Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Natasha Richardson Accident - Richardson Passed Away Tonight

From CBS: Actress Natasha Richardson and wife of Liam Neeson is reportedly in critical condition after suffering a head injury in a skiing accident at a Canadian ski resort. Randall Pinkston reports.

I later learned that the actress passed away this evening at the age of 45 years old.

Natasha Richardson Accident - Richardson Passed Away Tonight

From CBS: Actress Natasha Richardson and wife of Liam Neeson is reportedly in critical condition after suffering a head injury in a skiing accident at a Canadian ski resort. Randall Pinkston reports.

I later learned that the actress passed away this evening at the age of 45 years old.

Obama Angered By 'Excess' In AIG Bailout Matter

President Barack Obama says "The buck stops with me" in discussing the AIG matter. You've got to credit him for immediately getting out in front of the issue with the press statement right as the news of the $165 million in bonuses was paid by AIG using Troubled Assets Recovery Program (TARP) funds.

Hot Stove Talk

Hot Stove NFL talk 3/19/09-By Dr. Bill Chachkes Football Reporters Online


The Giants have made some really good free agency moves so far. It's clear that Mr. Mara and Mr. Tisch told Mr. Reese to spend some of that PSL money on players. DT's Bernard, Canty, and LB Boley are all good pick ups. Hopefully there is enough left over to get some more offensive skill players. I'm not in a rush to see a running back signed so quickly, even though Derek Ward signed with Tampa a few weeks ago (5 years, 17 million dollars). I would prefer to see them draft a younger player like Javarris Williams (Tenn. St.) or Josh Vaughn (Richmond) and play Ahmad Bradshaw and Danny Ware behind Jacobs. The Giants have 9 selections coming into this draft, but the feeling is that some of those picks will be used in a package to trade with another team to move up in one of the first two rounds to get a player at a "need" position they weren't able to fill in free agency.

If you need to be reminded that the sport of football is still a business behind it all, just take a look at Albert Haynesworth. "It's not about the money," Haynesworth said, when the Titans were trying to figure out how to keep him happy and in Nashville. It didn't take long for that tune to change when Redskins owner Dan Sndyer came calling with a 100 million dollar check. Now Big Al gets himself in a bit of "dui" trouble and wants us to understand how sorry he is. With all that Cash Al, get someone to drive you around will ya please.

At least Ray Lewis was honest. "Why should i take a Hometown Discount? I'm not playing with less emotion or intensity," he said. Ozzie Newsome got Lewis to stay by giving Lewis the deal he deserved to keep him a "Raven for life."

The Jets made some decent headway regarding the improvment of their defense. They resigned Ahmad Carroll, who will help out the secondary as well as keep the special teams special. Now we hear talk of disgruntled Broncos QB Jay Cutler coming to NY to wear the Green and White. I just hope his skin thickens up a little if he does. The other issue here is that Jets owner Woody Johnson is starting to remind me of George Steinbrenner when he ran the Yankees. NFL.com's Pat Kirwan told a group of us at the end of the 2006 draft that Clemens had the best spiral of any of the QB's in that class. So then why won't they give him a chance to prove he can lead the team? Maybe they are trying to Jump-start "phase 2" of the PSL sales plan.

So mr. Owens shuffled off to Orchard Park, but the real test is when the Bills make the playoffs and have to play a home game in January with the breeze coming off the lake. Terrell will have wished he told his agent Drew Rosenhaus to just wait a little longer and see if someone else makes an offer, even for less money.

So we have a new Executive director of the NFLPA. What will make DeMaurice Smith different from Gene Upshaw? He's already caught the player reps' ears with a smooth presentation coming into what could become a hostile fight with the owners to reach a deal on a new CBA. Lets see if he can get it done sooner rather then later.

It's just 5 weeks to the 2009 NFL Draft, and we are already in high gear(but I'm always geared up for football).

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Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Socialist Leader: "Obama's No Socialist. I Should Know"

As yet another confirmation that conservatives throwing around the word "socialist" have absolutely no clue what socialism really is, the editor of the Socialist Party's monthly magazine assures Americans and Republican obstructionists/revisionists that President Obama is far, far from being a socialist. He may not even be a true liberal.

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Drug-Legalizing Cop Wins Back His Free Speech Rights

SEATTLE, WA -- A Mountlake Terrace police sergeant who was fired after publicly criticizing the "war on drugs" has reached an $812,500 settlement in a lawsuit he filed against the city and police department, among others.

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MI cops shoot unarmed, 20-year-old marijuana activist

Coming through an apartment's back door, an Ottawa County deputy allegedly shined a flashlight into the student's face, causing him to raise his right hand in front of his eyes. The officer, whose name was not released, fired a single bullet into Derek Copp's chest. The 20-year-old said he had no idea the man was an officer. -=W/ VIDEOS=-

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Small Banks Thrive As Giants Fall

Financial giants are wobbling. Lending is tight. The FDIC is murder on start-ups. But there's never been a better time for a small bank. Since last summer, at least 30 groups have filed to start new banks.

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Obama Orders Treasury Chief to Try to Block A.I.G. Bonuses

The president said that he has instructed Timothy F. Geithner to “pursue every single legal avenue” to block bonuses to the insurer’s top executives.

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Americans Are Rearing for a Fight with Corporate Power

3/4 of Americans want to see a huge worker protection bill pass through Congress, and corporate America is working up a feverish panic over the very notion of linking the term "employees" with the concept of free choice.

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Ten Ideas That Are Changing the World Right Now

In the face of economic contraction, we're rethinking things we used to take for granted. Amid all the anxiety out there, if there's a theme this year, it's renewal. This is not false hope or irrational optimism but the power of ideas and innovation to transform the world and us.

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Women in Congo Speak out about Brutal Rapes

Despite taboos, under a U.N. program women and girls in the Congo who have been viciously tortured and maimed have begun coming forward and naming what was done. One sign of success is that more men than women have volunteered for training to encourage victims to come forward and their communities to confront the issues.

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