aC. Depository

Euro-Credit Crunch

2008-07-01T09:38:00.002-05:00

Credit crunch: Central bank likely to raise eurozone interest rates despite downturn

The European Central Bank seems determined to raise interest rates this week, in the hope of reining in soaring inflation across the 13 member countries of the eurozone. But there are warning signs that members are facing a slowdown like the one affecting Britain.

Some countries would be particularly hard hit if the central bank raises its one-size-fits-all interest rate by a quarter point to 4.25% on Thursday - the first rise for a year.

Figures out yesterday made a rate rise all but certain after inflation jumped to a 16-year high of 4% in June, mainly as a result of higher oil prices. The increase was from 3.7% in May and was greater than financial markets had been expecting.

"If there were any remaining doubts about a [0.25 percentage point] rate hike on Thursday, they can now be put to rest," said Martin van Vliet, economist at ING Financial Markets.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy and the world's largest exporter, has been growing very robustly on the back of a sizzling global economy and has shrugged off the strength of the euro, which makes exports less competitive. But other European economies such as Ireland and Spain are in the middle of full-blown housing market meltdown.

The German economy, which grew at 1.5% in the first quarter of this year, now looks in trouble. Rising petrol prices hit consumer sentiment and business confidence has turned down. Unemployment has ticked up for the first time since March 2006 and retail sales have fallen for three months in a row. Some economists think Germany may show no growth at all in the second quarter.

"Until recently the German economy was the last glimmer of hope for the eurozone economy. The powerhouse of the eurozone economy was running strong, fuelling the ECB's famous 'sound economic fundamentals'," said Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING Financial Markets.

"Now, Germany mirrors the malaise of the entire eurozone. Inflation is close to a 15-year high and a whole range of confidence indicators point to difficult times ahead."

Nevertheless, Germany goes into the slowdown with some momentum behind it. Other economies have run out of steam. The once booming Irish economy is in the middle of a housing slump which has brought it to a shuddering halt and raised talk for the first time in many years that people may again start to emigrate.

Housebuilding has plunged by two-thirds this year and employment in construction has dropped sharply. There are anecdotal reports of thousands of Polish builders heading home again.

A similar housing collapse, the result of enormous over-building in recent years and a big drop in demand, is going on in Spain. Spanish unemployment is heading rapidly towards 10% and inflation is above 5%.

France is suffering a slowdown in the housing market, with property sales down 30% this year and prices flagging. The French are panicking about the impact on purchasing power of higher food and petrol prices. Tighter credit conditions generally are undermining economic growth.

Lavinia Santovetti, economist at Lehman Brothers, said: "The euro area retained a good deal of momentum in the first quarter, with GDP expanding by 0.8% quarter-on-quarter. However, there is mounting evidence that the economy is faltering. A sharp fall in growth now looks imminent."

(http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/01/europeanbanks.globaleconomy/print)

aC. Sidebar

I have a simple solution to for our European neighbors and at home regarding the current stock market meltdown, stagflation, and down-hill skiing trend of the US Dollar. ECB (European Central Bank) lower your interest rate. US (Federal Reserve) raise your (our) interest rate.

Why you ask? Didn't the housing bubble start because of higher interest rates? Yes, but times have changed. Our economy, or shall I say our global economy is now concentrated on natural resources (specifically Petro - Euro-talk for petroleum) and ever-more the US dollar. The US dollar is at an all-time low and if the ECB does raise the interest rate for the euro-zone, the US dollar will only fall further.

I'm not an economist, but I have stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and read enough BusinessWeek and non-fiction novels to where I can understand the real issue at hand. The issue at hand isn't the housing market, it's not the gas and dollar stupid.

I believe, under my theory, if the ECB lowers the Euro-zone interest rate, the Euro currency will fall against the dollar, thus propping up the dollar. This will in turn lower the price of crude oil temporary because the dollar is temporary stronger than before. (Don't forget, crude oil is priced in dollars.) Please note, there is a reason for why my theory requires the Federal Reserve to act as well.

Under basic Econ-101, lower interest rates will foster demand, thus stimulating growth. In growth you tread the inflation waters. Sound economics is the balance of supply and demand, on the micro and macro levels. If the ECB were to lower the Euro-zone interest rate, demand will increase for housing and borrowing activities because of the cheaper cost of debt. Counterpoint, risk is significantly higher of inflation because now there exist excess subsequent demand and the ever-so-common point of 'not-enough-supply' to match the demand.

Thus you need the US (Federal Reserve) to raise the (or our) interest rates (both Federal Fund / Overnight Rate). We, as in everyone on Earth, live in an ever-growing economy where Nike Air Force Ones are demand in both the big and small towns of America to the big and small towns of Japan and England. Demand for Caterpiller machinery vehicles and Snap-On tools not only exist here in the states, but the European and Asian states as well. To balance out the sound global economic policy (aC's Global Economic Policy), action must be occur on both sides of the ocean.

Yes, the housing market is sucking right now and people will say raising the interest rates will incur further defaults and bankruptcies. Well, I have news for you. People who enter those stupid loans several years ago or in general who enter bad loans will still default no-matter how much you sugar-coat reality. We've seen how the Federal Reserve has lower consecutively the interest rates from last October to last March to low level that are obscene from the 1980's. I do have to say, rates in the 10% range did wonders for my savings account, but I digress. Even at historically low levels, people are still defaulting on mortgages and the banks are still writing them off to no end.

So, to all the members of the Federal Reserve Policymaking committee (FOMC), listen to your one member that voted against the majority decision during the last meeting. He was right to point out that a more aggressive action (raise not maintain rates) was needed to tame inflation. So it looks I have a Federal Reserve President (Dallas I think) on my side / theory. Raising the interest rates will keep inflation at bay and yes, it will slow demand for borrowing activities and growth, but don't forget the caveat of my theory.

When both sides of the ocean make the appropriate moves that I suggest, the action of each country will incur a positive outcome. For American, the Euro will be cheaper due to a substantial increase in the value of the dollar (due to subsequent ECB and Fed actions). American will travel back to Rome, London, and Paris again. Rick Steve's will continue his travel guide dominance with flair now that the term 'budget' will be back. With a temporary weaker Euro, American can buy more European things (i.e. VW, BMW, and authentic Swedish Bikini Team Calendars) cheaper. Yes, I know that will have an effect on American exports, but that's another discussion on global economics involving guns and butter (sarcastic DePaul Econ humor).

So that' s it. My rant about how the higher US dollar and lower Euro will not only lower crude oil prices, but also balance our economies and we can pretend that it's 1999 all over again, minus Enron and MCI-WorldCom. I'll be waiting for my Nobel Prize in Economics now.

Obesity increasing at alarming rate in Europe

2006-09-11T15:29:00.000-05:00

Yahoo!
Mon Sep 11, 10:50 AM ET

Overweight and obesity levels are increasing at an alarming rate within the European Union, with over a quarter of men and a third of women considered obese in some countries, the European Commission has warned.

The EU's executive arm presented the results of a major public consultation on diet and exercise, prompted in part by the 14 million overweight children in Europe of whom over three million are considered obese.

"Up to 27 percent of European men and 38 percent of women (are) now considered to be obese depending on the EU member state concerned," the Commission said in a statement Monday.
The highest prevalence of overweight children is found in southern European countries at around 20-35 percent as opposed to 10-20 percent in northern Europe.

"This is now an urgent public health issue requiring co-ordinated action at EU level, as well as within member states," the Commission said.

According to the consultation's results, it is necessary to increase the availability of healthy foods in canteens or in vending machines, reduce the availability of foods that are high in fat and sugar and to promote sports and other physical activity.

There were also calls for better and clearer consumer information on nutrition.

EU Health and Consumer Protection Commissioner Markos Kyprianou said: "The prevalence of obesity has been rising fast in Europe and there is already evidence that this is leading to increasing rates of conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

While respondents from industry favoured self-regulation, healthcare professionals, consumer organisations and NGOs remain sceptical about the impact of self-regulation on advertising of foods high in calories but poor in nutrients.

The commission will consider the policy options "and fine-tune its action with the right balance between voluntary agreements and legislative action", its statement said.

Poor nutrition and insufficient physical activity are among the leading causes of avoidable death in Europe.

Obesity-related illnesses are estimated to account for as much as seven percent of total healthcare costs in the 25-nation bloc.

.aC Sidebar

Three words, the Full-English Breakfest (the Full Monty). Yes, that and the northern England/Scotland tradition of Fried Snickers can't be healthy either. Plus, Octoberfest in Germany, great cheeses of France, and Swiss/Austrian chocolate isn't an ideal methods of diet too.

Give Me a Break!

2006-07-14T15:12:00.001-05:00

MSN

What happens when you combine the complex codependent subtext of "Toxic" with the deep and meaningful posterior shout-out that is "PopoZao"? Scarily enough, we could soon find out. Britney Spears, apparently not content just to make chubby-cheeked tots with Kevin Federline, tells Harper's Bazaar (via USA Today) that she's also planning to make music with her would-be rapper hubby.

"I'm so proud of Kevin," the erstwhile pop starlet tells the August issue of the magazine, which features her on the cover sporting chocolate locks, a swelling belly and no clothes. "He's been working so hard on his own album since I got pregnant with Preston. I'm so lucky. He's a doll; he's adorable."

Let's hope that when the scruffy, overly fertile former backup dancer takes a breather from "working so hard," he'll return the compliment to his meal-ticket missus, who could probably use some words of encouragement. The beleaguered Britney, 24, admits that while it's "empowering" to have a bun in the oven, "you don't feel the most beautiful all the time."

She fesses up that she was "paranoid" while pregnant with Sean Preston, 10 months, but says that with "this one, I was like, I've just got to wing it. It was weird for me at first because of who I am. Wherever you go, they expect you to look a certain way. I'm not supposed to be this big huge pregnant superstar."

Spears says she has every intention of returning to form -- and performing -- after her second K. Fed kid arrives in the fall, insisting, "I'm going to get really intense with it."

In other Britney news, did she let her New York condo go for a song? The New York Post reports that after several price reductions, she finally managed to unload her 4,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath, four-level Manhattan penthouse.

The lucky buyer reportedly picked up the palatial pad, once occupied by Keith Richards, for a mere $4 million, far below the nearly $6 million Spears wanted when it was originally listed in July 2004.

The digs, which come complete with a library (barely used, we're sure), terrace, media room and solarium, set Britney back $3 million in 2002.

aC. Sidebar
How can you be proud of a husband that works hard on a non-existent, widely available record that's listenable. Also, how would you feel if your husband is concentrating more on a record than a baby and mother? I don't know how indepth the relationship and quality of communication and maturity, but I would take care of my wife and baby over a stupid album.

I have nothing against Britney, just the fact that I am a viable contender to be a good father, friend, and husband that wooud respect and be very gentlemanly to her drives me nuts. I think the media and world backs me up when we wish to see more out of K-Fed in this relationship. Where was K-Fed when Britney had issues with driving Sean Preston on her lap or when the car seat was in the wrong position. It's not all Britney's fault. K-Fed is a father, heck, he's a father of four counting his ex-girlfriend. This is sad. Having a good weekend Mr and Mrs. Spears.

Give Me a Break!

2006-07-14T15:12:00.000-05:00

Comic of the Week

2006-07-11T17:34:00.000-05:00

FYI Guys...

2006-05-09T19:14:00.000-05:00

Darwin Revisited:
Females Don't Always Go for Hottest Mate
May 5, 2006; WSJ.com

At first glance, the "sexy son hypothesis" makes perfect sense. According to this pillar of evolutionary biology, a female who chooses a high-quality male will have sons who inherit dad's allure. They, too, will therefore have their pick of females, allowing mom to hit the jackpot: grandmotherhood.

But when scientists followed male flycatchers whose dads were real catches (as judged by a forehead patch that is this bird's equivalent of perfect abs), they found no such thing.

The sons "did not inherit their father's ... mating status," the Swedish researchers wrote in the February issue of American Naturalist. As a result, mom got fewer grandkids than did females who settled for less-attractive males. The studs were so busy mating they had no time to raise offspring, causing their health and fecundity to suffer. Homelier birds were better dads, raising sons who had more mating success.

Poor Darwin. After he developed his theory of how organisms change through variation and natural selection, his thoughts turned to sex. Because females have few eggs (compared with males' limitless sperm), their best strategy is to select the highest-quality males for mates, he wrote in 1871. That way, their progeny also would have superior traits. The offspring would survive and reproduce better, making mom's fondest wish -- to become a grandmother -- come true. (In evolution, success means reproduction, not only for you but for your descendants unto the nth generation, too.)

The theory of sexual selection -- that females choose males with the best genes, causing those genes to become more prevalent in succeeding generations -- is invoked to explain why peacocks have rococo tails and bucks have huge antlers. Neither trait has real survival value, but females choose males that have them, exerting selective pressure for ever-showier versions.

Or so textbooks say. Just as Darwin's theory of natural selection is under attack by America's religious right, his less-known theory of sexual selection is catching flak from some biologists. "In a number of species, reproductive behavior does not conform to Darwin's theory of sexual selection," says biologist Joan Roughgarden of Stanford University. "The idea that females choose the genetically best males is wrong. Instead of choosing mates who will increase the genetic quality of their offspring, females make choices that will increase their number of offspring."

As in the flycatcher study, mating with "sexy" males isn't necessarily the way to a plethora of descendants. True, in species where males contribute nothing but genes to offspring, this strategy may work. But biologists are finding more and more examples where females benefit from a different strategy.

Female crickets mate with just about any male that asks, for instance. Through promiscuity, not choosing the "best" male, they increase the genetic diversity of their offspring, improving the chances that some will survive no matter what pathogens and enemies the kids encounter.

Other females are not as enamored of sexy traits as theory claims. While big-antlered red deer are busy fighting each other to show a female who has the best rack, the doe sneaks off to mate with less well-endowed stags. Female red-winged blackbirds are not easily impressed, either. Having the most macho plumage has no detectable effect on how many offspring a male sires, David Westneat of the University of Kentucky reported in American Naturalist this week.

Nor is flaunting their charms and competing against other males necessarily the best reproductive strategy, as Darwin thought. In some species, cooperation can bring greater success. Bluegill sunfish, for instance, form trios of one small female, one large territory-holding male and one small male that infiltrate that territory when the female releases her eggs. That lets the little scrawny guy, despite the lack of female-attracting heft, become a dad.

Such strategies, Prof. Roughgarden says, show that "each kind of male has its own way of going about its life. Each works out fine." As she and colleagues wrote in February in Science, "animals cooperate to rear the largest number of offspring possible."

Another problem with sexual selection is that it fails to explain the persistence of, shall we say, homely males. If females choose the male with the best traits, as claimed, then after enough generations every peacock should have a tail to die for. But they do not. Every flock has studs and duds. "Shouldn't all the tails be great?" asks Prof. Roughgarden.

Other scientists are not ready to jettison sexual selection, calling it (as biologist Jerry Coyne did in a review) "powerful and largely correct." But some aren't so sure. Primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy (pronounced "herdy") calls it "ill-advised" to "give precedence to [females'] quests for supposedly the 'best' genes" when they choose a mate.

Mating can indeed be a competitive sport (see: spring break). But many traits that attract females have nothing to do with good genes. For mysterious reasons, females just developed an attraction for them. Men on a quest for perfect abs can take that as fair warning.

Who likes cats?

2006-05-09T19:10:00.000-05:00

http://www.snabbstart.com/film/roliga-katter-mycket-roliga.aspx

Current Events Quiz for March

2006-03-13T11:30:00.000-06:00

1. Chief Executive Dick Kovacevich received a $7 million bonus for 2005 from which major U.S. bank?

Bank of America

Chase

Citicorp

Wells Fargo

2. What country did Rolling Stone magazine enter for the first time this month with a new edition?

Australia

China

India

Japan

3. AT&T’s planned acquisition of BellSouth comes with a pretty high price tag -- $67 billion, and according to AT&T’s chief financial officer, how many jobs?

None

7,500

10,000

15,000

4. What major airline has decided to take the gloves off and go wing-to-wing with low-cost Southwest Airlines on flights out of Love Field in Dallas?

American

Coninental

Delta

United

5. BlackBerry users are finally letting out a collective breath after Research In Motion Ltd., the maker of the handy little e-mail device, announced Friday it has settled its long-running patent dispute with NTP for $612.5 million. In what state is NTP based?

Connecticut

New Hampshire

Pennsylvania

Virginia

6. Toledo, Ohio-based supplier Dana Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection for its U.S. operations. In what business does Dana operate?

Auto parts

Bakery foods

Electronics

Steel

7. What was the best-selling new product of 2005?

Budweiser Select

Gillette M3Power razors

Slim-Fast’s Optima diet line

Tide with a touch of Downey

8. AK Steel Holding Corp. played hardball with workers after their contract ran out, operating a plant with salaried and replacement workers after locking out nearly 2,700 union employees. Where is the AK plant located?

Ashland, Ky.

Erie, Pa.

Middletown, Ohio

Rockport, Ind.

9. Starbucks has announced it will start buying coffee for its Blue Bourbon brand from which central African country?

Central African Republic

Chad

Rwanda

Zambia

10. What company recently announced it will spend $300 million to build a new plant in Vietnam?

GM

Intel

Kimberly-Clark

Nestlé

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11099319/

Why Reality TV shows sucks...

2006-03-07T23:28:00.000-06:00

The Bachelor' Couple Say Romance Is Over

Humphrey Bogart said it to Ingrid Bergman in "Casablanca" and now Dr. Travis Stork can say it to Sarah Stone: "We'll always have Paris."

Stork, an emergency room physician, chose Stone, an elementary school teacher, in the finale of ABC's "The Bachelor: Paris" last week.

The couple told The Tennessean in a joint interview Monday they are no longer a couple.
Stork, 33, said the rules that prohibited them from dating or being together in public between the end of the show's taping in November and the Feb. 27 finale were hard on their relationship.
The France-set "Bachelor" deployed 25 women to vie for Stork's affections during a series of glamorous dates. The season began in January.

"You're in Paris and you're part of this incredible experience, this fantasy world, and then suddenly you come back to Nashville, and living in the same city I think we thought was going to be a great thing," he said. "But instead, you're forced to pretend you don't know someone, for essentially the last four months.

"The reality is that we were in this fantasy world. And now that we're back in Nashville, over time when you're not allowed to see someone, you grow apart."

Stone, 26, said, "I definitely think it would've worked out differently" if she and Stork had met and dated under different circumstances.

"We wouldn't have had all the baggage that comes from being on this show. It would just be the two of us being able to hang out and get to know each other in a normal situation," she said.

Both said they remain single and unattached and that they had no regrets about doing the show.
"Through this time, we realized that it was a great experience in Paris and that we're so lucky to have met one another in Paris, and we'll never forget that," Stone said. "And we both agree and know that we'll be friends forever."

Asked if they might reconnect romantically after publicity has died down, both just laughed.

March Madness

2006-03-03T09:33:00.000-06:00

March Madness...64 teams...64 colleges...greatest time of the year!

Comic of the Week

2006-02-24T12:24:00.000-06:00

It is safe to say that a) US are scared of Arab people or b) Americans are better authorites at the ports than Arab people.

Give me a break...again...

2006-02-03T16:10:00.000-06:00

'Faust' Opera Video Stirs Angry Parents
Yahoo

Some parents in this prairie town are angry with an elementary school music teacher for showing pupils a video about the opera "Faust," whose title character sells his soul to the devil in exchange for being young again.

"Any adult with common sense would not think that video was appropriate for a young person to see. I'm not sure it's appropriate for a high school student," Robby Warner said after two of her children saw the video.

Another parent, Casey Goodwin, said, "I think it glorifies Satan in some way."

Tresa Waggoner showed approximately 250 first-, second- and third-graders at Bennett Elementary portions of a 33-year-old series titled "Who's Afraid of Opera" a few weeks ago.
The video features the soprano Dame Joan Sutherland and three puppet friends discussing Gounod's "Faust." Waggoner thought it would be a good introduction to opera.

Her critics questioned the decision to show children a portrayal of the devil, Mephistopheles, along with a scene showing a man being killed by a sword and a reference to suicide.
School Superintendent George Sauter said the teacher should not have shown the video to children below the fourth grade but will not lose her job. She has sent letter of apology to all elementary school parents in Bennett, population 2,400 and about 25 miles east of Denver on Colorado's eastern plains.

"I was definitely not sensitive to the conservative nature of the community, and I've learned that," Waggoner said in Sunday's editions of The Denver Post. "However, from what has been said about me, that I'm a Satan worshipper, my character, I can't believe all of this. My intention was just to expose the kids to opera."

Waggoner, who is in her first year teaching vocal music in Bennett, said she doesn't expect to stay in town.

"I know I'm not accepted here, that I'm not welcome here by the parents," she said. "It's a very uncomfortable position."

aC. Sidebar

You know Faust is a 18th century opera/drama. It is considered to be a classical masterpiece. It's comparable to Aesop's fable teaching the consequences of pride and vanity. Now think, about this, we will show Shakespeare with his romancing Juliet and sword-welding Hamlet in our schools, but when "the devil" comes around we all hide and protect our childen. So some reason, the conservatives worship the idea of banishing the devil, but won't allow moral acts of literature and arts show them from temptations.

No, I won't testify, but I will say that adults are getting stupider. I'm not saying that all adults are morally, parently, and common-sensely challenged, but more like they don't think. Please, give me a break. How many people, let alone students have ever heard or know what Faust is about. We as people will allow the play of Grand Theft Auto to children, but when the arts have a moral lesson we run away. This is truely a shame for mankind. Not to you, but the privilage that these students have lost to neo-conservatism in the great state of Colorado. Hmm...I wonder what Kobe is up to these days?

Privacy

2006-01-20T15:54:00.000-06:00

Google Rebuffs Feds on Search Requests

AP Business

Google Inc. is rebuffing the Bush administration's demand for a peek at what millions of people have been looking up on the Internet's leading search engine — a request that underscores the potential for online databases to become tools for government surveillance.

Mountain View-based Google has refused to comply with a White House subpoena first issued last summer, prompting U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales this week to ask a federal judge in San Jose for an order to hand over the requested records.

The government wants a list all requests entered into Google's search engine during an unspecified single week — a breakdown that could conceivably span tens of millions of queries. In addition, it seeks 1 million randomly selected Web addresses from various Google databases.
In court papers that the San Jose Mercury News reported on after seeing them Wednesday, the Bush administration depicts the information as vital in its effort to restore online child protection laws that have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Microsoft Corp., which operate the next most-used search engines behind Google, confirmed that they had complied with similar government subpoenas. America Online said it didn't fully comply with the subpoena but did provide a list of search requests already publicly available from other sources.

Combined, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft's MSN and AOL handle nearly 90 percent of all U.S. search requests, according to Nielsen/NetRatings.

Although the government says it isn't seeking any data that ties personal information to search requests, the subpoenas still raise serious privacy concerns, experts said. Those worries have been magnified by recent revelations that the White House authorized eavesdropping on civilian communications after the Sept. 11 attacks without obtaining court approval.

"Search engines now play such an important part in our daily lives that many people probably contact Google more often than they do their own mother," said Thomas Burke, a San Francisco attorney who has handled several prominent cases involving privacy issues.

"Just as most people would be upset if the government wanted to know how much you called your mother and what you talked about, they should be upset about this, too."

The content of search request sometimes contain information about the person making the query.

For instance, it's not unusual for search requests to include names, medical profiles or Social Security information, said Pam Dixon, executive director for the World Privacy Forum.

"This is exactly the kind of thing we have been worrying about with search engines for some time," Dixon said. "Google should be commended for fighting this."

Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Yahoo stressed that it didn't reveal any personal information. "We are rigorous defenders of our users' privacy," Yahoo spokeswoman Mary Osako said. "In our opinion, this is not a privacy issue."

MSN said it complied with the government's request "in a way that ensured we also protected the privacy of our customers."

As the Internet's dominant search engine, Google has built up a valuable storehouse of information that "makes it a very attractive target for law enforcement," said Chris Hoofnagle, senior counsel for the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The Department of Justice argues that Google's cooperation is essential in its effort to simulate how people navigate the Web.

In a separate case in Pennsylvania, the Bush administration is trying to prove that Internet filters don't do an adequate job of preventing children from accessing online pornography and other objectionable destinations.

Obtaining the subpoenaed information from Google "would assist the government in its efforts to understand the behavior of current Web users, (and) to estimate how often Web users encounter harmful-to-minors material in the course of their searches," the Justice Department wrote in a brief filed Wednesday

Google — whose motto when it went public in 2004 was "do no evil" — contends that submitting to the subpoena would represent a betrayal to its users, even if all personal information is stripped from the search terms sought by the government.

"Google's acceding to the request would suggest that it is willing to reveal information about those who use its services. This is not a perception that Google can accept," company attorney Ashok Ramani wrote in a letter included in the government's filing.

Complying with the subpoena also wound threaten to expose some of Google's "crown-jewel trade secrets," Ramani wrote. Google is particularly concerned that the information could be used to deduce the size of its index and how many computers it uses to crunch the requests.
"This information would be highly valuable to competitors or miscreants seeking to harm Google's business," Ramani wrote.

Dixon is hoping Google's battle with the government reminds people to be careful how they interact with search engines.

"When you are looking at that blank search box, you should remember that what you fill can come back to haunt you unless you take precautions," she said.

aC. Sidebar

I'm a big proponent for privacy, because heck, don't we all want privacy. It's not written in the Constitution, but privacy can be inferred as a liberty, a right, or a destination from the pursuit of happiness. So where do you draw the line on privacy? How can we as people and upright vocalists for freedom demand privacy when we're so consumed with the daily tabloids, reality television, and restraining murders, sex offenders, and proliferators of child pornography.

So my question is, where do you draw the draw the line of conservatism and libertarianism, but much more of common sense? We know what we want and we will make decision for ourselves and erroneously for others as well. We err in understand proper judgment and decision process. So in another words, don't be offended to be called a hypocrite when you're trying to live the Walden life but your civil disobedience tunes you into Big Brother 25 or if your younger, Laguna Beach. Everyone should be allowed a proper amount of privacy and if one chooses to compromise their privacy for their 15 minutes of fame or a felonies or two, then they shouldn't be surprised to lose their privacy.

I know a lot of us aren't felonies and belong to good wholesome families and upbringings, so I can understand the fear and the need to be able to live privately, but as a species, we aren't wholesome. We want ADT security and cameras to protect the boogie-man. So why compromise 100% privacy. This is what I don't understand and want to know why we say one thing, but sort of mean something else.

Now back to Google. They are the world's largest search engine. I know when I type in a person's name; I can find a lot of information. In fact, I can find sources that will find your social security card information and address for a nominal fee. If you're graphic bound, you can even find nude pictures of Nicole Kidman, but wait. Don't you have to be 18 or so of age to view adult pictures? So why do adult sites force an additional age verification page while search on Google by-passes this page. The Google technology if you aren't aware is not just searching keywords of the billions of websites, but caching the image and text from these sites so that Google will have a fast and accurate library to search from. This is very effective.

So if your running a child pornography ring between El Paso, Texas and Amarillo, Texas, no one in Alaska may be looking for it, but they may run into it. Now, there are security systems in place with Google, so there such far-end results are mitigated, but Google is a tremendous tool for everyone (user) that any electronic investigation or need to police would have included the help of Google. In my opinion, Google has to release these records. In other words, this library will have to transfer evidence of users that has checkout or read materials that are deemed in appropriate, for the better good of the community.

I know, you're like what? Are you still a 9/11 fanatic with a sheriff mentality to police with complete disregard? No. I'm not that phobic, but this is an example of a situation that would lend itself as something that is for the better good of society. Don't you want the sex offenders in jail? Don't you want criminals in jail?

Even if the police would look though your records or files, if your clean, your clean. If you're wearing grandma's gown and your teeth are sharp, with oh so big eyes, then you're screwed and the authorities have done their job. Protection, minus privacy. So how much can you take from this tradeoff??

Comic of the Week

2006-01-10T10:25:00.000-06:00

aC. Sidebar

Our grandparents and even our parents are screwed...but not as bad as us when we're 50. Sorry to be a pessimist.

Happy New Year!!!

2006-01-05T11:01:00.000-06:00

To the National Champs! Texas Longhorns!!!

This will be a great year, because not only did Texas pull off an upset, but so did my home-team West Virginia Mountaineers, and JoePa's Penn State. This week, is truely the best week of college sports, next to March Madness.

RE: Thank You Senators

2005-12-20T10:53:00.000-06:00

In retrospect to a recent blog I read, I thought long and hard about the Patriot Act that was recently defeated in the Senate Halls. I thought long and hard about the underlying dilemma of the Patriot Act. Are Americans scared shit-less or are we all (us fellow Americans) crazy, introverted homebodies that would be considered sleeping giants that would not want to meddle with affairs outside the comforts of the living room?

I have often presumed that American and the Chinese are very much a like. Besides, us Chinese (Americans) aren't even considered a minority group anymore. I mean, we practically make up the majority in the Top 50 university and technological programs in the nation. Joking, aside, the Chinese were very isolationist people that shun western society until Great Britain and Portugal came in confiscated land during the Opium War and forced the Far Eastern society to not be so private anymore. In the other hemisphere, the Monroe Doctrine strived Americans to be they're own masters of their domains without interference of European influence (Namely Napoleon) Together, with destiny of the Manifest Destiny, us American grew to be expansionistic pigs. Well, the topic about McDonalds and obesity is another blog subject.

So now how are we as American respond to privacy issues? Don't forget, we're greedy pigs that shun other society out. We don't want black-boxes in our cars, we don't want pop-ups and telemarketing, and we certainly don't want big brother to check out neighbor or homes, regardless if it's part of Neighborhood Watch. So we also shun the Patriotic Act.

Personally by all means I'm opposed to the Patriotic Act, namely because I do not have the legal capacity to pick-it over with a fine-tooth comb. I understand that some practices may seem out of hand, absurd, and even like a strip-search without the cold, latex hands. I wish I had more time to read about the actual legislation turn to simple notes and paper of history, and to give more of an honest response, but the purpose of my blog today is to find out how private are we and defendable are we for our right to privacy, are afraid of the Patriot Act.

I should mention, I have read nothing but attacking articles, except for one pro-sided piece about the Patriot Act, so some misnomers and one-sided thinking is present. So, what's Jessica Simpson up to these days? Serious, we all want to know about the divorce. Who’s going to get the alimony? How about Kate and Tom, or even Bennifer?

Now how about the tragedy of Princess Diana. Now, that's privacy gone deadly. Then how about reality television? Real World Chicago, Big Brother 10, Survivor Jumanji-Style. Granted reality television is fake, but still we private Americans that shun telemarketers by storming the Do Not Call directory want our 15 minutes of fame. Now how about this, we want privacy and piece at weddings and funerals, but we announce the terms and story in the newspaper and OB. We also have webcam action for a cost of $14.95 a month for those over 18. We sign up for Martins, Safeway, Giant, and Dominick's grocery cards and other frequent diner, buyer, or seller cards with our personal information away. We use our Social Security numbers in public like a locker combination to apply for credit and more credit. The blog about debt-bleeding Americans will come soon.

So do we want to know where rapists, murders, and felons are in the neighborhood are? Yes, so screw their privacy. We want to know how our children are doing in school. Sure, until they go to college where their failures are kept from you. (HINT: Going to school for 7 years does not mean you're a doctor of gen. Ed) We want to build in new developments that will be more affordable and pleasant because they're closer to nature. So, screw you "Natural Habitat" and "Bambi"! Oh, have I mentioned that celebrities are screwed too?

So what is the comfort level for privacy? I'm willing to put an automotive black box in my car if it means lower insurance premiums. I'm willing to get a Banana Republic card if I annually get a $25 off card. I'm willing to have my library card history, purchase, and credit history check to make sure that this .aC (because my name is like the Chinese version of John Smith) isn't the one whose plotting the next terrorist attack, to killing someone, to building a bomb, or the rapist next door. Ever seen those Citibank ads about identify theft, privacy is not private anymore. What is it in it for me? To me, a Patriot Act with a value proposition will fly with me. What about you?

Barnes and Noble

2005-12-12T16:05:00.001-06:00

GET YOUR TEXTBOOKS HERE!!!

Barnes & Noble.com Home Page

aC. Sidebar
In my history of cheapness and thrift, B&N has been my primary source of textbooks at DePaul and Northwestern. College bookstores are definately over priced, but B&N offers very competitive rates. Plus, I'm a B&N member, so I can get you an additional 10% if you want.

Crazy Deers

2005-12-07T10:35:00.000-06:00

Five Deer Leap to Deaths From W.Va. Garage
Tue Dec 6

Either they misjudged the distance or they couldn't take the traffic. For reasons that mystify authorities, five deer that made their way onto the top of a five-story parking garage suddenly leaped to their deaths Sunday.
Police Cpl. Steve Cox found the does' bodies on a service road to the Charles Town Races & Slots, next to a security van they'd narrowly missed.

"They took the plunge," he said. "It was just absolutely weird."

A woman called police when she saw the deer falling, and Cox said he found scratches and animal hair on the fifth floor, indicating that's where they had been.

It's unclear how the deer got into the garage, but Cox said they may have become frightened after getting trapped. Cars moving through the garage may have spooked them, he said.

Or they could have been fooled by trees that can be seen from the top of the garage, mistakenly thinking they were close to home.

The carcasses were given to passers-by for butchering.

aC. Sidebar
The interesting thing about this story is the pleasantry of deer meat. At least it's not road kill, or should I say, self-inflicted plunge. I wondering if deer taste like chicken?

Comic of the Week

2005-11-21T16:24:00.000-06:00

aC. Sidebar

Make sure your son or daughter isn't bring home to his or her's room:

a) His or Her 40-yld gym or language arts teacher
b) Psycho 18-yld with 50 guns at home, who plays Grand Theft Auto and like trench coats
c) Barbie or Miss Teen of Little Town of Paw-Paw type that's superfacial and has a face of a ghost
d) His or Her's First, Second, or equivalent cousin or other family members
e) Pee-Wee Herman or R. Kelly

Math Formula of the Week

2005-11-16T10:18:00.000-06:00

Bayes' theorem

Simply put, Bayes’ theorem gives the probability of a random event A occurring given that we know a related event B occurred. This probability is noted P(AB), and is read "probability of A given B". This measure is sometimes called the "posterior", since it is computed after all other information on A and B is known.

According to Bayes’ theorem, the probability of A occurring given B will be dependent on three things:The probability of A occurring on its own, regardless of B. This is noted P(A) and read "probability of A". This measure is sometimes called the "prior", meaning it precedes any other information – as opposed to the posterior, defined above, which is computed after all other information is known.

The probability of B occurring on its own, regardless of A. This is noted P(B) and read "probability of B". This measure is sometimes called the normalising constant, since it will always be the same, regardless of which event A one is studying.

The probability of B occurring given that A occurred. This is noted P(BA) and is read "probability of B given A". This measure is sometimes called the likelihood, since it is the likelihood of A occurring given that B occurred. It is important not to confuse the likelihood of A given B and the probability of A given B. Even though both notions may seem similar and are related, they are quite different.

Example

To illustrate, suppose there are two bowls full of cookies. Bowl #1 has 10 chocolate chip cookies and 30 plain cookies, while bowl #2 has 20 of each. Our friend Fred picks a bowl at random, and then picks a cookie at random. We may assume there is no reason to believe Fred treats one bowl differently from another, likewise for the cookies. The cookie turns out to be a plain one. How probable is it that Fred picked it out of bowl #1?

Intuitively, it seems clear that the answer should be more than a half, since there are more plain cookies in bowl #1. The precise answer is given by Bayes' theorem. But first, we can clarify the situation by rephrasing the question to "what’s the probability that Fred picked bowl #1, given that he has a plain cookie?” Thus, to relate to our previous explanation, the event A is that Fred picked bowl #1, and the event B is that Fred picked a plain cookie. To compute Pr(AB), we first need to know:

Pr(A), or the probability that Fred picked bowl #1 regardless of any other information. Since Fred is treating both bowls equally, it is 0.5.

P(B), or the probability of getting a plain cookie regardless of any information on the bowls. In other words, this is the probability of getting a plain cookie from each of the bowls. It is computed as the sum of the probability of getting a plain cookie from a bowl multiplied by the probability of selecting this bowl. We know from the problem statement that the probability of getting a plain cookie from bowl #1 is 0.75, and the probability of getting one from bowl #2 is 0.5, and since Fred is treating both bowls equally the probability of selecting any one of them is 0.5. Thus, the probability of getting a plain cookie overall is 0.75×0.5 + 0.5×0.5 = 0.625.

Pr(BA), or the probability of getting a plain cookie given that Fred has selected bowl #1. From the problem statement, we know this is 0.75, since 30 out of 40 cookies in bowl #1 are plain. Given all this information, we can compute the probability of Fred having selected bowl #1 given that he got a plain cookie, as such.

As we expected, it is more than half. ((.75 * .5) / .625)

Tuesday's Cartoon

2005-11-15T14:25:00.000-06:00

Trim the mortgage-interest deduction

2005-11-11T16:29:00.000-06:00

By Froma Harrop

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The deduction for mortgage interest is the "third rail" of tax reform. President Reagan tried to get rid of it in 1986, but real estate interests stopped him. Now, President Bush's tax advisory commission suggests limiting its use. Good idea, I say, and good luck.

The mortgage-interest deduction is bad economic policy. It encourages consumption, rather than saving. People take out big mortgages to free up spending money. (They convince themselves not to worry about all the borrowing because the interest on the loan can be tax-deductible.) An unhealthy economic incentive, the deduction is also expensive. It cost the Treasury $63 billion last year in needed revenues. The entire budget of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development was $35 billion.

The deduction is bad social policy. It discriminates against renters, and even homeowners of moderate means. "The people who have the biggest homes, who make the most money are the greatest beneficiaries of this tax subsidy," says Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. "If you rent, you don't get the deduction. Even if you own a home and have a modest income, you're likely to take a standard deduction, which means you don't get it."

The mortgage-interest deduction is a boulder in the stream of tax reform. A lot of people say they want a "flat tax" - a single rate for all incomes, with no deductions, exemptions or loopholes allowed. A flat tax could cure the annual migraine of filling out IRS forms. But there can be no honest flat tax that makes an exception for a break that benefits the well-to-do.

In recommending tax reform, Bush's advisory panel has to offset any cuts with new revenues. It rightly wants to kill the alternative minimum tax, and suggests limiting the mortgage-interest deduction as a way to replace some of the lost revenue. (The alternative minimum tax was designed 35 years ago to ensure that the rich pay their share. Not adjusted for inflation, the tax is rampaging through the middle class and has to go.)

The commission has been talking about ways to limit the mortgage-interest deduction without stepping on too many toes. Right now, Americans can deduct all the interest paid on mortgages written for up to $1 million. The panel is considering whether that cap might be reduced to the size of the biggest mortgage currently insured by the Federal Housing Administration. Nowadays, that means a mortgage of about $313,000 in expensive communities, or a national average of $244,000.

The average American mortgage weighs in at about $155,000, so this lower limit would not change the calculus for most of us peasants. However, the cap would pinch some nerves in trophy house territory. The real estate industry would not like that at all. The bigger the mortgage people can afford, the more they can pay for a house, and the more real estate brokers and developers rake in.

A more noble concern over altering the mortgage-interest deduction centers on America's wildly divergent costs of living. The median price of a home is about $220,000 in the United States, but $550,000 in San Francisco. A $400,000 mortgage, while amazing to most Americans, would not be a rarity on Nob Hill. Any proposal to limit the mortgage- interest deduction has to be very sensitive to these issues.

But should we even bother thinking about the details at this point? The odds are not wonderful that Congress will summon the courage to trim this deduction. If the past is any guide, the meekest attempt will fire up the real estate industry's propaganda mills. Soon, Americans not even remotely affected by the proposed changes will believe in their bones that they are losing some beloved tax deduction.

That's a cynical view, but unavoidable. Our government seems incapable of asking the smallest sacrifice of the biggest incomes. Here is a tax break that favors the upper brackets while hurting economic growth, and we can't get a consensus in Washington that it is a bad thing.

Reagan was right on this one. And so is Bush's tax advisory commission. Is there a brave political soul out there looking for a good policy?

The Need for Speeds...

2005-11-09T10:59:00.000-06:00

Pharmacist Shortage Worsens Nationwide
Associated Press

Unlike most college students nearing graduation, Clarissa Hall isn't worried about finding a job — she's already considering several offers, including some with possible starting salaries of at least $80,000. Hall is benefiting from a nationwide shortage of pharmacists, which has prompted fierce competition between employers for new pharmacy graduates.

"Pretty much everyone in my class has people calling them left and right about jobs," said Hall, a University of Missouri-Kansas City student from Poplar Bluff. "I've had several people calling me and I don't even graduate until May."

The shortage of pharmacists, though, is not good for others in the medical field, or their patients, say those who have been watching the shortage worsen over the last decade.
It was fueled by several factors, especially changes in insurance policies and federal regulations of pharmaceuticals, which made drugs available to more people.

Add to that an aging population and more drugs being manufactured and advertised to the public, and the number of prescriptions has increased from 2 billion to 3.2 billion in the last decade. That problem is expected to worsen after the new Medicare prescription drug program begins Jan. 1, pharmacy officials said.

Independent and chain pharmacies, hospitals and nursing homes are scrambling to find people to fill orders.

The National Association of Chain Drug Stores reported about 5,950 full- and part-time openings in July in its 37,000 member stores. The American Hospital Association reported a 7.4 percent vacancy rate for pharmacists as of December, 2004, with 38 percent of its members saying it was harder to recruit pharmacists last year than in 2003.

The National Community Pharmacists Association, which represents independent pharmacies, does not keep track of job openings.

A consortium of pharmacy groups called the Pharmacy Manpower Project issued a report in 2002 predicting 157,000 unfilled pharmacy openings by 2020.

The need to fill all those new prescriptions has been partially addressed by an increase in technology and the use of pharmacy technicians, said Dr. David Knapp, dean of the School of Pharmacy at the University of Maryland.

But that hasn't addressed increasing pressure on pharmacists to become more involved in helping patients manage their drugs, especially elderly patients who may take several medicines, said Knapp, who coordinated the conference that released the Manpower report.
"Every hour of every day, dozens if not hundreds of prescriptions are coming across the counter," he said. "They are trying to do that while at the same time counseling patients, calling physicians, helping diabetic patients manage eight or 10 medicines, teaching parents how to help their child use his new asthma inhaler. It's a real stressed out situation for pharmacists."

Around the country, universities are opening new pharmacy schools or expanding existing programs, but it likely will take years for supply to meet demand. Some schools have reported 10 applicants for every pharmacy opening, although that figure includes people applying to more than one school, Maine said.

"It is a great job market for those who get in," Maine said. "But we also have a lot of disappointed people who are being turned away."

Many universities have opened satellite programs, and about 20 new pharmacy schools have opened in the last five years, Knapp said. That should increase the number of graduating pharmacists to more than 10,000 in 2007, compared to about 8,000 graduates in 2003-04, Maine said.

"There is such an astonishing interest," said Lucinda L. Maine, executive vice president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy in Alexandria, Va. "It's the highest level I've seen in my 30 years in pharmacy admissions."

But even new schools and expansions will not help in the short-term, which raises concerns about whether patients will get the information they need about their medications, said Robert Piepho, dean of the Missouri-Kansas City pharmacy school.

"If patients don't have access (to pharmacists), they run the risk of adverse effects from drug interactions."

aC. Sidebar

To my friend Trish, I'm looking forward to you taking me out and paying for lunch one of these days. Seriously, though, I'm proud of her and other pharmacists-in-training. Baby boomers need their drugs and you can't really outsource it either. Thank you for your hard work and we know that anytime you can come out and let the world know of our Viagra, Prozac, and Vicadin habits.

Only In America..

2005-11-09T10:30:00.000-06:00

Ex-cheerleaders get offer to pose, report says Adult magazine Penthouse reportedly wants Thomas, Keathley to bare all
NBCSports.com news services

TAMPA, Fla. - The two former Carolina Panthers cheerleaders arrested after allegedly having sex with each other in a bathroom stall at a nightclub have been approached by Penthouse to pose nude for the adult magazine, MSNBC-TV reported Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a fugitive arrest warrant was issued for one of cheerleaders who allegedly gave a false name during her arrest at a bar where witnesses said she had sex with another cheerleader in a restroom stall.

Renee Thomas was charged with giving a false name and causing harm to another, a third-degree felony punishable by probation or a jail term of up to five years, Tampa police spokeswoman Laura McElroy said Tuesday.

Thomas, 20, was released before police learned she had given them a driver’s license belonging to another Panthers cheerleader, who was not in Tampa.

“She was bonded out on the false name she gave us,” McElroy said, adding that detectives are trying to determine how Thomas got the license.

McElroy said witness accounts that Thomas and fellow cheerleader Angela Keathley, 26, were having sex with each other in a bathroom stall “led to the commotion, but they have nothing to do with the charges.”

“The charge is that she (Thomas) punched someone in the face and then she chose to give police a fake ID,” she said.

Keathley was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Repeated attempts to reach the women were unsuccessful Tuesday.

The cheerleaders were not in town to perform at the game, and the team said both were fired from the TopCats squad for violating a signed code that bans conduct embarrassing to the Panthers.

Nurse Melissa Holden told WCAU she walked into the bathroom and found Thomas and Keathley in an occupied stall and in a compromising position.

Holden said it was another woman in line to use the bathroom who allegedly angered Thomas.
"I didn't say a word to (Thomas)," Holden said.

"The woman behind me in line somewhere, I didn't even turn to look, confronted her and said what the heck took you guys so long," Holden said. "And (Thomas) reared back and hit me."
Holden laughingly said the black eye she received was from Thomas' "boney hand."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

aC. Sidebar

This is an obvious proof of our educational system not doing its job. Look on the brightside, NFL cheerleaders only make like $75 bucks a game, but careering in stripping or posing for Playboy or Penthouse should be around $75,000. I should become an enterpenuer in the likes of Hugh and Larry and give back to the community.

Something in Washington (State)

2005-11-08T11:36:00.000-06:00

Guest columnist
I-330's damage limits won't lower insurance rates
By Gary Locke

At first glance, the arguments for I-330 seem pretty logical: If you limit, or cap, the amount of pain-and-suffering damages a mistreated patient can receive, malpractice-insurance rates for doctors will decline. Evidence from around the nation, however, proves this logic is simply not true. When you couple this flaw with all of the problems found in the fine print of I-330, it becomes clear this initiative should be rejected.

As governor, I was well aware of the drive for reform in our medical system. We took steps to help our doctors stay in business — and more steps are needed. But I consistently avoided the approach of limiting monetary damages for pain and suffering because such limits simply do not work.

Let's look at the facts. Overall, insurance for doctors in states with caps is almost 10 percent higher than in states without caps. In 2003, every state experienced medical-malpractice insurance-rate increases — whether or not damages were capped. Three states with caps, Hawaii, Texas and Florida, saw rate increases of more than 20 percent. New Mexico has caps and rates there went up more than 30 percent. Virginia has caps — rates went up more than 40 percent. In Washington, without caps, rates only increased 8.35 percent. Clearly, damage limits are not the answer to lowering medical-malpractice insurance rates for doctors.

The evidence is even clearer when we look closely at a state that long ago implemented damage caps. During the first 13 years with limits in place, California medical-malpractice premiums increased 26 percent annually — faster than premiums rose nationally during the same period. It wasn't until 1988 when voters approved Proposition 103, which enacted the strongest rate regulations in the nation, that doctors' malpractice premiums decreased. I-330 includes no such regulation of the malpractice-insurance industry and does not help our many good doctors.

So why would someone support such a policy? Well, the primary supporters of I-330 are insurance companies. The insurance industry has spent $2.3 million in an effort to pass I-330 — $900,000 of which came directly from Physicians Insurance, the largest medical-malpractice insurance company in the state. And no wonder. Insurance companies receive higher premiums in states with caps and pay out less in damages to injured patients. Apply simple logic: Higher premiums plus lower payouts equal higher profits for insurance companies. That's why they are so supportive of I-330.

Medical-malpractice insurance companies in Washington hardly need such help. A recent report by the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner showed that the total amount paid in medical-malpractice claims dropped 14.7 percent in the past two years, while insurance companies in Washington brought in record profits. If I-330 passes, they still don't have to lower doctors' insurance rates. Ironically, insurance rates aren't even mentioned in I-330.

As if this weren't bad enough, I-330 contains many other benefits for insurance companies, at the expense of the people. For example, I-330 allows the insurance industry to pay the money it owes you over a period of 20 or 30 years or longer. If you die before the companies pay what they owe you, they get to keep your money instead of paying it to your family.

I-330 also abolishes a patient's right to seek compensation for damages that result when managed-care companies withhold or deny appropriate care — the heart of Washington's Patient Bill of Rights.

In 2000, the state Legislature passed, and I signed, this law to address concerns about the quality of health care in our state. I am very surprised to see many of the same medical organizations that supported the Patient Bill of Rights now support I-330 and seek to limit patient rights, including the Washington State Medical Association, Washington State Hospital Association and the Washington Academy of Family Physicians.

In the interest of full disclosure, I am an attorney. Before I entered politics, however, I served as a criminal prosecutor, not as a trial lawyer. My work now is in the area of international business. This initiative does not affect my legal practice, but I am concerned because this issue is of great importance to all of us who receive medical care.

We need to pass policies that work to benefit the state as a whole, not just narrow interests. I-330 will not help make malpractice insurance more affordable. It will only further enrich the already highly profitable medical-malpractice insurance industry. Vote No on I-330.

Gary Locke served as Washington's governor from 1997 to 2005. He is currently a lawyer in private practice at Davis Wright Tremaine law firm in Seattle

Gas Price Update 11-4-05

2005-11-04T15:35:00.000-06:00

Cheap: Villa Park, Marathon on St. Charles and Ardmore @ $2.299
Hold-Up: Chicago, Shell on Lawrence and Ashland @ $2.999

Soft Drink News

2005-11-04T15:25:00.000-06:00

Coke to phase out Vanilla Coke in U.S
AP

Coca-Cola Co., the world's largest soft drink maker, said on Friday it would phase out its Vanilla Coke, Vanilla Diet Coke and Diet Coke With Lemon beverages in the United States by end of this year.

Coca-Cola shares were down 1.1 percent in afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
The announcement came a day after Coca-Cola said it would phase out Vanilla Coke and Vanilla Diet Coke in the United Kingdom early next year. The company said sales have declined.
Coca-Cola added that it plans to introduce Diet Black Cherry Vanilla Coke and Black Cherry Vanilla Coke in the United States in January 2006.

The company said Vanilla Coke, which was introduced in the United States in 2002 and Diet Vanilla Coke in 2003, could return sometime in the future. Details about whether Diet Coke With Lemon, which made its U.S. entry in 2001, would be brought back were not available.
"I don't know if we have ever taken out a flavor and brought it back to the market, but the landscape continues to change and we want to be as flexible as possible to adapt to the changing landscape," said Scott Williamson, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola.

The phase out follows declining sales for the brands in the United States. Vanilla Coke sales slipped to 35 million unit cases in 2004 from 90 million unit cases in 2002, while Vanilla Diet Coke sales dropped to 13 million unit cases last year from 23 million unit cases in 2003, according to Beverage Marketing, a beverage research and consulting firm.

Sales of Diet Coke with Lemon have fallen to 9.9 million unit cases in 2004 from 24 million unit cases in 2001, data showed.

Analysts have said that one of the keys to the company's future is to innovate new products that will help Coca-Cola capture more consumers who have moved away from sugary soft drinks to diet versions, or to healthier low-or no-calorie beverages such as water and orange juices with reduced sugar.

Both Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc., the No. 2 soft drink company, are battling for the allegiance of increasingly picky U.S. consumers. The United States is the largest market for the soft-drink companies.

"It is a rapidly changing beverage landscape and it is important for Coke to move quickly to deliver on what the consumer wants," said Gary Hemphill, managing director of Beverage Marketing. "The competition for shelf space is intense."
Shares of Dow Component Coca-Cola were down 44 cents at $42.15 on the NYSE.

aC. Sidebar

Maybe, we'll get to see chocolate coke or may be peppermint pepsi? Any takers?

2005-11-02T10:59:00.000-06:00

Man Versus Machine
by Charles Wheelan, Ph.D.
Thursday, October 27, 2005

I'm not often moved by numbers, in part because of several tragic math experiences in high school, but also because statistics and equations can often obscure the more interesting big ideas. But I recently stumbled across a number that is the big idea when it comes to the 21st Century American economy.

Answer this: Between 1979 and 2002 (the latest year for which we have data), what happened to the median weekly earnings of American men without a high school degree? These are full-time workers, and the comparisons have been adjusted for inflation.

I'll give you some context. For college-educated men, the median weekly wage rose 20 percent in real purchasing power from 1979 to 2002. Women with college degrees did even better -- up 34 percent.

Now, back to the guys who dropped out of high school. What's happened to their typical paycheck over the past two and a half decades?

A. Up 10 percent -- only half what the college grads enjoyed, but, as my dad would say, still better than a sharp stick in the eye.

B. Up one percent -- or basically flat, meaning that the typical male low-skilled worker has not seen any improvement in his standard of living in two and half decades.

C. Down nine percent -- a standard of living almost 10 percent worse than a generation ago.

D. Down 27 percent -- meaning that over a 23-year period of relatively robust economic growth, low-skilled workers have seen more than a quarter of their purchasing power disappear and are now significantly worse off than they were in 1979.

The answer is d. Women who dropped out of high school did better, seeing their real wages fall only seven percent over the same period.

You Can Learn a Lot at the Movies
To understand the essence of what's going on, let me tell you about my night at the movies. I saw "Grizzly Man", a documentary by Werner Herzog about a guy who spends 13 summers in Alaska living among grizzly bears only to be eaten in the end by one of the animals he loved. That's not the relevant part of the evening, but it is an extraordinary film.

Here's the insight: As I parked my car in the garage, a mellifluous voice was saying repeatedly something along the lines of: "Please take your ticket with you. There is no attendant on duty. Pay for your parking at any of the kiosks inside."

I then bought my movie ticket at a different electronic kiosk (similar to the self check-in machines that most airlines are now using). Not only did the machine allow me to avoid waiting in line, but it also told me what percentage of the seats had been sold for every film at every time.

Both the automated parking and the automated ticket machine were new since the last time I'd been to that theater, no more than a few months ago. And that is why America's low-skilled workers are taking it on the chin. Forget the guy on the phone in Bangalore telling you how to use your new computer. He's a red herring. The job loss statistics tell the same story as they always have: Technology replaces far, far more low-skill jobs than foreign workers do. Think voice mail, ATM machines, automated customer service lines, self-serve gas, online bill paying, automated package tracking, and on and on.

Not one of those innovations is bad for the U.S. economy. Every one of them creates jobs -- albeit for people with skills in business strategy, engineering, software, marketing, and sales. And every one displaces people, like the guy who takes your $10 and gives you a movie ticket and $.50.

Want to Protect Your Job? Develop Your Skills

The 21st Century economy is not about jobs; it's about skills. After all, highly-educated people lose their jobs, too. What do you think happens when JP Morgan Chase merges with Bank One? Bruce Springsteen doesn't sing about those people because they are adaptable enough to turn around and do something else. At the time this column was written, the unemployment rate for college-educated workers was 2.1 percent, compared to 4.9 percent for the nation as a whole and 7.6 percent for workers with less than a high school diploma.

So what do we do for the people Bruce Springsteen does sing about? I'll be the first to tell you that the research on everything from job training to systemic school reform is relatively discouraging. Then again, so were the early attempts to put a man on the moon. The most important first step is to create the political will for massively upgrading the skills of those at the shallow end of the labor pool. Thinkers across the political spectrum have some clever and original ideas, but they need help getting past the baggage of their respective parties.

The Republicans need to ditch the absurd notion that tax cuts alone will help those at the bottom. The numbers are pretty darn clear: After 25 years of significant tax cuts and a steadily growing economy, there's not a lot trickling down to low-skilled workers that wasn't excreted by birds. Hence the Ukrainian proverb: A rising tide is good for those in big boats and bad for those standing on the bottom in heavy shoes. (Okay, that's not really a Ukrainian proverb, but doesn't it sound like it should be?)

The Democrats need to stop confusing things that lessen the pain in the short run with real solutions for the long run. Raising the minimum wage, for example, doesn't make anyone more skilled. It just charges more for the same increasingly outdated skills, which can be counterproductive. How? Just imagine that you own a movie theater and the minimum wage goes to $9 an hour. Would you be more or less likely to invest in automated ticket kiosks?

And, of course, there is some profoundly irrational individual behavior going on. Dropping out of high school is financial suicide. We can argue over whether it is a personal failure, a social problem, or some combination of the two, but let's agree on the key point: It's bad. Even finishing high school and skipping college is looking increasingly foolish. The median weekly wage for men with high school diplomas but no college fell 13 percent between 1979 and 2003.

The overriding lesson is simple: If your job can be done by a machine, then it soon will be. So try to be the guy who sells the machine.

aC. Sidebar

Stay in school, take your Flintstone vitamins, do your homework, and don't do drugs. The typical 80's and early 90's parental marquee that's some how is still deserving in this generation. I love school, that's why I’m in graduate school. I'm still planning on my International MBA degree from some school in Europe once my career takes off to a point that enables me too. Retooling one's self isn't a hard thing to do. Do what you like and love. Everything changes in the work-world, but if you have the passion for auto racing or becoming a lawyer, these worlds are changing. You have to anticipate the Danica Patricks or restrictor-plate challenges to dynamic governmental and global laws or diversity growth.

Nothing ever stays static in the corporate or blue-collar world, as shown from this article. Just as computer systems have to be more "agile" from IBM commercials, so should you. Changing times does not call for static people. Keep in mind this is in terms of academics and career motivation. You can still be the same high school jock that terrorized the nerds and the frizzy haired girl that always knew everything about life. You can still embody these personal traits, but personal traits don't pay for utilities, rent, mortgage, or insurance. Unless, you’re a stripper. Ummm....strippers. Okay, unless you're Homer as well.

Moral of the story? Do what my parents have been saying to me since the 80's. After all, aren't parents always right?

Oh no, not Captain Sulu!!!

2005-10-28T08:32:00.000-05:00

'Star Trek' Actor George Takei Comes Out
AP

George Takei, who as helmsman Sulu steered the Starship Enterprise through three television seasons and six movies, has come out as a homosexual in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community.

Takei told The Associated Press on Thursday that his new onstage role as psychologist Martin Dysart in "Equus," helped inspire him to publicly discuss his sexuality.

Takei described the character as a "very contained but turbulently frustrated man." The play opened Wednesday at the David Henry Hwang Theater in Los Angeles, the same day that Frontiers magazine featured a story on Takei's coming out.

The current social and political climate also motivated Takei's disclosure, he said.
"The world has changed from when I was a young teen feeling ashamed for being gay," he said. "The issue of gay marriage is now a political issue. That would have been unthinkable when I was young."

The 68-year-old actor said he and his partner, Brad Altman, have been together for 18 years.
Takei, a Japanese-American who lived in a U.S. internment camp from age 4 to 8, said he grew up feeling ashamed of his ethnicity and sexuality. He likened prejudice against gays to racial segregation.

"It's against basic decency and what American values stand for," he said.
Takei joined the "Star Trek" cast in 1966 as Hikaru Sulu, a character he played for three seasons on television and in six subsequent films. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1986.

A community activist, Takei ran for the Los Angeles City Council in 1973. He serves on the advisory committee of the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program and is chairman of East West Players, the theater company producing "Equus."

aC. Sidebar

Serious, this month is Coming-Out Month, which is funny because October is also Breast Cancer Month too. So, sex and boob. That's the topic of the month. I'm surprised to hear about all of these people that are coming out. I'm very proud of my sexuality and I'm proud that these people are proud of their sexuality. Granted there are some homophobic tendencies in me, but in overall sincereness, the accomplishments and the value of a person in Sheryl Swoops and George Takai should not be misinterpreted by their sexuality. What I mean is, the American Coalition for Family group should not be saying, "Ban All WNBA and Star Trek film. Boycott for family values!"

Give me a break, the family dynamics are changing. Unfortunately, not like these conservative groups. Yes, I'm bashing my own peers in a way, but I realize that the TV dinner generation and the TV reality show generation shows that we may not always be a big happy family. The happiness is in the extended family. Divorced parents, same-sex partners, single-parents, and other non-traditional family nucleus are becoming more of a focal point in today's family dynamics. I'm not saying that one kind of nuclei is correct, political correct, or even preferable. I'm saying that respects is in the order and if there is a same-sex core family dynamics next door to your traditional white picket fence style family, you should go over there and say, "Hi, I'm Anthony, this is my wife, and my kids. Welcome to the neighborhood." Granted this situation is different if you’re slightly more modest and those neighbors have been next door for a long time. Still, hospitality, generosity, and respect should not deter you from build a Wisteria Lane situation. You should be in a Tom Hanks situation in the movie The 'burbs.

Because if you saw the movie, the consensus group drove him nuts, granted the neighbors were killers, but seriously, same-sex couples or by-product children will not try to kill you and your family or convert you or you family. Your fear should be in the Mormons and the Jehovah's Witnesses. Well, I apologize to these last groups. They've done nothing wrong or for that matter much in their religious dynamics for hundreds of years. May this is something we should look at in our own religions and upbringings.

Why do we truly fear or subjugate to suppress people that are "different". I could go on, but I'm mentally ill-prepared and scholarly untrained to answer this question. Even a computer science student can be well-versed in socio-cultural matters. I'm disappointed that Scotty will never beam me up again, but knowing Sulu is having fun in the sun on Risa gives me some comfort that boldly going where now man has gone before is not a quote, but something someone can follow. Now, about those Pricedot.com ads with Spock and Kirk...

New York Times Editorial...

2005-10-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

In White Sox Nation, the Boders Are Secure
Lawrence Downes (Sunday New York Times, 10/23/05)

In the next week or so, if God lightens up and lets Chicago win its first World Series since 1917, who knows what else might happen? Last time it was the Russian Revolution, followed by a global flu pandemic. This time might be completely different. Packs of rabid wolves sweeping down from Canada, maybe. Sinkholes swallowing Nebraska. An asteroid. Whatever it is, it seems safe to say this: In half of the city - the Cubs half - nothing much will happen.

Chicago's divided baseball loyalities - Cubs vs. Sox, North Side vs. South Side, the oldest vs. the second oldest championship droughts in baseball - look quaint from a distance, like the rivalries that energize high school pep rallies or cause politicans to make lame wagers with one another on the TV news.

But in Chicago, team affiliation is form of ethnicity, passed on to sons and daughters like genetic disease or silverware. You would think a city that never wins at baseball might suspend hostilities for the World Series, an event it sees roughly once every World War or Great Depression.

But no. When the Sox and Huston Astros opended the Series last night at U. S. Cellular Field, the concentrations of people going bonkers were highly localized. Many in the larger, more visible Cubs tribe conspicuously went on with their lives. This reinfoced the outward impression, at least, of a city that was handling the World Series like a really big trade convention - accommodating the fuss, but not caring all that much.

This is sad, especially when you consider the large-scale affection other teams enjoy. The Red Sox Nation covers all New England, from Maine down to the edges of Yankee territory in southwest Connecticut. The St. Louis Cardinals own the alligiance of several rectangular and trapezoidal states. In New York, the city is so big and playoff games so frequent that Met-Yankee tensions can be quite tolerable. Fans live and work side-by-side, and newspapers and TV stations are nonaligned.

White Sox turf by contrast, extends only a few square miles south from Madison Street in the Loop, through neighborhoods like Bridgeport and Hyde Park and into the south suburbs. The Cubs hold pretty much everything to the north, and much in the wide world beyond, thanks to their lucrative yuppie branding and the media hegemony of the Tribune Company, which owns the team, major TV and radio stations, and a big local newspaper.

So you can forget the lofty example set by Abraham Lincoln ("A house divded against itself cannot stand"), Mayor Harold Washington ("Chicago is one city") and Senator Barack Obama ("There is no conservative America and liberal America"). Many Chicagoans are down with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has said he "bleeds Cubby blue" and will not wear a Sox cap to a Series game.

The Great Rift, as Mr. Obama, a White Sox fan, desribed it, has left the Sox and their fans feeling pretty much alone in a big, oblivious world - baseball's Little Red Hen.

"Who will help us win the division?"

"Not I," said the North Side.

"Who will help us sweep the Red Sox, eliminate the Angels, and polish off the Astros?"

"Not I," said the North Side.

"Then we will do it ourselves."

A World Series triumph may not happen, of course. Chicago has an old and sturdy tradition of losing, and the Astros are an impressive team. But if it does happen, you can't blame Sox fans if teir celebration is invitation-only - no bandwagons allowed.

On that amazing night, when the cold wind whistles off Lake Michigan and rattles windows along the empty streets of Wrigleyville and Lincoln Park, where people are indoors making lattes or banking online or whatever it is Cubs fans do in October, the party on the South Side will go on and on. And that, it seems, will sui this strange, severed city just fine.

aC. Sidebar

F**ked the borders, from a Cubs fan, "Good Soxs, lets see a parade!"

God Bless You...

2005-10-24T21:55:00.000-05:00

Civil Rights Pioneer Rosa Parks Dies at 92
16 minutes ago

Rosa Lee Parks, whose refusal to give up her bus seat to a white man sparked the modern civil rights movement, died Monday. She was 92.

Mrs. Parks died at her home of natural causes, said Karen Morgan, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. John Conyers D-Mich. Mrs. Parks was 42 when she committed an act of defiance in 1955 that was to change the course of American history and earn her the title "mother of the civil rights movement." At that time, Jim Crow laws in place since the post-Civil War Reconstruction required separation of the races in buses, restaurants and public accommodations throughout the South, while legally sanctioned racial discrimination kept blacks out of many jobs and neighborhoods in the North.

The Montgomery, Ala., seamstress, an active member of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was riding on a city bus Dec. 1, 1955, when a white man demanded her seat. Mrs. Parks refused, despite rules requiring blacks to yield their seats to whites. Two black Montgomery women had been arrested earlier that year on the same charge, but Mrs. Parks was jailed. She also was fined $14. Speaking in 1992, she said history too often maintains "that my feet were hurting and I didn't know why I refused to stand up when they told me. But the real reason of my not standing up was I felt that I had a right to be treated as any other passenger. We had endured that kind of treatment for too long."
Her arrest triggered a 381-day boycott of the bus system organized by a then little-known Baptist minister, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who later earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work.

"At the time I was arrested I had no idea it would turn into this," Mrs. Parks said 30 years later. "It was just a day like any other day. The only thing that made it significant was that the masses of the people joined in."

The Montgomery bus boycott, which came one year after the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark declaration that separate schools for blacks and whites were "inherently unequal," marked the start of the modern civil rights movement.

The movement culminated in the 1964 federal Civil Rights Act, which banned racial discrimination in public accommodations.

After taking her public stand for civil rights, Mrs. Parks had trouble finding work in Alabama. Amid threats and harassment, she and her husband Raymond moved to Detroit in 1957. She worked as an aide in Conyers' Detroit office from 1965 until retiring Sept. 30, 1988. Raymond Parks died in 1977.

Mrs. Parks became a revered figure in Detroit, where a street and middle school were named for her and a papier-mache likeness of her was featured in the city's Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Mrs. Parks said upon retiring from her job with Conyers that she wanted to devote more time to the Rosa and Raymond Parks Institute for Self Development. The institute, incorporated in 1987, is devoted to developing leadership among Detroit's young people and initiating them into the struggle for civil rights.

"Rosa Parks: My Story" was published in February 1992. In 1994 she brought out "Quiet Strength: The Faith, the Hope and the Heart of a Woman Who Changed a Nation," and in 1996 a collection of letters called "Dear Mrs. Parks: A Dialogue With Today's Youth."

She was among the civil rights leaders who addressed the Million Man March in October 1995.
In 1996, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, awarded to civilians making outstanding contributions to American life. In 1999, she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation's highest civilian honor.

Mrs. Parks received dozens of other awards, ranging from induction into the Alabama Academy of Honor to an NAACP Image Award for her 1999 appearance on CBS' "Touched by an Angel."
The Rosa Parks Library and Museum opened in November 2000 in Montgomery. The museum features a 1955-era bus and a video that recreates the conversation that preceded Parks' arrest.

"Are you going to stand up?" the bus driver asked.
"No," Parks answered.
"Well, by God, I'm going to have you arrested," the driver said.
"You may do that," Parks responded.

Mrs. Parks' later years were not without difficult moments.

In 1994, Mrs. Parks' home was invaded by a 28-year-old man who beat her and took $53. She was treated at a hospital and released. The man, Joseph Skipper, pleaded guilty, blaming the crime on his drug problem.

The Parks Institute struggled financially since its inception. The charity's principal activity — the annual Pathways to Freedom bus tour taking students to the sites of key events in the civil rights movement — routinely cost more money than the institute could raise.

Mrs. Parks lost a 1999 lawsuit that sought to prevent the hip-hop duo OutKast from using her name as the title of a Grammy-nominated song. In 2000, she threatened legal action against an Oklahoma man who planned to auction Internet domain name rights to http://www.rosaparks.com.

After losing the OutKast lawsuit, attorney Gregory Reed, who represented Mrs. Parks, said his client "has once again suffered the pains of exploitation." A later suit against OutKast's record company was settled out of court.

She was born Rosa Louise McCauley on Feb. 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Ala. Family illness interrupted her high school education, but after she married Raymond Parks in 1932, he encouraged her and she earned a diploma in 1934. He also inspired her to become involved in the NAACP.

Looking back in 1988, Mrs. Parks said she worried that black young people took legal equality for granted. Older blacks, she said "have tried to shield young people from what we have suffered. And in so doing, we seem to have a more complacent attitude.

"We must double and redouble our efforts to try to say to our youth, to try to give them an inspiration, an incentive and the will to study our heritage and to know what it means to be black in America today."

At a celebration in her honor that same year, she said: "I am leaving this legacy to all of you ... to bring peace, justice, equality, love and a fulfillment of what our lives should be. Without vision, the people will perish, and without courage and inspiration, dreams will die — the dream of freedom and peace."

aC. Sidebar

Today America has lost its courage and humanity its compass. You were my hero and this generation is proud to have known you. May your courage and inspiration continue to inspire preceding generations. Thank you, and God Bless You. St. Peter is waiting with the gates open.

2005-10-24T10:14:00.000-05:00

Japan Delays Decision to End U.S. Beef Ban
Associated Press

A Japanese government panel on mad cow disease delayed a decision Monday on whether to recommend easing a two-year-old ban on U.S. beef imports, despite preparing a draft report concluding the risk from American beef is very low.

The panel had been widely expected to send the report to the Food Safety Commission, setting in motion a process that could lead to the reopening of Japan — U.S. beef's most lucrative overseas market — to the imports by the end of the year.

Japan bought about $1.5 billion worth of U.S. beef in 2003, making it the most lucrative overseas market for American beef products. The delay risked flaring tensions with the United States ahead of a visit in mid-November by President Bush. U.S. beef producers and their supporters have argued that the ban was unnecessary and have accused Japan of dragging its feet on lifting it.

Yasuhiro Yoshikawa, chairman of the panel, said he hoped the panel would reach a final decision as early as at the next meeting, which is expected later this month or early next month.
"In today's meeting we were not able to reach an agreement," Yoshikawa said.

He said the decision was delayed because two key members were unable to attend, and other members said they wanted more information about two other diseases in the United States that could be related to mad cow disease.

Japan imposed the ban on Dec. 24, 2003, after the discovery of the first case of mad cow in the United States, in Washington state. After lengthy negotiations, the two governments this year agreed that Japan would reopen its markets to meat from American cows of less than 21 months old. Mad cow disease has never been detected in cows that young.

The panel had already prepared a draft report concluding that the difference in risk between Japanese and American beef was very low, as long as proper precautions were taken. Japan has discovered 20 domestic cases of mad cow disease since 2002, but tests every cow going to market. Several panelists, however, raised questions about reliability of U.S. safeguard measures and how they can be ensured.

"The risk would be very low, if proper precautions are strictly followed," Yoshikawa said. "And even if imports are resumed, we must consider halting (imports) once again if those conditions are not met."

After the panel's failure to reach conclusion, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters that "I think the conclusion should be reached from the viewpoint of food safety."

Scientists agree that beef infected with mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, causes a fatal brain disorder in humans. Since the 1990s, the death toll from the disease topped 150 people, mostly in Britain.

The U.S. frustration over the import ban and Tokyo's dragging examination of U.S. beef safety has been building up recently. Earlier this month 20 U.S. senators sent a joint letter to U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman (news, bio, voting record), formally asking "to employ retaliatory economic measures against Japan" if its import barrier is kept in place.

On Monday, visiting U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said officials in Washington — from members of Congress to officials in the Bush administration — were growing impatient with the slow process.

"There is a great deal of frustration in the United States that this problem has not been resolved after such a long time," he told reporters in Tokyo, calling for a quick resumption of beef imports.

aC. Sidebar

What would an extra 1.5 billion dollars do for this economy? It would not solve everything, but at least it would help. What would you do with an extra 1.5 billion dollars?

WARNING: Low-Brow Humor Below...

2005-10-21T14:58:00.000-05:00

If condoms had sponsors, you might find them packaged like these...

Everyday way be have you mind in the gutter without knowing it...

brought to you by my harding working friend, KW.

Idiot of the Day...

2005-10-21T14:46:00.000-05:00

Man Allegedly Robs Bank With Pay Stub Note

Thu Oct 20
A note handed to a bank teller demanding $20, $50 and $100 bills "the quicker the better" was written on a pay stub that led police to a robbery suspect even though the name and address were crossed out with a marker.

"It wasn't a huge forensic undertaking," Steven Moran, Bensalem director of public safety, said Wednesday. "We just put it under a light."

The FBI charged Michael Drennon, 26, of Philadelphia, with robbing the Wachovia Bank in Bensalem on Friday. Drennon, who had been living in a halfway house while on probation, was being held at the federal detention center in Philadelphia pending a hearing scheduled for Friday. It couldn't immediately be determined if he had an attorney.

The man who slipped the teller the note Friday left the bank with about $2,500, authorities said. Police said Drennon had about $1,800 on him when he was arrested.

aC. Sidebar

Where did our educational system go wrong? Were the afterschool specials not enough to help this guy when he was young? I do have say one thing, he's making money. Seriously, he had a pay stub, so you know he's not a drain to Welfare. That's the only light at the end of this tunnel. Have fun in jail Michael. He's a word of advice for you, if your cell mate is named Nasty Nate, you're the bitch.

Intergalatic Carry-Out

2005-10-20T10:59:00.000-05:00

The Peking Restaurant franchise is currently in negotiation with the Alpha Centauri Solar System, but NASA and the McDonald's are currently attempting to enforce the Sherman Act. Stay tuned to this intergalatical litigation.

The Next Catholic Schism...or so they say...

2005-10-14T15:37:00.000-05:00

Scientist Wins Male Contraceptive Grant

(AP)
A Norfolk State University researcher who has worked nearly 20 years to create a male contraceptive will share in a $3.6 million grant to help him further his work.

The funding for Joseph C. Hall's research is from the National Institutes of Health. The grant, Hall said, will bring to his research the world of "computer-assisted drug design" to speed the time he can produce compounds for testing. The grant, distributed over five years, will support Norfolk State's Center for Biotechnology and Biomedical Sciences, which Hall directs.

Hall's research, which has received money from the National Science Foundation, seeks to blunt sperm's ability to fertilize eggs. His focus is the enzyme that penetrates the sugar coating that surrounds the egg. He is seeking a compound that can bind to the enzyme, deactivating the sperm. While Hall has reached a solid success rate of 92 percent, he wants his contraceptive to be 100 percent foolproof. He expects the final product to be in the form of a patch.

The university's first NIH grant in 13 years will also will be used on protein research, which could improve cancer treatments; add at least a handful of faculty positions; and provide opportunities for students and faculty members to collaborate with their counterparts at Eastern Virginia +Medical+ School and the University of Virginia.

"So often, Norfolk State has had to be the school that follows new leads that come up in generally established programs," said Hall, an associate professor of chemistry. "We decided to take an initiative role and be a leader for a change."

By supporting the emerging field of computer-assisted drug design, the NIH grant will help Hall make and test compounds more quickly.

"Right now, at the rate I'm going, synthesizing one compound at a time, it would take me five to six years to test to get the right one," Hall told The Virginian-Pilot. "This will shorten the time to six months or a year."

The grant also will pay for new supplies and equipment, lab renovations and training and travel for researchers, said Sandra J. DeLoatch, the dean of the School of Science and Technology.

"For undergraduates, it's tremendous," she said. "It allows us to provide very valuable research experience to students to hopefully motivate them to go to graduate school to continue their studies."

aC. Sidebar

So if you don't believe high school girls should be on the pill or if your against contraceptive, how do you feel about this? Would this weaken the masculinity of males? How will men take it? If this is cheaper than a pack of rubbers then i'll take it, as long as it also improve sexually performance. Nothing is more sad than not being able to raise your crane when you need to, but can't. Which is to say, ED can be a contraceptive all in itself. The male pill...I wonder what it will be called. If you have Yasmin for women what about Cobra for men, because you can't have some silly, sensitive name marketed towards men. You can't reference that it will make you BUTCH, because your little Johnnys aren't really doing anything. I think COBRA would be a good name because it does take a bite out of you, but the pill still enables you attack. Can't you just feel the sexual innuendos from the name.

Okay, it's a Friday, I can be a little silly.

Spooning is Good for You!

2005-10-13T16:00:00.000-05:00

What Did The Smurfs Ever Do To You?

2005-10-13T09:10:00.000-05:00

I knew it, Saddam never had any WMDs, it was acutally Gargamel. The search for Weapons of Mass Destruction are over. It's a still a sad day for the Smurfs though. Interesting enough you get to see Smurfette to the left. Was UNICEF also trying to say that whoring yourself is as bad as the consequences of war? Where's Brauny Smurf, shouldn't he be armed with an assault rifle or on a turret someplace in the background? Regardless, this is a f**ked up. Effective, but f**ked up.

You though the Foremans had it bad...

2005-10-12T16:45:00.000-05:00

Arkansas Mother Gives Birth to 16th Child
Associated Press

Michelle Duggar just delivered her 16th child, and she's already thinking about doing it again.
Johannah Faith Duggar was born at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday and weighed 7 pounds, 6.5 ounces.
The baby's father, Jim Bob Duggar, a former state representative, said Wednesday that mother and child were doing well.

He said Johannah's birth was especially exciting because it was the first time in eight years the family has had a girl.

Jim Bob Duggar, 40, said he and Michelle, 39, want more children.

"We both just love children and we consider each a blessing from the Lord. I have asked Michelle if she wants more and she said yes, if the Lord wants to give us some she will accept them," he said.

The Discovery Health Channel filmed Johannah's birth and plans to air a show about the family of 18 next May. The Learning Channel is doing another show about the family's construction project, a 7,000-square foot house that should be finished before Christmas. The home, which the family has been building for two years, will have nine bathrooms, dormitory-style bedrooms for the girls and boys, a commercial kitchen, four washing machines and four dryers.

Jim Bob Duggar, who sells real estate, previously lost his bid for the U.S. Senate. He said he expects to run for the state Senate next year but isn't ready to make a formal announcement.
Michelle Duggar had her first child at age 21, four years after the couple married.

Their children include two sets of twins, and each child has a name beginning with the letter "J": Joshua, 17; John David, 15; Janna, 15; Jill, 14; Jessa, 12; Jinger, 11; Joseph, 10; Josiah, 9; Joy-Anna, 8; Jeremiah, 6; Jedidiah, 6; Jason, 5; James, 4; Justin, 2; and Jackson Levi, 1.

aC. Sidebar

Okay, I feel bad for the children. I thought all the George's and Georgina's in the Foreman family had it bad, this is like their family with a side of the Waltons. Frankly, I want 26 children myself. One for each letter of the alphabet. Maybe even more. I'll even start thinking about naming them by numbers. "Okay, number 5901234. It's time for you to go sleep."

Tomb Raider for President..

2005-10-12T09:55:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm voteing for Angelina for the next President of the United States of Kick-Ass America. Hmm. Brad Pitt will be the first bitch. Yes! I think every straight man in America would vote for her.

Don't Get Me Wrong...

2005-10-12T08:51:00.000-05:00

Root Cause Analysis...finding the real cause of the problem and dealing with it rather than simply continuing to deal with the symptoms.

Okay, here me out. Big companies wants to pocket a lot of money. Clear? Who wouldn't? So the question is why do companies want to pocket money from the Capitol? Symptoms? Lobbyiest, Robber-Barons, and such. Corporate greed. Arthur Anderson to Enron to WorldCom. So, what is the root cause?

People want money, but why would a CEO or President want to pocket so much money? Greed is clearly evident, but why is it at Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, and Halliburton? My reasoning is opportunity and demand. People need gas, phone lines, cable tv, security, and peace. People will pay for it. It's the greatest quick-rich scheme ever. People need to drive their cars to work. People need to heat their houses. There is a demand.

Yes, in a certain way I am defending the big oil companies. They're not the hogs of Washington. Just look at you and me. When I say you and me, I'm talking about your cousin in China, Africa, Brazil, and Soviet Russia where car drives you. We live in a colossus global economy and a very demanding environment. I'm almost finishing reading the book Collapse by Jared Diamond. The book defines the impact of human existance in respect to local and global economies and environment. Face it. Gas prices will continue to sky rocket. You know why? Because births are exceeding deaths. We have more mouths to feed, and some of our mouths have silver spoons in them.

The 5 cent hot dog at the local drive-in theater has to feed more mouths these days. That's why they're $5.00 at the local AMC. I'm taking a hard look at the world. We're simply consuming too much than that's replaceable. I'm talking about the trees in the Amazon, the water ways near the Three Gorges Dam, overfishing in every part of this earth, and the other detrimental effects of humans on our precious ecosystem.

So don't blame the oil companies if they want to pocket mega-million deals in Washington for building oil refineraries in your back yard. We need to drive our Hummers you know, and if every people wants a Hummer, Porsche, or an Escalade with 20 inch dubs then whose going to fill it up? Don't blame drug companies for wanting to inflat prices up on new drugs. You know how expensive approval and liability insurances are? I don't really know much about the drug world, but I know regulatory processes are long and agonizing. There are complex sides to every story, compliant, and pamphlet. I don't really care if you take a particular side or not, but think about it, there always are. Unfortunately I like to eat chicken, so are you going to defend the innocent chickens?

I would like to mention that tact is for me the issue. I'm an ethical man. I know the money that corporations receive do not all go to R & D, or their needed channels. I'm really upset to hear about the corporate spending and irresponsbility. I'm really upset about the sex party that Fred Smoot and the Minnesota Viking players were involved in this past Thursday. Yes, sinning is easier than doing the right thing. I digress. I don't want to see our environment or ecosystem damaged. I love Mother Earth. In fact we've hooked up several times. She provides the air I breath, the water I drinking, and the soft green grass I need to walk on when it's 3am, I'm coming home from the bars, and I'm too drunk to walk and I fall down.

So corporate raiding is okay, as long as no orgies, parties at Chanel and Louis Vuitton, or consuming a gallon of milk in under a hour are involved. Excess, that's what's all it about baby. Sorry Dick Vitel, but truely, mind the gaps. Drug, Oil, and Airline companies need your money. Frankly, they need it. I don't know if a double standard is involved or not, but i'm willing to pay for it. Just not for Ted, Mr. Ringas, Ken Lay, or any other unethical greedy bastard. That's my two cents, but because of inflation I can say your getting two dollars worth. So continue to save the world, walk don't drive, don't pee in the public pool, buy recycled paper, and drink water from the tap, because its your local Evian source.

Let's Do It...

2005-10-10T22:36:00.000-05:00

World needs Kyoto climate pact: scientist

The world must stick with the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions and the United States needs to show leadership in limiting climate change instead of being an obstacle, a top British scientist said on Monday.

Officials from 150 nations meet in Canada next month to discuss how to take the Kyoto pact beyond 2012, when its first phase ends.

The pact, which came into force this year, obliges only developed nations to meet emissions targets while developing nations, including big polluters China and India, are excluded until at least 2012.

"We are faced with a situation in which the United States is not prepared to get on board Kyoto, so taking it forward from there is difficult," said Sir David King, chief scientific adviser for the British government.

President George W. Bush pulled the United States, the world's top polluter, out of Kyoto in 2001 saying that emissions targets could threaten economic growth and that excluding large developing nations didn't make sense.

Australia refused to ratify the pact for the same reasons, while India does not believe setting targets is the right solution.

Under Kyoto, agreed by governments at a 1997 U.N. conference in the Japanese city, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by developed countries should be cut by 5.2 percent of 1990 levels during the five-year period 2008-2012.

But many countries are already well behind their targets and refusal by the United States and Australia delayed the pact finally coming into force.

Asked if he believed such disagreements meant Kyoto needed to be scrapped or amended, King said: "No, I don't."

"I think the White House is keen to push the whole technology debate forward without putting forward any global emissions plan. I don't see within the U.S. something that will bring global action into play," he told Reuters on the sidelines of a climate change forum in Singapore.
The United States, Australia and four Asian nations including China, unveiled their own pact in July that focused on harnessing cleaner energy technology to curb greenhouse emissions.

STICK WITH KYOTO
This pact, dubbed "beyond Kyoto," was described as complimentary to Kyoto but the different approaches in curbing emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases by big polluters could bog down the Montreal talks.

Last week Britain played down hopes of a breakthrough and host Canada was equally gloomy.
But King said nations should stick with Kyoto.

"What I believe is that first of all we need to get Kyoto up and running and then to go to Kyoto plus," he said, adding that emissions trading is crucial to force utilities and energy companies to become more efficient.

"I think that is absolutely crucial and it would be wrong to abandon Kyoto," he said.
Asked the best way to bring China and India into the second phase of Kyoto, he said it was crucial to recognize that both countries were heavily dependent on their own coal reserves.
"We need to recognize that and in recognizing that we therefore need to be working with them on technologies such as carbon capture and storage, on alternative energy and demonstrating the idea is not to cut their economic growth."

He hoped Montreal would yield a breakthrough or at least demonstrate a way forward.
"The point is that as we move forward, the seriousness of the issue is becoming more apparent and everyone realizes it's in all of our interests to get some agreement out of this. That has to be crucial to the process."

Crucial, too, was the United States' role. "I think it's very important that America finds a way to play a similar leadership role," he said pointing to Britain's commitment to cut emissions by 60 percent by 2050.

aC. Sidebar

Scientist including me suggests this as well. Granted, I'm a computer scientist. Conservation is the best way to save on the consumption on gas, thus slowing the demand of gas and bringing down the cost of gas (oline). Much of the the crude process of burning coal is inefficient. Although cheap, the long-term cost of maintainence is expensive. To third world countries, this approach is the old way of making money. First world nation like US, Australia, and UK, should participate in changing this. We're in the generation of outsourcing and utilizing globalization. If companies like GM, Dell, and Nike who have investments and businesses in those countries can fight for strict standards and for more strategic investments of money and responsbilities. The Kyoto Protocol can be feasible according to Bush. This change does cost money, but asking a corporation to invest in technology and more specifically technology that have no direct effect on sales and revenue is hard for management to agree with. You have to approach like project management. There is a need. You have to say that the current world of emissions and pollution is not right.

I think we're all know of the need, but there isn't a global consensus on the approach. It's like needing to score a touchdown to win the game. You need to score, plain and simple. Do cut emissions and offer standards that are more strict or do you develop new technology to produce cleaner emissions. Either way, pollution has to decrease. That's the principle of the Kyoto Protocol. So, lets get a champion, in aC. we trust. Let me lead this movement, because if there is no strong willed person to direct this inititive then it won't get done.

We know, we agree, lets go with a plan. Ends always justify the means my friend. That's me talking, not the Prince.

I'm Carnac the Magnificent...

2005-10-10T16:58:00.000-05:00

Psychic seeks $25 million reward for Saddam
Fri Oct 7

A Brazilian court will consider a psychic's claim that the U.S. government owes him a $25 million reward for information he says he provided on the hiding place of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

Brazil's second-highest court, the Superior Court of Justice, decided Thursday the Brazilian justice system could rule on the matter and told a court in the psychic's home state of Minas Gerais to judge the case.

The lower court had earlier told Jucelino Nobrega da Luz it could not take up his claim and it would have to be judged in the United States, but the higher tribunal ruled otherwise.
"The Minas Gerais court will work with the claim," said a spokesman for the Superior Court of Justice.

"Jucelino da Luz alleges that the U.S. armed forces only found Saddam based on his letters that provided his exact location, the very hole where he was hiding in Iraq. So he filed a court case to claim the reward."

The U.S. government offered the award for Saddam in July 2003 after the U.S.-led forces occupied the country. He was captured in December of the same year.

The court said Da Luz sent letters to the U.S. government from September 2001, describing Saddam's future hiding place -- a tiny cellar at a farmhouse near Tikrit. He never received a reply.

"His lawyers attest that the author has an uncommon gift of having visions of things that will come to pass. ... Via dreams, he sees situations, facts that will happen in the future," a court statement said.

In case the court upholds the claim, it will be sent via diplomatic channels to the U.S. State Department.

aC. Sidebar

... A dark room, bars, bed, and sleeping
... Tell me where, behind what, in what and what Saddam will be doing tonight at 10:30pm?

I think I'm a psychic...where's my money?

Welcome to Earth??? (Part 2)

2005-10-05T15:41:00.000-05:00

Families End Up With Porn DVD by Mistake

A Utah-based film company will try to maintain its squeaky-clean image by offering compensation to customers who bought the "Sons of Provo" DVD but found "Adored: Diary of a Porn Star" inside the case.

Two families reported the problem after purchasing DVDs at Deseret Book stores, which are owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

HaleStorm Entertainment is offering $100 to anyone who mistakenly ended up with the "Adored" DVD instead of "Sons of Provo."

HaleStorm also plans to donate an additional $100 per DVD to CP80, an anti-pornography initiative.

"We are committed to producing family friendly entertainment and are devastated that some of the 'Sons of Provo' DVDs out there contain illicit material," Dave Hunter, HaleStorm's president and CEO, said in a statement.

The movies got mixed up at a Los Angeles firm that replicates both films for mass distribution.
"Sons of Provo" is a PG-rated film about the ups and downs of a Mormon boy band. "Adored" is an unrated independent film about a gay porn star's attempt to reconnect with his family.

aC. Sidebar

HAHAHAHAHA...craze Mormons.

Welcome to Earth???

2005-10-05T15:36:00.000-05:00

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes expecting
The couple has been dating since June of this year
The Associated Press
Oct. 5, 2005
NEW YORK - Let the couch-jumping begin: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are expecting a baby.
Holmes’ pregnancy was reported Wednesday by People magazine. The couple have been dating since April and became engaged in June.

“Tom and Katie are very excited, and the entire family is very excited,” Lee Anne Devette, Cruise’s spokeswoman, told People.

It would be Holmes’ first child. Cruise has two children, Connor, 10, and Isabella, 12, from his marriage to Nicole Kidman.

No further details were available. Devette added that Holmes, 26, “has never felt better.”
Cruise, 43, is now shooting “Mission” Impossible 3.”

aC. Sidebar

Okay...boy or girl? Either way the child will be the next anti-Christ. Oops, did that slip out? I guess now all young professional-aged (late 20's-early 30's) women know what it feels like to sleep with Tom Cruise. The child should be cute, it'll be a cross between Joey and Maverick.

I have no idea who the woman is...

2005-10-04T11:24:00.000-05:00

Greatest Chinese Export

2005-09-30T11:52:00.000-05:00

Besides money and immigrants, it's ginseng. Yes, the small miracle herb/plant with medicinal qualities. It has been used by both American Indians and the Chinese for cures, health, and preventative actions for these people. That's pretty interesting with a large body of ocean separating the two.

Did you know that the North American ginseng trade dates back to the time of frontiersmen such as Daniel Boone, who made more money selling the herb than trapping furs. Folks, Daniel Boone was a friend of the Chinese. I'm sorry to say it, but it's the truth. So with this year's ethic draft, we'll take Wu-Tang Clan with our first round pick, Daniel Boone with our second round pick, and finally in our third round selection...Chris Rock.

Unfortunately we might have do a three way trade with the blacks and whites, where Chris would be returned to the black and Derek Jeter's is claimed by the whites, in exchange for Elvis. Us crazy Asians love karaoke and Elvis.

I'm Calling It...

2005-09-29T14:25:00.000-05:00

The next Supreme Court Justice will be...

Judge Edith Brown Clement

Clement has a reputation as a conservative jurist and a strict constructionist who strongly supports principles of federalism, but she has written few high-profile opinions.

She wrote for the majority in Vogler v. Blackmore, 352 F.3d 150 (5th Cir. 2003), reducing pain and suffering damages awarded by a jury to a mother and daughter who were killed in a car accident. The basis of her ruling was the lack of specific evidence about the daughter's "awareness of the impending collision." Large damage awards to the father and husband due to the loss of society in his wife and daughter were affirmed.

In Chiu v. Plano Independent School District, 339 F.3d 273 (5th Cir., 2003), Judge Clement held that a school district's policy requiring the preapproval of fliers handed out at a school event violated the First Amendment free speech rights of would-be protestors.

In United States v. Harris, 408 F.3d 186 (5th Cir. 2005), Clement again wrote for the majority, this time reinstating the sentence of a police captain convicted for violation of federal civil rights laws in using excessive force. The captain moved to vacate, arguing that his counsel had been insufficient. Clement and the court held that the representation had been reasonable.

Judge Edith Brown Clement wrote a unanimous opinion for the 5th Circuit in Tarver v. City of Edna. She upheld officers' appeal of qualified immunity for reasonably arresting a father who was interfering with the return of a child to its rightful custodian. Qualified immunity also protected officers from the plaintiff's accusation of excessive force in using handcuffs and confining him to the police car as part of the arrest. Officers also, however, slammed the car door on his foot and head, and the plaintiff's excessive force claim under this heading was remanded.

Judge Clement has joined other conservative judges in dissenting in Commerce Clause cases that implicate federalism. In U.S. v. McFarland, 311 F. 3d 376, she argued that the Commerce Clause power did not enable Congress to regulate local robberies.

In GDF Realty Investments, Ltd. v. Norton, 362 F.3d 286, Judge Clement argued that the Endangered Species Act needed a commercial nexus to enable regulation of endemic rare species.

aC. Sidebar

As long as she keeps the Pledge of Allegiance in tact and don't take away my civil library, then she's all right with me. Then again my call could be wrong...

Please offer a caption for this...

2005-09-29T11:05:00.000-05:00

2005-09-29T10:55:00.000-05:00

Colleges Offer Students Oral HIV Tests
Associated Press

West Virginia University is the latest higher education institution in the state to offer an orally administered HIV test to students that requires no blood tests or needles. The test is administered with a cotton pad or swab that is placed between a patient's cheek and gum for five minutes to draw antibodies from blood vessels in the mouth, health officials said.

Results of the confidential test are available within two weeks, according to WVU, which started offering the test earlier this month. WVU has tested about 20 students so far. "What prompted it was a long-standing desire to have more HIV prevention, counseling, education and testing," Dr. Jan Palmer, director of WVU's Student Health Service, said Wednesday.

Fairmont State University and Glenville State College also offer the test through student health services, and Marshall University offers the test to students through the Cabell-Huntington Health Department. "Testing for any potential HIV-infected individual is very important because of (the) severity of the illness and likelihood of prolonged care and potential death and because of the contagious nature of the infection," said Dr. Harry Tweel, director of the Cabell-Huntington Health Department.

HIV can be transmitted through unprotected sex and shared needles, health officials have said. The number of AIDS and HIV cases reported in West Virginia has dropped slightly since 2003. During the first six months of this year, 65 new cases were reported in West Virginia, compared to 139 for all of 2004 and 158 in 2003, according to state health officials.

The FDA has said the orally administered test is more than 99 percent accurate. Having HIV tests available to students on site is helpful, Glenville State spokeswoman Allison Minton said. "I think it's important that if a student has a concern that they have a disease that they have access to the health care that can give them answers," Minton said.

Counseling may also be offered as part of testing services. "We want to help them change behaviors that continue to put people at risk," said Yolanda Kirchartz, director of student health services at Fairmont State.
That includes talking about how alcohol may affect behavior and stressing condom use and abstinence, Kirchartz said.

"Too often college students feel a false sense of security because they are young and appear to be healthy. They think, 'It can't happen to me,'" Palmer said "HIV affects people regardless of age, gender, race or sexual orientation."

aC Sidebar

I never knew about this statistics about my homestate. I'm glad they're doing something about it. Then again, if you think about it, won't this increase more sexual behavior. Or may worst, kid? Hmm...nothing like rednecks reproducing. "Yu'all come back now, you hear!"

2005-09-28T11:54:00.000-05:00

Three days in Rome
How to make the most of a brief stay
Special to MSNBC.com

All roads lead to Rome, and then they converge in a giant traffic jam of Mercedes vans, Mini Coopers, Smart Cars and motorbikes. For travelers trying to maximize their time during a brief three-day stay, the congested highways and streets of the Eternal City might seem like an insurmountable obstacle. The savvy traveler, however, can learn how to conquer Rome's motorways like a mighty emperor.

Tour operators can help you make the most of your time. Appian Line (06-48-78-61), an Italian company offering itineraries throughout Italy, will send a shuttle to your hotel, then transport you to its central location at Piazza dell Esquilino to purchase tickets for a half or full day of Rome sightseeing by motorcoach. Appian Line tours cover the highlights, including the Colosseum, Roman Forum, St. Peter's Basilica and the Sistine Chapel.

For more independent travel, consider taking underground trains or even trolleys. "Rome's Metropolitana (subway) is underused by tourists," said Kathy McCabe, editor and publisher of Dream of Italy, a subscription travel newsletter. "It can get you to places faster than buses, which may encounter traffic — especially during rush hour." Stops on the Metropolitina include the Colosseum, Spain Square and the Spanish Steps and St. Paul's Basilica.

Also, consider the Ciao Roma Trolley Tour, which loops through the city and allows you to jump on and off at major tourist attractions. Stops include the Piazza Venezia near the Roman Forum, The Colosseum, The Vatican and the Piazza del Popolo.

Getting aroundYou may also wish to consider renting a vehicle. "Rent a scooter and take in the sights as you are waiting in traffic," said Antonia Imperoli of the Italian Government Tourist Board in New York. "Always go to the front of the traffic line, to avoid the exhaust pipes!"
Time in traffic doesn't have to be a lost cause.

"Strike up a conversation with your fellow Italian in the next car and ask suggestions of where to enjoy a typical Italian dinner that evening," Imperoli said. Travelers can also maximize their time when it comes to enjoying Rome's excellent cuisine. "Italians eat quick meals and drink espresso while standing up," McCabe said. "There are tons of pizza places on every corner of Rome. You tell the person behind the counter how big a slice you would like, and he or she charges you by weight. Grab a drink and you can have lunch in 10 minutes."

Gulping breakfast and lunch is one thing. After the day's tours are done, food fanatics may wish to linger for hours over Italian specialties. Try prosciutto and honeydew melon, tortellini with meat sauce, pizza with spicy salami, antipasti of eggplant, peppers and beans, desserts such as tiramisu or panna cotti, and the best coffee in the entire world.

Here is a suggested itinerary if you only have three days in Rome.

DAY ONE
Appian Line offers numerous half-day and full-day tours of Rome. Combine your favorite itineraries for a full day of sightseeing from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. See the Trevi Fountain, the Pantheon, Piazza Navonna with its "Fountain of the Four Rivers" by the sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, St. Peter's Basilica, The Vatican, The Roman Forum, the Colosseum and St. Paul's Basilica. It's a long day of touring, but you'll cover many of Rome's highlights.

DAY TWO
Appian Line offers the "Vatican Museums" tour year-round every morning except Sundays and religious holidays. Here's a chance to see one of the world's great collections of classical and Renaissance art. The climax of the tour is the Sistine Chapel. Its walls feature paintings by Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Botticelli, Signorelli and Michelangelo, and its ceiling was painted by Michelangelo from 1508 to 1512. Among the many ceiling panels tracing the creation of the world and the fall of man is the famous "Creation of Adam." As you stroll back to the tour bus, your guide will point out the Pope's apartment building.

DAY THREE
Got walking shoes? Try an independent travel day with stops at the Borghese Museum, Villa Borghese Park, Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps. First stop: The Borghese Museum. Reservations are mandatory, so show up bright and early before the 8:30 a.m. opening time to purchase tickets, or make reservations in advance on the museum's Web site. Admission is strictly controlled so that only 360 people can tour the museum within a two-hour slot. See the highlights before your time runs out. They include Bernini's statue of "David" confronting the giant Goliath with only a sling. Bernini's sculpture of "Apollo and Daphne" depicts the nymph Daphne being turned into a laurel tree, pursued in vain by Apollo.

After two hours of strolling the museum, take a sit-down break with cappuccinos and a quick lunch in the museum snack bar. Head out the door for a nice long walk through the rest of the green, leafy Villa Borghese Park and down a long flight of stairs to Piazza del Popolo. It leads to several pedestrian-only shopping streets. If you're feeling energetic, you can stroll all the way down Via del Babuino to Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Square), the most famous square in Rome. Hail a cab and call it a day!

aC Sidebar

Or you can follow my Roman Holiday Itinerary...

Day One
Arrive and head to Villa Borghese with your reservation and walk around the park afterwards. Walking eastward, you should hit the Spanish Steps and the great shopping district via, Via Condotti and Via Corso. From here, your in the heart of Rome. You'll be able to people watch and walk around Piazza Navona, Campo di Fiori, the Pantheon, and Fountana di Trevi, and all the delicious gelato you can eat. There's a really nice, small Chinese restaurant southeast from the Trevi Fountain.

Day Two
Walk up early and enjoy a nice breakfest either back in the downtown area or you could start near the Termini train station. Coffee, cappuccino, and delicious bakery items are a hit. Your day on this day should be Caesarian Rome. Starting from the Termini, you can walk down Via Nazionale. You'll hit Piazza Venezia and the tribute to Vittorio Emmanuele II. Now walking west would take you to Campo di Fiori, but if you go south, you'll hit the Boca della Verita where you'll try your luck and your bravery to tell a lie. From here going south and slightly southeast you'll hit the Forum, the Palantine, Circus Maximus, and of course the Colosseum.

From here after a long day of walking, walk back up Via Nazionale and enjoy pizzas off this road. You'll find some nice mom and pop places. Try the Pizza Margherita. Afterwards, scroll back toward Via Condotti for the night life. If you don't like pizza, then you can try American by going to the Hard Rock Cafe along Via Veneto.

Day Three
For your religious folk, you can travel to the smallest nation in the world, the Holy See, or Vatican City. Remember, to wear a shirt and long pants. You might be able to go in with shorts, but a full top is necessary. St. Peter's Square is at your disposal, but Pope John Paul II will not conduct mass anymore. God bless his soul. The Vatican Museum is right behind St. Peter. You'll see a lot of his art, but the Sistine Chapel and seeing Raphael's School of Athens is great. There are great restaurants around the neighborhood. Stay north and go directly east and you'll hit Piazza del Popolo.

Enjoy your trip, don't forget about Ostia Antica, Tivoli, or even Mussolini's futuristic world, EUR, on the south edge of Rome. All are bit of a trip, so if you have at least 4 days, consider all of these things.

Only In America..

2005-09-23T15:24:00.000-05:00

Law Changes Spur Bankruptcy Filings
AP Business

File bankruptcy now — before the law changes! That's the message — or exhortation — that attorneys are making across the country, in TV commercials, print ads and mailings, urging Americans to seek bankruptcy court protection before a new law makes it harder for them to walk away from their debts.

Debtors are responding. Counting down toward the Oct. 17 effective date for the biggest reform in U.S. bankruptcy law in a generation, personal bankruptcy filings have jumped this month to the highest on record. Filings averaged more than 9,000 per day, up roughly 50 percent from last year's average daily volume, during the first two weeks of September. The number is expected to keep climbing, reflecting a growing sense of urgency as the deadline nears.

Attorney Melvin James Kaplan, who runs a consumer bankruptcy practice in Chicago, hasn't seen a rush this big in his 48 years in the business. The volume of calls to his office has been increasing all month and tripled in the past week. "It's just getting insane," Kaplan said. "The information has been out there for months. I guess people are just waiting till the last minute."

The rush is on in every region and most states, based on data compiled for The Associated Press by Lundquist Consulting Inc., a Burlingame, Calif.-based financial research firm. The intensified interest comes from the bankruptcy law makeover signed by President Bush on April 20, a 501-page bill that bears the markings of the Republican-dominated Congress that passed it after an eight-year campaign headed by the banking, credit card and retailing industries.

Among the most noteworthy of the changes are new limitations on filing for personal bankruptcy, including barring those with above-average income from Chapter 7 — where debts can be wiped out entirely — except under special circumstances. Those deemed by a "means test" to have at least $100 a month left over after paying certain debts and expenses will have to file a 5-year repayment plan under the more restrictive Chapter 13 instead.

People also will be required to get professional credit counseling before being allowed to file.
Proponents welcome what they say is a long-needed crackdown on those who rack up credit card debts recklessly only to shed them in Chapter 7. They maintain that abuse of the bankruptcy process results in higher interest rates for everyone else, a "tax" averaging $400 per family per year.

"We've got greater fairness now" under the new law, said Wayne Abernathy, executive director for financial institutions policy at the American Bankers Association, an industry group representing banks and credit card issuers. "Where people have the means to pay, they're going to have to pay something."

Opponents, however, contend it will unfairly box in people who become buried in debt after unexpectedly losing their jobs or suffering serious health problems. They say it rewards and encourages the tactics of card issuers and other lenders enticing consumers into easy debt.
Travis Plunkett, legislative director of the Consumer Federation of America, called the law "harmful and mean-spirited." While it will halt some abuse by high-fliers who shouldn't be filing for bankruptcy, he said, it also will trap people and businesses that got into financial trouble through little or no fault of their own and block people's realistic chances at starting over.

And some economists say that taking away the traditional "fresh start" option from those middle-income people will be harmful to the U.S. economy, which has benefited greatly from entrepreneurial and other risk-taking. Businesses seeking to reorganize could feel the law's changes more acutely than many consumers.

Big businesses must complete their debt overhauls within 18 months or lose control of the process, with mom-and-pop ventures also put on a fast track. Severe restrictions on pay packages now routinely awarded to top employees in bankruptcy may make it difficult to keep senior management in place. But it's the impending change in personal bankruptcy requirements that have struck the biggest nerve with the public.

The number of personal bankruptcies leaped to an all-time high in the second quarter, when the legislation was passed, and the surge has since accelerated. About 1.24 million filings had been made nationwide in 2005 through Sept. 17, reflecting a 9.2 percent increase over last year and closing in on the record of 1.62 million filings in 2003, said Lundquist Consulting.

Thirty-seven states have seen double-digit percentage jumps in personal bankruptcy filings since March, when the initial surge began with the legislation's passage by Congress. Seven states — Alaska, West Virginia, North Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado and South Dakota — had increases of more than 25 percent over the same period a year ago; only South Carolina, Utah and Virginia saw declines.

Every weekday, scores of people arrive at a federal office in downtown Chicago where they sit quietly in an anteroom, waiting for the five- to 10-minute session with a trustee that will launch the Chapter 7 bankruptcy process and — they hope — wipe out their debts.

Lately, it takes three trustees to handle the daily crush at the U.S. Trustee Program, the agency that enforces bankruptcy laws. Ron Peterson, a Chicago attorney who also is retained by the program as a Chapter 7 trustee, is scheduled to hear 66 cases in a single day later this month.
"I'm seeing cases that wouldn't have been filed a year ago," he said. "Mostly poor people, but also somebody with a $4 million house in Kenilworth," a wealthy Chicago suburb.

Chris Szurgot, whose bankruptcy case was heard on a recent day, couldn't afford to wait. Like the vast majority of all Chapter 7 filers, the 44-year-old suburban Chicago man earns less than the median income and wouldn't be prohibited from filing under the same chapter when the law changes. But the rash of commercials prompted him to pick up the phone and call his attorney.
"I thought I'd better go check it out," said Szurgot as he waited for his name to be called by a trustee. "Because if I can't do it, I'm going to be stuck."

Szurgot, of Crestwood, Ill., said he has run up $50,000 in unpaid medical bills — even with insurance — for treatment of a rare disorder and he can't begin to pay them off from his annual income of roughly half that as a heating and air conditioning maintenance worker.
"I'm not poverty-stricken but I'm a single parent with bills," going $400 deeper in the hole every month due to his obligations, he said.

Single parents and those overwhelmed by medical bills are among those that opponents of the bankruptcy law revisions claim will be hurt most. Expensive illnesses lead to about half of all personal bankruptcies, according to a Harvard University study released in February. Consumers Union found separately that single mothers trying to make ends meet comprise a large portion of the filers.

Kenneth Klee, a UCLA law professor and former Republican staffer for the House Judiciary Committee who helped draft the last bankruptcy law overhaul in the 1970s, predicts the new law will have "a profound negative effect" that extends well beyond the debtors.
"If debtors aren't going to be able to get a fresh start, not only is it bad for our economy but it's bad for the non-bankrupt sector," he said. "You're going to have people going into the underground economy, not paying their taxes; they'll be dispirited and there will be more crime."
Hurricane Katrina victims may face especially tricky barriers to bankruptcy because of the new law's requirements for more extensive documentation and stricter deadlines. House and Senate Democrats are pushing for Congress to delay the effective date and ease some requirements.
An AP-Ipsos poll found that 61 percent of respondents favored a delay in the law's implementation in light of the large numbers of people who may need to seek bankruptcy protection because of Katrina. The telephone poll of 1,000 adults in 48 states was conducted Sept. 16-18 by Ipsos, an international polling company, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Despite benefiting from the recent uptick in filings, bankruptcy attorneys also face such a significant new obligation after the deadline that some are talking of leaving the field: They must certify that they made efforts to verify the truthfulness of what their clients say about their debts and holdings. Legal fees may double accordingly, according to John Penn, president of the American Bankruptcy Institute. As a result of the added legal and credit-counseling fees, the cost of filing personal bankruptcy is likely to rise for everyone.

"For somebody who's desperately poor, that may be a barrier to them to file at all," said Peterson, who predicts the average cost will rise as much as $300 or more. "So more people may go to non-lawyers to file it," leaving them more vulnerable in the process, he said.
Anywhere from 5 percent to 10 percent of filers could be barred from using Chapter 7 to liquidate their debts under the new law, according to Penn of the ABI, a group of bankruptcy judges, lawyers and other experts. They would be shifted instead to Chapter 13, where they could be forced to pay back a significant portion of their debt.

The growing crowd in bankruptcy courts is seen as a temporary phenomenon, not reflecting any dramatic change in Americans' financial standing. But as with much of the coming fallout from the changes, it's largely a matter of speculation.

Peterson thinks it will take some time to gauge the overall consequences of a bill "jam-packed with unintended consequences and ambiguities."

All that's certain for now is that the rush to file is likely to continue until midnight of Oct. 16.
"They're coming out of the woodwork," Kaplan said.

aC. Sidebar

And some say Republicans are ruining America, aren't those puggnants wrong. Plain and simple, Americans aren't saving. Americans need to save money and pay off debts. Going into bankruptcy is such a chick-shit way out. It's only positive for lawyers because they're the ones making the money. If you can't afford it then don't buy it. Here's a simple "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" tip. If you want it, it's not "I can't afford it", it's more like "How can I afford it?" Cut yourself away from credit cards, or at least switch from a hight APR to ones that offer 0% APR.

I know that the poor feel that they can only feel poorer, but working with debt consolidation and consulting will help. This new law is really for the long-term. Short-term, people may be affected, but in the long-term, if people can save money and be more mature and finanically smart, then our economy should improve indirectly.

It's not a collapse...

2005-09-23T10:53:00.000-05:00

The Cleveland Indians are playing out of their mind right now. Although I do consider White Sox have a losing record after the All-Star Break as somewhat disappointing, the most shocking news are the Indians. Just after the break, who were in contention of the Wild Card position in the American League? The Yankees were below the Orioles, Red Sox, and I believe Toronto. They were 15-some games behind the White Soxes in the Central Division, not to mention justing position with Minnesota.

The Cleveland Indians are playing better than the South-Siders, the Bronx Bombers, and the BoSoxes. Even better than the West-Coast tandem of A's and Angel's. They're probably the best team after the All-Star break because they were also 15-20 games off the Wild Card spot. You can't call the White Soxes team a historic collapse. For a Chicago team to win over 90 games in on year is an amazing feat. Granted i'm a Cubs fan, but I do cheer for the other team, especially if they have a chance in going to the World Series.

So all you sports fan, don't criticize the South-Siders, blame everything on the Indians. They're playing like possessed demons. The Indians will cool off. They lack the experience of playoff teams, but I would like them to be in the Wild Card spot instead of the Yankees/BoSoxes.

Let's go Soxes. I'm still cheering for them. I'm not a sports bandwagon like Paul Motz, even I do change my team every year, but I still cheer them on for the whole season. I don't quit, on my Cubs or 2nd team, the first place White Soxes, and so shouldn't you.

Give me a break...

2005-09-22T10:31:00.000-05:00

Palmeiro reportedly blames teammate for ’roid Orioles star tells arbitration panel name of player who gave him substance
NBCSports.com news services
Updated: 9:48 a.m. ET Sept. 22, 2005

Baltimore Orioles slugger Rafael Palmeiro, who was suspended earlier this season for a positive steroid test, told a baseball arbitration panel that a teammate gave him an unknown substance, the Baltimore Sun reported Thursday, citing two unnamed sources. Palmeiro named the teammate to the arbitration panel, the Sun reported, citing one of the sources, but apparently did not link the substance to his positive steroid test.

A congressional committee is looking into Palmeiro's claims as part of an investigation into whether the slugger committed perjury when he told a panel that he had never used steroids, the newspaper reported. Palmeiro, who tested positive in May and began serving his 10-day suspension Aug. 1, has said he never intentionally took steroids. Palmeiro's statements to the arbitration panel and his public remarks suggest that the slugger feels he unwittingly took a substance from a teammate that led to the positive test, the newspaper reported.

aC. Sidebar

Ho-Kay...where to start? How about this, "Why did you take an unknown substance?". It's not Viagra. Viagra is blue and looks like a diamond. What did you think the pill will do for you Raf? If you thought it would help you swing the bag better or give you a "boost" then you have to realize it may contain some sort of steriod. I do admit, I did take Creatine in high school with other GNC products, but still. Why would you take a pill from a stranger? Let alone a teammate. I know there are trust issues, and you may be able to trust a teammate, but you have to look out for number one first. You did a bonehead move. I do a lot of bone head things, but I've always stayed alway from taking pills from strangers and friends. Friends don't always look out for you.

I can't say anything else, Raf. It happended, and in turn, your the team, league, media, and the icon or scapegoat, or however you put it. Learn, move on, and work out more this off season. Oh, and don't sleep with other player's wives too.

not to beat a dead horse...

2005-09-22T10:24:00.000-05:00

...and that's my Wedesday.

2005-09-21T17:00:00.000-05:00

Condoms Are Named for Clinton, Lewinsky
Wed Sep 21, 7:00 AM ET

A rubber company in China has begun marketing condoms under the brand names Clinton and Lewinsky, apparently seeking to exploit the White House affair that led to the impeachment of America's 42nd president.

Spokesman Liu Wenhua of the Guangzhou Rubber Group said the company was handing out 100,000 free Clinton and Lewinsky condoms as part of a promotion to raise consumer awareness of its new products. He said that after the promotion ends, the Clinton condoms will go on sale in southern China for 29.8 Yuan ($3.72) for a box of 12, while the Lewinsky model will be priced at 18.8 Yuan ($2.35) for the same quantity.

"The Clinton condom will be the top of our line," he said. "The Lewinsky condom is not quite as good."

Liu said the company had chosen to use the Clinton name because consumers viewed the former president as a responsible person, who would want to stress safe sex as an effective way to prevent the spread of the HIV virus.

"The names we chose are symbols of people who are responsible and dedicated to their jobs," he said. "I believe Bill Clinton cannot be unhappy about this because he's a very generous man."
Liu said the company did not believe using the Clinton and Lewinsky names constituted a violation of copyright or other laws.

"We have received full approval from the local Industrial and Commercial Bureau to start production," he said.

Clinton has campaigned aggressively for heightened AIDS awareness in China, where the disease is spreading rapidly. In impeachment proceedings conducted by the U.S. Senate in 1999, he was acquitted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice. The charges stemmed from denials he made about a sexual relationship he maintained with Lewinsky, a former White House intern.

aC. Sidebar.

I don't know what to say. The Chinese are quite the entrepreneurs. Of course I do prefer the usage of our last President's name compared to his predecessor, Father Bush. The mental image of George Senior and Barbara Bush being reference to sex can make anyone go soft, or it could be the best way to promote abstinence. Curious though, will the Chinese also market stained blue dresses, oral office paraphernalia, or the Hilary Clinton version that's specially designed for your wife that's better than the Monica version, but comes with the agony of being your wife's little bitch. Hey, maybe a Paula Jones version might be nice too, but then again you'll end up regretting it later.

I hope my girlfriend doesn't read this...

2005-09-21T16:53:00.000-05:00

because I saw the words Namby-Pamby...

2005-09-21T16:46:00.000-05:00

Comic of the Week

2005-09-16T13:51:00.000-05:00

Oh Am I Pissed...

2005-09-14T14:41:00.000-05:00

...from a Yahoo News Headline, "Judge: School Pledge Is Unconstitutional."

Please give me a break. You can't take away the pledge of allegiance from our schools. It's been part of our society for countless generation. Asides from that, the pledge is a constant reminder of the society that we live in. Slightly nationalistic, slightly religious, with a dash of history. Of course the people behind this attack on our pledge are atheists.

I can't really believe in people that believe in nothing. Come on. This government, society, and general history starting from Plymouth Rock is all about believing. I'm not a Christian, but I believe in our country, our flag, our history, our people, and our heritage. Our fore fathers brought forth to this continent a new nation conceived of liberty and justice for all. They also brought forth a regimen of discipline, honor, and dignity that saw many of our descendents and our very own fore fathers defend on this continent and overseas.

There was no litigation back in the 1700's. There was either you looking at Aaron Burr from your slights or Thanksgiving fest with you family, friends, and loved ones. You have a new variation today, in terms of "busting a cap on your ass" and Swanson dinners in front of the HDTV, but the fundamental foundation of unity and peace has changed. I don't know why we've become so litigious. Is it because of greed? Can Hugh Hefner just have one girlfriend? Is it because of opportunities from technology? Why do you email and text message people when it's easier to talking to them face-to-face? Is it because of I can't really explain these questions? I don't think why we choose to litigate.

All I know is that the proud men that served and currently serving our country, the proud-ness we have for our country and heritage will be tarnished if we aren't allow to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in our school. Children today are going up faster, mature faster, and bigger. If we don't teach them to honor our country, flag, and our heritage then how will they learn? How we they learn about the true meaning of sacrifice and honor? Why are we teaching our children and the general public to be more religiously disaffiliated instead of teaching them to stop eating Big-Macs and drinking a liter of coke and coffee a day?

Is it because God may not save you? Well, a trip these days to the local drive-thru of McDonalds with your child in a Mercedes SUV may not save you a lot too. I need to be saved. We all need to be saved. Regardless if your religious or not. Ever read Machiavelli? People are believers from every continent. Not just ours. It has been for thousands of years. So why would you like a couple of bone-headed parents that may or may not be well equip to teach their children the true intricacies of life decide on our country's daily ritual of heritage.
I'm all out of gas due to frustration. These parents kids will be future smokers, tree-huggers, drug-addicts, bane-of-live, bane-of-human-existence, and Enders of all things good. I know I'm taking a libertarian approach to this, but it's true. There are a shit-load of people in country that are pride like me that would like to keep the pledge, just like those people that take their cap off when singing the National Anthem.

Would the 49ers please...

2005-09-08T15:41:00.000-05:00

sign Jerry Rice. So what if he's 100 years old in football years. Look at the team's current corp wide receivers...
Arnaz Battle
Rashaun Woods
Rasheed Marshall
Brandon Lloyd
Johnnie Morton

so...Arnaz Battle only caught 8 passes last year, just one more than Rashaun Woods. Rasheed is a rookie and Johnnie Morton is a journeyman. He was cut by the Kansas City Chiefs.

So here's my argument. Jerry Rice alone has caught more passes than combining all the passes that these players caught in high school, college, and in the pros. You have 2 young quarterbacks in Alex Smith and Tim Rattay. This could be another Joe Montana or Steve Young in the making. Steve Deberg was the team's starter in '79-'80. You need to develop Smith with a receiver that doesn't drop balls, in Jerry Rice. Heck, Jerry used to caught concreate blocks when he was young. Jerry will develop confidence and experience. What can Johnnie Morton and these other receivers give you? Maybe a super-sized meal at McDonalds after their playing career is over, but they need good receivers in San Franscisco. You (Nolan) need to rethink. Last year, the team only won 2 games. Yes, two game. You have Julian Peterson back. You may have some luck on D, but it's all about the O. I dont' mean Overstock.com or overstocking with shitty WR's.

Do the fans a favor and the team. Jerry Rice. He can still play. They never threw the ball to him in Seattle or Oakland. Think about it. Hassleback was usually throwing incompletions. Gannon broke his neck. Kerry Collins, well, throws a lot of interceptions. The prospect really doesn't deserve Jerry to play for the Niners, so you're (Nolan) not really doing him any favors. It's more like the other way around.

I've been a Niners fan all my life. Until recently. Okay, not since Jerry left the bay area, but I could return. The 49er legacy is about pitching and catching. Seriously, if you pitched the ball to Jerry. He might land you a ring, if not a least the fans would look forward to something, that hasn't happend since '94.

Let's Talk About Disaster...

2005-09-07T22:59:00.000-05:00

Blaming people. I don't know what, who, or where do people come up with up with the idea of blaming people for natural disasters. Especially when it's close to home. Yes, I am talking about the Hurricane Katrina disaster, but I would also like to point out Charley, Andrew, Hugo, and countless other hurricanes that have devastated our shorelines. I would like to point out 9/11 and the Tsunami disaster of last year as well.

The reason why I bring these events is because of the fact that they are natural disasters. Quote, natural disasters. Not Chernobyl, Baby Jessicas, or human stampedes. In the latter events, humans are the spark and explosion of concern for humanity. Man has no control over nature. Can I control a hurricane or tornado? Can I really control a pit bull named Jimmy from biting my balls off? In the latter, the human spirit may offer substance or interference. We as citizens of this nation, world, or planet could have stopped 9/11, the Pan-Am bombing, and the hostage taking in Tehran, but just as we as humans can not foresee the future or understand the consequence of any actions, there are things that are beyond our control.

So another words, please don't bitch, complain, or offer any suggestions, because you can't buy a lottery ticket for a drawing that has already happen. We can only prepare for such disasters. In terms of risk assessment and management, these occurrences of natural disaster are so cumbersome to assess and prepare that the reality of the scope of disaster when it does occur is insufficient. Shit happens and we can bitch and complain except for ourselves in some cases.

If you’re an environmentalist, you can refer to the effects of salinization, erosions of our beaches, rivers, and natural resources to nature. We're drilling for oil that will not replenish itself as fast as we take it out of the ground. We're chopping trees and digging for coal. We're stopping nature from protecting us from sandstorms and providing shade from the harmful effects of UV. We're putting chemicals like Fluorocarbons into the air that we breathe. We're producing waste in an exurban rate. We're consuming like crazy and it's not the Irish to blame. No, it's just not the fact of them spring eight children per household, but the fact that it's the J. Lo's and the Playa rolling in Dubs and "Blinging" with the Escalades and Hummer H2's.

Honestly, from this we should blame ourselves. So should politicians. There should be no blame game by each party. Why are the Democrats so upset? Yes, the Calvary was somewhat late to save the day, but nevertheless they did save the day. There is so much work to be done, so why blame someone now? Seriously, why should you break the bridge when you really need to build one? Why didn't the New Orleans or the localized services attempt to help the people, especially Mrs. Clinton, why do you want to investigate why the dikes/levies failed? It's like trying to find out why the World Trade Center Towers fell. Come on, Water + Wind + A Shit Load of More Water does not equal a fun ride at Great America. It equals disaster. I'm all for the helping hand of the Federal Government for help, but if I was the Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, or the Alabama reserves, armed forces, from the Army level down to the Merchant Marines, I would do what could be done to help them right after the storm hit.

Now to the Republicans, why wasn't FEMA more able to do something about it except for trying to get out of the bureaucracy of the Department of Homeland Security? I think FEMA should be part of the Department of Agriculture or Interior, because the goal and operation of FEMA is within each community, rural or urban and the environment to our farmers as well. Hurricanes don’t just effect the east coast and are the main needs of FEMA. Typhoons to the Pacific, El Nino effects, but importantly the emergencies of forest fires, droughts, and blizzards. Damn right Smokey. Doesn't this encompass more than just disaster relief, but our nation's agriculture and general community development?

I do commend our President for one thing he said during his re-election, that the local and state government should be the first to protect and defend and the federal government will support. In another words, a small federal government, but a big local and state powers. Did you know the Secretaries for Agriculture and FEMA are advocates of powers of the local and state governments? This would make perfect sense because who should help the Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi people but that of the people of those respected states. It would take too long for the federal government to react. Don't forget, the powers are in the Pentagon, Capitol, and White House several hundred miles away, but the capitals of the affected states are close within each other. Birmingham, Baton Rouge, and Jackson, Pensacola, and Jefferson City, are closer than D.C. These state governments could do so much more than the Federal government can. Well, not in terms of money, but still. We should help each other whenever we can. Not just leave it up to the Federal government.

Before blaming the government, we should blame ourselves for not helping, for actually helping the cause of further devastation. Wouldn't you want the helping hand of a neighbor, not someone hundreds of miles away? Like a good neighbor, "state" farm is there.

Best Airline Ever...

2005-09-07T11:07:00.000-05:00

Ted...

yes, I know its really United, but its like the Scion of United. It doesn't really feel different, but flying to Midway is a way lot better than flying into O'Hare. Ted is strongly endorsed for you flying adventures for Vegas, Disney World, our nation's capital, and other sinful Spring Break destinations.

Schools and Theories...

2005-08-26T10:02:00.000-05:00

aC. Sidebar

I really don't know why people get into a fuss about between the theories of creationism, intelligent design, and evolution, except for the religious and scientific community. I do know that all of their arguments invest a lot of antagonists and protagonists. Now the issue is that Bush would like to introduce Intelligent Design into the curriculum of grade school.

There's a lot of criticisms and educational value to Intelligent Design. I do not know a lot about Intelligent Design. From my research, Intelligent Design's main argument is to discredit how traditional fact finding science is flawed to find solutions, answers, and theories on certain research, theories, and problems. A couple of these problems are from the big-bang theory and the creation of man, or the chicken or the egg dilemma.

As a person who hates fundamentalism and how people really go beyond criticism and straight to fanaticism, I do not endorse Intelligent Design. All I'm saying is that ID should be closely looked at and considered. You may say why?

According to dictionary.com, science is defined as:
1) The observation, identification, description, experimental investigation, and theoretical explanation of phenomena.
2) Methodological activity, discipline, or study.
3) An activity that appears to require study and method
4) Knowledge, especially which gained through experience.

In theory, ID is a theory. Intelligent Design is a theoretical explanation of phenomena, so that could explain man and hopefully about women as well, but never-the-less ID is an explanation. Specifically, look how the definition of science as a correct observation or a precise, accurate methodological activity.

This is where I think people get all ruffled up. As much as I love precision, correct and accurate information, room for error will always occur. Look at the last space shuttle launch. Look at the Titanic. Look at space, we're finding more "planets" and galaxies that we originally thought there were. My point is that science is not suppose to be precise, because if everything in this world is precise, then why study it? We don't live in Utopia and man is certainly not perfect and known to err. Just ask any women about her spouse.

So we are not perfect, and that means that we have to strive towards precision and perfection. That is why we study. I mind, it is for this precision and perfection of information, from the lost city of Atlantic, to the ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia, Olmec, Mayan, and ancient civilizations along the Fertile Crescent, Indus, Nile, and Amazon River valleys. We study these examples because they spark our interests, but also there isn't perfect information. Relics only tell specific stories and answer few questions. Generations of stories of oral traditions are faded and blended with lies, fantasy, fiction, and hyperbole.

I could say something about the Bible right now, but that's another blog. Mr. McCollough was my favorite teacher of all time. He said that history is a pack of tricks played upon the dead. We can't rely on textbooks just to tell us the truth and facts about the past. The best research is primary source information, but what if this information has been dead for thousands of years? Well, then that is why we research. That is why we have science to initiate the solution or explanation of phenomena.

We should teach ID, not because people we say that we shouldn't, but because students need to research and have resources, theories, and information available to them as possible to better find answers for themselves. Yes, I'm talking about self-actualization and truth. Not for the censorship of free ideas, thoughts, and explanation for precision and search for precision. If we can have the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, then we should be able to pursuit what we want for what we want for the name of science. I really don't think people realized that, but now do you and our President may have realized?

You've Probably Never Seen Her...

2005-08-24T12:02:00.000-05:00

aC. Girl Denise

You've probably never seen her unless your on the West Coast. This model is a contributing member of Sports by Brooks Girls. A model/event agency that was started by a sports commentator. The girls of the agency go around bars, clubs, and around the world promoting that California women are hot, but also sports trivia with whole entertainment. Here's to you Denise!

Topic of the Day...

2005-08-23T00:34:00.000-05:00

Comparative Value (Worth) or Pay Equity.

The doctrine of comparable worth states that women and men should receive equal pay for jobs that are deemed to be of equal value. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 guarantee that men and women who perform the same job will receive the same wage from an employer. Proponents of comparable worth argue that the same principle should apply across professions. If a male-dominated vocation and a female-dominated vocation are of "comparable worth," then members of those professions should receive the same salary. For example, if working in a laundry is as difficult and important as driving a truck—and if laundry workers are mostly female and truck drivers are mostly male—then laundry workers should earn the same as truck drivers.

In 1974, the state of Washington conducted a pioneering study of wage inequities in its civil service. Researchers assigned "worth"-points to 121 different jobs according to four categories: knowledge and skills necessary, mental demands, degree of responsibility, and working conditions. Salaries for predominately (at least 70 percent) male jobs were compared with predominantly female jobs of equal point value. Electricians, for one, were measured against secretaries since both jobs were "worth" 197 points. (The rating system had its quirks: Fisheries patrol officers were deemed to be worth 382 points, more than biologists and civil engineers.) The study found that in the Washington civil service, workers in female-dominated professions earned 20 percent less than those in male-dominated professions of comparable worth.

By 1989, about 20 states (including Washington) had tried to restructure their civil service pay scales according to the principle of comparable worth. That typically meant that the state would devise its own rating system and the state legislature would earmark millions of dollars to bring the salaries of underpaid female professions to the level of their male counterparts. The results were mixed. A follow-up study in Washington found that the wage gap had shrunk significantly. Job segregation remained unchanged, though, and many male civil servants moved to the private sector.

The issue gained national significance in 1983, when a federal judge ruled that Title VII protections applied to different jobs of equivalent value. (The 1983 decision was overturned on appeal two years later; comparable worth now seems to be a dead issue in the courts.) Comparable worth thus became a campaign issue. Presidential hopeful Walter Mondale endorsed it; the Reagan administration, including John Roberts, opposed it.

Critics of the policy argued (and continue to argue) that it's impossible to measure the true value of a job since economic conditions are so variable. Important factors were also left out of the rating systems, like a given job's prestige, how much fun it is, or its value to a specific community. Instead of creating a continually updated table of wages, critics say, the government should let the free market determine the relative worth of different jobs. (Slate Magazine, What's Comparable Worth?, Aug. 22)

The supporters of comparable worth point to the relatively depressed wages of those in largely female professions, such as health care, child care, and elementary education, compared to the wages of those, such as truck drivers, parking lot attendants, and vocational educators, in mostly male professions. In virtually every case, they claim, jobs that demand comparable skill, education, risk, and responsibility receive vastly different salaries, depending entirely on whether the jobs are filled mostly by men or by women. (Santa Clara University, Comparable Worth, Spring 1990)

For example, in Minnesota, state jobs were rated according to required level of education, training, stress, customer or client contact, and responsibility. To cite just one example of the findings, registered nurses and vocational education teachers were each rated the same, but the salary for nurses, who were mostly women, was only $1732 per month, while the salary for vocational education teachers, who were mostly men, was $2260 per month. Numerous other studies show that the greater the concentration of women in a job, the lower the wage employers pay that job.

Such sex-based pay discrepancies, say the advocates of comparable worth, are unjust because society has an obligation to treat people equally in the absence of any relevant differences in their situations.

Advocates of comparable worth claim that women have been victimized by a socialization process that unjustly steers them towards precisely those fields that are the least lucrative. It is true that gradual shifts in society have allowed more women to enter higher paying fields. But the supply of jobs in these occupations is far too small, social and economic barriers to women attempting to enter such occupations continue to exist, and women who have been in their careers for many years find it difficult to shift to new occupations even when institutional barriers are removed.

For the most part, the adjustments to civil service pay scales that were made in the 1980s were never repealed, but they haven't been updated, either. To ensure that jobs of comparable worth continue to earn equal pay, states would have to study the wage gap at regular intervals and adjust the pay scale appropriately.

Addition Links
http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa038.html
http://www.cis.org.au/IssueAnalysis/IA2.htm

aC. Sidebar

I do believe there is a gender pay gap. I don't have to read it off the internet or from the advertisements on the "L" trains telling me about it. I know it exists. I have a many friends, male and female with lucrative and non-lucrative jobs. Regardless, in the non-lucrative jobs, the pay isn't substantial. Come on, you can't tell me that a dishwasher, gardener, and other manual labor position will rake in 6-figures. Well, unless your gardening Diddy's plush condo in Boca Raton. Do you know how much cheerleaders make? I believe NFL cheerleaders make practically next to nothing. I do know that pay for being a Luv-a-Bull is meager.

The call for comparative worth is no louder than this, when you have a multi-million dollar quarterback, pitchers, and shooting guard making obscene amount of cash, while the cheerleaders, WNBA players, and the professional Fastpitch Softball players combined do not add up to equal to those of the weed-smoking, 19-year-old raping, steroid-abusing male athletes that dominate the covers of SI or ESPN Magazine. Don't get me wrong here, I'm no feminist, but I do agree with them that we all live in a male dominated society. I'm a guy, do I feel bad? Yes. Is there something I can do about it? May not as a student, but possibly as a business owner or politician I can.

The whole issue of comparative law doesn't merely surround the concepts of employment and labor laws, but beyond to sociology and history. Anthropological review should be considered of society’s relations between human and other humans, especially in dealing with the relationship of male and females. With this requirement, research, and interpretation, maybe that's why comparative worth, pay, equality is so hard to come by.

Is it our own greed? Does it come down to pure humanistic characteristics and traits interacting? Maybe. I can tell you where the economic hand of capitalism is; To the Abercrombie models, Diddy's Pepsi commercials, and 2:00 am Carlton Sheet's infomercials for the temptation for a "better" future and life for Americans. So can there be something done? Well, maybe, but we as a society may have to change individually and collectively, regardless of changing just the civil service structure. I think Reagan had it right; there are too many variables and Smith's hand in economy that affects the economy of employment and labor. You can certainly pay women more, but if we as a society can not appreciate every female on an objective basis, rather than meat, than comparative worth will fail and respect for ourselves as a society.

Well...

2005-08-17T16:13:00.000-05:00

Yours Truely, has just paid off $3.36 dollars off his tuition. I used the remaining amount from a cash card to pay off my $2,145 tuition. I'm so smart!

Dumb People in the News...

2005-08-17T15:11:00.000-05:00

Va. Laptop Sale Turns Into a Stampede
Associated Press

A rush to purchase $50 used laptops turned into a violent stampede Tuesday, with people getting thrown to the pavement, beaten with a folding chair and nearly driven over. One woman went so far as to wet herself rather than surrender her place in line.

"This is total, total chaos," said Latoya Jones, 19, who lost one of her flip-flops in the ordeal and later limped around on the sizzling blacktop with one foot bare.

An estimated 5,500 people turned out at the Richmond International Raceway in hopes of getting their hands on one of the 4-year-old Apple iBooks. The Henrico County school system was selling 1,000 of the computers to county residents. New iBooks cost between $999 and $1,299. Officials opened the gates at 7 a.m., but some already had been waiting since 1:30 a.m. When the gates opened, it became a terrifying mob scene. People threw themselves forward, screaming and pushing each other. A little girl's stroller was crushed in the stampede. Witnesses said an elderly man was thrown to the pavement, and someone in a car tried to drive his way through the crowd.

Seventeen people suffered minor injuries, with four requiring hospital treatment, Henrico County Battalion Chief Steve Wood said. There were no arrests and the iBooks sold out by 1 p.m. "It's rather strange that we would have such a tremendous response for the purchase of a laptop computer — and laptop computers that probably have less-than- desirable attributes," said Paul Proto, director of general services for Henrico County. "But I think that people tend to get caught up in the excitement of the event — it almost has an entertainment value."
Blandine Alexander, 33, said one woman standing in front of her was so desperate to retain her place in line that she urinated on herself.

"I've never been in something like that before, and I never again will," said Alexander, who brought her 14-year-old twin boys to the complex at 4:30 a.m. to wait in line. "No matter what the kids want, I already told them I'm not doing that again."

Jesse Sandler said he was one of the people pushing forward, using a folding chair he had brought with him to beat back people who tried to cut in front of him. "I took my chair here and I threw it over my shoulder and I went, 'Bam,'" the 20-year-old said nonchalantly, his eyes glued to the screen of his new iBook, as he tapped away on the keyboard at a testing station.

"They were getting in front of me and I was there a lot earlier than them, so I thought that it was just," he said.

aC Sidebar...

Geez, I didn't know that Apples were that popular. The video can be seen on MSNBC. If you watch it, or if at home, MSNBC or CNN, you can clearly see that these people weren't of the typical Apple user or demographic.

I do commend the school system for raising funding by doing things like these. Which is putting on sales of used computers, not mob events. People need to be smart and better prepared. Decency and generousity should accompany this as well. The schools were nice enough to do this, I think respect and civility isn't too much to ask for.

Wait...I forgot where I am. America. Land of the free, and the idoitic. Come on, we produced Michael Jordan, but screwed up with Michael Jackson. George Washington is our symbolic dollar billed hero, but there will always be those Benedict Arnold. For every Joe Montana, Dan Marino, or Troy Aikman, there will always be the Nate Newtons. For every great thing, there is will be a fuck-up. So America...here's your sign.

Cowboy and Indians...

2005-08-16T10:33:00.000-05:00

Honestly, is there anything wrong with naming a team "Warriors". After all, the origins of this word is Old English/French. Now what about the Fighting Irish or the 49ers? Do these original people have rights too? Come on America; stick your head out of your ass. There is nothing damaging about Indian tribe, slang, or other names representing a sports team. In fact, the Seminole tribe of Florida has actually gave approval for Florida State University for it's mascot. Now the only thing I find offensive are white college boys decked out in tribal uniform and attire and tiring to do the cabbage path slash rain dance celebration. If Ford decided to name a car after an Indian name or term then that's an atrocity too.

Think about it? What would we cheer for? Syracuse, Orange? Marquette Golden? They both have a good basketball teams, but I wonder if they will next decide to name themselves a colored M&M. So in a politically correct sports world; what would we have? Pittsburgh Ship Captains? Oakland Treasure Seekers? Now how about these more appropriate names, the Washington Lobbyists, Atlanta Felons, Chicago Hired Truckers, San Diego Border Patrollers, San Francisco Rainbows, but I’m still trying to attach names like; Wifebeaters, Rapists, Alcoholics, and Ron Mexicans.

So if the times are changing, then we seriously need to change to more appropriate names that are the sign of the times and offensive to "innocent" people.

Gas Price Update

2005-08-12T10:11:00.000-05:00

Cheapest: Citgo on State and 13th in Lockport and Marathon on Naperville Rd. and Lincoln Ave. in Westmont @ $2.49 (Unleaded)

Expensive: Mobil on Ogden and Western in Chicago @ $2.89 (Unleaded)

Another girl you may or may not have heard about...

2005-08-11T11:31:00.000-05:00

aC. Girl Monica Bellucci

If your Italian and you know it clap your hand. This Italian icon started out in law, but earning money for school by modeling. A million photos later she roled in movies, like Dracula and last two Matrix movies, and now the graceful pages of this blog. Her measurements are,35C-24-35. She's a classy lassie that gives Italians due justice. Bella Italiano!

"Her classic good looks are matched by an equally sophisticated and refined fashion sense. Being a European woman, Monica Bellucci knows how a real woman should dress, and always steps out in elegant gowns and haute couture suits. You wouldn't catch her in a Juicy sweatsuit or ripped jeans, even if she were just lounging around at home." --- AskMen.com

3rd Year?

2005-08-10T16:34:00.000-05:00

Some Question Third Year of Law School
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Now a corporate lawyer, Jennifer Leong fondly recalls her third and final year of law school. A job secured, she traveled frequently. Her courses included feminist jurisprudence and a half-semester bankruptcy seminar -- each carefully chosen to get her weekend started by Wednesday afternoon.

''A lot of beer and softball,'' recalled Leong, who got her University of Virginia law degree in 2000. ''Third year was probably the best year of my life.''

At many top law schools, the third year is famously relaxed, a halcyon interlude between rigorous introductory courses and the long hours that await graduates at law firm jobs. There is research and volunteer work, but also a lot of bar-hopping and little studying: 15 hours per week, according to one survey at 11 law schools, compared to 33 hours for first-year students.But if it's an extended vacation, it's pricey: $30,000 or more at top private schools. And at many law schools, grads can't count on the six-figure salaries awaiting many at the most prestigious programs, so an extra year of debt is a big burden.

Some educators want to see the third year beefed up, arguing the law is more complex than ever and future lawyers need more preparation, both for the bar and exam and for their careers. But others want it dropped.

Critics say there's so much law that students will learn most of it on the job, anyway. They see the third year as a revenue racket, a full-employment scheme for faculty that comes at the expense of non-elite school students and discourages them from taking public service jobs.It's a periodic debate in legal education, and with tuition going ever higher, there are signs it's heating up again.

The American Bar Association recently updated its accreditation guidelines for law schools to require more total minutes of instruction, but offering schools more flexibility in how that's structured.

That prompted the University of Dayton to announce a program starting this fall designed to help students earn a J.D. in two years, including summer work. It has no fewer requirements and doesn't charge less, but it saves students a year of living expenses.

Dayton was trying to reach out to students like Melinda Warthman, a 33-year-old mother of two who will start the program next year. Warthman teaches communications at Dayton but wants to boost her credentials with a law degree.

''I think for a lot of people looking at law school, they read the requirements, it's sort of off-putting,'' she said. ''If you're married and you have a mortgage and you have children and you have a job, that just seems like, 'That's not something I can do right now.'''

But two years of school, instead of three, is a sacrifice that Warthman thinks she can make. Dayton officials predict other schools will follow their lead.

If so, it could encourage less-indebted new lawyers ''to pursue some ideal other than the highest pay,'' said Harvard Law School graduate William Strauss, who has spoken out against the third year. According to the ABA, the median debt for 2004 graduates of private law schools was $98,000; at public schools it was $67,000. The organization has concluded two-thirds of law graduates cannot afford to take lower-paying public interest jobs.

But there are also signs the third year is as entrenched as ever. The ABA's requirements are still stringent. The legal profession wants to keep quality -- and in some critics' eyes, salaries -- high, so it doesn't want to make it too easy to become an attorney. Also, the legal recruiting process is built around a three-year schedule; summers are when law students earn money and take the internships that lead to jobs, so many will be reluctant to give them up.

Besides, many third-year law students do work hard. Increasingly, they are getting hands-on training in legal clinics. In the classroom, some educators say third year is when students learn the law they most need to know. University of Chicago Law Dean Saul Levmore says students there are more likely to suggest adding a fourth year than dropping the third.

Jeff Lewis, dean at St. Louis University, says he's pushing for more rigor and specialization in the third-year curriculum. He also says the final-year course he teaches is packed with attentive students -- though that may be unusual.

David Wilkins, a Harvard Law professor, recalls struggling to conduct a survey of third-year law students because so few showed up to class. In a paper about the third year titled ''The Happy Charade,'' three scholars, including prominent UCLA professor Richard Sander, estimated that the 1,100 third-years he surveyed attended no more than 60 percent of their large classes.About two in five agreed with the statement ''the third year of law school is largely superfluous.''

For Jennifer Leong, however, it was a heck of a good time. She says some of her classmates worked hard, but many did not. As for the debt, she says, ''once you get past the $40,000 barrier, what's another $20,000?''

aC Sidebar

It is to my belief that one should go for a full 3 years of law school. The time and training spread-out during this time is both important and relaxing. I know law school can be expensive, but that's the same for undergraduate colleges for a lot of students. Law schools have a prestige as well as law firms. Law firms, public and private companies, and other ventures law students head into demand quality teaching and quality students. This is reflected on the student, but as well as the institution from which he or she can from.

Law is changing. Not dramatically, but as times; culture, technology, events, and things happen around law and society. Students of this field have to be ever aware and knowledgeable of these happenings. A rigorous fundamental foundation of core knowledge and competencies are not something that is expected to be taught and learned just for one year of law school, but ethics and procedures that have to be learned from various course throughout college. They're cornerstone to every facade of a successful law vocation.

Yes, once you enter the law firm, corporate counsel of a private corporation, public interest channels, and other outlets for graduating law student, things will change. You'll have to learn their culture and learn their knowledge. You'll have to learn their ways, their writing styles, and their litigation practices, but one thing is for sure. You have to come in competent. No, this isn’t no Apprentice.

Close, but law school is your apprenticeship. It will house you in resources, networks, and environments to challenge your mind and develop you into a tour de force. Do you really want to just go for 2 years of law school, be spit out and expect to become something right away? Hmm...if this is true than I'm worried if I ever need a lawyer.

I want a competent lawyer. Not some fancy dressed, hot shot snob, with the title "Esquire" embossed fancy on his fabric business card. I really feel for those students that watch Legally Blond and think, "Hmm, let me signup to go to law school." Because really, do these people even deserve to go to law school? Do they pick law schools because they didn't know what they want to do after undergraduate? Do they pick law schools because it offers them a fancy car and a fat paycheck?

Boy, reality is a bitch. It's not like what you see in a David E. Kelley mini-series or movie with Pierce Brosnan as a hot shot litigator. No, it's a lot of work and dedication. It's vocation that blends love, hate, lust, and insanity with a topping of coffee breath and a nicotine patch.

I always said do something you like and love to do. I have this friend, and let’s call him Ty. He's a great friend, human, and loves the women and booze. He's smart, funny, and pretty much a genius if he puts his mind to it, but Ty doesn't have the work ethic in undergrad since his GPA is just higher than a lead pencil. Do you really want Ty as your lawyer? The past is the past and a Zebra can change its stripes. Maybe three years of law school might change him. Maybe I'm too critical and expectant of law students. Maybe the ditty about Jack and Diane can make their law dreams come true with just 2 years of school. If life could only go on, at Cougar, Hall, and Oats LLC.

The Cure...

2005-08-09T17:00:00.000-05:00

As a tribute to Peter Jennings, below is the link to the American Lung Cancer Association Donation page. As a member of society, humor juxtapositions, quips, and laughs are just a few of my contributions, but another contribution I have to society is my generosity and my humanitarian nature.

I believe in small government and the "invisible hand" of economy. Specifically, I believe also in in the invisible hand of friendship. If I can help, assist, do, or participate in something important for someone, I'm there. Not just for my family, friends, 9/11, birthdays to wakes, or weddings to breakups, but for any needed moment that my presence can truly help a cause.

Lung cancer takes several lives every year. This year, it claimed one of the brightest and contributing members of our society, Peter Jennings. He wasn't just an anchorman or your news reporter. He was your voice that kept you up-to-date information in what was going on, on 9/11. He didn't just report the news, but gave you the humanity in the news. I attribute a lot of my inquisitive nature to the Big Three; Brokaw, Jennings, and Rathers. They were my Three Amigos during my childhood when I would be glued to the television. Yes, I did watch a lot of cartoons, but my dorkyness and current events savvyness is attributed to the style and nature of how they presented news and stories into my RCA every night. Do you remember Tiananmen Square in 1989? Do you remember the Persian Gulf War? Do you remember the assassination of Itzhak Rubin?

You probably do. You may not know that I consider Peter Jennings as my generation's Walter Cronkite. Seldom do we owe thanks for our news. With what happen in the 2000 General Elections and CBS's 2004 Rather-gate fall-out, do we really get to appreciate the media any more? Tabloid news, gossip, reality-news and "Access Hollywood" may seem to have dumb down the media and news, but not to Mr. Jennings. Mr. Jennings had my attention in every election, story, and event. You became an adult with newsmen like Mr. Jennings.

Thank you Mr. Jennings. Thank you for giving me the desire to learn about the Middle East, but importantly about my country. You made me consider the importance of history to people like El Sadat, Moubarak, Qadhafi, and Ayatollah Khomeini. You didn't just report the news, you handed it off like a baton and I ran to with it and learned.

For Mr. Jennings, I’ll contribute to the American Lung Association. My invisible hand wants to help find a cure. Cancer has touched my family before and the search for the cure is my long-life mission. I alone can not make a difference, but my action speaks volumes. Together we can make a difference. Let’s help someone that’s on the line. It’s too late for Mr. Jennings, but it’s not too late for an aunt, uncle, friend, or the person right next to you. Quite frankly, probably yourself too.

http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=22556

Job of the Day (2)

2005-08-05T13:40:00.000-05:00

In UK...

A council has created a £30,000 job for someone to make sure all the lights are switched off. Staffordshire County Council created the job after locals complained that lights and computers are left on all night reports The Sun. Bosses at the council have defended the post and says their power bill will rise by £1 million in three years and the job will be cost effective. Councillor Robert Simpson disagrees with the job he said: "It's common sense to just tell people to turn of the lights. This is a lot of taxpayers' money and the post needs to more than pay for itself to be considered a success."

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_1487195.html?menu =

As of 8/5/2005 4:47 PM eastern time:
30,000 pounds * 1.779 US Dollars/pounds = $53,970 US Dollars

Job of the Day

2005-08-05T13:18:00.000-05:00

Directing...(film, television, print, or internet)

You get to manipulate with creativity and fun. Below are three examples of what directing and utilizing directing managment and creativity can do with a few business sense thrown in. Oh, they're pretty entertaining as well.

http://students.depaul.edu/~achan7/video/remixLonelyHeart.wmv
http://students.depaul.edu/~achan7/video/two2Pablo.wmv
http://students.depaul.edu/~achan7/video/photocopyCommercial.wmv

(Must have Windows Media Player or RealVideo Player)

As of Aug 5th 2005, the average salary (base) for a director (film, state, television) is: $27,194

(salary.com)

Random Headlines

2005-08-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

Yahoo Sports Headline Reads...

NHL
Isles trade Peca to Oilers, sign Satan

aC Sidebar

Wow, I didn't know Satan played hockey. Who knew under the depths of hell, there would be ice? I mean, Satan could be a big draw in the Big Apple. After a cancelled season, NHL would do anything to bring back fans, including murders, rapists, sadomasochists, and maybe even Michael Jackson. So, now that another New York sports team has made headlines with the signing of the Prince of Darkness, will he double sports as the likes of Dion and Bo? Seriously, the Yankees and Mets pretty much sold their payrolls and souls already, so I'm expecting Satan to play second base or the entire outfield. Humorously, I would like to hear a Satan to Satan to Satan, 4-6-3 double play.

On the flipside, anybody routing for the Angels right now? Apocalyptic playoff possibility anyone? I got 7 to 1 one odds on the Angels in this showdown of Armageddon.

The New Have-It-All Myth

2005-08-02T10:54:00.000-05:00

(MSN.com)

Young women are shockingly naive about how easy it'll be to hop on and off the career track. Have we sold them an impossible dream?

By Sylvia Ann Hewlett

What Women Want

So many of our daughters, bless their optimistic hearts, are certain that, when their time comes, they'll have this whole work/life balance thing under control. And why shouldn't they think that, when we raised them to believe that they could accomplish anything? In 1977, when my oldest girl was born, "Free to Be...You and Me" was all the rage, and she and I listened to Marlo Thomas together endlessly. Like so many other mothers, I learned that I was supposed to encourage and celebrate my female child -- to a fault. Just how big a fault became apparent when I spoke with college-age women -- many of them the product of a similarly rosy-hued upbringing -- after the publication of my book Creating a Life: What Every Woman Needs to Know About Having a Baby and a Career (Miramax Books, 2004).

Their confident, ambitious energy was impressive; they couldn't wait to hit the job market. It didn't occur to them that anything could stand in the way of success on their own terms. After all, the barriers to entry had been toppled long ago. As one coed told me flippantly, "Back then -- when there were dinosaurs -- people just did bad stuff to women."

These students planned on becoming wives and mothers as well as high-earning professionals, but they had no idea how hard this can be. Perhaps having watched us wrestle, they didn't buy into the having-it-all myth of our early careers. But their vision of the future was clouded by a new kind of pipe dream, one filled with fantastically enlightened employers who would make work/life balance a breeze. The vast majority of women students I informally polled at Washington and Lee University, for example, wanted what they called "in and out careers." Their dream scenario went something like this: a loving, lasting marriage and a high-paying job, with a two-year career break for the first child, a three-year break for the second.

And maybe then a reduced-hour schedule -- with a telecommuting arrangement on Fridays -- while the kids were in grade school.

Er, come again?

Transitions

This admittedly unscientific sampling left me reeling. Had the American workplace transformed into a family-friendly utopia that we midlife mothers, executives (and, yes, professors and book authors) somehow failed to notice? I decided to undertake some new reality-check research to find out how many talented women do, in fact, take an off-ramp, and whether such career interruptions come with a price. With funding from Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, and Lehman Brothers, I did a national survey of 2,443 women age 28-55: highly qualified women (those with graduate degrees and high honors undergraduate degrees), with results published in the March 2005 Harvard Business Review.

More than a third had stopped working for some period of time; 25 percent more took "scenic" routes (flexible or reduced-hour options). Almost 60 percent described their careers as "nonlinear," and childcare wasn't the only reason they'd left their jobs -- 24 percent off-ramped because of an eldercare crisis. As for the ease of these transitions, well, here's where the dream begins to curdle. While 93 percent of the women surveyed had every intention of going back to work after their time out, only 74 percent actually did so (and among those, less than half returned to full-time, mainstream careers). They off-ramped for an average of 2.2 years -- the same time frame the college students envisioned for themselves. But this little detour cost women 18 percent of their earning power, and that figure leapt to a staggering 37 percent if they took three or more years off.

And I'm not just talking dollars here. Nonlinear female careers often lead to a downsizing of ambition, as well -- especially among respondents age 41-55 who'd taken time out. They saw that they lost traction in the job market, and downsized their expectations accordingly.

Judi Pitsiokos, 48, graduate of a top-ten law school, spent several ambition-fueled years in the securities department of a prestigious law firm until reality -- her own, and that of the workplace -- intruded. "After my first child was born, I imagined I would go right back to work, but my son needed more than the average amount of care, and so I decided to take 'a little' time off.

Instead, I took a little more time off, and had a few more children, remaining extremely active in my community and a variety of not-for-profits. Now my firstborn's in college, and I'm still working on my own, doing real-estate closings, etc. I am bored and angry -- with myself, and with the law firms who won't even look at my resume, not even for bottom-rung positions. When I have heart-to-heart talks with legal recruiters or partners at major law firms, they say, 'Why would we hire you when we can get a kid right out of school?' Why? Because I am very smart, very well-educated, have experience developing my own business, am done with childcare and ready to work long hours. They laugh. Literally. "I am now in the process of reinventing myself as a not-for-profit fund-raiser. But I wonder what is wrong with a society that leaves smart women adrift when they choose to take time off to raise their children."

What's the Answer?

So what's the answer? After my '04 survey, I created the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force to try to find solutions everyone could live with. Nineteen global corporations have signed up so far, and they've identified several critical ways to keep talented women of all ages on the career highway. The fact that more companies seem ready to have this conversation, and even begin to make changes, is an encouraging sign. The next generation of working women can help make this happen by voting with their feet and seeking out employers that offer support on the work/life front. But they can't solve problems they don't see. Clearly, it's time we midlife mothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues did more in the way of truth-telling. What really tripped us up, and what got in the way of us realizing our potential?

Looking back, I know I didn't do a stellar job preparing my daughter for the barriers ahead, and probably contributed to a powerful idealism. Now, if we could just make sure these young women see the roadblocks as well as the road, maybe they'll be likelier to use that idealism to drive real change for us all. Economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett is director of the Gender and Public Policy Program at Columbia and heads the Center for Work-Life Policy in New York.

Off-Ramp Options to Keep You on Course.

Here's what some companies are doing to promote work/life sanity: Offering "flex-careers" as well as flex time. Booz Allen Hamilton, the management and technology consulting firm, now offers a "ramp up, ramp down" program that allows workers to "unbundle" projects, separating chunks that can be done by telecommuting or short office stints. International law firm Sidley Austin Brown & Wood keeps reduced-hour associates on the partnership track by offering client assignments that are smaller in quantity but comparable in quality to those tackled by full-timers.

Removing the stigma.

Ernst & Young has made flexible work programs so varied and accessible that 27 percent of female senior managers -- that's one step away from partner -- now participate. "There seems to be a tipping point," says Carolyn Buck Luce, an E&Y senior partner and co-chair of the Hidden Brain Drain Task Force. "Once a policy is used by more than 25 percent of employees, it transforms the corporate culture." Nurturing ambition over the long haul. Only 5 percent of highly qualified women looking for on-ramps are interested in rejoining the companies they left. That's why firms like Deloitte & Touche and Goldman Sachs offer a formal alumni program. "Old girl" networks developed by GE, American Express, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, and Time Warner help all women -- including those with nonlinear careers -- gain momentum and "encourage more women to aspire to leadership positions," says Time Warner executive VP Patricia Fili-Krushel.

aC. Sidebar

This was an interesting story today from msn.com. As a night-student at DePaul, I constantly hear about difficulties of balancing work, children, relationships, and his or her personal life. I certainly believe that the inner-child in us all are still telling us that we can still be firemen, Presidents, businessmen, and business women while balancing a family, two car garage, with two chicken in the stockpot. Then, BOOM! Reality hits. Gone is image the cookie-cutter, white-picket fence home dream. Our goals and ambitions are at conflict with our personal lives. Ever really think about how comfortable and easy it would be for your friend that talks about having 6 to 8 children to have or maintain a prominent political, business, or other "prestigious" careers? Basically, if you want to raise kids today and "leave" work for a period of time or the allocated maternity leave, your spouse or yourself- if your single-parent- would have to supplement an income of at least $120,000.

You will need that kind of money to pay for your house, your mortgage, your car or van, your insurance, your utilities, your child’s college, and etc. I'm not saying that I personally do not want to produce an offspring to carry my DNA for generations. I'm certainly not saying there is a certain natural selection of only the smart, the gifted, or celebrities are the only ones that can make a lot of money, have children, and continue success for the rest of his or her life. I think Britney’s son or daughter will be given everything he or she wants for the rest of his or her life. What I'm saying is that there is a certain reality and awareness one has to prepare for and to acknowledge. Too offend, as the writer of the article underlines, that I meet, know, conversate, or come across women that are pretty naive. These pre-college to post-graduate student level colleagues feel a certain entitlement for their future career, family, and personal life.

Why should it be that only my night class acquaintances should have hindsight 20/20? Can't we say, hey lives pretty shitty, because when we're born, we cry, poop, cry again, and then the real world smacks us in our little hinny. I think the reason why we were called children is because only as adults can we comprehend adulthood.

Discovery...

2005-07-29T14:42:00.000-05:00

Why did NASA send up Discovery instead of it's two newer shuttles, Atlantis and Endeavor?

Atlantis and Endeavor were designed differently from Discovery, especially in one area...

Construction of the orbiter Atlantis began on March 3, 1980. Thanks to lessons learned in the construction and testing of orbiters Enterprise, Columbia and Challenger, Atlantis was completed in about half the time in man-hours spent on Columbia. This is largely attributed to the use of large thermal protection blankets on the orbiter's upper body, rather than individual tiles requiring more attention. Weighing in at 151,315 pounds when it rolled out of the assembly plant in Palmdale, Calif., Atlantis was nearly 3.5 tons lighter than Columbia. The new orbiter arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 9, 1985, and over the next seven months was prepared for her maiden voyage.

Granted Discovery went over a major overall, I believe on a naive, common sense level that Atlantis and Endeavor would be better choices to avoid problems. Then again, the space shuttles have been operating since 1979 with one 2 major incidents. Airplanes have been in existance for over how many year? With how many incidents? Again, granted, there's more airplane flights, but still, the risk is low for incidents. I think you have to worry more about cousin Joey spilling spaghetti sauce on himself again at the family reunion then worrying about another shuttle problem. Significantly, though, it has to be done right as St. Vincent said. Those rocket scientists knows more than me about space shuttles, physics, and aerodynamics, so I'll leave the discussion and explanation to them.

Someone you see, but don't hear a lot about...

2005-07-29T14:08:00.000-05:00

aC Girl Marisa Miller

You seen her in SI's Swimsuit Issues, but never in the world of gossip. She's a fine lady, and with that we say thank you and we appreciate what you do, especially for those with ED.

http://www.askmen.com/women/models_200/242_marisa_miller.html

Comic of the Week

2005-07-29T13:40:00.000-05:00

Here's an idea, conservation and renewable energy source. Less independence on oil and natural gas. Same for electricity. To avoid another California brown-out and the Montreal-grid blackout along the north east-coast states in 2004, we could conserve. There's no need to keep power-consuming electronics and toys constantly on.

StockMonkey Thursday Stock Pick (7/28)

2005-07-28T11:31:00.000-05:00

FNF-Fidelity National Financial
Recommend

Fidelity National Financial is the largest U.S. title insurance company, but also has five other operating segments: Title Insurance (70% of 2004 total revenues), which provides core title insurance and escrow and other title related services; Specialty Insurance (3%), which issues flood, home warranty, homeowners, automobile and niche personal lines insurance policies; Financial Institution Software and Services (FISS, 15%), which focuses on financial institution processing and mortgage loan processing; Lender Outsourcing Solutions (LOS, 4%), which consists of loan facilitation (customized title agency and closing) and default management services; Information Services (IS, 7%), which offers property data and real estate related information services; and Corporate and Other (1%), which consists of operations of the parent holding company and its wholly-owned equipment leasing subsidiary as well as other small operations. The FISS, LOS and IS segments make up the businesses of FIS.

FNF is in the property and causualty insurance industry and the foremost trend affecting most property-casualty (P/C) insurers is a softening in premium rates for most lines of business. After years of extremely competitive premium pricing conditions brought on by an overabundance of underwriting capacity, signs of pricing strength in some commercial lines first emerged in 2000 and continued through 2001, 2002, and well into 2003. However, industrywide written premium growth was a modest 4.7% in 2004. Emerging evidence suggests that the rate of premium price hikes is moderating further and, in some lines of business, softening. This is particularly true in the standard, more commodity-type lines of coverage and in certain property lines of coverage. Highly specialized coverage lines are less likely to be subject to relatively aggressive rate decreases.

Stock Monkey's crib is mostly likely titled by FNF and if I was going to put my crib up for sale, FNF's MLS software would probably be on most realtor's computers. With strong ties to the housing and insurance market, this seems like a very long-term pick. Beware of risk, because the ideas of housing bubbles and hurricanes hitting the hot Florida housing markets brings possible risk. Short-term volitility is present but the monkey like his bananas for the long-haul and real estate/insurance industries are long-haul industries, and FNF touches both.

British Humor and Sidebar...

2005-07-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

Classic Silly British Culture meets Captain Kangaroo...
http://www.blogbod.co.uk/rainbow.html

Next is a special message for all the males out there...
http://www.rachelgetsfruity.com/

...and finally

...so last month a British police officer posed for one of England's many daily men magazines. another words, the daily version of Maxim Magazine. she was suspended and now it seems that she's on the path for another career. she doesn't have to look far. she has been a big hit on the Internet overseas and a bit here in the states. i think if you have the stuff you should supplement your job with an additional stream of income. plus, she's not that bad looking either. here's to british women.

Before

After (work)

I'm A Fucked-Up-Chick Magnet (Editorial)

2005-07-26T09:52:00.000-05:00

Hey, I don't want to brag, but when you got it, you got it. And when it comes to picking up women with severe personality disorders, I've got it. Seems like whenever I'm in the same room with a sexy young basketcase looking for some hot dysfunctional action, we lock eyes and I gaze right into the twisted, abnormal recesses of her psyche, and then-BAM! We make an instant, incredibly unhealthy, and regretfully the next morning, connection. What do I say? When it comes to women, I'm a fucked-up-check-magnet.

I know what you're thinking: "Why is he so full of himself?" I'm not being egotistical or nothing, but it's true. Hey, I know I'm not perfect. Who is? We've all got problems. I'm sure I've got some myself. But here's one problem I don't have: the ladies. When it comes to charming every borderline psycho in a skirt, I take second place to no man. I guess I just give off that "Hey there, pretty lady with the lifelong unresolved emotional issues" vibe. It can't be taught- you either got it or you don't. And I got it.

Everywhere I go, all kinds of psychiatrically disturbed women coming running- women who never got over a traumatic childhood accident, or habitually cut themselves, or slept with their stepfathers, or abuse substances while locked in self-destructive cycles of internalized loathing and rage. They just can't keep their hands off me.

It's been this way my whole life. When I was 14, I got lucky with a classmate's mom. In high school, I dated every bipolar suicide risk in town. In college, I had at least a dozen girlfriends who couldn't decide whether they were mental patients or lesbians. It's just the way it is: Deranged dolls dig me.

I don't even have to try. Maybe its chemistry, or pheromones, or these women can tell I'm afflicted with a complementary set of psychiatric disorders and their fucked-up-female intuition just can't resist. Whatever it is, I'm not complaining. All I have to do is show up at a bar, and before last call, every damaged woman in the place will make a beeline for yours truly, looking to get me entangled in a horrific web of codependency, manipulation, and mutual denial.

The sex is great, really. Believe me, all these highly unstable women have so many self-esteem issues, identity crises, and subconscious needs for approval from absent or emotionally abusive father figures, they'll do practically anything to try to please a man, no matter how self-destructive it is. Sweet!

Take this hot little nutjob who picked me up last weekend. Talk about crazy between the sheets! She cleaned my pipes six ways from Sunday before breaking down in tears out of nowhere at 4 a.m., screaming irrational threats, and trying to throw my stereo out the second-story window. Luckily, I was able to calm her down with a little TLC -time-release-capsules- and get her into a cab before she caused any serious property damage. But still, she can't say away-she's been leaving, like eight voicemails and 12 text messages on my phone. Hey, once they get a little taste for the old Coopster, they always come back from more... even after multiple restraining orders and injunctions.

All I can do is shrug and say, "Crazy women go crazy for me."

Lots of guys have asked for my secret, say stuff like, "Wow, you sure can pick 'em," or "Dude, you need help." They can’t understand how I manage to attract so many hot, wild, desperately pathological chicks. But I can't tell you my secret...It's just some kid of inexplicable magic.
Well, whatever it is, I'm enjoying every fucked-up minute of it.

To my friend aC.,

Donald Cooper

(Columnist-the Onion)

Video of the Week...

2005-07-25T17:24:00.000-05:00

Two "OLD" men fight...

http://www.davesdaily.com/videoclips/83-oldgeezers.htm

...the first rule of geriatric fight club is, you DON'T TALK about GERIATRIC FIGHT CLUB!

People With Less Tact Than Me...

2005-07-25T14:16:00.000-05:00

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania (AP) --
Written apologies will be sent to the family of a dead Marine who was upset that the lieutenant governor appeared uninvited at his funeral last week, Gov. Ed Rendell said. Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll went to the July 19 funeral of Staff Sgt. Joseph Goodrich, passed out her business card and made a remark about the state government being against the war, family members said.

"Whether you're for the war or against the war, to say something like that to a relative of someone who just died in combat was just repulsive," said Goodrich's sister-in-law Rhonda Goodrich. Rendell, during an appearance in Pittsburgh on Sunday, said written apologies will be sent to the Goodrich family, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported. Rendell said he hadn't spoken to Knoll about what happened. "It's not the business of state government to support the war, but our state supports the men and women who are fighting this war," Rendell said.

Goodrich, 32, of Westwood, died July 10 in Iraq. His family told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week that they felt they were owed an apology by Knoll and didn't understand why she attended the funeral in Carnegie. "Knoll felt this was an appropriate time to campaign and impose her will on us," Rhonda Goodrich said. "I am amazed and disgusted Knoll finds a Marine funeral a prime place to campaign."

Knoll's spokesman, Sean Pendrak, told The Associated Press on Monday that the lieutenant governor's office would be releasing a statement on the matter later in the day.

"Computer, please give me the MASK agents best suited for this mission."

2005-07-21T13:06:00.000-05:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MASK

This is my all-time favorite 80's cartoon. I had the toys for most of the characters. Coming in 2nd is Transformers, and the 3rd all-time 80's cartoon is He-Man...yep..."I Got The Power!"

aC.

IT Humor

2005-07-20T13:47:00.000-05:00

Click Me...

Did You Know...

2005-07-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

Famous firsts at the 1893 World's Fair

Aunt Jemina pancake mix, Cracker Jacks, Cream of Wheat, Quaker Oats, Diet carbonated soda, the Ferris Wheel, Juicy Fruit gum, Pabst's Blue Ribbon, Shredded Wheat, the picture postcard, exotic dancing, "Midway" games.

Did You Know,
When Nike's Founder Phillip Knight was first setting out to fund his early shoe company, he named his company Blue Ribbon Sports after the beer. Yes, after a night of drinking in Japan, investors at a major Japanese bank asked for the name of his venture firm. With a sudden blank and curse for the previous evening, all he could think was PBR, and Blue Ribbon Sports got it's money. Eventually, he changed to Nike, paid a woman $30 bucks to design a logo, and the rest is history. With a humble start to a global sporting goods champion, Blue Ribbon Sports is still with us. Just look on the bottom of your Nike's (Running Shoes). You'll see BRS 1000 on the rubber.

Beam Him Up!

2005-07-20T11:41:00.000-05:00

- AP -
James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and movies who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died Wednesday. He was 85. Doohan died at 5:30 a.m. at his Redmond, Wash., home with his wife of 28 years, Wende, at his side, Los Angeles agent and longtime friend Steve Stevens said. The cause of death was pneumonia and Alzheimer's disease," he said. He had said farewell to public life in August 2004, a few months after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The Canadian-born Doohan was enjoying a busy career as a character actor when he auditioned for a role as an engineer in a new space adventure on NBC in 1966. A master of dialects from his early years in radio, he tried seven different accents. "The producers asked me which one I preferred," Doohan recalled 30 years later. "I believed the Scot voice was the most commanding. So I told them, 'If this character is going to be an engineer, you'd better make him a Scotsman.'"

The series, which starred William Shatner as Capt. James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as the enigmatic Mr. Spock, attracted an enthusiastic following of science fiction fans, especially among teenagers and children, but not enough ratings power. NBC canceled it after three seasons.
When the series ended in 1969, Doohan found himself typecast as Montgomery Scott, the canny engineer with a burr in his voice. In 1973, he complained to his dentist, who advised him: "Jimmy, you're going to be Scotty long after you're dead. If I were you, I'd go with the flow." "I took his advice," said Doohan, "and since then everything's been just lovely."

"Star Trek" continued in syndication both in the United States and abroad, and its following grew larger and more dedicated. In his later years, Doohan attended 40 "Trekkie" gatherings around the country and lectured at colleges. The huge success of George Lucas's "Star Wars" in 1977 prompted Paramount Pictures, which had produced "Star Trek" for television, to plan a movie based on the series. The studio brought back the TV cast and hired director Robert Wise. "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was successful enough to spawn five sequels. The powerfully built Doohan, a veteran of D-Day in Normandy, spoke frankly in 1998 about his employer and his TV commander." I started out in the series at basic minimum, plus 10 percent for my agent. That was added a little bit in the second year. When we finally got to our third year, Paramount told us we'd get second-year pay! That's how much they loved us." He accused Shatner of hogging the camera, adding: "I like Captain Kirk, but I sure don't like Bill. He's so insecure that all he can think about is himself."

James Montgomery Doohan was born March 3, 1920, in Vancouver, British Columbia, youngest of four children of William Doohan, a pharmacist, veterinarian and dentist, and his wife Sarah. As he wrote in his autobiography, "Beam Me Up, Scotty," his father was a drunk who made life miserable for his wife and children. At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans." The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.

After the war Doohan on a whim enrolled in a drama class in Toronto. He showed promise and won a two-year scholarship to New York's famed Neighborhood Playhouse, where fellow students included Leslie Nielsen, Tony Randall and Richard Boone. His commanding presence and booming voice brought him work as a character actor in films and television, both in Canada and the United States. Oddly, his only other TV series besides "Star Trek" was another space adventure, "Space Command," in 1953.

Doohan's first marriage to Judy Doohan produced four children. He had two children by his second marriage to Anita Yagel. Both marriages ended in divorce. In 1974 he married Wende Braunberger, and their children were Eric, Thomas and Sarah, who was born in 2000, when Doohan was 80.

In a 1998 interview, Doohan was asked if he ever got tired of hearing the line "Beam me up, Scotty." "I'm not tired of it at all," he replied. "Good gracious, it's been said to me for just about 31 years. It's been said to me at 70 miles an hour across four lanes on the freeway. I hear it from just about everybody. It's been fun."

Sidebar...
Yes, I'm a Trekkie. I'll miss the lad. Today, the Star Trek Universe just lost a legend. James, my the gates of Eden open for you. Live Long and Prospere...

I Have An Idea! (Part II)

2005-07-19T14:59:00.000-05:00

Totally irrelevant to the first idea, but I decided to go try to catch a UPS truck. To put it in shorter words.

It all started with the purchase of my accounting books last week. I got a great deal, but really push the deadline for the actual class date deadline. The books arrived last Friday, but since neither my roommates nor I were present to pick up the books, they were deferred to a Monday drop-off. So to anticipate the reception of the book early, I took my lunch break at my apartment yesterday. The slip (tracking slip) said a drop-off time between 10am to 5pm. Pretty broad, I know. So I wait for a bit and loss interest. So, I changed my cloths and went back to work. Keep in mind, that I've been worrying about the packages since Friday. Even through my Milwaukee Saturday.

Anyway, I left a command on the slip and stuck it back on my front door. Directions were to drop-off in front of the door. Second, I signed it in green, so it would clash and be open to the eye next the UPS colors. So at last, I went back to work. Towards the end of the day, I went back to Micki's and off back to the apartment to iron her cloths for work. Ghastly, I saw that there was another slip on my door. I was fuming. I really wanted the books that day. I called and was thinking in the back of my mind that I wanted to call the UPS driver idiots. Keep in mine the driver is a singular noun and even though there could have been different drivers in the singular sense, my word choice for displeasure was idiots. Unfortunately, I'm not that type of guy to bitch at people on the phone, so I decided to play nice because the woman on the phone was very nice and sounded attractive. In reality she could have been like 30 with 3 kids and a welfare check stub in front of her cubicle in middle-of-nowhere North Dakota. I digress; I calmed and anticipated another day of waiting. I also planned to pick up my packages if need be.

I called the next day to arrange the pickup of my packages. So expecting another nice and customer pleasing UPS attendant, my worries dissipated. Interesting enough, I got a serious, take-it-up-butt-attendant that told me my faults and that I should have someone be available there. The secondary signee could be my roommates or my neighbors. Lost for options for pickup and delivery, I left for another lunch today to anticipate my packages.

I left for lunch a few before one. I went home, had a Boston Crème yogurt and almonds to snack on. I waited for another 20 minutes and grew disappointed again. I have little patience don't I? I changed my contacts for glasses and left back for work. Now I was almost 2:00. As I got to the Paulina stop, I saw a UPS truck. My heart jumped. Not because of on-coming traffic, but for the fact that my packages could be in that rectangular automobile. I walked briskly. And briskly some more. Wait...oh no! The driver left the Rug store and bolted for the next block. So in my finest polo/khaki wearing dressing cloths I too bolted for the overgrown station wagon. Luckily it was only a block. In total disregard for the next customer for the driver, I shouted, "Do you have a package for 1734...," with my sweated, exasperated voice. He looked at me like if I was the Unabomber or something.

In totally sucking the conclusion or closing, I'll just leave with the image of clouds, sun, and a windy breeze. I received my packages and skipped merrily back to my place of employment. It will not be the end of my charades you know. As long as the Chan is alive, there will be many stories to tell, many facts to add, and many memories to add to your life.

This has been a Chan-Really-Life production. All rights, ideas, thoughts, and euphemisms are copyrighted and can not be used without the express written concern to myself. No Chan was harmed in this production, all parties involved in this story were really involved and any similarities, characters, names, titles, or people associated with this story are completely coincidental.

Video Game Violence...

2005-07-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Point...

Shooting. Killing. Vehicular mayhem. Sexual conquests. Teenagers can experience it all through today's almost-anything-goes breed of video games, primarily among those rated "M" for mature. "There is no doubting the fact that the widespread availability of sexually explicit and graphically violent video games makes the challenge of parenting much harder," said Sen. Hillary Rodham, who asked the Federal Trade Commission last week to investigate one of the most violent titles, "Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas."

(Yahoo.com)

During the last several decades, electronic interactive games have emerged as one of the most popular forms of entertainment, particularly among adolescents. In 1998, revenues totaled $6.3 billion in the United States. Ninety percent (90%) of U.S. households with children have rented or owned a video or computer game, 2 and young people spend an average of 20 minutes per day playing video games. Video games are the second most popular form of entertainment after television.

Although research has pointed to the constructive uses of video games in such fields as education and medicine, there are trends in game playing that some observers find disturbing. A 1998 survey revealed that 80% of the video games preferred by young people contain violent or aggressive content; of these, 21% depict violence against women. A survey of 900 fourth graders disclosed similar results: 50% of the respondents chose games with fantasy or human violence as their favorites.

Researchers have raised concerns about the potential link between playing violent video games and subsequent aggressive behavior. A number of studies have shown such effects, with younger children being particularly susceptible to influence. In fact, recent studies show that after playing a violent video game children can become desensitized to violence or act hostile to others.

(http://www.mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/vgv.htm)

Many social scientists have hypothesized that we should expect video games to have an even greater impact for the following four reasons:

Children are more likely to imitate the actions of a character with whom they identify. In violent video games the player is often required to take the point of view of the shooter or perpetrator.
Video games by their very nature require active participation rather than passive observation.
Repetition increases learning. Video games involve a great deal of repetition. If the games are violent, then the effect is a behavioral rehearsal for violent activity.
Rewards increase learning, and video games are based on a reward system.

While the research base conducted on video games is small compared to that conducted on television, early results are showing that the concern is indeed warranted. Anderson & Bushman have conducted a meta-analysis of 35 different studies of violent video games (2001). A meta-analysis is a type of study in which researchers analyze the results of other studies to see if there are similar patterns of results; Anderson and Bushman showed that there is a consistent pattern of results in five areas.

Exposure to violent games increases physiological arousal.
Exposure to violent games increases aggressive thoughts.
Exposure to violent games increases aggressive emotions.
Exposure to violent games increases aggressive actions.

(http://culturalpolicy.uchicago.edu/conf2001/papers/walsh.html)

CounterPoint...

I don't have a counterpoint. A videogame is just a video game. It doesn't tell me what I can and can't not do. It does play with your mind though. All the fun makes you forget about reality. It's not reality, and maybe that's why people like it. Especially in young children, because when you like eleven years old girls start to look "hot" or "cootie-free", and something downstairs happens and you really don't know what to do. Your best friend make Dave can't help you because he's going through the same thing, and Suzy. Well, little Suzy is taller than you, smells better than you, wants to be her boyfriend, and not so little any more. You notice her chest is grow something thing, and the next thing you know your a deer in headlights.

Honestly, I don't think video games are the main problem with kids. Kids are just being kids, specifically during adolescences. They're going to be sporty, they're going to bully, or become a hermit, or the Van Wilder of Junior High or Middle School. What's the underlying problem is not video games itself, but parenting. Yes, parenting is where the issue is central. Parents don't discipline anymore. Frankly, I don't see a lot of parents being involved these days. I'm not saying that there aren't involved parents, but when you think of the hoard of day-care centers reaping the benefits of 10-12 hour days with one's kids at consulting-level fees and the Federline's on TV visualizing the new wave of parenting skills, no wonder why kids turn out the way they do. They're either spoiled or abandoned.

Again, I'm not saying that all kids are abandoned, but media is no help either. There is a certain "invisible hand" in economics, and curtaining there is one in parenting as well. I know that if my son or daughter is out-of-line, I'm not going to give him or her "timeout". Tough love baby! I'm not going to hit my child, but pedagogical disciplinary actions will be used. Yes, scare tactics will be used. Oh yes, I'll bring back the boogie-man and the monster in the closet. No, I don't mean Michael Jackson, but as much as I would like to spoil my kid with abercrombie, sports, knowledge, and respect, there is a certain level of cast system that needs to be put in place. Respect, above all. "Thank you's", "Yes, Maim's", or "Yes, Sir's". Will be part of my kids regular vocabulary. My kids will learn how to type on the typewriter first before then get on the computer. They will learn cursive before they will type too. There are a lot of archaic knowledge that should be emphasized to children, like the Latin language and “Reading Rainbow”, unfortunately to older teenagers as well. I don't consider myself part of the "entitlement generation,” that magazine quotes of my age bracket because I don't feel entitled to anything.

I'm completely grateful for everything in myself. So should my children, and you, the reader. I think we lose that in the thick of things, especially when we see the fast car, fast women, and the fast changing world. We all change, but there are core compentiences we have to learn and there foundations in place that stand the test of time. In other words, loving and giving your child everything is fine, put Mom always said it should be in moderations. I'm not a parent yet, or even in the immediate future, but I know as a parent, I am the "invisible hand". I have supreme remote control power. I weld super diaper changing strength to megaphone chanting, sideline-running soccer dad ability and stamina. So take it Rockstar Games. So take it "Britney". My schwartz is bigger than yours. My child is and will always be the Jedi knight and he or she will not succumb to the dark side. My child will faultier because I do acknowledge my child will not be perfect, but in my eyes he will be. And will yours.

Comic of the Week

2005-07-15T15:53:00.000-05:00

Honestly, if we can send a man on the moon almost a half-century ago, I think we shouldn't be having these issues here. Do you know how old the space shuttles are? You can't tell me with the new fighter planes, commercial jets, and fancy concept cars, that we can't develop a next generation space ship by and delivered by now? I know we have "drawing" and "concepts", but like with the World Trade Center dilemma, COME ON ALREADY. We have to have the technology by now. I don't want to wait a few years, I want to see action now. With all the bells and whistles. Maybe even a HD spacecraft with Star Trek power or something. Hey, how about getting Captain Kirk and Spock to help? Their old, but the have to have ideas. Regardless, do something now before the Soviets do. Opps, I mean the Russians.

I Have An Idea! (Part I)

2005-07-15T15:41:00.000-05:00

Starting next week, I'm going to part-take in the random analysis of randomly selected women on DePaul's Facebook website and have a subjective "Hot or Not" by three random men from Facebook as well as a way to make this website kosher to those of "Reality" television programming, those similar, popular websites, and tasteful AIM popup section when you first sign-on.

What do you think of them apples? If I can't get three random men then I'll just give them my call. I'll probably get slapped in the face whenever I'll walk to class, but hey, I think I'm doing a service to a few women here and there. Seriously, if their hot, then i'm only just reassuring them and boosting her self-esteem. If they're not hot, then maybe they'll get plastic surgery or hopefully peg them down a notch from their pedestals. Hey, they laughed at Picasso, da Vinci, and Andy Kaufman. And now, they call them artists.

Hey, i'm an artist!

For Men...

2005-07-15T15:33:00.000-05:00

This goes out to all the ex's in your life. I personally don't have any personal association to this comic, but let's just say that I have a lot of friends with significant others that would praise this very comic. This is also a shout out to my friends that wear the pants of the relationship, but unfortunately have those pants chosen by their women. Truly, you can't live with them and you can't live without them. "I Love You Honey!"

College Humor Part I

2005-07-14T17:04:00.000-05:00

True Definition of Doggy-Style!

Woman Arrested After Giving Birth Drunk

2005-07-14T17:02:00.000-05:00

AP PRESS

A woman has been arrested on child neglect charges after giving birth while drunk, police said. Melissa Irene Tanner, 37, is accused of having a blood alcohol content close to three times the legal limit when she gave birth to a baby girl on June 30.

She is being held in jail with bail set at $30,000 and the baby has been placed in foster care.
The baby was not breathing upon birth and had to be administered a medication to counteract any narcotics that may have been present in the child's system. After an emergency procedure by hospital staff, the child started breathing.

Tanner reportedly has six other children. According to a July 11 probable cause affidavit filed in the case, Tanner told police she and another person had consumed a case of beer.

Crime

2005-07-11T14:41:00.000-05:00

Crime happens everyday in the world. In a city like Chicago, crime is a novelty as it is as much a serious event. This is the city of Al Capone. This is the city with a story, from the Dilinger at the Biograph or the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.

Now if your a new resident, you should know that the areas west and south of the city are your crime-rich section of town. I'm not making any associations that the White Soxs are criminals because they are located in the South-side as well, or of the 1918 Black Soxs. That's a different blog. I'm more concerned with buffer zones that are located surrounding Tri-Taylor/Little Italy and Hyde Park. I'm concerned with how malious citizens of this beautiful can be towards other fellow citizens. This does not concern race. This is about murder and the tragic event of this past weekend.

Such a cruel-some and unscrupulous crime will be brought to justice for these criminals, but the issue is that a friend has loss a close friend. This Chicago-land area has also just experienced its third murder of similarity in less than a year. Nicholas Swanson from St. Charles last year and UIC Professor D'Agostino in Oak Park just a few months ago.

All three of these murders involved a object to beat, and bludgeon the victims. Both Nicholas Swanson and Tombol Malik had more than one assailant, which are all apprehended. Professor D'Agostino's assailant is yet to be captured. In lewd of these similarities, you have to ask yourself why?

Why do people do these things to other people? Is it a thrill? Is of malicious anger? In legal constraint, was it premeditated? This story has brings haunting reminders of my friend Jeff, Chris, and Steve. In the spring of our freshmen year, the assailant assaulted Jeff, Chris, and Steve, with Jeff getting punched to the ground and Steve losing two of his front teeth. Again, last year both Chris and his girlfriend at the time were victims of a hold-up. Two assailants were apprehended by CPD in late hours of the evening.

With a little precedence, the two men charged with Tombol’s murder will probably be served a life-time sentence, but that only if first-degree murder is applicable or a second-degree in circumstance. Manslaughter charges will be sought by the defense. Regardless, 10-15 years will be automatically charged to the individual. In lewd of the characters of the charged assailants, life-time sentence will probably be avoided. Just like the Swanson case, the bail will probably be lowered to a quarter of a million dollars instead of $900,000. Odds are, you’re looking at a sixty year sentence with a chance for parole. So if convicted and served, in twelve years, these gentlemen may again roam the streets.

Granted, the trial is anticipated for a long session. Justice may not come as swift for Tombol’s family and friends, but in my opinion, I hope justice is served for a crime that does not belong in our society. I may not have known you Tombol, but you legacy will live on with your friends and family.

Comic of the Week

2005-07-08T11:03:00.000-05:00

Imagine This:

Bush: Tony, what are we having for lunch today?
Koizumi: Sushi!
Schroder: Nein, we're having Wiener Schnitzels with beer.
Berlusconi: No, no, no... a nice antipasta with a tasty gelato.
Blair: So, that's a no to my Guiness with Fish and Chips.
Chirac: France will not have lunch with you.
Martin: Jacque, are you still bitter about 2012.
Chirac: Oui, I need some Tums...
Putin: Vodka. Get some vodka. Vodka solves every thing!
Bush: ...hmm... how about next year we take Air Force I to the Taste of Chicago.
Putin: In Russia, lunch is Vodka!
Bush: I know Vladdy, but it's only 11am. What's good in Scotland?
Koizumi: Not the woment.
Blair: Shut Up Junichiro!
Bush: Hey guys, come one. We must be vigilent and steadfast. So, how about some chicken lo mein with some egg roll?
Putin: Yes...with Vodka!

Why France Loss the 2012 Olympic Bid

2005-07-06T02:30:00.000-05:00

And, it's not because France sucks. Forgot the American rouse of anti-France regards. In all actuality, I have quite the affection for the French people, culture, and the country. My personal sentiment is that we, actually screwed over France. Bittersweet if you give it some thought for the conservative America, but before I say why France loss the Olympic bid, I would like to say how close all bids were and how the votes really came down to London, Madrid, and France.

Importantly, all three really deserved to win. I admire New York's run, but come on, imagine the rush hour traffic in the summer. Which sports team will move to what stadium? The Mets or the Yankees? The Jets or the Giants? Top with the fact that Ground Zero is still a big hole with no substantial plan for development is just sad. Those 3,000 people deserve more than just a hole in the ground. Those developers, city and governmental officials, and people in general need to get their head out of their asses and do something. If we can start bombing Afghanistan after 9/11, then we can sure pay tribute to all the brave men and women and innocent victims of the tragic and cowardly event. Anyway, I digress. Hillary Clinton can digress way from the Olympics now too, because New York really didn't deserve to spend the money on the Olympics anyway. Maybe 2020 or 2024

From the IOC's website for official stuff,

The host city of the Games of the XXX Olympiad will be elected at the 117th IOC Session in Singapore on 6 July 2005, when a secret ballot is held among all IOC members. The announcement of the winning city is expected to be made at 7.30 p.m. (GMT+8)

Voting procedure
Voting will take place in successive rounds until one candidate receives a majority of those voting. The ballot continues until one candidate gets an absolute majority of the votes cast. IOC members from a country whose city is a candidate in the election must abstain from taking part in the vote.
Non-votes, spoiled votes, and abstentions do not count toward the calculation of the majority. For example, if 100 members are present, but four (4) abstain, the number of votes needed to win is 49. If no candidate city achieves a majority in the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes drops out of the running, and the members vote again on the remaining candidates. If two or more cities are tied for the lowest number of votes, a runoff election will be held between them, with the winner going on to the next round.

Voting Results

First round
London 22, Paris 21, Madrid 20, New York 19, Moscow 15 (eliminated)

Second round
Madrid 32, London 27, Paris 25, New York 16 (eliminated)

Third round
London 39, Paris 33, Madrid 31 (eliminated)

Fourth round
London 54, Paris 50 (eliminated)

As you can see, London has been the favorite among the voting members of the IOC, which is contrary to all the hype of Paris being the heavy favorite to win the bid. Surprisingly though, Madrid also showed a strong showing with the voting members. Now moving to politics now, with elimination of each candidate city, their votes are distributed across the board. So, political sentiment would have played a role. I could have said could, but these days politics always play a role in anything important and which involves "voting".

Now I have to say, both Paris and London have many strengths in their bid. These rival cities have so much to impress and give, that no wonder why they've been having the sibling rivalry syndrome for centuries. In London, three marquee venues really stick out; Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, and Hyde Park., in another words, Soccer, Tennis, and Fun. These exciting ventures are the heart of London and of the world. Besides the point of remembering WWF wresting and the World Bowl at Wembley and the movie with Kirsten Dunst, the more positive light that these two ventures represent can probably win the Olympic bids by itself. Now put together Paul McCartney, U2, and Oasis on stage at Hyde Park for some concerts and Olympic bonding, that is just like having extra frosting with an extra cherry on top.

To complicate the venture matters, Paris offers some stiff competition, specifically Roland Garros and the famous Champs Elysees. I believe the last time tennis was played on Olympic clay was Barcelona. Seriously, Wimbledon vs. Roland Garros, I'll pay to see that. Plus, I'll pay to see the Olympic procession marching down the Champs Elysees. That would be a beautiful sight. The Champs Elysees is probably the most beautiful street in the world. Forget Time Square in New York. Can Broadway and Seventh Ave., contain the riders of the Tour de France? Ironically, that would be a fun sight. Granted, a cycling event on dirty Times Square in the 70's is a lot more enjoyable to watch. Come on, those cyclists are as skinny as the crack-whores back in those days.

Regardless, Paris was ready. The World Cup of '98 was held in Paris. The Tour de France and the French Open happens every year in Paris. The IAAF World Track and Field Championships were held in Paris in 2003. Again, Paris was ready, maybe, too ready. Their economy is not comparable to England. Plus, when the IOC visited Paris, there was a transportation strike, but the people still cheered. The public wanted the Olympics. Maybe the Spanish had a little more desire, but Celine Dion, Tony Parker, and the President Chirac all wanted the games in France.

In the end, only one city could host the Olympic Games. In 2007 we’ll know who will host the Winter Olympic Games. Coincidently, Albertville, France hosted it 1992. Paris hasn’t hosted the Olympic Games since 1924. Poor old French, maybe the Winter Olympics Games held recently held their fate. The IOC doesn’t like to hold recent Olympics within the same continent as the previous Olympics: Seoul, Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, and China. Unfortunately, with that logic, we may not see Paris be a contender until 2016 or 2020. South America and Latin America has yet to host the Olympic Games, except for Mexico in 1968. I really would like to see Buenos Aires or Rio as Olympic Candidate Cities. Think about it, if Manu still has it then maybe he’ll bring better luck than his Spurs teammate did. Maybe Carnaval will put everyone in a good mood, especially the IOC Selection Committee.

You know, Chicago has yet to host the Olympic Games. We have Soldiers Field, US Cellular and Wrigley Field, Michigan Avenue, and even hosted popular events like the NBA Finals, Chicago Marathon, the World Cup in 1994, the World’s Fair, and heck, the World Series. Put me on the Buenos Aires or Chicago 2016 Olympic Candidate City committee. I’ll make sure we’ll bring to Chicago. Hopefully by then the Cubs or Soxs will win a championship. In all reality, Paris doesn’t yet begun to look hopeless as the Cubs and Soxs.

Paris, three strikes does not mean you’re necessarily out. To think about it, the Buffalo Bills went to four championships. Granted, that they choked each time. Paris, you are better than Buffalo. You have bread and fries named after you. You have culture and life, unlike most of America. You have the world best wine and cheese. Maybe not with beer or fish and chips, but hey, you can’t win them all. You have some work to do. Build up your economy and shake off defeat. Keep going for the other massive sporting events. Maybe work with the United States, the E.U. and other countries more. The E.U. Constitution thing was sort of embarassing There’s the G8 meeting in Scotland, so why don’t you start making the most of it now. Heck, thousands did this past weekend.

We may have screwed you, but it’s not all our fault. Instead of pointing the finger, just look on the bright side of life. Do a little whistle, have some wine, and just say…C’est La Vie!

Welcome to the Big East DePaul!

2005-07-05T16:37:00.000-05:00

Chicagoans, Mid-West Folk, and Faithful Big Ten Fans,
Welcome to the world of Big East Conference sports. As of July 1st, new member DePaul is welcomed to the conference that I was blessed to grow up watching. Throw out everything thing you know about college sports. There's a new star in town. Something different, exciting and you just might like it.

Dear DePaul Demons and Fans,
Yes, my allegiance to my alma mater will conflict with my West Virginia blood. I'm cheering for one college team now, the Mountaineers of West Virginia University. I've never paid any attention to DePaul sports in the likes of Tennis, Volleyball, or Track-and-Field, but to see the colors of Blue and Gold, I’ll attend the games, matches, and meets; Best of luck to DePaul this year though.

"Hail West Virginia"

Sincerely,
aC.