously warning swimmers stay out of the river through Saturday as workers try to contain the discharge and reopen the plant. No word was given on which beaches could be affected if the leak is not contained within two days, but at least now Harlem residents will have an explanation for what that funky, nasty smell is…….well, at least one of the funky, nasty smells wafting through the city during the hot, hot summer…………

Disgusting doughnuts, a talkative Shaq bashes Bosh and China gets rankled

- Doughnuts in general can be classified as disgusting, what with being balls of fatty, fried dough covered with toppings like coconut, über-rich frosting, sprinkles, fruit toppings, etc. and crammed full of similarly fatty, unhealthy substances, but perhaps no one has created a doughnut quite as disgusting as the 'Do or Dine' restaurant on Bedford Avenue in the Bedford Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn made famous in Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing.” Co-owner Justin Warner has crafted a doughnut that is equal parts disgusting and controversial, injecting foie gras into doughnuts. Foie gras is, of course, a controversial French delicacy made from the fatty liver of a duck. "It looks like a donut, but it tastes like heaven," Warner said of his new creation. The treat is controversial not because of the revolting idea of fatty duck liver in a doughnut, but because foie gras is banned in several states because of animal cruelty concerns. The ducks whose livers are used for foie gras are often caged and forced-fed so that the fat builds up on the liver. True art is almost always controversial and Warner seems to revel in the drama, selling the foie gras doughnuts for a whopping $11 each. That someone is charging $11 for a freaking doughnut is the true outrage, but he claims to average 30 orders a week. A donut filled with the controversial liver pâté could be viewed as a means of making typically pricy French cuisine, accessible to the masses. Foie gras is typically served in upscale restaurants, but putting it in a doughnut is a decidedly different approach. As with anything remotely controversial in the world these days, the foie gras doughnut has already inspired an online petition to stop the restaurant from serving it. The petition, called "Do or Dine Restaurant: Stop Serving Foie Gras Donuts," has collected over 600 signatures collected already. Signees have tagged their digital signatures with predictable messages about the injustice of birds dying to make doughnuts. As for Warner, he’s playing the “struggling entrepreneur trying to survive in a cruel world” card. "We are just a small restaurant trying to stay alive and give good food to our neighborhood," he explained………….


- NBATV and TNT knew what they were getting when they signed newly retired Shaquille O’Neal to be a studio analyst: a bombastic, goofy, oversized kid in a 7’1, 350-pound body who loves controversy and will say most anything to generate buzz and interest. While it’s often difficult to tell when O’Neal is actually being critical and when he’s merely looking to deliver a verbal prod, his run as an analyst should deliver plenty of entertaining moments (certainly more entertaining than the crappy movies he’s acted in or the terrible rap albums he has released). The first of those moments came during NBATV's show Tuesday to announce the league's schedule for the 2011-12 season. The season is in peril due to the ongoing lockout, but that didn’t stop O’Neal from delivering a passive-aggressive verbal blast to one of the team’s expected to contend for next season’s NBA title - if the season is actually played. O’Neal was asked a question about the Miami Heat and while he couldn’t praise Heat stars LeBron James and Dwyane Wade effusively enough, he didn’t have much to say about the third member of Miami’s supposed “Big 3,” forward Chris Bosh. In fact, he had nothing to say about Bosh and all but refused to mention his name. O'Neal referred to the Heat as having a "Big 2" while praising their chances to bounce back after a disappointing loss in last season’s NBA finals. "The Miami Heat, they've got a lot of great players, the 'Big 2.' They will be back," O'Neal said from Louisiana during the broadcast. "LeBron James is taking a lot of criticism, but I know LeBron very well. He hears everything that everyone is saying, so I think he's going to come back and have an MVP year this year." When the conversation was steered back to his “Big 2” comments, O’Neal shot down the idea he had created some sort of controversy but immediately reverted to praising James and Wade while excluding Bosh. "Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, you know, they're great players, they're probably the greatest backcourt ever assembled," O'Neal said. "And you know, they're going to get back. They're going to get back. They play well, they went through a lot, they put a lot of pressure on themselves. That's how they like it. And they will be back." Of course, O’Neal was a teammate of both Wade (for Miami’s 2006 championship team) and James (in Cleveland prior to LeBron knifing the entire city in the back with “The Decision”). Maybe he just has a better memory for guys he used to ball with…………


- As America becomes fatter, lazier and more unhealthy, many Americans are looking to anyone but the person staring back at them in the mirror to take responsibility for their obesity and changing their flabby physique. With many states requiring restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus, relying on eateries to tell you how much fat and how many calories your double bacon cheeseburger with mayo and extra barbecue sauce contains is a nice way to manage what you consume - or it would be if those calorie and fat counts on menus were accurate. That is not necessarily the case, not if the results of a new study led by Dr. Lorien E. Urban, study author and calorie researcher at Tufts University, are accurate. The study found that nearly one in five of these counts on restaurant menus are wrong. Urban’s team reviewed calorie counts of 269 food items from 42 randomly selected fast-food or sit-down restaurants in Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Indiana and found 40 percent of the food items contained 10 calories more than what was labeled on the menu. Worse still, almost 20 percent of the foods contained more than 100 calories than what was stated in the nutritional facts. One particularly mislabeled item’s menu listing was off by an absurd 1000 calories. "You really don't know what you are getting," said Urban. Eating an item mislabeled by 100 calories might not seem like a big deal, but given the frequency with which Americans tend to eat at chain restaurants and the quantity of items they tend to consume at these places, 100 calories per item could add up to 500-600 calories for a meal. According to the study, eating an extra 100 calories everyday can contribute to an added 10 to 30 pounds a year. What are the causes of this menu misinformation? The study’s authors suggest it is largely due to kitchen variables due to the fact that most fast-food items are created on site and the amounts of various ingredients used varies substantially depending on who is preparing it. That makes a definitive answer for how to address the issue difficult to pinpoint, but at a minimum it should have Americans more alert and inquisitive when it comes to what they consume. With more than a third of adults obese and two-thirds classified as either overweight or obese, now would be an excellent time to be more alert about food. To read more about this riveting research, stroll on over to your magazine rack and pick up your copy of the July 20 issue of the Journal of American Medical Association……….


- Is there anything a foreign nation can do (besides genuflecting and outright ass-kissing) that won't offend the Chinese government? Probably not, not if Philippine lawmakers visiting tiny islands their nation claims in the disputed South China Sea leads to such obnoxious whining and complaining from China. Four legislators, accompanied by members of the military and journalists, visited what are known as the Kalayaan, or “freedom”, islands. Perhaps the Chinese were enraged that Congressman Walden Bello replaced a tattered national flag at the municipal hall of the most inhabited island, which has a population of 60 people. That’s right, 60 people live on the entire island and China is getting snippy over it. Bello did tweak the Chinese at the end of the tour of the island, saying his group “successfully enforced Philippine sovereignty” over the land. “When we landed it was clearly on Philippine soil. We felt that, when we were with the structures, with the people over there…. You know, this was a settled community. Yes, it had military personnel but it had also a thriving civilian community, that’s largely made up of fisher folk. So there was no doubt on our part that we were indisputably on Philippine soil, on Philippine territory,” Bello said. Those words provoked an angry response from China, which claims sovereignty over the entire South China Sea, including the Kalayaan islands, which are part of the Spratly islands group. So angry were the Chinese that their ambassador met with a foreign affairs official over the matter. Embassy spokesman Ethan Sun characterized the visit as sending the wrong message. “It goes against the declaration of the parties in the South China Sea and serves no purpose but to undermine peace and stability in the region and sabotage Philippines-China relationship,” Sun said.
Sun tagged those words with a warning that the Chinese government will continue to monitor this sort of activity closely. Not to be outdone, Bello derisively called China’s response to the trip “immature.” Filipino Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda didn’t exactly back up the four lawmakers by reasserting that the lawmakers took the trip on their own initiative. “The only thing we can assure them is that we are continuously dialoguing with them and the mere fact that the Chinese ambassador was able to speak with Under Secretary Conegos is a manifestation of the open lines of communication between the two parties,” Lacierda said. China’s ridiculous claim to the entire South China Sea should continue to be a point of controversy going forward as Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei also claim all or part of the sea, which is believed to sit above deposits of natural gas and oil. China insists on bilateral talks to resolve the issue, but all of the other nations want to be a part of the discussion as well. Both the Philippines and Vietnam have complained of Chinese incursions into their waters in recent months and the incidents have included alleged harassment of vessels by Chinese sea patrols. Ironically enough, those who went on the Filipino lawmakers’ trip to the disputed islands reported friendly interactions between the locals and Chinese fishing crews working on the island. Just don’t expect that sort of friendliness from the involved parties in suits and ties…………


- Perhaps inspired by Bono and The Edge of U2 and Damon Albarn of Gorrillaz, Yeah Yeah Yeahs frontwoman Karen O has written her own opera and her work will receive its world premiere at St Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn, as part of The Creators Project series of events which run from Oct. 13-16. While the U2-helmed Spiderman musical has flailed and faltered both critically and financially and Albarn’s opera has exactly become a theatrical sensation, Karen O is hoping for better results when her work premieres in an area of Brooklyn located under the Manhattan Bridge overpass. Oddly enough, a media release for the event does not provide a title for the opera, but does describe the project as a "psycho-opera" and "an assault on the tragic joys of youth." All of that sounds very dramatic and jazzy, but why is anyone assaulting the “tragic joys of youth” and how does an opera go psycho? Presiding over the apparent psychotic break from reality will be director Adam Rapp, the acclaimed novelist, playwright and filmmaker. Perhaps creating an air of mystery about the project is part of the plan and if so, well done thus far. The unnamed opera will premiere alongside other The Creators Project works like Jason Pierce's collaboration with director Jonathan Glazer, Untitled: A Physical Manifestation Of 'Ladies And Gentlemen We Are Floating In Space', and an installation called Life On Mars Revisited, which sees photographer Mick Rock's classic footage of David Bowie "visually remixed" by director Barney Clay. Put the ingredients together and it’s definitely one of those cool, hipster, artsy New York City happenings where the cool kids abound and being seen lends you a lot of credibility on the scene. Hopefully Karen O’s opera has a name by the time the event happens so people can actually find and see it…………

Insights from Norway, trouble in Afghanistan and intra-NFL draft hate

- Norway, where have you been? You’re free to contribute something of worth to the world in between Winter Olympics every four years when you dominate the biathlon and skiing events and thanks to researchers at Queen Maud University in Norway, it appears our Scandinavian friends have done exactly that. Ellen Sandseter, a professor of psychology at good ol’ QMU, and her team did some digging on a true danger spot in communities around the world and concluded that playground design that places a premium on safety may actually stunt child development. “Children need to encounter risks and overcome fears on the playground,” Sandseter explained. “I think monkey bars and tall slides are great. As playgrounds become more and more boring, these are some of the few features that still can give children thrilling experiences with heights and high speed.” It certainly sounds like Sandseter is advocating sending your child out into a metal-clad deathscape of danger, but she and Leif Kennair, a psychologist at the Norwegian University for Science and Technology, believe the benefits of overcoming fear and developing a sense of mastery over one’s environment outweigh the potential dangers. “Risky play mirrors effective cognitive behavioral therapy of anxiety,” the duo wrote in the journal Evolutionary Psychology. Perhaps taking a more long-term approach than parents of the children who might suffer physical trauma and injuries from a fall off the monkey bars or jungle gym, Sandseter and Kennair contend that a broken bone from a playground fall is highly unlikely to leave a child with any permanent physical or psychological damage. “Paradoxically,” the psychologists wrote, “we posit that our fear of children being harmed by mostly harmless injuries may result in more fearful children and increased levels of psychopathology.” Previous studies have suggested that children injured in falls before the age of nine are less likely to fear heights as a teen. Safer climbing equipment for younger children inevitably becomes boring climbing equipment, according to the findings of this new study. Learning from and overcoming challenges at a young age produces more confident, competent teens and adults. Some of the playground safety advances the study’s authors lament are lower-profile equipment with enclosed decks and a variety of resilient surfacing materials. In response to Sandseter and Kennair’s research, other psychologists have argued that the opposite conclusion should be drawn because parents and children will actually take more risks in an environment they perceive to be safe. Obviously, the party responsible for a playground doing everything it can to protect itself from lawsuits by overly litigious parents remains a huge factor in the mix as well, but the debate is at least more interesting thanks to the contributions of two intrepid Norwegian researchers…………


- Maybe the memo didn’t reach Ron Howard in time. If it had, he would have known to search through the cinematic archives for a recent movie that was thoroughly mediocre and easy to redo and churned out a quick, easy recycled version of the film so Universal could squeeze a few dollars out of it without any original creative thought. Or, he would have found a comic book to turn into a movie because those seem to be gold for studios as well. Instead, Howard put together an ambitious proposal for an alternating trilogy of feature films and a TV series based on Stephen King's acclaimed fantasy western, The Dark Tower. Perhaps Howard believed the concept was similar enough to the Lord of the Rings trilogy made from J.R.R. Tolkien’s acclaimed series of books, but Universal disagreed and has killed the project. The official explanation from Universal is that it couldn't get the project's budget down to a manageable size to give it a green light by the July 15 deadline it had set to make a decision on whether the project would move forward and begin production next year. The July 15 date was set after the studio ditched a previous start date set for fall. Abandoning the project came as a bit of a surprise because Howard already had a crew in place and Javier Bardem was lined up to star in the film. Coincidentally enough, King’s literary trilogy was in fact inspired by The Lord of the Rings. The Dark Tower centers on a gunslinger named Roland Deschain, King's version of "The Man With No Name," who treks across a magical Old West looking for a dark tower that will save his dying world. Howard was set to produce the film through his Imagine Entertainment operation and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman has already spent a significant amount of time adapting the story to the big screen. Dark Tower fans hoping that the project will find a new home in the near future will likely be disappointed, as Howard is expected to move on to the racing flick Rush, which will star Thor's Chris Hemsworth. The demise of Howard’s incarnation of Dark Tower also may be a sign that the franchise simply isn't going to make it to a cinematic version. Director J.J. Abrams also spent a significant amount of time working on his own version of the project that never came to fruition due to the same sort of budgetary problems that ultimately undermined Howard’s attempt. Some concepts simply aren’t compatible with the moviemaking process and the ones that are tend to a) suck or b) be remakes of terrible or mediocre films from the not-so-distant past that studios believe fans will be dumb enough to see…………


- GPS devices are supposed to make driving easier and less problematic for morons, but technology can only go so far in assisting those with über-limited IQs and zero common sense. Evidence of this truism is all around, but today it comes primarily from Victorville, Calif., where one clueless and wayward driver proved that following your car’s GPS no matter what reality you see out your windshield is not a solid idea. The unidentified woman and her husband had been driving on the 15 Freeway towards Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m. Sunday when they exited the expressway and drove out into the high desert. The couple followed the directions of their GPS when it told them to exit the freeway at Stoddard Wells Road and drove out into the desert even though they were clearly getting further from civilization with each passing mile. Soon, the paved road gave way to a dirt road and yet, neither of these two clowns had enough savvy or common sense to stop, ask if they were really going the right way and perhaps even seek human intervention in the form of someone who wasn’t as much of an idiot as them and could point them in the right direction. Instead, they forged ahead and after traveling a mile and a half, came across a set of railroad tracks. What happened next is truly perplexing: either following the directions of the GPS or daring to act on her own free will, the woman elected to not drive over the tracks or turn around, but to turn her vehicle ONTO the tracks and drive down them for several minutes. At some point, she became lost and unable to find her way back to the point she first drove onto the tracks. Frazzled, this fool made her first smart move in quite some time by calling 911. Sheriff’s deputies used a helicopter to locate her car and also an oncoming train that could have done the gene pool a favor by removing this intellectually stunted couple from the world. Deputies flashed their lights and sounded their sirens to alert the train conductor, who was able to stop in time to avoid a collision. They were then able to extract the couple’s car, which sustained damage from the tracks, from its precarious position and have it towed. Ultimately, the couple was able to secure better directions and continue their trip to Los Angeles, where the city’s many shady characters undoubtedly did not try to take advantage of these two very savvy, sharp and street-smart visitors……………


- So wait……corrupt, illiterate police officers are a problem? In Afghanistan, not only are these two major concerns, but they are allegedly symptomatic of much larger issues on a national scale. As Afghanistan's police force is being asked to step up and play a greater role in securing the country, international forces on the ground in the embattled nation say Afghan officers are either incapable or lacking the integrity to do their job as required. That’s bad news to drop at the start of a week years in the making, a time when the transition to domestic responsibility for security is taking place and security control of seven areas of Afghanistan are to be handed over from NATO troops to the Afghan police and army. The goal is for the whole country to be under control of national forces by the end of 2014, an aim that certainly seems ambitious at this point. Western powers have poured billions of dollars into improving and expanding the security forces, but the impact of those dollars is being seriously called into question now. While the size of Afghanistan’s security forces could reach 305,000 by October, British soldiers working with Afghan police in the southern half of the country have reported instances of corruption and unethical behavior that raise major concerns despite new vehicles, police posts and headquarters and better training. Corruption has been difficult to measure because many of those training the Afghan forces do not speak the language of their trainees. Instances of corruption in the southern Helmand province alone have included bribery to get people into jobs, extortion for the right to use a road and siphoning off part of a consignment of wheat seed. Widespread illiteracy is also a major problem, with some estimates placing the number of recruits unable to read or write at close to 90 percent. Being able to read an follow basic orders from superiors tends to be difficult if an officer can't read said orders, so that might be something to address before handing over full control of Afghanistan to its own security forces. Teaching police recruits to read and write isn't a glamorous gig, but it is certainly more palatable than handing over control of a country to forces who are overmatched and unequipped for the task. Add intimidation against serving policemen and their families to the mix and getting out of Afghanistan and allowing the chips to fall where they may doesn’t seem like such a great option. Just something to think about between now and 2014…………


- Four months of being locked out and having league business at a standstill, including nearly three months since April’s draft, have clearly done nothing to mute the rage of Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh toward the Chicago Bears' front office for a botched draft-day trade between the two teams. Appearing on ESPN Radio Tuesday, Harbaugh openly questioned the Bears' honesty and ethical integrity for failing to properly follow through on a draft-day trade that involved the teams swapping first-round picks, with the Bears giving up a fourth-round selection to move up from the 29th slot to the 26th, where the Ravens were sitting. With approximately two minutes remaining for the teams to consummate the trade officially with the league, the Ravens had followed the proper protocol, but the Bears had not and league rules mandate that both teams have to confirm a trade with the league to make a deal official. Why the Bears never took care of their end of the deal is unclear, but general manager Jerry Angelo profusely apologized at the time, claiming to have made a simple mistake. Harbaugh doesn’t see the situation that way and during Tuesday’s interview, he reiterated his belief that what the Bears did "was just not honest" and disappointing. "They can get mad at me if they want, but I'm not buying the mistake thing. It wasn't a mistake. They knew what they were doing,” he stated. "They put their guy on the phone. They agreed to a pick. They got their guy on the phone. They recognized he wasn't getting calls from the team behind them, and they basically stalled for over a minute, telling us they had called the trade in. They hadn't called the trade in. They said it was a mistake. Those guys have been doing it for a long time, c'mon." Accusing a team of outright lying tends to start a fight, but the Bears declined comment when asked about Harbaugh’s comments and insisted the franchise had “moved on months ago." When the Bears failed to notify the league of the trade in time, the Ravens ended up assign on the 26th pick that they were trading to the Bears and the Kansas City Chiefs, next in the draft order, stepped in and used the pick to select wide receiver Jonathan Baldwin. Baltimore recovered and picked Colorado cornerback Jimmy Smith at No. 27, while the Bears -- who wanted to trade up because of the fear Wisconsin offensive tackle Gabe Carimi being picked by another team -- selected Carimi with their original 29th pick. The unofficial Bears’ story has been that Angelo delegated the responsibility of calling in the trade to a pair of team staffers, who both believed the other one had taken care of making the call. The incensed Ravens wanted compensation for the fourth-round pick the teams agreed to in the trade and commissioner Roger Goodell encouraged the Bears to extend the Ravens draft-pick compensation, but Angelo refused. Harbaugh has certainly had plenty to deal with trying to prepare for the season in spite of the lockout and not being able to communicate with his players, but his rage against the Bears does not seem to have subsided at all since April. "So they basically just stole two spots from us, and that's not OK. That's not something ... it's not ethical, it's not right. And I personally agree with our owner Steve Bisciotti that they should have been held accountable for it. But also it is what it is, they didn't do anything illegal. We were just disappointed with it," he fumed. The only way the situation could get better would be a meeting between the two teams on the field the season, but alas the NFL schedule makers didn’t pencil that one in………….